Klisa

I ended up seeing Dr Feiz on 10/18...I was curious to see if I would get to meet with him since I knew he had surgery that day and Larry was in the office. Larry usually does my fills. I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did Dr Feiz attend to me, but he spend about 40 mins or so with me, going over my concerns with the band, what to expect in the future, etc. He did tell me that although I have not reached a point where he thinks there is anything wrong with my band, he would bank the info I provided and keep watch for something wrong. It was simply too soon to tell, I suppose.

In any case, I had my 4th fill that day and I am pleased to say that I do finally have SOME restriction. I haven't found my sweet spot yet, but I am having to eat slower and in turn am eating less, so that is by far a step in the right direction.

Dr Feiz told me that if ever I have any questions/concerns, I can email him directly at drfeiz@drfeiz.com or post to the bulletin board here since he frequently checks both for feedback from patients.

I was impressed by his quick response and his attentiveness once he knew that I had concerns.

Looking forward to the future.

Hi Dr Feiz,

I just spoke with Susy and she said that she did have me down for today at noon in TO, so there must have just been some confusion when Lupe checked the schedule yesterday. I let Susy know that you indicated you would prefer to see me personally on Monday so we switched my appt to Monday, 10/18, at 12:30 in TO.

I can very much appreciate that you monitor this site and address any concerns that patients have. That's good for both you and your patients. I feel better & folks following up on this post will see that you address issues quickly and personally, which I suspect is rather unusual for a surgeon.

I will see you on Monday.

Thank you for your reply, Dr Feiz.

I'm glad to hear that you normally do notify patients when there is a last minute switch in surgeons. I was very surprised to have seen Misra's name on my wrist band that morning. Thankfully I found her to be warm & compassionate and hard to not adore, but I felt uneasy about selecting one surgeon and ending up with another...I was half way kicking myself for accepting the unexpected switch just because I 'liked' the physician. If one selected a plastic surgeon because they liked the work that they had seen and liked what they had found after researching a doctor, it would alarm them to realize that they were going to be going under the knife of someone who they did not select...that's what stayed in the back of my mind...

I do understand that there are last minute emergencies or surgeries that complicate schedules. I don't suspect this has been the case with each of my appts though. The last time around I had been told one time and then when I rec'd the confirmation call I was quoted a different time as though that had been what I was originally scheduled for. It worked out OK, but I had to scramble a bit to make the switch. When I called today (because I had a feeling there would be an issue) it sounded like my TO appt had not been scheduled at all and that they were trying to schedule me in Oxnard. There just seems to be a lot of confusion or miscommunication. When I spoke with Lupe today she did seem a little hesitant, so perhaps the schedule just looked weird and I AM scheduled for something in TO tomorrow...I don't know. I will call Susy tomorrow to discuss and reschedule for Monday if needed. If I am not able to get the Monday appt for some reason then I will contact you to make a more concrete arrangement.

I've been doing a little research this evening on the Realize Band vs the Lap Band and what you have said is what I am finding, so either way the end result should be the same...I must just be one of those people who needs a number of fills to feel any real difference.

The more I look, the more I see people in my boat...little or no restriction...and then I see the occasional response that it will happen...that sometimes it just takes 4-5 fills...I've had 3 since my surgery 7/30 and was supposed to have my 4th tomorrow (postponed due to another scheduling problem with the doc's office). I hope the 4th one does a lot more for me...

I'm losing slowly so far too. I've had 3 fills and don't really feel any restriction. I am PRAYING that I'm just one of those folks who starts to 'feel it' on the 4th or 5th...I had my surgery on 7/30 and so far I've lost about 10-12 lbs (depending on the day). If I had NOT had the lap band I would be fairly happy with that progress since loss has always been tough for me (as for most of us otherwise we wouldn't be here!), but I'm disappointed with my progress so far considering I have this cool new tool that is supposed to be helping me. I keep wondering if mine is broken. I wonder how many people feel this way...percentage wise, I mean...

I'm starting to very much question my selecting Dr Feiz....I've had a few things happen...

1) I selected Dr Feiz as my surgeon based on a recommendation I had from an in-law...When I set up a consult to meet the physician, I ended up meeting his assistant, Larry, instead. I wasn't told that my consult wouldn't be with the surgeon and had thought I made it clear that my intent was to meet him. I thought Larry was very informative and liked him well enough, so I let it go.

