Search the Community

Yes I got filled every time the doctors let me I actually dont even have 4cc I have 3.9. And I have been wondering why I havent lost any weight in the last 6 months although I have pretty much maintained. I struggle with a 10 pound difference going up and down but thats all will power. They have never filled me above .4 at one time. Thats why I feel so frusterated when I see that others are filled to 7.9 or so. They told me I am about maxed out for my fills which doesnt make any sence when u look at how much everyone else with a 10cc band has. I can eat anything I want I just choose to try not to but sometimes I am not perfect which makes it harder.

I went with the NYU program. Dr. Ren and her husband Dr. Fielding are two of the top doctors in the country. They have been doing surgeries for over 10 years.

Thanks guys. I can tell I have more restriction than before. I got an orange piece stuck and then a piece of boiled egg yesterday. I am still able to eat more than everyone says I should. Last night we went to a Christmas party and I am surprised how much I can eat. I ate a plate full of stuff. Two types of hamburgerand cheese wrapped in a dough, 3 tiny hot dogs wrapped in dough, 2 cookies, 3 chocolate wrapped pretzels, chesse ball with 6 crackers. Doesn't that seem like an awful lot. Since the surgery I have never felt full. I have been able to stop though half way through the meal sometimes so I am eating less. My weight loss has slowed way down. My question is if a piece of boiled egg got stuck that would suggest to me I am tighter. The orange and egg are the first two foods since surgery that got really stuck so I know I have more restriction. I have read of being too tight and it sounds horrible so I keep thinking just try harder. I sure do not want to sound whiny. I am basing on this on what I have heard about not being able to eat over 10 bites and I am able to eat much more than that yet food is getting stuck. Any suggestions are welcome. If I need to go get another fill I will just do not want to get too tight but sure want to lose weight!!!!!!! I was self pay so this is serious money I spent. Thanks everyone.

I'm lucky, I worked at an apple orchard for 10 years making doughnuts and apple fritters. It's true what they say - when you make them you definitely don't want to eat them. It's been 8 years since I worked there and I still don't crave them. Jachut, I'm from Michigan and I have to ask... What's a bikkie?

wow soon2b!!! go ahead girl! I was a size 26 and wear a size 18 with some 16's. Bra I am a 38d before a 42d. oh and I can wear victoria secret underwear size L of course other undewear a size 8 before it was a 10. I do have a big butt and hips still lol but shopping at VS was a NEVER before!

Yup I got it 10 minutes ago. Just another attempt to steal personal information.

Nov 4 2009 I was band... I was size 7x in pants...ot size 30 with lots of elastic ......now regular size 10-11

I never really thought of the percentage thing - I only needed to lose 50 in the first place and am down 20 after 10 1/2 months so I guess I shouldn't complain - that is almost half of my goal and I think that is what they told me is that after a year I may only be down 1/2 of what my goal is - thanks!

I have lost 105 pounds it sound like your too tight. Sometimesyou find yourself eating easier food but it may be higher in calories. I lost 100 pounds in 10 months. Its possible.

Hello, There seem to be a lot of opinions about the post op diet. At NYU where I had my lap band put in, they say 10 days post op liquids. The first few days I didn't care --- I wasn't hungry. Now, I'm so hungry it hurts. Must I really stay on liquids for another 4 days? I'd love to know other experiences. Thank you.

I ate wendy's chili today..... 10 days post op. I chewed and chewed. IT went down fine..... I guess I am a cheater too. However, I have not been hungry at all until the past two days.............. I will try to stick to liquids only for the next 7 days.......... Who knows?

I have noticed that as I get further out from the surgery (10 months out this weekend) I am more susceptible to those less-than-satisfying foods, so I try to be cognizant of that. I love my Premier shakes to get my protein in on a rough day, but those do almost nothing to satisfy me now, where a few months ago they would have kept me full for a few hours. Unfortunately, my current issue seems to be more about compulsion and head hunger than any real satiety issues.

Have to be up at four take a shower check into hospital at 5 am surgery at 7:30. I choose to be alone for the wait because when I'm nervous I get cranky. I've lost 18 pounds for the surgery but I don't think that's enough. I'm done to 369.8 from 388 which is my highest. I'm very scared and I decided not to tell anyone but my parents and partner what I'm doing. I hope all goes well!

Hi everybody, I've been lurking on the boards for so long that I felt it was time to come out of hiding and say how much inspiration you've all given to me without knowing it. You are a great source of information, comfort, and camaraderie -- it feels wonderful to know that I'm not alone. My real name is Michele. I'm originally from St. Louis, MO but I've been living in the Houston area (The Woodlands to be more exact) for 14 years. I'm 49 years old and I have a host of problems that I hope are going to be greatly improved by the surgery -- diabetes, high blood pressure, low thyroid, high cholesterol. Diabetes is the main one. My mom was about 100 lbs. overweight and died when she was 62 from the complications of diabetes. It's taken several of my friends too, and I just don't want to go out that way if I can help it. It's funny, I'm a conservative Republican but I tell everyone "Thank you President Obama!" If it weren't for Obamacare I don't know where I'd be. Because of the PCIP program which is part of the Affordable Care Act, I am able to get insurance and I couldn't afford it previously. I was turned down for other insurance and the Texas Risk Pool insurance was twice as expensive as what I pay for deductibles now. Anyway, my insurance covers bariatric surgery. I had to be on medically supervised weight loss for 6 months, then they approved me. Because of previous surgery I had on my ears this year, I've already met my out of pocket maximum so this surgery is free for me. I have been truly blessed. This past year has been an epic saga trying to get to this point. After doing everything I needed to do for six months and gaining approval for the surgery on the first try, I found out my surgeon was out of network because the medical group he was a part of fell apart and he joined with a new group and my insurance couldn't find him on their network anymore. Finally my insurance suggested that I find a different surgeon so I looked around and found one who has a lot of good reviews online -- and this is going to be my hero - Dr. Dexter Turnquest. My surgery is scheduled for Monday the 19th at 1:00 pm. I'm so excited that it's finally happening yet I'm feeling more nervous and I have more trepidation than I thought I would. My surgeon allows only Clear Liquids for the first week (yep the week of thanksgiving - maybe i can find some turkey broth). Then after that I go on the soft diet. He said he wants his patients eating their Protein, not drinking Liquid Protein, so I'm glad I won't have to be on the Protein Shakes -- I'm sorry, they're mostly awful. I worry what it's going to be like to be at home and not chowing down. I wonder what it's going to be like not to eat certain things, not to eat as much as I used to eat. I wonder if I'll get really depressed because that's been my coping source all these years. But I know that God is on my side and He has brought me to this and He'll help me get through it. But I can't help wondering and worrying a little if it's going to be really hard. Can anyone recommend things I should have on hand for that first week when I'm home that I would regret if I didn't get? My friend is going to spend the night with me the night I come home (which will be Tuesday afteroon) but after that I'm mostly going to be on my own sitting in my little apartment. Please let me know if there were things, medicines, food items, that you were really glad you had around. Anyone else live in The Woodlands area? I would love to go to a support group and make some new friends. I think it would help me get out of myself and help me take the focus off ME. There's so much more I could say so I'll just leave it at that for right now -- thanks again to all of you for being here!

Lisa, you crack me up! This thread is what we need to stop taking ourselves so serriously! Kare, I loved your story about the pointers you gave your sons! My one and only is 8 years old, but I'll definitely have to remember that technique. I've been divorced for 5 years now, and have had two very short encounters since It's hard to feel good about yourself when all you see in the mirror is the things you want to change. You all have given me lots to think about! I'll be banded 10/10, and I'm looking forward to the future NSVs and improved self esteem I plan to spout! take care,

Hi, I had my lap band done 10/26/10. Easy surgery. Very little discomfort. I have played by the rules and ate only what was allowed in each time frame just as the surgeon and dietician instructed. I have had no complications. I had my first fill 12/02/10. It felt different to eat at first. I never got full. I have never had nausea or vomiting. I could eat all that I want, but I try to limit my diet to high protein, low fat, low calorie foods. I do not drink anything but water and some regular coffee. Is it common, that before you hit your sweet spot, that the "Feeling full mechanism" doesn't kick in? I have lost 38 pounds. Most of that was within the first 6 weeks and by using judgement and restraint. I get afraid that the surgery won't work or that there is a flaw that will not allow it to work right. Any input will be appreciated. Take Care and have a Great day.

I lost quickly at first, gradually slowed down after a year - now at 14 months I'm still losing but the plateau's are longer. However....I have average 10 pounds a months over the entire period and I'm still losing. Don't fret over the plateau's ....they just happen....doesn't mean it the weight loss has ended!!

