lea32

I haven't been on here for a while..life keeps getting in the way LOL! Well, I'm 9 months out since surgery and I'm FINALLY at the halfway point. Geez, it's taking forever! I’m trying to find that balance of the right restriction and exercise. This band is definitely a tool but you truly have to do your part. I started a running group to kick up my weight loss, jogging/running 45 min/3 times per week. I will be running my first 5K on March 21st =) Yay for me

Every time I go back for my fill, Mr. Cutie Fill Doctor @the OCC likes to remind me how much smaller I am than so many of the other patients and how I'm going to lose a lot slower but man, is it ever soooo slow! It's just kind of discouraging because it’s almost been a year and I thought I would have lost at least 30 at this point but I guess I’m almost there. I’m hoping/working on reaching 30 lbs. by my 1 year bandiversary in June.

My last fill a month ago was a little tight but I loosened up. I guess because I didn’t have the greatest of restriction in my prior fills, it was kind of new to me and the chew, chew, chew action didn’t kick in until this last one. I was a little down because I thought I’ve stayed the same weight as I was for my best friend’s bachelorette party back in August of last year and when I checked, I’ve lost 10 lbs since then!

This little thing is so tricky because sometimes, I am so tight that I can have a few morsels of food and sometimes, I feel I can eat practically anything. I’m still really getting used to this thing. The other Saturday night, I knew I ate too much because it was the first time since I had the surgery that I experienced the feeling of so disgustingly full that I thought my stomach was gonna blow and how I sooooo do not miss those times I ate myself into an oblivion. I realized at this moment how grateful I am to have the band!

I hope all of you are doing well. Miss you all!

This really hit me and made me think about our forum, how we work to support each other and help each other succeed.

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and everyone one of you for always being there for me - I don't know if I could have done this without you. One of the reasons for my success is that I did not isolate myself – I made sure to come to the forum for support, I did not always participate by posting, but I always kept up to date and checked in. I think it’s so important that we use this forum in a positive way to support each other and help one another succeed, with the understanding that all of our successes will be different and that's OK.

We can’t do this alone; we are a Village and a strong community. Sometimes this path can be hard, but that's OK, we're here for each other!

“It Takes a Village to Survive: "No one survives on their own, and no one thrives alone either. Yes, you might feel an excruciating loneliness after one of life’s hurtful blows. But we are simply not built to survive solo. Isolation will kill us, not protect us. We humans are social animals made for community. Even when family and friends annoy the hell out of us, they remain an essential part of our survivorship."

by Jerry White

Lisa, you are so right that we all need each other. We all feel at one point of this journey, be it at the beginning, or the middle, or at goal and beyond, that we are experiencing something we swear no one else has and it can get so discouraging and then lo and behold, you get on this forum and find the utmost relief that someone else knows exactly what you're going through. What seems to be the greatest about it though is that 99.9% of us on here have never even had conversation face-to-face but always seem to be there for another through the battles and challenges of this band. I feel so fortunate to have found you all =)

Kim....look at you hottie on Halloween!!!!! Too cute!!!!

And Funmamma - awww yeah on the NKOTB!!!!! I've been to 3 of their concerts in the last about year and a half. I told Kim how jealous I was that she met Donnie!!!!!!

OMG SHELBY!!! I'VE BEEN TO 3 NKOTB CONCERTS IN THE LAST YEAR AND HALF AS WELL OH, THE MEMORIES...I CAN'T BELIEVE MY JONATHAN KNIGHT IS 40 YEARS OLD....WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? OH YEAH, PROBABLY WHEN MY THEN 10 YEAR OLD BUTT TURNED 31 A FEW MONTHS AGO

My band feels like it is wide open the last few days. Geesh... anyone else get this as well? Bad week for this to happen.. haha. Just my luck it will probably tighten up on Thanksgiving!

Laura

OH MY GOSH LAURA!

The craziest thing was I was thinking about you this morning because I was banded a month after you and you told me one time that you're weight loss had been sllloowwwww like mine and I was wondering if it had kicked up bcuz mine is still super duper slow. I started to feel bad last night after I ate half of an empenada and a serving of chips a few hours after I ate a couple of dollar tacos for dinner! Geez, I kept thinking, "Did I really get the band bcuz I really can't feel it right now!". I've been really trying hard but I have only lost 7lbs since my liquid stage ended the frst week of July...uggghhh. I had my 3rd fill the beginning of this month and I was really restricted for a few days but have loosened up. I did lose 2lbs the first week and I can't understand why I haven't lost more because since that last fill, I have been working out 1-2 hours 3 times a week. What the heck?! At least my clothes feel looser and this last week, several people at work asked me if I had lost weight. The fill doctor at the OCC (I keep forgetting his name but he's a cutie and such a sweetheart =) always reminds me that I'm a lot smaller than the majority of the patients and my weight is going to come off a lot slower but I don't accept that. I'm at 157 lbs. now and I know it is harder for me but dang, I'm working my butt off with the little restriction that I have! Man, I need to stop stepping on that damn scale cuz it's drying me insane! I'm just so grateful for all you guys on this forum because otherwise, I would drive myself nuts

We're not supposed to drink any liquids until 45-1 hour after we eat but if you get stuck, like SUPER STUCK, is it okay to take a sip of water to help the food go down. If not, do you just have to wait til it goes down by itself?

Okay, I have never been a sweet food kind of person but I have noticed that since my last fill a few weeks ago, I super crave sweets! It's so dang odd! I usually prefer salt vs. sweet stuff but man, I ate a chocolate chip cookie and I don't even like chocolate chip cookies! Especially at night, boy, do I want a piece of candy or something so what I try to do is just drink water and add my sugar free hawaiian punch powder mix to it. I think maybe because a piece of candy or a quick bite of something like that goes down easier than a bite or morsel of something else? Does anyone have anything else they seem to crave like this?

Can't figure out how to PM on this forum. Can you direct me?

Tadpoles

Hi Tadpoles,

The OCC that Disaster Walking7 is referring to is the Obesity Control Center in Tijuana Mexico and almost all of us on this forum have had our surgery done at the OCC with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Miranda. This forum is directly linked to the OCC website if you notice the top left hand corner of this page, there's the logo! Dr. Ortiz and his staff have been the best thing that has happened to all of us, and I can almost 99.9% positively say that everyone would agree to this. Check out the website where you will find all the basics about their facility. Off hand, you should know that the roughly $ for the total cost of the surgery will be all out of pocket since U.S. insurance will not cover in Mexico but that price includes a lot (pick up and drop off from the airport or the U.S. border, surgery and overnight stay at hospital, 2 nights stay at either the Marriot hotel or Lucerne for you and your companion). You can try to finance the cost of the surgery through several U.S. finance companies off the OCC website. Your follow up fills, if you choose to have them done at the OCC cost $100 cash. Just a little preview. Hope this helps.

So this girls comes up to me at work and says, "wow...your pupils are so dilated and you've lost so much weight, what are you on?" OMG. First of all, my eyes are normal, I had just come in from the sun and have very blue eyes. Second of all...well, I can't even find words right now. UGGGHH..

So then just a few minutes later I run into another person, who says, "so what diet are you on? Are you having to take anything to lose weight?"

So I am guessing these two people, who work in the same dept, must have been talking about me earlier and then both decided to be sly and say something to try and figure out what I'm "ON" to lose weight.

Funny thing is that it is no secret that I had lapband surgery...although it's really none of their business and I haven't worked directly with them in the past, so they probably wouldn't know.

So basically they just accused me of "being on something" at work.

Really??? Who says crap like that to people???

Hi Cin!

Well, you can tell them either:

A. You're on N.O.Y.B.'s (None of Your Business)

or

B. You're on H.O.L. (High on Life)

or

C. You're on G.S.Y.'s (Go Screw Yourself)

Hope that makes you laugh =) Seriously though, it's a victory for you and obviously, they are so unhappy with themselves that they have to try to bring you down. In any case, their misery isn't your problem because you are doing FANTASTIC!

So, I had eaten dinner already that I had leftover from lunch (1/2 cup rice and 3/4 chicken) when my daughter and fiance wanted to get something to eat. So, we went to Macaroni Grill and I swore I wouldn't get anything to eat but a little dessert. I was good and didn't eat any of the bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but boy when my daughter was served her entree (penne pasta w/shrimp and chicken in parmesa sauce), I just had to have a "taste". Well, needless to say,that little taste turned into like 1/3 cup it seemed like and then I had a couple bites of lemon cake after and I tell you guys, I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO BURST! I felt my band protruding and had never experienced that before. I am so happy that I have more restriction at this point, none of that Pb'ing stuff or sliming yet but I can feel I guess what's called the "soft stop". I can feel tightness is my chest and like a feeling of food being stuck when I have had enough food. I have lost 2lbs. since my fill last saturday by listening to my body and yay, I am at 159! It seemed like the scale didn't move for weeks!

Also, I don't know if it's because I have to chew like a 100 times before I swallow my food and wait 45 min. intervals to drink anything, but food just seems to so much less appealing now. Does anyone else feel like this?

I was at 180 in the summer, then had my complete unfill, got up to 189 in three weeks...had small re-fill and took that nine pounds off in two weeks. Back to 180 then the scale just stopped moving................until TODAY!!! 178. Wow! It's about time!

Sabrina:)

=D> SUPER YAY FOR YOU SABRINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT'S AWESOME!

THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE FOR THE PRAISES. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND I AM SO THANKFUL TO HAVE A SUPPORTIVE GROUP TO SHARE MY JOURNEY WITH. HERE'S TO ALL OF US!!

'

Lea!

Wow you look Great! I cant wait until I can wear a little black dress like that...You go girl! I read your bio today, what a great story! Here's to you!!!!

Congrats!

Carrie

HEY CARRIE!

Thank you so much! I"m sure that you can rock that little black dress that's hanging in your closet right now, you just gotta wear the confidence with it! That's what I am loving about this band is along with the weight I am losing, is the confidence that I have a tool that's my fighting power. Before it, I felt losing weight was a losing battle. Even with the weight slowly coming off, I feel so much better about myself. So put that little dress on and let's see it

I had my surgery in January and I am only down 24 lbs or so. I had my second fill in April and went form 2.2 to 3.6 out of 4cc's. I know my band is too tight because I slim ALL the time. I am going in this Saturday to have some taken out, I dont know if I am not losing because I dont eat enough, or what but I am ready to start losing more!!! Hopefully my sweet spot will be found on Saturday!

Oh... and since I am an expert slimer, sometimes if you eat too big of a bite or get something stuck, I think your stomach tries to create saliva to help it down or something because all I have to do it sort of tichten my stomach and its like a large amount of saliva comes out. Its like watching a kid spit to the ground and spitting it back up and it is all intact. It is thicker than regular spit. I have come to enjoy it because it usually works if I have something stuck, it is more frustrating when you feel like there is nothing you can do. hopefully after Saturday I wont do it anymore. I am glad I revisited the board, I figured everyone was doing it as often as I.

HEY JENN!

are you going back to the OCC for your unfill this saturday the 26th. If so, my appt.'s at 10:30am so maybe I'll see you there? I actually live only 20 minutes from you too!

That's me on the far right after 15 POUNDS LOST....and 30 more to go!

I'm 6 days post-op today. It was weird because when I got home right after surgery, I think I actually GAINED weight?? Maybe being bloated or retaining water?? In any case, my little OCC card said I was 226 at surgery date. Today, 6 days later, I am 216.6. Since I'm still on the liquid diet, my goal for next week's weigh-in: 205. Wish me luck!!

[/quote

Hi Charelle! Congrats on getting banded! Funny thing, that OCC scale bcuz It actually weighs you less than what you really are because the day of my surgery, it said that I weighed 6 pounds less than what I really did so remember to go by your own scale at home to get an accurate reading. In any case, YAY FOR YOU!

I hear you Lea. I fill like I'm losing so slowly too, but I posted earlier that I have lost only 12 pounds in the 2 months since surgery. BUT, I've gone down a size, from a 16 to a 14, and can actually wear one of my size 12 outfits that I could only wear 6 years ago. I think for us lower BMI people, it isn't as fast a loss as we would like, but Dr. So says it will be long term. So that works for me. I look at it as 12 pounds lost, not gained. I don't have a lot of restriction yet (I will have my second fill early October) so I haven't PBd or slimed yet either. I really think we are on track Lea, so hang in there, and I will too!!

Red

I think you're right Red, about our low BMI's. I definitely know what you're talking about. I had gone up to a size 13 in juniors this past year but I am now back down to a size 11 and some shorts/pants even fit me a little loosely so I'm super ecstatic about that ! I soooo agree with looking at our weight loss as a positive that we haven't gained weight, but lost the "little" we have because those 15lbs that I lost in 3 months time are the same lbs. I had gained over the past year and a half..ugggggghhhh. It's a plan! WE'LL HANG IN THERE TOGETHER!!!

Hi Lea32!!

Mines too was a slowwww process; I was banded on 7/1/08. I started out at 208lbs and now I'm down to 139lbs!! It took me about 4 fills until I could feel the restriction and begin to loose serious weight. I think it's different for everyone but be patient and continue to get your fills--I promise when you get to your sweet spot the weight will just melt off. Begin an exercise routine this builds muscle and can possibly speed up your weight loss.

