armymom2012

Sorry I haven't updated lately. My son finally came back from Afganistan and between that, his wedding and my classes I have been swamped, but all is good.

I have lost 62# and I feel so much better than I have in a very long time. Believe it or not the hardest thing for me was this past weekend, I had a yard sale and finally sold all my old fat clothes, in between clothes and stuff I just held onto because of my years of fluctuating weight. I was always afraid to get rid of it, because I may have to get back into it one day and didn't realize it was just preventing me from getting serious about my weight loss.

But all the old is gone now and I have had a blast shopping for new clothes this past week. I even bought me a pair of skinny jeans:) Still trying to get used to wearing clothes that don't hide my shape, but it's getting so much easier now to embrace the new me. I still have around 30-35 # to lose but right now I am just enjoying the new me OH, and I even wore a dress at my sons wedding for the first time in 7 years since my own wedding. That felt awesome:) I'll update pics later when I get the chance.

I used Maderma after a C-section and you can't see my scar at all. I am now using it for lap band scars, so far it looks pretty good:)

I was thinking the same thing "Lose 100" Although it sucks when you go out to a nice dinner you have been looking forward to and you can't eat it. It has been a day to day thing lately, but I'm getting closer to my goal.

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Hello Mike Glad to see that you are doing this for your health. I started at 39 BMI, which many may think that isn't much, but 5 months later I am now 54# down and off of all my BP and cholesterol medications and I am no longer considered Pre Diabetic. That is also my biggest reason for having the surgery done. I would do it all over again. Stick with the forum and you will get a lot of great advice and ideas on how to stay on track from people who know what this is like. It is so easy to fall off the wagon from pure boredom with this type of diet routine if you can't find ways to keep it interesting. But if you do, get up and try it again. You have nothing but weight to lose:) Good Luck to You.

I have noticed that since it has been getting really hot this summer, that I can not eat the foods I normally can on a cooler day, especially towards the end of the day. One day, I can eat chicken fine, the next, I may get a bite or two down, then it gets stuck. I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the heat, but would like to hear if this has happened to anyone else. I really haven't had much of an issue with many types of food options so far, except bread and sometimes beef and my band is only at 5cc's.

I have Tricare Prime Insurance. There was no supervised program or waiting periond, but Tricare tends to be slow sending referals out and sifting through all the paperwork. From start to finish prior to surgery, It took them almost 5 months to get all the approvals, tests etc completed. I actually had to push them to get it done or I might still be waiting.lol

I didn't meet the BMI or weight requirements either, but because of atleast 2 co-mobilities, I was approved for surgery. I'm not sure what else besided Diabetes you have or if your insurance would take under consideration, but I was approved because I was Insuline resistant, high blood pressure/ cholesterol and joint issues. I had my surgery in January this year and have lost 50# so far, plus now I am off my cholesterol meds and one of my blood pressure meds. Wish you all the luck.

I usually don'y eat more than a cup per meal, but my doctor say that I should actually be at 2/3 to 3/4 cup per meal, not a full cup. That just seems like so little food, even for a Bariatric patient.

Thanks everyone. It has been 4 days since my fill and so far I can tell a bit of a difference. I have been able to wait around 4 hours until my next meal, instead of the usual 2-3hrs. "Honk", I understand what your saying and yes, I do choose healthier options. I haven't had anything fried since before my surgery, my daily diets cokes have been replaced by bottled Water and honestly I no longer crave it, which is a good thing:) But when I have no restrictions to my band, it makes it easier to eat more than what you are suppose to be able to eat. When I have a good fill, I get warning signs that tell me to stop. I know that we should be able to do that on our own, but sometimes you just need a little voice in the background to remind you not to go there. That voice so far has been partly my conscious and the other part my band. It's all a learning process I know, we didn't get to where we are by eating healthy and now we just have to learn to re-program ourselves to eat differently now, so we don't go back. And to be honest, it really is re-programming considering we grew up being tought about the 4 food groups. Now I eat my Protein first and if there is any room left I eat my veggies, no bread and we eve have to watch out on our fruit choices. We no longer go by the basic food groups, like others go by. That takes some time getting used to.

My friends that are skinny are amazed at what our portion sizes are supposed to be, Jen told me she even had a hard time wrapping that one around her brain.lol and she is 110# soaking wet and eats pretty much what she wants to. So when we go out for dinner together, it's usually Suchi night:) that way I don't get to watch her eat all my favorite foods I miss.lol

Good luck to you all.

