shugal

Wow...I hope I can lose that and more! Congrats! I am so happy that you found help! Keep me posted on how it's going! I go to doctor on March 5 for follow up I will post about it :-) I am very happy to hear that the band is working for you now! I can't say if I know if you are ready for another fill? I think that is kind of an individual basis, I'm just learning on how it feels and listening to my body, Good luck!!! I know you can do it!!

I quit smoking and gained like 80 lbs!! so I hear you!! and like you I was not obese until the past few years

The same age as I am now 47 and not then (few yrs back).*just learned how to use it now, long story* Seriously. I have it so I can be healthy, so I can re learn portion control, eat healthy and give myself a new lease on life. I am old enough to understand all of it, risks rewards and so on. Old enough to have the will power to use my lap band correctly and to know there will be ups and downs and bumps in the road but that I can and will persevere and win

Easy?? S'cuse me? There is nothing Easy about the lap band, it's a tool to work with to help me lose weight and become healthy but it's not easy! Surgery of ANY kind is dangerous , there is the risk of dying, especially when one is obese and having surgery. There are also MANY post op complications that can occur incld the risk ones body may reject foreign objects in it.... I know that "skinny" people think fat people are lazy, over eat, ect., food is an addiction just like drugs, gambling, alcohol, smoking ect., just it SHOWS ...IF we brought fat on ourselves then SO did every druggie alcoholic, gambler, sex ect ect addict out there!! Plus one can NOT STOP eating, one can STOP all other addictions and Never have to have them ever again, but you can't stop eating food. For that reason I consider a Food Addiction worse than any other. Also some obese people have truly legit medical issues. I, for instance, have PCOS which makes it VERY HARD to lose weight..even WITH the lap band, I have to eat less, and work harder than the average person to lose weight because of it, & I may never be as thin as I want to be simply because my body fights me on it. There is NO cure for PCOS and it wreaks havoc on my body. I am NOT using PCOS as an excuse by any means I am simply stating it makes it That much harder to lose weight I quit smoking cold turkey over a year ago...never looked back..I will never smoke again, yet food...I can't not eat...Oh how I wish I could...one has to eat to survive, so one has to Re-learn what to eat, portion control....it's hard ...everything in our society promotes Over eating and Huge portions...Yet...it also promotes Thinness...an oxymoron if you ask me! I agree Mountaingirl, if there were a surgery for those things it would be hailed as genius! Fat is the last frontier that can be abused...Overweight ppl are discriminated against, abused, made fun of..looked down on...you name it and fat people have had to endure it!! Do NOT be ashamed about getting WLS! Stand tall & proud! It is NOT an easy way out! Be PROUD of who you are and what you have accomplished with WLS! it is a tool that you used to help become a healthy person! Never be ashamed of that! If someone puts you down for having WLS...tell them to kiss your newly skinny butt! HA! Holy crap I just saw how much you lost in 5 months! OMG you go girl!!! I think I will think I'm in heaven if I lose that much!!! I am the same height as you and only 5 lbs more than you! course I just started this 2 weeks ago...but a girl can dream! So...Yup I had WLS...Look at ME....I stand proud and tall and anyone who wants to put me down for it can kiss my butt!!!

Thanks :-) Yuppers one step at a time! I am glad I have the advice from others and encouragement it helps a lot Thank you

Hi Gail10 I am glad you are starting new too! We can update each other and feel free to message me if you need encouragement Totally have the drinking while eating thing..but it's getting rarer :-) I keep all liquids Away from me when eating. This is Not easy, its hard work but I've taken the advice of people on here and I too am determined to make it work, I am re-learning how to eat and working With the band as I said I didn't know how to use it before, now I totally understand it! Thinking of it as an hourglass helps + being able to see it working. It is so important to understand how it works, I never knew how before, Good luck!! and remember: chew chew chew chew & chew some more! Tiny bites of food...chew chew chew chew...put down utensil between bites...enjoy your food..I never take less than 20 mins to eat. Keep me posted on your journey!! Good luck!!

I have a such a hard time to Not drink water or milk with my meals as it's something I've always done! What reminds me to NOT do so...I throw up...as soon as the liquid hits I feel like there's a basketball in there and UGH OUCH<which serves as a constant reminder to NOT do that

**UPDATE** 2 Weeks: Hi all :-) been 14 days now...had a few "ups" as in oh my gaaaawd UP comes everything...UGH... I would forget and Not chew and/ or take a drink of Water, then Whamo....throwing up...OUCH... 4CC's seems to be OK...I feel restricted but NOT uncomfortable...it was at first for a few days, I think that maybe the area was just irritated? it is Fine since Unless I forget to chew....did I mention OUCH?? I Won't be weighing myself....I don't want to discourage myself, I just want to get the "hang" of using the band and I think that weighing myself will deter from it right now that's just my opinion of it. I will get weighed when I see doctor on March 5th :-) I will post results. **If I were to "guess" right now....Yup I've lost weight....tho no idea how much** I am not hungry all the time, I did notice if I don't get Protein in at EVERY meal, then I DO get hungry too soon. Has porridge at restaurant there was no protein in it so I got hungry within a 2 hour timespan after eating it, whereas normally I can go a long time between meals. My portion of food is waaaaaaaaaaaay smaller. I Never take less than 20 mins to eat a meal even such a small portion! put my utensil down between, as was advised and it WORKS! I Enjoy and savor my food now :-) This is work, the lap band is a Tool to help me (in my opinion) and I am doing my very best to work with it...it's trial and error for me until this all becomes 2nd nature I have faith tho that I will get there and I will Lose weight and be healthy!! So Forward to Healthy it is!

