Ruthie

Hi! I have the Vanguard as well. It does take a lot to fill it up... i'm at 9.5 cc's. But from everything I've been told (and my fill dr. told me again this week) that Dr's really like the bigger band. Ya they take a lot more to fill up but everyone I've talked to said that there's less chance of erosion because there's chambers in the band and the Fluid has more room to spread out. I had a different fill Dr. tell me that my band was too big and he wanted to take it out and redo it with a smaller band. Went back to my band dr. and my original fill dr. and they both said "no way" that the Vanguard was a good choice for me. Anyway it is frustrating. I have 9.5 cc's and am now just getting restriction but I know it's not that way for everyone. Good luck and maybe research it and figure out what's best for you.

Hi! You can do it! I think every one of us was nervous and had cold feet before surgery. I remember being wheeled into surgery and the lights of the hallway were flashing by and I was laying there with small tears coming out of the corner of my eyes and all I could think to myself was "What the HELL am I doing!!?!?!?" I was in Mexico having surgery. Was I insane!! Maybe I was a little but I just had to give myself a pep talk and remind myself that I was doing this to insure a healthier life for myself. You'll lose. Just follow the rules and you'll lose. But remember not to be hard on yourself and just do the best that you can. I've lost slower than most but I've also had a really hard summer. My mom was diagnoses with cancer, I had surgery, we moved cross country, and my husband started a new demanding job all in the matter of weeks. So I'm doing the best that I know how to right now and even though I'm not losing as fast as I would like I"m just trying to get through life right now and I"m doing the best that I can day to day and I'm still managing to lose. In a few months you'll just look back and be healthier and thinner and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner! Good luck!

Just following up... What did your Dr. say? What are you options are far as getting the band put back in place? I hope everything works out!!!!

why do I always fall for those!!! thanks for a good laugh.

Just checking in to see how you are doing? How many cc's do you have and are you losing? I'm feeling like I might need another small fill but I'm already at 8.7 cc's and I still have 65 more pounds to go! Do I just wait it out and up my exercise (which I should do anyway) or should I get another small fill? Anyway, just wondering how others are doing with the big vanguard band! Thanks!

Paula you looked so great in your family picture! Congrats on your great weight loss!! Where exactly (if you don't mind my asking. if you do just tell me! ) are you in Louisiana? We lived in Lake Charles for several years and LOVED it. We went to Holly Beach very often and it's so sad to see the damage. If you're 30 mins north of Holly Beach I"m assuming Lake Charles, Sulphur or Hackberry but I could totally be off too! Several of our good friends in Lake Charles and Sulphur lost almost everything. Homes, businesses, etc. So sad. We're headed down to help one of these days soon. Anyway just wanted to say hi and thanks for posting the pictures.

Do not burn new Yankee Peppermint Cocoa candle when trying to avoid sugar and all forms of treats. Stupid candle-- Now I'm craving brownies!

LOL! It's a good thing we can't eat them because I think there's a lot of us that would be in trouble! and cinnamon roll candles are absolutley the best. My husband hates it when i burn them because he gets all excited thinking I've baked him something. Poor guy.

LOL! If only I looked that cute with pig tails in real life I might actually where them!! And thankfully no on the Flordia. Headed to Seattle, where thankfully they don't have hurricanes!

Congrats on the fill! Maybe I'll see you power walking on Monday when I'm at DFW for a flight!! I'll be like "hey! I know that guy! :)" Good luck!

Your post was so touching! Thanks for sharing and congrats on your wonderful success!!!

<<almost 75lbs lighter!! YEA ME!!!>> Congrats!!! That's so exciting!!!!!!!!!!

I had 4 cc's put in at time of surgery. 3.5 cc's my first real fill and then 1.2 cc's my last fill. From what I've heard from others I have a lot of cc's in my band. I think I might need a small tweak but I'm just going to up my excercise and see if I can get going again.

My life is a big plateau. But I do need to up the exercise. I'm going to watch this thread in hopes of learning some things. Thanks for posting it!

See that's what I'm worried about! You are at 3.5 cc's and you're 6 1/2 months out... I'm four months out and I'm at 8.7 cc's! What's wrong with me! Why is my band so full and I still don't have opitmal restriction. I still have so much to lose! UHHHHH! Where is the fairy godmother that waves her wand and takes away all my weight problems? Thanks for your response though. I appreciate it.

