CSinTX

I don't have a date yet but paperwork was submitted this week for approval. I am hoping things go well and I'll be banded in September. Looking for others who will be banded in September 2010. Please chime in. . .

Hi Lisa, I think I have around 9cc in my 11 cc band. The last time that I went in, the person that normally does the fills was no longer working for the doctor so I had a new person. I mentioned that I felt that I was too tight for my comfort zone so he took some out. When I asked he said, "you should be down around 9". So I honestly don't know how much is in the band but I like the fit. It allows me to eat normal size bites and still stops me if I eat too much. I know I would have been thrilled to reach my goal within 1 year but my parents still do not know that I had the surgery, so I wanted the weight loss to look more normal. In fact, it was not until I bought new clothes that they finally mentioned, "you look like you have lost some weight" which was in August at 60lbs down. Wearing the old baggy clothes may feel good because they are baggy but hide our accomplishments. It was not until I got smaller clothes that people started mentioning something about the weight loss. I go back to the doctor in February, so my short term goal is to survive the holidays then go on a protein shake diet for a couple of weeks to show some loss before I see the doctor again. Maybe the new year will get me motivated to change my eating habits and make better eating choices this next year. That's my new years resolution. Cathy

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving. We have all come a long away from this time last year. Some have lost more than others but I bet we are all impressed with the changes that people are noticing. To me, I have hit a plateau and have not lost any weight since August but I'm ok with that because I have honestly not tried. I guess I have hit that spot where either I can get more in the band or get myself motivated and watch what I eat. The quantity that I eat is fine, it's just the what I eat. Maybe the daily sunday's have something to do with it. Anyway, what I am saying is that I am supper pleased with where I am this year compared to last year. I did not starve myself to lose a few pounds. I did not exercise my butt off to lose a few pounds. Once I got smaller closes people started noticing the weight loss. It feels good to have lose my 60+ pounds fairly effortless compared to past years. My goal for 2012 is to get the last 25 lbs off by making more healthy choices. Hope everyone had a Great Holiday. Cathy

Hello, It's been a long time since I have been around, sorry for my absence. Have been super busy and things have been going well. I have not lost the weight that I wanted by the 6 month marker but then I have not put the effort in that I should have. Over all I'm very happy with where I am currently in my weight loss and the doctors are ok with it, so why worry that it's not the stellar weight loss that everyone hears about. I had another fill yesterday and up to 10.5cc in this 11cc band. I was comfortable at 10cc, could eat just about anything and kept too my smaller portions but this past month I only lost 2 lbs so doc wanted to tweak it. Is there anyone else out there with 10 or more cc at 6 months? Cathy

Hello Everyone. Life has been crazy these past 2 weeks. My mother-in-law passed away last week, funeral was last Saturday and my daughter is turning 21 tomorrow. So have been around lots of food. Too much temptations for the wrong foods but portion control is definitely there. One good thing about eating less, there was a dish at the funeral that was bad, 1 person in the family was vomiting and 3 out of the 4 siblings had diarrhea. I know too much information but little old me had no problem. Guess I did not eat enough of whatever it was to be effected. I am amazed at how much I can eat and how easily it goes down. I have not had any issues of revisiting my food, thank god. I go back to the doctor on Oct 27 and will ask them to put more fluid in. Since I started eating my weight loss has stopped and since last week, I have gained 3lbs. :thumbup: Will post sooner next time. Cathy

Hello Everyone - So glad to see so many familiar names and welcome to all the newbies to the family. Thanks Brian for being our leader in the Post-Op stage. I'll try to get everyone caught up to date on my happenings. My surgery was suppose to be Sept 10 but was move to Aug 27. I still consider myself a September Bandster even though I was a few days premature. I had to do 5 weeks of Post-Op liquid diet which glad to say ended last Wednesday. 12 days post-op I had my first fill of 3 ccs, day 19 I had my second fill of another 3 ccs and day 26 I had my 3rd fill of another 3 ccs. So when I started eating I had to learn with 9ccs in my band. I have to admit I was scared to death but it's been really easy. I had no idea how much food to eat so I start portioning it out first and then gradually expanding it. My happy spot where I can eat enough to be full for hours but yet have not ill effects from eating is 1/2 of cup of food total. It does not sound like a lot but it works well. I went to Outback Steakhouse over the weekend and was not sure how I would handle my first meal out. When the server brought my food I asked for a to-go box and portioned out my 1/2 cup and boxed the rest before I even took my first bite. It worked perfect. I was full and did not feel compelled to nibble. It's a great feeling to be on this side. Just a side note. When I am reading about all the troubles, from getting insurance approval, recovery from surgery, starving during the liquid diet phase, learning to eat without puking and being able to sleep on our stomachs again and our friends have the "Nerve" to say we took the easy way out. ya right. Cathy

