Wishes4444

Hi Gillian, I totally understand! I wake up thinking about food and what I am going to eat! The good thing is in the morning I am not able to really eat much. Nothing seems to go down well in the morning. My last fill was March 12th and it was WAY too much but I refused to go back and get any out. My Dr charges me 290.00 per fill and my ins does not cover it. I was also told if you need an unfill they take it all out and make you wait 2 weeks before they put anything back. As long as I have been able to eat a little bit and drink I left it alone. As for the head hunger I just try to have a bite of something I am craving that usually does the trick. This is going to be a long journey but in the end I am sure it will be worth it. Good luck and thanks for the chat!

elisa, You are going ahead with it. Good for you! I am down 94 pounds so far! Yes there are things I miss, but it is worth it! Good Luck!

Yes you will! We all will! It is just going to take some time! I guess I am the "tall" one at 5'2" :crying: and the much rounder one lol:) Good Luck!

Hey there Kaohinani! Congrats on your weight lose so far! I know what you mean in the begining it was much faster then I went to a crawl and lost 4 pounds in 5 weeks. Since my last fill I can't eat much of anything and it has helped me to start to lose a tiny bit faster. One pound a week is what we are suppose to lose. I have bad knees so the only exercise I can do is swim and run in the pool, which I try to do 2-3 times a week. I also found that I need to change my food up once in a while. Lately I have been having a protien shake for Breakfast, and a little bit of low sodium Soup for lunch. dinner is always hard since I can't find much I can eat right now. I did find the best thing I did was start to write down everything I ate in a day, you would be suprised about the bites you take here and there. It really helped me see what I was eating that I didn't realize. Try writing down what you eat and see if that helps you! Good Luck!

Hi Suzanne, So glad you stoped in! First let me say WTG you look fantastic! I was looking for people like you. I said I didn't understand people doing this that need to lose 30-40 pounds. I just think this is a big deal and that 30 pounds is not worth going through this surgery. I am also 5'2" and my Dr would not touch me until I got my BMI down below 60. Then of course a lot of people said well now that you are losing why not just stay on this diet and not get the band...HELLO have you not seen me diet before. it comes back lol. I know everyone has their own struggles, I just wanted a few to chat with that started out over 300 so at least they understand the long road that we have ahead. I did see a few posts of people looking to gain weight so they could get the surgery, all I did was scratch my head and say are you kidding! Hope you stick around!! Good Luck!

Hi Sundevil! WTG, how are you feeling? I feel like my surgery was a life time ago, even though it was only a little over months. I guess because I started the liquid diet in Aug. it seems longer. I love my band, I just have some days when I wish I could be like everyone else. I am coming up to the 100 pound mark soon and I can't believe I have lost that much. Yes I feel better, but I don't see where the 100 pounds is missing from lol. When do you go back to your Dr for your first fill? Good luck and keep in touch!

Thanks shortgal. Hi Gillibean and RHarriet62, When were you guys banded? Since my last fill I can't eat much of anything, but I guess thats a good thing. I had only lost 18 pounds in 3 months. Now I lost 15 pounds in 5 weeks, so I guess this is the way it is supposed to be. There are just some days that I miss taking a big bite of something. I do not regret doing this I just have days where I miss eating. Right now I am feeling like I don't want to eat anything and nothing even looks good. I find eating more of a job now. I guess that too is a good thing. Anyway I am glad to meet you and see others who know what it's like to weigh over 300 pounds! Good Luck!

Hi, I am looking for people who have a BMI of 60 or above now or people who started their band journey at a BMI of 60 or above. There are many nice threads on here, but so many people have started with MUCH lower BMI's and I want to chat with people like me who started this with VERY high BMI's. For me I don't understand going through this whole processes to lose 30-40 pounds. For me this is a huge change and I needed to lose A LOT more then that! Hope I can find some of the people out there in the same boat as me! Thanks!

