This is my blog and help center. I will be helping anyone who has any questions about the lapband as I will post daily. I am beginning my post now as I will be banded in 5 days. I can tell anyone who has not yet started the 2 week liquid diet that it is harder to me than quitting smoking was....I feel like I am starving although I am drinking plenty. But knowing I can't have food is what is making me so darn hungry. I began this journey 3 months ago. Here I will show you what I have lost since my first weigh in with the surgeon.. I have lost 17 pounds beginning weight was 285....:clap2:

Hey Band Sista!

I totally feel for you! I am scheduled for Jan 10th, but I only have 2 days of liquid diet ahead. I have though, been doing Protein shakes x2 per day to get the 15 lbs off required for surgery - I'm teetering on it right now! So...by next Wednesday I'll be past that! We're starting out about the same #'s too except you must be taller than I :-)...Hope you do well - I'll check on you Thurs/Fri!

I am 5ft. 9in I am shrinking though..lol.. I am glad you replyed. Having others to go through this with helps out alot. I wish you the very best.

Well today marks the 3rd day since surgery. So far I have accomplished nothing. I have walked and I have been in some pain and I am not sure when it will go away but I am still sticking to it. I will not be brought down by pain.. The good part is that I did not and still do not suffer from nausea. Thank God! The good lord has helped me make it through and I am so thankful the surgery was a success. I stayed over night in the hospital and recieved only two shots for pain, which my pain did not even start untill today. Now it hurts really bad around the port site. I guess that is normal. But anyway I am going to go but I will be back and type more later./. JTAg104 How did your surgery go my band sista?

Hello Penney! I was telling my mom, I have an incredible knack for jinxing myself but so far I'm doing really good! Slight dizzyness/nausea before I left and almost passed out when I had to go do the upper GI swallow thing....I was home yesterday by 4 pm, I got liquids down no prob, slept well, no problems ect....so far!

Wishing you a SPEEDY recovery - hopefully we are almost at full force this next week!!

Good luck!

Jtag

Time to update, PenneyD....how's it going?

Hello All.. Sorry about the post being a little late. I am recovering well. The surgery was a great success. I had alot of pain the second thrugh 6 days but right after surgery was a breeze. I have not had nausea and no vomiting. I am 31.7 pounds down now since the beginning of the liquid diet. It took a little while for me to be able to get out of bed on my own. The port site is still a little sore now. I have returned to work and I am on restrictions but I am getting use to everything. It really is a new way of life. Trying to get all your protiens in is harder than you think because you are rarely hungry. I can go all day without wanting food, but I make myself drink my shakes and Soups. I have been eating a small piece of charbroiled chicken everyday but only half at a time. It goes down well and I have been enjoying the fact that I can eat so little anf fill so full. I love the band. Hope this catches you all up...Good luck to future banders and hey ya'll to my band buddies I will keep you posted better I promise...

Hello. Well today was an okay day. The pain has subsided and I am able to do almost everything I could before surgery. I am a district manager at a local papaer and I am still unable to run a down route.. I tried that on Sunday and became very ill. All the boucing and moving around was a bit more than I could handle. So other than that I am able to do pretty much anything and everything. eating is a lil too easy for me now. I was worried at first cause i couldn't now I am worried because I can. I am able to eat anything that is placed before me. I go in for that fill in 2 weeks and trust me I can not wait for that. I am at a stand still for sure on my weight loss. I actually woke up this morning 4 pounds heavier and I am sad that this has happened. But then I have to look at the fact that I do not have a fill and it is just the band there and I mean think about it when a femal that becomes pregnant with the band they just take all the saline out and she is able to take in all the nutrients she needs to help the baby become healthy. so if you think about it if I do not have a fill I am not exactly getting what the band is able to do. So I am not going to get too upset because the weight I have gained will come off and when I get my first fill there will be no problem with me losing because I will have a cut off that will help me from over eating. But too all of you out there do not get discouraged, as i will try not to myself. Its part of it I guess. Hope all is doing well....Penney

1 month out! How are you doing?

i am doing okay I guess I got my first fill yesterday and the doctor was so mean to me. He had me in tears when I left his office. I asked him how much he put in the band and he turned around and raised his voice and said" hat size shoe do yu wear?" I loed at him like uh 8 1/2 or 9. Then he said ' just because you wear an 81/2 does that mean I should go buy that size cause its the size you wear is that what your telling me? I looked at him and said I just wanted to know how much you put in He refused to tell me and said 'Just know I put saline in your band. I left in tears. I just wanted to know so I could post it on here and he would not tell me. Then he jumped down my throat cause I didn't lose enough weight to satisfy him. I got home and I was able to eat dinner, then this morning I could not eat anything. Then at lunch time I went to the potatoe patch to eat a baked potatoe and ate three bites and could not hold anymore than that. supper tonight I made chicken spagetti and ate 5 small bites and that was it. I acually ate 3 little peices of the cicken and 2 small bites of noodles. then for desert i had a small peice of sugar free pie ate a little bite and was done. so basically I can't hardly eat and I have no clue what amount was put in the band. it hurt like hell not just physically but emotionally. But other than that I am hoping I drop 30 more pounds in six weeks so he won't be so mean to me next time. even if it means starving myself. I will do it. a person should not be treated that way by no human being and He has always been super nice until I didn't lose enough to satisfy him and that and the fact that I asked him how much he put in. Its not like I was gonna say more more more please like an addict to saline or something. I don't know I guess we will see next time. How is everyone else doing?

Penney,

I'm sorry that your Dr was insensitive. I'm newly researching the band so other then that I don't have any advise to offer just that it seems you should know how much saline you have in you incase you should need it removed for emergency purposes or something. I don't understand why he couldn't tell you. Seems strange to me. Good luck with the band both physically and emotionally. If you feel he is not treating you well perhaps you could find another Dr. to do your fills...just an idea.

Hey Penney

That is awful! I can't believe that doc! How much were you supposed to lose in 1 month? Now, I'm worried because I haven't been focused on how much I am losing, just making sure I am getting my Protein, Vitamins and eating slowly and small quantities - and I go in for a fill a month from now!

I am back to being able to eat lettuce - WHICH IS HEAVEN! I never thought I would crave salad but, I was so happy with my 1/2 cup of lettuce! I even had lunch with a student that I tutor and was able to get through it with her not even noticing how little I ate! That was a major success!

The best thing you can do is keep track of your calories, quantites, protein and vitamins - that is what tells you that you are doing everything right, no one else!

Sorry it has taken way too long to continue on my post. But I have been so down and out since my first fill. But I can say the weight loss has stopped and we have figured out one of my problems. On March 20, 2008 I went to see my Doctor. Who tried 6 times to fill my band....Needless to say there was a big problem. She kept hitting metal and soon realized that my port had completely flipped all the way around and was facing completely backwards. So I have an appointment in the morning to flip it back and reset it and fill the bad boy. I actually suspected this anyway because of the pain that I had been feeling. But I was hoping my suspicions were wrong and they weren't. But she said it would be a simple procedure and I would be able to pick myself right back up and start over again and this time maybe I would get some where with the band. my lowest weight has been 247 pounds. But as of today I am 259. Once I get this fill and get the port back in the right place I will pick up and dust off and continue on the band wagon.....Hope all is doing well I will try now to keep the blog going now that I have faced my demons and am feeling better about life again. I am sorry if I let any of you down and I pray you all are doing well...Much Love Banders