Hey everyone! I hope you guys don't mind that I've started a new thread. I've been talking to Terri from Dr. B's office, and she wants to email all of Dr. Bagnato's patients about this website and this support chat that all of us Bagnato Bandsters have going on. She was really impressed by how we've been supporting each other and wants all of Dr. B's patients to be able to come here and get support.

I wanted the title of the thread to be clear and make sure everyone who was banded by Dr. Bagnato knows that they are welcome here, even if they don't live in Albany.

For anyone who is interested, we have formed a support group and have decided to meet once a month.

Our first group meeting will be Feb. 7th at Ruby Tuesday in Tifton, Ga at 6:00 pm. This meeting is basically just a "get to know each other" meeting. I hope to see all of you there!

I've been having a rough time of it lately watching the scale go up, then back down with the same few pounds. The zero restriction is tough. Sometimes I have such great will power and then other days, not so much. I mean I obviously suck at long term dieting because I knew I needed help and had WLS. I had a terrible day today and just felt like emotional eating everything in sight. I spent my whole lunch hour crying to my fiance about what a crappy day it was and how it was one thing after another and how I had spent a fortune and was STILL gaining weight. I had such a defeatest attitude. After work I begrudgingly got us all fed and ready for church tonight as we are having revival. What a blessing it was for me. I have been going at this the wrong way totally. I have been putting this stupid weight loss first above everything. And when I'd find myself depressed about the scales not moving, I would let it affect my entire life. I have been down right awful lately. I keep hearing those words in the back of my head that say 'you'll never be thin, you can't even do it with WLS' and honestly that is how I've felt. I realized tonight that I just need to trust that God has a plan for me and that if I put HIM first above everything then he will give me the strength to get through anything that I cross. Even stupid plateau's and those evil carbs! I know it won't all be roses and I'm sure I'll struggle some more, but I want to be able to look back on this post and remind myself that I just have to have faith. I will be more than just the fat girl. One day I'm just going to be Mia. What a great day that will be!

Mia and Brina, I can totally relate. For the past 8 or 9 years, I have been morbidly obese. I have never had a problem losing weight, my problem was keeping it off. I was an ALL or nothing type of person. I was very successful once at losing weight, I stuck to the diet to a T for about 6 months.......and then it happened. I remember the day like it was yesterday. My husband and I had just finished playing a game of tennis and it was my TOM, so of course I was craving. We drove to Dairy Queen and I ordered a medium health bar blizzard. After I ate it, I was soooo mad at myself. So what did I do? I gave up completely. I felt like I had failed miserably. Not only did I gain back the 50lbs I worked so hard to lose, I gained another 40. It's always been All or nothing with me and I could never break that cycle, until now.

After I was banded, I began to lose weight pretty quickly. As soon as I could eat "real" food again, I fell off the wagon more than once. I got very discouraged at one point, because each time I would get a fill, I had this wonderful restriction for about a week and then..........it was gone. It was as if I didn't even have a band. I went on willpower for a long time and I wasn't by any means perfect all the time. I don't know how to explain it, but somewhere down the road, I changed. I still have weeks that I don't make the best food choices, but I've learned how to pick myself up and start again. I am NOT an all or nothing person anymore. I stopped relying completely on the band and slowly began changing my eating habits. I think you'll find that as you go through this journey, a lot of things are going to change for you. I've taught myself not to harbor those "feelings of failure" anymore. I can honestly say that my lifestyle has changed because of this.

It does get a lot easier when you have good restriction. But, until then, you will have good days and bad, but just remember not to focus only on the bad food choices you make, focus on how much progress you have already made and strive to do even better. One thing that has really helped me, is setting some sort of mini goal for myself. In the Sept. 2007 Bandster thread, we have mini goals that usually last about a month long and they have been a Godsend for me. Find something to get involved in that will keep you motivated. There are lots of goal oriented threads on this site, take advantage of it and start changing your habits now. If you are focusing on a small goal, the end goal won't seem so overwhelming. It's the small steps that get us where we eventually want to be.

