krissyjean

Hi Laurie,

Thank you so much for the insight. I am actually very aware of what I eat and don't fall into the mushy trap much at all. I have Protein shakes and a lot of sugar free popsicles. I can't eat much at one sitting which is fine, and I have to be SO CAREFUL because I never know what is going to get stuck. I am just taking it slow and small is all. That seems to help a lot. I do most everything by the rules...start with the Protein, veggies next then carbs if there is room. Dense does not always happen though. For instance tonight I am making Halibut because I know it won't get stuck. I do fine with very tender chicken, good cuts of beef that arecooked medium rare, lamo that is falling off the bone, that kind of stuff. But if at the end of the day I just can't bare to get stuck for the 10th time in a day I stick with fish. Much safer.

I also do count calories...in fact I use "Calorie King". It is an awesome program and I highly recommend it. I keep track of it all. So, I am clearly frustrated. The good news though is that I was yet another pound lighter this morning. Next big goal for me is 179 since I weighed in at 186 this morning.

Truth be told, I know what is missing...the big "E"...I need to get my bod moving. But even without the routine exercise, I still should not be this flat. We shall see.

Thanks again for the response. I truly do appreciate it.

Bye for now.

Kristin

I actually called Fill Centers USA and the only reason I hesitated was because of the fact that it is not under flouro. But I am not so sure the flouro matters if they know I have a Realize band. The other frustration is that I always ask them how much is in total and they never tell me. I guess I am no longer "feeling the love". I loved the actual surgeon, Dr. Horgan. He is wonderful. BUT, after your initial post op appointment with him like a week after surgery, you never see him again. So, I think I am going to just deal with the tightness and then the next time, I will take you up on your suggestion. Their pricing is a lot better too. The initial is expensive $345 or something like that, but that is a consultation with the doctor. He is not a surgeon, but ALL he does is fills, so that is likely why he are able to nail it. Then after the first fill it is $165. Is that what you pay?

Thanks again for the suggestion. Would love to hear fro any other folks that have used them.

Kristin

Personally, I like a tampon with a panty shield just in case there is any bleed through. TMI I know, but hey, I'll play!

I was told liquids for the first 24 hours...

Thanks SugarBean...I am discouraged and that really did help :rolleyes2:

Hello All,

I was banded June 25th and have stayed at the same weight (191) for four months. I have gone in 7 times for fills, unfills, you name it. They just cannot seem to find my sweet spot. I finally have started to see the scale move now and am 4 pounds lighter than the day of sugery (187)since I lost 15 pounds pre-op. I am frustrated to say the least. I am very tight now - probably too tight. I get stuck on a lot of things, and if I try and force it down I "PB". I just have to be very careful with what I eat and chew, chew, chew. I should really have a tad taken out, but since they now want to charge me $250 to unfill and try again since I am past my 90 days, I am going to deal with it. I have a Realize Band (doubt that has anything to do with it though). I am just really bummed as I thought I would be a lot farther along by now.

Anyone else have the same experience? One of my good friends had surgery a couple of years ago and she did say that her first four months were a bust too.

Would love to know if this initial stall is normal for some people.:rolleyes2:

The day of surgery I was 191. I weighed in today at 187, and I was banded over FOUR MONTHS AGO! A pound a month?? Needless to say I am frustrated. I have had 7 fills/unfills and they have not found my sweet spot. This last time I just said make it tight! I am now too tight, but they want $250 for a slight unfill and I just don't feel I should have to pay for it - flouro or no flouro - when the right place has not been identified yet. So, I am sticking it out, tight, stuck, PBing and all. I am just sick of this poking and prodding...did I mention I am at a "learning" hospital too? Yep, well, I got the intern...sweet young man, but poked me 20 some odd times and made me bleed and cry (and I am one tough cookie) until the surgeon came in and got it on the first try.

I have a girlfriend who says that I am right at the phase when she started to really lose. I am not cheating, I am not over eating. PLEASE, someone tell me they went through this and that the weight will come off? I need some encouragement. :rolleyes2:

Thanks for listening to my whining!!

