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Thanks FloridaPete! Congrats on your upcoming surgery!

Thanks Wishes and AuntieGG! Auntie GG - Congrats on the recent surgery...just remember no matter how hard things get keep you head up! Wishes - Wow you are doing AWESOME too!!! That is wonderful that you have lost 130 lbs, keep up the great work and you will be where you want to be soon enough!!!

I did it, I am 2 days away from one year bandiversary and I lost 100 lbs; I hit this "small/big" goal on Monday this week. I would have posted sooner but I don't have internet at home right now. I am so excited, I can't believe I have lost 100 lbs. That is so weird to say!!! What is even weirder is that I am almost half way to my goal...35 lbs more to lose and then I will be officially half way to my final goal! Thank you all for your support over the last year and a half. On November 7th it will be one year since my surgery and my first "small/big" goal was to lose 100 lbs by the one year mark and it worked! That is the first time EVER in my life I have kept a long term goal going.

I did it, I am 2 days away from one year bandiversary and I lost 100 lbs; I hit this "small/big" goal on Monday this week. I would have posted sooner but I don't have internet at home right now. I am so excited, I can't believe I have lost 100 lbs. That is so weird to say!!! What is even weirder is that I am almost half way to my goal...35 lbs more to lose and then I will be officially half way to my final goal! Thank you all for your support over the last year and a half. On November 7th it will be one year since my surgery and my first "small/big" goal was to lose 100 lbs by the one year mark and it worked! That is the first time EVER in my life I have kept a long term goal going, I know our Lord is the one who carried me through it! This just proves that through Him all things ARE possible!!! God Bless Everyone!

I did it, I am 2 days away from one year bandiversary and I lost 100 lbs; I hit this "small/big" goal on Monday this week. I would have posted sooner but I don't have internet at home right now. I am so excited, I can't believe I have lost 100 lbs. That is so weird to say!!! What is even weirder is that I am almost half way to my goal...35 lbs more to lose and then I will be officially half way to my final goal! Thank you all for your support over the last year and a half. On November 7th it will be one year since my surgery and my first "small/big" goal was to lose 100 lbs by the one year mark and it worked! That is the first time EVER in my life I have kept a long term goal going.

I did it, I am 2 days away from one year bandiversary and I lost 100 lbs; I hit this "small/big" goal on Monday this week. I would have posted sooner but I don't have internet at home right now. I am so excited, I can't believe I have lost 100 lbs. That is so weird to say!!! What is even weirder is that I am almost half way to my goal...35 lbs more to lose and then I will be officially half way to my final goal! Thank you all for your support over the last year and a half. On November 7th it will be one year since my surgery and my first "small/big" goal was to lose 100 lbs by the one year mark and it worked! That is the first time EVER in my life I have kept a long term goal going. Take care everyone!

I could use some prayers right now... I am having a hard time figuring out if I need to have a little bit of an unfill or not. I had my last fill on Sept 1st and am due to see my surgeon for my 1 year follow up on November 13th. I am getting in my daily intake of needed calories but not always with the best foods because it feels like when my stoma is too tight food gets stuck and I end up throwing up probably 1 or 2 times a week. This past Friday I went out of town with some ladies from my church to Tahoe at one of their cabins and had a wonderful RELAXING weekend. About 95% of my meals I never got anything stuck, I ate the right amounts, and when something did get stuck it only took about 10 minutes to clear itself unlike when I am home and it takes sometimes almost 45 minutes to clear or I throw up. The minute I get and back into my routine it starts back up again and I threw up again last night. I don't know if there is something I can do to relax better at home so my stoma isn't so tight or what. I would hate to get an unfil and start eating bad again like the last time I had just a little bit taken out. Well enough rambling on and on, I would appreciate any advice some of you more seasoned bandsters might have as well as your prayers. Thank you,

Chicken, Shredded Beef, Pasta, Salad, even in the mornings when I am really tight if I drink milk I can feel it gurggling down slowly. But that is not every day. I would say I take really small bites but I know there are days when I don't. Especially if I get carried away and dont pay attention. For example last night I tried to eat some bites of the meat from the center of a burrito and it was stuck so long I had to throw up. I am sure I can do better on the bites I will try, I think i just forget sometimes and get a little carried away. [/b] Also last week I had two days of Acid reflux which scared me because they told me if I start getting that all the time then that could be a sign as well of needing some fluid out. I am so glad that is gone now though. Do you eat off of regular silverware? I heard of some people who change the size of the utensils they used to eat with.? Have you heard of this before?

