Katy517

I'm participating in the challenge. Thanks for starting this. Am hoping to drop 16 pounds during the challenge.

That's awesome that you made the milestone Mandy - congratulations! It is exciting.

Thank you both so much. Hang in there Patty. I'm no poster child for the lap band, that's for sure, and don't always work a winning program. What's worked for me is to combine banded life with Weight Watchers. Keeps me honest and less likely to over-indulge in things that the band does little to help control. Everybody's experience is different though and I wish you all good results.

How sweet it is and how good it feels. I'm 11 months out since surgery and hit the 100 lbs. lost mark today. I've got 43 to go to reach my goal. Thanks to all the members here for the solid information and support throughout and wishing you all success on your weight loss and maintenance journeys with the band.

I've always been able to feel my port and it doesn't feel good. I even had port revision surgery to relocate my port slightly as it caused me quite a lot of discomfort immediately after banding. It's a bit better now, but still a problem for me especially when exercising.

The hunger sensation I feel since being banded is completely different than what I used to experience as hunger before. It's now very much a physical sensation and it starts with my stomach rumbling - loudly. When I drink water it doesn't ease the hunger sensation. If I wait too long to eat when I know that I am physically hungry I get light headed. I'm pretty sure that what I called hunger in the old days was just 'head hunger'.

Thanks for organizing the Spring Break challenge. I'm in late and am going to try for a 13 pound total loss. Spring Break Challenge

This is my experience in a nut shell. I definitely cannot intake as much food in one sitting with MOST foods as I could before being banded. As to being full longer with the band - definitely not. My stomach is rumbling within four hours of a meal and I know I need to eat.

Mine was six months with monthly nutritionist visits. I was fortunate to have a great nutritionist who really prepared me well for life after banding and helped a lot with getting myself in the habit of making good dietary choices even before banding. I lost 18 pounds during the pre-op phase.

I came to my goal weight by two different paths. The first was to consider when I've felt my best both physically and emotionally over the past several years. I then tried my best to recall my weight at that time when I felt good in my skin, comfortable in my clothes and positive about myself. That was at a weight of 125-135 pounds. I then went the more scientific route and looked up what my normal weight and BMI should be. For me that is a 115 -154 pound range with a BMI of 21.5 to stay right in the middle of the 'normal' range. My goal weight is 133 pounds as it will result in that 21.5 BMI and is also in the range at which I felt best in the past. P.S. My this is an aged thread. Great subject matter though and delighted that it was bumped.

Hi Dave. I've got a 14 cc band and have had restriction along the way that then ceased as I lost more weight and thus required additional adjustments. I'm at 10.8 cc now and feel really good now, but am fairly certain that I'm not on my last adjustment based on past experience.

Happy New Year one and all. I hope that you all did well and were successful in the End of Year Challenge. I'm three pounds short of my 185 lb goal, but happy with my 19 lb loss. Looks like many of us haven't updated the spreadsheet https://spreadsheets...y=CMr0g1w#gid=0 and we're already over 250 lbs. total lost.

Congratulations on reaching Onederland and also on not only reaching, but surpassing your goal weight and getting to such a healthy BMI. You should be very proud.

Do you have Whole Foods or Trader Joes markets in your area? I know that they both carry good and tasty vegetable broths. You might try that.

My doctor's definition of a clear liquid soup is broth only. Nothing else in the soup at all. That's the type of soup that I was allowed during the clear liquid phase immediately preceding and then following my surgery for about one week each. After that I was migrated to a full liquid diet for another five weeks that included tomato and cream soups, but still with nothing else in them unless I pureed the heck out of them before cooking and eating. I was definitely not allowed any solid foods like shrimp at all unless pureed first. Am guessing that might be the problem, but you should definitely check with your own doctor's definitions and example foods for the various stages. Good luck.

From your recent post in this thread http://www.lapbandta...27#entry1550127 it sounds as if you are still experiencing the pain you described there and thus are asking the question regarding slipping again here in this thread. If you are in pain you should definitely call your doctor and get an appointment pronto to have your band checked out. Just as was recommended by the responders in your prior thread. As to whether a band can slip in two months or two weeks or two years for that matter - my understanding is that slippage is not really a result of the length of time one has been banded. That would certainly be a good question for your surgeon though. Please keep us posted as to what the outcome is and I hope your pain is relieved soon. Congratulations on your successful weight loss so far too - that's a lot of weight in a short time.

My apologies on the incorrect assumption. I based it on the content of your prior posts as they suggested to me that you were caught off guard by the knowledge that adjustments are typically gradual and over time, the fact that you would be expected to follow a post-op diet and bandster hell in general. I also realize that you are frustrated. If I were in your shoes I would be consulting with my nutritionist and surgeon as to your hunger and how best to address that with smart diet choices for this stage of your banding My surgeon deals with the immediate post-surgery and pre-fill hunger by mandating a six week all liquids diet that precedes the first adjustment. Worked great for me and really jump-started my weight loss efforts. There was no limitation on quantity or caloric intake - just that I ingest only liquids and that I walk for a progressively longer period of time each day. I was very hungry and I figured out that a lot of that hunger was from being bored with the liquids. It helped tremendously to stay busy with work, family, exercise and even this forum during that time as the head hunger just needs to be replaced with something else to occupy the mind. That strict diet was prescribed by somebody with a lot more experience with banding than I and I knew that I could do anything for that six weeks if it was going to help me to get back to a normal weight again. I guess that I never expected the band to work by itself even in the beginning and realized that I was going to have to exert some willpower and discipline. It wasn't easy, but has been worth it. I wish you the best of luck with your band and your weight loss efforts.

I understand where you're coming from, but the band is not a quick fix solution. I've not heard of what your surgeon is suggesting with filling you up and then releasing. My doc explained the gradual fills via multiple adjustments by saying that what is restricting me at a given weight is not going to provide adequate restriction at a weight that is 20 pounds less since the stomach is now smaller so the band fits differently. It sounds like banded living was not explained fully or effectively to you. It really works - just not overnight and it does require us to help. It's not the same as gastric bypass.

Give the band and yourself time. There are many threads here on this subject and most of us have experienced the same. Without adequate restriction from adjustments the band alone doesn't do much for many. Diet is critical until that point is reached and in my experience, even after that point when it comes to slider foods. The band is no quick fix, but it's the most effective aid in weight loss that I've ever used. Good luck.

Congratulations to everybody who made their Christmas goal. I missed mine by one pound, but feel good about the loss that I have. Funny how these new weights that I reach are such a thrill and then as soon as I hit them I can't wait to move the scale again. I hope that everybody participating in the New Years challenge is on target and doing well too.

I was banded in April of this year with a 14 cc Allergan band, I'm on my 4th adjustment now and am at 10.8 cc. My first fill was to 6.5 cc. This is definitely the closest I've come yet to the sweet spot so many here talk about.

The 'restriction' that some report right after surgery is mostly due to the surgery itself and not so much the band since most surgeons don't fill the band with any saline at all during the surgery itself. The first fill (adjustment of the band) will typically take place approximately six weeks after surgery once you are fully healed. At about week #5 post-op I felt like I could have eaten just about anything at any time. I was so hungry it was crazy. I got my first fill and didn't really have restriction, but it did help to curb my appetite somewhat and made it easier to follow my doc's diet plan (high Protein, very low carb and no slider foods). I've now had four adjustments and with each one get greater restriction. For me, the band without any fills is very much like my pre-op state of no band at all. A side note, my own surgeon required a six week all liquid diet post-op. From reading here it is a very strict diet compared to others. All surgeons though have a post-op diet plan and my opinion is that is to increase the likelihood that their patients will be successful during that period in which the band has little bearing on appetite. Stay patient and good luck to one and all.

Don't think there's any revision tracking as the sheet is set to allow editing without login. Basically any anonymous user could click on the link and make changes. My record was mucked up yesterday too and I was fortunately able to rebuild it from my weight loss ticker history. Good luck.

I am very sorry to hear that you have to deal with this and wish you strength in fighting the cancer.

After my last fill (4th) I was just miserable with everything getting stuck. Went in for a slight (.2 cc) unfill and it was night and day different. It was a scary few days for me not being able to keep anything down at all. Even water came back up if I drank too much or a little too fast. Not a comfortable feeling at all and for me not something I could live with.