HeatherO

Does your fill center doctor withdraw the Fluid first to see if you really have the expected amount of fluid in there? This would help you see if you have a leak. It sounds like you just don't have enough restriction, but many of us do not have much restriction until our bands are close to being full. It also makes a difference depending on what kind of food you are eating. If you are eating a slider foods like chips, ice cream, etc . . . the band will not help you. If you are eating healthy foods with Proteins first and primarily veggies and fruits secondarily and still don't have restriction to remain full, you might just need another fill. If you can make it back to Mexico, or even to the fill center, you should get a fill done under flouro to make sure everything looks good.

Kat, I really hope that Manda is better soon. I can't believe the ER is so swamped. I don't know if that is typical or not since I haven't been in more years than I can remember. My thoughts are with you.

Hello everyone . . . I hope you enjoyed Superbowl Sunday, whether you are into the game or not :0). Pamela, I am also feeling left out. I realllyyy want to see your tat in progress. This weekend was not a good eating weekend for me. After being so tight and uncomfortable last week, I was a big eater over the weekend. Maybe not so much a big eater, just eating not the usual bandster things. I had 2 pieces of pb&j toast for breakfast on Saturday. 4 Arby's mozarella sticks for lunch and one bite of chicken sandwich (it was gross for some reason . . . the chicken tasted weird and it seems like they must have dipped it in a vat of mayonnaise which I don't eat). I had Japanese spicy chicken at the Otani grill on Saturday night (I only ate half a cup because I was full on Miso soup and the salad before dinner of which I ate every bite). I kept eyeballing the sushi menu (but didn't order) through dinner . . . awfully tempting but I am not allowed to eat it during pregnancy. Sunday breakfast was a boiled egg, 4 or 5 oven-baked french fries, my favorite turkish cheese, a little lettuce, radish with fresh squeezed lemon and some green onions, and a few olives. Lunch was over at my friends house from China . . . she cooked something with maybe chicken in a soupy sauce that smelled funny and I couldn't eat it. I had slices of apple, orange and pear and 3 or 4 orange cream cookies. She also made a tea of dried dates and honey that tasted very strange and somewhat unpleasant but I drank it anyway. Dinner was eggplant mousakka, yogurt, a slice of bread and a small piece of cinnamon coffee cake for desert. My friend from China told me I should limit my pear intake during pregnancy because it is not good to eat very much of it . . . but rice wine is healthy during breastfeeding in limited quantities, I guess it must be cultural differences. I told her lightly that alcohol is also not allowed during breastfeeding because it passes into the infant. It is strange how much tastes differ amongst different cultures. I like chinese food from restaurants, but it must have been americanized . . . because authentic chinese food is really difficult for me to eat. Last time my husband and I went together to their house for dinner, they made shrimp, it was jumbo sized and was the whole thing, head whiskers, beady little eyes, legs and tail, etc. They cooked at the table in a electric wok thing in the center of the table. The chicken and tofu was good . . . but when they cooked the huge shrimp and put one on my plate I noticed the whisker was twitching. Now I know it was dead . . . being cooked in hot water like that, but I can't understand why the whisker was twitching (the whisker was maybe 8 inches long as well). There was just no way on earth I could peel off the extraneous body parts and actually eat it. I was embarrassed about it as well because I know it is rude not to eat it. Does anyone of us of the american persuasion not mind if the seafood is looking at you while you are eating it, or am I just overly sensitive???

I had the same thing as StartingOverNJ for the first fill. It was aggressive but my doctor used the same methodology. They added saline until my flow was blocked off completely, and then withdrew a slight amount. This method got me to my sweet spot by the second fill which lasted for most of the time that I was losing the majority of the weight. I feel like I was extremely lucky in that I didn't have many months to wait to feel any restriction. I am sure I would not have lost anywhere near as much if it was .5 cc everytime.

It might not be as bad as you think. My starting weight and goal weight were almost the same as yours . . . and after I lost everything I have just a little droop at the bottom of my stomach and my derriere is a tad wrinkly . . . but I am decent. I am not even thinking about plastic surgery. (Also I had my first child very young and got a lot of stretch marks at that time so my skin is not the greatest - but it has held up well even so as far as weight loss is concerned. I think I might have scared myself by watching too many programs on tv with plastics after major weight loss. If you are looking for semi-normal and not bikini model looks, you might just end up pretty pleased in the end.