I could use some prayers right now... I am having a hard time figuring out if I need to have a little bit of an unfill or not. I had my last fill on Sept 1st and am due to see my surgeon for my 1 year follow up on November 13th. I am getting in my daily intake of needed calories but not always with the best foods because it feels like when my stoma is too tight food gets stuck and I end up throwing up probably 1 or 2 times a week. This past Friday I went out of town with some ladies from my church to Tahoe at one of their cabins and had a wonderful RELAXING weekend. About 95% of my meals I never got anything stuck, I ate the right amounts, and when something did get stuck it only took about 10 minutes to clear itself unlike when I am home and it takes sometimes almost 45 minutes to clear or I end up having to throw up. The minute I get and back into my routine it starts back up again and I threw up again last night. I don't know if there is something I can do to relax better at home so my stoma isn't so tight or what. I would hate to get an unfil and start eating bad again like the last time I had just a little bit taken out. Well enough rambling on and on, I would appreciate any advice some of you more seasoned bandsters might have as well as your prayers. Thank you,

Fanny Adams - Not trying to butt in but...from what I understood about what Denise meant by her response was that she had an "inflammed liver", (2 years ago) and then started taking the "milk thistle" after she found out about it and hasn't had a test since then?!? So it could very well be working now. Am I right Denise? Missy - You and your BF are continuing to be in my prayers. I pray for his health and for your strength to be there for him through this time in his life. Denise - I will add you and your BF to my prayers; for him to learn to communicate better during the rough patches and for you to continue to grow together! Chrispy - I am still praying for you and your BF that things continue to go well for you two. And for all on here that you continue to have success with the band and in your love lives! On another note..... I hope I find someone soon like the rest of you. By the way still proud of myself, I have been continuing to keep up on my exercise regularly!!! I exercise at least 5 days a week, try for 6, and sometimes I do 2 - 60 minute classes once a week. I have lost 23 lbs in the last 6 weeks which is great for me. Now I am only 2 pounds away from hitting my 100 lbs lost mark which is a great milestone as well. Take care everyone!

Well in Northern CA they required us to see the Bariatric Surgeon, Take a few Lifestyle Management Classes a the Kaiser here and meet with the Bariatric Nutritionist, Psycologist, and surgeon one on one all seperate appointments. For some the process was as short as 2 months and others it took as long as 1 year. For most they required us to lose at least 5 - 10% of our highest recorded weight as well. They think of Co-Morbidities as (Diabetes, Heart Issues(from being over-weight) High Cholesterol and so on. SOme people they approve without those co-morbidities if your BMI is high enough and you are at risk of developing them.

Hello everyone, Long time no talk!!! How is everyone doing? Well I hope... Froggi- Hang in there! I know the waiting part can feel like forever and like it is never going to end but it will.

Are you in California? I know this Thread is listed as Kaiser MAryland but the last few people who chatted on here myself included are from Sacramento CA and went to a Kaiser near us in CA. If you are in CA I might be able to answer your questions better for you since I have been through the process already. Take care,

I am praying for your BF Missy, keep us updated on any progress. How is everyone else doing? Well I have some good news everyone... I am so so very close to hitting the 100lbs lost mark and I think I am going to actually be able to do it before my bandiversary!!! I finally got off my a** and started using my 24hr Fitness gym membership after 4 months of paying for it. I am now going to the Water Aerobics class there and it is awesome...I go 5-6 days a week, some days in the mornings and some in the evenings. I have lost 4 more lbs since I started at the beginning of the week. I feel great! Well enough for now I hope you all are well.

How is everyone doing? Gina did you have your surgery already? I hope all went well. Well I have some good news everyone... I am so so very close to hitting the 100lbs lost mark and I think I am going to actually be able to do it before my bandiversary!!! I finally got off my a** and started using my 24hr Fitness gym membership after 4 months of paying for it. I have been going to the Water Aerobics class there and it is awesome...I go 5-6 days a week, some days in the mornings and some in the evenings. I have lost 4 more lbs since I started at the beginning of the week. I feel great! Well enough for now I hope you all are well. :bolt:

Missy - Sorry to hear about the BF but glad to hear that things are looking up finally for him and I will say a prayer that the doctors can finally find out what was ailing him. Denise - It is wonderful that you have made it known to BF that you are there for the long haul. I agree with Missy, if you NEVER have an issue or at least a disagreement then there really could be a problem! Chrispy - Thanks for the encouragement, I didn't think I was seeing that much of an improvement, but I can really see it in my face. I am about 1/3 of the way to goal. I have lost over 85 lbs already and would like to lose at least 160 more.

Gina, I am not offended at all, I love sharing my story to anyone who would like to know. I know that hearing others ups and downs is what got me ont he "Bandwagon" in the beginning and really helped me to get through all my fears. Let me start off by saying sorry for the book... Well let me see where to start. In May 2005 I had back surgery for a herniated disc that I had between my L4 and L5 vertebrates, and I had a 3 months bed rest recovery period where I was out of work. When I had the surgery I weighed in at 338 lbs and by the time I was 3 months out I was down to 330 lbs. I made a promise to my Neurosurgeon that I would lose the weight to make it easier on my back after surgery. Even though I had surgery I knew I was going to continue to have back issues because they discovered that I also had "Degenerative Arthristis" in the same area of my lower spine. Well for the first 9 months after surgery I did pretty good, I maintained my weight pretty well, didn't have much back pain, (nothing that some prescription strenght Motrin would handle) then between being a full-time single mom, full-time student (17 units) and Working full-time; not to mention the ending of a relationship with a man I cared deeply for it kinda put me into this depressive type state, and I guess over the next year I put on approx. 86 lbs. By November 2006 I had my orientation and I found out that I had hit 416lbs.(WOW, I was shocked and appauled) During that class is when I heard someone say they heard that SSF Kaiser was going to start doing the LapBand and I had never heard of it prior to that day. So I went home and started doing some research about it. Well I found out that Kaiser was going to start doing trial LapBands in Feb 2007. So when I saw the head of SSF Kaiser Bariatrics in January 2007 I asked her and she told me that it would be a decision that would have to be made between my surgeon and I . The first time I met Dr.Alami was in March 2007 and he agreed after some light discouragement that he would do the LapBand on me if I lost about 40 lbs first. At first I really didn't take my pre-surgery weight loss serious enough but in June 2007 decided to start eating smaller portions and losing weight. By the time I saw Dr. Alami again in September 2007 I had lost about 30 lbs so he decided to get me in on the surgery schedule. They called me in October 2007 to schedule me for November 7, 2007 which I of course accepted. By the time I went in for my pre-surgery follow-up on November 1, 2007 I was 383 lbs. Dr.Alami actually tried to make sure that this was the surgery I wanted at this appointment, He really thought the RNY GB might be better for me but I assured him (even though I still had some doubts) that I would rather lose the weight slowly than to lose 60-100 lbs in 4 months. I really wanted to give my skin a fighting chance to recooperate and not be as sagging as it would be if I had chosen the RNY GB. This last 9.5 months has been very trying and I have have my ups and downs, but I have to say I would NOT change it for the world. Since the surgery on November 7, 2007 I have lost approx 51 lbs. (That plus my pre-surgery loss of 33 totals the 84 lbs lost) Part of the reason of not losing as fast as some of the other Bandsters is part my error because I do not always eat the best, especially when I am in need of a fill and I can eat just about anything I tend to eat the worg types of food. But a big portion of it had to do with an issue I had with a different surgeon in May 2008. My surgeon could not see me that month and had scheduled me to see Dr. David Le, who I had only met briefly one time before in November 2007 at the orientation class. Well I am not trying to bash anyone but he definitly has TERRIBLE bedside manner. My surgeon of course over the last 2 years has definitly developed a good repore, he always talks to me to see how I have been doing for the last month or so, never tries to rush me out of the office, always finds out how my eating is going, tries to get my input as to whether or not I think I need a fill, and is very supportive. Well Dr. Le was not to say the least! He came in didn't even ask how the month went just started to fill up the needle with the amount of saline that he wanted to put in without even finding out how my eating was going. Well he decided to tell me after he put it in that he put in 1 cc, well I knew (from my experience the prior month ) that would be too much. Let me back up a little the prior month Dr. Alami had put in .5 cc and it was a little too tight, I couldn't get much fluid down at all so I had to make a second trip out there in April and had .6 cc's removed (he did that to allow for any swelling). So when Iwas seeing Dr. Le I knew I wouldn't need anything more than maybe .5 cc, well when he had me drink the water and left the room I called his MA in the room and told her it was a little too tight. When he finally came back in after seeing another patient he said "Oh, you will be fine. Just go home and drink fluids for the next couple of days" After some hessitation and insisting it was too much, I went home (the 2 hour drive) This happened on a Tuesday and by Thursday morning I was on the phone with Dr.Alami's office asking to be seen because I had not even been able to get down 1 oz of fluid in 3 days. He couldn't get me in that day but they scheduled me for the next morning (Friday) and told me if my symptoms get any worse to come down right away. Well it did get worse and by 3 pm I had a severe migraine, dehydration and pain in my stoma. So I called the doctors office since they were still open and told them that with traffic and me having to get soemone to come in to replace me at work I could not get down there for at 3-4 hours. So I headed out shortly after and when I got there they were closed so I had to go to the ER in SSF. They called the on-call Bariatric surgeon and guess who it is...none other than Dr. Le!!! Well he was none too happy about me calling him in from home. When I asked him "How much fluid are you taking out, because the last month when I was a little too tight Dr. Alami only took out a little extra" he said to me, " I am not here to bargain with you Ms. Jackson, you should've came into the clinic during normal hours. So I will take out what I need to take out!" so it turns out he removed all but 1 cc of fluid!!! I was so upset, he took out over 5 cc's of fluid that I had just spent the last 6 months driving back and forth to SSF and spending all that gas money. I had 3 cc's in my band on the day of surgery, there was NO reason for him to have to take out that much at that time except out of spite! I called Dr. Alami the next morning and was extremely upset and crying so he scheduled me for the next week to come in and start my fills up again. He filled me back up to 5 cc's total and that is when my uphill battle started again. It was from May, June and July that I started putting on weight. In total I gained about 6 lbs, I know I would have better weight loss numbers now if it wasn't for that horrible experience but I know I am back on track on doing things the right way again. By the way I am finally at my "Sweet Spot" as of my last fill last week and I am eating the right amounts of food, now if I could just excercise more regularly I would be better off. But that that is honestly up to my back.I am 3.5 years out from my back surgery and have taking Morphine and Percocet for the last 2 years just to get through each day and the pain. I am hopeful that by the time I get closer to my goal I will be able to wean myself off of at least half of the meds, I know all my doctors have told me that I will probably still have some amount of pain even after the weight loss due to other back issues not associated with the weight, but I will be happy when my Neurosugeon will be able to a better MRI picture of my back to see what is going on now that the pain has come back with a vengence. So after that super long story let me just say this it is completely your decision but know that no matter which one you choose you will have support. Also know that for most of us we didn't know 100% that this was the right surgery for us until either we had the surgery or we lost the weight. I still had some doubts even on surgery day, I just knew that I didn't have any other issues other than bein Mobidly Obese and my Back problems so I knew my body could handle a slower weight loss. I figured I would rather deal with the back for another 2 years or so while I lost the 246 lbs I needed to lose than to lose it so fast, take the chance of the complications that come along with the RNY GB, the nutrition/vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition that can happen, internal bleeding, and so on that I have seen happen. Besides I know that one day I would like to have more children when I get married again and I felt that the LapBand offered that best possible pregnancy perks between that and RNY GB, I don't care what anyone else says, I don't think it is safe to be preganant after RNY GB when you already have vitamin deficiencies. Normal women take extra vitamins during the pregnancy for a reason. With the Lap Band I can have all the fluid removed during a pregnancy and eat everything just as normal as any other woman. Then after the baby is born I can get it filled up again to start losing any gained weight right away. All the doctors will say it is just as safe either way but I obviosly have my own opinion about that! Anyways enough rambling on, feel free to ask me any other questions you wish, I am an open book. To anyone else that is bothered by how much and what I said I apologize for offending, but I am just stating my opions and experience. Take care and keep your head up!

