joiful

I have had 8 fills and still almost no restriction! So fustrating. I am looking at how much weight you all have lost and I am jealous. I need a 9th fill and emailed the Doctor today to see what they could do for me. My insurance has dropped me and I would be self paid. At $250 and I have so many other medical bills that I am paying on that I don't want to pay the $250. I think after all this they should give it to me.

thank you for giving me some help. My insurance dropped me so if I get another fill it will be $250. I have lots of other medical bills so I am unable to do this. I am going to email them and ask if they can help on this because I have had 8 fills and I feel that is a ridiculous amount to have. I do have head hunger that is correct. I am aware of it and Friday night I started to eat a piece of cheesecake and another dessert. I stopped and threw it away. I am able to control it to a point but this week end it was difficult and the band was not giving me the fullness after eating. If this is bandester hell I think five months is long enough to try to get this right! I haven't gained any weight I have lost 24 lbs. and now I have been excersing on an eliptical sometimes up to an hour. I just want this thing to work since I have paid a lot of money for it!

I don't feel full though and that is the whole point of the band, right?

I have had 8 fills yes 8 fills and my band is still not working. I had all the fill removed and they put in thicker stuff for the fill. The do this all under xray. The only difference with number 8 is sometimes food gets stuck. Once I get past that I can eat a good amount of food. And yes I know what you mean by they don't believe you. I have brought my husband in just so there is some one that offers some proof. I got my band on July 4th and I have lost 23 lbs and that is totally on my own. I was never ever this heavy in my life at 44 so I think that weight was easier to lose even though it was difficult. I bought an elipitcal glide that I use and some times I am on it an hour. Tonight I want sweets already had some and I am forcing myself not to eat them cause I certainly have had plenty with the Thanksgiving weekend. Find a doctor who will help you and don't stop. I do like where I go but it is requiring tons of patience!

I got my 5th fill today. Went to Olive Garden with some out of town family and didn't fill the restriciton. Good thinking on how much you chew and I have not chewed to the point of apple sauce. I never really had big bites of food and then not chewed it throughly so I am lucky there. When I drink it feels that that gets stuck but the food does not fill me up. I am now at 9.8cc's in a 9cc band. I don't know what to do. I got bitched at for not eating all the correct foods. I then reminded him that I paid for a tool and that tool is not helping me. I sure wouldn't have paid for something that doesn't work and expect myself not to have the eating disorder that I have had for 30 years. Seems ridicilous! They need to find the problem get it fixed cause I think 4 months is showing enough patience. I lost 3 lbs in the last 3 weeks but it was a different scale so I am not so sure. I hope soon I can get the help I so want!

Orea I haven't been on here for awhile mostly fustrated. I am going for my 5th fill today! It was suppose to be last week but I have spine surgery on my neck. I haven't lost any since the 2 weeks after my band. I am right there with you. I am picking up all the bad habits that I had before cause my band is still not working. I got the band to help me and for 4 months, banded July 4th, I have not had any restriction! These last 4 months have been just a waste. I am too so addicted to sugar. Last several days that is what I have chosen instead of normal or even healthy food. This sucks! I do email a girl that I talk back and forth to and she had a fill when she got her lap band. They are much more aggressive than where I go to and she has lost 44 lbs. Almost wish I din't spend the money on this!

I had my band in Mexico and I am almost completely full on my band. Tomorrow they are going to see if they can put extra in the band this will make my 5th fill. I am truely disappointed by this experience, it has been 4 MONTHS! You really have to be careful where you go!

I know what Tom is going through. I have had 4 fills and had my band placed in Mexico on July 4th. After that long you don't always make the best choices in food. If we didn't have a problem with food we would not have had the surgery. I am not back to my old habits but having a band and nothing to help you is a very sad feeling. I have 9cc's in a 9cc band. I thought Realize bands had 10cc's but they say it is 9cc's. My doctor also can't believe me that I don't have restriction. Don't judge the people that don't have what you have and that is restriction. It has been almost 4 months since I stated this journey and that is long enough waiting for some relief and some movement on the scale.

