Howdy all, newbie bandster here

Hi everyone, I'm Rick. I was banded on September 23rd

I had a rough patch about a week after surgery in which I became depressed and thought I had made a horrible decision to have the band, but now a couple weeks later I am doing great and would def have it done again.

I have lost 19 lbs as of October 12, and will be weighing in again on the 27th when I go for my first fill. I look forward to chatting with others on the same journey.

Hi Rick!  Glad you are feeling better!  My first few weeks were awful, and I thought the same thing!!  By week 3 it is the best thing I ever did!  Good luck!!

Hi Rick. 19 down before your first fill! Great job. Thanks for the info about how you felt after the surgery. Got mine coming up on 10/28 and just got through day one of the liquid diet. Great to see you here. This is a great bunch of people so keep reaching out when you need to get support or look for a cheer when you do well!

Good luck with your surgery Jill. I didn't have any problems at the hospital and the pain was minimal. It kinda feels like you've been punched in the gut a few times and it's swollen LOL My doctor gave me a 10 day prescription for Oxycodone and I only needed it the first 2 days. Hopefully you're surgery goes as well as mine. You're in my thoughts.

You will have ups and downs. As a guy with a band I found that I lost more weight initially than most. I lost 50lbs in the first 3 months or so, but I plateued around 80lbs.  I have had the band completely unfilled about 3 months ago because of acid issues, and I wanted to get it tested for placement, and all is well. I have put back on weight with the band being open, but that's my own damn fault for eating horribly "because I could" after having it open.  I go back in for my first refill next week.

keep up the good work and my advice is to be patient with your band and lear to listen to it. Follow the rules ;)

Welcome!  I'm an RNY person, but you'll find a lot of the experiences are the same.  Hope you love the process as much as I have!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

And thanks for the advice BigBear. Right now being 4 weeks out I am not staying hungry as long as I did at first. I do find that protein with a teaspoon of natural peanut butter and an oz of bananna keeps me full for 3-4 hours.

I ate a lean cuisine frozen dinner (cabbage roll / mashed potato) and was able to eat it all. I could see myself overeating now because I know I can eat 10 oz, so it's a battle with my head not to do it.

Rick,
I hope things are going well for you. I am 16 months post-op and the band was the best thing I did for my life. I hope you are a success as you move forward. How was your first fill?  Mine was uneventful, but it took me 3 fills until I began to feel the restriction. This varies so much by person. Follow the diet and make sure to exercise and you will be a success!
Tom