SeaSounders♥

had my 2 week post op today and sad good bye to my frankenstein like staples and the OK to have mushies, chewing gum and even diet coke if I want (in small quantities). I feel like I am coming out of the shadows and re-entering the world of normalcy! Couldn't wait to get home and eat my pouch of Starkist tuna. Mexican night tonight and I can't wait to puree my chicken and salsa!

I had to stop reading all of this the week before my surgery b/c it made me more nervous. . Everything went well! Good luck!

Changingmylife...
This is so normal, even my surgeon said "honey if u weren't scared, I would be worried about you" I had my surgery on Monday, I have been going through the process of getting this done for what seems like forever and having the day and it getting closer and closer I began to panic big time, so many worries about surgery, the pain, the healing process and then the journey afterwards! Just know everyone is different in all those aspects too, just have a good support system wether it be your family, significant other or best friend, even through here to help u get through the rough Patches. I had to drive an hr and a half at 4 in the morning for surgery day, wanted to jump out the car most of the way and cry the other, but I got through it and so will you! Have faith in yourself and remember this is for you!

Me too 7:30 Pacific. Getting so excited!!!

Congrats on your date. I am scheduled on the 27th my pre op appt is on the 14th. I started my liquids today and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I was surprised the Protein Shakes weren't as bad as I anticipated. My brain thinks I'm hungry but I'm really not. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and the only emotion I am feeling at this point is excitement that its finally going to happen. Good luck and keep us posted. I could sure use a surgery buddy. Maybe we can help each other since our dates are back to back. Let the count down begin!!!

2 more days..... And I'm getting really nervous. Very happy that I've lost 20 lbs on my pre op liquids. Surgery Thursday at 9. I can handle pain but am so afraid of being nauseas all day.

Just got done with my pre-surgery meeting. 10am on Feb 21st I go under the knife !!! Surgeon gave me a script for liquid hydrocodone & some anti-nausea suppository.
BTW - two weeks on Adkins pre-surgery diet and I have lost 12lbs.

I have to be at the hospital at 7:30am in the morning for surgery. I was a bundle of nerves yesterday when I pre registered. I was nervous because I havent lost much on my pre op diet. I only have lost 7 lbs but 8 inches also. I spoke with my surgeon yesterday and he told me not to worry about it because I had done a 6 month diet that I lost 15 lbs on and have been doing weight watchers so I dont have any "water weight" to lose, so mine was just weight coming off. I am nervous because I dont know what the outcome will be after surgery. I feel like I am mentally prepared, but I just am nervous! I am ready to be on the other side! Bring it on!!

Join the Feb13 Banded group we are all here for support!

Once I healed from surgery, I didn't feel restriction until I had 6cc in my band, and didn't get into the green zone until I had 8.5cc in my band (10cc band). I have had up to 10cc in my band in the last year (to counteract the effects of a leak) and I could still eat solids.
I completely believe in getting restriction. That's how the band works best. Once I got to the green zone, I didn't have to do anything to lose. All my exercise was incidental, and the Portion Control my band gave me was enough not only to help me get well below my goal weight, but also to maintain it for 3 years.
When I lost restriction due to a stubborn leak, I have put weight back on for the first time in 3 years, so I know that restriction was what was keeping my weight under control. Now I diet, count calories, do low carb, exercise formally, all things I didn't have to do when I was in the green zone just to keep from gaining any more.
So the band does give you that added boost to help you control hunger if it's used to it fullest potential. But how many fills you have to get to get there is completely individual.

The best advice I have learned from my fellow bandsters is the golden rule - that is never to eat more than a cup of food per meal, no matter what! Get in that protein! Oh, and the thing that helps me overall is to track everything I eat and exercise. I cannot live without these rules, ever!

Thank you Missy for always looking out for us, love ya girlfriend x0x0x00x

i dont have a fill but i eat as though i do...
i am very aware of what i eat (the type foods) and the amounts.
i know 3500 cals is a pound...and because i am not a marathon runner, i am careful to not take in more cals then i burn off..i also stop eating at 1 cup of food and i eat lean Protein, veggies and fruit. if i eat it, its gonna be filling.
as missy stated, you eat over 3500 cals a day and dont burn it off, you will gain or not lose..fill or no fill...just my opinion.

missy
what a wonderful comment from you, thank you for including me in it.

I know two people here who's not had fills yet and both are doing amazing. Carolinagirl had a band with plication and has never had a fill and Pattygirl (no plication) has never had a fill. Both women are losing extremely well. In both their cases, they simply don't need one yet.
They are proof that weight loss absolutely nothing to do with fills but rather calories burned versus calories consumed.

for my 8 month follow, lost 7 since last month for total of 101
just had to share....(made it also into the 230's)...double happy !!

