Hi from Ireland!

kermit · 07-02-2007, 03:39 PM

hello all
I have been lurking for a while now, enjoying all your stories and getting more and more excited about my op. I paid my deposit today and I have my blood tests on Thurs with a tentative op date of July 27th. Dr. Jerome is banding me and he was very good to talk to at the consultation.
Just wondered if anyone else was terrified of this 'last resort' failing? I have had so many failed attempts at weightwatchers and Atkins etc that it is very hard to work up a bit of hope again.
I am not doing this to be thin per se- I have been big since puberty so have never experienced feeling attractive in that way. My goal is to lose enough weight to have a healthy pregnancy. (I am "hovering" :faint:at about 300lbs) I joke to my husband that I am getting my 'eternity ring' before the baby comes at all!
Anyone else in the same boat?
Kermit

allure · 07-02-2007, 04:11 PM

kermit, welcome to the thread! keep contributing and you will get back loads of support and encouragement.

I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I too was totally motivated by the fact that I was and still am (but not for long!) too overweight to have a baby. That was the total driving force to get banded. I suffer from a rare condition called "body dismorphia in reverse"(joke!) - I actually think and see myself as a slim person!! Laughable you might think but actually very worring that I manged to live for 10 years of early adulthood as obese and in recent years, morbidly obese. It was only when I started to try and make babies and fail that I realised that I was in fact a tubby and it was seriouly affecting my health enough that I couldn't get pregnant. I am totally confident now that I will be able to loose enough weight this year that I can start trying again and have a banded baby by Christmas 2008!!

So good to hear that you have started your research into the procedure. Keep asking the questions and we'll try our best to respond.

skinnyirishbabe · 07-02-2007, 04:35 PM

I'm hopeless i gave up on the liquids last week! went to the gym this evening... tought it would be a battle but it was grand...painless. I'm working out points according to weightwatchers and daily i'm eating about 12 to 14 points a day which is a third less than i can so there is still restiction there. Still feel like I'm dieting frightened if i don't count the points i'll go over the daily amount.

sjrgilman · 07-03-2007, 02:17 AM

Hi skinnyirishbabe,
When were you banded? going to the gym is great. I wish I had one close. But I live rurally and the town is small that i live near. so I do a lot of walking . Want to start some weight training but not sure where to start.
I have my first fill July 17th so I'm starving til then. LOL but I don't feel any restriction. Oh well enough whinning I'll get there when I should. Good Luck to you on your Journey. sj

skinnyirishbabe · 07-03-2007, 03:03 AM

I was banding on the 23rd of june. Will be two weeks this saturday.

Coco · 07-03-2007, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinnyirishbabe

I was banding on the 23rd of june. Will be two weeks this saturday.

Hi SIB
You should still be taking it easy with the exercise untill at least six weeks, walking and swimming are good but any heavy exercise at this stage might do more harm than good. Even if you're feeling well it will take at least six weeks for the stomach to heal and the swelling to go down. As for the eating, eat your protein first then your veg and then your carbs. Put your food on a side plate instead of a dinner plate and practise eating slowly, chewing and swallowing a teaspoonful at a time and putting your cutlery down between mouthfuls. :hungry: Believe me you will need these skills by your third fill. Its great that you are so well so soon after the op and I wish you all the best on your journey.:)

Coco · 07-03-2007, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kermit

hello all
I have been lurking for a while now, enjoying all your stories and getting more and more excited about my op. I paid my deposit today and I have my blood tests on Thurs with a tentative op date of July 27th. Dr. Jerome is banding me and he was very good to talk to at the consultation.
Just wondered if anyone else was terrified of this 'last resort' failing? I have had so many failed attempts at weightwatchers and Atkins etc that it is very hard to work up a bit of hope again.
I am not doing this to be thin per se- I have been big since puberty so have never experienced feeling attractive in that way. My goal is to lose enough weight to have a healthy pregnancy. (I am "hovering" :faint:at about 300lbs) I joke to my husband that I am getting my 'eternity ring' before the baby comes at all!
Anyone else in the same boat?
Kermit

