preciouspup

I just found this site today. Someone on my other support board I frequent was talking about this site. My name is Angie, I was banded on 10/7/05 by Dr. Kuri in Tiajuna, Mexico (Not sure if I spelled that right) I have lost 32 lbs. This is better then gaining and I feel much better then before banding but I feel I should be farther in my journey then this. I am losing again after being at the same weight for over two months. I am at a 2.8cc fill and get my fills from a great Washington Dr. I would love to go back to Dr. Kuri but I can not afford that trip each time I have a fill so I decided to go with a Doc I can drive to in a couple hours. I would love to hear from people that have had a slow but successful journey. I am sure I am going to make it I am just not sure how long it will take. I am very excited to be a normal size and shop in the regular section for clothes some day. I have no idea what I will look like at my goal weight because I don't remember ever weighing that amount. Hope to meet some wonderful people here

Yes I can feel my port. It's kinda wierd to feel something under your skin isn't it. You will see your most success when you get to a proper fill level. Sometimes that takes more then one fill. For me it was my 3rd fill. Kinda frustrating but well worth it once I got there. I lost slow to begin with, so don't beat yourself up if thats what happens. Right now it is alot of will power. It will get better!

You wont still be swollen by the time you can get a fill. By the time I was okayed to get a fill I was fine and you will be too. Your sister would probably be more understanding if you called her and explained to her that it would be helpful "for now" while your on liquids if she ate before she came over or she could have a nice bowl of tomato soup with you! Be honest with them, they will respond in their own way but they will be aware of how you feel. Because thats hard, right when your getting your appitite back... If it helps, schedule your fill now for 4 or 6 weeks from your sugery date, what ever your doc goes by then mark the days off on a calander. Each day marked off is a day of success. Sometimes a visual is helpul.

Your doing great! I am glad your feeling better. If you need something with some substance make up some vegetable soup then blend it in the blender till it's liquid. It will help because it's a little thicker but has a bunch of vitamins and nutrients. Don't eat anything solid even if your tempted. Every day you get through is one day longer you've allowed yourself to heal. It really does go fast. Just like life. Just think 2007 and almost over already...didn't we just ring it in a few months ago?

I am glad to hear your home. I remember that uncomfortable feeling but it does ease up. If you can sleep on your back thats probably your best possibility for getting comfortable. You have just taken one great big step into a new you! How exciting. One thing I think that makes it hard to get comfy is you may have small incisions but you have them on both side so it causes the discomfort in more than one area. I found that the incision above the port stayed sensitive longer then the others for me so FYI it's normal if you experience that. My children are watching Shrek 3 right now as I type. I like the Shrek movies. Keep us updated on how your feeling

BabyCat, You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Your right your sister shouldn't have pulled this to day. Right now they should be there for you but not everyone is emotionally available when we need them. Try to turn this into a positive and think of why they may be reacting the way they are. Tell yourself that they are doing this because they care about you and they are worried about you. Surgery is very scary for many people. Even though they are not supporting you the way you need them right now, it might make you relax and feel better about the situation if you think about it as that they don't know how to support you in any other way then showing fear because they care. Does that make any sense. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience and how well it goes...

BabyCat Thank you for the compliment about my wieghtloss. I was 319 when I started so I have come a long way and feel a lot better about myself. I have worked hard and you will too. I have had people say "oh you did it the EASY way" that irritates me more then anything because it's not easy you still have to want it and work toward it. Your absolutely right, it's a tool, thats it a tool to assist in your progression. Yes it is a helpful tool but it takes work and dedication. I still have a way to go yet so we will still be working this journey together. Your current weight was my half way mark so we are probably pretty close to having the same amount to lose at this point. I am not sure what your final goal is but i am sure it is probably fairly close. I have had periods of great success and periods of no loss. So keep your spirits high you have a journey ahead of you. My "plan" is to be ready for PS by January of 09 because I am renewing my vows in Vegas in June of 09 and want to be healed from that. I will definitely need it there is no way around it with as much weight as I will have lost. You on the other hand may not have too since you are not as over weight as I was. This is very exciting. I am going to checking in to hear how it went for you.

How exciting...about the protien drinks, I am not a good one to ask because I don't care much for them. I found that the Curves brand tastes okay but I think they all need to be made with very cold liquid or if they are premade then they need to be refridgerated. But thats just my opinionBut I haven't drank them in a while and have read about some much better tasting ones. I am hoping someone chimes in with the names because I can't remember what they are. Atkins shakes are tolerable if they are really cold so buy some prior to surgery and put them in the fridge if you don't get any other ideas. Wanted to say I will be looking forward to hearing about your experience and how good your doing!

I don't know who you were talking to about the above question but for me, no...I would have qualified if my insurance would have covered but it didn't. I went to Mexico because it was the only place I could find it under 10,000 and I was taking out a loan to pay for it. I do not regret going to Mexico though because I had a great doc.

I had Dr. Kuri too. That was 2 years ago, My price was higher though $8950.00 Great that he is offering it even cheaper now. I thought it was a great price compared to what I was finding back a couple of years ago. He is a great doctor and I would recommend him to anyone. I have sent a co-worker and her friend to him as well and they were very happy with their experiences as well. The other doctors he works with are very nice as well.

