Vikki

Yes it will pass and I soooooo understand what you are feeling. This is the exact reason why I got the band in the first place. This is what will happen to you. I am almost at my year anniversary and I barely eat anymore..................and I am totally okay with it. I mean compared to the portion size I used to eat it is amazing the difference in my life style. I used to wake up and get a breakfast burrito......I do miss those.......then go to lunch and super size it......then have dinner with garlic bread a side salad and dessert. Don't forget the many snacks threw out the day. I tried so hard to have will power but the will power was not helping me get the weight off it just seem to go up and up and up. I felt the only way to get in control was to FORCE my body to stop sabitoshing myself and then deal with the guilt of bad choses threw out the day and eat way too much. I had a huge appitite and would feel full for a very short time. Once you get your band you will not feel very hungry at first but as soon as your stomach heals from the surgery your hunger will start creaping back. You will wait about 6 weeks for your first fill. You will feel a little discouraged at first because once your stomach heals you will start to eat again and not feel too much of a difference and think to yourself I thought this was going to change. It won't until you get the correct fill for your body. Some feel the restriction the first fill and others it takes awhile. I didn't feel true restriction until my last fill and I really feel the restriction now. It took me awhile to change my head to be okay with just a few bites. Your body to your brain makes you change your mind about eating because now it is hard to get food down. You are hungry but you can only eat few things that will go down with out pain. I still struggle with it and just start eating something and start to feel the pouch above my band start to feel tight and you instantly STOP what your eating and wait to see if it is going to go down. It it does not and sits on top of the band you will start feeling like you need to get it back up and have to be by a bathroom or something in case. Believe me you have this happen many times so start feeling like its not worth it. Food is not worth the hassle. You start thinking a lot different about what you need in your body and to give it nutrients not just food satisfaction. A protien shake or a yogart for your meal. And feel full and okay with it. I don't struggle with that little voice beating myself up anymore that I was a bad girl and ate that garlic bread or bag of chips because it is a no no now. I can eat chips but I have to eat them slow and chew chew so after about the sixth chip I feel that i am done and put them down. I could never have done that before...............................It will be better but it does take awhile to get to the place of peace with in yourself and that the light is close at the end of that tunnel. Good luck to you guys that are going to get your band. It is the best decision I have ever made for myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You guys keep talking about your port and sharp pain. I had this for at least 6 mths and it was very annoying but it does go away. You have to remember that it is a foriegn object in your body and it also has a couple of stiches holding it in place. I don't know when I did it but I ripped mine because it moves around now which feels really weird but my Dr. said nothing to worry about. As long as your insecion does not ooz and the pain does not get unbearable you will notice be less and less as time goes on. I know a friend I have made that is local threw this site had to have her port replaced because it was oozing and would not heal. He had to remove it and let it heal then replace it. She is on her third fill now and is feeling fine. PS. I am the red head!! Red Heads Rock!!!! Thanks for the compliment. I just know how it is in the beginning of the adventure to where I am now..........It has been a crazy roller coaster but I swear it has all been worth it!!! Good luck you guys!!!!! I make a habit of getting on this site and reading at least a couple times a week to get great support for my mind and soul!!!!!!!!

I have had three fills now and this one at 4.5 has been really weird for me. Some days I feel I am getting too much in and other days I can hardly get a protein shake down. It has a mind of its own but my Dr. put in .5cc of the gel this time which is suppose to make it last longer. Your stomach adapts to the restriction after awhile that is why they can take out the same amount they put in but you don't feel it is there anymore. Everyone's stomach is different. I can't amagine having anything tighter right now when others have 7cc and still don't feel much restriction. If you use the floro you can see the powder liquid you drink go down and if it stays in your pouch and then slowly trickles down then you have the restriction your wanting. If you gulp at that point you will learn from the pain that it is now time to sip. It is all trial and error but it is all worth it. I was reading on another thread about not having any hunger. I feel tight restriction but I definitely still get hungry. Though now that I am almost at my year anniversary I have learned that hunger is not just your stomach but also you head and old habits.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You look wonderful!!! Your chin and face are so much different!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone needs to send your pre surgery and current pictures. It is so cool looking at them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have under my message box two boxes to select. Post Quick reply.....or go advanced. Do you have those two?

