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NewMechelle

LAP-BAND Patients

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Blog Entries posted by NewMechelle

  1. Well yesterday was my third fill. Everything went very well. I cant believe what a blessing this whole experience has been. The surgery (not bad at all) the fills (nothing to them) I have just really been blessed. I know not every one is as fortunate but I just feel very thankful. What also seems strange to me is the varrying cc's that are given from doc to doc in a fill. I now have 7.5 cc's in my band. I am really tight but I dont feel misserable. Of course I am only drinking for a week (no solids) so we will see. I have not seen any one on this sight with that much in their band. Am I a little piggy or what? My surgeon was very sweet. Very complimentary on how I am doing. Yesterday was my four month mark. I was down 43 pounds in the office ( my naked wieght before pigging out over the weekend was 49.5 loss) Any way he says I am doing great. I cant wait to get to goal (155) I am just excited about getting to Onderland right now. Hope everyone else is well. God bless. I am so thankful for for this surgeory.
  2. This is the only way I know how to do this. Kandi5911, I hope you are still out there. I dont know how to find you, dont know how to do those cool little measuring tapes at the bottom of the screen with every ones starting weight and goal weight. Heck I didnt even know I had a personal message till I accidently came accross your message. I am so sorry to respond back so late.
    Dr. Shina's number is (812)256-7431. He is extremely bright, knows his stuff, very honest open and even to the point of blunt. I have heard alot of people complain that he doesnt have much of a bedside mannor however I think he is dry but very funny if you pay attention to him. He has offices in Louisville as well if that is more convenient but his Charlstown office can give you the other numbers if needed. I would ( and obviously did)trust him with my life. Good luck and God Bless. Hopefulmechelle:smile:
  3. Hello Lap Band family. It has been a little while since I have bloged. Hope all is well with everyone. I am doing pretty well. Very hopeful (as my name says lol) that my fill I am getting on Monday does the trick with out giving so much restriction I cant even get my own saliva down. I am down 47.5 pounds. I feel good, am happy with the progress, just starting to be sooo hungry again. It is much harder when you are starved. So when you reach your "sweet spot" is that it? No more fills for good? or in time does it start to losen up? Or does it only losen up if you start to abuse it and eat too much? I have some restriction now, get some stuff stuck if I am not careful, some kinds of breads and other foods i shouldnt have at all. That tells me this thing is working. I am only 4 pounds away from my half way point. I wanted to lost 103 pounds. I am soooooo excited. I am 110.5. Cant wait to get into onederland again. Bye the way I am one of the hard headed ones who was convinced I didnt need the protien shakes. If you have a band you DO need the extra protien and yes it does help you to lose more weight. Each time I am at a stand still, all i gotta do is start the shakes again. I am a believer now. It's a daily shake for me. God bless!!!!!!!!!!:thumbup:
  4. :confused:I have been banded for three months. I am down 46 pounds (pre-op diet plus after surgery loss) I have said before, I go three to six weeks without losing a pound then in one week I will lose about 7-8 pounds. The thing that bothers me is it seems to happen only when I have a fill. I have 6 cc's in my band. I have lost a few pounds since my last fill but not consistenly each week (which i guess my body is gonna refuse to do anyway) Here is my delima, what do I do the next time I am due for a fill? I dont want to be too tight and make myself sick but here is what I am doing now. Some times I can eat any thing at all and it not seem to bother me, other times (and no it is not only in the am like i have heard people say) I seem to get everything I eat stuck and it is crazy. A fellow lapbander friend of mine said i may have a small piece of food stuck and therefore restricting me at times. So how do I know if i am at the sweet spot and how do i know if I do or do not need a fill? I know the big thing is consistant weight loss and that aint happening. I am taking in protien every day, walking 1-2 miles almost every day and truely sticking to what I am supposed to do 95% of the time. Any feedback out there?

