CTJohn

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

I saw my surgeon today for a routine visit & weigh-in. I went in expecting to still be above my goal but, much to my surprise, I weighed in at 154 lbs! My goal when I started this journey was to reach 155 lbs, putting me at a normal weight for my height and a normal BMI. I was shocked to realize that I met that goal TODAY!!! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic! Now that I'm there, I've decided I still have a little bit more that I want to lose(not much, maybe 5 or 10 lbs) but I'm still celebrating this HUGE milestone in my journey as I can now say that I am no longer overweight, much less morbidly obese!!! Wow!!!! I thought this day would NEVER come and now, 8 months post-op, here I am!

Not me, but imo, how much is in your band is irrelevant unless it's nearly zero and it's supposed to be 11? I've seen many posts like yours where the amount of saline seems to be a moving target depending on who is sticking the syringe in the port?
What matters is, do you feel enough restriction to feel satiety for 4 hours after a meal? If it's less than 4 hours, you need another fill and another till you reach the green zone. jmo
tmf

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

Thanks!
I'm not sure... I did get .5 today, making a total of 6.5 in a 14. Scheduled to go back in a month.
I suppose I'm getting close, but who knows?

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

Most of us were hungry too. You won't feel satiety till you get a few fills. So don't get down on yourself you will not always be this hungry.

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

Today is my four month anniversary!
And, my fourth fill was today. Last visit, I was down 1 lb. This visit, down 16 lbs from last month!
I know it's up and down... But definitely feeling good today!
Best decision I ever made. Lucky perhaps, but everything going very smoothly. Down 55 in all.
This forum has been great - check it every night.
Keep the faith!

Well I've been banded for over 2yrs now and I am finally in the "GREEN ZONE ". It's a great feeling. So far this month I've lost 17lbs
I love my band

Guess who is under 250lbs me thats who...
After 2yrs and 4 months I weigh 248.6lbs

I was 170 pounds overweight and I thought I had tried everything. I had a LAP-BAND for 11 years, during which I lost and regained 130 pounds. The LAPBAND was ready to do its' job, but I was not ready to do mine. This is the story of how I embraced, life, living, healthy food and exercise, and finally shed 170 pounds 8 years into my LAPBAND journey. From needing a "walker" to climbing America's tallest mountain in 2 years, this is my story.


Food was my way of comforting myself and relieving stress for as far back into my childhood as I can remember. There was alcohol and violence in my childhood home and I needed comfort. There was no human source for it so I created a source for it.

Food "hugged me" and made me feel safer. In an environment with stressors beyond my control. I had a small something I could easily access to sooth myself. It was my mind deciding what to eat for comfort and it was my hand lifting the food to my mouth. I was in the driver's seat regarding something in my life and body, even if I wasn't safe in my home. Food was my best friend, provided comfort and gave me a way to manage even a small part of my life.

By my teens, my chubby appearance morphed into actually being significantly overweight. At the age of 12, I jumped from a women's size 12 to size 18 and never looked back. By the age of 20, soon after my mother's death, I was a size 26 and 330 pounds. In my 30s, I lost 130 pounds too rapidly and much of my hair by binging and purging and in my 40s, I again lost 130 pounds after LAP-BAND Weight Loss Surgery in 2003.

But because I had not done the emotional, internal work on my relationship with food and childhood trauma, my food addiction shifted to liquid calories I could easily pass through the LAP-BAND, which is common. At this time, for the first time in my life, I developed an alcohol problem and my dinner each night was a six pack of "vodka coolers" followed by a pint of low-fat ice cream for dessert.

Nutrition was the last thought on my mind and my focus was on comfort calories that could pass through "the band." By 2006, all the weight I lost was back. I also continued to eat solid foods that would force me to vomit and caused my esophagus to become distended. When a LAP-BAND patient doesn't respect the "full" signals the body sends to the brain and continues to eat, the esophagus becomes a storage place for excess food and the esophagus stretches. This made the LAP-BAND useless and while it is still in my body, it no longer functions properly.

At the same time, during the last 20 years, I developed back problems from bulging discs related to the weight I was carrying. I began using opiates under a doctor's supervision to combat pain and muscle spasms in my back and in my knees that resulted in five knee surgeries. At first, I viewed the opiates as a wonderful tool as they relieved or masked some of the pain and also provided an emotional high. Soon I was using the opiates for emotional reasons more than for pain and as my tolerance for them grew, I needed larger doses to get the same effect. Then I needed to graduate to a stronger form of opiate and that is when, 10 years ago, I began taking Oxycodone and OxyContin around the clock along with Flexeril for muscle spasms.

Sitting for long periods became unbearable and I was forced to leave my career as a Court Paralegal and qualified for "permanent disability." I cried as I left the hearing in which I was declared disabled. I didn't want to be disabled but felt it must be true for a judge to decide it was. It was 2010 and I believed my life was essentially over. At 50 years old I was simply waiting to slowly die. I believed all my happy days were behind me.

