Kalipso2

i have heard about the card but don't currently have one. sometimes i just order an appetizer and take half of it home and i HAVE ordered off the kid's menu with no problem at all at a few restaurants but even a kid's meal is too much food for me. i usually end up not ordering anything for myself and just eating off someone's plate. i'm not quite sure how i'm going to handle it when i start dating again since most dates include dinner!

being only 4 months post-surgery, i'm not sure how to get past the habit or urge to eat. that's what i'm still working on. the first month post-surgery was mostly liquids and mushies for me. i wasn't even on solid food when i got my first fill. the second month post-surgery i felt even more hungry that i did before my first fill so i went in for my second fill and lost a lot of weight. the third and fourth month has been spent learning HOW to eat with the band. i've learned i can no longer eat bread or ground meat, which i found out after PB'ing a few times after i ate those items. luckily i can still eat chicken and that is where i get the majority of my Protein along with cheese and nuts. when my nutritionist told me that a single dinner at the Olive Garden would last a week with leftovers i thought she was joking but it's true. just think about how much you can eat now and then actually measure out 1/2 a cup... it's not much food BUT it does fill you up. it's just that sometimes i'm left longing for a binge... and that totally psychological and maybe a lot of lapbanders don't feel the way i do. i don't want anyone to get me wrong... it's not that i necissarily REGRET being banded. i love my band. i love being smaller. i love the compliments. i love being and feeling healthier. i wouldn't go to the extreme of getting my band removed or getting unfilled. i just didn't really fully understand that it's mostly a mental game... brain vs. stomach.

i'm not sure if "regret" is the right word for what i feel. i just wonder if i knew then what i know now, if i would have still gone thru with it.... the most difficult part of this whole process has been listening to my stomach instead of my taste buds. while my stomach feels satisfied after eating 1 small slice of pizza, my taste buds want more. if i give in to the taste buds, i end up PB'ing which isn't healthy. if i listen to my stomach, i'm left feeling depressed. the psychological part of this journey has been the most difficult BUT now that i've been banded for almost 4 months and i'm almost at the halfway point of my weightloss, i wouldn't remove my band unless it was medically necessary! hope this helped...

the day of my surgery my parents and siblings knew, 1 co-worker and 1-friend. as i started losing weight i started telling more people. now that i've lost almost half the weight i tell the whole world! i told them because i wanted them to know that this isn't an easy process. it's not something i did on a whim and i am struggling.... every day. people seem to think that if someone has surgery they're taking the easy way out. it's been far from easy!

i've been banded for almost 4 months and i'm STILL dealing with the depression. i read how the band is just a tool and that it was going to be a difficult struggle to lose the weight but i honestly thought it would be different for me. i'm not sure if i would say i'm an emotional eater but i just don't know when or how to stop eating. if i listen head and taste buds i get the satisfaction of eating yummy food but then i end up PB'ing. if i listen to my stomach i'm left depressed because i WANT to keep eating. just stay strong and always keep in mind the reason you decided to get banded. you have to look towards the long-term results!! good luck!

i was banded by Dr. Curry in Cincinnati, Ohio. his registered dietician was overweight and got banded by him. she lost 100% of the weight she wanted and looks great! when i met with her, i didn't believe that she was ever overweight but she keeps a before picture of herself on her board. i know she would love to help you if she could. let me know if you'd like her email address!

i would listen to your doctor. as long as you're not hungry and are losing weight i wouldn't get a fill just yet. i had my 2nd fill in june and haven't felt the need for another one (if anything i'm a little too tight). my weight loss had plateau'd for about 2 weeks but now i'm losing again. patience is the key here. you want the weight to come off slowly.

i HAVE swallowed that last bite and yes, you will throw up. you have to learn to listen to your stomach, not your head and that is hard to do. i find it hard to stop eating something i enjoy eating.... like pizza. if i try to eat more than my stomach allows... even though it tastes SO good... i will be spending time over the toilet.

a lot of people who choose mexico are self pay and it's more affordable BUT there are excellent surgeons in mexico too!

i think everyone tolerates pain differently.... while i never had any surgery or endured childbirth, i thought i had a pretty high tolerance for pain. i decided beforehand to spend the night in the hospital and i'm glad i did. i thought i'd be fine after surgery though. i brought books and my ipod to keep me from being bored. i brought my pajamas so i'd be comfortable. i brought my hair dryer and curling Iron for after i took a shower the next morning. i was in SO much pain that i made sure i stayed drugged the entire time i was in the hospital as well as the way home. i never opened my book or listened to my ipod. i was in so much pain that trying to get out of my hospital gown and into my pj's just wasn't worth the comfort. the next morning i just pulled my hair in a ponytail and said "screw the shower and washing my hair". the worst part of the whole ordeal was getting in and out of bed... learning how to roll over to get up instead of sitting up at the waist. the first 2 days were painful and i took all the drugs they gave me and i'm not ashamed to admit that. after 2 days i felt MUCH better!

i had my surgery done by Dr. Curry in Cincinnati, OH... not sure how far away you are from Cinci. My surgery cost $13,000 with 2 years of fills.

