amylovescookies

I take 250mg too. I have to take 500mg in the morn & 500 in the evening. In the morning my band is TIGHT, so I drink a small cup of tea before I take my medication. It seems to do the trick.

:thumbup:Thank you for watching! I did my videos live. I can't figure out how to upload them yet from my webcam. I promise I will learn. I did my first two vids, and my family thought I was funny; I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Anyways I am so glad you are watching! At least I am not talking to dead space.

I have been banded since October of 2007. I think that I am qualified to answer this question because I have not lost 100% of my excess weight. I am not a size 2 like I hoped I would be. Expectation not met. I won't make excuses, I eat right, and I exercise. But my weight loss has a serious twist: I am bipolar, and as such I take a massive amount of weight gaining medication. (6000 pills a year.) Having said that I am totally pleased with my weight loss. I continue to lose weight, but it is VERY slowly. (1 pound a month, and I earn that pound!!) My surgeon is thrilled, because I have managed to lose 71% of my excess weight. Right on!!!

I REALLY WANT A COOKIE! is the name of my blog. I am also doing a video blog of my upcoming tummy tuck. I have all the info in my signature.

I love this post. A post like this gave me the courage to get my lapband in the first place. I was afraid of becoming thin. I had been so used to my fat that I was afraid to lose it. Who would I be without my bubble? Getting thin has been a psychological journey for me as I have had to learn to change my core values. In the upcoming weeks I am going in for a tummy tuck, which is a huge deal for me. I tired to do the surgery in September, but I wasn't ready for the attention that my new body would bring me. I was still wanted to wear my fat suit. But over the months I challenged my thoughts and beliefs, and now I see that I am a beautiful woman. And you know what? I realized that I was always a beautiful woman. I am so proud of everyone on this post! Thank you for starting it. I hope everyone reads it..

The advice you have been given is right on the money. You should never get to the point of a physical sign that you have over eaten. However, it does happen time-to-time. I have two levels of stupid: Level one: A hicup. This tells me I should give up and quit, but the tricky part is I get this sign 2 minutes after I have finished my plate. Darn it. Level 2: Chest pains. This sigh tells me that I'm still addicted to the taste of food, and I didn't stop when I should've. At first when I got my band I thought getting these signs were awesome, but now I avoid them at all cost. I just trust that my band does it's job properly, and I keep my brain out of it. I stop eating based on 'feeling full' (without a sign.) or eating a small portion. My motto is: If I am still hungry in an hour there will still be food in the fridge. The cool part is I am almost never hungry in an hour!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!:smile: Cupcakes are better than the whole cake right? (I love cake.) I am not perfect by any means, and if I had to be perfect with my diet for the rest of my life I would go insane. Like the another poster said moderation is the key. And you would've had to eaten a heck of a lot of calories to have the scale go up...14 cupcakes to gain a pound.:thumbup:

My family and I have this running gag: Whenever we go out I bet them that I can eat the biggest thing on the menu; with a wink and a smile of course, and they just roll their eyes, and say go for it. But you know what shocks me? Seeing how much my family eats! As I eat off of a dessert plate I watch them fill up their big plates, and go for seconds. I hate to say it but it kind of bothers me. I want to scream, 'You're eating too much!'

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I was a cheap drunk BEFORE I was banded, but since I was banded I have had a few glasses of wine during parties, and the holidays. To use the phrase: 'a glass' is a stretch. I can only take a sip or two, and then I am drunk!!!!!!!!! Knowing that I have stopped accepting wine; the three sips are not worth feeling drunk, and who really wants to feel drunk after a sip? People just think it's funny! :confused:

I was worried about the same thing. Last year I got a cough so bad I sounded like I was an old car trying to turn over when you tried to start it's engine. It was painful...for me and everyone around me. I am suprised my family didn't put me outside so they could sleep. I went to my surgeon and I asked him if my coughing would cause my precious band to slip. He just smiled at me, and told me 'No'. That was all I needed to hear. My poor family had to endure my cough for another two weeks, but I was relaxed knowing that my band was safe and sound. Good luck. I hope you feel better soon.

