tatsmom

I got my forth fill last week, which took me to 4cc's. That's right, I'm maxed out and I still have NO restriction!! Apparently the band comes in different diameter sizes. Mine is the medium sized. The nurse practitioner that did my fill said that my doc will probably want to replace my band with the smaller one. I DO NOT want to have surgery again, nor do I have the money to pay for it. Has anyone else experienced this? I feel like I'm the only one. I've never heard of this. Please help!

I have the Inamed 10 cm, 4cc band. The diameter of the band makes a difference in the level of restriction. My doc said he didn't like the way the smaller (in diameter, not volume) band fit me during surgery so he decided to go with the 10 cm. I understand that both the 9.75 cm and the 10 cm band hold 4 cc's but the 9.75 cm band will obviously fit tighter than the 10 cm band. so my question is...if you were filled all the way and you weren't losing weight and you had NEVER felt good restriction in the 8 months since your surgery, would you have another surgery to have the band replaced? BTW...All my fills are done under flouro and the amount of fluid is always checked to make sure there is no leak.

I haven't lost much. About 20 lbs., of which I gained at least 5 back.

:help: I have been banded since December but I haven't had a fill since April. I put it off for lots of reasons but I guess the biggest is that I just don't like Spiegel. We seem to have a personality conflict. I don't think I've ever had proper restriction. I've only lost 28 lbs. I've started gaining some back here lately. I'm just wondering if any of you know of a doctor in the Houston area who does fills on other doctors patients. Thanks for your help!! I'm desperate!!

I had my 3rd fill (total 3.2 cc) today and I think it might have been too much. I can sip water but that's it. No slim fast or tea or shake, only water. I've PBed more today than in all the previous 5 months put together. Is this normal after a fill or do I need to call the doc in the morning?:help:

I just had my first un-covered fill with Spiegel today. When I had my surgery back in Dec. I thought all my fills would be covered. Well, I was told the day before my appt. to bring $100 in cash to cover Spiegel's fee plus I had to pay the surgery center my co-pay. That's $120 for a fill!!! I got NO phone call from Spiegel's office informing me that there would be changes! They didn't even bother to tell me when I called to make an appt for this fill. Then I get there today and Spiegel is RUDE!!! I wanted to say "You better show some respect, I just paid you $100 for 60 seconds of you time". I have got to find a doctor who will do my fills. I can't take another minute of this man! If any of you know of a doctor in the Houston area who will do fills on another doc's patient, PLEASE let me know!

I usually wake up pretty hungry but find it hard to even get a slim fast donw. I have to take it slow. One swallow then wait for it to pass the band. Do any of you experience this super tight band in the morning? At night I know I could eat a whole chicken breast though I don't let myself. This is how my doctor determines if you need a fill or not. Here's my problem...if I can eat a whole chicken breast at night this suggests that I need a fill, right? But if I can't hardly drink a slim fast in the morning how will that work if I do get a fill???:cool: I hope this makes sense. BTW...I am one week post first fill. Doc wants to know in another week if I need another fill or not. Thanks for any help!!!:help:

Got my fill done 1 week & 2 days ago. I have to say that I like talking with everyone out in the waiting area. Kind of like a support group. Dr. Spiegel was quick & to the point, but it was fine. He was 2 hours LATE, but I'm sure he had a good reason. I think I'm gonna need another fill pretty quick. As long as I go slow I can eat tons. I had 4 chicken strips from Jack in the Box today for dinner. I could have had the last one but I made myself stop. That's too much, right?

Hello fellow bandsters!! I'm going today to get my first fill with Dr Spiegel. I will be having it done at the surgicenter where I had my surgery. For some reason my insurance company prefers for us to have it done there. I'm hoping that since it won't be done at his office it won't be so much like a cattle drive. We'll see...

Can anyone tell me what I can expect as far as a post-fill diet goes?? I'm sure you have to take it slow but I'm hoping I won't be on liquids for a week again, like after surgery. I have bunco tomorrow night. Will I be able to eat there? Thanks for any info!!

:hungry: OK bandsters...help me out. I am 15 days out (still on mushies) and I can't seem to get enough food in me to stay satisfied for more than 2 or 3 hours. I know that once I get my fill I will stay satisfied longer but this is driving me nuts!! I want to keep my caloric intake down to 1200 but I'm not doing a very good job of it right now. I lost 10 lbs the first week on liquids but I don't think I've lost anything since then, because I eat so often. Is it possible that my doc would do my first fill before the 4 weeks is up? Does anybody have any suggestions for mushies that stay with you longer??? Thanks

Thanks everyone for all the great advise. When I get hungry I'll eat til I feel satisfied. I'm not going to worry about calories or losing 30 lbs in the first month. I did not get this band so that I could starve myself into losing massive amounts of weight the first month. LBTers...you are the best!! Good luck to all

I was just thinking about the foods I'm gonna have to stay away from. The no bread thing KILLS me! Those of you who are off mushies and on "regular" food, what are the things that you band just says no to?