2) On the day of the surgery I looked down at my wrist band and saw that it said 'Misra' instead of 'Feiz'. This surprised me since I had selected Feiz as my surgeon and my approval was for him. When I questioned it, the staff disappeared for a bit and then came back to tell me that something was wrong with Dr Feiz' hands that day so Misra was handling the surgeries. I had met Misra when she did my upper GI and liked her a lot, so I again let it go.

3) I've had 3 adjustments now and really still have no restriction. I can eat/drink pretty much anything and don't ever really get 'full'. I'm making a conscious effort to not eat as much, but I'm expecting the lap band to give me certain 'discomfort signals' if I start to overeat. Doesn't seem to be happening. I have read that sometimes it takes 4-5 fills, so maybe that's the case for me...I hope...but I'm starting to seriously wonder if something is wrong and my port is leaking or something. My surgery was 7/30 and as of 10/13 I've only lost about 10 lbs.

4) During 2 of my 3 fills, the persons doing them referenced the REALIZE band...I corrected them and said that I have the lap band...I'm starting to wonder if I actually ended up with the REALIZE band instead...It just seems odd that two different people (Larry & Feiz) would tell me I have the REALIZE band after doing the fill and then correct themselves once I said something.

5) EVERY time I make an appt for the Thousand Oaks office, I receive a call a few days later asking me to change the time, day or location. I had an appt for Monday, 10/11 and rec'd a call from Suzy on Fri, 10/8, asking if I could go to Oxnard or Pasadena. I said that I needed TO, so then she scheduled me for tomorrow (Thu, 10/14) at noon. I had a feeling that something would be amiss, so a bit ago I called to confirm and was told by Lupe that they had tried to schedule me for Oxnard at 10:00...so a different time AND a different location then I was told. I'm really frusterated at this point and wasn't all that friendly when I explained that I need to use the TO office and that every time I tried to make an appt, something gets screwed up. I asked her when someone would be in the TO office and she told me to call back and talk to Suzy.

So that's been my experience so far.

Mind you, all of the staff is very friendly, but I'm becoming less and less impressed with my decision to go with Feiz as time goes on...I'm HOPING that this is just taking time and that my restriction/loss starts to kick in soon and that I have no more problems with the office, but I'm not super optimistic.

I still have hardly any restriction. My husband thinks I've grown a stomach bypass! Right after my 3rd fill in Sep, I felt like I had some maybe at first, but it's completely gone now...And my doctor's office is starting to make me wonder....

Twice when I have been in for fills, the person doing the fill has referenced the realize band, but then when I say I have the lap band, they do a double take and backpeddle and say, 'Oh, yesh, you do have the lap band'...When I had my actual surgery, I selected Dr Feiz, but when I went in, Dr Misra actually did it. I found out Dr Feiz wasn't doing it when I looked down at my arm band and questioned why it said Misra...The staff disappeared for a bit and then came back and said Feiz had a problem with his hands that day...Now every time I schedule a fill, I end up with a call back asking if I can reschedule for a different day or maybe go to a different location...

I'm starting to get ticked. And starting to question my surgery...Did they put the wrong band in me? Did the surgeon I ended up with have as much expertise as the one I chose? Do I have a leak in my band or something?

I don't know if a person can switch their doc and have it covered under their insurance...I'll have to call my case worker. I'm just really losing faith in the doc I picked.

I feel so much better knowing that I'm not a freak who the process is not working for...I didn't realize it would take so many fills to hit that sweet spot.

I do notice that if I eat a little too fast or don't chew a bite quite enough I get the lump in the belly. It goes away within a couple of minutes...I've been complaining about not feeling restriction, however I'm paying more attn and I am actually eating slower and eating less than before...For example I used to eat a large sub sandwich...Now I eat about 3/4's of a small.

I have to have a snack or two during the day too, which is new to me...I was NEVER a snacker (though I know it's good to each a couple of healthy snacks), but I guess now that I eat a little less, my stomach empties quicker and once it's empty I am stomach twisting ravenous...but a small snack does me for a while...

So, I am actually modifying my habits here and there without really even doing so on purpose. I haven't felt at all deprived or like I'm on a 'diet', so my mental state is 'content'. :thumbup:

I'm having the same problem! I don't know how many cc's my band can take, but I've had 2 fills and I feel pretty much nothing. I'm so disappointed! I don't know how many cc's they put in the first time (and the guy who did it couldn't seem to tell me), but they put 2 cc's in the 2nd time. I do the 2 days of liquids, but then I can eat whatever and pretty much as much as I want...I'm trying to not eat too large of portions, but lack of willpower is why I got the band in the first place! If I could just say 'OK, I'm satisfied now', then I wouldn't have needed the band...

