kacee

We've been bombarded with so may advertisements of weight loss miracles (that will work for YOU!!!! <not>) that we've become jaded and figure everything out there is just snake oil. I had the same misgivings initially myself. The old "Well, it works for SOME of the people SOME of the time, but PROBABLY not ME." HA! For once I am so thankful I was WRONG!!! And it is what you put into it. It's a partnership. Good going!

Your life is fixing to change for the better! Welcome to BandLand!

Relax, it WILL come. I had my first one the week of solid foods...the culprit was scrambled eggs no less...you'll certainly know it when you get it!

Welcome to the convoluted land of the LEARNING CURVE. Yep, it's a bugger! It only takes one of two of those little instances to give you proper negative behavioral modification (NBM)! Don't feel bad. Most all of us have gone through it in one way or another. Learn from your mistakes. NBM is a VERY effective learning tool!

WORTH IT WORTH IT WORTH IT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! It doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. The first few months are kindof a pain in the you know what with the learning curve, but HANG IN THERE. It gets better and better and better. Don't expect miracles when you first get banded. You won't see the ultimate results until you have good restriction (sometimes 2-3-4 fills down the road). You didn't put the weight on overnight and you won't lose it overnight, but you WILL lose it (unless you fight the process) and it WILL stay off.

Often spasms in the legs are indicative of low potassium. I wonder if the surgery reaction on the body could change that level. You can be proactive and eat a lot more potassium filled foods (bananas are good).

Been with Spivak over a year now and never had a single problem getting in immediately when I needed to, or having to wait to get an appointment.

Dr. Spivak, hands down. I had an unfortunate experience with the office staff at Dr. Spiegel's (like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing...I kept getting calls from them about an appointment I had changed...and calls and calls....). When something like that happens a RED FLAG goes up. I have no doubt Spiegel is a trusted surgeon, but Spivak's "bedside manner" topped it off. He is wonderful and I cannot say enough about him, and his staff.:ohmy:

Thanks Ang! You're doing really well I see! Wow, you disappaear for a few months and everyone is on a completely different level! Nice to be back.

Hey WAS! Nice ta see ya! I see a few familiar "faces" around. Has Terridoodle flown the coop or is she still hanging around? Dang girl, you've been going gangbusters!!!! What's this about the sleeve?

Thanks guys! I honestly don't think I could have gotten through all that has gone on in the past several months with all the weight I started with. I think this has given me the energy to persevere. Am just starting to get settled now in my new BEAUTIFUL home with tons of windows looking out onto a defunct golf course, and my wonderful 4 chihuahuas, 5 parakeets, 9 cocktiels and 1 red lored amazon parrot. We are a full, happy, LOUD busy house! (Yes, I know it looks like I am becoming the neighborhood "crazy cat lady"...)...

Hi guys. It's been a WILD spring. My Mom passed away (she was my best friend...we had a GREAT relationship and she will be sorely missed in my life) in April, and things kindof went south after that. The next month was spent with my brother going through things at the house, putting it on the market, making arrangements, etc. To say I have been exhausted is an understatement. Then on TOP of that I put a contract down on a house two weeks after she passed, while things were still chaotic, and the last two months have been the rollercoaster ride to close the sale and get in. I had not stepped on a scale since before April, and just did today, finding that I have lost MORE! Okay guys, here's a kick in the pants...I now have hit the 130's for the first time since 1983!!!!! I've got a pretty major case of the sags, but when thinking of the alternative, I wouldn't give it up! Gravity and old age have set in to redistribute my lumps and bumps and lo and behod, I have NO MORE SADDLEBAGS!!!!! I think they dropped to my knees, but what the heck, right? My butt has dropped and is pretty innocuous now. I can wear tight little tops and not feel like a complete PEAR. I wear sleeveless shirts!!!! My collar bones stick out!!!! I can move, get up and down, stand, walk, go upand down stairs without taking a nap between landings...LIFE IS SWEET!!!! Hang in there people! It is what you put into it!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Maybe we should have a society like the one in Logan's Run (probably most of you whippersnappers aren't going to know what this is). You turn 30 and they "recycle" you.

Puuuuleeeeeeze! I SAILED through my surgery (also, as we get older I think we take things a lot more in stride...). I have seen hundreds of posts from "youngsters" who piss and moan about how "bad" they feel afterwards and how if they had known what an "ordeal" it was they might not have done it (Oh no! Three weeks of liquid diet before surgery???? OH NO! Liquid and mushy diet for 4 weeks AFTER surgery???? Totally NOT worth it!!! I thought they were just going to flip a switch and I'd be thin!....Bummer!). I've got to really laugh at that. Now my caveat is that I DO understand that everyone heals differently, has different pain level tolerances, etc. However, if you are going into this with your eyes OPEN and you are EDUCATED, you can get through this with NO surprises. I was shocked at how WELL I felt right after surgery. Of course, I have been through several major surgeries in my lifetime, most of which were in my "youth" and knocked my socks off. This was a breeze.

