sharon2u

Hi everyone, well let me tell you I was filled at 4 1/2 cc's and then I got real sick from the flu a few days after I was filled. Well i had to go and get some fill removed because due to the flu and an infection I developed it caused my stoma (stomach) to swell around my band and well nothing could get down, it was the worst. Since then I seen my Dr. and he gave me another fill but now I am back at 3 cc's but will get anohter fill on April 23. All I can tell you is this is something you do not want down because I feel very little restriction and I am litterly sitting on my hands so I don't eat more than what I should. I told them I was still hungry but the Dr. is out of tow for 2 weeks yikes. I have not gained weight but I have not lost anymore either and I am depressed. I need my fill :sad_smile:and I need it now Sharon

I was told that I could and should eat a lot og green vegegies and carrots too! I can eat bananas and pears, pears for the fiber and I eat one or two per week. I eat light applesauce the individual ones once in a while and I can eat certain nuts like almonds but to be sure to chew them up good and almonds raw ones actually help curb your appitite and as for salads I no longer have those due to the empty calories and hey no bread or white products too many starches and I have no carbs if possible and if I have to have a carb it is very low dosed.

I was told that the gas bubbles could cause your stoma to explode wonder where that one came from?

Wow my Dr. has me lay on the table and places a pillow behind the small of my back to make my tummy arch sort ot speak and then he feels for the band and the port to be sure it is in place correctly and then I place my hands under the back of my head and he proceeds to do my fill. He gave you one heck of a fill you should be restricted and really dropping the pounds quickly I would think let us know.

My Dr. is aware on how I am losing my weight. Through determination for one and exercise for the other and then I watch what I eat and how much. I stay away from all starches, sodas, coffee, unless it is de caf. I am not bothered by sweets but I will have something now and then and in moderation. I don't PB all that much other than when I was sick, but I do get slimmed up more than I would like and that happens no matter what i do eat slow little bites or take in water too quickly like with my meds. He tells me that I am doing great. I take all my suppliments and well I ahve to order more protein, he said to stay away from the muscle milk until I have lost 100 pounds for that could add some weight. I get another fill tommorow. I should be at 4 1/2 cc's in my band. Before i got sick I had that much and I could feel the restriction. He told me the more I exercise especially in the stomach area the more the band will loosen up, he said that it is the fatty tissue on the inside around the band that is getting leaner.

Wow who did your band may I ask? My Dr. askes me all the time if I need a fill or not or if I am hungry or not. I had a fill on March 18, 2008 and then had to get some taken out a week later because I got the flu real bad and my stomach swelled around the band causing all sorts of trouble but he told me that he will re fill me on April 2, 2008. I have one question?? does your Insurance cover your fills? See all my Dr.s services are for one year that is how the Insurance company paid them. Everything is included for the first year then my Co-payment will be 50.00 each time I visit him and then fills are all included. Sounds like you need more fills to meet your goals. I wish you all the best my friend Sharon

I have been sick with the flu and could not eat nor drink for over a week, yes I lost weight and not becasue I wasnted too well at least not from being sick and dehydrating. But I can see my weight come off when I eat better than normal. Some would think or say hey your going to gain and well I have always lost. I don't eat any breads or starches of any kind and my sweets are very limited if any at all and well I have not had a soda since last April 2007. I drink my protein drink 3 times a day and if I get sluggish I bump it up to a bit more per glass as per the nurse.

r u eating the correct foods and r u on a carb free diet I am on this and I ahd surgery in Sept. 2007 and I exercise daily and walk and I have lost over 80 pounds I have a 10 cc band and I had 4 1/2 worth of fills but I got sik with the flu and my stomach swelled around my band so the Dr. had to remove a little bit this past week but he said next week he will fill me up again.

Hi. I went to the seminar here in Waco, Texas in March 2007 and I had my surgery in September 2007. I seen my regular Dr. after the seminar and talked with her about the lap band and told her that I would like to see if this might help me or not. I had to see her for 6 months due to insurance policys, I was seen in June by the physocologist and then all my paperwork went to the insurance company I heard back within a two week period of time yep biting the nails way down just waiting. In August I seen the Dietitician and then the first week of September I had my surgery. If your self paying I don't think there really is a time frame but I could be wrong. You will do just fine and hey keep yourself busy and time will pass. I can tell you that the band is really as they claim just a tool to help you lose weight but you have to do all the rest. Exercise is a plus and it can be so hard trust me I know for I am still doing it and walking well after awhile you get used to walking the 4 miles plus daily but just walking 30 minutes a day is great too. I am heading down to the 90 pound weight loss mark and I am so excited. You will too. I started my exercise program long before I had the surgery. I lose around 4 to 5 pounds a week yep the Dr. said that is more than I need to lose. Sharon

