thetig

Hi there! On my little blog you asked about my BMI. I had lost 80 pounds in the first year after Lap-Band! After the full adjustment was removed from my band I was told I would need to gain about 20 pounds which brought my BMI to 33 I believe! Are you going to go to a sleeve revision? I believe I have been very fortunate to have had a great surgeon and in reality a very easy go of the revision! I will be two weeks post op tomorrow I have lost 21 pounds so almost back to what was normal Lap Band weight still a ways from goal weight! I found gaining weight was very easy so be careful! Good Luck!

Any who want my whole story can look me up, I am thetig. I had three band surgeries in 2009 and finally in July of 09 all was well. From July 2009 until July 2015 when I was told that my band had slipped I had lost 80 pounds. I had never reached my goal but was very happy with how much I had lost. My BMI was pretty normal so once all of the adjustment was removed from the band I was able to eat a lot again ( I missed my Band) and I gained 20 pounds which was enough for my BMI to be at the right place! Having already had the endoscopy to show the band was slipped I was off and running waiting for a date for the revision. Well here I am two and half weeks post op and I am feeling good! All the liquids suck but it is necessary! I am down 20 pounds already so that means I am ready to start into a new faze of life. Please do not be afraid of the revision! I am doing well at age 62. No hunger at all just BRAIN HUNGER! LOL! Please feel free to ask questions!

Hang in there! I am sure luck has been on my side this time! I do have the air in the shoulder but again it has not been so bad! I was in the hospital over night on all four surgeries.

Hi There, It has been forever since I was here on Lapbandtalk. I see that a lot of my old friends also have not been around for over a year or more. I just wanted to say that I know that a lot of banders loose weight really really fast and keep it off. Then there are some who really struggle to loose weight and feel the band was not worth all of the fuss. Well I am here to say that I am someone who is in the middle of all of it. I have done well over the last three years. I weigh 70 pounds less but I still am fat! I have not had a hard time keeping off the weight. My band still works great! I have been on an exercise program twice weekly but I am finding now that I want to jump start my weight loss again I am going to have to do cardio at least three times a week. I need to get back to no Carbs basics and increase the protein back to the original 60 - 80 per day. My trainer has asked me to start my program up with a little weight loss push of Green Apple, Pineapple and Watermelon snacks for a while. I will also start my walking up again. I am sure this will work. Good luck to all of you out there who are stuck. We can do this and we will!

Hey There, How did you do this week? Not so great for me. I did not get on the treadmill until yesterday! Ugh! Ok This is the start of a new week. Here I go! I did do good on my food! Did you get to your goal weight? I never did! Bummer for me!

Hey There! You can make this band work for you! Get back to the basics. Cut out the Carbs and up your protein! Make sure that you eat small portions and five to six times a day. My Doctor told me that the reason I have not lost ANY weight in the last year and a half is because I do not eat right!!!! He is right! I have not had a fill in seven months and I am almost "filled up" so to speak. I have never had any removed. I do not think that I have ever hit the sweet spot, in fact I really wonder what that is! LOL! You can do this! Don't let you mind fool you! Let the band do the work it was meant to do! Let me know how you are doing!

Hi There to all of you Bandsters! I was banded March 26th, 2009. I have done well, but I am not at my goal weight yet. It is because I have not continued to try hard enough. I have gained about 10 pounds from my lowest loss of 80 pounds. I went to a fill about a month ago. All has been well but........ and here is now the problem....... I am having what feels like heartburn but is not! It is almost like some of my food is getting stuck in my band and it will not come up nor will it go down! Very uncomfortable......especially at night! Maybe I am not chewing long enough? This is weird! Please if you have any experience with this I would like to hear about it! Thanks! Cheryl

Hi There, Well you should know by now what is going on with your port! I also had a bad port three months after my initial surgery in 2009. I had the port replaced in June 2009 and that still did not fix the problem....I then had the entire band replaced in July 2009.... I have had no problems since. Good luck to you! Cheryl

Time really flies by....... I just wanted to put down a few of my thoughts. First of all I am 18 months post op from First Banding and I am 14 months post op since last banding..... I wanted to say to any and all of you who are out there and are not sure if you should get the LAP-BAND®.... All I can say is that this little band, even though I had to go thru three surgeries is the VERY BEST Thing I ever did for my self. My weight loss has been more or less slow, but I can not say that I work very hard at it either. As of a couple of weeks ago I am down 80 pounds. Yes, I am very proud to say that I now weigh 184 pounds. I also am proud to say that I only have 40 pounds to go to my goal weight. Unbelievable! I am 2 thirds of the way there. Two years ago I would have not believed this could happen but here I am to tell the tale....... I have had a lot of fills but the last one was in February of this year. So I have gone 8 months now and I am doing good. Still have BPings when I try to gobble my food instead of chewing. I am still going to the gym once a week or doing cardio at the house. I know that I need to increase my workouts if I am to get the last 40 pounds off. I am comfortable being me again which is cool! Slow but gone!!!! That is my motto!

