Lower BMI Bandsters!

[momlambert 77]

Has anyone had a problem with not feeling restricted after surgery or even your first fill? I mean, eating anything you want? I was reading on one of the main boards that there are several people who never felt restricted and was eating normally. This scares me..........when I get banded I want something to start happening immediatly. I don't want to have to wait until my second or third fill to start having restriction. I plan on using the fill center in St. Petersburg, FL.

Hmmmm, Celeste. I think your expectations may be unrealistic. I was banded March 19 and had restriction from the swelling for a month or so. At my first fill appt. I didn't get a fill because i was still somewhat restricted. But that quickly went away and I've been trying ever since to get the right fill--I'm on fill #5 now and just starting to feel restriction once in awhile. I believe I'm getting close now but it's taken four months. I thought that by May 1 I'd have good restriction and be on my way but here it is mid-July and I'm not there yet.

Good luck! Be realistic or you'll be disappointed. At least, I was.

[celestemcnair 0]

Hmmmm, Celeste. I think your expectations may be unrealistic. I was banded March 19 and had restriction from the swelling for a month or so. At my first fill appt. I didn't get a fill because i was still somewhat restricted. But that quickly went away and I've been trying ever since to get the right fill--I'm on fill #5 now and just starting to feel restriction once in awhile. I believe I'm getting close now but it's taken four months. I thought that by May 1 I'd have good restriction and be on my way but here it is mid-July and I'm not there yet.

Good luck! Be realistic or you'll be disappointed. At least, I was.

:rain:Thanks for your post. I'm going to talk to my Dr. about it in depth. I would like to go back to Monterrey for my first fill because the patient coordinator said that he hits almost every time because he's done so many fills. Hopefully, I'll get a good fill dr. who knows more about the right fill amount. I heard they worry about getting too much and usually don't fill enough and that leaves you having to go back more often and costing more $$$ than it really should. I will definitely take your advice though and try not to expect too much at first. Thanks again.

[blugini59 0]

Tulips,

I am so happy for you. I hope everything works out well. 179 is really good. I am 15lbs away from being under 200 and would love to say I am 179. Enjoy your fruit cup! It will all be worth it!!!

Jeannie

[tulips 0]

Thanks! Don't forget. I am only 5'2". I am still technically "obese" and will be even if I lose another 15 lbs or so. That's a little depressing. I have to say, I am sooo confused right now. At times, I REALLY want the band and it can't come soon enough. Other times, I'm not sure I want it. The scariest part to me is the long term medical effects of it.

I did find an interesting study on lower bmi's getting banded. To summarize, they took 80 people all with a bmi of 30-35 and divided them into 2 groups -- a surgical and non-surgical group. The provided support and dieting help with the non-surgical group. After 6 months, both groups lost the same amount of weight. After two YEARS the surgical group (lapband) had kept the weight off and the non-surgical group had regained almost all of their weight. I will try to find the study again and post it if you guys are interested.

[BabyGotBack 0]

Hello everyone

Im new to this group, I was @ 37 bmi (surprisingly, my insurance accepted right away). I've been reading some of your posts and they are very interesting. I was banded on July 3rd and started my puree stage. The chilli idea sounds yummy!! Today I was so hungry that I bought a salisbury steak frozen dinner and put the steak and gravy through my magic bullet and made instant mashed potatoes on the side and topped it off with the salisbury puree, wow, nice to have something other than liquid for a change. If anyone has any other tips I'd love to try them.

I have a couple of questions for the experienced bandsters if you don't mind. How long before the gas discomfort goes away. Did any of you get pain on your right side under your rib cage and radiated to your back just under your shoulder blade? I had this happen to me twice while I was napping today. Felt like the port pain only on the right side. Another thing I've experienced that is no fun at all is the feeling of dull heat developing in the pit of my stomach following with the urge to throw up. My mouth salivates and drools until I throw up, only instead of throwing up, I burp *loud* then I feel better.

Well, better play with my cat, he want attention!!

Thanks

D.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________

<!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->Surgery Date: July 3rd, 2007

Age: 32<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

One thing that helped me was the Gas X strips. I did have gas but not as bad as most since I actually vomitted and a lot of the gas came out at that time, right after surgury. I am sensitive being put under.

Walking helps too! The heating pad also helped with my gas pain at night.

Hope that helpls!!!

Mini Pearl#2: Thanks for the encouragement!!!