Hi Kermit

Welcome to the site, we all have worries about the op its only natural. I knew this was the op for me as I was a volume eater, I have always eaten healthily (just couldn't stop :)) although I had and still have a sweet tooth. Jerome told me that I would eat less and if I stuck to a healthy diet and did some form of exercise that I would have success with the band. I was banded on 03.01.07 and to date have lost over 50lbs. I eat what I want when I want and am losing 2lbs a week most weeks although this consistant weight loss didn't happen untill I had 4cc in my band. It is natural to be impatient after the op to feel restriction and in hindsight I worried far too much about what I could eat post op. I thought I've paid 10K for this how come I'm still eating loads, but it takes at good 12 weeks of getting to know the band having fills to your sweet spot and generally getting the mind shift from eating all you want to eating all you need. But for me its the best invention in the world and I would never regret having it done. Good luck on the 27th and keep in touch.:)

Coco · 07-03-2007, 07:54 AM

Hi All,
As some of you know me and my band had a falling out last weekend. Heres the update. After the xray had showed that my band had slipped a little Jerome took 1cc out of my band this helped straight away and I felt miles better and was at last able to keep fluids down. I came home and after 2 days I still didn't feel right, I had a dull ache in my shoulder and was suffering from heartburn. Jerome took another .5cc out of the band and again I felt better, over the weekend the pain and heartburn returned and Tara removed another 1cc on Monday, I have been given a provisional date of Friday 13th July (I Know, I'm not superstitious) for the op to reposition my band. Its such a dissapointment as I was doing so well and I know that band slippage is a possibility but I just didn't expect it to happen to me. I feel like I'v been dumped by my band just when we were getting on so well.:cry:cry I have little or no restriction and have even been eating toast,:) I mean I haven't been able to eat bread since the end of Feb.:):) Anyway I hope once the repositioning is done that it won't take long for me to get back into the swing of things.

laura35 · 07-03-2007, 09:21 AM

hi everybody
Cant believe I am banded a week today,went to get my stiches out today it was ok. I feel great no pain and I lost 5pound how are you doing Coco I am so sorry to hear about your band (Terry)

Dini · 07-03-2007, 09:37 AM

hi everyone,

Welcome Kirmit!

Coco everything is going to go great for you just a little pit-stop!

Terry 5lb is great Congratulations i lost 1.3kg which is almost 3lbs pretty crap! i've been so ill and all! i was expecting a lot more.

my scars are tiny. i too got my stitches out today i'm still a little brused.

skinny take things easy.

lipgloss how did your consult go? you still going ahead?

hope everyone is well xx

sjrgilman · 07-03-2007, 10:49 AM

Hi Coco,
Sorry to hear of your troubled band. I know of another person that had to have a revision done and her new band is great and shes back on the loosing side now. You have done so great so far with your weight loss. Just think of this as a vacation from the band. Absence makes the heart or band grow fonder soon your band will be back in full force working for you again.
Keep posting it helps the process to get it out. We all care about your outcome and will be watching. Chin Up, Your in my prayers.
Sheila

sjrgilman · 07-03-2007, 10:56 AM

Hi laura35,
Great job with the weight loss. So you had stitches? My surgeon used a super glue to close me up. It seems to have worked ok. I'm 6 weeks out and trying to hold on before a fill, Hungry all the time. (Nothing new) My first fil is on the 17th of July I hope my doctor will be aggressive and give me at least 2 cc. I have a 10cc band that holds 4-5cc of saline. I need some restriction.
Good Luck on your weight loss journey.
sj

skinnyirishbabe · 07-03-2007, 12:46 PM

Hi CoCo,
you'll be fine not to worry less than two weeks till its fixed.

louise

kermit · 07-03-2007, 12:57 PM

hi all!
Thanks a million for the lovely welcome. It is great to hear all the varying experiences- sounds like no two people have the exact same relationship with their band.

Coco - so sorry to read about the slippage. To face a hurdle so soon in the journey is a bummer but I hope the rest is plain sailing for you.

It always picks me up to think that all the best stories in life have a twist - Girl meets band, girl loves band, band is errant but soon realises error of its ways and wins girl back. Cue happy ever after and blazing sunset! Think Casabanda or Gone with the Band! (maybe with Dr. Jerome as Rhett Butler...) What's the famous line Vivien Leigh says holding a carrot aloft? "As God is my witness - I will never go hungry again!"

Good luck and happy thoughts to you,:)
Kermit

laura35 · 07-04-2007, 09:12 AM

hi Sheala maybe glue would have been better I had a shower to day, a propper shower it felt good. Well done on your weight loss thats great and you haven had a fill yet, only 12 days left till the17 good look
(Terry)