gcmy

Hi guys. I'm down 50lbs with 20-30 more to go. I thought I'd post some progress pics. Recently I finally had a few people at work notice my loss, which felt great. I usually wear flowy, oversized clothes and 1 coworker told me to start wearing clothes that fit. Lol.

This post felt like something I could have written. I have several banded friends and they were the biggest reason I chose this route. They don't know I've been banded and I feel discouraged that they haven't yet seen the changes in me I've seen. They make comments about 'when you're banded this... that..." and I think I'm a failure. But I'm realizing everyone's journey is different. I still feel like I'm better off having done this. Keep working at it - it'll all work out!

I am also sad, but hopeful! I went for a fill today. I am 7 months post op and had only lost 25lbs. When I went today I had gained 8 back. I have a 10cc band and have 51/2cc in my band. I recently had 6cc and had way too much restriction and they took some out. I am now working my way tighter slowly. My doctor was a little discouraged that my weight loss was not more. He said that sometimes the band does not work for everyone. I left the appointment feeling like a failure. He said if you have a positive outlook it can still work. i guess it is good to hear others who have had the same issues. I really want to be successful at this!!! I guess the weight I have lost is weight that would have taken me forever or never to loose without the band. Good Luck and keep working at it!!! We can do this!!!

This is so helpful. Thank you for all the support.

This is so helpful. Thank you for all the support.

very sorry all this happened to you.
but for me right now, i am most pleased with the band.
my dr advised me prior to surgery of the pros and cons
and especially about things that could happen and made me aware.
so there was no oh my gosh, why did this happen BS.
i accept you hate the band and can understand that.
but if anyone struggling with having recent surgery or about to have surgery, i feel you are doing a disservice to them. preaching horror does no one any good. not even yourself.
i do recommend you visiting another site called OH com as they have alot of people just like you who also want this so called vile band out of them. i am positive you will fit in nicely.
PS: odd that you had the band for 3+ yrs, and your first post on this forum is a horror story. granted bad things do happen, but not always. and like me, you chose to have the band. so you can choose to have it removed.

I posted this in response to another bandsters question, but it may be applicable here too.
Oh how I wish every office that gave fills had a fluoroscope machine to give them with. My doctor ( whom I REALLY, REALLY like )never had a problem finding the port, but there are advantages to using one.
Heres my story about fills. My Doctor's office got the machine about a year after I had been banded. Only after the first fill using flouro, did he confirm what I had been saying for about 5 months... I had NO restriction. Because my band had come undone. Yes, the band had come unsnapped. I knew when it happened. My Dr's first to have this happen with hundreds of bands placed. Dr fixed it asap! Now all his fills are done using the machine....and now, standing up. Never any trouble finding the port. Never ANY pain. He/You can see the restriction as the adjustment happens.
Your Doctor can get you so much closer to restriction by looking at it instead of guessing. My insurance, Aetna, pays for my fills. If your self pay, it is more expensive. BUT SO WORTH

gcmy, YOU are succeeding! And NOT gaining weight. People around here are all different in how they burn calories. That's why many are members of this great forum. There Diets didn't work in the past!
Keep it up and stay on track. YOU will get to YOUR GOAL!
Best wishes and Keep the Faith.

I feel like something is broken with me because I've not lost very much and it's been more than six months. However at my last appointment in which I was down only 2 pounds for the month of December I realized that is 2 pounds I never have to have again. It is slooooow but it is progress and I am better off than I ever was. This was still the right choice. I am glad for you that you found out what's going on and I hope you find the success you need. Hang in there!!!

I would be happy with 2 in December. That was a hard month for me. I didn't lose anything. Hang in there! The holidays are over and we an get back to our normal ways and watch the scale head south!

I hope I don't offend anyone, but my granddaughter see's many Drs and the only time she has trouble is when she see's a NP. I know there's good and bad in every profession, but when a NP continues to not see there is a problem, its time to insist on what my daughter calls "a real Dr".
Sorry this went on for so long, but glad you're seeing the surgeon now.