I will Never give up Starbucks...No way. At my local Starbucks the barrister comes up all kinds of different drinks for me depending on the season and what I like that is sugar free, Fat Free :-) All Winter I drink a Tall Skinny vanilla Latte (which is a Fat Free Milk, Sugar Free Vanilla latte) I used to be able to drink a Grande....but since starting with the lapband I can only drink a Tall now, as it fills me up. It has not affected my calorie count as there is only 90 calories per Grande half that with a Tall. I compensate in other areas for those calories :-)

I have PCOS. I have the lap band. I am just starting out with the lap band. I can't say which WLS is best for PCOS? I had a few doctors tell me lap band, but I don't know?

I think I will try liquid & chewables...for Vitamins...my medications tho are pills.. I dread taking them as I got 1 stuck...ouch

Kitt3000.....lol...Yes I suppose people can say about research blah blah blah...but sometimes no matter how much research is done one can still wind up out in the cold. I prefer to leave the past in the past and look forward. I only said that bit because I'm not starting right out the gate from surgery and I figured I had to explain that .... I have been following your advice to put the utensil down to enjoy each bite to not fight the band....it's kind of like learning how to eat all over again I do like the salt Water idea! LOL Thank you for you advice & input Thank you Louluch & Bandista Pat-rice mine was empty...I can totally feel it, glad you are not having my problems, I think though once I get the hang of eating properly I will be Ok. I just have to keep reminding myself until it's 2nd nature. I think you are correct Kitt3000 that everyone IS different, I think we need to rely on what our own bodies are "telling" us...I am going to eat when hungry to work with the band...I will take Vitamins that I was told by doc to take I follow up with him every 4-5 wks and as long as blood work is A-Ok and I'm losing weight...then I will be happy If your blood work is Perfect that's awesome! I am going to just "go with the flow" for now & listen to my body...course I am going to be in shock for awhile over how little I eat LOL...it just doesn't seem possible LOL Thank you everyone for the advice and kind words :-) I will be on here and keep you updated..I will post any changes in my weight. I suppose as with everything else, everyone loses it at a different pace.

I have had my lap band for a few yrs now. It's been empty. Just there, not being used. I won't go into the back story, lets just say there was no support, no way to get it adjusted, I was basically given the surgery and left out in the cold. But that is the past. Fast forward to 6 days ago....Finally a doctor who is beyond an expert in lap bands! He's amazing! I had to go to radiology & under xray to find the port....I got to see the lap band & got to see it in action!! I drank that ickky blah white chalky stuff *just a few sips* & could see Exactly how the band works!! I highly recommend this!! I could see it working!! I now have support and a doctor who can do adjustments/fills I am not alone anymore!! I could also FEEL the fills...they went up to 8CC & I got heartburn/pain until they took it down to 4CC i didn't know that happened OR that I could feel it! It was such an eye opening experience! So my journey finally starts... I have 10CC band....it has 4CC in it liquid goes down although I notice I can't take as much liquid in one swallow as I was able to. I haven't really figured out what I can & can not eat or how much of . It's trial & error for the time being as I notice on here everyone is different as to what they can tolerate food & quantity wise. I haven't been eating very much over the last 6 days...I did do a lot of throwing up...trying to figure out how/what.how much to eat.... I feel very restricted but NOT hungry very often. I find it really hard to NOT drink liquids when eating...I have to break that habit...which won't be hard as the result is throwing up I was told to eat 3 meals a day + 2 planned Snacks....but ah...that isn't really working out for me....I am getting in 1 meal a day, no snacks, lots of liquids. (Water, low cal sugar free juice) I guess my question is: anyone else not able to eat that much? I'm Not starving, I eat when I feel hungry, I also noticed I eat Very Small amounts, and I mean SMALL and I'm full....does that happen to anyone else? I don't want to fail, but i want to make sure I am getting enough nutrition. & I do have to make my food like MUSH from chewing before swallowing or it gets stuck the doctor told me that it can be 30+ chews he said a piece of steak the size of a thumbnail can take 100 chews before swallowing!! **guess who won't be having steak anytime soon** Should I just keep on the way I am? anyone else have this issue? I will be going back in month for follow up....meanwhile I just wanted to know if anyone else eats this small amnt and is ok

You still an active group? I am in Chilliwack area. Pls let me know