coolcrystal

I didn't reach perfect restriction until my third fill, but there are several folks who only ever need one fill, especially depending on your band. I know the smaller bands that are 4cc usually never need more than 2 fills. One thing I stay away from is bread alltogether. I do eat pumperknickel bread every now and again, but it's very rare. I recently had to get an unfill because out of the blue, after having perfect restriction for two months I somehow swelled up from stress or something and couldn't keep much down.. I was miserable.. never allow yourself to get that tight.. it's so painful and I went into starvation mode and only lost 4 pounds in a month when I usually lose 7-10 lbs a month.. some people think its good when they don't eat or can barely eat, but it's not good. it's bad... good luck!

Depends if you are cash pay or insurance.. Either way, my doctor had a date opened 2-3 weeks after I was approved by my insurance. I had to do the pre-south beach diet 10 days before surgery. Most doctors, depending on your size, do require some type of liquid or south beach diet before hand to shrink your liver up. Since I was insurance, my process was longer.. 6 months of dr. visits and then a few days for approval.

Something I do, is on my myspace I have a picture folder for every ten pounds I lose. Every time I lose 10 pounds I post a new updated face shot. It always keeps me going and gets me excited for that next ten pounds and when I get to post my next picture! Right now I'm just three pounds away from my next picture, and oddly, this is how I measure my weightloss when I get discouraged, I'll say to myself- "just 5 more lbs til' my next picture.." or "Maybe I can do my next picture by next weekend".. Another thing I do, is I buy a pair of pants a size below what I wear and use it as a goal. 15 pounds ago I bought a pair of khaki pants.. never owned a pair before, but they were my goal. I knew once I could get those on, I'd feel successful and this morning I put them on and they look great and I wore them to work feeling great.

I gained 4 pounds on my cruise and it was like weird holiday weight.. I lost it in a few days when I got back home. It will come off, don't worry.

Oh yes... not that you need another confirmation, but, my fill was fine for almost two months and then me and my best friend were at odds and fighting for a week and suddenly I started having serious issues and had to go get an unfill today.. I had never thrown up before... it was like BAM.. tightness... the lady at the center asked me if I had been stressed and told her the friend thing and she told me that's what it was.

I threw up like 4 times right out of my lap band surgery from the anestesia.. And I had to get an unfill today due to some pb'ing.. but I had none of the signs like acid reflux and night coughs so they feel that I'm okay. And I know I was fine from the throwing up right after surgery becuase they did a barium swallow on me before I left and said everything was fine...

Yeah, I've been getting stuck and having issues with soup too, and I never do that... What I can always get down with no problem is Wendy's Chili... I tried to eat a little bit for lunch and it was all bubbly and stuck feeling and just miserable.. thats' how I know its a serious problem now. The last thing I want is a slip. :smile:

Well, I'm always preaching about not having your band too tight and getting unfills when you PB, so its now my turn to do it. I haven't had or needed a fill since April, as I always had perfect restriction, but something happened a few weeks ago.. I had my first PB on some tuna that I always eat.. I thought I was fine, but I'm not. I thought it was because of my TOM, so I waited a few days till that was over, and it's clearly not better. Usually at night I'm wide open and can get anything down, but last night I PB'ed on something simple and easy.. so, in a few hours I will have an unfill. I've only lost a few pounds in the last month and I think it's because I'm not getting enough calories in. Kristi (kjeter) and I think it's from the Texas summer heat swelling us up perhaps?? I don't know what it is.. It is odd to hear of a band getting super tight after three months of no fills.. Anybody else having these issues?

I eat lemon pepper bumblebee tuna for breakfast usually.. this morning I had yogurt with blueberries though and a small cup of coffee.. that was my first time to try that.. at lunch I had chicken pho with bean sprouts instead of noodles.. about an hour ago I had a small snack of energy trailmix.. for dinner I'll probably have chicken and veggies or maybe even pho again.. I'm so addicted to it.... I can pretty much eat anything anybody else does except scrambled eggs, omelets, thick bread products and sometimes chicken prepared a certain way.. other than that, everything goes down pretty well..

