a2bachik

PBdove, I have my fills done by Dr. Velarde. He is an Omni Doc with an office in Palm Bay. I don't know if he will do them for bands done out of the country. But, I would check, because it is much closer that St. Pete. Also, you can check into Dr. Domkowski, he did my surgery and has just moved his office to Sebastian. I think he will do fill's for bands done by other doctors. You can PM me if you want phone numbers... Hope this is of some help...good luck.

Hello all. I live in Melbourne and was banded in Palm Bay. I was banded Sept of 08 and am loving life right now. I am currently at my half-way point to my goal. If I can help anyone, I am always up to the chalange...

I have never been a big beer drinker... don't really like it. But, I have always loved Captain and Coke. So, now I have switched to diet coke and I let it get a little flat before I drink it. Plus the Captain takes most of the carbonation out if it any ways. I too don't have to drink as much to get sloshed these days. I do find that when I have a party night over the weekend, that I don't loose as much weight that week. But, I still lose a couple of lbs, so that's fine with me...

I'm down 60lbs today. That's half-way to my goal...

So I have made it to the half-way mark. YEA!!!!!!!!:cursing: I really never thought this would be this easy. But, it is turning out to be very easy. I have never been this confident in myself. I have never tried to put myself together on a regular basis either. Now, I'm in the mirror all of the time, consistently making sure I look OK. But this weight loss has helped me so much. I feel better, I'm not tired all the time, I haven't even gotten as sick as I normally do at this time of year. I am almost 5 months post-op and down 60 lbs (post-op weight lost) and so proud of myself. I went to see my mom the other day, and it had been over a week since I had seen her last, and she lost it. She couldn't believe that I have done so well. She is finally starting to see the changes in me. Even at work, people that I don't even know their names, are stopping me and asking if I have lost weight. It just feels so good to be noticed. My whole life I have felt like I lived in the shadows. No one ever noticed me, that can take a lot out of a person. But, not anymore. Those feelings a starting to dissipate.... YEA to me again!!!!! My husband has always told me I was beautiful, but I have never felt it before. Well, that is all changing. I know now that my outside will reflect my inside.

Good luck on the insurance. I too am in Florida... What part do you live??

Let me just say... I had my band done in Sept 08, and I love it. I really wasn't sure about it at first and after the surgery it was really hard. I didn't know if I had made the right decission. The surgery is surgery, there are risks with everything we do in life. I was lucky to have my surgery in the hospital I work in and I knew all of the people that were working on me. Also, I trusted my doctor. The key is to find a doctor that you can trust and that you believe in. Don't go into it with any questions. Ask as many as you can think of. This website is a great place to get the answers you are looking for. There are a ton of people that have been in the same place you are in right now, there are even people here that are in the same place. As far as the food, yes there is some limitations on certain things you can eat at first. But, that's just because you have to give your body time to heal and get used to the band. It really forces you to listen to your body and to learn new things about yourself. I am currently down 57lbs and I feel like a new person. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year is going to bring me. Good luck on your decision. You are the only one that can make this choice for yourself.

Well things have been going good for me so far. I am down 50lbs, and had my 4th fill yesterday. I finally feel the tightness that I hear about, I tried to have a scrambled egg this morning and had no luck. So, for lunch today it was some mashed potatos. I hope to have better luck tonight with the real food, I don't want to go back on protien shakes... Job well done to everyone so far and keep up the good work for this new year. I know it is going to bring great changes for me, I hope it is the same for everyone here...

As of today... I am at 50lbs lost. I can't beleive this is working. Everyone is dong a great job. Congrats to us all and this year is going to bring big changes for all of us...

Congrats... Your story sounds the same as mine. We are the same height and started at the same weight. I was bandded on 9/2/08, so that puts me about 6 months behind you. I'm down 45lbs ao far, so I know I am on the right track. Your after pic is amazing. Keep up the great work and good luck with the goal.

down 45lbs today... I am running out of clothes to wear :thumbup:

Congrats HealtherO... I can only hope the same will happen for me... I am 3 months post-op and down 45lbs. I am finally starting to feel like this is going to work. My cycle started at the same time this month as it did last month, and it wasn't as long this time. I really feel like a child is finally in my future. Cangrats again... goof luck with everything...

BooBoo. I have to say, "OMG" I have read many of your posts here and have been inspired by just your words. But, today I see this and your before pic. Let me just say OMG... I had no idea that this little piece of plastic could make that big of a differance. What is your secert? How can I be that successful? I am only 3 months post-op, but am down over 40 lbs. I know I have a great start, I just don't want to loose focus. Any word of wisdom that you wish to share would be wonderful. Congrats on your success!!!

So I just want to say...thanks for starting this thread and CONGRATS!!!!! to all of you that get to start or continue your families. To everyone else trying, a BIG good luck, and I am right here with you. I was banded 3 months ago and I am so happy with all of my progress. My reason for getting banded was so (Hopefully) one day I could have children. My husband and I have never NOT tried to get preg. But, we have a lots of issues. I was finaly told by my GYN that I have PCOS, so that took us through Clomid and Metformin. Neither one of them working. All I got out of it was curly hair. All my life I have had stick straight hair and after the Clomid, it started to grow in curly, only the top layer thought... Well, now I do everything I can to keep it straight, go figure. Well, back to the babies. I, and my husband, can not wait til we are able to "mold something of our own" :wink_smile: I keep telling myself that I want to wait a year and loose as much weight as I can, but I am starting to get impatiance. Even my and my husbands family's are starting to contantly ask, "When do we get a grandbaby?" I want to throw them through a window. They act as though we arn't even trying. It's really hard to try not to think about it when it's coming from all sides... But, we do try, we try as much as possible... Well, good luck to all of you...

