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Hi everyone. I have just moved to Vancouver and am looking for a bariatric doctor to continue my post op lapband with. I found one doctor through a private clinic, but they want a 5 year fixed term with a pre-pay of $5000. This seems unrealistic to me. I had my surgery done in Mexico. Is there anyone out there that can recommend a good follow-up doc? Thanks,

I still have my gallbladder and the pain is higher in the front than my port.

I am getting pain today and nauseated when I lay on my side or on my stomach. Anyone else have this before? When I am on my back not nearly as bad!!

I should also add that I am getting a "little" bit of discomfort when I eat. I will contact my docto, but he lives 1500 miles away, as I am in a remote area.

I should also add that I am getting a "little" bit of discomfort when I eat. I will contact my doctor, but he lives 1500 miles away, as I am in a remote area.

Since my last fill all was going well and the weight was coming off. All of a sudden I find the weight loss has come to a halt the past 3 weeks, and I notice a couple of changes. I get heart burn almost every night now when I lay down in bed and when I eat it does not feel like I have the same restriction I had a few weeks ago. There is stil some restriction, but it does not seem as much. Can any one shed some light?

I have really started to focus on this in the past month. It is easier than you think. Although I will have a coffee with my oatmeal in the morning as I know that I am at the office and that is all I have until lunch anyway. When I am home or in public I will not drink as I know the cupboards are close by and ordering more food at a restaurant is easy. Seems to work for me. Adjust it as you see fit.

I do not think the band is too tight as I am eating okay. It only happens when I work out and drink water. I do not have an issue drinking water throughout the day. I wonder maybe if it is the type of foods I am eating for dinner that night as I tend to work out at 8pm or so?

I have been going to the gym for the past week. I do about an hour of the eliptical. I get the worst heartburn during, but especially after the workout. I also get terrible heartburn when I drink water. I make sure it is 3 hours plus after I eat before I hit the gym. Anyone else experience this and have any suggestions?

Thanks ladies for the messages. Your support is greatly appreciated. I am the only one with a band in the town I live (that I know of), so it is hard to garner support in this neck of the woods. I really need to get back on the wagon and am going to start at it today!!!

I feel like a complete failure. I have avoided this website for 8 months now because I have not lost much weight with my band. My diet sux. I was so pumped at the beginning and lost 40lbs. I am still down 40 and have gained nothing back, but have not lost more. I know I need to have another fill done but my diet is the pits. I eat terrible calories like ice cream and chocolate bars as they are easy to swallow. I know the first thing everyone will say is well you know what is wrong, so fix it. I am having a really tough time and would like someone to chat with to get through this and get back on track. I just needed to vent as I am so frsutrated with myself that I have not lost a pound in 12 months now!!!

Well here is the situation...I am banded and last weekend got stuck a couple of times and was quick sick trying to get it back up. I did get it up no problem, but I found the next day my stomach was not feeling well and I was also getting pains in my sides. I have noticed I can now eat a lot less and still have a nauseated feeling after I eat. It has been 5 days now. I am having diarrhea and just feel like I have the flu. Maybe it is the flu or maybe something wrong with the band? I live a 3 hour flight from the closest band doc, so going in for a routine check up is not that easy. Any thoughts?

I am up here for work. This city is the diamond capital of North America and there is a lot of mining happening, so it is about $$$$, that's why most people move here!! Also the fishing is pretty damn good :-)

Thanks Gals for the replies. The biggest thing is, I am looking for someone to stay in daily contact via email to chat about how things are going. Almost like a motivational director :-) I am not a slow loser....I am gaining, which to me is even worse. I live in Yellowknife, which is in the Northwest Territories, Canada, so even more remote than much of Alaska!!

