thetig

By the Way BG, That was a most beautiful Song. Roslin Rules! I will miss that show!

I am a double Scale Whore and I am so very Proud of It! You can count me in on being a member! I have a scale in my DH's Bathroom and another one in Mine! I like his the best! It weighs 3 pounds less then mine!

I can not believe that is has been two weeks since I last Blogged! Time goes fast when your have RESTRICTION! Yep! I have it! I went to see Dr. Feiz on 7/29, a week po and I was a wee bit nervous to say the least because I knew that I was going to have a fill! Everything went perfectly! It was such a great feeling to know that my band was working! I now know that I have an 11cc band and it is filled to 7cc now. I can eat pretty much everything that I allow myself to eat! I can feel the restriction but No BPing! Some times a wee bit nausea but it goes away really fast. I find all of this to be great since I really never had it before!!!!! The very very best part......I am down another 6 pounds making it now a total of 53 pounds! 12 more pounds and Onderland there I will be and over half way to my goal! Dr. Feiz would have given me another fill this last week but I opted out. He was really trying to get me to a goal that I had of wanting to be down to 199 by next weekend when we are going to Monterey for a Big Car Show weekend, BUT, when I get back I will go in and get another fill. Technically that will be my fourth fill then hopefully I will have found the "Sweet Spot". God this band is wonderful! A side note to anyone out there who is having faulty Band problems....I am checking into having the Ethicon or Realize people be responsible for all my medical bills since the Port revision. I believe they have already made a deal with the hospital for this last surgery but I am going to try for the port revision also. So far the second surgery is totally 3500.00 more out of pocket! My DH is not happy! If anyone needs updates on that part of my journey please email me and I will be happy to let you know what is happening! Life is so Very Very Good!

Hey there Losing4life, Just a note on the shoulder gas pain. I was just told by the nurse after my total revision of band that if you put heat on the shoulder the pain will go away faster. I am thankful that I have not had that gas pain this time around. good luck! This band really does work!

I had the total band revision done on Tuesday! I had to stay over night and have been home since Wednesday late morning. This surgery has not been so bad! I have already started my mushies! It is good to eat a little. My Realize band was totally defected and by that I mean that it had again detached itself from the tubing. I am going to have a fill on Wednesday already, trying to get me back on track with the weight loss. I am a bit nervous with the bad experience I have had in the past with the fills not working, but I am hopeful. I had gained 7 pounds from the IV fluids and I have also now lost the same 7 pounds. So if you get on the scale after surgery please do not be surprised by the gain it will just come off fast. Having now been through this surgery two full times and one port revision, I have to say this third time was very easy. Maybe because I knew what was coming next! I also just heard from another LB friend that she also just had her entire band replaced this last week due to leakage. I am not sure what brand of band she has! This is very interesting. I have been told by a lawyer that we have no recourse as long as we are healthy and it has not changed any of our normal life. This was all due to some court case that happened in 1974. It is the chance that we are taking by having a device implanted in our tummy's I guess. oh well, I am thankful to be alive and healthy! Three Cheers to Our LAP BANDS!!!! They do work well with loosing weight even though we may have to go through little glitches! :smile:

I just received an email from a good LB friend and it reminded me that there might be other friends waiting to see what is happening in my Band World. Well, to my extreme Frustration, my revision surgery DID NOT take place yesterday as it was suppose to! My Doc had a family problem during the week and was not able to get back to Good Ole Blue Cross re: why was I needing another surgery! So because this question was not rectified Thursday day, at 9:30PM Thursday evening I finally got the word that my surgery was cancelled for the following morning at 7:30am. I must say I fell apart and just cried for a bit! I received a few good words of wisdom from my Mom and also DS1. DS1 had said that he had been having this need to tell me that I should not have the surgery on Friday it was eating at him but he did not say anything to me. Well, after taking all this in and not sleeping very well Thursday night, I came to the conclusion that I had not been being honest with myself and I too had had some reservations about Friday also. Sometimes you just can not understand why but there is a really good reason for everything that happens! On a side note.........I thought that I would weigh myself Friday AM. I had indulged the night before with a burrito and was sure that I had gained just because that was the way my luck seemed to be doing, so I just wanted to check add fuel to my frustration and disappointment! I got on first bathroom scale which is my friend and low and behold it was down into the 2 teens! First thought....this scale is really messing with me because it does have a real good sense of humor, so I went to bathroom number two, the BAD scale, jumped on that knowing what I would see....and it too was down 2 pounds. I just started laughing! I was still loosing weight, Wow. This is just to let you all know who are struggling with loosing if you stick with the protein and away from the carbs even if you have NO RESTRICTION and are not exercising! Your band still does help! I did eat carbs but I could only eat half the burrito because my band knew it was not a very good idea to eat all of it! I am scheduled for this next week Tuesday and next week Friday for my full revision of the Realize Band. Hopefully one of these days will work! Thanks for reading!

