Liz1531

I was nursing my six month old, but having the surgery dried me up so much that I had to stop within a couple of months.

I was banded when my son was six months old. I was still nursing and by the end of surgery I was sooo engorged, I got right up went to the bathroom and expressed into the sink...lol

I made an appt to see the doc on Sat. Crossing my fingers that I didn't mess anything up!!! I can't believe how much I can eat right now. It's like I have had the restriction I have now for the last seven months except for those few weeks of being really tight. Weird... thanks for all the input.

Yes, my hunger has changed. I am hungrier and able to eat much more than I had during the tight period. I can eat SO much more than before.

I was following WW and eat all my points. I always save the extra 35 for the weekend so I can eat about 25 points per day. The max for my range would be 29 points per day. I've been a bit lazy to track it all lately, but need to get back on it.

Okay, I am going to be REALLY blunt here. Your daughter is going to feel insecure, she will be made fun of and she will suffer for being fat. My advice to you is to get the band and start a revolution with your entire family. Make healthy meals/snacks and get them moving! You have so much power to lead by example. Show your daughter how much fun it is to excercise as a family. I was only slightly chubby as an adolecent and that was mortifying and awful enough. Even though your other children are healthy weights doesn't mean they won't benefit from living a healthier lifestyle. I wish you and your family the best of luck and I wish your daughter a lifetime free from the embarresment of being a fat kid.

Okay, I keep hearing everyone talking about following "the rules". Maybe I'm missing something. Can someone please explain the rules so I can be sure to be on the same page as everyone else.

So, for the last month I thought perhaps my band slipped or something beause I could barely eat one packet of oatmeal (or anything else). Suddenly a few days ago I could eat again. I'm not even sure how restricted I am. I just ate 3/4 of a pork chop, a huge plate of mashed tatoes and a bunch of corn. I am so confused about what is going on. Anyone have any ideas?:wub:

THANK YOU!!!! I am so happy to read this and find that I'm not the only one. It seems like everyone has lost so much weight and I can't do it for the life of me. I have great restriction and prob eat 1/4 of what I used to, BUT the weight is just coming off REALLY slowly AND I have to fight for every pound. Too much sweets in a week and I'll easilly gain 5 lbs and have to start over again. THANK YOU again. I am so happy to not be the only one. I will be one year out in Aug and don't even go to my August buddies page anymore because I am pretty sure I'm the only one whose only lost 17 lbs.

I lost a bunch in the beginning but as soon as the swelling went away I had no restriction and gained over 10lbs before my first fill.... Terrible I know!

No regrets... BUT I'm not a typical loser either and that has been very dissapointing! I'm eight months post op and have only lost about 20lbs. I am still glad I did it though.

Thanks for the info everyone! It's a relief to hear that this is not uncommon.

I haven't told anyone about the band and I have several ways of diverting attention. My first method is using my son. I have a one year old and I generally make it seem that I'm just so busy feeding him that I'm unable to eat normally. I say I'll just take the rest to go. Another thing I do is split meals with my husband. No one has noticed that he eats about 3/4 of the meal and I only eat a tiny bit. My last method is when I don't have my hubby or son to hide behind, I tell people I'm a weird eater and that I eat VERY small meals every few hours. The other day I could barely eat a few friest and two bites of my sandwhich and I thought for sure my coworker wouldn't keep buying my lines but she did.

Oh Jack... I thought you'd have an answer for sure!! Darn it... I guess I will shoot off an email to my surgeon (they are in TJ so it's not easy for me to get ahold of them).

I PB about once every other week... maybe less. I used to do it every other day or so until I finally quit eating so much. Anyhow, I can so easily and quietly just sneak off to the bathroom and "spit up" as though it's nothing. I find myself doing that before the pain comes on from being stuck. As soon as I know I swallowed too much, I go into the bathroom and spit up. All I have to do is open and bend over. Weird, because as a teen I'd try and make myself throw up and couldn't.

Okay everyone, I don't want to be Captain Negativity or sound like I'm trying to scare anyone off, but I want you to know that it may not work the way you're thinking. I also had a low BMI and it has taken me over six months to lose 20lbs. I ddn't start losing anything until I learned to work with the band and started excercising. No joke, a single pound wouldn't come off until I started to work out. I had hoped that SOME weight would come off on its own, but no. I have to watch what I eat (I follow Weight Watchers) and I have to work out! My first few months were spent thinking I put my family $8,500 in debt to lose NOTHING! I finally realized that the band alone would do NOTHING for me if I didn't diet and excercise. I hope that you drop the weight effortlessly like many do, but it didn't work for me. The first few weeks I did lose, but once the swelling went away I could and did eat exactly as before and quickly gained back anything I had lost. Good luck!

Okay, I'm a water HATER and my doc (regular not lapband) told me that tea, crystal light, coffee counts as water intake. Soda of course is a no no, but I drink Iced Tea and Crystal Light as my daily water intake.

I think I am different than most people, but here is my story: After the swelling went down I could eat exactly as before and I did! It took two fills spaced over a few months to get a good fill. Having the fills hasn't decreased my appetite in as far as how often I am hungry, BUT it has made a huge difference in what I can eat. Tonight I ate like a giant fatty (more than I can/should normally eat). I had one home made burrito and two pieces of pinapple upside down cake. Normally I can eat 3/4 of a Lean Cusine for lunch so that is what the fills have done for me. I do still get hungry about every three hours or so, it's just the quantity that is decreased.

It took me three fills. Good luck!

I ate a big dinner tonight and I'm having gas pain in my shoulder just like right out of sugery. I don't know if it's because I had a big meal or what. I haven't had this happen before and I'm over six months out of surgery. Any ideas?

My doctor said it's no big deal. I've never had any problems with it.

I wasn't given a target either. I am following Weight Watchers so my goal is 24 points per day. I'm losing VERY slowly doing this. It's taken me six months to lose 20lb.

I am looking to get pregnant at the end of this year but want to lose all my weight first. I gained about 70lb with my first baby and then got the band put in. Please tell me that I am not going to gain a lot the second time around. I am praying the band will help me to only gain 30-40lb with # 2. Please share any of your experiences with me. Thanks so much!!

Hi Katie! Congrats on starting your journey to a new you. I have told very few people about having the band. I find that I get looked down on already by the few people who do know becuase I did get the surgery and haven't lost any noticeable weight like many others have. Also, to say I'm doing WW AFTER paying so much for surgery causes others to raise eyebrows. I just figured it's none of anyones business. When people ask if I've lost weight or ask me out to eat I tell them I follow WW. I never get too many questions going that route. I am using the points system and one WW dinner fills me perfectly. Usually I eat almost the whole thing. The old me would eat one and be STARVING an hour later. I used to call the frozen dinners appertizers.

I am following the points system and having had any problem with it. Am I eating too much if I'm able to stick to the system? I've heard that I should be eating about 1 cup or less per meal and having three meals per day and try not to have any snacks. So, that's pretty much where I'm at.