OICU812

I had my 2nd fill last Jan. and seem to have hit the plateau. I have lost 130 lbs. but haven't lost any in a while. My portions seem to be getting larger and hungrier between meals. I had hoped 2 fills would do me, but have decided to get a 3rd. I seems kinda dumb to have this tool and not using it to its potential. I plan to get my fill and then maybe some shopping with my daughter. Has anyone done any shopping in TJ lately. Just wondering how Revolution Ave. or the shopping malls were lately. Anybody get any good deals?

I had my last fill (my second) in January. I have done very well and lost well over 100 lbs since my surgery in Aug 08. Lately, my meal portions seem to be on the rise, and I have been hungrier between meals. Still feel like I have restriction at times, especially if I try to eat any bread, so I usually stay away from it. Just wondering if you think I could use another fill. Thanks,

It's very likely. The day after mine, My wife and I crossed the border and went to the SD zoo and to old Town San Diego.

Banded on 8/14/08 and have lost 130 lbs. Feeling great. I have had 2 fills. The last one was in January and I still have restriction

I got banded in Aug. and had a 2.5cc fill in Oct. and had another 2cc in Jan. on my 2nd fill. I still have some pretty good restriction. It seems to come and go, but I have adjusted my eating habits, so I don't really feel that I am really using the band that much anymore. I realized very early that the band wasn't going to do this for me by itself, that I was going to have to do this with assistace from the band. It has been alot of work, but I am down 130 lbs.

Will there be any youtube video? Maybe we could help you decide whether to take level 1 over again.

Post some pictures and we will help you decide.

I have lost 125lbs since August and I still drink a protein shake every morning. It keeps me full until lunch, and since I am working out 6 days a week, I feel like I need the extra protein even though I can eat about whatever I want, just not too much of it. I used the EAS protein powder from SAM's club for a few monthes and it tastes pretty good, but now I am using the Max Protein powder from GNC. It has the same amout of protein, but fewer calories and carbs. It also tastes alot better. It tastes good enough to drink even if it had no protein in it. The chocolate is almost too rich, so I mix 1 scoop of choc. and 1 scoop of vanilla. My trainer told me to stay away from the Muscle Milk, that it will put weight on you.

What a crock of crap. My happy weight at 155. My legs weigh more than that. There is no way I could ever get to 155, so now I'm not happy. I happen to know that my happy weight is about 730 lbs. but that ain't my healthy weight, so I'm just shooting for 200 instead.

I used to eat food so hot that you could use your breath to weld with, but since the band, 2 of the worst nights I have spent were after some very spicy food. No more of it for me.

Follow the Dr.'s orders. If they told you to eat mushy steak, then my all means, eat it. It they told you not to eat anything that you had to chew, then there is a reason. With Dr. Ortiz's diet, there is no mushy stage, just 21 days of liquids after being banded, followed by small balanced meals. I have read that some Dr.s have different diets, but Dr. Ortiz's diet has worked very well for me and I can only recommend that it be followed. Most people on this board have been banded my Dr. Ortiz and probably will tell you the same.

Last weekend made 6 monthes since my banding. 6 monthes ago I was 370 lbs and my dr. told me that he would really like to see me down around 250 and more active. This morning I was 253 and very active. I haven't reached my goal yet, because I don't have one. I just wanted to be much healtier, so then again, maybe I have met my goal, but I keep setting new ones. I wore one of my old belts today, just to show how many inches I have lost. There is now 17 inches of belt hanging past the buckle where I used to use the last hole. A few more inches and I think I will be able to make my wife a belt out of what is left over. I have bought new jeans 3 times since being banded and it is time to buy some more. This band is costing me money, but I'll gladly spend it.

I brought back tramadol, vicotin, and amoxicillin and a few cuban ciggies. I also had about 10 kilos of cocaine taped to my belly, and my suitcase filled with illegal mexican fireworks. Just the first sentence is true, the rest is my typical B.S. LA and Hollywood was great and we had a really fun time. If I ever need another fill, I will definately go back. I didn't get in to get my tattoo from LA Ink, so I have to go back for that. My daughter said her hands and feet fit perfectly in Marilyn Monroes. I tried to fit my feet into John Wayne's boot prints, and just as my wife predicted, I couldn't fill his boots.

I had my pockets full of goodies when we crossed the border last time. I brought back amoxicillin and several pain meds. Also some cigars. I just put them in my pants pocket. I guess I could have brought back anything since they didn't even have the xray machine going for luggage when we crossed. If I had known that, I would have myself a new gardener now.

Don't worry, they'll give you a list of no-no's that you can't eat for a while. Go ahead and schedule some dental work if you need it, cause you won't need your teeth for a while. Whether you are a vegetarian or a Carnivore like me, you will be drinking most of your food for a while. When you can get back to regular food, just eat small quantities of nutritious food and stay away from the snacks, junk food and fast food.

