shell04937

Hello my name is Michelle and I had the band Sept 2006. I am awaiting approval for my band to be converted to GB, I was submitted to insurance on Nov 20th so it should not be too much longer. For the first time today I had that what if feeling, what if I don't get approved. I have great insurance and they tell me it will be ok, but what if. Can anyone tell me how much different then their band it feels? I have lots of restriction already, but my problem is everything gets hovering in my band and my stomach is empty still so I'm sometimes hungry but cant eat. My dietician says she says eating will feel so much better after for me. But what if I don't have the restriction and eat too much. Why am I having so many fears that I never thought about before?

Hello my name is Michelle and I had the band Sept 2006. I am awaiting approval for my band to be converted to GB, I was submitted to insurance on Nov 20th so it should not be too much longer. For the first time today I had that what if feeling, what if I don't get approved. I have great insurance and they tell me it will be ok, but what if. Can anyone tell me how much different then their band it feels? I have lots of restriction already, but my problem is everything gets hovering in my band and my stomach is empty still so I'm sometimes hungry but cant eat. My dietician says she says eating will feel so much better after for me. But what if I don't have the restriction and eat too much. Why am I having so many fears that I never thought about before?

I do not know of any sites you can go to. I am wondering why they do not require after every 3 or so fills that they have people do a fill under fluro. It would really help to know if this problem started with my last fill or which one. Also is it that we have issues with weaker esophaguses or is it the related to the band. Also I do feel better when I eat today. I do actually feel fuller after food then I had been. I think the food is getting into my stomach and so its not growling like it was. I will keep you all posted on my experience. Please do the same and share any sites you find that will help us understand what is going on with our band. Hand in there and I will do the same.

I went for a fill last week because my last fill was Jan 2008. I was banded 2 yrs ago in Sept. I am down 50lbs from surgery and am ok with that because it has helped me with my back and leg pain and I am not on insulin anymore. But I have noticed over the past few months that I can eat more. Not tuns or even that much more but it is more like I am hungry to the point I have hunger pains and feel faint. My sugars are ok when I check them so I figure I just needed a fill because I get genuin hunger. Well when I went for my fill my Dr. said I should have 9cc in my band and he has never seen anyone with that much in it and feel comfortable. His partner did my last 2 fills. So he had me go today and do the fill in x-ray department under fluro. Anyways come to find out I was extreamly tight and my esophagus is streching and food just sits there. He took out 1cc and wants to see me in 6weeks. In the mean time he has me seeing the diatician again. Sorry if my spelling is off but I have a killer headache and spelling is the first thing to go. So my question is have any of you had this and how serious is it? Is the band not going to work now that this has happened? I wish I had thought of asking questions at my appointment but I was shocked and did not know what to say. I swear I do not throw up unless I try to drink after having solids. I have no pain and never have. I have been stuck for 9 months now at the same weight. If anyone has any info on an experience they have had that worked out I would love to hear. Good or bad. Thanks, Michelle:confused_smile:

:eek: Hi my name is Michelle and I just went and had Fluro today. I have a 9cc band and took forever to loss any weight and finally had lost 50lbs after 14 months. Then it stopped. I went for a fill last early Dec and felt like I had an unfill. THen went back in Jan and the put 1/2cc in and that gave me 9cc. This was done by a Dr. that had joined the practice because my Dr was not available on all the days I could go to the office. So since Jan I have restriction but went up 3lbs and have noticed I can eat more and more. I do occassionally PB but only if I try to do solids and Fluid together. So I went in today and found out I am dialated.:crying: I wanted to start crying on the table. I did not know what to think of ask. I just sat there and watched. I had so much restriction I dont know how anything went thru. I take meds every night at bed time and they are meds I truly need to keep my immune system working and joint pain under control. I have no idea how they every make it thru. THe Dr. had a panic look but just said he has never seen that much restriction and not warning signs. I feel so stupid. How could I have not known? My fear when I got the band is that something would go wrong and they would take my band. today was like my biggest fear coming true. They didn't take my band but he did an unfill. Yes only 1 cc but who is to say this is going to fix itself or that it can. What am I going to do. THis is the first thing that has helped me loss weight. What is your Dr.'s plan? My Dr. wants me to see a Diatician, which makes me feel like this is really my falt. Which cant see me until Aug 29th. THen I see my Dr again on Sept 5th. Im freaked right now. I hope we get answers soon. Hang in there and I will try to also.....

