Alexandra

Congratulations, La_Madam!! 34, wow, what a teeny, tiny number. But I know exactly how you feel. I did the same thing recently with a pair of my husband's 40-inch Dockers. Unbelievable--in high school I was wearing 44s.

Sherri, if you're just now moving on to solid foods my thinking is that it's too soon for a fill. Your esophagus is still getting used to the added pressure and if you haven't fully transitioned to solids getting a fill will just make it more difficult. Most doctors won't even consider giving a fill until 6 weeks post-op and until the patient is eating solid foods with ease. If you're feeling any difficulty swallowing it seems to me that a fill would be premature.

Me three! I literally cannot find one of my scars, though I have a general idea where it should be. Two others are virtually invisible. The port scar gets harder to find all the time. As scars go, these are NOTHING to worry about.

Hi Iris, I'm a moderator of the site. Feel free to PM me whatever your thoughts are and we'll take it to the owner for his feedback. Nice to have you here!

Try really sticking to the protein-first routine during these hard times. Protein absolutely sticks with you longer and will help you get through the hungries more easily. And yeah, the 22nd is right around the corner!

EVERYONE else has this problem, Patty. It is absolutely the most common complaint of bandsters, that before their first fill they don't feel like they're banded at all. So yes, you are normal. No, you are not alone. And NO, you are NOT a failure!!! You have not even begun your real banded life yet, so you can't possibly be a failure. Come back and let us know how the fill goes!

RQ has a great suggestion, Desertmom. It really is hard, very hard to know how much is really enough, especially if you're one of those people who gets the "enough" signal only after those two or three more bites than was necessary. I'm one of those people too, and it's been the biggest challenge. Taking less food on your plate is a great way to start. Then really pay attention to the subtle cues your body/band is giving you that you are near the end of your meal. Do you have to take a deep breath at some point? Like a sigh, almost? Or do you yawn or hiccup? These are the "soft stop" cues that some people get--with me it's the deep breath. When that happens I just push my plate aside and resolve to wait five minutes. If I have to get up from the table and walk away, I do that. Often I'll go to the bathroom, or to get the mail, or some other little errand that has been waiting. More often than not when I get back I'm able to leave the rest of the meal there. Or maybe I'll take only one more bite. The idea is to really put your observational skills to work and try to find out how your band sends you the signal that you have had enough and your pouch is full--BEFORE you take too many more bites and over-fill it. If you do that, of course, you'll know it the hard way.

Congratulations on your banding, Lindsay, and good luck with everything! We look forward to hearing more from you.

Hi Flower, Congratulations on your banding! The first rule is always follow your doctor's instructions and THEN listen to your body. Back when I was banded my doctor only had people stay on liquids for four or five days, after which we could go to mushies if we were up to it. I tried something on the 5th day and just knew I wasn't ready. So that gave me a reason to take it slow, and when I was ready I knew it. So that's really what it's about. Right now the thought of solid food might really be intimidating considering how sensitive your esophagus, pouch and stoma are. But in a couple of weeks when it's time to start solids, you won't be feeling that way anymore. Just take it slow. If anything hurts or feels uncomfortable, put it down. It's not a race. The healing period is up to six weeks long, so if you feel like putting off solid foods until then there's no downside to doing so. Chances are rather that you'll be hungry by then and itching to get your first fill, so you'll want to be on solids before that. (Your first fill won't be given unless you have already transitioned fully to solid foods and know how much or little restriction you have.)

She's stunning, Paula, and so are you! How old is she? And how did the recital go?

Hamu, all I can say is been there, done that. I have several of those t-shirts. Look, it won't kill you and even if you DO gain 5 pounds those pounds will come right back off. Ice cream is God's gift to humans and once in a while we just have to indulge! If it really feels bad to you, just try to remember how you feel right now the next time it calls your name. And you already know that having it in the freezer isn't a good idea for you, so.... (you know what to do). Look at this this way: banded you had three bowls of ice cream FOR dinner. Pre-band you might have had three bowls of ice cream AND dinner! You're way ahead of the game, right?