Have been reading other post about fills but some are several years old and just wondering if things have changed over the years. Here are my events. 8/27 - surgery 9/8 - 1st fill - 3cc 9/15 - 2nd fill - 3cc again 9/22 - 3rd fill - 3 more cc's 9/29 - next appointment I have 9cc's in my 11cc band. Have been doing a 6 week post op liquid diet which is scheduled to end on 10/07/10. I feel great, have lost over 30 lbs and have no problem drinking Protein shakes or Soup. Has anyone else advanced like this? :smile:

I wanted to let everyone know that I'll be posting my pair of blue jeans (dark wash, 18P) over the weekend on this exchange. If you are interested please respond. Thanks, Cathy

Just wanted to give a reply to those to responded. It's been 2 days since my doctors appointment. I was given the green light to go ahead and start eating mushies. I was a little apprehensive about starting when they decided to leave the 9ccs in the band. I have to admit I have had no problem eating food or getting things down the old pipes. Tonight I had shredded beef (BBQ) and loved it. I don't know what the amount that most people are able to eat but 1/2 cupped filled me up with no discomfort. I feel great about my start and the past 2 days. Cathy

Hi Lisa, Glad to hear from you today. Are you home yet? Did the people in the Denver airport even realize that you walked past them several times? I bet not. No sweet spot yet. I had a 3rd fill last week of another 3 cc's, so I now have 9cc's in this band. Today I had my 4th appointment (no more fills) but was told that I could start eating mushies tomorrow. That is music to my ears. I completed 7 weeks of a liquid diet. I liked the weight loss but I'm real excited to start eating tomorrow. But then I'm scared because I have 9ccs in this band and I have no idea what to expect and what the feelings will be telling me. Brian has got me scared to death about eating too much. I have only puked 3 times in my life and I want it to remain that way. Gale - glad to hear that you are doing ok. Bet you are so happy to have this behind you. Sarah - I don't recall seeing a post-op post from you. How are you doing? Cathy

First fill 12 days after surgery. Second fill 19 days after surgery. Third fill 26 days after surgery.

I am sooooo glad that I see others at 9cc. Tomorrow will be my first day on mushies. I was banded a month ago and my doctor added 3cc per week into my band for the past 3 weeks. Today I was expecting them to take some out something as I transitioned from liquid to mushies but they said, I should be fine, just take it slow. Again, glad to see that 9cc's is not out of the normal range. Cathy

Wow, I definitely see how different my doctors actions are from others. Which explains why I was having trouble finding others in the fill fast lane. I have my next appointment tomorrow at 1:45pm. For the past 3 appointments with the fills, I don't even see the doctor. I get the PA. Is that normal? :smile2: I'm at the hospital with the fluoroscope and the doctors office is across town. After last Wednesdays appointment, the PA said she added another 3 cc's and I made the comment that it brings me up to 9ccs, so I'm certain about the amount she has put in and she was the one that told me my band had a 11cc capacity. I'll post tomorrow evening about my visit. Thanks everyone for responding. Cathy

Another Wednesday, another fill. Today they put in another 3cc in the band which now makes 9cc in an 11cc band. After the PA was done and she told me how many cc's she added, I made the comment "Wow, now up to 9cc's" by the look on her face:w00t:, I got the impression that she may have thought it was my second fill instead of my third. Anyway, I was not about to offer her the option to remove some, that needle hurts like a dickens when it goes in and I don't like needles. Next week, I have an appointment with the dietitian and then the PA, I have a sneaking suspicion that she will remove some Fluid from the band. Besides STILL on liquids so it won't be too bad. Hope those that got banded today, are doing great.:rolleyes2:

Hi Maxi, Hang in there it gets better. Your stomach is still swollen from the surgery. My doctor told me that around 7-10 days, the swelling from the surgery will have almost completely disappeared which will be when my appetite will return. He was right. I'm sure each day you'll be able to drink more in a quicker time. Don't worry about eating, we can got over a week without food but only a few days without water, so drink, drink and drink more.

