Hello everyone...I am being banded on April 10th. I am so excited! Seems like it's been forever to get to the countdown, but I think it'll be here before we know it!

Anyone else scheduled in April? We need to come up with a group name!

Carol

You can do it!!!!!

I just realized how nice it is on my ticker to have it almost to the middle. I remember when I put that thing up for the first time I was like OMG it has that far to go... that will never happen.

Yes it wilL!

Way to go Brandy - You Can Do It!

Bea & Turler - I read about Biggest Loser and they actually work out for 8 hours a day!!!

Bea - I want to know wth is up this week too. Tom is here so I think that is it but I gained a pound - chips and ice cream haven't helped:()

But I have been busting it this week! Changing things up and doing atleast 1 hour and 15 minute workouts...I guess I can't change the excercise then lose control of the food. I will hopefully get them both back in control soon.

Have you guys ever felt REALLY thirsty? I drink during and after my workouts in the morning and then during the day but by dinner time, I am so thirsty I can barely eat. After dinner drinking is all I can think about. Just wondering if anyone else has felt like this.

Ok y'all! Tell me.... are you at a restriction level where you're not hungry between meals? I'm on fill #4 and have been getting stuck some.. my own fault.. not chewing well enough... and even got stuck on medication twice.. but I get hungry before I think I should. On fill #3 - the first 2 days after it were wonderful! I had to make myself eat.. I would just forget. But it hasn't been that way since. The weight loss has stalled and I'm frustrated. Still walking 2 miles at least 5 days a week.

What are y'all eating in a day? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Momof5- I am kinda the opposite... By dinner time I am so tired of drinking Water I rarely get an 8oz glass down after 5pm... But I do have about 64 oz before 5 at work.

Savedbygrace- I have hit a couple plateaus on the way already. The most recent one was up until this week.. I am hoping since this week I have lost 2 pounds... and hope it continues. My restriction is so much that 2 oz of Protein would take me a whole 30 minutes to eat. I usually take about 1 hour to eat and get 4 oz. When its TOM I am only able to eat mush for about 2 days which is fine with me. I don't think I am too tight since about 95 % of the time I am able to eat anything I want. I don't feel hunger pangs at all anymore I only eat by the clock. I have 2.25 in a 4 cc band. I have found that my restriction is good at 2.0-2.25 the doctor had me sit up and he put the needle in and filled my band to the max, I sipped water, once I felt it slip through the band he left it at that capacity.

On another note..... My 5 month anniversary is 4/23 and I was hoping to hit 50 lbs lost.. WELL AS OF TODAY I HAVE LOST 50!!

Now off to update ticker :thumbup:

BRANDY!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! OMG I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!

SavedByGrace- By your ticker it looks as though you are doing pretty darn good. However! I know that a few have posted that sometimes being too tight can hinder your cause. It sounds like you are too tight. You should be able to eat your whole meal in 30 minutes. You may need a slight unfill to get more nutrition and calories. Maybe you'd speed up your weight loss. I don't know if I am the right person to give any advice though!

OK gang...check out my latest ordeal:

I went in to see the doctor for a fill (have been hungry lately and the weight loss stopped). He gets the needle into the port and discovers there is NO FILL in there! Again. This is the second time this has happened to me. So he decides it's time for an X-ray. He wants to check for a slip and a leak. Well to make a long story short, he injects 3 cc's of contrast (I have a 4 cc band) into the band and I end up in a CT scan (not flouro, not just an x-ray, but a darned CT). He determines there is no leak, no slip. He leaves the 3 cc's in there and sends me on my way.

Well, I'm instantly not hungry and my DH and I were on our way to meet friends for drinks. I grab a Slimfast and I notice an immediate difference in swallowing. I can't take a big drink as it's uncomfortable, but manage a few sips. I have an drink at the restaurant and I notice it's tight, but I'm doing fine. Until 2 am. I wake up with the worst pain in my throat and stomach. My throat feels like it's on fire and there is a sharp pain in my stomach that comes in waves.

Long story short, I can't tolerate it any longer and at 5:15 am, he takes all the fill out. All of it. I feel better of course, but he says I can't have a fill now for at least a few days until my stomach settles in case of any damage. OMG!

So, here I am. Tired from being up all night, frustrated and sore. I just don't get what's going on with my band. He determined that he must be "missing" the port when he's giving me my fills. Ugh.

So now what? I have to wait it out and hope he fills me next week. Maybe I'd be doing better with the weight loss if I just had a fill! Duh!

~C

I'm interested in hearing the answers too. I am at fill #4 and it did great for the first few weeks but now, it seems I'm hungry all the time.

Turler - OMG!!! I am so sorry for you and your ordeal! Don't give up. Hoepfully things will settle down by next week and you'll get that fill and it will make the difference you're needing!

I am sorry you're having all that trouble Turler.

I am confused on the missing the port part because I watch my doc put the needle in to give me my fills. The second he puts the needle in then the saline inside the band shoots out into the needle he inserts so he can see how much was in the band to start with. He then injects that and then a certain amount more.

I don't see how your doctor could just be missing the port... That's strange.

Atleast you feel better :thumbup: In a few days go back and if I were you I would have him start with around 2cc's or so. 3 is alot to go to when there was nothing in the band.

BRANDY!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! OMG I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!

OK gang...check out my latest ordeal:

I went in to see the doctor for a fill (have been hungry lately and the weight loss stopped). He gets the needle into the port and discovers there is NO FILL in there! Again. This is the second time this has happened to me. So he decides it's time for an X-ray. He wants to check for a slip and a leak. Well to make a long story short, he injects 3 cc's of contrast (I have a 4 cc band) into the band and I end up in a CT scan (not flouro, not just an x-ray, but a darned CT). He determines there is no leak, no slip. He leaves the 3 cc's in there and sends me on my way.

Well, I'm instantly not hungry and my DH and I were on our way to meet friends for drinks. I grab a Slimfast and I notice an immediate difference in swallowing. I can't take a big drink as it's uncomfortable, but manage a few sips. I have an drink at the restaurant and I notice it's tight, but I'm doing fine. Until 2 am. I wake up with the worst pain in my throat and stomach. My throat feels like it's on fire and there is a sharp pain in my stomach that comes in waves.

Long story short, I can't tolerate it any longer and at 5:15 am, he takes all the fill out. All of it. I feel better of course, but he says I can't have a fill now for at least a few days until my stomach settles in case of any damage. OMG!

So, here I am. Tired from being up all night, frustrated and sore. I just don't get what's going on with my band. He determined that he must be "missing" the port when he's giving me my fills. Ugh.

So now what? I have to wait it out and hope he fills me next week. Maybe I'd be doing better with the weight loss if I just had a fill! Duh!

~C

Dang... sorry to hear that. It sure will work better if there is Fluid in it!! :thumbup: Been 'drivin around on a 'flat tire'! :thumbdown: Missing the port doesnt seem to make sense. My doc always pulls all the saline out to check for leaks and validate that the records show the right amount before he puts any in. Perhaps you doc isnt doing that.... or he is 'making up a story' to cover himself.

Good Luck!! Im sure it will get straightened out.

and...

Congratulations Brandy on the 50! There is nothing like success to motivate you for further success!

BRANDY!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! OMG I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!

SavedByGrace- By your ticker it looks as though you are doing pretty darn good. However! I know that a few have posted that sometimes being too tight can hinder your cause. It sounds like you are too tight. You should be able to eat your whole meal in 30 minutes. You may need a slight unfill to get more nutrition and calories. Maybe you'd speed up your weight loss. I don't know if I am the right person to give any advice though!

OK gang...check out my latest ordeal:

I went in to see the doctor for a fill (have been hungry lately and the weight loss stopped). He gets the needle into the port and discovers there is NO FILL in there! Again. This is the second time this has happened to me. So he decides it's time for an X-ray. He wants to check for a slip and a leak. Well to make a long story short, he injects 3 cc's of contrast (I have a 4 cc band) into the band and I end up in a CT scan (not flouro, not just an x-ray, but a darned CT). He determines there is no leak, no slip. He leaves the 3 cc's in there and sends me on my way.

