onmyway

Hi there! I was banded in February 05. I started losing weight but shortly thereafter I became pregnant. The pregnancy went well and it was nice to only gain the recommended amount of weight this time thanks to the band. After giving birth to my little girl in February 06, I started losing weight again. I am down to 175 from my (unpregnant) high of 240. I say that because my all time highest weight was nearly 280 when I was 9 months pregnant with my son. Anyway - although I have been successful, it has not been easy going. I find that in order for me to lose weight, I have to have my band so tight that I am only able to eat soup most of the time and drink milk and juice for my other calories. I know that I am too tight - but I cannot lose otherwise. My nights are miserable, I'm either awake coughing or spitting up saliva as soon as I fall asleep. I also have to sleep sitting up which has limited me to the couch. That's okay though cause hubby won't go get that vasectomy we've been talking about and this body is not making any more babies! It's pretty bad - but I don't want to get loosened up because I want to make it to my goal of 150. I had my doctor only fill me up .25cc's at a time and last time I had .25cc's removed I gained weight. I survive on such little amounts of food, sometimes I don't know how I function. I chase 3 little ones around all day. The funny thing is too that no matter how little I eat and how much I exercise and move, I lose soooooooo slowly!!!! I guess I'm just looking to make sure I'm not the only one who has to suffer like this for the band to work. If you asked me however if I would do it all over again, I would. To me all the suffering and lack of sleep is worth it when I look in the mirror. I would never want to go back to where I began. I feel very good and if I never see 150 - it will still all have been worth it. I will say that I would never tell anyone to absolutely go get it done - that's a decision they need to make without my advice. Can anyone else relate? Thanks! Jeanette

Congratulations Jakkie on your new baby girl. I cannot believe Brenna is nearly 6 months old. I'm sure you've been told to enjoy her while she is so little because in the blink of an eye they grow so quickly! Jeanette

Hi ! I have a little lap band baby! I was banded February 2005 and became pregnant in June 2005. Brenna was born in February 2006 and weighed almost 7 pounds. For once I gained only the recommended amount of weight instead of my usual 80 pounds that I gained with my first 2 pregnancies. I really felt good when I was pregnant this time. I went much of the pregnancy without being unfilled but then had a slight unfill when I became so tight I couldn't eat anything. My daughter is very healthy and after she was born I went in for a fill and am continuing my weight loss journey. I have about 30 more pounds to go to reach my goal. Good luck with your decision. Jeanette

Hi Corinne. I was banded on February 28, 2005 and became pregnant in June. I am now in the final countdown and have 8 1/2 weeks to go before our new arrival. I had my band loosened and tightened a few times during the beginning because I did not want to gain a lot of weight during this pregnancy as I did during the last. I had gotten down to 218 when I found I was pregnant. However, I kept losing and was not able to eat anything at one point so I had to go in for an unfill. I had reached 202 before I started gaining again. I am now up to about 240 and yes it is a little depressing. However - a lot of the weight is baby and Water, water, water! I tend to swell a lot. I am not really worried about the weight coming off after the baby. I know that I can get tightened if I need to and that's what's so nice about the band. I will confess I do have a problem with the prenatal Vitamins and have not been taking them because I'm afraid they'll get stuck. Instead I've been drinking those "Healthy Mom" shakes every so often. They're made by Ensure. Good luck with your pregnancy! Jeanette

Hi everyone! Oops - we're pregnant! I was banded in February and was cruising right along with my weight loss and just found out I'm expecting. Doesn't take much for us to get pregnant - just one time when my husband's too lazy to go to get them out of the drawer and that's it. You think we would have learned by now 4 pregnancies later!! Just goes to show they are gifts from God. I did want one more baby - but wanted to lose a lot more weight first. However, I am very happy and am looking forward to not gaining 80 pounds with this pregnancy as I did with the other two. I did go through a miscarriage last July - so please say a prayer for me that this pregnancy will be fine. I'm due right around the date that I had my surgery - late February! The band is doing it's job already because by this point in my previous pregnancies I had gained about 10 pounds by now. I haven't gained anything yet. Any advice would be appreciated by anyone who has had a band baby! Thanks! Jeanette 245/217/150 Banded February 28, 2005

I felt exactly the same way you do. I was convinced after surgery that this also was not going to work for me. I had my surgery on Feb. 28 and went for my first fill about six weeks later - nothing, went for a second fill about 4 weeks later- still able to eat a lot and dropped only 1 pound. So I went in yesterday and wanted him to fill me up more (only 2 weeks went by since my previous fill). The nurse or whoever she was came in and sat down, I guess they felt the need to lecture me on how "the lap band is a tool and what are you eating and you should be doing this and that, etc. etc. I felt really annoyed by that - I mean come on- you are talking to someone who has done the research a million times - has tried everything to lose weight and you're gonna sit there and try and tell me something I don't already know! The bottom line was - I got this surgery so that I could limit my intake of food - If it isn't working then fill me up so it does! If I could do it myself - I wouldn't have spent 15,000 to get it done!! Boy was I angry. Anyway - they did fill me up to 2 cc's and I am feeling it now. I think this one is going to kick me into weight loss - plus now that I feel it working, I'm motivated to get moving and really make it work for me. Just be careful after your fill and stick to liquids for a while and carefully move to solids. I had a horrible pb today and some mushy's. Good luck! Jeanette

Went to a Greek restaurant tonight and had a few spoons of rice! Wow - now I know what a PB is and how uncomfortable it can be to overeat! Lasted about a half hour and I'm glad that's over! I won't be doing that again! I was beginning to wonder if I needed to go to the hospital. I chewed really well and was very careful and then it just hit me like a brick! Had to be the rice. Beware all you new bandsters! Jeanette

Hi everyone! This is my first post even though I am a frequent visitor. I was banded on February 28th, 2005. I have heard it said that you will lose quickly during your first 30 days and then things will slow down - and I have heard it said that any weight lost before your first fill is a bonus. I'm confused. So just curious what others lost during your "healing" period before your first fill? I'm due for my first fill on April 2nd and I'm really hoping that it's going to help me eat less - because I really don't feel it working much at this point. I'm hungry! Thanks! Jeanette

Just a suggestion - I did a chocolate Protein drink and mixed a spoonful of Peanut Butter in it for extra protein (and cause I just love peanut butter and chocolate together). Jeanette

Thanks for your post - you hit the nail on the head when you said you were afraid of being a failure. I feel like I've failed at every other attempt to lose this weight and I get thoughts that this will fail me too. I will keep calm. Thanks again! Jeanette

Thank you everyone for your help and encouragement! Your posts made me feel better about not losing much yet. Jeanette