DietPepsi59

Hi Tracy, sorry it took a while to respond. I hadn't been on in a while and had trouble logging in. I am 2 1/2 year out and loving every minute of it. My cousin just had Dr R. do her surgery on 2/13 and she is also doing great. Feel free to email me privately at tlbranham@sbcglobal.net. I had great success and am loving my new looks and attitude toward life. Terri Branham

I was just looking around on this site and saw there were other IBC patients. I had my original band on 10/31/06 in Clinton (Dr Tull) and then had to have it replaced due to slippage on 7/17/07 ( Dr R). I have reached my goal, actually I lost more weight than I had originally hoped for. I lost 105 pounds and went from a size 22/24 to a 6. I started at 249 and now and around 144 or so. I have maintained my weight loss since last fall. I had lost 100 pounds by 8/4/07 and have just lost 5 since then. I am very pleased with my results. Glad to see there are more of us out there. Terri Branham Riverton IL tlbranham@sbcglobal.net

Dr Tull did my Lap Band surgery on 10/31/06. I really like him and he was great to work with and always very helpful. Unforturnate, my band ended slipping and the clinic switched me to the other Dr at the Illinois Bariatric Center in Clinton IL. One of my friends also had Dr Tull do her surgery and her band also slipped?? Dr Tull left Clinton sometime this summer, I heard that he had gone back east to be closer to his family. Dr Tull is a lap band patient, he had his surgery about 3 year ago. Terri Branham Riverton, IL

My band also slipped and I had to have it replaced. Have you Dr contact the insurance company. The slippage is something they do not understand. Luckily my was a not code that needed pre-approval, but they did question the medical necessity of the Dr bill, not the hopital. I think my band was slipped almost the entire time I had it. I had lost about the same as you when the worst of the symptons started. The acid reflux was something I had never experienced, and hope I never have to again. The second surgery is very easy. They do not replace the port. I was up and going in a day and a half, and haven't stopped since. I had my replacement July 17. I have about 10 more pounds I would like to loose, but I am plateaued for now. Best wishs to you.

I am sorry to hear that your band slipped. I had surgery 10/31/06 and mine slipped also. I had also last about 75 pounds as the time. I found the slippage in May or June and had the band replaced on 7/17. It was any easy operation and I had no other complications. My insurance approved it almost immediately. The surgery to replace is a little longer than the original surgery, but you will only have the lap holes, no large incisions. I was up an going in about a day and 1/2. I also had the terrible reflux and slept in a lazy boy for a long time. My troubles stated in February and it took a long time to figure out what was going on for some reason. I have how lost right at 100 pounds and have only 15 or so to go to get to my goal. I wish you the best, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. A friend of my at work (we had the same original surgeron) also had her band slip, so we have learned a lot about it.

I have lost 99 pounds and definitely have deflated breasts and some excess skin. I found a body smoother by Leggs that is almost like panty hose without the hose and I wear in under most everything except jeans. I have gone from a 22/24 to a 6 or 8. If I didn't have the skin, probably a 4. I will probably never have any surgery, I won't be able to afford it and there isn't enough to ever cause infections or anything like that. At almost 48, I will just live with it.

Vanesa, I was reading your post and we are apparently about the same size. I was banded on 10/31/07 and have lost 101 putting my current weight at 147. I am wearing 8 and 10, but still feel fat. I have no concept of what I look like. I unfortunately had a slippage and had to get a new band last week. I am feeling great and still would like to loose another 10 pounds. I just wish my eyes could see what everyone else see.

I started at 248 last October. I have lost just over 90 pounds. I do have some skin, but it isn't anything that I can't deal with. I found some shapers by legs that are kind of like panty hose with nothing below the knees. They hold the jiggles in place under lighter weight clothes. I can still wear shorts and cute tops, but my belly does have skin that will not be shown other than my back yard. I may consider some kind of surgery on down the road. But for now I have to wait to see when my new band is going to be put in. My current one has slipped. I go in Monday for an x-ray to see what is happening. Lucky me!

