montynic

Congrats on reaching Onederland!!! Glad to hear you are doing so well. Keep up the great work.

I lost 28lbs on the pre-op diet and have not lost a single pound since my surgery on 4/1. I have had 1 fill (5cc) but do not have any restriction whatsoever. My doctor requires 6 weeks between fills, so my next one is not until 7/8. At this point, I would be ecstatic to see a loss of even 1lb!

Congrats to everyone who are dong so well. Keep up the great work!

I am SO FRUSTRATED!!

Could somebody please tell me what I'm doing wrong? Or better yet, how to get this right?

First of all, you are not doing anything wrong. You are not alone in your frustration. I understand it completely because I have been there. In fact, the only difference in our stories is that I live in Grass Valley, CA instead of Idaho (but I still have the snow problem).

I was banded on 4/1. I lost 27lbs on my self-inflicted pre-op diet, which put me at 298 on surgery day. Since that day, I have not lost any weight. In fact, I have gained and re-lost the same 15lbs over and over again. As of this morning, I am at 298 again. I have never experienced restriction. Today was my first fill (5 cc's) and I'm hoping that will get the scale moving. I can definitely feel the difference already. I am having to sip beverages more slowly and it felt like my Migraine medication almost got stuck this evening. Restriction is the key!

Make sure to get enough Protein. (I average 100-110g Protein per day and 800-1,000 calories.) If you are looking for low-calorie, high protein meals, bariatriceating.com has excellent recipes. Hang in there!

I was banded on 4/1 and don't get my first fill until 5/27. I can hardly wait! I am so hungry!

Hey how are the early April Bandster Bunnies doing? Have not heard from some of you in so long - Mammasugar, Ravyn, Montynic, Waynooo, Melliebelle, Twinslerely, Happytrucker - are you all still out there and doing ok? Would love to hear from you!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Froggie D! I know, it seems like I have fallen off the face of the Earth these days... I am in the process of opening a nonprofit counseling agency and have been so busy that I haven't even checked any of my social networking sites this week!

I am doing well. The scale still has not moved, but at least I finally feel normal again. I am able to sleep on my sides and/or stomach and am able to roll around in bed without pain. I am still learning how to bend and twist without feeling an oddly painful sensation internally from my port placement. I have an appt tomorrow to hopefully advance from mushy foods to normal foods. My incisions sites are hardly noticeable and have no pain. I am anxious to resume normal activities, but my doctor does not allow that until week 6 post-op.

Glad to hear you are doing well.

Congrats on your success! :ohmy: Your before and after pics are an inspiration to me! I am 5'5" and have almost the exact same starting and goal weights as you. Although, the 175 goal was set by my doctor and I wouldn't mind going lower than that.

If you don't mind me asking... Do you have much excess skin? Did your cup size change significantly?

I had surgery on a Thursday (at 9a) and planned on returning to work the following Monday, which would have given me the evening after surgery and 3 full days to recover. I am 26 and my job is not strenuous at all (I'm a therapist). Had it not been for the large hernia my doctor repaired, I think I would have felt well enough to return to work on Monday. However, I ended up not returning to work until Wednesday because I was still suffering from horrible chest pains when I inhaled and was only able to take very shallow breaths, which left me dizzy and weak. Good luck!

Hello E'sMommy and congrats on your upcoming surgery! Only 2 more days! Good luck on your journey!

Welcome mishie09 and congrats on your upcoming surgery! If you haven't done so already, you should check-out the April Bandster Bunnies social group... there are quite a few of us who have had (or are having) surgery this month.

Your story sounds very similar to mine... I was banded on 4/1, 2 days before my 26th birthday. I researched the band extensively and wanted it for several years before I finally reached a point in my life where I could, in fact, go through with it. With grad school complete, the messy divorce behind me, and almost 2 years of a stable relationship and drama-free life under my belt... I decided 2010 was the year for me!

Good luck on your journey!

I live six miles from Oregon border. Blue cross anthem requires surgery to be done in CA in Center of Excellence. All of them are over 180 miles from home. Closest center in Chico want $8500 in out of pocket expenses on top of insurance! Any suggestions? Who to contact that can help me?:ohmy:

As you know, all insurances are different. I learned at my initial informational session that doctors and Centers of Excellence charge a "program fee" (the $8,500 out of pocket you are facing) to patients with certain insurances. For example, I have Blue Shield PPO and was not required to pay a program fee. However, if I would have had Blue Cross, I would have been facing a program fee. Are you sure it has to be done in CA? There are Centers of Excellence in OR (I only know that because I have family in various parts of OR that have had surgery at Centers of Excellence). If your insurance requires surgery to be done at a Center of Excellence in CA, I would recommend calling around and finding the most inexpensive program fee. Since you are already having to drive all the way to Chico, have you looked into Sacramento? There are several Centers of Excellence to choose from in Sacramento and it is only an extra hour or so from Chico. If surgery has to be done in CA, what does that mean for your post-op appts and your fills? Will you have to come back to CA for those as well? Good luck!