When my doctor suggested I try yoga before we take the drastic step of implanting electrodes in my spine for the pain, I began attending a very gentle yoga class for people with disabilities. Slowly, over a two year period, I began to build stronger core muscles which made the back spasms less severe and less frequent.

But I continued to take the opiates because by then I had an emotional and chemical dependence on them. During this time, I was diagnosed with sleep Apnea which was caused by the opiates and excess weight. Opiates disrupt the brains signals to the lungs and suppress the respiratory drive.

On top of this - physical pain, addiction and emotional unhappiness - I was also caring for my father with Alzheimer's. Although in a safe and loving group home, I still felt responsible for my father's well-being and comfort. I was his only family within 3000 miles. As so often happens when caring for a loved-one, we stop caring for ourselves in every sense.

Soon after my father's death in 2012, I developed pneumonia because my breathing became so inconsistent that my lungs filled with Fluid. I realized at that point I needed to change everything about my life including losing the weight and decreasing, even eliminating, my use of opiates or else I would die. At that moment, in the hospital in 2012, the desire to live was sparked in me by the threat of death!

After leaving the hospital, for 60 days, I detoxed and experienced cold sweats, tremors and anxiety as the opiates slowly left my bloodstream. Once I was drug-free, I began making small, sustainable changes to my diet and gradually increasing amounts of movement. (Yes, that means exercise!) Over the following 18 months, my weight dropped from a high of 333 pounds down to 185. As a 6'3" tall woman this is a healthy, lean weight for me.

In 2013, I decided then to give myself the gift of nearly full-body plastic surgery. Since I was already severely overweight in my teens, at a time of life when many young girls look their best and enjoy being pretty, I decided "it is never too late to have a happy childhood." During an 11-hour surgery, 13 pounds of skin was removed from my abdomen, buttocks, back, chest and under arms. For the first time since the age of 12, no part of my belly and buttocks continue to jiggle when I stop walking, no part of me droops and my thighs do not rub together. The Sleep Apnea is gone and I now climb mountains instead of grabbing railings to pull myself up stairs! But the hardest mountain I've ever climbed was a "metaphorical mountain" in those first few weeks of starting to change my relationships with food and drugs, as well as beginning to move.

I am enjoying a lovely renaissance in a healthy, lean, strong and coincidentally beautiful body. However, this transformation has not been about beauty. My goals are continued health and a desire to live with passion, and about choosing to do more than survive. I am driven from an internal source to live a vibrant, full life of joy so I can continue to enjoy the love of family and friends and so they needn't lose me to obesity and addiction.

This photo (above) was taken on the highest mountain in the 48 contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. After 10 hours of climbing 6,134 feet to an elevation of 14,508 feet covering 11 miles, I summited at 2:00 pm and like every part of my weight-loss, fitness and "reclamation of life" journey, I did it!

Yet, like during every aspect of my journey I had partners. My partners knew the lay of the land, my strength and challenges. I surrounded myself with people who knew how to help me get where I wanted to go. Physical and mental health professionals who coached me to express my full potential. What mountains will you climb in your life and who will help you get there? Build your team, including here at BariatricPal, and there is no "mountain" you cannot climb!

Good luck! New beginnings!!

Welcome to the site!
Fear of the unknown is quite common with everything we do in life. You sound just like I was....wondering if this is gonna work? Will it work for me? What will the complications be? What if I don't wake up?.....and on and on and on.
My surgery was WAY easier than I was expecting. (after watching all those YouTube videos, etc) Within a couple of hours I was walking the hospital halls, no dreaded gas pains you hear about often, but I was sure to take my painkillers...whether I needed them or not! Home the next day and took it easy for a few days.
Fast forward 5 years to today, I have not had any band caused problems or complications. The band has completely changed my life. I wouldn't have ever dreamed it could have really been this good.
If I could offer some advice,
1. Think of this for the long term....YEARS....not days or weeks. It is the Number one complaint you will see on here..."I didn't lose any weight TODAY!" It takes some of us longer than others to find our way with this banded life.
2. Regular, scheduled followup might just be the most important part of all this....after all, the lapband is designed to be adjustable....for a reason. Keep those post op appts.
There will come a time down the road, when this just becomes your new NORMAL life....and it's great!
Congrats on your decision and best of luck on your upcoming surgery.

Failure because you ate a piece of cake?!?!?!?!? C'mon now, you can't really be serious.....you're going to call and cancel your surgery because you ate a piece of cake?
I'm almost 5 years post op....I eat cake! NORMAL people eat cake.
The whole preop, tests, appointments, etc, etc ARE stressful. I don't know you or your age, but if you're like me, we've been turning to stress relievers (such as that piece of cake) for many years. And it took us to a place in our life we didn't/don't like.... Therefore, we made the decision to change it. But that change doesn't happen overnight. There will be slipups....we're human. I've had many along the last 5 years...but I'm in such a much better place today because of my WLS.
It's certainly your decision, but please don't think one piece of cake is reason to throw everything you've worked for away.....Best wishes!
ETA...almost 5 years. I ate ICE CREAM after the pic on the right...

I got my lap band in December and I've been going to the gym at least 4 days a week since January. I always go in the morning and you pretty much see the same people all the time. People keep to themselves for the most part. Today I had my first comment on my weight loss from someone. This little old lady who rocks it on the elliptical. She came up and told me that she has noticed how much weight I've lost. It would probably bother some people but it made my day. I had a little smile for the rest of my workout!

Nope, that's not how it works. It's late here so to save time I'm going to post 4 videos for you to watch. Dr. O'Brien explains how the band works perfectly. However, some of his comments may conflict with your own doctors guidelines. Follow your own surgeons guidelines. Dr O'Brien will explain how this works. I'll be back tomorrow morning to add more of my own comments!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

Well... here I am - on the eve of everything I've been thinking about for the last 4 months (6 years and 4 months). Reading through the site has given me a great deal of steadiness. I have to speak power and success into this process... not fear. So I'm glad to have you all to mentally lean on while I walk down this path.
The surgery is at 7:30 AM and we have to report at 5:30AM and the hospital is about an hour away. So we'll be leaving the house at 4 AM. Because of that we set the baby up to get some sleep with Grandma downstairs so that she didn't feel the shift of having to go down there at 4AM.
My mother in law who is an old school West Indian woman ( just like my mom was ) said ... "is this absolutely necessary?" And I know what she was saying. In our cultures... will power is supposed to prevail and you're supposed to win that way. And I said to her, "If I'd like to live longer than my mom did and avoid the same pitfalls and tack on a few more years to this life for that little girl right there... then YES. It is absolutely necessary - because nothing else worked yet." And she was actually satisfied with that response (which I was surprised about).
I'm gonna go lay my head down for a few hours before we make the trek to the future! Here's to dreams of success!
... And to all a Good Night!

Absolutely nothing! Takes a few minutes and I didn't feel a thing. These people are pros!
Second fill was by the surgeon - I had more confidence in the nurse practitioners. Even he did it pain free!
Totally not worth being nervous. Flue shot is more painful. Promise!

Absolutely nothing! Takes a few minutes and I didn't feel a thing. These people are pros!
Second fill was by the surgeon - I had more confidence in the nurse practitioners. Even he did it pain free!
Totally not worth being nervous. Flue shot is more painful. Promise!

And it went fantastic. The menu was hot dogs and hamburgers with potato salad. Watermelon and cantaloupe for dessert. The host was so sweet, I asked where the chips were so I could put them on the kid's plates I was preparing. The answer? I didn't get any because I didn't want it to be a difficult thing for you.
How awesome is that!!??
Since the grill was being used I brought some seasoned chicken kabobs and zucchini yellow squash and green pepper kabobs. It went so well and I feel fantastic.
How was everyone else's holiday?

No offense, but you haven't even gotten on the wagon yet in order to fall off....
You'll understand what I'm saying, perhaps in a few months....
Your appetite coming back means you are recovering from surgery nicely...putting you at a place exactly were you were in terms of weight loss before the surgery.....Nothing....
Now the real fun begins, getting you band (and yourself) adjusted so this surgery can start to take on some real meaning....
BTW, my total lack of self control and will power was the primary reason I needed surgery...If I had those things I never would have been obese and would never have needed something as drastic as corrective surgery to my digestive tract....
I know why I had this done....and I won't forget it....

Oh my gosh!! Are you telling us you are human!!! You are human and your are not going to eat perfectly all the time. You can have chocolate from time to time so don't think it is out of your life forever, but you can not have it often and can not eat too much or you are eating around your band. A nibble savored brings as much satisfaction as a mouthful. Have great patience with yourself dear. With patience will come perseverance. You will feel better soon and begin to make better choices. We have all been there!
I am miserable right now after a tight fill. Having trouble keeping Water down from the swelling but I know fills can feel too tight after the fill and with the swelling and not keeping water down and having nothing to eat nor Clear Liquids I am pretty miserable right now.........but I can handle anything I know it temporary. Feeling bad after eating Kit Kats is temporary...you will be back on track. Thanks for sharing.

Almost every doctor mandates we stay away from Nsaids like ibuprofen. You might want to check your doctors instructions? Wouldn't want to cause an ulcer where the band is which could lead to erosion?
I too use ibuprofen very rarely but mostly for joint pain. Your use of Nsaids when you're so tight concerns me?