mlgpdx

Yep! I claimed mine on my 2008 taxes! I claimed the procedre, fills, travel, etc... Be sure to keep all documentation. It made a big difference for me.

Thanks to everyone for your nice replies I had an abdominal ultrasound on Monday and my doc said it's "abnormal" I have no idea what that means.. and with my lovely (cursing) doc the soonest she could go over the results is today at 4:30pm over the phone. I've been waiting since Monday. I will keep you posted.

Linda - OMG! I was racking my brain trying to figure out who stopped in to see me!! hahahaha... If you are ever down again please call me and let's get together.

Lisa - I tried e/mailing you about Dr. Nyte but on here it said you weren't accepting any e/mail?

I am having surgery by @ Nyte surgical in Mapply valley, Wa.

I will keep you all posted.

I haven't posted on the board in months but I do read and lurk I wanted to let everyone know I am a few days away from my 2 year bandaversary!

Jan 2009 I weighed 290#, when I was banded at the OCC in March 2008 I was 286 (I think, I have to look at my signature) Today I weigh 155#

I am thankful, almost, everyday for my band. I wear between a size 8-10 and a M-L. I am having plastic surgery at the end of April. I am gettting

a boob job and arm fat cut off. Woo hooo! Next will be thigh lift and that under the boobs roll of fat, I figure when I get my droppy now size B's

back to the full D they used to be that middle roll of fat/skin won't be as noticiable.

I started out losing weight very slowly so don't give up hope if you are a slow loser. One day the weight literally started falling off.

I started running in Nov/Dec last year and after a consistant month of running I lost another 15# is a month. It just fell off. I eat full fat

high calorie stuff but just very small portions. I don't go for diet food, low fat, non fat, low calorie etc... I try to eat foods that are

minimally processed. I rarely to never eat bread, pasta, pizza or anything along those lines. I rarely eat red meat only because I find it just

doesn't settle well with me. I have been completely unfilled since Oct/Nov 2009 and I still have restriction. In the next month I plan to go under

fluro to have the band checked out, I feel sometimes like maybe something is wrong becuase I have so much restriction and am totally unfilled.

There are times I cried because I felt like the band limited me from having food fun with friends and family but once I wrapped my head around the

fact that fun does not always have to involve food my life became much easier. I started therapy over a year ago and, in my opinion, have learned

a lot about what made me obese and why I was such a food addict. I still see my therapsist but now we talk about how a former fat all her life

woman deals with attention from male and females.

It's a journey my friends and I encourage everyone of you to go at your own pace and do what feels good for you. It is not a race. It doesn't matter

how quickly you lose the weight just that you continue to move forward. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I have a ton of before

pics if anyone is interested. (sorry about all the spelling errors)

Mindy

Thanks for the info guys! after reading some posts about vicki I've e/mailed her some questions. I will keep you all posted.

has anyone had their inner thigh done or gotten a price quote? Mine are sooooo bad. Need to do something. Looking for some feedback.

I really need to get my inner thighs taken care of! sooooo much loose skin and hanging down.. just bleh... has anyone had this done or gotten a price quote?

Thanks in advance.

Mindy

YES! I use to eat advil like it was candy... now I rarely have a headache and when I do I can usually pinpoint why. Another reason I LOVE my band I think a lot of it, for me, is I am not eating crap 24/7.. but that's just my opinion. Congrats! It's a great feeling isn't it?

karenlynn

I hear you !! I have gone from my highest of 3.1 down to 1.65 and think I might need another unfill. The more weight I lose the more I tighten! Best of luck and please keep posting.

krisphoenix - glad that helped...

nicolek- if you Private message me w/ your e/mail I would be happy to send you b/4 and after pics. (or if anyone is interested) I have a problem w/ my ex stalking me and have had to delete all pictures, social networking etc... posts from this forum. (drama) lol

irishrn- Thank you for the compliment, I truly appreciate it.

I will make oatmeal at work and eat it between seeing clients.. it can take me from 8am - 12pm some times to finish an entire serving... a lot of times I get tired and throw 1/2 of it away but it all depends on how I'm feeling. For me there is a definite I'M FINISHED and cannot eat another bite feeling... and then there is a MEH... I can keep eating but it'll take awhile.

Were you banded by Dr. Ortiz? If your band was to tight you wouldn't be able to get/keep food or maybe even liquids down. Have you been exercising more? You might need more protein. I don't think it's a bad idea to increase your food intake if you are making the right choices and still following the bandster rules.

I was banded 3/21/08 and have lost 105lbs I am thankful EVERY SINGLE DAY for my lapband! It was not easy..... and the issues with food that made us fat don't go away just because you get banded.. (unfortunetely) BUT.... I've worked through a lot of mine and continue day by day. I am finally at a "normal" weight for the first time in my life and it feels wonderful.

Good luck, keep reading this forum for support.

Bill

I miss you on FB I had to delete my account because of my crazy ex causing problems and being a stalker I hope to create a new one soon under an alias Hope all is well in your "personal" life as well.

