La_madam

Alot of doctors in the U.S are associates of Dr. Ortiz and work with him in helping Ortiz patients get aftercare other then going back to Tj..( he has proctored many U.S. docs) I do not see that as a bad thing. T

Teresa, I'm right there with you girlfriend..I can so relate..I made a vow that after I get home from the bash it is back to basics and bandster rules for me 100%

Babs I dont know you very well but what I do know of you getting to know you last year at the bash, you will get answers to all of this ,you wont stop until you do.. I just know it! Now that makes alot of sense to me, it could very well be what happened.

Alatina with this being said why do you think the bypass would be any different? You still have a pouch and if you are a food addict you have a much easier time of stretching your pouch by overeating with the bypass then the band, the bypass pouch, once it is stretched it will not go back and you will be able to eat more ammounts of food unlike the band we can continue to adjust so we can continue to eat less. In my opinion either bypass or band , they are both tools we still have to do some headwork. I personally have known too many who have had bypass to either have major complications from the bypass or they havegained their wieght back after 1-2 years out due to their pouch being stretched and being able to eat more. I find comfort knowing I can always control the ammounts of food with the band by getting it tightened.

I liked the Atkins Advantage, they were in a can and ready to go, chocolate was yummy

Kelli, cut out the Nutri Grain bar for breakfast, it is loaded with carbs and surgar which can very well be the reason you are hungry all day long. For breakfast I usually have scrambled egg whites with cheese with turkey sausage or turkey bacon, sometimes I make an omelette with all kinds of veggies.with cottage cheese .but never crabs or I'm eating and hungry all day long..try just protein in the morning you will be amazed at the difference in your hunger throughout the day

Yep most likely your port..and it is possible the more weight you lose the more you wil lfeel it..Not a bad thing though

Babs, before I was unfilled I was at 2.5 cc's, two months of being unfilled I went and had had a fill of 1.5 and believe me I have restriction, I found it hard to phathom to be a whole 1 cc les then when I was unfilled and did not think I would get restriction from it but beleive me I have good restriction..any tighter and I would be in trouble. I was told by my doctor it is rare for a patient who was completely unfilled for over a moth to go back to their previous fill level without it being too much restriction When he tried to go to 2 ccs I was completely blocked with nothing going through..he backed off to 1.5 and it is working great and this was in the beginning of July. You may be suprised , it may work for you give it some time. Your did great thinking you had some fill prior to finding out you had none. Hang in there 1 cc may be OK for you right now, you are still healing and all, I would hate to see you be too tight and hamper what your body may need to heal properly.

I agree 100% I only eat protein in the morning..it keeps my hunger at bay all day. If I start my day with any kind of carbs, cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, breads potatoes Im ravished all day and wil lpick and graze Carbs will crave more carbs and so will surgar it is a proven fact!..what do you eat for breakfast Kellie? If you skip breakfast how do you get in 60 grams of protein i na day? Curious?

I had 3 c-sections.. Im sure most of you know as with any surgery there is scar tissue build up. In the tummy area is an area of concern whenever you have surgery. The number one cause of bowel obstruction is from scar tissue build up. Open surgeries produce more scar tissue then laproscopically. I know first hand...I had 3 c sections over the last 17 yrs. I have had my band for one year..In april of this year one year from when I had my band placed, I had complete bowel obstruction. The doctors contribute it to scar tissue build up from my c-sections. My losing weight contributed to my bowel obstruction. My intestines had more room to move freely and get wrapped around my scar tissue. My left side was completely kinked off and my right side was completely wrapped around scar tissue. Bowel obstruction is the worst pain I have EVER EVER experienced.I had to have surgery again to fix it ..luckily it was done laproscopically so less scar tissue I almost died because of it. Luckily my band is fine and still in place. My bowel obstruction was not from my band but from my weight loss due to the band and the scar tissue from previous suregeries in my stomach area.

I live in Orange County and I went to TJ and had Dr. Ortiz..fabulous doctor, you are very close to him. Have you considered going to TJ for surgery? Alot of us here have gone there.