Oh wow, thanks you two.. very kind! Can you believe the "now" pic was taken with my cell phone camera. LOL. Everybody thinks my pics are taken with some special camera because they just come out pretty good.. but it's just an LG phone camera. I can't stand that "before" picture.. I was in my faire garb and ICk.. my face is so wide and weird looking.. oh well. I'm happier now.. i was happy then, but moreso now. :cursing:

My water intake is really good.. I know what it is.. Two weeks ago I got second degree burns on my legs and my ankles and feet got infected and bloated up like elephant legs.. I could barely walk and the pain was so intense.. then when that cleared up I got my TOM... My problem was lack of eating.. my band got swelled up and the day I was gonna go in for a slight unfill, I was able to finally eat more... I actually gained 5 lbs from that two week ordeal and have lost it all.. plus one more pound.. but, I'm still at -50 lbs as of this morning.. but technically I lost 5 lbs?? But that was water gain from that swelling and stuff.. As of two days ago I am back on track and have no swelling or bloating.. so, NO EXCUSES now. lol.. but again, Plateaus aren't totally a bad thing.

Congrats you two!! Its my dream to go hiking someday.. I want to get at least 30 more lbs off my knees, but I can't wait!! And Kristi, yayyyy! I'm so glad you broke your plateau.. I'm so stuck it's not even funny. I worked out hard for a long time yesterday and I still couldn't break my plateau.. I just don't know what to do anymore.. It's going on like almost 3 weeks for me.. well, I've lost 1 lb in three weeks... Plateaus aren't a bad thing, but I've only lost 3 lbs in the last month.. I'm use to losing 8-10 lbs in a month.. I'm not gonna let myself get upset though.. I am still thrilled with my weightloss so far.. Huzzah to the band.. changing our lives forever! Oh and I wanna see you in that hot black dress girl!

Apples is right.. it depends on how you are built.. In pants I've gone from a baggy size 28 (26's too tight) to a 20.. that's almost 4 pant sizes.. but my tops have only gone down one size. From a 3x to a 2x and some 1x's. I had a HUGE butt.. and it seems like most of my weight has gone from that area.. your weight is probably coming off from all over, so it's more evenly distributed..

I have half a can of lemon pepper bumblebee tuna for breakfast most mornings... it gives me the protein, fills me up, and it tastes good. Of course, it is probably considered more of a lunch item.... I've never been a breakfast food person really.. except for biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and all that stuff that got me fat in the first place, and of course, there's no way I can eat that anymore. lol.

Yayyyyyyyy!! I'm so happy for you for reaching your halfway goal!! And dont' worry too much about the loose skin.. I knew going into this I'd probably have a pannus or baggy skin, but having that is so much nicer than having all the extra weight on our bodies... my friends firmed up after about a year.. so, maybe that could happen to those of us who have the baggy skin too.. again, congrats girl!!

That is the best thing about this lap band! it makes us healthier.. I'm very happy for you!! :thumbup:

No doubt, 40 lbs is a lot of weight.. Imagine if you had gained 40lbs.. I think sometimes when we look at a other people's numbers we feel that 30 or 40 isn't a lot, but it is.. I remember when I started I'd see people who lost 40 and think, "wow, that's a lot".. so, it really is, we have just become immune to it I think.. You are looking fabulous and I love your outfit you are wearing in the new pic!!

I'm like several days late and 20 dollars short... but HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL... I hope you had a great one!

Since I was banded at the end of Feb. I still have a month and 4 days to go until I hit my 6 months.. My goal from the beginning was to average 10 lbs a month or close to that. So, by the time my 6 month anniversary comes around I'll be happy to have lost 60 lbs or close to it. I'm at a plateau right now and haven't lost anymore, but that's ok. At 50 lbs loss, I"m right on target and happy with where I am. I've been naughty so I deserve it.. I had a small chocolate banana blizzard this weekend and some chips and salsa and nacho's.. OH NO.. I'm going to hell now.. hee hee.. I don't care, it was good and my punishment was a nice bubbled up sunburn! boy did it teach me a lesson! So, I'm back on target now.. hey, it was a mini-vacation.. I'm allowed :-) So anyway, that is my hope for August 25th... to be at 60 lbs loss....

Sorry it took me so long to reply.. I went out of town on a tubing trip and got so sunburned that I'm bubbled up right now and can barely walk.. Not good!! There will be a three day lap band conference in October in Dallas and there will be vendors, speakers, and we are working on a free lap band surgery. There will be dinners and lunches and a dance with a rockband too. The hotel that this will be at is also offering discounted prices on the hotel for out of town travelers. Some of the speakers will be a plastic surgeon, psychologist, dietician, work out specialist, and folks like this. There will also be before and after pictures and stories of successes.. if you are interested, please let me know!

I can eat just about everything except eggs.. I can't do boiled or scrambled.. I can do deviled eggs.. I have not tried to eat any bread since I've been banded, so I have no clue if I can get it down or not. I don't even want to try. I have tried about an inch size of pita, but that's not doughy. I mostly eat pho soup (broth, chicken and beansprouts only), tuna, chicken, chili, fruit, veggies, and salads. I can do tortillas if they are grilled. Other than the beef in the chili, I don't eat beef or pork anymore. Not because I can't get it down, I just don't have a taste for it anymore. I am at perfect restriction right now and a week away from being 5 months out.

You're right! it has been super quiet lately, what's up with that? lol. I love my band too. The other day I had this weak moment and thought I could eat some McDonald's french fries. I got a little kids portions and thought, ooh yeah, I haven't had these in FOREVER.. After two bites I started sliming.. lol. Not good. It got stuck.. and the rest got put in the trash.. I'm so lucky that salads and chicken and tuna and veggies all go down REALLy well, but the bad stuff doesn't.. and I didn't even care that I couldn't get the french fries down... It actually made me say "what the heck are you doing?" I've had to cancel my last two fill appointments.. but I think I might keep the one for August.. Normally I'm tight in the mornings, but this morning it was pretty easy to get my food down.. and I'm starting to "graze" at night for food. I haven't gained anything, but the grazing is my first sign of needing a fill.. But I'm just happy that I'm down 50 lbs and I think this is when people start noticing the most. I'm starting to get comments at work about how I"m "melting away" and how awesome I look. I was wondering when it would happen.. I had originally thought at like 30, but I have a LOT to lose, so its right about 50 lbs when people can totally start to notice, even though I've gone from a baggy size 28 to a 20.. you'd think they would have noticed more like two pant sizes ago. lol

I drink with my meals (not alot), but I do.. I don't think that would prevent somebody from losing weight.

I have told everybody.. and anybody who wants to know. I especially have other obese people I know at work and friends who feel comfortable to pull me aside and ask me about the procedure and what it's like. I have had one friend get it because she saw my progress.. So for me, it could potentially help another person and that's more important to me than what people might think about me, because guess what, it's still work with a band. You still have to watch what you eat and exercise to firm up, etc... It's not some easy way out of being fat. Shakes and chips go down very nicely with this band... and I could sit around pigging out on that stuff if I wanted to, but I choose not to.

Yeah, you're fine. If you've had this BMI for at least 5 years, you should be fine.. (At least 35 BMI). Don't be nervous. I basically went in knowing my insurance covered it and said "Alright, when do we get started, I am covered" and the doctor was shocked I had already gone that far. I asked about what kind of band he used, does he put a starter fill in there, what are his patients success rates, and how aggressive he is on fills. Some doctors are jerks and won't give fills for months or if you even lose 2 pounds a month they still wont' fill you, which is ridiculous. Do searches on here for your doctors name and see how his patients feel about him. My friend used my doctor and I had her experience to tell me what I needed to know. He insists on getting fills every 14-30 days until you reach perfect restriction.. It took me 5 fills to reach that and I've had to cancel my last two appointments because I was at that sweetspot. Good luck, and dont' be nervous. He'll most likely just weigh you and talk about the procedure.