Will > > >

What a lovely post, I enjoyed it It's nice to see some of the old timers come out and post. You are doing fabulous!

I was going to post an update at my 1 year bandiversary but didn't do it..

Hello!! I was banded February 3 2009 and ever since ive had pain in my side where the port is. Sometimes its not bad pain but sometimes it is. Sometimes i have a really hard time sitting too. Is this normal?

Thank you

Regina

Regina

I had really bad pain a couple weeks after being banded for about 2-3 weeks. Pain that was so bad when I layed in bed I had to sleep with a huggy pillow and position myself just right.. I was really worried about it but it eventually went away. It was sharp and would take my breath away, it happened when laying down and when walking. I was told it was "healing" and was fine... it felt like it took forever but the pain did go away and all is well. Good luck.

Mona

> > So glad to hear about your check up and that everything is going well! It's a great reminder that we ALL lose differently! I know you are THRILLED and working harder than ever! Thanks for posting, it really is good to hear that every person is different and we should not be comparing ourselves to anyone.

Hugs to you my friend.

xoxoxoxo

Crazycoolbutterfly

Your story brought tears to my eyes thank you so much for sharing. Good for you! GREAT for you! YOU did AWESOME!

Hey Stormy, congrats on your 2nd fill! I hope this give you great restriction. I love Dr. Fitzpatrick... straight, to the point and hits it on the first poke! wooo hooo

Hi I was overfilled on my second fill so I had most of that removed (believe me you don't want to be overfilled :lb12: ) then I went a few months later for my third fill, which was half the amount of my second, I think I would like to have just a tad of that removed, still a little to tight. It is just easier to drink my calories than eat them, and that is not the purpose of the band.

You will find that everyone is different, I lost all my weight on my first fill (40 lbs.) and have only maintained on the rest. I would still like to lose 10 lbs. but even with the band the last 10 is the hardest. To tell you the truth as long as I don't gain any I will be perfectly happy at this weight.

I am so happy with my band, I would have gained back every thing I had lost and then some without the band. I guess I need to change my name to ..YOYONOMORE

HAHAHAHAHAHAH... "yoyonomore" that's funny! and soooo true!

I'm so happy your mom made the choice to get banded! wooo hoooo... she's on her way to a healthier life. You look fantastic Michelle! Nice to see your pics!

xoxoxoxo

Congrats on your upcoming surgery! It will be here before you know it.

I hit my sweet spot on my 3rd fill 2.9cc's. I got my 3rd fill a little over 4 months after being banded. If you read my signature it will tell you how much weight I lost from surgery until each fill.

I had to have an unfill a week ago becaue I just tightened up and couldn't keep anything down. I'm down to 2.3cc's right now and still have great restriction.. almost to the point that I might have a little more taken out because I am still not consistently getting enough down (in my opinion)

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for this information! I love the fill Dr. I ususally see but she is difficult to get in with and I love the idea that he has fluro if you need it.

Thanks so much for this information! I love the fill Dr. I ususally see but she is difficult to get in with and I love the idea that he has fluro if you need it.

Karen

Thanks for your post! I had a similiar situation this week. I got really sick with the flu over Christmas. A week later and I felt better but just couldn't keep any food down, super super tight. I could "feel" that I was just to tight so I had an unfill on Friday. I had .3 cc's taken out. I thought I had 2.9cc's in my band but found out that I had 2.6 and now I have right around 2.3cc's. I feel better, I am able to get liquids down and eat small portions. When you stay in tune with your body you really can tell when something is different. The band is fickle and it's really hard to tell from one day to the next.

Lisa

I agree that everyone should try to have a little emergency fund set aside just in case anything comes up. Even a couple hundered dollars for an emergency unfill locally. Also.. I hope your son moves out by the summer/fall because I'm wanting to get my thighs and upper arms done!

vallerygirl

Don't get discouraged! The band is not a quick fix, it does take time. I was banded 3/24/08. I weighed 276 at surgery. today I weight 186 pounds. A little over 9 months and I am down 90 pounds! If you will read my signature you will see that between banding 3/24 and my 3rd fill in august I only lost 25lbs. yikes! I was feeling like a failure and would read the board daily and hear all these wonderful stories of people losing weight like crazy and I would sit and wonder what is wrong with me?!?!?!? After my 3rd fill I hit my "sweet spot" and I also did a LOT of mental work.. lol meaning I had to have positive talks with myself several times a day about why I got the band and how I needed to take responsibility for my behavior and makes changes... everything finally came together and the weight literally begin falling off. You will hear this over and over and over and over but the band is a TOOL.. it is NOT the end all be all for losing weight. You must follow Dr's instructions and "bandster rules"... we all fall off the wagon but we will never put you down.. we are here to support you, give you encouragement and tell you that YES YOU CAN DO THIS!

I have a ton of before/after pics on myspace if anyone is interested let me know . For some reason I never was able to post pics in my posting on this forum. I could also update my gallery... maybe I'll work on that.