lisa6

hey everyone, i was banded in august with a realize band. i have been following the rules,(i practiced them for 8 months before the surgery!) but i am struggling. i have just got a fill bringing me to 7cc in my realize band. i can eat a b/s chicken breast no problem! also with a vegetable. my stomach growls within 3 hrs. of eating! i have lost 10 lbs. in the last 3 months. wondering if anyone else had to almost fill or fill their entire band before this band gave them some help with their weightloss efforts. i do low impact aerobics 3-4 times a week. i'm wondering if there's a secret to this band thing !!! someone let me know if they have experienced this. thankyou lisa:unsure:

hey it's really nice to here someone say- it took a while but i'm feeling it! i have a new issue. i feel restricted, i only can eat 3-4 bites at a meal. i have felt like this for 2 weeks,but i have not lost any weight still. weird. i eat like a bird, and i don't eat junk either. will wait it out i guess.hop hope hope

well,this is the first week i have had restriction and i am 3 1/2 months out and really trying to eat by trial and error. here i go. breakfast: 8oz. pure protein shake,lunch:1 chicken nugget, 1/2 lite cheese stick supper: 1/3 salisbury steak pattie snack:1 pickle

thanks for replying ladies!!! it's been one week since my fill bringing me to 7cc. i hope and pray that this feeling lasts!!! i get full sooo quickly i can hardly believe it! the week before fill i could eat an entire b/s chicken breast. now i can only eat about 3-4 bites. i am happy with that just worried i will lose it.even though my weight loss has been minimal, all this exercising has dropped me a jean size from a 14 to a 12. but at doc's office they only weigh me. bummer. when your struggling, hearing from someone who also has but in the end is at goal is wonderful-just what i needed,thank you.:thumbup:

Right on!!!!!

hey ladies, i just wanted to say a thing or two. i was banded in august at the third leading hospital in our nation. i had a lot of confidence in that.i went through about a year of visits at this hospital to prepare for this surgery. up until 5 days ago i had not had any restriction. and of course did not lose. i did not have a 52,ooo.00 surgery to completely try to lose the weight on my own. i think she's right about the fact that i was hungry and struggling for the past 4 months, but i had to follow the guidelines my surgeon set for fills.so i put some thought into this as i was really frustrated and thought i was a failure. my first thought was that my health proffessionals didn't care whether this worked for me. that they probably just were earning a great deal of money. but then i thought, this doesn't make sense. if they really wanted to just make a buck, they could and would fill and over fill and re-fill as many times and as frequent as a patient complained. they certainly would make more money if they didn't make their patients wait every 4 weeks for a fill,? right? i do believe that yes, we have to do our part but no, none of us should have to go too long without a fill to offer some help on our quest. those fills do not have to be aggressive ones, but just something so were not waiting months, and we feel were actually getting somewhere. also i'm sure that doctor's who are less aggressive with fills are probably concerned about problems arising from pb'ing and slippage. they don't want to be sued. yes some act like they are high and mighty and ultimately you are paying them for their service so if you don't agree with them-go elsewhere. i was thinking of this and i wish i too would of realized this a few months back. but now i am finally feeling this band at work. so maybe if you're trying to get fills to quickly and going in too often, then yeah that's probably not the way to go. but also, if your doc only allows fills for extended periods of time and there's no restriction there you should have some say as to when you can slowly build the saline up. waiting 4 months out to feel anything is too long. so i think somewhere there has to be a happy medium. maybe the rules for fills should be made on a patient to patient basis. and the time between fills based on your progress. we certainly all have different sized bands and we've all beeen told that our amount of cc's is different for the sweet spot person to person. so maybe they should treat us as individuals. thanks for listening. lisa6

antetz- i had severe acid reflux disease all my life, and just like that-poof!!! after surgery it was gone!!! that in and of itself was worth the surgery for me. i also have had sleep apnea but doc thinks it as well as high blood pressure will go away as i lose the excess weight. i was banded in late august and am just now on my way to feeling the restriction. it is a lengthy process, from my seminar to surgery it took almost 9 months. my surgery cost 52,000. my insurance paid 80% would do it again though. good luck. lisa6:thumbup:

