ladyfromirvine

I was banded feb 9 2012. I've lost 42 lbs. I have about 20 to go. It took 112 days before I got good restriction. During that time I "dieted" just like the good old days. I didn't rely on the band. Now I have 8 cc in a 10cc band. Now the band has come alive as my partner. I'm glad I didn't waste my time playing overeater the first 112 days. I had faith it's paid off. I'm sliding into home base on a breeze. I am very thankful to have this band. It's like having the wind in my sail

I loved my liquid phase. Here's a list of food I ate. For me having choices made all the difference. I also served myself from a tray and put yogurt in wine glasses. You do what makes you feel like a princess Liquid low fat or nonfat yogurt. strawberry was my favorite Ice pops sugarless I'm fruit flavored Creamy Soups. Tomato leek corn lobster bisque creamed potato. chicken broth when I got extra hungry. You have to watch the sodium Creamsicles Protein shakes Jello Fruit juices cut 50/50 juice and Water Hot tea Good luck !!!!

It took 112 days after my banding to get restriction I had two choices during that time. Diet like the old days or waste my time overheating I chose to diet and lost 37 pounds without restriction. Now I am restricted 8cc in a 10cc band. Now eating less is mindless. There is no more "dieting". The band dictates my portion size and switches off my cravings. You can choose to fold your cards and give up or do what we are all so expert at: lose some weight, get into exercise, get a calorie counter for your smart phone or computer and practice now what you will do with your band later on. The beauty of a restricted band is that all you have to do is choose the right foods, eat them in the right order and the band will do the test. It's just another diet without restriction but while you're waiting for restriction dieting is the way to go

i had the same issue. first fill was march 22 felt no difference. thought it was a joke.. hahahha but i wasn't laughing. called my doc, got a 15 minute lecture on how to eat with the band..things i already knew... ok so the bottom line on these "fills" are , the first ones usually are relatively meaningless...some people claim to have some restriction others say they have none. I personally have none If i chose to i could eat the legs off the table and swallow them, no problem... HOweVer....that all said.... I have made another fill appointment for 8 weeks from the first fill...in between.. it my intention to "pretend" I have restriction, and eat as if I did... now that may sound ridiculous.. but I don't see that there is any other way to proceed. My doctor is not going to fill me any more at this time, so what are my alternatives??? I could eat like a pig and gain the 25 pounds i've already lost back... or between now and the 8th week I can lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.... and show up 8-16 pounds nearer my goal.. I think the answer is pretty clear.. cause there is only one road to lapbandville.. and there are no roads back. good luck

its all about the fill......the restriction comes when the fill is right... or at least so i'm told. I am 7 weeks post banding (feb 9). i have lost 25 pounds but not thanks to this contraption i've got inside me, nor from the incisions that were made in my body and the misery and discomfort suffered as a result of surgery... nope...not even the first fill i got on march 22. NONE of this accounts for this weight loss except me. I occasionally wonder why I did this to myself... but then i recall all the years of up and down eating, the binging, the extreme restricting.. and i recall i said to myself.. this is the LAST TIME.. no more out of control eating... I thought I'd have more help from the band.. sooner... but its not that way and , sigh... it is not the process. Nope....when I was disappointed with the level of restriction from my first fill and I called the doctor, I got a 15 minute lecture on good eating habits with the band.... eat Proteins, then carbs, avoid soda, don't drink with meals.. blah, blah, blah.. everything I already know.. but I had to face the sheer reality of the band... its not an overnight wonder... its a tool, yes.. but it appears that this tool does not function right away... it takes months to tweak it (fill after fill) until it gives restriction. In that time... I guess we "practice" good eating... getting reaquainted with our human frailties, our good and our bad habits.. I admit to being disappointed. Feeling at times a little defeated. But here's the gist of it... I know from talking to others, that this band does work.. when its fitted right and when its filled and gives restriction... It's now going to happen for me today and maybe not for tomorrow.. but it will one day. In the meantime, I'm not going anywhere.. I have no intention of leaving the planet. I scheduled fill #2 for 8 weeks... In that time, it is my intention to "Practice" what eating with a fill will be like... slowing down, choosing wisely, keeping a food journal, a weight chart, an exercise plan.... just like the good old days when I dieted.. and lost tons of weight.. I am going back to that person.. and I will patiently wait,, until that day when I can say what others say.. "I am at good restriction, I am moving towards my goal weigt... but most of all.. this weight is NEVER coming back"