I do try to eat 6 small "meals" a day. Sometimes I forget to eat my Snacks though. I have a slimfast for Breakfast because i've never been much of a breakfast person. I have fruit as a morning snack. lunch is usually a half sandwich using a low-carb wrap (turkey and cheese, chicken and cheese, etc). As an afternoon snack I'll either have another slimfast or string cheese. dinner is usually 2 chicken tenders. Occasionally in the evening I'll have popcorn or a scoop of sugar-free icecream. I'm rarely hungry... ever... even if I don't eat my snacks but it's very important to get in enough Protein. The only time I feel hunger is for my morning snack.

i was given morphine thru my IV after my surgery until the middle of the night. (i chose to spend the nite in the hospital). after that i was put on liquid vicodin and was giving a prescription of 4 days worth of liquid vicodin for home. the night after my surgery (while in the hospital) and the day after were the most painful. it is VERY difficult to sit up from a laying down position. after those 2 days i felt fine. i was even sleeping on my stomach by the 5th day after surgery. don't be shy... if you feel you need the pain meds, take them... that's why they give them out!

when did you start noticing the hair loss. mine didn't start until 2.5 months after my surgery! i had noticed my hair falling out but didn't think of telling my hair stylist and she just about freaked out after combing my hair. she didn't say anything... just held her hand out with a handful of my hair... and looked horrified. i saw her reaction in the mirror. i explained that i had surgery but she didn't think i should still be losing my hair. while i DO have thick hair, i want to keep it that way! i hate to take the extra supplements if i don't have to...

my surgery was in April and my hair JUST started falling out over the past 3 weeks. i just had my blood tested to make sure nutrient levels were fine after surgery so i know it's not that. would it take the body almost 3 months to be stressed out? how long does the hair loss last?? thank God i have a lot of hair but i'm still starting to worry!

26 pounds is AWESOME for not having a fill yet! i think i lost 13 pounds by my 1st fill and my doc was impressed. some people actually gain weight before their 1st fill because there is no restriction. just remember... it's a lot better to lose the weight slowly. you have a better chance of not gaining it back that way! you're doing great!

we have "bagel day" at work on thursdays... i thought if i chewed really good things would be okay... they weren't. i don't do good with foods being stuck. it hurt way too bad so i can usually make myself PB to get the food out. i stand in front of the toilet and bend at the waist. the stuck food usually pops out pretty quickly. (not that i'm encouraging you to do this) i would NOT drink anything. it will only make things worse!

i did a little research on the bypass, sleeve and banding. i ended up choosing the band. what it comes down to is how quick you want to lose the weight. the bypass and sleeve will have you losing weight quicker than with the band BUT some bypass and sleeve patients get banded years later because they've stretched their stomachs back to a normal size from eating too much. also, i think the bypass and sleeve patients have to take nutritional supplements for the rest of their lives because their food passes too quickly thru their stomachs. i don't take any supplements other than my multi-Vitamin. i just went to my general doctor for a blood test to check to make sure my body wasn't being deprived of any vitamin or mineral but all my tests came back "normal". i was self pay too and will be paying for the surgery probably for the next 4 years but it is SO worth it!!

yep... absolutely normal. the port area can hurt 2-3 months after surgery. it WILL get better though!

i currently have 5.2cc's in my 10cc band and i've had 2 fills.

i've been banded since April and i have thrown up but i have PB'd. PB'ing is SO much better than actually throwing up. When you PB, the food hasn't made it to the stomach yet so there is just the food and a lot of saliva... no stomach acids mixed in. now i'm not saying that it's OK to PB... just that it's not as bad as you're think.

i didn't have a choice. during my consultation, my surgeon told me he would probably use the Realize band but for whatever reason decided to use the Lap-Band. he doesn't decide until he's inside and can see what's the best fit. so far it seems to be working just fine!

i'm so glad i'm not the only one who wants to reward myself for losing weight! i plan on doing "something" when i'm no longer considered obese.... which should be a few more pounds. i plan on rewarding myself at other goals as well. i have an august weightloss i'm trying to hit too. i didn't do anything in the beginning because i know the weight comes off quickly in the beginning. i want to reward myself for the actual "having to work at it" pounds.

i recently took my 11 yr old niece and 8 yr old nephew to a Water park for an afternoon of fun. at one point my nephew asked me why there were so many fat people at the water park. i stopped walking and told him that just until recently i looked like the people he was talking about. he responded with "well you don't know". so i had him look... really look... at the people around us. i made him turn around in a full circle to show him that each and every person is different... no one is the same size... some are tall, some are short, some are skinny and some are overweight. i also pointed out that no one has the same exact shade of skin either so it's not right to compare people. i hope he understood.

maybe you need another fill? maybe you should join weight watchers so you DO have to go in for weekly weigh-ins?