angbutler0712

I just got to perfect restriction two weeks ago. 7.5ccs in an 11cc band. Took me amost 9 months to get here. My weight loss has increased over the past 2 weeks.. feels great! I've only lost 37lbs, but it's really starting to show now. My band is fairly tight.. so the green zone for me is, no breads, rice or pasta.. I can eat most anything else with small bites and thorough chewing. Dry meats are a definite no no. I add fat free dressings to just about everything to assist with sliding through. I'm full after about 1/2 to 1 cup of food. Luv2sing920 - Your band will loosen as you lose weight.. so adjustments will be part of the process until you've hit your goal weight. Some people do not need as many adjustments and are able to stay in the green zone longer. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I've had to have multiple adjustments, have hit the green zone a couple times. I usually have an adjustment every 4-6 weeks. Good luck!

I have the realize band. My surgeon also explained it that this band is more forgiving and less likely to slip when compared to the lapband. I'm 6 months post op and have 7.25cc's in my 11cc band.

That is wonderful! Congrats!!

well.. from my own experiences, it doesn't get much better. I burp ALL the time. With that said, my band is very tight and I believe that contributes to it. After surgery I was very similar to you.. burping a lot. A few months out I noticed it died down a bit. However I feel that the tighter my band gets, the more food sloshes around in my pouch and creates gas.. I don't know if that's whats happening.. but that's what it feels like to me.

I can no longer eat steak, dry chicken, bread products, skin from fruit, scrambled eggs and raw carrots. It amazes me that I can't eat scrambled eggs. i've tried a few times and it almost always gets stuck. You would think they would be a slider food..

Definitely go talk to your doctor. Once you get the right amount of fill in, you'll feel the restriction you need to assist with losing weight. Good Luck!

Toddy, I felt the same way since my last fill. I went from 7cc to 7.5 cc's and was super tight. I was able to eat, but felt uncomfortable. I was also having a little bit of coughing at night. I called my dr yesterday afternoon and they brought me in this morning at 730am to have a slight unfill. She removed .25cc's. So now I'm at 7.25 in an 11cc band. It made a HUGE difference so far! I can sip my water and not have it settling in my throat. It actually moves through fairly quickly. I am happy with my choice to go in for an unfill. I was thinking I would just deal with it and wait for enough weight loss that my band losens. The coughing really scared me tho and my throat was starting to become sore.. Also, I felt miserable.. I knew that when I woke up yesterday morning feeling like crap because I couldn't even get cream of wheat down, I had to have some taken out. Good Luck!! By the way, I waited 1.5 weeks hoping it was just swelling from the fill.. it wasn't.

I am 7.5cc's in an 11cc band and i'm in the green zone.

difa, welcome to the bandster club!!!!! try to rest and take your pain meds to ease the pain. The first few days are the worst. Also, if you're having chills and feel warm, take your temp. If you're running a fever over 100 call your surgeons office. I'm not sure if it's normal to run a fever after surgery, but you should definitely call the doctor if you are. It could be a sign of infection if its high. Remember to take walks periodically.. it helps with the shoulder pain. I also used a heating pad on my back and shoulders for the first week. It was super soothing. Good luck difa!! We are here for you!

I would say that you wait it out for a day or two if you can. Try getting in as much fluid as possible. I just had a fill last week. I went from 7cc to 7.5cc in my 11c band. I am SUPER tight. The first few days were just like what you're experiencing. I am now able to eat mushy foods and some solids as long as I chew chew chew. Even that doesn't work sometimes and I start sliming and feeling like I may be stuck. I just give it time and it eventually goes through. I like being tight like this. I'm eating about 800-900 calories per day. I feel SO full after just a half a cup of food. It's amazing. I feel that as long as I am able to get in my calories without getting stuck, not throwing up or having nighttime coughs, i'm good. I have finally hit MY OWN GREEN ZONE! If you get to the point where you cannot take in any fluid, call your dr asap or go to the er. Good luck and keep us posted!

1. How long have you been banded? 6 months 2. How much weight did want to lose? I would like to get to my ideal weight, which puts me at 160. For a total of 99lbs needed to be lost 3. How much weight have you lost? 28lbs 4. How happy are you that you have been banded: Scale of 1-10 (1 being regretful, 10 being elated) This is a tough one. I was very displeased at the beginning with how hard this process is.. But now that I've reached restriction with my band and the weight is starting to come off, I'm feeling better about it. I would rate this one at a 7.. for now.

