ThinnerKimmer

I had my one year follow up appointment today. I thought, "hey, let's finally update the ticker on here!". I haven't lost any weight since May 10. I'm so frustrated. That's an 8 month plateau. I know it has a lot to do with me, but there are so few foods that I can keep down that I find I eat the same (sometimes not so good-like mashed potatoes) things all of the time. I do get out and exercise every day. I'm just really upset about this plateau. Yes, I know this is a tool and all, but I don't eat all that much as it is. My doctor has given me 3 options that I have 3 months to think about. 1) Keep the band and tighten it. This scares me, since it was too tight in June and I couldn't get it loosened for about a month. I should have lost some weight then, but if i did, it's all been gained back. 2) Get rid of the band. If it's not doing anything for me, why keep it? I'm aware that I will gain back everything I've lost and I'm sure my diabetes will come back. This is not an option i'm really considering. 3) Go for a gastric bypass. My doctor has suggested this as an alternative. My BMI is just under the qualifying # right now, so there may be a review with the surgeons group or whomever it is that discusses it, but it is a definite possibility. What would you do? I've got over 50 lbs to lose to get to goal and the scale isn't moving. I'm at the point where I feel I'm just a failure. I'm 27 and this was supposed to change my life. I don't think I've done what I'm supposed to. I don't have any support where I am since I got the band as a clinical study and NO ONE I know has gone through this. I need advice, opinions, experiences... ANYTHING!

So I will be 4 months post op on May 14th. But today... I HIT ONEDERLAND!! It's an awesome feeling. I love shopping and I love that I have way more energy than before! How is everyone else doing?

oh my gosh! That's so exciting for you Peanutband! I thought that you weren't allowed to get pregnant until 2 years out? Well, if you're excited about it and your dr is cool with it, i hope you have a safe and wonderful preganancy. When are you due?

i've been downing protien shakes for the most part. I know it's not "real" food, but it fills me up and i don't have to worry about food getting stuck (i tend not to chew enough still). Other than that, I say away from carbs because bread and stuff like that just doesn't go down. It's a good motivation not to eat it.

I've had 4 fills so far. The first was 4 cc in a 9cc band. I'm up to 7.3cc now... but it's working!

I had a fill today for the first time. I have a 9cc band and they filled it with 4ccs. The hospital that is doing all of my band stuff does every fill in front of the x-ray machine. I took 3 shots of radioactive crap and the first was before the needle. They did 2cc and then I did another shot and they injected another 2cc. I took a final shot and the Dr said that it looked like there was no restriction. Great. My band is almost half full and there's nothing stopping me from eating The Dr that is in charge of the banding patients wasn't in today, but she called and said that we will do a follow up next month with another fill if needed. I'm just scared that going back on solid foods, and with no restrictions, that I'm going to fail miserably. How much did everyone else get for their first fill?

I got banded on January 14th. I lost 20 lbs in my pre op diet 2 weeks before surgery. I lost 8 lbs in the 9 days following surgery, but since then, I have stalled. I'm not eating anything but Clear liquids and sugar free carnation instant Breakfast 3 times a day (as instructed by my dr). I haven't gained any weight, but i haven't lost any in 4 days. Which i now find unusual. Is this normal? Does it change after a fill? Kind of frustrating that it was dropping soooo fast and now nothing. My dr is expecting me to lose 15-20 lbs in the next 4 weeks.... and I have no idea how to get there. Any help/insight would be appreciated. I can't use my eliptical yet to help things along because it makes my tummy jiggle and that hurts where my stitches are. I was hoping to sneak in a bunch of exercise before the 6 week wait period was over. That is clearly not happening yet.

I have type 2 diabetes as well. I actually got the band as part of a diabetic study that McMaster University is doing. They're trying to associate some hormone that is eliminated with weight loss surgery (there were 3 random groups, RNY Bypass, Lap Band and Medical Management, that participants were slotted into after heaps of pre-screening tests. Guess what i got :cursing: ). I was taking 2000mg of metformin, 6g of gluconorm and 40 units of Lantus insulin daily. When I started my pre-op diet I cut out the insulin right away and then the gluconorm and finally was weaned off of the metformin. I am 2 weeks post op and was told by my specialist not to take anything until I see him at the end of Feb. He thinks that I might be back on metformin (although a smaller dose) for a bit until I get my weight down, but that it will actually assist with weight loss. I was told that insulin makes you gain weight (the fact that I gained 16lbs in 2 weeks when I started it leads me to believe that this is correct in my case) and that the gluconorm can also cause weight gain. I'm ok going back on my metformin for a while. Since I am part of this study that is specifically for diabetics, they have done a whole bunch of tests that I'm sure the average patient doesn't go through. That being said, my bariatric specialist has told me that my pancreas secretes enough natural insulin to support a person with a normal BMI, and the entire team of doctors is convinced that once I get down to that level that I will be off of all diabetes medication for good. Hopefully, the same is true with the rest of you. It's a stupid disease and it's nice to know that it can be "reversed", if you know what I mean.

