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"My so called best friend last week commented on our old coworkers weight loss and said "idk why the eff she keeps posting pictures of her in the gym when she knows dam well she had surgery and she is not losing that weight on her own. She needs to stop taking pics of her at the gym." Wtf! Why do women treat eachother so badly?! She should be proud of her for going to the gym and kicking ass! Not talking about her behind her back!

Re: too tight Quote: Originally Posted by christa94 donna, you mentioned that you were losing before the fill. why did you have the fill? did you feel you were losing restriction? you mentioned that the fill is too tight. what makes you say that? are you still losing? Hi Christa, I got the fill because I had lost and regained the same pound four times over a two week period, which my doctor said is a sign you may need a fill. Additionally, I was at twelve weeks post op, by which time most bandsters are already on their 2nd or 3rd fill. LOL, I was afraid I was going to be left behind. Let this be a lesson, listen to what your body says, not what other people are doing or saying. What I needed to do was reexamine my caloric intake and increase my activity level. The other thing I did wrong was to try to be accomodating. I had my surgery in Mexico so I'm using a local surgeon's facilities for fills. I had already scheduled a fill and even though I had recently had a bad PB (my first) which caused swelling, I didn't want to cancel my appointment because I didn't want them to change their mind and not accept me as a patient - so I went for the fill. Big mistake. Having a too tight fill is miserable. After the PB swelling and the fill (1.4cc) I had constant pressure/pain at my sternum front and back. In the morning it hurt even worse and it even hurt to breathe deeply when I first got out of bed. I couldn't eat anything until 1:00 in the afternoon usually. To complicate matters, by the time I got in to the Dr.'s office for an unfill, my PB swelling was finally going away and I was almost comfortable with my fill level, so I wasn't sure if I wanted/needed an unfill. This was my first fill, I wasn't sure what it was SUPPOSED to feel like. I was already at the Dr.'s office so I decided I'd just have them check my band to be absolutely sure it was still in the right place - of course it was, but you hear so many nightmare stories here on LBT . . . . The surgeon was doing fills on that Saturday (!?!) and insisted on checking the band by removing all the fill and putting it back in - I still don't know why he didn't just look at the band on the fluoroscope. I didn't really feel like I had any choice, so I went along. He was terrible at giving fills - I've only ever had one and even I could tell he wasn't good at it! - the Lydocaine shot HURT. My first fill Lydocaine shot didn't hurt at all. He pulled the fill out, checked it, and then SLAMMED it back in! I had excruciating pain in my sternum till he pulled back on the syringe a bit. I was laying on that F'ing table gasping it hurt so bad. I don't know what he was playing at, but when he put my original fill back in - HE ADDED .5cc's! I went for a possible unfill and he added .5cc's! WTF? To make it worse, he didn't tell me he added .5cc's, in fact, he told me there was only 1cc in the band. Since we've all heard that it's very common to lose some or all of a first fill, I wasn't alarmed by that and was actually grateful because I was finally getting comfortable again. When I left his office I felt tight but was able to swallow easily - I just thought the tightness was because of disturbing the stomach area again. That was on a Saturday and by Saturday night I could barely swallow my own spit. I could only take in water in sips amounting to the size of a pea. I tried to have LITTLE TINY slivers of sugar free, fat free, frozen yogurt which sounded soothing to my swollen, hungry belly - it caused me to slime for about 40 minutes before I was able to swallow my own spit again! Forget about eating. Not even soup! Not even clear broth! Because that visit was on a Saturday, I had to wait until Monday when the doctor's office reopened before I could get in for an unfill - which irritated my stomach more. Fortunately, the surgeons fill nurse was there on Monday. She's awesome. When she pulled the fill out, sure enough there were 1.9cc's of fill in there. My original 1.4cc's PLUS the .5cc's that idiot of a surgeon added at the time of my SUPPOSED unfill! I was furious. I went the whole weekend in MISERY because this jerk-off thought he knew what was best for me - and didn't even inform me of what he was doing. I'm furious about it still. The fill nurse took my fill down to my current 1.2cc's and I'm beginning to feel better today but I'm still on liquids and will stay on them until this Sunday - 7 days of liquids just to be sure I don't cause another PB re-irritating my already irritated stomach! This has been a horrible experience and I don't plan to have another fill until I can't lose another ounce no matter how much I restrict calories and increase my activity! I will never again compare my fills with anyone elses, nor will I agree to have fills on any kind of schedule. Needless to say, I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, let that surgeon touch my body ever again. If the fill nurse isn't there, I'll leave. Even if I have to pay for an office visit he'll never touch me again. I'd never use his facility again except that his fill nurse is wonderful (compassionate, careful, HONEST - pick whichever one you like, she's all of that and more), and, because I didn't have surgery in the U.S., I don't want to go around looking for another local who'll see me. Here is my advise for anyone wanting to know about getting fills: 1) If/when you get a fill, do it in slow increments - more is not better, or even cheaper. It will cost you in the long run to need unfills and refills when you could have got to the same place COMFORTABLY by sneaking up on your sweet spot. 2) If you think you might be too tight, GO GET AN UNFILL! It's not worth the misery or the irritation and possible damage to your stomach to try to keep your fill in an attempt to lose weight faster. That's not what I was doing, but I see that on LBT frequently. 3) Make sure YOU call the shots - not some numb-nuts doctor who thinks he knows everything. Once again I must learn to trust my own instincts (a lesson I thought I had learned long ago) and listen to what MY body is telling ME! Sorry to go on and on, but this is the first time I've written it all down and I'm still pretty steamed about it. LOL - Um, what makes you ask? Good luck with your band and weight loss journey. __________________ DonnaB Adversity introduces you to yourself. - Anonymous

