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I have excellent restriction, I am almost too tight in fact. Currently I have 6.2 ccs in my band which holds 10 ccs. So I am definitely not worried about being filled to the max!!!

I had surgery on Tuesday April 22nd 2014.... So I weigh myself each Tuesday morning. Starting week 10 and down 57 pounds

:frown:I found my email and have attached it...it appears those lovely wal mart type slim fast shakes that I like so much isn't good for the pre op phase...not enough Protein and to much carbs and sugar...rats that figures.:biggrin: PRE-OP DIET - for Dr. Rodriguez Dr. Rodriguez now requests that all patients with a BMI over 40 do a pre-op diet for two weeks before surgery. IMPORTANT: The key is to try to keep your carb intake less than 50 grams a day. The pre-op diet is designed to help you be internally healthier for surgery. The effects are not immediate. It takes about 10 consecutive days before results show up internally. The goal is to have the liver let go of some stored fat. Some people also call it a liver shrinking diet. This will mean an easier recovery for you post-op. BACKGROUND INFORMATION In the obese, the liver is a huge, fatty organ. It is “in the way” of the surgical area during band surgery, and must be held back with surgical instruments. An enlarged liver is very fragile and bleeds quite easily when touched or manipulated during surgery. This bleeding can be difficult to control, and the extra care required with an enlarged liver increases surgical risk, as well as surgical time. Longer surgical time and extended time under general anesthesia can make both immediate and longer-term recovery much more difficult for you. An especially large and fragile liver has even caused some band surgeries to be cancelled, for the safety of the patient. Following this Pre-Op Diet is extremely important. The goal is not to lose weight, necessarily, but to enter a temporary period of dietary ketosis, which is not harmful to you at all. However, many do lose a good amount of weight, which will jump-start your Band weight loss as you begin to regain and improve your health. It is this dietary ketosis that results in liver-shrinking and the normalizing of your metabolism so that you can do well with banding. Pre-Op Diet: THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE A LIQUID ONLY DIET. IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, KIDNEY OR HEART DISEASE; PLEASE CONSULT YOUR LOCAL PHYSICIAN BEFORE ALTERING YOUR CURRENT DIET. Start with proper protein sources (no less than 20 grams of protein per serving with 6 total grams of carbohydrates or less and 6 grams of saturated fats or less per serving), keep a close eye on the fat intake (don’t over do it). Some choices are lean chicken, turkey, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, sugar free jell-o, pudding, Beans. Please include fresh fruit at least 2 times a day. PLEASE eat *only* solid protein! Choose only a piece of chicken, a lean steak, a hard-boiled egg, or some low-fat cheese. PLEASE: NO mayo, BBQ sauce, ketchup, sweets, junk food, cereals, or anything else. Even the smallest amount of non-protein, carb-laden food can take you out of ketosis and easily negate many day’s worth of the low carbs that are so greatly decreasing your surgical risk. Those that choose to use a Protein shake, please read the labels. You should try to choose a protein shake with between 20-30 grams of Protein, less than 6 grams of total Carbohydrates, and less than 6 grams of saturated fat per serving. Count only the NET CARBS that are on the label, not the “total” carbs. Please eat and drink NOTHING that is not clearly labeled as to net carb content. With some products, the “Net Carbs” are called “Impact Carbs” or “Effective Carbs”. Protein Shakes are NOT required, but are very convenient. These are just some of the brands that have the correct protein/carb/sat fat ratio: Iso Pure, Slim Fast LOW CARB, Designer whey, www.unjury.com. Your local GNC or other nutrition store will have a variety of drinks and bars to try. We suggest getting one each of several kinds to try before you buy a larger quantity, so you can find some you really like. Many find that the unjury brand of Protein Drink is the best tasting and among the least expensive. It is available only online, but ships very quickly. www.unjury.com Do a web search for “low-carb protein bars” and compare costs, grams of protein, and grams of Net carbs. Online sources are often much less expensive than those found in local stores, and the shipping is often free. We feel that the Atkins ADVANTAGE and ENDULGE Protein Bars are excellent, with about 3-4 grams of Net Carbs per bar, but there are several other brands that are fine. Watch out for things that you would normally not consider food! You must also have NONE of the following things that are full of sugar: · chewing gum with sugar or carb sweetener · breath mints · cough syrup · hard candy and cough drops. NOTE: Increasing your Water intake for 2 weeks prior to surgery greatly reduces difficulty in starting the IV. Your goal should be to drink enough plain water to keep your urine out-put pale to clear each time you void. Of course, nothing can beat a positive attitude. Deciding that you are "worth it" & willing to learn a new way of life is key. Thank you for following this very important first step toward a successful Banding and great Band weight loss.

