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I seem t have a head cold with nasal congestion. Has anyone become really tight while sick. I hurt my throat last week with potato chipcs my fault Kellte cooked dont go down. But now I am sick and am really really tight. I havent been sick since I had my lap band last year and was wondering if the cold or the phlem is cloging me up? Rae banded 10/08 start weight 316 weight today 150

my doctor told me the same thing some patients with the band lose weight with no fill. I actually met a woman who lost 60 lbs with no fill. For some people just the band being there is enough. No in my case I have three fills and have lost 143 lbs. Rae

Hello jmperry, I started my journey last fall at 316 lbs. and my doctor told me the same thing that I really should get the bypass. I am 35 years old and did not want that. I told him that I did not want the bypass and wanted the band my mind was made up. He said ok but that the band only guaranteed 40% weight loss over 4 years as where the bypass guaranteed 85% in two years and that it would be hard work to get the weight off. I told him that I was willing to do the work and that I know I could do it. Well one year after my band was in three weeks ago I went in for a yearly check up and he was shocked. I have lost 143 lbs. in one year. It is possible to do it with the band however it was ALOT of hard work I worked out alot and watched my diet. The band is not a fix like the bypass it is a tool. I am here to tell you at our weight it can be done but it is hard work and you need to be dedicated. If you know you can do it then go for it the mind is very powerful once it is set. :thumbup: Good luck, Rae

Down 143 Lbs. Since October 23,2008. What a year ! Woo hoo :drool:

Hello Stacy, Dr. Bertha is amazing. Let me tell you through him you WILL get approved. He did my mom & step dads bypass and my cousins band like mine. I am in Pa and traveled to Jersey to have him do mine. My port did get infected and had to come out and a new one put in. But even through that he was amazing and straight forward. He is kind and tells it like it is. He was up front with me that I should have the bypass because of how much i had to lose but when I said I wanted the band he said ok and told me that it was my choice and would help me with my journey. You will be very happy and well taken care of. Keep me updated and good luck to you, Rae

After I started to jog again after dropping 100 lbs I did notice that for a little while I had pain in my port area or discomfort. It went away but if it continues call the doctor. Rae

my fills we as follows: Banded 10/16/08 weight 316 lbs I have a 14cc band First fill 12/16/08 ~ 7cc's no real restriction weight 300 lbs Second fill 2/04/09 ~ 2.04 cc felt it weight 285 lbs Third fill 7/20/09 ~ 1 cc weight 216 lbs. This is my fill I am working with now and today 8/14/09 weight 194 lbs I have 11 cc in my 14 cc band I hope this helps Rae :thumbup:

Hello thank you to all for your kind words, you WILL all get there just stick with it. I have one egg or a Protein drink in the morning depending on what I can get down. For lunch I have a piece of meat either some cold cuts or meat left over from the night before with a piece of cheese or cracker. dinner is meat and veggie. I get all my Water in. My Snacks are maybe three crackers with cheese spread or cheese sticks, sometimes a small salad if I am craving the fats in the dressing. I do have a candy bar maybe once a week and do snack. I dont exclude anything but now for the first time in my life can have just one serving or just a few chips. I will drink an ensure if I cant eat enough. I am getting 70-80 g of protein in each day and take my Vitamins. The band has turned off my cravings so that is a big help. I eat about 800-1000 calories a day all small meals every few hours. I do exercise however the last two weeks I have been in a slump. But I do 45 min in the morning of cardio and another 30 minutes at least sometimes through the day. I do weight lifting twice a week and I also get in Yoga and Pilates. Even at 316 lbs I was able to work out. Walk away the miles is a great work out to get started with. I walk, well now jog the dog a few days a week and and will even just walk up and down the stairs a few times if I dont have time to do my work out. My new venture is going to be the P90X I am ready to start that August 31st when my teen goes back to school. I did hit one plateau and was stuck at 219 for a month but got a fill and changed my routein and was able to break it and got 25 more pounds off the following month which brings me to today. Plateaus stink and I know on any other diet that is when I would have fallen off the wagon and started to gain back, but just listen to yur band is all you can do. We will all have bad days but the great thing with the band is that it wont be that bad. Before the band if I had a bad day I would eat a bag of chips 2-3 ham and cheese sandwiches icecream and whatever I could find. With the band a bad day is maybe and extra few hundred calories not an extra few thousand and so it is easy to get right back on track. It is great just listen to yur band and you heart and will power will follow. Good luck to all :thumbup:

