January Bandsters???

[Deb-Texas 0]

Hi all,

Well I went for my first fill yesterday. I went to the surgical center in Houston, on Main street. I was banded on Jan. 19th- Dr. Spivak. I have lost a total of 12.5lbs. That is really ok with me, I did not do a pre-band diet. I went to the seminar on wednesday- banded on friday- so no time to diet before band.

I was ravenous before I went in to get the fill, two hours after I ate. I felt as though I had no restriction. Joy was the person that administered the fill. She put in 1.6cc- Felt that was a good amount. Last night I was still on soft foods- She told me to eat mashed up fish- but not just to eat cottage cheese or other liquid foods. I guess I felt different- not really sure. I believe I heard that it takes a couple of days to really tell how much restriction I have. Is that true?

The fill itself kind of hurt- Joy had to give a shot to numb area- seems my port is well below skin. Probly just because I'm fat. After that all went well, and she asked that I remind whoever does my next fill what she did.

Is my experience similar to your 1st fill?

[Bandida 0]

I thought I would share the Ten Commandments of Lap Band with everyone - I found this on another website....

1. Thou shalt consume thy Protein first, followed by thy veggies and fruits. If thou, then hast any room left thou shalt comusme thy carbs lastly!

2. Thou shalt take the tiniest of bites, placing thy fork and thy spoon upon thine table, that thou shalt have more time between bites to savor that which thou hast eaten, and allow thy stomach adequate time to inform thy brain of thine fullness.

3. Thou shalt chew and chew and when thou has done so, thou shalt chew some more, lest thy band rise up and smite thee,causing in thy chest great pain, and spewing forth.

4. Thou shalt drink of thy Water, copiously, consuming all that has been recommended to thee, that thou mayest be spared the pangs of hunger and dehydration, and thou shalt thus, also keep thy kidneys well flushed, that thou shalt not develop stones to aggrieve thee.

5. Thou shalt exercise in a manner that thou mayest choose, of thine own accord, providing that thou art faithful to thine execise regimen,that thou shalt not falter on thy journey to thine smaller self.

6. Thou shalt honor thy band and maintain it well, that it shalt be a steadfast friend to thee throughout thine entire life. Thou wilt,from time to time, as thou hast been told, obtain for it the fills that it needest that it may then help thee in thy hours of need, keeping it always in perfect adjustment for thine benefit.

7. Thou shalt not worry and gnash thy teeth, becoming aggrieved at those times when thy losses seemingly stop and thy weight remaineth constant, remembering then that thou tookest long to acquire thine pounds, and that thy pounds must then take time for loss.

8. Thou shalt maintain a log or dairy of thine measurements, that thou mayest truly perceive the effect of they band when thine scale doth pause in it's downward progress.

9. Thou shalt join into and participate within thy local support community, for without the input, experience and love of they fellow bandsters, thou shalt have a much more difficult time in thy journey, and when thou art well upon thy road, thou shalt then likewise assist those who followest in thine footsteps that they too might be successful in their own diminishment.

10. Thou shalt beware of thine " soft caolries syndrome", keeping always in thy mind that thou canst thus sabotage thine efforts and thine investment and lead thee then therefore into depression and guilt. As once stated "Just because thou canst, it meaneth not that thou shouldith".<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

This is cool!! i'm posting it on my fridge..thanks for sharing!!!

[tonya66 13]

Hi all,

Well I went for my first fill yesterday. I went to the surgical center in Houston, on Main street. I was banded on Jan. 19th- Dr. Spivak. I have lost a total of 12.5lbs. That is really ok with me, I did not do a pre-band diet. I went to the seminar on wednesday- banded on friday- so no time to diet before band.

I was ravenous before I went in to get the fill, two hours after I ate. I felt as though I had no restriction. Joy was the person that administered the fill. She put in 1.6cc- Felt that was a good amount. Last night I was still on soft foods- She told me to eat mashed up fish- but not just to eat cottage cheese or other liquid foods. I guess I felt different- not really sure. I believe I heard that it takes a couple of days to really tell how much restriction I have. Is that true?

The fill itself kind of hurt- Joy had to give a shot to numb area- seems my port is well below skin. Probly just because I'm fat. After that all went well, and she asked that I remind whoever does my next fill what she did.

Is my experience similar to your 1st fill?

Deb - I haven't had my first fill yet, I still have over TWO weeks to go, and I was banded a day before you! I'm jealous!

I will post my experience once I get my fill. Congratulations on your weight loss, that is great.

Wow, you really moved fast with the surgery! I can't believe you had the seminar on Wednesday and by Friday under the knife. lol. You must have already had your mind made up - good for you! It took my months of researching. At least you didn't have the agony of waiting for your surgery date like many of us did, that was a killer.

[emerald1773 0]

Also, if we use the scale as a guide and are getting stronger.... the same mass of muscle weighs more than fat. That may be why clothes will fit better yet the scale is the same - that would be a good thing then, Healthwise, hm?

[5jacks 0]

I am fitting into clothes that I wore 20lbs lighter! So - I'm a firm believer in taking the measurements and judging off that instead of the scales.

I will be one month post op on Sunday, I plan on taking my measurements again (I took them before surgery) and see the amount of inches I lost. I am excited to check them out.

We were banded on the same day! I took measurements but didn't think about doing a monthly check so thanks for that idea!

[tonya66 13]

Yes. I don't see how, since I was on mushies up until Friday the 9th and this started on Monday the 5th. Now on 2/4 I ate a bite of my neice's salad? ?? I thought I really chewed it well, since I figured it could possibly get stuck. Well, I'm gonna try that remedy and I will let you all know what happens. Thanks SOO much!!

