gina1959

Hi all! I need a little advice and I am hoping you all can help. I was banded in March of 07. I lost 87 pounds by the time a year rolled around. Since then I have gained 10 pounds back and will loose 2 pounds then gain them back too. I had another fill done in June of 08 and I did not drop weight. I feel I am stuck and doing the wrong thing. First I was riding a bike often and due to my schedule have not been able to ride as often as I use to. I have developed cravings for sweets something I have never had. Fried foods were my weakness. Sometimes all that will go down are sweets. Why now after a year. I do not want to gain it back. I am thinking of going in for another fill. I am Phoenix now and fill centers USA is near. I was doing so well and was only 30 pounds away from my goal. Now I am scared of the scale again. At one point I loved getting on it, because my weight was dropping steadily. Any ideas to help me get back on track? Thanks:unsure:

Hi Kat, I was reading about your journey and I want to thank you for letting us know about it. I am 35 pounds away from my goal and will probably need a tummy tuck. Well I am just terrified of doing it. Thank you for information about the process. I have that apron too. Reading your posts have made me think about getting it done too. Please keep posting. Congratulations!!!

Hi All, Sounds like the Dr. is very ignorant. My brother-in-law lost over 140 pounds with his lap band and no surgery. I have lost 87 pounds and yes I will probably need a tummy tuck. I had mine done in San Antonio, TX . When I travel I use Fill Centers USA. Use another Dr., with the amount of money you are paying, you want someone who is going to give you support so that you can continue losing weight. Good luck and stay on track.

Hi all, I was reading your posts and I am hoping someone can help me with this new problem that has arisen for me. I was banded on 3/28/07 and have done pretty well. I have lost 87 pounds and my diabetes is so much better. The thing is that I have developed an extreme hunger for Mr. Goodbar candies. I have never really been crazy about sweets, my weakness has always been fried foods. Lately, this candy goes down to easy and I am eating close to 3 candy bars a day. This scares the heck out of me. Any other chocolate does not do. It has to be Mr. Goodbars. I am so scared. Half the time I cannot eat until the afternoon. But I crave these candies. Has this happened to anyone else? Is anyone else developing any strange cravings or addictions? I am 40 pounds away from my goal and I feel I am messing up with this craving. Let me know any input. Thanks! Gina

Hi all, I haven't posted for awhile and decided to get on line this morning. I am Phoenix Az for 2 more weeks. My business has me traveling for 10 months out of a year. Anyway, reading all your posts today has given me a lift. You see I have been stuck at 185 to 186 pounds for the last month and I cannot get over the hump. My clothes are baggier and there are days when I cannot get much down til the evening, then I eat wrong. Today is a new day and I thank you all for posting. I too bought a bike in Aug and have been riding nearly everyday until the beginning of this month. The area in Phoenix where I am is not very nice and I do not like riding on the streets here. Because of my hours of work, I cannot leave to find a decent bike trail. So I try to walk at least 10000 steps a day. So this morning when I was reading all the posts, I thought that I should give my self credit for what I have done so far. I went from size 22/24 to 12/14 pants. I love it. I was banded on Mar.28,07. I have lost 74 pounds so far, but I have plateaued. Any ideas? Any help and advise would be appreciated. Thanks for listening. Gina

Hi, Toriasmom, How much of a fill did you get? When you go in for your second fill ask for them to increase the amount. They usually ask if you are feeling any restriction as they are doing the fill. Eventually you will get the right amount for your body. I have had 2 fills since my surgery in Mar, 07. At times I feel I am ready for my 3rd, but then there are days when I cannot eat much. Keep faith and hang in there. By the way what is a gastric sleeve? Thanks and good luck, Gina

