HeatherO

I think it would be good if you look at some long term studies. It is better than anecdotal evidence. Most of us do wonderful, some of us have a rough go of it and a few have serious complications. The band is the best thing that ever happened to me and I have no regrets.

You probably don't realllyyy need him on day two, but what the heck . . . we all need a little coddling from time to time. It would be pleasant just to have him there I think. My husband spoiled me for about a week and I really enjoyed it.

The eliptical works great and is a lot less stress on the joints. It definitely feels better on the body than running.

My last fill was the end of April. I thought I was too tight at first (first week or two) because I had fairly constant pb'ing occurring. I soon discovered the problem was me. I was eating too fast, not chewing enough, and not going on liquids for a day after a pb to allow my stomach to settle. After two weeks I felt that I was at my sweet spot. I have been losing steadily ever since. I was not very hungry, easily satisfied but I had to be very careful as to not eat the wrong things, too fast or overeat or I would have to pay the consequences. I the end of June I thought maybe it is time to start thinking about another fill, but I was not ready then and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. Now, I am hungrier. Weight loss has slowed but I still lose at least a pound a week. I can eat more, even quite a bit more if I try. I can also eat some foods that would make me very sick before. I can eat some forms of bread when before I could eat none. I can eat a teaspoon or two of rice mixed in other foods and before I could not. I have this ability towards the tail end of the day. I also am traveling to Turkey in October and I want to be down to 150 at least, but more preferably somewhere in the 140's which means I still want an aggressive 2 pound a week loss. This makes me think I could probably go for another fill. However, I have had occasional heartburn. Nothing really bad but maybe three times or so a week. This might be partially my fault becuase I love spicy foods and my stomach is not the same as it was before. I also can not really eat Breakfast comfortably. I can manage a couple of small bites of egg, maybe 1/8th cup but certainly not more. If I make instant oatmeal, I can't finish 1 pack without pushing a little. I have had a pb or two over the last two weeks but I am not sure if it is because I am getting more lax in my habits or if I am too tight to be thinking about another fill. I am completely on the fence at this point. Do I wait another month to go in? For those who have been through this, please give me your opinions because I am just not sure what to do at this point.

What I can eat varies greatly from time to time. Sometimes 1/4 of a cup is all I can manage. Sometimes I can probably eat 1 1/2 cups. I probably average about 3/4 cup. A lot of this has to do with how quickly I eat, what time of day it is, what time of month it is, etc. I am really struggling right now about whether to get another fill. Depending on when you ask me I can tell you I am too tight, too loose or anywhere in between. I just don't want to feel too tight all of the time.

I had a nice quiet dinner with my husband the night before, and couldn't hardly eat anything due to nerves :0). I suffered from last meal-itis before banding. I must have had thousands of last meals before the latest and greatest diet plans beginning the following . . . day, week, whatever. I am happy to be through with that. In fact, I have never been happier to say I am not having any more last meals :0). I do think it is a good idea to Celebrate with your family before you take the plunge. It is a great way to rally support, and a good support system really helps to gear you up for success.

I have a ton of energy now but I realize that I wasn't feeling so good before due to too many carbs in my system. I get in between 1000-1200 calories daily and try to fit in plenty of exercise throughout the week. I find that taking my Vitamins and drinking my Water also help with energy levels. Exercise has really made a difference with my "average energy level" throughout the day. I have found by biking that I have gotten to a point where I never feel the need to stop going . . . other than being tired from going up a hill I feel like I could go just about forever (except for the pain in my arse from sitting on that little bike seat after about 2 hours).

It is perfectly normal but it does go away. I found that drinking Water could make me nauseous in the beginning . . . and we have to drink our water. I bought an over-the-counter medicine named "Nausene" from Wal-Mart. They are chewable tabs and worked wonders. It seems like I recovered soon after because I still have half of the only box I ever bought remaining.

