OnTheWay to Thin

I had my sg 5/28/09 and I have had some complications (port that leaked and had to be replaced) but even with all that, yes it is worth it. I am about to hit 50lbs lost and feel like I can do this now... It is work, some days are very hard, and some days you question your sanity for letting someone cut 5 holes in you to keep you from eating. But obesity is a disease and I have had it all my life, I have never been able to kick it on my own and for the first time I feel I not only can but will... Good luck to you.

I was on paxil before I changed to celexa, and the side effects were awful, which is why I went off of antidepressants and struggled for about 3 years, then my doctor suggested celexa and it was a god send. I have not had any side effects and have had great relief of symptoms.

I take the 20 generic celexa mg pills and they are very very small caplet shape and work well. Cut in half I cant imagine anyone would have issues with them. Try seeing if you can get the 20's and take one am and pm and see if that works for you. I cant live without them, I know that, I have tried to go off before and not good!

So I went in on Friday last week and had my port replaced. Sg was pretty easy, was in and out in an hour and on my way home. There was definately a leak, they said it was somewhat like a sprinkler when they put pressure on it... But, when they pulled the port out evidently all the fluid did not drain out as it usually does... then the doctor refilled me, and I went on my way, got home and started throwing up, thought it was the anesthesia, took me a while to figure out that every time I had enough saliva to fill my pouch, up it came, roughly every 12-15 minutes... I could not take pain pills, could not eat or drink anything, this went on all night Friday and in to Saturday... I met the doctors pa at the office at 8 Saturday am and she did not want to press on me too much because I had a new incision. So she took out 2 cc and gave me water, nope up it came, took out 3 more before I could swallow. We dont know how much is in there still, but now I have very little if any restriction, I go back Friday for follow up and they will measure to see exactly how much fluid is in there and start filling me again. So I have 5 mos of odd setbacks, I am still down a bit over 40 lbs but have been stalled for a couple mos now. I am beginning to get very discouraged, but hope this fixes everything once and for all.

I am beginning to wonder the same thing, seems a lot of them, doesn't it, I have my port replaced tomorrow. Had surgery May 28th... once I was past a fill of 4.5 cc I have had a constant loss... I have AP.

Congrats I too am in the Seattle area. Had my surgery in May at Evergreen Hospital. I have to have my port replaced tomorrow (small leak) but otherwise doing well.

Hang in there Ann and thanks for the info on the port replacement. I am trying so hard to maintain, and not gain until it gets replaced. It is so hard to be right on the edge of success but not able to cross over the line! My job is mostly a desk job so I think coming back to work on Monday after Friday replacement should be ok if you were able to go to church that same day! Wow you are a trouper! Easy no it is not, but I still believe it is worth it. Put on a pair of shoes this am that I bought a couple years ago and loved, but was unable to wear cause they were too tight, saw them and put them on and wow they are just fine now!

Hang in there it really is easier once your fill is the right level, at 6cc I am great (until it leaks out) and then it slowly goes away due to my port leak, so while I am not looking forward to the sg to replace it, I am looking forward to having a fill level that sticks for more than a couple days.

Guys you are both right for different reasons. Weight loss is really a pretty simple equasion. You use X amount of calories a day at your current weight, if you reduce your caloric intake by 500 a day or 3500 calories per week you lose approximately 1lb. Exercise will make it so you can eat more calories because you burn more and therefore makes weight loss easier, but... if you dont exercise and still reduce your overall caloric intake below what it takes to sustain your current weight you will lose weight, but it will probably be slower than the person who execises. Exercise also speeds up the metabolism so you actually burn more calories round the clock because of this boost to the metabolism. So for you both, you can both be successful, you just may have different overall goals.

I agree, we need motivation, I will likely be at a plateau until the 30th when my port is replaced. I am trying but it is HARD! OK so in my job I often have to crawl under desks, I just did a few of them, and it was much easier to get up and down than it used to be. I also drove my husbands truck today and found it was easier to drive (less belly in the way I guess). I am in size 20 pants for the first time in years, so I have lots to be thankful for and need to be paitient until my port is fixed and I can start going down again.