[aimees27 0]

Hello everyone, I'm Amy! I'd love to join the low bmi group. I have been researching lapbanding for a couple of months and have been coming here to read EVERYTHING everyone has to say! You guys are all so helpful to each other and it really has been nice to read about everyone's experiences, difficulties and successes! You all are helping me understand this whole lifestyle change.

My BMI is 31. I'm 5'2" and 167lbs. Who will band someone that is obese, but only slightly? Is Mexico the only place to go? Obvioulsy I will be a self payer. I do not have any comorbidities, although my husband swears I have sleep apnea...I have never been officially diagnosed. I am not opposed to going to Mexico to have the surgery. My only fear is what do you do if you have an emergency? Do you always have to go back to Mexico for fills? I live in Albuquerque, NM and we do have a Fill Centers USA facility here.

I'm sorry to bombard you all with questions. I'm just really trying to figure it all out. My husband is totally fine with my decision, as he knows that I am so much happier when I am not battling my obsession with food and weight. We just are a bit scared of the unknown...

Thanks for listening and for any help you may be able to share!

Amy

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

It probably depends on your doctor to define what "mushies" are. Mine didn't have either the string cheese or soft deli meats on his list. He did have flaky salmon, mashed potatoes, cooked squash, cream of wheat, and avocado. He kept saying "your teeth are NOT a blender--if you have to chew it, it's not a mushie." Good luck!

You're right about that. My dr. gave me a printed list of what I could have

in the mushy stage. It had all the usual stuff that people talk about,

plus the others that I mentioned. I wouldn't eat mashed potatoes though.

The whole goal is Protein and there's no protein in mashed potatoes. They

may fill you up though.

[tulips 0]

Hi Amy,

It sounds like you and I are in similiar situations. I am 5'2" also, but I weigh a little more. This morning I weighed 179, so my bmi is 33 I think. Anyway, welcome. I can tell you, I came on hear so excited and couldn't be banded soon enough. After reading many threads, I still think the band may be for me, BUT it is really going to be a lot of hard work and MAJOR behavior modifications on my part. I keep second guessing myself and still can't say that I will for sure have this done -- even though I have a surgery date of August 20th.

I live in the KC area. The doc I went to said I didn't technically qualify, but she could tell I wasn't taking this lightly and it was obvious I had researched and read everything I could get my hands on about the lap band. She said she thought my head was in the right place and as long as I agreed to follow the rules and so forth, she would do it.

I am self pay too. It's going to cost $13,500 plus I will have to pay extra for fills, pre-op testing (that was around $250). The $13,500 does include Dr. visits for 1 year after banding (not fills -- just visits); support group, behavior modification and nutritionist classes. I hope this helps and good luck with your journey.

[ras141414 0]

I was 178 and they did my lap band.

5'2l and now I am 124 wt trying for a tighter fill to get down to 112.

That is my goal weigh and what i feel comfortable at. but is going to be hard getting the dr to put in 1.0cc in my band

I only have .9 now and I have NO RESTRICTION AT THIS POINT

I WAS SELF PAY ALSO

[kathyinca 0]

Hi Denise,

Did not answer you last week. I got a bit busy. Had some good days and bad days this week....but woke up and dropped 2 pounds! So, I'm officially now under 200 lb. So, even though it is slow, this band is still working.

About Japan.......moved here for work. It is for a "short" time.....just a couple of years. It was one of those things that just was right for us at the time....so we jumped at the opportunity. We are at the right time of our lives that this was relatively easy right now for us. So far, we are happy we made the move. There are a lot of Americans and other foreigners here. It has not been too hard to get settled.....just the normal stress of a move, I guess.

Eating is just interesting here.....I've had to learn all over again in some cases as I eat things I never ate or even encountered at home.