Congrats on finally reaching goal Vicky J!!!! You know about all my other issues with fills and unfills gaingin 6 lbs and not losing and so on well I finally have great news!!!! I went in to Dr. Alami's office and met with him and Said Paul Arsalane (his PA) on Tuesday last week to have a fill and Arsalane put the 0.2 cc's in it was so tight I wasn't even able to get the water down that they gave me to drink. So he decided to take the 0.2cc's back out. Well it looks like he might have left a drop in there of the 0.2 he originally put in because I feel like I am finally at my "Sweet Spot"!!! I have lost 7lbs this week alone!!! The most I have lost since surgery was 7 lbs in one month (not including the 2 weeks right out of surgery where I lost 16 lbs of course) I am finally feeling like it is happening for me again. I need to stop weighing myself all the time because I have been getting on the scale 2 times a day for the last week, but it just keeps going down and I get so excited to see that! If I can just remain on track I know I will be at my goal in no time at all. I know it will slow down a bit but at least I am back on track once again and that is all that matters. Gina- Is kaiser doing the Sleeve procedure now? When I started there it was only RNY GB and then they started the LapBand about 3 months later, but I didn't know they were doing the sleeve. As far as the support group meeting go I thought that the meeting at Point West was held on the Third Saturday of the month??? Did they change that recently? Well I would definitly be interested in meeting all of you. Maybe we can meet up at a support group here in Sac or even get together and do our own little group once month or so at a coffeehouse/resturaunt or someones house??? What does everyone think?

Thank you so much to the both of you! I am really starting to believe that it will happen for me when the time is right. Oh and by the way I have wonderful news this week... I went in to my surgeon's office on Tuesday last week to have a fill and when the doctor put the .2 cc's in it was so tight I wasn't even able to get the water down that they gave me to drink. So the doctor decided to take the .2 back out. Well it looks like he might have left a drop in there of the .2 he originally put in because I feel like I am finally at my "Sweet Spot"!!! I have lost 7lbs this week alone!!! The most I have lost since surgery was 7 lbs in one month (not includeing the 2 weeks right out of surgery where I lost 16lbs of course) I am finally feeling like it is happening for me again. I need to stop weighing myself all the time because I have been getting on the scale 2 times a day for the last week, but it just keeps going down! If I can just remain on track I know I will be at my goal in no time at all. I know it will slow down a bit but at least I am back on track once again and that is all that matters. And let me just say once again, thank you so very much. You all have been such an inspiration to me and I now know I AM worthy of finding the right man to be in mine and my daughter's life!:biggrin2:

I am finally going to post some before and semi-after pics. I am 9 months out from surgery now and have lost 80 lbs. I am not sure if I posted these properly, I hope this works!