tony, thankyou for your honesty. i have experienced being thin for most of my life and being treated very well publically. once i was heavy(gained 70 lbs. in one year) i experienced an unfamiliar discrimination. sometimes i am grossed out at how some obese people eat in public. but not all of "us" eat that way. you can be obese and still have manners. i am just beginning to feel some restriction from my band, so i still look obese. i have empathy for everyone who has to endure carrying this burden. a burden of not only social, psychological,physical, and moral penalties,but also a burden to our loved ones. this is a disease which can affect every aspect of ones life. never forget -no matter how thin and healthy you get, you are an obese person! not everyone can afford to have wls. i feel very bleesed that my insurance paid most of it. you have to accept yourself the way you are. by accepting yourself, doesn't mean"not changing yourself" (example: losing the weight) it simply means admitting to yourself that you are those obese people. and that's fine. we are good people, sometimes i think we are a "deeper feeling" people. never lose sight of being an obese person. i think it makes us better people. we have all went through much of the same stories, experienced muchof the same things in our lives. we are connected. i am comfortable with that. i wish much luck in dealing with your feelings. lisa6:smile2:

i have a lower bmi and was actually approved for surgery from insurance because of my hypertension. the day of surgery i was not allowed to take my medication. they were well aware of this. i was fine during surgery. i also was able to take anxiety medication as i was soooo nervous!!! i think you shouldn't worry about this-you'll be fine!!! good luck-lisa6:thumbup:

thanks for the responses, i too cannot eat salads anymore. i am supposed to stay away from the carbs and fill up on protein. so, i will try the veal parmesan and just pick and move around the pasta that comes with it!! eating meat it something new to me. i'm doing the exact opposite of the way i ate my whole life! i used to eat the soup,(slider food now) salad,(doesn't go down now) and of course many many breadsticks(would get stuck now)!!! thanks to you all!lisa6:tt2:

hi everyone, i was hoping for suggestions on what to order at an italian restaurant. i gave up carbs, and am at a loss of ideas for this wonderful cuisine!!!:bored:

i feel fine while having the fill and for the rest of the day. but the next morning my abdomen feels a little sore. not at port site, but inside. just aches. but goes away in time to consume solids again. doc says the squeezing of the organ causes swelling. makes sense.

i also recently have experienced yawning as well as burping that tells me i am full! but i feel thankful of these warnings, or i would just keep on going!!!! burping is not very lady like but are very subtle thankfully!!:smile2:

hi, i've recently found restriction, YEAH! but i also found a side effect of a metallic taste in my mouth that comes and goes. was wondering if anyone has had this and if anyone knows why this happens. thanks, lisa6:eek:

kiz, thanks for clearing that up! lisa6

hey kibby!! i too have the realize-c band. i was banded august 19th and have had one fill of 4cc. i have no restriction and am not losing. i eat all protein, lean and lowfat. i exercise, aerobic activity at least 3 times a week. i have seen a difference in clothing. i dropped from a size 14 jean to a 12. i haven't lost a pound. i get my second fill in about a week. weird,huh? we'll see how this next fill goes,right? by the way, i had a glass of red wine out at dinner last week. my doc said it was fine in moderation.(actually good for your heart) take care,lisa6

i have been on actigall to prevent me from getting gallstones as a requirement from my surgeon. many people develop gallbladder problems as they have a significant weight loss. whether they have had any weight loss surgery or lost by other methods. someone should of let you know of all the potential risks. lisa6

i had the realize band on august 19th. i weighed 220 and am 5'7. i now am at 200 lbs. i just had my first fill on oct. 1st. this is not magic. you have to make right choices with food and get exercise. i don't regret any of it. i think people with lower bmi's have to work a little more with the exercise part and the weight comes off a little slower because we don't have as much to lose. good luck! lisa6

i'm also hungry and eating almost as much as i have before, although i learned the hard way to avoid certain foods! i am 4 weeks out, and i have 2 weeks before i get a fill. you are not alone in this! lisa6

hi erin! i'm happy for you that you were able to do this while you're still young! my son is a senior this year and i can't imagine any of his friends having the courage to change thier lives in such a positive way. i want to tell you i am 4 weeks out, and every morning i feel nausea. i have found if i eat activia yogurt almost immediately upon wakening, i feel better. also this yogurt is meant to get your bowels working. give it a try and before you know it you'll be wearing skinny jeans!!!lol lisa6

is there anyone out there who followed a liquid 2 week pre-op diet to the tee, had surgery, and is 2 weeks post -op and is not losing? how can this be? i'm discouraged!!!!! i'm still on this protein shake diet for almost a month and am ticked off that a person can not eat normal food for a month almost and not lose weight. i did not cheat, followed my surgeon's orders, out of fear i would harm myself, and now i'm dissapointed. did this happen to anyone? i really need encouragement!!!! lisa6:confused: