general_antiope

You won't feel anything - even when your band is tight. They don't fill you during surgery, your body needs to heal (and sometimes your stomach will get inflamed from being manipulated during surgery). After you get your first fills (4 - 6 weeks post op, depending on your doc) you will DEFINITELY feel different the first time you try to eat! But it's a good thing you're feeling normal.

No, belching and productive burping are two different things. Belching, you know what that is. PBing is when air gets trapped while you eat or you have something "sort of" stuck and you burp out food/liquid. It's not the same as throwing up, which is far more intense and empties your whole stomach. It sounds like you're not following the band rules. It's telling you what to do....slow down, calm down, eat small bites. If you keep ignoring the band, you are setting yourself up for some heartache (band erosion, for example. Band slippage, for example. Remaining obese for the rest of your life, for example). This will work. Surrender to the process.

Right on Carolinagirl....Negativity is a symptom of hating oneself. Haven't we all done enough of that in our lives?? I sure have. Bring back the belches, I wanna sound like a trucker and look like a hottie

Bayou, lmao "hot mess" .. that could describe me in any coordination-required class And I love the idea of small spoons and forks! It was never mentioned to me, but this second time around I'm going to do it. I've been unrestricted so long I'm basically starting over.

Spaness, I LOVE that quote, totally stealing. Thank you. LOL. asr2468, Yes, when I was banded I was scared out of my mind. But I could no longer live the way I was living and be happy. I was so off track with my life it wasn't funny. For me, getting the band was the only way I wanted to keep on living.

PrettyGirlJey congrats on taking control of your life and health!! I've been down the band road before, it was the best decision I ever made. Due to rare complications (just constant leaks and a disconnect) I'm getting rebanded, but I will go through this again and again to keep my band. Did I already mention it was the best thing I did for myself? Haha. What a journey. You will succeed as long as you WANT to succeed. The band gave me that extra edge to make better choices. I can't see straight when I'm hungry, and just having that hunger controlled and the portions slowed down was the magic for me. best of all, I love not always thinking about food, or being insecure. It really is amazing all the benefits you get from this surgery, and not JUST in the numbers on the scale! Keep us posted about your progress!

I don't have any "before" pics at 296. I burned them all - I am not that person and it never made me feel good to keep them. I like to focus on the positive. Here I am in 2007, around 192. Lowest weight. I was in 14's. The thinnest my face has been SO want to get back there. Here I am in 2010, after my skin removal surgery. This was not the lowest, but was the smallest I'd been (size 12 pants, L/XL shirts in "NORMAL" sizes). I was about 205. NOTHING feels like a flat belly! It was absolutely worth it. (please ignore goofy smile, I was being "sarcastic" lol) Here i am 2 months pregnant (and yes, getting married, LOL). My band was still working. I thought I would only gain 10-15 lbs max. Here I am 9 months pregnant with mah cutie pie! And about 260

My name is Kate. I live in the Philly suburbs. Rather than post a long paragraph about my journey so far, here are the highlights: Banded in 2004, 296 lbs, size 20 1 year later, was at 192, size 14 Stopped losing weight, took 6 months to realize I had a slow leak Continued getting fills and played with the same 20 - 30 lbs until 2009 2009 had major skin removal - breasts, arms, belt lipectomy (13 lbs of skin removed) 216 Had leaking port replaced in the same surgery 1 year post op, weighed 205, size 12 Was pretty happy and intended on losing the rest "someday" but enjoyed flatness and ability to eat in moderation Maintained for 2 years March 2011, major leak, no restriction April 2011, tube replaced (up to 210, worked hard NOT to gain, proud of 5 lb net gain) Feb 2012, first pregnancy April 2012, tube disconnected, zero restriction. Bad abdominal pain, nobody able to diagnose. Gained 65 lbs in 6 months (275 with baby at heaviest) (guess who was tired of fighting food? now add pregnancy hunger...) Dec 2012, saw lap band surgeon - verified band disconnected, no erosion. Now 255 Replacement scheduled Feb 2013 Want to get to 150 this time!

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

Group created http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

added you all! I'm kateland there.

BTW, I've been looking for the Feb 2013 "group" here on LBT - does anyone want to start one so we have more than just one topic? I can start the group if you want.

Jennifer - Dr. Ren didn't say where, I'm assuming the left side (as opposed to the right where I have it now). To make things more interesting, after I lost the 100 lbs, I was in a unique position to get some skin removal surgery, even though I hadn't hit goal yet. So I went for it. During that surgery they removed 13 lbs of skin (!!) and replaced my port with a low profile one. It was a different doctor placing the port , so I wonder if he put it in in such a way that when I got pregnant, it stretched the tubing which became disconnected. They pulled my belly so tight! I can imagine that's why I had a disconnect.