I was laying in bed last night thinking that even thought I have lost 53lbs that I would probably put it on just as fast if I was not banded. I find that I can eat very little of anything but esp. lettuse since my last fill. Ice Burg is ok but anything with more texture just gets stuck. I have maybe 3 bites of meat and I am done for the meal. I have been living on String cheese 8g protein per stick. I try to eat a plate of food but put very little on it because if I do then I get overwhelmed and almost imedietly I cant eat anymore. We went out to eat last week and my husband decided he did not want to share a meal with me so I ordered my own. What a joke. I took two bites and could not look at it. I new 2 bites was not going to hold me so I took the little plate they had the roll on and gave the roll to my kids and put 1 scoop of potato, turkey W/gravy and cole slaw on it. It took my 1/2 hour to eat but I did it and thought my friend the waitress was shocked that is all I ate, I was proud that I made it thru and did not over or under do it. I wish that I could have a piece of Cake and frosting but a very small piece is all I can handle and it takes me forever and a day to eat it.

Since my last fill in July I have been loosing weight slow and steady. I was 230 July 21st and today I am 219 so I am very very happy. But I have noticed that since my last fill I have been having really bad heart burn after my meds or anything slightly spicy. It is like the stuff is in my esophagus too long. Does anyone else have this problem. I have notice the amount of food I can eat has increased the last few days so I am thinking that maybe the 11 lbs off since that fill has made the band loosed. Thats ok with me as long as I continue to loose the next 44 lbs. But any suggestions on the heart burn would be greatly appreciated.

Gee that is only a few weeks away and the weight is coming off in sprits. I will give it a go. My weight this am is 219.6 so that would mean 214.6 and that would be 50lbs since surgery date and 58lbs since 1st pre op visit. We can do it!!!!

I have been thinking I would like to join the next summer challeng to see if that helps me any. I do not have anyone local with the lap band for support. My family is great support but none of them are banded. My ex=sister in law is banded but she is happy with 210lbs and eats whatever she wants. Plus she is my ex sister in law which makes it uncomfortable. We have a local support group but that is not like keeping tabs on weight loss and my Dr appointment are only every 3 months. So I think that it would help to keep tabs and a little friendly chanllenge.:biggrin1:

It has taken me a while to figer out that fine line between feeling comfortable and major discomfort. If I eat one bite too many then I suffer big time, but if I dont eat enought then I am still hungry. I find that at times I would rather not eat then take a chance of feeling that stuck feeling.

My dr said that it is possible for it to last forever. I only pray it does.

God if you never experience it our will be a lucky person!!!! I know what she means by looking at it and getting the sensation of it as if you had eatten it. That has happened to me and I swear it truly makes you never want the food again. For me the slimming is like when you are going to be sick and your mouth produces toooooo much suliva. But for me it builds up and triggers my gag reflex. PB'ing is like when the saliva triggers my gag reflex but I just open my mouth and the food or saliva just shoots out my mouth without any effort. I thank god have not PB in a couple of months. But slimming happens way too often. I have to get up and walk away from the table the second it starts.

I find that pasta and bread are hard for me to eat but a very very very small amt every so often I can do. I am talking like 1/2 a piece of toast of 1/2 cup of pasta. Pizza I can do 2 or 3 little bites of. But really when your fill is just right you dont feel hungry very often and you get to a point that its not as big of a deal. I had to respond because you named my 4 favorit things. Soda I have lived without and I never in a life time thought I could. For a little while after me surgery I had no restriction and soda was something I would treat myself to once in a while. Not a lot but maybe 4-6 oz. Now I have alot of restriction and have lost the desire for soda because it make me feel sooooooo uncomfortable. Pasta and bread was my favorit meal. Now I go to like the Olive garden and get soup. THen I take a few bites of my husbands pasta and am happy. We are talking like maybe 3 or 4 bites. But I promise that once you start lossing weight it will not be so bad. What one person eats another peson may not be able to and vise versa. Please go to your meeting and you will be happy with the results. Good luck!!!!

