a long lapband story ! (i need support)

[oh2bthin 0]

hi my name is sherry and i am 36, i am married to jerry who is in the airforce and we were stationed in germany for three years. after years of failed weight loss methods i started looking into surgey and found a doctor in belguim who is one of the founders of the lapband and had it done.he has 10 years exsperiance so i was thrilled. i recovered fine and thought i would be on my way!. well oviously with the current affairs with the world my husband was deployed alot and the journey for the fills were few and far between . i have a different lapband than the one f.d.a. approved over here . it is called cousin and holds 10 cc . i had three fills and was at 6cc and feeling some restriction but not enough . then my husband and i got moved to north carolina , i got back to america and i lost it , i feel like i have beaten the band and have learned to eat through pb-ing and i am so down on myself right now as i have lost no weight what so ever . this seems almost un heard of when i read all the posts and now i am in the process of trying to find a lapband surgeon to fill me here with some exsperiance and that will see me , taken into account that i didn't have the lapband put in by him and also that i have a different type , it looks exactly the same , i think i have found one in winston-salem a dr eduardo gonzalas and i am going to call for info monday but i almost scared to tell him that i have been almost a year with no resistance and him look at me like i am crazy , we arrived in north carlina in sept 05 and had to find a house and had alot of ajustments , i have two children and one thing or another seemed to interfere with me getting this sorted out , coupled with my husband being deployed for 6 months in araq which was no fun being in a new town and the worry of him being there.i have a good friend here that is now getting a bypass done and she has been so good to me. she has been on me about getting this sorted out and a listening ear. i am a self pay so things have been on hold up til now , what with christmas but i am ready !!!!!!!.i am 200 pounds and i know alot of people say thats not that big but i gain nearly every years and its bigger enough for me !!!!!!!. i know there are the two ways to fill and want a flouro just to make sure that its o.k and hasn't moved ect or leaked , my belguim doctor didn't do flouro on me but i think this is the best one to have as i have gone so long nearly a year without one, all i hope is that i am one fill away and i start the weight loss road i have been so depressed lately and its put alot of pressure on my relationship with my husband and i , he is my real hero and supports me so much my my self asteem is shot.he is away once again now and will be back mid-feb and priority number one is the fill.so until then i am waiting and trying to stay positive and i would love for someone to get back to me with kind words and any help they think they can give ! i am sorry its such a long message but now you have the full story !!

[It's me-Debbydo 0]

Wow sweetie you have alot on your plate!

Thanks for being a military partner, the those guys/gals are awesome and by nature leave a lot of family stress in their wake because of their career. I applaud you and your family.

The vangard, presumable your band is not so foreign around here. Maybe e-mail your surgeon and ask him for some of his pals stateside. Even if they are not in NC, I'm sure they could help you find a md closer to you in NC.

Hang in there and take baby steps toward your WL goal. Not gaining is as much of an accomplishment at times as losing.

Keep us posted and good luck to you.

Debby

[the best me 6]

Okay Sherry, you came to the right place.

First, thank you for all you do to help your brave hubby as he protects our freedom here in the US. God Bless You!!!!

Debby-do says your band is the VanGuard by Inamed. If this is the case, you are home free. No problem. But you do need to be certain about the brand and make of your band. Do you have any paperwork on it?

Now, I was banded in MX and get my fills from Dr G in Winston Salem. He's great. He won't look at you funny. He'll want to talk to you and find out your story and what's going on. If he can help you, he will! And he likes cash pay folks so don't hesitate to call him. If you can get him to slow down long enough (he's very quick and busy!) he'll be great. Just make sure you have all the info when you call to schedule.

Also, flouro fills are scheduled out of the hospital there and cash pay for flouro is pricey. His non-flouro office fills are $250, flouro fills are $350 (I think) plus the hospital charges another 2-300. Check with his office to find out for sure. Just be prepared if you really want flouro. If you don't have any symptoms of problems, you may can just get by with a plain ole fill. Do some research here!