I was banded on the 14th and my doctor is making me take 4 weeks off if work. Which is fine by me, because even though it's a desk job, I still find it uncomfortable to sit in a chair for very long. My port side is still a bit sore. I feel great, otherwise. Today I started to add yogurt, sugar free pudding and strained low fat cream Soup to my diet. It was the best lunch I've had in at least a month! Anything but more broth works for me! I'm only hoping I don't gorge too much today, since I can't seem to lose any weight right now. I expect my first fill to be the 3rd week of february, but I think I'll find out at my post-op appt on Friday. I feel like I could eat and eat right now and not ever feel full. I hate to say it, but I can't wait for the feeling of restriction! My dad came over yesterday and brought my dog back (she's a puppy and likes to wake me up by jumping on me... not a great idea for the first couple of weeks, so he was dog-sitting). He said that he could tell I was thinner, which was nice. Having my dog home is totally going to help, since she loves walks and it motivates me to get outside in the -18C weather :cursing:

The carnation stuff has 14g of protein per serving. I guess I should hit up the nutrition store and get a supplement then. Thanks for the info!

my dietician said no added sugar was fine for us.... 2g isnt *that* much. Just dont eat the whole box in one sitting! :thumbup:

i'm so jealous! I have 4 weeks of liquids after my jan 14th surgery. Wednesday I finally get to add in yogurt, sf pudding and thinned oatmeal. Then it'll be a week of pureed food, then a week of minced and then, finally solids. I'm so aching to chew that it's ridiculous!

I was banded January 14. The gas pain is totally gone and the pain at my port side has pretty much gone away. I'm a little concerned, because i've only lost 8 lbs since the 14th. I lost 20 lbs on the pre op diet, but I haven't lost anything since Thursday. I'm still on a liquid diet, and having minimal calories, so I don't see why I'm still not dropping any lbs. It's a little frustrating because I was doing so well before. Anyone else notice any plateaus?

Ha ha ha! I know what you mean! I'm staying with some friends until I feel well enough to get around on my own and we were watching tv last night and then my friend turned to me and was like, "I heard that from over here". The noises are soooo loud sometimes. As for the pain/hunger/gas pain, I chalked it up to gas pains most of the time. I knew when I was actually hurting, because there is no mistaking the port pain. give it a couple more days and you'll be able to tell. I can eat a portion of sugar free Jello and that'll fill me right up if i'm not sure if i'm hungry or not. It's 5 calories and not a bad way to test the waters, if you know what I mean.:scared2:

I was banded on the 14th too. I was told to have diabetic boost as my source of protien and i felt very sick after each time i drank it. This morning I had sugar free carnation instant Breakfast and was fine all day. Then I had a boost for lunch and again, felt horrible. I'm pretty sure that from now on I'm going with carnation, because the gas I get from boost isn't worth the 16g of Protein. I had a hellish first few days too, but it does get better. My port is on my left side, i reckon, because I get serious pain there every once in a while, but even that is getting better. Just hang in there. It can only get better from here.

Htlwhite: I finally had the biggest fart ever yesterday, just a couple of hours after posting. I just kept walking and I guess that the time had come. It hurt a LOT before it came out. Ha ha...there was a rumble in the jungle alright! Sorry, that's gross. It was the best feeling that I'd had in days though. Uh, it's been pretty randomly happening since then. As long as it's passing, I don't care.

i got banded on the january 14 and i have no hunger or desire to eat. It's hard enough to just have my diabetic boost to get some protein and just to sip on water. I finally was able to release gas from the surgery this afternoon, and it was the greatest feeling i've had since wednesday! I guess the hunger might come later when i'm not feeling so full from the gas still. Then again, I fasted for 16 days on a pre-op diet, and by the end of it, i wasn't feeling too hungry even on clear liquids only. i guess i'll have to wait and see

i hope all ofyour surgeries went well. i was in to get sliced and diced around 9 am and was out in about 50 minutes. I don't know if this is a goo thing or not... i can't seem to get rid of the excess gas and want to fart like you wouldn't believe. I stayed overnight in the hospital (which was always the plan) and got discharged on the 15th around 1pm. I am having a lot of pains from the gas still, and my incision sites are hurting now and then. I have no desire to eat, well drink, anything. I am having a hard time taking in the amount of Protein shakes that I was told to have. 3 diabetic boost shakes a day + clear liquids for the next couple of weeks seems almost impossible. I've been up and walking around a LOT and still all i feel is the gas rumbling in my tummy but it never comes out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I've been taking gas x strips, but it's not getting rid of the gas like i'd like it to.

