Averiex

I am only three months out and I weigh myself every single day. There are times when I weigh in about 3-4 pounds more than the day before. But then one random day I loose it all plus a bit more. I have very irregular periods and I notice that when I am spotting or about to get it my weight fluctuates even more. For me, I think the unsteady numbers have to do with my hormone imbalance.

I felt this way about a week after surgery, then all of a sudden I became wired. Turns out I had a food allergy that started to remedy while being on the all liquid diet. Chances are you are sleeping off the drugs, gas, and other toxins. Your body just went through a big change! It seems like such a small surgery but the repercussions are draining!

I thought I was a pleasantly plump, jolly woman. Turns out I was just a fat pushover terrified of being called a fat "b%$ch.". Well, you can call me b%$ch now, baby, cause this girl's almost skinny!

i thought i was just (fat) when it turned out i was super morbid obese..WOW
didnt know i had my own category.,..

I thought I was in the small PP club ... turns out, I was just fat.

It tickles me every day to think back at all the things I THOUGHT I was but turns out, I was just fat.


I thought I had some sort of excessive sweating gene because I would have sweaty lip/sweaty boobs just walking around the mall . I rarely sweat any more, even during/after a hardcore exercise class. Turns out, I was just fat.

I thought I was extremely claustrophobic, refusing to use a regular bathroom stall or changing room, choosing to wait for the bigger stalls. Now that I can go in a regular potty and turn around without touching anything, I feel fine. Turns out, I was just fat.

I thought I was really bad at painting my own toenails because I have no coordination. Turns out, I was just fat.

I thought I was too short to see clearly out of the passenger side window of my minivan when changing lanes, so I had to drop the back seat. Now I can turn all the way around to see if anyone is in the lane next to me. Turns out, I was just fat.

I thought I was a naturally gassy person. I rarely have gas now that I am eating a better diet. Turns out, I was just fat.
I thought my seizure meds were making me extremely tired at the end of the day. I still take the same meds and have so much more energy. Turns out, I was just fat.

There are tons more things I believed about myself in my denial at how my obesity was affecting my health. You?

I just wanted to say thank you. You always take the time to show support and even though this is not my post...THANK YOU!!!

We are all fatties or have been fatties lol, I think fatty is a lot kinder than a lot of other things I have been called in my life. Like fat cow, fat pig etc etc

I take no offense either, I actually am thinking of setting a monthly/daily mike goal! Wish me luck!

I take no offense. The truth hurts.

I am really sorry to hear about your struggle and am glad to see you are on the road to recovery. However, this being considered a "band fail" seems hardly fair. There seems to be a lot going on that lead to the fail of it. One is that we are supposed to wait 12-18 months before conceiving to allow maximum healing and weight loss. Any red zone signs should be called in to the Dr. Immediately. And although I understand not having the insurance coverage makes things difficult, that is like being annoyed that a toothache turned into a cavity and didn't wait for insurance. There are reasons the band slipped, however I don't think it can be chalked up to "just another band fail."

...don't come down on folks when they offer it.
Especially if you are new to the WLS experience and the vets respond to you. We see the same questions over and over and over again and we still take the time to answer you because we know that for you, it's the first time you are going through this.
It would be so easy for us vets to leave the forum and live our lives successfully but we stay here because we remember how it was at the beginning or if we see that you are struggling during the WLS journey....so we stay here and try to help. Please think about that if you don't like how we've responded. It's not because we know better....it's because we simply know more than you do right now. Respect that please.
We try so hard to be sympathetic when you screw up or ask questions that you already know the answers to...like I didn't lose 5 lbs. in one week, is this a stall? Or, I ate a bag of chips...did I do bad?
I've been on this forum for a year and a half and in that time, I've seen too many vets take a hike and it's often because they are rebuffed when they offer insights or even just their own personal experiences. If you want this forum to succeed, and if you personally want to succeed...be aware of what you say either on the forum or when you PM. Especially when you PM.
And one more thing. I didn't post this on Rants and Raves because it's not a rant. It's a request.

Well I had surgery Thursday and everything is going well today. I have not had an appetite so I've been drinking lots of Water and eating sf popsicles. I have been walking at least 30 minutes daily which has been helping with the gas. I guess I am lucky because I am not experiencing much gas pain... I guess I am feeling what the green zone will feel like once I heal and get an appetite back. So I am enjoying every minute of not being hungry. Because I know the hunger will creep up soon. Tomorrow I will be able to start smoothies/shakes and take a full shower! Yeah!! And I am off from work for 5 weeks. Life is sweet.

Wow, I would like to feel some sort of restriction, (I think). I have not had any issues swallowing, eating Jello and so on. Started a day early with the Soups today. Thinking of hanging a sign around my neck saying dont feed, lap bander in training and hungry.
Hang in there Nolans nana!

First, find another doctor. Yes, we chew a lot. The band is different than the sleeve or bypass in that it dims our need to eat too much. It does not take away our ability to eat too much though. You will need to exercise more control and be more disciplined with the band. Bypass and sleeve force you to eat less since the stomach is so much smaller.
Our stomachs are still the same size beneath the band. If you can't control your cravings, and buy and keep junk food in your house, you will struggle losing weight with the band.
For me, the band almost always reminds me when I've had enough to eat. Oh, I could continue eating more if I choose to, but the taste and need to eat more is so much less now. We like to say the band goes around your stomach, not your head.
If you're a self disciplined individual and feel like all you need is this one tool that gives you the edge, the control over how much you eat, the band can work for you. But not with the doctor you saw. Aftercare is as important as the surgery, maybe more? Don't make a mistake and put your success in the hands of a surgeon who doesn't believe in you or the surgery they perform.
tmf

JWM this really hit home for me. I actually told a family member In a moment of frustration that I regretted the surgery due to not being able to binge eat.
-Av

No

GREAT poll Alex! I chose 'other'. My big hold up was actually food. yes, the thing i wanted to get away from was the thing that held down the pause button for me for over a year.
It's hard enough to admit you have a food addiction, but like most other addictions, 'just quitting' is almost never possible. I simply was not ready to bid farewell to my friend, food.
Now I am 3 days post op. Only 3. But...well, besides the soreness and the drain I have to deal with, I already feel better!
Today I went outside to just stroll around the yard while my hubby mowed the lawn. My husband came up to me and wiped a few tears and said to me "it's just so good to see you outside again after so long"...you see, it had been at least 2 years, maybe 3 since I had gone outside to bask in the sun, sit in a lawn chair, just enjoy the fresh air. before surgery, my only priority was sitting inside and eating as much as I could. Now i KNOW that this surgery will change my life.

I'm still pre-op, so I don't know the answer, but I am wondering if it could also be that you have lost so much weight that the dosage is just more potent for your new weight. I also just want to see what others say because I may have a similar situation post-op.

@@Averiex Now I understand….I am in a similar situation…I can let head hunger get the best of me most days and eat…and eat…and really eat…and I am NOT TRULY hungry.so when I go for my monthly check-ins I have the same conversation with the PA about getting/needing a fill…and this is the response I get….
Getting a fill is not going to make me stop WANTING those things…I have to be pro-active and do other things to not eat…some days I am successful and some days I have that "something"….and for me, personally, I do not want to get a fill for the purpose of not wanting to eat…I want to get a fill when I am truly hungry between meals. I never want to get to the point where I am sliming or stuck.
I knew when I got the band it was only a tool….if I wanted it to stop me from eating I would have asked my surgeon to sew my mouth closed.
I find when I am truly busy and drinking lots of liquids I really don't need that fill….therefore I am still without it.
Everyone is different and i wish you the best in your pursuit of weight loss.

I can relate.
I did so well yesterday. But last night, I was hungry. I really goofed. Went to DD and ate four donuts. I hadn't had a donut in months, never mind four!
Today's another day and I resumed my routine. Wasn't the end of the world but I know wasn't worth it. And no, I'm waiting a few days to step on the scale.
Second fill scheduled for Thursday. Looking forward to it

Thanks everyone for responding. I have an appointment with my doctor on Thursday and if he doesn't give me a fill then I think I will definitely have quite the argument with him. I understand I need to do the work such as exercising and eating the right way but I also think that the band is a tool and if he isn't going to fill me then I'm not able to use my tool. So again thank you everyone who agreed and just reiterated what I was thinking anyway! This sad pug doesnt want to be sad anymore!

I practically begged for a filling he still said no. I just kind of thought that after the two weeks of solid that I would get one so I mean without the fill it just feels like a diet. If I feel like it's a diet what's the difference between any other diet I've been on? that was the whole reason I got the surgery to help with my binge eating and be happy with smaller portions. I don't know what to do seeing as I Already begged.

So my surgery was on May 8 and my doctor doesn't believe in giving fills unless you are struggling to lose weight even though you're following the program or your satiety doesn't last long. so I haven't had a fill yet in almost two months. although I understand why he wants me to try to lose weight on my own I feel like if that had been possible I would've done that in the beginning and had saved myself from getting the surgery in the first place. I understand that the lap band is a tool but because it isn't filled I don't feel as though I'm able to use it as a tool to the fullest extent. Maybe I'm just whining but I feel pretty discouraged about it.

It seems a bit like a double standard.. She wants you to love yourself, but on her terms.. WLS isnt just about vanity, it is also about health. She seems to have many demons she needs to work out. Personally I think she is just taking your choice and creating a problem out of it to justify not dealing with her actual problems. Keep away from her.