ladyhart77

Momof4, Just wanted to thank you for the recommendation.. you were right... Dr Demarias oodice is awesome and I think they have me back on track!!

Hey everyone! Hope all is well.. it has been a LONG time since I have posted here. My band journey had been an incredible one until late summer last year. My last fill proved to be too tight and I was having a lot of heartburn issues and had to have an unfill and some healing time. Needless to say.. I was also going through a separation ( now divorce) and did not have the money or time to get a new fill. I have now gone from 187lbs to 235lbs bc of no restriction and the stress of the divorce and the holidays did not help. I have started counting calories again and exercising and I have managed to get about 8lbs back off. I would love to also be using my band as a tool.. BUT my doctor in Va Beach no longer does them and Fill Centers closed on me. I cannot afford the plane ticket to TJ right now but really would like to get a flouro and a fill.. Can anyone recommend a dr that will do this for TJ patients that is in the Mid Atlantic region??????? Im desparate.. Thanks so much!!!!!

Angie, thanks so much for sharing! What great points! I will also make note of the papaya enzyme tablets! Also I can so relate to the snacking issue.. it would be so easy to wait for some of the food to go down and eat around the band. I am seriously having a portion issue.. I had a pretty good first fill (3.8ccs).. I am figuring out that I am at the 1/4 to 1/2 cup range for food. That is so hard.. we are so used to eating a larger amount and want to eat all of it! I think this is a mental issue that we have to beat.. we just have to reset our brains to understand that we dont need to eat that much food! Just need to slow down and enjoy the little we do eat and actually taste and savour it. It is the biggest learning experience so far. Thanks again for sharing!!

Thank yall! I am feeling pretty good this morning but I think I am still gonna do liquids and softs for the day. I am usually tight in the morning anyway so I am sure it will be worse today.. so I will just stick with a protein shake for breakfast. Funmama - yes, it hurt.. it felt like it was a little stuck than very very very full. The PB was actually a relief but its like throwing up so it scared me.. I dont wanna hurt my band. Definitely putting that stuff on my no no list!!! flaggirl - I think I am definitely puttin rice and baked type chicken on my not to eat list... they go on the list with almost all bread!! You are right.. I am definitely learning!!! Thanks again!

You look great! Thanks for posting! You are an inspiration to me... I started out around the same weight and have around the same goal! I hope I am where you are at my one year mark. I will be taking a pic when that scale drops below 200!!! Congratulations and keep working that band!!!

Hey Beth! So glad to hear that your pouch is okay! Welcome back to restriction.. you will get that weight off in no time!! I am still adjusting to restriction since I just had my first fill 2weeks ago... very interesting! Actually had my first PBing experience today.. I hope it was the last! I have also not got into a regular exercise routine so I feel you on the 17min! We can do this!!!!! Good luck!!

Congrats! Everyone at the OCC makes the experience so great! I remember that little nurse too.. she was so awesome.. very motherly!! Welcome to bandland!! It is definitely a learning experience but I think it was the best thing I ever did!!

Ok.. so here I am two week out since my last fill. I have been taking it easy and doing pretty good. Well... tonight I decided to be brave and try some chicken teryaki and fried rice. Man.. I shouldnt have done that!!! I guess I ate too fast or apparently cant do that kinda chicken or rice. But I got stuck and PBed!!!! OMG.... never again!! I hope my band is okay! Should I do liquids for a few days or just see how I feel in the morning? Thanks for any advice!!!!

Hey Kristi.. Thanks so much for sharing with us! That is very helpful and again thanks for being such a great role model and inspiration!!! You are definitely rocking that band!!!!

Deb.. That is so awesome!! You are doing so great and such an inspiration!!!! Keep up the great job of using that tool!!!! Linni - I think it means non scale victory!

Congrats Kristi! That is so awesome and inspirational!!!

Hey guys! i just had my first fill on Thursday. Let me see if my experience can help you a little. I was very excited because I went through Christmas in bandhell!!! I am just thankful that I didnt gain! I have the 10cc band and the doctor told me that she tried to get the sweet spot in two or three fills, so I was hopeful that she would get me at good restriction the first time. She started out by putting 4cc's in the band. She then told me to take three good chugs of my water. OMG! That was too much! It hurt really bad and took over a minute to get down.. just water!! You do not want to be overfilled!!! So she backed it off .4 and that was too little so we ended up settling at 3.8cc. I think that is a pretty good first fill.. the restriction seems to be good so far! My doctor was actually trained at the OCC so that might make a difference too.. not sure. I agree though... if you wanna see why big fills are not the norm... just ask them to overfill you for a minute and drink some water! Whoa.. that will give you the understanding you need!!! ;-)

Hey Everyone!! I hope you all had great holidays and that everyone is well!!! I was so busy with the holidays and work that I havent had a chance to post. I got my first fill today so hopefully I can get back on my journey to a smaller me. I went through the holidays in bandhell! So needless to say I havent lost anything in awhile but I am thankful that I didnt gain!! I plan on keeeping my butt on this board again so I can get and give the support I know I need to keep on track. Talk to you all soon!