I'm getting banded on the 14th as well. It's been 2 weeks of optifast and clear liquids and today and tomorrow will be clear liquids only. I wish I hadn't woken up so hungry this morning :thumbdown: I see a lot of sugar free jello in my future today. Tuesday I have to take pico salex for my bowel cleanse. It boggles my mind that after 2 weeks of no solid food that there can be anything in there at all. I feel like you do Donnainva, I just want it over and done with. I kind of feel like going there will just be like going to any of the preop testing appointments. Just another step to get to the end, you know? I've already bought a few jars of baby food for when I start on pureed foods in about 4 weeks or so. I'm curious to taste them.... how can mashed up turkey and vegetables taste good? I bet anything will taste good after weeks of liquids! Now i'm rambling. Blame the hunger!

January 14th at St. Joes in Hamilton, ON

yeah... a friend at work asked me if i'd tried any spices for my Soup. I like hot sauce on EVERYTHING, so it worked out really well :thumbup: I can't believe how fast the pounds are dropping off. Today I was only down 1.5, so i'm sure the dream is about to end, but i've started to work out again. I don't have problems with my knees, but my right hip gets very stiff sometimes. It hurts a lot. I can't wait to lose this damn weight and stop slouching. It'll be nice when this big tummy blob goes away and i don't look so round when i sit. There's so much I'm looking forward to. You're lucky you live in the US, where you can get all sorts of that carnation Breakfast anytime in the sugar free version. All we have in canada (that i can find) is diabetic boost. It's sooo expensive if i need to be drinking it 3 times a day after surgery. My best friend was in Indiana last week and picked me up six cases of the Carnation stuff. I sure hope it tastes ok! How long do you have to wait to have solid foods? My dr is telling me 7 weeks, but they do the first fill at 6 weeks and then it's back to liquids for a few days, so i assume that it'll be closer to 8 weeks. sigh... i have to go make cupcakes for my friend's birthday. This is going to be torture...

Hi, I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, but i'm starting to think that it might be a good idea for me to participate. A little about me... I'm 26 and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last April. Whee! As much as I loved shooting up with insulin (oral meds didn't seem to control things as much as the dr had hoped), i wanted off of the whole injection train. I was referred to a bariatric specialist, who told me about a study being done to study the effects of WLS on diabetics, and I was on board. It was a month crammed full of pre-op testing and all of that fun stuff. I wanted the gastric bypass, but you get randomly put into the band, the bypass or medical management for a year. So here I am, a future bander. My surgery date is January 14th... which is soo freaking close. I'm doing the whole Optifast and Clear Liquids for 2 weeks prior to surgery. It's working out well. It's only been 3 full days and I'm down 8.5 lbs. The optifast is starting to taste good, however. That concerns me, because that stuff made me gag the first day and now i actually look forward to it. Anyway, thought i'd introduce myself. I like all of the tips posted on here. I went out and bought sippy cups a couple of days ago and gas x strips. I sure hope it all makes things easier!

Thank you both! It's nice to know that there are other people that are drinking their "meals" the same time I am. I honestly did hate Optifast when I started it. I was told that chocolate was the "good flavour" and a bypass patient told me that when you add a little ice and mix it up in the magic bullet that it was just like chocolate. That first day, i was like, "that woman is the biggest liar EVER!". Now it's growing on me. I have to do Optifast and clear liquids for 2 weeks, but since I didn't do proper calendar math, it'll only be 13 days. Whoops! As much as I hate the taste (it's a little better everyday), I love getting on the scale in the morning. So far I've lost 10 lbs and i'm just starting day 5. It's encouraging and makes me feel like I can do this. A couple of things that I've done to make life a little easier are adding banana and peppermint extract to the optifast at the beginning to hide the taste of cold cake batter (which is all I could taste), and adding a couple of drops of Frank's hot sauce to my chicken broth. It's like liquid hot wings! Ronda, I'm happy that there's someone else with my exact date. It's a week and a half away.... getting scared/nervous/excited yet? :thumbup: