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.

It's been over three months for me and I've really not lost any weight at all. I've changed my eating habits, I exercise, but I have no restriction still. I'm going for my 3rd fill this week. I'm having the same problem with people asking how much I've lost or how I'm doing, then looking me up and down almost in an appraising manner. It's so offensive. From what the long term people have said, this is 'bandster hell' the time between surgery and healing to where the swelling goes down and when you finally find your 'sweet spot' with restriction. A lot of people have said it'll probably take at least 3 fills before you really get close to that sweet spot, so don't lose hope. This is just the part where you have to work harder!

I have been banded in Asheville. I can tell you which doctor not to use. Do no use Dr. Christopher Edwards. He's great as a surgeon, but outside of the surgery room he's the worst doctor I've ever had for anything. His bedside manner is horrible, he doesn't really seem to care or have any investment in how his patients are doing, he told me on multiple occasions that he hated the lapband and even said to the x-ray tech 'I tried to tell her to get the gastric bypass, but she didn't listen to me.' So, yeah, don't use Dr. Edwards. I have a friend at church who has used Dr. Soosar and she really likes him. I think there's only one other Dr with the Mission Weight Management program right now, but I don't know what his name is.

I just have to say that I wish my fills were covered by insurance! My Dr covers the first three months, but seeing as how you can't get a fill until 6 weeks, he basically covers the first fill. After that, I'm self-pay for my fills because my insurance that actually covered the surgery, doesn't cover this integral part of the surgery, the part that actually makes it work! Good luck, I hope your insurance company does cover it!

Never have I been so glad to throw up in my life. For more than one reason actually. I feel like I've finally got the band. I haven't had any sliming issues or PBs or stuck food or anything. I ate something I shouldn't have and it got stuck. It hurt like hell, but i figured it would go down after a bit. No such luck. I coughed and there you have it. Thankfully I was near a trash can! But I just have to say that I'm so glad that this happened, just so I know what to expect and I feel like I'm actually experiencing it and it's going to start working. I go back for another fill on Tuesday. I went today and after having waited for over an hour in the waiting room, I got back to my doc and he wanted to put me under x-ray (which he does every time) and they had already sent all the x-ray techs home, so now I have to go back.

Believe me, I don't want it to happen ever again! PB=Productive Burp It's basically if you get something that doesn't quite want to go down and it comes back up. For me, I coughed and everything that hadn't gone down came back up, but it isn't quite throwing up.

My doc actually had me take 2 advil two days after my surgery because I had a slight infection from where the IV was. I think that as long as it's not something you do on a regular basis, or only extreme situations, you should be okay. Like others have said, it's just harder on your stomach.

I'm right there with you. I was banded on 3/31/2008. I've only lost like 7-10 pounds since my surgery. I would have had 3 fills, but the first one my esophagus freaked out and I had to have it all taken out. I've got minimal restriction, but basically to the point that I can't eat certain things any longer. I tend to get hungry about 2 hours after eating, which sucks. I'm frustrated, but this is the decision I made and I'm going to have to make it work no matter what.

I'm just starting back to my exercising. I'm going to commit to 28 miles walked/jogged in the month. And to start doing weights at least 1 time per week.

Hello, My name is Jamie. I'm a 28 year old (single :thumbup: )female in Asheville, NC. I had my lapband on March 31, 2008 at Memorial Mission Hospital with Dr. Christopher Edwards. I've lost about 27 pounds so far, but most of that was before surgery. I've got about 100 left to lose. I've had a total of 4 fills (first fill of 6cc in a 14cc band, 2 hours later a complete unfill due to esophogeal spasms, then 1 week later 3 cc, 2 weeks later 1.5ccs.) My Dr is being very conservative with the amount of my fills because of my initial reaction. I can't eat as much as before, but I feel like I can eat way more than I should be able to. I've started excersicing more, spending more time outside working in my yard and things like that. I'm trying to make it to the gym at least 3 times a week and do 2 miles at least on the treadmill. I just really need some support and some tough love I think. I know I can do this, but I seem to be falling back into old habits too easily. My roommate is no help because she's always going to McD's or somewhere like that and asking if I want anything or asking me to go with her. I know it's not her fault, but my willpower seems to have slipped out the window on occasion and it's depressing. It's my own faul that I haven't done better and the worse I feel about it, the worse my eating habits seem to get. I never really thought of myself as an emotional eater, but I've realized I am. I've had a falling out with my father and it's hammered home how little family I really have in my life and how distanced I am from everyone on that side of the family, another thing that just seems to give me an excuse to give in. I've rambled, I know. I've avoided the boards for the past month or so and skipped my support group meetings the last two times. I've always tried to deal with things on my own, but I realize that I'm not doing a very good job of it at this point.

asheville, nc