Hi there, I have had 2 fills since I was banded on Mar. 27, 07. My regular doctor recommended that I fast on liquids for the day of the fill and 2 to 3 days later That was tough. My second fill was done in June with Fill Centers USA out of Cardiff by the Sea, CA. That doctor recommended I fast on liquids on the day of the fill and soft mushy foods for 2-3 days after that. I still have days that I cannot eat until around 5 pm and then I can actually eat a little salad. On those same days at noon I will try to eat chicken breast and chew chew chew. Problem that arises at times are the hiccups. I will hold my breath and eventually I can eat again. Sometimes it feels like my band is just too tight and then the next day I can eat meat and other foods. I have taken pepcid a couple of times to help with the tightness. I have lost 74 pounds and got 50 pounds to go. I would do this again, because I think the lap band may have saved my life. I am a diabetic and since all the weight loss my numbers are almost normal. My medication dosages have been lowered and best of all I am bike riding again. It has been almost 20 years since I have been on a bike. I feel great. So hang in there and let them find the right amount of fill and drink your Protein drinks and your Vitamins. You need to do this one day at a time and keep focused. Don't forget your Water too. Lots and lots of it. Take care and let us know how you are doing. Gina

Hi Maurdan, I too used fill centers for my 2nd fill around June18. They did not have the machine at that facility. I had it done in Carlsbad, CA. The doctor and his assitant were great. He did have a hard time finding my port though. I had about 30 pricks, but eventually he found it and gave me the measurements for the location of my port. When I get my next fill I will probably be in Ca. still and they are opening more locations in Northern California. By the way, I am from San Antonio, TX and I travel in the summer and fall all over CA. I was so excited to find Fill Centers. I do not have to fly back to Tx to get my fills. I hope they expand even more. I might have gotten too much of a fill this time. I am taking this 1 day at a time. Today, was not good. I was slimeing at lunch time and I was afraid to eat dinner. I got a little down for dinner. Any way I am glad you found Fill Centers too. I think they are great. Gina

Hi everyone, I went for my 2nd fill on June21, 07, well he had such a hard time finding my port that I must have had 30 needle pricks. Anyway, he finally found it and I had a fill of about 1.6 ccs. He had me drinking Water while trying to figure out how much of a fill I needed. I think I floated out of the Doc's office. Anyway, It has been about 3 weeks and well there are times when I can eat some solid food, but mostly soft foods. Today, I thought I could eat roasted chicken. (leg). I ate some of it along with some skin... Big mistake, I was in such pain that I was hunched over. I figure it was probably the skin. I waited awhile and then attempted to eat some Soup with chicken in it. That caused the golf ball feeling, so I stopped eating. There are days that I can eat ground turkey, chicken and pork, but it doesn't seem all that often, maybe at dinner time. Lunches are tough. I worry that I will be putting in nothing but empty calories with the soup. It goes down easy and so do fruit smoothies. The thing is that it seems that I have had more incidences of slime and pbing. Are they the same thing? The doc I had doing the 2nd fill was very patient with me and I could have stopped anytime, while he was looking for my port. The thing is that I travel and my Band dr. is in San Antonio, TX. I am in California for the summer and fall so I went to a place called Fill Centers USA. They are all over the country. The doc in CA said it was normal to slime and pb. Well I hate it, it is depressing when it happens and embarrassing. GROSS!! I was banded on Mar. 27, 07 and have lost 60 pounds. It is coming off, but there are times when I get disgusted, because I can't eat. I thought that by now I would be able to eat grilled chicken or salad. No way... Does anyone else have this problem? Can you eventually eat salad? How do you treat slime once it has started happening? Thanks for listening, Gina

Thank you for answering my questions about slime and all that other stuff. I travel alot and I think I am ready for my 2nd fill. I had my first on May 9,07. My doctor told me that sometimes the pouch gets air along with the saline. Every body is different and we will eventually find a happy medium. I am scheduled for a 2nd fill on June 14. Since I travel all over the southwest, I have found fill centers, USA. They will be doing my fill. Anyone ever heard of them? Sometimes I am not sure I am ready for a 2nd fill, because I feel the restrictions one day and then my next meal feels restricted. I never thought about the time of day or stress affecting my band. Thanks all!!!

Hi all. I am not a May bander, but a March bander. The bra thing, well to begin with I always hated them, but it took me at least 3 weeks. I prefer camisoles, unless I go out.

I too did the slime thing this evening and have done a couple of times before. I guess I was full and did not pay attention... Is the fast burping a sign that I am full? That PBing is really painful. I do not want to do that again. I seem to live on cottage cheese, yogurt, refried beans and soup. Still losing weight though. I am worried that I am not getting enough protein. Any ideas??