chill01

My sweet spot if we have the same band is 1.9cc I went a whole year with it in and not a fill or unfill, very little food, mostly water and soup but got down to 135lbs. When you hit its great and when you don't it sucks.

Well I didn't go get my fill because the next day I couldn't eat anything all day. So, I'm back on the lovely diet pill phentermine, I thought getting this band I would never ever take another diet pill again. I'm sooooo angry about this

Don't forget dental, prescriptions and I think I even got some mileage from the dentist to home and back. You can call your pharamcy and ask for a copy of all your prescription for you and your family and they will print you a copy with a total. FYI

Yeah I will look at that thread. But, getting my fill to my sweet spot again especially now since i have nothing in it and am letting my stomach heal (just so I can eat more) actually to stop swelling which I do a lot. So, I go from eating to not eating and loosing a ton of weight. I'm really frustrated with my band :heh: :cry

I know that I will start to loose weight on a fill when I have a lot of restriction, that means no food, even if i chew and chew, but i can drink water and ice chips I would do that for as long as i can w/out getting an unfill, then in a month or two your tummy shrinks and the band loosens and its time for another fill. If i could just eat just a little bit and feel full w/ a fill that would be great, but its either eat or not with me.

Same thing pretty much happend to me too lost very little first year. Thing is I've been at that sweet spot where you can barley eat or drink anything and got to my desired weight, now i don't want any fill and want to do it on my own, but am feeling very discouraged too, been banded since 2003 2 bands,

anyone who has been banded a while need advise: I have no fill in right now and I'm gaining weight a lot was down to 135 last August now 180 and going up. I'm trying to not get a fill and eat right but not working!!!! some days i can eat everything (last night a big burger and onion rings) but the day b4 i threw up everything. I was going to go for a fill but then started throwing up everything, My sweet spot was 1.9cc but now I'm afraid to get a fill to start back to that sweet spot and upset that I'm gaining like crazy and feel like i have no control over portions and food is everywhere. They said my stoma and stomach swells a lot (on me) and I haven't had a fill in over a month. I keep going up and down now, and I know that is so unhealthy, since that is why i got this band in the first place, was to stop the yo yoing. I now wish i had the gastric instead, (i know i didn't mean that) HELP ANY ADVISE :mad:

My fills didn't work right away, I would be able to drink after he fills me up and even able to have soup and some turkey or something and the next day it would tighten up and then I would go a week or a month on water and ice chips and then it will ease open for a bit as my stomach shrinks. To finally get to my sweet spot took almost 2years off fills and unfills, then i lasted a whole year (this past year) with NO FILL at 1.9cc and that was my sweet spot, got down to my 135lbs I was loosing a jean size every week when i hit that sweet spot, i went from a 14 to a 2 and 4's in 8 weeks, and now back up there to 180lb, no fill in right now, trying but not able to do it. not getting a fill and eating right> HELP I DON"T WANT ANOTHER FILL because w/out one and no restriction I still have days were I can't eat and then days that i can eat all the time. Very sad right now about it. Any experience bandsters out there have any advise, i was told that my stoma and tummy gets swollen a lot. I don't have a slippage from my last barium and my weight keeps going up and down.

I went thru a least 10 fills and unfills in the first year at lost about 50lbs and then i got the sweet fill at 1.9cc could only drink water and very soupy soup and lost all my weight to 135lbs then had to get all my fill out to relax my tummy and am up to 179lbs yuck, no fill now for over a month

Yes it was a lot like in the 20,000 b4 i could even claim it. So, if you don't have much you probably can't use it , but try anyways

Don't worry about your weight going down it does, it took me 3years to get from 250 to 135 now i'm back up to the 170lbs but i don't have any restriction right now and then when I got to my goal weight I still looked fat in the mirror. Funny, how when your big you see yourself as small and when your small you see yourself as big!

YES, I did mine twice and dental and prescriptions plus fills, But, I think it has to be over so much $ for you to claim it. keep your receipts!

I'm needing a fill and have none in my band right now, 3years banded and am really worried about getting a fill. I made an appt. for tomorrow but everything i tried to eat today i threw up, so i cancelled it, and am really depressed about this because I've regained after I lost all my weight. HELP

I've been banded for 3years but due to some complication I had to get all my fill out because my stomach was swollen. Now, I tried to do this portion control w/out any restriction and it worked for a while but I've gained a lot of weight back and tomorrow I've decided to go for the 1st fill and don't want to because I'm worried that I won't get to eat anymore (obvioulsy) and since I haven't had a fill in a while how my tummy will react to eat, because I don't want to throw up anymore. HELP!

Hot tea and coffee use to work for me but now a cup of ice and a small bit of cold Water at first helps the swelling and loosens you up too, and i didn't know that until a few months ago. I've been on green tea now for almost 3years, just a suggestion

Don't panic it could be a number of things, like acid reflux or allergies draining, When you go to the Dr. have him do a barium to make sure it hasn't slipped. It's probably nothing.