Hi Brenda, You made me laugh.:thumbup::laugh: One of these day's we'll be wearing those cute boyshorts. I think they are the cutest little things and look so comfortable.

Now that most have had their surgery, lets do a poll on incisions and port location. I had 5 incisions and my port is just under my left breast bone. Took about a week before I could sleep on my tummy and was one of the lucky ones it appears as that I had absolutely no gas pains. Took 1 week off of work but could have gone back the last 2 days of my week off. My Stats: Weighed 224 when received approval (8/2/10) Weighed 212 day of surgery (8/27/10) Weighed 199 today. Broke the 200 lb barrier this morning. It's been at least 8 years when I was below 200. Cathy

Happy Surgery date. Hope all goes well for you guys tomorrow: angellegna29, krieck, wishful-thinking, ledgins, HAD_ENOUGH, Melissa4773 Very good information. I have wondered how we would lose weight be eating less when we have always in the past been told that if we cut our food intake too much, we would be doing more harm than good. Thanks for posting. Welcome to the family. When do you leave for Mexico? Excellent weight loss. Keep up the good work. Congratulations and welcome to the family. Sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time with the gas pain. Welcome to September Bandsters. Glad you found us. Looking forward to hearing your story. Way to go. I had my surgery 2 days before my birthday. The office gave me a card which said, sorry no money this year for cake and ice cream. Maybe next year. I had to laugh at that. Congratulations on your surgery date. Hi Maria, Congratulations on getting your surgery date and welcome to the family.

Hope you are feeling better today:rolleyes2:

Hello everyone, I have been sitting at my computer for 2+ hours reading 24 pages of posting that I have missed. Wow so much has happened. Brian you asked what my diet is now. I am stilling on a liquid diet. I drink 2 protein shakes and have 1 can of soup (with whole milk) a day. I'll have jello or popsicles as a dessert in the evening. Come Monday, I will have been on this liquid diet for 6 six weeks and I have 2 more weeks left before I move to the next phase. I do have to admit that since my last fill (2nd one) my "Head Hunger" is much better under control. I don't think about meals or even missing food. Ironically, I am still enjoying my soups. Several pages back when everyone was talking about husband, I had to laugh. My husband and I go shopping every week and today while at the grocery store my husband made the comment that he felt bad shopping for food when I can't eat. I did offer him the invitation to join me in my soups and protein drink but he politely declined. When he sits and eats his dinner it does not even bother me. I have my soup and I am full. It's a good feeling. Sarah & Gail - I am so glad that you guys finally got your insurance approval and are both getting your bands on the same day. How exciting. Hopefully I'll be around more frequent from here on out. After the lightning strike we have had to replace computers, printers, external harddrive, phones, tv speakers and the water well. Needless to say we met our $4000 deductible and then some. I forgot how long it takes to set up a computer (with the printer) and get everything like it was. We are still trying to get 2 phones to work but I think it's the phones and not the lines.

Hi Erin, My fills have been done under a fluoroscope. It's pretty cool. They move this big machine over my stomach until they have my port centered on the tv screen. Then the tech moves the needle around until she is right over the port which we both watch on the tv screen. Once she gets right over it, she pushes pretty hard and I can feel the port move - it's a weird feeling. Once she gets the needle in she injects the saline solution, then ask me to swallow the barium and we watch it go down. If all looks good she then pulls the needle out and I'm done. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes. If given the choice I would rather the fluoroscope then her shooting in the dark but that's just me hating needles. Cathy

Hey Guys, Sorry I have been MIA for the past week. Our house was struck by lightning last Wednesday and we lost most electrical items but of course the TV. Doing great and today I had my second fill. I now have 6cc in my 11cc band but still on liquids so I can't tell if I have any restriction. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll read and catch up on all the news soon. Cathy

Hi Brian, I too got the realize band and it holds 11cc. I did get a fill this past Wednesday but did not ask how much they put in. I don't think it is much as I'll be getting these fills for the next 3 weeks. I never discussed which band I wanted with my doctor. I just assumed he would pick the best for me since that is here area of expertise. Cathy

Hi Brian, I am doing great. Back to 100%. Do you have any saline solution in your band? My doctor left mine wide open and once I was started healing, I have noticed my hunger pains returning. Week 2 really put me back to the test of having to control my appetite. I wish I had some restriction that I could notice. Are you going to be the first to vomit? Cathy