Savannah26

Congrats on your decision to join the band wagon. I have BCBS and I had to also go through six consecutive months of medically supervised "failed" weight loss attempts. I didn't know about that until after I did everything else, then they denied my surgeon's first approval request. I was very upset as that delayed my surgery for 7 months, 6 months of doctors visits and another month of waiting to be approved. They have a policy which they can send you - think it's called something like "G15", which tells you ALL about their true requirements. Please call them and request the documentation now - plus if you miss ONE monthly visit, you have to start the six month process all over again. OK - now that is out of the way.... for me, this was the easiest, most painless surgery that I have EVER had. It was the best decision I have ever made for myself. Just remember to stay active in this forum - it has been instrumental going through the same process at the same time others are. Word of advice - act like you are banded now, during, and after the surgery. It is a tool and you will still have to make good, healthy food choices. If not, you will not lose weight as expected. At first, I was frowning upon only losing 1-2 lbs. per week - I wanted faster results. Now, I am thrilled if I lose that much per week. I have to remember all of the reasons I choose the band over the other invasive options even though they typically result in faster weight loss. Those also result in hair loss, lots of recovery time and other potential problems. No one knows that I had the surgery - it's been 4 months and people are noticing, which is AWESOME!!! It's my little secret. I love knowing that once I get to my goal weight, my lap band will help me stay there, providing I do my part. Good luck and congrats to all!!

BIG SV today - I lost 5 lbs. in 4 days!!! That's more than I have lost in the last MONTH! I did lots of yard/house work on Saturday, treadmill for a little while both days and have been tracking my food, keeping under my allowance everyday except one. It paid off - praying that it stays off! That put me at reaching my first goal, which was to lose 30 lbs. Also had a NSV today - a co-worker told me that I was really "slimming down and looking good". After last week, I really needed to hear that. I think I will go home and take my measurements - something I haven't done in 6 months. Hope this is the beginning of finally getting over the hump slump I have been in the last few months.

I struggle with the mental hunger - I think they should have banded my head instead - lol. One thing I have learned is that even though I want to eat something full of calories, I try to opt for a better choice. I get satisfied and forget about the head hunger for a while. Yesterday was one of those days where I wanted to eat everything in the house. When I went to the pantry and the refrigerator - guess what? There was nothing bad for me to snack on. So, I had an orange instead. Another thing that has helped me, although many frown upon it, is the use of OTC appetite suppressants. It actually helps me more mentally than physically. It is nice NOT thinking about wanting to eat all day long when I use them. I don't like taking pills and am not pushing my views, it just works for me, for now. Good Luck and keep us posted!

LOL - just copied and pasted my above comment and realized that the smiley faces appear just as the letter "J" - but you know what I mean!!

Meredith/Otaknam/JDI - J Thanks Ladies – appreciate you taking the time to reply. I am going to try the warm water to curb the urge to snack. I just called my doctor’s office and talked to the PA – she is awesome, and gave me a few things to try. Definitely need to recognize my old bad habits, such as eating when I am not even hungry. Basically I use the diet pills (actually they are appetite suppressants) to hush the head hunger – it works for me for now. WATER – yes, forgot to mention that – I only drink water and lots of it, so no issues there. I actually have minimized my intake and not drinking while eating has been really a struggle for me. Thanks for the Do’s and Don’ts – sometimes we need to remember this is a journey. Some of the long term banded patients that I have seen lately actually average between 1-2 lbs. a week. My goal is to be on the high end of that going forward. J Question – anyone from Georgia here? I would love to have a real life buddy that understands all of this. I haven’t told anyone except my daughter and cousin that I had surgery. Good since the weight loss is barely noticeable – Bad since I am not held accountable (by the masses) and can’t discuss this with anyone. Anyway, have a great weekend ladies!

