Chrisann

I did well on Thanksgiving, I was able to see the bottom of my plate! My family is concious of my diet and in fact prepared alot of the food in a healthier way. My parents dug out old photos of me because even though I am down 73 pounds, I can't see it. Well, holy shit, I saw the weight loss on Thanksgiving. I couldn't believe what I used to look like. I go to the doctor on Friday, getting a complete unfill, as I have to have a colonoscopy on December 8th. I have to do liquids 24 hours before the test. Then I go back to the doctor to get a refill. I think that I have lost the pounds I gained so if I am back to my October number on Friday, I can live with that. Its comforting in a way to hear that we are all facing similar problems, it just proves that we need to use the band as a tool to help us.

I live in Brooklyn, so I would love to attend. I am glad its close, cause with the mortgage and taxes, I am in no position to be spending money.

They had me wear a large hospital pad and hospital stretchy underwear because if they got any blood or anything on them, they could be thrown out. But it wasn't an issue during surgery. It became an issue all night after because the nurses were monitoring my Fluid intake and discharge and it was difficult for them to take an accurate reading.

Ok, so I know some of you posted in October, and I am 12 days late making a thread, but still, here is November. I am officially in a plateau, its been 6 weeks since I lost weight, and in fact gained 3 pounds. Not overeating, I'm sticking to a plan, no candy, or crap. I decided to not stress over it. I figure that my body is revolting against the weight, loss and has to catch up, so to speak. My plan is to write down what I eat and go from there. I have great restriction, but think I am retaining Water, because what I drink is not coming out in the same quantity. Not to mention a friend said my face looked bloated. I guess now being thinner you can tell! Hope everyone is fairing better, as we approach our 1 year anniversaries.:thumbup:

People says that I glow and project happiness when I talk about my weight loss the first time with them. Like recently, seeing some business associates at the locations I visit once a year.

I have one, but like Facebook alot more.

Diane, I would think they would start filling your band again slowly and build you back up to your max. You are so close to goal you don't want to get filled right up and then have more problems. Bread? It may be bad for you, but if you have learned good eating habits, and eat in moderation, you should be fine. Mentally pretend that the band is there and full. The power of mental stimulation can do wonders...

Decided to send everything to Charity. I have a busy job, and while I thank everyone for their interest, I was not interested in opening up 15 garbage bags to sort through the clothes to pick out things. Not only that, the one gigantic box I did ship, was received at the post office near the person, who gave me one address, but lived at another, and still hasn't reimbursed me for shipping. Now that sucks. If anyone, between now, and next Saturday wants to come over and go through the bags themselves please let me know. Ms. Boss, as I come out of the 20-22 sizes I will try to put them on the side. I think though, the 22's are mostly packed, and I am just coming out of 20's and into 18's at this point.

I look in the mirror and really don't see it either. I think its because we look at ourselves all the time. I look at pictures and then can see it. With clothes, before when I was larger things were usually tight, now they are bigger, but I can't see that either in the mirror. A guy at work pointed that out how baggy my pants were on my butt to me, and thats when I went to Macy's at lunch and found out I was a size 18. The pants I wore that day were size 22, and the shirt was a 3x.

Great job everyone!! I lost the least amount of weight amongst us, and you know what? I don't give a damn. Once while getting ready for the surgery, I was concerned at the rate of weight loss among people, but now, having been 10 months out of surgery, I could care less how much everyone else loses as long as I am on my own pace. I feel like I have matured a little bit.

Maybe consume half of the cheater foods you are eating. Also, my doctor told me that with more activity you do need to eat more. When I am tight, I make chili, eat tunafish, make small portions of flaky fish. I also bought Lloyds shredded pork at my local supermarket. I make homemade Pea Soup with shredded ham too. You should probably not think of weight loss, or get on the scale for a few days, maybe getting your mind off of things will kick your body in gear.

This is great, cause I am down 73 pounds now and still can't get the high ankle boots I have to get past my ankle. Hopefully they have something that will help me.

Hey guys, there's been little action with our January people the past few weeks. I hope all are doing well. I had a doctor visit today , lost 8 pounds, so no fill! I was really sick a few weeks back, dry heaving for two days, and thought for sure damaged the band, but everything was fine. I was aggressively filled in September, and it was hard to get food down, but now things are better. I am in a size 18 now, and its been at least 20 years, if not more since I was this thin. Buying clothes is a challenge, and I seem to be doing laundry more often these days. Exercise has been limited to walking. I haven't had the time or the desire for more. Hope all are doing well, post your updates here.