I think my drs office has a surgery suite and they are using an anesthesiia too so probably same as yours just at the surgery suite. Were you off work with the port replacement, I planned to take friday off as a vacation day, surg is that am and hope I can go back to work Monday? What do you think?

totally normal, I felt pain and soreness for about 2 weeks gradually going from pain to sore. The port area was tender for 3-4 weeks and nausea is common due to the swelling. The port is normally stitched to a muscle and therefore can pull and tug a bit while healing. If you have severe pain or cant keep anything down call your doctor, but it sounds pretty normal.

Well they backed me back to 5.75 after the fluoro and no more reflux, but the leak is still leaking so my restricton is like a roller coaster.. I go in on the 30th to have my port replaced. Sure hope this gets the ball rolling, I feel like I am in slow motion, losing but only 1 lb or so a week...

I am not holding onto sweet spot, I have a leak in my port, waiting for it to be replaced, so it really varies. I am slowly losing even with all the up and downs in the fill, i.e. I get filled to 6 and I have perfect restriction, 2 -3 weeks later I am at 4.5 cc... but, that being said, for breakfast I eat a Luna Bar with 4 oz of juice or a small light and fit yougurt shake and piece of string cheese. On weekends I may eat 1 scrambled egg with cheese. For lunch I eat pretty normally, today I had about 1 1/2 cup of chili, chili sticks with me so it keeps me full for a long time. For dinner I usually have some kind of meat and a veggie, I dont do well with bread or starches so I try to avoid them totally. I may have a sf pudding or a 3 oz size ice cream for a treat 1 or 2 times a week. Hope this helps.

there is probably a bit of swelling due to the fill, mine usually subsides in 2-3 days after a fill...

Melly thanks for posting, I was just told my port has to be replaced too. Same thing, they fill me to 6 then 2-3 weeks later I am back at 4.5. I had the fluro and they could not see the leak but feel pretty sure it is the port. I suspect it is as my doctors PA has at times had a terrible time hitting the port... Did they replace yours in their office or did you do hospital? They are telling me they can do it in the office? Not looking forward to that one...

Melly thanks for posting this, I was

A cup is 8 ounces, so sorry but your mega cups are out... wouldn't it be great if that was all it took?

Thank you! there is hope! I had the fluro test this morning to see if they could find the leak, no such luck on first pass, the dr said he had to study the pictures but if there is a leak it is around the band... bummer... I had exacly 6 cc which is what she put in Friday, so I had him take it down to 5.75 so hopefully tonight the darn reflux will be gone...

Wow I am glad I saw this post. I have 2 issues, they think I have a leak, 3 times now they have filled me to 6 cc and 2-3 weeks later I am around 4.5 cc. I went in on friday and she refilled me and scheduled a fluoro to find the leak, but since then I am way too tight, she must have gotten more than 6 cc as I have terrible reflux, have had to sleep sitting in a rocker the past 2 nights and can hardly eat anything. I go tomorrow for the fluro so I will see what is what then.

I was banded in May, I am down 44 lbs, I have had a few issues (they think I have a small leak) but I would do it again in a heartbeat as I know without it I would have gotten bigger in the last 4 mos rather than being down 44lbs. The whole food thing is different for everyone, I dont do well with bread, unless it is toasted. I dont do well with mashed potatoes but can eat baked, gummy things like thick italian pasta are not good for me. I eat mostly meat that is juicy and veggies, I can eat salad, fruit, so I have a healthy diet and although all bandsters are advised to take vitimins and watch their protien intake, i dont have any problem getting in enough protien. I will also say that what i can eat changes it seems to be tighter in the band at that time of the month so my have more difficulty during that time. This is hard work but oh so worth it. Good luck, do all the research you can and make the best decision for you.

It seems like no matter how you go about the process, self pay or insurance there are a number of hoops to jump through. My husband has benefited from me having the procedure as I cook healthier and therefore he has lost a few pounds too. Do the seminar and take your husband with you, it really helped my husband understand the process and be supportive. Good luck.

I guess I am officially at 44, wish it was more but have had a time getting filled to the correct spot, hopefully I will pick up momentum any minute now! LOL