Go for it! I was 55 when I got my band (and NOT in good health...because of my weight!). I am now almost 57. I look better than I have looked in 30 years and feel stupendous. In just under a year I have surpassed my doctor's goal weight, my original goal weight (!!!) and am still losing....

I know everyone is different, but just from my perspective, I was 55 when I had my band put in. I was out of work for 6 days and then back full time without a problem. As far as feeling weak, you can avoid that by stepping up the protein (protein drinks like Isopure especially during the healing period) and keeping a bottle of water with you always, sipping regularly. Other than that, any walking you do (to and from class across campus) is the best thing you can possibly do too.

My "aha" was when I was in Walmart parking lot with my sister-in-law. She had a new car and parked waaaaaaaaaay out in the lot away from other cars. My firwt thought when we got out was looking towards the door and wondering, "Gosh, I wonder if I can walk that far!" EGAD!!!!

I wouldn't make any bets on it (being unfilled to eat in "moderation"). Since my unfill of 1.3 cc's last week, I am having to really consciously watch myself. Those old habits come back fast (I was banded 10 months ago). My band is back to where I was in June of last year on my second fill. I did not get really good restriction until my 4th fill. I am being extremely careful and biding my time until I can be refilled in a week (See the thread about those who PB/Refluc a lot).

I upgraded and love the extra graphs.

Starting about month 3-4 I started losing handfuls of hair. I am now 10 months out and still losing a little, and my hair has really thinned out. The loss is slowing down but hasn't stopped. My dermatologist recommended using head and shoulders and said that it was dermatitis caused by shock to the body, etc. He suggested rotatijng Head and Shoulder regular with the H&S high intensity shampoo. That seemed to slow it down some. I've probably lost more than 25% of my hair. As long as it stops and grows back at SOME point I will be satisfied.

Yes, in a minor way, but I really seemed to have developed a problem with things with vinegar in them (wine is not far from that). Eating a salad with vinegrette dressing on it now burns on the way down. This has been since banding. I just kindof shy away from it now.

I got my last fill Dec. 9. I was pretty tight, but everything seemed okay. Then in the second week of January I started having a HARD time finding a time of day when the food would go down and not get stuck (My band is always tight in the mornings and looser at night). I rode with it for two weeks and babied myself and it subsided in February. Then about three weeks ago it started again, not too bad, but I was PB-ing about once a day or so. Then it got worse....and worse....and worse.... until two days ago I realized I couldn't go ANY meal without a PB....and then several times. I was waking up at night with reflux and waking myself up puking and choking. I was to go have lunch with a girlfriend yesterday and I realized I was worried about being able to eat ANYTHING when I went. I canceled the lunch and went back to the doctor for an unfill. When he flouroscoped me, my pouch was "spastic" and swollen. He said the ONLY way to relieve it is with an unfill and "rest". He removed 1.3 ccs (I had 3.3) putting me down to 2. He said the swelling and problems would go away immediately, but I needed to wait two weeks before coming back in and they would slowly fill me back up over two or three times, back to maybe 2.8 or 3. My message here is that he said IT WON'T GO AWAY BY ITSELF. ONCE THIS STARTS AND THE IRRITATION IS THERE IT STARTS A CIRCULAR CYCLE THAT WON'T QUIT...IRRITATION, SWELLING, PBs, STUCK FOOD, CHOKING AT NIGHT, REFLUX. So as someone who has "learned her lesson" (I was trying to ride it out thinking if I lost more weight it would subside as the band loosened)...don't live like this. Get your unfill (there was IMMEDIATE relief), follow the doc's orders, and then work your way back up once the irritation has subsided.

When I eat things with vinegar in them I get this now...extremely spicy things or vinegary salad dressings. I get a burning in my stomach and in my chest.

You can kiss the "full feeling like after a Thanksgiving Meal" adios forever. You will never have that "bowling ball in the stomach" feeling again. Your fullness will come about 4 inches higher up. A completely different feeling. I would NOT use the term "satisfied" because I think we overweight people have a VERY distorted definition of the word. You will eat until you feel the beginnings of being a little uncomfortable if you were to continue to eat. That's the best way I can put it.

I rmember when I hit Onederland. I was telling a co-worker and I started crying! It really was a big thing for me to be there for the first time in years. That was a pivotal success and I never looked back. I have enjoyed more and more sucesses since, each one giving me the incentive to go on and prove myself more. Congratulations on this incredible milestone in your life!