Sunny Skies

I had Lap Band surgery in December 2007. Everything went great for the first three months. I lost about 32 lbs. And then nothing... I don't know if this is unusual or what. I do know that I changed NOTHING about my diet. I was eating exactly the same as after the surgery, between 800 and 1200 calories a day. I had the surgery in Tijuana from a very reputable doctor at a modern, high-tech facility. I didn't get fills every month. I think my first fill was something like $400. The next three fills were $165. I got the first fill a couple of months after the surgery, just as soon as I was allowed to get them. I got the next fill the next month. I was still only losing 1-2 lbs. between fills and they were expensive, so I didn't get my next fill until two months later. I got fluoroscopy for every fill and they could see that my band had not slipped at all and I finally got up to a restriction of 2.9 after the fourth fill. (I was told most people could only go up to 2.6 and the maximum fill was 3.0) To sum it all up, I got very discouraged. I couldn't seem to eat meats or most solid foods at all until after 4 or 5 p.m. when the band seemed to relax. liquids, of course, were easier and I got whey Protein to mix with fat free milk for shakes. I had one shake of 20 ounces per day. (I'm allergic to soy and it gives me acne.) When I still didn't lose anything, I started an occasional ice cream or milk shake (the fattening kind). My weight fluctuated between 193-200 lbs. no matter if I ate next to nothing or drank milk shakes. I couldn't eat beef, pork and after the last fill, any chicken. I mostly ate seafood for protein. I choke often and sometimes have to vomit. (Luckily not often because I know what foods to avoid.) I can't eat bread, rice, French fries or potatoes and that alone should be making me lose weight! I can manage to eat Pasta, but don't eat very much of it at all. It can't be hormonal, because I had a complete hysterectomy 11 years ago. Eleven months later, I was extremely frustrated. I saw my stepdaughter go on the Medi Zone (she is 24 and I am 44) and lose 60 lbs. in 3 1/2 months. Meanwhile, I spent all that money on surgery and wasn't getting anywhere. I didn't drink soda, didn't take any meds like aspirin or Advil that I wasn't supposed to, drank plenty of Water and took two Flintstones chewables every day and an under-the-tongue B-12 Vitamin. My stepdaughter lost her job in September and had to quit the Medi Zone diet. She was on the Plus Plan. (It's a little more expensive, but works better.) She went to a doctor in Tampa (next to Marshalls on N. Dale Mabry). Since the beginning of September, she has not been on the plan and did gain back 15 of the 60 lbs. (I figure that if I lose the 80 lbs. that will take me back to my high school weight (115 lbs.), and do stop the appetite suppressant pills and gain back 15 lbs., I will still be better than where I am now. The doctor I went to is behind Long John Silver's on N. Dale Mabry in Tampa. It is called the Garcia Medi Zone plan. The first visit is $320 (to cover blood work, EKG, weekly B-12 shot, all pills for the first month (except the appetite suppressant called Phendimetrazine...this is NOT Phentermine and not related to Phentermine in any way. The doctor explained it to me. It does suppress the appetite but is totally safe. It's action is similar to an amphetamine, but it doesn't have the extreme stimulation of an amphetamine - which is not to say that it doesn't get you wired - just not as much as amphetamines (and I know because I have taken both Phentermine and prescribed amphetamine in the past. You can't take the Phendimetrazine too late in the day because you will be up all night, as I was last night. I got only one week's supply of the Phendimetrazine the first visit. They are small white pills and you take six a day at specified times. (I guess giving you only a week’s supply is their way of making SURE you keep coming back to the office.) The other pills you must take are: Calcium Pyruvate -750 mg., four a day (this is the fat burner). They are large white capsules and can dissolve just fine with the band. You must take two twice a day at specified times. Polyphenol Plus (antioxidant), one daily, medium tan capsule Omega RX (large Omega-3 oil gel caps), two twice a day Multivitamin (They usually are huge pills, but they had them in small chewables, which are fine for the lap band). You take one after dinner. You take a total of 16 pills a day, some at scheduled times, so it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out. After the first week, you must visit the office once a week to get your Phendimetrazine refilled. This weekly visit is $75. So the first month, the plan is $545 (for the Plus Plan, which I'm told is more effective.) Then each subsequent month is $300 - $360. I'm sure you can save money by buying the Multivitamins at a drug store. I the doctor’s Vitamins to Flintstones chewables, and the Flintstones have great dosages and more vitamins, but the doctor’s vitamins have a variety of herbal extracts and blends, so maybe that does something better. If you want to continue on the Plus Plan, I think two of the above supplements are not included. I go back for my first follow up next week, so I'll find out which ones I have to pay extra for. The Calcium Pyruvate is an absolute must, because this is what burns the fat. One bad thing about the diet - my stepdaughter's hair thinned drastically. You can see her scalp. I brought this up as a concern and they told me to buy Biotin, as this will prevent the hair loss. (Plus the B vitamins should help too!) My stepdaughter had a friend that lost 100 lbs. in something like five or six months on the Medi Zone. When she went off the appetite suppressants, she gained the weight all back in the same amount of time or less. But I read on a Medi Zone forum that there are plenty of people that keep the weight off by not gorging on the wrong foods. I'm hoping that because of my band, I will lose the weight and then still not be hungry and pig out. I never have a problem with eating too much with my band. I hardly eat anything at all. Less than half or a third of what other people eat for a meal. I read somewhere on this forum that there are other reasons for the band not working if you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing, such as Candida or parasites. I did go get a bottle of some pills to kill Candida, but didn't see a difference at all. I figure that if I'm paying all this money, I'm going to make sure I stick to it. That wouldn't be the case if I went out on my own and tried to do it without the appetite suppressants. I dislike swallowing pills so much that they would sit around if they were cheap. By the way, I only managed to eat one ounce of canned shrimp, two bites of no fat cottage cheese and three slices of fat-free cheese on my first day. And can I just say YUCK! to fat-free cheese? I also tried to eat one thinly sliced piece of turkey, but threw it up. With the appetite suppressant, you NEVER think of food. My stomach has been constantly rumbling and growling for two days and I'm not hungry at all. Today I had one jar of beef baby food (2.5 oz) and one bite of tuna fish and a little bit of hotdog. In fact, they told me you have to remind yourself to eat and to drink one gallon of water a day. (I read online it is two gallons.) If you don't eat at least 16 ounces of protein (only protein the first five days) and then six servings (1/2 - 1 cup certain vegetables or two small certain fruits) starting on Day 6, you will get headaches, dizziness and irritability. I had all three yesterday and today. It's difficult keeping track of the pill schedule, so I made a little chart on Excel until I get used to it. And I HATE taking pills! But once again, I'm paying all this money, I'm going to stick with it. I wish I didn't have to and I could say that the band made me lose the 100 lbs. I was hoping and expecting to lose in one year, but I followed all the rules, didn't drink within at least 30 minutes of eating, etc. and STILLl didn't lose more than my original 32 lbs. That basically works out to about $267 per pound for me. I did start exercising in the pool for four weeks and got up to an HOUR AND A HALF a day. I did manage to get from 199 to 193 during that time! Then the weather got too cool and I couldn't continue. My hips are hurting more and more (which is basically what caused me to get the lap band in the first place), so I can't walk too much (and definitely not run) and if I try biking, after a couple of days, I can't bike anymore, so swimming is pretty much the only non-impact exercise I can get (and even that makes my hips hurt). WOULD LIKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON EXERCISE THAT DON’T MAKE MY HIPS HURT! I did notice I toned up quite a bit in just four short weeks though. I'll probably be back to my original flabby self by the time warm weather gets here. I bought some pool weights and did various arm exercises for 100 repetitions for each exercise and my biceps were getting hard! Warmer weather won't be back in Florida until at least March. The outside pool water is just too cold right now. So I am going to see where this plan takes me. I'm starting out with the same enthusiasm as I had before getting the band. The doctor says the plan is perfectly safe for lap band patients, but I would like to hear anything to the contrary. I don’t want to dissolve the band or make it slip. I haven’t been thin in so long (since before I had my son in 1989! That’s just about 20 years! I’d also like to hear if anyone has heard any long term results (both good and bad) from the Medi Zone plan.

I was banded in December 2007 and only lost 32 lbs. I just posted my story. (Go to search and type in "Medi Zone" to find my thread.) I, too, am extremely frustrated.

I had my lapband put in on 12/27/07. I lost 32 lbs (from week before surgery until about March). Then I quit losing. I've been pretty much at the same weight every since. I go up a few lbs and then back down. I hover around 200 lbs, but can never get below it. I have broken down and taken Advil for chronic pain in my tailbone and pelvic area. I wonder if the band has eroded? My last fill was March 9. The fills are so expensive! The first fill was over $400 and each subsequent fill is $165. That's hard on a monthly basis. I am almost to the maximum fill point anyway, they told me last time. They said I'd need maybe one or two more fills this year. I'm pretty discouraged. I went to Mexico to have it done and spent $8200 between the surgery and flight and hotel. I'm still paying for it! I don't eat very much and pretty much choke on food at every meal unless it's very soft stuff. :thumbup: I hope I start losing again because this is a very hard way to live! One thing I find very hard...not being able to drink liquid when I eat. I end up having sips of liquids during every meal. Could this be why I stopped losing? Anyone have any similar experiences?