cccv4

Congrats! I have a 10 cc and just had my 4th fill. I'm at a 6 cc but find that I have no restrictions. I am losing weight slowly but surely, but I feel like such a pig because I find that I am still hungry ALL OF THE TIME! I'm trying to drink more Water to curb the cravings; wondering if this is more mental than anything? Anyway, I have another fill coming up on 3/18. Gonna see how I can handle this, but if my cravings keep up and I find that I'm still hungry, I will go in sooner. Best of luck!

I know how ya feel, sista! I am still in the process and am at 6 cc, and I can still eat anything I want without restriction. My restriction comes in when I see that I cannot consume what I used to be able to consume. This has been humbling, and has SLOWED ME DOWWWWNNN! It has mentally taught me that I need to work with my band, not against it. It has slowed me down by me being more cautious about what I want to consume, and realize that this is a journey. Hang in there!

Awesome! Congrats! I am really proud of you for taking up this journey and starting fresh. I met someone a few months ago who also has the band, but never had it filled. Remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with on step! You are gonna do well!

I am a victim of this. I say victim because I always felt it was so f**king embarrassing. and doing everything I could do to hide it. it started when I started puberty oh so long ago. it is related to pcos and obesity. though I do not have pcos. never had diabetes either. but it is a warning that I would no doubt have developed diabetes in the future. I did a lot of research on my own, the doctor I saw as a teen didn't really say a lot. all he said was that it was related to childhood obesity and prescribed some cream that turned my affected body parts red, raw and painful. he said it may or may not go away when I was finished with puberty and or lost weight. what MinnesotaDreaming23 posted is all correct. I think it is on a person to person basis. but I can tell you that mine went away. I am 18 months post op. I noticed awhile ago that it was gone from my neck. I just looked last week and realized that for the first time in as long as I can remember my armpits are white. only someone with this condition can understand the feeling of that if they were as embarrassed as I was about having it.

It is great to see how many dog lovers we have! Mine represents the names of my fur babies: Chiquito, chocolate, Canario, Valentin.

ugh! i could write a novel on how my loving parents have "lovingly" tried to get me to lose weight.

@@prettyandbrwn I totally feel you on this one! I turn 31 in a few days and I have been overweight my entire life. I've yo-yo'd and the most success I found was the no carb diet, but I hated the way that it made me feel. I put on all of the 70 lbs I lost on it, and probably multiplied it.
Just like you said, I didn't want to wait until my life passed me by to do this. I already feel like I've lost out on years being overweight and morbidly obese. I want to have a healthy life and I know that the lap band will be a tool in this journey. I have to keep telling myself that this is the perfect moment to make this perfect decision.

It is great to see how many dog lovers we have! Mine represents the names of my fur babies: Chiquito, chocolate, Canario, Valentin.

I couldn't understand how people would write to take gas-x, because i took the strips and NOTHING helped. what helped me (finally) was taking some milk of magnesia, and wrapping my legs around a BODY PILLOW! holy smokes, that was a lifesaver for me!!!

very normal. i was like that for the first week but by the 2nd week i was doing better.

OMG, you are going to need to shut those people down ASAP. One statement I like is, "It will take the time it takes." I say that to remind me that I didn't put it on overnight and it won't come off magically just because I have a band. But I have to admit, it seems a little bit magic sometimes, that decrease in appetite, etc. And I don't talk to other people about this at all, besides you guys. This is my safe haven, where I know people get it and I won't be judged. Don't forget to congratulate yourself on how you have chosen yourself and your healthy future and you've taken this tremendous step of weight loss surgery. You are doing GREAT! Sorry about all the complications -- pain medication is such a drag sometimes and I don't feel like enough caution is issued along with those prescriptions. And the stitches healing up, etc. You are going to feel so much better shortly -- that moment when the turnaround happens can be subtle but it's such a relief. And then hang in there for the coming weeks when the band is installed but the right fill might not be there yet -- it can take some tweaking but it is all so worth it. Be gentle with yourself. The transformation into beauty comment was badly phrased but I'm sure it was well-meant, as in your beauty is very evident. Happy May and happy new life!

