ccar50

Better than I think I have a right to expect but NO where near where i thought i would be. I lost 135 within the first year and then nothing. In fact i have put back on aobut 15 but i have been stable for quite a while. I work out in a gym and do a lot of outdoor activities an d for the most part I am healthy. I would like to lose the rest of the weight but I guess it is just not as important as I thought it was If I stop and think back a coupple of years I guess I would have to admit that this is WAY different. How you doing? Craig

As people have siad. this is a LIFELONG journey. I am over 2 years and 130 Lbs out and I still struglle with most of the smae questions. I konw quite a few people that have reached goal and continue to struggle. We dd not get this way overnight and it is not reasonable to think we can change habits made over a lifetime in a few months, or even years for that matter. Relax. the band will work. As far as I'm concerned the main thing the band does is give us time to learn and develop new habits. Some of the best support you can get will come from these boards. LBT is a good one as are wlsfacts.com and some of the ones specifically operated by special groups like Dr or location. Over the years we have all become experts at beating ourselves up. Once you have taken the step to get banded you can begin to give that up. You have already made a serious committment to an improved life now you are beginning the long hard journey to tweak it Craig

Michelle: The most commonly reported cause of shoulder pain is reflected pain, usually associated with pressure against the diaphram. Gas can also be a cause but reflected pain seems more likely after a fill. If you want you can go to wlsfacts.com and they hace a forum there where you can ask a question of a real Dr and get a response in a day or so. that way you would get an accuarate answer. Craig

If something gets "stuck" your bodies response is to lubricate it and help it go down. That is what the "slime" is. It has been described, somewhat acurately, as hurling a jelly fish. PBing is "Productive Burping" or in most cased just plain old vomiting but not quite as nasty since it comes from higher up and is not mixed with as much stomach acid etc. The best way to avoid it is to follow the rules. Eat small quantities and chew it well. Unfortunatley there is a learning curve and the likelyhood of avoiding this all together is about 0. Some people are very bothered by PBing and will do anything to avoid it. Others, such as myself, are not overly put off by it and tend to push the limits far too much. in any case it is not as bad as you imagine and it is not an obstacle that can't be dealt with. Good luck on your journey Craig

I thought i was the only one banded 3-9-06 and now I know its true. :ohmy:

The key here is in your second sentence. Life Changes. You have made the decision to change your life and that will involve changing what and how much you eat. The cool thing is the band is a fantastic tool to help you make those changes. You will find that you don't want to eat the same things as before. I would have to say that I do not feel that I am "missing" anthing, except maybe beer :ohmy: I can eat just about anything in smaller quantities but i am amazed by the things I no longer want. Good Luck Craig

While it is true that the band takes work so do all of the other proceedures. Even without working you will probably lose substantial weight with the band. I tend to doubt very seriously those statistics. I have know some people that didn't lose much with the band but they worked really hard at not losing. The band is just a tool. It allows YOU the time and some help in changing YOUR habits. I think the vast majority of people lose considerable with teh band. You might go to www.wlsfacts.com and use the ask a Dr feature to ask a barriatric surgeon about the success results. Good luck in whatever you choose. Above all remember that it is YOUR choice and you wanat to choose a program you think will have the best results for YOU. Craig

Sounds like its probably gas and the port but never take anything for granted with the band. Especially in the beginning. Its always better to qsk the questions. this board is good but your Dr is even better :smile2:There is also a feature on www.wlsfacts.com where you can ask a Dr and get a quick reply fromo a barriatric surgeon. Not a substitute for your own Dr but a response from a real Dr can help make things calmer. Craig

There has been a lot of controversy over this issue. I think the current thinking has changed a little though. You might want to go to www.wlsfacts.com and click on the ask a Dr banner. that will get you a response from a currently practicing barriatric surgeon. It would at least be one more opinion:smile2:Craig

Dont get me wrong. I love my band. I was banded a little over 2 years ago. I lost most of the weight in the first year. I have lost about 130 Lbs total but i still have 20-30 left ot go. I am OK at this weight but i would like to reach the end. More importantly though I live a longg distance from and fill doctors or after care. I have had ot return to Mexico for all fills and adjustments. My duaghter, also banded, had a problem with slippage that resulted in the need for additional surgery. Even theough she had the best surgeon in the world, Dr Aceves :thumbup: its still something to think about. Seems like the Sleeve is gaining in populatiry and doesnt require the same maintenance. That would be a big plus for me. I have been researching on al the boards, including the newest one Weight Loss Surgery Forum and it looks like I am not the only one thinking about this. Anyone have any advice Thanks Craig