Hi MagnoliaMiss! Welcome to LBT and welcome to bandlandia!! :D

Congratulations Tracy, and welcome to Bandland!!

Bittersweet, indeed. But you're giving your aunt a lovely memory to take home with her and as such, being the best niece anyone could be. Peace to you and your whole family this weekend.

Oh my goodness, Donali, what an alarming story! Here's hoping she recovers quickly and fully. All our thoughts are with her.

Trish, this is what you have to look forward to! I used to say I'd never, ever, ever move to a warm climate because I couldn't stand that misery all year long. Now I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe, there's a little Southern California in my future. Yeah, I do, a lot of the time. I have a collection of black cardigans now, in a range of sizes. The one hanging on the back of my chair at the moment is a size 14!

All these "I'm discouraged" threads are even discouraging me! Let's hear from people who are now doing well with their bands but who may have had a hard time of it at some point. Did you have a really hard time sticking to liquids? Did you think you could out-eat a football player when your appetite returned? Did you feel like a total failure when you had one, two, three fills and still couldn't feel a difference? Let's hear from you if any of the above scenarios sounds familiar but NOW you're rockin' and rollin' along with decent restriction and good weight loss. Let's hear how temporary the "problems" are and how you look back on them now. For me, I can't really say I ever had any of those "I'm a failure" moments. I mean, I experienced all of the above phenomena--I'm human and a normal bandster--but my mind-set simply didn't see any of those as failures. I ALWAYS looked at the band as a long-term process rather than an event after which everything would be peaches and cream, so having things happen in slow motion is exactly what I expected. It's what I wanted, why I chose the band in the first place. But I know a lot of people have different expectations, so I thought it would be helpful to hear from folks who have come through those short-term disappointments and frustrations and seen the light on the other side. So, share!

Nykee, we're thinking about you. How are you doing? I hope things have resolved somewhat by now. Fingers crossed!!

Congratulations on your goal met!! Darcey, I hear you about the fickleness but I've learned to appreciate it. The days when, for whatever reason, I can't eat much are sort of like gifts. Most of the time I should be trying harder to avoid extra calories, so days like these make that effort easier and I very much like them. Have a great time at the graduation, and send him our congratulations as well!!

Wow, this summer weather is a total revelation for me. We all talk about being colder than we were, and indeed I am. The air conditioning in my office verges on uncomfortable for me when other people are reveling in it. But what's really amazing is that I walk out into the 90-degree day and all I think is how nice it feels! I'm not sweating, panting, fainting, complaining, or doing any of the other things summer weather used to make me do. Wow. I love it, and now I can love summer just like "normal" people do. :banana

DeLarla is right that in certain circles you may hear more about infections than in others. My experience is informed by the encounters I have with patients of the same surgical practice I used, a very good one with loads of experience at one of the best hospitals for bariatric surgery in the Northeast. However, of course there are risks with anything. Just keep a VERY close eye on your incisions and if there are any signs of infection don't wait, get it treated immediately.

Oh my god, how tragic this story is. Did you read up a ways where she copied and pasted an article about the risks? Unreal. My heart just breaks thinking of her and her 4-y.o. boy who I know would rather have had a fat but healthy mom than this wreck of a skinny mini. My thoughts and hopes go out to them for peace and a good resolution.

What they said. If you had surgery just to "give up" after a short time, well, why did you have surgery? This is a lifelong journey and you have only just started. After another couple of adjustments you'll look back and say, OH! That's what it's all about. You're NOT giving up!!

Flower, the VAST majority of people do not get port or other infections. You only hear about the ones who do but for every one who does there are countless others who do not, and who don't post about NOT getting infections. In my encounters with fellow bandsters at support group meetings the issue of port infection comes up only very rarely. If your doctor is competent and you care for the wound well, I think it's very unlikely you'll get an infection.

I agree with Sue. The only thing Tricare needs to hear now is that the band IS as safe and effective as RNY. Don Mills can probably help you with this; I'm sure there are more recent studies available that can support your contention that the band is safer and as effective for RNY for you. Good luck!!