Welcome!! There is so much information on this site to assist you with your journey, along with all the wonderful people here to ask for advice! Good luck!!

Your story is so very similar to my own. It's so disheartening!!! It took me two years to get approved for WLS. The first go around I was denied, I appealed and was denied again. Reason for denial, I wasn't heavy enough for long enough! I wrote this long appeal letter to the insurance company (AETNA) begging them to reconsider.. and pointing out specific health problems that are made worse by the weight, but the wouldn't consider my problems as co-morbidities. (I had even had two heart surgeries for atrial tachycardia and they wouldn't count that.. it had to be heart disease.) After my second denial I was absolutely CRUSHED! My doctors office said, the only thing you can do is wait it out until after the first of the year (I would be 2 years over the specific BMI at that point) and go through our program again. It was about a 6 month wait.. and when the first of the year came, I called up my doctors office and started the ENTIRE process again. Thankfully I didn't have to repeat the sleep study, but every other presurgery test had to be redone. We went through EVERY possible test to find any comorbitity that I could possibly have. Now, I started out at a 39.5 BMI this second time. so I needed two co-morbidities to go along with the weight. I was hoping my heart problems would be a factor.. it wasn't. I was diagnosed with GERD (1 comorbidity) and osteoarthritis (2nd comorbidity) They also submitted that I have high blood pressure not treated with meds.. all they had were a couple high readings from when I came into their office. (Ins counted that as a third comorbidity) Once I could prove that I had been over a 35 BMI for 2 years, I was approved immediately. Now, GERD and Arthritis are not listed on my insurance providers list of comorbidities.. so definitely talk to your surgeons office. There should be someone there who specializes in working with the insurance companies and can talk to them to find out what they will consider as comorbidities. Before my approval, I was discussing with the doctors what a second comorbitity could be for me. I have a herniated disc, but my insurance wouldn't take that either. My doctor suggested I get an xray done of my back, just to check if I had arthritis.. low and behold, came back positive. It was very minimal, but still there and able to count as a comorbidity. He told me that most people who are obese have some form of arthritis in their back. If your surgeons office is not going the extra mile to assist you with insurance, then they DO NOT deserve your business! Did they do any tests on you looking for comorbidities? Barium swallow (GERD), Heart Echo (heart disease), Diabetes test, xrays to look for arthritis, Upper GI to make sure your stomach is healthy enough for the surgery... Oh yeah, they submitted depression as a weight related problem to insurance also.. Since I had been taking anti-depressents for years. Not sure if the ins co counted it.. but it can definitely be used as a comorbitity the doctor said.. The day I was approved, the woman I had worked with for 2 years to get approved called, she said "Angela, you are approved!! When I took this off the fax and read that you were approved, it gave me goosebumps and I knew I had to call you before I left for the day!" It was 5pm and closing time. That entire office worked so hard for me. I am forever in their debt.. So with all that said, DO NOT GIVE UP! Okay.. this is getting lengthy.. Just know that you are not alone. Its so hard to fight with insurance, but so worth it to save your own life. Of course there is so much more I could tell you with this process, but I'll spare you. If you ever have any questions or want some advise, email me. abutler0712@gmail.com ~Angela

Congrats on your upcoming surgery Aubrey! As difa said,everyone is different. It really depends on you and how strict you are. You've probably heard or read that about 3-4 weeks after surgery, you start feeling back to normal again. Since you'll probably have minimal if any fluid in your band,your stomach will pretty much be like it was before surgery. This is what we call "bandster hell". If you have a lot of will power and are going into this surgery prepared.. you will do great! As you go in for fills, you'll start to feel restriction and it'll take less will power to fight off those food urges. Personally, I lost 10lbs before surgery on my preop diet, then lost a total of 8lbs over the first 4 months. Just this last month have I really hit my groove.. I've lost 10 more lbs since my last fill and am definitely feeling the restriction and less hungry. With that said, I was NOT strict enough with myself. The more you exercise and eat healthy.. the more you'll lose. Just like if you didn't have the band at all. Good luck and keep us posted. Angela

We waited a week and were careful of my stomach.