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

@@JustWatchMe I feel that I've come a long way mentally through all of this. I've learned that I'm not perfect (which is why I'm on this journey), and that if I fall, I need to pick myself up and keep moving. My journey has had many highs and lows and I wanted to be upfront and honest from Day 1 on this website. I want others to be able to read my story and say, "If she can do it, so can I!" At first, I was so discouraged reading so many stories of people on here who do everything cookie-cutter perfect. I'm not like that. I screw up, and I find that I am way too often harder on myself than I should be. I'm learning that this is a trial and error process, but the important step is to NOT GIVE UP!
@@relief57 Yay! We are band sisters! So good to meet someone who was banded the same day as me. I'm really struggling right now because I have absolutely NO RESTRICTIONS. I can eat anything, which is kind of frustrating. My doctor said not to worry, and that it is because I have little to no liquid in my band. It doesn't even feel like I have a band, and the only way I realize that I do is by the incisions on my tummy. I can drink Water without taking breaks, and I don't really feel that I get full like I thought. I got on the scale and realized that I gained a few pounds back. I was really angry with myself, and someone yesterday told me, "Looks like you already put back on what you've lost." I was so irritated, but told myself that I will not let this defeat me!

@@prettyandbrwn Wow, you already had your fill? How many weeks after did you get yours? Thursday I go in for my fill (3 week mark). My port site has healed well and I'm hoping it doesn't hurt!
@@JustWatchMe Wow! You really gave me some encouragement! Thank you for posting. I really do feel that this is all so much willpower up until I get my fill. I haven't felt that my band has helped me like I want it to, but my surgeon said that it is because I have nearly no liquid in my band. I'm really excited to really START this journey and put this baby to use. Some moments I feel that it is working, and other moments I feel that it isn't. I stepped on my scale and it went up a few pounds I feel no restrictions, and am hoping that changes when I get my fill.

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

@@JustWatchMe I feel that I've come a long way mentally through all of this. I've learned that I'm not perfect (which is why I'm on this journey), and that if I fall, I need to pick myself up and keep moving. My journey has had many highs and lows and I wanted to be upfront and honest from Day 1 on this website. I want others to be able to read my story and say, "If she can do it, so can I!" At first, I was so discouraged reading so many stories of people on here who do everything cookie-cutter perfect. I'm not like that. I screw up, and I find that I am way too often harder on myself than I should be. I'm learning that this is a trial and error process, but the important step is to NOT GIVE UP!
@@relief57 Yay! We are band sisters! So good to meet someone who was banded the same day as me. I'm really struggling right now because I have absolutely NO RESTRICTIONS. I can eat anything, which is kind of frustrating. My doctor said not to worry, and that it is because I have little to no liquid in my band. It doesn't even feel like I have a band, and the only way I realize that I do is by the incisions on my tummy. I can drink Water without taking breaks, and I don't really feel that I get full like I thought. I got on the scale and realized that I gained a few pounds back. I was really angry with myself, and someone yesterday told me, "Looks like you already put back on what you've lost." I was so irritated, but told myself that I will not let this defeat me!

very normal. i was like that for the first week but by the 2nd week i was doing better.

I really appreciate the feedback! All I can say is WOW! I went to get the milk of magnesia. It worked!!!! Thanks again!

50 lbs??? That's awesome, man I need to step up my game.

@prettyandbrwn, thanks for the tip. I had a Protein shake for lunch so that I wouldn't have any problems.
Well, today was GREAT! I'm so excited. I got my first fill of 4.5cc in my 14cc band. She started with 5cc, but the barium swallow went down slower than she wanted, so she removed 0.5cc and retested, and then it was fine. I watched it all on fluoroscope. Pretty cool. My band is exactly where it needs to be, my port site is healing well, and the needle didn't hurt at all.
I also found out that I can take the Tylenol caplets I was afraid to swallow, so that will save me the aggravation of crushing them or drinking the cherry-yucko-flavored liquid stuff I got from my pharmacist.
My next visit would have been two weeks from now for another fill, but that's right before my trip to Italy, so I'll go back in a month instead. Sounds like they fill every two weeks until you get to your green zone.
But the best part of today was that I got on the doctor's scale and hit the "50-pounds-gone" mark today! My surgeon stopped in to congratulate me and called me a superstar! LOL. I told him it was all willpower up until today, and he said, "Now your band is going to start helping you."
I came home, walked my treadmill, had Soup for supper, and feel fine. Better than fine - GREAT!

Cccv4, it's so good to read your posts. You've come a long way in a few weeks. Hang in there. We're gonna do this!

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

Hello! I had my surgery on 4/11 and had horrible complications afterwards due to the pain meds that I was on. I am now feeling a TON better and have an appointment on Thursday! I'm so excited to start this journey. I'm supposed to get a fill on that day, so I feel that my weight loss journey is barely about to begin A few times before and after surgery, I really started to regret my decision to get the lap band. Now, I am SO thankful!!! Last time I checked, I was down 26 pounds since my pre-op! I'm proud of myself!!!

@@2muchfun She might be. I have my first "officially scheduled" post-op on May 1st, which is the 3 week mark. My surgeon's secretary called and said to expect a fill.