Be BLessed!

Sheila - how are you today? Did the remedy work?

[tonya66 13]

We were banded on the same day! I took measurements but didn't think about doing a monthly check so thanks for that idea!

I'm going to take mine on the 18th - even though today is 4 weeks, I decided to keep it simple and just figure the 18th of every month. I will do a weigh in on the 18th, and take my measurements.

I did weigh this morning and was down another 1.8 lb from Sunday.

I know that I will slow down, especially since I am to start solids. I also am getting hungrier. But surviving off what little will power I have.

I was on another website about being banded, and there was this lady that started out at 219, in 8 mos she is down to her goal of 140 - She said she didn't lose much in the beginning - but about 3 months, bam!!!! the weight starting rolling off. So for all of you that are not losing as fast in the beginning, have hope!

[sheilamj1fan 2]

Sheila - how are you today? Did the remedy work?

I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but this morning I was still feeling bad. So I drunk some pineapple juice at about 6:30am and started to gag (yuck). So I was hoping to gag whatever was hurting me out or to try and pass it along, but I still felt the tightness in my chest. However, right now I'm feeling a lot better! I just felt the pain about ten minutes ago and it seems like it is getting better!!! I think it is WORKING!! Sunshine2, thanks for checking on me!!!

Be Blessed!

[marjon9 6]

That's great news. In addition to my papaya enzyme I'm going to get some pineapple juice in those little cans and keep it around. I am sick to death of getting stuck and I want to have all the options I can to deal with it.

[sheilamj1fan 2]

That's great news. In addition to my papaya enzyme I'm going to get some pineapple juice in those little cans and keep it around. I am sick to death of getting stuck and I want to have all the options I can to deal with it.

Yes, I called Wild Oats and they have them for $5.29...I want this discomfort gone completely. The strange thing is all my food has been going down fine.

Be Blessed!

[tonya66 13]

That's great news. In addition to my papaya enzyme I'm going to get some pineapple juice in those little cans and keep it around. I am sick to death of getting stuck and I want to have all the options I can to deal with it.

I got the lap-banded for life book from Dr. Ortiz yesterday, and I've started reading it.

I thought it was interesting, he said that men for some reason swell more after surgery than women, therefore having them PB more often. Not sure why that is, but it made me think of you. I just thought I would share that with you.

Sheila - so glad your doing a little better - lets hope it worked!!!

[nurseratchett 0]

Thank You Tonya for the 10 Commandments for Bandsters. How true every word of that is.

Thanks to all of you who are posting their "FILL" experiences. It is taking some of the unknown away for the rest of us !

My Port incision is at least 4 inches long and still quite tender. I questioned my Dr. about Why ? it was so big and his answer was that he had to go deep to find the Fascia to attach the Port to.Obviously because there was so much Fat to dig through first. Soooo to me that sounds like when I have a fill they will have to use a very LONG needle to reach the port ? I am hoping they offer a little Novacaine first. I also asked if he did the fills under a florascope and he said NO he uses Ultrasound ? Has anyone heard of that or had that ?

I too am stuck , 23 pounds and the scale has not moved in 5 days. I promised myself I was not going to weigh but I lied and did !

I guess I feel Like I am eating less than a 3rd of what I was and so I should be losing at least every other day. I know my Body is thinking it is starving and saving for the famine it thinks we are having. I am starting to crave things again, But really have NO desire to Overeat and for me that is a whole new way of life. Portion Control was always a problem.

I am 16 days post op and will not have a fill unil 3/14 seems like a long ways off . I may call and try to get it a little sooner. I too am self pay ($11,500) and each fill will cost me $250 bucks so I need to make them count.

Thanks to all of you for all the great info.

Joanne

[tonya66 13]

Joanne - hang in there, you've lost a lot of weight, now your body is trying to catch up....Sometimes it can take 3 weeks for this to happen. After 3 weeks if you haven't moved (the scale), then there are some other options you can try. But I bet you will!

[sheilamj1fan 2]

I got the lap-banded for life book from Dr. Ortiz yesterday, and I've started reading it.

I thought it was interesting, he said that men for some reason swell more after surgery than women, therefore having them PB more often. Not sure why that is, but it made me think of you. I just thought I would share that with you.

Sheila - so glad your doing a little better - lets hope it worked!!!

That is interesting...I will have to get that book. I want it to work sooo bad. I will keep you posted.

[enterprise01 0]

I had my first fill today at the SurgiCenter on S. Main. Joy did the fill but Dr. Spivak supervised. It seems that my large incision is infected. Guess that's why it still hurts. My boyfriend has been changing the bandage for me, so I had not looked at it until today. My port is directly below the large incision. The skin around that whole area is still kind of numb from surgery, so I didn't need any lidocaine for the fill. Dr. Spivak found the port by palpitating the area, and Joy inserted the needle. They put 1.5 ccs in and then had me stand up for the fluoroscope. The barium swallow was tolerable (very, very chalky). While you're standing there under the fluoro, you can see the barium going down. They thought I had enough restriction, so they removed the needle, put a bandaid over the area, and sent me out into the hallway to drink a bottle of Water. They said that I needed to drink at least half the bottle before I could leave. If I was unable to get the water down, they would remove some of the saline. Fortunately, I had no problem and drank the whole bottle in a couple of minutes. They also require that you stay on soft foods for 48 hours after a fill. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes. For those of you who are Spivak patients, make sure you take your parking ticket inside with you and they will validate it for you.

And now I'm off to eat my Nutrisystem lunch. Let's hope I feel something.