MerryHearted

Nothing -- you've lost 15 lbs. I've dropped 14 since banding. I think some people lose faster than others. I know once I started eating normal food that I had no restriction at all; the first fill did almost nothing so now I'm going in for a 2nd fill. Do you have good restriction with that first fill? Average weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week, so we're doing just fine! Keep plugging away and those pounds will add up. And know that you're not alone on the slow losing!

I wouldn't get a fill if you are losing and not hungry all the time. Not everyone needs a fill right away. Me, I got banded 8/31 and I'm going in for my 2nd fill here on Wed. My band is wide open and I'm hungry all the time. I've only lost about 14 lbs since banding, half of what you have. And yes, I'm doing my best to follow the bandster rules, but without restriction it's just like any other diet. Sounds like you guys have good restriction already, I'd go with that.

I wouldn't use the gallbladder excuse because then later on if you do need to have your gallbladder out what would you say? Just tell people you are revving up on your weight loss for the holidays if they ask about the liquid diet. Heard it was a good plateau buster, you're only gonna do it for a couple weeks, etc. And soon enough you'll be back to normal food in small quantities, not enough different from Weight Watchers that anyone will think it odd.

I'm at 250 this morning, so that's -12 since the start of the challenge. Great job everyone with sticking to the challenge! Looking forward to seeing all the "after" pictures in 3 weeks! For those that haven't posted because you're stuck -- here's a big HUG!

What a pain in the butt. Sorry you are having such a frustrating experience. I think your insurance just doesn't want to cover it. After all, most people would lose weight over 12 months on a doctor-run program. But then we gain it all back! If my insurance had required that much of me, I definitely would have gone self-pay. I've been dieting for years, some doctor managed and some not. I didn't need another 12 months of that. For me, it was one month between the seminar and my surgery date. Took less than 2 weeks for insurance approval and my surgeon's office did all the paperwork for that.

My surgeon's office just happened to be signed up to offer new bandsters to join the study. However, there's no discount for the band that I know of for this study. My insurance covered it for me, but they were charged full price. I believe it's Inamed that's running the study.

I was just told that some people can tolerate it and others can't. Tolerate meaning that for some people it'll hurt like hell because of the gas bubbles. Personally, I don't like pain. I figure I'm better off without the stuff anyway... generally because diet sodas taste like crap and after awhile I'd start sneaking regular Coke instead. And eventually I'd be up to a few Cokes a day. The night-time Coke might come with some rum and a squirt of lime juice. Those calories really add up! So for me, I'm happy to have a no-soda rule. And no caloric beverages in general except for an occasional latte. I'm even afraid to drink a lot of Crystal Light because of the aspartame in it. Several years ago I drank a gallon of it in one day. I had a headache from hell that put me in the ER. They never figured out what was wrong. It took a couple weeks for the pain to subside completely. I figure they'll figure something's wrong with Splenda soon enough. After all, when aspartame first came out on the market it was touted as being healthy! Hogwash.

At the consultation, I took my shoes off but otherwise weighed in with all my clothes on. They never put me in a gown, but then at my surgeon, they don't do a physical exam as part of the consult.

I know that the incidence rate of slippage is way down since they started stitching the stomach up around the band. And there are a lot less tubing leakage problems since they changed the design of how the tubing connects to the port. So I think your doc is right Jill -- the stats have probably changed since they've made improvements in the band and the band surgery. Certainly the stats presented by the surgeons that do the procedures are much more favorable. (natch, since they want you to have the surgery) I do know there are ongoing studies (I'm in one of them). Obviously I hope long term results aren't as dire as the study says! I always get irritated when they compare weight loss in the first year between the band and the gastric bypass. Of course gastric bypass patients lose more during the first year. I'd like to see studies that show weight at 5 and 10 years out compared to starting weights.

I don't know -- I worry about LapBand taking over GB and then it turning out to have serious problems as well down the line. Sue's comment about band removal being a booming business in Europe (where they've had the band for years longer than here in the US) gets me worried. I guess what's really bugging me is that now that I have my first fill I can "feel" my band. I wasn't able to before and assumed that people didn't. But I feel it there all the time now -- a slight ache. I guess it's just fear that something's wrong. /sigh I guess it'll be awhile before I feel comfortable recommending the band to others. Maybe once I lose a bunch of weight with it.

Hi all! Just saw this thread. You all are doing so awesome! I'm so proud of you. I'm down about 10 lbs so far since banding, it's pretty slow. My band date was 8/31, so I was at the tail end of the month. Just got my first fill last Wed, 1.5 cc. But I'm happy that the scale is moving downward. I'm doing pretty good on getting exercise in too. Here's hoping the scale keeps moving in the right direction for all of us. And so far -- no PBs or sliming! I'm still a bandster virgin...

