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sleep Apena NSV I found out last June that I had sleep apena and started using the CPAP machine about a month before being banded. I had a pressure setting of 12 and now down to a 7. I have lost close to 50lbs since being banded 6 months ago. I have been having problems with to much air etc. along with not wearing the mask the whole night. I talked to the doctor about it and he suggested that we try using a dental device instead. Insurance approved me for the device and I have started to use it and it is great. Here are pictures of the device. The dentist who deals only with sleep apnea feels that this device will work for me and that she wants to do a sleep study in about 4-6 months to ensure that it is working. If it is working then I will not need to use the CPAP. Scan and Save to Computer Herbst_anterior_close_up.jpg (651k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer HErbst_elastic_holder_buried.jpg (525k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer Herbst_heavy_hardware_side.jpg (548k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer HErbst_heavy_Herner.jpg (618k) [View] Photos: Scan and Save to Computer HErbst_Chris_Walters_2008_front.jpg (701k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer HErbst_Chris_Walters_2008_front_1.jpg (689k) [View] Scan and Save to Computer So far the dental device seems to be working. Chris

Hello my beloved V V's!! Today is my Bandiversary and I couldn't be more grateful, blessed, elated, fulfilled and proud. I've lost 81 pounds and am still in shock over my new found health and vigor for life. This last year has been a journey like no other. As I think back on this day last year, I was terrified heading into the operating room, yet committed to making the life changes necessary to make the band work for me. There have many up's and down's, including some nasty PB episodes that nearly put me over the edge, but the NSV's certainly outweigh (no pun intended) any bad episodes. I am free from the prison of food. I no longer obsess about food, use it as an emotional crutch or surrender to its temptations. I understand what satiation and moderation mean and can enjoy the balance of healthy food along with endulgances...and not feel guilty!! I have discovered what true self worth means and for the first time in my life can say 'I love myself". This self love has made my marriage stronger, my frienships more meaningful and my life generally more abundant. When faced with challenges, I don't use food as an escape, I face them head on. For the first time in my life I didn't have the New Year's resolution of losing weight! I enjoy getting my picture taken. I have more pairs of jeans than I did when I was a kid. I shop at Macy's. I'm going to Maui in two weeks and am excited that I won't have to constantly be self concious. I feel like I look 10 years younger. My blood pressure and cholesterol are NORMAL. But most importantly..and this is the biggest gift of all...I have been given the green light to get pregnant and my hubby and I are hopeful that this is the year we become parents!! Yes...I am blessed. Thank you VV's for being the true source of support, love, and encouragement. There is so much power in friendship and I will forever be connected to all of you....especially Rhapsody...my sister from another mister!! Thank you for letting me share my thoughts on this very special day. I'm not going anywhere and can't wait to hear from everyone else. I'm also posting a couple of recent pics. Lots of love, Amy

Actually, the day after posting that - two days after weighing myself and being consternated that the scale hadn't budged - I weighed myself again and was down three pounds. I think the lesson is not to always be hopping on and off the scales, and not to freak out when you don't hit the numbers you expect. I've had a bunch of NSVs - my shirt size has gone down, I had to throw away a sweatervest that was recently snug because I was swimming in it, and I'm down three belt notches. But the scale is nice, because numbers feel precise and absolute.

I am looking forward to wearing my original wedding band. After I had been married for about 17 years, I was too fat to wear them. Also, the engagement had been retipped twice. The diamond was in danger of falling out, so I picked out a new ring and had the stone re-mounted. For Christmas, DH gave me an anniversary band that went well with the new "engagement" ring. They are lovely, but every once in awhile, I wish I could wear the original band. So, that will be an NSV for me. Probably another 30 lbs. Donna - about your engagement ring and the additional stones. You might consider talking to the owner of a small jewelry store. (Not one of the big name ones.) They don't always have a lot of work to do because they are small, sometimes they will design a ring to accomodate your stones. I was chatting with the owner a few yeaers ago, and the one he was designing was going to cost the woman about $400.

Athena. I was "only" 242 at my high weight, which felt like hundreds of pounds more than that. I did manage to lose about 20 pounds on my own by going to Curves and exercising regularly. But my eating/portion control was a huge problem. I knew if I could just quit eating so dadgum much, I'd be okay. I found out about lap bands and found this site and knew it was for me. My hubby agreed that is the band worked properly for me, I'd surely lose. So far, so good. I weighed 182 this morning and have been really struggling to lose more weight. My band is not very tight, so I'm trying to really make it work without another fill. It's hard. I can eat 1800 calories a day if I'm not careful with what I choose. And, truthfully, I was eating 1800 calories a day at surgery weight and maintaining. These past weeks I have cut back to 1200-1550 calories a day and I'm hoping it will show up on the scale. It's work. No doubt about it. But it's work I am now able to do. My little band helps me so much. At my fill level, I have to eat slowly and carefully, chew really well, other than that I could get away with murder on my food choices and even with the amounts. The biggest difference for me is that I can no longer shovel and shovel massive quantities before my head catches up with me. I have what's called an NSV thread. It's a thread I started so I can track my Non-Scale Victories. You can zip through that and get a glimpse of my journey. Others here have NSV threads, too. Life IS better after losing weight! Please make sure you know what you are getting into before you do this. I have had good success with my band, and plan on having even more! I have no regrets. Here's the link to my NSV thread. Hope it helps. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10252

Down a little more this week. Slow but still down and I had an awesome NSV this week. I was doing some much needed clothes shopping for an upcoming business trip and found a shirt I loved but no large. So, on a total whim, I tried on the medium... IT FIT!! SW - 183.2 CW - 181.2 GW - 173.2

Yesterday I ran my first 5K, something I would have never been able to do pre-sleeve. I've always enjoyed bicycling, elliptical machines and working out in general, but, because of my weight, my knees could not handle the stress of running. So, with the sleeve, I started running 2 months ago and signed up for the Jingle Bell Run in Portland, OR. The race was yesterday and I completed it!!! Having never run a 5K (even during training) I didn't know what goal time to set for myself, so I extrapolated the distances I had run with times and figured if I could do it between 30 and 32 minutes, I would be happy. First goal, though was to actually run the whole thing and not stop and walk at any point. I was able to do that but when I crossed the finish line, my time was 26 minutes, 23 seconds!!! I was like HUH?! Did I just do that? There were over 4,000 runners/walkers. After the results were posted, I finished 400th overall, 228th man and 22nd for M45-49. I think I may have found my next additiction!!

I know what you mean. I gained 3 lbs last week, but then I read the article posted in this thread about stalls and it all made sense. I did check my measurements and I have lost 18.5 inches so far. NSV. My husband tells me to stay off the scale, but it is so hard.

I'm feeling pretty good about my progress today. Of course I still feel like I want every excess pound off yesterday, but people are starting to really notice and comment now. Yesterday a patient said, "you have lost a lot of weight since I saw you last time, haven't you?" I told her how much I've lost and she wanted to know all about how I did it. This morning on my way to work I went through the Starbucks drive-up. (I get Starbucks about 1-2 times a week and not always at the same store.) I got up to the window and the gal said, " It is you! You have lost a lot of weight! You look Great! " It made me feel good that someone who doesn't really know me and has only seen me at the drive-up noticed and said something. I have 3 part-time jobs. I worked the job that I have had the longest today, so the patients have known me for many years. Most of them said something about my weightloss. I guess those are pretty much "scale victores.", but I did have a NSV today too! I fit in the jeans I couldn't get zipped last time I tried! I will be wearing those this weekend!