Gang:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> You know you love it when I call you that J <o:p></o:p> I guess we never stop learning about the band. I just learned a very scary and expensive lesson. The worst thing is that I had to learn it at the expense of my daughter’s health and comfort. Before you start throwing things at me be aware that she is 27 and somewhat responsible for her own decisions, but I don’t deny the influence a father can have. ANYWAY as I write this she is recovering from surgery at Almater having just had her band re-positioned. She was banded 2 years ago in July. She lived apart from us in Hawaii so I only saw her a few times since banding but talked with her by phone multiple times every day. She often complained about being “too tight” Since I have never really felt that much restriction myself I tend to assign terms of “wusses” or worse whenever I read of people complaining about how tight they are, with the exception of those proven cases of over tightness where you cant even swallow your own spit. I have had more than my share of PB episodes but they are not really due to over restriction but rather extreme stupidity, one of my fortes btw. Anyway Janice moved home about 3 months ago. She had just been seen by a Dr in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:State> and had been unfilled because of a recurring problem with being too tight. I asked her, for economic reasons, to try to get a fill before she came home. She did and because it wasn’t done with flouro and because there was a slight miscommunication between her and this Dr. she got a little more than she asked for. When she got home she started having problems with being too tight. At first I tried to get her to “man up”, as we say, and just suffer through it. We tried liquids etc but she was obviously having some issues. She went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> and they removed some and over the next month or so it got even worse. She lost weight like there was no tomorrow and all I could think of was how great that must be. She could not sleep laying down and we would wake every night to hear her cough for a while and then head to the can and hurl. I tried SOO hard to will it away. Our local Dr, not a band Dr just a clinic GP, thought it must be GERDS so he put her on Nexium. This seemed logical to me also because most of my family has had this issue at one time or another and because I have a masters in biology and therefore know exactly enough to be dangerous. No change. Then they decided it must not be strong enough so they changed to a different drug but still no effect. Over the last 2 or 3 weeks I saw her unable to eat or drink hardly anything and if she tried a few hours later it would come back up. That even included water. Still I waited. Finally I was convinced she was dehydrated and suffering from lack of sleep and could not go on like this so we put her on a plane and entrusted her back into the loving and EXPERT care of the staff at Almater. They saw her and admitted her into the hospital and it didn’t take long to diagnose that the band had severely slipped. A few hours ago they went in and thanks to the skills of that group of doctors it looks like they were able to save her band. She is very close to goal and with a little luck I’m not sure she will even need to get it filled again. If she does you can be damn sure it will ONLY be by Aceves and crew. <o:p></o:p> OK so what are the lesions here,<o:p></o:p> 1)Father didn’t always know best, even when it was a tv show. It’s YOUR body, listen to it and take it seriously.<o:p></o:p> 2)Don’t mess around with being overtight, that’s not how the band is designed to work<o:p></o:p> 3)Don’t mess around with being overtight, that’s not how the band is designed to work<o:p></o:p> 4)It is unfortunate but for some of us economics plays a major role in this decision and we need to face reality before hand and budget for fills and aftercare. It can become an even greater expense if you don’t and have to make some dumb decisions because of economic pressure. The net costs of a band are minimal, and probably even negative in the long run, but the initial costs must be accounted for.<o:p></o:p> Ok end of this lecture. Test will follow, double spaced blue essay books, pen only please.<o:p></o:p> As Always<o:p></o:p> Craig<o:p></o:p> PS If you haven’t had a chance to yet, you may want to check out the newest Weight Loss site and forum located at www.wlsfacts.com I think they are going to present a lot more about the gastric Sleeve and could probably use some people posting to get it started.<o:p></o:p>

Guys: I think take it easy means slow down and begin the process of learning. This is not a quick fix nor a short journey. You didnt develop the old habits overninght and youo are not going to get new ones in just a few weeks. 2 years post banding and I am still just beginning to learn about myself and what it takes to make such radical changes. I very much agree with Jack. I was not filled for the first time until about 6 months in. I still have never felt the restriction a lot of people talk about but I HAVE lost 130 + Lbs. The band is a tool. You will hear that over and over and its SOOO very true. Learning to use it to the best advantage takes time and dedication. Take it easy and good luck :-)

Has who lost all that weight since Jan 8th?? I looked back over the posts and I dont see who you are talking about? I was banded 2 years ago.

I was banded by Dr Aceves 2 years ago and it was easily the best medical experience of my life. I had my daughter banded by him 6 months later. I have lost some 130 Lbs so far and my daugher has a new lease on life as well. I think you have made one of the best decisions you could possibly make. If you want to discuss it in person please feel free to contact me.