La_madam

I have told anyone and everyone who asks I have helped so many I have sent 5 patients in my home town to my Dr. to have the band and everyone of them has been successful and they are greatful I told them about it. I want the world to know how awesome the band is! It's a personal choice but for me it is motivating to tell everyone, it keeps me accountable to my food choices while Iam out it only makes me want to succeed that much more We all have our reasons to tell or not to tell

Mandy, I live in California and I have Blue Cross and I was denied , they do not cover it regardless if it is medically neccessary ( atleast 13 months ago they didnt't) I have a girlffriend who has United Health Care here in California and she got approved in 2 weeks. Do not give up! I chose self pay when I was denied, I did not want to fight them because I would probably still be fighting them 13 months later and now I am 91 lbs down. I have my life back, When there is a will there is a way! I wish you luck

Hi Barb,Welcome! well you have come to the right place to get lost of useful info on the band. I wish you the best as you begin this awesome journey

Happy to see you back, Glad to hear you had a nice time on vacation. NSV for you that you did not gain while being on vacation

3 fills 1 = 1.1 2 = .9 3 = .5 total of 2.5

All I can say to those who had the bypass is atleast I have my intestines in tact and no staples and I have no dumping syndrome and I have no malabsorption issues and I do not have to worry about my pouch stretching and re gaining my weight all I need ot do is have an adjustment and my window of opportunity of weight loss is for as long as I have my band unlike 1-2 years with bypass patients.My skin is not saggy nor do I look gaunt like many bypass patients do.. I lost 91 lbs in a year, to me that is great! I LOVE MY BAND , I know I made the right choice

He will not know exactly how tight he made you without barium or fluoro most US docs give a standard ammount when not using fluoro or barium they like to sneak up on restriction where as Mexico docs are much more agressive and they all use flouro and barium. Since you have had a fill in Mexico and used the barium you will get to see first hand the difference in how it is done. I hope this fill works for you

Many doctors have this policy, if they see you are eating around the band and having mental issues. Even Dr. Ortiz will not continue to give fills if he sees you are abusing the band, he wants you to work with your band, you know the old saying, just because you can doesnt mean you should. I'm sure there are many of us out there me included who can eat more then they would like to but the key here is to do some of the work ourselves and not totally rely on the band also there are certain foods the band will not restrict no matter how tight you are. When I want to eat, I always ask my self am wanting to eat because Iam truly hungry or because I think I am hungry. Distinguishing that is half the battle, also not eating until you are full but only eating until you are satisfied. None of us are goping to starve to death and all of us are so used to eating until we are stuffed, that has to change in order for the band to work as well. Lots of head issues we have to work on and old habits we have to break if we want success. There are also some rules we need to follow with our bands like no drinking with our meals and waiting a good hours afterwards to drink. Nykee This could be why you are eating so soon after a meal.The band is not a magic wand, no one said it would be easy. Again, just becuse you can, does not mean you should. God Luck Nykee

Zoe, that is such great news, I know how hard you have worked to get to onderland! I am very happy for you Congratulations! It's a great feeling

Drinking with meals pushes the food through the band and you will be hungry again quicker. The goal is to keep your pouch full for as long as possible and drinking with meals defeats that.

1. How long were you out of work? I took 10 days off not because I did not feel good physically, more because of mental, I work around foodand I was on liquids and did not wantto go back to work until I was on the mushy food stage. 2. Explain to me what getting "stuck" feels like. It feels like a golf ball trying to get through a very small hole 3. How soon after surgery can you begin to excercise? I was told 6 weeks 4. Were you afraid to eat after the surgery? No 5. If you have a spouse/significant other.. How did they handle your weight loss? My husband has been so supportive and loves the new me, he loved me at 265 to him I did not have a weight problem. He fell in love with me being overweight.