Hi Luvinke, I would join, I understand what Doddie is saying and if you don't feel you will have any pressure from your co-workers then go for it. I told most everyone I was having the band, just this one "big mouth" I didn't tell and now I am wishing I had. Because we are having an engagement party for our daughter on June 7th and I know it's going to come up and then she will know. SO I am telling her I am having the band done next week while she is away so when it comes up in June she won't think anything of it. I think it's easier to just tell people and let them think what they want. Either way extra support can only help is how I feel! Good Luck to you!!

Hey Sharon! Welcome! hey 28 pounds is great! Remember anything down is great! We are happy to have you and please stop in often! Best Wishes,

NJ gal in VA, How wonderful! Thats so exciting, yes please send the pictures!! Please I would love to see them. If you can't post them on here PLEASE send them to my e-mail wishes4444@aol.com. My daughter is getting married July 2009 she was trying on dresses this past friday. She is on WW and is down 62 lbs. She went from a 26 to a tight 20 as well! You should be so proud that is a wonderful loss. See it's not just pounds but inches as well! Keep up the great work and send those pictures! Best Wishes!

WTG!! Doddie!! You are right 2 pounds less is a wonderful thing! Anything down is great! We will all get to our goals, one pound at a time! Best Wishes

Candy, sorry you had a bad day. My Dr made me sign a paper BEFORE my surgery that I would have to pay 250.00 for each fill because ins doesn't cover it. What pissed me off is that on top of the 250.00 he charges me my 40.00 co-pay as well! Thats 290.00 for each fill! That is why I have only had 2 so far!

Hi Shortgal, Yes you are right some carbs are needed and there are good choices to be made. However I don't think pierogies or potato chips would fall into the "good" ones lol. I drink low sodium V8, I like them and it counts as some of my liquid. I too believe we need fruits and veggies. Have strawberries, or blueberries they are both good choices. Veggies for sure, try not to have carrots corn and peas as often as you would have green beans, broccoli cauliflower etc.

Hi NJ in VA I have a 10cc band as well with only 2cc fill. But I am only 17 weeks into this. Sounds like you maybe feeling hungry becasue of your food choices. Sounds like you are eating more carbs then protien. I was on a liquid diet for 3 full months and I didn't feel hungry ever becasue the sahkes had 35mg of protien in each shake! Protien is the key to keep your stomach from growling and feeling hungry. Trust me I know all to well that we rather eat the carbs I still have trouble with that for sure, but I do find if I eat like I should I feel much less hungry. The good thing is the band keeps me from eating a whole bag of Lays, I find I can only eat a handful and then there is no more room! Thank God for my band lol! Good luck to you!!!

Hi AthinnerDenise, I don't think that it's the band that makes you feel full, think about that then we would all always feel full! The band makes the food sit very high in the stomach which triggers our brain that we are full. The food does go through but it goes through very slowly. picture a funnel and pour something in it. It goes through but slowly. So things can get stuck if its too big or you eat too much too fast. But I am very sure it you look online of ask your Dr you will see it's not the band that makes our stomach feel full;) Hey badbutt, sorry I dont know your name :rolleyes2: I know just how you feel! But first let me say congrats on your weight loss so far wtg! When did you get banded? WTG for joining curves! I joined an indoor pool because I have bad knees and most exercises are hard for me. Now are you drinking enough Water? i know when I went for a long period like that with no weight loss I did a few things to get it moving. First I started writting down EVERYTHING that went in my mouth. I found that I was not drinking near enough water. Once I started writting things down I found that I was eating way to many "bites" of carbs. I went back to eating mostly protien and drinking more water and finally the scale started moving again. Just hang in there it will move I promise! Try those things and see if they help! When you write things down you will tend NOT to put things in your mouth that shouldn't be there :tt2:

Hi Amanda, My Dr. is Dr Spencer Holover who is in Dr. Shawn Garbers office In New Hyde Park , on Long Island. I am SO very unhappy with that office I can't begin to tell you. Before I had the surgery the Dr had said how important it is to do monthly follow ups. Well my last appointment was Dec 19th! They have canceled my last 2 appointments back to back and he is only in ONE day a week so now I am looking at March 5th now! Lets see if they keep this one! They RAPE you with the fee for the fill 250.00 and then on top of it they charged me my 40.00 co-pay! 290.00 for a fill. They don;t have the fluroscope so the one fill I did get it took them 3 VERY painful tries to filnd my port then they didn't even have ne drink anything afterward. It's just bad, and they were "supposed" to be the best HAHAHA

Anne, Very good question about the five day pouch test. I was wondering the same thing! I am sure it shows us how much we should be eating but it still doesn't show "if" our pouch is streched. I know I can eat much more then I could right after surgery. I could not even eat one whole egg. Now I am sure I could eat maybe two. I do only have one of course but I do eat the whole thing now.

Hi Doodie, I guess it sounds like I am crazy saying I am a slow loser BUT you have to understand yes I have lost 76 pounds which is wonderful. But the bulk of it was before banding and right after the surgery. I lost 5 pounds in 5 weeks now so yes I do think I am a slow loser now. I knew it would be slow but I think a pound a week is VERY slow considering how heavy I am. I know as you get closer to your goal weight it slows way down, but at 282 pounds and only 5' 2" thats a long way off so I really thought it would be more like 3 pounds a week at this weight. Don't get me wrong I will take ANYTHING in the downward motion. I also get upset becasue I even gain a few pounds here and there which is NUTS with what I am able to eat! Band Chick where is you Dr? I would SO love to find a new Dr office to go to. I am SOOO unhappy with my office and they don't have the Fluoroscope and still charged me 250.00 out of pocket for a fill PLUS my 40.00 co-pay! It took them 3 VERY painful tries to find my port and I have not been back since then which was Dec 19th! After my fill they didn't even have me drink anything, and they are "supposed" to be the best here on Long Island. As far as I am concerned they are an office where they treat you like cattle. Anyway sounds like you have a great office to deal with! I would love to see my band and pouch!!

I am banded as well already but I too watch his show and love it! I wonder if they are really that involved with there patiences. I know my Dr sure isn't. I would switch drs now if I could in a heart beat I am VERY unhappy with mine!

When I get something stuck my nose starts running and my mouth starts salavating like crazy. My nose starts first though. I lost faster on my 3 months of my protein shakes then I have been with the band, but of course you can't stay on that forever. It is coming off just slower then I had hoped.

Jody, Unjury van and choc are VERY good!! Atkins choc shakes are also good. I did hear that Walmart has one called fortress in Van that is also very good. I have not tried that one yet though. Good Luck!

Joeboo, I was not losing either and I finally decided to do something to kick start it. First thing I did was to start writting down everything I was eating. You will be surprised about what goes in your mouth when you really pay attention to it. When I knew I had to write it down I thought twice about putting it in my mouth. Second I did something I never thought I would I joined an indoor pool and I go swimming/walking /running 2-3 times a week. I even joined a water aroebics class. I have never ever exercised but I knew I had to do something. That surgery was too big of a deal to not make it work. I have finally started to lose a little weight again still VERY slow but at leasrt its moving down, and I will tkae anything. Good luck to you and PLEASE feel free to e-mail anytime for support at Wishes4444@aol.com

Hi everyone! Slow loser here too! I try not to let it get to me, but a lot of days it does. I lost only 5 pounds in 5 weeks! I lost more on weight watchers then that. My body is adjusting to the less food and holding the weight! I weighed 298 Dec 19th and now I weigh 286 over 9 weeks later! I started going to a pool and exercising 2-3 times a week for a min of 1 1/2 -2 hours each time. I am trying not to get frustrated but it is very hard. I had one fill so far on Dec 19th and it was soooo painful, I am not looking forward to that again. I go back to the Dr March 5th. I can eat much more then I could right after the surgery, but it's still a small amount. I do have restriction because if I eat too fast or eat something that my pouch doesn't like I throw it up. I just thought I would lose faster with what I am able to eat. Thanks for listening

I try to have an Atkins shake or an unjury shake in the am for Breakfast before I go to the pool. Still trying to get enough Protein in. The Unjury Van and Cho are both VERY good!