BeacheeGirl

Dr. thinks I was probably too tight. 7.5 in 10 cc band. He drew out all fluid and bank pain and breathing much better within a few hours. Willl still do Enco Upper GI on Tues to make sure. Will let everyone know.

I will let everyone know tomorrow. Has anyone ever gone through similar symptoms??????????????

Thank you for your input. Yes, I called Dr. Billy and he is getting me in today. The pain is sooo bad. I am really scared. I am at work and I am just gritting my teeth because pain is so bad. Sometimes it is a burning pain that is there but I can deal with, other times it is stabbing me and I feel I can't bear it.

I did see my PC but all he did was listen to my heart, chest, temperature and he said everything seemed normal. Prescribed antibiotics and told me to get a chest x-ray if not better

Hi everyone, it's been a while. I was banded in Mexico in June of 2006 by Dr. Joya. Everything was great and then I stopped losing weight about 6 mo's ago. I get my fill's done by Dr. Billy. I have had 2 fills and nothing, I still have a bit of restriction but BARELY. I keep telling him no restriction and he said that is because I am under 200 lb mark and the band won't do anything for me anymore. He mentioned that they should do an Endoscopy but no one ever called me to do it, they probably just got busy and he forgot to tell the nurses - fast forward a few months. I started to have lower back pain like a burning sensation a few months ago. I thought maybe it was because I sat at a desk all day long and have for years and it was just catching up with me. Now over the last few weeks that pain has moved up my spine and I have HORRIBLE lower back pain and upper back pain too. YES, I HAVE HAD MY GALL BLADDER REMOVED Yes, it does get worse when I eat. I also have started to feel a tightness in my chest like I can't breath all the way right. I can't get a full breath and it almost feels like I am going to start wheezing. I contacted Dr. Billy in Ventura, CA and they scheduled an Endoscopy for Tuesday next week. I also contacted my Primary Care physician and he thought it might be an infection or something and scheduled a Chest Xray. The Endoscopy is first though. The pain is so bad I wake up with it, I go to bed with it, if I eat it is worse and now I am starting to have nausea as well. When I breat I get sharp stabbing pains in my back. Please let me know if anyone has been through this, I am slowl deteriorating worse each day.

Hi it's Beachee Girl, I shredded all my old Before Pics so I don't have them anymore but here are some recent after pics, I'm down to about a size 12 but I REALLY miss my butt!!! LOL

It's been a long time since I posted. I wanted to update my info I've lost about 51 lbs and still have a lot to go but here are some recent pics!

Hi All, Well update to previous posts - I finally weaned myself off of the Effexor and the weight started dropping off. I am losing now and that is great. Problem is that now my mind is going crazy I am having panic attacks, I am extremely manic, up & down and am driving my husband, boss and family crazy. I have an appointment with a Psychiatrist tomorrow to get back on meds but I am scared to death about stalling my weight loss again. Because as some of you know, after the surgery for about 6 mo's because of the meds I was losing almost no weight at all. It has taken me 7 mo's to lose 30 lbs. and I don't want to gain ANY back or seriously, that will make me even crazier and harder to be with. I am anxious a lot and am looking for anyone that is successful on meds that are not making them gain weight or stopping them from losing AFTER SURGERY only please reply. I have been on Effexor, Lithium, Depakote, Prozac, Paxil, and all helped bring me from 135 lbs in my 20's to 240 lbs pre-surgery in my early 30's. Please tell me types of meds and dosages if you will. Thanks for your help.

Hi, I'll join! It has taken me a long time to lose the weight and I just had another fill and the weight is coming off again. I found that also getting off the anti-depressents is really helping the metabolism pick up again. I need to eat around 800 calories a day to see a 1 - 2 lb a week weight loss. I also work out 4 times a week with cardio and weight training. I take Omega 3 Vitamins, pre-natal vitamins (im not pregnant) Co Enzyme Q-10, Selenium w/ Vit C & Bioflavonoids and also Extra Vit C. I really want to work on my Water intake. Here's a before of me (on the left) , hubby and best friend Here's me about a week ago w/ hubby and friends (not much of a difference yet *sigh*)

I was BMI 35 - weight loss has been slowwwww - 20 lbs in 6 mo.s - exercise is key - you still have to diet, band is just a tool

Lap band after almost 6 mo's has only helped me lose 20 lbs. I did the 1 lb a week thing when i was dieting - spent $8000 for nothing - eating right, exercising, keeping food diary. Guess i'm jsut the unlucky one :- (

I was on the XR, not all people have a hard time, but many, many, many unfortunately do. Do a search of Effexor and weight loss and you will find many, many posts of people who blew up on Effexor and can't lose. Yes, I talked with my Dr. about weaning myself off and unfortunately, my Dr. was not well informed of the withdrawal effects. First time off I tried to go cold turkey from 150 mg a day. Bad idea! I was sick, brain tremors, headaches and got a severe cold. Best way to do it is to slowly over weeks ween yourself. I went from 150 to 75, did 75 mg for a few weeks then went town to 37.5. Then from 37.5 cut pill in half (they are now generic so you can get in pill form) to 18 mg. Them for a few weeks took 18 mg then every other day took it to nothing at all. The first few days after completely stopping the 18 mg I was very dizzy but bearable. A month later I am still dizzy and have brain zaps and dizziness but not enough to make me go back. Every day I feel better and I could not be more pleased. I will absolutely try new meds if I am too crazy at any time. I am researching the combination of Wellbutrin and Topamax because they are considered "weight neutral" drugs. I tried Topamax at a high dosage once but I felt totally dumbed down and my cognitive skills were very bad. If I did it again I would do at a much lower dose. For now I am in therapy twice a week and have really worked on getting very good nutrition in as a way to do better. I also take lots of Vitamins like coq10, Omega 3's, B12, Selennium, and multi-vitamins in addition.

Yup, I get all my protein in and then some. My doctor's cannot figure it out. I had to get off the Effexor to start losing again. I work out a lot too!