headin_to_mxico

Yes my pain is also on the left side deep. I know its my band. At first I thought I was getting weird side aches; but then I realized it was my band around my stomach that hurt. My band isnt too tight though. I dont even have much restriction. I am starting to get worried. I go see my Dr in a few days. I really hope Im not eroding or something. :ohmy:

I have been banded four months and every now and then I feel band pain. Its not port site pain, its actually a deep pain in my stomach. I see my Doc in two weeks and Im going to bring it up then; but I was wondering if anyone else ever has band pain. It kind of feels like I rip something. I know in my surgery they stitched some of my stomach over the band to hold it in place, and I wonder if it is that Im tearing that when I stand up too quick or something. It usually hurts for a few days then the pain goes away and everything is back to normal.

Well I guess all I can do is stay positive, get another fill, and excersise more. Being negitive isnt going to help. I just wondered if there were those who lost super slow at first. Like five pounds in four months is the worst I have ever seen on the boards and being the slowst loser makes me wonder if I even have a chance. But thats a really screwed up way to look at it. I'll never have a chance if I look at it from that way. Its hard when I have failed at every diet, and that fear is in the back of my head that I will fail at the band too. With such a crappy weightloss after four moths, my head is like, "See!! Look this wont work for you either!" But Im going to shut it up, get a fill, hit the weights, and keep trying. Hopefully this next fill with some harder excersise will get it started. I really hope so.

Well yesterday: for Breakfast one whole egg, one egg white, and one peice of whole grain toast. Then for lunch I had a chipotle bowl which had chicken, veggies, salsa, lettus and I told them to go light on the rice. For dinner I had a chicken breast in wine sauce, green Beans, and red potatoes. I know thats too much food. I had hoped that the band was going to help me not to eat as much.

Hi Lana, Im glad to connect too. So by your signature it looks like you are one pound under goal? Im so happy to meet someone who had a slow start but still made it. I feel alone like Im the only one. I dont come on here much anymore because nothing is different. I have nothing to share and its hard to see everyone elses success even though I am happy for them of course. I am going to schedual another fill. They are so dang expensive. I hope I dont need as many as you because my insurance doesnt help me pay for anything band related. My band is half full now. Restriction is weird. I dont know if I have it or not. Sometimes I think I do because if I eat too fast I PB, but I get hungry fast after meals and I can eat a lot at one sitting. For example I ate an entire chipotle bowl. Have you ever seen one of those things? Id think if my restriction was right I wouldnt want to eat an entire one of those.

I was banded in July 09. I have only lost five pounds. No I haven't been exercising like crazy, but I did make several changes such as walking my daughter to and home from school which is a total of two miles a day. On top of that doing another mile walk on Tues and Thursdays. I am still eating a lot because I am hungry. I do PB sometimes, but most of the time I can eat a lot. Its so depressing to have only lost 5 pounds. My husband thinks this was a waist of money. I paid 10k because my BMI was too low to qualify for surgery. I want to believe this is going to work for me, but Im starting to doubt in myself and my band. I just wonder if anyone out there had a slow start but ended up losing the weight. I have read posts from people who the band didnt work for and Im starting to wonder if I am one of those people.

I am four months out, started at 190 and now around 185. I dont have much restriction. I really hope that with more restriction the band will start working for me. But to answer your question, so far I have not been very successful with low BMI and the band.

A lot of Docs dont pull out the fluid just for this reason. It tends to upset the stomach with the loosening and tightening that happens when they do this. It also can mess with the elasticity of the band is what Ive been told. So many docs only pull out if necessary to see if there is a leak or a discrepancy in the amount that should be in there.

Yep. 5cc band. I get that same shocked reaction a lot. They use them a lot more in Mexico but not in the US. I was banded in Mexico. It is a common size band there. It works the same as bigger bands. I just guess that my sweet spot is going to have less wiggle room. Like I could get overfilled easier than people with larger bands.

I also had sixty pounds to lose. I have heard of people gaining weight to qualify; but its not just that easy. Once you gain the weight, almost all insurances put you on a diet plan and there are a lot of pre op requirements. Most people with low BMI's self pay because trying to get insurance to pay for WLS when your BMI is under 40 is a big run around. I went to Mexico and my surgery cost 8,500 because I had a single incision surgery. But if you arnt afraid of scars and dont mind having five small incisions instead of one it is only 7,500. There are also places in the US that have reasonable prices for self pay. Also know that if you are starting out with a lower BMI your weight loss will be slower than others. Good luck. And I absolutely say it was worth it.

Hi all my Freedom Fighters! So by now most of us have been filled a few times. I was one of those who lost only five pounds since surgery while in my "bandster hell". I have to say the name is appropriate because I did feel the hell of it all. Ten thousand dollars, three months, and only five pounds! I have had three fills and have 2.5cc's in my 5cc band. I am so happy to say that I have had restriction for the last week since my fill. =) I have lost two pounds this week which is what we are supposed to be doing. I think that means that I am now officially out of bandster hell. I have to chew now or I PB. I never thought Id be happy about PB's; but I am! That means I have restriction! Ive waited so long! I am not at the "sweet spot" yet and am going to get another fill in two more weeks; but I am eating less and able to make better choices because I'm not STARVING. So my tool is finally beginning to work. Are you guys experiencing the same thing?

The kids meal sounds like a good idea at first, low cost, less food. But I would never order off the children's menu because I dont go out to eat often; and when we do, we go to nice restaurants that have fabulous menus. Kids meals are usually chicken fingers or something. Yuck! I've yet to find a restaurant that offers mushroom risotto and fillet or sea food (other than fish sticks) on the kids menu. lol I'm with you on persuading hubby to get what I want. Great plan for next time! :thumbup: Or maybe me and my daughter can share a plate. That way she wont have to order off the kids menu anymore either. I bet she'd like that.

So I had a first. I went out to eat lunch with my son and I could only eat a small amount of what they served. I was actually upset that I couldnt eat more because I felt like I had waisted money. I know! Totally bad thinking! I was actually trying to force myself to eat more because I was so mad that I waisted all that food. I ended up taking it home and feeding it to my daughter when she got home from school; but I have to admit that looking back on it I should have been totally stoked I ate such a small amount instead of mad about waisting the money. Just a new experiance for me. Im going to have to get used to the idea of not eating much when I go out. I dont know if it will be worth it to go out to expenisve dinners any more.

I had the surgery on July 15th. I started at 190. I have had three fills and only lost five pounds so far in the two and a half months Ive been banded. I did lose 10 pounds pre-op too for a total of 15 pounds. For a lot of low BMI patients its harder. I still have fifty pounds to lose. I dont have proper restriction yet so Im hoping that once I get there the weight will come off faster. My Dr does fills really modestly to avoid over filling and he only allows them every three weeks. Its killing me having such slow weight loss after surgery, but I still believe I will be successful once my restriction is correct. Even though I was only 50 pounds over weight, I still needed the band and am happy I did it. I had been over weight for 8 years and tried so hard so many times to get it off myself. I look forward to a lifetime of health now in my future. If you do deside to get banded, prepare yourself that your weight-loss might be slower than average since you are going into it with less weight than average to lose.

Yep. Lap Band makes the 5cc, not Realize.

What was your sweet spot? Im at 2cc's in my 5cc band and dont feel much as far as restriction goes.

So I finally "slimed" yesterday. And slimed, and slimed some more. I ate a peanut butter sandwich, and the combo of peanut butter and soft bread just about killed me I swear. I thought I might die. It hurt so bad. I couldnt get it down, but I couldnt PB either. I just sat there stuck and preying to God it would be over soon. I think my love for peanut butter is now officially over! Learn from me and dont eat PBJ sandwiches if you have any restriction! :frown: Bad bad idea!

Juniper, you sound like your at your sweet spot with restriction. How many fills have you had? I had my first fill last week and finally lost two pounds this week. But I can still eat all foods with no problems. The only thing I've ever PB'd is dry chicken breast when I've eaten too fast.

I had my first fill today and am still only down three pounds. This is the same weight I was one week post op. I had been feeling bad about myself seeing all the weight loss of the other people on the board; but today my doctor said not to worry about not having a better weight loss. He said that Im doing fine for a person with no fill and that I should be happy with having a three pound loss with no restriction; and that I should be happy with not gaining anything after I went from a liquid diet to solids. He said I was doing perfectly fine and he had no doubt I would be successful after we talked about my current eating habbits. He said Im doing everything right and I just need some restriction and that I will be droppin the pounds. That made me feel better. =) So if there is anyone else out there who didnt loose weight before their first fill, keep your heads up!

Ok so Im home from my first fill. The fill went totally standard. I had one cc put in my five cc band. He put in novecain first, which stung a lot like a bee sting, and then stuck me with the big needle. When I saw that needle I was glad for the novecain. Thats a bigg a$$ needle! He drew the needle back to make sure I didnt have any fill done at surgery. I didnt so he only drew air. Then he put in the one CC. I could feel my band tighten just a little, so I knew he had put something in. He had me drink a glass of water in his office. Then he sent me out to eat some chicken for lunch. I made sure to eat slow and chew good and it went down with no problems. I really cant feel much of a difference; but I eknew I wouldnt from reading all of your guys posts. I ate about the same as I normally do. I get another one CC fill in three weeks.

Rachel, you probably need a little bit of an unfill if you throw up everytime you put a bite of food in your mouth. Just a little unfill might make you feel a lot better. They can take out just tenths of a CC and it can make a big difference.

Angelic, How are you doing with the PB's? Are they still frequent or was it something you just had to chew better and eat slower?

I go in for my first fill tomorrow!! Im sooo happy to get this going. I have only lost three pounds since my surgery. Sometimes I totally forget I have my band because I have zero restriction and feel like I dont have one at all. I got sick with a kidney infection and my doc gave me gell caps to take and I forgot to take the powder out of the pill one day and it went through without any pain or discomfort. Thats a wide open pouch! Tracy, I agree with you about the no drinking being the worst part. Sometimes I forget, but most of the time I remember. Its so natural for me to want to have a drink with dinner. I always have to remind DH when he sets the table not to put a glass of Water out for me.

Your band us empty. When you get restriction you will start losing. And 9 pounds is great. its only been like three weeks. Thats three pounds a week. Im sure you know that with the band the ideal loss is 1-2 pounds a week so your doing great even without your fill. Ive only lost three pounds and I was banded a week before you. Hang in there.

I used to do it on WW. I lost a lot of weight when I did it. It was before the band. I lost about 20 pounds and got down to 150. I gained all that weight back though. It really worked for me though so Ive been thinking about doing it again. Ive just been too lazy to find a site online that I can use and I dont want to pay for WW every month. If anyone else has a good food/calorie tracking site could you post it?