Hi all....

To start us off....Ill begin with a little about myself.

I had joined the thread Feb Bandsters...however...Ive been booted to March...as I am being treated for sleep apnea....so I needed to push back surgery date from Feb 8th to March 15th..hoping it stays there!!

Im hoping to connect with others that are on a similar time frame for surgery, for support, advice, education, encouragement and just to shoot the breeze...to share experiences from the first consult if needed to way after being banded...lets get together and share this journey the good, bad and the ugly of it all!!

so.....lets get to know you....by answering some questions that was asked of me before....im passing them on through this group....it was a great beginning. Ill start.

Date of Surgery: March 16th

Where Surgery will be: NY

Doctor/Center: New York Bariatric Group

Dr. Holover/Manhasset

Seminar date: January 2009

1st consult date: Dec 30th, 2009

2nd consult: Feb 3rd, 2010

Consults and tests completed: Cardiologist. Pulmonologist, Endocronologist, Sleep Study, Nutritionist, Endoscopy

Tests still needed: Psych test

How is surgery funded? Insurance

Concerns? How will I ever be able to re-educate my brain to eat differently

Reason for banding? See thread in "Introductions"for NYSparklegirl.

I hit Onederland this morning: 199.5. 40.5 pounds down, 45 to go. I am in awe of y'all who've lost as much as 80 since March- you are my heros.

Time for a fill. Been eating more than usual, including more sweets. It's been a nice vacation and I've enjoyed it, but now I'm ready to settle down and go the next half of the distance.

March on, March Bandsters! We need a Marching song, don't we?

lost 85 since 3/15 surgery, but having issues. I went in on 9/10 to have afill because I was hungry a lot between meals . The Dr said she actually thought I was overfilled because I was vomiting once or twice a week. She told me if I vomited any more (she slightly unfilled me) that I should get a fluoroscope. I vomited three times in a week, so I scheduled the fluoro. I have it Wednesday to see if I'm (still) overfilled, or if the band has slipped.

Yeah Sounds like you might be overfilled.. ARe you eating slowly and not drinking with meals?

I hit Onederland this morning: 199.5. 40.5 pounds down, 45 to go. I am in awe of y'all who've lost as much as 80 since March- you are my heros.

Time for a fill. Been eating more than usual, including more sweets. It's been a nice vacation and I've enjoyed it, but now I'm ready to settle down and go the next half of the distance.

March on, March Bandsters! We need a Marching song, don't we?

Thanks Awesome! Congrats... Wish I was at onederland :thumbup: I have 44lbs until then.. Hoping for Onederland the first of the year.. Still only on 1 fill of 3cc's. Dont have perfect restritation but I am losing and I dont want to use the band for all it can do for me until i really need it.. See the Doctor Oct 7th we will see what he has to say.. (though i know he is going to say NO Fill, Will be down like 15lbs in 6weeks since last seeing him)

Edited September 21, 201015 yr by Liftingchic

Sometimes I know it's my fault. But most of the time, I might take one or two bites and it comes back up. It's not even regurgitating (where it comes back up without any "help" from me). My Dr said if I'm vomiting (where I have to physically force the food back up) and I'm not pregnant (nope!) and not sick (nope!) there's probably something wrong. Hoping the band hasn't slipped.

Laura,

Good luck - hopefully it will be nothing serious. Please keep us posted.

Cynthia

Well, luckily I was just overfilled. The band was still in place and working well. They took out almost a whole CC, so I'm at 2.25cc. However, the pushed so hard on my port site, it caused me to bleed through my (still not closed) incision.

Hi all....just checking in to see how everyones been.....

Looking good everyone!!! WOW!!! 85lbs. So Impressive yea yea yea!!!

Ive been working really hard too and am down 67lbs. Surgery was March 9th. Kind of took a hiatus from exercising the past month because of vacation, start of school and Jewish Holidays.....no excuse here but still am watching the food intake!! Will get on the wagon of exercise after the Jewish holidays...going to Vegas next week to meet some lap band sisters from this site..cant wait to me them they have been such an inspiration and sorce of support.

Its after the summer and vacations are over except mine this week lol its time to start posting again sooooo....lets start posting more regularly.

Whats everyone eating daily and doing for excersize? How are clothes fitting?

what is everyone doing about obtaining new clothes? lol

What have been your experiences with people familiar that havent seen you since surgery?

How are you all feeling about the way people are seeing you? Do you feel different? etc. etc.

