Kalipso2

every diet i tried in the past i lost a lot in my boobs but after the band... they're still there. i wish they'd go away like my hips and thighs did!

i had a low BMI of 36.6 and i was self pay. i wasn't always overweight. it wasn't until i was in my mid-20's that i started struggling. i have to be honest with you... this journey is HARD. had i known then what i know now... i might not have gone thru with it but let me explain. i did all the research but i thought i'd be okay with everything. i only needed to lose 75 pounds to get me to a normal BMI, so how hard could it be, right? they don't tell you about the struggles between the brain and the stomach. my stomach (and my band) tell me to stop eating after a few bites but my brain tells me to keep eating because it tastes SO good. if you listen to your band, you WILL lose weight but if you listen to your brain, you'll throw up. a lot. you have to learn to love your body and really respect the band. if i listen to my band i'm totally fine with my eating. it's when i listen to my brain that i run into problems. you also have to be aware that some foods that you LOVE might be foods you'll never eat again. i can no longer eat pizza or hamburger or bread of any kind. if i do, i throw up. have you tried everything possible to lose weight naturally? do you feel like this is your only option? think long and hard....

i don't know how long you've been pierced but i had my belly ring done 3 years before surgery and kept it out a year post-op and my ring went in just fine!

i've lost a little more than an elephant's penis !

it really depends what your doctor told you about carbonated beverages. my doctor told me no carbonation or alcohol for 3 months post-op and i literally counted the days until i could have a diet pepsi! i'm almost 3 years post-op and have had no problems drinking it but i only allow myself 20 ounces a day. when i do drink carbonation, i can feel it traveling thru my band and it does make a loud gurgling sound almost like a stomach growls when its hungry.

I'm almost at my goal weight so I wanted a place to view the before and afters during these past 3 years... Before Surgery April 2008 Post Surgery July 2008 Photo of my pouch dilation (see how the top of my stomach is folding over the band? not a good thing!) Christmas 2009 Christmas 2010

i packed like i was planning on spending the night at a hotel lol i brought pajamas, a book, my iPod, shower items including hair dryer, curling Iron,makeup etc. and new clothes for the drive home. i didn't use ANY of it. i didn't feel like i had enough energy to change out of my hospital gown. i was too drugged up to read or listen to music. the next morning there was no way i was in any shape to take a real shower and fix my hair so i felt yucky after just using a wash cloth that i ended up wearing the same clothes i can in with with my hair pulled back in a ponytail.

i give you a LOT of credit... i've never once asked a guy out... ever. GOOD FOR YOU!!! whether you end up going out or not, i think its awesome that you had enough courage to ask him!

wow... i'm sorry to hear about everything... the car accident, the band problems, the unfill. the way i see it... its only one day. eat while you can and enjoy christmas dinner! i seriously think that you've been banded long enough you won't go overboard TOO bad. and if your doctor said it was okay... then go for it! today was my work potluck lunch and i was stressing out so bad. i did not want to over eat and have to throw up while at work (ewwww!!!) i didn't give myself a calorie limit so i tried a little bit of everything that i like. i had some corn bread, a meatball, a couple of bites of fried chicken, chocolate pudding dessert. AND i didn't over eat! i stressed for nothing. i didn't even get the feeling of being over full. i just took a bite or two and moved on. since i was mingling, no one noticed that i actually didn't finish everything so i didn't feel guilty either. good luck to you and i hope you're able to get your fill back soon!

i was just talking to my sister about this last night. she thinks i look perfect the way i am but i'm not quite in the normal BMI stage right now so i'm determined to keep going with the weight loss until i think i look good. BUT i'm not sure i'll ever look in the mirror and think i look good. i still see the fat me and that worries me. on the brighter side, i went shopping about a month ago and was taking on the task of trying on jeans. i DISPISE trying on jeans. there happened to be a pair of jeans already in the dressing room when i went in and they were "skinny jeans"... a size 8. i laughed to myself and decided to try them on for shits and giggles. i was completely surprised when they actually fit.... not tight fitting but truly fitting!! that was my defining moment and it took me 2 + years to really "get" that i'm really getting skinny!

i can say "trust your doctor" because this is what he's specialized in. she's losing weight and seems to be at a decent restriction. being over-filled is not the answer. she's not stumbling. losing 15 pounds a month (which is 3.75 pounds a week) is great and healthy. WANTING a fill and NEEDING a fill are two totally different things!

i don't know much about gastric bypass so i can't help on comparing the two surgeries and their outcomes but i have been banded for almost 3 years. i'm 5'4" and weighed 213 at the time of my surgery. i chose the lapband because i didn't want my intestines rerouted and it seemed less invasive. i can't lie... it's been a struggle. i can't eat a lot of my favorite foods anymore BUT they were foods i probably shouldn't be eating anyway... like pizza and ground meat and sausage. i have lost a good amount of my weight and i feel healthier than i ever have before. i'm wearing clothes i never thought i'd ever wear. in the end, it has to be your decision. i'm sure your friends had their reasons for going with the bypass but i've also heard that with the bypass it's easy to gain the weight back and a lot of those patients end up getting the lapband on top of their bypass. there is no hurry to make your decision... there is a lot of info here and i wish you the best of luck!