Kristin

I was banded June 25th and have stayed at the same weight (191) for four months. I have gone in 7 times for fills, unfills, you name it. They just cannot seem to find my sweet spot. I finally have started to see the scale move now and am 4 pounds lighter than the day of sugery (187)since I lost 15 pounds pre-op. I am frustrated to say the least. I am very tight now - probably too tight. I get stuck on a lot of things, but since they now want to charge me $250 to unfill and try again since I am past my 90 days, I am going to deal with it. I have no idea if this has to do with the Realize Band (doubt it) or something else. I am just really bummed as I thought I would be a lot farther along by now.

Anyone else have the same experience? Would love to know if this initial stall is normal for some people.:rolleyes2:

NEED A San Diego REFERRAL...

Hi there. I was banded through UCSD but am looking for another surgeon for post op care, i.e. fills, questions, etc. Does anyone have any referrals? I am in North County San Diego so could go into San Diego or Temecula area...anywhere within say a 60 mile radius. Would really love some referrals!

Kristin

This is the way I look at it... each child, depending on their nature is responds to different types of dicipline. My daughter is well acquainted (at least 3xs a month) with "Mr. Spanky". He works wonders. My step daughter on the other hand when she was younger you would only need to slightly raise your voice to and she would well up with tears and that was the end of it. It is definitely a case by case situation.

I had my first fill yesterday. I think he did 4ccs but I am not sure. It went super smoothly and I was done in 1 minute total for the stick and fill part. The restriction feels right, but only time will tell. We shall see!!

I am a belching, burping monster that can keep up with the big boys on this! I gross my husband out about every 30 minutes because when I can let them fly it is a lot better than stifling them!

In fact I just did a good one in honor of this post!! LOL :biggrin:

Yes, I burp a LOT more since being banded, and not just one or two, it's like a symphony.

Wow you guys really helped me to know that I am not alone through this. I am feeling about 3% better since I posted this thread. Not alot but like you all said it will get better. Well I believe ya! I put an ice pack on my tummy and moved it around a lil ...this afternoon feels like itmay have helped a pinch. Yes my diet orders does say that In the first week home I can have creamed Soup as long as it is strained. Part of the full liquid diet. Even though I am not hungry yet I think I still will have some for the Protein and add a lil Protein powder to it. I added protein powder to the broth yesterday......ick! LOL.....Ill try it with the cream soup later. Thank you everyone...You are all helping me to feel a lil better!

Hi there and bless your heart! I was banded 6/25 and still have a little port pain depending on how I turn. My recovery was a little slower than others. I hurt badly initially for about the first 10 days and needed help up, down and all around for the first 4 days. It does get better though! I know it looks bleak at the moment, but it will be worth it! My surgeon had me on Clear liquids and I think I pretty much lived on popsicles and cinnamon gas-x strips for a week.

Let us know how you do!!

Kristin

I just had my first fill yesterday and am a little apprehensive to get the eating underway. Do you all have some suggestions as to how to ease into this and recommendations as to how to get started eating normally as well as amounts? Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Thanks! :biggrin:

I had my first one yesterday. I just undid my pants and my surgeon put some cold stuff on me that I think temporarily numbs the port area. He then stuck the needle in which was just a little pinch, and he got it on his first try. I have read that it can take quite a few times as well, so when I asked him how he did that, his answer was, in his very thick Argentinian accent..."because I am Dr. Santiago Horgan". He is hilarious...and good with a needle and knife, thank God! :biggrin: It is seriously easy. Mine took all of 1 minute from start to finish.

Mine is still there and is a slight buldge. I had my first fill yesterday and my surgeon said it looked perfect. I think it will go down, but not necessarily all the way.

I think it just is what it is and your husband will be okay the more you shed the weight. Mine notices it but I know he would rather have me skinny with a slight bump on my side then 70 lbs heavier than I need to be.

Bye for now and keep your chin up!!

Respecting the office doesn't mean whitewashing what goes on there.

We have brains and we have history and when we use our brains to judge Bush against history, he doesn't stack up. I don't have to have been President to know if a particular president is worse than another one just like I don't have to be able to play baseball to be able to umpire it.

Hmmm, I will overlook any implications there and play nice.

Again, unless you spend the majority of your time on Capitol Hill or working for the alphabet Soup with top secret clearance and have all the facts and have seen all the intelligence, I for one will not judge to this degree. It is so easy to sit back in our easy chairs and point fingers. Whether it was Reagan, Clinton or W, they all age about 20 years in their second term and I would not want to be them for all the money in the world. What an awful job. No thanks!

We can "agree to disagree".

You are obviously conservative and probably Republicans. Of course you want to defend your president. It is completely understandable.

But you must understand that many of us (I'd guess at least 50% of Americans) totally disagree that 9/11 actually had anything at all to do with our shock and awe invasion of Iraq. And each and every rationale that you list only add fire to the fire in our bellies about this administration's lack of honesty, their disregard for the Constitution, the environment, our military personnel, and their unbelievable greed.

To our way of thinking, the atrocities that this administration has committed are far, far more embarrassing and worse than the former president's sexual indiscretions. And thousands have died because of this president. Thousands!

This administration did all they could to cloak the war in Iraq with the robe of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They kept us living in utter terror with their constantly changing levels of threat and constant reminders of how vulnerable the United States is. They used it until it finally became embarrassing to the White House.

His latest fiasco was his big pronouncement that he endorses off-shore drilling for oil. And to underscore that statement of brilliance, the oil prices dropped that day. And you still think that this president isn't a pawn in this game? A game that you and me and most middle class Americans are paying for.

It is beyond me how you and I can be living in the same country and have such polar opposite beliefs about what has happened to this country over the past 7.5 years. But we do, and those differences and our ability to voice our thoughts and beliefs is what makes this country stronger than most other countries.

I do hope that you will agree (even if we think George W. Bush is absolutely the worst president at least in recent history) that we need to elect a new president who will actually be an good example to Americans and the rest of the world and who will be strong enough and intelligent enough to lead us out of this disasterous mess that we are in.

Actually I am an independent, but I suppose I am a little old fashioned in that I believe in respecting the office. Perhaps it is all pie in the sky. I am an optimist by nature. I will not however agree with GWB being the worst president ever in office nor anyone for that matter.

The funny thing in all of this is that I am actually no longer a Bush supporter at all. However, until we all have full intelligence (which is classified, top secret, yada yada) in order to make informed, full facts decisions, my personal opinion is that it is simply unfair to speak to such a degree of what we only know surface details of. But hey, you are right. It is the USA and God bless America for the fact that we can even have these conversations and politely disagree with each other.

That said, I will say it again. If we want to change things we do need to all get out and vote. I for one have my candidate selected. Yes, it's John McCain, shocker I know ...because anyone else would be an "Obamanation". Sorry - could not resist!! LOL!

And for the record in closing, I changed to an Independent in order to be able to vote for the IL Senator, but too many things have happened and come to light that have deterred me from supporting Senator Obama but also other things that have persuaded me to support Senator McCain. I have also had to eat my words because about a year ago I said I would never vote for John McCain and now I will happily vote for him and not because I have no choice. But rather, because I believe he is the best man for the job. He is a POW, has two kids serving in this war (which we almost never hear about), adopted a child with a cleft pallet through he and his wife's affiliation and support of Doctors without Borders, etc. To me, he is a war hero that is sticking with the facts and not using his good deeds as brownie points in this election...which has just got to be KILLING his campaign managers!

Anyway, sorry this is so long. I get too verbose. I guess this is a rant?

Have a great night!

Disappointment……… just want to complain about my day I had.

I had my surgery on June 12, 2008. Two weeks later was my follow up visit. At my follow up they set up for my first fill for today 7/29/08. However when I got to the appointment today ten minutes after my appointment time I found out that my doctor was out of town and no fill would happen.

I was so frustrated because last time I was there they talked about how its first come first serve and get there early. I was there over an hour early. I had paid for visit and sat in the waiting room and only found out after I went asked. I was told they called everyone and canceled. I don’t have any call on my home or cell phones from them. Another girl and I sat there for no reason. I had taken the day off and drove for almost 2 hours to get there (because of all the traffic.) and then an hour and half back home all for nothing.

When I was there the nurse said I could come back on August 12<SUP>th</SUP> see another doctor or I would have to wait until the end of August to see my doctor. I just told her to make the appointment for the 12. Now I’m thinking I should call her and wait to see my doctor. Back when I had my follow up from my surgery it was stressed how the first few times you need to see your doctor do the fill. Then you could schedule with other doctors in the office. So now I think I should see my doctor. Then on the other had I also feel like I should just go on the 12 and get my first fill…………

Thanks anyone who just read. I know there’s nothing I can really do but suck it up and move on

You know, with gas being 10 gazillion dollars a gallon I would without question ask who his office manager is and explain the time that you took off to do this and were never called. I personally would be asking for them to get you filled and now. Waiting yet another two weeks is craziness in my opinion. I would also very nicely try and get some sort of a monetary credit if you are a cash pay. Just MHO.

Oh that sounds good. How do they taste?

They are my staple meal. I have two daily and use the low carb version. You can get them on Amazon for a discounted price too.

Ok Everyone,

I hate to interupt your Bush bashing party, but I just had to reply to this one! Has anyone in this forum ever been the President of The United States of America? I don't believe so, and I highly doubt any one of us will ever be the President. The Presidency is the most difficult job in the entire WORLD! I can fully understand why some people are not happy with the war in Iraq, but I want to point out that we have a volunteer military and everyone knows when they join what they are getting themselves into. I, for one, have a nephew in Iraq who is happy to be there protecting us from having a major war on our own land. He also tells me that every soldier he knows there feels the same way!

Has everyone forgotten about 9/11 and how heartbreaking it was for this nation? I, for one, will never forget those images we all saw on TV with people jumping out of windows and the twin towers falling. It was horrible! It is a proven fact Hussein was providing financial support and other resources to countries training those terrorists, plus some were trained in Iraq!

So there were no weapons of mass destruction when we got there, they had several months to remove them prior to our arrival, because they knew we were coming, just not the exact date. Plus the fact is that they could be buried; Iraq is not a tiny country. They also fit into very small containers because they are so potent. Most believe they are in Syria now; another scary thought. Another fact is our leaders used the same intelligence the rest of the world also believed was true before we went to war. The UN would do nothing, even though Hussein had been denying inspectors into the country for years.

So, bottom line, he is doing what he feels in his heart is right to protect this country. Bottom line, no one here knows the intelligence he hears everyday. Bottom line, our soldiers don't share the opinions expressed in this thread so far.

As for the Dixie Chicks, their opinions and comments have cost them their careers! They had to cancel most of their tour in America because no one wants to go see them, a fact I hate because I like their music. Plus, Natalie Maines is from my home town.

Just some more food for thought here as well. Bill Clinton embarassed this country to the highest degree with his sexual escapade with Monica. What a great role model for the children of our nation!

I could not have said this better myself. Until we walk just a day in his shoes, we should not judge to this degree. Do I think he comes across as arrogant...somewhat, yes. Do I think he believes what he is doing is the right thing when he does it? Yes, I do, whether he is in fact right or wrong. Do I think he was the EXACT right man for the job when 9/11 did hit? ABSOLUTELY! He was there and in the thick of it.

I agree with what several others have said. We are so desensitized in this country we DO forget about September 11th and the crushing blow it was to all of us. If it weren't for the fact that it would be too difficult for the families that lost loved ones, I personally think the media should run footage on a daily basis of 9/11 to remind us all why we are there in the first place and the magnitude to which these terrorists want us dead. It is certainly not over yet, although I pray for God's mercy every day.

It is very easy to point fingers and place blame. But every time you point a finger you have three pointing right back at you. It is up to us, so all I can say is however you choose in November, please choose wisely and please vote. Remember, we as a nation collectively put these people in office so the blame game is really on us.

I've done that before and it worked.

OK so ... I am getting my first fill tomorrow and now that I am over 4 weeks out I have been good but know that I have very little restriction. That will all change in 18 hours from now. Regarding the meat tenderizer and Water, what is the after math of that? Do you vomit or does the food just pass?

I am still down about how high my port sticks out - has gone down some but it is noticeable through my shirts - looks like I have an egg under the left side of my shirt - anyone else? Thanks.

Hi,

I was banded 6/25 and I have it as well. I don't know that it entirely goes away, but my doctor seems to think it will.

Kristin

I never was mad at you hun or did I mean to sound like I was judging, I was just trying to figure out in my mind why you would have surgery. And now I know why. I never wanted to cause so much grief, I just wanted to know why the lower BMI's felt the need to have surgery. Sorry.

Thanks. That means a lot

what retaliation thread.

Not yours...Jacqui's. I didn't see it. Listen, truce. I really am sorry it got this heated. Please forgive me.