wow I'm sorry to hear that you had that sort of experience. I'm going to assume your doc doesn't use xray floroscopy. when i go on the table.. the doc put a device over my abdomen that lit up my port like a neon sign, all he had to do was one stick.. felt like a little pin prick and he was in.. in then withdrew the air and the bubble from the line, and then added the saline. too be honest, I felt absolutely nothing.. no pain, no pressure. I got to see the entire thing on the screen in front of me. He asked me to swallow first a little barium, then a bigger gulp. I could see the passage of the liquid from my throat to my stomach and I could actually watch the level of restriction based on the amount of saline he injected into the port. entire thing lasted 10 minutes tops and i was done. he asked me to drink a bottle of water afterwards which was easy enough to do. I'll keep you posted of my progress with solids. I'm on full liquids until sunday. My stomach is making so much noise it sounds like the Anvil Chorus.. plus lots and lots of gas...glad I'm home ..could be a little embarassing

the procedure was uneventful.. I was very comfortable.. and it was done with barium and floroscopy. I had a chance to watch the liquids I was swallowing down. Found it very interesting. Doc put in 8cc on a 10 inch band with 3 cc dead space. not sure about the restriction yet as I am still on liquids. Will know Sunday when I eat my first solid food

Interesting... when i went for my fill i was totally suprised to find my port was nearly 2 inches below my long incision. That's where it was originally placed and that's where it is..

I had my first fill yesterday. It is the highlight of being lapbanded. up until yesterday the only thing holding me back from the all you can eat buffet was me. Now its me and my lapband...we're going to be good buddies and I'm thinking of giving her a name. She is nothing like my evil sister who whispers in my ear "overeat"... she is more like a guardian angel who says... "slow down, that's enough"...a fill is restriction. It feels like a little ball in your throat and a tiny pressure in your chest that sends the message to your brain that you've got to slow down, you've got to experience your eating, and you have to think about your relationship with food. Try to shovel it in like the old days and your lapband will growl at you. I have a little needle phobia.. but when it came to getting this fill, knowing this is the reason we get a lapband.. i pulled up my tshirt and said let 'er rip...I didn't come this far to be a little fraidy cat over a simple pin prick....Your fill IS YOUR LAPBAND.....its the day you can take a little deep breath and say, "yes finally here's the help I 've been waiting for." Down 25 pounds....on my own.... the next 30 I have an angel to help me. (I think I'll call her Sophia.... I've always liked that name.)

hard to say without more detail.. were you jogging or running.. or just walking quickly? are your pants tight and compressing the area near the port site? is this your first time excising since post op?

Im going for my first fill tomorrow. It's 6 weeks on the dot. I have, up until now restricted my food only by sheer will and a desire not to lose precious time. I'm down 26 pounds but so far with no assist from the band. I'm hoping that the fill will give me a little kick start, because after 62 days of "dieting" i'm tired of it.. THis is about the time I start to run out of steam and motivation, THe point of the lap band was to get restriction. I didn't realize it takes so long to get to a place where the band actually becomes the tool. In the meantime, I'm hanging in there.. and you have to also.. we have no road back.. we can only go forward,,,

I feel so happy and blessed that this forum exists for all of us. It is one place I know I can come to and share my feelings and thoughts and not get judged about my weight. I am grateful for your comments and the support and that inspires me to keep going. I may not be willing to tell everyone about my band now, but at least I know there is a place I can go to talk openly and it is my way of staying connected to one group of people whom I know can share my sentiments.