I am up to 4.5cc in a 10 cc band. Last Thursday I had a fill that brought me to 5cc, which was a tad too tight, so I went back Friday and had 1/2cc removed. I do believe I am at my sweet spot :w00t: This morning I was 171 which means I have lost 4 lbs since last Thursday after weeks, and weeks of very slow progress!

10, 30 or 50 pounds lost is a great accomplishment. Be proud of yourselves!! I don't know any of you but your losses give me inspiration...

I'm impressed that you could lose the 17-22 pounds just waiting for the surgery. I only had to lose 6 and they delayed me a month because I hadn't done it by the end of my 6 months. I have Kaiser Permanente for insurance-- The bad news is that I weighed in and got the referral, then went on a 10 cruise to the Greek Islands... Now, I've got to lose most of it all over again before I meet with the surgeon!

Thanks Matilda - I'll keep that in mind. I still have 10 days before my fill, so I'll keep everything crossed!

Coo thankyou for your reply. Dr Watson said he is happy with this progress, and he is being careful, i have had 3 fills, 1ml, .5ml and the last one was 1ml. my start weight was 93kg, so the 5kg is ok, i had a chat to one of my freinds who had a band done as well and she said it is okay. i am riding about 10 - 15 kms a day, not every day but 5 out of the 7. and may i add that Dr Watson is so nice! i am seeing him again at the end of this month for another fill, i try not to wiegh myself between visits, i think my scales are dodgy, between my 1st and 2nd fill my scales said that i had put on weight so i was going to have a bit to say when i saw the doc but his scales told me i had lost some, so i had to eat humble pie (not really i had a glass of water). any way thanks for your input, and he seems to think my diet is good. about 5 years ago i weighed 110 kgs, but i got down to about 78 kgs and then slowly it started to creep back on, untill i made the decision to have the band done, so he said it would not be a dramatic loss to start with. so to be paitent with the loss. and forgive me for any spelling errors, i cant spell to save my life!!!!!!! cheers

I will be having surgery on 2/19 in Virginia, and will be moving to Durham in April. It's not an ideal set up, but it's taken so long to get to this point, I don't want to have to start all over again!

You should have gotten written discharge instructions before you left the hospital and it should be on there....or you could just give the office a quick call and ask. Mine says nothing more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I know I seen this posted before but I am 10 days out and I am not starting to feel hungry I had the bypass I am only on the second stage. I also have no fullness I just try not to over do it is this normal and will it change when I get on pureed food HW 413 SW 383 CW 370 Sent from my HTC6525LVW using the BariatricPal App

I'm not really good at exercise, but I try to ride my bike 10 miles a day. I usually have 1/4 c. (dry measure) oatmeal for Breakfast or a Fiber One bar, then Soup or chili or a lean cuisine for lunch, then meat and vegetable for dinner. Portions are small--a couple of oz of meat and maybe a half cup of vegies. I sometimes have a 100 cal. bag of popcorn for an evening snack, a sugar free pudding, or even a spoonful of Peanut Butter. I try to keep under 1000 calories a day. I don't get hungry except for once in a while before I get up in the morning, which I credit to little in the way of carbs in my diet. I take a couple of fiber pills in the morning with my coffee (two cups a day, with creamer and sweetener) and my doctor's nutritionist suggested a couple of chromium picolinate tablets. My band is pretty tight for me, although I only have 1.9 cc in it. If I eat too fast or don't chew enough, I pb fairly easily, so I don't know as what I am doing is the healthiest way to go about it. I have my treats--an occasional gelato or cookie, but don't bring home much junk. There's no sugar, potatoes, rice, flour, chips, Pasta, or anything like that in the house. I've learned if it's here, I'll eat it, so I don't buy it. If I start overdoing it on the peanut butter, I have been known to toss a nearly full jar in the trash. There's no doubt I am still a compulsive eater at heart. I think we each have to try to learn about ourselves, our weaknesses, and our strengths to figure out how to make this tool work for us. Good luck on your journey! it definitely can work for us.

