Fort Bend Band

Unfortunately, most of us went through this. You do not get to that "sweet spot" as they say until you have had about three fills...of course some people vary. I remember feeling like a failure at your same point thinking I was going to fail at even the lapband. Please remember it is a slow process. Also, when was the last time you lost 24 pounds in 4 weeks? You go up and down some but in the long run you will be steadily lossing. It gets easier and you feel less hungry the more fills you get. Don't be too agressive with the fills or you will get sick a lot. One more thing, if you are not at least walking I would do that. It really keeps your weight loss moving in the right direction. Hang in there and do not be so hard on yourself!

If all you ate was fruit and veggies you will most likel lose some of your hair for lack of protein. My md always stressed protein first. Eventually when your band is tight enough you will not be able to eat three peices of chicken. I agree that your md doesn't sound very well versed in nutrition and you should find someone else if you live in a large city. Eventually the band takes care of portion control for you but you do need to watch your choices...but all of us have our bad days. If we had complete control why would we need the band?

Annie I wish you the best with your surgery and it sucks that you had to go throught that! I am sure you took good care of your last one...these things just happen from what I hear. I have gotten out of plus sizes and I have to say it has taken me a year to make myself stop going into the womens department.

I also do not regret the huge expense. My insurance policy does not allow any barriatric anything so it was never an option for me. I charged up a credit card and unfortunately they have increased my interest rates through the roof! I look and feel so much better though and I feel I escapted Diabetes that I know I was heading towards. I would have had many more health expenses in the coming years if I didn't get some of my weight off so I try to look at it that way. Of course, I too am frightened by the prospect of any complications but I will just have to cross that bridge if I get to it. I was all worth it for me!

Oopps! Well doesn't that you are not lossing help support your case that traditional dieting doesn't work for you?

As far as I know the pre-op diet is to make your fatty liver smaller so the surgery is easier. I was self pay so I do not know all the ends and outs of the insurance but evn self pay people have to do the per-op diet. My surgeon said that most overweight have fatty or swollen livers. They need to lift the liver to get to some of the spots they need to get to during surgery. The diet helps the liver go down. Don't be too hard on yourself! If we all had complete controll over our weight loss why would we being going for the band?

If it didn't hurt going down you probably did not hurt yourself but I would stick to thicker mushies that tend to be more filling. The truth is untill you get about three fills you will be able to eat bread and other things you shouldn't eat. The more fills you get the less your hunger is so you will feel better. Remember it is a slow process. Don't beat yourself up but try to be good and also try to get your exercise in, especially in the first year when your weight loss it at its fastest.

I did go to the support group meetings for the first few months and found them very helpful! You are trying to learn how your body works now with the band and the leaders of the group have been through it all and can really answer any question. They will also refer you back to the doctor if it sounds like you need to be checked out. I also liked hearing from the newly banded people because they were going through the same stuff as me and it made you feel better that you are not alone. I eventually stopped going just because I live int the Sugarland area so it is quite a distance for me but it is really beneficial.

Anyone thinking about using Hadar Spivak I cannot give him enough praise! He is very experienced, patient, caring, and knows what he is doing! I will never regret using him and he will still be there for you after surgery and has many supports you can reach out to out of his office.

I was very nervous about being put to sleep. I have two young kids I was thinking about as well. Dr. Spivak assured me that there were only a couple possible complication that could occur and that he was completely prepared and capable of handling any complication that could arise and that made me feel better. He has done so many of these surgeries it makes you feel very confident with him!

I am going into my third year with the band. Dr. Spivak has always been there for me and is so much more experienced than a lot of the docs out there performing the surgery. I too was so scared about being put under. I was in pain for the first week and remember thinking what have I done to myself! I have lost most of the weight I hoped to lose. I feel so much healthier and feel like I probably escaped Diabetes. It can be a difficult journey at times and it is very slow but I totally do not regret the decision and Dr. Spivak is as good as it gets!

I am going into my third year with the band. I am down 60 pounds and still have 20 to go. I lost 40 my first year and 20 my second. The band is a very slow process and I think all of us see bypass people with massive and rapid weight loss and want the same. I cannot stress the importance of getting your fills until you feel restricted. It decreases your hunger feeling so you are satisfied more easily. I do not worry too much about what I eat. I have not been "on a diet" for the first time in years since having the band and I am just trying to learn to eat like my skinny friends do. I have a sliver of cake and usually only eat half of that. It feels so good not to be so obsessed with food like I was before the band. Everyone will find their own way and I just hope everyone can find the patience to enjoy the journey...it can be very frustrating at times but usually ends well!

One more thing that may help some of you, when I was filled with the regular saline in my band I would be tight at first and then the tightness would go away which also would mean I would feel an increase in hunger. My MD told me that some people do lose some fluid from the band without having a leak. He explained that is can move from the band membraine out into your boday. He would take all of my fill out and measure it and sure enough it was less than the amount of my last fill. He told me about a thick solution they put in the band for people that have this problem and boy did it work! I never had that feeling again where it seemed all of my tightness just disappeared.

I did not get my band until I was 40 years old. I am one of those that wish I had had it many years earlier. I think about all of the torment I could have saved myself. Some people just don't get weight issues. It is our vice just like alcoholics use alcohol we use food. If we could just stop we would have. If you were an alcoholic at 20 she would not ask you why you felt you needed some type of intervention at 20. I was on ever diet known to man. I also would lose about 30 pounds on all of them only to gain back 40 once I stopped the diet. I dieted my way to being as fat as I was. The sad thing is that you will have more judgements and comments from well meaning friends and family as well as not so well meaning people so you need to brace yourself and be confident in your decision. I have had a couple of people make me cry especially in the beginning. The weight loss is so slow one friend said it didn't look like it was working. I had already lost 25 pounds and was crushed. Eventually, you will lose the weight and everyone will notice and then I had some try to knock me down saying I took the easy way out...like the band is easy! I also had one friend say I was loosing too much...I am still overweight just not obese. I think others try to knock you down to make themselves feel better about what ever in their own lives. I think you have to get prepared for the negative but there will be so much positive too!

