bmmb2009

I have had pcos for over 15 years. I have lost 85 lbs since being banded 15 months ago. I will say that I've had to work a lot harder in the gym now that I'm so close to goal but I don't think that's solely Pcos. I think the weight comes off slower the closer you are to goal. I had a ton of hair loss in the beginning but it was never noticeable to others. I've been taking biotin for the last 6 months and its helped tremendously.

I lost a ton of hair. Thankfully it wasn't noticeable to anyone else. Make sure to get your protein in. I started taking biotin a few months ago and have had major improvements.

Thanks for the tip with the pop! I would have never thought of that. I can eat everything except Chinese takeout.. .that's the only food that I get stuck on and not sure why. I can make Chinese at home and be fine but for some strange reason cannot eat takeout. I suppose that's not such a bad thing though

I agree with everything the previous poster said! I too use mfp and its such a great tool. I was banded 10/4/11 and am down 64lbs. Lots of hard work and exercise is a must. I got by the first couple of months with little exercise but then I stalled and knew I had to get a routine exercise plan in place. I've never in my life run before I couldn't even chase my 3 year old around last summer and now I'm running around 45 minutes every night. Getting banded was the best thing I've ever done for myself but it is only a tool. You still have to put in the work. Good luck to you!!!

I to have Pcos...no meds to manage. I'm 6 months banded as of the 4th and am down 47lbs.

You are only 5 days out!! You are still in the very early stages of healing. I didn't start losing weight until a good 6-8 weeks out. At 5 days you probably still have a lot of bloating/swelling from the surgery...at least I did. It takes time and you need to be patient.

I love the minis!! Found them at Sam's Club last week.

Breakfast - 1/2 slice whole wheat toast, 1 bite of bacon and 3 bites of scrambled eggs. Lunch - 1 1/2 tablespoons of chicken salad from Sam's Club on the new mini sandwich thins and raw natural almonds Dinner - 2 buffalo wings and grapefruit. Snack: decaf coffee

Totally normal! I was the same way...you would have thought I was pregnant again...my emotions were sooo out of control. It gets better, you can do it! Just keep thinking about the outcome, it's so worth it. I think I was better around the 7 day mark.

My goal is just to be at a normal and healthy weight no matter what the number on the scale is. I really don't have a goal weight yet. Heart disease is huge in my family and my number one reason for getting banded. Even normal weight and otherwise healthy family members suffer from heart disease and a few have passed away at very young ages (40s) from it...it's something that I know I will have at some point in my life and I refuse to be overweight while dealing with it. My other reason for getting it was because I'm a young single mom to a 3 year old and I'll be damned if I'm going to leave this world early because of my weight. I have to be here and want to be here for him as long as possible. Of course not having to shop in plus size and being in 'onederland' is a plus but not my reasons for being banded.

Everyone is different, you will need to talk to your surgeon. My friend and I have the same doctor, she got to go home the same day and I had to stay overnight. I didn't have any complications so I'm not sure why I had to stay and she didn't. I was absolutely fine with staying though, I was not ready to go home and take care of myself immediately afterwards.

I just had my 3rd fill this week, my doc usually won't tell me how much I have either but did say she put 1cc in this time, I don't remember how many cc's that gives me. I've got to say that I can finally feel restriction and it feels great...this is what I've been waiting for for 4 months since surgery! I had a salad from Subway today and could probably get 3 or 4 meals out it. Last week, I ate the entire thing no problem. I've had the hiccups all day after eating each meal which I never had before. It sounds like it's a sign from eating too much...I'm still learning. But if this is what true restriction is then it's a wonderful thing and I'm soo excited to see the weight start coming off. Good luck to you on Monday!!! Let us know how it goes!!

I was banded on 10/4/11 and have my 4th fill on on Thursday. I too am hungry within 2 hours of eating. My 3rd fill was 4 weeks ago and did nothing for me. I've been eating 5-6 small meals this month and have lost 8lbs as of this past Saturday. I have some restriction with what I can/can't eat but don't have any restriction in the amount of food I can eat. It feels like I don't have the band most days and I'm just on another one of my many failed diets. I'm hoping the fill this week will help limit the amount of food I can eat at one time but the small meals/snacks throughout the day have definitely helped this month so I'll probably continue to do this even though my dr doesn't like it.

Yes to popcorn and nuts but no gum for me. Gum gives me horrible stomach aches within minutes.

