luvmy2dogs

I have the same amt. to lose. Hopefully you get some answers after the upper gi. My surgeon was pretty agressive with my fills. My first was 5cc, 2cc the 2nd for a total of 7 and 1.1 this last time for a total of 8.1. This is the first time that I've felt good restriction. We'll see how it goes.

6 hours of working out. UGH! I could not do that. At my last couple fills, mine was a fountain shooting out. He knew I had no restriction. Even with this last fill, right before it, he said you are very loose. This is the best it's been. Hopefully it lasts longer than a week. How much do you have to lose altogether. Those that are much bigger and have more to lose, have more restriction I hear. It makes sense. The bigger your stomach, the more pressure the band puts on it. The smaller, the more space, and less pressure. At least that's what I was told. My surgeon said I was small on the inside (my stomach) and that is why it's taking so much more fluid. Who knows.... I'm just going to take it one day at a time and hope for the best. Who knows where I'll be in a year. I may be just as frustrated as you. :-) I'm just going to try my best. That's all I can really do.

No, my pouch is not stretched. I have good restriction now, since my fill on Thurs. I just had my surgery Sept 11th. I'm only 4 1/2 months out. My doc said it's just that I didn't have enough restriction yet. I get my fills done my flouroscopy. You can see the pouch. Is that how they do yours? Your doc would know if it was dialated, stretched, etc...

vegors, when did you have your band done, and how much weight have you lost? I would definitely get the band checked for leakage. I've heard it happens. I thought mine had one, cause I could just eat anything.

I hear the 5 day pouch test works really well.

I know it sounds like I lost quick, because I dropped 50 in 4 1/2 months, but most of that came off the first month or two. I've only dropped about 8 lbs since my last fill before this one and that was almost 7 weeks ago. I'm averaging a lb a week.

WOW! They eat 1500 and lose weight. hahahah I usually eat between 1200-1400. Since my fill the other day I'm staying closer to 1000-1200 these last couple days. I just had my fill Thursday. I am a slow loser believe it or not. It came off quick at first, but now is just a pound a week. My surgeon told me 1000-1200 a day is good. I was starving on that before, and usually ate about 1400. Sometimes a smidget over. I was sticking to that, and burning off 400 a day on exercise, and ony losing 1 lb a week. It's not been easy for me. Some say it's been so easy and they never counted a calorie. I've struggled with every pound after the first month. It's very frustrating. I definitely feel like this is just a tool and not an easy road. I count everything, exercise every day, and still 1 lb a week. UGH! Some drop it and dont even work that hard.

Janine you're doing fantastic. I wish I only had 20 lbs to go. lol

I completely understand that. Go eat a few big macs, or ice cream sundaes. hahahahah Don't get below that 40, or they will not cover it. Isn't that awful???

I had my band checked for leakage at my 2nd fill. He took everything out to see how much was in it, and then put it all back. He did say the Realize and the new A/P band is more flexible, and it takes more fluid to get restriction. The good side of that, he said, is that people do not throw up, get stuck, etc... the way they did on some of the other bands. I certainy feel your frustration. I had one night where I really felt like throwing in the towel. I cried and said "I'm a failure, and this is never going to work for me" I thought... Why did I have to be the one to have this surgery, and not get restriction until my band was full. UGH! I feel like I have some now, although I dont' know how long that will last, and I really don't have much room in my band for anymore fluid. I only have 1 cc left to fill. I feel like I will get to that 1cc long before I have lost my other 50 lbs.

You are certainly right. That can get very frustrating. Especially when you're making good food choices, and you're hungry an hour after you eat. Oh, and I don't eat the 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of food people say they eat. I don't know how they do that. I've never had that much restriction. Even with my 3rd fill and at 8.1 cc. So.. if that is what we are supposed to eat, I'm still not there. lol Today for lunch I ate about 4 oz or so of chicken and a piece of cheese. That is more than 1/2 cup. I told my Dr. that I don't eat 1/2 cup and he said everyone is different. Do you know approx how many calories you eat a day. I have to count all of mine. Some say they dont have to count anything and I'm like... grrr....

vegors: What kind of band do you have? Also, did you try eating Protein instead of that big bag of quaker oats cheddar rice crisps. My surgeon told me that crunchy stuff breaks down real small when you chew it up, so it goes right through the pouch. Which is probably why you could eat the whole bag. Some lunch meat chicken breast, or tuna, or something else with dense protein may have been a much better option. Not to sound harsh, but some of the food choices you have made are not the best in calories/fat, and also not realy good for the band. The band works better with heavy Proteins, and not slider foods, or foods that turn very small like chips when you chew them up. I understand the frustration you feel regarding the restriction, as I just found restriction with my 3rd fill. I'm at 8.1 cc in my 9cc realize band. But... I never sit down and eat an entire bag of chips, or beef jerky. That stuff is loaded with fat/calories. A protein like chicken breast or something is going to hold you much longer than a beef jerky, or bag of chips as well. Just a thought. Also, I know the restriction will loosen. He told me that you can be tight, or to your sweet spot, and then drop 20 lbs, and it puts more space between your stomach and the band. Then you need more fill. Again, I feel the frustration you are having, but the food choices you are making need to change as well. We can not justify our anger at the band, if we are eating all the wrong foods. We can eat chocolate milk shakes all day, and the band will not work. As hungry as I've gotten, I haven't cracked and gone totally overboard. I still count everything I put in my mouth.

Oh, forgot to mention. There is an online support group for the Southside. It's a Sentara support group. I'll try to get the website for you. There may be other people that are going to the same surgeon as you. I think most on this Hampton Roads thread go to WLSC. Not sure. If you talked with some on that thread, they may have more info on the Dr. and their procedures.