Sometimes my stomach is overly sensitive and I just have to go on minimal or no fill for awhile. I am currently unfilled and it has helped tremendously. I think going unfilled for a while might make you feel a whole lot better.

I am off and on depending on how I am feeling. When I feel good I go, when I feel sick or fatigued I don't. It has almost been like one week on, one week off. I have just started swimming and have had to cut back on my aerobic classes because it hurt my back too much to be jumping around intensely. One thing I noticed is that when I do get exercise in, I feel great, energetic and healthy. When I don't go my energy level seems to plummet and I would be much happier in bed with a good book then up and about.

I am so excited for you. Even with a c-section, he is here and he is healthy. I am sure you can't wait to go home after weeks in the hospital. So has DD come in for a peek yet???

OMG, if you thought the syringe hanging out of the belly picture was tough to look at . . . you should see what was there today. It is under katiebug as the username and it looks like a naked picture, with only a bra and tubes of a bloody looking substance draining from her bare pubic regions to bags of body fluid hanging from her breasts. What is up with that . . . and on the homepage no less??? If it was in the PS threads, OK, but that is enough to shock anyone on the home page. And here to think I don't like to take pictures showing my legs because they are too pale, lol. What am I doing on the computer off and on all day today, lol. I guess I need a life.

Oops, posted to the wrong thread.

A PB is a productive burp. It is when food is stuck in your pouch but not all the way in your main stomach and it comes back up again. It is not like vomiting in that it doesn't really hurt or have stomach juices involved. This only happens to banded people.

Where can I find pepper jelly? I have never tried it before and I think it might just make an excellent appetizer for when I have company and just need some snacky food. Kat, I am sorry you are having a rough go of it. Unfortunately this is happening everywhere. I can't believe I still have a job myself since we went from over 150 people to less than 50 in about a years time. It is tough enough to stress over the job, but then you have the Rx $'s as well to think about. My thoughts are with you. As far as that $5 a week for life . . . that just brought me back to my childhood. I would have considered $5 a week for life unbelievable riches beyond my wildest imagination when I was little, lol. Jennifur, sorry your PMS'ing - definitely no fun. I am discovering that pregnancy is worse than PMS by far. I burst into tears this morning because I couldn't find an email this morning to tell me which building the graduate school colloquium was being held in, lol. This wasn't just teary eyes either, but full out sobs . . . I think I was just stressed over being so sick this last week. This is after crying last night when the baby was born in the Baby Mama flick . . . and this is a silly comedy, not a tear jerker. If you can't lift your arms today . . . it should be interesting tomorrow. :thumbup: I am always 2-3 times more sore the next day or two. I think maybe I am weird, but I really like the soreness you get after a good workout. It doesn't really hurt but tells you "yes, I accomplished something good and I can still feel it."

My sweet spot where I lost most of my weight was 8.3 cc's.

Thanks. I have lost a little since becoming pregnant. My OB became concerned and asked me to add a supplement into my diet. I probably will gain a little over the next 18 weeks of pregnancy but I don't think it will be alot. I was just unfilled completely last Thursday.

I lost some after surgery but it sooned stop falling off. I really didn't start losing consistently until after my second fill. I lost almost all of my weight on my second fill - which lasted for a very long time. I didn't tell people at work or in general to avoid that situation. My husband and brother know along with the people on LBT of course. Other than that, I wanted this to be my own journey without everyone's thoughts, suggestion, doubts, supervision, etc. Some people need a lot of social support . . . but for me I preferred to work on this on my own.

Welcome snow princess :0) The first month is rough, but it gets easier very soon thereafter. It is just a time of adjustment and being hungry but not being able to eat much. I hope you are feeling better about banding very soon.

I haven't had this happen personally but I have read about others who have gone through it. Not everyone has their band removed. However, I also think it makes a difference if the infection is around the band itself or just near the port tubing. Some people have their port removed and then later a new port is put back in if the infection is around the port. Some people go on extended periods of antibiotics to battle the infection. I think luluc (if I remember correctly) may have gone through this. Do a search on her user name to read some posts regarding infection. There are others as well. You may be able to get information through posts or by PM'ing people that have written about the topic before. Another thought is just to start a new thread regarding infection and how it has been handled. Perhaps even a poll might help. If you do this, it might be helpful to put it in a main forum instead of complications in that it might get more reads/responses.

I think I lost my original post to this one. I did get the unfill and everything is great now. I have not even felt sick at all since my fill was removed on Thursday evening.

Thanks :0). My husband is originally from Turkey . . . and therefore so is half my extended family. We spend an extended vacation there every year so it is not so surprising we would choose a Turkish name. However, I imagine our extended vacations might be diminished for a little while with a new baby. Are you originally from Turkey or are you living there now? Can I ask what general area are you from?

You will have to let us know what you are having :0) When I found out I was having a girl on a Monday two weeks ago, I had no baby stuff at all. By the end of that following weekend, I had a bassinette, a ton of clothes for sizes throughout the first year (unbelievable sales lately at JC Penny's and Kohl's . . . 70% off with an extra 15% with a card), and started decorating the babies room with butterflies, lamp and a new bedspread for the twin bed. It is like I just couldn't wait to get started . . . I just needed to know the sex, lol. I decided to leave a twin bed in the babies room, but I am not sure about it. My thoughts were, it is only one extra piece of small furniture and if the baby is ever sick or really fussy, I can always go in there if I need to. This might sound odd, but it is also kind of a comfortable work surface with getting dressed or what have you. What do you think?

I agree with stabilizing your weight first somewhere near to where you want it to be. I was also banded in January but pregnant in September like Cherry Blue - but I was already within 15 pounds or so of goal. I have actually lost a few pounds with pregnancy so far . . . but I think most people gain a little but probably not as much as being unbanded. I gained 67 pounds with my first child so not gaining is kind of amazing to me. However, I still have 18 weeks or so to go . . . plenty of time to add a couple of pounds, lol. My OB has not been happy that I have lost weight and put me on a supplement shake daily because of it. I have also had some band problems since pregnancy in that I am sometimes so tight I can't get anything in unless it is a clear liquid . . . and sometimes I could probably eat a horse. My hormones must be making it go from super tight to super loose and everything in between. Because of this I had to get my band emptied this week. If you already suffered with pre-eclampsia and diabetes with the last pregnancy, I think it is definitely best to lose a significant amount of weight before pregnancy to improve the health of you and your baby - whether it takes 12 months or 24 months, etc.

I would call your surgeon again to check their policy. However, I would guess it to be six weeks. Have you already delivered the baby?

Wow . . . February 12th is right around the corner. Trinity is a lovely name as well. It sounds like you are doing good on weight without really gaining or losing much either way. I have been doing the same - staying fairly static. I also love the 3D scan picture :0). I have not been lucky enough to have one yet. Congratulations and good luck!!! Please let us know how you are doing.

Congratulations and good luck!!!! I also agree with the slight unfill. You may also find that your band sometimes gets really tight with pregnancy which can be rather unpleasant. Please keep us updated with how you are doing :0)

I have never seen a billboard for this on the eastern side of the US. I think that it is just a matter of time though, because I do see plastic surgeons billboards. In fact I can think of a specific one on a back country two-lane road that is really curvy. You come around this bend surrounded by trees close to the road and there is this huge billboard, right next to the road with a beautiful women extolling some kind of PS services. It is rather shocking in that I love back country, curvy roads surrounded by trees and I don't really want advertising to encroach on natural beauty everywhere. I don't care about big highways as much, lol. I was just thinking back . . . how did I first hear about the lapband . . . was it cheap advertising? I then realized it was a commercial with a women with short hair, maybe glasses who said her hunger was like a lion that was tamed or something like that. It wasn't cheap advertising, but it was advertising that caught my interest the first time and made me look into it further. I am a frequent flyer on business . . . I also notice advertisements in those travel mag's on the airplanes. I remember a page full of curvaceous girlies provocatively dressed with admirable figures proclaiming they lost the weight with banding at some clinic or something somewhere in Texas, lol. I guess advertising is growing, demand is growing and people are finding a way to battle obesity that actually works . . . it sounds good to me :0)