If you do a search the topic is Babies and the Band and another one called back after having a bay, they both give good info and Im sure if you PM thethread starter they wil be able to answer any questions you have One of the women who was banded thesame day as me, became pregnant 4 months after surgery and had a great pregnancy she is also a member here her screen name is vtobon, you can email her also or send her a PM

Christina, my port incision is below my left rib cage, and I must say, the scar is no bigger then an inch if that big. Not noticable enough when I wear a bikini, I'm tan all year round and my scar is tan too, doesnt show much at all. To me it seems it would be more of a "tender" place to put your port that low, I think Vera makes a good valid point about tubing length. Will there be enough tubing if he goes that low, will there be risk of it pulling or breaking off or flippingif it is that low? Those are the questions you should ask your doctor.

Christina, that is such great news, I am so happy for you. I know how hard you have tried to make this happen and how bad you want this, I'm just so hapy it is all finally coming true for you. June 3rd will be here before you know it

I can feel mine

Nice job! Try and remeber though that us "bandsters ca not let the scale dictate our success, as hard as that is Like Betty said even though the scale doesnt show it, you are still losing inches.

I will be coming to New York. I just booked my flight this morning. Will not decide on a hotel in the next few weeks. I have been checking prices around town, seems as though something must be going on that weekend in NY, hotel prices are much higher then normal. I will not be seeing a show or doing the walk,or being on any kind of schedule, there is just too much to do and see in New York for the short time that I am there. I love New York and have been several several times and still have not seen or done all that I have wanted to do. Anyone interested in meeting up with me for a drink or something please PM me and I will give you my cell phone number. Hope you all have a great time and I hope to see some of you while Iam there

One thing my husband and I have leaned through all of the years together, is that you can never take back something you said in the heat of an argument, thewords are never forgotten, they may be forgiveable but not forgotten. If you say something hurtful you meant it, because you thought it enought to blurt it out. So we both have worked very hard to think before we blurt out things in the heat of an argument and have been very successful at it. Maybe put it outto him like that, that you need to not make hurtful comments during the heat of an argument. Those hurtful words are never forgotten. I can not tell you to stay or leave this man , that is a decision only you can make, you have to decide if this is how you want to be treated. I'm sure you will make the right deicsion either way. Best of Luck

Hi Nita, Welcome to LBT I have heard great things about Dr. Spivak. Best of Luck to you

My port is always sore after a fill for atleast 2-3 days and my doctor uses fluoro. Try not to worry yourself , it is most likely irritated from being accessed.

If you have an PB epsiode, it can cause swelling which is why many doctors want 24 hrs of liquids after a PB or you will have a vicious cycle. Eat , PB, Eat,PB, get the drift? You PBd, you are swollen it is no wonder you are continuing to PB. Also be careful, I did not follow my Dr's instructions and continued to eat after a PB. BIG MISTAKE, I got the worst case of Esophagitis, not fun, I would not wish that on my worst enemy. Very Painful!! If once you have done liquids and you PB again, I wouldcall your Dr. and maybe have a little taken out. Pbing more then once a week is not good for your band and could result in your band slipping. Having as little as .2 removed will make a huge difference in being able to eat without Pbing but also give good restriction. Good luck

Jamie, yes it is very possible for a fill to kick in weeks later, there have even been people here on this board who had a fill and months had gone by and their fills got tighter. My first fill took a week or so to notice a difference. Are you close to your monthly cycle because that can sometimes make you tighter, atleast for me it does. have you had a PB? If so this could be why you may be having things get stuck, swelling does occur after a PB and this is why some doctors like mine want 24 hours of liquids after a PB so it does not become a vicious cycle.

Paula, you look so beautiful! You look smaller then a size 14 I love Wal-Mart, its my favortitestore for cheap cute summer clothes.

I second that! Congrats Janie, what an accomplishment. I'm very happy for you, nice to hear from you too

Cheez-it's and Cinnamon life cereal are those foods that the band does not restrict no matter how much fill you have...all the food that is "bad for us goes right through the band.You will find further out cookies go down easy, cheetos go down easy tortilla chips go down easy all the junk food goes down easy, this is why they tell you to eat protein first. Try it and see the difference in a bite of chiken chewed real good versus a handful of cheez its and you will know just what I mean..I can still eat both of those things even having 3 fills but give me a bite of bread , rice or pasta and I'm in misery.