Hi There, Stick with Protein and stay away from the bad carbs! It really works! I have learned to love fish and a small amount of sweet potato not white potato. Have a cup of cottage cheese with fruit for lunch instead of that sandwich. believe me it will work!

You are Great and make me giggle! You sure do have a lot of energy! I am sure you must be in Onderland by now! Yeah! I will catch up to you once my band is fixed! Then we will have to have a drink together and PARTY!

Hey there UberMom, I get stuck and I have no restriction at all! I am keeping with my plan of only Protein and liquids. I try really hard to stay away from the bad carbs. I am not exercising and I am waiting for a total band revision. You can do this! I will keep watching for your progress! thetig

I just received an email from a good LB friend and it reminded me that there might be other friends waiting to see what is happening in my Band World. Well, to my extreme Frustration, my revision surgery DID NOT take place yesterday as it was suppose to! My Doc had a family problem during the week and was not able to get back to Good Ole Blue Cross re: why was I needing another surgery! So because this question was not rectified Thursday day, at 9:30PM Thursday evening I finally got the word that my surgery was cancelled for the following morning at 7:30am. I must say I fell apart and just cried for a bit! I received a few good words of wisdom from my Mom and also DS1. DS1 had said that he had been having this need to tell me that I should not have the surgery on Friday it was eating at him but he did not say anything to me. Well, after taking all this in and not sleeping very well Thursday night, I came to the conclusion that I had not been being honest with myself and I too had had some reservations about Friday also. Sometimes you just can not understand why but there is a really good reason for everything that happens! On a side note.........I thought that I would weigh myself Friday AM. I had indulged the night before with a burrito and was sure that I had gained just because that was the way my luck seemed to be doing, so I just wanted to check add fuel to my frustration and disappointment! I got on first bathroom scale which is my friend and low and behold it was down into the 2 teens! First thought....this scale is really messing with me because it does have a real good sense of humor, so I went to bathroom number two, the BAD scale, jumped on that knowing what I would see....and it too was down 2 pounds. I just started laughing! I was still loosing weight, Wow. This is just to let you all know who are struggling with loosing if you stick with the protein and away from the carbs even if you have NO RESTRICTION and are not exercising! Your band still does help! I did eat carbs but I could only eat half the burrito because my band knew it was not a very good idea to eat all of it! I am scheduled for this next week Tuesday and next week Friday for my full revision of the Realize Band. Hopefully one of these days will work! Thanks for reading!

I really appreciate all of the wonderful comments from my last blog. You are all very encouraging to me. I have started a thread in the Realize Band thread section to see if anyone else out there has had a faulty band. We will not know the answer to the fault of the band until it is removed. I am not having any dye testing done due to the fact that the port has already been replaced and still the problem exists, the only answer is then to replace the entire band. The big day is next Friday for the replacement! I am getting to know all of the pre and post surgical teams at Cedars quite well, I actually know their names! hehe This time I am going to ask for a ZIPPER to be put in my belly button for easy access! I will update my blog next Saturday! I am not looking forward to the GAS pains! but I am looking forward to the "Sweet Spot" :drool:

I know that no one will believe this but .............. My Realize band has to be totally replaced! I went to see Dr. Feiz yesterday for my first real fill after reconnection of my port (6-19-09) and low and behold....it still will not fill. I also had a very large hematoma which had to be drained but I was told these are normal. There is a call into the Realize Representative to find out if this has ever happened before, it kinda looks like I have a faulty Band. There is still a leak somewhere in the line, but not knowing where, Dr. Feiz has pretty much decided to removed this band and put in a brand spanking new one! Yippy! The poor Dr. is so frustrated at this point. Me, I am not sure what I am! Here I go again 3 surgeries in less then 4 months. This one I am not really looking forward to because it will be a little bit bigger then the original surgery (3-26-09) by that I mean the old band has to be taken out and the new one put in, it will take a little more time I am sure. I am still loosing weight but not much. I guess we could say then that I have never really had a good adjustment or fill. They last only a couple of days then not much restriction after that. I am amazed though that thru all of this 43 pounds are gone. This proves that without any restriction the band still helps to lose weight! This is very good! Surgery could be tomorrow, Friday, or it will have to wait until next Friday. I will keep my Blog posted. If anyone has had this same thing happen please get in touch with me. I am not real sure as to what to do about the cost of all of this! I do not know if the manufacturer of the Realize Band should have to pay for all my extra surgeries. Please give me your thoughts. Thanks, Cheryl

I know that no one will believe this but .............. My Realize band has to be totally replaced! I went to see Dr. Feiz yesterday for my first real fill after reconnection of my port (6-19-09) and low and behold....it still will not fill. I also had a very large hematoma which had to be drained but I was told these are normal. There is a call into the Realize Representative to find out if this has ever happened before, it kinda looks like I have a faulty Band. There is still a leak somewhere in the line, but not knowing where, Dr. Feiz has pretty much decided to removed this band and put in a brand spanking new one! Yippy! The poor Dr. is so frustrated at this point. Me, I am not sure what I am! Here I go again 3 surgeries in less then 4 months. This one I am not really looking forward to because it will be a little bit bigger then the original surgery (3-26-09) by that I mean the old band has to be taken out and the new one put in, it will take a little more time I am sure. I am still loosing weight but not much. I guess we could say then that I have never really had a good adjustment or fill. They last only a couple of days then not much restriction after that. I am amazed though that thru all of this 43 pounds are gone. This proves that without any restriction the band still helps to lose weight! This is very good! Surgery could be tomorrow, Friday, or it will have to wait until next Friday. I will keep my Blog posted. If anyone has had this same thing happen please get in touch with me. I am not real sure as to what to do about the cost of all of this! I do not know if the manufacturer of the Realize Band should have to pay for all my extra surgeries. Please give me your thoughts. Thanks, Cheryl

That was fun!!!!!! I got to the hospital and they were all ready for me! This part was just like the banding surgery in March. This is the tale of what happened next! First of all what is a Port Revision? Most of you already know but for the few who do not......it is when there is a leak in the port itself or the tubing going to the band! It is possible for the port to be damaged when the Doctor is doing a fill or adjustment. When there is a leak the doctor must go back in thru the belly button and fix the leak or replace the port. He finds the leak or problem with the port with a dye that is put into the port/tubing. This is all done with a local anesthesia so you are awake the whole time they are working on you and what ever is broken gets fixed, done, it was really quite fun......but then you hear the words of the Doctor, "Cheryl, The port has detached itself from the tubing and the tubing has gone up inside of you and I can not get it without doing it laparoscopically!", okay cool here we go on a nice trip to who knows where for a little while, I told them all night night and thanks for the great job and out I went! I woke up in the middle of a cartoon version of The Road Runner, it was really funny! I only had to stay at the hospital for a few hours, then I went home. So now today, it is almost the same as when I came home from the initial banding! I have three cuts from the laparoscopic part and the belly button cut! A bit sore today, feels like a Mac truck rolled over me a couple of times. BEST OF ALL!!!!!!!!! even though I am only on liquids, RESTRICTION, SWEET RESTRICTION! Oh how great it feels to have my old friend back in my body! Doc Feiz gave me a fill yesterday also just a little one. I can not say this enough, This young Doctor Feiz is amazing, kind, caring and very very special. Even my husband thinks so! So now back to loosing the tons and back to eating small portions. Just a side note! I was without any restriction for over 2 weeks, I ate a little more in portion size then with restriction and officially at the hospital yesterday I had only gained 2 pounds which I am sure is already gone with being on the liquids! This says to me that even with my band not being tight, I stayed in control of my hunger, the band was still doing its job, I still one night got food stuck eating too fast! I love my BAND!

Hi There, I am Cheryl from Burbank, Ca. I was banded on March 26, 2009 at Cedars by Dr. Michael Feiz! (The Greatest). My port detached itself from the tubing which was found during my third fill (adjustment) two weeks ago. I had a port revision yesterday and all is well today. I have lost a total weight of 30 pounds since my surgery and 10 pounds before that so a total of 40 pounds is gone forever! Hurray for March 2009 Bandsters!

Hi There, I just had my first port revision done yesterday! I also had a tumor on my left side removed. My Doc said it was a left over from my hysterectomy. My Port detached itself from the tubing which is weird by itself. My port is right above my belly button! I wish you well. You have done really great with your weight loss! Never think is it slow, all weight loss is Great weight loss!

I can not speak highly enough about Dr. Michael Feiz! He is so very caring! His office staff is great! Lisa is a wonderful person to talk to and she also is very caring! Getting insurance to approve the procedure takes no time at all with this practice! Please contact me if you would like any information on Dr. Michael Feiz, of Beverly Hills, California. Thanks!

Hey There Lsmmom! Sounds like you are doing well! We are both March bansters. I had my banding done on March 26th, at Cedars in Los Angeles. My doc is Dr. Michael Feiz. Super Doc! Yesterday I had a port revision done, mine came unattached from the tubing, now I am back to normal. I have lost 30 pounds since surgery, I was not on any pre op diet. If you would like to converse please feel free! My name is Cheryl, in Burbank, California. Good luck to you!

That was fun!!!!!! I got to the hospital and they were all ready for me! This part was just like the banding surgery in March. This is the tale of what happened next! First of all what is a Port Revision? Most of you already know but for the few who do not......it is when there is a leak in the port itself or the tubing going to the band! It is possible for the port to be damaged when the Doctor is doing a fill or adjustment. When there is a leak the doctor must go back in thru the belly button and fix the leak or replace the port. He finds the leak or problem with the port with a dye that is put into the port/tubing. This is all done with a local anesthesia so you are awake the whole time they are working on you and what ever is broken gets fixed, done, it was really quite fun......but then you hear the words of the Doctor, "Cheryl, The port has detached itself from the tubing and the tubing has gone up inside of you and I can not get it without doing it laparoscopically!", okay cool here we go on a nice trip to who knows where for a little while, I told them all night night and thanks for the great job and out I went! I woke up in the middle of a cartoon version of The Road Runner, it was really funny! I only had to stay at the hospital for a few hours, then I went home. So now today, it is almost the same as when I came home from the initial banding! I have three cuts from the laparoscopic part and the belly button cut! A bit sore today, feels like a Mac truck rolled over me a couple of times. BEST OF ALL!!!!!!!!! even though I am only on liquids, RESTRICTION, SWEET RESTRICTION! Oh how great it feels to have my old friend back in my body! Doc Feiz gave me a fill yesterday also just a little one. I can not say this enough, This young Doctor Feiz is amazing, kind, caring and very very special. Even my husband thinks so! So now back to loosing the tons and back to eating small portions. Just a side note! I was without any restriction for over 2 weeks, I ate a little more in portion size then with restriction and officially at the hospital yesterday I had only gained 2 pounds which I am sure is already gone with being on the liquids! This says to me that even with my band not being tight, I stayed in control of my hunger, the band was still doing its job, I still one night got food stuck eating too fast! I love my BAND!

Hi There, A revision is when there is a problem with the saline not tightening the band when injected. It can happen but is not real common. In my case I had to have the port replaced, the port is the part where the saline is injected. Hope this answers your questions. Thanks, Cheryl