K, Now I'm up to 41 lbs lost...

I have one now on the inside of my ankle, but when I lose all of my weight, I plan on getting a new one. I know I want another butterfly, I just haven't decided where or what it will look like yet.

Down 35lbs as of today!!!!

:thumbup: I hit 250 on the scale today!!! I couldn't tell you when the last time that happened was... I have hit my first small goal and I think this whole process was totaly worth it now. I am just so excited because I got to move the scale a notch...it no longer has to sit on 250, now I can set it to 200... Who knew something so small, could mean so much?! I just had to put it out there...I didn't think that anyone would understand the way that I know some of you would... Hope all is well with everyone elses journeys...and that's for all the support...:eek:

I know how you feel. I have lost 30lbs and everyone keeps telling me, "I can see it in your face. You look great." But, I don't see it myself. I can feel it though. I know by the scale moving down that I am loosing weight, but when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, I see the same person. I guess my problem is I haven't taken any new pictures of myself. I don't have that other person prespective. All I can see is what I know I have always looked like, not what others are looking at. And, I agree with everyone else. You look great!! I understand the clothes thing. I am scared to start buying new ones, but I am swiming in everything I own. I feel like I am in some weird limbo. Like if I buy new clothes, the scale will stop moving. Good luck on the plateau...you will jump soon. I think the plateau is all part of it. You body has to do alot of adjusting...

Well the saga continued today. I went back to the office to try again. Luckly it worked, but not until I was laying on the table for at least a half an hour. I'm just glad that after tring for less than a minute the doctor decided to numb me. Thank God... But, they think my port has shifted side ways... They didn't order and x-ray or anything, so I don't know if it's something to worry about or not. I received another 1.5cc today, giving me a total of 4.5cc in a 10cc band. I don't know if it's my mind telling me what I want, but I feel like this is working better than the last fill. I was suposed to only have liquids today, but my girlfriend came over for lunch, from out of town and I was supposed to have the fill yesterday, so I would of been ok. Well I had a baked potato for lunch and all has been fine,so far. I don't feel like anything is stuck, but I didn't overfill myself either. So, I guess I'll just have to wait for dinner to see if I jumped the gun. Thanks for all the kind words and support. I really apreciate having this forum to get stuff off of my chest. I spill my guts here, so I don't take everything out on my husband.

Yea he used the ultra sound, but I got nothing to numb it. After the 4th or 5th stick it wasn't the needle that hurt anymore. He likes me to lift my head off of the table, but that still didn't help. Plus, it's super hard to do for a long time. I mean he tried to stick my port for over 20 min. The bruising is what hurts the worst... Thanks for the support...:w00t:

So I went to the doctor today for the hopes of having my second fill. And let me say...it was close to traumatic. I walked out of his office feeling like a pin cushion :laugh:. I think he stuck me a dozen times and not once did he hit my port. Saline stings when injected into your belly fat. Then to top it off I have to go back to try again tomorrow with a different doctor. THEN...if that doesn't work he will try it under fluro. :w00t: I think I need to tattoo an "X" to mark the spot :w00t:

I did't drink any of my Protein. As soon as I was on mussies, I ate alot of mashed potatos. I know they are carbs, but I lost weight and they kept me full the longest when I had no restriction. I ate eggs all kinds of ways too (scrambled, salad). Green Beans were one of my staples. Mac and cheese worked good too as long as it was supper soft. Canned ravioli worked good to, I found the mini ones were the best. I got alot of sides from KFC. But I have always been a super picky eater, with texture issues. But I have been on solids for 3 full weeks now. I eat 1 scrambled egg in the morning w/sasuge and for lunch I have a salad that has meat and egg on it w/ low fat dressing and for dinner I have a couple ounzes of protein and a couple of ounzes of veggies. I find that sometimes I am starving right when I get home from work, so I will have a SF fudgesickle (which really works for my chocolate cravings) or a SF popsickle. I even tried a special K Cereal bar the other day and it worked too. I used to be a grazer too and would eat just to be putting food in my mouth, but since the surgery I find myself really paying attention to my body and what it wants vs. what it needs. I mean I have slipped once or twice and I actually ate a cookie, but I ate it in tiny bits and only had one and it didn't kill me. I think part of the surgery (at least for me) is just being more aware of whats going on with our food intake. I haven't been purfect by any means, but I have lost 28 lbs and 2 pant sizes so far. I am thrilled with it. So, I just keep trucking along. If I could start excercising like I am supposed to be I would be better off. But, of course I keep putting that in the back of my head because this is working now. I just know that soon I am going to have to get my butt in gear and I will be even more happy with my progress. But I have always had the mental block issues. I hope this helps someone... Good luck to everyone with there progress...

The only thing that helps any, is walking... I had gas pains for almost a month after surgery. My husband would rub my back, but it only help for that moment. He couldn't and wouldn't do it for very long. Also, I used the chew-able Mylanta gas tablets. They helped pass it alittle bit. Just don't try to hold on to it. The only way to loose it, is to let the gas run it's course.