Angela, You will be fine, OCC is awesome and the whole experience was very easy. BandHell is what they call the time from when you go off liquids until you get your first fill. Many people have very little restriction or none at all. Some either dont lose weight or gain a little back! No worries though it doesnt last very long!

Hey guys! This is my first weigh in post also. I was banded Nov. 11th.. a week ago today! Dr. Miranda weighed me at 288 and today I am 282!! I'll take that!!! Good luck to everyone this week!!!

Margaret, I am SO glad you hit post too! I am betting by the end of the week that this thread will be very long!!!! I too feel exactly the same way! You all sound the way I feel too!!! I was just banded last week and caught myself the other day for a split second thinking.. was this the right decision? Not because of hunger but because of being scared as hell of the weight dropping. Realizing that this is really gonna be it.. I am gonna lose it this time and not just be able to quit the diet and put the weight back on because of some BS excuse. It can be very scary... worryng how I will handle the compliments and even the come ons. I think many of us ended up being overweight because of emotional issues and food being our comfort or something to keep the boredom away. I agree with Angie, this board is such a great place to find people who can relate and understand!!! None of us are alone in this battle and we can win it!!! This is just another reason I am so grateful to have found so many great peeps here!!! Thanks for posting what so many of us are probably feeling!!!!! Keep your chin up!

LittleRoo- Your pics turned out great! I am so glad we stayed at the Lucerna.. it was beautiful and everyone was so great! I am sorry to hear that your Mom is having a hard time, I hope you both feel better soon! Steph- You may want to talk to Dr Miranda before you do the diet like that. I tried it that way and when I talked to her she was not happy. She said if you want to do the Atkins, you need to do it full blown for a month. She made me immediately go strictly to the shakes and lean cuisine version. So you may need to chose one or the other, plus when I went to one I lost a lot more weight! Good luck to everyone!!

So I had surgery last Wednesday and I am doing pretty well. I went shopping on Revolucion Ave the day after surgery and did some San Diego sight seeing on Friday. When I got home on Saturday, I was exhausted but felt pretty good after some rest. Almost all my soreness is gone except at the port.. and all my scars are hardly gonna be noticable except the bigger one. I am burping a lot.. lol.. but I guess that is better than not being able to burp like I have heard some say. I stayed on clears until last night.. I had a nonfat yogurt.. which I think may have contributed more to my gassiness.. but its not too bad. I am still not feeling much hunger. I have been drinking a lot of water and tea.. hopefully that is okay. As of today.. I have lost 5lbs since surgery, so that is awesome! I guess I better enjoy it for the next few weeks before I enter BandHell..lol! It is hard sometimes getting past the mental hunger issues. I cooked my kids a pizza last night and it was hard not to eat some, I just remembered that thin would be better than pizza and the money I just spent to get this tool!! It is funny to really start to notice how much I ate when I really wasnt hungry.. it was either out of habit, stress, or just because the food was there! This looks to be an interesting and great journey! Thin life.... HERE I COME!!!!!

Hi Amy! Congrats on your surgery date! I agree with the other guys.. drop the soda and get some exercise now. I chose the protein shakes and lean cuisine option also. Personally, I LOVE the Atkins shakes or the EAS Myoplex shakes.. they are really good! I drank LOTS of water and I did use the TO GO packs and had no problems. You have found a great place for support.. everyone here is awesome!!

Oh man! I have been burping like crazy!! My soreness is getting better and better. My scars are looking good too.. I dont think I will hardly be able to see the small ones at all! How is your hunger level now?

Hi Guys! I was just banded Wednesday and Dr. Martinez spoke with me about this without me even asking. He explained to me that they do usually use the Realize band because they felt that it utilizes the best of all prior bands and had the best technology. He did say that they evaluate each person and if they feel that you need a different one then they would use a different one. So apparently they do have other bands at hand but prefer the results they have with the Realize. I do not mean to sound sarcastic but we have no idea what our insides look like and I think that I trust the surgeons, who have done this many times and seen results, to chose the band that is best for me. I was not concerned with the band brand or cc's I figured it was the Drs job to decide what is best. Just my opinion!

Thanks everyone!!! I am so glad that I found all you guys here too!!! You have been such inspriration and support... feels like we have our own little internet family!! Talk to you all soon and glad I could help to put a few minds at ease too!!!

Hey Beth! Glad to hear everyhing went well with Mom, but sorry to hear about your band!! Take it easy and hopefully they can get it straight. We left yesterday and went to San Diego to see hubbys cuz... then had to catch the redeye last night to come home.. just got here a few hours ago... I am exhausted but feeling pretty well!! Hope to talk to you soon.. it was great meeting you guys!!

Hey! Thanks! I went back to the hotel the day of the surgery, and we ended up catching a cab to the border early yesterday to spend the day with my hubbys cousin. I feel pretty good.. still sore and gassy! LOL!! Will keep everyone posted.. How are you doing?

Hi! I am actually at the Lucerna and it is wonderful! The people are all very friendly and accomodating! It is beautiful, has two restaurants, 24hr room service, free broths for you, and there is at least 10-15 channels that are english on the tv. It is just a mile or so from the clinic! Also free wifi and a business center with computers. I would definitely reccomend it!