I time the scars really aren't that pronounced so you may not need to worry so much. I was worried about who I shared with at first but as time goes on and you lose so much weight you just don't care as much anymore who knows because you look so much better. I still don't share with people that I don't know well but will discuss with anyone that asks. The problem is if you tell a few people even though you ask them not to tell anyone... you know they will. I was worried about looking like a liar if someone asked and already really knew the truth so I am an open book and feel more comfortable that way. Everyone will follow their own path on this journey an what feels right to them. If I am at a restaurant and have to stop eating after only a few bites the waiter will always ask if everything is ok. I just tell them I have stomach problems and that is always good enough. Anyway, I think the previous person that said I had minor surgery and no further explaination is needed was right on.

I am going to go on my third year soon. I have to say I belive it is about finding that spot that is just right for you. I was too tight before and proceded to pack on 15 pounds as soon as I could eat more again. I have learned that I have to stay pretty tight or I will gain. Lets face it...if we all have great self control then we would not have ever needed the band right? My doctor told me all along that most bandsters only lose 70% of their excess weight so unless you totally change what you eat and exercise daily the likelyhood of losing all of your weight is slim. I have also learned to be proud of what I have accomplished and to focus on how far I have come vs how much I still need to do.

I haver been banded for over two years now. In the beginning my left shoulder pain was really bad for a few monthe and then would act up from time to time. Now it only gets triggered when I eat too fast, too much, or something gets stuck. I do belive exercise helps even thought it hurts at first. I think most people's shoulder pain decreases as time passes and as your weight comes off. I have heard that since the port is sewn in place in puts some weight on a nerve sheath that goes all the way up to your shoulder. I have had some hardships on the way of my lapband journey and I can tell all of you it has been completely worth any of it. I look better, feel better, and have escaped Diabetes and high blood pressure that was heading my way. I have heard that some suffer long term with shoulder pain but I do think it is the exception and not the norm but when you are going through it...it does feel like it is lasting forever!

I think I am fat because food is comfort to me. I also think about food more than I believe the average person does. I had an angry father that caused everyone in the house to be on egg shells. I had a loving wonderful mother that treid to make up for the father we had. I was always the over weight one. I think I just turned to food for comfort. Now, even after being banded for over two years and lossing almost all of my weight, I still take way bigger portions than I can eat and I still want to eat more at night when everyone has gone to sleep. I do have a lot more awareness though about how I use food. The band has made me not be able to sabotage my weight loss even when I tried to at times. I am so greatful to my band for being a great tool to help me in my fight against over eating!

Sexylips your weightloss ticker at the bottom says "on my way to sexy"...I think you have already made it girl!!!

Luckily, my MD did know about the shoulder pain and did warn about it. I think that in most people it goes away after a few weeks so that they do worry about it that much. I have heard explainations that it is from the air they pump in you when ever you have a laproscopic procedure. I have also heard that when they sew the port in place it put pressure on a shealth of nerves that goes all the way up to your shoulder. My md has done thousands of lap bands so luckily he is in the know but I think they are not 100% sure about how to handle this pain themselves. I am just grateful that I am one of the lucky ones and only get this pain once in a while now.

I too had the shoulder pain for too long. I know some of you are further along but some of you have only been banded a few months. I am over 2 years out now. I still once in a while have shoulder pain especially if I eat difficult foods like shrimp or chicken breast. I wanted to some of you hope that I did have frequentshoulder pain for the first several months but it did get better. I hope some of you have the same results. I found that walking helped, eventhough it hurt I would feel better after about 20 minutes. Also, my nurse told me to do exercises where you raise your arms up and down on either side of your head like you are doing jumping jacks without jumping. This did give me some relief.

I take my birth control pills without taking the week of sugar pills. My MD has me start taking a new pack every three weeks. The hormones are stronger the first week and become weaker as each week goes by. I just began taking a new pack 34 days ago and have noticed I have been eating better. This is just blowing my mind. How can the hormones cause an increase in restriction?

I am on the round the clock birth control so I do not get a period so it is hard to know what is going on with my hormones. I know they do still increase or decrease monthly because I still get monthly migraines that have been associated with my cycle for about 10 years. I though this different birth control might help my headaches but it didn't. I do like the tightness too but it is just so irratic that some days I can barely eat or drink and then the next day I am ok. It is just wierd. I will try to pay more attention to the hormone idea. It definately gave me something to think about! Thanks!

I have had problems with my band tightening on its own. Last year I had some fluid taken out and then promptly gained 10 pounds. Eventually, I had just a little less than my max amount added back in and I was just fine for months. Now, I never know if I am going to have a good day or bad day but I have been toughing it out because I am afraid of another weight gain if I get any saline taken out. I have never even concidered that it could be hormone related! I asked my doctor who said he has had some experience with the band tightening on its own but he said they cannot explain exactly why. He is very knowledgable in this field. What makes yall think it is hormone related? I am very curious!

I believe there are two things going on. One, you always feel very tight right after a fill because it irritates your stomach a little and then when the swelling goes down you do not feel as tight. It on average takes 3 fills to start getting to the level you need to be at the "sweet spot" as people call it. Second, you may want to discuss this with you MD but I had to get the thicker gel saline substance in my band. I would feel tight and then feel like all the saline left overnight. My MD would take out the saline to measure it and sure enough some of it would just absorb into my body. This is common for some. Once I got the thick solution I never had that problem again. Remember to be patient because the band is slow weight loss!