Hi friends!

I imagine if you opened this thread, you're in the same boat I am.

How are you feeling?

How are you sleeping?

Are you ready?

Shopping done?

Cupboards cleaned out?

Is your Christmas shopping done?

Who's cooking Thanksgiving dinner for your family?

What will you do on Thanksgiving?

Let's stick together & support eachother through the next few days, weeks & months!

Are you ready for some smaller clothes?? Yeah!:whoo:

Dear Friends,

New Friends & Inspiration

I cannot tell you how much support I've gotten from our shared 11/20 Thread. I met a local bandster today that I met on this forum (different thread) who happens to live just a couple of miles from me. She's exactly 1 year ahead of us (Nov 2006). Wow - she looks great. She's lost about 50lbs and has about 50lbs to go, but let me tell you - she does NOT look like she was ever a bariatric patient (this should be inspiration for each of us!)

We're Already Helping Others (Amazing!)

In talking with a newbie on another thread, they wanted to know what to expect the first couple of months after surgery. I directed her to this thread to read "the good, the bad & the ugly" from the mouths of those "walking the walk". She wrote me back after reading our posts & said that it was really educational, and that she'll take the information to heart. See - you're already helping others!!

TLWEMPEN - Yes, I too am in Bandster Hell with you. Now, I've had 2 fills totalling 3cc's in a 10cc band. Still able to eat pretty dog-gone well! Went to Olive Garden the other night. Shared appetizers (fried of course) with my DH. Ate 2 servings of salad (I love their salad). Then shared a main dish with my DH (at least they split it onto two plates for us, he had 4 Ravioli & I had 3 Ravioli on my plate). Now, after the appetizer & salad(s), I was only able to stuff 1/2 of a Ravioli in my mouth before I said "enough". I was finally full.

BANDPAL - It was so very good to hear from you again. I appreciate your honesty about eating, sliming & PB'ing, then eating again. God love ya! I have yet to slime or PB or even "mourn" my food loss because I just don't think I'm at the proper amount of restriction. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm glad my MD is taking it slow on the fills - This is better than being too full & PB'ing all the time. But the weight loss has stopped in my case, just as so many on our thread. We are all literally in the same boat. However, you're a little ahead of me, because you're actually feeling full. You are teaching me lessons on what to expect when I get to the proper amount of restriction. I'm not certain if I'm really looking forward to it! I've been depressed enough (post holiday, yucky cloudy weather, lack of weight loss) without mourning my loss of food! I'm only kidding of course. We wouldn't have taken this path unless we were really serious about getting healthy.

TOWENS - Any better yet? You've got 1 more cc than I do - are you feeling less hungry? Any problems with ground beef or rice? I think when we get to the proper fill, those items will become more difficult for us (I'm still able to tolerate them without any problems). Guess I still need more fill. My Doc gave me 2cc's the first time, 1cc the second time and told me he'd give me 2cc's the next time (that's his preferred pattern 2-1-2-1-2...). So, that will put me at 5cc's at my next fill. I'll let you know if that seems to do the trick!!

Ovahkummer - I'm glad you checked in with us - I was getting worried! I'm so glad you're doing well. Please continue to keep us up to date here.

Again, I just want to say "Thank You" to each of you who continue to post & keep us informed. This is waaaay better than a "support group" that you only meet once a month. I feel like you guys are good friends now & we share so much together. I pray we all start to see the weight coming off soon. I haven't budged since before Christmas!! Hang in there folks & write back soon!

Judy

Hi everyone.

I haven't been on in awhile and I just wanted to check in. I have had a lot going on in the past few weeks with the holidays, family, the loss of a pet, and other general job/home duties.

I go for my first fill tomorrow. I'm hoping this will help to start the weight loss. I am eating under 1200 calories a day and exercising. However, my weight stays the same. I am beginning to think my surgery was for naught. My husband says to be patient but I just want to sit down and eat an entire pizza:ohmy:!!!

The weather in the Chicago area continues to be cold, damp, and a little snowy. I need Hawaii about now:cool2: but my wallet just says no.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Keep up the great work and continued success!

Marilyn

HI and thank everyone for sharing. I went to my first support group meeting, and it was very informative. I think this board is awesome, cause we are all in the same time zone as to surgery! I definitely do not feel as hungry after my 2nd fill, but still don't feel "restricted." I am going to give myself one more week before I call doc for another fill. I am eating oatmeal for Breakfast, then salad for lunch with chicken or chili and then a big supper. So hopefully, after another fill I will feel restricted and start losing weight faster--ugh!!!

Keep up the good work all and let us know how you are doing!!!!!

Hi everyone. I got my first fill today and feel as if I'm going to hurl at any moment. Anyone else feel this way after your first fill??? The doc gave me 5cc's. I think this was too much but when questioned he seemed to think this was appropriate. I had to actually pull over after the appt. because I was feeling so nauseated.

