Teri

Hello Stockprincess, I had your exact question and called LoriBecky on it. It is POOF, I couldnt believe it either. The last week of the 21 days I became irritated about everything and the last 3 days were hell. (I'm usually a pretty happy person) sorry to be the barer of bad news, thats just what it was like for me. HANG IN THERE, its not long for the results you will get later. Teri >

Absolutley LOVE THE IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!! =D> Way to go on your creative thinking!!!!! Lori =D>

Thanks so much!, I have an appt with my m.d in a week, and am going to ask too.

Clynn, Any chance you remembered to ask your Doc about the anti flu meds and what the name of it is?

Keep up the positive spirit Pammie. Some people are insensitive without thinking. If you didnt have the band, you may have easily put double that on. Just keeping weight off is a huge chore, not alone trying to take it off. The slower process is such a struggle and easier to get discouraged. Keep your chin up, and do what you know what to do. Teri >

GREAT JOB Sabledog!!!!!!!!!!on the 45 pounds. WOW!!!! =D> We were the unlucky ones needing more restriction. It will come, in time. Keep up thee awesome losses! Teri =D>

Well here goes........GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL. In my experience, the fills are EVERYTHING with the band. Yes, and do let us know how it goes, and how you become full with very little.

Well, today is Jan. 10, 07 and its been 2 months and 10 days since our surgery. After gaining all our post surgery weight back and 2 fills later, we are back on track. I decided to post here since I somehow find it hard to find all the topics I've posted in. Anyway, what a wonderful breakthru so to speak for Kyle. He asked me the other day if we had any healthy food to eat, since he was tired of eating junk food. LOL hahah (Music to my ears) So, fresh cherry's were the winner. I always cooked healthy meals when my kids were growing up, but as teenagers, trying to get them to eat vegtables and fruits, no matter how many times I would suggest it, was a struggle. He has a hard time since being banded with pizza which is his favorite and since he works at Micky D's, lunch break is tough. He wanted me to bring him "real wholesome food" yesterday. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I gladly did!! He's already lost another 8 pounds since our fill on Jan 5, 07, and I've lost 6. My stomach has butterflies when I think of the results we are getting. If this truly does last, this to me will be a dream come true!! So far, I am loving this band and the help it is giving me and my son.

I personally would not have a fill without the fluro either. What if the needle the doc was inserting happened to punture the tube attached to the port. The needle goes into the port about 1 inch or so. All docs are human and could miss the port opening, in my opinion. To me, its just not worth the money you would save or the convience, especially because it took so much more time, research, money, to have the band put in. Teri (I have had 2 fills, and I'm hoping this fill will last for a while.) So far, so good.

:-? Hey All, Does any one have a clue as to why the weight loss tickers downloaded from other sites are not working on this site? I've downloaded them before and changed them several times to reflect weight loss. I've tried different tickers from different sites. They used to work just fine. Iv'e noticed almost all the tickers people were using are gone.??????????????????????? & Portraits. Thanks in Advance. Teri

I totally understand your super nervousness!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldnt think of hardly anything but the whole process of what was going to happen for about 1 week prior!!! Keep us posted. I am still new at this, but so far, I still can eat anything, so far, (just had my 2nd fill) so still very new to the band. Best of Luck Teri >

Best of Everything to you Pam, I am new at this as well, and I am so glad I didn't "think" only ONE fill was going to do the trick!! If I did think that way, I would have been very discouraged. Plan on the fills, and if your not losing weight, you are more likely to know its probably because you will need one. I felt the same way aobut reading all the posts!!! Very helpful to me!!!!!!!! Best Regards on your journey and do keep us posted! Would love to hear you story. Teri =D>

I wouldnt do the jello, only because she said patients were having trouble with it. We did the drinkable yogurt 3 days after surgery. Then started blending soups to puree, and I strained everything. Costco has some great soups, and you can make your own, just puree them and strain everything with a cheese cloth. I just pushed it down with a spoon if it was thick. If she allowed us to do this, I dont see why she wouldnt allow you to do it also. I have tried to call her also, but she does better getting back to you via e-mail. Teri

I only had about 60 pounds to lose. (BMI 33) Kyle my son had about 80 pounds to lose. (BMI 37). The goal was to stay on top of the weight instead of the weight staying on top of us. hehe LOL Really though, the pattern of dieting, eating, dieting, eating, dieting, (you all know) had to stop, and I knew what to do, but found difficult to correct on our own if not almost impossible. I know to some people that might seem like a drastic statement, but they'd have to walk in my shoes to know how I felt. Teri

Greg, I am so happy for you to be losing, and 2 pounds is a LOT of weight, keep up the great work! The right direction is the only direction for results. I'm routing for you, Teri!

I tried to update several times Greg, and the tickers on this web site dont work. I was going to email Lori and find out why, and I havent done that yet. Lori????????????? Do you know why? It's been about a month now.??????????? Teri

SOOOOOOOOO glad to hear your good results!!!!! Same with us on the 2nd fill, no restriction on the first fill or should I say very little. You have to feel so much better about the process and after spending so much money on the band, you finally get to see the results. I was a little concerned not so much for us, but for my dear hubby. He started questioning the whole thing. It's getting the proper fills that make the difference. Good going for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and happy losing! Teri