I have 15 weeks out and i have lost 32lbs.. that is just over a 2lb a week loss - do I wish it were quicker - yes lol I keep trudging along, going to the gym a good 5 days a week - also dealing with the possibility i have a leak in my band - I keep telling myself that 2lb a week is right on target with what they say is the healthy way to do this...

Thanks, Seela! Gamer Girl, I forgot about the hair loss...ugh! Glad it's winter and I can wear hats!

I was so sure that I would be my surgeon's "poster child" for VSG, no such luck... But after my 3.5 month follow up with him yesterday, he was happy with my progress. I am down 54 lbs and a couple of sizes. I've had stalls and now the dreaded hair loss. I make sure I take my supplements and my Biotin daily. We are all special... we took the necessary steps to better ourselves! Good luck everyone!

If you want to kick start your weight loss, you could try eating low carb. Or doing lots of exercising. Or you could just do things in moderation and be patient. I hate to answer some of these because the minute you say what is working for you, someone will come along to call you out and let you know you dont know anything. LOL I am 4 months out and have lost over 100 lbs., but I had a lot to loose to begin with. I eat low carb and exercise daily. I eat more than most, 5-6 meals a day because my hunger is just aweful. Of coarse, maybe that is why my weight is coming off so fast, my metabolism is causing both the hunger and the weight loss. I dunno.

I have watched hundreds of videos by doctors and patients and haven’t heard of this outside of bites or gulps that are too large, except for one person. I know her personally. She had the Lapband, but she had swallowing issues her entire life. It got worse with the band, so the had to loosen it. My mom had to have her esophagus stretched after getting a piece of steak caught in it recently. She has not had weight-loss surgery. The cause for her is being overweight, so I wonder if that might have been the precursor instead of the surgery.

Diet pills are just a temporary bandaid, you will regain twice as much back when you have to go off them. Here in Mississippi, the government has stuck their noses into how long you are allowed to take a diet pill (6 months on and 6 months off). I have been on weight watchers and lost 68 pounds and became a lifetime member before, but it doesn't work for me now. I have been on medifast, nutisystems, doctor assisted weight loss, herbalife, diet pills, Roco, you name it, I have done it. If you have tried everything and your body won't budge, it's time for surgery. My sister had the gastric sleeve last year and has already lost 80 pounds, started at 204 and is now so slim and beautiful. She had to wait the 6 months required here in the US. I am going to Mexico to have my surgery, I do not like the beaurocracy here with the insurance and hospitals. The prices in Mexico are so much less expensive than here in the US. My sister's surgery was paid for by her Medicare and she said it paid 100%. My doctor told me to start a protien diet with less than 70 grams of carbs a day the week before surgery. The doctors in the US tell their patients to start a liquid diet 2 weeks before surgery. I would rather have the food. After surgery, we will all be on the liquid diets. Good luck with your surgery!

Many insurance companies require a 3 or 6 month supervised "diet" prior to surgery. I say "diet" because I saw my surgeon and nutritionist each month and it wasn't a true diet to lose weight. It was more to learn the tools I needed to be successful after surgery (eat slowly, chew well, focus on nutrition and mindful eating habits, etc.). But every surgeon is different - some want to see weight loss before surgery. My surgeon was like - well dieting didn't work for you before, that's why you're here. So why put you on another diet. It sounds like what you have been doing may count toward your insurance requirement. They are usually pretty strict in how they want the documentation and notes from the doctor. You may want to call your insurance to find out specifically what they need and then meet with your NP to discuss what you have vs. what you need. Still be prepared to jump through hoops, and then you will be pleasantly surprised if you don't have to!

I have a Weight Watchers scale and it has been accurate. I weigh pretty much the exact same as the doctor's scale. I would just go with what your scale says now. It should be able to track the loss. I used to have a horrible scale before, so I know how you feel. It is so frustrating to have fluctuations!

I am also 8 days post op. I have lost 11 pounds... but... for the last 2 or 3 days I keep gaining and losing the same pound and a half over and over. I think it's going to be a little longer before we see much more significant weight loss... we have to recover from surgery completely and rid our bodies of all that excess Fluid and gas and get our bowels on a more normal schedule first :-) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

It is normal. Your body stored a lot of fluids in the hospital. You will lost the weight, just give it time. Congratulations on the weight loss.

Hi, I'm Cassi. It has taken me several years to make this decision. I previously felt like I was "giving up" or somehow "cheating" if I chose to do bariatric surgery. I felt like I needed to learn the lessons I needed to learn by working through this on my own. Now I've come to a point where I feel like the lesson I need to learn is that I don't have to do everything on my own. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to NEED help. For so long I attached a lot of "moral rightness/wrongness" to choosing the surgery, as if losing weight the "old-fashioned way", i.e. diet and exercise, meant I was somehow stronger, better, etc. I have come to see it as a tool, a way of helping with the hunger part of the equation while I stay committed to the diet and exercise parts. I went to my PCP on Sept 6, 2007 with my decision to do the lap-band, which she whole-heartedly supported. From there, insurance had to approve the referral to a bariatric surgeon. They initially denied it, but then reversed their decision a few days later based on additional notes from PCP (showing consistent weight loss attempts). I have been to the requisite seminar, have scheduled the psych eval, and have scheduled the initial consultation with the surgeon, set for Oct 19, 2007. I'm hopeful that an approval to have a surg. consult. will mean that they will approve the actual procedure. It doesn't necessarily meant that, of course, but I can still hope, yes? Right now I'm at the stage of practicing eating with a lap-band--not the microscopic portion sizes, of course, but chewing thoroughly, eating slowly, avoiding "cheat" foods like ice cream, etc. My concerns are primarily centered around social issues. How/what do I tell people who say, "Wow, you look great!"? What is life at a Thanksgiving family get-together like? How do I deal with those who think I took the easy way out (believe me, I understand their mindset--I've been there). I just don't want to feel like I have to "explain myself" for the rest of my life. Anyway, sorry to get long-winded. I tend to do that. :-) I'm looking forward to getting to know many of you. Cassi

I lost about 25 pounds or so during my 4 weeks on liquids. It was darn close to a pound a day. I have 3 small children I had to feed everyday- so that was kinda tough at first. It got easier day by day. Watching your weight fall off made it worth it! It is a great way to jump start your weight loss, that's for sure!

I haven't posted much, but here goes: In May, I started the 6 month MD supervised diet my insurance (Cigna) requires. This Tuesday is the 6 month visit, and my MD will fax his notes to my bariatric surgeon that day. I've had : endoscopy, sleep apnea, cardiac stress test, ultrasound to both legs to rule out blood clots, psyche and nutrition eval--been through it all!!! Due to gallstones, I had my gallbladdere out on 10/23, done by my bariatric surgeon, Dr. Craig Floch of Fairfiels Bariatrics. I have lost NO weight, but Doc feels I will be approved due to my BMI of 51 and co-morbidities. So now, it depends on how long Cigna takes to ok me. I'm hoping to have the lap band done before 12/31, due to $$$$$$$--I've already met my insurance deductibles for this year. On Monday I will be a 3 year survivor of stage 3 ovarian and peritoneal cancer--I am also on Soc Sec disability because I have wicked arthritis all over my body. Hoping the weight loss will help diminish the pain to my back, knees, ankles, feet. I've already had a shoulder replacement. So that's my story---can anyone contribute experience with Cigna? I know they can be a drag,:whoo: although I have no complaints as far as my cancer and arthritis treatments. With an 85% recurrence rate, my oncologist and I want me to be pain free and be able to do more of what I'd like and believe weight loss will open that door for me. I am a stubborn and determined person, but have just never been able to be successful at permanent significant weight loss. Well-----that was long, hope not too much information!!! Carol in CT

when my thyroid is too high I get the most horrible headaches! has she lost weight in her pre-surgery diet? because any amount of weight loss will affect the thyroid levels. hope she feels better! and you are a great sis for being so supportive and concerned

:welcome: ivyrose325, Congratulations on your weight loss so far. Don't try to lose the weight too fast - it is tough to take it slow but always best for your body. Keep in touch and good luck with the rest of your journey.

Sorry are you eligible for Medicaid? Here in Illinois Medicaid does cover weight loss surgery. Also as it seems money finances are an issue, have you considered Mexico? According to many of the post here there are some top notch doctors and facilities at about $5000 a pop. Best of luck.

