alice150

Name - Alice Date you were banded - April 8, 2008 Weight Lost to date - 30 lbs How are you feeling? - Good - Not much restriction, but I have been able to stick to healthy diet and I have been exercising!

Lundy Lane, I am just like you. I was banded on April 8, I have had 1 fill on May 19 and I have never really experienced pb'ing or sliming. I am losing weight too. At 6 weeks the doctor gave me a fill because I lost most of the weight in the first 3 weeks. I went back 5 weeks later on June 24 and I had lost 10 more lbs. I wanted a fill because I felt that I was eating too much and I didn't think I was getting any message from the band. He wouldn't do it. He will not give fills if you've lost more than 5 lbs in a month. I am watching what I eat, keeping track of calories most days and exercising. I feel like I am losing weight in spite of the band. If having this surgery is what helped me make these choices, I am fine with that. I am going to keep going like I have and if I don't need a fill for a couple of more months, so be it. I started out on the day of surgery with 4cc's in a 10cc band and then had 1cc added on May 19. I want to take my time with this because my band is already 50% filled. My doctor feels the same way. He's very conservative, but until I am not losing weight, I won't complain. Good luck. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/242/150

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try it like I said, very thin spread on toasted bread, but I will also ask the doctor what he thinks. Alice

Is peanut butter and jelly ok? I would spread it very thin on toasted whole wheat bread or on thin tortilla. Sometimes you just have to have a taste of the comfort food! Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/242/150

NOPBJ, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with the anesthesia. I also had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia. I had dry heaves for two days and when I woke up I was incredibly dizzy. My heart rate dropped too low and then my blood pressure went up. They had a very difficult time stabilizing me. All in all, the surgery itself was not so bad. I do feel the outpatient surgery centers are a joke, though. Definitely an assembly line atmosphere. Once you are out of surgery, their job is to get you out the door as fast as they can to get your space ready for the next outpatient procedure coming to recovery. I was sent home much too early and still having dry heaves and very dizzy. My insurance would have covered inpatient for this, and my recommendation to anyone who can get the coverage for inpatient is to stay the night, if they can. Good luck on your journey. I think you will find it getting better and better every day. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/242/150

Well, I am back from my appointment. No Fill. My doctor's guidelines are weight loss of less than 5 lbs in one month before he will consider any further adjusting. I've lost 10 lbs in the last 5 weeks. I explained that I did not think that the band talks to me and he laughed. He said I am obviously working the system the way it should be worked and if I want to feel food in my band, I am looking for it to be too tight! I'm only 2.5 months out and have 5cc's in a 10cc band. He is afraid that I will max out if I look to have a fill too soon. Thanks for the feedback but I will follow the doctor's orders and whether it is because of the band or in spite of it, I don't plan on losing less than 5 lbs a month! Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/243/150

This is where I really have to do better. I have been walking 3x a week with a friend at work during lunch time at a huge outlet mall. I always say I will exercise in the a.m. before work and I never do. I want to get into a routine 5 days a week. I'm actually moving this weekend from S. Florida to the St. Pete area for a year. I will be living away from my husband and adult son who is high functioning autistic. I didn't want to do this, but I will have 20 years service with my employer next year and I would lose the option to get my retirement benefits early if I don't make it to 20 years. It will be difficult to be traveling back and forth every other weekend, but I do see an opportunity with this move as well. This is my time to take care of myself. I will only have healthy food in the house, I will join a gym and transform myself this coming year! Good Luck to everyone. Alice 271/243/150 Banded April 8, 2008

Hi everyone, I will be going for my second fill tomorrow. I was banded on April 8 and have lost 28 lbs. I have a 10cc band which started out with 4 cc's from the day of surgery. My first fill was May 19 and it was 1 more cc. I have never really felt any restriction, even after my fill. The doctor said that he did not think 1 more cc would feel much different??? At the time, I was just starting solid food and couldn't really tell him how full I felt. How much of a fill should I get tomorrow? I don't want to be too restricted, but I do want to get some kind of message from the band. Do I have a say in how much I should get, or should I just leave it up to the doctor after telling him that I can eat way too much without feeling it, if I don't make myself stop from sheer willpower. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/243/150

I wish it took me longer. I am having trouble slowing down. I usually take about 20 minutes at the most, but I don't feel any restriction. I've had one fill on May 19 and will have another one next week. I know there is more than one reason for learning to eat slow. It takes at least 30 minutes for your brain to get the message, plus food may get stuck when the restriction is right. I'm waiting for my band to talk to me just a little bit more. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/243/150