He did give me some advice on eating/maximizing weight loss that I wanted to pass along...

Keep the carbs to an absolute minimum; eat your Protein first; keep your fat grams to 25 grams or under; exercise at least 30 minutes per day.

Marilyn

Marilyn - woah, 5cc's? That's HUGE! I imagine you wanted to hurl. How are you doing now? Have you been able to eat solids or are you still working the liquids? I guess the up side is that you probably won't need another fill for a while - huh?

I want to have 5cc's soon, but my doc took it a little slower (2cc's, then 1 cc for a total of 3cc's) I've not had true restriction yet, but I do fill up sooner. However, I'm eating more than 1 cup at dinner. When I go in for my next fill in 2 weeks, he said he'd give me 2 more cc's bringing me up to 5.

Write us back and keep us posted, ok?

Judy

Hey Marilync

My doc said the same thing about carbs (below 30) and to eat 3 oz of Protein first. But I feel like if I could have followed a diet like that prior to the surgery I wouldn't have needed the surgery--duh. I want it to be easier, but I guess we need to follow the rules to lose weight. So I am trying to follow the all protein to see if that helps and I called in early for another fill, I still do not feel restricted--ugh

Towens - I don't wanna count!

So, I've got to count Protein, count calories and carbs? Jeez Louise! I just wanted to eat less & exercise more.

Oh well - I guess this is the 'new lifestyle' I need to adjust to. Maybe if I get to proper restriction, I won't be able to eat those carbs cause my body will tell me not to. My brain just needs to catch up, huh?

Hi friends,

Just wanted to let you know that I've moved my 3rd fill up two weeks. I'll be getting it this Friday. Hope to get to about 5cc's & finally have some true restriction.

I was able to eat a Subway Sandwich on Sunday after church. I thought the bread would be a problem, but it went down w/out any problems. Guess this means I'm not properly restricted (besides, I'm starving in the afternoons & end up snacking).

I'll let ya know how it goes.

Judy

Hey firebolt,

You sound exactly like me, I had to reread my post, cause I thought your post was mine--that is exactly how I talk--even the Jeez Louise!! I thought this was going to be easy--but hopefully our adjustments will work!

Hi everyone.

Well...it seems that I was correct in questioning the doctor on the fill of 5cc's. I landed in the emergency room last Friday due to extreme vomiting and pain from the over restriction. I was throwing up just plain saliva. The doctor was in surgery most of the day so it was a full 24 hours before he took 2 cc's out of the band. Since the ER procedure, my stomach and esophagus are sore. I am eating little except protein bars and soups. If I eat too much or too quickly, I vomit. I can really tell that my clothes are looser but I am losing very few pounds. It is so frustrating!!!!

I read that some of you have already had two and three fills. Have any of you had more than 3cc's? Are any of you experiencing the same issues that I am? I truly hope not because I have been miserable for the last week.

Keep posting and I will check in next week.

Marilyn :rolleyes2:

Marilyn,

I am so sorry you had to go through that. My first fill was 3.5 cc's and my second brought me to a total of 4 cc's. I have not PB'd yet. I hope you heal quickly.

Jill

Marilyn, how very scarry!! i 'm glad your alright!! i think you have had the scarrest experience of us all. i'm still at 1.5. i go in for my second fill on the 18 of feb and he is going to put in 1.5. that will bring me to 3, then he said that he was going to fill slower at .5 there after. now i know why!

gl and keep us posted.

Jill & tlwempen,

Thanks for the support ladies. I am eating a little more. Just due to feeling generally crappy, it seems my main meal is dinner. I am doing water, protein bars, and soups throughout my day. I tried to eat eggs this morning with extremely ground up bacon (put it in the Magic Bullet) and it came right back up. However, I had Swedish Meatballs (only 2) this evening and so far so good. It now takes me forever to eat.

The good news though is that I went clothes shopping today and I can wear one size smaller pants, and two size smaller shirts. I've lost about 5 pounds since the fill. It seems I should be losing more with what little I am eating. Oh well...

Keep me posted as to how you are doing.

Marilyn

Hey Guys,

Remember me?

Well, I'm officially three weeks and I don't think I'm getting the restriction that I should. I'm doing it on my own right now. Mornings are okay, but in the evenings I feel like I need to eat every half hour. My husband got alarmed when he saw me eat 3 out of 8 slices of an 8 inch pizza.

I can eat about 1.5 cups of food at one time. Is that too much? The real problem is though even though i can eat that amount, about 15 minutes later I feel I can do it again! Somebody please tell me this will go away after I start to get fills.

I'm kinda depressed because of this and i feel really bad because I fear that my weightloss has stopped. HELP!

hey ovahkummer--you need a fill, you should not feel like this! call your doc