myellen

I just wanted to get an idea of the number of people who were able to lose 100% of their goal weight within or at 1 year post op? My goal is 112lbs, and I would like to know if its realistic. I have seen several places, that band patients lose 50% by the first year, and the the rest over the next 2 years, making a total goal weight in 3 years. Please respond with the time it took you and the total lost. Thanks

I am exercising, but not that much. That is awesome. My new best friend is my Nintendo WII and Dance Dance Revolution. I play that often for about 1 hour and I am soaked, but its enjoyable and doesn't feel like a chore.

I have been reading posts on the forum off and on for about a month. I have my surgery scheduled for May 6th in Mexico. Has anybody had experience with Fill places in the Seattle area? They put me on a very strict diet, and I am not 100% why. I need to lose 17lbs before my surgery Breakfast 2 pieces of fruit and yogurt Lunch lean cuisine Dinner slimfast shake I am starving, and if I could lose weight and diet that easily, I wouldn't need the band!

I just thought I would give an update. I have had two fills so far. I am at 5cc in my 10cc band. So far everything is great. I am losing weight retty steady and I am feeling great. I hope to meet my goal weight by May 09.

I had my first fill on Tuesday, May 17th. I have a 10cc band and was fileld to 2.5cc under fluoroscopy. It seemed tight, but liquids passed, which is the point. This morning I had two Vitamins before I ate. I broke them in half to make it easier to take them. WOW it hurt. It felt like a tightness and pain, like heartburn. It was not to bad that I thought I was going to die, but it is also not somehting that I want to deal with every day. In about 10 min. that subsided and I began to eat. I ate very small bites and chewed very well. The first bite introduced pressure and the subsequent bites broght on more pressure and slit pain. Not as bad as the vitamins, but it certainly made eating unplesant. I finished, only eating about 1/4 of what I would have normally had. For lunch It was about the same. Immediate pressure from eating the first bite and then mild pain from eating more. Now as I type this I have finish eating for about 15 min. I feel fullm but I have pressure where my band is. I would just like to point out that I can drink without any problem, and when I was on liquids for the past 3 days, I was able to consume large amounts of liquids without incident. What do you think?

I was able to eat lunch and dinner without an incident. In fact I took it slow, ate really small bites, and I didn't feel an discomfort while eating. I have read that some people can't watch TV while they eat because they get distracted and take to large of a bite. I like it. There is no rush, as I am not looking at someone else, gulp down their food, and I have something to do while waiting between bites. I was really upset about vomiting. I know it can lead to slipage, and I tried really hard not to do it. Thanks for your comments, I know all is well, and I do have the ability to control this thing.

This morning Breakfast was NOT good. Once a week I will eat out and today I had a Breakfast burrito. I chewed really well, but I think I ate to fast. I only got about 5 bites in, I would estimate about 1/2 a cup worth of food, and the pain was to much. This time it hurt really bad, and the pain would come and go about every 15-20 seconds. It radiated through my back, as well as hurting high in my stomach. I immediately stopped eating (although I could not imagine continueing). I started to walk around and that eased the pain a bit. I continued to walk and work through the pain. The whole time this was going on, I started burping, and that would provide some temporary relief, but not much. Then I started producing some very thick saliva, which I had to spit out, since swallowing anything else at this point was out of the question. I had been walking for about 15 min. and it seamed as if things were getting better very slowly. I had been feeling like I was going to throw up, and I was resisting that. Finally it happened, I through up. It was a strange sensation since it seemed to come from the top, or rather above my stomach. Immediately I felt better. I am sure this is PB'ing and Sliming as mentioned numerous times on here. Any suggests as to what is wrong? I would like to think it was just a matter of eating too fast. I can fix that myself. I was able to eat dinner last night which was a lean cousine, swedish meatballs and Pasta. That went down without incident, although I did have some pain and discomfort.