I just returned from a 2 hour workout. 3.5 miles on the treadmill, 1.5 miles on the bike, 1 mile uphill on the recumbent bike, and some weight lifting exercising. There is no way I could have done this a few monthes ago. When I got home the show "Inside Brookhaven Obesity Clinic" was on and for the first time I watched a it. What an eye opener. All I could think of was "But for the grace of God, there go I". Some of the people on the show were not as heavy as I was a few short monthes ago. 6 monthes ago, I was 375 lbs. This morning I was 260 lbs. This is working, and it is making a difference in my life. I don't know how my weight got so out of hand. I used to be a monster in the gym. I played football, wrestled, practiced martial arts, and stayed busy all the time. Somewhere along the way, I guess life got too easy for me and laying around did too. I am so fortunate that I never developed any diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or any of the obesity related illnesses. My wife says I am starting to look like the muscled up guy she married 26 years ago and I appreciate the support she has given me. By the way, she has lost over 20 lbs during this period also, and I am proud of her. Something opens everybody's eyes about their weight and I can remember when mine was opened in a very harsh way. In January, I had 2 disks rupture in my neck. The vertibrae were crushing a nerve that ran from my neck to the left hand and 1 was pressing against my spinal cord. The pain was excruciating and I was taking so much pain medicine, I was in a stuper for several weeks until I had surgery to remove the disks and fuse the vertibrae in my neck. I have never felt anything so painful, and hope I never will. The surgery was very successful, and the pain was gone. My neurosurgeon said that obesity was a factor in the disks failing and suggested that I needed to do something soon because I had 2 more disks that were in danger. I looked on his chart and read that he had listed "Morbid Obesity" as a description of my conditions. "Morbit Obesity", damn, that means I am too fat to live. That was my eye opening experience and that was when my wife and I started researching weight loss and surgery, and was kept being led to the OCC. I don't know if this has saved my life or extended it, because I can't see the future, but I know today was better than yesterday and that was better than the day before. Well that's my story. I don't write too much on this board, and when I do, maybe I try to add a little humor, because that's me, but I read everything that is written on here, and try to digest all of it. It has been very helpful to me to find out that there are many more of me out there. I know that my wife reads this forum every once in a while, and I just would like to publicly say thank you to her for all the support that she has given me. (I thanked her privately, several times).

I lost, but I really watched what I ate. I felt like I had some restriction even before my first fill. I weigh every Friday morning and I have had only 1 week where I either gained or stayed the same and that was the week of Christmas, New Years. We took a small vacation and had to eat out all the time, so I kind of got off the diet.

Yes, it is tax deductable, if you itemize and only the part above 7.5% of your income is deductable. Your itemized deductions would have to be above the standard deduction of 10,900 for married filing jointly to make it better to itemize than take the standard deduction.

I was there getting a fill when they filmed your video. Very nicely done. Hope your Mom is doing just as great. You look great in the video, but folks she looks even better in person.

Skinny, I've lost 110 lbs. since I was banded in August. I eat less, sleep better, play harder, work out 3-4 times a week instead of sitting on the couch and watching tv, party like a rock star and bang like a porn star. My house is cleaner, projects are actually getting done. Hell yes I'd do it again. My only regret is that I couldn't do it years ago.

the zoo is very nice. Old town is ok, but not really alot to see. The gas lamp district was alot of fun, but since it is alot of restraunts, we don't get to enjoy them, but walking around it is still fun. This time of year, I would try the whale watching cruises, or rent a car and drive up into the mountains or desert.

I went to the San Diego zoo the day after my lbs and to the beach and old town San Diego the next day. I think the more you get out and do, especially walk, the better off you will be.

I bought my own seatbelt extension on ebay for about $15. Just didn't want to have to ask for one. There are 2 main types. One that works on Southwest, and one that works on about everybody elses. Don't have to use it any more and even have to tighten the belt a little. In case you are wondering about airline seat sizes, go to seatguru.com and they have all of the airlines and planes that they have with the seat sizes listed for each plane. It also has which seats are the best and worst on each plane. Also, if you need first class which is always wider than coach, wait until the day of the flight and pay for the upgrade to first, since it is cheaper then, and first class is almost never sold out, but you will have to get there early.

I met Michelle over the weekend in TJ. I gotta admit it, she is smokin' hot, and seemed like a very good person too. Congradulations Michelle and hope your mom is doing great also. Your openness about your surgery and body have been a blessing to many on this board. Be sure to look for her OCC video on Youtube soon.

Just got back from my TJ fill trip last night. We felt perfectly safe the whole time, but mostly we just go shopping and don't go out too late after dark.