SageTracey

You're almost there! Hang on and this will soon be a memory.

24lbs in 5 weeks is awesome!

Don't let the judgement of others affect your success nor your enjoyment of it. You are doing really well and this is your journey, not theirs.

Congratulations on your surgery date and also standing your ground with your MIL. There will always be a big family affair around the corner, if your family is anything like mine! There is no perfect time for your surgery.

Good luck.

Sorry to hear that you haven't been able to be successful with the band. As the poster above suggests, perhaps you could pursue other help for your eating issues and then address your weight with the band, remembering to follow all the rules.

we all have reasons why we gained weight and need to address them.

You are perfectly normal not to feel restriction after your first fill. Some surgeons are quite aggressive and others are quite cautious with the amount per fill and that will make a difference to how long until you feel restriction as well. Congratulations on being banded, now you are in it for the long haul! Good luck.

I am really sorry that you have been through such a tough time and have had to educate so many medical professionals along the way.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

But....it is really difficult to read your blog with so many typos! Any chance of using a spell checker so that we can read your blog more easily and offer you the support that this forum is so great at offering?

One day at a time....it does get easier, I promise!

Lol! Couldn't tell you my ring size (other than to say all five rings are very loose and need to be adjusted), but underwear size has dropped from 26 to 12/14!

Congratulations and keep up the great attitude. It will help you immensely through the post-op weeks when weight loss usually slows right down. You can do this!

My port was fine for the first 12 months but at my last appointment I mentioned to my surgeon that I had felt it move. He had difficulty accessing it for my fill and agreed that it had tilted. He explained that the port has a mechanical attachment (bit like a staple), plus he stitches it in place to reduce the risk of port flips. He said his rate of flip is one in 100. I may end up being that one! But if so, he said it would only be day surgery to repair.

So, yes, ports do tilt and flip but you seem incredibly unlucky if it has happened to you twice!

Love it!

The pre-op diet is to shrink your liver to make surgery easier. If you have cheated too badly and not shrunk your liver then the surgeon may cancel the surgery or even get started but not be able to fit your band.

If you have lost some weight you may be ok.

You can puree pretty much anything by adding milk or water to liquefy it. One great suggestion I read elsewhere was to puree different foods separately so that you can put small amounts of each on your plate and enjoy the different flavours. Wish I had thought of that when I was in the mushy stage!

It's great that you are looking ahead and thinking about what you can eat after your surgery! Don't get too stressed about the protein shakes etc. They are short term in the overall scheme of life as a bandster. I would suggest you go back to your nutritionist or doctor and ask for specific dietary instructions. Tell them you need their guidance and support in making the right decisions to be successful with your band. I ham 13 months post-op and just bought a book from my surgeon's office last week. It's called Knife, Fork and Band, and includes diets for the pre and post-op phases plus plenty of great information that is serving as a reminder to me of what I have been through and where I can go from here.

I am choosing one or two recipes a week to add variety to my food choices and keep them fresh and interesting.

It is an Australian book so I don't know where else you can buy it, but I am sure there are plenty of other band recipe books around to choose from.

I had my worst ever stuck episode yesterday when I ate a late lunch. This meant I was hungrier than usual and didn't pay attention to eating slowly and chewing properly. I was eating satay chicken and fried rice. Two bites in and I was in trouble for the rest of the day. The food came back but I managed to inflame my esophagus to the point where I couldn't eat or drink for the rest of the day without bringing it all back up. In the end I just sucked on iceblocks to ease the inflammation. Today I have had to be very careful and stick to liquids. I felt as though someone was sitting on my chest and that I couldn't breathe. It was very painful and if I hadn't read about being stuck on here, I would have thought I was having a heart attack! Lesson learnt.

It's great that you are taking this decision so seriously. My tipping point was when my husband said he didn't want me to die or end up in a wheelchair because of my weight. He has been my greatest support on this journey and very much a part of my success. I have lost 60kg (about 135lb) in 12 months.

You are still healing from your surgery. Weight loss will come later so don't get disheartened.

LOL! I enjoyed your band prayer and I think you speak for many of us. Good luck with your re-fills and return to restriction.

I haven't been told to not drink coffee and I was banded 11 months ago. I still drink three to four cups a day. I have cut out all fizzy drinks (was drinking at least one litre per day) and I don't miss it at all.

So true.

my favorite is "You can have excuses or you can have results but you can't have both."

Recognising your situation is a great personal achievement. A fill may well help but I would also suggest that you find someone to emotionally support you on this journey.

Best of luck

Heartburn with the band is typically associated with being too tight and overeating, but you are unlikely to be too tight so soon after surgery. It's also highly unlikely that you would need your band out because of heartburn. You really need to get medical advice so make an appointment to see your dr.

and good luck

I remember being totally shocked when I saw my insurance summary and it described the band as a prosthetic device. I had never really thought of it like that before.

Apart from the fact that I want to be cremated when I die, I figure my bones would outlast the plastic that is my band!

How does your husband not know! Wow, I couldn't keep something like this from my hubby.

And I would be furious if what happened to you at work happened to me. But try not to overreact - easy to say from a distance, I know - but you still need to front up to work each day. I didn't tell anyone at my work until I had made some really good progress and was happy to talk about.

You are doing a lot of exercise and not eating a lot of calories. It might sound contradictory to weight loss but you do need to fuel that engine we call a body. Imagine how long your car can keep running on low fuel levels? Try eating a bit more and you may find the weight loss kicks in again.

Good luck

PS Disclaimer - I am not a doctor or medical professional so be sure to follow your dr's advice over anything I suggest!