I have not posted since Sept. 11 just been so fustrated. I have only lost about 18 pounds since the end of June. I have not binged since then. I used to eat a large chocolate sundaee and also ice cream during the day. I have not done that since but I have had 4 sundaees since the end of June. I have had 3 fills with no restriction. I do not eat until I am full and I am much more choosey about what I eat. I used to eat a large breakfast from McD's now I usually eat a biscuit from Hardees. Lunch a peanut butter sandwhich and some fruit. Dinner I have been eating chicken noodle or tomato and then I have a couple of icecream bars that have 80 calories each. I do have some chips at lunch but not a lot. I am not excersing but I hear that is only 20% of what you need to do. I have to have surgery on my neck so I can't do much as far as physical activity. I feel this was a huge waste of money and also my time. Has any one else done this? I weigh 190 lbs and I am 5'6". I hope some one can help!

You sound like you are a spokeperson from there. My experience was completely different. I don't see how torn comforter that was used a a blanket and coverlet over pillow also had holes in it. I had complications and I was sent home. Nurses didn't speak English not even the Band-Aid, jello. I was given medication with out being asked if I was allergic to any of them I was and the nurses didn't even understand what we were saying. Luckily I wasn't given any at that time. We were sent home with Mexican medication with no instructions. We threw them away, the boxes were printed in Spanish. There was so many problems like the hospital they showed on their website was not even in site, they used some other building where people could come sit on a couch and take naps for a cool place to stay. I would never ever tell any one to go there!

I got some advice from my doctor's office to try Gas X. I used that and a stool softner like Senekot. My left side pain soon went away. Every once in awhile I get it but it is so much better. good luck every one I hope you try what I suggest and maybe it will work for you.

I am going to my second fill today, at least I hope. It is a week early by their standards. They make you weight a month between fills. I finally got active over the long week end. Felt good to work in the yard and the next day clean my house. This is the first time that I have worked in my yard all season. Usually I work in it several times a week during the season until it gets too hot. I didn't have the stamina before and being heavy made it difficult to move around. So I am in a good mood today! Any one else with postive things happening tthat you have noticed that you weren't able to do before the band but now you can? Would you share?

I posted on the thread about me having a fill. Now it is 2 weeks later and still no restriction even talked about the self pay. I had to pay $250 and did not get any benefit yet. I can eat anything and have no problems. I even told the doc's office 2 weeks ago that I was starting bad habits again and still I got a small fill and they will not do another one for another 2 weeks. I think if you don't have any restrition for the first couple of weeks they should do another one earlier. I have heard some times you will have restriction later but at 2 weeks I think that is not going to happen. So I am just going along doing old habbits and knowing no difference. I do know that the difference will be coming and can't WAIT! I still have not eaten any sweets in 8 weeks so that is a huge plus! Just wish that I would lose weight from not having those calories!

I have been with my husband for 15 years and never has he heard me pass gas. Now that i have had my surgery on July 4th that is all I am doing. I even talk to him about it! We went for a walk and he had to walk in front of me! I tried Beano once that didn't work what can I do? This is just so ridiculous! Help please!!!!!

Please let us know what he says. thank you!

azoreangal-you and I sound exactly the same! I have the left side pain also. I did have a fill but I still have no restriciton. It is like I never had the surgery except that I have lots of gas! I stopped losing weight after 3 weeks and I was banded on July 4th. I am sitting here and my stomach is growling big time. I had a biscuit this morning with egg, 1/2 slice of bacon and cheese from Hardees. It is like why have I gone through all this if this is not even starting to help me going on my 7th week! Fustrating but we will get there! We will, we will! My doctor told me to eat a cup now after a fill but I can eat a lot more. So until I have a fill I can not eat just a cup of food and not be hungry! So we will be patient!

You may not have any restriction after a fill either. I still can eat anything and it goes down nicely. It will take time for this to happen. I think of it this way. Having you stomach stapled- you get quicker weight loss but a lot of people gain their weight back. With the band the process may take longer but it is rare that we gain it back because we have a tool that does not allow the stomach to be stretched back. If we are having portion control problems we can go get a fill. We just have to weight. I know it seems long and we all want the relief right away. We just have to wait for the bliss to begin and then we are on our way to losing weight and self control.

I was too a big eater in the evenings. What has really saved me is watching movies that i have rented. The reason why there is no food commercials! I remember when I was watching regular TV at the beginning I craved a Big Mac. I hadn't had that in years. Then some one brought it up that there were lots of commercials that were McD's and lots with the Big Mac. So now if I want to watch TV shows I usually record them and fast forward through the commercials. This has saved me big time! I hope this idea helps some people! After my fill I have no restriction. With self pay at $250 a whop that is going to be lots of money until I get enough. I can't even tell! I just paid $175 for Post OP. I just hope I have the money to keep up with this, but I look at it I am saving on the grocery bill and also not eating out so much! So that pays my monthly payment of having the lap band put in.

Had my first fil today it was fantastic. No pain. This is the way they did it. You lay on a table and an x-ray machine goes over you and they can see the port. He cleaned the area and then sprayed something really cool on the area to number it. It put in 3.5cc and I didn't feel a thing. It was over and it was so easy!!! I lost a pound since the last time I was there. They said that was good because most people gain before a fill. So I was relieved. I am very hungry right now, you have to have see through clear liquids the rest of the day. Now they tell me to eat only a cup of food at a time from now on. So I got clear directions on that. I also found out that I have the Realize Band so I am in such a good mood casue of that! Happy Happy Joy Joy!!

I get my first fill tomorrow. Trying to find a doctor to get a fill is impossible started calling 2 weeks ago. Can't wait, have started eating horrible foods but I still have not had my weakness of sweets for almost 7 weeks. I know the fill is going to help me I just hope that i have some restriction! Good luck every one. Sounds like you all are doing well! Orea, love you picture!!

There are so many banders with left side pain. I googled it and was floored there has to be something more to this and we are not being told. Do you think? Why wouldn't there be an awser? I was told by one office to go to the emergency room and have exploratory surgery. What is up with that? Where are bands usually located. Aren't they where the large port is? I have not idea where mine is if it is not there. I go for a fill tomorrow I will discuss the left side pain and let every one know.

Oh my gosh!! I can't believe that some have to eat only a cup or less in food! I was never told this. Any one else? Did you get told that are to make sure you were not over eating? Help Please! Josh, way to go! You are young, you will probably lose it faster than some other people who are older. Glad to hear from you!

As I was told the stomach churns to help digest food, if you eat food before the band is scarred over that is when you have slippage from the cause food not later. That is just what I have been told by my doctor. The stomach actually goes inside of itself. The band doesn't slip down any where. This is what i was told also. I wished I knew about that site earlier the more you know the more success you will have.

There has to be more to this than an "gas pocket" if you are just now getting the pain. Let do some research on the internet and see if we can find something out and then post it.

I was on liquids for a weeks. Then went to mushies for a week and then went I started 3 and 4th week has soft foods. When I started my fourth week (so 3 weeks since I was banded) I got to eat anything. Gosh, can't believe how different every doctor is. I was so confused on this stage cause of it. But I followed the booklet they gave me. I wasn't hungry for the first 2 1/2 weeks and then it changed. I think my stomach was not swollen around my pouch any more and then I got my regular appetite back. so I am waiting for the fill. When I was eating hummus I noticed that it has only 1 gram of protein for 2 tablespoons. Not very much so I am not eating any longer, just thought I would share that. Orea you are a weight losing maniac!! Go girl!!!