moonbeam

Hang in there Fish! Well it looks like it will be a party at the maples on the 20th! Jen just called and changed my fill date to the 20th from the 14th. I'll end up saying hello to everyone in the waiting room wondering if one of them is you guys!

Just wondering how many sizes there are and which one's are the most common? I got a card after surgery that said it was "small" but during my first fill the doc said I had a size "large" band. I'm going to ask for clarification. Not that it matters in the end, but curious minds want to know! I believe he said my band holds 10 cc. I walk out of there shaking my head wondering why I didn't ask the questions while I was there.

I had 0 fill as well and my first fill was just 1 1/2 cc. This is quickly becoming very discouraging

I had both done at the same time too. I had no idea I had it either. My chest felt tight afterwards, but nothing too painful. The only thing they told me was that instead of having only 4 incisions, I had 5 because of it.

Hey Guys, I'm doing ok. Kinda down because I'm not loosing any weight. If it wasn't for the scars and the port lump I wouldn't even know I had the surgery. I suppose patience is the key here. I've been reading the forums too much I think and focusing on the negative stories and worst case scenerios. Like needing 7-8 cc's before the band becomes effective.. that sort of stuff. I had my first fill and it was 1 1/2 cc. I get my next one in two weeks and I really hope it's more than that. I felt no restriction at all from it. I tend to focus on the negative and I'm an emotional eater.... sooo..... I spoke to Danielle about it ( emailed actually) and she was very reassuring. I suppose this is why they call this time bandster hell. On the upside though I have no pain at all from the surgery and am able to excersise with no problems! I've even signed up for my very first Yoga class! We'll see how it goes, it's Yoga for the full bodied woman, so I'm looking forward to not feeling out of place. :-) Tammar, how are you doing? Fish how goes the pre op diet? Great that you got your surgery date! Canadian Girl, do you come back to the maples for your fill?

How is everyone doing?

Thanks for the support guys. I agree. I'm going to give them a call or write a note. I don't think she had any right to ask me what it cost either. Some people are just plain ignorent.

Wow I had quite the experience yesterday. I was in my local emergency ward with throat closed up so tight I couldn't swallow my spit (strep throat, nothing to do with the band) But the larger sized nurse started asking my about recent surgeries etc. I told her about the band. She looked at me in disgust and said I was too small to have that done, and that SHE would certainly not pay thousands for dollars for the procedure. I mumbled something about her not knowing my family history and my weight history of the 50 up 50 down pattern. She was right in my face about it. She was of course obese and her attitude was almost disdainful, like I could not claim the privilege of being fat enough to get the band. This was my first really negative response to telling someone. It surprised me coming from a health professional. I have come to the conclusion that I don't care. what she thinks. Only we can decide what is best for us.

For those who have had a really long wait to feel restriction.. how did you keep up a good attitude? What kept you motivated and hopefull?

I'm not sure if I trust him or not yet.. I'm going to try to talk to him and have a frank discussion about my fears. Unfortunalty where I live there is only one place that does fills, I would have to travel pretty far to get someone else to do it. Fingers crossed that he listens to me and gives me a bigger fill next time.

This stuff scares me. I'm at 1 1/2 cc and a lower bmi starting at 35. It makes me think it will take over a year of fills before I start to get any benifit from this! I knew there would be a period of waiting, but I thought two or three months not a year! Has anyone had any luck talking to their surgeon about putting more than say 1 1/2 cc in at a time? If in theory most people are not feeling restriction until 8cc then why not put more in at a time!? Especially when we are so low to begin with. I've very scared. Also wondering if it's a money grab for the surgeons since I have to pay for fills after the first year...?

Mine is "BB" short for belly buddy.

Hello. I'm totally in the same boat. I'm new at this and have only had one really ineffective fill of 1 1/2 cc. Isn't the band supposed to help with this? Shouldn't we not be able to easily consume and binge? I'm worried because the evenings are my witching hour and I do tend to binge sometimes. I was under the impression that the band would help with this. Not CURE, but at least help.

Good lord that's a scary scenario! I just got my first fill at 1 1/2 cc... I feel nothing. if I'm like you I could be into this a year already and still feel no benefit. GULP.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Were you married before you got the band? If so I'm happy for you that you do not have to experience the anxiety of dating when you are newly banded like some of us are/will.

I asked my surgeon about this as I was concerned because it's taken me a while to change my habits and I know I have over eaten a few times. He told me yes it's possible but that one really has to work on it. We would have to keep eating past full consistently for a period of time for this to occur.

I'm in the same boat. Although with me it's mostly head hunger. I have more time to crave, to sit still relax and think about eating. Duirng the day I have a lot less time to slow down to eat. It's been that way for me since I can rememeber. I'm trying to pick up new hobbies, go for walks, anything but eat. It's not easy changing a lifetime of habits.

I waited about 2 weeks. I had a hiatus hernia fixed as well and wanted to be pretty careful. My port site hurt for about 3 weeks. I'm at 5 weeks now and finally have no discomfort. I did lots of heavy lifting this weekend with no ill effect. Just have to be paitent. I told my daughter I couldn't pick her up for a couple of weeks. Then again...she's 6 and a bit heavier. lol

Hey, congrats on your weight loss! I've dabbled in the on line dating thing and it can be very frusterating. I have found that some of the guys on those sites are just as shy as we are. I don't think it would hurt to express interest in those that you find interesting. I've never tried match.com but is there a way to you wink or smile or something to show interest?

It's not so much the scars as it is the port lump. Mine is very noticable and it's definitly easy to feel if your hand is even placed on my stomach, you don't even have to press hard to feel it. I suppose that more than anything has me concerned.

Hey Tammar, Yes they gave me their pager numbers on the back of the post op hand out. I would definitly phone Jen and ask her for those numbers. I felt silly calling about my questions until I reminded myself I paid thousands of dollars for them to do do a couple of hours of work..they can afford to call us back and do so with no complain.

I love the idea of buying new clothes. I have been stopping myself from doing that as I keep thinking what a waste it will be if it doesn't fit in two months. BUT why not enjoy the journey! Isn't it fantastic and fun to try stuff on and realize it fits! For the biggies I like the idea of jewelry. I might buy myself something nice when I hit 50 pounds and then something really nice when I get to goal.

Here's the scoop. I'm a 35 year old single mom. I just got the band about 5 weeks ago. I know I did the right thing for the right reasons, but here is the delima; We all know most people who have never had weight issues just don't "get it". So I'm wondering what will happen when I feel well enough mentally and physically to enter the dating world. What do I say to a potential new partner when I can't eat a full meal? Or if it gets to that point.. what the scars are from.. and here's the biggie..what the heck is that huge lump under your skin! I know my health and the happiness/health of my child are my priority, but with my hot new slim body I'm also looking forward to having the confidence to go forth and meet someone who is right for me. Tips and personal experiences requested!

HI Tammar, Welcome to the Manitoba thread. :scared2: I didin't have issues with anything getting stuck. Everyone is different though. I DID have major issues with gas pain after I ate. Stabbing pain in my shoulder mostly. Could that be what's happening? I would use the pager numbers they gave you and call the docs'. I did it once, they called me right away and were helpful and polite.

So here's a question for you all. For those of you that do have this large port lump.. what do you tell people who don't know you have had WLS it is? ie: for me it might be a new boyfriend down the line... I was thinking of saying it's scar tissue or somthing.