I used Kaiser in SSF and that was pretty much the response I got for the same queston. Except the staf has since elaborated saying that the Sacramento Office is not being cooperative. Even when they have the planned support groups in sacramento on the 4th Saturday of the month....SSF Kaiser wasn't getting support. So now we are not going the support meetings being headed up by Kaiser staff any longer. We are all fighting to try and get more cooperation from the Sacramento Kaiser facilities, especially the LapBanders knowing we have to drive out to Frisco, Richmond or Fremont for our follow up and fills each month. I have been doing it for 9 months months and it has become quite costly witht the high gas prices and toll bridge costs. Have you ever been to a support group meeting at the Point West Kaiser on the 4th Saturday of the month???

I am so truely happy for all of you Chrispy, Denise, Missy and Tarrn....You all give me hope that there will be that one person truely right for me someday. And it won't be the guy that I am in love with and the feelings are not mutual! At least I can only hope and pray that it will happen. I too am really wanting to have more children and I feel like my clock is ticking away slowly, I have an almost 14 year old daughter and have been seperated from her father for 6 years and Divorced officially for almost 6 months (I know it was a long lengthy process but I am glad it is done!)

Does he check for the amount of fluid that is in there already at the beginning of each fill? My surgeon fills the needle up with the amount of fluid he wants to put in.5 or 1 cc's then when he gets the needle in the port of pulls out the fluid that is in there to see what was showing in there already then he injects all the fluid back in including the added amount. It takes really no extra time and no extra pokes to do it. They can check while they are in there. This way they can keep track... Keep in mind my surgeon said sometimes not all the fluid will come out during the check if there is an air bubble or something or some will remain in the band and be stubborn and not come out. So be prepared that if you have 6 cc in already on 5 or 5.5 cc's will come out...but it might come out next time.... There is other ways that are more involved that they can check like under flouroscopy(x-ray) they can watch as he puts the fluid in to see if it is all going in the band or leaking out.

Thanks for the encouragement... I don't feel like I am doing great :tongue_smilie: By the way it took me almost one year through the whole program too...it was only a month from the time the surgeon decided that I had lost enough weight to be scheduled for the surgery! I know it shows I have lost 79lbs but that is from the beginning, not just since surgery. My highest weight on my orientation day on November 14th, 2006 was 416lbs and on surgery day November 7th, 2007 I weighed 383lbs, so I had already lost 33lbs before surgery which means I have only lost 46lbs in 9 months. I would have done better if I had not gained a total of 6lbs over two months when I had a terrible surgeon who made my band too tight and I had all the fluid removed and had to start all over with fills for the next 3 months. This was 6 months into having the band too, so I was sooo close to my "sweet spot"! Oh well I just thank God that I am finally back on track! I think they were sending everyone to SSF from Sac but then they were being bombarded with over 200 new patients a month so they had to start moving them to different areas. I get fills every 4 weeks on average. At first I was getting one every month on my Bandiversary...which is the 7th of each month and then in May I had to move my date since my surgeon was on vacation and that is when things went down hill temporarily. So right now I go about the 1st of each month which works for me just depends on what day of the week it falls on. I am hoping that after a few more months of all of us having to drive out of town they will finally get someone out in Sac at least once a month just to do fills!!! I think I am close to my Sweet spot" so I am hoping my visits will taper off soon. They did say after the first 9 months to a year our follow ups become further between each visit. Well enough rambling on for now, I wish you the best of luck! Oh yeah... I was going to ask...How long is the drive for you to the Kaiser you are going to? Take care!

Congrats Gina! I too had my band done at Kaiser but mine was in South San Francisco. I had mine done 9 months ago. The drives are dreadful for me going there too...On two different months I had to drive out there 2 and 3 times in one month and that was just awful for me with the high gas prices and toll bridge fees both ways, but oh well! I am happy I did it and I have no regrets! By the way may I ask how long you went through the program? I was just curious because I know when I had mine done the surgery wait time was about 1 month after all the classes were done.