bMEagain

A little over a week ago I had a fill from 5.5 to 8.5 ccs. All was well for a couple of days then 2 days of not being able to eat anything solid without feeling a horrible stuck feeling along with sliming. So in a last effort before heading for back to TJ for an unfill I put myself on full liquids and now all is fine. I've learned that everytime I have a fill I have to relearn my eating habits all over again. As you get a fuller band the rules are stricter. Small bites......chew chew chew .....swallow.....wait... then repeat. A Week later my fill has been sucessful and pushed me under 200 lbs. FINALLY!!! Funny how a simple number can make you feel so much happier, sexier and just so much better. I LOVE MY BAND!!

I had my 3rd fill on Saturday. I went from 5.5 ccs to 8.5 it was a bit of an agressive fill, but I finally feel like I have definet good restriction with solids. So I also found that I have to drink ALOT slower, actually a drink has gone to a sip. Drinking water has become quite a chore. It takes me FOREVER to finish drinking 16 ounces! Also I feel full even after just sipping some water.....is this normal? How do you guys get all the water in?

WOW!! You look Uhhhhhhh-mazing!! good job on a job well done!!

I financed a portion of my surgery costs. I used My Medical Loan and the process was super easy. She will find that the rates will be a bit higher for this type of loan, but if she has good credit it will help her out. The process was easy and OCC has a link on thier website.

I had this feeling for several weeks after being banded. It's definetely an uncomfortable feeling, because it does feel as if your band is moving up and down or somthing. I still burp all the time now, but the feeling of movement slowly went away. I assumed my body and stomach was just getting used to my new band. I think it's all normal.

Congrats on your desicion!! I know how excited I was when I finally booked the surgery! The waiting will be hard but the day will be here before you know it. Please keep us posted.

I'm writing to say that I have gotten a bit lazy over the past couple of weeks. I have been doing ok with food but l I know my weight loss has slowed down and I could be doing better. I haven't been to the gym at all. I don't know what happened it's like I see I've lost weight and I feel a lot better now so I've become comfortable where I am at and not really pushing myself the way I should be. It's really scary to think that the old me may be slowly coming back! I'm going to commit to work really hard this whole month (Dec) to make up for lost time and I will post an update at the end of the month. I'm hoping the results will give me the push I need to keep moving. I'm hoping to have a better focus and even better results on my weight loss by then. :lb25:

Congrats to you on your success!! Contrary to popular belief, we all know that even w/ the band you still have to have dicipline, drive and will power to make it happen. The weight doesn't come off on it's own. February will be my 6 mo. anniversary and you have inspired me to continue to work hard and know that it can happen. You go and rock those size 6 jeans, you've earned it!! :cheerleader:

Hi Odette! Just wanted to drop you quick note to tell you to take it day by day. Every single day was a struggle for me on the liquids diet. Even watching TV with all the commercials for food was bad. It helped me to keep a calendar and cross off every day that went by. Try and keep yourself busy, so you don't think about food. It's really hard but you can do it! You are almost there! :cheerleader: B Me Again

The whole fill process is very easy. I have done it 2 times now. I received an email confirmation for my first fill from OCC but not on the second appt. It's so easy just make sure you stick to the yellow cabs and don't carry a purse if you don't need it. YOu will be in and out and home in no time!! Good Luck!!

Pushing yourself to excercise can be tough, especially if you have already lost a good amount of weight. Whenever the idea of not working out pops in my head I remind myself of my commitment to myself to see this through. I also remember how miserable I was before my weight loss and that's usually enough to get me going. My body has responded well to the lapband and I want to make every effort to make sure I utilize what I wanted so much. I LOVE my band!!!

I was banded on 8/7 and have now lost a little over 20 lbs. I feel silly saying this, but it's like I'm slowly uncovering me again. It's like I'm peeling layers of myself away and every time I discover another part of me. I haven't felt my collar bone in years and now I can see it again. Also, I carry most of my weight on my lower half, but now I can see my defined knees. I'm starting to feel like a completely different person. I wonder what it will be like when I hit my goal!!! Can't wait!! I should have done this a long time ago

12 lbs is great!!! When I was on the liquid diet it seemed like the weight was just falling off every day. It does slow down once you start your creamy liquids stage. It really slows down and unfortunately some of it returns when you start you solids. Honestly, right now I would suggest to just take it as it comes. It's a challenge, but I don't weigh myself everyday. I prefer to do that because it helps me avoid the daily obsessions and emotions of not hitting the magic number. When I weigh in every couple of days I'm almost sure to see a decrease and then I feel like I'm right on track to my goal.