I never heard of such a thing, eating at 11 am. My surgeons office does not do that. He doesn't say what time we should eat. I wonder what reason he has for that? Did he say? That sounds weird to me. Has anyone else reading this heard of that? High cholesterol probably isn't considered a co-morbidity because it's controllable with medication. Who knows... So is high blood pressure. What is your bmi again? Did you say 40. I know a bmi of over 40 is a co morbidity, and that may be enough for insurance to give the ok. Do you have any other issues your Dr. can list, like bad knees, arthritis. Whatever he puts on your medical records will help. Your surgeons office should be able to set up your nutrition appt. and your psych eval for you. WLSC does it all for you. You really don't have to do a thing. They file the insurance and everything. I exercise basically every day. I try to switch things around, so I don't get bored, but sometimes I have to force myself cause I don't feel like it. lol. I got an elliptical for Christmas, so I try to do either 30-45 minutes on my elliptical, or I do my aerobics tape. I hape a couple tapes called turbo jam from beachbody.com. They are fabulous. If it's nice out, I walk. I just came back from a 50 minute walk. I try to do at least 45 minutes of exercise everyday. I get bored, so can't do much more than that. hee hee But.. I do it every day. Once in a while, I'll skip Sunday. But.. some girls dont do it at all, and still lose the weight, so... The scale does not move for me if I don't exercise. But... like I said, up until now I didn't have much restriction, so the exercise got me where I needed to be. I figure if I eat 1200 calories in a day, and burn off 400 then that's not so bad, and and I'll lose weight. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather so I can do more outside stuff, like biking, etc... I'm going to pm you, and give you my private e-mail address. You can e-mail me anytime if you want. Where do you live?

RH, also, I think high cholesterol is considered on of the items you can list from being obese. You should be ok with bcbs if your bmi is 40 and you have high cholesterol.

Hi Rh, what do you mean by not eating until 11 am? That seems late in the day. Who said you can't eat until 11 am? As far as the liquids, right after surgery you really don't get too hungry, as your stomach is swollen. Do you mean the two days after your fill. To be honest, this is the first fill I've gotten where really had any restriction, so I stayed on mushys after the last couple fills, and not quite liquids. I was hungry, and didn't have restriction, so I wasn't so great with the liquid thing. This time I am. But... the difference now is I have restriction. I've been staying on Protein shakes, etc.. and I'm really not hungry at all. It's pretty easy now that I have proper restriction!! HOORAY You will get there with the 50 lbs too. You'll do great!! My weight came off really fast at first. Over the last couple months, it has really slowed down a lot. To about a pound or 1 1/2 a week. It was starting to get a little frustrating, as I was eating right, and exercising like crazy. I know they say the lb a week is great, but when you are a daily weigher like I am, 1 lb seemed like nothing. lol Anyway, the first 30 dropped off like Water. You will see.... Right after the surgery, you're on liquids for like 2 weeks. That's hard, but you'll see the weight come pouring off. After you get on regular foods, it slows down a little. Especially if your restriction is limited. Some have it right off the bat. I really didn't have it until this last (3rd) fill, now I definitely have it. And.. my what a difference! I felt like before it was mostly will power and obsessive exercise. Don't worry, you'll see that 50 lbs gone in no time. It doesn't sound like you have a lot to lose, if 50 lbs will get you to 180. It's taking me 75 lbs to get to 180 hahahahha But... I'm just about half way to goal since 9/11. That is great! I worked for every lb. It has been a real struggle for me from about the first month or so...until yesterday's fill. I'm so glad it's going to get a little easier.

rhc, good luck, you shouldn't have too much trouble with BCBS. As long as all your paperwork is together and all info provided, it should go pretty smooth. Jimmilou... You're getting close. I'm thinking of you. Good luck Thursday with your surgery. You'll be in bandland soon enough! As for me, yesterday was my 3rd fill. Dr. T added 1.1cc for a total of 8.1 in my Realize band. I think I'm actually finally where I need to be with full restriction. I can tell a difference with just a little bit to eat. Plus... last night I was a little hungry before dinner, so I tried to eat a tsp of Peanut Butter. Never had a problem with it before. It was NOT a pretty sight. It got stuck and I couldnt' get it up. It took about 4 heaves before It finally came flying out. This was the first time I have ever thrown up eating anything. hahahahah Sorry for too much info. No more peanut butter for me. It's Protein shakes only for me today. I'm definitely going to give it my 2 days of liquid, and two days of mushys before trying anything solid. I'm nut hungry at all today. Anyway, who would have thunk peanut butter would bother you. Geez!

Mine was fixed during surgery as well. No heartburn since! HOORAY!! My husband is jealous Your surgeon should be able to see if it's there and fix it all at the same time during surgery. :-)

OMG! I'm just so excited that I had to share. I got the results back from my bloodwork for my cholesterol check. After 4 months and 46 pounds, my cholesterol is down to 131 from 248. Isn't that freaking amazing!!! 120-200 Is the normal range, so mine is actually on the lower range. I can not even believe it. I'm so happy because I can not take the cholesterol meds. This is all from the diet alone. This makes it all worth it for me. Yeah for my band!!

chaise, do you have the Realize band too. Just curious. I would be interested to see how many people with this problem have the Realize band. We should take a poll. :-) I too have never slimed, pb'd or thrown up. Have trouble getting full.

OMG Nancy! That is all so horrible! I'm so sorry to hear you had such a rough time. What does your Dr say? Have you seen another? I'm so sorry to hear about your mom and dad. I can see why you are so frustrated and scared. Why does your Dr. say you are not losing the weight? Is there still a problem with your band/port? I know they do say, sometimes this does not work. There can be complications, but they are rare. I'm so sorry you have to be one of them with the complications. Again... what is your surgeon saying? Where are you located?