I would suggest calling your doctor's office and speaking with the nutritionist... That being said, I was banded on 4/1. For me, my hunger pains are best described as the feeling that my stomach is turning-in on itself and digesting itself; my stomach rumbles loudly and I feel twisting/turning/gurgling inside. My full (or too full) pains are best described as a tightness in my chest, the feeling that I have a golf ball in my throat, and pain when I inhale. So... the question remains, are you hungry or full? I don't have any restriction yet and am able to eat more than 4oz in one sitting, but I try to stick with 4oz. To do that without getting hungry, I found that I need to eat "thicker" foods, such as scrambled eggs, tuna salad, egg salad, oatmeal, mashed bananas, or chili/bean Soups (pureed). The thinner foods seem to go right through me and leave me hungry. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I truly believe all the doubts, fears, thoughts, etc are perfectly normal... I had them before surgery, as did everyone else I have talked to. I was banded 4/1. The closer the date came, the more doubts I had! One of my biggest ones was that I am only 25 yrs old and am voluntarily implanting a foreign device into my body that will be there the rest of my life, as in, the next 60+ years... then I realized that I will get more enjoyment out of those years if I am thinner and healthier! I was also afraid that it might not work, but I figured that I have tried everything else at this point, so this surgery was my only option left. Granted, some people are more successful than others, and everyone loses weight at different rates... I just keep telling myself that the lapband is not a cure, it is a tool for me to utilize, and I will only be successful if I use the tool properly and follow the rules. I have had several surgeries and this one was definitely the slowest and most painful recovery, BUT I had a massive hernia repaired (one of the largest the doctor had ever repaired) which was the main source of my pain and delayed recovery.

Good luck to all of you who have not been banded yet. All the second-guesses, fears, doubts, etc do eventually subside!

I also have PCOS and have experienced a great deal of change in my hormones, despite the fact that I have been on the same BCPs for the past 12 years (which have been successful in regulating my periods). I started my period 2 weeks early, during the 3rd week of my pre-op diet. Then, I started my period again when I was 1-week post-op. I had 3 days of normalcy and started my period again this morning. Grrr! My Ob/Gyn says it will take some time for my body to adjust, but assures me that my hormones will stabilize and my pills will once again make my period regular. As for the PCOS symptoms, my Hair growth has increased substantially, so I am going to ask my doctor if he will give me a prescription for aldactone to manage the excess hair growth.

Hi Rebecca~ Welcome and congrats on starting your journey. My name is Nicole and I was banded on 4/1. There is a great deal of helpful information on this site, as well as a large number of supportive individuals. You should join the social group: April Bandster Bunnies... there are currently 89 of us in the group who are all having surgery in April. Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Good luck!

My doctor said no more soda... ever! The carbonation can stretch the pouch and/or cause slippage... even 6 months down the road.

I was on the preop diet and felt really great. I had surgery last Wednesday and have been feeling really good, except I have been running out of energy about 2:00 or 3:00 every day, too. I am eating what they recommended and getting all my Water in. Any idea why this would be?

I also felt great on the pre-op diet... I am 2 weeks post-op and also find myself running out of energy in the afternoon. My doctor says this is due to several factors, the largest 2 being that my body is still healing and recovering, and that my oxygen intake is still reduced due to the hernia repair. I have found that eating/drinking something full of Protein when I find myself needing a nap gives me the energy I need to get through the rest of the day. Good luck Froggie D! Remember, we are still new to the process... I'm sure things will get back to "normal" soon enough :thumbup:

My doctor didn't require a pre-op diet but since my BMI was so high I decided to do a 3-week all-liquid pre-op diet to ensure that my liver was perfect for surgery. My self-inflicted diet consisted of 3 Protein Shakes (8oz beverage with Isopure Protein powder), a 4oz serving of sugarfree Jello pudding (made with several scoops of protein powder), and chicken broth (if I ever felt hungry). In total, my daily intake was around 600 calories, 108g protein, and 20g carbs. I also averaged 8-10 cups of Water. I lost 25lbs. I probably would have lost more, but my period started during the last week. I was one of the lucky ones who felt great and never got hungry... everyone else says that by day 5 the hunger wears off... Good luck!

I did a self-inflicted 3-week all-liquid pre-op diet and I lost 25 pounds (probably would have been more, had I not started my period for the last week of the pre-op diet). Good luck on your weight loss!

Montynic, that's too funny. Sure we're not some sort of bizarro-world twins?

I think the only one I didn't ever do was cabbage Soup. If only I'd tried that before getting banded, maybe it would have saved me

So when did you/do you get it?

Yep, the cabbage Soup diet would have totally saved you! :smile2:

I got banded on 4/1/10, so I've officially been 1 week as of today. I got switched to mushy foods yesterday and I must admit that the scrambled egg I had for dinner was the most amazingly wonderful scrambled egg I had ever tasted! Including my self-inflicted pre-op diet, I have lost 25 lbs.

happytrucker280~ Glad to hear your post-op went well and you got advanced to mushy foods. Hope your first post-banding food experience is as amazing as mine was :smile2:

Froggie D! Glad to hear your surgery went well. I was wondering about you yesterday.

waynoo & HappyDay~ Good luck on your surgeries tomorrow. Here's hoping everything goes well and you have speedy hospital discharges!

mamasugar~ Hope you enjoyed getting to see hubby and baby. Looking forward to your update.

As for me, last night was the first night I was able to sleep comfortably in bed. I slept on my side for most of the night and even rolled onto my stomach for a few hours (I'm usually a tummy sleeper). And, today was my first day without Lortab!

Thundergrrl~ You and I sound a lot alike. I, too, have been overweight my entire life. I still remember all the diet plans mom had me on: WW, jenny craig, the cabbage Soup diet, herbalife, medifast shakes, Atkins, south beach, nutrisystem... None of which gave me astounding results. Then, add in many generations of obesity and PCOS... I have always maintained an active and healthy lifestyle, eaten nutritious foods, gotten enough Vitamins and sleep, blah, blah, blah, but have consistently gained weight! I was banded on 4/1/10, 2 days before my 26th birthday. I am excited to lose this excess weight and get a fresh start in life!!!

Welcome to all the new April Bandster Bunnies! And good luck to everyone being banded tomorrow!

Froggie~ Glad to hear you are doing so well!

I had my post-op appt today. Dr says everything looks good. Today was also my first day back to work. I think it went pretty well. I took some Lortab around noon, but have not taken any since. I'm just super excited that I was moved to phase 2 foods... which means... I get to eat mushy foods! Yay! Tonight I enjoyed the most amazing scrambled egg I have ever tasted! Seriously, it was phenomenal! :thumbup: Sounds like all of us on the losing side are doing well and recovering nicely.

Let's all keep up the good work.

Wow! Sounds like we had a lot of people banded today! Can't wait to hear how everyone is doing. Hope everything went well. Good luck to those who are having surgery tomorrow. I have my post-op appt tomorrow and will hopefully be switched to mushy foods. I can't wait for scrambled eggies!

I am. Being Easter today is tough! I am making a frozen lasagna and garlic bread for my family. I had my surgery yesterday. Still not feeling that great. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I have to go to work tomorrow. Yes, I am tired of liquids. I started the Protein Shakes again today and lots and lots of Water. One more week of clear liquids and then the next week it will be more liquids, then week three is mushy foods. Then the fourth week is where we can eat regular foods. Im just ready to be back to normal...whatever normal is.

Just checking in to see how you are feeling. I can't believe you were up and moving around well enough to cook lasagna for your family the day after surgery! I'm jealous! Were you able to go back to work today? I ended up not going back to work today, as I still feel like someone is stabbing me in the chest. I'm hoping to start feeling better and return to work on Wednesday.

I hope everyone else is recovering better than I am

Good job in supporting your wife through her journey rather than enabling her craving for french fries. I'm sure the day will come when she realizes you did this because you love her and want her to be successful. Weight loss is a process, and I doubt this will be the last time she is tempted to "cheat" or asks you to stop and get her something unhealthy. In those moments, I would remind her of how important the surgery is to her and, by extension, how important her success is to you, and that you do not want to see her jeopardize her weight loss.

I never cheated on my 3-week pre-op diet, but I have come to believe I am one of the rare individuals that actually enjoyed the pre-op diet. Mine consisted of 3 Protein shakes (milk with Isopure powder) per day, one serving of sugarfree Jello pudding (with Protein powder added to it), and unlimited broth if I ever got hungry (which I never did). I felt great and had lots of energy, my skin and hair were shiny, and I lost almost 30 lbs.