True Confession Time – Honest Look at Myself I was banded on January 31, 2012. I have only lost 14 lbs. in the last 14 weeks – 1 lb. a week. I also lost 14 lbs. during my 2 week <mainly liquid> pre-op diet. So, a total of 28 lbs. roughly, although we all know that varies by ~3 lbs. usually. Honestly, I don’t follow all of the lap band rules, sometimes I cheat, I don’t log my food intake and although I am always busy and constantly on the go, I am not “exercising”. I do eat healthy most of the time, only drink water and never eat fast food. I feel great but am overweight at 221 lbs. (5’5” tall), size 14 pants, 2x tops. However, I am funny, happy, successful, driven, focused, energetic, full of life and always get what I seek out to gain. In addition, I have always been the type of person to push the limits. Admitting this, I have pushed the limits on what my band can do. This is exactly what I didn’t want to do. I have 9cc in an 11cc band – I’m going in for another fill in 10 days, probably 1cc (will be 10cc in an 11cc band), which means almost full!!! I know myself and apparently I am going to have to be <almost> physically unable to eat in order to be successful at this. After my last fill (2cc’s three weeks ago), I felt restriction at first, got stuck a few times, felt water backing up in my throat, had a hard time swallowing pills – and I loved it. I finally felt something – felt like I possibly had restriction. I know the band loosens when we lose weight – but I’m not really losing weight, but have lost the little bit of restriction I did feel. With all of that being said, I know I need to go back to basics. I have read many times over, the need to exercise and log your food intake – neither of which I have done. My normal day consists of Breakfast – 160 calories (Protein Drink/1 pc. String Cheese), Lunch – Salad and Vinaigrette dressing at a local restaurant, Dinner – Meat, Veggies. Most days I do not snack, however about one day a week I do. That’s my normal weekday schedule. The weekend’s consist of eating out every night with my friends/family. So, I decided to track my intake – finally. Yesterday, like clockwork, I went to lunch at the same local place, ordering the exact same thing as I do everyday - house salad (iceberg lettuce, 2 grape tomatoes, pinch of cheese and bacon) and water. They bring the salad with two small cups of dressing – all of which I use (don’t judge – lol). I requested the nutritional value of their fabulous homemade Vinaigrette dressing that I have literally four days a week. I was absolutely floored to find out that the total caloric count for those two little cups of dressing was 900 calories!!! Yes, 900 calories of dressing on my 30 calories of lettuce. I thought I was doing so good, eating a little salad and water every day. I updated my new food tracker with the correct information, which automatically pushed me WAY over my daily calorie allowance obviously. My little house salad had more calories than a full satisfying meal of meat and veggies. Immediately the light bulb went off – 900 calories over budget almost every day plus no exercise is THE exact reason I am not losing more than 1 lb. per week. I’m sorry, but I had to vent – felt like screaming as I have been sabotaging my efforts and am so disappointed that I am so far behind in losing weight in comparison to everyone else banded in January. Normally I am successful at everything I do – except this. Pity party for one – your table is ready. L Starting today, no more salads with fattening dressing, going to log every BLT (bite, lick, taste), started taking OTC diet pills, going to actually get on my new treadmill instead of looking at it and I registered for my free month of membership from my surgeon’s office for the hospital’s medical fitness program. Is anyone else in the same boat? I am looking for more advice (other than “just do it” – lol) and tips from everybody out there. Some of you have already lost 50 lbs – twice as much as me in the same period, and I am so happy for you all. <3 I really love this group and the support we all have for each other. Thanks for reading and any tips you have to offer.

Great advice! I already do #3, 4, and 5. I have had to wrap my mind around NOT ordering a huge meal and have started ordering appetizers, saying I'm not that hungry or that I had a big/late lunch, etc. I told my family that I am trying to eat healthier and lose weight - ALL TRUE! At a party this past weekend, my neice actually mentioned to other people there, that I was trying to eat healthier when I passed on some sweets. Since the lap band weight loss is so slow - it's easy to keep the secret. I have only told my daughter and my out of state cousin. I didn't want anyone to judge me or what I had on my plate. No one else knows and that is what I wanted - it works for me! By the way, after my last fill a week ago, I experienced my first painful stuck episode with bread at lunch with a friend. I felt bad, but I totally told a white lie, saying that my esophagus was narrow and sometimes I get choked or food gets stuck - this is a real problem that 2 other family members have and had to have surgery to help the problem, so I claimed that one too - lol. Again, it worked for me!

Happy Birthday Kymie!!!