That is a good question. I would say 90% of the time yes. But sometimes I just would like to take a bite of meat and not suffer. I would love to eat a hamburger with the bun or just some steak. I would love to go out to eat and eat more then 3 bites of food in 1/2 hr. But then I think of having to give myself insulin or being able to bend over without feeling like I am going to pass out and I say "Hell Ya I would do it again tomorrow".:clap2:

why cant she take NSAIDS with the band? I have been banded since Sept 2006 and have been on NSAIDS pre band and post band daily. I have an autoimmune disease that causes joint and muscle pain so without them I cant walk. Just wondering if a Dr said not NSAIDS with the band or what because mine never said a thing.

I am speaking as a person who has been over weight since she was 7 or 8, as a mom and a person that has been banded. I am talking as a mom who has 2 daughter one whom has been overweight since the day she was born and a daughter that is 6 this week and starting to have extra weight showing. When I was growing up it was hard. I was teased constantly by boys who now I know are just stupid jerks, but it does not make the memories any easier. I was a size 18 in 8th grade and then that summer grew about 6 inches ( I am not kidding my brother did the same thing) anyways I went from a size 18 to a 14 in one summer. I felt great and was happy but the fear of being teased and the anxiety I felt around boys was horrible. I stayed a size 14 all thru high school but had to excersise everynight when my parents thought I was in bed and eat very small amounts of food to stay that way. I got married and I went to a size 18 and when I had my surgery 13yrs later I was almost a size 24 even thought I would eat less then my skinny friends. Today I buttoned a size 18 again but could not have moved in them so I am almost there again. Anyways back to my thougth on teens having the surgery. I have already told my husband that if I can do anything to help my girls not have to have the anxiety this has caused me then I will do it in a heart beat. I think when my girls are between the ages of 16-18 if they are mature enought to understand the life long impact this will have on them and to understand what is required (some days it is hard having a band because your psychie is effected), I will let them have the surgery. I would rather them have it at 16, 17 or 18 before they develope the back and knee pain and diabetes I have at 32yrs old. I think it would have been easier to get this as a teen because that is 16 yrs of learning bad habits that they can avoid or change sooner. Talk to your husband and daughter and discuss the benifits and the risk. Doing it so she gets a date is not good enough. Doing it to save her mental health and life are reasons for it. Good luck with whatever you decide. Keep us posted.

It has been a while since I checked in. I was banded Sept 2006 and it took me a long time to really start lossing. 15lb from Sept - Feb Come to find out my sleeping pill Remeron was the reason. I just happened to run out of it in March and in 1 week lost 5 lbs. I had questioned the med back in Nov with my family Dr at the time and she swore it would not be causing me not to loss weight. Well since about March 25 I have lost another 25 lbs. That is 25lbs from in 2 1/2 months. I am soooooooo excited. As of today I am down 40lbs. I started at 272 and today was 232. I just wanted to check in and let you all know how I am doing. I am not sure anyone here will even remember me. I have a 9cc band and I am at 7cc right now and do not want to be any tighter. My goal is to loss another 10 lbs by sept and then give my self another year to loss 50 more. We will see. I will be happy no matter what happens. Not just the weight loss but also I am off insulin which was the main reason I did this. My last A1C was 6.1 and that is excallent for a Diabetic. Take care and will check in more often promise!!!!!!:biggrin1:

