kym828

i eat as normal as possible and drink as normal as possible. i cant diet and that is the reason i got the band - to eat less but normal. typical day for me: breakfast - 1/3 of a low carb breakfast bowl lunch - 1/2 cheese burger or 1 cup of chili or soup dinner - varies but could be 1 or 2 pcs of pizza, or chicken strips or a small hamberger i dont snack really because i am rarely hungry - i have started jazzercise and go 3 or 4 times a week now and that is helping alot. Progress is slow and steady but it is still progress....I drink on the weekends beer or regular cocktales. i just live my life and do everything in moderation now. i love my band and wouldnt trade it for anything.

My first fill i went to Dr Allen in Denver and had 4ccs, 2nd fill went to TJ and got up to 5ccs, then last fill was back in Denver at 6ccs in my VG 10cc band. I could tell my doctor in Denver is getting much more comfortable in the fills and knowing exactly what a good fill amount is... I like going back to TJ as much as possible but Denver is so much easier for me.

I like to describe the "uncomfortable" feeling as a cat with a hair ball. I cant stress enough that you have to pay attention to your body and stop eating the minute you feel full. It is true that just one more bite will make it all come back up. Sometimes you might just have a little burp and a baby spit up and other times its everything you just ate.

Teri, 34 lbs for Kyle is great! you will figure the fill thing out and get it going in the right direction i am sure. i am at 6 cc's in my 10cc band and there are days i cant eat anything and water girgles thru, but a couple days later i can eat alot! there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it at all but i do think i am at the right restriction. my only advice would be to not be so aggressive on the fills and if you have a day or two where you can only have liquids, wait before getting an unfill to see if it passes. i had to start exercising to get the scales to move again and i am tired of walking alone and not very committed at that. i joined a jazzercise class and i havent sweated that much in years! now i know the lbs are finally going to start melting away. i am down 31 lbs now. Hang in there Teri - i agree with you - even with the fickleness of the band, i am soooo happy i had the surgery and would do it again and again. Kim

i am down 30 lbs at 4 1/2 months - i think at 3 months it was about 22 lbs. i have steadily lost about 1.5 lbs a week - sometimes i plateau for about 4 wks and then i know its time for a fill but overall i am very happy to have 30 lbs gone forever. its a very slow progress - i feel like the turtle and that gastric bypass patients are the hare... but i think the turtle way is the best way for me - i keep thinking 2 yrs out i will be where i really want to be in what i believe to be a much healthier way of achieving that goal. dont expect to drop fast - you will be disappointed, unless you are extremely disaplined and can diet the wt off... i cant - i use the tool but i eat what i want - just alot less. good luck, kim

Hi all, I think its time for a fill but i wanted to ask you guys first. I haven't lost wt in over 4 weeks now and i am hovering between 250 and 254 lbs. I am currently at 5cc in my VG band. My last fill was 1-19-07. If i eat too fast or take too big of bites i will PB, but basically i can eat a full size whopper from Burger King in about 25 min with no problem plus a hand full of fries. What do think? I think that is way too much to be able to eat at one setting. Please advise?? thanks, kim

i wish i knew that there would be days you can eat anything and everything and then the next day nothing but liquids and soft foods. the band is so fickle it is hard to know for certain if you have good restriction or not on a daily basis. patience is probably the most important thing to develope with the band - you have to have patience..

thanks you guys for all the encouragement... such funny stories and visuals crack me up! the scale is still moving in the right direction and i can live with the slow progress so far. i swear i am so rebellous - when i am told i cant have something because the band wont allow it i just have to try to see for myself. so far there is nothing i cant eat or drink that has been taboo for others. i do know that it can change on any given day thanks to the fickleness of the band. i cant wait for the time change to be able to be out in the sun more and on the treadmill less. Teri, i have noticed with my last fill 1-19-07 that some days i cant eat more than a 1/2 cup of food all day and then a couple days later i can eat all day (or at least it fills like it) - it seems to go back and forth with no rhyme or reason, i dont want to become too tight so i am trying to go by that rule of no wt loss in 4 weeks its time to get a fill. i am very curious to how things go for you and kyle... i am thinking kyle definitely needs a fill if he can eat 4 pc of pizza!! thanks again everyone! kim

i just wanted to update everyone. i am now almost 15 weeks post-op and i still love my band. progress has been slow, which is totally my fault as i have a hard time giving up liquid calories on the weekends with my friends. i have lost 24 lbs, which sounds terrible, but in reality it is 1.6 lbs per week. if i lose that much steadily for 52 wks i will the happiest bandster around! i love the fact that i am no longer a choco-holic, even with girl scout cookies going down easily, i am eating so much less than this time last year. i used to eat a whole box in one setting because i am a major binger - now i feel so full and sick after about 8 cookies - which is still alot but much better. there are still things i need to work on to stay successful at this long term: drink less alcohol, eat no sweets and pay attention to the band - when it says stop - stop so i dont PB and exercise more. I still feel like i have found the sweet spot for now with 5cc in my VG band. i never drink while eating and most days my caloric intake is about 1500 calories (exception is the weekends when i am with my friends and fruity drinks or even beer go down way too easily - yes i am a bad bandster that seems to test the limits) i can honestly say i have not had one hunger pain since the day of my surgery. right now, i am trying to break bad habits that i have had for years. i think i will get there... every day that i feel alittle better and my clothes get just a little looser - i feel motivated. like a true addict, i am learning to take one day at time and stop beating myself up for something i ate or drank yesterday that was a bad choice. thanks for reading and being non-judgemental over my choice to share my short comings... kim

thank you so much for posting this. i can never eat until i have been awake for at least 6 hours everyday. i will definitely pay attention to eating at night and drinking the water, i think i might even add 15 minutes on the treadmill right before bed too.