I went back to OCC this weekend to get my first fill. Doctor asked how much I was eating now and I told him I was limiting myself to 1/2 of what I used to eat, but I could still eat more if I wanted to. I was given a Johnson & Johnson size 11 band. So I was given a fill of 4.4 ccs which seemed a little high to me. Now that I am looking over some of your posts it's really high compared to your numbers. Surprisingly, I feel the same as prior to the fill. Almost feel like nothing happened. Is all of this normal?? :-? :-?

I went through the same thing as my surgery approached. I just went over all my options over and over again. I reminded myself of all the past dieting attempts only to gain all the weight back. I reminded myself of how much I wanted this and that I was ready to break up with bread or what ever food I couldn't eat after the band, because I wanted this so much. It won't be easy, but like everything else you just have to want it bad enough and be prepared to do whatever it takes to be sucessful.

On Wed. I was 12 day post op and feeling great. Most of my soreness gone and doing great of my liquid diet. Then driving home from wk. I had a stomach ache. The pain was in my lower stomach below my navel so i didn't think it wasn't related to the band. Well later that night I was having severe cramping, vomiting and I was literally howling in pain. We ended up in the emergency room where I had to explain what was going on including my recent banding 12 days ago. So now they are thinking ok she had a botch surgery in TJ. Those idiots I wanted to rip them apart. No one knew what to do with me, because no one had band experience. Five doctors later they finally find their band expert who finally told them he personally knew my doctor in TJ and that HE IS AN EXPERT W/ THE BAND. Can you believe???? So he tells them to check the band to make sure the vomiting hasn't moved it out of place (thank goodness is was still secure) then to give me anti nausea meds to prevent further vomiting. Later they tell me I have some kind of stomach virus. Which is what I was trying to tell them from the begining, but they thought for sure I had a surgery gone wrong. Then of course to make money they tell me they have to admit me into the hospital. For a stomach virus??? I ask them why, they say they have to hydrate me and I tell them I can hydrate myself thanks and I get the heck out of there. It was the ER visit from hell. I contacted OCC the minute I got home, who told me to take some Mylanta or Malox and to drink plenty of Pedialyte to keep hydrated. They told me additional hospitalization would not be needed. Of course my body is already fairly weak from day 14 of my liquid diet so it's been harder to bounce back, but I'm plugging along. Everyone rest assured that we have had surgery with the best. I felt AWSOME when the ER doctor told them who my doctor was and that his reputation was the best. It certainly a reminder to everyone in that ER that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Hi there, I was banded the day after you and I am experiencing the same feeling. Before surgery I asked Dr. Martinez if I ever was going to "feel" the band inside me and he said no. The only thing I should feel is restriction once I start getting my fills. I believe what we are experiencing is the dreaded gas. Hopes this helps

Congrats on a great decision!!! I just got banded a week ago today. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the entire experience!!

I was finally banded and I'm on my 5th day into this. The gas pain has been terribly uncomfortable, but I keep reminding myself that everyday it will get better. I thought I would be starving on my liquid diet but my body is just not hungry. That's incredible to me!! I'm plugging along waiting for day 8. My experience with OCC was great. Everyone was really nice. I was the only person having surgery that day, so I had the luxury of having plenty of attention. If I had to say one thing, was that my meeting with nutritionist seemed a little rushed. She spoke really fast and and tried to cover a power point presentation and go over some paperwork at the same time. She was so rushed she didn't give me a goal and when I asked later they said she would be getting back to me, but she never did and frankly my mind was not concerned about my goal at that time. I figure I'll just email her, but I was a little disapointed with that. I've decided to set little goals for myself and try to concentrate on reaching those. Thanks to everyone who has posted their experiences on this forum. Your information has been very helpful and I could not have done it without your valuable input. Thanks for your support!!! BmeAgain

My surgery is scheduled on a Friday and I was thinking of only taking a couple of days off. My job is a desk job and non-physical so I'm hoping I will be ok, but then when I read about the gas and discomfort I'm wondering if I should take at least a week off. Thoughts??

Thanks for taking the time to post. I'm being banded 2 weeks from now and I so appreciate all the information posted on the forum. If I recall correctly, you mentioned that you were going to surgery by yourself. If so, how did that go? I'm thinking about doing the same, but everyone seems so shocked when I tell them I might just go alone.

WOW, YOU LOOK GREAT!!! =D> I'm sure you get this comment all the time now but seriously congrats I know it takes alot on your part to get there.

Carla and Lea32, I have sent you private messages with my personal email. Hopefully we can coordinate something soon! I'm so excited :cheerleader: Let me know if you don't recieve the message.

Hi there, well I live in Norwalk right by Cerritos College and actually work in Cerritos. Small world huh??? I had actually followed your post mostly cause of your "about me" post you wrote. I related so much to what you wrote and it hit home with me in many ways. My insurance denied my band here. My BMI was on the lower side (34) and I didn't have any "complications" due to my weight. That's how I ended up @ OCC paying it on my own.