I had my first gallbladder attack about 6 months after my surgery. It was while on vacation and I attributed it to indulging too much food during breakfast. It was the first time I had any problems with food and throwing up after 5 hours of extreme stomach and pain. It was the worst pain and I never ate sausage gravy again. I suffered from an attack about once a month from that point on (always thinking it was band related and food related even though I am the most strict rule follower in the band world) Until December where I had a 5 day attack that resulted in 5-7 hours cycles of extreme pain resulting in vomiting. We thought it was swelling from band, virus, etc...finally saw a surgeon who was filling in for my actual weight loss surgeon and his first questions were about right side pain, back pain, after eating, etc....he sent me for a Hida scan and sure enough my gall bladder was not "squirting" correctly (his term). I had my gall bladder out before Christmas and I have not had one single episode again. Unfortunately after doing some research prior to my gall bladder surgery it is very common for weight loss patients to have gall bladder issues as well. Don't suffer through the pain, go to the doctor! Good luck!

I wanted to share a recent fantastic experience with Dr. Eric Pinnar and his staff, as well as great ongoing care. FYI they are in Reston Advanced Weight Loss Solutions :: Home I had some severe belly button area pain a couple weeks ago and thought it might be my Port. Went to the emergency room. The staff there contacted Eric. He and his AMAZING PA Phil dropped everything they were doing (it was a Saturday and they were involved in family events) and came to the hospital. Eric realized it was my appendix and removed the offending organ (unfortunately the damn thing didn't weight 40 pounds!) Then he dropped everything Sunday Night to help me out with getting an early discharge. He is amazing. And I don't have insurance and he has been remarkable in putting my mind at ease about that, and that we will work it out. Here is what I also love about their practice... They spare NO expense in offering the best technology in the practice. They have an exray machine there to do barium swallows immediately when indicated which is so important and they CHARGE ME NOTHING FOR IT. Nor is there ever a charge for a fill. Also, I had a band slip, the early barium swallow caught it, and they were able to correct it by unfilling, very successfully contrary to what often happens where it is caught long after. Also, they have two FANTASTIC PA's, Phil and Kellie, so I can get an appointment almost any day I need to come in. They also have this cool body picture scanner (looks like a tanning booth), that scans your body silhouette periodically and actually see the progress you are making - this is GREAT especially when we get discouraged. This equipment cost a fortune. Eric is also organizing a bicycling group for us, has a clothing exchange program and all kinds of other stuff. I get that he cares deeply, feeling incredibly supported and never like a pest.

that it isn't uncommon. i'm getting more than used to that question. my doctor hasn't really seemed concerned. he says the weight loss will happen when i find restriction. The 2 lbs that i lost were from my last fill. so..maybe i'm getting there. Also, i had lost 12 lbs, before moving to solids, then i missed one of my fills, so it all came back, then i gained 2 one week. so my overall loss is 2 lbs. i try not to stress about it. i'm eating less. now i just need to exercise. i don't know what is up with my body.

Thanks everyone! Glad to know I am not the only one. I am going to try and just weigh once a week so the scale doesn't drive me so crazy. I know I am still recovering...just want to make sure I have some good results before seeing my Dr. I was disappointed that I wasn't seeing her until 7 weeks after, but now I am glad. I decided to start working out on my elliptical while my son naps. Going to make myself a chart today to keep track of my workouts and weight loss to keep me motivated to make the right choices.

Congrats on the weight loss, and welcome to our little family!! ????

Hi Solla: Be patient, and remember 1-2 pounds is what to expect with banding. Sure some people will lose more than this and some will lose less, but this is truly the average and it is a good healthy weight loss. We all need to remember that we did not get this heavy over night. And the weight will not come off like that either. I was told prior to my surgery by my surgeon that if I wanted immediate results that bypass would give that to me where Lap Band would be a slow but steady process. Your skin has time to recover with slow and steady. Therefore allowing it to not be so saggy. Just stick to the program and eating only healthy choices and excersie regularly and you will be a huge success I am certain of it. For me it is the long term that is my goal and I set mini goals for myself. Like hitting the next 10 marker. I am 4 pouns away from my second goal after surgery the 30# marker. Then it is not so overwhelming. When I look at it that way it makes the final goal more real for me. Remember you are retraining years and years of overeating and of making the wrong food choices and this takes time not only to achieve but also for our bodies to catch up. We are retraining our metabolisms as well. Your body will get the message and know it is not starving. I would recommend using something like FITDAY.com to log all of what goes into your mouth each and everyday. This will help you to eat between 1000 and 1200 calories a day which is what my nutritionist said the goal should be. I have trouble getting that much but I am losing very nicely I feel. Always eat your Protein first at every meal as well. YOU CAN DO THIS and YOU WILL succeed! Hugz,

So I have Illinois medicaid and am in the process of my 6 month physician supervised diet. I don't feel like my doctor is documenting my attempts at weight loss very well. She more or less writes weight loss of how ever much and then continue exercise and portion control. That's it. Will Illinois still approve me with this type of documentation?