thanks for the response ladies.. i will try drinking water at night before i go to bed and i will also just have coffee for breakfast for now on. i actually ate the eggs and bacon for lunch today and it went down fine so i definitely think my band is just being a band. i love the restriction though and if it means i only eat two real meals a day so be it!! kim

Hi, i got a fill on the 19th of January and restriction has been perfect. a wierd thing started happening yesterday though. i have been trying to eat breakfast (bacon and eggs which is my normal breakfast) and yesterday and today i have Pb'd. i always wait until i have been awake for about 3 hours before i try to eat and i seem to be able to eat anything by the time the evening rolls around. is this normal for most of you with good restriction? i ate a bit of lunch yesterday after i had been up about 6 hours... maybe i will always have to wait till lunch to eat from now on?? its strange that for 2 wks i could eat at anytime and now i cant eat in the mornings.. i dont get it? Kim

Hi Teri, I really hope you find and keep the restriction this time. last time i had to eat the toast at the OCC i could barely eat half of it and that was on 1-19-07. so far so good with my fill and i have started to lose steadily again. i am down 24 lbs now since surgery in nov. hang in there - it is soooo wonderful when you do get that restriction. i have noticed that if i am feeling low in calories and weak for the day i will sip water while eating to get things to go thru so i can eat more, otherwise after 5 or 6 spoonfulls i am stuffed and getting that uncomfortable feeling. i know this will work for both you and kyle - just hang in there. kim

I have the vg band and just had my second fill last Friday by Dr. Romero. I am now at 5cc's and the restriction is perfect!! The scale is finally starting to move downward and I am so amazed about the small amount that I am eating. I still feel like a stuffed pig all day long but at the end of the day when I look at the amount of food I have really eaten, it always seems to be right around 1000 calories a day or less. After receiving my second fill by Dr. Romero I have decided that it is well worth the long trip back to TJ for his expertise on fills, not that the doctor who did my first fill in Denver was bad, but he certainly isnt as educated as Dr. Romero on the vg band. I really hope this restriction lasts a couple more months... this is wonderful. You guys with the vg band, hang in there, it does get better. kim

i had surgery in nov 2006 with dr ortiz and the only pain i had was terrible gas pains in my stomach for about 1 week. my port and the incisions have never bothered me and i have always been a stomach sleeper - i was sleeping on my stomach again 3 days after surgery. kim

I will also be flying in on the 19th at 10:35am for a fill. i plan on taking the bus/trolly over to TJ. i would love to meet up with you girls since this will be the first time i am using the bus/trolly system. thanks, kim

Hi Everyone, I was wondering if Dr Ortiz is still charging $100 for the fills under fluoro? thanks, kim

hi you could tell them you are trying to trick your brain into believing that you have eaten enough. everyone knows it takes at least 20 minutes for the brain to get the "full signal" from the stomach. Tell them you are seeing if it works, like your own experiment, instead of dieting you are eating whatever you want just much slower to see if you can really eat less this way. kim

Hi Teri, I was also on liquids for 3 days and i managed to lose the 6 lbs i had gained since i had started to eat everything in the house with no restriction after the initial liquid phase. i can tell i have a little restriction now. it seems i have to fight the head hunger mostly as i notice i physically stay full for 5 to 6 hours after eating, but my head says its time to eat at 7am, noon, and 5pm whether i am hungry or not. i seem to think i am going to starve if i dont eat at the same scheduled time everyday!! hope everything is going well for you and Kyle. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Kim

hi everyone, i had my first fill yesterday in Denver with Dr. Allen. I had hoped to return to OCC for my first fill but the timing wasnt right for another flight south. Dr. Allen was wonderful, very friendly, and seemed very well educated on the band. He put 4 cc's in my VG band and i am on liquids for 72 hours. Dr. Allen does fills under fluoro for $350. After watching the whole fluoro experience, i dont think i would ever get a blind fill without fluoro. He even looked at the band positioning and said everything looked perfect. He also commented that he has heard very good things about Dr. Ortiz and the staff at OCC. I will update on wt loss soon, hopefully i will start to lose again... i had gained back 5 of the original 16 lost but this morning i had lost 3 of that 5. Kim

I just wanted everyone to know i did receive the copy of my medical records to include the blood test results as well as the surgical report. If anyone is having trouble getting the information let Lori know - she will help. Lori, Thanks for getting this resolved so quickly - i should have asked you a month ago. Kim

FYI update... Lori is wonderful... she already emailed me a copy of the receipt which i have tried numerous times in the past to get. I had wired all the funds to OCC 2 weeks before my arrival and i never got the receipt when i was there. I was also trying to get a copy of my medical/surgical records for any emergencies that might come up here in Colorado... so far no luck on that one, but at least i now have faith again that if it can be done Lori will help me. I go for my first fill in Denver next week and i wanted to take as much information with me as possible, especially since i am not sure if Dr Ortiz put a small fill in at the time of surgery. i have the VG band. Thanks again Lori!

i got no massage and only the picture for my id card bummer i always thought i was hot!! well at least i have motivation to get there now!! LOL

that is my plan as well... Lori, i have tried numerous times to get some sort of documentation from OCC since my surgery on Nov 2nd thru Rene and Carolyn and neither has responded. I really need some documentation for my tax records. What should i do? I asked the receptionist after surgery for this information and i was suppose to get something from Rene but that never happened. Please help!! Thanks, Kim

Does anyone know for certain what blood tests they perform at OCC before surgery? I am due for a physical next month and i am not sure if i should get all the blood work done again since i just had it done at the beginning of November at OCC. Would OCC staff told me if something wasn't right in the blood tests? I never heard anything about the results. thanks, kim