phatkatblue

I was banded the same day as u...hmu!!!

I was banded on 2-15-12...had 1cc in at surgery and 2 more added at my first fill last Friday...feeling great:)

Howdy Februbandsters!
There are so many comments it's hard to keep up! Hope everyone is doing well! I got my first fill yesterday so I feel all official now:) I am loving my band and the hubby is too! As of today I'm down 20lbs since surgery and 28lbs including the pre-op diet...I feel so much better physically and I am no longer on medications for my diabetes!!!

I was banded on 2-15 and am also waiting for my first fill (come on Friday)! Don't be mad at yourself this is the early stages of our journey and it will get better...I too have a sweet tooth and have found a nice little Protein Shake that tastes like strawberry quick when I'm feeling weak...I have also been taking in more fluids to tame that head hunger and stepping up the exercise...the weight loss will happen:)

Howdy Februbandsters!
There are so many comments it's hard to keep up! Hope everyone is doing well! I got my first fill yesterday so I feel all official now:) I am loving my band and the hubby is too! As of today I'm down 20lbs since surgery and 28lbs including the pre-op diet...I feel so much better physically and I am no longer on medications for my diabetes!!!

Finally after eight very long months my surgery day came and left. Everything went great.. Had a hiatl (sp) hernia fixed as well.. The only thing I really have to complain about is the shoulder pain.. But.. Ten hours in and I'm so glad I did this!! Looking forward to a healthier me!!

Wanted to let everyone know surgery went well. It was exactly like I fell asleep and woke up banded. More pain in recovery than I expected due to the trapped air. Good news is its already starting to resolve and I am still sore but I can tell that is getting better as well. The doctor said he had to repair a small hernia also so that may be the cause of the added pain. I consider myself a strong person and Im just gonna take it one day at the time. Thanks everyone for your thoughts!!

I had posted the same thing not long ago. I am four weeks out and it is much better than it was. Everyone has an opinion as to what causes it. I blame it on rebellion. Just my insides protesting the lack of food and then what is there is something healthier than what its used to being fed!

under 200!!!! yesyesyes!!!

Thanks everyone! As a treat I bought myself two dresses from NY&Co. and a new strapless bra that I've been needing for a while. Let me tell you, I must have looked like a deer in headlights when I walked in to Victoria's Secret...I have never shopped there before! Other than spending over 50 bucks on one bra, it was a great feeling!

Congrats on your hard work and success:)

It is a terrible term and it should be outlawed.
What it means is that you can eat a smaller portion of food than previously and that should satisfy you for a number of hours afterwards.
It does not mean that you will stop wanting chocolate and suddenly start craving lettuce.
It does not mean that you will eat 3 spoons and not be hungry again until your next meal.
It does not mean that you won't ever have head hunger again.
What you should be aiming for is to eat the recommended portion of the type of foods that you have been told to eat by your Dr. You need to eat slowly, chew well and wait between bites.You need to be aware of your body signalling that it has had enough and these signals can be different for everyone.
Some may hiccup, sneeze, have a pain in their shoulder..................
Some people find that they are no longer able to eat certain foods but this is not the aim. In fact the more restricted you are the harder it becomes to eat healthy foods and the easier it is to eat soft/slider foods.
If you are hungry a couple of hours later then eat a small healthy snack. Most bandsters are not able to eat 3 small meals a day with no Snacks even if that is what a lot of us were initially led to believe would happen.
HTH

Wow! That is wonderful...I wondered about this...

I got my band Sept 2010. I was approx 398lbs. Now about a year and a half later I am 330lbs. Many would consider this a failure, but I actually feel my surgery was a success. Here is why:
I have much more energy than I did before
If I had not had the surgery I would be either or very close to being significanly immobile
I would most likely weigh well into the 400's as my pattern was gaining about 20 a year and then 50-60 when my life was stressful. I got fired from my job in December 2010 and that would have sent me into a food tail spin
It is easier for me to get clothes and even shoes as my feet have gone from a 9extra wide to an 8.5 wide or even regular depending on the type of shoe
I started on my way to becoming scuba certified
I flew for the first time in a decade and was not mortified
I fit into my car and no longer have my side bitten by my seat belt or my gut being pretty much at my steering wheel
My doctor found an abdominal hernia which is going to be fixed, this could have been life threatening if it was not found or if my weight continued to increase
My menstrual cycle has normalized and I have been given the thumbs up to have kids and will have more luck as my weight loss has helped my PCOS
Of course I would love to lose more. My goal is to get into a jacket I used to wear in college. It is not even close to fitting, but I can zip it up now (with much stuffing and difficulty). I have bought a bunch of skinny clothes that I have had to pack away, but I also have lots of fat clothes I have had to pack away. I will be bummed if I cannot get into the smaller clothing but even more bummed if I have to go back to the bigger clothing.I have talked to my doctor and he tells me the same things as he told me at the beginning and he also continues to encourage me to make better choices. I have only had one fill and he would not do more because I am still having good restriction and to make the band smaller will not stop me from eating the crap I should not be.
If I do not lose any more I am still successful, even if I gain it all back, I will consider the surgery a success because I have had over a year to live a fuller life than I would have other wise.

I hope you feel better soon:) I took a month off work! Just running errands has had me pooped on some days...

So very happy! Just had WI and I lost another 4.5lbs to bring my grand total to 98 lbs lost! This is the best thing that I ever did for myself! Come on 100!!!!!!!!

i have also felt that way so you are not alone...measuring your progress and success against others is dangerous and self defeating...hang in there...remember your purpose and Celebrate each success even if it's a half pound, walking an extra 5 minutes, completing an extra set of bicep curls, or making a better food choice:) best of luck to you!