Thanks you guys:)

Today I just had a small fill. For the last 3 weeks I have not lost any weight and have felt like I could eat just about anything. Hopefully this one will get me through the summer, because this needle thing has not yet gotten any easier. I'm such a big baby I guess.lol

I am so close to being at 50# loss, what a time to plateau out. hmmm .

I am just hoping for another 20 more before Sept 8 when my son gets married. Other than that, life is good

It took me until my 3rd fill to keep me from feeling the crave all the time. I am at 5cc's right now. Most of the time I am full for about 3-4 hours, just depends on how much Protein I get of the morning. Plus the heat outside seems to make my band feel tighter as well. Just portion your food out, eat your protein first and go from there. Unless I do that, it's really hard for me to know I am doing everything right and helps me determine if I need another fill or not. Good luck to you.

I agree with 2muchfun. If you force yourself to avoid certain types of foods because you are afraid of gaining, you will never truly understand the process and eventiually boredom will set in like it has for many of us here in the past. Isn't that why most of us failed at diets before surgery?

The only time I am forcing myself to stay on liquids or mushy's is right before and after a fill or maybe a day if I have a really bad stuck epasode. Other than that, I like food too much to give it up out of fear. So far with the right portions and excercise and good food choices I have lost 47 #'s in 4 months. This may not seem like alot to some, but we did not opt for Gastric Bypass which would have been faster. We chose a diet that requires us to make healthy choices, which means we have to work a little harder sometimes. Don't think for a second I haven't cheated along the way. It happens. You just have to move on and start again. Hope this helps put it into perspective.

Does your doctor have a Lap Band group meeting? Ours has a monthly meeting and a weekly weigh in. That is what helps me stay on track. It really holds me accountable for what I do each week and at the meetings, you hear from people who have had the band 5 years+ or those like myself that are pretty new at this. Their stories and support help me realize I am not alone and they also have great ideas for recipes. If yours doesn't offer it, try looking up another Bariatric group in your area and see if they will let you join. I know we have some in our group now that had the realize band and were not getting the attention from their docs that they needed and transfered over to our docs and group. I pay nothing. It's kinda like AA for over weight people Support from any means, I think is crucial to your sucess, regardless of where you get it from. But you also have to want it more than anything else as well.

Just the fact that I am able to get off my meds and buy new clothes feels awesome and my relationship with my husband is so much better, I have to admit, because I am a much happier person now. Good luck to you.

Up until this last fill, I was able to eat pretty much anything. Now I can't eat any bread without getting stuck. Most cuts of steak are too tough, except Filet Minon and Bob Evans Breakfast sirloin. I eat alot of salmon and other types of fish and chicken as long as it's really tender. Corn so far has not been an issue, thank goodness. I can also eat rice and Pasta where alot of people can not, so I guess over all I am pretty lucky. but I really do have to plan and portion my meals out or I will over eat at times. If the summer stays hot like it was last week though, that shouldn't be a problem. Seems as if the heat swells my band more, so I tend to slow down more and eat alot less, which for the most part is a good thing. Good luck to you:)

I asked the same question until about a month ago after my last fill:( I pretty much felt like there was something that got stuck in the pit of my chest and it made it hard for me to talk at times. I could not eat or drink anything and when I tried some Water, shortly there after it reminded me of the movie Hooch and Turner, when the dog slimed all over the floor.lol But then I felt fine after the slime went away.

I also found out this past weekend that when it gets really hot outside, my band might be swelling up more than usual as well. I couldn't eat even a couple bites of stuff that normally wouldn't bother me. After it cooled down this week, I was back to normal. Just remember, everone reacts in different ways, I had to listen to my body and how it reacted to certain foods and weather obviously:)

I take the Viactin multi - Vitamin with Calcium chewables in caramel flavor. Walmart or Meijers. Taste just like the candy I also take B12.< /p>

Excellent I just got into a 14 and I am stocked. Good job.

_{If you were a couple months out of surgery, I would say you would be ok, but everyones pain level is different. I went on vacation 2 months after surgery, no way could I hav done it right after. Now the pre-op diet time, might not be too bad. My problem was trying to find healthy option with real food when I went on vacation, but you can find easy liquid options everywhere. Good luck to you. Hopefully your family will understand and respect your decisions either way. In the end, you all will benefit from your choice to have surgery. My husband absolutely is loving the changes}

Malia247, I am also your age and started off January 25 of this year at the same weight as yourself. This is a big choice for anyone, but for myself I am absolutely glad I did it. My joints, blood pressure, high cholesterol and pre -diabetes is what was my deciding factor. Since then I have lost 47# in a little over 4 months. I am no longer taking my cholesterol meds and I have been taken off one of the two BP pills I was taking and it looks as of next week, she may be taking me off of that one to.YAY As far as taking Vitamins for the rest of your life, that should not be a deciding factor. As we get older, I have been told that regardless of surgery, vitamins are a good thing to help anyone, especially as we get older. It's not just an over weight thing. The only issue I have had with the band is neck and shoulder pain and at first, come to find out it was due to pinched nerves in my neck from laying weird in surgery, mor than likely. The band at first was a bit of a nuicence, but now I don't even notice it's there most of the time honestly. To be quite honest, I'm sure I could have lost more than 47 so far, but I have had a pinched nerve in my foot and neck that have slowed me down some, but I do still walk or hike a few days a week and hopefully here soon I can do more. But then again I feel really good right now about my loss and my joint pain is so much better. No regrets at all. As far as the band or the sleeve. I have been told their are way more restrictions with the sleeve. Not always a good thing. It should be more of a learning tool than force or you will fall right back into bad habits because it's to hard. It took about 3 fills to get me to where I am comfortable and when it is really hot outside my band seems to be more restrictive on it's own, but that are things that are different for everyone. You will learn to know your band, that was something that I didn't quite understand until just recently. Also, I have been told that San Diego has some of the best Lap Band surgions around, you will be in good hands and unlike my area where surgeons and info is kinda limited, my RN told me that when I recently went out there on vacation, I would have no problem finding a doctor who could help me if I had a problem with my band. That is really good to know.

Well good luck to you

I went to the ER, a week after surgery, because I was having really bad stomach and shoulder pains. Honestly, they really had no idea what to do for me, except do test after test. EKG, CAT scan, blood tests etc to rule out everday things. Luckily one of the RN's had band surgery and told me what probably was causing it and what she did, some worked others now I have learned is something totally unrelated. Good Luck, hope you get some help and feel better.

I have had painful neck and shoulder pain since my band surgery. I was told constantly it was due to gas during surgery or I was eating to much or too fast. After 4 months, I decided there had to be another reason behind it, because I was following the food rules, slow and small portions etc. with no relief. Actually it was getting worse and is now constant.

Yesterday, I went to my first therapy appt. and the doctor did his exam and said that the gas may have been part of the problem early on, but as I thought, it should have gone away by now.

The burning sensation I have in my neck is the same sensation I have had in my toes which is also pinched nerves. I am now going to the doctor 2 days a week for my neck, hopefully they can work the pinched nerves out soon.

So for those of you who can not get rid of the neck pain in a couple months, I would honestly get a second opinion, especially if you know you are following the lap band rules as I have been. He told me that sometimes in surgery, your head may lay at a bad angle and in your 20's may not make a huge difference, but now that I am in my 40's, your skeletal bones can't take on as much pressure as they did years ago, causing this problem as well as the thinning cushion between your structure that protects you unless it's worn down, like mine is apparently.

Just thought I would tell people this, because I feel like alot of us have been given the same execuse over and over, making us feel like we have done something wrong in our diets to cause this. Some situations it may be true, but it's still worth getting a second opinion, rather than constantly be in pain all the time.

I have a small one with Cherry Tomatoes, Red and Yellow ones, Onions and peppers. I have a Koi pond and flower garden to keep me busy. I'll post pics later.

I got a call from my doctor yesterday and my blood tests came back really good. I am now off of one blood pressure pill and my cholesterol medication as well. If my blood pressure stays within the 120's or less I get to stop the other one as well. It's amazing what 45# weight loss can do for your health. I should be ready for a marathon by next year.lol That is if my knees will cooperate.

Anyone ever been told to take fish oil? She did tell me to stop the Cholesterol pill and take daily fish oil instead. My husband pills are too big for me to swallow and when I cut it in half to put in my food It smelled like my husband tackle box. Ewwwww. Any suggestions?