jbperry21

I'm sure it's been said before, but I just wanted to say a couple of things about my journey so far. I had my surgery on 3/31/08. I had my 4th fill on 11/4/08 and it is the first time I've felt restriction. I've been telling my doctor over and over again that I haven't had any restriction. When I went in for my fill on 11/4/08 I guess he finally believed me because I haven't lost but maybe 3 pounds since my surgery. My doctor has been very condescending and overall not that great, but he seems to maybe be changing his ways. My first fill cause me to have esophageal spasms, which I'm sure my panic probably made it worse. I had a complete unfill 30 minutes later, came back and had a fill a few weeks later. He refused to get close to the original amount that he had tried on my first fill because he thought it would be too much. I kept telling him I thought that it was just my body freaking out and that me panicking didn't help. He didn't believe me. He just looked at me like I was just some person being overly pushy or something. I feel like as an overweight person I've been made to feel like my feelings don't count for as much and that I don't know my body. I finally stood up to my doctor and he finally listened to me and I finally after 7 months have some restriction. Don't be afraid to stand your ground with your doctor. Yes, they're the doctor and they might be experts in their field, but they are not experts on your body. You know your body and you have the right to be heard. None of use go through this surgery for fun, it's a tool to help us and we deserve for it to work. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but my experience has not been great so far, but I'm trying my hardest not to get discouraged.

You should say something to your doctor about his lack of support. And if he can't be supportive in your decisoin and his recommendation, you should look into finding another doctor. I had the same kind of issue with my doctor and I said something to him and filed a complaint with the program because it's completely unprofessional.

I had a very similar experience with my first fill. I have a 14cc band as well and my first fill was 6cc, which my doctor said is the typical amount for the first fill. I made it back to work and about 10 minutes after I got there I started feeling a little pain in my chest. So, I went to the bathroom to walk around for a few minutes and hope it would go away. It only got worse. Pain scale was probably about a 9 too, put it on the same level as a gall stone attack and I felt like I was having a heart attack. My mother had to come get me to drive me back to the doctor and they ended up taking all of it out after about 30 minutes of waiting. My doctor won't even approach 6cc in my band now because of that experience. I've gotten 3 fills, have some restriction, but not at my 'sweet spot' for sure.

Try getting up and walking around to get rid of them. I get the hiccups all the time and have since I got banded. Normally after I eat I get the hiccups or when I get really hungry.

It does depend on your insurance.

Every Dr and program is different. My Dr didn't include free fills for a year, only the first three months. I understand your frustration though because I've been unhappy with my Dr as well.

My dr does local anesthesia, so it doesn't really hurt at all. It's a little odd feeling, but not painful. And even after my first two fills, I was still getting hungry an hour or two after I would eat. Just be prepared for it to take a few fills for you to feel restriction.

I haven't had any red meat since I've gotten fills, but just think of anything that is super hard to chew and it's something that you're probably not going to do well with. I can't eat super bready stuff (like I had a bite of a donut the other day, I know, bad, bad, bad, but I made the conscious decision to eat it and it did not go down and I PB'd, which is the only time I've done it.) I know for me steak of any type, you have to chew like crazy and almost makes my jaws ache, so I avoid it. Ground beef or ground chuck probably wouldnt' be so bad, but if it's dry I would avoid it personally. But I also think that it's different for every person too. I know people who even with restriction can still eat bread, but I don't think that'll be something I can eat. It's not easy, but I know that as long as I work with the band, it's going to work for me.

Don't be scared by this. I know I'm a little shy of 4 months being banded, so I don't have long term results to go off of, but listen to what she said she was eating with the excuse of it was the only thing that would go down. You don't have to eat ice cream, there's yogurt instead, you don't have to eat chips, you can eat something else. The lapband is a tool to help and we do have to take responsibility for whether it works or doesn't. It's not perfect, no, but neither is the bypass or RNY or DS or whatever. If people want to find a way around it, they will. I feel sorry for her that she's gone through all of this, but you'll find plenty of people on here who have been successful and who didn't vomit up everything. You have to retrain yourself on how to eat and it's hard, I'm going through that right now and I'm struggling. I still know that I shouldn't be eating red meat because it's harder to digest and dry chicken is hard to digest, but I can still eat chicken if it's not dry and I chew it well. I can get my protein through eggs or milk or something like that. Like someone else mentioned above I think, this is just a way for this doctor to try to get business.

The orange flavored centrum chewable ones. They're fine for me :thumbup:

Same as said above, think it has a lot to do with the dr. I have a 14cc band, but it was pre-filled with 2cc. My first fill was 6cc and it was too much and I had esophogeal spasms (I think my body freaked out and then I panicked, which made it worse). I now have 5cc in (plus the 2cc that are in at surgery) after 3 fills. I'll be getting another in a few weeks hopefully

I've heard a lot of people say that it can take up to your third of fourth fill before you get true restriction. I'm almost 4 months out and I just had my third fill and I finally have some semblance of restriction. Since my initial weight lost on the liquids after surgery, I haven't lost any more weight. But I haven't gained either, so I've got that. They call this part "Bandster Hell", where you can still eat pretty close to what you could before and you're stuck with your own will power. It will get better, you just have to be patient and know that you have to give it time. Let your doc know that you're still hungry, that you can eat more than you feel you should, that you're not losing weight. Get another fill.

With my diet, well I'm just supposed to watch what I eat. But, the only thing I'm restricted on right now is soft bread, like sandwich bread or rolls or something. My doctor hasn't given me any help really at all. The lady from my church has lost weight, I think like 60 lbs or so since her pre-op diet. I'm not 100% sure how much though, but she looks really good though!

I"m really frustrated honestly. I've had my band for over three months and I haven't lost any weight yet. I don't have proper restriction yet, but I'm going for my third fill on Friday. The other problem to me is that he's doing a fill on Friday when if there's a problem the only option I have is to go to the emergency room. Most doctors won't do fills on Friday for that specific reason because if you need to have some Fluid taken out you can call them and come in (if the fill is done during the first part of the week). When I have my appointments, it's like he has a script he follows on his little notepad. "So, how are you doing today? I see you haven't lost any weight. Are you hungry? How are you doing with eating?" There's not suggestions, no support, just me saying that I feel like I'm able to eat more than I should be and that I'd like a fill. Then he hems and haws about whether to give me and is really stingy with the amount he gives me. Which sucks, because the more often I go back, the more money out of pocket I have to pay. The first three months fills are covered but considering that you can't get a fill unitl 6 weeks after surgery (possibly, could be later depending on how you heal and all and if you're hungry or still losing weight) that means only one fill is covered. I don't want you to think I hate this program or anything, because I don't. The program itself is wonderful. I had to do the six months thing as well. That's where I've lost the weight I've lost. I think I've lost maybe a pound or two after surgery. The support group meetings are great and you should plan on going to those before and after surgery (Every first Tuesday at 6pm). After I went to the initial meeting, I had to wait almost 2 months before I had my first appointment with the doctors office.