I have been sick since dec 24, 2 antiboitics, over 30 days of prednisone ect
Just starting to feel better, still very weak
I noticed all of my clothes (underwear too) are too big
My 16 pants are falling off but so far the 14 look horrible
I was able to fit in to a large sweater and yesterday I was able to fit in a size extra large button down white dress shirt
Wasn’t sure so I too a xl and a 1x and I didn’t even have to take the 1x off the hanger
Was doing the very happy dance in the dress room of JC Penney
The weird thing is the scale says 190 (was stuck at 192 for over a month)
I don’t care what the scale says when my pants are falling off
Feeling very good…can’t wait to go down to a large button down shirt and mabye a 12 pants (by the summer

The band can seem very fickle at times, giving you restriction riddles instead of restriction answers. How can we solve those riddles?


RESTRICTION RIDDLES
Restriction is the holy grail of bandsters, but even when you find it, it may not cooperate with you all day every day. Its fickle nature may allow you to eat one food on Tuesday but not on Wednesday. It may not show up until 2 weeks after a fill, or it may disappear 2 weeks after a fill. You end up puzzling over riddles like delayed restriction, disappearing restriction, and/or variable restriction.
DELAYED RESTRICTION
Although the Fluid injected into the port during a fill travels immediately to the band, it can take several weeks for you to notice an increase in restriction. This may be because you spend a few days after a fill progressing from liquids to purees to soft to solid food, and then you're extra careful when eating: on the alert for more restriction. When we relax this vigilance, careless eating will eventually remind us (again) that we have a band with more fill in it.
Delayed restriction is frustrating, I admit. You get a fill and want instant results. But all you can do is pay close attention to your body's signals as it adjusts to the tighter fit of the band.
It is pointless to try to judge your restriction in the two to three days immediately after a fill, when you're on a liquid or pureed diet, because optimal restriction is experienced when you're eating solid foods.
DISAPPEARING RESTRICTION
At times during my weight loss surgery journey, I have asked myself, "Where the heck did my restriction go? Did thieves sneak in during the night and steal it?" In addition to thieves and elves, the following things can make your restriction seem to disappear overnight:
1. A few days to a week after a fill, the swelling and irritation caused by the fill calms down and the fit of your band feels looser.
2. In the first few weeks after a fill, you re-learn your band eating skills and unconsciously adjust to the new fill level so that you experience fewer negative symptoms.
3. As you lose weight after a fill, the visceral fat around your stomach shrinks, so the fit of your band doesn't feel as tight.
4. The position of your band against your stomach subtly changes due to normal body processes (see below).
5. Your band loses fluid due to evaporation, leakage, or inadvertent removal during a fill.
Please note that in #1 and #3 above, I said that the fit of the band feels looser or tighter. The band itself does not loosen or tighten by itself. Only a fill, unfill, or manufacturing defect can do that. The band is not like a rubber band that stretches out over time and eventually snaps.
WHY IS RESTRICTION SO VARIABLE?
Sooner or later, every bandster discovers that the band is a fickle mistress. In the course of a week, it can feel too loose, too tight, or just right (kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears). The food that worked fine on Monday may get stuck on Tuesday. On Wednesday you can hardly eat at all, and on Thursday you could eat an entire wedding banquet all by yourself. Friday you're back to Square One.
These variations are maddening but fairly normal. The stomach is living tissue that expands and contracts to aid digestion. It's affected by weight loss, the time of day (morning tightness is common), the time of month or fluid retention, medications, illness, dehydration and stress. The pressure of the band against the stomach can cause the stomach wall to thin out, so the band feels looser. And although the band and the stomach are sutured together, the position of the band can shift enough to affect your experience of restriction.
Remember: the #1 factor affecting the amount of food you can eat is what type of food you eat. You will feel more restriction when you eat solid food (like animal protein), less when you eat soft food (even healthy stuff like yogurt and cottage cheese), and virtually none when you drink liquids (even healthy ones like Protein drinks).

I just got a call from my surgeon's office and they told me that the surgeon isn't available on the day that I was scheduled for surgery so they have to change it. So instead of surgery on March 5th and arrival time at the hospital at 5:45 am, I will now be going on March 7th and arrival time at 9:30 am. I am bummed about the change, but at least it's only two days difference.

Well, My consultation went great and the office sent over my paperwork to United Healthcare for consideration......fingers crossed I will hear some good news soon!

I haven't been on here for a little while, but I just bought size 12 jeans. And they're comfortable! Eeeeeeeeeeek! I started at a 24. =)

I'm going for 4th fill tomorrow ... I've been doing ok I guess not much weight lost since last fill only 4lbs up n down 5lbs my second plateau sucks!! But I have noticed I have been losing lots of inches so that's a good thing

Kristen, I was told by my doctor that they would call in a prescription for anti-nausea meds as it might rip the internal stitches if I threw up. You might ask for a few days worth.

All went well here... Went in at 6 am and was home by 4. The surgery went great and I'm feeling ok.. Super nausea though. Worse than the gas pains. The gas pains feel like muscle aches the day after you got done working out really hardy the nausea makes me feel awful. Any tips from the pros how long thus lasts?? Also, best of luck to all the future bandsters!!