Vikki

Does he do it under Floro? It is better to do little by little because that tiny bit can get you to the sweet spot and too big of one can get you too tight. I was too tight for three months and was miserable. You don't want to do that and your body usually takes about a week to really tell you if your tighter or not. Usually if you drink the powdered stuff under the floro your dr can see how fast or slow the liquid goes down. That is how your dr knows if he needs to back some out or add too.

Hi Tara and Esmeralda, If you guys would like to come to one of our meet ups please send me an email at vikki4mymail.com so I can add you on our list. Where are you getting your band done in Newport Beach? I bet your nervous and if you have any questions please send them over. We all know how scary it is going into the surgery. There are three of us going to Mexico this Sat. and one is getting a fill the other two are just there for support. We have become really close because support is key.

We have a group in OC if you want to join us for our next meet up it will be in January. you can email me at vikki4mymail@yahoo and I can give you more info. We have about 12 people now in our group and try to meet at least once a month at different location for either dinner or at a clubhouse to just visit and talk. Have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!

Unless your at the max CC for your band you have not stretched it you just need a tune up aka adjustment. Your stomach gets used to the fill and your pouch also gets used to the amount so sometimes you can get it stretched but by tightening up your tool will make a difference on how you feel when you start to put the food in and it sits on top of the band......OUCH believe me the pain is what reminds me to slow down or just stop. You have really made a huge achomplishment by getting down to a 8-10 so 7 pounds is controlable and just hit the exercise and start your food journal and counting calories. I need to do the same as I am reaching my 2 year mark and still have 25 pounds to reach my goal. I too am frustrated about not making my goal yet but I have slacked off since the end of summer about going to the gym and getting my exercise in. It is very important not just lowering calories but working the calories off threw out the day. Hang in there because I know exactly how you feel. I need to go back to how I was when I first got my band and stop snacking and overeating now I know what my band can handle. I don't so much feel I need to be tighter just strictor with my food intake and get back to the gym!!!!!! Hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you tried the Pure Protein shakes? I get them at GNC or Max Muscle or Trader Joes. Yes they have an after taste but the Oreo Cookie ones watered down with some warm water aren't too bad to sip because they do make you feel full. Recovery is key so do take it easy but walk around as much as you can because it does help. You will feel tired so walk then rest. Sip as much protein as you can because that is what will help you keep your streight. I can tell when I am not getting enough protein that I just feel tired all the time. As soon as I bump up the protein it makes a huge difference.

You have to understand that the biggest key to the tool of the band is pain really makes your head change! What I mean by that is the restriction feeling you get from when you eat something and don't chew it up well enough or take too big of a bite OUCH! It does hurt and sometimes you have to PB it up to unlodge it from the top of your band so get the relief feeling. This is a lesson to your head saying that is a no no and don't do it again!!!!! A spank on the butt if you will to make you not eat that piece of tortilla or bread or what ever it was that stuck. You then say okay next meal I have a cup of soup and sip and chew chew chew and you don't start that meal until your thinking this in your head. Small bites and take your time. How often do you think this now........I was a binge eater and fast food junky and it would take me about 5 min to gobble everything down. Then a few hours later do it all again. Right after I received my first fill I still felt in my head that I could still eat like that.................NO NO and NOOO it did not work and I had to really change the way my head and my emotions would want to sabatage me to emotionally eat still. It became a science to what I could get down and how much nutricion was in what I was eating since it was such a small amount I had to make very good choices. It isn't easy for any of us but if you stay in support groups and surround yourself by people that are a great support for your goal then you can get there and be a healthier happier you!!!!! Only you can make the decision to get your tool but as you have probably noticed we bandsters love our band and wouldn't change it. Yes you go threw pain as it is a foriegn object your putting in your body so it will take time to heal and recover. But the pay off is sooooooooo worth it!!!!! Good luck with your decision.

