Dwayne Bordelon

I did not ask him how much he put in. One thing I noticed this time because I was paying attention to the monitor is that I could tell how big my opening was when I swallowed the barium. It was kind of weird - the opening looked small, but when the barium pooled up against the bottom part of the pouch, the opening flexed open and the barium fell right through. It helps to understand what is going on when I can see it in action.

I am at gbi now. Dr Ponce is doing the fills. Wonder how much they will put in?

Well, my fill is tomorrow. I am having mixed feelings about the appointment. A couple of weeks back, I was seriously wigging out - I gained almost 10lbs back very quickly. Since that time I have forced myself to three meals a day and eating less at each meal. I have to say it is working - I lost all that I gained plus 8 more lbs. I honestly have not been too hungry, but I have made sure I was busy all the time. I noticed this week after getting back to work, I started getting empty in between meals - I am not sure if it is head hunger, real hunger, or what. Right now, I can eat anything and I don't really get full per se, I just kind of stop eating. I could probably keep this up, but my fear is that I will suddenly go off the deep end again. I really do not want to go through what punkster is going through, but I have only had one fill so I feel like I need more.

I am getting really frustrated. I have read plenty of posts like this, but I will say it anyways. I have had my first fill and since that time(May 12) I have had no help from my band. A few things about my experience so far since the surgery - I have never gotten stuck, never felt like hurling, I lost weight good at first(6-8 lbs a week), I can eat anything - bread, rice, any meat, chips, cheetos, etc., I can now eat fast without feeling the discomfort I felt before(I still do occasionally). Now, I know that some of the responsibility is on me, but I have tried and I am still trying. Perfect example yesterday: I ate chicken salad on a wheat bun for Breakfast with some more chicken salad on a plate for breakfast(it had grapes, apples, onions, light mayo and boiled chicken - so fairly healthy) I started getting a little hungry and empty but I drank Water and some G2 gatorade until lunch. I ate a child portion of beef tips and fries at Logan's roadhouse. I did not finish the fries. I was satisfied, but could have eaten more. Mid afternoon, I was starting to get hungry again, so I started forcing down water to get by. By 5 pm I was pretty hungry - on the verge of binge hungry. I ate more chicken salad - basically a repeat of breakfast. I ate slowly and stopped eating when I felt satisfied. I immediately went outside and worked for a couple of hours on my daughter's tree house. I was hungry when I finished working so I started guzzling water again. I held off the hunger for about 2 more hours but by 9pm I was going crazy Okay so long story short - I can't even tell the damn $18K thing is there! I tried, but not very hard to get in for another fill to which they replied I have to wait an month for the first three fills. oh yeah and as far as exercise - I do something everyday - walking between 2 and 4 miles a day or playing tennis on average of 2-3 times a week for 2-3 hours a pop. I also stay busy working on my house, yard or daughter's tree house. DAMNIT!

Jennifer(the nurse) called me and we talked a while about my frustration. I wanted to say that I really appreciated her call and feel like she understands my situation. I told her that I would not have been so concerned if I was just at a stand still, but gaining weight is what was driving me nuts. I told her that I had redoubled my efforts and have been doing better yesterday and today and my hope is that going on Vacation this coming week will help - my hope is to stay busy and keep my mind of the hunger. She bumped my appt up to Jun the 11th which is the week I get back from vacation. I am pretty happy with that.

Edit - it turns out I was wrong. Jennifer's email is not jennifer at gastricbandinstitute dot com That is Jennifer Hilkert's email - apparently she works on the marketing side for GBI.

As a shot in the dark, I forwarded the email I sent to Brooke to Jennifer(I was guessing at her email). She replied last night at 12 am(weird) saying she escalated it and that I should hear something today. I suppose that is something positive.

I am still very frustrated. I have called twice to see if I can get in for another fill and have spoken to Tiffany both times. I figure that she is the 'stopper' to basically cut off calls like mine and I think that is BS. I really feel like that now that they have my $18k, the no longer feel the need for good service. Tiffany is so patented in her response it makes me want to reach through the phone and smack her. She actually had the gall to say the weight I have gained(10 lbs by the way) is probably muscle since I am exercising every day. If that is the case, I need to quit my job and start body building - if I can put 10 lbs of muscle on in 3 weeks, I am a freak of nature. I sent Brook and email on Tuesday to which I have received no response:

I have not had any anxiety or panic issues, but I have been more aggressive and more prone to serious anger. So much so, that my wife has said something about it.

I am getting really frustrated. I have read plenty of posts like this, but I will say it anyways. I have had my first fill and since that time(May 12) I have had no help from my band. A few things about my experience so far since the surgery - I have never gotten stuck, never felt like hurling, I lost weight good at first(6-8 lbs a week), I can eat anything - bread, rice, any meat, chips, cheetos, etc., I can now eat fast without feeling the discomfort I felt before(I still do occasionally). Now, I know that some of the responsibility is on me, but I have tried and I am still trying. Perfect example yesterday: I ate chicken salad on a wheat bun for breakfast with some more chicken salad on a plate for breakfast(it had grapes, apples, onions, light mayo and boiled chicken - so fairly healthy) I started getting a little hungry and empty but I drank water and some G2 gatorade until lunch. I ate a child portion of beef tips and fries at Logan's roadhouse. I did not finish the fries. I was satisfied, but could have eaten more. Mid afternoon, I was starting to get hungry again, so I started forcing down water to get by. By 5 pm I was pretty hungry - on the verge of binge hungry. I ate more chicken salad - basically a repeat of breakfast. I ate slowly and stopped eating when I felt satisfied. I immediately went outside and worked for a couple of hours on my daughter's tree house. I was hungry when I finished working so I started guzzling water again. I held off the hunger for about 2 more hours but by 9pm I was going crazy Okay so long story short - I can't even tell the damn $18K thing is there! I tried, but not very hard to get in for another fill to which they replied I have to wait an month for the first three fills. oh yeah and as far as exercise - I do something everyday - walking between 2 and 4 miles a day or playing tennis on average of 2-3 times a week for 2-3 hours a pop. I also stay busy working on my house, yard or daughter's tree house. DAMNIT!

I said the other day at Logan's - "...a booth is fine..."

Holy crap! that is extreme to say the least. No way in he!! I would follow that.

I had my fill last Tuesday and I feel like I was doing good until yesterday. I have been getting hungry within 2 hours of eating for the last two days. Will they let you come back in and get more fill? Do I have to wait for a month?

I was banded 4 weeks ago and so far I have lost 45 lbs and have lost about 5-6 lbs a week for the last couple of weeks. It has been pretty easy to eat small meals by eating slow and just stopping when I have had enough - I probably could have eaten more,but I chose to stop. I have kept up with all my exercise and food on livestrong.com and have pretty much stayed under 1500 calories a day and usually exercise every day - walking or playing tennis. On to the wagon - I fell off yesterday. For the last week and a half, I have been getting progressively hungrier and unable to last in between meals before feeling empty. I have been snacking (trying to be healthy snacks) some and trying to drink plenty, but yesterday I went off the deep end - milk duds, pizza rolls, more hummus than usual, crackers and cheese, ice cream, etc. I never did eat a huge amount at one sitting, but I did graze for most of the afternoon starting at about 2pm and I was actually doing great up until that point. I swear it is an episode like this that absolutely pisses me off and wakes me up at the same time. I have been feeling very good about not being hounded by hunger for first time in a long time, but yesterday it came back with a vengeance. I realized at some point yesterday afternoon that I was no longer eating for hunger, but eating because I wanted to and that was the most scary part! Today is a new day and my first fill is next Tuesday. I just need to keep it together until then.

I was trying to pay attention to the names of the people Brooke was calling back. What is your name punkster? When I got my fill, Brooke said on a scale of 1-10, I have a fill of three. I think it was her way of saying she put in 3 cc's. I know their policy about telling patients how much fill they have.

Just remember - I am the handsome intelligent one....... I kid I kid.... Are you getting filled today? What time? I will be there for a fill at 1:30.

I wasn't sure. I forget the names of the people up there. I kind of thought Tiffany was the other nurse. I like her alot(the other nurse) - I think she has a really good demeanor.

My adjustment is Tuesday and boy do I need it! I was so desperate, I called them Thursday(my original appt day) and asked if I could come in. She(not sure who she was - I think it was the black headed chick in the front office) said Dr. Ponce was out of town. I didn't think he had to be the one to do the adjustment?

They must be getting behind. My first fill appointment was moved from May 7 to May 12th. I was a little bummed.

I am at the end of my third week. According to the stuff they gave me, at the beginning of the third week, I could start eating soft proteins(eggs, cheese, finely chopped meats etc.) I did that and by the end of the third week today I have started eating more regular food - fiber breads, pasta, other meats(hamburger, steak). With all that being said, I started eating the 4th week stuff a few days early. When I do eat, I am absolutely careful to chew everything until it turns into paste so I do not have any issues. y'all can click on my livestrong.com daily plate link and see what I have been eating. I was not very worried

Thanks for the response. I hear you about the tracking. I do not plan on doing it forever. I am just trying to get a feel for what people eat and how much.

Does anyone use daily plate or something similar to track their food? I have been using it because it is easy to do and I can do it on my iPhone. I am curious as to what everyone is eating on a daily basis. Post up your public links to your food journals or just an average of what you eat. Here is my daily plate food journal: LIVESTRONG.COM - Health, Fitness, Lifestyle

Dr. Ponce at GBI

I am down 40 lbs as of today(on the scale at work with my work clothes on). I lost 6 lbs this week so I feel like I am doing good. I started playing tennis again this week - even though that is earlier than the guidelines. I also started eating normal foods earlier than the book says. I took both things very slowly and I have not had any issues - no PBing, throwing up etc., I was leary about doing these things early but I feel great so hopefully nothing bad will come of it. I tell ya, I am really suprised by my ability to eat less and stay satisfied even though I have no fill. I wonder if I will start to get hungrier over time?

I am here!