What a complete and total waste of my time and sanity. I was banded in October two years ago, and in that time, the only thing I lost was my mind. I feel lied to and cheated, and wish I'd never had this horrible band put in me. I lost 30 pounds the month of my surgery, and then every single time I went in to the Dr, they would take my "weight loss", divide it by the number of months that passed, and tell me how wonderful I was doing. These "doctors" ignored me when I told them the band wasn't doing anything for me. Eventually I lost a total of 50 pounds, but let me be perfectly clear on this. The weight loss was from pure strength of will, the band did NOTHING! I went from yellow to red zone, from eating too much to throwing up every single bite that went in me, with no green zone in between. My body went into utter starvation mode while I was in the red zone, and rather than loose weight, i stayed completely the same, and eventually started gaining it. I exercised, I DIETED harder than I have ever dieted in my entire life, and I got to the point where I was having a psychotic episode over the stress and failure I was faced with every single day that passed. They told me I wouldn't need to diet. They told me the band would regulate my appetite, therefore "dieting" wouldn't be unnecessary. They promised me, no more fad diets, no more stress, just nice, easy, appetite control. What a load of bull. I kept going back to that sham of an office, and every person I talked to would give me a totally new hard-core diet to take. Protein shakes, low fat, low carb, low calorie, point systems, counting calories, eat more cheese, don't eat cheese, eat nuts, stay away from nuts, you name it, someone there told me to do it. Every single time I walked in there, I was given different instructions. Not one single bit of continuity between all the dr's and nurses. All smiles, all "you're doing fine! I know you haven't lost any weight in 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, etc months. I know you can't eat. I know you're stressed out and angry. Don't worry, here, try another diet. Go home now, must get more patients." My hair became thin, and eventually started falling out in clumps, and that's where the psychotic episodes came in. Every night sitting up stressing, pulling out wads of hair, crying in fear and anger. And they said, "Don't worry, you're doing fine. Try another diet." And so they took Fluid out and i went from red zone to yellow - no restriction again. And I gained back 20 pounds. On top of the failure of regaining that weight, it didn't go back to the spots where I lost it. Nope! It focused around my chin and my stomach, so I look like a demented weeble wobble toy now. I wish I'd never had this surgery. I wish I'd had more self esteem and been happy with my extra weight. I wish my life wasn't ruined with the knowledge that I've stressed myself and my family with two years of overwhelming obsession with my weight. And where do I go from here? There is no where to go from here. I'm stuck with a piece of equipment in me that failed - IT FAILED NOT ME - my so-called DOCTORS failed, not me! I've never worked so hard before in my life, exercise, diet after diet, and nothing! What a great life I have to look forward to now. Thanks for nothing lapband.

I live in Jersey Village, TX and I have really been considering lap band surgery. I am 26 and 265lbs, I've tried everything diets and exercising but only lose about 10 pounds and gain it right back. I have been researching the lap band and it seems like a very scary fix for my problem. I am trying to find someone who maybe has been in a similar situation that could be a mentor or answer questions I have regarding pre op and post op and the procedure itself.

I don't know what would have made my experience with the band a better one, one where I actually lost weight. I do know that my band never slipped and if vomiting caused it that would have happened to me. I vomited (pb'd) a lot!! Phen fen worked for me at the time when I took it many years ago but was taken off the market mid-stream. It was basically like the "speed" I took in the 70s when I first lost weight. Metformin also worked for me but I had to go off my antidepressant to take it which was a difficult time but like most people I only lost 10% of my body weight on it before it stopped being as effective. It made me feel nausious, not to be confused with a "PB" which kept me from wanting to eat. I know my endocrinologist told me at one time she had people on this drug after WLS. Just because you're banded doesn't mean we're not going to want to eat. We're all very different so the lap band may stop some people and not others. It's not a sign of weakness or our own failures as human beings but that it's not necessarily the right proceedure for EVERYONE, Nancy:smile:

OK lets do this!! :thumbup: I got a fill about 10 days ago - my last one had been about 6 months ago and I had pretty decent restriction most of the time, but thought I'd give it a try - I got .25cc -- it was way too much - so I went back and had .1 taken back out- Ithink I am still too tight- but I'm keeing fluids down if I take it slow and don't feel hungry at all - I just worry about my energy levels so we will see - I do like that the scale is moving.. Not sure where you guys are located, but here spring is finally on it's way in so I'm hoping to get outside doing yard work etc to help burn some bonus calories as well... SOOOOO what is your plan and what can we do to get rolling?