You don't get your first fill for usually 6 weeks after your surgery. I know some docs do it sooner but my doc said the average is 6 and thats what he goes by. My first fill was a little painful because of the tilted port like I explained earlier. I don't think normally it's anymore painful then a getting a shot. Because my doctor uses that numming stuff with the first shot and then performs the fill. So I would have to say you will probably work yourself up for nothing because then unknown is always nerve wracking then you'll think wow that's it, its over...that was easy. About the liquid diet. You are on complet liquids to begin with and from being fresh out of surgery, I didn't want to eat anyway. After that you move onto full liquids which can have some substance to it, like blended Soup. It's warm, and comforting and you can drink what you want of it and put the rest in the fridge and have more later. By the end of the two weeks I wanted food though. I think thats how you know your healing well because it takes more to satisfy you. You want to chew. But take it slow because it's a learning process.

I noticed she hasn't posted in a while but in case your still reading this thread I wanted to offer up an idea: I did pay cash for my surgery 9950.00 in Mexico plus fight for my hubby and I so I totally understand. The insurance that I have now does pay for it but I had it done before I became an employee with the county so guess what they wont pay for any of the follow up care either since they didn't pay for the proceedure. But about the Plastic Surgery a couple of thoughts. First do you or your husband have a health savings account through your employment? My husband does so we signed up for it as an "extra" We have medical through me and he carries a minimal medical plan through his job to be eligible for the HSA... SO what it does is allows us to save money for anything medical related and use it when needed. Shawns company matches 100% of his contribution to a certian amount. So each paycheck he contributes 50 his employer matches the 50 which means I have 200 a month being saved for my PS when the time comes. So work is going to be paying half the cost of my surgery and we will be paying the other half through our contributions. For that matter anyone with patience could use the same concept to save for their surgery. Also I have read numerous different places about insurance covering some procedures for health related medical reasons that stem from major weightloss. The trick is documentation, documentation, documentation...with your MD so he/she has a strong case to submit to your insurance co. skin irritation, rashes or what ever could be contributed to lose skin as the problem should be documented with your MD if your going to try to go this route. From everything I have read it's about getting the procedure away from "cosmetic" and into " for health purposes" Just a couple of thoughts/ideas it really put my mind at ease when I started saving through the HSA.

MaryJayne Don't get discouraged. I lost slowly in the beginning until I reached a good fill level. You are most likely not there yet. Schedule an appt with your doctor for a fill . Another thing that helps with hunger is increasing fiber and protein. You'll there it just takes getting to the right level.

I am still able to get fills, it just takes a little longer for the doctor to locate the center of the port. It turned out to be okay now that he knows where my port is tilted and has it marked in my chart. It took almost 20 minutes to located the center of the port the first time and it is usually a 1-2 minute proceedure really. There was a lot of brusing and tenderness after the first fill because of him having to continue to move the needle while locating the center. No problems now. He is a really good doc and has it marked really well so it's back to to quick proceedure...No regrets just take caution.

BabyCat Good luck on your banding. I was banded in Mexico, they released me from the hospital the next day and I decided to spend the night after surgery in San Diego because I didn't want to stay in Mexico but wanted to be close to the border in case of any complications. San Diego was having the Columbus Day Street Fair or something like that anyway the day after surgery I walked around for hours. I took little breaks here and there and drank a lot of water...slowly... but I returned to work 4 days after surgery. My job is not physical. (counselor with teenagers). I did notice that for about the first 2 weeks, I got tired quicker then usual and I did go home early a couple times cause I was tired but I was able to do about 85% of my "normal" activities right away. The hardest part for me was finding a comfortable sleeping postition because of the little incisions and the port. (I am not a back sleeper, if you are then no worries). REMEMEBER that you are recovering from surgery though and even though you feel fine no heavy lifting. It is hard to remember that when you feel fine. But you will have stitches inside that need their full six weeks with no heavy lifting!! That was very hard for me to remember or even understand since I felt normal and I was helping a family member move before my six weeks were up and ended up causing myself some port pain. My port in now tilted and my doc thinks it's because I was lifting and probably tore stitches around the port. I hope others learn from my mistake rather then testing the waters on their own....

It looks as though 2 of you may be trying to do this. I saw a thread under recipes a week or two ago about someone saying they were putting together a cookbook. The thread is titled The Book....please read or something close to that. I was just thinking it might be better to combine the efforts of the site into one book rather then into two....

Who are you asking these questions to?

We don't have a GNC and I have found I don't like most Protein drinks like I stated in my post above. I think I will try to hunt this one down and try it. Is it a "GNC" brand or a special brand that only GNC carries or is it carried at a different store does anyone know. In my area we have Safeway, Albertsons, Walmart, Rite Aide and we are getting a Walgreens in about a month....any thoughts?