I just emailed my surgeon...I'm wondering if there could be a hole in the band or something and it's deflating? I hope that with another adjustment I will feel restriction...Right now I feel like, 'See? Even THIS won't work for me!'...It's upsetting...I thought that this would be my key to success...I hope it still is...sigh...

I'm going to call the doc tomorrow to see if they can try my adjustment again. I'm able to have food again and I'm feeling no restriction!

You've done AWESOME Nicole! We were banded the same day...I've only lost about 7 lbs, but I've been eating for 2 weeks. I had lost 11, but within a day or two of eating a few lbs came right back (sodium, I guess). I just had my first fill yesterday. I was supposed to go last Thu, but the doc cancelled.

The needle that they use is HUGE...BUT they numb you with a little shot first so you don't feel anything...It was trippy! I'm supposed to do liquids 2 days, mushies 2 days and then normal food again. I'm HUNGRY! Liquids go right through you so you don't feel very full for long (even with the Protein shake). I'm anxious to get back to real food, but kinda nervous too. There were a couple of times where I got the painful stuck feeling before the adjustment, but each time it only lasted a couple minutes and I was able to get the food down. Now that the passage has been tightened up I'm scared about getting 'stuck'. My cousin in law once had something so stuck that she had to go into the doc to have the band loosened so it could go through...and had to wait a day and a half to do it because it was the weekend! So she didn't eat or drink anything for that time! I can't imagine.

We're all bound to get stuck at some point, but I hope I can just get whatever unstuck without assistance.

I can already tell a bit of difference in myself even though the loss is only 7 lbs. I don't have the pitted edema in my legs near like I used to...my current jeans are looser and I could actually get a slightly older pair on (but man they were TIGHT!)...My boobs actually seem to stick out further than my belly again...LOL...

I'm anxious for us all to see the changes in the coming months!!!

Either do I but when you stick that word 'productive' in front of burp then it changes...kinda like when you say someone has a 'productive cough'...they are coughing UP stuff...a productive burp is burping up 'stuff'...

I was told by my doc to not think of the first month as being part of the 'weight loss' journey...She said that you need to think of it was your healing stage...not worry about loss. She told me that 2 wks after I had the lapband 'installed', I'd pretty much be able to eat anything like I had in the past...I was supposed to do mushies the 3rd week, but started experimenting and found that I had no problem with any foods...even bread...so for the past 13 days I've been pretty much eating like normal (or old 'normal').

I have my first fill tomorrow. I suspect I'm going to get a rude awakening...I've already been warned by the doc that the first few times I eat something solid, I'll make the mistake of not chewing enough and it'll get stuck and then come back up.

During the 1st two weeks I lost 11 lbs, but within 2 days of eating real food, about 5 came back. I guess it's the sodium for the most part. I don't eat junk food (fast food, chips, Cookies, etc), and I try to stay away from processed food (frozen meals), but still, you just end up with more sodium in stuff when you eat vs drink.

I've been terrible with exercise. My hubs and I did great till 4th of July, but since then I haven't done hardly anything. We've been busier with work and stuff and I've used that as an excuse. Need to do something about that!

Wow, Isa Bella...You are an amazing woman...One of my best friends and also my little sister suffer from Lupus in a bad way. They've been through absolute hell with it...I applaud you for somehow managing to have a beautiful outlook in spite of your cancer, fibro, etc. You're amazing. I'm glad that I've learned what I have about you.

I can feel my port too! It's kinda creepy! I just hope that as we lose weight, you can't SEE it! That would be awful! Mine is right above my belly button.

I asked my husband if he wanted to feel it and the very though freaked him out. Hahaha!

Tab1975 - I've been pureeing chunky soups...That's worked the best...There were a bunch of Soups I stayed away from while doing liquids because there was too much stuff in them...things like chicken enchilada Soup, chicken noodle soup...The end result is just a thicker, nicer liquid soup...Think of a fancy bisque Soup vs a watery liquid soup...

I tried pureeing chili...didn't work so well. The flavors didn't blend well enough...

I had made a homemade veggie soup with cabbage, bellpepper, stewed tomatoes, onion, carrots & celery...I lightly pureed that so there were no large chunks...Tonight I BBQ'd chicken and put some of the chicken through the food processor and then added that to the soup. Worked out OK.

Then I've been doing malt o meal here and there...pudding...I've had no problems with either of those...

The 'puree' week has been easier on me than the liquid week. Even though I'm still mainly doing just Soups, they are heartier and thus make me happier.