just remember... hunger isn't evil. everyone feels hunger at some point. just don't let yourself get SO hungry you make poor food choices. that's the key!

is it weird of me to LIKE the scar where my port is? that's the only scar you can see after 2.5 years. i think of it as my "Battle Scar" and a reminder of all my hard work. of course i'm the person that is always touching my port when i'm walking around... its like a security blanket for me.

you need to trust your doctor. believe me, he wants you to succeed. being restricted does NOT mean getting stuck. you should be thankful that you haven't experienced that. do not judge your band or the restriction by how many cc's of Fluid you have in your band. i made that mistake and it set my weight loss back and hurt me in the long run. i also have a 10 cc band. i lied to my doctor about how i was feeling and got up to almost 6 cc's of fluid but i was throwing up all the time and had horrible acid reflux BUT i was losing weight. it turned out that my band was severely close to slipping because it was so tight. my doctor looked at my band under xray and he immediately took most of my fluid out. it was a long road back to where i am now and i just can't tolerate more than 4.4 cc's of fluid in my 10 cc band. you're losing weight... that's a GREAT thing! you're not losing too fast... losing slow is better in the long run. TRUST YOUR DOCTOR!

congratulations!! that's so exciting! keep up the good work!! and like Humming Bird said... you're so close to a "normal" BMI and THAT should give you another reason to celebrate!

ugh... that's going to be me tomorrow! i can feel your pain already!!

i would definately call your doctor. you should be able to eat mushy foods without any problem but you do have to watch portion size. are you able to eat 6-8 ounces of food at one sitting? make sure you're eating slowly too. its normal to be able to feel your port... almost all of us can. some people even have their ports sticking out a bit. luckily mine hasn't. the placement of ports is different for each person. mine is on my right side... a little up from my belly button. call your doctor though... you should be feeling fine after 3 weeks!!

i think when a person is SO close to their goal weight every little pound (+ or -) means a lot because we've worked so hard to get to where we are now that gaining 2 pounds feels like 20 emotional pounds. i get that. i've been there and i have those days too! for me, my doctor told me at my 2 year anniversary (which was my last paid for appointment with him) that i was a "success" because i lost 60% of my weight. i asked him if he thought i'd ever get to 100% of my weight off and he told me "probably not" because i have a medium size body frame. well, that pissed me off royally! since that visit in april 2010, i've lost an additional 20 pounds... not alot if you figure its 20 pounds in 7 months which comes out to be 2.5 pounds a month but i'm okay with that. i don't care if it takes me 5 years to get to my goal... i WILL be in the "normal" BMI range!! keep up the good work... you'll get there!

for me, dilation was because my band was too tight for too long and i was surviving on mostly liquids. since the band was too tight, the liquid and food was sitting for way too long in the top portion of my stomach above the band which caused the top of the stomach to fold over the band. having this happen for too long will cause your band to slip. thankfully mine was caught quick enough because my doctor does his fills under xray. he unfilled me not quite to empty and we had to slowly add the Fluid back in over the next few months. for me the symptoms were HORRIBLE acid reflux where i would wake up literally choking on my own vomit. i also threw up a lot. if you feel your band is too tight go see your doctor!!!

where are you located?

congratulations!! yes, others seem to see the weightloss more than we do. i've had 4 people this week tell me i look like i've lost weight but to me i look exactly the same! it's a great idea to set goals and mini-goals... it keeps you motivated. keep up the good work!

i was banded in april 2008. i weighed 213 before surgery and i currently weigh 154. it's taken me a long time to lose the weight but slowly but surely i'm still losing. it IS important to be comfortable with the doctor and his staff. i was surprised that i rarely saw my doctor after the surgery... it was always his PA's... but they are all really supportive because almost everyone on his staff has been banded. there were a few occasions that i actually saw my surgeon but maybe only 3 times during 2 years. do you have any other band doctors in your area that you can go see since you don't feel comfortable with your current surgeons office? make some calls and tell them your story... they might be happy to help! are there any support groups in your area? that would be a great place to start getting back on track! do you exercise? if not, start doing some light exercise. start journaling ALL your food/drink intake. once you start making yourself right EVERYTHING down you'll see where you're eating things you shouldn't be. i've heard of something called the "5 day pouch test" (i think) where you basically go on a liquid pre-op diet and then introduce pureed foods and then mushy foods and then regular foods... almost like you did after your initial surgery. google it, i think you should be able to find it! i'm self pay too so i know your struggles. my fills were paid for the first 2 years. i was scrambling april 2010 to try to get to my sweet spot before i'd have to start paying for fills and unfills! so far it's worked because i've continued to lose weight since then. good luck and i have faith in you that you CAN get back on track!

your name caught my eye... do you like birds? i have 3 quaker parrots and 2 parakeets! anyway... it's great that you have someone close who has gone thru the procedure and you can see the results! good luck on the journey to a new you!

congratulations on working towards your new life! i know you say the pain isn't bad but take my word... use the pain medication as directed! don't let yourself feel a lot of pain before you take the meds!