I beg your indulgence because this post is pretty long, but I got all reflective when I started writing. I have lost 60lbs exactly since surgery, so that's been 10lbs a month on average. I am very happy about that. That is what I had hoped for, so I can't complain! I can't believe that I'm so close to my goal, when a year ago I felt so far away from it. If I lose only 1lb a week until my 1 year bandversary, I will be at my original goal of 160lbs! That's a very exciting thought. I would have expected that by now I would have felt decent restriction. I am still trying to find it! While I credit some of the weight loss to my band, I feel that much of it has been on my part because I do Atkins low carb. Since I can still eat pretty decent size quantities, I've had to rely on my carb restriction and exercise to get the weight off. But maybe I don't give enough credit to the band, but then again, I rarely feel its presence. I don't really think about the band that much, and I just live my day to day life like everyone else. I am at my lowest weight ever, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and I feel amazing! It's interesting, because major weight loss is a very personal journey. A personal journey that is a very public one as well. There's no way to hide it. My friends and family have watched me shed over 100lbs in the last year and I have had tremendous support from them, for which I am grateful. Sometimes, however, they think they understand what I'm going through because they can see the change, but they don't really understand. For almost my entire life, people looked at me and saw an extremely overweight person. I never noticed the stares (which I'm sure I got), but I didn't care. I still feel like a extremely overweight person, even though I'm not. I think people still look at me the same way, but they don't. I look around a room now and I can see that I'm not the biggest one there anymore. I know I look different, but I still feel like the same person... because I am and I'm not. I am still my bubbly self, my personality hasn't changed but my body has. By no means am I skinny, because I still have weight to lose. So I guess that puts me in the category of the everyday overweight person? It is weird to think that I'm just another one of those "normal" looking people (so I've been told). And you know what? It's not so exciting. Not that losing weight, and having NSVs like being able to fit into smaller clothes and not worrying about the seatbelt on the plane fitting aren't exciting, because they are extremely exciting and they are what keep me going! What I mean, though, is that a regular sized person doesn't have a better life. And I knew this was true even before I lost my weight. I saw (and still see) many of my friends who aren't happy, and they're skinny, so it's obviously not possible that being thin automatically makes you happy. I had to learn that happiness and self worth was independent from the way I looked and how much I weighed. I think accepting myself and my body when I was overweight has made this journey that much easier. My happiness is not dependent on the number on the scale (but believe me, seeing a lower number when I step on the scalemakes me extremely happy!) To put it in an extremely cliche way (and I do beg your forgiveness, but really, it's true!), I think that the journey itself and the things I've learned about myself on this journey are more important then the actual goal itself. I never saw myself as the extremely self-motivated person, but I have come to realize that I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't. In conjunction with that, I've learned to be patient and to persevere. When I started this journey, Being under 200lbs seemed ages away and being from the generation of immediate gratification didn't help much. But there wasn't a chance that I was going to magically drop 100lbs overnight (even though tv ads guarantee it!), so I had no choice BUT to be patient. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get there, but then I have to remind myself about the strides I have made. I get immense satisfaction from seeing how far I've come in such short period of time. From walking at 3mph on the treadmill to walking at 4mph. From being totally out of breath, feeling like I'm going to die after 30 seconds of jogging on 3.5mph to running on 5mph for 5 min. knowing that if i really wanted to, I could go for longer. It's those small things that make up the journey that mean the most. Yeah, so those are my thoughts as of late. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I appreciate the opportunity to do so and I look forward to reading about your experiences and thoughts about your journey. Thank you to those who read my whole post, and if you didn't, I don't blame you!

So I'll be 2 months out Monday. Yesterday I decided to go try on pants, didn't think I would actually buy since my "skinny" pants aren't *that* loose. Today I'm wearing a brand new pair of size 16s! The last time I was a 16 I was a sophmore in high school. I shopped in the "regular" department - I don't know the last time I even went in the regular department! I was kind of embarrassed to even be over there at first, I felt like people would see me and think "who does that fat girl think she's fooling?" I'm so excited, I think maybe there was a part of me that didn't really believe the sleeve would work, even though I've been loosing weight - somehow new pants make it real!

Thanks Faith, and Peaches, that was what I was trying to ask...I wish it had worked for you Faith!!! I too had a complete hysterectomy several years prior to banding, and I do not take any HRT. My hysterectomy was done due to cancer, and at that time with the chemo, I lost ALL my hair, soI have also wondered if that predisposed me to lose more again. Mine has stopped falling out, several months ago now, and is regrowing in quit quickly. I would say I have been growing vs. losing for 5 months now, and the back has gotten to the point it now goes into my ponytail---just noticed that NSV this morning!!! Now the top and sides are still fuzzy. When I lost my hair to chemo, I lost lighter blonde straight hair, when it grew back it was darker and curly!!!! Seems the new hair growing in is still curly!!! Frizz is a pain, but with product, it is worth every strand!!! It is interesting to hear what the age span that the biggest hair loss occurred in.... Kat

Not sure what the the letter mean for NSV but I know it means something good. I had a follow up appointment with my Cardiologist the other day and he was so happy with my progress that he told me to follow up with him in 1 year!!! (I was going every 6 months for episodes of tachycardia with hrt rates in the 200's) Also according to his scale a month before the surgery my weight was 276. So technically I have lost a total of 40lbs since April !!! Yay me!!

NSV = Non Scale Victory. When something positive happens that isn't related to the number on your scale. Clothes that suddenly fit great, comfortably wearing those pants you could never quite fasten, riding an amusement park ride and having the barrier bar close without crushing your stomach, easily fastening an airplane seatbelt, a compliment from a total stranger - it can be anything. And yes, yours is definitely an NSV! Congratulations! Dave

Congrats! Not only on your weightloss success, but also on your acceptance that WE may never reach "that" number on a scale. And just look at all those NSV's!!!!! Kuddo's to you for enjoying your healthy life.

My how time flies. I think this is week 6 for me! I'm dealing with a few hiccups but overall I'm doing very well. I've been stalled for about 2 weeks now. It has a lot to do with my gallbladder issues and I'm going to see the surgeon about it tomorrow. Now here is the kicker. I gained like half an inch on my arms and chest while stuck at 237 but I had to remind myself that it will pass. PLUS I've been working out like crazy and lifting weights so OF COURSE I'm gaining inches of muscle! I just wonder will it sabatoge this golden window everytone speaks of the first 6 months being for weight loss. Back to the gallbladder. I don't want to go into the appointment like "I told you so" but I did ask him to take it out with my sleeve and he told me it was not neccesary because most patients don't have issues. I should have insisted on it, but you live and you learn. It really does lower my respect of his opinion. I swear sometimes I feel like I know more about this surgery than him or my NUT..... On a good note, my confidence is through the roof. It's such an eye opening to feel good about myself and realize just how much I turned down chances to hang out or try different things when I was 40 pounds heavier. I've been running, playing basketball, going to bootcamp classes on campus, and tonight I'm going to a Zumba class. I can get through an hour or dancing without realizing how much time has gone by. I'm making plans this summer to go rafting and hiking with friends. My energy level is through the roof! I'm no longer living, I'm finally Alive! Since the scale isn't moving, I'm motivating myself by trying to claim as many NSVs as possible. 1. All of my labs are...normal? What is that word? Normal. I don't remember the last time I had normal labs.<--- Wow! 2. I painted my toes. I was even able to rest my knee as I painted! <----That is EPIC! 3. I can cross my legs. I do it without even realizing it now. <---I've NEVER been able to cross my legs comfortably. 4. i went to a international festival and bought a bracelet. It fits!. <----- I couldn't buy normal jewelry for the past 5 years without some kind of extender. Thank you for reading. I hope each one of you has a wonderful rest of the week!

This journey is definitely a learning experience and I keep learning and seeing new possibilities. Having what I would say is a less than great day at work, frustration, moodiness (me and others), TOM and just feeling like things are not in the best place. So this morning, I felt the need for a pick me up...went for the chocolate (alcohol would have been preferable but it was 10am), had 2 bites and that was enough to take the edge for a bit. Not wanting to succumb to the food hunger, had a tea and went to the gym to work out some frustration...a healthier way to deal with stress. Anyway at the gym, i tried (have been slightly attempting for a while) to do a sit up. I have never done a sit up (i dont even remember doing this as a kid). And all of a sudden I COULD!!!! It felt easy and simple, like i should have been doing it for years....my body just decided that it could.....score, definitely a fist pump, blog moment )))))) For lots of people the action of doing a sit up is nothing but to me it is huge!! And it another one of my physical goals that I have achieved. FYI I am stalled right now with another 30 or so pounds to go...but when I have these kinds of wins, the weight doesnt seem as important.

Pssssssssssst.... ((looks around to see who is looking)) HUSH HUSH NEWS BANDSTERS!!! ((come closer to the screen I have to whisper)) Can you all keep a secret???? (nods nods nods nods all around) Well we had the BEST time on this cruise I thought that maybe I would venture to put together yet ANOTHER one (although less expensive and 4 nights/5 days). It would be out of LA port on Royal Caribbean in Early December. Give me a week to work out the details, but watch for the thread!! And shhhhhhhhhhhhhh:kiss, don't tell anyone yet!! (hee hee, I have about 5 cabins going already and I don't even have the exact prices yet!!):cry This cruise will be open to children, husbands, spouses, significant others, friends, siblings, banded or not that want to go. We created such strong bonds between all of us and I want that to continue to grow. Maybe someday we will have enough of us that we will book the ENTIRE ship! This bandy cruise is going to be even bigger and better (which by the way will be hard to top!) P.S. To my June cruisers: you are all wonderful and I miss you very much. Thank you for laughing at my dumb jokes and my karaoke fiascoooooooooo!:faint:Each and every one of us showed the true "us" with our laughter, comedy, pranks, sexy dresses, confidence, self respect, and comfort. GREAT NSV TRIP LADIES!!!!! THINK ABOUT ALL OF THOSE NSV'S YOU DID LAST WEEK REALLY!!!:hungry: Gotta go before someone hears me....... (sneaks out the door):bandit

Had my first fill last week, Wed June 18th. I was told it could take as long as 2 weeks to feel any effects, but I definetly feel a difference already in my decrease in appetite. I have even dropped 6 lbs since the fill! Bringing it to a total of 33 lbs lost. Another NSV this week is that all of my blood sugars have been in the single 100's and in the 90's. My PMD told me when I have a full week of sugars 100 or below to call him to adjust or start taking me off my meds!! That will be a big success!! :sad_smile:

As of this morning, I have lost 77.8lbs. I realized that my 10 year old daughter weighs 71lbs. I've lost a 10 year old child!!! SO happy with my sleeve!

Wow this was a great post, very inspiring. I'm happy you "woke up" this is the new and improved you, don't look back, and you have no reason to beat yourself up tomorrow, you took control of your life Yay!!! Congrats on your first NSV!!!! :purplebananna: :not_ripe: :purplebananna:

That IS a mind blowing NSV!! Congrats girlie, you're truly rockin your sleeve!! :Banane08:

I went through something similar in the beginning & I also hid in my room because I could not stand the sight of food let alone have to smell it. It sucks big time but that too shall pass. These are all normal stages of the process in the beginning & I am sure there are others who also felt the same way & there will others who follow behing you who may experience similar experiences. Just stay positive, stay on course, keep your eyes on the prize, & just like life take it all one step at a time. You are doing great & your rewards will be all your NSV's!!!

Great NSV! Let's hope you won't be "slippin' down the shower drain any time soon! LOL

wow Michelle, great NSV - most of our huge towels wrap all the way around me now but I'm still holding on to this really grotty bath towel that I used when I was 20 and pregnant with my now 14 year old son - I have a photo of me 9 months pregnant with the towel completely wrapped around me, bump and all - and it still won't go around me yet! One day soon tho! Well done you!