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]I love reading the threads for new bandsters because it is so inspirational!!! I am almost at my year anniversary and have not lost as much as I wanted when I started but I am down two pants sizes and a lot more inches than weight. I try to not be obsessed with my scale as I get on it every day when I wake up but it has been a really slow process to get it off. I didn't really feel true restriction until my third fill and really feel it now as it has been hard to get much of anything down. I am trying to slowly eat my homeade chili for lunch right now at work. I have to eat it very slow to make sure I don't start feeling tightness and then know STOP. It really does take a few fills to really get that restriction that you guys are wanting. I am really reaching the peace with in myself stage. What I mean by that is I was so unhappy with myself and obsessed on food all day long then if I didn't eat good/Low calorie I would beat myself up the next day in my head and was so sad. Now that I cannot get the food in it is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I truely feel so at peace with in myself.............and proud of myself which I have not felt in a very long time. This year has been not just a change of the outside but just with in myself to be a happier person and be proud for the accomplishments that I have made. Eating good/Exercise/Sacrifice!!!! I am almost to the 50 pounds lost mark and soooooo CLOSE to be back into wonderland. I still have 25 pounds to go to reach my goal and get to the weight that I want to maintain for the long haul. That is the blessing with this tool. It is not like the Atkins diet..........which we have all tried...............loose it then once you start eating like you used to pack it right back on and more. This tool is for us to get it off and KEEP IT OFF!!!! I just love my band and want to share with everyone that is struggling with eating problems or weight problems. It is not easy by any means but it is a great uplifting experience that is to make you stronger and healthier!!! I wanted to share with you guys my before 9/29/06 and recent picture 10/07. You can just see the way I looked so blowted and felt blowted when I was eating way too much carbs everyday. Now I am off of carbs but the occasional chips I have lost a lot of that and it feels great. You guys have to just keep moving forward and forget what has happened in the past. It will come off....slowly is better as your skin will have time to catch up and not sag as much. It will happen and this support site has really helped out a lot!!!!!! Anyone can send me a message if you have any questions. If any of you are Southern California locals I have a support group that I have put together and we are going to meet up for our third meeting in Nov. If you are interested in joining send me a message at vikki4mymail@yahoo.com

I am so inpired by your guys weight loss!!!!! I am creaping slowly back into onederland and can't wait to get there. I didn't hit the really restricted until my third fill and keep getting PB episodes so feel even tighter from my pouch area being irritated. It is hard to get even water or liquids in right now as it hurts as soon as it hits my pouch. I am trying to let it heal by having mainly liquids right now. I swear the band has a mind of its own as one day you can have something just fine if you are good and eat it very slow. The next day it won't go down and you have to throw it out. It is a gamble but a learning process every day. Good luck to you guys that have lost 3/4 to almost all of your weight!!!!!!!!

Thank you L8BloomR I wasn't looking for compliments but they are always appriciated. I didn't really notice that much of a difference either until I came across this picture and put the recent one up next to it! Since a lot of people don't know that I have the band haven't really said much but you look like you have lost some weight. I think besides my butt being a lot smaller now from the weight loss and my jogging my face has really gotten thinner and I feel that it is from the carbs that I do not eat anymore. I didn't just feel super chunky at 250 but felt blowted all the time. You can really see it too. I feel so much better I don't know mean the outside appearence. I am feeling a peace with in myself to not be so consumed by eating all day. I just take in so little now and I am starting to feel at peace with it. Like a load has been lifted off my shoulders. I obsessed every day like beating myself up inside of what I should have not eaten and did. Now I just try to get in what my body needs to be healthy not what I am craving or emotionally want to fill myself up with like fries and a cheeseburger. Is anyone else reaching this point? Don't get me wrong I am still having frustrating days like yesterday I tried to eat some chili for dinner my husband so nicely cooked and it was not going down so I tried to make a protein shake and that would not go down. I just was hungry and wanted to fill up that hunger...........but I am not starving to death in any means so times like that I just have to sip my water and move on to something else besides eating so I did laundry and started to clean the house.

To post a picture you go under advanced and it has a paperclip which will bring you to your browse to select out of my pictures on your hard drive. You need to change the size of the picture to small format by going into the picture and under edit it should give you selection to change size because I tried to post regular size yesterday and had to delete it because it was huge. You select the picture and click add and download. You can then click on paper clip again and it will be listed to click on it and it will say attach and when you post your message it should be on the message. Try it out to see if that works. Everyones computer is different but it takes some playing around with. I would love to see your guys before and after since we are all around our one year anniversary. I can't believe it!!!!