I am getting sleeved at 1:10 PM EST tomorrow. I bet that your anesthesiologist will give you a patch either way. I met with mine. He told me of the drug cocktail I will get when i arrive. The patch was one of the items in the mix. Good luck to you!

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that all this has happened to you. I am with Kaiser and as Jennifer said they are up front about it. When I went to orientation they told us that they would determine how much we had to loose at the first appointment following orientation. Doesn't sound bad except that that appointment was 2 months out. They did tell us that we might have to loose 10% of our body weight so I immediately started on their pre-op meal plan (they had already weighed us so they knew my starting weight). I started on June 6th on the 1200 calorie diet that they gave me (oops pre-op meal plan LOL) and have lost 37 pounds. One of the things they cautioned us on is not eating too little because your body will think you are starving and will refuse to loose weight. Their reasoning behind this is that 1) the instruments are only so long and if you're too big they will not go in far enough without trouble, 2) shrinking your liver, and 3) they want to be sure that you are going to be able to follow the meal plan that bandsters need to follow and will be successful at loosing with the band. I know that it's hard. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 months now. My surgery date will probably be sometime in late November or December so I have a long way to go doing this. They also have the "gain weight and the surgery is cancelled" rule. My line of thought on this is that I've always been able to diet. I believe someone called it professional dieter. That's me. BUT keeping it off is what has been the problem and it always, always brings friends. I want the band to help me keep it off. I have to loose the weight anyhow. I mean that's what the whole thing is about. So why not start now. Don't think of this as a diet just to get the surgery but the beginning of your new journey. Your whole life is going to change and it's going to take a lot more commitment to live the bandster life then it will to commit to loosing 12 pounds. I agree that your doctor should have been up front about what you needed to do. It certainly would have been devastating to me to be all hyped up for surgery and then have the rug pulled out from under me. But use this to find a way to handle stress in the future so that it doesn't derail you when you're happily on the bandwagon. YOU CAN DO THIS. We know you can!

I don't count calories.. I didn't get this procedure to live the rest of my life in a counting calories and non-carb hell. This was a life change not to feel like I'm dieting for the rest of my life.. I cut out all the bad crap, ie, no more fast food, no more hamburgers and pizza and chicken fried steak... I do eat toast, but it's whole grain/wheat and it's thin and toasted. I eat multi grain crackers... and sometimes if I'm feeling really naughty I might have a tortilla or some rice... My basic day is like this right now because my fill is completely gone (yay tomorrow!) Breakfast: banana and about 5-10 almonds, or a can of tuna, or Fiber One Cereal with skim milk Lunch: Bowl of vietnamese pho' chicken Soup. If you've never had this, it's very healthy and good. It's basically broth, bean sprouts, different herbs and chicken... Its very filling... I also sometimes bring the handheld cans of soup you drink... cream of chicken is my favorite. Dinner: Varies.. last night we had Pho' for dinner... or chicken and veggies, or wraps, or whatever... but it's something healthy I then have a SF chocolate pudding around 8:30 if I'm hungry. Or a plum. Now, when I have a fill and i'm really tight, my diet is completely different. Breakfast: Muscle milk or Isopure lunch: tuna and multigrain crackers or soup Dinner: Squash soup, or pho soup I stop when I'm full.. I eat something when I'm hungry, but I try to make healthy choices and I always get my Protein and Vitamins in every day no matter what.