Well, I'm instantly not hungry and my DH and I were on our way to meet friends for drinks. I grab a Slimfast and I notice an immediate difference in swallowing. I can't take a big drink as it's uncomfortable, but manage a few sips. I have an drink at the restaurant and I notice it's tight, but I'm doing fine. Until 2 am. I wake up with the worst pain in my throat and stomach. My throat feels like it's on fire and there is a sharp pain in my stomach that comes in waves.

Long story short, I can't tolerate it any longer and at 5:15 am, he takes all the fill out. All of it. I feel better of course, but he says I can't have a fill now for at least a few days until my stomach settles in case of any damage. OMG!

So, here I am. Tired from being up all night, frustrated and sore. I just don't get what's going on with my band. He determined that he must be "missing" the port when he's giving me my fills. Ugh.

So now what? I have to wait it out and hope he fills me next week. Maybe I'd be doing better with the weight loss if I just had a fill! Duh!

~C

OH MY G_D, Carol! What the hell?????????????????? Do you think you want to stay with this doctor? I'd be furious. Was he at least very apologetic?

I guess because my surgery was done as part of a hospital program, when I go for a fill, I have to arrive first at the office for the update and weigh-in, and then I have to go to the imaging center, where it's done with a floroscope. I watch while more or less is added until we can see how fast or slow the liquid they give me goes through. I've always hated the hassle because this means i cant just run in for a fill, but when I read what happened to you, I'm more tolerable because at least it's all on the screen each time. Maybe you should insist on something like that. Can you?

They do the same at my office; he always does the fill under the fluroscope.

Thank you everyone for the congratulations :thumbup:

It feels really good and I notice a huge difference just in my confidence and how I feel sitting, standing, walking EVERYTHING!

It's so great. I look forward to the next 50.

See I'm not buying the "missing" the port thing either. I watch him do it every time. I saw it shoot back into the syringe. We both agreed that there was the correct amount in it. Then I didn't watch anymore. I guess I didn't question whether he was putting it in, or squirting it into the sink. I even brought my DH yesterday so that he could watch him just in case that was happening! Isn't that awful?

I do not like that he doesn't do this under flouro. I wish he did and I have asked before for that. Maybe after this fiasco he will agree to it. I don't want to go through this ever again. I feel that it wasn't necessary. He could have removed some, but not all. Now I just am left hanging. I am growing increasingly frustrated with him.

I am part of a hospital program too. I even work there. I don't know...maybe that is the problem, I won't blow whistles or something. I am hopeful that this will all get straightened out and I will get a fill next week. This is so unfair. Now I'm sort of scared to eat. I've been taking it easy today and sticking to liquids and soft foods. I don't think I can really describe how the pain felt last night.

Thank you all for being supportive.

~C

Brandy - Congrats on the first 50!! Way to go!

Mom - I feel extremely thirsty on the days I work out the most especially if it's hot or humid out. I have to get better about drinking more water everyday. If you get to a point where you are thirsty it's too late, you are already dehydrated. The key is to stay hydrated so you don't get thirsty. I'm terrible at this. And if you are working out for 1.5 hours most days, you are going to be hungry sometimes, band or not. You are burning a lot of calories. I'm having a hard time getting everything in during the day. I've really had to re-evaluate my eating because on T/TH I might exercise for almost 3 hours because of my classes being back to back. On those days if I don't eat a little more than normal, I'm so hungry I can barely function. This means getting up earlier so I can eat enough to get through those classes.

Carol - Sheesh! So sorry to hear about your total unfill. Why on earth did your doc fill you so full if he didn't know where you were supposed to be? Maybe it's just me, but that seems excessive and now it's caused a problem. I'd be P-O'd to say the least. Hang in there! You'll be back on track in no time.

Wendy - I think we've all pretty much hit a plateau around 40 pounds. I had to "shake" things up a little to get going again. Of course, now I'm busting my booty in the gym and I gained 1.5 pounds this week! :thumbup: I'm hoping and praying it's because of TOM and next week I'll drop it plus some. Just keep plugging along and it'll start coming off again. I think another problem of mine is that I'm eating too many starchy carbs. I log everything I eat into mydailyplate.com and it's so helpful in showing you what's going on. I don't even realize I'm on carb overload until I see it in black and white.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!