Ok I'm so sorry to post this hear but I don't know who else to ask. I've got cramps so bad I want to die!!! What can I take? I've been drinkin' liquid tylenol like crazy but it's not making a dent in the pain. I know we can't take asprin or Ibprofen. So what can I take? Today it got so bad that I was almost throwing up from the pain. That's not good either since I can't throw up and have managed just to lie down and not move. I'm dyin' here! And I don't know any people that have has a band besides you guys. So again I apologize but can someone help? Thanks!

I just wanted to thank everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I survived the period from HELL and hopefully I won't have another one that bad for a LOOONNNG time!!! I appreciate your help and everyone on this board is always so nice and so helpful! thanks!

Eating after a PB (didn't know this was a no no until I just read it on this list!) Sipping my husband Dr. Pepper (oh how I miss Dr. Pepper!) Snacking on cookie dough at 10 pm when I KNOW better then to have cookie dough in the house! Ocassionally taking a drink after dinner to get the taste out of my mouth Comparing my self to everyone that is losing faster then me and being very discouraged and down about it (hmmm... maybe if I got rid of the cookie dough I might lose faster? something for me to think about )

that's so exciting! Congrats!

Unfortunatley I'm one of the "wide open" one's. I've decided not to fight it though. I get so sick with my period that every once in awhile I just need ice cream so that I can function. not the best I know but I only eat that one time of the month. I can't wait for my period to be over so my restriction comes back!

Thanks for the suggestions! I think aleve is a no with the band but i forgot about the little heat pads that you can wear. I sat in a hot tub for about an hour this afternoon and it worked for a bit and then it started getting really bad again. I used to get super sick in High School and college. I would be out of comission for two days. Finally my dr. gave me some prescription stuff that helped. But I haven't had cramps this bad in years. Ugh. i hate periods! thanks again!

I'm always looking for good protien... I just ordered several samples. Thanks so much for the heads up!

{warning long post ahead!} Ok, so I had my second fill today and it was a horrible experience. Ok not so much the fill but my interaction with the Dr. Let me start off by saying that like a lot of people on these boards I went to Mexico to have my surgery. I knew it was a risk but it was the ONLY way I could afford to have the surgery done. I researched for a year found a dr. that I felt comfortable with talked to his office and his other patients for months and went ahead and had surgery in June. I totally love my dr. and I had a great experience! I was banded with the Vanguard band. 4 cc's were put in at the time of surgery. I had my first fill at the end of June and they put in 3.5 cc's so I was up to a total of 7.5 cc's. I've just moved to a new state and needed some more restriction. Found a dr. that did mexican patients fills and went to see him today. A few minutes into the fill he starts getting really worked up about the fact that I went to Mexico to have my surgery. Basically he told me that I was an idiot for going to Mexico that all Dr's in Mexico are incompetent. I totally stuck up for my Dr. and said that I had been very pleased with my choice. It just went down hill from there. He told me that I should have done more research and that I should have called him before I went to Mexico (hello! I just moved here and didn't know that he exsisted until last week!). I told him that I had researched for a year and felt confident with my decision for surgery. Anyway here's the part that I'm stressed about. He said that there is no way that I should have been fitted with the large Vanguard band. He said only really heavy people 400+ lbs should be fitted with that band. He said because of my weight and size that I should have been fitted with the smallest band and at the very most the mid sized band. He says that he's worried because I now have 8.7 cc's in my band (as of today) and that my band should only hold 9 cc's and I'm still 80 lbs from goal. He said that in order for me to have restriction and achieve my weight loss goal and to lose everything that I need to that I'm going to need to be refitted with a smaller band. he said that he would do it for $15,000 or I could check and see what kind of deal my dr. would work out with me. I don't have $15,000 or even $1,000 for that matter. I put everything I had into this surgery. He said once I get to 170-180 lbs that I'm not going to have any restriction and that there is nothing that he can do because my band will be at capacity and it will be way too large around my stomach. I'm stressed because I'm at 8.7 and I'm so far from goal. I totally left the office crying. He told me not to be upset he just wanted me to have the facts. Anyway I have a call into my Dr. and should hear back tomorrow. I totally love my mexican Dr. so please don't bash him. I'm just not sure what to do. Anybody else who has the vanguard have any thoughts on this?

Hi! Thank you soooo much for your kind words and encouragement!! I've decided that for my fills I will either save up and go to back Mexico to my surgeon (who I love) or use a fill Dr. in Utah when i visit my family. So it's not the most convienent arrangement but it's going to have to work since I refuse to go back to the other dr. here. Anyway just wanted to thank you guys and let you know that all is good! P.S. I think this fill is working! I've lost five pounds this month! The most I've ever lost in one month! *Hoping* that it keeps working for awhile!

Does anyone know if they do fills on people who were banded in Mexico?