karenlynn79

http://www.weightview.com/new/resultsshown...Straightaway800 Here is mine, I hope the link works. They didn't change my face! My head looks too big....I hope my legs look like that someday!!

I am pretty much like that all the time. Once in a while in the evening I can eat about twice what I normally can. For the most part, I have restriction all day every day and have to be careful or suffer the consequences!

Has anyone had a fill done at Kaiser? I just talked to the one in Fremont CA and the Dr. there "decides" if he wants to do fills on Kaiser patients who were banded elsewhere based on the op report. They do not use flouro... I've only had fills at OCC so I am bit apprehensive. I only need about .2 ccs so I really hate to pay for airfare etc... to the OCC this time. Anyone ever had fills at Kaiser?? Dr. Ortiz patients or anyone else's patients??

wow!!!!!! you are awesome!

There has always been a debate about drinking BEFORE eating. Dr. Miranda at my pre-op told me to drink as much as I wanted up until the moment I start eating..... And I do. Sometimes cold liquids tighten you up while hot ones can loosen you up. My guess is that is why they sometimes say not to drink before, in case it affects your fill/how much you can eat at that moment. If I couldn't or didn't drink for 1 hour before I wouldn't be able to get enough water either. Maybe email her and see what she says?

Anyone know anyone who has had lipsculpture at Cosmed??

congrats!!!

I am so sorry Michelle, I will be thinking of you and I hope that you find it.

Lori you read my mind! As a school counselor this is exactly what I tell kids who are letting bullies "win". They WANT a reaction and when they get it, they win! Ignore them like you would a sad little school bully!

It sounds like the liquid stage is really hitting you hard. We've all been there! Just take some deep breaths. Is there a counselor or therapist you could talk to? I believe when your band slips you throw up a lot and can't keep anything down. If the pain persists, call the drs. I had one scare at about 19 days out, ate part of a hotdog and it hurt. Dr. Ramirez called me immediately and added some extra days of liquid and I was fine. I hope your day improves! Try to stay out of restaurants. You are halfway there! You can do this! Karen

Hey Alana, Congrats on the band date! You will be happy you did it! I personally do pilates, weights, and running each twice a week for about 20 minutes. As with any weight loss effort, exercise is often a key factor. I plan on stepping up my exercise routine when I hit a plauteau....

You can't really generalize something like that to include "most people." Everyone is different. Lots of people on here lost after they started solids, before their fill, just on willpower and determination. I was not one of them. I did gain back some weight before I got serious and started getting fills. I just wasn't ready to be serious about losing weight. I wouldn't fixate on something negative that may or may not happen. You are losing! That is great! Just remember that the time between the 21 days and the first fill is usually really difficult! Even if you do gain, don't worry about it. Once you hit a good fill level and the band is doing what it's meant to, you will lose weight!

I will count from my most recent fill date April 17, 2008 (1 month after having my daughter) That day I was 225 Today I am 188 (I can't believe that! I keep doing double-takes at my ticker!) So that's 37 pounds down in 3.5 months, just over 10lbs a month.

Hi, I have been banded for almost 2 years and I am still experience similar things. I am just now seriously getting the hang of what to eat, how slow, and to listen to my body and take a break if I need to. You also might want to try waiting longer between bites to see if it gets stuck. Every once in a while I'll take 2 bites of something and it'll get stuck but I won't notice until it's too late. The next night I might be able to eat bigger bites of something else just fine. This is normal, but very frustrating of course. So I always start out really slow to see what the band is doing at that moment. I always do a shake for breakfast because I am tight until about 11. Because you are able to eat some solids, I would say give it another week or so to see if you can pace yourself more and if you are able to get enough calories in a day. I do still PB sometimes but way way less than I used to. If you are still having trouble with solids (I would also keep track of calories, you don't want to get too low daily) then maybe a small unfill would help you too. Good luck! Karen

I've been to the chiro multiple times with no issues at all.