  5. 6 cc's and still hungry

    · NewMechelle · 08/20/2009 16:59

    :confused:Just a quick overview. I was banded May 28th. I have now lost a total of 42-44 pounds (it varies a pound or two every day) I dont lose a pound for 4-6 weeks at a time (no joke)then in a week will lose 6-8 pounds, then the cycle begins again. I have had two fills. I have a total of 6cc in my band. It was two weeks ago Monday (so now 17 days) that I was last filled. He wont even see me for two more months. So at first I was so tight I thought I would die. Everything solid had a hard time going down. Even the soft pasta type stuff. Now 17 days later, I dont seem to have any restriction or if I do very little. I have to restrain myself from eating because I am really hungry shortly after meals. It's not just head hunger either. I am now fearful I am one of those people who are a bottomless pit and even the band is not going to help me from being hungry and misserable. I would have swore a week ago I had reached that sweet spot. Now I am pretty sure I have not. Is it normal to feel that full after a fill then after a week or two lose that feeling? I thought it was just the opposite, you dont feel it at first but after a few days the fill "kicks in" can I get some encouragement and education here? Thanks!!!!! and God bless you all on your journey.
  6. Before banding, I can honestly say that there were many "diets" that i told myself and others I worked really hard on and could not get why I was not losing the weight. Now that I have done much soul searchng and had a long talk with myself I know for a fact that at many stages of life, i could have done more, could have eaten better, excercised more, tried harder etc. I kid you not my system, body whatever is the craziest thing i have ever seen. I am finally down forty pounds. Thank you Jesus the scale finally moved. Here is the odd thing, I was banded on May 28th and go for six or seven weeks at a time, eating only tablespoons a day of food, walking 2 miles and day and that stupid scale doesnt move, I mean not at all. I KNOW i weigh too much, I KNOW i need to hide it except for once a month but it is so hard for me not to get frustrated. I am not a big fan of the protien shakes, my nurse told me that may be why my weight loss is so unpredictable. She says with out the protein your body freaks out a little and just kinda goes into starvation mode. I hate to say it but when I do start drinking those things, even with the extra calories, i lose. I dont know what else to contribute it too. I have done this twice already, no loss for weeks and weeks then boom several pounds in a few days. Hope this recent two pounds turns into much more. The avg. weight loss is supposed to be 1-2 a week, it makes it very hard to know that when you are doing everything you are told and the scale isnt moving at all. Wish me luck. I cant wait to get to that 50 mark then 9 after that to hit Onederland. (I am 218 now. ) God bless.:thumbdown:
  7. So I went to the doctor on Monday for a fill (my second one) and while I was there he had new pictures of the things that can go wrong. Yes actual pictures, :eek:SCAREY! He had a picture of an eroded band and of slippage of a band. It made me a little queasy. SO here is my question. How does that happen? How do you get an eroded band and/ or slippage? is it from over eating? Is it from drinking with food? Is it just the luck of the draw and any of us are at risk? I guess I am a little paranoid because I was private pay and there is no way I could now afford to have a problem "fixed" I also hear of people whose band is leaking and they have to re-do that. How the heck do you know when that has happened? Thanks and God bless.:frown:

  8. Got my second fill

    · NewMechelle · 08/05/2009 19:17

    Monday I went to the doc to get my second fill. I was so scared the first time that I didnt watch. This time I did. Not the needle part but the screen as they do it under an x-ray type machine. It was really cool. I had 4cc's put in my band the first fill. He said that is the max recomended. Then Monday he put in 3 cc's to show me why it is not recomended to go past 2cc's after your initian fill. I took a drink of that radioactive barium stuff and could see it sitting at the top of my pouch, it just sat there. he told me to take another sip to see if it would push thru, nothing, then a last sip to make sure, nope, nothing went thru. it just sat there. So he took out one cc and the liquid slowly trickled thru my band to the lower portion of my stomach. It was kinda cool. I could actually see restriction. I am on liquids for a week. He said i needed to be careful and totally respect this fill once I start on mushies as i have much more restriction. I am praying i have restriction with real food. I (out of the blue) picked up 5 pounds:eek::mellow:I have been walking 1-2 miles a day, was eating well about 95% of the time and boom here comes the weight. I am hoping it is water weight, you know how us women can be. All i can do is keep excercising and see what happens once I begin real food in a week. I want this weight off yesterday!!!!!!!! I hope every one is well. I am trying not to get discouraged. I am full after a half a can of soup (the kind you heat and drink out of the can) however it doesnt last longer than an hour or so. With this level of restriction with fluids, does this mean I may have restriction (you know the kind that lasts, the sweet spot) when i start eating solid again? Could use some encouragement. God bless and thanks.:cursing:

  9. Is this normal?

    · NewMechelle · 07/27/2009 16:07

    Is it normal to go several weeks without losing a pound then lose seven or eight in one week? This crazy lap band has been something else. I have had one fill and due another one next week. It has just been so wierd. I do all the things I am supposed to and the scale doesnt move for weeks at a time, then out of no where it moves SEVEARAL pounds (eight last time) in a week. Is any body else doing this or am i just wierd? Thanks and God bless.

