cosean

I don't have the bodybugg but do any of you have issues with sleeves not fitting over it? Although I have lost 60 pounds, my upper arms are still quite thick. I am afraid to spend that kind of money if I will only be able to wear it once in every 5 days because of my clothes.

There's a wrist band bodybugg?

Did bodybugg come out with a slimmer version yet? Most of my shirts are still tight on my upper arms. A body bugg would never fit under the shirt.

jbates - I have the smaller band and have 3cc in a 4.5cc band. I have not lost a pound in 3 1/2 months. I have been waiting to get another fill because I can't believe I have 3cc and need/want one. I did just find out I need another knee surgery (I have had about 13 between both knees) and will not do it as long as I can walk and I am not close to my goal weight. So, next week I am going to risk getting another fill. My guess is he will only do .2cc or maybe .3cc. But that can make all the difference. I actually felt like I had more restriction when I was at 2.4. Even with 3cc I can't say I experience that no hunger feeling. That would be wonderful. I obviously don't eat nearly as much as I used to but weight loss is stopped. I don't exercise too much though because of my legs so I am sure I would lose more if I did. Anyway - you are not the only one almost full and still not at a sweet spot. I wish you the best and don't get discouraged.

I try counting calories and it never works. I only resort to then when I am not losing weight. More importantly I find that increasing exercise or changing exercise affects my weight loss. I do eat most things although I make more sensible choices. I find that is my best approach. My weight loss has slowed down but it is a comfortable approach. I will still have a cookie if I want it - just not the whole package. I still have pizza if I want it - just one slice and not 1/2 a pizza.

I got my lapband in February 2007. My worst nightmare happened this week when I ate a Kiwi and had a severe anaphylaxis allergic reaction within 30 seconds. I was rushed to the ER. Fortunately I only received many rounds of steroids preceded by Pepcid - all by IV. I was given 6 days of prednisone upon discharge but I only took it for one day because it is just too rough on the stomach. When I did take it I took prilosec first. Until today I have been unable to get any food down. Today I got tiny amounts in and down but uncomfortably. Liquids have not been a problem at all. Should I contact my surgeon or just give my stomach time to heal? I don't know if my stomach is an issue from the allergic reaction to a food, or from the drugs counteracting the reaction. Just checking to see if I would be overreacting by calling my surgeon. I don't feel like I am in any type of crisis but maybe I am being naive. Thanks for your help.

I spoke with my surgeon's office. They were great about it. They would like to do a total unfill just to be safe but agreed to give me two weeks to see if it resolves itself with some TLC. And yes, it was scary but since I have had things like this happen before it was much more scary for everyone around me. It happened at work so they were all quite nerved up about it. Thanks for your responses and support.

I can't get to the gym because I have three little kids. However, I have been walking - most days 3-5 miles. Some days 7-10 miles per day. It is definitely the diet piece. Thanks for your help.

What are you February bandsters eating? I was doing fine until about a month ago and since then haven't lost any weight. I honestly cannot even remember what changed in my habits. If you could suggest daily menus, I would be forever in your debts.... I am down 50 pounds but have another 50 to lose and can't seem to move one ounce. Thanks for all your help.

Being able to climb through the tunnels on the playscapes with my 2 and 6 year old No more asthma meds No more arthritis meds No more blood pressure meds Stable blood sugar Able to walk 7 miles a day and actually feel good - and still feel good the next day Able to have the option to ride a roller coaster - only thing is now I don't want to Love swimming again No more plantar fascia problems No more broken bones in my feet (I have low calcium levels - not related to obesity) Carry my 2 year old and wonder how I carried that much weight every minute of every day Carry my 6 year old and wonder how I carried that much weight every minute of every day Can't wait to carry my 13 year old and say the same thing! Instead of just taking my children's clothes in, I have a pile of my own clothes to take in I go to McDonalds and now I buy lite lemonade and nothing else

Before the surgery I could not imagine taking small small bites and chew chew chew. Now, I have paid the price for that way too many times and dread the next time it happens. If I eat too much, I get hiccups (painful hiccups - not at all the cute kind of hiccups). If I don't chew well, I get chest pains that can take up to an hour to pass. If I try to drink while eating it is really really painful until the liquid comes flying out. Then I am still left with the pain of not chewing well. I didn't think I would learn things like not gulping liquids, chewing well, small bites etc... You do learn when you have no choice.

I get them if I try to eat too much. I wish I only got 3 or 4 at a time. Usually they are painful and last 1/2 hour at least. I could get them some times after just eating 2 small bites of fish. I dread the hiccups and sometimes resort to more fattening liquidy foods just to avoid them. I think I need a slight unfill.

I used to take Allegra D before the surgery but that pill is so stinkin large. Do you just cut it up and take it?

A friend of mine just had hers done last Tuesday and was back to work on Friday no problem. What do I eat in a day? Depends on the day and time of day. For Breakfast I usually have a Protein Shake since nothing else will go down. For lunch (early 10:30ish) I eat 3 crackers with tomato basil tuna on it. Late lunch/snack (2:30pm-ish), 3 crackers with cheese on it. Supper - usually a lean turkey burger (no bun) with tomato and cucumber (no seeds). That is about it.

I have the OMRON Pocket pedometer. It find it is pretty accurate. I have both the one with the software and the one without. I wouldn't waste the extra money on the one with software. I find it is easier to keep an excel spreadsheet for the information I want. Many of my friends have also purchased them after seeing mine. I hated wearing one on my hip. This one I just put in my pants pocket. Of note also - it was washed and dried and still works; I ran it over with my care and it still works; spilled an entire pot of hot Soup on it and it still works. I would prefer the bodybugg but $19 versus $350?! There is no question. I need the $350 to pay for my fills.

Flouroscopy is not required to get a fill. It is helpful but my fills are never done with it. My surgery was covered by my insurance but fills are not. Not even the first one. Every doctor is different, every insurance company is different.

Confused - I am by no means an expert but I can tell you about my personal experience. I missed 3 days of work and had no problem going back when I did except for being very full of gas and gas pains. Sitting around at home is not the answer to that though so I went to work. I actually drove home from the hospital myself the next day because everyone at home had a stomach virsus. The hospital was 2 hours away. Weight loss is huge in the beginning if you have a preop diet. I was required to follow one. Afterwards my weight loss has been entirely dependent upon me. I had two months where I only lost 2 pounds but my fill was anywhere near where it needed to be. I am where I need to be now and average about 2-2.5 pounds per week. It is not effortless though. I exercise at least 6 days a week. It will slow way down if you don't. Some people are fine with that, but I need to see the scale continue to move. My ticker is not updated but I have already lost 50% of my weight and don't feel it will stop anytime soon. It depends how much you want to use the tool when you get it. I can feel it with my fingers but just enough to know it is there. It doesn't protrude like a pacemaker or anything. You can't see it when I am in a bathingsuit. It doesn't hurt or anything just because it is there. For me, vomitting is the sudden excess saliva but I have always had enough time to discretely make it to the bathroom. It is almost like I tip over my head into the toilet and it falls out. I don't have any wretching or really noisyness. Most people do not know about my procedure. I just told my brother yesterday and it has been 4 months. The only people at work who know are people who I thought would genuinely have an interest in the procedure. They are now in the process of getting the band themselves. My boss knows but only because I told her when she was scheduling a luncheon for chinese food one time. I told her I couldn't eat chinese and asked if we could do something different. She never knew when I missed work or returned to work. I simply used three days vacation time and no one was the wiser. I have a 4.5cc band and have 3cc's in it. That might be a little too much but I am staying at that level for a while as long as I can get enough food in to remain healthy. If you want to PM me with any other questions, that would be fine. The final answer to all your questions though - it depends on the person, everyone is different. I hate that answer too but ultimately, it is the only one that is 100% accurate.

Don't get discouraged. It takes several fills. I didn't feel any restriction until my third fill. I just had my sixth fill (3cc in a 4.5cc band) and think this is just about where I need to be. It is tough to be patient with the "fill" process but I would rather do it slowly than do it too fast, too much and be PBing all the time. I was discouraged for about 2 months but then the fills got better. Good luck and don't get too discouraged. You didn't waste your money, it just takes patience to get the ball rolling.

B - plain yogurt FF 90 S - Tomato Basil Tuna salad 200 L - 1 deviled egg; 3 tablespoons SF/FF pudding 175 S - Smart Ones chicken Marsala 180 D - 98% FF Turkey Burger 190 835 calories consumed 461 calories burned through exercise (walked 4 1/2 miles) Net 371 calories

For me it is always bread and always scrambled eggs. You would think eggs wouldn't be a problem but holy smokes - every time. I also cannot eat a muffin at all but that is something we definitely don't need anyway.

Thanks everyone - I have lost 40 pounds and except for bouncing around by a pound, I have not regained. At this point in my life could I have done it without the band - no. At least not and keep it off. The other side of this is that apparently my insurance won't pay for fills and I already owe $1000 for that. I am sure I need a fill but need to pay for all the others first. In the end, I guess it will just be a longer process than I was expecting or hoping for. But I will eventually get there.

I am confused... I have a 4cc band. My first fill was 1cc. My 2nd fill was .4 cc's (they pulled the 1cc out and verified it was there). My 3rd fill was .4 cc's which should have brought the total to 1.8 cc's but it was 1.9 cc's. An extra .1 cc's? Now, today I had a fourth fill of .4 cc's but there was only 1.6 cc's in there? I knew I didn't have it all because I very suddenly lost all feelings of restriction. So, my question - where did the .3 cc's go? Thanks

People keep asking me if I have the NEW band? What is that? All I know is I have the 4cc Inamed Lapband. Whatever the new one is, they keep trying to make me feel bad about having the "old" one - which I don't even know if I do... Thanks

For those of you that have taken phentermine with the band... Do you just open the capsule and consume the contents? It is a pill that can be opened up? I assumed it was time release and couldn't be. Just curious at this point. I am still losing weight but very slowly. I haven't updated my ticker. Thanks

Prior to being banded I was on NSAIDS and Darvocet (sometimes even Dilaudid) for pain relief for my legs and feet. My bones fracture easily and most everything is held together with plates and screws now. Obviously after being banded I can't take any of those. Other than tylenol what do people take for pain from other issues, accidents or injuries? I can use lydoderm (sp?) pain patches but I can't cover myself from knees to toes. I assume as I near my goal weight this will get better but until then...What? I would appreciate any suggestions. I am sure my PCP will call in a prescription for whatever I suggest but he is quite unfamiliar with the band and doesn't know what is acceptable. Thanks