I didn't experience any pain with my surgery but the doc warned me about the neck and shoulder pain. He gave me an exercise to do if I did get the pain...get on your knees and extend your arms on the floor as far as you can go so your upper half of the your body is basically touching the floor and stay in that position for several minutes at a time while doing deep breaths. Thankfully I didn't need to do this but I have a banded friend who did need to and she said it helped take the edge off and make the pain more bearable. Hope you start feeling better soon!

Yay for you!! Keep up the awesome work!

I too only told a handful of people...my parents, bestie and 2 others. No one else in my family or any other friends know about it...unless one of the 5 above told them. Last week, my boss told me that I looked nice and had lost a lot of weight and asked what I was doing. I told him I was eating right and going to the gym...it's not a lie. I don't feel the need to tell him or anyone else that I'm banded and don't feel that I'm lying by not telling them. I do eat right and I do go to the gym and that's all they need to know.

Well if we're being honest...I absolutely hate them and have cried both times. I have another fill in 2 weeks and am already dreading it. I suppose I should mention that I cannot stand the sight of needles and don't like getting vaccines, blood drawn, etc. The needle is probably 4-5" long and I can feel it going in and when my doc pulls it out, it takes my skin with it...I can literally feel my skin lifting with the needle. Grosses me out. I'm usually sore for a day or 2 afterwards and then absolutely fine. It sounds like I'm the odd duck...I've read other posts and most people don't mind them at all and I have a couple of banded friends who think I'm weird. My doc said after another couple of fills they won't bother me at all...I'm not so sure about that. But the pain and uncomfortableness that comes with fills is 100% worth it to me. Good luck to you!

I've never had a bruise but the area is usually sore for a good day or two afterwards. Nothing uncomfortable...just tender.

I'm a beer girl all the way, I like an occasional glass of wine but otherwise it's beer only. The band has seriously affected how much alcohol I can handle. Pre band, easily a 6 pack without thinking. Went out this past Thursday and I was tipsy after 1/2 a beer. It was actually shocking and almost embarrassing to myself. I didn't do anything to embarrass myself I was just very shocked that I felt the way I did after 1/2 of one. I'm not complaining...guess I'll be saving money on my nights out. Has anyone else's limits been affected like this after the band? I expected not to be able to handle a much but i certainly wasn't expecting to be drunk off of 1. I had dinner before going out so I wasn't drinking on an empty stomach. I went out last month and my limit was 2 beers. The only thing I could think of was that I had a fill on the 3rd...would that do anything??

My doctor doesn't like to tell my how much I have in my band because she said it's just a number and everyone is completely different. After some prodding she told my that I have 3cc's but 'gently' reminded me that it's just a number and not to be comparing it with what others have. Everyone is different and like others have said, this is your band, your journey and your life....

My 1st fill was 6 weeks out then 2nd fill another 6 weeks out. My 2nd was on 1/03 and I have my 3rd on 1/31. Doc told me I could come in every 4 weeks now until I'm in the green zone.

I went in only considering the band and my doctor asked me to research and consider gastric as well. When I inquired about it he said they are both great and was confident I would do well with both but said to consider gastric because of my young age (i'm 29). He said the band is a foreign object in my body and beings as I have such a long life to live they don't know what the band will do to someone's body 40 or 50 years from now and talked about erosion, etc. He mentioned a few other things that I don't recall but the main thing was that there's not enough studies on how it will effect someone over a long period of time. I was not at all comfortable with gastric, way to invasive for me. I left his office agreeing to attend a seminar on gastric. I went to the seminar and left still wanting the band. I was banded 10/04/11 and so far have been very happy with it. No problems at all other than what I knew to expect like being stuck. Which has only happened because i tried to eat something I knew I shouldn't have or too to big of a bite.

I wasn't given a choice in my band...I have 10cc Realize.

I don't usually have problems with them, I was banded in October. I can eat bread as long as there's something on it, like a sandwich, pizza, english muffin with pb, etc. I took one bite of an Olive Garden breadstick and was instantly stuck a couple of weeks ago. This week I had a kids size sub from Subway and no problems. The only time I really have problems if I try to just eat carbs plain...like the breadstick, french fries, bagel, etc. I have been a carb addict my entire life, but since having the band I don't crave them anymore. Oh...and I get stuck on baked potatoes every time no matter how small of bite I take but I can eat mashed no problem. It's weird and such a learning game. Something will be fine one day and the next it gives me problems. Good luck to you!