Did you tell people you were having it done? Yes, I told the people that I was close to. My husband went with me. My friends and family were very supportive because they had seen me try other avenues and have continued yo yo results. The one thing I didn't like was that many of them asked me how my weight loss was coming along ALL THE TIME! I also am a horrible lier so decided that there was no point in trying. People are going to ask you questions all the time like...How are you losing so much weight, what are you doing? Why aren't you eating? How can you resist that? And if you run into a situation where you "get sick" or PB people will ask you whats wrong if you run out of the room. Plus you will eat slower then everyone else and that could draw out questions to you by people that know you. Being honest up front allows you to not have to try to make excuses or half ass explanations for things you don't want to talk about infront of a group of people if that makes sense. But it also leaves you open to getting their opinions all the time because "they care about you" If you have friends or family that are gonna give you a hard time or try to talk you out of it then don't tell them till it's over and done with because really I think you should tell your spouse if you have one but other then that it isn't anyones business if they are gonna cause you too much stress over it. Did you eat like you were never going to eat again?????:hungry: Hee Hee, I did. I made myself sick one night about a 2 weeks before my surgery from eating too much sugar. I was required to do a protein diet for 2 weeks prior to my surgery to shrink my liver. Many docs require this if you BMI is above a certain number. The day prior to my surgery I had a cheeseburger and fries since I knew that wasn't going to be on my menu in the near future. Many docs require you to lose a certain percentage of weight prior to your surgery so that might not be a good idea if you can avoid it. Might make it harder to get your surgery scheduled. Did you establish an exercise program? Was I supposed to yes, but did I no. I figured I wasn't gonna be able to exercise right after surgery for a while so why bother because I would just lose momentum when I had to quit for the recovery period....not the best attitude but oh well to late now. What was your favorite Protein Drink and where did you purchase. The Protein drinks that I think taste the best are the ones that Curves sells. There are so many out there that are probably better for you but I have a seriously hard time drinking them for any period of time because I don't really like them. But we do what we have to do...don't we! Sorry didn't mean to write a small book

It really depends on the size of your band from what I have heard. I started with 1cc and felt plenty of restriction then worked my way up slowly .5cc each time after that. I am actually gonna call my doc on Monday and schedule a fill. I think I am in need of bumping up another stage. But I have a 4cc band and I know that some people get different bands depending on what their doctor feels is appropriate at the time of surgery. Without a fill/restriction 1/2 pound a week is great but yes you will lose faster when you get to a fill level where you are experiencing restriction. I think your desire to want to be able to eat anything you want as long as it in smaller portions is great but your doctor is going to disagree most likely because we are supposed to be learning how to choose quality foods since our intake is limited. I also think you will need to decide if your happy at losing 1/2 lb a week. That is a steady pace and steady does get the job done but....It only equals 12 lbs a year and for me that would be way to slow to keep me motivated. I think it is about what works for you to reach the results your looking for. You wanted to accomplish something by getting your band so the main focus is to accomplish your goal in a healthy way that you and your doctor are both comfortable with:o

Okay, I have to say I have been where you are and this is what I learned. I was tooo tight. I went 4 months before getting it fixed because I liked the weight loss. Like you I could eat soup. Some soup was not okay either. Like Chowder...nope I got to the point where I was on practically a liquid diet too long. I had no energy, I started getting bags under my eyes, my iron level was messed up among some other symptoms. I began trying to eat just for energy and nothing would go down. I got down to 224 the lowest I had been at. I loved it. Problem was that when I went to my doctor and told him my symptoms he took my fill out and I had to have no restriction for 2 months while I repaired the damage I "might" have done. He said my esophogus needed time to get back to normal. I could have caused my band to slip or even worse caused perminent damage to my stoma and esophogus. With the fill out I gained weight and went back up to 245. I am still not at the proper fill level and I am in need of a fill but I am moving back up slowly. I am still not down to my previous low weight and if I had went back to my doctor when I realized I was too full I am sure I would be farther along in my journey then I currently am. This caused me to lose about 6 months of progress. Please call your fill doctor and let them know what your able to eat, drink, pills, ect and let them be the judge. You may just need to get a smidge removed who knows....but be careful, you only have one stoma and one esophogus.

I think this is a wonderful idea. One thing I would suggest is doing a section on the unpredicibility of the band. I mean that one day you can eat something fine and the next time you try it....no way...not happening. I have found that to be the most frustrating part of this journey. As soon as I think I have figured something out my band changes it's mind. And as you have probably noticed from reading other peoples posts as well as your own experiences, not all the "suggested" foods work for everyone. Like I read one post about not being able to keep tuna fish down. Well I have had that experience as well. One day tuna works well and then next time it's a painful experience. I have been at this for 2 years now and have done really well at times and loved my band and have hated it and "attempted" to rebel against it. I think it would be very helpful for people to know that everyone's band has a mind of it's own and some things will work great and others will not work at all. There are certain things I have come to accept that I will never eat again because of the pain involved in even trying and then I talked to someone that can eat the foods on my "no way" list. Sorry for babbling. It appeared that your recently banded if I remember correctly so please don't let me scare you. I love my band and would do it again in a heart beat but don't be surprised when you have frustrating days....