Not sure what PB'd or Slimed is so if you get a chance please explain--

remember be patient

Hi Lady V!!!

Your so cute! Thank you so much for your encouragement and you know, when you've been fatty-boom-batty and you find something that works, it's like you get so impatient! I'm surprised that you don't know what PB'd or slimed is!? It's basically when your food comes back up from eating too fast, too much....I'm sure those veterans who have experienced this know more about it than I do! Yay that you've lost that much weight. I can't freakin weight for it to happen to me! My second fill this saturday, I hope will help me a little

I have been banded for 3 months now and have lost 15lbs. since June which has been a slowwww progress. I have been lagging on my second fill as my first fill was at the end of July, 6 weeks after the surgery. I don't have a lot of restriction so I've just stuck to the lapband diet until my next fill this saturday. I was just concerned because I have never PB'd or Slimed (not that I want to of course!) but I know that these two things are typically sign of "good" restriction. I swear, sometimes, I don't even feel like I've had the surgery!

Hi Lea~

It stands for Non Scale Victory!........These are AMAZING to us and trust me you will have many

Good Luck to you~

Carrie

THX CARRIE! I hope so bcuz I don't have that much restriction yet after my first fill over 4 weeks ago so I'm being patient and just trying to eat bandster style. Oddly though, I feel more restriction now than I have the last few weeks since then, especially today. I hope that I do have some of those NSV's because I'm ready dang it!

Several people have mentioned it but I was really curious as to what it is?

I met a girl who also had the lapband (also at the OCC) and she was getting drunk a few hours after she got a fill?! Am I crazy or was she when I told her how bad that was??

Hi guys! I was banded just over a couple of months ago. I chose to only tell my fiance and a few of my close friends and literally did not tell my my family...not my only sister, nor my parents but with the exception of my 13 year old daughter bcuz I didn't want to hide it from her. I know it sounds silly that I told my young daughter and not my famiy but I knew I would be in great hands with Dr. Ortiz@the OCC but also bcuz I didn't want the judgement, nor criticism that I anticipated if I revealed my master plan with my immediate. My sister had the gastric bypass surgery a couple years ago (she has lost 150lbs and looks amazing) but had quite a few complications from it so I knew it would upset my parents if they knew I would be getting something of the same nature, not to mention I would be getting the surgery in Mexico. So, I chose not to tell them. My friends were all terrified for me but were very supportive. I did tell my sister a couple weeks after and she totally understood my initial hesitation but my parents still don't know and I don't feel the need to tell them right now or in the near future. My thing is, this is my battle and it's up to me as to how I want to fight the good fight with my new weapon (pardon the cheezy analogy =) ) No one but me knows the emotional and physical challenges and obstacles I have had to endure throughout my lifetime to get to a point where I can say that I LIKE the person staring back at me in the mirror because if I did, then my presence on this forum would cease to exist. Regardless of who you choose to tell of the journey that you will soon ensue, remember that whether their reaction is one of approval or dismay, THIS IS FOR YOU & NO ONE ELSE. Be confident, excited and fearless when you tell them and don't skip a beat. We deserve to be happy

Anyone who has lost 100lbs or less...do you have any hanging skin? I'm 21years old, so I have young skin, but I have stretched skin. How about your arms?...I need to lose 100lbs, but I think I'm just goin to have a lot of skin leftover!!

My then 26 year old sister had the gastric bypass surgery a couple years ago when she was 250lbs and now she is 140. She had super flab on her tummy and she literally had boobs that looked like udders (we can laugh about it now) so she had to get a tummy tuck and boob lift. If she would have exercised along with the weight loss, i'm sure it would have helped her skin catch up to her losing weight so quickly. Her arms and thighs aren't too bad at all so she didn't have to worry about that part!

Hi everyone...I have had a great post op period and now feel no restriction. I am planning my first fill but the appointment I was given coincides with a day I am having people over in the evening. I wondered if anyone has had enough discomfort or problems after the fill to not be able to have company over the same day...appreciate the help

Thx

You shouldn't have any problems as long as your fill isn't too tight. Your only challenge is that you will be on full liquids for a couple of days (intructions from OCC) so you just can't eat with your friends/company you will have over.

xoxo,

lea

I think OCC gives baby fills Cause I felt ok like the first 10 days losing 3 pounds the first week then another 2.5 pounds. But from that time till now I've gained back 1.5 - 2 pounds I go Monday for a second fill. I've really never felt any restriction.

We shall see I'll let you know how it all goes..

I'm hoping they are baby fills too dammit! I'm ready for that restriction!