I was told coffee is a "free food" as long as I didn't drink it with sugar. I was also told that everything should be done in moderation and I don't want to get in the habit of overdoing the caffeine. I really enjoy my coffee in the morning :0). This is especially true since I have given up diet pop.

Congratulations . . . . that is an awesome NSV!!!!

I hit my sweet spot at 8.3 in a Realize band. Before that it was really easy to eat anything. I would not worry if you are up to 8 and need a little more. You probably do not have much further to go before you are there. Next time you go for a fill, ask them to pull out the fluid and see how much you have in total just as a check.

It sounds very serious and I would not wait to go to the emergency room. There is no way we can tell if she just has a very low pain tolerance or if she is battling an infection or serious problem that may put her life on the line. Go now, or if you can't go where you are, go immediately to somewhere you can. What country are you in?

I wouldn't bother saying anything if you don't know them and they don't know you. I doubt saying anything after overhearing a conversation would cause them to change their minds. I can understand how you felt and I am sure my ears would have perked up just the same.

Actually I have had only two fills over the six months that I have had the band. I got lucky in that I asked for agressive fills and my doctor gave them to me. My band is pretty full at 8.3 in a 9 Realize band for only having had two fills. I asked for the doctor to be agressive because I was afraid to take six months to get a big enough fill to ever start losing because everything was too open. I needed to start fast into my journey before my motivation started to fade. My third fill appointment is next Tuesday, and to be honest, I am not sure if I even need another fill and I am not sure what they will say. My weight loss has been really great, but I can say it was extremely hard before my second fill. I was too hungry and had to do traditional dieting to make it work. I took a low carb option and ate as many veggies as I wanted which worked for me. Actual restriction after the second fill was a godsend. Before restriction I was like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the mountain. I could keep with it and get it up there with a lot of effort and deprivation in dieting . . . but I knew that the day would come when the rock would come tumbling back down again and knock me into a pit of despair, drowning in Little Debbies. I was on the verge of falling off the wagon when my second fill gave me just what I needed to push the rock to the other side. My second fill was absolutely my saving grace. It is sooo much easier now. Once you reach your sweet spot, you will feel the same. I love my band :thumbup::wub::w00t:

I have heard great things about that book as well. I think I will order a copy.

Hey Everyone, I hope everything is going well for all of you. How is everyone doing six months into the adventure??? Things have been going pretty well for me. I am averaging about 10 pounds a month, but I know that won't continue during the next six months. Banded life is getting easier now that I don't have to think about it so much. It has finally, thankfully become second nature. I have lost a little exercise motivation. Is anyone else having that problem? I was working out like crazy until graduate school got too busy on top of working too much. I feel like some nights I am so beat it is hard to enough to muster energy for the shower, let alone aerobics. So is banding what you thought it would be going in to surgery? Now that most of us have passed the six month mark, we are becoming the next crop of veterans. How is reality different than your initial expectations??? I hope to hear from all of you fabulous January knockouts :0).

Today is my 6 month anniversary. I was 225 on the day of surgery and am now 164. That is 61 pounds in 6 months from the day of surgery. :0)

I went to Dr. Corvala in Tijuana and had an excellent experience as well. I would highly recommend it and the price was very affordable. I am happy everything went so well for you. Happy melting :0)

I eat breaded chicken and fish, but I don't deep fry them and I don't do it often. The breading makes the texture more interesting and since I am not eating a lot of carbs, a little breading doesnt hurt.

You are so lucky to have such a sweet and thoughtful daughter. You must be raising her well :0)

I am at 8.3 in a Realize band and that really did it for me as well. I am really happy I had agressive fills, because I certainly would not have lost as much otherwise.

I was banded in January and never really had heartburn problems before or after banding. However, about a month ago I had a couple of days of heartburn. My last fill was in April so it was not brought on by a new fill. Since that initial heartburn start, I have regular heartburn several days a week. I now have been taking tums or prilosec regularly. It doesnt seem to be triggered by eating, more it is the opposite. If I don't eat for many hours I start to feel like I have heartburn, or if I stay up too late or sometimes I have it at night. I am more likely to have it when my stomach is empty. A few tums and half a glass of milk seem to knock it out pretty well, but if I just ignore it and do nothing it won't go away. I have decent restriction but I am not too tight. I don't PB or slime at all anymore. I might if I eat bread or Pasta but I don't eat those things. My hunger stays in check and sometimes I can eat a little more, sometimes a little less but everything feels workable. I am not sure if this heartburn is indicative of a problem or just par for the course being a bandster with decent restriction. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding why this situation may have arisen out of the blue? Any thoughts or suggestions or has someone had a similar situation?

I listened to this video and I am not surprised that she had difficulties. What did she eat, she eats ice cream, chips, soft calories, etc. We know that this is not healthy and anyone can eat around the band if they so choose to do so. If she could not get any normal food down, then she was probably too tight. She exhibited a classic example of how you can find a lack of success with this system. Anyone who thinks they can eat anything and that surgery will take care of everything on its own without any effort is not being realistic with themselves. Even beyond WLS, non-compliance causes many a failure medically in a lot of different areas. Longer term studies show that the majority of people have success but they must put some effort into following band rules, eating healthy, getting exercise, etc. There are risks of complications with any WLS surgeries. You can find many people that have great success, but there will always be some people that can not adjust to changes in lifestyle. Many of us who choose wls do so as the result of an addiction to food resulting in obesity. Addictions are not easy to overcome. However, they can be impossible to overcome if we don't take personal responsibility for our choices and choose to live for success. Lapband has really been the saving grace that has put me back on the road to healthy living. I don't have any regrets. It is not easy, but it is a whole lot easier than going it alone. If I do my part, the band is there for me and success is finally attainable. I am very lucky to have my band.

It depends on where you go. You can go to Mexico and have everything done for $7K to $9K for lapband. This covers all fees, anesthesia and a hospital stay. Here in the USA I have seen it go as low as $10.5K but not much lower than that. When I researched locally in Cleveland, I found prices ranging from $19K to $29K. I also had to ask a lot of questions locally because they start with a base price and then later you get the hospital stay + physician fees + anesthesia, etc. I have to say that with all the research I did, $48K seems like an astronomical price. That is about $20K above the highest prices I have seen anywhere. It doesnt sound reasonable.

Slowly but surely . . . another pound down. I really would like to make it below my goal by labor day, we shall see :0) Name_____________Weight Now____Goal_____lbs lost aJoneen............230.........220.......3....... Bea1128............220.........199.......3.5..... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0....... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4....... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......0....... Bunkey1965.........205.........195.......7....... Chocolate_Snaps....260.........240.......0....... Darr5380...........170.........150.......0....... Epm316.............209.........199.......0....... erikadawn..........199.........175.......0....... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0....... HeatherO...........165.........155.......7....... JennyPoo...........169.........159.......0....... KarenG.............164.........158.......2....... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0....... Lapbandfan.........260.........230.......0...... Leslie2Lose........219.........209.......5....... LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0....... LilMissBand-Aid....239.........225.......1....... Lunabeane..........212.........200.......9....... Luu2008............219.........189.......9....... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0....... luvinke............206.........190.......0....... mamato3............199.........184.......6...... mcgreen............189.........175.......0....... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0....... MollyMolly.........194.........182.......0....... mominlv13..........308.2.......300.......7.8..... MSnika3............228.........204.......4....... NANAbanded.........225.........199.......4....... Ninja..............204.........189.......5....... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6....... Ollie..............242.........210.......0....... Redtulips..........189.5.......180.......4.5..... Renewedhope........176.........155.......3....... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0....... slgandera..........185.........173.......7....... StartingOver.......220.........205.......5....... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......2.3..... want_so_bad........170.........155.......0....... Sades..............186.........180.......6.5..... Sadie..............216.........199.......4.......