I was banded April 8 and had my first fill on May 19. I have a 10cc band that had 4cc's from the beginning and on May 19 I received an additional 1cc. I felt a little restriction right after but it did not really last. I don't feel any restriction right now and even though, I've lost more weight, I would like to get a message from my band when I eat. My next appointment is June 24 and I hope to get 1cc more. We will see what happens. Alice 271/244.5/150

Hi SS, I am also in Florida. I actually live in Sunrise in S. Florida but will be moving to the St. Pete area for a year on July 2 due to my job. I was banded on April 8, 2008. I have been successful, losing 26 lbs since then. How soon to you hope to have surgery? Where in Florida are you? Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/245/150

Katie, I had surgery the week before you. I have lost 25.5 lbs, but I haven't lost anything in over a week. I had my first fill on May 19 and I have an appointment on June 24 at which time I hope to get my second fill. I have 5 cc's in a 10 cc band. It is a struggle at this point because I don't feel the restriction at all at this point. I think I felt it a little after my fill but it did not last long. My band started out with 4 cc's on my surgery date. My fill was for 1 more cc on May 19. I don't think being hungry 3 - 4 hours later is that bad. I think you can allow yourself a small snack in between meals. I don't snack after Breakfast and I sometimes will have a late afternoon snack (sugar free pudding or yogurt). I always have a little snack in the evening before bed. Good Luck Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/245.5/150

Grace, Your stats are great. When were you banded? I've had one adjustment but I don't have much, if any restriction. So, for now, I feel the need to count calories. I'm also trying to keep it high Protein in regular foods but no shakes. How much do you exercise? That's my biggest challenge. Have a great day! Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/245.5/150

Hi Barbara, I know how tough it is before the mushie stage. I was fine the first week, Clear Liquids, but by the end of the first week, I couldn't wait until full liquids. Then after a couple of weeks on full liquids and I was happy until towards the end where I would have killed for cottage cheese and I don't even like cottage cheese! It will get better with the mushie stage! I am 2 months post op today. There are still some challenges, but it is getting easier. I live in Fort Lauderdale now, but I am moving with my job for a year at least on July 2. I will be working in St. Pete and living in Largo. I'll be real close by if you want to meet next month. I am 53 years old, married and have a 24 y/o son living with me. While I am in St. Pete, I will be doing the long distance marriage thing because my husband can't transfer right now and I really need to work one more year at my company to make my 20 years. They are closing my office and centralizing in St. Pete. Hang in there, things will get better. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 271/245.5/150

Deb and SisC, One of my knees is in pain more since my surgery because I started at 3 weeks to walk. I think it aggravated something that may have happened a couple of years ago when I fell on vacation and never followed up for therapy like I was supposed to. I actually stopped walking and have not walked for about 10 days. Today, I got on a recumbent bike we have in the house and could not even handle 10 minutes! I will do it again when I get home from work because I know exercise really helps your progress. I was banded April 8 and have lost 24 lbs so far. I struggle with the diet because with one fill, I'm not feeling the restriction like I think I should. Good luck to you both and here's hoping our knees hold out! Let's face it. They will be much better off when we lose the weight! Alice 271/247/150 Banded April 8, 2008

Lynn, I am an APRIL AVENGER too. I was banded April 8 and live in Fort Lauderdale, but I will be relocating to St. Pete for a year on July 2. I"m an insurance adjuster and my office is centralizing in St. Pete. I have one more year until I have 20 years with my company, so I am going to be doing the long distance marriage thing for a year. Otherwise, I will lose my job and lots of benefits that come with leaving my company before 20 years. Things are stressful with this move coming up and it makes it hard to stick to my food program sometimes. I also was doing great exercising until the last two weeks. As a result, I only lost 1 lb this week. I know I can do better. I had my first fill on May 19, but I don't really have any restriction yet. A couple of times I've had an uncomfortable feeling, but it goes away and I didn't really get any sign to stop before I did. Your numbers are great! Keep up the good work. I'll talk to you soon. Alice 271/247/150

Now tonight, I made a very focused effort to do all the right things. I put 3 oz of broiled salmon, 1/2 c of mashed potatoes and 1/2 c. of cooked carrots on my plate. I ate very slowly, taking at least 30 minutes and taking small bites, putting my fork down occasionally for a break and I made sure that I ate my salmon all up because of the Protein. I ate the carrots all up and had some of the potatoes (maybe half). I thought about it and really did not feel full, but I did not really feel hungry either. I didn't have this urge to keep eating, so I stopped. But......an hour later I was hungry!!! This is definitely a learning experience and I am going to have to study harder to read my bodies signals better. Of course, I've only had one fill and I'm sure I haven't reached my sweet spot yet. Hopefully that will help. Good luck to everyone working on this very difficult stage in our journey. We will make it. Alice Banded 4/8/08 271/248/150

I am almost 7 weeks post op. I had my first fill last Tuesday and my doctor also said 6 months before any abdominal exercises. Legs and arms are ok, but most important during the first 6 months is cardio, cardio, cardio, as he put it. Alice

I understand how you feel. I had my surgery on April 8. I have a 10cc band that started out with 4cc's on the day of surgery. I had my first fill on Tuesday, the 20th, an additional 1cc. I didn't think I felt restriction or full until Friday night. We went to dinner and I only had 1 c of creamy onion Soup and 1 crabcake of two on the appetizer plate. I felt uncomfortable the rest of the evening. Yesterday, I never felt full, so I was confused. Now today, I had dinner at 5 p.m. - 1 slice of meatloaf (Boston Market), 1/3 c. of mashed potatoes and a few bites of steamed vegetables. I didn't feel it while I was eating, but it hit me later that I have this full feeling right up into my chest and I still have it 3 hours later. This is a real trial and error thing. I think I have to learn to use the tips for eating better. Eating very slowly and taking at least 30 minutes to finish my meal. Also, not drinking any liquids for an hour before or after (how you get adequate Water intake in this case is beyond me). I have lost 23 lbs thus far, but 11 was in the first week, nothing in week 2, 6.5 in weeks 3 and 4, nothing in week 5 and 6 more in week 6 and almost 7. I think with my struggle finding the right amount, I will most likely gain in this coming week and don't plan on looking at the scale for 10 days or so. I just have to learn to listen to my body and eat the right foods. We are all different, but as long as you keep losing, hang in there. My doctor said everyone loses at a different rate. They are actually looking for an average of 5 to 8 lbs a month. Good luck! Alice 271/248/150 Surgery April 8, 2008

COSkinny, I think it is different for everyone and I'm struggling with this same issue myself. I had my first fill on Tuesday. When I spoke to my doctor, he said he felt that counting calories is a good thing to do and he recommended 1200 - 1400 calories a day. That sounds reasonable, but if you are supposed to be restricted and can't consume more than 1 cup of food at any meal and you are making smart choices, how do you get that many calories in? I am still trying to figure out if I feel restriction. Friday night I definitely had too much to eat when out to dinner and all I had was a cup of Soup and 1 crab cake from the appetizer menu. I had this overfull, uncomfortable feeling. Yesterday, I didn't really feel full at any meal and even found myself hungry after a reasonable meal. As far as the calories go, you can only see how it works for you and adjust from week to week. Good Luck. Alice

I would love to have a couple of glasses of wine more than once a week, but I've only had two occasions since I was banded on April 8 that I have indulged. I had a Baby Shower on May 3 and a party to go to last weekend. Both times I indulged, but my goal is to drink only for social occasions and limit it to 2 glasses of wine when I do indulge. The calories are empty and they say that alcohol slows down your body's metabolism. Alice

I had my first fill today. I had a 10 cc lapband that was filled to 4 cc's during surgery. I felt full for the first month with little food, but this past week I started eating more. Since I've had a satisfactory weight loss - 18 lbs in 6 weeks, he felt it best to add just 1 cc today. I feel it best to go slow but I will monitor it very closely before my next visit next month to really tell how full I feel and the amounts I eat. Kris, were you told to go Clear liquids for two days after your fill? I'm just curious if all doctors give that advice. Alice Banded April 8, 2008 272/254/150

I lost 11 lbs the first week and nothing the second week. I am now 5 weeks post surgery and I am at 19 lbs. lost. I think everyone is different and you shouldn't set yourself up for disappointment. Alice

Hi Everyone, I was banded on 4/8 and I actually feel great and have felt great for at least a week. Even so, I have thought of a million excuses for not doing some kind of exercise. I hate exercise, but know it is very important in this journey. I've seen many banders post that it is the one area they are lacking in. Today I did it. I went out this morning and walked for 35 minutes! I feel so pumped now, I'm even thinking of doing it again tonight when it cools down some (I live in S. Florida). I know this will help with weight loss and I am determined to do a 30 minute brisk walk at least 5 times a week. I was very down earlier this week when I didn't lose anything the 2nd week and I've decided to wait to weigh now until May 6 which is my birthday and my 4 week banding anniversary. Anyway, I just wanted to share my little victory for the day. Alice

Gill, I understand your frustration. I posted earlier this week for the same reason. I was banded on April 8. On the 14th, I showed an 11 lb loss. On the 21st - nothing. I know that I am following the rules and I just have to have faith that it will all work out. I am not going to weigh now for two weeks, just so I don't get into the habit of looking at the scale too often. Hang in there. It will work out. Alice