I'm 6 weeks out and just got my first fill today, so we'll see if that helps. So far it's not been any different. I'll give it a week or two. I'm trying to remind myself that the "typical" weight loss curve is that one doesn't lose much during the healing phase and real weight loss starts after a couple fills. That's how it's going for me -- been gaining/losing the same couple pounds for 3 weeks now, where I had envisioned myself dropping 2 lbs a week steadily. Silly me. But hey, 8 lbs gone since surgery is still 8 lbs gone. I'm enjoying exercising. Got some Leslie Sansone Walk off the Pounds videos, plus the elliptical trainer when I do make it to the gym. Usually I give up on exercising after a few weeks -- I'm trying to not do that this time. At least that's something in my control, unlike the number on the scale. Hope everything is going great for others!!

I was just thinking - Pirate, like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean... I also like the Knight idea -- that's pretty easy to do, making a top and pants out of silvery knit fabric.

Glycerin suppositories are great if you are really plugged up. After getting unplugged, definitely add fiber to your diet. Benefiber works. So does SF Metamucil (not sure why, but I prefer this to the benefiber). Daily exercise helps me too, as does getting in all my Water. (I had the opposite problem during the liquid/mushy phase. I'm so glad to be on solid foods now!)

Well, my weight loss has practically stopped -- I'm almost 5 weeks post op and I need a fill (but have to wait til 6 weeks). I have almost no restriction at all. Still trying to do the best I can eating the bandster way, and at least I'm managing to work out 3-4 days a week. 9/5 start: 262 10/3: 256 Don't think I'll be making my 20 lb challenge goal unless something magic happens after my fill... but I'm still trying to get as much off as possible!

That's so funny! I was just thinking about the same thing this week. I guess the issue is somehow proving that someone who has a history of struggling with their weight is at a greater risk of health problems from it than the risk of death or complications due to the band. That'd take awhile to prove I think.

The Today Show will have NWWLS (Northwest Weight Loss Surgery) on this Saturday morning. That's where I got banded -- looking forward to seeing what they show. I'm definitely going to TiVo it though -- looked it up on TVGuide and it runs from 4 - 6 am Pacific time. That's way too early for me. I think they said 8 am Eastern time, so maybe they are in the 2nd half of the program.

I patted them dry and put bandaids on them for awhile to keep them clean. Once they are healed (skin is healed over, no scabs) you can start using the silicone stuff or other scar reduction tools. I'm using a silicone gel -- that's what my drugstore happened to have so I decided to give it a try. You have to do it for a few months, apparently. I just got started as I'm 4 weeks out and the incisions look to be healed over now. My gallbladder surgery was over 8 years ago and those scars are almost invisible unless you are looking for them. Just one of them sticks out a little, but it's not discolored. I figure time will take care of these new scars too.

Kat72, are there other surgeons in your area that do banding? I personally chose a center that does ONLY lapbands. Pretty much everyone on staff there has a band, and so they all know the info firsthand. I am finding it to be a very supportive environment. Even if you have to drive a couple hours to get to another surgeon, it'd be worth it if the office staff were more familiar with and supportive of the band.

I don't think that's such a bad policy. I personally would not pick a center that didn't embrace the philosophy that the right fill level makes the difference between the band working and it not working. Because everything I've heard from folks who have been successful with this points to the right fill level really making a difference. Some of the posts I've seen on here and on SmartBandsters about docs that make you wait months between fills even if your fill level is not working for you -- those are the docs to avoid. I'm going to assume this is just their way of bringing you back to the bandster guidelines, in case it's not a fill that you need but rather to stop consuming liquid calories or eating soft, high cal foods. Now if you're already carefully following the guidelines and still not losing, going on the "diet" is probably going to be annoying. But at least it's only two weeks.

Woohoo -- congrats Parvathi!!!

Congrats! Best wishes for a speedy recovery Dianne. That port incision's going to hurt for awhile so hang in there -- a couple weeks out and you'll be feeling great.

I chose the band because there was no slicing & dicing of internal organs, it's adjustable, reversible, and much safer. Plus the data that shows that band patients lose just as much as bypass patients if you look 2-3 yrs out. I've heard so many horror stories of RNY gone bad that there's no way I would have chosen that route -- at least, not at the weight I was when I chose the lapband. If anything would have gone wrong, I knew I would not have been able to forgive myself for putting my husband and toddler daughter through it. Most docs won't fill for at least 6 weeks after surgery -- our bodies need time to heal. But every doc is different. I think weight loss during the first few months is typically much less than after you get to your sweet spot on fills which might take awhile. I'm almost a month out and haven't lost much. (most of my loss on my ticker was pre-surgery). Although I have seen that some people have had a big loss during the liquid phase. I sure didn't. Go to tickerfactory.com and walk through the steps, then copy the code from the first section into your signature box (use the "User CP" in the upper right to get to the signature area). I'm sure there are detailed directions somewhere around here on the board. Congrats on getting banded!

Praying for you here too -- let us know how you are doing.

What I want to know is -- does the liquid poop stage ever end? Seriously, it's a looooong walk from my office to the bathroom at work, and sometimes I barely make it. Then the blatting as it all comes out is horrific, you know how acoustics are in big tiled bathrooms. I wonder if half the building can hear it. Really -- someone tell me that once I'm fully switched to solids that the liquid poop stage will end... a little gas I can handle, esp burping, but this?!!!