Hi my name is Gina i live in So Cal. I was banded on October 31st 2007 and my Dr was Dr. Oliak. Great Dr and a wonderful staff. I have lost 23 pounds and i have 35 to go. Its been slow but due to a motorcycle accident a year ago and 5 surgery's on my knee since then i have done no exercise. so i cant complain. If asked if i would do it again, Most Definitely!!!!! I have a 10cc band and so far have had 3 fills which i now have 5.4cc and very restricted and feel great.. Good luck to all who have been banded or waiting to be band..:sad_smile:

gina . sounds like you are doing great. good for you. hope your knee will be ok.

Hi, Gina and congratulations on getting your band and all of you rsuccess. Good luck!

Hi Gina,

I live in Orange County. I'm being banded by Dr. Oliak on the 28th of this month and am kind of nervous- not for the surgery but living with the band and having to change life as I know it. How long did it take you to get used to living with the band?

well congradulations and good luck with it all. Dr Oliak is great and his staff. My husband and I got banded the same day, then my sister in law Rhonda (which i have been seeing you talk to from Battle Ground just got banded by him) It takes awhile to get use to it, we both had well actually all three had very large hyatal hernias also so it took a little longer to heal. i felt alot of restriction at first then got worried because then i didnt have any, but you will read that with most people thats what happends. i didnt really feel any restriction tell my third fill. i am at 5.4cc and i am good to go. and i have a 10cc band. i get so amazed when i see people who have 7-9cc in their bands and feel no restrictions that puzzles me. i cant eat bread, pasta and have to take very very small bites of everything and chew extra good that was the hardest part for me. it sucks throwing up. but it took me finally to be this tight to learn the rules better. i started at 194 and now at 172 i was stuck for a while but this last week i have lost 6 1/2 pounds. so im excited. i am here if you need me though you will do great, are you having the surgery at the hospital or the out pt clinic? If at the hospital everyone is wonderful there too..

Hi Gina. I'll be banded in the hospital- Chapman Med. Center. I just found out that I have the option of staying the night. At first I did'nt want to do that but now I'm thinking that it might be nice to have the nurses take care of me for the night. Congratuations on your weight loss so far.

Hi Gina,

You sound just like me. I was banded on 12/21/07 by Dr. Oliak. I have lost about 20 pounds with 35 to go. I am 39....

Oh and I'm Gina too!

Nice to meet you. i just had to reply because of all the similarities.

Edited April 17, 200818 yr by Gracie0401

oh good yes, you will want to stay the night take advantage of it..

Hi Gina, Nice to meet you, wow we do have alot in common.. Were you happy with Dr Oliak? My experience was great.. how are you doing now? how many fills have you had? well it was nice meeting and talking to you. KIT...

Gina

Hi Gina,

I had a great experience with Dr. Oliak. I have had 5 fills, the most recent on march 27th. I didn't really have any restriction unitl this last fill - I am now at about 6 ccs. I don't know if my loss is slow because I don't have that much to lose or if its because the band didn't really work until this last fill.

It's weird because some days I am hungry all day long and can eat just about anything and then other days one bite sends me to throw up and those days I can barely eat. On those days I think I am too tight, but on the days that I can eat all day I think I am too loose. Do you have the same thing going on?

actually i am really stable right now. pretty much the same everyday now. i think i am good at 5.4cc for a while. i am hopeing at least..

hi, welcome to LBT

Hello out there. I am trying to decide whehter or not to do this. My insurance, AETNA HMO, has so many stipulations. Says I have to be in a 6 month supervised nutrition and exercise program. What the heck, as if I haven't been on every diet and pill in the world for the last 20 years!!! Can anyone advise me who has AETNA HMO is they had to wait. Also, what pre op tests were necessary. I'm reading about upper and lower GI, endocope of lower stomach, sleep apnea, blood work, and more. What is necessary? I've been doing a lot of research in my area, Cincinnati,OH, so if anyone out there in Cincinnati has suggestions I would love to hear from you.

Take Care

Hello! My name is Josh. I am 19 years young and going on 20. Back in December I made the decision to start my journey towards a weight loss surgery. In January i attended a meeting and decided on the lap band. After months of structered dieting and exercise I am coming up on my final appointment! My surgery is tentatively in May. I have been overweight my entire life, and I have done everything in the world i can think of to lose weight and I finally found the answer :rolleyes2:!! I am getting excited but nervous at the same time for this. I am ready for the change, but wonder how everyone around me will accept it. Well, I joined this site to help find answers from peers to the surgery..so I hope I get to know some of you!

Josh

Hi Josh,

Good luck to you. I wish this option had been there for me along time ago then I wouldn't have spent so many years battling. I'm 39 now and on my way finally. I had the procedure done in Dec (today is my 4 month anniversary).

The weight loss has been slow for me so it hasn't presented a problem. Not alot of people know I had this done - I share on a individual basis depending on the person. I will say though that I didn't realize how hard it would be to be in social eating situations. You simply can't just eat - thought has to go into everything you bite and you always have to be aware of where you are and what you are doing. Otherwise I think it could be uncomfortable for you and those who don't know.

The worst thing about the band is not being able to eat. Sometimes I just want to be "normal". I guess what I mean is that when you diet, you can take a day off (like Easter) but with the band there is no day off and you always have to be thinking - there is no quick bite because I am busy and need to get going.

This band is a blessing and I wish you all the luck with it.

Hello out there. I am trying to decide whehter or not to do this. My insurance, AETNA HMO, has so many stipulations. Says I have to be in a 6 month supervised nutrition and exercise program. What the heck, as if I haven't been on every diet and pill in the world for the last 20 years!!! Can anyone advise me who has AETNA HMO is they had to wait. Also, what pre op tests were necessary. I'm reading about upper and lower GI, endocope of lower stomach, sleep apnea, blood work, and more. What is necessary? I've been doing a lot of research in my area, Cincinnati,OH, so if anyone out there in Cincinnati has suggestions I would love to hear from you.

Take Care

You may find more information on your specific insurance on the insurance and financing thread. I don't know why some insurance requires you to undergo yet another 6 months of dieting if you can provide a history of weights from a doctor's office. As far as pre-op testing, that also depends on your insurance and what your doctor feels is necessary based on your comorbidities. I have none, so the only testing I had was upper GI, ECHO, and blood work. The rest are based on your history.

Good luck!