Look at that smile!! YEAH! Congrats on your success How do you feel 7 months post op? Any non scale victories?

Yeah when I've got the right fill, I'm never hungry.

B-52, that 5 day pouch "reset" is a great thing

Sounds like your doctor made some crappy choices. Did you research this fool and interview him before going with surgery? I asked my doc how many people died on her table and why at the first consultation. And I've had many problems with my band, but I trust her and she is one of the top docs in the nation for lap banding. Glad Topomax works for you. Sounds like it functionally does the same thing as the band, by eliminating hunger signals.

Floridays - oh and I agree with you too, I was writing that on my phone while one handedly feeding my kid, lol. Hopefully didn't sound terse. The band worked for me when it functioned because yes, I chose to follow the program. Another woman I know got banded after me and would continue to eat and eat past her restriction and would throw up constantly. That's a psychological issue that I don't face...willing to be uncomfortable and in pain and knowingly circumvent the tool. Maybe she'd be better with a bypass, or something else permanent (but you can destroy those , too). My point is, the band works if you follow the program, yes, but again, not for everyone. Everyone's not capable of following the program. So therefore the band isn't a perfect solution for everyone. Otherwise the millions of diets I've been on would have worked for me The band is a perfect solution for SOME people, not all, is what I'm saying. I have "thin" friend who's at 141 lbs and stressing because she needs to be at 135. She put herself on Weight Watchers and has no problem with her points or food choices. She's done this over the years and it works for her. It has never worked for me. God, to have her problems! LOL

Congrats to your daughter! I was banded in 2004 and lost 100 lbs the first year, then I began having leaks and malfunctions. I played with 20 - 30 lbs over the next few years, but never got past the 100 lb mark again (I needed to lost 130). I'm getting my band replaced in Feb - since 2004 I've got a net weight loss of 40 lbs But I know the band works well for me *when it works*. My surgeon says my issues are rare and she will put my port in a different place.

This really is a LOT to go through in 2 months. Maybe one way to deal with it is to accept you can't exercise as much as you want, but only focus on the food. Tell people what you do and don't want if they're going to bring food over. If you're good with controlling your portions, control just how much you eat. The Lean Cuisines is a good idea but be careful because the sodium and preservatives in prepackaged foods can hurt your healing process and weight loss process. One thing you might want to try is to cook foods you will eat and freeze them if possible. Roast up a whole chicken before surgery and cut it up into meals you can microwave yourself, for example. At least mix in some natural foods with the prepackaged, is all. After these surgeries you'll feel pretty crappy for a few days and may not want to eat, anyway. Also, your "exercise" can be modified to just be walking up and down steps, or doing 1 load of laundry, or anything around the house that takes energy and doesn't hurt your post-op status. Remember....the "all or nothing" mind set (I have this too) is just a symptom of food addiction. bust out of that mind set. You can still follow band rules, temporarily modified Last thought, if it helps - the more you verbally communicate to people about your needs the better you are setting yourself up for success. Your husband, your family, don't sabotage you. You are in control. They can't force you off your band diet...if you think their food will tempt you, tell them you don't want it. If they bring it, threaten to throw it out, lol. Fight for yourself!!

No, it's not worth it! I can't believe how huge my world got once I got smaller I gained weight from a broken band and pregnancy and I HATE being this heavy!! I can't believe I lived with it so long. But I love eating more, and can't control my hunger and food choices on my own the way I can with the band. Cannot get re-banded fast enough!!

The port goes on top of your ab muscle but under your skin (and fat ) So you won't feel it unless you're pressing on it. I never felt my port when sleeping - if I leaned over the back of the couch or laid on my stomach while on a hard surface I could feel it, but it didn't hurt. Hope that helps.

Good plan!! And I'm getting rebanded on Feb 4th too - I've been down this road before just as exciting! Please msg me if you would like a band buddy, I'm looking for someone to connect with. It really helped me stay focused to have someone to yap with

It's true that people who lose a lot of weight end their marriages. But there are so many reasons for that. The common denominator is that the shrinking person is having a life altering experience that is making them grow. If your partner doesn't grow with you or grows in the opposite direction, the shrinking person has less tolerance for misery and pain. I got divorced from my first husband after I lost my weight with my first band. I stayed in that relationship for 12 years trying to make it work. Being a normal sized woman made me feel less inclined to deal with his BS when there were more people out there and I had new confidence. I tried to hold on to my marriage, we went to counseling. He refused to keep going and said he didn't care that I felt unhappy with our relationship and he had no intention if changing. I'm now remarried and just had my first baby at 37. I love my life!!!