Tasha H.

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Well, it has been three years since my WLS and I have not lost any weight. In fact, I have gained weight. I had the lap band 3 years ago in August. I was doing well for two months and actually dropped a total of 40lbs. Then, I got pregnant....the rest was history.

Two years after the birth of my precious baby boy, I have now decided to get a fill in my lap band and begin the process all over. The wonderful thing about the band is that it doesn't force the weight loss, rather it is a tool that is always there that can help you with your weight loss.

I go this Thursday to see Dr. Nowzaradan, in Houston. He will give my first fill in three years and he will give me an Xray also to make sure that my port is still in place.

If anyone reads this blog that has had a similar experience please write me and let me know what I can expect. I have forgotton all of the band rules so it is really like this is my first time all over again. I don't even know how much I weigh now, but I do know I am a size 24-26. Yep! I am well overdue.

See ya Thursday, when my journey begins anew and this time successful.

Hello Everyone! I know it has been a minute since I wrote something on my blog. I am doing well and my scars seem like they will heal o.k.  I can't stress enough how important it is to take care of yourself the first two weeks after surgery. I had to find out the hard way what happens if you do too much too soon.  I developed these hematomas underneath two of my incisios. So, needless to say I sat down and took it easy for one whole week.

The other lessons that I am learning is how important it is to follow the BAND rules. I can now eat mushy foods and I am so excited that a few times this week I swallowed too fast and it felt like I was swallowing glass. It was painful for me. I don't know if anyone has this problem, but I have a real problem swallowing food.  I now understand why they say eat with the toddler spoons and forks.  That feeling is so uncomfortable that most times I snack...which is what bandsters warn against because it can stall your weightloss. They are right. I have only lost a pound this past week.  So now I am trying to eat mushy foods but in smaller amounts. I found out that you can still overeat too, which is painful. You can just snack away until you've eaten a meal for two football players....that's not good and it hurts too.

My lesson is I have to learn to eat real food but in small amounts. I am getting there.  I am supposed to have a feel in about another two weeks but I think I might wait 3 to 4 weeks because I want my eating habits to be right before my band shrink me stomach any more.  I will write and give an update soon.

Until next time....

Hello everyone! Yesterday, was a great and painful day. I was able to start eating regular soups blended into cream soups and I know I over ate. I also went on a tasting binge. I would taste the food I really wanted to eat like chips and the sirloin steak that came with the soup and then I would spit it out. I was too scared to swallow the food so the only thing I could do was taste it. Suprisingly, the food did not taste as wonderful as I thought it would. The soup filled me up and then some. I actually ate too much and spent the rest of the night wondering how I affected my precious band. Today I will be conservative because now that I know that there is no satisfaction from overeating and tasting food, there is no reason to push myself. I like the band and how it only allows you to eat until you are full.  I wish I had learned to eat like this alot sooner.

On a brighter note I lost another couple of pounds. I can't believe it. I can't wait to start exercising and lifting weights. I am so ready for my new body, but it is one tiny bite at a time.

Until next time...

Hello everyone!  I am now 6 days post op and I am doing well. I have a little knot under one of my stitches but I believe it is from wearing an underwire bra that I shouldn't have worn.  The pain from my stitches is slowly going away although it still hurts to cough or sit straight up from a position of lying down.  I am slowly losing weight but I know once I can eat and exercise I will lose faster.

This band is amazing. It feels so wonderful to be hungry and to go get a cup of soup and by the time you are half way done you are so full you are almost sick. I still have head hunger though and I am planning out my menu of mushy foods for post op week 3.  I can't wait to be able to eat my half a cup of mashed potatoes. HMMM!

Until next time...

 



I am back from Mexico and doing well. My Aunt, cousin and I went to Eagle Pass, Texas Thursday August 9th and crossed the border to Mexico on the 10th for my lap band surgery.  The night before the surgery I was a basket case but I had the best support system ever. My cousin and my Aunt made sure that I was distracted and preoccupied with how great it is going to be to lose all this weight. I love them to death.

I also met Meta, Kathy and Ronda who were mostly there for WLS too. We were all excited and we took before and after pictures and talked about how nervous we were. I don't think any of us really slept peacefully the night before except for Kathy ( who originally was there to support her sister Meta, but ended up having the gastric sleeve done the day after Meta's surgery).

The one thing that I must not forget is to say how wonderful Mexico's patient care is. I felt like I was getting medical care at home. It is true that the nurses don't speak a lick of English, but they communicate just fine and trust me they will get you to do what needs to be done. They understand facial expressions just fine because if you frown from pain they are there with the medications. I am so happy that I went to Mexico for my surgery and even more happy that I chose Dr. Alvarez for my surgeon. His staff are wonderful and so is he. He is so patient and caring. He really takes his time and does his best to make a person feel at ease at all times. I think he is simply wonderful.

