Cindy C

Whether or not to tell is a personal decision. I found that telling everyone helped hold me accountable.

I started at 324 lbs and hit the 100 lb mark in about 10 months. I'm approaching 4 years and have lost 140 and am maintaining it.

The original band was 4cc. They now come in 10cc (standard) and 14cc (large). If you have the Allergan ID card it tells which one you have on the back.

I know I've been MIA lately and for that I apologize. My life has been hectic lately. I burned out on nursing and took a job in the auto industry. It's 55 hours a week, highly stressful but an exciting new adventure. (It's also double the income!) My daughter became engaged this spring and my son graduated from college. Honestly, for the past 3 months or so, I haven't known whether I was coming or going!! I had my gall bladder removed in February. I didn't realize how much a bad gall bladder was helping in my weight loss/maintenance journey. Before the surgery, every time I ate I felt nauseous so I wasn't really eating much. I don't know if it was the surgery, the craziness going on in my life or a combination but I started gaining weight. 15 pounds in about 3 months! I had .5cc removed in December and then another .5 in Feb before my surgery. In March when I went to get refilled my doctor said he wanted to take it slowly and just add a little each month. I was fine with that. He added .3 in March and .2 in April. I went in Monday for another fill. I was 188 lbs. (I was 172 when I had gall bladder out). As I lay on the table and he had the needle in my port I asked him how much he was putting in. He said one. I thought .1cc isn't going to do any good so I just looked at him and held up two fingers. He said, "really, you want 2?" I said, "yea, put in 2!" I've had this thing almost 4 years and have a medical background. I know what I need and he knows that. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we were talking about full cc's. I wanted him to put in .2. He put in 2cc's! As I walked to my car, I thought I felt really tight but passed it off. I had eaten shortly before my appointment and thought there was probably some lunch still in my band. It'll pass through and I'll be fine! NOT!!! I've never had more than 6.2cc's in my band and was horribly tight then. I walked into his office with 5.4 and out with a whopping 7.4 I just didn't know it. I went back to work. By the time I got home I couldn't even swallow my saliva much less anything else. I woke up and slimed about every hour throughout the night. I called his office as soon as they opened the next morning and they said, "Get here as soon as you can." I went straight there. His office is in the hospital and he was in surgery. I told the nurse that I couldn't believe that this happened to my with a .2 fill. She wanted to send me straight to the lab for an upper GI. I told her it wouldn't do any good until I got some Fluid removed because there was no way I would be able to swallow the barium. She decided to do the unfill herself. She grabbed my chart and we headed to the exam room. I don't know why, but I said, "let me see that" and took my chart from her hands. When I opened it, that 7.4 jumped off that page at me! I said, "Oh my G_d, he put in 2cc's!!!! We were both shocked! I had her take out 1.6. Now I'm at 5.8 and enjoying good restriction! I was beginning to think that I had lost my "lapband brain" and was on the road to regaining the weight. It's only been a day and a half but I can already see that it's coming back. I taking this as a new beginning. I have no doubt that I'll be back to 170 very soon. Hopefully by my 4 year bandiversary that is coming up in about 3 weeks! I guess the moral of this (long-winded) story is make sure you and your doctor are on the same page. Here's hoping that everybody's journey is going well!

Your cats will be fine. I would think that your dog would be too. Animals can sense when you aren't feeling well. When I had my gall bladder out in February, my dog laid by my feet like my little protector for 3 days and he's usually pretty wild.

I went for an ultrasound yesterday and they found that I have gallstones. My surgeon wants to remove my gallbladder ASAP so we scheduled the surgery for March 2nd. He said that because of the location of the gallbladder in relationship to the location of the band a gallbladder infection could cause a lap-band erosion. Lovely! I would like to hear from other bandsters who have had their gallbladder removed and how it has effected your life. Has your body adjusted to the organ being gone or are you having problems with digestion or dumping syndrome since? Has your weight loss been effected? And anything else you can tell the rest of us. Thanks in advance!

I need to buy a new battery for my scale and keep forgetting so I have no idea what I weigh but am relatively certain I did not make my goal. I did however excede my personal goal of $30,000 in sales...in fact it was over $36,000! Now bring on that commission check!

Speaking from my own experience...stay away from the flaming cheese!!!!

Oops....forgot about Thursday. I think I was 173 that day!

The problem with gum isn't the calories or the air so much the fact that if you accidentally swallow it it will most likely get stuck!

I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 this morning and was in surgery at 7:30. I woke up in recovery at 9:00 and was heading for the exit by 10:30. I came home and slept most of the day. The pain is minimal. The worst of it is in the area of the incision I assume was where the organ exited my body. I'm pretty swollen and had to take off my rings that are usually pretty loose. I'm beginning to get a little bit of that dreaded shoulder pain that we all know so well but other than that, I feel remarkably well. When I got up this morning I weighed 173 lbs. Tonight the scale said 180. Darn IV fluid weighs a ton!

So, I went for my follow up today. I'm still swollen and 4 or 5 pounds higher than I was. Still can't get my rings on. Bruising is going down and incisions are healing but I have quite a bit of tenderness internally. He said everything is normal. He also said that my gall bladder was really bad...full of stones and probably should have been removed years ago. I asked if he looked at it when he put my band in (4 years ago). He said it was normal then and that rapid weight loss can cause it.

Name, real or screen~Cindy Goal weight for March 30th~169 Weight on March 1st~177 Age~51 Personal goal for March~Hit $30,000 in sales for the month Date banded~6/10/8 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~146 What is your favorite outdoor exercise/activity~Swimming I'm still carrying about 5 extra pounds of the swelling weight from my gall bladder surgery. Here's hoping I lose it soon a couple extra.

Shues, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on the scale. If I see the numbers going up I will certainly do all I can to nip that in the bud! Work went fine yesterday. When I got there, I really wasn't sure I was going to make it all day but by early afternoon I was feeling almost back to normal.

The shoulder pain has been minimal and its on the right side this time. TMI time----once I had a bowel movement yesterday and started passing gas I seemed to start feeling better very quickly. It's 6:30 am and I'm up and moving pretty well. I just have a little bit of tenderness in the one incision. I'm going to work and see no reason why I won't be able to make it through the day. Just hope my coworkers and customers don't notice all the farting!

I don't think it sounds like a slip. You said you can get small amounts in. If you had a slip nothing would go down. To me it sounds like you have some major swelling. Put yourself on clear liquids for a week or two and see how it goes. You really should try to save up for an unfill. Persistent acid reflux in a lapband patient can cause esophageal erosion. Call your doctor and tell him what's going on. He's not going to let you suffer just because you can't pay the bill.

I've gone from a 28 to a 10 and I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it.

When I saw the title of this thread, I got a pain in my chest from the thought of it!

Hey, Corrigan. Long time no see! Congrats on the new grand baby. Now that you're so skinny and energetic maybe you can start a Grandpa Daycare! Allison, they've already told me to take as much time as I need. My boss said he doesn't expect to see me tomorrow morning and my co-workers are expecting to cover my appointments. But I'm a tough old bird and pretty resilient. I will be there at 7:30...I may not stay all day but I'll show up!

It's been quite painful to lay flat since my surgery so I've been doing all of my sleeping in the recliner since Friday. Last night I actually slept in my bed! I'm still bloated like crazy and the scale still says 179 but I think I'm headed in the right direction. Here's hoping I can make it through 10 hours of work tomorrow!

No, he left my fill alone. My lap band doctor did my surgery. He also did my tummy tuck and colonoscopy. He's never unfilled me for any of it. I never heard that about weight loss killing the gall bladder. I'll have to ask him when I go for my follow up next week. I had it removed because the ultra sound showed stones but he did tell my friend that took me to the hospital that the organ was "bad". I didn't see him after the surgery as he was in another one when I was discharged so I'll get the details Thursday when I see him. Good luck with yours. It really isn't that bad.

You're right, Allison. I did NOT like seeing that 8 in the middle! I should know better and just stay off the scale but I really don't see that happening! I'm feeling so much better today. Still have some pain but I have every intention of being at my desk first thing Monday morning! How long I stay is yet to be determined!!

I think you should go back and buy the dress and surprise your hubby with a night on the town!