[daizee 0]

I was banded Nov 2, 2006. I had little difficulty with the surgery which I had in Mexico because my insurance would not pay even with my other factors (hypertension, sleep apnea) I followed the rules to the minute. I staarted at 235 and am today at 225 - I have been as low as 220 but seem to fluxtuate between the two. I didn't go in for a fill until February - then another in April ( my fill center is hard to get an appointment). The last time the n.p. said I had a very good fill but still very very little restriction. After a while I called the fill center explaining what the NP had said and they checked my records. I have a 10cc band and at present have 31/2 cc in it but for some reason the np thought that was very tight. Am scheduled for another fill 31 July and am hoping that I will finally get the restriction that I need. I am so discouraged. I just cant be in the 1% failure group

[Bikergirl 0]

Hello everyone, It's Veronica. I've been out of the loop for awhile. But I'm doing really good. I started at 200, now down to 167. I go for my 3rd fill on tomorrow. My first fill was 1.2, then I went for a 2nd fill which was 1.2, I went back for 3rd fill but he said I was to tight. I had been eating a lot of Soup and creamy salad dressings. He said that was not good. A lot of empty calories. So he unfilled me 1.2, so now I only have 1.2. I hope I get my restriction back. 2.4 was doing me good. The Soups were just so easy to do. I will post later. Thanks all.

[BabyGotBack 0]

Hello everyone, I'm Amy! I'd love to join the low bmi group. I have been researching lapbanding for a couple of months and have been coming here to read EVERYTHING everyone has to say! You guys are all so helpful to each other and it really has been nice to read about everyone's experiences, difficulties and successes! You all are helping me understand this whole lifestyle change.

My BMI is 31. I'm 5'2" and 167lbs. Who will band someone that is obese, but only slightly? Is Mexico the only place to go? Obvioulsy I will be a self payer. I do not have any comorbidities, although my husband swears I have sleep apnea...I have never been officially diagnosed. I am not opposed to going to Mexico to have the surgery. My only fear is what do you do if you have an emergency? Do you always have to go back to Mexico for fills? I live in Albuquerque, NM and we do have a Fill Centers USA facility here.

I'm sorry to bombard you all with questions. I'm just really trying to figure it all out. My husband is totally fine with my decision, as he knows that I am so much happier when I am not battling my obsession with food and weight. We just are a bit scared of the unknown...

Thanks for listening and for any help you may be able to share!

Amy

I asked so many of the same questions when I first came here. I am so happy with my decision to go to Mexico for my banding. It has changed my relationship with food forever. I have chosen to go back for my fills to Mexico since they are more aggresive with there fills and always do them under fleuro for $100. I believe fill centers charge $350 and does not include fluero?

I just had my 3rd fill and am at 3 cc's in a 4 cc band. I believe I have hit my "sweet spot".

You may want to go back for the first few fills till you hit your "sweet spot" and then maybe maintain with fillcenters. They really sneak up slowly here in the states and normally only put a few cc's in at a time, sometimes missing the port altogether since they do not use fluero. I think I heard it was an option but for more money.

I figure what it costs me to get to Mexico and pay $100 bucks for my fill is still cheaper than what I'd pay at the fillcenters. You also have to pay a first time fee I believe with fillcenters to become a patients.

Not to mention getting to the "sweet spot" quicker, losing weight faster, etc.

Hope that answers some of your questions. Let me know if you have any more!!

Audree

[BabyGotBack 0]

I was 178 and they did my lap band.

5'2l and now I am 124 wt trying for a tighter fill to get down to 112.

That is my goal weigh and what i feel comfortable at. but is going to be hard getting the dr to put in 1.0cc in my band

I only have .9 now and I have NO RESTRICTION AT THIS POINT

I WAS SELF PAY ALSO

Congrats on the weight loss!!!! Regarding your doctor, just insist on wanting to go all the way with what you started.

If you have no restriction, just tell them you are afriad of putting weight back on and that is why you got the band in the first place. You did pay out of your pocket too and should demand to get what you paid for.

Hope that helps!!

[BabyGotBack 0]

Hello everyone, It's Veronica. I've been out of the loop for awhile. But I'm doing really good. I started at 200, now down to 167. I go for my 3rd fill on tomorrow. My first fill was 1.2, then I went for a 2nd fill which was 1.2, I went back for 3rd fill but he said I was to tight. I had been eating a lot of Soup and creamy salad dressings. He said that was not good. A lot of empty calories. So he unfilled me 1.2, so now I only have 1.2. I hope I get my restriction back. 2.4 was doing me good. The Soups were just so easy to do. I will post later. Thanks all.

Good to see you Veronica! I was away too for a while. You have done great on your weight loss!!!!

I had stalled for a long time. Just got my third fill and am at 3 cc's in a 4 cc band. I finally have some restriction!!!:clap2:

My doctor said this one should do me good for about 4 months or to lose the rest of the weight I want to lose, which is about 20 more pounds.