Well, I'm 10 days post op now....I also had gas pains, sometimes worse at times than others. The heating pad helped, GasX helped, and walking around helped. The biggest helper is simply time.....it has to work itself out......I was out today and had a bubble like feeling in my chest...more rare now, but still gets ya! It won't last forever...I noticed a nice change in the amount of gas by the end of day5..... AmyK

Yes. I have a 2 year old son. I took 2 weeks off as well. You cannot lift more than 10 lbs for the first 2 weeks, so be careful. It's hard for the 2 year olds to understand. I constantly told my son about Mommy's boo boos. I even showed him the incisions. He started to understand and then would ask to see the incisions. He was very careful around me. Good luck!

Finding research on this issue is very hard and most of what I have found is very vague. I found this a few minutes ago but it doesn't explain why. I am going to keep looking. I seen something yesterday that said black women have more of a Type B fat cell than other's (not more fat but more of a certain type of fat) studies show that we actually have 10% less fat than our counterparts when we go in for surgery. I am assuming with this Type of fat it may be better to do a malabsorptive type of procedure instead of the band? My theory so don't quote me on it. Comparison of outcomes after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in African-Americans and whites Parikh, Manish; Lo, Helen; Chang, Christopher; Collings, Dinee; Fielding, George; Ren, Christine 2006 Nov-Dec;2(6):607-10; discussion 610-2, Surgery for Obesity & Related Diseases BACKGROUND: Race may affect outcomes after bariatric surgery. This study compares outcomes in terms of weight loss and comorbidity resolution between African-Americans and whites after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). METHODS: Data from 959 patients undergoing LAGB between July 2001 and July 2004 were prospectively collected and entered into an electronic registry. Propensity score matching analysis was used to match whites to African-Americans on the basis of age, gender, and preoperative body mass index (BMI). Preoperative comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia) were also compared. Operative time (OR), length of stay (LOS), comorbidity resolution, and percent excess weight loss (%EWL) at 1, 2, and 3 years were analyzed. All data were updated through May 2006. RESULTS: A total of 65 white LAGB patients were matched to 58 African-American LAGB patients on the basis of age, gender, and preoperative BMI. The preoperative mean age and BMI were 37 +/- 19 years and 47 +/- 7 kg/m2, respectively. A total of 55% of the white group and 64% of the African-American group had one or more comorbidities (P = NS). Median OR time and LOS were similar in both groups: 50 minutes and 23 hours, respectively. The majority of patients in both groups had major improvement or resolution of one or more comorbidities (61% whites vs 77% African-Americans, P = NS). There was, however, a significant difference in %EWL between whites and African-Americans at each time interval (49% vs 39% at 1 year; 55% vs 44% at 2 years; 52% vs 41% at 3 years; P < .05 for all values.). CONCLUSION: Despite the disparity in weight loss with the LAGB in African-Americans and whites, both patient populations experienced a similar improvement/resolution of obesity-related comorbidities id: J0125081, year: 2006, vol: 2, page: 607, stat: Journal Article,

Omg I Can Totally Relate...I Also Am 19 And Was Diagnose With PCOS WHen I Was 16 You're So RIght Only People With PCOS Can Understand What A Journey This Is My PCOS Syptoms R Gaining Weight Irregular Periods Which Is So Annoying I'll Have My Period For Like 2 Months SOmetimes More This Is So Depressing For Me I've Never Been At 226lbs I Was ALways Thinner In My Mid Teen Years I Can't Even Ovulate Like Regular People Uhhggg I Hate This... I Should Be Getting Banded Soon Just Waiting For My Insurance To Approve

I was banded in Mexicali, Mexico on May 19, 2006. I am looking to schedule with someone to do my first fill. I live neer Stanwood, Wash. Morsaille & brittu --- did you get Kitty Carmichael to do your fills? How was she? How many fills has she done? Has she ever punctured a fill line? Thank You BillieBeth

I was banded on 9-9-08. I had my first fill six weeks later 10-20--08. So far I have 3 cc in a 10 cc band with little to no restriction. I go in for my next fill on 11-17-08. My docotr said it might take him three more times to find the "sweet spot" but right now I could eat ANYTHING if I let myself. I stick to the rules that the doctor said...Protein first, water (try to have at leat 80 oz a day no more than 100 oz), exercise, and NO snacking. So far I have lost a little over 40 pounds but can't wait until I have a little restriction to help with the hunger:angry_smile: