Ms_C

Thank you for the great advice ladies. I have been taking Lexapro for 4 months on an off and I've gained approximately 12 lbs. Which is even more depressing. Also, it makes me super tired and all I want to do is sleep. I will consult with my dr. to see about a switch. Thank you once again!

So, I was diagnosed with depression a couple of months ago and was prescribed with Lexapro. I understand that Lexapro may increase weight. I have the medication but I'm not taking it the way i'm suposed to because i'm scared I'll gain weight. My question is if any one has taken Lexapro or any other anti-depressants and what were the pros and cons? Thank you in advance, Claudia

Lovemysgt, Have you tried crackers? I love bread but I am unable to eat any at all. I can't eat tortillas either but crackers seem to do the trick. They will give you that bread taste without making you sick. Crackers, Whole-wheat

Drassan, don't feel bad. We all vent here at some point or another and the good thing about it is that you are not alone. There's many of us here facing the same problems. Remember that we are here for support. I know exactly how you feel. It's been almost a year and I still have not reached the green zone. I am currently I'm starting to think the lap-band is not for me. I was banded on May 26, 2010. I have lost a total of 30-some lbs. Through out this year I've had many "stuck" episodes. They started getting worse back in November. I've been throwing up everyday almost for every meal since November. Needless to say, the very few people who know I was banded last year label me as lazy and say that I'm not trying hard enough. They don't understand how hard this process is for a lot of us. I've developed depression because of this of the disencouraging words and PB. It has got so bad that I was prescribed anti-depressants which I might add are not helping with my weight loss. I hope soon I can reach that green zone and begin losing the weight as I have seen with many who were banded last year. Just remember, people are always going to be judgemental and we can't allow these individuals to bring us down. We took that step therefore we are a step ahead. We will get there! Don't lose your motivation. If you like, we can buddy up and help each other. What do you say? Claudia

He would only remove 1cc. I have not been back to the dr. since. I was quite disappointed. I'm considering making an appointment but I'm scared he will not agree to a complete unfill. I have been struggling with chewing throughly all the time. Specially when I'm so hungry but even when I do, I still get stuck.

It's sad to say this but I'm beginning to doubt the lap-band is for me. I was banded on May 26, 2010. I have lost a total of 30-some lbs. Through out this year I've had many "stuck" episodes. They started getting worse back in November. My doctor agreed to remove some liquid from my band but it has not done much for me. I've been throwing up everyday almost for every meal since November. It seems that I can't eat anything without it irritating my band. I've tried eating steamed veggies and fruit. I even tried going back to mushies and protein for a day or two but that didn't help much. I've developed depression because of this issue and I was prescribed anti-depressants which I might add are not helping with my weight loss. What should I do? Has anyone else had this problem? Please advice!

I had my second fill yesterday and I was told I had a total of 7cc in a 10cc LAP-BAND®. I'm a little freaked out because i've seen most people find their sweet spot to be around 5 or 6 cc's. Does any one else out there has 7cc's or more on their 10 cc band? If so, at what point did you find your sweet spot? I think this fill is good for now I just got it yesterday. It's my second by the way. I'm getting a little frustrated and I'm not sure if the bad is simply not working like it should for me as for everyone else as I have only lost 22 lbs since May 26, 2010. I know I should be patient and 22 lbs is a lot to have lost compared to nothing without the band but I see so many of you being successful and losing 3 time the amount I have in 2 months. I'm almost 4 months post op. Please help!

Ash, I have the same problem. I am 3 months post-op and I still can't tell the difference. It's truly a frustrating situation.

Good morning all! Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice and the encouraging words. This site has really been a blessing. I will go on. I am not giving up. I just have days when I feel a little more discouraged than others. My schedule is pretty full. I’m a single mom. I have a 3 year old boy who is super active. I work 2 hours away from my home. My day begins at 4 am and I’m not back home till 7 pm. That doesn’t leave me much time to do much. After reading a few of your replies yesterday I started thinking to my self and said, “I can do this and I’m going to do it” and I did. Yesterday, I decided to go for a walk. I took my son with me. He was so encouraging. At some point, he stopped walking and began running, so I had to run after him and when I would stop, he would say, “come on mom, catch me! Run”. We walk/ran a little over a mile. We had so much fun we’re going to do it again tonight and every day Mon-Fri. If my 3 year old can do this, I can too. I am the parent and I have to set the example. Always! I do not want my child be become obese like I have. I know I can do it. I know I’m worth it. I will accomplish this goal. Maybe later than sooner but I will. THANK YOU SO MUCH ALL FOR BELIEVING IN ME AND SUPPORTING ME! For those who would like to stay in touch with me, yes, lets buddy up! If you don’t receive a friend request from me, send me one. Sincerely, Claudia

I was banded on May 26, 2010. I have lost approximately 16lbs in almost 3 months. I know this process is slow and I know that I have to work hard for it. The problem is not, not knowing what I'm supposed to do. The problem is that I'm not doing it.:smile2: I'm trying to eat healthier and I am eating smaller portions for sure but I'd be lying if I said I was exercising. I have worked out max 5 times since I was able to work out. I'm not gonna sit here and give you all excuses. When I get home I get lazy. That's it :eek: I'm not committed just quite yet and I don't know how to get there. When I look at my self in the mirror, and realize how stupid I am for not following the proper instructions and get depressed and we all know what that leads to right? I'm honestly having doubts about this whole thing. I'm starting to fill that I was not ready to take this step.