  10. We learn as we go

    · NewMechelle · 07/21/2009 21:15

    So today, I find out that I will NOT I repeat, will NOT be able to eat chinese food. I went to lunch with the girls. One of my favorite things in the world is Chinese. So I decide I can do this is If I am careful and dont overeat. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didnt even eat much. I thought I would die with in the hour. :sad:I threw up once and was in the bathroom five times with in the hour and three more times since then. I am not sure why or if my body is just not gonna take certain foods now. I dont have to feel guilty about eating the chinese though, I have been to the bathroom so many times I bet I am down ten pounds. lol. I WILL NOT DO THAT AGAIN. God bless to you all. ps, i have been banded almost 8 weeks.:cursing:
  11. :rolleyes:Well these last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride. I went for four weeks with out losing a pound. I was active, doing everything I was supposed to, watching my intake but eating enough. NOTHING. I was so frustrated. I refused to give up but I was ticked. So last week, i change nothing, do nothing different, ate no more or less, and i dropped eight pounds in a week. For those that get discouraged with the plautaus, heres what i am figuring out, after you drop several pounds fairly quickly, i think your body freaks out and just stops. I think your body is afraid You have stopped feeding it and just freezes, it gets used to the new wieght and just out of the blue, starts shedding again. I am only 12 pounds away from my first BIG goal which was 50 pounds. I had surgery on May 28th and I am down 38 pounds. I cant wait to get into "onederland" it has been sooooo long. I will be 199 and think I am a stick Lol. Hope this helps someone else. God Bless!:thumbup:

  12. I am SOOOOOO agitated.

    · NewMechelle · 07/09/2009 13:53

    Okay so I know this will sound much like my last blog but I am so agitated. I have been banded 6 weeks today. At first it was awesome. Yes I would like to say I would do it again in a heart beat, am not regreting my decision and consider this a blessing, however,i lost almost thirty pounds immediately, had my first fill last week and nothing, nothing for three or four weeks, not one pound, as a matter of fact i am up and down from 27-30 total lost allthe time, back and fourth. I eat what I am supposed to, cant believe I am not 100 pounds on this diet i eat nothing lol. I drink my protein, for the love of pete what else can i do? I dont expct to wake up 125 pound next week but this is driving me nuts and i am really really getting discouraged.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks for letting me vent and God Bless.:biggrin::sad::glare:
  13. :confused3: I was banded on June 28th. I came out of the gate running. I lost ten pounds pre-op and then lost twenty more the following two weeks afte surgery. I was so happy and excited. I have done everything the doc said and went one week, then two, then three with no weight loss. I told myself not to panic that everything would be okay once I started getting my fills. I got my first one five days ago. Guess what? I have not lost even a half a pound. I am on liquids starving and thinking hello, how can I not be losing weight? I am not eating anything. I am behaving and everything. I know I cant wake up one morning and drop 100 pounds from the day before. I am more realistic than that. I just dont understand why that stupid scale is not budging and why I am not losing. Any body got any suggestions? I just dont know what to do. I am trying to stay positive but when you are this hungry, not losing a thing it is really tough. I miss the food but if the weight starts falling off (even slowly) I can hang on and do this, if it doesnt I dont know how long I can remain determined and commited.God bless.

  14. Got my first fill

    · NewMechelle · 07/03/2009 02:49

    I was scared to death. I am not real good with the whole pain thing so I was really unsure about getting a fill. He started and was done and I didnt even know he had started. It was awesome. I think I may have had my first glimpse of restriction. I had a head ache from being all stressed out. I tried to take meds, i even broke it in half, thinking ahead you know. WRONG. I felt like it was stuck but in my throat. Then i felt like I was having a heart attack. It was rough for a few minutes. I dont want to repeat that again. He has me on prevacid and i take two blood pressure meds and am afraid to try and take them now. I have not lost any weight in two weeks. I was a little frustrated so I hope and pray that I will have some restriction now. He gave me 4cc's today and said it was the most you could give at the first fill. from here on out, i only get two at a time if i need it. I am to go in 4-6 weeks. So I had surgery, I have had my fist fill and I am on my way to my new life. I am ready to be skinny. Well maybe not skinny but at least healthy. wish me luck. :crying:
  15. Well I was banded four weeks ago yesteday. The pre-op diet was tough but I was so excited and determined, I dropped ten pounds. Two weeks later I was down another 20. Realistically, I knew it wouldnt keep falling off like that. I dropped nothing, zip zero this last week. I have not had a fill yet. My doc wanted to wait till week six but when I called yesterday and said "help I am starving to death" he agreed to see me next week. So I know 30 is awesome for me not even having fills yet but this is tough.Every day every one says "well how much have you lost now" I feel like I am sooo being watched. And to top it off, I have always had huge breasts and now that 30 is off my gut it is like they have little beacons on them (breasts that is) because every one men and women look at them. I want to wake up and be down thirty more by the weekend.I dont know how to be patient and I am scared to death this is not gonna work for me, it will take 20 fills for restriction or something crazy. My biggest fear from the get go is that this will not work. I will fail yet one more time. Any body got any advice for a hungry paranoid inpatient "big Girl"?
    as always, thanks and God bless.:rolleyes2:
  16. Okay so I realize most of us are just people going thru life tryng to lose weight and do this band thing. I wont hold any one legally responsible for advice etc. I had my realize band done on the 28th of May. I still have my staples and everything. SO... I wont get my first fill for about four weeks(6 weeks post op). Am I supposed to be less hungry NOW before I get a fill at all?(Just from the band) or is it normal to be really hungry untill I start getting fills and reach that eventual "sweet spot" then once I hit that spot, will I get used to that "sweet spot" need more fills till I hit it again? Then what happens when I get as filled as my band will go? Does any one know how many cc's a realize band takes? I am doing well on the diet but man it is a struggle. I was private pay and on top of it i just feel like I went thru too much (surgery etc) to not make this a success. I am scared to death once the honey moon phase is over with this thing I will start gaining again. Any body got any good advice and answers for me? Thanks and God bless.