You and I are kindered spirits; I too LOVE sweets. I could live on Cookies, and cake. Don't give up. I give in to a guilty pleasure every now-and-again. When I do I make sure it is the very best of the best. Gourmet all the way! I tried to kick the habit, but I am an addict for life; since I know that I just changed my game plan. 'Cookies are sometimes food' Like everyone else said you are doing everything right. Our bodies don't always do what we want when we want them to do it. Keep up with the trainer and in the long run you will feel better about your successes. And if you MUST have that brownie make sure it is the best darn brownie in the world. :confused:

40 pounds since December that is totally awesome. Imagine this- I had massive issues with my port placement and it hurt to move at all. I put up with this issue for almost two years. I am totally stupid, but I was afraid the doctor would remove my band. Ahem...the short of it was because of the pain I was unable to move. By the end- walking to the kitchen made me cry. However despite of my lack of ability to move about I was able to lose 80 pounds. I now exercise, and I am thankful I bucked up and faced my fear, and got another surgery. We are all going to have set backs, but we are the lucky ones, we have a lapband, and that should keep us from eating the whole house...right? You have shown that you can do this. Keep going.

The same thing happened to me. I was almost at a comfortable level of feeling 'kind of' full- hoping that one more fill would do the trick, but my doctor wouldn't do it. When I went in to have my port repositioned he even took some saline out. The funny thing is I am losing more weight than I was when I my band was fuller. I guess my doctor knew what he was doing. hmmm... Trust your doctor.

Have you ever noticed that most of us in our 'before pictures' look so sad? Or is it tired? I can't tell...In our 'after photos' we look more full of life, and vitality. The lapband and my hard work gave me my life back. I feel sexier, I can walk through small places, oh and I can move through the movie isles without having to apologize to other patrons because I banged into them with my girth. That is a really good feeling. I like the little things. I like to rest my head on my husband's shoulder when he hugs me. Those things are the sucesses. Hey I have other news as well...I am gearing up to get my tummy tuck after my weight loss. I write a blog called ‘I really want a cookie’ (I wonder how I got so large in the first place?) I like to blog. I was thinking that I would join the masses and blog about my tummy tuck on youtube. With the help of my family and friends we are going to do our best to make a ‘blog-umentary’ that captures a lot more than what you normally find on youtube currently. I want to give people a true look at the whole experience from the lead up, the beginning, the middle, and the follow-up. I want to leave no stone unturned. As it stands now I am three weeks away from my consultation; I have posted my introduction video. If you want to check it out here is the link to my video, and make sure you subscribe to me, so you can catch all of my future videos! http://www.youtube.com/user/acdane I am so proud of my success that I am ready for the next chapter...well really it's the final chapter in this forever battle with my effort to LOSE weight. From now on it will be about acceptance, loving myself, and maintaining. I have already been able to do it for a year and half...it's been an easy lifestyle change, and very worth it. That right there is my true success. (LOVING MYSELF:wub:)

Hi Everybody- I can’t believe I am actually here! I am gearing up to get my tummy tuck after my weight loss. I write a blog called ‘I really want a cookie’ (I wonder how I got so large in the first place?) I like to blog. I was thinking that I would join the masses and blog about my tummy tuck on youtube. With the help of my family and friends we are going to do our best to make a ‘blog-umentary’ that captures a lot more than what you normally find on youtube currently. I want to give people a true look at the whole experience from the lead up, the beginning, the middle, and the follow-up. I want to leave no stone unturned. As it stands now I am three weeks away from my consultation; I have posted my introduction video. If you want to check it out here is the link to my video, and make sure you subscribe to me, so you can catch all of my future videos! http://www.youtube.com/user/acdane

I can’t believe I am posting here.:w00t: When I started this journey I didn’t think that I would be getting an extended tummy tuck. I thought I would lose weight, and I would be done, but now I want more…okay really I want less. (No more muffin top.)When I started out I had this vision of becoming 140 pounds, and a size 10, but in reality for the last year my body has been perfectly happy at 168. I have exercised, tried South Beach, and I even went vegan! But nothing and I mean nothing seems to budge my scale. (I tried to return my scale thinking it must be broken, but since it was four years old, and my excuse was what it was; the store didn’t go for it.) After one year I decided that my dreams of 140 were…let’s say lofty, and I decided that I would be okay with a size 12, and my current weight. (Hey it’s better than a size 22, right?):hurray: Here is the crux… I have the classic ‘Hey-You’ve-Lost-A-Lot-Of-Weight-Apron’ hanging down, and the famous muffin top.:jaw: I was wondering if anyone has been in my position, and most importantly what were your results? I am not looking to be a size 2…or even a size 8, but any information you can share would be helpful. How much weight was lost after surgery? Did you still have a ‘muffin top’? Did you have to get separate lipo’? How much was your extended tummy tuck with lipo? How many sizes did you lose? And most importantly were you happy with the results? I have disclosed my weight of 168 and my height of 5’4, and currently a size 12 with muffin top. If I wear a size 14 then I have no muffin issues, instead I have ‘Why are my pants falling on the floor?’ issues. I can’t win.:banghead: *I know everyone is different. I am just trying to get a perspective- I promise I won’t hold you to it. I am going to have the famous consultation with the surgeon next month. I don’t want to get my hopes up to high; I want to have a small idea of I am getting into before I get there.

I have been banded for 2 years. I have been a pretty good bandster. I have only gotten stuck 4 times since I had band. When I get stuck I only slime. I have never chucked. Last night I was really stupid for two reasons: One: I ate white bread with cheddar, and mayo. My band did not let me eat very much. It was a no-no. I was gagging stuck. Two: Since I was gagging stuck I took a swig of my daughter's grapefruit diet soda. I figured the acid, and the bubbles would work like draino on the sandwich. When I took the swig it was like a bullet going down my chest. I had to grab on to my kitcen counter to bear through the pain. The goodnews is the soda did get the food to move and I did slime. Shortly after my painful encounter with the cheese sandwich and the soda I got a dull ache right below my left shoulder. My band area felt okay. I have been drinking cold drinks, but I have quit my one time encounter with grapefruit soda cold turkey. This morning I had a icy Protein shake. Now my band feels irritated. I will see my doctor on the 23rd. I know someone out there has had a terrible stuckage. Maybe you haven't been as stupid as I was. How long should I be on liquids? Why does my left shoulder have a slight dull ache? Can people who have had their band this long cause long term perm. damage to their band?

Hi Kelly, I just wanted to let you know that I have replied to your request via email. :blushing:

How are you doing! It's been forever! You are doing great. It feels wondeful to see an old friend. :biggrin:

Congratulations on the start of a whole new life. If you need a friend I am available.:blushing:

I am bipolar. I have to take 7 different medications. Not taking my medications is not an option for me. My medications do have the side-effect of weight gain. What the medication does is it turns off the brain's signal to tell me when I am full. That is where the band comes in. I have accepted that my medication has an effect on how fast I lose the weight. But I am still losing!!! So I rock!

My goal weight has changed over the last 2 years. At first I wanted to go from 250 to 125. But after talking to my doctor we decided that I should shoot for the weight I was before I had a baby-160. Not super skinny, but much better than 250. Am I right? When I hit 160 I get plastic surgery, and then I will look slim no matter what!

I just wanted to say congratulations to all of you for losing weight. 7 pounds! I am 2 years out and if I lose 2 pounds in a month I am doing a happy dance. (I'll even do the happy cha-cha for one pound.) This is just the start of a wonderful journey.

My name is Amy. I have been on this site for 2 years, and posted more than my profile says. For some reason I had to create a new account. I am 35 years old. I live in BC, Canada. I have lost 80 pounds so far. My goal is to lose another 10. I don’t want to be ubber thin; I just want to be happy in my skin. I am married to my first love, we have been together for 19 years. (He is cute!) We have a daughter who is 12, and going into middle school. My whole family is supportive of my decision to get a lapband. Currently I am on leave, so I am available at anytime. (I have a BlackBerry! And I love to email from it, so communication is easy for me.) I was banded almost 2 years ago. At first I had dreams of going from 250 to 125! I am not saying that I won’t get there, but I am willing to take my time, and enjoy the experience. I understand it isn’t a race. I am well versed in many stages of the lapband journey. Before I got my lapband I was fearful of actually losing the weight. I hid behind my fat. What was I going to do without my shield? I also had feelings of failure, because I was not able to lose weight on my own. I was also scared to give up food. (I love food.) I went through ‘Bandster Hell’, and I remember it very well. I did everything I could to take care of myself, but nonetheless it was a difficult ride at times. Getting fills and losing weight. This is the fun part, but it can also be the most frustrating part. I know I have been there, and continue to visit at times. Can you say: ‘Slow loser, no loser, reverse loser’? I understand what it feels like to have a band complication. My band has flipped over. I am going in for surgery on September 23. I am totally at peace, because I know it is going to be okay. I was mentored when I was first banded. I just want to give back.