mattie7632

I agree with Reverie. You could "what if" yourself to death......Anything can happen, to anybody, at anytime. I had cold feet too....the very day of surgery I was thinking "what am I doing?". I think it is natural anytime we have an elective procedure. I am 4 months out and down 30 pounds and No, I have no regrets. Try not to go overboard with the worrying

You will most likely be pretty sore and for myself and the people that I've known who are banded, they took about a week off work. I myself was too sore to drive for that 1st week due to the sitting position. Of course, if you do anything that involves physical labor, that is different and you should ask your doc

For some people it is a "magic bullet". 20 years ago I would have dropped 50 pounds by now just from eating less, which the band is resonsible for, and that in my definition, is magic!!! However, today, things are different and I have to work much harder to lose weight. Bottom line, weight loss is not the same for everyone, banded or not. There are too many variables that differ in people. The "magic bullet" promise that so many surgeons use as a selling point....does indeed happen for many. And I have personally known a few. I wish I was one of them!!!!

Wow, I have been so tired for the past several weeks. The first few months I was feeling great, more energy, etc. Now, this month I just feel run down and tired, tired, tired, all the time. This is starting month 5. My diet is the best it's ever been so I really don't think it's because I'm not getting enough of something, but I don't know. Anyone else experience this at some point in their journey?

That's true, juice is really high in sugar. I think maybe there is prune juice with no added sugar though. And yes, prune juice is an outstanding laxative. Be careful though, too much could give you the runs!!!

I take a drink of barium with my fills also. Sometimes the barium bubbles, exactly as you have described, and this is how he determines how much to fill my band. If it doesn't go through all the way or backs up slightly, he removes a tad, and likewise he fills until I can swallow properly. Perhaps your doctor is just not experienced enough to realize what this means when he sees it.

Interesting that you bring this up.....I definitely think my sleep quality could have something to do with this. Although I'm guessing kids and dogs are more responsible than anything health related!!!!

A LOT, I dropped a pant size......

I agree, this is really good! Also, recently my daughter requested pie, so this is what I made for her and she LOVED it!! She would not have even known it was low cal if I hadn't told her. Low cal strawberry cream pie: 1 box sugar free vanilla (cook n serve) pudding 1 box sugar free strawberry Jello Add to 2 cups Water, bring to boil Pour on top of graham cracker crust (crust is optional) cool add lite cool whip on top after cooled, and sliced strawberries as desired

Cyst removal is a good one too.....

That is so excellent!!! You must feel so great! Be proud of yourself. I also started at 18/20 and my goal is to be back to a size 8, what I was when I got married! Can I ask how long it's taken you to get to this size??

I have taken anti-depressents for 10 years. True, I did gain weight but in hindsight I don't think the meds are responsible at all. The fact that my diet was not balanced, I aged 10 years and didn't exercise is much more likely that I gained about 10 pounds a year, doesn't everyone agree? People with anxiety/depression, even when controlled with meds, tend to be less energetic, which is another factor that contributes to weight gain. I am still taking my meds and still losing weight so my advice, try the meds if you think you need to, they might help. But have a psychiatrist prescribe them, Family Practice MD's don't know enough about mental health meds and might end up giving you a dosage too high or not the best med for you. Good Luck!

Hiccups on regular basis could mean you are filled too much. It is one of the signs my doctor has us look for when assessing if we need a fill or not. Did you get a fill recently? Do you think this might be the case for you?

I agree with this....I have that stuck feeling when I eat too fast. That is your band working! It is stopping you from eating too much and forcing you to eat slower so you get fuller faster. This is actually good because you are getting this with no fill!!! Some people don't get this for quite awhile!

Uhhh, to those of you who say that fills don't matter...I beg to differ. I was eating healthy and following the rules and losing at a slow crawl of about 2 pounds a month. Got my 3rd fill and whoa, everything's changed. I can only eat about a cup of food at a time, sometimes less and I've lost 2 pounds in 5 days now. Haven't done anything even close to that since pre -op. Now I know what I should be maintaining as far as "restriction". Hate that word but don't know what else to call it.....

Well I haven't lost anymore since that quick 2 pounds! Slowly but surely......

It's probably David Thorne, author of "The Internet is a Playground" who picked a random picture of a lady and started this thread.... I saw an interview with him and he says he signs onto forums and engages in ridiculous conversations....!! He is hilarious though and this post probably wasn't funny enough to be him! Just sayin....LOL

If you were a success pre-band, you wouldn't need the band right? With that said, you will still need to exercise some control WITH the band else you will sabotage your own success. But I have found that I've had more self-control the last 4 months than I ever had before getting the band.

I think I know exactly what he is talking about. I just told my husband last night "Now that I'm eating to live and not LIVING TO EAT, I'm not sure what to do with myself..." Because our lives revolved SO MUCH around food, without food being the center, what IS to replace that? You can see how depression could be very common.

I gained 3 lbs this month. After TOM I had lost 2, but that last pound I must have really gained due to TOM sugar cravings!!!!

clogged toilet---that is hilarious, but a perfect analogy!

Before you know it, this will be a thing of the past. I am 4 months out, and honestly I don't recall how "homicidal" I felt. I remember being pretty freaking hungry though. But, in no time you will be eating foods and won't feel that insane hunger anymore.

I think at first you do sort of "mourn" the loss or the thought of losing--what we once loved, food. But I think you will find it's really not like that. I never feel deprived. I do CHOOSE to eat healthy most of the time, but I certainly could eat just about anything I wanted to with minimal problems. Like others said, you will find there are some foods you have to chew more and will learn at some point you won't be able to drink with food, but your brain also gets retrained, I think, and it truly is not as horrible as you think. Dieting before the band felt like deprivation and hunger and obsession with food. With the band it does not, not at all. Good luck, you will do great

My only advice is........"this too shall pass".....!!

Well I had my 3rd fill. I think I have about 3 or 3.5 cc in my band now. This fill had made a HUGE difference so far. I have very little appetite. And just like the doctor said--I can eat only about 6-8 bites in a sitting and am totally satisfied. That's about 1/2 cup of food and is what I expected ultimately from the band. We shall see how things progress this month, but I'm optimistic that this fill might have me at the "sweet spot"