Dr. J How much weight does a person ahve to lose before they would be considered a candidate for PS? I had a band done in September 2007 and I am down over 80 pounds. I have about 45 more to lose. I exercise and walk like a fiend all the time and this has helped me a great deal but face it I know there will be something left over hanging around. I have watched Big Medicine with both Dr. Davis father and son and it looks interesting enough but for me it would be so worth it to have a lower body lift. My Health plan coverd my Lap Band and all the other expenses. I wonder how can I go about finding out about the skin removal after weightloss surgery.

How difficultwas it for you to get insurance approval to have the band removed and the bypass performed? Did you have to go throough the psychological testing all over again jus6 like with the band or ws it diffferent for you. I am only asking because I am doing well with the band but I keep getting slimed as they call it and then I have to vomit that up and once I do that I fee better and the pressure is gone. I would like to have the band removed and have a bypass done. My health plan covered the band and everything even my fills are covered for the first year.

I am not here to change your mind, however I can relate with your feelings for I have been there. I was so hungry in the beginning and I would get all slimed inside and have to spit and throw up but that is behind me now. I am no longer hungry and there are a lot of things that I wish I could have but I just try to let it all go. I have come som far in a little bit of time. I was banded in September 2007 and from diet and exercise I have lost over 80 pounds and well I could have never done this on my own. When I fel like I want to give up on myself I think of my new size 12-14 and soon I will be a size 12 When I want to give it all up I think back at weighing 279 pounds as per weighing in at 186 pounds and there for I cannot give up on myself. Neither should you nor anyone else. This my new buddy is one of the hardest things that you might ever do in life and in the end when it is over and you look back and say wow look at what I have done and be proud of yourself. Yes your hungry and yes you will miss all the things you used to eat but like me I chose to change my lifestyle and yes I miss eating in resturants and I still do I just eat off my husbands plate. A few little bites and I am done. I don't miss the soda, ice cream and as for cookies I will have one or two. So comeone look at what you had to go through just to get the band approved and the surgery. Please don't give up on yourself. Sharon

Hi, I don't PB all that much either but I do get the thick mucus almost always and if I get excited well it just goes from bad to worse for some reason. I as a rule of thumb I only have liquids for the first 3 days for that is what Dr. Sims told me to do so I do as he says and I chew and chew and never gulb my food. I was told earlier this week that I am coming to the fork in the road and that I am at my sweet spot. I am not hungry most of the time but we have to eat and I watch what I have. I take my protein daily and drink the water and take the suppliments like clock work. My weight loss has been steady and quick. I lose in a two week time frame 12 to 14 pounds. I see the Dr. every 2 weeks and he tells me that I am truly dedicated to this and he knows that I exercise and walk daily. I am close to losing my 100 pounds now and very happy.

Hi I ahve a question or rather a problem and I thought maybe someone could help me out. After I get a fill I develope a thick mucus that only flairs up either during my meals or when I drink something. It gets so bad that I have to spit it out and when I do then I regurgatate my food and it comes up too sometimes this is very un comfortable. Is anyone experienceing the same problem and what is the cause of this.

Hi Lori, well I chew my food until it is like liquid and I eat slowly. I just had a fill a few days ago and I always have liquids or mushie foods so I don't get blocked up. I thought this was due to the foods being digested but the boss siad well no its not that because I would have an acid taste in my mouth.

OK here is one for you. I cannot eat most foods no matter what I eat I cannot get it to go down. I develope a real thick like mucus that has to be spit out and when I spit it out well then up comes the food all nice and regurgitated. I have a 10 cc band with 4 ccs filled, my last fill was this past Tuesday. Sometimes I feels very tight to where I cannot eat all day. I am able to take in the protein and other suppliments but food well it is no longer my best friend. I drink hot liquids to help loosen the band some. After my fills I always stick to the liquid diet as I have been told to do so for the first 3 days. Maybe this is the sweet spot we have been told about but hey we still need to eat. I am down from a size 24 to almost a 12 by next week I will be in a regular size 12 right now it is a 12-14 size in misses and I went from 279 to 198.5 since September 2007

