phyl808

Good luck Lauren...I need to get motivated too...

Would love to meet up with you, I need a partner to exercise with, we could go walking up at the park. I need motivation.

Would love to talk with other patients of Dr. Lapschies. I was banded by him in Jan of 2008. Still on my journey to goal, but it's been a great ride.

I had that problem with fill # 4, wasn't too tight but started having reflux. I found that two things helped, one was not eating or drinking at least 3 hours before bed and the other was a reflux med that my doctor prescribed. Guess my stomach is sensitive to the band at a certain restriction. Good luck!

It all started one week ago, got my 5th fill, 1 cc bringing my total fill to 4.3 ccs in a 10 cc band. At first it felt okay, then the swelling kicked in and I could barely get anything down. After two days the swelling went down, but still was having problems with drinking and eating. The worst part of all this was the night time reflux. I found myself throwing up in my sleep, not a pleasant sensation. Tried to hang on, hoping that the fill would get looser, but the nighttime vomiting and coughing was getting worse. I finally called my doctor. He had me come in to get an upper GI to make sure that everything was okay with the band, after drinking the barium, it showed that nothing was moving, I was pretty much closed off. He unfilled my band and I felt bloop, bloop, bloop, like a sink drain unstopping. HEAVEN!!!!! Then he had me drink more barium and filled me under flouro. I ended up with only 3 ccs in the band, big difference. I can finally drink again...Water never tasted so good until you can't drink anything. During that whole week I was lucky if I was able to drink 8 oz of liquids in a day. I lost 8 pounds in one week, but don't ever want to go through that again.

roseyyyd1...I love your posts...they make me smile. I made it throught the 2nd challenge drank 9+ glasses of liquids all three days. Needless to say, I went to the bathroom all day, LOL... On to the next challenge!

Sounds like you need another fill.

Okay, I'm in, my dr allows crystal lite and propel, so i dont have to drink just plain water.

I had to get a colonoscopy 3 months after my banding. My band surgeon is also a gastro, so he was able to do my procedure and knew all about my band. I had to try to drink 3 liters of the liquid, but could take a whole day to do it. Didn't need an unfill and all went well.

Cant get on to the chat today. Get the following message: Login error: request auth-url connection timeout

Aloha misamae, I'm a Hawaii bandster too. Was banded 14 months ago on Oahu. Good luck with your journey.

Wow, i thought that my fills that are 339 each are expensive. I know what you mean, its getting harder to afford to get another fill. My insurance only covered the surgery, no fills. Sad.

Its been 13 months for me. I started having reflux after my third fill, even when i lost restriction. Guess my stomach doesnt like the band at that tightness. I take reflux meds daily and dont eat at least 3 hrs before bed.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Good luck with your Journey.