I was just wondering for those who have reached your sweet spot, how many cc's did it take to get you to the green zone? :w00t: I just got my first fill on Thursday and I am currently 4.8cc on a 10cc max. band. My Dr. said I should be reaching the green zone soon but I still feel that I can eat a lot. Thanks so much for replying! Claudia

Good morning Isa & Lepez Dr. Martin had mentioned to me that the office was going to be much smaller and on the other side of the floor but I don't recall him telling me they the practice was spliting up. That really caught me off guard. The first thing I did was call my insurance. They said that as long as Dr. Lourie was willing to see me and they billed under the same name as before, there would not be a problem. If there was, I could always go back to my physician (Dr. M. Tyson) and she could give me a referral. Hopefully Dr. Martin is part of my medical group :redface:. Anyway, so I decided to go in to the office anyway. I told the receptionist that I was one of Dr. Martin's patients and that I wanted to know how my insurance was going to be billed for that appointment and they told me that there would be no problem with that because they charged under Bariatric surgeons of Pasadena or something like that (by the way Angel, his assistant was no there either). So I took the risk and went on and saw Dr. Lourie. He was very nice and answered all of my questions and gave my my first fill (I'm so thankful for that). He mentioned to me that Dr. Martin had quit the practice on August 4. He gave no reason as to why he was leaving or where he was going and that they new nothing about if he was going to continue his practice elsewhere. I dont' know if that's true or they simply didn't want to disclose that information. After I was done he told me to reschedule for next month. I noticed on the appointment card Dr. Martin's name was no longer there. So I'm a little skeptical about the whole "I don't know what happened" attitude. In my opinion, they looked pretty upset about the whole situation. Needless to say, I got my first fill! Yay! I would still honestly preffer to continue my treatment with Dr. Martin but 1. I still don't know how to get a hold of him 2. I don't know if he will be part of my medical group and 3. I'm afraid he will disappear again without notice. Anyway, I hope this info helps. If either one of you hears something from Dr. Martin, please let me know. If you guys like, we can buddy up and keep up with our progress and Dr. Martin issue. Thanks Claudia I think I will stick to Dr. Lourie for now. He was pretty good. I fel not pain, no discomfort at all during the fill and well it was a pretty good expericence.

Good morning Honk! Thanks so much for the advice. I called my insurance and I was told that as long as the DR is willing to see me and they charge my inusrance under the same Dr's name, Bariatric Surgeons of Pasadena, I believe, there would be no problem. If that was a problem, then I would have to go back to my physician and get a referral to Dr. Lourie. I was told by the staff that it would be charged as the practice's name rather than under Dr. Martin so I was good to go.:redface:

So, I was banded on May 26, 2010. I had my first appointment to check how the wounds were healing on June 8. I was scheduled on July 13 for my first fill and Dr. Martin was unavailable so my appointment had to be rescheduled to August 5. After almost 2 months of no contact with my Dr., I called to see if there was a special diet since i assumed I was getting my first fill today and I was informed by the staff that Dr. Martin was no longer with their practice. Luckly Dr. Lourie, will see me today but they did not promise that he will take my case since he did not perform the surgery on me. I was so excited about today I thought, "finally I will start losing the weight", As is, I have not lost as much weight as others on this site and I can eat more that I think I should and I probably am. Now, I feel discoranged and frankly, disappointed with Dr. Martin. There was no notice or anything. My surgery was covered by my HMO insurance so I don't know how to go about this whole thing. Will by insurance pay for my visit today with Dr. Lourie? Has this happened to any one else? Can anyone advice? Thank you all!

Thank you so much for your response. I'm starting to feel better today. I'm not sure what was causing it but I'm guessing it was all the gas in my body. Dr. Martin mentioned to me that they blew me up kind of like a balloon before the surgery to make it easier to put the band on. Also, last night I was able to finally sleep on my back. Which was great! I'm still going to call my Dr. once they open their office. Once again, Thank you!!!

Hello! I had my lap band surgery yesterday morning. Right after I woke up I started to notice I couldn't breath while laying on my back and since i live in a two story house I get very aggitated when I climb up the stairs. That had never happened to me before. Did this happen to any of you as well? Please let me know. Thank you! i'll greatly appreciate your response.