..... continuation Today, Friday, I had lost ALL 3 lbs. in 3 days. I couldn't believe it. I also feel like I finally have "some" restriction and am feeling "satisfied" on less food, which is awesome. Excuse me, I meant to sing that... "AWESOME"!!!So, even though it's a net-net, I was thrilled to see the scale show 3 lbs. down. By the way, my birthday is July 26th. I'm thinking group goal time for everyone's birthday's.

Hey Horsegirl I weighed in at 221 today also! You have lost much more weight than I have though and I am so proud of you. Perhaps we can move forward from this point and keep each other on track. I have been such a slow loser up until now, however, I did have some bad news / good news to share.... Memorial Day weekend consisted of 3 parties, one at my house, tons of awesome food, and I gained 3 lbs. by Tuesday morning. Today, Friday, I had lost ALL 3 lbs. in

I love it!!!! I'm restricted and I know it!! lol

I only told my daughter and my <out of state> cousin, whom I do not keep any secrets from. No one else in my world knows. I am very happy with my decision to keep this private, especially since this is a VERY slow weight loss journey and didn't want to constantly be judged by anyone regarding what is on my plate or if I didn't live up to their rapid weight loss expectations. Two of my friends have confided in me about WLS for themselves, so I am most likely going to share my story with them in confidence, of course. It is a very personal thing - good luck in your decision. To share or not to share - that is the question!

The plunger my doctor uses only holds 5cc’s so I don’t think it would be possible to pull more than that out with that needle. I doctor only aspirates about 2cc’s more than he puts in. I love watching the video <proof> of each fill. J

Chrissy, JustDoIt, NJ2NC - Yes - I have had a hard time not drinking water with my meals, but lately have been much, much better. I know I need to exercise more, but I always have an excuse such as getting home so late. I am very active, always going and doing something, but that doesn't equate to actually working out - lol. Starting tonight - I am back on the wagon and my new thought will be.... BIDIA!!! Yes - I am here to stay and have made a goal to check in and at least read posts everyday. This is truly the best monthly bandsters group by far! Seriously, I peeked into the February bandsters since I had my surgery literally on the last day of January and felt like I could be on the cusp, but this group is awesome, so I plan to stay and play. One more thing - had my fill yesterday, had soup for dinner, was satisfied.... very nice feeling. I've been able to eat everything and swallow horse pills up until this point, which was disappointing to me that everything could get through my band with no problem. However, I tried to swallow some pills today and was so excited that the big one got stuck and hurt for a few minutes - I have so been looking forward to getting stuck so I know my band is working!!! That also gave me the mental check that I needed to NOT push anymore and to actually listen to my band. It feels like I might have good restriction for the first time ever. I am just as excited as I was the day I got banded. Doing the happy dance to "I'm Sexy and I Know it" but singing "I'm Restricted I Know it" in my head - lol.

Thanks Chrissy. Also, I think you were the one talking about the aspirating fills recently. I always video record my fills and double check my doctor, to confirm he actually gave me the full amount - lol. Thanks for the encouragement - hoping to see the scale start moving in the right direction. I have only been losing 1 lbs. per week on an average since surgery - so demotivating!! I will definitely step up the exercise and do the protein first - gotta get back to basics! Have a great day everyone!