Jenna, It's hard to tell people your opinion when you don't tell the whole story behind it, I guess I will make myself clearer. I just came back on here for support and if anyone needs advise (i'm no expert by any means) I will let them know what has happend to me. No offense taken

I too have the same problem at night especially if i eat to late, i will cough and have sharp pains in my left upper back side, infact it happend last night a piece of bread wouldn't go down for hours, i finally had to induce vomiting and that didn't help and then an hour later it all came up w/ alot of coughing. This has happend b4, yes it could be acid reflux, i was also told that my allergies drain at night and that it sits on your tummy and comes back up. I've been banded 3years, and i have no fill right now because of this, the doctor told me that i have no cold and that my stoma and stomach gets swollen and it tightens up and nothing will go down, except ice chips. They took all my fill out to let it settle and relax, i was told to drink ice chips and cold water for the swelling.

lots of soup. they have cambells soup at hand it is is very thin. Also oatmeal that is watery and good for you. Yougart, I wouldn't try eating any chicken yet if you just have surgery, even after the liquid phase unless it really soft and bread usually gets stuck. Well it does for me. For a year I stayed on soup and water w/ no fill and lost the rest of my weight.

Ri Ri I hope you find what you are looking for and take all of the advise and information you can get. Good luck on you journey I'm sure whatever you do will be the right choice, no matter who agrees and don't Leanna banded sept 2003 250lb rebanded oct 2004 210lbs sweet spot 1.9 got to 135lbs took it out (the fill) and am now 170 and trying to stay w/out a fill

Jenna, I'm sorry that you disagree with what I said. I didn't mention that the year I did research that I did tons of reading and read medical journals of the trials they had about it and anything and or everyone who did know about it I asked (at the time of my research they had yet to approve the band in the US and the only chat room I could find was one from Australia becuz they have been doing it there for a while) I'm not one of those members who comes on here and chats and then have banding in a week, your right that is crazy! I also did not do this for a quick fix, if that was so I wouldn't be trying to maintain my weight by eating properly w/out a fill. The "try it for 30 days" was not what I was meaning at all. I came on this chat room for support and by my journey you could see that i need that support now, that was only my opinion. Also, I'd like to mention that the trials at the time of my research were being done in Florida and I found the dr. there w/ whom he gave me some patients email address for info, and I became friends with one of them and her journey.

I went to Dr. Carter for my band, they wouldn't approve it, I told him I was going to Mexico and asked when I came back would he do my fills and a check up to make sure everything was healing. He said fine. When I got back and made an appointment, Becky told me that he won't see me and changed his mind about it. Needless to say, I was a wreck for a few days trying to find a Doctor who would see me and do my fills. I found Dr. Maese he is great and Dr. Benevides re did my band after the other one slipped. FYI

I did research on the Gastric bypass for almost a year before I decided to get a lapband, and I was fully informed about it and how it works, but you don't know until you have it done. Before I got the band i got on the chat site and asked lots of questions and didn't understand what they where talking about, but I chatted and read what they had to say and it helped me alot after I got the band, I then understood what they were talking about.

Ri Ri, I don't know the BARIX groups. I use Dr. Maese, and he is great with a lot of experience. I will say one more thing about having the band. That emotionally and mentally it changed me and I had a really hard time excepting the way I looked, when I wore a size 2 jeans I still felt fat. I went through my first year trying to eat and throwing up, I guess that would be bulemia, then the second and third year I just stopped eating period except Soup and Water no exercise and no Vitamins, (which i shouldn't have done!!!!) So, I guess you could say that was anorexia, now I'm eating and gaining some weight trying to eat healthy w/out a fill. And yes I go to a counsler too. The band isn't for everyone, but by listening to other people talk and what they eat and what they went through helped me a whole lot, and at times I'd wished I hadn't done it. But, I can play with my 8year old w/out getting winded and my back doesn't hurt, my sleep apnea is gone, I'm not as at risk for diabetes and I get hit on more so than just people looking at my fat body. Leanna

Jenna, I think I had my band almost a year, I was washing it and thru my floor mats in the bed of my truck which i had just gotten, i jumped on the back tire and tried to reach the mats but couldn't so i thought i was miss. gymnastics again and jumped up on the bed with both hands (like on the uneven bars in gymnastics) and landed on my stomach, I new right away cuz it hurt, then after that i would wake up in the middle of the night with food in my throat, so i went and got a barium and it showed it slipped (i had the big 11cm band from mexico) i had it replaced with the new band in Richardson. banded Sept 03 255lbs rebanded Oct 04 210lbs hit sweet spot for over a year and didn't need a fill up until August of this year ( only cuz i got a staph infect )and stayed 135lbs until i got my fill taken out and i have nothing in it right now. Today I'm at 170lbs that sucks!!!!!!!!! I need a fill but having problems with swelling. Leanna