TerryB

Yes, I had a bypass in 2001 and had a staple line disruption in 2003. I gained almost all my weight back and my insurance quit covering weight loss surgery between the time that I had the surgery and the staple line disrupted. So after trying to sue and everything else I decided to go to mexico and have the lapband. Dr. Ortiz is the only surgeon that I could find that had a lot of experience with this type of surgery. That was 8/2006 and I have had no problems until recently. I started having some problems about a month ago with the band getting tighter... I had been on one type of birth control which made my period lighter but I had to switch from it and had the first "real" period in a long time. It took me a couple of days to realize how tight I was, until then I ate too much and threw up too many times. This irritated my esphogus and swelled it until it was way too tight. I went back to Dr. Ortiz and they did a complete unfill and put me on liquids. There was no slip (thank God) but I was on liquids for two weeks. Once irritated I should have taken myself on liquids but I had gotten complacent with the lapband rules. Hope this info helps. I will be getting a fill in two weeks and I am happy about that. I need restriction, I like feeling full.

It really can change... During my period, I am soooo tight but otherwise I am fine. Also I find that if I am stressed out the band gets tighter.

I was banded in Tijuana, MX on August 10, 2006

Frankly... I am at goal but i also think I am going to lose another 10 or so lbs. I am 5'6" and 150 and fit in a size 8. I think another 10lbs would be a safety net in case I have some issue with the band and have to have an unfill. I am currently completely unfilled due to an esphogial irritation and I gained back 3lbs. My size 8's are tight and when I get my fill in two weeks I would like to lose an additional 10 just to be safe. I don't know about you but gaining is not a problem... losing is

I had the same issue and they unfilled mine last week. Have you gotten another fill yet.. is it OK?

I have had an really fill in my band for the last 7 months... I had gone to Dr Ortiz to get it done so I wanted to try and work it out. I have learned to live with it and after losing another 30lbs it is more manageable. Last night unfortunately I had some succotash right before going to sleep and paid the price. I threw up in my sleep, woke up to it! I have to be very aware of what I am eating and when. Also how much I chew or if the food will EVER break down. I am 2 lbs from goal and beginning to think I may actually need to get an unfill so that I will quit loosing 1-2 lbs a week.

Well, I started out at 259 size 20W and XXL/XXXL in most things and now I am 215 and size 18 (American Eagle) and they are loose now. I can wear a regular XL in most shirts. I am wearing a 14/16W at Ashley Stewart/Lane Bryant. I totally agree about being able to shop at regualar stores is wonderful but I don't really feel like I can buy anything yet due to still loosing so quickly. I am catching some things on clearance and that has been fun.

Well, I flew down to Dr Ortiz office Thursday to make sure that doc didn't do any damage during that fill in Sacramento. Dr Romero did the fill and when he pulled the saline out of the band there was less than 1cc!!! When that fill doc pulled he had 1.5cc and he said he put in another .5cc which would have put me at 2.0cc. God only knows what he did... yikes. But through flouro my port looks good and everything is fine with my band. My mind was put at ease and I feel better. So this fill ended up costing me about $700 dollars. I spoke to fillcentersusa and they are going to give me my next fill for free but this has been a nightmare. Anyway, I got what I will call my "real" 2nd Fill and it was 2.3cc and I feel great. I have restriction and will be moving ahead with my weight loss. Thanks for all you guys support

Went in for my second fill on Monday 11/6 in a fillcenter in Sacramento and the doc did not know what he was doing. I got very uncomfortable with him during the procedure since I had one done by Dr. Ortiz office on my first fill. There was no flouro but I thought if he had enough experience it would be OK. He put the needle in my stomach and did not hit the port and proceeded to poke me three times and dig around in my stomach until he found it.... yikes. He pulled out 1.5 and then supposedly injected an additional .5cc, then he just stopped. I told him I should sit up and drink some what to see if I felt any restriction, he wasn't sure about that, so I told him that I was sitting up with the syringe still in. I drank some water and let him know that I did not feel any restriction but he had already put all of the saline in and I did not want him digging around any more. While they were doing it the nurse said the "other lady" had done that also about drinking the water which meant to me that they had only done one other fill. Also while he was feeling around for the port he said "she needs to lose weight" and the nurse said "that's why she is here". They offered to do another fill for free if I did not feel any restriction but I left at that point. The people were nice but I did not feel as though they knew what they were doing.... :omg: So yesterday I booked a flight to Dr. Ortiz for a fill, I want to see if this guy did any damage during the digging part of the fill. And I still need a fill so that was my experience.... I will update after my fill by Dr. Ortiz office on 11/9.

I got banded on Aug 10 and my first fill on Sept 18. 1.8 in a 4cc band. I have great restriction. I cannot hardly eat in the morning at all and am able to eat about 4 ozs at night. I am not hungry at all... ever which is even weirder.

The dress is gorgeous and you will be gorgeous in it... don't worry, June is a long time away. I have to take this just for today. Part of looking good is feeling good about yourself and I think by then you will be very confident in yourself and can pull this off even if you are not the smallest size in the world.

I live in Memphis and was banded by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico on August 10. I went back to Mexico for my fill and have not required any follow-up other than that. I had a revision from a failed gastric bypass (staple line disruption) and am very happy with my band. My first fill was on the 18th of September and I have really good restriction.

I had my first fill on September 18th and I can barely get 4 oz of food down at one time. I feel full all the time and I am not hungry. I have had quite a bit of emotional stress in my life over the past week due to some self-created drama and I have not wanted to eat. This is very unusual for me, normally I would be grasping for the brownies. The only down side of this is that I am distracted from making sure that I am getting the right combination of foods... protein, veggies... so on. I am not eating bad but I will order a salad and I am pretty sure that I do not get enough protein on most days.

Don't know if anyone else is experiencing this but I got my fill on Monday (1.8 in a 4cc band), now it is Friday and I am not hungry at all. I had three days of liquids (wasn't hungry then) and now that I can eat I feel sort of nauseated. It is not that I can't eat, I had some oatmeal and a Go Lean protein bar yesterday but I had to force myself to eat. I did start my period (shouldn't have started for another week) yesterday so that may be why it feels this way. I don't think I am overfilled but I feel like I am full all the time. Anyone else feeling like this?

Had my first fill yesterday at Dr. Ortiz office. It was no problem at all, I was in and out within 10 minutes. I am on three days of liquids, which does not seem to be a problem because I am not hungry at all right now. But here is the funny part: I travel a lot for work and stay in hotels, usually the same one each week for about a year. After my fill, I left San Diego and flew to Sacramento to work (I am from Memphis). When I got to the hotel I was really tired from having the fill in the morning then working that afternoon after flying. So I was thinking "I will just go and lay down so I can rest a while". I get to my room and I have been voted "Guest of the Week" by the hotel staff. Which meant there was this huge basket of food and drinks in my room with a lovely letter. So I am sitting there looking at all this food that I cannot eat and only two of the drinks I can have.... I just started laughing. Then I had to go thank them all for the food I cannot eat..... Well, life is a strange thing sometimes.