  17. I'm on my way

    · NewMechelle · 05/20/2009 16:11

    Well, I have been on my pre-surgery diet for almost a week and have to admit I am starved. I am so motivated that it hasnt been that bad. I have dropped ten pounds though realistically I know most of it is probably water. Heck if i could do this long term, I wouldnt need the surgery. I have surgery a week from tomorrow. Still having the same feelings, very excited and scared. Hoping this works, hoping I have taken off enough time to heal (only have one week of vacation) but each day brings me closer. I wish the weight loss would be this quick after the band. How cool would that be at ten pounds a week? I would be in ONEDERLAND in no time. ha. Wish me luck guys. Seven days to go.........:smile2:
  18. Hi everyone. I have been banded for almost three weeks.(will be three on thursday) and I was wondering if some one could explain something to me. Of course I havent had any fills yet so I dont know if it makes a difference but why arent you supposed to drink while eating meals? Is it because food can get stuck easier with liquid, Is it because you "wash" the food out of your upper stomach leaving you hungry what? I am just real curious.

    Thanks and God bless:drool:

  19. Feeling great

    · NewMechelle · 06/07/2009 03:51

    :thumbup:well, I am 9 days post op and feel a little better every day. I still get tired easy but no pain, no problems. I am 20.5 pounds down, that includes pre surgery diet and after the band combined. I can tell any one who is about to do this, it is such a breeze compared to what i expected. I feel so blessed. I would still love to eat lots of good stuff but I can already look at my face and tell the weighyt is coming off and it is so worth it. A very dear friend of mine recently said "nothing tastes as good as skinny will feel" I think that will be my new motto. I have started eating a few soft foods, no problems. Just cheese soup stuff, all is well. I have tons more to lose and I am afraid I will start getting discouraged when the weight loss slows way down but I am going to try and start walking every day and keep the momentum going. I wish I knew people locally who have this band too. I was so absolutely terrified and even just a few days out I know I am going to be so thankful for this chance to change my life, God bless to all.

  20. well, I did it!!!

    · NewMechelle · 05/30/2009 01:31

    Yesterday was the day. I did it, I got banded. I was terrified, kept going over all the things in my mind that could go wrong, worried I wouldnt wake up etc. So 6 am I wake up with a migraine, not a head ache but a full blown think I am going to die migraine. Did not start well. was at the hospital by 7, gave my urine sample, ekg, blood work (again) and got hooked up to iv. I am very sore today feeling weak but honestly cant believe how good I feel considering what i went thru yesterday. The worst part of it all was the migraine that I woke up with and kept till I took excedrin migraine today. Lortabs wernt even touching it. We were home by 4:30 and other than being sore, gassy and starved to death, I am doing great. Wish I was able to eat real food. Cant tell what is gas and how much is hunger. It hurts tho. The liquids are not doing the trick, I am so grateful this is behind me. TIme to start my new life, God is so good.Time for my meds and a nap. There is no bigger wuss in the world than me and I tell you this is not NEAR as rough as I thought it would be. I could eat a horse but all is good. till next time, God bless:rolleyes:
  21. Well it's time. Time to start my new life. I have to admit, I am not sure if I am more excited or more nervous. Tomorrrow, I start my pre-surgery diet. I have my surgery two weeks from Tomorrow. So my mind is racing and I am already having trouble sleeping because I cant turn it off. Can I do this? Will I be successful? Will I spend all this money for nothing? Can I stay motivated? Will I make it thru the surgery? Will I make my family, friends and self proud or will I be terribly discouraged when I dont do as well as I want? I dont do "hungry" well. Obviously or I wouldnt be in this spot. Will I even be able to do the two week pre-op diet? I am starved just thinking about it. LOL So today they are having a pitch in dinner at work. I guess this will be my last day to participate in "normal for me" eating. I am ready for this, I can do this. I want to be healthy for my kids. I want to see grand children some day and I want to be beautiful for my husband. I want to be able to take care of my parents, not have them take care of me because of comorbidities. I CAN DO THIS!!!!! READY START GO..... IN THE MORNING.:ohmy:

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