As for the band.  I am 4 days post op and today I forgot to bring my pain meds. Not a good thing to forget. I am back at work and struggling just to sit up right. I feel good usually but today I must have walked too much or something. The other thing I realized is that I have a food addiction. I dream about food...all kinds of food.  I AM NOT HUNGRY!! I am just want to eat. Again, I AM NOT HUNGRY, but boy does the commerical on Popye's chicken look so good.  It is amazing how many commercials are about food. Joe's Crab Shack, Red Lobster, Jack in the Box, Burger King, TGIF, Applebees, Chilis, Ninfa's, Taco Cabana.. I can go on and on. All of these restaurants advertise food all day. I stay mentally, hungry. I can't wait for these commercials to not phase me like the commercials about Previcid (acid reflux) or the herpes commercials. Those are the commercials that I mentally tune away from when they come on. At some point I hope to mentally tune away from food commercials but right now I watch every one of them like a fiend.

Enough of that. I am healing fine and the scars are so small that I know that the scars will go unnoticed in about a year or less. I am sore but I don't feel the effects of it unless I stretch to my right.  I am doing good on the liquid diet but I asked my doctor if it was o.k. to have protein Muscle Milk because I was so weak and I needed energy to come to work. He said it was o.k. but to sip slowly and stop as soon as I felt full. The protein gives you energy and it is really needed if you have to work after the surgery.  I have not lost any weight since I have been back but that is o.k.  I know that the pounds will start falling off as soon as I can get real nutrients into my system and get my body out of shock.

If anyone has any question that I have not hit on here please feel free to email me. I will do my best to help as much as possible. This website has been a blessing for me and I would like to be blessing to someone else.

Until next time...

 Naomi B.'s Profile  Janina P.   Moni’s Profile Bandster! Shawna C

 
Read their stories. They are very informative and inspiring. For those, like myself, who wonder how the average person lives and eats with the band, these stories will help you understand. These stories can answer the question on how the band helps you not to overeat and how to know when your band is adjusted correctly so that you can eat and still lose weight. Please be sure to read postings made 1 month post op and either 4-6 post op. I think those are extremely important, especially since most dieters don't stay on a diet longer than a month. It is interesting to see how the band is different in that at one month the losing weight is just the beginning.

Until next time...

Well, it is Monday and I am so excited that in 5 days I will be in surgery having my lap band placed around my stomach. This past weekend was challenging in that I began to have some serious doubts about my decision to have the surgery. I know that my doubts are from the fear of the unknown and because I am allowing the idea of failure to enter into my mind. I also found out that my loved ones have read my blogs. That kind felt weird because the stories and feelings that I share were intended for those who have also struggled with being overweight. I don't mind that my family read my blog, in fact it made me feel good that they were interested, but I share those stories because I know someone who is also struggling with their weight can relate to my story. Since my family members are not overweight I wonder can they really understand and feel the emotion behind the words that write.

On another note, as you can see by my ticker, I have lost 7 pounds. I weighed myself this morning and hip hip hurray!!! I lost a little weight. It feels good to see my ticker move down. I have a feeling of accomplishment and now I am more motivated than ever.  I can not wait to be able to continuously move my ticker down to indicate my gradual weight loss.  I am so happy that hopefully, this will motivate me to be on a 100% complete liquid diet until the surgery. Yes, I don't always follow the liquid diet like I am supposed to. I am good for eating some scrambled eggs and then start my liquid diet. I see that it will be hard to constantly drink liquids once I have the band, but I am confident that the pain and discomfort of the band will keep me in line.

And on that note, one the biggest questions that I get about the lap band is "how do you know this will work, when everything else has not?"  My Aunt asked me a question similar to this and it dawned on me after talking to her that in reading other peoples blogs I have a clear understanding of how the band works and how it will work for me. So it came to me that when I find a blog that is either informative, candid or encouraging I will post that person's name on my blog so that anyone can read their story as well.  In other words, if any of my family members are reading this than look up who I named in this blog and their story to give you an idea of how the band truly works.

I don't have any names now, but I will be searching.

Until next time....

Well, today is Wednesday (August 2,2007) and I have approximately one week left before I start on my journey to get that lap band.  I will leave for Austin Wednesday night next week to pick up my cousin and then we will drive to Eagle Pass, Texas Thursday and wait for one more day before the surgery.  I am very excited today because I spoke with Dr. Alvarez.  My goodness he seems like such a sweetheart. He seems very humble not at all like other doctors that I have talked to.  We did not talk about the surgery because I called to see if he received my deposit and to get the itenirary for Thursday and Friday. 