Great site for how to tell if you need a fill Check it out I hope it helps you decide http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm I weigh once a week..no more then that or you become obsessed or discouraged. It is a sure way to sabatoge myslef if I weigh more then once a week. I do not count calories..I just count Protein to make sure I'm getting in 60 grams a day

Yes my doctor has told me chewing gum will produce more gas and he wasn't lying , I used to have the worst gas pains from the gum but never knew why now since I no longer chew gum, my gas pains are minimal

many doctors will tell you that it may take 1-3 fills to notice a difference,many U.S. doctors are very conservative on their fill ammounts and like to creep up on restriction where as Mex. Docs are much more agressive and want restriction immediately . My first fill was 1.1 cc's and I noticed a difference.I had my fills in MX..I had a total of 3 to lose all of my weight for a totla of 2.5 cc's How much was your first fill

Beef Jerky is always a good one Protein bars, South Beach Diet has a great new line of snack food that are low carbs and come in individual packs.

I had surgery with Dr. Ortiz in 2004 and paid 8995.00 but I know his fee has gone up to 9500.00 My pain was very very minimal, I only took liquid tylenol for pain and I immediately got up and walked the halls after surgery every hour to start moving the gas around which I beleive helps with pain since alot of your pain is gas pain. I actually took a cab to downtown TJ and walked aropund and went shopping the day after surgery. I was amazed at how good I felt. I have not heard of too many Ortiz patiens who have horrible after pain. Maybe it is his technique who knows but he is definately good at what he does. best of luck to you on your decision, I do not regret mine one single bit Tj was a good experience for me as well as Dr. Ortiz

I had 3 fills in a years time and lost 90 lbs..then I was unfilled for 2 months and lost a couple pounds on my own with no fill but it was difficult and the longer I would of gone with an empty band I may of started to gain, I found myself eating more then when I was filled. SInce June I have had 2 fill to 1.5 cc's and that is perfect level for me... Yes there are people who lose with no fill and just with the band. they are the minority though.

Once you get to solids and you see that you are having aproblem, definately have some fluid removed. With ideal restriction you should still be able to eat solids without PBing on a daily basis. Ideal restriction you should not resort to liquids and soft foods.

Listen to your sister!! your post op instructions are there for a reason, if you eat solids too soon before your band has had time to anchor in and set into place you can risk your band slipping. The digestion process for solids and mushies causes alot of churining and movement in your stomach, movement your band does not need or want right now. You need to heal and let your band set in place.

I felt just like you did at 4 weeks post op..as the weeks progressed things changed. I waited until I was 9 weeks post op until I had my first fill.

Drinking with meals only empties your pouch quicker , the liquids wash it through faster, so if your pouch is emptying quicker, you will be hungry again quicker and will eat again probably sooner then you need too. Once you get your fills, the first time you forget to chew your food to shreds you will know it in a big time way and will never do it again, it is very painful, thats where the dreaded PB comes into play with a bite too big, now is the time to practice this rule and get accustomed to it in a big time way because the tighter you get with more fills the more and more you need to focus on small bites and chewing, one thing that works great for me to take smaller bites is to use a very small fork ( crab fork) I have 1.5 cc's on my band and am plenty tight and I eat more then 1/2 cup of food, the thing for me is now how much I eat but what I eat that matters to me, I do not eat for more then 20 minutes at meal time

Megan, I hope you dont mind but I found your number on your business web site and sent it to Lisa I love your new avatar, you look great! Glad to hear from you and things are going well for you again with your band. Hope to see you at the bash

For me I had minimal pain and only took liquid tylenol and I have a very low threshold for pain. I was amazed at how good I felt the day after surgery, so good in fact that I took a cab to downtown TJ for some shopping and walking. Walking is key to help rid the gas which ill relieve the pain, alot of the pain was from gas..so walk as soon as you can, I walked the halls constantly immediately following surgery. I made my husband get me up and walk every hour

I've been watching the news al lday, glued to FOX news and it is absolutely heartbreaking, I cry everytime I see the interview with the man who lost his wife because he could not hold onto her hand any longer. It's devastating...I feel helpless. I'm going to cordinate a fundraiser this Holiday weekend at my restaraunt to donate as much money as possible to the victims, and we spoke at dinner tonight as a family that my husband and brother & 18yr old son will all donate blood since they all have the universal blood type

Christina,