AmberK

1. Be able to enjoy sex with my husband without getting tired and worn out before things get really good! 2. Be able to paint my toenails without my stoamch getting in the way 3. Be able to wear cute clothes from normal stores (jeans, dresses, etc) 4. Be able to buy shirts without having to worry about the lenght of them and whether or not my stomach will be sticking out from under it. 5. Wear a super cute swimsuit 6. go on rollercoasters 7. go ziplining 8. BREAST REDUCTION!!!!!

Thats usually a clue for me that I've eaten too much, taken too big of a bite, or eaten way too fast.

I only eat the toppings when I have pizza. Bread gets stuck for me so I just dont do it anymore. When my family eats pizza I either make my own by layering pepperoni, sauce, and cheese and cooking it in the oven or just pick the toppings off of the pizza they have.

hello, hello! Its so good to see familiar faces checking back in! I had my 2nd fill with my new doctor 1.5 weeks ago and things are going well. He put in .6 cc's in for a total of 9.1 cc's and I can DEFINITELY tell a huge difference. I might be a tad on the too tight side because I definitely can't eat all that much but I can still drink Water and have no reflux issues so Im keeping it as is. I used to think that everyone was full of crap when they said you wont be able to eat more than 1/2 c at a time because I have always been able to eat way more than that but now with my last fill I understand what they are saying. Im hoping that Im at my sweet spot this time around. I do have an appt scheduled for May 14th but Im hoping I wont need it. And the good news is that Im down 10 lbs in 6 weeks! Im so encouraged right now! Now the next thing for me to do is gett off my butt and start exercising. I don't know why I have such a hard time forcing myself to do that. Zenaida- congrats on hitting 40 lbs! Thats awesome! Jamelyn- Its so good to see you! Your weightloss is awesome! Sorry about your surgeries but hopefully you are on the right track and will start losing again! michelle- CONGRATS on your baby boy!

In my mom's support group a few of the people have suggested pineapple juice to help things that are stuck go down. Something about the enzymes in the juice that helps break up the food.

Im back from my appointment and it was so awesome! I loved the office and the doctor was fantastic. Turns out I only had 6.5 cc's in my band (my first doctor told me I had 8). So he put in 2 more cc's and im up to 8.5 and hoping this will do the trick and start helping to lose this weight. The doctor was floored that my first doctor was holding my fill hostage until I lost more weight. He said that the goal is to NOT feel like you are hard core dieting. I have another appt scheduled for 1 month from today and they will do another fill if *I* feel like I still don't have proper restriction. Its amazing to have a provider actually listen to the *patient* to see how they are doing.

Hello everybody! Its been a really long time since I've checked in. I haven't been doing too well. Im sitting at 28 lbs lost right now. I gained some weight during the holidays and when I went back to my doctor in January looking for a fill because I don't have enough restriction she refused to give me one. She told me that I havent been doing enough to lose weight (which I know but I also told her Im able to eat way too much and I get super hungry between meals) and she wanted me to come back in 3 months to see how much weight I've lost and she might do a fill then. I've been struggling really badly. I basically feel like Im hard core dieting and don't even have the band. Im frustrated right now because I feel like if Im going to hard core diet like this then why did I even get the band? My mom has convinced me to switch to her lapband doctor even though he is 3 hours away. She has gotten so much support from them and has hit onederland. She got her band in October and has already had like 5 or 6 fills. I got my band in August and only had 3. So in a few hours Im headed up to my moms house and then tomorrow morning I have my first appt with my new doctor. They are going to do a fill at tomorrow's appointment and Im looking forward to getting back on track. Its a shame that my doctor had to be this way but as my mom puts it- the bariatric stuff is a sideline business for her. She is a surgeon and her main practice is with doctors in a surgery group who also happen to do bariatric stuff. My moms doctor and his group ONLY do lapbands and a lot of the people that work there and even 2 of the doctors have had lapband before. So we will see how this goes. Wish me luck!

Hey girls- I havent posted in a while. Its been crazy at work (I teach preschool) and at home lately. Which means I haven't been making good food choices. :thumbup: I went in for my 3rd fill today and she gave me another 2 cc's so now Im up to 8 cc's in my 11 cc band. I had 6 cc's before and had no restriction at all. Hopefully this one will give me a little more because I haven't been losing any weight at all. I worry that Im already up to 8 cc's and what if I dont get any restriction at all? Is that even possible?

My first fill was Sept 9th or something like that and I was given 3 cc's in my band (I think I have a 14 cc band) and I had NO restriction whatsoever. So I went in for my 2nd fill this past Friday and I do have some restriction although I know Im still eating more than I should. But I can definitely tell when its time to stop eating which is awesome. And foods that I had no problem with before are a problem for me and getting stuck. Luckily no PB'ing for me I just have to drink tons of water to get it to pass through. But Im thrilled with the 2nd fill and am anxious to get my 3rd one on Nov 15th!

