Little Teapot

B-52: Thanks so much! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm learning that this journey is difficult for the impatient!

I was banded on May 20th of this year and I've had one fill so far of 2cc's. I'm down 27 lbs, but only 6 lbs lost in the last (almost) two months. I feel like I never even had surgery. My second fill is tomorrow, and I hope it's an aggressive one. I'm curious as to what other realize bandsters have experienced with the effectiveness of their fills. How many cc's until you "felt" something? Were you ever worried that you'll never lose weight successfully with the band? I know everyone is different, but I need some hope here! Please tell me I'll eventually feel something from my band!

It is annoying when I'm looking at a cute top and then realize it's a maternaty shirt. What gets me the most though is that there are such cute and trendy looking maternity clothes available and ugly crap for plus size. I always feel like we're being punished for being fat...like we don't deserve to be big and look cute..unless we're pregnant. Ahh, hopefully this will soon be a former annoyance.

So, I haven't even been banded that long, and I've only lost 18 lbs, but I'm starting to worry about what my relationship will be like with my husband when I lose a significant amount of weight. I'm already becoming a more active person, and I've always been more outgoing than him. I'm worried he won't be able to keep up with me. I want to get out there and see/do everything, travel, and be adventurous. I just don't know what the future will hold. (We just had our five year anniversary and we don't have kids yet just to fill you in on our status). So I guess my question is: Have any of you experienced relationship trouble as a result of your weightloss/lifestyle change?

So...I was just banded on the 20th and I got the Realize band. I saw that this site has a sister site specifically for Realize bandsters, so I figured I should check it out. There are like NO posts on there! Are any of you fellow Realize bandsters on that site as well? Am I allowed to just stay on this site since there's not much going on at http://www.realizebandsupport.com/ ?

Why aren't you allowed to have beans or salsa?

Just go under the "General Lap-Band Surgery Discussion" forum and there's a topic titled "Who Has Lost Over 100 Pounds?" There are a LOT of lap-band patients who have lost over 100lbs, many of them within a year post-op. I was recently banded and have over 100lbs to lose and I found those posts particularly inspirational. We can do it!!!

My pain is slightly better now. I paged the nurse who was supposed to call and check in with me at some point today and I still haven't heard from her. My husband and my mom are doing a good job of nursing me though! My mom is a nurse so I feel lucky to have her help me through this. They didn't give me any liquid loritab. I was only given vicodin pills that I can take every six hours. I'm counting down the hours each time. Thank god I'm feeling a little better. My stomach looks like a freak-show though and it's weirding me out! It looks so foreign to me. Thanks for all the responses guys. I love this forum!

What an informative article! Thanks for sharing it. The lesson I take away is that by routinely measuring your intake, you won't need to rely on the band to give you that "full" feeling. My plan will be to slowly eat what I have measured out and wait for ten minutes then reassess my hunger. This is definitely going to be an experiment in learning how to eat again!

I don't think you're being a bandzilla! lol I'm getting banded on May 20th and it's all I can talk about. The decision you've made is HUGE and it's understandable that you'd want the people closest to you to be interested. I'd feel the same way you do. My husband doesn't really bring it up and I asked him why he never seems to be interested in talking about lap band. He said it's because he's nervous about me having surgery, so he doesn't even want to think about it. Now that surgery is six days away, reality is setting in for him and he's been more interested in the procedure and asking a lot of questions. I think some people just don't know how to respond. Good luck with your surgery! You're just five days after me!

I'm being banded on May 20th. My doctor doesn't require a pre-op diet, but I've decided to put myself on a Protein shake diet starting Monday (12 days pre-op). I've read in several posts that homemade Protein shakes are not ok. Why? What's the difference as long as you are monitoring the amount of sugar, carbs, etc.? Also, has anyone ever tried the fruit punch flavored protein whey? I'm trying to choose between that and vanilla flavor. Thanks for any input!

I just started my pre-op diet today (self prescribed) and I was wondering if you could share what items are on your list of unlimited foods. Thanks!

Thanks Cocoabean! I think knowing that I don't have to do it will actually help me stick to my plan better. I don't like being told what I can or can't do! I'm just going to focus on eating healthfully and getting plenty of Protein. Sometimes I think we focus so closely on the tiny details that we lose sight of the big picture! -Amber

I think my doctor doesn't order a pre-op diet because he knows that patients will have a very difficult time sticking to it, given then nature of why they're getting surgery in the first place. I just think it's something that couldn't hurt. I'm trying to prepare my body for surgery by decreasing the fat in/around my liver. I'm also trying to mentally prepare myself for post-op when I will have to live on liquids for a while. Either way, it won't hurt me to try and lose a few pounds before surgery.

Thanks for the responses guys! I think I'm going to go with the low sugar/carb/fat vanilla protein whey. It should go nicely with any fruits I mix it with. I'll use skim milk for extra liquid.

Hey Jennifer! I would love to be band buddies! I've been trying to find someone with the same surgery date as me. I'm hoping I don't have to get a catheter, because that's one of my biggest fears! The surgeon never mentioned it, but I wonder if it's even something they do mention. Also, does everyone get a tube down their throat during surgery? I hadn't heard anything about that either. I guess every surgeon does things a little differently. Looking forward to our journey! Sooo excited!!!