Feb 19, 2009 It's been 13 months since I got my lapband. Dec & Jan were very hard months for me, too much goodies in the office, but at least I didnt gain...however, didnt lose anything either. I went back to the Dr for my one year checkup and only lost 2 lbs since Nov 11. So I got another fill, .8 ccs, so now 3.3cc in my band. Got good restriction, since last Friday, Feb 13, lost 6 lbs, which brings my total weight loss to 75 gone and 40 more to go. Weigh 160.5 now, still working at it. Nov 12, 2008 The last couple of months have been a challenge. Lost my restriction in the beginning of Sept, could eat too much food. But I kept my exercising up and when I saw the Dr last Friday, I actually lost 1.5 lbs. I got another fill (adjustment), so there is 2.5 ccs in my band now. I've got good restriction, I get full on only 2 chicken wing drummettes, wow. Have to eat slow and drink slow now but its all good, cause I lost 5 pounds since Friday. I've lost 69 and have 46 more to go. Oh yeah, and I was able to fit in a Misses Medium shirt & a size 12 pants. Sept 16, 2008 Small Victories Vegas for my Birthday, its a regular thing for us, but this one was extra special. This time, I was able to shop for clothes and find clothes that fit and look great. I had so much energy. I was able to enjoy eating, although i couldn't eat that much, but it was great. My favorite part of the vacation was being able to wrap a bath towel all the way around me, LOL, believe me, thats a big thing. I'm so glad that I did the lapband, I'm only a little over halfway to goal, but I'm feeling so great, and I couldn't have done it without the lapband. Sept 02, 2008 Finally! Hooray, my scale finally moved again. I've been stuck at the same weight for a month, no matter what I do. I've eaten less, eaten more, exercised less and exercised more. Seems my body gets stuck every so often, this has been my second plateau. My total weight lost has been 41 lbs the first three months, then 8 lbs the next 4 months, 10 lbs in July and August nothing and now 2 down for September. Total so far is 61 lbs, 59 more to go. Jul 15, 2008 I'm back on the train again. After 2-3 months of being stuck on a plateau, I'm finally losing again. Tried everything to get off the plateau, dropped calories, increased exercise, no loss, then increased calories and decreased exercise and the scale started moving again. My body finally caught up with my weight loss. I also got another fill. So total weight loss as of my Doctor's visit on 7/11/08 is 53.5 lbs - I weighed 182. Feels good to be back on the train again. May 19, 2008 Slow but steady The scale finally moved again. I lost 1 lb on 5/11/08 and 1 lb on 5/19/08. At least thats two lbs instead of none. I'm going through a slow period, whats called a plateau. Sometimes your body does it for a reason, wish it would make up its mind. I was losing quite a bit for the first 4 months, then it slowed down. So going to cut down a little more calories and exercise more. Still, one pound down is one pound down, and at least its not going up. Apr 29, 2008 Okay, I've lost 45 pounds, that is the equivalent of two 20 pound bags of rice and a 5 pound box of chicken. When you look at it in that perspective, that is quite an accomplishment. But most of all, I feel great. I have the energy to exercise six days a week, usually being lazy on Sunday. I can stay on the treadmill for 45 minutes at a pretty good speed without getting tired. One of these days, I'll even be able to run on it. Got 5 more lbs to go before I reach my 2nd Milestone Goal of losing 50 lbs. Hope it goes faster than the last 5. I have to work harder, the weight loss is slower now. But I can't complain. Apr 15, 2008 Still going down 42 lbs lost and counting. I fit in so many clothes in my closet. I can't believe I'm fitting in something that I wore last in 2001. Mar 31, 2008 Journey Update Hooray for ME! Milestone 1 accomplished. Finally, my weight starts with a 1 instead of a 2. That makes 36 lbs lost so far. I was able to wear something in my closet that I haven’t worn since 2001. Mar 02, 2008 Almost 2 Months on the Journey I had my follow up appointment on Friday. I've lost 31 lbs, 19 of it was Fat. Awesome. I also had my band adjustment. Now, the band feels tighter when I eat, am not able to overeat (more than 2 oz). If I do, it feels like its stuck and won't go down. So I have to stick to my 2 oz, before I could eat more than 2 oz and I still felt hungry. This helps me not be hungry too. Feb 12, 2008 I've found the perfect way to exercise. I have a treadmill that I've been walking on every day. Beats looking for somewhere to walk in Waimea where it's not raining or cold. Anyway, I take my laptop (wireless of course) go to one of my TV shows that I can watch online and start it up, then hook up my earphones. Start my treadmill and walk for the whole length of the TV show, about 45 minutes. Works great...I try to do it as soon as I get home so I don't get lazy. Feb 09, 2008 One month since my surgery. Lost 25 lbs so far. Time to dig out old clothes that I didn't fit. I have lots of sizes, at least I don't have to buy clothes for now. Jan 31, 2008 24 Days since my surgery. Lost 21 lbs so far. Still a long way to go.Having 2 oz of Protein & 1 oz of Vegies now. I go back to the Dr on Mar 7th to fill the band. At first they put it in unfilled. So when he fills the band (with saline) the food will move slower so I'll stay fuller longer and not be hungry. Jan 18, 2008 Day 11 Post Op I'm Home...finally. I get to eat solid food, about 2 ounces three times a day, thats plenty. 2 ounces of food is about what fit in a little nyquil medicine cup. amazing... and drink lots of water at least 64 oz... thats hard... and exercise, But its all good. I lost 18 lbs so far, still feel a little nauseous, but it goes away January 12, 2008 Day 7 Post Op Still on Oahu, I'm feeling good, have no problem being mobile. The good thing about being in Waikiki is that we can walk alot. So we've been walking a half hour in the morning and around a hour in the evening. Still only having a clear liquid diet. Miso Soup, Chicken broth. Jello & sugar free drinks. And water, lots of water. I don't eat much, just about a half of cup at a time. But it's boring. Can't wait to have solid foods added to my diet. 3-4 days more. Jan 06, 2008 Day before surgery. Started clear liquid diet, only able to eat things that I can see through. Jello, fruit juice, chicken broth, lots of water. Not too bad, not that hungry, feeling kind of anxious about tomorrow, not the surgery, but the logistics, getting there, what to take, the detail stuff. Jan 03, 2008 The Journey Begins It's finally here, I have my pre-op Dr Appointment tomorrow. Then go in for Bariatric surgery (Lapband) on Monday. They keep you overnight then release you the next day. I get to look forward to a liquid diet for ten days, during which time I have to be on Oahu. Drastic steps, I know, but sometimes drastic steps are what are required. I can look forward to getting off a lot of my medications. Fitting in my old clothes in my closet and feeling much better about myself.

Feb 19, 2009 It's been 13 months since I got my lapband. Dec & Jan were very hard months for me, too much goodies in the office, but at least I didnt gain...however, didnt lose anything either. I went back to the Dr for my one year checkup and only lost 2 lbs since Nov 11. So I got another fill, .8 ccs, so now 3.3cc in my band. Got good restriction, since last Friday, Feb 13, lost 6 lbs, which brings my total weight loss to 75 gone and 40 more to go. Weigh 160.5 now, still working at it. Nov 12, 2008 The last couple of months have been a challenge. Lost my restriction in the beginning of Sept, could eat too much food. But I kept my exercising up and when I saw the Dr last Friday, I actually lost 1.5 lbs. I got another fill (adjustment), so there is 2.5 ccs in my band now. I've got good restriction, I get full on only 2 chicken wing drummettes, wow. Have to eat slow and drink slow now but its all good, cause I lost 5 pounds since Friday. I've lost 69 and have 46 more to go. Oh yeah, and I was able to fit in a Misses Medium shirt & a size 12 pants. Sept 16, 2008 Small Victories Vegas for my Birthday, its a regular thing for us, but this one was extra special. This time, I was able to shop for clothes and find clothes that fit and look great. I had so much energy. I was able to enjoy eating, although i couldn't eat that much, but it was great. My favorite part of the vacation was being able to wrap a bath towel all the way around me, LOL, believe me, thats a big thing. I'm so glad that I did the lapband, I'm only a little over halfway to goal, but I'm feeling so great, and I couldn't have done it without the lapband. Sept 02, 2008 Finally! Hooray, my scale finally moved again. I've been stuck at the same weight for a month, no matter what I do. I've eaten less, eaten more, exercised less and exercised more. Seems my body gets stuck every so often, this has been my second plateau. My total weight lost has been 41 lbs the first three months, then 8 lbs the next 4 months, 10 lbs in July and August nothing and now 2 down for September. Total so far is 61 lbs, 59 more to go. Jul 15, 2008 I'm back on the train again. After 2-3 months of being stuck on a plateau, I'm finally losing again. Tried everything to get off the plateau, dropped calories, increased exercise, no loss, then increased calories and decreased exercise and the scale started moving again. My body finally caught up with my weight loss. I also got another fill. So total weight loss as of my Doctor's visit on 7/11/08 is 53.5 lbs - I weighed 182. Feels good to be back on the train again. May 19, 2008 Slow but steady The scale finally moved again. I lost 1 lb on 5/11/08 and 1 lb on 5/19/08. At least thats two lbs instead of none. I'm going through a slow period, whats called a plateau. Sometimes your body does it for a reason, wish it would make up its mind. I was losing quite a bit for the first 4 months, then it slowed down. So going to cut down a little more calories and exercise more. Still, one pound down is one pound down, and at least its not going up. Apr 29, 2008 Okay, I've lost 45 pounds, that is the equivalent of two 20 pound bags of rice and a 5 pound box of chicken. When you look at it in that perspective, that is quite an accomplishment. But most of all, I feel great. I have the energy to exercise six days a week, usually being lazy on Sunday. I can stay on the treadmill for 45 minutes at a pretty good speed without getting tired. One of these days, I'll even be able to run on it. Got 5 more lbs to go before I reach my 2nd Milestone Goal of losing 50 lbs. Hope it goes faster than the last 5. I have to work harder, the weight loss is slower now. But I can't complain. Apr 15, 2008 Still going down 42 lbs lost and counting. I fit in so many clothes in my closet. I can't believe I'm fitting in something that I wore last in 2001. Mar 31, 2008 Journey Update Hooray for ME! Milestone 1 accomplished. Finally, my weight starts with a 1 instead of a 2. That makes 36 lbs lost so far. I was able to wear something in my closet that I haven’t worn since 2001. Mar 02, 2008 Almost 2 Months on the Journey I had my follow up appointment on Friday. I've lost 31 lbs, 19 of it was Fat. Awesome. I also had my band adjustment. Now, the band feels tighter when I eat, am not able to overeat (more than 2 oz). If I do, it feels like its stuck and won't go down. So I have to stick to my 2 oz, before I could eat more than 2 oz and I still felt hungry. This helps me not be hungry too. Feb 12, 2008 I've found the perfect way to exercise. I have a treadmill that I've been walking on every day. Beats looking for somewhere to walk in Waimea where it's not raining or cold. Anyway, I take my laptop (wireless of course) go to one of my TV shows that I can watch online and start it up, then hook up my earphones. Start my treadmill and walk for the whole length of the TV show, about 45 minutes. Works great...I try to do it as soon as I get home so I don't get lazy. Feb 09, 2008 One month since my surgery. Lost 25 lbs so far. Time to dig out old clothes that I didn't fit. I have lots of sizes, at least I don't have to buy clothes for now. Jan 31, 2008 24 Days since my surgery. Lost 21 lbs so far. Still a long way to go.Having 2 oz of Protein & 1 oz of Vegies now. I go back to the Dr on Mar 7th to fill the band. At first they put it in unfilled. So when he fills the band (with saline) the food will move slower so I'll stay fuller longer and not be hungry. Jan 18, 2008 Day 11 Post Op I'm Home...finally. I get to eat solid food, about 2 ounces three times a day, thats plenty. 2 ounces of food is about what fit in a little nyquil medicine cup. amazing... and drink lots of water at least 64 oz... thats hard... and exercise, But its all good. I lost 18 lbs so far, still feel a little nauseous, but it goes away January 12, 2008 Day 7 Post Op Still on Oahu, I'm feeling good, have no problem being mobile. The good thing about being in Waikiki is that we can walk alot. So we've been walking a half hour in the morning and around a hour in the evening. Still only having a clear liquid diet. Miso Soup, Chicken broth. Jello & sugar free drinks. And water, lots of water. I don't eat much, just about a half of cup at a time. But it's boring. Can't wait to have solid foods added to my diet. 3-4 days more. Jan 06, 2008 Day before surgery. Started clear liquid diet, only able to eat things that I can see through. Jello, fruit juice, chicken broth, lots of water. Not too bad, not that hungry, feeling kind of anxious about tomorrow, not the surgery, but the logistics, getting there, what to take, the detail stuff. Jan 03, 2008 The Journey Begins It's finally here, I have my pre-op Dr Appointment tomorrow. Then go in for Bariatric surgery (Lapband) on Monday. They keep you overnight then release you the next day. I get to look forward to a liquid diet for ten days, during which time I have to be on Oahu. Drastic steps, I know, but sometimes drastic steps are what are required. I can look forward to getting off a lot of my medications. Fitting in my old clothes in my closet and feeling much better about myself.

I had the same problem right after my last fill in November. Never had reflux before so it was a suprise to wake up coughing. I checked with my doctor and he gave me some meds that i take daily and that has helped the problem. Some kind of proton pump inhibitor, i think its called.

My doctor makes us stay overnight and we have to stay on Oahu for ten days. I wouldn't trust my Big Island ER to treat anything with my band. Glad that you finally got your band, good luck and keep in touch. PM me if I can help in any way.

Trixie, I wish I could help, but I'm on the Big Island. I know there are several bandsters from Oahu on the Forum, you might want to send them a PM and find out where they are. Good Luck! Phyl

Aloha, Great to meet another Big Islander. I also had my surgery on Oahu and have to fly there for my followups and fills. Its a big expense, I know, but I figure that I'm worth it. Its been 11 months for me and its been a great journey. Still heading for that finish line.

Congratulations Elaine, You have accomplished so much in a year. You always inspire me my friend.

Alex, The chat room screen is larger now, but still some words can't be seen when somebody writes a long sentence. Is there someway that the screen can scroll to the right so can read the whole sentence?

Alex, I guess I've been spoiled with our other chat, with all the bells and whistles. The new one is very simple, but it works. Can't look up other's profiles, but at least you can do private talk. Thanks for getting the chat back up, I was going through chat withdrawals. Phyllis