My pre-op diet was very strict. I was only eating 1000 calories or less for a month and a half. I was hungry and and very unhappy the whole time. I did lose about 24 pounds or so. After my surgery, I was on a 3 week liquid diet, with no mushy stage. This was also very hard, but I did it. After the 3 weeks of liquids, I began eating normal foods, but I tried as best as I could to stay on the strict pre-op diet I had been on. I am not sure if it was easier because I had some restriction from the band, or if my stomach had shrunk. I am sure it is a bit of both. My total weight loss from the pre-op and post-op diets has been 50lbs. I will let you know what happens in the days to come. I am excited about my weight loss, and glad to be filled.

During my pre-op discussion with the surgeon, he said it all. I don't change GOD's plumbing, I just squeeze it. There is a reason your digestive system is the way it is. Using a band to help you feel more full while allowing your body to work the was it was designed is always better.

I have not had any reflux problems or vomiting. I am not full, which I know is the point. My wife said that maybe its good that eating is unpleasent, but I would perfer not to hurt while doing it. I just hope that this is an adjustment process, and it will not be uncomfortable in the future. Thanks for the reply. I didnt think that it was really a problem, I just wanted to know that someone else has the same issues as I do.

I am 28 days out from surgery. So far I have lost 40 pounds, including my pre-op diet. I am losing about 2-3 pounds per week. I am scheduled for my first fill on the 17th of June.

I had a 3 week liquid diet post op, no mushies. You can do it.

That is crazy. One possible reason is that your bowels do go to sleep also and it can be uncomfortable when they finally start moving again and you have had "stuff" in them. My Doctor, and most others as I have seen, require you to go on a liquid diet 3 days or more before your surgery, and then FAST 8-24 hours before the surgery. That alone should clean you out of any solids.

My experience was great. I was banded on May 6th, so today is 1 week post OP. I would highly recomend Dr. Ortiz and his staff. I am going to get my fills in Mexico by Dr. Otiz office. When I was getting my band, there was a guy that had flown in to get his port replaced. He went to a local Doctor in TN, and they punctured his port. I am sure that it is rare, but its not worth the risk. Also Dr. Ortiz office does the fill under X-RAY, so they put in as much as you need, not the trial and error BS fill centers use, by doing .5 -1 CC at a time and tell you to come back in 4 weeks and charge you again. The fill is free, but there are associated costs. $100 X-RAY, plus the cost of the Hotel and transportation(flight+transport to/from airport). But in the end its worth it, and its nice to have it filled in your own Drs. office so they can check you out while you are there.

I was just banded in TJ by Dr. Ortiz. I can't recomend him enough. While you would be fine to go down by yourself, it is nice to have someone there.

I am getting ready to leave for the airport in 20 min. and tomorrow my surgery is scheduled. I am anxious, but not really nervous. I will be glad when its done, and I can start my way to getting healthier.

I sent an e-mail to the nutritionist to get some details. It seems odd, since so many people aren't dieting this way. They want me to lose atleast 5% of my body weight. I have seen alot of people with much high BMI's and health issues. I have sleep apnia, but am otherwise very healthy (or as much as a fat guy can be).

I knew about shrinking the liver, but I though that was why they put people on the liquid diet 10 days before the surgery. It is just difficult to be on this extremely low cal diet, and then go to the liquid only. I read on here someone post that they only went on the liquid for a few days before.

Hi everyone. I live in Granite Falls, and I am scheduled for May 6th.

I just spoke with a Mexican surgery center and I asked them about fills. I am not sure that I am comfortable with their answer and I wanted to get others opinions. When I asked about fills they said that it is different with everyone, and that most people should only need 2 per year. They also said that if I follow my post-op diet, I should/could not need any, and that it was dependant on me stretching my stomach. This seems way off from what I understood. I was under the impression that it may take several vists to "dial in" the band and that they adjust it to adjust my weight loss, even under normal circumstances, so I am not sure who they can state that it should only take up to two per year and that I may not need any.