Now, not all of us are losing like banshees around here so don't be discouraged. Time to get back on the bandwagon and put that band to good use. You haven't lost your window of opportunity. You can back up and punt. You can start fresh, and you have found good support here on LBT.

Where in NC are you? There are a group of us in Charlotte who get together monthly and you are welcome to join us for lunch. I haven't checked the rest of the NC forum yet so you may have found us.

Anyhow, welcome to LBT. So good to have you!

[oh2bthin 0]

thankyou thankyou , i am going to call dr g in the morning do you think he will be able to see me fairly soon? i have limited paper work on my op and some of it is in belguim !! but i can get xrays i had done after the op from the base medical records. and as far as fills i think i won't my first after this long to be flouro and then if i need more to be just the basic one , i have a question do you know if they draw out the Fluid thats supposed to be in your band first and re-fill or does dr g just add ? oh and by the way i live in fayettevill nc, and there are other surgeons closer but they do not fill from other surgeons, dr g, is the only one i have heard of that does ? near me anyway. i can't wait to have that cute little chart under my messages with the chart that goes down but i have faith in this i just won't this to do its job, you would not believe ther amount of friends and family that have said its a waste of time and to get it taken out !!!!, i try to exspain to them if you had a pair of pants that were to big and you had a belt around it and the belt wasn't pulled tight your pants would fall down well thats what the food is doing , some get it but its so frustrating as they see me as just the same sherry after paying all that money , i so want to lose the weight just to say see it works !!. i wish now i had never told as many people as i did , i find them looking at me and i can see there faces maybe its me being paranoid but i get a bad feeling , i know there probably saying to thereself how can she still eat like that. i know my bands not full enough as i get really bad hunger pains between meals where after fill three , i wasn't hungry at all and was great but now i do its like its worn off is this possible ??? opps i have done it again and wrote my axx off sorry just very pleased to have people to relate to after such a long time thanks

[mousecrazy 2]

I want to say thank you for being a military wife, and God Bless. You are getting good advice from you NC friends, so I won't butt in on that, but I read your post and want you to know we care, we understand, and we will help you however we can! Cindy

[the best me 6]

so I won't butt in on that,

Butting in?! Are you kidding? Come on over to NC, Mouse. It's fun here!!! Come see our other threads and jump on in! I know it's a long way for lunch with us, but you are still always welcome.

Hubby's calling for help...gotta run but I'll reply later to you, sherry.

[sunsett 2]

Sherry, Welcome to LBT. We have a great group of people here.

I also want to thank you and your husband for what you both sacrifice for us. I applaud both of you. When he comes home please give him a hug from me.

I'm so glad that you found Dr.G As you can tell Kathy is very happy and comfortable with him.

In the mean time have you found a nutritionist?

Our minister talk today about leaving behind the past. We all mess up, thats human nature. Look at today as a new begining. Be proud of yourself for reaching out. We are here to support you. Take a deep breath, ask the Lord to help you and take the steps that you need to take to help you.

[Mrs Sabre 1]

Welscome Sherry! You've come to the right place. These folks are caring and wonderful!

[gordonfamily3 0]

Welcome Sherrie...you have found a great place here. The support and guidance if wonderful.

Like everyone else has said...Thanks for the commentment of you and your husband. I have a cousin in the service down at Fort Bragg now but he is leaving next month. Not sure for where though.

I am sure Dr. G will be able to help you out. Kathy and Sherry both seem to like him. Good Luck...

If you aren't too far from Charlotte please consider meeting up with us on the 28th. We love meeting new people.

[the best me 6]

Fayetteville! Oy, Vey. That's a pretty long drive for lunch. sigh.

Dr G. pulls out the old and adds. Especially if you request it. My first fill was a straight 2cc, then I went back a few days later for a small unfill of .4cc, I was too tight. Since then I went back for a little top off and he pulled the old out and added back but he didn't really measure. He said I have 2cc again but hinestly, I don't think he knows. He has me sit up and drink Water while he's filling and goes alot by the resisitance on the needle and my ability to swallow, much more so than the numbers. It makes for a comfortable fill and I have been fine here for a good while. I have never had a flouro fill. Just be prepared for the cost and as long as you are, I'm sure DrG will do ya right.

And yes, after time the fill "wears off" in that you lose fat on the insides and in your stomach tissue, too. The band lossens with weight loss. I have heard many people say they go for a complete unfill for some reason (reflux, whatever) and when they go back to get filled, it takes less fill to get the same restriction. Who knows why? That's the beauty of an adjustable band.

Don't worry about your friends. I know it's hard. This is YOUR wieght loss journey and your road is as unique as you are! Get your fill and you should be on your way.

[the best me 6]

Sherrie, I know you can't come but here's hoping. This is the link to the lunch get-together thread.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13328

Did you talk with Dr G's office? What did they say?

[leatha_g 4]

Sherrie,

If you do have problems due to your band not being FDA approved, ie band surgeons not wanting to touch it. Another alternative for you is to check with the local radiology department. Some radiologists who are currently doing fills will agree to do a fill for people with other bands in some cases. Often, freestanding, privately owned radiology centers are learning these procedures for added revenue. It's worth a try and all they can do is say 'no'. Of course, I would ask about their experience with such a thing. Also, one thing you need to know for certain; does your band hold saline only or does it require the special liquid used in some foreign bands? Your Dr in Belgium should be able to answer that question readily. I do know there are people in the states who've found this special mix and who've had radiologists agree to do fills for them. I wish you luck and like all the others I certainly appreciate you and your husband and all that you have at stake for our country. God bless and good luck to you!

[oh2bthin 0]

well i called dr g office and spoke to a lovely lady who answered all my questions and i was thrilled to know he will be probably call me wednesday or thursday as apparently i have a french band made by boiring and it needs different needles ?? i thought for a minute they were going to say that they didn't have those but she thinks he does. i didn't even realise that there were different ones. i had to laugh as she asked if i looked at the needle the belguim doctor used and i said NO as i tended to look away !!!. i do have alot to ask dr .g though as up to now i was not told about alot of the food i should eat and am now finding out that i have been eating all wrong. i went on slush at first actually i used to eat baby Cereal as i like it !! and i figured it was one food with all the Vitamins i needed but after realising i could still eat pretty much what i won'ted as there was no resriction i went back to all the usual junk slowly and returning to the land of all you can eat it was a real battle to be good. i am now trying to just keep on a low carb diet until the fill and have ordered the lapband book and one my friend recomended called eating well after weight loss surgery, does anyone have this and what did you think of it . she is having a bypass but it referes to lapband all the way through it also. i know it must sound that i didn't get alot of info on my band but my doctor spoke limited english and i quess everything is different there as he just told me to just avoid sugar , nothing about bread and carbs ect infact he told me to eat toast for Breakfast !!!. well i will keep you posted and thankyou everyone for you kind words especially about my husband , he is in the airforce and the military life can be emotional rollercoaster and thats about the last thing you need when you eat for comfort !!!!. i have been in north carolina for about a year and my husband has been deployed 7 and half months out of that but is home now , he is in alabama right now at a special school for non-commisioned officers for 6 weeks ,so once again i am alone but i am so excited for his return , we will have our taxes and i can get the fill as i am self pay . well thats it for today keep in touch lapband buddys sherry

[banded_for_life 2]

Welcome to LBT!

[Sherrie 0]

Hey to the new Sherry!

I use Dr. Gonzales also. I really like him. He will NOT look at you funny. He is very down to earth. He should take you without a problem.

Just like Kathy says = that is how he does the fills.

His fills are $250 without flouro.

Good luck!!!!