The longer I have lived with my band and met Lap Band people the more I learn that everyone's body is very different. Some are feeling too tight at 5cc and others are at 10cc and still don't feel super tight. Plus it does change as your weight changes. I am reaching my 2 year anniversary in Nov and I am at 4.5cc which is a good level for me. I had to actually get an unfil because I was just feeling so tight and my insides where damaged from PBing every day. I got to a point where I was pbing my own saliva. It was miserable so I got some taken out which opened me right up................off to the fast food drive threw I went right back into my old habits and ate everything in sight. I have a problem with binge eating and that is how I gained the weight. So back to my DR. I went to get restriction again because I did not trust myself and gained 12 pounds practically over night. When you get the restiction that is good for you it is what I call the STOP button. You take a few bites and start feeling the tight sensation in your chest which makes that light bulb pop above your head to say STOP or Pain will occur. Pain is a big deterent to change you bad habits and change the way you used to think of food. I have not lost as much as I would have hoped at this point and have 30 pounds to go but I have to keep reminding myself and I am not at the weight I started with and I can get to my goal. It is a tool for me that has changed my head not just my body. It has been a journey that only us bandsters go threw. We have to keep our eye on the goal of being healthy not skinny. Happy with who we are not just skinny. It is something we all struggle on a daily basis. If you don't feel the restriction then go get a fill. Everyone has different sweet spots and your sweet spot might be completely full in your band. You know when you get there because what you used to eat does not go down anymore. So you HAVE TO chew chew and take tiny bites. Most of the time that small cup of soup is such a challenge to get down that you just feel like forget it to try anymore. It is a good feeling when you finally get to a point with feeling okay with just that cup of soup and watching everyone else eat that HUGE portion they ordered and complain they are so full they want to barf. It took me a long time to really be okay with that and not feel resentment or just jealous that I couldn't eat that huge meal. It is my choice to have this band and I have to except what comes along with it. Good luck with the sweet spot but don't be discouraged because you will get there bandster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The more and more people I get to know that have a lap band the more I learn that everyone's stomach (body) is different. I was one of those people that thought I want to be really tight so after my third fill was at 4.5cc in a 10cc band and it doesn't sound very tight but after living with it for three months I got so bad after PBing so much and so swollen inside I couldn't swallow my own saliva with out throwing it up. It was very painful and miserable. So my Dr. took out 2cc which opened me right up and straight to fast food drive threws I went and gained 12 pounds in three weeks so back to the Dr. I went and got 1cc to put me at 3.5cc and it has been a good sweet spot for me. If I take small bites and chew really good it usually goes down with out pain. I have a band girlfriend I met threw this site and she is at 10cc in her 10cc band and has little restriction and is fighting with her dr. right now because she is so frustrated that she is not getting the restriction others are. It just depends on you. The lessoned I learned with my fills is a half of a cc or 1 cc is the most you should do at one time. You have to be patient and find that level that is good for you or you will be hurting big time. Even though you feel you are practically starving at times the scale will not move because your body shuts down and goes into starvation mode.........boy is my body stuborn because it has been a struggle every pound to get off. More reason to stay at a good level to KEEP IT OFF FOR GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't give up because a lot of us have been denied by insurance. I am a self pay and went to have mine done by Dr. Kelly in Mexico too. His site is on my signature and I would do it again in a second because it was the best thing I ever did. My girlfriend that had her band done by a DR. at UCI Medical lost her insurance and he wanted to charge her a Thousand dollars per fill!!! WHAT A RIP OFF!! It is a needle and some saline maybe costs them 15.00. So she started going to my Dr. that charges 170.00 a fill and has received way better results and is now down 100 pounds. She couldn't be happier with her new body! So don't give up. I had to get a personal loan and pay it off with monthly payments for the next two years but was worth every penny. I now have overeating under control and it is like a weight lifted off your shoulders that you now have the power to only eat small portions and be okay with it. When you reach a good restriction with your band you have to change what and how much you eat. I don't obsess on food anymore and it took awhile for my head to get to that point but I feel powerful now!!! Don't give up because you are worth it and if it is meant to be it will happen for you honey!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck

Everyone goes threw should I do GB or LB when starting the research process. Both of my brothers had bypass done and where over 200 pounds overweight. I had 80 pounds to loose and thought to myself that if I get any complications I can have it removed. One of my brother went threw a period of very bad dumping syndrome and ended up in the hospital from passing out at work because he was so fatigued. That is one of the reasons I picked the band because it was less perminent and quicker recovery. I went the day after T-Day and was back to work the next week. No one even knew I had it done. I am loosing the weight slower then I originally expected but I am also not gaining and it is for the LONG TERM to keep it down and keep it off. I can get an adjustment if I feel I am eating too much and if you stretch your pouch after bypass your back to gaining the weight again. My Dr. says he does lots of bands for bypass patients that have gained the weight back. It is a very personal decision for what you feel is best for your body. I am so happy that I got the band and it has really helped me be healthier and learn how to live on very small portions. It is amazing how much our portion size is so over what we should really be eating and a total science for what your body needs not what your tastebuds want. Good luck

If you interested in coming to a meeting that is local just send me an email because we have put together a group of about 7 people now and meet up once a month at each others house to talk and share stories. It is more intaminte then the ones at the hospitals. Those are good for nuticion speakers or Dr. giving advice but not round table talking. We met at the park one time and brought our dogs it was really fun. So send me an email. I live in HB vikki4mymail@yahoo.com