I had my banding Sept 22, 2006. I had a very hard time adjusting to the band. Not the amount of food I could eat but the amount of types of food I could not eat and then not loosing weight. Post op I lost 3 lbs, after first fill I had restriction but was hungry all the time, I lost 4lbs but I had the flu so really what I lost was due to flu. My second fill was Dec 15th. and I did have alot of restriction. Actually at times I thought too much. I wasn't loosing and unable to eat much of anything. Well the big change was about 3 weeks ago. I am not sure exactly what the change was. Someone said they thought I was eatting too much still but those who saw me eatting thought I was eatting too little. Well I have eliminated bread from my diet and have been focusing on Protein. I eat sooooo much salad my digestive system yells at me sometimes. I have been eatting things like apple sauce and Kellogs Protein Bars, Grilled chicken salads for meals and eggs. I am finding things that go down easier and I really do think that increasing the amount I have been eatting just a little has made the difference. Finally I am loosing. I lost 6lbs in the past 3 weeks. I went for my fill appointment last week and opted not to have a fill because I feel I have good restiction and am loosing. I think it is also partly because I am eatting more food. Before I could eat 3 bites of a sandwich and that would be it and now I eat just the Tuna for example and can eat a serving of it. I am happy and feel empowered. Before I was discouraged and feeling like a failure. I like walking on the treadmill and even pre surgery was working out on my husbands treadmill. During the time I was feeling discouraged I tried working out and the treadmill would not work for me. I thought it was not working because I in the 250's but when it stoped working for him we realized it is just old. We are getting a new one this week hopefull and then I can work even harder to loose some more weight and feel extra good this summer. So anyone feeling discouraged about their weight loss hand in there because your body will kick in gear.

I was banded on 9/22/06 and I had no PB until after my second fill on 12/15/06. For 3 weeks after, I felt like every time I tried to eat anything I would slimmed and 1/2 the time if I slimmed then I would end up PB'ing. Just about 3 weeks ago I noticed that things changed. 1. I eat only what I know will go down Ok. 2. I eat so slow it takes a good 30-45min to eat even a salad. 3. I chew and chew and chew. My jaw actually get sooooooo sore from chewing. 4. I stop at the slightest twing of discomfort and dont pick up again until I am 100% sure it has passed. I am slimming less, PB'ing less and weighing less.

I haven't been on much the past month because of being so busy and finally have a fill with restriction thinking things were turning around. Well I still have restriction and would not want more then what I have. I can eat about 1 cup of food at a time except when it comes to meat or bread. If meat or bread is involved then I can eat no more then 4 bites if I am lucky and usually end up in trouble after 2 bites. I had my last fill on 12/15 and started that day at 257. I got down to 253 which I was happy with by the end of the second week post fill. Well yesterday I was 256 and today I am 259. This really sucks. I am not over eatting and being good considering what time of year it is. My husband and friend both think I may not be eatting enough food. But I am eatting what I can and am not going hungry. I eat 3 meals a day and a glass of skim milk at bedtime with my meds. I have some health problems that effect my muscles so I have to take it slow with excersise. I excersised on Thursday and was in so much pain on Friday I could not even go to work. I do streching and have been gradually increasing more and more all the time. But it's not working. I need help. Am I failing with the band? I was down 19 1/2 lbs from my highest and now im back up 6. What the heck is going on? Any suggestions or advice is sooooooooo needed right now. I have given up so much of my favorit foods, french fries, Ice cream, Milk shakes, SODA and yet I am still stuck in a rut. I have an appointment for a fill in 3 week but I dont want more of a fill. I already PB and slimm or whatever it is called on a daily basis. I am keeping my appointment with the Dr to find out what he thinks. In the mean time help please!!!!!!!! :mad: :help:

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I have a feeling I am too tight. I am going to ask for a tiny tiny unfill on the 26th to see what that does. After 3 bites of food I feel like it is up in my throat. I know it will take time to find the happy medium for me. If is just frusturating. I am back down to 253 but the scale is stuck there. I have never been someone who is passionate about food but lately I start feeling nervouse at just the thought of it. I know after just a couple of bites I am going to feel it in my throat. Last night at work I worked a double 16hrs. So for dinner I ran to wendy's and got a grilled chicken sandwich and Ceaser salad knowing I would break up the eatting of it over several hours. I did not eat the bread and yet after 3 bites of chicken I started PB'ing into my bag. I want restriction but not to be in discomfort everytime I eat something. I want to feel satisfied not to have to leave the table and pace my house until it passes. The thought of living the rest of my life with this discomfort and nausea is depressing. At the support group here they said 1 cup of food is a good amount. I have not gotten to the support group much because I work almost every Monday and Wednesday. I had tonight off but had to work 16hrs overnight to do it and I was sleeping from noon-6pm. I just got an e-mail from the head of the support group and am going to reply to it with my concerns. Her husband is one of the Dr.'s at my office that does the procedure. Anyways thanks for your suggestions and I will keep them in mind. Thanks