I had mine 4 months ago. I feel your frustration although I'd hope at month 10 I'll have lost more. I lost 25 in the first 6 weeks but it pretty much stopped after that. I'm not in the "green zone" yet but after my 2nd fill, I can tell a big difference in how much I can eat. Just hang in there,! A friend of mine took 4 yrs to reach her goal. It was slow but steady best of luck to you

Time to start this journey [03 Sep 2006|10:57am] [music | The first time ever I saw your face [03 Sep 2006|10:57am When did it hit me? When Chris said, "think of all the things you would have done in Alaska had you not had a mobility issue"(?) Probably. It all seem to come to synchronicity (great album BTW). Half day at school, I needed to renew my prescriptions and see the doctor about that darn rash. I went to my dentist after school let out and had that off bite drilled down since it hadn't really felt right since doing the new filling. It took but a brief five minutes and I found myself back out in my car and heading towards Main Street. Left. I think I'll get those prescriptions in person rather than waiting for the pharmacy to call them in. Five blocks away and I was parking right next to the front door. How often does that happen? I walked up to the window and signed in and sat down. "Mrs. Reeves did you have an appointment?", a new receptionist peered out from the glass partition, "No I just happened to be in New Port Richey for a dentist appointment and need to have a rash looked at" (TMI I though to myself, too much information) but it seemed to appease her and I waited. Less than ten minutes and I was walking down the hallway past the examination rooms, going, going, to the last room which I know to be my doctor's preferred examination room. Wednesday, he's not there on Wednesdays, it's his day off. "What are you here for today?". I like the older staff. I know them, they take their time and I can ask about the issue "downunda" without feeling like the PHCC grad staff is "sewgrossing" about it at lunch. I tell her all of the truth, that I have a rash down there and that I have another rash on my arm. My back is killing me ( couldn't be that extra 200 pounds could it..answer your own question Patty, YES!) The list is long. She smiles, she comforts me and takes my blood pressure. She leaves. I'm waiting for the nurse practioner to come in but I hear my doctor's familiar pitch and tone. It's Wednesday, he isn't here on Wednesdays. The door opens and my nurse has returned, "Is Dr. Sichelman here?" "yes" "he isn't here on Wednesdays it's his day off" I tell her, "Dr. Galadi is on vacation so he is covering" she tells me. (how often does that happen?) This is going to be a day for unexpected things. My doctor comes in, I show him my rash on my arm, it's not really anything what else? There is the lump on my stomach in the mass of large fat on my belly I feel a pea like object, he feels it, it's nothing. He notices the rash below my stomach. I've been treating it with ointment for how long? (should I tell him years? Should I tell him two baths a day?) "it's been there awhile" I managed. He pulls at my underpants and notices another flush of skin below that. I admitted sex hadn't been what it use to be and he tells me to go to my OBGYN, "we really don't deal with that". Before I know it the conversation has turned with the problem at the moment and he begins examining me. This is a man of medicine, a healer at heart and I never appreciate him more than this moment. I have a staph infection and then a yeast infection. Before I leave there I will end up have a stack of nine separate prescriptions. I cover myself back up and sit down on the bench. He sits down at the other end and the nurse is stationed with my chart and a pen at the desk. The greater question, the greater issue, my weight. "So when are we going to get this weight off?" It's a question, a subject that he and I have talked about for years. My doctor of 16 years. Through the phase of Phen-Fen, Meridian, Redux, 1200 calories, 1800 calories, over the counter products into last year and the diagnosis of Type I Diabetes, rehabilitation to begin some type of activity until now. It's serious. My back is giving under the pressure, I take Lasix for water retention, blood pressure medication and he switches me today to two types of medication. "I know Doctor. I don't know what to do. I've tried, I've tried for years." This is a moment of honesty, the reality that my life is on the line. He tells me I'm looking at ten years. (ten years until my body breaks a blood vessel in my brain, tens years until my heart faults, ten years of semi goodness left in my body) He goes on to tell me about another patient. "He had the same problem as you. He had the gastric surgery, came in a few months back and I hardly recognized him." *A year ago I couldn't have, wouldn't have entertained this procedure* I can do this on my own I said. But a year later and an increase in 25 pounds told me that there comes a time when one has to admit they are in over their head. I was in over my head and I knew it. "Where did he go?" I was ready. I'll take some fries with that bypass [05 Sep 2006|11:59am] I refused to go to Community Hospital. Some how my brain is in 1983 with my first pregnancy and the halting news of things that had happened in this antiquated facility. But that was then, this is now. Reconstruction, new specialists are the norm for hospitals. This one has taken on the issue of obesity with a center for Weight Loss Surgery. I called three gastric doctors before realizing that there was going to be more than just a surgery. I went online and found the center's information site and read. I read for perhaps an hour. There was gastric bypass surgery, there was another type of surgery that was invasive. There was also the type of incision. I was quickly opting for laproscopic surgery. Small incision, scope to aid the doctor to see what was inside. Less invasive, quicker recovery(...I'll take some fries with that). I phoned the center and the voice on the other end was a rich accent (Jamaica?) and gentle. She asked all the questions I anticipated. I'd been down this road with my children and their pediatric disorders. Who? What? What kind of insurance? The quicker route would be to have my doctor's office call this center because everything is a referral. Making a decision to have a procedure like this is the first step the second, step is the business of it. Is it covered by insurance? The following Monday was a holiday and as it just happened to be, she was having a seminar with a few other patients. I would attend. That weekend went fast and Monday morning I was on my way down to New Port Richey, to the hospital, to the empty parking lot (holiday) to the office of Ivy. The first thing I did was sit down OF COURSE that is what fat people do when they first enter a room! (note to self: send that joke to Louis). We made our way across the hall to the meeting room. There is something about conference rooms that put me at ease. I expect a lecture, a Power Point because the screen is down and soon we are joined by a couple. Later I would exchange email addresses with "Patti" who happened to have a favorite color too...PURPLE! She saw my "Pattypreferspurple" email address on the sign up sheet and we clicked from that moment on. She had come with her husband. Then there was Gerry. I looked at them and we all seemed to have this spiritual connection. I was past being shy about my obesity, I'm big and I know it. After a few hours I was hungry and my sugar was getting low. I asked Ivy for a banana or something to raise my sugar, FOOD? She called down to the cafeteria and ordered up a few breakfast items and coffee. What do fat people love to do when they come together? ORDER IN! What did I care that there were pastries on the tray, I was here for a procedure that wouldn't allow me to eat more than 1 oz. of food, " A shot glass" as I put it. We laughed, ate, drank and got down to the business of filling out paperwork, copying identification cards and preparing ourselves for the business of weight loss. and it occurred to me. These people were smart, well articulated and with the collective as a group, we were already breaking down the percentages of the data on the Power Point and realizing that a large % of the group did not return post the procedure in the study group. So I admit that I too have the misperception that fat people are stupid, food numbed individuals who wile the hours away in front of a television doing everything but being nutritiously sound in mind and spirit. I'm beginning to learn a lot of WRONG things that like the rest of the world, I believe to be true.

Remember, today you are not only fight head hungry, you are fighting real hunger, in a stretched out stomach. I had my surgery 10 days ago and I can't believe how NOT hungry I am. I do have some head cravings, but I recognize them for that and move along to something else. I think once you are sleeved and healed you will think this is the best decision you every made. Good luck on your surgery in a few days......it will work out fine and you can start your new healthier life!

I think you should try to give your some slack. You are only human, and I'm sure that you would have eaten far more if you hadn't had the op. i am allowed to eat anything, I'm 6 months out, and just let myself be" norma"l... Which means now and again eating things that are not the most healthy (but no sugar...) and when i do its maybe 10%of what it would have been. I try to ask myself before eating it if its really what i want/ need and if theres a healthier option. I try not to have things that i would crave for at home ... Such as pringles!!!! You are doing great with your weight loss and please dont feel guilt about it... Hugs

I was at 8 CCs of a 10 CC band but it was too tight and caused me too throw up a lot which escalated my bulimia. I was brought back down over time to 4 CCs. Once I get more comfortable just eating until satiated I may go to a local lap band fill center and ask for another CC or Two which I think would bring me to green. I am really forcing past being stuck and eating till I'm sick. Sometimes I purge and then return to eating. I know I have restriction. So I need to learn to work with instead of against the band. I intend to keep it and overcome this. I have been doing good the past two days, especially journaling my intake and trying to stick with a healthy meal plan.

I don't have to lose 10% - I just have to fulfill the requirements of the program above by meeting multiple times over the 90 days with a psychologist for behavior mod, a NUT to learn how to eat better, and a personal trainer (certified) to increase pulmonary function and learn how to exercise for optimum post-surgery outcomes. And I have to see my surgeon 1x a month to oversee all of the areas and document them thoroughly (they all have forms to fill out and submit to him). I don't have to lose 10% though. I'm sure every plan is different though. Mine is just the basically outline on Aetna's website without anything additional. And my surgeon doesn't require anything beyond what insurance does. Thanks for all the responses - I was just hoping for some clarification prior to meeting with my surgeon's coordinator in a couple of weeks, but they felt sorry for me after I pestered them with calls and explained on the phone so I could start with the NUT, psych and PT now.

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.