Humming Bird

I can only speak from my own experience and it has been a fantastic one. Since I have had such great success with the band, if I had a leak at this point I would beg them to put a new band in me. I'm not sure I would have waited 6 years to switch doctors and solve the problem. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I wish everyone could have it the way I do. Have you thought about a new band, sleeve, or other WLS ?

I agree. I'm glad I didn't find the site until I already had the band inside me. Some of the negative stuff may have freaked me out enough I would have put off getting banded and then I would still be morbidly obese today. The site is great for newbies. In my case, it has been a great place for learning details. I'm a long distance from my surgeon's office, so I didn't use them as a support team and I'm too far away to go to any of the group meetings or anything. I was not required to go to the office for "follow up" type visits. I only went in for a fill a few times. I have had to sift through many posts of things that just don't make sense and posts from bandsters who really don't understand the basics and give bad advise. IMHO many bandsters make the entire thing MUCH harder than it has to be. Overall, I love the site or I would not still be here reading and posting. It helps me keep my head in the game.

I will bet when you go back to the doc and they take out the Fluid to measure you will no longer have the 8.5cc. In a year some of the fluid does go away. It's not a leak. The fluid goes away through osmosis or something. You will find it so much easier if you go back every 10-12 months for a tiny fill to keep you in the zone.

Everyone is different. Some bandsters exercise like crazy and track everything they put in their mouth and every calorie burned. For me, I have put in very little effort. I don't track or journal anything. I don't do any type of formal exercise or "workout". I reached the green zone/ sweet spot very early and the wieght melted off and stayed off. I am more active in general because I feel better with all that extra weight gone. I try to eat healthy in general. I do not "diet". All that dieting stuff does not work for me. The many years of being a yo-yo dieter is proof enough for me to understand all that is a waste of time. I don't want to live my life obcessing over it and I have not had to.

Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow, and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have worried twice.

What do you mean you don't want to hear things like "I'd like to see my toes" or "I'd like to wear those pants again" ? LOL ..........those types of things were/are my main goal! I not only wanted to see my toes, I want to paint them without holding my breath or grunting! I did want to fit in those size 10 jeans instead of size 24! I'm wearing my size 10 jeans right now and they feel great! I wanted to be able to get up in my husband's 4X4 truck without a stepstool or major effort and grunting and being strangled by my huge boobs and belly! I wanted to wear pretty clothes instead of fat lady clothes. As someone else mentioned, my self esteem was so low about the way I looked and my lack of flexability and mobility, I felt like crying every day. What would I do to correct the problem? I would do something as drastic as weightloss surgery! I didn't care if all I could eat for the rest of my life was gruel. I would do something as drastic as spending $10,000. I was in a very desperate state. I am so happy to say I did it! I took off over 100 pounds with very little effort. I have kept the weight off! I don't have to eat only gruel! I can paint my toenails! I can wear size 10 jeans and my ass looks great in them! I can get up in the 4x4 like a normal person! I could go on and on with these types of reasons .......... (being fit or healthy was not my top personal priority. I'm fitter and healthier, but that is just frosting or gravy to me)

Are you cleared to get another fill now? It sounds like you are not in the green zone yet. Look at it as a bump in the road and a slow start, but it does sound like things will go better for you now.

I tried biotin, protein, iron, nioxin products,......everything....even rigain. Nothing helped. I had quite a bit of hairloss the first year. I think my hair did get better on it's own, but I have been taking the hair, skin and nails chews from GNC and think they might have helped my hair feel healthy, silky, and thicker again. I have been taking them for a couple months now. (1 every day)

They do make sub-lingual biotin. It just melts under your tongue. You can get it at health food stores.

I never did put anything in a blender except smoothies. It just kinda grosses me out. I would stay away from noodles and dumplings though, even blended.

Why would you stand up to eat? If you are not too tight and everything is ok with the band, why not just get a new port in a better location?

Chili , cottage cheese, salad, hot soup from the deli on days you leave work on your lunch break?

With me most of the time it's soup (about a cup I guess.... I never measure) *OR* cheese and crackers. I don't eat them together. The crackers will soak up the soup and swell.

If you gained 70 pounds it sounds like you need to go get a fill. When was the last time?

I can no longer eat any type of sandwich. I think in the beginning they sometimes tell you a list of foods that may cause problems. After you have been banded for awhile and reach the green zone you will figure out which foods you have to avoid. I have always kept fairly tight restriction and eat small salads often. They are in no way a slider and are so much better for you than a PBJ.

It sounds like he's married?

old thread, but I have some thoughts about it today...... I do not think self-filling is a good idea for all the reasons others have stated. One thing that does not make sense to me is the mention of filling other patients. I don't know how the medical field works, but I do know in dental (me), I have to hold a license to give injections. If someone were to fill thier friend or family member and that person gets an infection, I would think they are setting themselves up for a charge of practicing medicine without a license. That could mean prison time and fines and more .... I would think it would be worth going to and paying for someone who knows what they are doing and has the proper liability insurance.

I can only speak about my own experience, but the "hurt" is VERY different with the band. It stops me from overeating very well. When I reach my full level I can not eat even one more bite. If I take one more bite, depending on what type of food I'm eating, it will cause a great deal of discomfort or it will cause me to throw up. It is very different than that Thanksgiving dinner feeling of full. VERY different. Eating around the band would be like living on things that are high calorie and slide through easy. It would be like eating ice cream for every meal. I think I would get tired of that fast.

My surgeon put in 2.7cc during my surgery and I reached the green zone at fill number 2. I too did not go through much bandster hell.

You look great! I am so happy for you!

I will never understand why they would take out ALL the fluid when it seems like just a tiny unfill would have done the trick.

No, I can not eat rice, pasta , bread .....

You sound like green zone to me.

It sounds to me like your mind is messing with you a bit. I know the feeling......you want every single pound gone right now. 5 weeks is not that long. Give yourself credit and keep your eye on the prize. It takes some time. One year from now you will be basking in success.

I eat nuts and popcorn sometimes. They are not slider foods for me as they fill me up pretty quick. I have to make sure I chew them well or they will cause discomfort. I drink a glass of wine several times per week, but didn't have any alcohol for the first 6 months.