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

I am in Huntington Beach so not super close to Escondido but we do have a support group and meet up every couple of mths if your interested. We also go down to get our fills in Mexico as a group. I go to Dr. Ramos Kelly in TJ. Hope your doing well and heeling well. It is a life changing experience and a long journey but if you have any questions you can send me an email at vikki4mymail@yahoo.com

Yes this is what restriction feels like. The tightness is what I call my stop button to put down the fork and let it go threw the band. If it still feels tight after awhile then I just stop eating all together. I have had so many bad PB experiences and they are very painful so I now can read my body right when it starts hurting to stop or it will just get worse. This is to make you do what the band was meant is to make you eat smaller bites and smaller amounts to loose or just maintain with out gaining. You get used to the restriction feeling because when I had an unfil because I just kept having back PB's and could hardly swallow my own spit with out throwing it up I was a very bad girl. I went staight to the jack in the box drive threw and fast food went down fine..........not a good thing for me so I ate and ate and ate and with in three weeks gained 12 pounds. It was back to the dr to get another fill. I am at a good level now as some days I feel tight and others I am okay. Since your used to not eating after awhile you don't even think about it that much. Unlike before I was banded food controlled my whole day and I always felt bad about myself at the end of the day because I couldn't stick to my diet!!! It was maddness and now I am so proud of myself and all the goals I have reached. I have not lost as much as I had hoped at this point but I have accomplished a lot not just weight wise but changing me to love myself inside and out. It will always be a battle but this tool is such a gift!!!!!

The left shoulder pain is definetly from gas. I have had my band for almost two years and I still get the shoulder pain that feels like someone is sticking a needle right in the middle of the shoulder joint. It comes and goes weeks at a time. If it starts up I take either liquid beano or gas x to try to prevent it before my meals. It is defintely from my band because I never had this type of pain before. My doctor does not know why I get it but it usually starts after I have a bad episode of a PB and I get irritated inside. You just have to start making the gas x a part of your daily ritual with your chewable multivitamins and see if you feel a difference threw out your meals. Some things give you gas one day and not the next. Some days I can have a big bowl of chili (my favorite) and have no gas at all and others dying from the pain!!! It is a constant investigation with your body. I buy the Pure Protein from either Trader Joes (health food grocery) or Max Muscle store which is a vitamin store. It is less expensive at Trader Joes. It is a good thing to sip when your having those days you just want to give your insides a break and have liquids but liquids that fill your belly. I usually have it at room temperature because then it is not so thick which can irrate your pouch because it will sit longer. Just make sure you contiously think to sip it because I still to this day try to gulp every once in awhile and if it is a thick substance at all it HURTS!! Then your light switch goes on and says slow down. It is amazing watching people eat now and how fast they shuvle it in. That is what I used to do. Now I have to really take my time and I have to make everyone wait for me to finish if we are at a restuarant. I usually just ask for a to go box so I can try and finish it later if I am not hurting. It is a big change!!! But I am getting used to it now. It really takes awhile. I totally understand when you say not used to ordering a cup and that seeming like a big meal!!! Weird but SO GREAT!!!!!! Food is not controlling me anymore!!!! :thumbup:

I know it gets annoying and you want to just mow on something with a chew factor after awhile. It just depends on you because everyone's body or stomach handles the band differentely. I am at 3.5 of a fill and it is a good level for me as I start to feel the tight feeling after a few bites which flips a light switch on in my head and makes me put the fork down for awhile. I can sometimes eat salads and sometimes it a bad idea. I love to eat any kind of chili because it really makes you feel very full. Do you have a magic bullet because I just love mine. You can steam veggies and puree them into a mush to get down. Cottage cheese with canned peaches goes down well. I have always been able to eat chips so when I want a crunch I will eat baked lays or baked chips to get something chewy. Granola bars seem to go down well also and I like to have them in a yogart for Breakfast. Just be careful with the sugar in a lot of soft foods to make them taste better. Don't forget to really focus on the Protein and my favorite Protein Drink is Pure Protein which has 35grams a can and the Cookies and cream is a decent flavor. It is a good habit to get at least two cans a day if you can because the times I have lagged on the protein I have gotten very fatigued feeling and just very tired. You shop at the store so differently now and you really just have to do trial and error to see what goes down for you. It took about 5 weeks to heal and then I felt like I could eat anything until I got a fill so then you have to revert back into the soft mushies again. Good luck and welcome to bandhood!!

