canadiangirl

I first used it at the gym with my trainer and I LOVE IT! You can do so many excersises with it. It works your core while you are doing your excersises. Make sure that you get the ceiling mount for it. My trainer comes to my house now and I use it every session, dont go by the instructional manual though it is not very accurate. Like the other poster said look at the excersises on you tube, better yet have your brother show you after al he is a trainer Good Luck! Leslie

Hey if you guys are planning to meet for coffee in Edmonton I am in as well! Please let me know, I am in Edmonton as well!

Congrats!!!! We were banded on the same day last year. :thumbup: I have lost 89lbs so far. We seem to be going at the same pace!. Take Care

Hey don't beat yourself up over it. It probably took me 10 months to "manage" my head hunger and I was miserable and "bitchy", for that 10 months For me I HAD to go a little tighter with my band. I eat very small amounts over 20 mins. and that is what I needed. I was too tight for a while and but I only got a defill of 0.5 at the time to get some food down. Some days I am too tight but I drink something warm..slowly, and then I can eat small amounts. This has worked for me, I couldn't have done it otherwise. Some might say I am too tight but whatever! I don't feel like eating usually, I force myself to for obv reasons. I am not telling you to do this, I am just telling you that I know your frustration and where your coming from. My "bitchiness" is gone and I have way more energy and yes I am taking supplements and Protein for all the negative posters that will probably be posting. I hope it gets better for you. Since pre op until now I have lost 89lbs.

Hi Ivy, I started at 338lbs almost a year ago. I couldn't lose the weight and when I did I would gain it back and then some. I had no energy and was unmotivated to excersise. I called my clinic at the beginning of Nov. for a consult and flew to have my surgery 3 weeks later. I am now at 261lbs (i still haven't excersised, I still feel self concious and uncomfortable about doing it) but I have a lot more energy, I go out more, run up and down the stairs to get things (I don't delegate those tasks to my kids anymore) I feel that I am thinking more and more about excersise (which in itself is a huge thing for me..lol). It has taken me about 7 months to FINALLY get used to this band. It has been hard, and in the beginning I had regrets..now I am happy that I did it. Everyone is different. Some of us went out and worked out, ate well and thats awesome, but for me I'm doing it my way and it works for me! What really helps is that you find someone on this site that you can relate to for support. I have a new great friend that I met on this site, we talk to on the phone and facebook eachother for support. We slimed, threw up, ate too much/too fast, never excersised and complained about our bands and how tight they were and what was "normal" ,and made fun of some of the "know-it alls" on this site and shared laughter with eachother...but we support one another and THAT has been part my success, oh and lots and lots of Protein..LOL! Good luck with you're decision. I paid out of my pocket and I would do it again! I hated being over 300 lbs. and now that I am not, I feel great!

Hey Jorja, I am so glad to hear that you are doing so well! I have been losing slow and steady, I've lost 63lbs so far. The band has its good and bad days...still. But I am used to it now. Congrats on the new dog! Take Care, L

Krystyn, I had gurgling noises from my first fill, and I had no tightness issues, but after my third fill I had those same sounds but along with it came whatever I drank or ate. It would take me an hour to drink 1/2 a cup of Water. I had to get a defill, but only 0.5cc's. I still made noises but I could eat and drink again without pb....I would PB if I ate too much though. I would think that if you have pain and PBing after you eat your recommended quantities, chewing well and eating slowly then it might be a tightness issue. It's sooo hard to know what to do and wonder if you need a defill especially when your losing weight, but if you're PBing and have pain you're too tight. I'm not worried about the noises, and neither was my clinic a when I had something to drink after my first fill. This band is so confusing!!!!

Hi Health, I had the same problem after a fill that I had of 2 cc's, I was gurgling after I drank Fluid and I had pain after I ate certain things. I had to get a small defill of 0.5cc's and it made a huge difference. I have read that some posters have had even less then that taken out and it made a difference no more gurgling and tightness and still keeping restriction. I TOTALLY understand the mental aspect of trying to deal with "being tight" to lose weight faster. It's been hard for me too. :thumbup:

I am a gum chewer and haven't had any issues. I accidentially swallowed it once and I was fine...not to say it could have its issues. I also drink from a straw and I have had no problems with it, my Dr. said nothing about drinking through a straw only that I was supposed to stay away from carbonated beverages. None of the literature before or after my surgery says that it is harmful, but everyones rules are different. When in doubt always ask your Dr.

There are different opinions on here and I definitely don't agree with all of them. But when you have the need to start a thread about someone and call them an idiot.....you need to relax. I am all for listening to someone's opinion and disagreeing with it but I can't understand why you did it this way?

I only had my surgery in November. I have a love/hate relationship with it right now. I haven't regretted getting my band, just disappointed that I am not disciplined enough with it. Those are the issues that I am facing right now. I have read about the sleeve and my thoughts on that is, it is permanent and with this band I could have it removed if I wanted to. That is why I chose the band and in a year or two I might have to consider other options if I don't have success with this, I do think that it is mind over matter and I know why my band isn't working...its because i'm not working as hard as I should. :laugh:

MissBS, you said it better then I did. We must of been writing at the same time. Go with MissBS answer she said it waaay better!

PB stands for Productive Burp, it is a polite way to say throwing up. It is generally caused by eating too fast, eating too much, not chewing enough, "your band" doesn't like what your're eating, or you are "too tight". I hope this helps :thumbup::laugh:

I have problems eating in the morning due to "tightness" as well. One of my employees is a health food nut and has me hooked on this blended drink which helps me get something down in the A.M.: 1 frozen banana ( I freeze my old bananas in a ziploc bag for this) a fresh banana makes a world of difference Approx. 5-6 unsweetented frozen strawberries 1/8 cup unsweetened cranberries 1/8 cup unsweetented frozen blueberries 2-3 tablespoons "balkan style" greek plain yogurt (this yogurt makes the drink fabulous) add unsweetened apple juice (or your favorite juice) to cover berries in blender and mix well. You might want to add more juice to make you're smoothie "runny" so that it goes down easier. If you want to add plain Protein powder to this you can (I have never tried it with it, I hate Protein drinks, however plain may be great in it?? If you try it with protein, please let me know how it tastes. I sip this from a "to-go" cup all morning and it fills me up. I hope you like it!

I am from Edmonton and called Slimband in TO. on Nov.3rd for a consult and flew to TO. on Nov. 20th for my surgery.

Unfortunately I think that you are too tight. I have been there and it isn't fun. It is supposed to take you 1/2 hour to finish your meal. I had to get an unfill after I could only drink fluids...slowly. I also started to become tighter not looser and would get sick from drinking my water. I held out like this for almost two weeks and then I had 0.5ml removed from my 2ml fill and 8weeks later (since I was able to eat more and my weightloss stalled ) I got 0.5ml put back in and now I seem to be good...for now. These fills are finicky, I know it seem like a waste of money when you get these defills and fills 0.5ml at a time, but for some of us more isn't always better. You will feel soooo much better if you had a defill...trust me. I am not a religious person but you would have thought I heard angels singing after my defill and I could drink my water without throwing up.:tongue: It was wonderfull!!! Oh and as for the sliming I was told that it was your bodies way of trying to push the "stuck" food up or down kinda like a natural lubricant I guess.:rolleyes2:

I have been having fill issues as well. I had a defill 2 months ago of 0.5ml because I could hardly drink my Water. Now i just had the 0.5 put back in yesterday and it didn't do anything as of yet. Remember that your body takes to fills differently then other bandsters on this site and don't compare yourself to them (it can be really discouraging) I am taking it slow now, i'm not going to rush it anymore, take care of your body and don't push your band it could backfire on you. I would love to lose my weight in a year but I have come to the conclusion that I will be a slow loser for now while my body and mind figure this band out. I am now just trying to find my "sweet spot" and hopefully get to a place where I lose a lb a week. Good Luck :smile:

Dry heaving a couple of times after your surgery should be fine. You have made the clinic aware of that and they don't seem to be too concerned. Don't let the some of these posts scare you, I'm sure you will do fine. A lot of people have those same symptoms after surgery because of the anesthetic. If you read these posts on how many people are dry heaving or vomiting after their surgery or from a fill then I would think that we would hear more "slippage" stories then we do. I know that for me, I seem to be on this site more when I need help then when everything is going o.k. Good Luck!:yikes:

Hii I was just wondering how your fill went?

Hanbe and Donna, You both seem to be having great successes!! I was just banded on the 20th of Nov. and I just wanted to know what your restriction is like. I have a total of 5.5 cc's in my band. I had a defill yesterday of .5 cc's and now I can finaly drink again. I just wanted to know the amount of food that you can eat comfortably, and drink as well. I would like to know how to get to this "sweet spot" that everyone talks about.

Hey Hanbe, I wanted to say congrats on your weightloss! What a huge accomplishment. It looks like you didn't cheat at all, maybe theres something to your Diet Coke with ice recipe.:thumbup: I hope that my success will be as great as yours. :sneaky:

I was told that drinking anything was a no-no as well. I also read a post somewhere that had a youtube link which showed a video of a woman getting her fill and telling the Dr. that she had a carbonated drink, the Dr. advised her not to and said that it would stretch her pouch. I loved diet drinks, since my surgery I haven't had one, but i'm sure when summer comes along and someone offers me a glass of ice-cold diet coke when its +30 out, my willpower will be tested. (that goes for a beer as well)....I just made myself really thirsty!!

Hi Unsure, I haven't talked to you in a long time, I hope all is well with you! :laugh: I am getting my fills in Edmonton, the Dr. was just recently trained by my clinic that I had the surgery at. I think that he only does fills for them. I am getting a defill today and I will try to get some info for you. I will PM you later. Take Care

Hi Doddie, Thank you so much for the help.You gave me the answers that I needed. I just called Nancy at TLBC and she suggested a 0.5cc removal just as you said. I hope that helps me. I hope Torontonians realize how easy they have it with the clinic right there. I would be attending every bootcamp and seminar out there. Your advice was bang on! Thanks again. You need to start a "Dear Doddie" post. LOL!!! You truly are a wonderful asset to this site!

Hi Mimi, I had the same question myself when I was researching lapband, the clinic TLBC changed their name to Slimband. (they might be considering a new name change again due to these posts though) LOL!!!!