This is my first big social gathering since the band came into my life. I am a little worried!!!!!!!!!!!!! The food is my favorite part of bunco. To make things worse, the girls decided we should have a slumber party bunco. This means 10x's the junk food. I just started on mushies 2 days ago and I'm good as long as I can eat about every 2-3 hours. I guess I should take my own food, right? Anybody got any suggestion to help me get through this night?!?! Help!!

what is sliming???

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. It went pretty well except for all the QUESTIONS. I ended up taking some mashed potatoes and cream of broccoli soup. They had some queso dip so I mixed a little of that with my soup for flavor (yum). It's amazing what's good when your diet is so limited!!

:eek Ok...now I have seen everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also looked at the other items this seller has listed and all I could do was sit there with my mouth open!! Who's buying this stuff??? Where's it coming from??? It's like something you'd see in a really bad scary movie!!! I think from now on for the rest of my life if a doctor is going to open me up and put anything inside me or stick me with any sort of sharp instrument I will first HAVE to ask him..."did you or did you not purchase this or any other item in your office from ebay???"

I'm a blabber mouth!! Told everyone. Now I sort of wish I would have been more selective about who I told. The thing I hate most is having to respond to all the uneducated comments. People talk about the band as if THEY are the ones who have done all the research. They know someone with the band so suddenly they're an expert. At my first post-op social gathering (8 days out) some knew and some didn't. So my band and I were the talk of the night. My favorite dummy comment was said right in fornt of me but to everyone else as if I wasn't even in the room..."now she'll only be able to eat 2 or 3 bites at a time for the rest of her life." Another friend said, in a very disbelieving tone, "why'd you have that done?" This is a girl who's never been fat a day in her life. Did I really want to explain to her my lifetime struggle with weight, food, scales, sizes, dieting, etc.? NOT REALLY!! So the moral of my story is this...those of you who are pre-band and haven't decided to tell of not to tell, really think about how many questions you want to answer. If I had it to do over again I would only tell those who NEED to know.

Ok...what's the deal with how long to wait after eating to drink water??? My doc says to wait 1 1/2 hours. Another doc says to wait 1/2 hour. I really like the sound of waiting only 1/2 an hour cause I'm a thirsty girl. How long do y'all wait?

Hi all, It's probably no big deal but I just thought I'd ask. Has anyone else experienced swelling & tenderness around the port? I am one week post-op. The tenderness feels something like VERY sore muscles. I guess this is normal but I've heard sooo much about port site infections that I'm a little worried. Thanks for any input!!

When I was growing up my stepdad liked to tell my mom how fat she was (5' 2" 110). Then he started in on me. I always thought I was fat. That's what I was told so that's what I believed. Because my stepdad never, and I mean never, let me have sweets I learned to become a closet eater, quite literally. We had a big walk in pantry. I would go in there, close the door, turn on the light and stuff my face with anything sweet I could get my hands on. I was an adult before I realized that I really wasn't a fat kid, I was normal, really. I wasn't even chubby. I carried my closet eating habits over into adulthood. I remember the first time I felt like my relationship to food was unusual. Shortly after I married my DH I asked his permission to eat some oreos. He said "you're a grow woman, if you want Cookies eat them. You don't need to ask me". He was the only man I had lived with since my evil stepdad. I thought "wow, I can eat sweets in front of someone and not be ridiculed, COOL". Pre band I loved those rare times when I had the house all to my self so I could sit in front of the TV with my favorite lover, usually in the form of chocolate, and pig out. Now I am looking forward to developing a whole new attitude toward food. Eat to live not live to eat. I can't wait to have a life that's not completelly controlled by food, scales, and sizes. Remember...With God ALL things are possible!!

What is PB????? No, I don't mean peanut butter. I mean as it relates to the band. I know, we newbies can be a bit irritating but just remember you were a newbie once too. Thanks.

thanks! Everyone is so very nice here. I'm afraid I might spend more time on the computer than I should getting to know all my fellow bandsters

Sally...you are TOO funny! I too have the hangy downy boobs!! I've used mine as knee pads for years.

Hello all! Ok...I know this is pretty graphic for my first post, but I have a question. I am 6 days post-op and I just started having diarrhea today. Other than that I feel pretty good! Some gas pain mid abdomen, but that's about it. Thanks for any input!