:thumbup::thumbup::party::hurray::success1::biggrin::Dancing_chief:OMG Candle that is soooo Inspiring!!! Seriously you have been a great Band success!!!!!!! Running two miles a day is one of the biggest keys to you loosing so fast hu!!! Excerise is so hard to keep doing but a big reason for the weight loss. I am SOOO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!!! I am soooooo close to my goal and just take it one day at a time. Too keep the weight off is my lifetime goal and with correct eating habits and exercising I feel better then ever!!!!! Lets keep our eye on the prize of being happy and healthy...........GREAT JOB BANDSTER BUDDY!!!!!

I go threw cycles sometimes with nausea. You have to remember that the band is around your stomach and it must be sending signals to your brain of nausea. You will have to work with your doctor to see if there is something he can give you with medication to ease the stress on your stomach. Everyone is different and some get the band and never feel nausua some do. I did feel the nausea a lot more when I first got my band and it added to the no hunger but once I healed up and my port healed up I would say about three months the nausua subsided but does come back every once in awhile. Walking might help because it actually makes your insides move around and reajust to ease the tension and helps your muscles relax. Don't do any sit ups or something strenuous on your mid section until your completely healed up and you can tell that the aches and pains will lessen as time goes on. But always keep in good communications with your doctor who can help you threw this healing process. There is a shot that makes nausua go away 100% I don't know what it is called but maybe they have it in pill form. I got it when I had the stomach flu and couldn't stop throwing up (this was before my band) and it make the nausua go away instantly. It is a work in progress and total science project with our bodies from here on out. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. By the way once the nausua stops your hunger will come back like a tornado so be prepared to have things to sip like protein shakes or something to help the feeling of hunger and famished not effect you too much. It will all be worth it once your back on your feet and feeling recovered and energy back. Just don't forget about the protein it is the most important thing to not get fatigued feeling. Keep up the water too!!! Sip Sip Sip as they always say!!! :biggrin:

It is a very personal decision to start your journey on getting a Lap Band. It is not an easy way out to loose the weight and not short term but something you plan to have in your body for a very long time. It is not like Gastric Bypass because it is a reversable procedure so if you have complications you can have it taken out. Gasteric bypass you loose the weight very quickly and with Lap Band some loose it quick and others it takes a couple years. It is better to loose slow so you skin can shink with your weight loss and not just look stretched. Plus you choose if you want tight restriction or mild restriction by getting a fill in your band. You and your doctor decided if you need more or less and you will know with in the next coupld of weeks of your fill if you need more of a fill. Everyone's body is different as I have 3.5 in my 10cc band and I have a good restriction and after a couple of bites I start to feel a tightening feeling which means the food is sitting on top of my band and I have to stop eating to wait for it to go down. As soon as you feel the relief you can chew another bite. It takes a long time to eat and you feel full a lot quicker so portion size is a heck of a lot less then what we used to eat. Harder to get the bad carbs down so they are pretty much cut out of the diet. Which is a great thing. Bad carbs is one of the biggest reason I became overweight. It isn't a matter of not eating them now with my band it is I CAN"T eat them which makes you not even crave them anymore. It changes the way your brain thinks of food and how your hungry and what to try to eat. You are limited to what will go threw your band and not hurt so you start making the correct choices that if I am only getting a small amount I better eat what is fuel for my body and not just fill my belly. Having Diebeties you already know that food is very important for your body for vitamins/Sugers/fiber/protein. It is all a science but everyone's metabilism works differentlly so it is a science project to figure out what works for you to loose the weight and then maintain your normal range of weight for the long haul. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girl your not the only one playing tug a war with the scale!!!! I get so annoyed with the scale but I have lost a lot more inches then weight. I can just tell in my face off of my Dr Lisc picture that I have lost a lot of inches. We just try to keep our eye on the price.......normal BMI range to be healthy and stay there. My goal is to be able to concentrate on more to life then what my next meal is going to be. Much more to life and now we hve the tool to help us gear our energy towards more to life. We feel better about ourselves makes us get out there and be us.....we are happier and it shows. That is what the tool is to help us regain.......US!!!

OMG you guys.........YOU LOOK HOT!!!!!!!! Isn't such a great feeling!!! All I have to do is show people my Dr. Lisc picture and they go thats not you!!! I had so much weight just in my face...CARBS EVIL CARBS and now that I am down the weight I still am trying to focus on my goal of getting to the normal BMI range. I love reading these posts because you guys always help me feel good about KEEP ON TRUCKIN!!! You guys have really made the Band a success!!! Don't you just want to go up to every person that is Obese and say listen I want to tell you about this GREAT thing called the Lap Band.....but of course you can't as they might slug you. It is a very personal thing to decide and I am so glad I did it. I finally have this OBESE thing tamed and getting the bull by the horns as they say. No more overeating obsession. One day at a time for sure and I am glad that today I am down to a size 14 from a size 18 scraping a 20. My goal is a size 12 and I am ALMOST THERE!!!! KEEP THE FAITH! You guys ROCK!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your most personal experience to share with others going threw the same!

I have been told at the Max Muscle store that muscle milk is for those that weight lift a lot to bulk up. Not to loose weight like we are. I really like the Pure Protein drinks that come in a soda can and have 35 grams of protein in them. They have one that is cookies and cream and is really good. It is a great way to get the protein in that we need to keep our metabilism working. Good luck and talk to the people at the vitamin store about what your wanting and they will help you to a good product.

I am at an annoying plateau right now myself. I had gained weight from when I had an unfill because I went straight to the fast food drive threw every day. I gained 12 pounds in three weeks so back to the dr. I went to get a fill. I am at a good level now as I try to eat but after a couple of bites feel the stop button and have to wait. I noticed the best weight loss paterns was to go to 1200 calories for two weeks then bump it up for two weeks 1400 calories then back down. It does work but it is not easy when there is a day when the chocolate is calling your name................Darn chocolate. My downfall is chips I LOVE CHIPS>>>>>I have to talk myself out of eating them all the time. They are like Cig for me!! Darn chips^%$^&%^& Good luck and keep the faith and your tool will be a success!!!

I would love to share my story with you about being banded in Mexico. I LOVE MY DR and he has given me hope with this tool. I too tried to get insurance to cover it here in the US but they wouldn't even consider me unless I was 40BMI or above. Well I was 38BMI and not about to gain another 50 pounds to get the insurance to MAYBE cover it..................So I said forget it I am going to get it done and found a GREAT DR in TJ, Mexico who has always been very professional and treats me better then the Dr.'s i have here in the US> I found him threw my girlfriend that was working as a patient coordinator for him and she went there with me and stayed the whole weekend with me. It is scary to think of having it done in Mexico I get that. I live in Orange County so it is only a 1 1/2 drive for me but when I go to see him for my fills his office manager comes and picks me up right across the border over to him at the Los Angeles Hospital where his office is. I get my fill for 150.00 and that is for the Floro machine (xray machine to see the pink liquid go down and know if you are too tight or too loose) and 50.00 is the dr. fee. My girlfriend had her band put on 1yr ago and lost her insurance and her Doctor from UCI medical center wanted to charge her 1000.00 for a fill.............REDICULOUS!!!!!!!! Money hungry doctors in the US and it is why the insurance companies are denying this to be covered. My girlfriend now goes to see my doctor in Mexico and she just loves him. She says he is much better then her doctor here and gets better fill results. We usually go down together to get our fills. My surgery costed 8500.00 and I am still paying the loan off as I borrowed the money but it was the best investment I have ever made. I am finally not obsessed with food every day because I can only take in small amounts at a time and want the small amount to be a good choice of fuel for my body not to just eat to EAT AND EAT!!! Never feel full so eat some more. It took awhile to feel the peace of the food addiction lessoning but it is not totally gone. I still struggle every day with not eating the chocolate or chips that go down fine but havig the yogart with granola instead or a Protein shake instead of that sundae. You can not let the band be a success and eat around it with high calorie high fat stuff but WHY??? This was a big decision to do this and I am going to get into a normal BMI and darnit I am going to STAY THERE for life!!!!!!!!!!! Be healthy and in normal size cloths. My doctor's link is on my signature and they take GREAT care of you in Mexico. I was and still am impressed with my doctor. He knows how scary it is for us to go get the surgery done there and makes it a very pleasant experience every time. He personally picked me up from the Amtrack station in San Diego when I had my surgery. What doctor gives you that kind of attention. Plus he is a gastric surgeon in Mexico not just a Lap Band doctor which a lot of them are. He Loves helping others fight obesity and you can tell by the way he treats you that he really is a great person and knows his stuff. You can email me if you want to discuss further about Mexico. I totally understand how you feel. Make sure you do your research because just like in the US there are bad doctors in Mexico that are in it for the money and could care less about YOU as a person. my email is vikki4mymail@yahoo.com