Ha! Well, we had to do fertility treatments both times to get pregnant since I don't ovulate so the chances of me getting pg naturally are slim to none. Actually, I wouldnt be upset if I got pg again- I still have crazy notions that I would like another one but its only once in a while. My youngest is 3 and potty trained and I swear that I dont want to go through that again. LOL! Thanks Dee....it has been a very difficult 5 years for me and part of the reason why Im where I am now- horribly overweight with the lapband. But things are getting better and Im looking forward to getting the weight off and regaining control of my life!

Amanda- didnt you just recently have a hysterectomy? That could be screwing with your hormones and making you more depressed. I think you should go back to the doctor and have him adjust your meds. You have had 2 surgeries in the past several months so I feel its natural for some more depression to set it. Good luck.

I think we will be having meatloaf. I will fix some mashed potatoes for the guys and fix broccoli for myself.

I had 2 weeks of bedrest right after the cerclage but after that I didnt have any. I think the reason for my incompetent cervix was the twin pregnancy. I never had any issues during my 2nd pregnancy with my cervix but did deliver at 36 weeks due to an infection in my amniotic Fluid. All 3 of my kids had to spend time in the NICU. Colin was 3 days before he passed, Drew spent 109 days, and then Ryan had to spend 3 weeks because of meningitis that he got in utero from the infection that I had. :thumbup: No more babies for me....I have not had good experiences with child birth. LOL.

CONGRATS!!!!! how exciting for you! I just wanted to say how sorry I am for the loss of your son. I had a similar situation to yours- my twin boys were born at 26 weeks due to my incompetent cervix and my first born son died 3 days later. With my 2nd pregnancy I had a cerclage placed at 13 weeks but didnt require long term bed rest but I was so scared the entire pregnancy. Keep us updated how you are doing throughout the pregnancy!

I know that Im not eating as much as I used to pre-op but Im still eating more than what I should. And Im not counting calories either- Im trying to stick to low carb/high protein. But there are days when I give in to temptation and have a carb fest. AGH. I also have NO issues with food going down. Im not even that careful about chewing up food up carefully which I know will change once I get good restriction. But seriously right now I really feel like I did pre-band. And Im pretty discouraged.

msdv- I feel exactly the same way. I have 3 cc's in my band and for a few days afterward I felt a bit of restriction but now I don't feel anything. Im getting frustrated because I know Im eating more than I should but sometimes the hunger just gets to me and I go get something to eat that I shouldnt. During the day Im usually fine- Im at preschool and am so busy that I dont even think about food. Its when I get home that is the problem. And nighttime ist he worse. I go for my 2nd fill on Oct 15th and I have a feeling she is going to fuss at me for not losing any more weight (well Im down 3 lbs in 4 weeks but to me that is not acceptable) but I dont know what else to do.

So what I dont get then is those doctors who advise against the artificial sweeteners in diet soda but say its ok to drink crystal light which has ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS! :wub:

Wow- thats scary! Its a good thing you stuck around the doctors office after your fill! My doc didnt do the fill under fluoro but she had a pretty easy time finding my port. I did drink a little bit of water while in the office and it went down just fine. I've noticed a slight difference in my hunger level and the amount I eat since my fill! I've lost 3 lbs since last Friday bringing my total back to 31 lbs. I had lost 31 after surgery then went to mushies and solid foods and gained back 6. So Im glad to be back to where I was!

hey girls- Sorry I havent been around in a while- Im a preschool teacher and started back to work 2 weeks ago and its been hectic. Anyways, I saw my doc yesterday and had my first fill- 3cc's in an 11 cc band (or so the doc thinks- she cant remember how much my band holds). The fill was easy but she did do the local anesthetic before doing the fill. Which Im grateful for...i saw the size of that stinking needle that they were using for the fill! LOL! I didn't eat lunch yesterday so by the time dinner rolled around I was pretty hungry. Ate a chicken tender and chewed really well and also ate some mashed taters and mac-n- cheese. Had no problems getting food down. But today is going to be the real test- hopefully I wont be as hungry as I have been the past 4 weeks.

thats so awesome! Congrats!!!!!

Im low-carbing it until my first fill to see how tight I am and then will re-evaluate. I might do low carb until I get good restriction but definitely dont see myself doing it for the rest of my life.

Congrats! Im so happy to hear your surgery went well!

I go in on Sept 10th for my first fill and I can't wait! I HOPE my doctor will put in at least 3 or 4 because Im soooo hungry all the time. 1 or 2 cc's probably won't do anything for me.

OMG guys- I cannot wait until my first fill! My next appt is 9/10 with my surgeon. Im on a regular diet now and Im so hungry and eating WAAAAY more than I should. I know that I have no restriction right now and it just sucks. I went back on my high protein/low carb diet like I did for my 2 week pre-op diet. Im going to do this until at least my first fill. I CAN NOT gain any more weight back. I had lost 31 lbs total (10 in my 6month diet, then 21 between my 2 week pre-op and my post-op stuff) but when I moved to eating real food I gained like 5 back. UGH. I just read a thread about people eating some cheese as a snack and they will eat a small amount- like 3 small bites. OMG- I can eat a huge chunk of cheese. BANDSTER HELL SUCKS!