Sorry to be so long-winded but I truly understand how you feel, because I've been there. Hang in there girls, and keep those positive thoughts flowing.

I'm excited about my fill this morning! REgardless or not of restriction, I am going to put my head down and go these next few weeks- No more excuses about why I don't have time to exercise- no more nothing. This getting below the 350 mark is going to happen- I'm going to say good bye 350's and HELLO the 340's! I am going to use this liquid for two days as a detox to get all these carbs out of my system!

have a great day all!~

Mia, I appreciate the post you did where you had the lightbulb moment that your issues with weight were crowding everything else. You are sooo right on target with that. I think that is why I end up failing on every diet I try...I just get so tired of the fight and the diet really defining everything about me.

When I first started researching LB a few months ago, I really hoped my insurance would pay. When I found out it wouldn't, I decided then and there that it was in God's hands and if he found a way to provide for it, then I had to trust that this was what I needed to do. When I found out my financing was approved, I was really scared and nearly backed out a million times. But I kept remembering what I said....that if the Lord provided the way, it was up to me to trust him to walk through the door. So now here I am one day post-op and yesterday, I had those "what the heck have I done?" feelings. I'm still really nervous about it. But I trust that God has a plan for this, just like I'm sure he does with you. As far as feeling like you won't succeed with your weight loss efforts, I think we all feel like that. How can we not when every attempt has either failed or had short-term success? But I think this is it for me, and I'm sure it is for you, too.

I weighed in at 346 this morning at my fill!!! When I weighed this morning on my scales at home they said 354- My scales are off! This whole darn time my scales have been OFF!! I'm throwing them away and buying one like they have at the OTC, Malik showed me where to get some! I WAS losing weight- and have been beating myself black and blue about the scale not moving. I got 2 more cc's at my fill- It took her about 45 minutes to find my port and I was numbed about 8 different times but finally she found it! All in all I am just so glad she was able to find it, she had me really worried there for a second! The staff there were so nice, I just loved Malik to death! Yay! What motivation to actually see I am /NOT/ a failure! So 30 lbs down, that is awesome!

I weighed in at 346 this morning at my fill!!! When I weighed this morning on my scales at home they said 354- My scales are off! This whole darn time my scales have been OFF!! I'm throwing them away and buying one like they have at the OTC, Malik showed me where to get some! I WAS losing weight- and have been beating myself black and blue about the scale not moving. I got 2 more cc's at my fill- It took her about 45 minutes to find my port and I was numbed about 8 different times but finally she found it! All in all I am just so glad she was able to find it, she had me really worried there for a second! The staff there were so nice, I just loved Malik to death! Yay! What motivation to actually see I am /NOT/ a failure! So 30 lbs down, that is awesome!

That's awesome Mia! Congratulations! I don't know how much the scales are that you are wanting to buy, I'm thinking it may be pretty expensive if it is like the one at the OTC. I bought a scale from walmart before being banded and it is wonderful. It cost about $40.00 and it is right on with the one at the OTC. You can do all sorts of neat programming to store your info and progress. Here's the link if you want to check it out: HealthoMeter Body Fat & Body Water Fitness Tracking Scale - Wal-Mart

Mia;

Congratulations on your weightloss!!! Wow, and to think you were really stressing. I think Malik and Elizabeth are such an inspiration. We're lucky to be a part of such a great team!

I was down another pound this morning and will post a ticker as soon as I figure out how. (lol)

BTW, where can we find the scales?

Georgia Girl;

Thanks for the info. I will check out the ones you recommended.

I found tanita scales (same brand as the kind at OTC, but different models) online at scalesgalore.com. I got one with a 400 lb capacity for 59 bucks. With shipping it came to 70. Shop around because they are much higher at alot of the sites I went to. They have cheaper version with 330 capacity. SHould have it in 3 days!! Thanks guys for the motivation, couldn't live without the support of this group!

Mia so happy for you and your loss! I know you must be thrilled.

Holy Crap People!!

Remember my last post when I asked how long it took for your appetite to return. Well, the answer to that would be TODAY.

And boy did it return. Today I woke up to my stomach gurgling and was like WTH?!

Did that happen to anyone? Like the hunger switch just flipped on one day?

I think if someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I would probably respond "Pork Fried Rice."

My wonton soup (without the wontons) was the best thing ever until this morning. Now I have to keep reheating it because it gets cold before I can finish it because i am now grudgingly eating it. It is only like 4-5 oz of soup.

I can not wait to get to phase II of this diet. Do you know what crimes I would commit for something other than clear liquids right now? lol.

I hope everyone is well.

As always, congratulations on your success!!

Brina, I've actually been a little hungry today as well. I can only eat about 1/2 an individual container of jello, and I could hardly get down 2 ounces of chicken broth yesterday. It is weird...I want to eat, but I just can't. I guess that is how we know it is working.

How long do we wear the wrist zappy thing?

Oh and are you coughing? I wouldn't say I am coughing a lot, but it sure does hurt when I do!

Hello Allykat:

I did have a slight cough when I got home and my throat was kinda raspy due to the having the tube in my throat. I hated coughing becasue it irritated my throat and if it was a deep cough it sometimes irritated my back or chest.

The nurse just called me yesterday to check on how I was doing. She asked about my nausea (which I only had one tiny less than 30 minute episode of that) and if i had been wearing the wrist thingy. She told me that if i was doing well that i could take it off. I have had it off since yesterday and I have been doing fine. But I would still wait until the nurse calls you and tells you that you can take the thing off.

I think that getting up and moving around wil help the cough for some reason.

I am glad to hear from you and that you are doing well. Please keep us informed of how you are doing.

Brina and Allykat, Congrats on your banding!

The appitite does come back with a vengence at times, doesnt it? I was banded on Oct. 11th and still fight with appitite. As overweight people, it is something we will learn to deal with. I will say, pre-band, I had a huge appitite, I could eat an entire large pizza by myself! Now, even with minimum restriction, I may be able to eat 2 slices, however, it has been a long while since I ate pizza, at least one fill ago.

I can't wait for all of us to get together for a meeting. Will be nice to meet other bandits. I live in Albany, off of Philema Road.

Next month we are going on a cruise for Spring Break, that would be the only reason for missing the meeting.

Take care.

I can't wait for all of us to get together for a meeting. Will be nice to meet other bandits. I live in Albany, off of Philema Road.

Next month we are going on a cruise for Spring Break, that would be the only reason for missing the meeting.

Take care.

We could wait until April? March is actually going to be a really busy month for me. My sister is getting married at the beach at the end of March and we have a lot to do before then, so I'm thinking we should wait until April. I think after spring break, things may calm down a little. What do you guys think?

Hi guys. I'm having a pity party today. I am feeling some serious regret over having this band put in. If I could go back in time, I don't think I'd do it. Physically, I'm doing okay. I absolutely cannot stomach broth, so I'm making due on popsicles and jello for the most part. I'm not in any pain and I'm moving around good.

The problem? I had no idea until after this was done that my DH was against it. He and I talked prior to the surgery and I really thought he supported me and he was on board with it. But we've had some pretty serious heart-to-hearts over the last few days and I can see now that he was against it.

He feels like if he was happy with me, than that should be enough. And the fact that he loves me the way I am means more to me than he knows. But it really hurts to feel like I've damaged something between us now. What freaked him out was the port incision. The fact that it was near my breast just did it for him. He can't stand it that I'm "all cut up" and that I have something unnatural in my body. I've tried to reassure him that the scars will fade, I even got special scar cream to help with that.

He is also feeling like everything will change because we used to go out to eat pretty often, and now he feels like we can't do that or that I won't enjoy it. I've tried to tell him that I can go out to eat...that I'll just eat less.

I don't want to ramble anymore. But I feel like I should never have done this. I've told him that there isn't anything I can do about it now but after one year, if he is still feeling this way, then I'll have the band removed. He says that he knows it is his issue and he needs to get over it. But I can't help feeling like I made a huge mistake.