Hello I am am also a year out myself. I had a fill three weeks ago and did what you did and hurt my throat and made my insides swollen from eating a pickle !! I did not have to get an un-fill though. Where they place the band first of all is to send a message to your brain that you are full so you dont crave as much. However the small pouch that is above the band is your "new" stomach. Once this is full you cant eat anymore because if you do you will get sick. You are to eat just enough to feel satisfied. Now the food sits in the upper pouch for a while till it slowly falls into your old stomach and then on ward. That is why you should not drink after you eat becasue the Water can either hurt or flush the food down You are to eat protiens first becasue these stick around longer and keep you full longer before they drop into your old stomach. So the food sticks in the upper pouch making you feel and think your full until it continues on its journey. This should take 1-3 hours depending on what you eat. So you eat less and less often. I hope this helps, Rae ______________ 316lbs post op banded 10/08 current 194 lbs

I did it !!!! I have lost 122 lbs in 10 months with my band! I am 36 yrs old and I have been heavy my entire life in 8th grade I weighed over 200 lbs. I had lost the same 80 lbs twice which only brought me down to 245 and then I would gain it back in a matter of months when I gave up and put on even more. I was always active but always heavy. I had my band put in and actually my port got infected and had to come out so it was a bad two months letting the open wound heal, packing this hole the size of a plum twice a day and waiting for it to close. Then I had my port put back in. It was one of the scariest things I had ever gone through but it was all worth it. I have gone from a size 32 pants 5x shirts to a lose size 18 and 1 x shirts I think one of the biggest things and changes is that I can not believe how much less room I take up. Every time I sit in a seat that was to tight, sit on the couch and look how much room is left on the cushion or just moving around a store it is amazing to me that I can fit down the aisle with bumping things. It makes me smile. I still have a 40 lbs to get to goal and I know I will do it. The band has changed my life. My doctor said because of the weight I had to lose I should do the bypass but it was up to me. I did not want to have that done and knew I could lose the weight with the band and I have. October will be one year since I had my new port in and started my weight lose journey. Every time I walk past a mirror or a store window I can not believe its me. The band even with the complication has been the easiest thing to do. It has controlled my hunger. I keep up with my fills and it turns off the part of my brain that wants to eat all the time. I would eat one meal and before I was done be planning my next meal. I used to think about food ALL the time and the band has made the difference for me. Everyone out there keep up the great work and dont give up the band is a wonderful tool if you use it to its best potential. Listen to your band and it will work for you. Rae ________________ Start weight 316 Banded 10/08 Current weight 184 GOAL 155

Hello, I got a fill three weeks ago, for the first few days I didnt fell the difference much. Then Monday last week it kicked in I was sick alot on monday and tuesday I wasnt chewing enought getting used to the new fill, then seemed to get things under control. Saturday morning I had a cheese stick and some coffee and was fine everyhting went down. Later that morning I had a pickel and it got stuck. It was stuck all day saturday and when I woke up on sunday I felt fine. But then I started to feel a little pain each time I drank or ate and I got sick on monday & tuesday. My question is could I have scratched my throat or caused some swelling form the hard pickel being stuck to long? I was fine after the fill it is tigher then the last but it didnt hurt to drink. I feel like maybe it is scratched or swollen can this happen from getting food stuck? It hurts. Rae ___________________ banded 10/28/09 start weight 316 current weight 199 WOO HOO under 200 !!!:wink: