catfish87

Congrats Di! Wonderful post and a true inspiration to many. Best wishes on your continued success.

40 pounds since April is not a slow loss..... I say Congrats! and hope that pace continues! My question is where did you get a 4cc band nowadays?

The chatrooms "exist" now....but I rarely see anyone in there.....right now it says there is ONE person in the "main lobby". I'm not sure you can use them via mobile devices/app, but they're on the bottom of my PC now....along with links to facebook/twitter, etc. I miss the days when there were LOTs of people who'd be in there.....

From your surgeons profile here: "Dr. Dexter Turnquest is a bariatric and weight loss surgeon located in Houston, TX and affiliated with Houston Northwest Medical Center Hosp./ Memorial Hermann- The Woodlands. Dr. Turnquest has 4 years of experience performing weight loss surgery. Currently 67 of our members have Dr. Turnquest listed as their Bariatric Surgeon" 4 years experience performing weight loss surgery? I've been banded longer than that....hasn't been a waste of my time. Quite the opposite. Best wishes on finding another surgeon, if you decide on the band.

Congrats on your super success. "Enjoy"! You've earned it!

The dietician "can't see" your band under fluoro? And your dietician suggested you convert to something else? Are you having any adverse symptoms or problems?

I can't tell you what you should do, but here's what I did....take it for what its worth. I was tired of my constant battle with my weight....continually getting bigger....year after year. Sure I had dieted in the past and lost weight, actually a lot at times. Then the diet was over and I'd eat myself right back to where I was and then some...several times over and over. ( Thats the history my insurance and doctor's wanted to see....FAILURE at attempts at "regular" dieting. ) My PCP actually suggested I look at WLS, the lapband specifically. He recommended a surgeon, and I scheduled an appointment to attend a seminar. They went over the benefits, risks, rules to be successful, insurance stuff, etc, etc. It was a group thing at a local conference room. After that, I read, and read, and watched videos, and talked to a couple of people who had the procedure. I came to the conculsion that if I ever wanted to live a normal/healthy life, something had to change. WLS was for me! So I went in to visit with the office staff and surgeon at his office and they went over all the requirements that MY insurace would need. Past history, cormorbidities, etc....all the requirements. MY insurance required a 6 month medically supervised "diet". This was provided through my PCP, via meeting with a nutritionist. I could not miss ANY appointments or the clock would reset to day one. Every month, I'd go to weigh in, talk about what I was eating, exercise plan, etc. All documented and sent off to my insurance after the conclusion of the 6 months ( I think I lost like 10 pounds during this time ) I got denied first time because of some paperwork missing ( and that isn't unusual ). It's just another bump in the road. Resubmitted and I was APPROVED! Then I met with the surgeon again, we discussed everything again...from the type of band he thought best for me, to pre-op rules/diet, post op instructions, and follow up protocol. He said I would be hearing from his office about a surgery date in the very near future. They called about a week later with a surgery date and told me when I had to start my one week CLEAR liquid diet, and scheduled all my pre-op testing. Did all the pre-op testing in one day at the hospital. Did the psyc exam and my surgery was set. My surgery recovery was pretty easy compared to what I was expecting....almost no pain. Sure there was a little discomfort, but not bad at all! I strictly followed my surgeons postop diet...EXACTLY as I was told. One week Clear liquids, One week full liquids, one week mushies, then progress to solids as tolerable. I'm 5 years postop now, and I haven't had any band caused problems. I've lost about 130 pounds and consider myself very active and healthy now. All I wanted from this surgery was to be normal and healthy. My PCP and surgeon tell me I'm a great success. Not bragging....just letting you know, YOU CAN SUCCEED too. Best wishes on your decision. Never, ever give up!

26 miles on the bike yesterday, 5k run today....Happy hump day all!

I've had my band for 5 years. I'm 44 y/o. I haven't had any band caused problems. I started at 324 and have lost about 130 pounds. I bike and run now. I feel "normal". Life is good!

Hoping you find that this fill, USING FLUOROSCOPY, will be the one that provides you with satisfaction. There could be many reasons the Fluid numbers don't add up...possibly there wasn't ever as much in there as they thought to begin with, maybe she didn't get it all removed during this latest fill, maybe one or some of the other adjustments missed the port, etc, etc. One thing is for sure, they SEEN your band wasn't correctly adjusted, instead of just guessing this time. I wish everybody had that option...... Best wishes!

Congrats! Not only on your weightloss success, but also on your acceptance that WE may never reach "that" number on a scale. And just look at all those NSV's!!!!! Kuddo's to you for enjoying your healthy life.

For me, it was getting my band PROPERLY ADJUSTED. And that only happened after my surgeon started using fluoroscopy. I have had my band for almost 5 years now, and like many others, I could diet for some period of time....actually did quite well at dieting for the first few months post banding. Lost 90 pounds during the first 6 months or so.. I followed all the rules, lost lots of weight, life seemed good.... Then like so many times in the past, my willpower started dwindling...eating more than I should, getting frustrated, then actually was ready to give up and say it wasn't gonna work for me. I couldn't even tell I had had surgery!! Nothing was different than before....FRUSTRATED! Almost.....almost, ready to give up. Even stopped going to my surgeon for over a year I was so frustrated....felt like a failure. I had surgery and thought even IT wasn't gonna help. But I did go back..... My surgeon started using fluoroscopy for all band adjustments, he immediately understood why it wasn't working, corrected it, and NOW.....I couldn't be happier with my band. It does EXACTLY what I was told it would do....LIMIT MY PORTIONS, therefore I eat less....sounds kinda simple. But thats my experience. In 5 years, I've never had one band caused problem. But without fluoroscopy, I'd have never been where I am today. Best wishes!

Congrats!

@@Anume 937 Congrats on your loss!

5k run for me today. Been a while since I ran....I had been having some lingering calf muscle pain. Today felt good. @@Bandista Those Saucony shoes are very popular...hopefully they'll work good for you and eliminate your IT band pain. The one I use is to stand feet together, touching a wall with your fingertips (sideways), and try and push your knees towards the wall. Then switch sides and do the other way....seemed to help me. Here's a youtube video of some suggestions.

Rode my bike into work, 12 hour night shift, then ride home this morning.....39 miles round trip.

For me, your answer to your question was how I dealt with it. I didn't want to screw anything up. I wanted it to work so bad, I did EXACTLY as I was told during those postop healing weeks. I know it's tough....we've all been there. But the benefits of the few short weeks of strict compliance are so worth the longterm results. Best wishes!

New Whey liquid Protein shots are 42 grams of protein in 3.8 OUNCES...just a thought. Maybe not the best tasting, but they certainly pack a lot of protein per ounce. I use them occasionally if I'm not hungry. 5 years post op.

Maybe one day we'll all get together for a ride....it could happen. IT band pain is something I had about 3 or 4 months after I started running...and for me, it went away after I got different shoes. Everybody told me, "go to a real running store and have them put you in the correct shoes for you".....but I DIDN'T listen, I went to a generic store (shoe carnival).....and my IT's hurt so bad for a while. My new shoes and some stretching exercises the running coach at the store had me do, eliminated ALL of my IT band pain within about a week! It was almost too good to be believed. I used K-tape for a while before switching shoes and it seems to help some. I have foam rollers and the one that has ceramic beads on it as well. I use them occasionally now....supposedly it helps "roll out" lactic acid buildup....supposedly. Also, when you use your shoes often, you'll need to replace them "often"...whatever that is for you. For me, it's about every 3-400 miles it seems. I run 99% of the time outdoors, and they still look almost new....except the bottoms/tread/lugs. I keep track of milage on shoes with my garmin tracker...I've even got numbers on them with sharpies to let me know which pair is the oldest....sounds dumb I know, but I have NO IT band pain now.

Got in a nice 26 miles on the bike today. Happy Monday all!

Almost 5 years for me. After finding the correct adjustment for me, it has been fantastic. I've never had any band caused problems. I've lost about 130 pounds...and enjoy my new life. NORMAL....that's all I ever wanted, and the band has given me this. I'd do it again tomorrow, knowing what I know now. Best of luck on you decision.

50 miles on the bike today. Happy Monday all! http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/557323424

Just curious...what were YOUR expectations on the amount you'd have lost 5 weeks post op?

I'd suggest as long as you're losing and your NUT/Surgeon are satisfied with your intake, why change? I agree with TMF, you are burning a lot of calories and they may choose to have you up your Protein above 60 grams. I also don't believe in any starvation mode as long as we've got excess fat reserves. When I weighed 250, I'd burn appx 2000 calories in a 2 hour bike ride, WITH A HR in the 140-150 range. 4000 calories of output (including your BMR) every day of the week while taking in only 800 will give you a loss of a little over 6 pounds per week. Almost exactly what you say you've lost.....KUDDOS!

Great job everyone! I've been nursing a pulled calf muscle the last few days, just walking and stretching it some. It finally got better Monday and I got in a little jog last night with no pain. Today is beautiful here in the midwest, so got in a nice bike ride. 42 miles at a nice easy pace.