Its been about 6 months so its half a year.....we are olmost there...... is anyone feeling particularly challenged at this point.....food getting boring....snacking more etc?

looking forward to discussing these with everyone in the next few weeks!

Have a great night....

Jodi

Just out of curiousity, how much are you filled six months out?

I haven't got a clue how much fill I have. My brain doesn't retain numbers too well. :biggrin: I did get a quarter fill yesterday which seems to have gotten me back to the proper restriction.

I don't keep a list of what I eat, but generally I eat nuts, vegetables, some fish and game meat, oatmeal, and a bit of junk just to keep me happy. I eat some fruit, too, but somehow don't enjoy it as much as I used to.

My exercise consists of caring for three horses and teaching belly dance. I also increase my walking by parking farther away at stores, etc. and taking stairs instead of elevators.

I bought a new pair of jeans this week which were 15-16 and therefore four sizes smaller than my largest pair. I wore them to the doc's office and when he saw me in the hall, he said, "Hey, Boney, you need to buy smaller jeans!" I told him I just bought those jeans! He makes me laugh, not an insignificant quality in a doctor. His wife also has a lap band and he understands the situation in a way many docs don't.

I'm trying to get by with my extended (size 22 down to 12) wardrobe throughout this winter. Don't want to buy too much I won't be able to wear later. Thank goodness for skirts with elastic waists!

Occasionally someone mentions my weight loss, but not as often as you might think. I'm halfway to my goal and it causes me to wonder at times if it shows, but I suspect it's just a matter of having friends who were raised to not make personal remarks. When people do mention it, they come up and quietly tell me they've noticed instead of shrieking, "OMG!" at me across the mall. :lol2: My weight has been up and down for forty years, after all.

I don't feel any different emotionally except for a quiet satisfaction. I've been at ease with myself for a good while and realize I am the same person heavy as I am at a normal weight. Physically, though, I am much more comfortable and able to do things that I couldn't do when I was at my top weight. My knees don't hurt as much and I don't tire so fast.

And of course I like fitting back into my smaller clothes. I like clothes, love to sew, and it's more satisfying to sew for a more shapely body.

Sorry for the length of this. Next person, please!

Just out of curiousity, how much are you filled six months out?

I got to 9cc in my 14cc band about 3 months ago and haven't needed a fill since.

I'm curious about fill amount only because I seem to have so little in my band compared to others. I only have 2.25cc in a 10cc band. I've had 2 fills and 4 unfills (total) since my surgery. Apparently I am easily overfilled.

Just out of curiousity, how much are you filled six months out?

I only have 3cc in a 11 cc band.. Only had one fill and I think it was 4 months ago.. I dont have much restriction, I am working off a lot of willpower right now and working out. My doctor and I both want to go as long as we can without the aggressive fills and then use the band to help when my weight stalls. I have been losing 2-3lbs weekly for the past few months..

8cc in a 14cc band. Took 5 fills and a bit over 5 months to reach restriction. At a good place.

Interesting how different surgeons have different ideas about the amount of fills people should get.

I didnt realize that you wouldnt get more then one fill since surgery.....Ive gotten a fill every month till this past month. I lost about ten pounds a month till then....and because I only lost 3 in August I didnt get a fill as really didnt need one as didnt loose weight and therefore would be too tight if I got a fill and might start to have a problem.

I now am wondering how we know if we need a fill or not. Lifting chick you seem to be loosing as much as I and Ive had four fills allready. hmm interesting. I feel good and never have felt like I needed an unfil and always felt good after getting a fill.....but as insurance does not cover fills any longer...how do we know we really need one and how often we should be getting one....anyone????

Hi everyone! March 15th Bandster. I'm soo impressed by all your weightloss!!! WOW-WOW! I've had a fill every 6 weeks or so. I have about 6ccs, and am going to encourage an adjustment at my next appt October 7th. I've just felt my hunger increase. I exercise a lot and am certainly adding back muscle and toning, but having a tough time loosing on 1300-1400 calories a day. My diet still includes carbs...hummm.... seems like everyone is doing way better without them. I was told just to eat them sparingly which I do.. I burn about 900 calories during my workout daily. I loose about a pound a week. Sometimes none. To loose any more I have to do a lot of meal replacement shakes. I'm slow... sometimes mind state is tolerable, sometimes frustrating because i work out alot. I've lost 25lbs since surgery. Now that I did the math I'm sad! I'm 195. Victory to be in Onderland, and seeing an empty closet. Total WL close to -50. I think I have 40 to go.