Hi everyone, I am almost 6 months post op I have a 10 cc band with 4 cc fill. I am very restricted, but for the first 36 hours after my fills I only have liquids to eat as Dr. reccommended. I take things slowly to keep me from vomiting which can be done if you don't watch what you eat or drink. My Dr. said I am doing very good all the way around. I have lost 83 pounds since September 2007. He said that due to my exercise program that I made up for myself is working and he only wishes that other patients would follow suit. Most people do not exercise and more eat what they want to eat and this is not how the band was designed. It is a tool and well we have to do the work to make the tool inside work properly. I had a fill yesterday and I was told that the fat along my stomach on the inside is going bye bye which is great but it is causing my band to lose its grip sort to speak and as for the sweet spot well I have found that for I really don't desire to eat all the bad things like I used to. I can't speak for anyone else that had this done but I can tell you that my results are very gradifying. I used to wear a size 24 today I am wearing a size 12 I used to weigh 279 pounds and now I am down in the 190's and I am losing from 7 to 16 pounds per fill. I have all my curves back in the right places like when I was in High School according to my husband. I have not lost much in the chest area which surproses me. I am going to turn 55 years old around the anniversary of my banding which will be in September. I can now run the distance and it feels great.

Yvonne,hi I ahve the same problem, sometimes I am tight all the way until dinner and then I get a few bites in. I told my nurse about this a week or so when I had nmy last fill, she said that I need to be careful for she thinks I am maxing out. I have a 10 cc band and 3 1/2 ccs filled. She said that drinking hot fluids might make it easier, so I have been drinking hot tea (Olong) I have a lot of times to where I will have a BP oh say about 3 times daily after I get filled then it balances itself out. Like you I am dropping weight right and left. The Dr. cannot believe it, he alwasys greets me by saying well Sharon how are you doing other than losing weight and we have a laugh about it. Today I weighed in at 199 pounds wow I used to weigh 279 pounds. I have lost since january 30, 2008 12 pounds more. Exercise and walking is my big helper and just not wanting to re gain weight is the other motivator, plus after looking at a lot of pictures of me from the past there is no way that I will ever go back to being fat again. I tried on my first pair of summer pants a size 12-14 a far cry from the 24 I used to wear. I also pray everynight for God to give me the strength to keep going and I know that he ahs heard me many times over.

Susan, that is really odd I have not had any lows since just before surgery last September. I am off my meds too!

are you still taking your meds for the diabetes? just wondering

Ok I was a type 2 diabetic however now I am not thanks to my lap band. Maybe I am the odd ball sort to speak. I no longer needed my meds 3 weeks after my surgery back last September. I still test and have to the rest of my life but that is ok with me. I don't know about the carb thing all i know is that my surgeon told me either no carbs or very little carbs and that is what I have been doing. However I exercise and walk like a dog sort to speak and we all know that walking can bring your A1C level back into normal range also I was told with my type 2 diabetes if I lost weight I would lose the diabetes all in good time. I don't drink soda and I stay away from the sweet snacks well just about all snacking in exchange for fruits and such. If your a type 2 diabetic why are you taking insulin? I never took insulin and for those that are type 1 and taking insulin it is or can be very hard to beat no doubt about it. I ask a lot of questions and read a lot just to educate myself. What meds are you taking and how much do you take each day? Some meds keep your blood sugars high for some reason. My husband is a type 2 diabetic and none of his meds work and he refuses to take insulin, but then he will not follow the correct diet either and misses his meds all the time. i used to remind him and help him but he is 57 years old and he knows what he needs to do so in place of making me crazy I just let him do what he wants, he knows all the risks. Check with your Dr. and ask why your diabetes is the way it is, sometimes your thyroid controls things too., I wish you luck my new friend.

You know, we all ventured out to change the way we looked, for health or for other reasons. The surgery was expensive for most, for me the insurance covered it all. Why not make the best of it and you know, it is hard very hard. I am worn out but I keep on going. I bought me my first ever pair of Levi jeans a size 16 and to some that might sound like a big size but for me when you came from a size 24 it is a huge diffference and my size 16 makes me feel like it is a size 12. As for the Bean, it is a blow up thing that will hold up to 800 pounds of weight so I read today but I really think it holds the 400 pound person, you blow it up, it comes with a foot pump and it is very durable not cheap like somethings are. It comes with tons of exercises and a DVD to watch as you work out, today I was up at 4:30 AM could not sleep so I took it out of its storage area in my home and hopped onto it, you are to rock back and forth in it. Walmart, Target etc sells it. I alos do all of the following, pilates and I use the slings that I bought at walmart for like 10.00, I do leg lifts side lifts, sissors and yep they hurt, I do squats and deep knee bends and I bust my gut doing the ab crunches, I walk and yes I can even run now and it feels so good. I have a bad knee but I have been doing my on PT at home and it is so much better. I have a treadmill but it is on loan at the moment to a freind of mine and I use my Gazelle by Tony Little and well it all works ad it takes me over an hour to work it all in. We can do this for we are all strong minded and we will not fail. It might take others longer than it has been with me but that is because I am my own worst enemy and I am hard on myself. I do drink my Protein and take the suppliments as told by my Dr. Have you tried the IDS 42 grams of protein yet, if not go and find some and buy it, it tastes good and it will help you in losing weight, just 2 a day and drink your Water. I will say that I have 3 1/2 cc's in my band and I am restricted all right, I have trouble getting foods down even water at times but I wait and try it again, today was a good day I only threw up once normally it is about 3 or 4 times per day. the band is in good shape, it has not shifted, prolapsed or moved the Dr. said it is fine. I don't think I will have a fill on the 19th, because I really think like the nurse that anymore and I will become too restricted. Sorry about being so detailed but in the line of work I am in I have to be detailed. Good luck to you and don't give up and good luck to everyone else. e-mail me at sharrroc@aol.com whenever you need someone to shout out at. Go Patroits

I have 3 1/2 ccs so far, my band is a 10 cc. I can tell I am restricted pretty good becasue I am having a time geting almost all foods down. I now can only eat 3 to 4 bites of food and I was told that this is normal and expected. When I get a fill the nurse gives me some water to drink aftrwards to see if it can go down or not, this last time I had to sip it very slow and I even burped which I have never done before. She told me that I might be at my max fill the sweet spot and to be careful from here on in because I might have to ahve some fluid removed, well no way. Ic an handle less food and I eat very slow. I use Nectar for my protein drink and I use the IDS Liguid Protein for a suppliment the 46 gram type, it is not too bad if it is real cold. My weight is coming off rel nice and I have been exercising and walking , I ran for the first time in years earlier today and it felt great. I had surgery back last September 2007. I have lost about 80 pounds so far and gone froma24 to a 16 and soon to a 14 misses, my goal has been to stop at a size 12. I have nice curves (again) I am almost 55 years old and well I do not need to be a size 10 or smaller, why? because I am not here to look like a teenager or something. I was a type 2 diabetic but no more.

Hi. I asked this question to the nurse earlier this week. I told her my weight is stuck she told me to add more protein and more water, so I did but I bought the tubes of IDS liquid protein the one that has what 46 grams of protein in it and lowered the water just to see how this would work and let me tell you I blasted off the pounds that would not budge, I have more bowel movements and my belly is flatter. I work out daily and walk 2 -3.5 miles per day weather permitting that is and I have lost tons of inches. My surgery was in September 2007 I have lost 81 pounds to date and my size was a 24 plus and now it is a 16 misses heading to a 14. I have nice curves like in the old days and I have not really lost much in the breast area. I bought me the Bean in december and wow that really does help, I do palates, squats, kneee bends , leg lifts, sissors and tons of ab crunches, I also have a real nice gazelle and I am going to get me a better version of the Total Gym but it is called the Vigor Fit, it is cheaper but better made and you get all the attachments needed. I was told that the one Chuck Norris sells is so expensive only due to all the hype and his name being with it. I know that once I have the Vigor Fit that my weight will really fly and get tones up at the same time. Good luck and don't give up. Oh I am not a spring chick I will be 55 in a few more months and if I can get my fat to move anyone can.

Hi, I was banded in September 2007, 6 weeks after I had my first fill it was a 1 .5 cc got sick afterwards trouble swalling etc. so the Dr. put my second one on hold, three weeks later I went back and he gave me a fill of 2 and 3/4 of a fill then 2 weeks later I had my third fill another 2 cc's and well that one hit the sweet spot for sure. Can't eat a lot of foods, sometimes I get stuck and vomit up not food but the saliva woner why it is so thick? Not really hungry but I eat a few bites drink tons of water but don't gulp because that comes back up at times I have my protein drinks and found that the one Nectar Fuzzy Navel flavor is not too bad. I have lost a lot of weight 70 pounds since surgery 4 months post op on January 10, 2008 and I continue to exercise because trust me eating very little and exercising is an added plus the weight comes off quicker and more easily. I am 54 years old and the exercise is hard but I have to do. I have this thing called the Bean check it out at walmart it will kick your butt for sure.