[ATTACH][/ATTACH] Here are before and after pictures of my 50 pounds lost. I am sooooooooooooooo Close to ONDERLAND I can taste it. I am trying so hard to really get down to my goal but feel myself shrinking more every month. It is a great feeling to actually fit in the regular size cloths when I go try on cloths now. I love my band and it is the tool that will keep me at a normal weight forever!!!! Lord help me with the holidays but I am determined to keep being a big LOOSER!!!!!!!!! Hope everyone else is having a good experience with their band. Some days are good and some not so good but it is for the long run. Keep up the good work everyone!!!!!

I get the gurgling also. I just got my third fill at 4.5d in my 10cc band. I feel I have a very sensative stomach and esphogus. Every time I have gotten a fill I feel super tight the next couple of days and it is even hard to get liquids down. I feel it stop and slowly go down. It is the weirdest feeling. I can't even eat soft foods until noon as the coffee barely goes down. But I have lost 3 pounds in 5 days so it is working. Your sweet spot is when you can only intake a couple of bites at a time and you start feeling the tightness in your chest saying to stop and put down the fork. It takes a long time to get threw a meal that you usually just eat small portions.

You guys are doing great!!!!! I always like to go into the new bandster threads and read them because your enthusiasm is always insirational. I am almost at a year now and just got my third fill of 4.5cc. It has made a huge difference in my eating habits. Right after you heal from the surgery you start feeling like your eating normal size again and it can get discouraging. You don't truely feel the restriction the band can give you until you get your fill. Boy does it make a difference. I had hit a platua and was stuck at the same weight for about 5 weeks so now that I have gotten my fill I have lost 3 pounds in 5 days. I think now I am down calories it jump started my metabalism and it is finally working again. Don't get discouraged if your not loosing as quick as expected. I myself have to remember that I got the band for life and getting to the goal is what I am working for but staying at my goal weight is what I want for the long haul. Patients is one thing I always have to work on. Even being patient to eat slow I am still working on. I can't believe how fast I used to eat. Now I watch my husband and think ....did I eat that fast? If any of you are from Orange County CA I have a support group that I started with locals. If you would like to join just send me an email and I can add you to my distribution list. We just get together and share stories and tips. Vikki4mymail@yahoo.com Good luck everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Melissa!!!!!!! You guys look great and a small wedding with family is the way everyone should do it. Who needs the stress of a big wedding especially starting off!! First comes marriage then comes a baby in a baby carriage!! Or it is fun practicing!!!!!! HE HE

Wow you sound like where I was a little over a year ago. My husband did not like the idea. I could not get it approved here in the US because they said I wasn't heavy enough for insurance approval so I found a great Dr. in Mexico for half the price here. My girlfriend was his patient coordinator and she helped get it all set up for me and it took me a long time to get my husband to be okay with my decision. I look a lot less than I weight because I am tall and big boned so people don't realize how heavy I am. I also have a huge appitite that controled me every day!! The overeating and the guilt that went along with it was making completely mad at myself and I had a war going on in my head of dissapointment that no one knew about. I knew that getting the band would help me loose the weight and help me get control of myself pysically and emotionally. I must tell you that I am almost at my year anniversary and I am still so proud that I did it. I just had my third fill last Sat. and I am pretty tight. Haven't been able to eat much at all but that is exactly why I got it. You only need a very small amount to live on and we live in a society that gives us four times the amount of servings that we really need. I am down 46 pounds and have lost a lot more inches than weight looks wise. I am still going towards my goal and can't tell you how happy I am with my band. It was so easy to get and so easy to recover from. I was back to work three days after my surgery. Only a handful of people know about my band because it is none of their business. If any of you read this and would like to chat just sent me a message and I am happy to discuss my experience. My husband is happy that I am happier with myself and that I have been so good about exercise and just eating the right things. You can only eat very small amounts with the right fills so you have to make good choices to what you put in your body. No more big mac for lunch and no more garlic bread with dinner. The band has changed my life and I recommend it to anyone that is struggling with loosing weight because of no portion control. You can eat and eat with out the band then kick yourself all the way home. But with the band you can try to eat and eat and end up in the bathroom throwing it up or in a lot of pain. You change your mind real quick after that happens a couple times and your brain adapts to read you body of when to stop and put your fork down. Good luck to you guys and I know the frustrated place you are at!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just found out that Ali / Mahamad Ali's daughter who wrote the book fighting weight is going to speak at the Hyatt in LA next month. It is a free siminar and should be really good for us bandsters or if you want to bring someone who is thinking of getting the band. She started at 325 and is now 150 and has had the band for a few years. She is a spokes person for the band now and fighting obesity. Here is the site if you are interested in going. LAP-BAND®: Moment of Truth

Hey you Orange County Bandsters. There is going to be a seminar with Ali which wrote a book Fighting Wieght. I don't know if you guys have read it but she started at 325 and is now 150. She got the band a few years ago and it is a great book. She is speaking at Hyatt in LA next month. Here is the information if you want to go. It is free and should be really informational for us bandsters or if you want to bring someone thinking about getting the band. LAP-BAND®: Moment of Truth

I am hoping to reach my sweet spot tomorrow when I get my third fill. I want to get my fill right in time for the holiday maddness of sweets and more sweets. I am not looking forward to the candy in my house. I have to tell my kids to hide the candy from me instead of me hide it from them!!! I would like to loose at least 10 - 15 pounds by Jan so if I get get my sweet spot now that would be GREAT!!!! I do feel the evening is when I am the most open and that is when I am the hungriest. It will help to feel the STOP feeling when I start trying to snack.

I can so relate with your stories!!! I too am in the I am fat because I overeat. That is why I decided to get the band. I also would eat because I was sad, happy, bored, frustrated.....you name it. Everyone in my family is obese. My brothers both had gastric bypass at 400 pounds. I was the thinnest one in the family but since I saw everyone else balloon up I told myself that will never happen to me. Then I hit my 30's and my metabilism completely went on strike and I gained over a hundred pounds in 5 years. Up and down I went with diet pills and every diet under the sun. I finally was fed up of being so obsessed with having to deal with the food I decided to get the band to help me get down and stay down. I am half way to my goal and have hit my third platue and I am just trying to exercise at least 4X a week. I have lost a lot more inches then pounds and finally getting comments from others that I have lost weight. It is a struggle for life. My pleasure right now that I am struggling with is chips. I love them!!!! I can't eat bread anymore but I can seem to get a bag of chips down. It is time for a fill so I am scheduled to get one the end of the month. Just in time for the Holidays of sweets and treats. Thank you everyone for sharing your personal struggles. It is so much support to know that others are going threw the struggle and that we can get to our goal by the support of our band.

I copied this off of the May bandsters site because it is great info for you newbies. It explains in detail a couple of things you guys might not have heard about the fills and why you have to wait after surgery to have a fill. Great band fill info for Newbies Thanks again to Wendell for posting this elsewhere. It deserves its own thread. Great information to educate us... This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap-Band. The INAMED protocol for Lap-Band fills calls for a six-week delay after surgery, prior to any fills. The purpose for the six-week delay is for the patient’s stomach to heal from the surgery, as well as allowing time for the Lap-Band to “Seat” or “Nestle” into the fat pad between the stomach wall and the interior wall of the Lap-Band. Prior to receiving an EFFECTIVE fill, it is VERY uncommon to have any restriction from a Lap-Band. Some patients will NOT lose weight, or may even GAIN weight until they have received an effective fill in their Lap-Band. Normal weight loss with a properly restricted Lap-Band is between 1 and 2 pounds per week. The normal cycle of fills, restriction and weight loss is as follows: 1. The patient's Lap-Band constricts when the patient receives a fill. Swelling for a few days after receiving a fill is very common. Many doctors require a patient to go on a liquid diet for a day or two after receiving a fill. A fill may have a “Delayed Action” of up to two weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to two weeks after the fill. That is why the INAMED protocol states that fills should not be performed on patients who will not have access to medical care for at least two weeks after a fill. 2. The patient's stomach capacity is lessened as a result of the restriction caused by the Lap-Band. 3. The patient loses weight because they cannot eat as much food. 4. The residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the outside of the patient's stomach reduces in size because of the overall weight loss in the patient. 5. The reduction of the residual fat-pad causes the Lap-Band to become loose again. 6. At that point, the patient needs another fill, because the Lap-Band is loose, and the patient has a loss of restriction, which allows the patient to eat larger amounts of food. 7. The patient receives another fill and the process starts all over again. Most Lap-Band patients receive several fills to adjust the Lap-Band as their weight loss progresses, and there is less and less residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap-Band and the exterior of the stomach wall. Once a patient has lost all of their residual fat-pad, fills become less common. As the Lap-Band patient progresses in their weight loss, the effect of very tiny fills (Less than .2ccs) becomes greater and greater. It is not uncommon for a late-stage Lap-Band patient to experience a significant difference in restriction with as little as .05cc of fill.

YesI used the small quick dissolve gas x when needed. I actually had really bad shoulder pain from the surgery. Not everyone has this sensation but I have heard from others that they had it and still get it when they are too full. Good Luck to all you getting banded this month. To you that keep saying you can't wait until you are not hungry anymore. I still get hungry but I get a satisfied feeling after a few bites and sometimes the tightness feeling you will experience which tells your body to stop or you will feel pain. When you eat something too fast or do not chew it well enough you will be in pain until you throw it up or it finally goes down. Just take it slow and remember to read your body because the tool might not stop the hunger but it stops you from the overeating that we got in habit of doing. It is amazing the little our body can be healthy on when we are used to consuming a lot every day. You will start to be amazed how much people eat every day and how little you will be living off of but loosing weight and feeling great!!! It is all worth it but you have to look at it as baby steps. It is a long journey. Good luck to all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like 9 is devine...........my birthday is this month so Sept is one of my favorite months. Plus my daughter was born in Sept. I was reading this thread and remembering the excitment of getting the band. Now that I am almost at a year the honeymoon is wearing off. Don't get me wrong I still love the band but at first you drop quick and then hit platau after platau. It can get frustrating but it is all worth it. So my advice for you guys looking to have surgery is to make sure you walk a lot right after you wake up. It helps move the gas bubble out because that can be painful. You will start to feel good but take it easy. I would last a couple of hours then start feeling like I need a nap to recoop. You don't feel try restriction until you get the fill so once you are healed up after a couple of weeks you will be able to get more down. Everyone is different so you just have to listen to everyone's advice then by trial and error you will figure out what works for your body to be a weight loss machine. Exercise is key but just make sure you are getting enough nutrients :hungry:and LOTS OF WATER!!! GOOD LUCK YOU SEPTEMBER>>>>>Bandsters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :whoo:I am so excited for you!!!!

I know exactly what you mean Marni. I am at another platue and notice that I start eating chips a lot which is carbs and calories my body does not need. I just love the salt. I was eating soy chips for awhile but they are hard to find so if I get a soup at togo's it is hard not to get a bag of chips with it. Lots of willpower and arguing with myself to talk myself out of it. Boy is it hard. I want to drop 10 more pounds sooooo bad to get back into onederland and my body is just not cooperating. So it is off to get a fill next week and get back on track. I am going to get really tight this time and have to just concentrate on just nutrient items for me not craving snacking items........darn chips!!!!!!! I hope everyone is doing well. Where is everyone?? It has been really quiet.

I work with only men so didn't say anything but that I was getting an outpatient surgery done and that is all they knew or asked. We all went out to lunch last Fri. and I was a little nervous that I might eat something and it get stuck. I just nibbles on the appitizers which started to hurt so I stopped and then for lunch had clam chowder with a side salad. They didn't say anything and it went okay. They know I have lost a lot of weight but told them portion control.....just didn't mention one little detail.......of the band. They think it is just will power but I feel it is no ones business that I have the band. It is my personal decision and don't want others gossiping about me because I made this decision. Only a couple of friends know I have it so it isn't discussed very often. I figure once I loose all the weight and maintain it I can open up more to the people I feel might be interested in it.

I am just wondering what kind of salads you guys have been able to eat. I am trying different ones and a dry ceasar is the only one so far that I can get down. Dressing on the side. Which ones do you guys like? Thanks

Betseyjane that is soooo great!!!! It is amazing how much extra weight can damage out limbs. My poor mother is now 76 and she is very obese and her knees have completely given out. She can hardly walk anymore. That is one of the reasons I decided to make sure I didn't get that way. No more yo yo weight up and down. Stretching my skin with the excess weight then loosing it and it sagging. I am just going to loose and then maintain FOREVER!!! YAHHHH BAND!!!!!!!