justwant2lose

Congratulations to each of you. You will do fine, just listen to your doctor. Keep us posted on your progress! :thumbup:

I remember when I was getting my first few fills, wondering if they would ever last for more than a few days. Well, I just got my 10th fill and have finally hit the sweet spot. It takes some time to get there, so don't feel discouraged. As long as you are losing 1 - 2 pounds per week you are doing good. My advice is to listen to your doctor and your body and follow the rules. And be patient with the process. :thumbup:

I still have to learn what foods come off of the list, but I just had a fill two days ago and was sipping Soup when I PB'd. It was definitely not something I look forward to doing again. I laughed reading your posts though. It's good to know I am not alone. For Sassbucket and Sarah7, you will most definitely know what a PB is when it happens. Good luck!:thumbs_down:

Okay. I am 10 months out from surgery, just got a fill yesterday and PB'd for the first time today. Kind of Scary, and I prided myself on not PBing ever before! For anyone who has had this experience, I hate to get graphic, but was the consistency like, well- phlegmy? I thought it was going to be different and was surprised. It was actually kind of like clear snot. Again, sorry to be so graphic. It is just an all around unpleasant experience!

I was banded in September 2007 by Dr. Lavin. I am a self pay. At my first consultation, I filled out paperwork and talked to Chris, the nurse practitioner. She gave me "homework" which meant setting up appointments to have bloodwork and a sleep study done. Once those results are in, your patient liason will contact you to set up a date for surgery. You will have to go for a pre-op visit. My surgery was done at Fairway Medical Center and went very smoothly. It was about a month or so from my first consult to the surgery date. What delayed it was the timing of the appointments for the bloodwork and the sleep study.

I am also a self pay, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, BECAUSE I no longer obsess about food 24 hours a day. I wake up in the morning with the mindset that my band will dictate what I eat everyday. My band is finicky some days but I listen to it. That in itself made the surgery worth it for me. Good luck and you will make the right decision.:thumbup:

I live in Hammond. Dr. Lavin did my surgery.

The worst part of recovery for me was the day of surgery. When I got home, I had the worst upper back pain, which turned out to be gas. Gas-X did not ease it, but I did sleep thanks to Lortab. I had to sleep on my back for a week or so, but once I got my bounce back everything was peaches and cream except what was going in my mouth of course!

I was banded September 2007 and was wondering if anyone else is having problems with gas. It is worse at night, and sometimes keeps me awake for hours, even when I take Gas-X. It is also embarassing when someone is with me I stay awake just to make sure there are no "surprises".

I too had the same doubts and fears. It took 8 fills to get the restriction that everyone talks about. Don't worry, it is a process and you will get there. In the meantime, listen to your doctor, be sensible, and of course logging on to this website is a big help!:tongue:

I have a 10 cc band. It took my eighth fill to get to the "sweet spot".

I have lost at total of 44 pounds, banded on Sept 19th. I am losing an average of 4 pounds per month and although I would like to lose faster I know that I am doing it the right way. My mistakes in the past were to lose fast and regain faster and this is why I got the band in the first place. I agree that you should change your exercise routine and listen to your body when it comes to food.

Congratulations! I was banded Sept 19, 2007. I have lost almost 40 pounds. Mine is coming off slowly but it is more of a lifestyle change and hopefully the habits I am forming now will stick forever. I am starting to have trouble with bread, but most foods go down easily. I am just not hungry and don't even think about eating much. What is your typical day like?

Good luck! Please let us know how it goes...you'll be fine. Just make sure you have plenty of Gas X!

I almost PB'd for the first time since I was banded in September. My mistake was bread in the A.M. I have found that I cannot tolerate it or pretty much anything in the morning. Just listen to your body.

Allisarin…57 Amber...39 andrea71…28 Bekiboo26....58lb Bunny...62lbs Caresarn…16 Chocolate_Snaps....52lbs dsmit13…23 eastxnurse....30 lbs EL1…23 flipper64...30 georgia girl…79 Ginger_...30 Gloucester...70 lbs Gurlygirl....27 Hazeleyegrl1...45.9 lbs. itstime....23 lbs Jennie1976...49 lbs Juliacleone…32 Justwant2lose...41 kagoscuba...37 Kellymovingon...53 Kimmie…45 Lapband4me...32 Lapitup…22.5 Linda E......24.5 lbs Lindypie...38 Lucylu...15 Magooz07…11 mandi78…23 Mdicurn…30 Queenp....28lbs ScareDcat…65 Sirusman…67 Stacy 73… 60 suzygayle...52 lbs Texrose 575 .....24.0 lbs Thinmom…23 time4me...65 Tishamarie…49 Tulipstar...61 wannabthin...44.5 lbs

31 pounds as of 2/6/08, will find out how much more on 3/18

Do you have the new AP band? I was banded on 9/19/07 and found out at one of my fill appointments that I have this band and that it takes longer to get the "sweet spot" that they talk about. I too have 5 cc's in my 10 cc band and was doing really great at my fourth fill. I had really good restriction for about one week. I read that the more you lose, the looser the band gets therefore requiring more fill, but with this new band and since my surgeon only started using it and doesn't have any long term feedback from patients about it that they just don't know what it's going to take to get the sweet spot. That is my feeling, and I may be totally off the mark here, but I KNOW what you are going through and I hope that we get there. Good luck.

I have the new REALIZE band...10cc. I had my fourth fill on Jan. 8th, and felt the "sweet spot". It seems to have wore off now. I have 5 cc's in my band right now. My next fill is on Feb 6th. So far since surgery I have lost 19 pounds, 7 pounds pre-op so I've lost 26 pounds total. I am never hungry between meals or even at meals. When I say it wore off, I mean now (like before surgery) I ate even when I wasn't hungry, which is why I was fat to begin with. When I got my fourth fill, I just could not physically eat much at each meal. Now, I do get chest discomfort when I eat a plate of food. I can eat more now than I could when I first got the fill. I am hoping the next fill will give me the restriction I had.

Just got my fourth fill on January 8th, and now I know what real restriction is. Of course, it is different for everyone, but for me now I just "know" when enough is enough now. I am geared, focused and ready to start some serious losing!!!

I have the new AP band, size 10cc. I have 5 cc's in now. My NP said that the fourth fill usually does the trick with this band. So far, she's right.

My ex thought I was having an affair online. I told him yep - I am having an affair with my surgery. He just couldn't understand that I need to talk to others who are experiencing the same things I am going through. Notice, I said my "ex".

Hi Kathm. I know the last thing you want to hear is this. As busy as you are with the kids, and then spend your down time sitting in front of the TV, it would really benefit you mentally, physically, and emotionally, to get a little exercise in. Even if you have to get up and walk in place during commercials. There are some really good exercise dvd's out there - Leslie Sansone has an excellent walking program that you can do within 15-30 minutes. I know you are thinking, how am I going to do this when I am so tired? But, you will begin to feel better, I promise. I struggled with depression and fatigue. I did not want to exercise. But I did and the more I exercised the more I wanted to. Good luck, and don't give up. Get that good restriction going and you won't even be thinking about eating.:eek:

I had my second fill on November 28th and today I feel different....definitely more restriction!!! Is it normal to feel this days after a fill?

I actually had my third fill on Dec. 12th. I haven't had much restriction at all, and to my surprise I was informed at my third fill that I have the new "Realize" band, which takes longer to get good restriction. It has less chance of slipping and eroding so I am glad of that. I do notice a difference with this fill though.