jobyone1

Ditto on Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez. I went to him all the way from New Jersey and it was less expensive and he was GREAT. He is an incredible surgeon and they are available to you on their cell phones any time. They are wonderful. Dr. Ortiz does the surgery and Dr. Martinez assists. I was in and out in 20 minutes!

I joined this forum back in May when I was pre-op. I had the surgery May 25th and now I'm on my second fill. I'm at 1.9cc and I am very well restricted. It is still a daily struggle though. Getting to the gym almost every day, eating lean proteins, passing on the sweets and fried foods - what a chore! However, the band has made it easier than it has ever been. I'm down to 163 and I feel proud of my weight loss. My poor husband was banded with the VG band in June. He has not lost ANY WEIGHT. He regained all of the weight he lost on the liquid phase. I feel so sorry for him! He is on his 2nd fill to 5cc (a 10cc band) Zippo - NO RESTRICTION at all! I watch him gulp his food like I used to and I salivate thinking how good it must feel to swallow like that! The VG band is much more difficult to get to a good restriction. Our fill doc is local - it's $155 a pop with no fluro - which is reasonable for the NJ area. I hope that soon he will have some restriction and I will be able to share the journey with him. The eating plan they suggest does not work at all for me. I tried 3 meals a day and totally stopped losing weight! I was eating less but not losing. I don't know why but the 5 to 6 small meals works great. It is hard to remember to eat every 3 to 4 hours but when I keep it up - I lose. I was stuck above 165 for a while and lost the 3 lbs with the mini meals. I really recommend it! I got this book called Fire Up Your Metabolism by two twin sisters that are nutritionists. It is full of helpful advice and great pointers. The only thing that we can't do is drink water with our meals, but other than that most of the advice is good. What they say is that you need to keep your metabolism running so that your body burns what you eat instead of storing it. The only way to do this is to eat 5 -6 times a day. Before the band I could never stick to the portions they recommend but now I can't eat it all! One question, I am so tight in the mornings. I can't eat breakfast so I normally have a half a shake and then a whole one around 11am. Why is this? It makes it difficult to eat throughout the day when food doesn't go down well until about 4pm! I feel like I would lose weight faster if I wasn't eating the majority of my food at night! Anyone have any suggestions?

Hi! I had my first fill on Thursday and my husband had surgery Friday. I have NO RESTRICTION. I told the doctor the next day but he said 1.8 cc was fine for a first fill. Dr. Martinez told me after surgery that my band was very loose. Do I need to go all the way back to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comSan Diego</ST1:p</st1:City> for another fill? I live in NJ. How long should I wait? Will it tighten up any more? How can you get a fill and feel nothing. I just ate an entire plate of food. I am sticking to the diet - lots of veggies, brown rice and shrimp but it's like before I got the band. Trying to control my portions and what I eat. Any advice???<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I just got banded on May 25th and I called the Doctor complaining of the same - ear pain but not really and ear ache, burning and sore throat. He is putting me on Nexium 40 mg. daily. He says this should clear it up. It must be GERD. He thinks it will go away as my body adjusts to the band but the medication does not have many side effects. Talk to your doctor. Maybe he'll say the same.

I am still on pre-op but I went off for Mother's Day weekend. What a mistake! I gained about 5 lbs in 2 days. Now I am stuck with cravings all of the time. I am so glad to here that you were able to resist after being banded. Was it the fear of getting sick or do you feel less tempted?

Congrats on getting banded. I am getting so nervous I can barely think about it. How do you feel? I am losing a lot of weight on this pre-op diet but I"m going off for mother's day. I'm at 180 now and that's with no band yet but I am starving all of the time! I can't wait to look at food and not want it!!!!

So glad to hear that so many of you would do it again. I'm dying of starvation on this pre-op diet right now and the words keep me strong. I am losing but I always lose and re-gain. I am looking foward to something that will keep me from re-gaining all the hard work!

Ok, I don't have the band or experience with the band but I am an RN and have worked with diabetic patients and nutrition counseling so I'm going to try some nutritional advice. I think that you are slowing your metabolism. I mean, according to everything, you should be losing weight because you are taking in far less calories than you are burning between your metabolism and your work out. Therefore, you need to do a few things to kick you natural metabolism in. Here are the tips that I know to start your body bring more calories: 1) A sauna - sitting in a sauna burns up to 600 cals per hour (not that you would sit an hour) by raising you body temp slightly 2) Walking in the morning and before bed for 10 minutes briskly on and having a small meal - protein based after am walk and nothing after pm walk except Water 3) A small carb-based snack in between meals - ex: a baked potato, brown rice, rice cakes. This snack should be not more than 150 cals. and should be a complex carb. Carbs boost your metabolism and help your brain to release serotonin which increases your sense of satisfaction. 4) Lean Protein at every meal, carbs 2-3 hours after as a snack- Proteins make you feel full, carbs speed the metabolism. 5) Weight training - 2 times per week- this is a no brainer - muscles burn more calories, of course we all know this one... I am not preaching to you so I hope you don't feel irritated with the advice. Certainly if I know all of this I shouldn't be fat and I am but I do use these things and I was 250lbs after my son. I have managed to lose 60 lbs on my own and trust me, I fall off the wagon all of the time! That is why I am getting banded. Good Luck!

OH MY GOD THAT IS AWFUL!!!!!! He is so lucky to be OK. How old is he? I will make sure we don't go anywhere alone there. We may not even go out after that story. I guess you couldn't even press charges. Did the bank credit back the $$$ that was taken with the debit card?

I cannot believe that you went through all of that for 14 lbs! That is such a shame. I also have a lower BMI. I am discouraged by your results. Do you follow the guidelines? Is it just that you are never full? That is my problem - I am never full. I just keep eating and then suddenly I feel stuffed after way too much. I thought the band was supposed to help that! Please share your story.

I can give you a great lo cal mojito recipe! I use sparkling Water, spenda, mint lemon, lime and bacardi white rum. It's great with only 150 cals for a large glass with 1.5 oz of bacardi.

Why didn't you think it was great? Was there something specific you think they did wrong or should have done but didn't? I read so many good things about Dr. Ortiz. I'm nervous to go to Mexico as well but he has actually done more Lap Bands than the other surgeons in at least my area (NJ and NY) that I have called. I was hoping that his experience would make up for the fact that he's not in the US. I"m just asking because I paid already and I'm really hoping for the best!

I have a BMI of about 34. I'm 5'3" and 190. I"m getting banded by Dr, Ortiz in May. How did it go for you? I am scared but I can't wait. I've been starving myself for so long. I can't wait to finally feel full.