I think that as overweight people we have been on so many diets, put money into so many programs.....and still are overweight.. makes us leary..even of the lapband. Telling everyone we are now willing to have some doctor drill holes in our bodies and insert some foreign object to help with appetite control sounds.. we'll almost extraterrestrial. Our friends look at us as if we are putting Borg parts into our bodies and are about to join the collective. My very dearest and best friend said jokingly to me.. "you better not look better than me when you lose your weight or I won't be your friend anymore." Now, hmmm.. was that really a joke??? cause I"m not laughing... I think at least a few of us lie or don't tell EVEryONe about "THE BAND" is that we've seen more failures than successes with weight loss in our lives.. and our dear friends and families have watch us bounce around with weight control programs for years... on some level i for one wonder if they are gloating over yet ANOTHER failure to come....many have lost all hope for us..watching us lose and regain our weight over the course of years. I had a doctor at my hospital once say, so matter-of factly I could just kill him... "oh, her.. yeah she looks good now, but it never lasts... she goes up and down.. she'll gain it back" (and damn if he wasn't right AGAIN!!! so it mums the word for some of us.. its partly due to the history that we ourselves have created. Better to wait and see if this band really helps.. before I for one start spreading the "Good news"...I don't need any more criticism.. I can do this without all that drama.

(chuckling),,,its not as if there is a team of espionage agents waiting at the end of your esaphogas keeping records of what you ate. The point of the liquids is to give your insides a chance to heal without too much burden on your digestive system....No, I don't think anyone is going to know what you ate... but if you feel this guilty, call your docs and confess. tell them it was a mistake.. a moment of weakness... and you promise you'll be better... (still chucklin)...but better than that.. stop beating yourself up about this.. we are human.. call your doc and get an understanding of why they expect you to eat this special diet.. and what falling off the wagon will do.... so you get the motivation to get back to the diet... (trust me, we all had our moment...)

being anxious is normal.. if you weren't anxious about it I would worry about you. but be advised... the band usually does'nt have much restriction in it for the first 6 weeks.. or until you get a fill.. so you'll have to use self control to avoid overeating... and you'll be on a special diet to allow the surgery to heal.

hmmm... everytime i took a deep breath i could feel it in my back. I never laid down flat. I sat up with 6 to 8 pillows surrounding me. I walked when I felt gassy. I drank slowly and put liquids in small wine glasses.. made me feel like I was drinking something special. I slept on my back only. I stayed in bed most of the day and got up when i felt a little nausea or pain. that was my experience.. i don't know why you are having so many issues. have you talked to your docs? the good news.. is.. even though i thought i would stay miserable forever. i am 5 weeks post op , back to the gym, dancing salsa again.. and feeling pretty good. first fill is this thursday

fills are $99 with dr ortiz.. and he does them under fluroscopy with barium.. which is the more sophisticated method of judging the efficacy of the band. 2 or 3 fills and its usually a done deal. I'll keep you posted.. going for my first fill this week.

oh.. and as for going out to eat. simple trick.. order something really healthy and reasonable.. and before it even gets to the table have the waiter box up at least half of it to go.. take it home for another meal or two....

ok... so here's my 25 cents worth of advise... start living in the present and stop grieving the past.. as for food.. there are red flag foods.. but there are also so many new foods you can learn to eat.. like have you ever had a fine lobster bisque (which can be purchased at the grocery store.. my favorite brand is panera) or have you tried some new recipes.. like making grilled flake salmon over a bed of lettuce with diced mango and asparagus.. come on... you can look at all the food you CAN'T eat or you can look at all the food you CAN eat. take your pick... just before i began eating solids.. I wrote out a long long long list of all the food i could eat.. and how to combine those foods into nutritious, low cost high energy meals. I don't care if you are male or female.. you have to learn to cook and to shop.anyway.. thats my 25 cents worth.. I love this new way of eating.. i don't miss those kettle chips dipped in chocolat chip ice cream.. everything about the inside of me now is feeling healthier.. losing weight is making my joints move more smoothly, my allergy symptoms are gone and I have a new outlook about life. Please try to make life positive.... its called reframing a life event from a negative to a positive.. remember the reasons you got this procedure done , keep your goals out in front of you.. and eat hearty and well.. food takes on a new perspective... make every bite a new experience....and a healthy one.