This WAS me:

(on my way into surgery @ 371lbs and miserable! I forgot I even had this picture until my husband sent it to me the other day.)
This IS me today:

(not the best picture but it is today in my office @ 246lbs!)
Today is my 1 year bandiversary. I am down 125lbs. I feel amazing. I am still working hard and have become an exercise fanatic. I want to lose another 50-70lbs to get to my goal and while it is not coming off as fast as it was I am positive I will get there.
I am so proud of myself. It has been an emotional, difficult and amazing journey. I still learn new things on a daily basis with my band. I have been kind of at a plateau the last month or so but I know that is because of some poor food choices I have been making and eating out a lot. This is my life now. The one thing the band has given me that no other diet (WW, Jenny Craig, diet pills, etc.) has ever given me is the ability to start each day brand new. Since my band I know when I make bad choices one day I start new the next. I know when the scale slows that I have to change up my routine (exercise and eating). I will get to my goal, slowly but surely.
This forum has been a lifesaver for me. Anytime I am feeling down, hungry, mad, sick or in need of a swift kick in the ass I come here. I reach out to all of you and I am never disappointed. I know there is always someone who has been where I am and has gotten through it. It has truly made all of the difference. So to all of you that come here and lend support and take the time to answer questions, I say THANK YOU! You have played a huge part in my success!
WOOHOO!! I made it through the first year, if I can do it, you can do it. Good Luck!!

I have a friend who is a lot like you. She got banded when she saw the success I had. But when she and I go out together, I pretty much know why, one year on, she hasn't lost any weight.
We get to a restaurant. I order a salmon and some arancini (I don't avoid carbs) and I'll eat 1/2 of the salmon and 2 pieces of arancini. She'll eat 1/3 of the salmon and nothing else. Then we walk out of the restaurant and she'll stop and buy truffles. Then 10 mins later, she'll get an ice cream cone. She saves her 'band space' for sweets. Then wonders why she isn't losing. She exercises every day but will eat a bag of chips after her 'dinner' of steamed vegetables every night. What is in one bag of chips is equal to your entire calorie intake for the WHOLE DAY. No wonder she isn't losing.
So only you can answer this: if you could only eat a small amount, would you use that small amount to eat the sweets and candy that you shouldn't? Coz the band will control your physical hunger but it will never control your head hunger.
Lots of people fail with the band because you can eat around it. Do you want to be one of those people?

I was banded feb 15, 2011 and down 86 pounds! Good luck to all of you dont get disappointed if your loss is slow (turtle like if you will) at first! I know my first 3-4 months were torturous but I stuck with the plan and see my doctor every 6 weeks and I've been very successful and you will be too.!!!

I was just banded on 2/21 so I understand that it is very soon but I wanted to get some feedback from long time banders. I find that this whole process is totally consuming my thoughts. Before surgery it was with thoughts of how I would do things after and all kinds of "what if's". Now that I am banded I think constantly about my food/drink intake for the day, what I can put in my mouth and what I can't, am I getting enough Protein, and on and on. I'm sure this is normal at my "stage in the game", but my question is: Does this continue or are you able to eventually move to a somewhat normal lifestyle where your band does not consume your thoughts?

To those of you who say you don't have time for exercise or you don't like to...I'm sorry but to me all I hear is excuses excuses. Yeah you may have a busy lifestyle but after getting the lapband put into your body to make a "lifestyle change" how can you do that without getting some exercise in? What is an hour out of your entire day? You have 23 hours to do everything else you need to do..and if you know you will tone your body and loose even more weight from it why wouldn't you take advantage of that? I think you guys need to step it up and quit making so many excuses...I have a life too...a job, family, boyfriend, pets, house to take care of, appts to go to in between everything else..and every single night I come home and get my exercise in. I have lymophdema in my legs and as much as it hurts to be on my feet and my ankles are so big it looks unhuman but I do not miss it...because I didn't get this lap band put in me to just sit back and watch the weight fall off...I'm working my ass off and don't understand why you can't either!!!
Do you want to end up like the people on here who are making a post in 1 or 2 years saying they only lost 30 pounds? If not, you need to make the change now...and if you don't want to..then I really don't understand why you got the band in the first place.

here are my stats!
241 before pre-op diet
232 after pre-op diet
233 day of surgery
225 now
haven't lost any in a few days...i'm 2 weeks out...

I'm excited to announce our new official LapBandTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod app!
This app makes it fun and easy to access the site while you're away from your computer. You can also take pictures with your phone or device and attach them directly to a thread.
The LapBandTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod Forum application features include:
Full posting abilities
Attach photos directly from your Apple device
Private Messaging (with optional push notifications)
Subscribe and track your favorite threads and topics (with optional push notifications)
Supports both Landscape and Portrait views

The app is free and you can download it directly from your phone. Just open up the Apple app store and search for "LapBandTalk" and you'll find the app. Then just click install. You can also go to LapBandTalk.com on your phone and it should direct you directly to the app.
Once it's installed, you'll have a new icon on your phone that says LapBandTalk. Click it and you'll be ready to go. Here are some screen shots:
iPhone and iPod touch Screenshots:



iPad Screenshots:
Antibiotic beads.pdf




Get the app and get ready to take LapBandTalk with you wherever you go.

my turning point was my uncontrolled diabetes and watching my younger cousin (34) and grandmother go through multiple surgeries due to complications from this wretched disease...i was insulin bound...now 7 days post-op i'm off all meds:)