It was amazing to me that he did not try to rush me off the phone. I now feel really good about the decision I made in selecting my surgeon.  What a relief! Now, if I can only stay on my liquid diet like I am supposed to. I think that I have the urgency to eat as much as possible because I know that I will not be able to eat the way that I want after the surgery.  I have been to almost all of the restaurants that I have been wanting to try for the past year. I drink two glass of my high protein slimfast to replace two meals and then I have whatever I want for my 3rd meal.  It is so not what I was instructed to do but I don't even feel guilty about it.

On a lighter note, the idea of losing weight has given me a jolt of self-esteem and recently I went to the beauty salon and got a new hairstyle. I also got a pedicure and a manicure; along with an eyebrow wax.  I look good. I have had so many men look at me and smile and wink. It is amazing. I am really beginning to believe that I am more attractive because of how I see myself in the future (in other words..I can see myself being beautiful and sexy it that exudes through my personality now).

I have not lost enough consistent weight for me to change my butterfly track, but as of today I am seriously on my liquid diet and I will be 10 lbs lighter by the time I have surgery next week.

Until next time...

 


Well I am back and with a feeling of disappointment. I was supposed to start my liquid diet Saturday, but I cheated and then ate most of Sunday. Today, Monday, I will try again to start and stay on this liquid diet. I really have to hand it to those who were able to stay on a liquid diet because it is hard. I have a very supportive, yet unsupportive boyfriend. He is supportive in that he wants me to lose weight, but unsupportive in that he encourages me to eat... but then when I eat he says "I  thought you were supposed to be on the liquid diet."He drives me crazy.

Anyway, I am really excited and I have just found out that another woman will be having the surgery on the same day as me. I hope to talk with her before the surgery so maybe we can be surgery buddies. The thought of having this surgery in three weeks is starting to scare me. I keep thinking about my two boys and the effect this surgery will have on them right  before schools starts back. I found that if I think too much about the surgery then I start having doubts so I will write again in another week. 

Until next time...

July 20, 2007

[I am back after a couple of years of frustration and 25 more pounds. I am now at my highest weight ever but I am o.k.
I finally have the money to pay for the lap band surgery although I will be going to Mexico for the surgery. I researched the doctors south of the border on this website and on the internet and finally decided on Dr. Alvarez.

I called his 866 number and eventually talked to Susan who assured me that I am in very good hands. She was wonderful and very reassuring. My intention is to share my experience as accurate and detailed as possible so that someone else who is also extremely skeptical of going outside of the US can know what they might expect.

With that being said, Susan was as I said wonderful. She answered every question I could think of including the passport issue. It turns out that you don't need a passport because the clinic where I am going is right across the border and not over 15 miles. She says that I will be staying at a hotel in Eagle Pass which is 2 hours S. West of San Antonio and about 41/2 hours from Houston. She says that on the day of the surgery I will have a chest XRay and bloodwork and then the surgery.

Oh! How could I forget? My BMI is 50 so I am on liquid diet until my surgery. I am not sure how I will pull that off but I guess I don't have a choice. So for now wish me well and if there is anyone out there who has had surgery from Dr. Alvarez PLEASE contact me.

Until next time....


I have read many stories on this website and I would like to contribute also. When I go to my first consult with a surgeon, I will began my diary.

August 31, 2005

I have chosen Dr. Wongsa for my surgeon and from what I have read on the profiles of other members he is very good. My consultation is set for Sept. 9th. I am excited and anxious. Like many other overweight people I have struggled with obesity the majority of my life. After the birth of my second child I "blew up" like the Goodyear blimp.

I think that my family and friends believe that exercise and "smart eating" is the key to my losing weight. How many times do I have to say that if exercising and eating right was all it took, then I would have done that by now: don't you think?

My mother insists that 5 minutes a day doing Royal Canadian exercises will get me to lose weight. My significant other says "just don't eat". So you see what I have to deal with. Needless to say I am ready for this surgery. I am a "shitty mess" right now. Hopefully, by this time next year I will be alot different.

Until next time...

September 7, 2005

O.K. I am two days away from my consultation with Dr. Wongsa and I am so worried about any and everything. The "what if's" have hit me. I have nothing but worries and negative thoughts running through my mind. I feel like I am so close to taking a step toward ultimate victory that of course "Murphey's Law" will kick in.

The other day I told my best friend Julio, who is truly my ANGEL, that I am scheduled for the consultation and he was nothing but encouraging. He made me feel good about the whole experience. My mother is also coming around. I think now that she knows that I am serious about the surgery she is trying to be supportive. As a matter of fact she is going with me to my consultation.

I must say that physically I am miserable. I am at the highest weight ever and the idea of NOT having the surgery is depressing. All I can do is pray that Dr. Wongsa will agree to perform the surgery and that my insurance approves the procedure.

Until next time...