This was your first fill and they filled you to 3.5. They usually start below .5 for the first and build from there. I can understand that you can't even swallow water. I would call and have about 3/4 of that taken out. Terri

I had my surgery 10/31/06. My first fill was 1.5. I went to 2.0 in January, 2.2 in February and then 2.6 on March 4. That's when my trouble started. I had never in my life had heartburn or acid reflux or acid in general. It was awful. I am much better now, and within 15 pounds of my goal. As of today, I have lost 92 pounds. Terri

That is exactly what I am worried about. I even had a conversation with my Dr about that fact. My BMI is in the middle 20s now, so I don't qualify either. Thanks Terri

I found out today after some complications and several weeks of trial and error that my Lap Band is partially prolapsed. I had all the fluid removed 2 1/2 weeks ago and got by just fine. I didn't loose any weight, but didn't gain any either. I went back today and they put in .5 cc of fluid to try to start over and see how far we can get without having to reposition or replace the band. I am scheduled to go back in 2 weeks to have an additional .5 cc inserted. I was up to 2.6 cc when all this started in March. Have any of you had this complication? I have done great, have lost 90 pounds as of today's 7 month anniversary. I am quite distressed this evening and pretty scared. Would appreciate anyone's first hand knowledge of how they handled this problem. Thanks for listening. Terri Branham 248 pre op 158 now Dr Tull (Illinois Bariatric Center) Clinton, IL

Thanks for the info. What was there reasoning for leting you go without the band for a couple months. When I talked to my doctor yesterday, I was under the inpression they would attempt to reposition my current band or just replace it with one surgery. How is your insurance company reacting to all of this? Thanks again Terri

Thanks for your thoughts. I am hanging in there, at least I lost another pound. I am hoping for the best

I didn't know how to pick a goal weight either. I started at 248 with a BMI of 42. I am 5"4' and what they call a medium frame. I have quite a bit of loose skin too, which no one takes into consideration either. Today it shows my MBI at 26.5. I am shooting to loose 100 pounds which would but me on the top end of the scale for my body height and build. I still have about 12 pounds to go. But today I made it to the 150's which is kind of a big deal to me. Terri Branham 10/31/06 Dr. Tull 248.5 pre op 159.5 today down 89

I am currently at 2.2 cc. I don't know what they put in the first time, but I went to 2.0 on 1/15/07 and lost a bunch of weight. It was probably too tight, but I learned to deal with it and really wasn't sick. The only time I have a problem, which is very rarely is when I swallow something that I didn't chew well enough. I am careful about what I eat. I know the band is only a tool and if I over eat it won't work. I have small container for my meal to control portion size. I still do one protein drink a day, usually for breakfast. I am very excited about my progress. I started out in October in size 22W and now I am in 12 and 14. I still would like to loose at least 30 more. I can hardly wait to put on my new swim suit this summer (I bought one in Florida a couple weeks ago) Sorry I rambled so long. - Hope you all are having a great day.

I am on day 5 of the liquid diet that I have to do prior to my surgery on 10/31. I am dropping some pounds, but it sure isn't much fun. I am currently preparing a decorated cake for a bridal shower tomorrow and it was pretty torchous to not it the cake batter, my favorite part. I did taste the icing with one lick just to make sure my flavorings were correct. I am a Pastry Chef/baker that can't eat anything. But, eating all that stuff got me to 248 pounds, so there is no time better than now to stop.

I am on day 5 of the liquid diet that I have to do prior to my surgery on 10/31. I am dropping some pounds, but it sure isn't much fun. I am currently preparing a decorated cake for a bridal shower tomorrow and it was pretty torchous to not it the cake batter, my favorite part. I did taste the icing with one lick just to make sure my flavorings were correct. I am a Pastry Chef/baker that can't eat anything. But, eating all that stuff got me to 248 pounds, so there is no time better than now to stop.

I am new to this forum. I am scheduled to have the Lap Band procedure with the Illinois Bariatric Center in Clinton IL on October 31, 2006. I guess I am lucky because my insurance approved the procedure with our first request. I start my liquid diet on Tuesday, 2 weeks prior to my procedure. I will have having the surgery around 7:30 that morning and will come home later that afternoon. It is about a 40 minute drive to my home just outside Springfield, IL. I look forward to reading posts and learning from every one's experiences. Terri