OMG, Dawn...that made me laugh...Don't poke the bear...

It's day 11 for me...In my pureed stage...Def not as bad as the pure liquid stage, but I can't wait till Friday when I can have some overcooked mushy broccoli and maybe some mashed potatoes! Yum!

My scale is showing I am down 11 lbs from when I first went on the liquid diet (2 days pre op), but I figure a lot of that is just your standard Water weight and when I start adding real food back into the mix, some may come back. I was told not to worry about weight loss during this first phase...that that would come AFTER the first fill (couple weeks from now).

Have you guys allowed yourselves to get truly hungry? Holy crap that hurts! There's been a couple of times where I haven't been someplace where I could eat and man, my stomach just twists into horrid shapes!

OMG - Isa, you are a CONCRETE woman! Tough stuff! There's no way I would have kept on in that marathon if I was in tons of pain!

2beskinny - you think the gym is an awesome perk? The best perk is that I work from home full time! I've gotten spoiled. Normally folks who are a good distance from an office WFH, but in all honesty, it would only be a 30 min commute for me...I love working from home. I need to just make sure I take care of my job as much as possible! It would be no fun to enter the real world again right now! :party:

I'm wondering how much loose skin I will have too...I guess that partially depends on how quickly we lose? I don't think I'll lose quickly...never have...There have been too many times where I have busted my butt at the gym for 2 hrs a day 5-6 days a week and avoided all sort of fun foods only to lose 10 lbs in 4-6 months. Ppphhhttt!! I was really strong though!

Hey Starsinmyeyes! I was told that I could start my cardio within a week and start lifting weights again after 4 weeks. I'm planning on doing the elyptical this weekend...Not all crazy hell bent like I sometimes do, but nice and steady. :redface:

What is the 'dumping syndrome'? I have to look that up!

Nicole, I'm so glad you went to the doc! I bet you'll be way more comfortable now! And your weight loss is awesome!

Yesterday and today I've been very headachey. I'm a big old wuss when it comes to headaches. I was having some software installed on my laptop for work today and while that was going on ended up taking about a 4 hr nap. I also have what feels like a 'stitch' in my side...lower left hand side below rib area. It started a bit yesterday and is worse today. I've been looking at the forums and it seems like it's fairly common and often attributed to gas.

I have my first post op check up tomorrow. Hopefully they tell me everything is fine...

Still uncomfortable to breathe deep.

Last night was my first true 'cry' night. The headache all day must have worn my butt down. My husband looked at me as I was laying on the couch and said, 'do you need a hug?' I answered, 'will you come to me or do I have to come to you?' Hahaha...He came to me and I cried for a few pitiful minutes and then was better. I may have to do it again tonight. I can already feel the lip extending, haha. It's the 5 yr old in me...kinda tired, not feeling great, pouty...

Yesterday and today I haven't been as good about my Protein...Still got at least 40 g, but not as much as I should.

Tomorrow is another day!!

The Precor's are NICE! I had a cheapie elyptical for a while, but we didn't really use it because there wasn't enough resistance and it was too noisy. My husband actually enjoys the gym (I do NOT) and he motivates me to go. My company pays for my membership, so it's something I can't really complain about.

2beskinny - I want to start running again too! Actually, I was never a 'runner'...more of just a 'jogger', but I used to love it. Now it's physically uncomfortable because of the extra poundage...Prior to the 4th of July the hubs and I were gyming it and I was mainly using the elyptical...then on occasion treadmilled it. It's so hard to get back into...but when I used to jog all the time I loved losing myself in that rythym.

A half marathon sounds pretty cool. That would be a great goal for you again.

Yeah...I'm doing the Protein shake thing...sigh...

I'm also taking a liquid multi vit which is actually rather tasty, addtl liquid B Complex and 'juicing'.

I wanna make sure to get my vits in!

Ohhhh, productive burps....got it! Thank you!

You have been getting those hiccup things too? Damn those are NOT comfy are they? They feel like a reverse burp or something to me!

I don't know how normal that is, Nicole...I could drink my Soups and Water and stuff the very next day...In fact I had a wee bit of broth that night of the surgery. I don't know if I'm one of the lucky ones or if you are one of the unlucky ones (depends on what is more common, I suppose). I guess it also depends on whether your doc filled your band a little to begin with. Maybe yours did and mine did not...

You may want to call the doc just to give them an update. I don't think you are in any danger or are that unusual of a case, but they may have some suggestions for you...or at least alleviate your worries.