Hello! I am trying to figure out this forum and how it all works so bear with me! I was banded Friday, Dec. 3rd and have about 85 lbs. to lose. Diabetes runs in my family and I felt like a time bomb and have never been able to keep the weight off. It just crept up and up. I am very active and want to be able to exercise without the aches and pains. I am 5' 10" and 55 years old. I would like to stay in touch with those of a similar situation.

I had a great experience so far and had my band done as an out pt. procedure. I was out at SAM's the very next morning and haven't had alot of pain. Today I did laundry and walked at the mall. I plan to return towork for awhile on Monday. I was fortunate to also have had it done laproscopically and had a great surgeon, Dr. David Provost. All I can say is so far so good!

Okay, I really am happy for all of you!!!!!! And a little depressed - I have lost 35 lbs and I thought that was good, until I saw all of the 50 lbs lost people from the same surgery week. I guess I just got some more motivation

Okay, I really am happy for all of you!!!!!! And a little depressed - I have lost 35 lbs and I thought that was good, until I saw all of the 50 lbs lost people from the same surgery week. I guess I just got some more motivation

As long as you are losing that is the main thing. I have noticed some people have lost more and some who have lose less. I think we all should feel encouraged with the accomplishment we have made. First we went through the surgery. Second we have changed everything about our eating. Three we are a healthier person for what we have done.

Everyone keep up the great work! We will be stylin and profilin soon! :bananapowerslide:

Hi everyone....

I've been fighting with UHC but I've really gotten nowhere. Seems that when my husband's company changed ownership in January they still kept United Healthcare but they are under a different plan. UHC just isn't gonna cover any of my fills or follow-ups But...hopefully within the next couple of weeks I will be able to go in as a self-pay patient.

I've managed to not gain any weight this week. Even though I was really hoping for a loss, I am satisfied. I don't have any restriction right now, so its been a struggle. I feel hungry alot - but I've still stuck with a 1000 calorie diet. Hopefully will be able to get things going again soon. Looking forward to getting a fill!

Thanks for all your help and support. It really means alot!

I'm at 45lbs right now so yay! I'm worried about my American Idol goal. I still have 25 more pounds to go, and 2 months to do it. Hopefully I at least get close!! I'm thinking about doing the "30 day shred" maybe kick my ass a little bit, not sure I can handle it though. I need to start exercising again.. but I don't like it :-/. I seem to lose the same regardless of how much I exercise so I've taken my focus off it a little bit. I'm going dancing tonight so that should be some good exercise.

I wonder, do the fills feel different after a while? I had mine probably 2 months ago, and the last few weeks, I'm like REALLY not hungry, ever. I'm starting to lose my appetite a bit. It's harder to eat when you aren't really hungry. Still no problems with being stuck. I'm at 5.5ccs.

It's so crazy how this all works, it almost feels effortless at this point. Even if I eat a little bad it doesn't seem to totally sabotage me. I guess because we are naturally eating less.

I've started losing a lot of hair anyone else? I'm 90% sure I eat enough protein in a day.. does this just happen because of the weight loss, it's pretty icky. Luckily i do have a ton of thick hair, but still it's ruining my shower drain

I'm at 45lbs right now so yay! I'm worried about my American Idol goal. I still have 25 more pounds to go, and 2 months to do it. Hopefully I at least get close!! I'm thinking about doing the "30 day shred" maybe kick my ass a little bit, not sure I can handle it though. I need to start exercising again.. but I don't like it :-/. I seem to lose the same regardless of how much I exercise so I've taken my focus off it a little bit. I'm going dancing tonight so that should be some good exercise.

I wonder, do the fills feel different after a while? I had mine probably 2 months ago, and the last few weeks, I'm like REALLY not hungry, ever. I'm starting to lose my appetite a bit. It's harder to eat when you aren't really hungry. Still no problems with being stuck. I'm at 5.5ccs.

It's so crazy how this all works, it almost feels effortless at this point. Even if I eat a little bad it doesn't seem to totally sabotage me. I guess because we are naturally eating less.

I've started losing a lot of hair anyone else? I'm 90% sure I eat enough protein in a day.. does this just happen because of the weight loss, it's pretty icky. Luckily i do have a ton of thick hair, but still it's ruining my shower drain

I'm actually the opposite. I'm at 5cc and my last fill was about 45 days ago. First couple weeks I felt like you, no appetite, go could hours and then have to remember to eat my daily 1250 calories. I've been losing good weight, almost 50 lbs total, but now I'm getting a bit hungrier between meals. I think I might go in to the office in a couple weeks and get another .5cc to see if that keeps the hunger away.