Hello Fellow January Bandsters! I have been silently watching everyone's posts and progress and chiming in once in a blue moon. I was banded on the January 31st and have only lost less than 15 lbs. since surgery. That is the real reason I haven't been posting - I'm embarassed that I am such a slow loser. I lost almost that much on the liquid diet two weeks prior to surgery, than I have in the last 3+ months. Although the total lost is around ~28 lbs., I keep beating myself up since I only average 1 lb. loss per week. I went in today for my 3rd fill. My doctor said that I am definitely one of those patients that will most likely have to be near full capacity to achieve the green zone status. With that being said, I now have 9cc in my 11cc band. He put in 5cc in March, 2cc in April, and 2cc today. I did tell my doctor that "I love you man!" - lol. I am so glad that he will do what I ask, but gives me fair warning that it could backfire (ie. get sick, throw up, need unfilled, etc.). I have always been such a slow eater. I truly pulvarize my food before swallowing - always have. My doctor loves that since it is great for the lapband. However, the food has been going through the band and not staying in the pouch very long. Therefore, I rarely ever get the feeling of being satisfied and unfortunately can eat anything and everything I want. I feel my portions are definitely not typical for a banded person. I am hoping and praying that with this fill and my lapband being at 82% capacity, that I will finally be unable to eat more than a small portion of anything going forward. I am truly looking forward to NOT being able to eat - lol. Who would have thought that? My hospital discontinued their bariatric support group literally a few months before my surgery due to the group leader moving. Therefore, there is no local support that I can find (north Georgia). In addition, I haven't told anyone that I even had surgery except my daughter and <out of state> cousin - neither of which truly understand. So, I've been on my own in this journey and not feeling successful as a result. I definitely need the support of all of you wonderful people. Thanks for reading - will try to be more active and accountable going forward. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Yes - they do. My doctor always aspirates a few cc's to be sure he is in the port, then pushes it all back in. I have my 3rd fill Monday - can't wait. I have 7cc in an 11cc band and NO restriction - sigh. I am barely losing any weight, which is very upsetting, although my jeans and rings are loose. I'm going to ask for 1.5cc's on Monday - that will put me at 8.5cc and hopefully get me to the green zone! Good luck girl.

Thanks for the tip - we need to learn from others experiences. I am loosing only about 5 lbs. a month (banded Jan 31, 2012). I lost more the month before surgery - 15 lbs. Trying so hard to stay motivated - I just want to lose 2 lbs. per week!!

I was stuck at 225 for over a month - then finally this week the scale started moving. I'm finally at 222 now - hope the weight loss continues!

That would be great - sign me up! :wub:

Great Question - I was banded almost 3 months ago. The IV fluids from surgery added another 4 lbs. That put me at 235 post surgery. I am now at 222. So, a total of 13 lbs. in 3 months / 4.33 lbs. a month. I'm a SLOW loser and don't have restriction yet. Still in bandster hell - meaning we have the lap band, but it's not quiet doing it's job until you get to the green zone and feel restriction. This can take several fills over the first several months. My recommendation is NOT to waste those first few months - stay on a very controlled diet, eat healthy, get used to a new lifestyle, so you will lose weight during that period also. I have friends on LBT that have lost 30 lbs. already as a result, since their surgery the same month as mine (January 2012). I have lost inches too and my clothes are getting much loser, which is also a great motivator. Pebbles - yes, I do believe starting weight has alot to do with the amount you lose in any timeframe. The more you need to lose, the more you do, in the beginning at least. Good luck to all of us!

Bandster Hell – (from my understanding and living it): Usually represents the period from surgery until you feel actual restriction. It usually takes many fills depending on the person. This also can take many months, depending on how aggressive your doctor is. I am one of those people that will most likely have to have the band nearly closed before I feel restriction. I have 7cc in my 11cc band currently and can still eat the same way I did before the band. The good thing is that I am definitely getting plenty of time to get used to having the band and adjusting to what my new life will be like. So, being pre-banded, don’t worry about never getting to eat or enjoy food again – I do that every day (unfortunately). That would be where the bad part comes in – since I can eat and am not getting the satisfied feeling, I have only lost 10 lbs. since surgery 2 ½ months ago. So, it’s the frustration of having a tool that just isn’t quite working for you yet. Everyone says to have patience – umm, I’ve never had patience so this is difficult. My expectations were that I would lost weight much faster as I see others have done. At times, I even doubted that I actually had a lap band and/or thought it couldn’t possibly be positioned correctly. I even had an x-ray done so I could see for myself that I do have a band – lol. I get my next fill in 3 weeks and I am hoping that #3 will work like a charm. Going to try to get the maximum fill my doctor will allow to push me to the green zone quicker. Keeping my fingers crossed. Take care and continue your research – it helps when going through these things.

That is awesome!! I was banded Jan. 31st - lost a total of 25 lbs. so far, but hit a plateau for the last month and it's due to bandster hell, I know. I can't wait to get to bandster heaven and see the same success. I would be on cloud 9 if I lost 92 lbs. in a year - you go girl!!