Hey Trina, I am kind of opposite of you. I always would count calories (in the past and I do now again) and I never once looked at my carb intake until recently. With the band and my usual daily food routines, I get about 1000-1100 calories and 100-150g carbs. I have no clue if this is "good" but I have been losing so I am not worried about it. I also don't deprive myself of something like crackers because then I'll just overeat if I deprive myself. Maybe switch your routine around? Are you counting protein and fiber grams daily? I've found in the past that those 2 things plus drinking lots of water really can kickstart weight loss. Hey how is your Isopure flavor? When is your fill? I hope it goes great! Karen

Hey there Dan, Welcome to the OCC forum! Are you considering surgery with Dr. Ortiz, or are you just starting to look into the technicalities of the process? I am sorry to hear about your health problems. I used to think, too, that you only live once so why not eat/do whatever you want? But that just makes unhappy people. As far as your questions, 1) I think they pretty much recommend cutting out the soda permanently. It's not good for your health in general, but any carbonated drinks can stretch your pouch allowing you to eat more than you should be able to. Quit drinking it now! You'll just be doing yourself a favor. 2) I haven't heard of anyone having issues with spicy foods, I think that's just a personal taste preference. I would highly highly recommend contacting the OCC in regards to pre-op weight loss. I have heard from others here that if your BMI is high, they have some specific things for you to do pre-op. Good luck! This forum is the best and we are always around to answer any questions. Karen

I use the chocolate chewables, both the multivitamin (I think it's by Viacin or something like that) and the target brand calcium chews. If you chew them really well it's like liquid and they are actually pretty tasty....

Amber, No that is definitely not the typical fill experience. I've heard good things and bad things about the Fill Centers. I live in Northern CA so I just fly to San Diego and go the OCC, luckily. Is that a possibility for you? Are there any other docs there or options? I think I'd rather save up my $ and go to OCC or elsewhere than have that happen to me. I am really sorry you went through that. It sounds like he didn't know what the heck he was doing. Maybe in the future you can "interview" the doc before you have them fill you? Even if it's unofficial and see what you gut tells you about them?? Karen

The 10 cm band holds 4 cc's of liquid.

I have been waiting til I was comfortable in my 16's so here is a pic. 2 pair of dress pants, black and tan, they are really comfy and cute. 1 pair of shorts, I only wore those once. 1 pair of jeans from Target they are really soft and 1 pair of capris that I wore a lot but they still look nice.... I guess whoever responds first gets them! Karen

I just wanted to weigh in on this topic as I had my daughter 4 months ago. I was banded in Sept '06 and didn't get fills for a while. I did get 2 fills, lost 30 lbs and then we decided to try to have a baby last summer. So I was banded about 10 months when we got pregnant. I actually spoke with my doctor and the OCC on their opinion and they both said even a few months after banding was ok as long as I was not trying to lose weight while trying to get pregnant. Also, both my doc and the OCC said to get a complete unfill just to be safe. I am very glad I did, because as my pregnancy progressed I naturally got tighter, but not at any time was I too tight to eat enough. But, I definitely ate less and was fuller than when I was pregnant with my son 7 years ago. I gained 30 lbs exactly which my doc said to, even though I was overweight to begin with. I had a cesarean and had no problems at all. I totally get that most people recommend waiting a year or more so that you can lose the weight then get pregnant. For me personally I decided to get pregnant before losing weight for 2 reasons, 1) the timing last year was better for us and 2) I felt that personally if I lost weight, then got pregnant and could eat for 9 months like crazy, I would not want to get a fill afterwards and sink back into my old ways. Michelle as far as morning sickness I threw up almost daily for about 6 weeks and never felt that the band was in jeopardy, thank goodness. Bigali I just wanted to mention that a growing fetus needs the proper nutrition and vitamins etc.. from the moment of conception, not just towards the end of the pregnancy. For some people having a small fill would probably be fine throughout. My band tightens with stress which is another reason I got a total unfill right away.

Hey Trudy, I just reached 189 today too! Doesn't it feel great? I love to say to myself "I'll never be in the 190's, 200's etc... again!"

That is so funny, I have been a Netflix member for many years and I never once thought of that! Thnx!

I just started using this Pilates DVD I got from Amazon (I think). It's called Pilates Complete for Weight Loss: Interactive Personal Trainer. It has tons of different workouts, different lengths as well as for beginners or advanced or in between. It was pretty cheap I think too. Just wanted to share it with you guys in case anyone is looking to add some core work in their routine..... Pilates is great and the cool thing is in just a few sessions you can tell it's working, both physically and you can do the moves easier after just a few times. I would highly recommend it! Karen