Yea if anything i'm getting less hungry. I honesty don't think a fill would do anything for me! It's kind of weird, and my meal times are so messed up I eat at like 10, 3, 8 hahaha

Hello,

Heather~ I was told that the hair loss is due to not enough protein. How many grams are you getting each day?

Newlife~ I am only now really losing weight, about 20# since surgery on Dec 2nd. The goal is 1-2# per week and it sounds like you are ahead of that. I don't want to lose too fast because I don't want to compromise my health/nutritional status and I want my skin to shrink with my fat loss and not hang.

I am going in for a little unfill tomorrow. I have been getting stuck/vomiting daily for a week or so. I am at 7cc in my band.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Joan

Joan, what size band do you have? I'm at 6.25 in a 9cc band. I go next week for a small fill, I'm hoping this will be the one that does it. I'm still feeling hunger pains 2 or so hours after eating a reasonable portion...

Joan, what size band do you have? I'm at 6.25 in a 9cc band. I go next week for a small fill, I'm hoping this will be the one that does it. I'm still feeling hunger pains 2 or so hours after eating a reasonable portion...

I think it's a 10cc band. I was feeling almost perfect at 6.5 cc, but 7cc is too much. I think they'll remove about .25cc and then I'll be at 6.75cc.

Let me know how it goes after your next fill. When is it scheduled?

Joan

So, every couple weeks, sometimes I wake up and I'm feeling a bit of soreness around my port site.

Does anyone still get a tenderness around their port site from time to time? I'm 3.5 months from surgery, I figured all the soreness would be gone by now. It's not constant, and I am a stomach sleeper, so maybe I'm tossing too much at night and aggravating it ? It's kind of a pain in the bu- errr stomach...

I heard the port incision takes longest to heal and can bother people for many months after. Me, I keep getting a little twinge in the incision left of the port. It had gotten a tiny bit infected while healing so it took the longest to heal for me. Mostly comes when I am doing an an workout tjough

I feel a tenderness or hardening of my port site, especially after:

I have a 'stuck' episode (whether it comes back up or not)

Sometimes when I sleep on my left side

When I slouch

Whenever it feels like it

From what I read, it seems like this will be a fairly common occurance for the duration. After all, it is a foreign body attached to muscle.

I would only be concerned if the pain level jumps from 'uncomfortable' to 'really hurts'!

Hello, my December Divas!

I am so impressed with everyone's progress. I love this thread because it shows the evolution we're making from nervous newbies to confident champions.

Big news on my side...I'm now down 40lbs. This is my halfway point. yippee!!!! I started out a 16/almost 18 & am now a perfect 12 but starting to eyeball those 10s. Pretty much everything in my closet had to go because it was just too huge. Right now, I'm a smidge under 7ccs in 10cc band. I've had 3 fills & 1 unfill. My doc is pretty aggressive so I was up to 7ccs in just 2 fills. That 2nd fill sent me over the edge & I was just too miserable but a small .25cc unfill was amazing.

Big changes in my lifestyle, too. I now plan out the week's menu, do the shopping & cook a couple of times a week. This really helps me stay on track with the right bandster foods. I'm also hitting the gym a lot. Kickboxing, spinning & body pump. I love all the inches I've lost. I also love that my husband is completely with me on this journey. He eats anything I cook - even when its a total disaster like the chicken with quinoa I made last night! He is even hitting the gym, too! I'm losing inches & he's gaining muscles. me-ow!

cheers,

chloe

Big news on my side...I'm now down 40lbs. This is my halfway point. yippee!!!! I started out a 16/almost 18 & am now a perfect 12 but starting to eyeball those 10s. Pretty much everything in my closet had to go because it was just too huge. cheers,

chloe

Chloe,

I am so excited and proud of you! What a great job.

I also find if I plan out my food ahead of time and journal everything that goes into my mouth, I can keep the calories down. (I really resisted journaling in the pre-band, diet world, but go figure....it really works!)

I had plateaued pretty much all of Feb, but I got some extra motivation at a support group meeting last Thursday and have lost 4 or so pounds in the last few days.

I am a very competitive person by nature, and meeting 2 other patients that my surgeon has done in the last few weeks (I was his first lapband) made me super competitive suddenly. That, and he threw in the comment that the patient he did the same day as me came in that day and lost 10 lbs....I think he was trying to motivate me and it worked. He's only done 4 procedures now, so I will need to stay focused :-). I want to be the poster child

Great job!! Kristen

I think it's a 10cc band. I was feeling almost perfect at 6.5 cc, but 7cc is too much. I think they'll remove about .25cc and then I'll be at 6.75cc.

Let me know how it goes after your next fill. When is it scheduled?

Joan

Thanks for the reply! I'm scheduled for April 4th. Luckily I just have a $25 copay or else this last little bit of tweaking would be brutal on the pocket book!

I will definitely post the outcome.