(CHUCKLING......I broke up with my boyfriend just before I had the procedure for the same reasons.. plus the man ate at every turn and never gained an once and expected me to match him bite for bite.... didn't need the sabatoge...got bigger fist to fry) Lied to coworkers and told only my closest tight lipped friends. I think i did it because I fear the same failures I've had in the past and I don't want to have to explain another failure to every person I know... but hey.. good news I got banded feb 9th, have lost 25 pounds (without restriction) and go for my first fill march 22.... and here's the kicker.. I've learned a new language called lapbandese... has words like, banded, fill, restriction, bping, sliming, etc etc......and I figure.. when I reach goal weight... I'll try to find a man who eats less and NEVER pushes food at me.

I'm sorry.. I laughed with your question.. my answer was going to be you feel like S*^+#t but the truth is the first couple of days you might feel like your world is moving in slow motion...your tummy at the port incision site is sore and you MIGHT take a pain med, or you might not. Your stomach makes more noise than you can imagine, you burp and pass gas (shhhhh....) and in general you feel like someone just manipulated your internal organs. Hey.. they just did! They go in with several instruments, make 5 incisions (4 tiny ones.. one that is about 1 inch long) and they push your liver out of the way.. get a good view of your stomach and esophagus.. manipulating your insides makes your post op body begin a mini-revolt of its own But heres the good news... ALL good things (and bad) come to an end.. and homostates is regained, I went back to work in 4 days but my tummy still was hurtin.. but by 3 weeks i was back in the gym doing zumba. By 5 weeks I was out dancing salsa and in one more week I'll have my first fill.. MY EXPERIENCE IS MY OWN.. AND EVERYONE HAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT ONE.... GOOD LUCK!!!!

I went to Dr Ortiz in mexico too. can't say enough about his presentation and professionalism. Im a registered nurse and I know when a surgy-center is messed up!!! He has a pretty nice set up down there.. and you never see much of mexico.. its border to center into an underground garage,, up an elevator to the center.. his or suite is clean and clearly has up to date equipment. his staff use good nursing technique and aside from the nurses limited english.. everyone else is fluent.I healed perfectly, my incisions are small and clean...im headed there is a few more days for my first fill. I would spend more than 5K to buy a car... why not to buy back my life????

pre op i was drinking slim fasts twice a day and eating a lean cuisine for dinner. Post op i was on liquids for 3 weeks. started with clear. broths, apple juice cut 50/50, sugarless ice pops. progressed to cream soups, my favorite was a lobster bisque... protein shakes and 0 cal vitamin water. i kept a variety of soups.. leek, tomatoe, chicken broth. as long as i had choices, i was ok. 3 weeks was a long time to stay on liquids... docs never agreed to any "mushies" so I went from full liquid to whole foods at 3 weeks.. oh yes i also drank non-fat flavored yogurts. by day 3 of liquids my hunger button turned off......after that it was smooth sailing, good luck

There is always Mexico. I paid $5K for everything.... best decision I ever made. No fear. They pick you up at the nearest border airport or parking shuttle on the US side and take you in and bring you home. I'm still alive. I didn't get kidnapped by the drug cartels and I've lost 25 pounds since feb 9th.obesitycontrolcenter.com

my first fill is march 22. I am going back to mexico where i got my lap band to have it done by my docs ortiz and martinez. i'm not nervous about the procedure. after having a couple of kids and going through labor and delivery there is NO pain I can't tolerate. what i am anxious about is getting restriction. as it stands right now I have been "dieting" without the assistance of the band since mid january. I've lost 25 pounds, but its all been the old fashion white knuckle dieting I am so clever at. I am really getting tired of self restriction. My hope is this lapband is going to actually help me to restrict. Right now I can eat anything, drink anything, and screw around as much or as little as i would like to. some say it takes several fills to get it right....thats several more pilgramiges to mexico.. and i'm not looking forward to that at all... i hope this first fill helps to give me a kick start to this weight lose. Im tired of doing it alone and this is about the time i start to self sabotage...holding tight till march 22