Everyone is looking fabulous!!!! Keep it up!:regular_smile:

Nice, I had the same kind of conversation with the owners of my company, they commented on the weight loss, and my big clothes, and I said, well, I am taking donations to the Clothing fund, care to contribute? They said as soon as I was getting desperate for clothes, in an area where I have nothing to wear they would. I am not holding my breath, but it is nice that people are commenting. I am not offended in the least.

If still interested let me know. I sent some out already, but honestly, going to donate all of them soon. The bags are taking up the floor space in a small room. I even am getting rid of bras and shoes at this point. I have just cleaned out all my clothes in size 22 and up, now including winter clothes. The only problem I have is that they are just in bags, not separated by size or style.

First picture October 2008, Second picture October 2007. Sorry for the size, I can't make it larger.

Glad you liked it. I didn't. There were too many long time bandsters at the 0-12 months meetings I attended in January and February that I stopped going. They weren't talking about the first few months after surgery, they were talking about their skin surgeries, cheating, etc. Oh and the ones that never dated and didn't know how to now. It was just too weird for me to hear this stuff after just having the life changing surgery. I found that participating on this board was the best thing I could have done after surgery for support.

I have been away from the boards for a few weeks, with the financial market work has been stressful and we had layoffs, and all sorts of problems. Thankfully I still have a job. I am glad that your problem was discovered and your doctor was so caring and honest with you and did the job great. Its so nice to hear how compassionate doctors can be. Good luck getting to your goal now with the new band. I have been having a rough week, I got a really small fill, bringing me to 6.4cc's, and things were fine for 10 days after. Last Saturday, I ate 4 raviolis for dinner, just the insides, not the Pasta, and went out for the evening, had 3 mixed drinks over 4 hours and got drunk, really, really drunk. The dry heaving started at 3:00am and didn't stop until around 7:30am. So, during the day, just sipped liquids, and tried to eat shredded pork for dinner and up it came. Dry heaved for an additional few hours. On Monday, I was in more pain than I could remember from the surgery. Called my doctors office 3 times and did not get a call back. (Thats why I commented on how cool your doctor sounds) Finally emailed the one person there, whose email address I had. I really thought I did something to the band. This person explained to me that what I was feeling was muscles not damage to the band. He emailed that if I couldn't swallow my own saliva or sip Water, then there might be a problem with the band. He said that the dry heaving caused my stomach to swell around the band and it gets tighter. I had to stay on Clear Liquids. By Wednesday, I was feeling much better, but now have a raging head cold, and still on clear liquids, I have actually gained two pounds. Gaining the weight would have set me off a few months ago, but now I understand the nature of weight loss. You have to eat healthy and in moderation to lose weight. Since I have been sick, I haven't been eating healthy, eating Soup all the time. Its just so weird that several January people have had some problem or other in the 9th month after surgery, I wonder if that is typical of lap band surgery?

I had the rash, it was an unknown allergy to latex. My PCP gave me Olux-E, a foam emollient, in a can like mousse for your hair, and it worked after a day or two.

Make a complaint with your states Medical Board. This is ridiculous and you shouldn't have to go through this...

Oddly enough, my parents were thin through their childhoods, and into their 30's. 3 of the 4 grandparents were average sized, weight wise, but tall. My grandma on Dad's side was short, no taller than 5'3" and was pear shaped. Dad said I am built like her, but taller. My siblings are all sized 12 or larger, the reason I want to be a size 10!!!!

OMG, once I found Greek yogurt, I don't even buy the regular stuff anymore. I made Blue cheese dressing with it, but using a cup of plain, 0% fat and a 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese. No one I faked out with it knew it was yogurt.

Propel flavored Water, I couldn't get plain water down for some reason, and it had to be room temperature. As someone said, get a good heating pad, when you turn over in bed, the fat goes first and then the muscle with the port stitched to it comes later, OMG, does that hurt the first few days. Make sure you have comfy clothes, and a regular bra, not an underwire, at least for the trip home from the hospital, get a pillow too, because if you are in the car, the pillow pressed against you helps the bumps. Get clear broths, in NYC I got wonton Soup with nothing in it. I didn't worry so much about Protein the first two weeks out, just getting in my Clear liquids. You might not even lose a pound, so don't worry and donb't go back to your old habits. Your body adjusts after a few weeks and boom, the weight starts coming off. Good luck!

I have to agree, not enough liquids, because when I only drink two ice coffees most of the day, I swear when I pee, I smell the coffee.