Hi There, I am trying really hard to get some information on problems with realize bands. I was banded 3-26-09 with no problems. Had the first two fills with no problems and also not much restriction which is normal. I went for the third fill at two months out and found that I had a to have my port revised. No problem, went and had that surgery done 6-19-09, I waited a few weeks then went for my fill and low and behold the Doctor was not able to get the saline to draw out meaning I must have a faulty band because it is not giving me any kind of restriction. Okay, now I will be having my entire band replaced this next Friday. This now will make three surgeries in not quite four months and the bills are getting up there. I would like to take action with the Johnson and Johnson company that make the Realize band in that I would like them to pick up my out of pocket extra costs. Has anyone ever had this happen to them and what course of action did you take. Thanks for any comments or help that you can give! I feel like I should have a zipper put in my tummy! :-) I am loosing weight! Yeah!

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!:party: I will update my blog next Saturday! I am not looking forward to the GAS pains!:cursing: but I am looking forward to the "Sweet Spot" :party:

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! :thumbup:

Hi There Kelbiter! I had the revision done a year ago right now and I have been good since. I have only had 5 fills since then and I really have not lost much weight in the last year. I am down a total today of 74 pounds. The Realize people would not do anything for me in regards to the problem with the faulty band. I even had to pay for all the extras on the surgery that my insurance did not pick up. I got an attorney and had a talk but apparently there is nothing we can do if the band is faulty! Again I chose to replace mine and I am glad that I did! Good luck!

Hi To all! Well, here it is after Christmas and I did not gain a pound in fact I lost a pound. Pretty cool. I am still on a giant stall but I am not discouraged. I am going for a fill on Wednesday, which I am looking forward too. I still have my B-ping moments when I do not chew enough but I think that we all have that happen. My body shape feels different which is very cool. I go to the gym only twice a week to work with a trainer and do Cardio. I will be increasing the Cardio portion of my work out to at least three times a week starting next week. I still have yet to buy any new clothes, I guess I am still feeling too fat, LOL. I remember getting chubby and when I was at 170 things were not real bad but when I reached 200 I started feeling fat, so I am looking forward to getting under the 200 mark and geting more of my "really old" shape back! hehehe. One thing I can say that is really great to feel, is that when I weighed 264 I would not go anywhere and I would not want to see anyone and that was just a year ago, now I am looking forward to going somewhere on New Years Eve! Yeah! I am still very shy but at least now I am not embarrassed about my extra girth! One thing really interesting on the note of Size. Yes, I have lost 60 pounds but not very many people have noticed that I have lost weight. It must be the big girl clothes I still wear! It really makes me laugh! I will be getting rid of all the old things and on to new and more fitting garments! Well here's to the next 60 pounds that I am going to loose! 2010 will be a great year! Happy New Year to all! I love my Band! :thumbdown::drool:

Hi To all! Well, here it is after Christmas and I did not gain a pound in fact I lost a pound. Pretty cool. I am still on a giant stall but I am not discouraged. I am going for a fill on Wednesday, which I am looking forward too. I still have my B-ping moments when I do not chew enough but I think that we all have that happen. My body shape feels different which is very cool. I go to the gym only twice a week to work with a trainer and do Cardio. I will be increasing the Cardio portion of my work out to at least three times a week starting next week. I still have yet to buy any new clothes, I guess I am still feeling too fat, LOL. I remember getting chubby and when I was at 170 things were not real bad but when I reached 200 I started feeling fat, so I am looking forward to getting under the 200 mark and geting more of my "really old" shape back! hehehe. One thing I can say that is really great to feel, is that when I weighed 264 I would not go anywhere and I would not want to see anyone and that was just a year ago, now I am looking forward to going somewhere on New Years Eve! Yeah! I am still very shy but at least now I am not embarrassed about my extra girth! One thing really interesting on the note of Size. Yes, I have lost 60 pounds but not very many people have noticed that I have lost weight. It must be the big girl clothes I still wear! It really makes me laugh! I will be getting rid of all the old things and on to new and more fitting garments! Well here's to the next 60 pounds that I am going to loose! 2010 will be a great year! Happy New Year to all! I love my Band! :present::Dancing_wub:

I realize that it has been months since I last Blogged. Shame on me but here I am at last with a moment to write. I sure have enjoyed keeping op with Band Groupie, what would all of us do without her! She is great! I also follow Julie Ann with her secret journey and she is such an inspiration! Thank you both for all the great encouragement from your blogs! I am still plugging away with my band! I have been on a three week vacation to the East Coast and I was not able to eat what I like, but I managed to only gain 3 pounds. I got an adjustment (fill) as soon as I got home since it had been longer then 6 weeks. So this was my third adjustment since I had my band replaced. My band is getting pretty full now but I have still not reach the Sweet Spot! My band is a 11cc and I believe that I am now at 9cc. This adjustment so far is good! I still have a lot of restriction and I am not able to eat as much as before. I have lost the three pounds that I had gained but I am still stuck on my Plateau! I had a long talk with Dr. Feiz's new assistant Larry, who by the way is wonderful! (He is the one who does the adjustments now.) I am going to change a bit of what I eat and I am going to add a snack between lunch and dinner. I also need to make sure that I eat breakfast everyday which is hard for me. So a low fat yogurt or a protein shake will work. Protein for lunch and protein for dinner. and try to get more cardio exercise in. I will try! Still all in all Tuesday will be my seven month Bandiversary and I am half way to my goal weight. I have lost 60 pounds. I am very very happy! :wink:

Hey There LD, Thanks for the nice words on my blog. Right back at you! Congrats on the new thinner you! I have the same problem with my clothes, all to BIG! Cool! When did you get your Band?

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 DB, How is life? Sorry it has been so long since I have mailed you. I hope you are well. I have hit a stall for the past month or so. No real weight loss! I am at 60 pounds and I am really ready for the next 60 to come off! hehe! Hope to hear from you soon, Cheryl

I realize that it has been months since I last Blogged. Shame on me but here I am at last with a moment to write. I sure have enjoyed keeping op with Band Groupie, what would all of us do without her! She is great! I also follow Julie Ann with her secret journey and she is such an inspiration! Thank you both for all the great encouragement from your blogs! I am still plugging away with my band! I have been on a three week vacation to the East Coast and I was not able to eat what I like, but I managed to only gain 3 pounds. I got an adjustment (fill) as soon as I got home since it had been longer then 6 weeks. So this was my third adjustment since I had my band replaced. My band is getting pretty full now but I have still not reach the Sweet Spot! My band is a 11cc and I believe that I am now at 9cc. This adjustment so far is good! I still have a lot of restriction and I am not able to eat as much as before. I have lost the three pounds that I had gained but I am still stuck on my Plateau! I had a long talk with Dr. Feiz's new assistant Larry, who by the way is wonderful! (He is the one who does the adjustments now.) I am going to change a bit of what I eat and I am going to add a snack between lunch and dinner. I also need to make sure that I eat breakfast everyday which is hard for me. So a low fat yogurt or a protein shake will work. Protein for lunch and protein for dinner. and try to get more cardio exercise in. I will try! Still all in all Tuesday will be my seven month Bandiversary and I am half way to my goal weight. I have lost 60 pounds. I am very very happy! :huh2:

I am not sure how many of you have been banded by Dr Feiz, but if you live here in the LA area he is the only one to go to! I did a lot of research on him before I chose him. He is young, he is a great help thru the entire procedure and his after care is tremendous! The office staff also make the experience a good one and help a lot with the Insurance. I was approved within one month of first seeing Dr. Feiz. Surgery scheduling was fast and easy. You can see him in multiple offices in the area. I started in the Pasadena office and now I see him in the Encino office, he is also in Valencia and I believe out in Simi Valley area. His SMILE takes all of your fears and troubles away! When he is with you giving you an adjustment or just answering questions you feel that you are his only patient! That is a great thing. I work for doctors and it is hard to find one like this! I hope more of you will give your thoughts about this wonderful Doctor. Cheryl, thetig, Burbank, California