THANKS. I must say that through it all I have kept a pretty positive attitude, but looking forward to getting much closer to my goal.

THANKS. I must say that through it all I have kept a pretty positive attitude, but looking forward to getting much closer to my goal.

THANKS. I must say that through it all I have kept a pretty positive attitude, but looking forward to getting much closer to my goal.

I agree it is not a race to the finish line. You are learning and still taking care of you. Everyone's body is different. Obviously you know you CAN lose weight because you have. I would agree with insisting to see the surgeon and I am glad you are having restriction now. Keep following up with the physician and follow the guidelines for diet. You will get there. Be patient with yourself. You can do this!

I'm very sorry you're struggling. I'd be sad, too.
You said you're eating well. How many calories a day are you eating? Are you sticking to a cup or less of food per meal? Really the bottom line of weight loss is if you burn more calories than you consume, you'll lose weight. Looking at your eating habits is always the easiest place to start.
Best wishes to you.

Congratulations on your weight loss!!
I think we do obess with our weight and we do get a distorted view of our bodies at times. Even when I was 40 pounds lighter than I am now I can remember not being totally happy with my weight and still feeling the need to hide parts of my body. As I lose weight I tend to lose it in my waistline first - which I love! People lose weight in all different area-some lose from the top down first. If you are a size 14 and you were a size 18 you should be feeling amazing!! You need to get out the Spanx and buy a sexy new outfit to get your groove on! lol Get out of your funk girl-you are doing a great job!! Our bodies don't need to look perfect! Just think how happy your heart is that you aren't lugging around the extra 40 pounds!! The chart below is worth repeating-you lost a human leg!! lol
Your weight loss =
1 pound = a Guinea Pig
1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs
3 pounds = an average human brain
4 pounds = an ostrich egg
5 pounds = a Chihuahua
6 pounds = a human's skin
7.5 pounds = an average newborn
8 pounds = a human head
10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year
11 pounds = an average housecat
12 pounds = a Bald Eagle
15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs
16 pounds = a sperm whale's brain
20 pounds = an automobile tire
23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year
24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream
30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year
33 pounds = a cinder block
36 pounds = a mid-size microwave
40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of Water or an average human leg
44 pounds = an elephant's heart
50 pounds = a small bale of hay
55 pounds = a 5000 BTU air conditioner
60 pounds = an elephant's penis (yep, weights more than his heart!)
66 pounds = fats and oils an average American eats in a year
70 pounds = an Irish Setter
77 pounds = a gold brick
80 pounds = the World's Largest Ball of Tape
90 pounds = a newborn calf
100 pounds = a 2 month old horse
111 pounds = red meat an average American eats in a year
117 pounds = an average fashion model (and she's 5'11")
118 pounds = the complete Encyclopedia Britannica
120 pounds = amount of trash you throw away in a month
130 pounds = a newborn giraffe
138 pounds = potatoes an average American eats in a year
140 pounds = refined sugar an average American eats in a year
144 pounds = an average adult woman (and she's '4")
150 pounds = the complete Oxford English Dictionary
187 pounds = an average adult man
200 pounds = 2 Bloodhounds
235 pounds = Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 pounds = an average football lineman
400 pounds = a Welsh pony

Okay, my head is swimming here ... I must have misread something ... it has been 7weeks since your surgery and by my math (and, of course I could be wrong ... I was never a math whiz) you have lost at a rate of 2.57142857 (ok, I cheated ... I used a calculator) per week. AND, to top that off you are still healing! You are doing great! (So are you, Jennifer!)

This is lapband not gastric bypass, and, as a rule, you don't drop weight overnight. With the band it takes a minute -- but your numbers are FANTASTIC!!

You are doing better than the average. Please don't minimize your current success. If you minimize your success now, when you are actually doing so well ... what will happen when you hit a plateau? To be disappointed with what you have done for yourself at this point would be setting the scene for sabotage in the future. (All that crazy thinking about failure and stuff ... you don't want that, trust me.)

It sounds like you need to do a little more reading about the band to really understand how it works. You are doing great and if you keep up what you are doing now you will reach your goal in record time.

Be proud of yourself ... you too Jennifer. Great job!
~Fran

I cant tell you how much the lap band has changed my life!

Hi Darlene,
We were banded at the same time but I have been on mushies for 4 days and have also had a meatball, broiled fish, and today half a burger (no bun) my husband made on the grill with swiss cheese. I am also eating Soups, yogurt, and cottage cheese. so far so good no issues other than the fact after about 4 bites I am full. I am working on eating slower

I was on 1/4 cup at a time for several weeks post-op.

Oh I love these types of threads! I'm here from the "other side" to tell you that not only will the things you've listed happen but SO many more that you haven't even thought of or never thought could happen to you.
It's amazing!
best wishes to you! You're making a great decision! Yayyyyy

I am 4 weeks post-op today and had pictures taken of myself this morning (I also did the night before surgery) and WOW!! I don't feel like I had lost all that much weight or slimmed down that much, but seeing the pictures put me in a GREAT mood!! I would highly suggest everyone do the same to actually see the progress being made. :-)

Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be an excess of negativity on this forum lately. Personally I come in here for the support and commradarie that is offered, but if I was no banded yet I would be scared after reading the whining and complaining.
People say they didn't know about bring stuck or sliming or puking- well if u looked into it at all u would know
People complaining they aren't losing weight, but they are also not counting calories or watching what they eat AT ALL. even before you have a fill u have the ability to watch what u are eating and not gorge yourself.
If u hate ur band - FINE - but accept blame if u aren't working with ur band and don't blame everyone else

Crazy thing is...on 5/1/06 I joined a gym. Wasn't serious about losing weight at the time...it was more because a new gym was built in my city and it was the "in" place to go with my friends. Low and behold, I started losing weight...the more weight I lost, the more I was determined to lose. I counted calories...ate about 1,600 a day but wouldn't leave the gym until I burned 1,000-1,200 at least 4 days a week. In 18 months, I lost 113lbs through diet & excercise. Felt the best in my life....shopping was my thing. (I was always told I was the "pretty thick girl") but now I was simply just "pretty"....but I never needed ppl to define who I was or how I saw myself...so that didn't bother me....BUT WHAT REALLY BOTHERED ME WAS the comments and whispers about how I had secretly went and had WLS. Even some of my own friends who I started the gym with...would say "Come on, be honest...you really did have something done, right?". Nope...just hard work & determination.....but I couldn't keep that regimen up for the rest of my life. I kept the weight off for almost 2 full yrs.But in 2009, my trips to the gym went to about 2x a week...I expanded my diet and my waistline began to expand too.LOL Thankfully, I never to this day went back to my biggest downfall, reg soda...I switched every liqud I drank to No-Calorie. Unfortunately, my gym days went down to 2x a month...no longer burning calories in.SMH Heaviest weight..286 lbs....Lowest..173 lbs....As of 2/8/11-I got back up to 245 lbs. That was also my Lap Band surgery date...Today...I'm at 233 lbs. I SAY ALL THAT TO SAY THIS.....I COULD CARE LESS WHICH WAY THIS WEIGHT COMES OFF....I KNOW I AM HONEST ENOUGH WITH MYSELF TO KNOW IT'S HARD TO KEEP IT OFF. So now, I'm not going to be bothered with the comments that I secretly did thisor that. It's no secret...I am a bander. LOL A pretty sexy thick bander...and I'm taking care of me. (It bothered me before w/the comments because I worked my butt to the bone...sweating & discipline & giving up so much.) This is work also....I didn't really grasp how much sacrifice this would be. 5 days down....I'm proud to take charge of my weight again...this time with help. God bless all of us!!!!!!