Ok, so I am 4.5 months post op. How has the weight loss gone since surgery you ask? Well I have put on 15 of the 30lbs I lost pre-op. I am having a hard go at this. I can eat what I want and am never feeling full after eating. I have had one fill only and it was only 2.5cc's in a 14cc band (there was 3cc's in surgery so I have 5.5cc's now). I live a 2.5 hour flight from my closest fill centre so getting down for another fill is a bit of a challenge...but I will get another the end of October. The town I live in is small and quite remote and there are no support groups or even people with the lapband. I am hoping there is someone on here that would like to become almost a pen pal by email so we can work together and track each others progress. This site is great, but I find there are sometimes too many opinions that vary from one extreme to another. I just want to meet someone that is going through the same thing and have that support from someone who understands this process. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the supprt everyone!!! My doctor told me beer in moderation was okay and to try and stay away from the really carbonated beers. He advised to drink Ales and Guinness etc... Also many people on here that have been successful have told me they drink beer now and then, just a lot less than what they used to!!

Even my wife is giving me grief that the band is not working faster, and this was a big waste of money, so I have guilt all around me!!

Kellie2 - Noticed you and I were banded on the same day!!!

Thanks for the support!! I am happy to know I am not alone in these struggles. I was down 30lbs overall after my surgery and am now only 22lbs :-( I am getting back down to see my doc in a couple of weeks. This is not very convenient as you can imagine for fills, but this is the only choice I have!!

Betsy B - Thank you for your words of encouragement and support. I understand what you are saying. I do need to make a better effort on getting things under control. The hardest part is not feeling any different (from hunger etc...) than I did before the surgery. I hope it will come. I will talk to the doctor on my concerns. There is nowhere else close by that does fills, due to where I live. The one thing on this site I do not like are people that like to preach about how I should stop eating bad food and cut my portions back on my own (basically like I should know better). If this were the case, why are we all here. If I have no restriction from this "tool" this is very difficult. I know I should be eating better and having smaller portions, but if I could have done this all along, I would not needed to go through with this surgery. Mike

Thanks for the info. I live in the Canadian Arctic. I had my surgery done in Mexico and I need to fly to Calgary to get my fill done. My next visit, I will explain my feelings with the doctor and see his take on it. He told me before I went down for the first fill he would take me to 6cc's, but only actually took me to 4.5cc's for some reason.

So I am 12 weeks post Op and have put on 8 pounds from my surgery date. I had my first fill done about 2 weeks ago and the doc took me from 3cc's to ONLY 4.5cc's. My band will hold 14cc's. I have no restriction at all. I never feel full and I can pretty much eat whatever I like. I can drink beer...no real problems!! I am certainly not hungry after eating a small meal. The only thing that bothers me is big pieces of dry meat....this sometimes feels stuck, but I can have bread etc... Does 1.5cc's on the first fill seem like too small of an amount. I am a 2 hour flight from my fill doctor and every time I go it will cost me $1000. I do not mind going, but I would like to have the band helping me a little more than it currently is (or isn't). Anyone else have a similar experience???

Not that I want a lot...but a cold Guinness on the patio with my buddies would be nice. I know mixed drinks just do not do it for me and usually have more calories than most beer from the sugar content. I will try sipping a beer and see what happens I guess. With no fill or restirction yet, probably not a hell of a lot will happen to me right now!!

So I know that most docs do not recommend drinking beer because of the carbon in the drink. I am curious if beer like Guinness, Bass etc... beers that have little or no carbornation are okay? I asked my doctor the day after surgery about "never having a beer again" and he said that is not the case, just in limited moderation. I am a bit confused by it all.

Okay so I am 7 weeks post op now. I have my old appetite back and have no food restriction (except heavy breads). I can eat whatever I like and also small meals do not fill me AT ALL!! I know I need a fill, but it may be a couple of weeks before I can get one, as the closest fill centre is a 2 hour ($500 flight) from me and they ONLY do middle of the week (Wednesday) fills. Anyone else have similar issues, and how did you cope? My wife is giving me grief that I wasted the money havign lapband done, because I can eat like I did before (although I am making healthier choices. I have gained 2 lbs back (did this while on a 2 week vacation). I am getting a bit fustrated, but I hope the fill will help me out soon!!