Kyle and I became bandsters on NOV 1, 2006. We did the 21 days of the liquids required, THEN gained some weight back. Had the first fill Dec 16, 2006, and on Jan 4th, we both weighed as much as we did at the time of surgery. Wasnt to concerned, because I understand the "sweet level" of the fills. Scheduled another fill for Jan 5 and Dr. Ramero was surprised we could eat anything and a LOT of it. Kyle had orginally 1.8cc then adjusted to 2.2cc. I orginally had 2cc, but, the dr. extracted only 1.7cc from the band. .3cc must have leaked out when he pulled out the needle. Then he checked for a port leakage (no leak) but had there been one, it's a simple process to fix and only takes 1 hour. I now have a total of 2.5cc. He tried 3cc to allow me to feel the restriction, and i almost choked. so, hoping this is the correct fill. The clinic fixed us 2 slices of toast before we left, to test the restriction. I laughed with the Dr. saying, thats not going to be enough, haha, I can eat a LOT more than that, and he jokingly, said, ok, lets see you try. hahaha. After finishing just a quarter we were both stuffed. The Dr. came out and we were both laughing, I really thought this must be a miracle. But this is what YOU and I paid for to have the band. The fills are everything with the band. Mind you, we could shovel the food in before. Today, I ate a slice of pizza, took my time, and I am stuffed. Its almost to good to be true. It took Kyle 1 hour to get down 6 chicken nuggets, and he was stuffed!!!!!!! Go get those fills, it's the difference between losing and not losing weight. When you put out that much money for the band, get your moneys worth and get the fills you need to lose. I only hope it continues. I'll keep you posted. Teri

Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good Luck with your liquids! especially around the holidays. I have been out of the loop here, so to speak, am still in MI but return Jan 2. The holidays and all the food have been tough. Teri

Ditto on the money thing with me. As for you not being able to hold down liquids: Not sure where you had the surgery, but while at OCC getting our fills, just Sat. a lady from Idaho, who had surgery the day after us, had to have 2 surgerys. (Her trip ended up being 5 days) The Doc put in the regular band, and she couldnt hold down anything. She then went back for another surgery 2 days later and the Doc took out the reg. band and put in the VG band which is bigger. There was something the matter with her esophagus being smaller. She hasnt posted here because she thought most people would read into it being more then what it really was (her words). She was glad Dr. O, was doing her surgery because he recognized the proplem with her. When she was getting her 1st fill, and they injected 4 cc she immediatly knew she couldnt handle it because of the restriction she felt. I guess she is more sensitive to feeling the restriction. I'm sharing this with you because of your similar situations of not being able to keep even liquids down after surgery. I am by no way implying your situation is the same. I truly hope it gets better for you!

Hey Lori, How are you doing with your back? I've been thinking about you and wondering. I had back surgery 6 years ago, a fuse between L4 & 5. I hope you are doing well. I think I'm eating way to much. I make good choices but I can eat a LOT at a meal. Pretty much the same as before. I actually gained a pound since my fill. How soon after your first fill can you get another? I understand the fill process that makes the band work, and finding that sweet spot, so I'm not overly concerned. I've tried to stop eating when I think I'm full, but I get hungry again within an hour. So, I tried eating till I'm full and the full feeling lasts for about 5 or so hours. But, I can eat a good cup and a half of food or more with no problems. If that pouch is so small, how does it hold all that food? Yesterday at dinner, I had a whole BLT, and 1 cup of fresh green beans, I could have had even more, 4 hours later I ate again. (?) What do you think?

Just thought I would share with everyone the importance of not drinking with meals. When you have a fill, and literally can see the barium flow thru the band after drinking it, followed with water, you get the oppurtunity to see why drinking with a meal would not be good. I was surprised to see how fast it was, just like water going down a drain. I had a very hard time post-op when on solids before the first fill with drinking during meals. Thought it was "one of the rules" that I talked myself into, saying that I could do that. Just out of habit, not thinking, I would always get a drink when i fixed a meal. Since it was there, I took sips here and there with the meal, because I would talk myself into thinking I was dying of thirst. Not drinking with meals has been tough for me. Since the fill, and actually seeing liquids go through, it has been better. I guess my point is, I felt dieting was always sabatoged by family and friends, the whole social food thing being around people. Now, I am the one who can sabatoge my weight loss. Hmmmm..... :-?

Julie, with all you have read here, like me, I was where you are now, just last month. I was so nervous, all I could do was think about going to a foreign country, was I crazy, what the hell am I doing, what would so and so think, I was doing this with my son, which was double worry. It's all so normal for us to think things like that because of the different ways foreign countrys do things. The people you choose to tell will not be educated about ALL the research it took you to make an informed decision. My friends and family questioned my desicison, like I knew they would. But when I told them, we are having the surgery, you would be a help to me to support me right now, since I have made up my mind and have done my research. If I had the surgery in the U.S. I would have been nervous about the Dr. But since it was MX. I was worried because it was in MX. Dr. Ortiz's reputation and experience with the lapband was the reason we had the surgery there. Also, the people on the forum here, and what I read from thier experience, were very instrumental in the choice as well. We were alone as well. The nurses, and staff are very kind and weather or not they truly care, they treat you like they care, almost like your family. I know it sounds 1950's, but I think they take pride in being the best, and they know they are and want to keep it that way. As far as you being alone, someone is with you always, except for when you are at the hotel, and the hotel secruity is AAA++++. Best of Luck to you. Teri

I do finish last, because I want to concentrate on chewing everything up well. My son, Kyle, however finishes way before me, but he also has had episodes, like today, he ate to fast and vomited. not good. I guess he will learn. I still eat way to much. I am eating pretty much what I ate before the first fill of 2cc for meals, I'm just not eating in-between meals because I do feel full until the next meal, especially drinking water. You could just say, you've had some stomach issues lately, which would be true, so your taking it easy. And then, after a while of saying that, you could say, since the stomach issues, I kept the habit of eating a lot slower, and since I feel full sooner, I'll be able to have the rest for dinner. Hope it helps. Teri

Ditto Kim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks and same to you, we'll be in MI. Leave Sat, and I heard it's sooooooo cold there. For the 1st time ever, I have a different outlook on food during the Holidays.