Teri

Staci, The first couple of days or so were tough for me, it did get better, but no doubt it was tough. I dont want to make it seem like it was a piece of cake, because it wasnt. Keep it up, you can do it, like everyone that went before you. Thats what I hung on to. You can do it to, try and keep your mind off of it by staying occupied with something you like to do. Best of Luck, Teri

=D> =D> =D> Cyndi HOW AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A BIG CONGRATS to YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep on S H R I N K I N G ! You go girl! Teri

Thanks so much Pamela. Boy is it ever. I made an appt. today to talk with Wendy Hall, she is local and does fills (thanks Cyndi). My restriction is sooooooooooo different day to day. I flip flop all over the place, and there is no such thing as consistency with me and the band, not that there should be from what I'm reading, but I feel I need some advice. :-? Teri

What do you have to lose BSN. Try it, give it a shot. What the heck, you have come along way thus far. You have followed a path with great determination. You deserve to feel and eat healthy. It sounds like your tiredness is a direct result of what you are experiencing. Because of that, try and fight the "fight" ONE last time. Why not try and have Dr. Ortiz do the test. It's a trip, $100, and you will finally know. Then, make your decision. You have kept so much in (from your hubsand) for a while now, and that is tough enough on you, and then having to throw in the complication of not being able to eat and constantly barfing. Your body is probably physically and emotionally weak from exhaustion. Please let us know how you are doing no matter what you decide. Were here to support YOU! > Teri

Oh my gosh, MIM, Your experience sounds terrifying, and when you are in a situation like that, thank God, you were able to have some reasurance from Dr. Ortiz on knowing what to do, even if you couldn't do it right then. I haven't had to call him, but it is good to know, when you have to he is there for you. Having to be on a plane while needing to relieve the pressure would be awful. Hugs for you during that time. You are doing fabulous with your weight loss. Do you diet????? And if so, what diet do you follow? I noticed you ordered your nachos without the nachos. Is that because you cannot handle eating them, or do you have that much willpower to say "hold" the nachos.? Keep up the fabulous weight loss. Teri =D>

Whooooooooooo, Yesterday, My hubby and I had an early lunch. I'm not sure why........ but I couldn't hardly get anything down, other then soup which came with the meal (chinese). I ordered egg foo yung. It has chicken, egg, and rice with some vegetables. I have had all three before, no problem. Being still hungry a few hours later I tried again. YIKES! Everything felt stuck for a couple of hours. Since I still didnt have anything in my tummy when we went to dinner I ordered a ceaser chicken salad. I was so careful I ate nibbles. Wow, talk about fickle. Never had that happen. I wonder if the band decided to kick in to full gear. Since my last fill, I was worried even though I have restriction I was still eating more then 1/2 cup or 3 to 4 ounces, (after researching the Inamed Co. on suggested amounts) I was eating well over those amounts at one meal. This past week my daughter and I had lunch at the local mexican resturant and I downed chips and salsa (a small soup type bowlful) and way to much I believe, then ordered a kids meal enchalda and ate the whole darn thing with the rice and beans. Now I dont know whats going on after yesterdays experience. This band has a mind of its own, thats for sure. :-? Teri

Kim, You and I are about the same as far as re-learning the whole food thing, and still up to the bad habits that got us into the excess weight in the first place. You are doing great!! We all have those short comings, that's why were here on these boards for support, and why we all decided to get banded. Figuring all this out really makes you think, doesnt it? I'm eating a lot less than I would without the band, but my choices are NOT GOOD healthy ones. I struggle with that daily still. I havent "geared up" about dieting since before the band...........looks like I will have to but I am so weak in that area. Continued sucess my friend,, Teri

LOL Lori You are so funny. I seem to think of songs all the time, driving, cooking, sun shining, raining, etc. To funny! Teri

Thanks so much Pamela! Happy Valentines Day to you to! I hope it was "Loving". By the way, I'm with ya on the popcorn :-h ..................it is my favorite snack of all time!!!! I make it the old fashion way on the stove, and buy it in the 50 pound bags from the amish country up North in MI. LOVE IT! We havent lost any more weight, but I am definetly restricted. NOW, I NEED to make better choices with food. Honestly, making better choices never entered my mind when I made the descision to become banded, believe it or not. (I was always making better choices everyday, then our weekend social life would kick in.......and in my mind I would tell myself I would start dieting again on Monday) MY thinking with the band was, I could eat all the favorites I wanted because I would fill up fast and not worry about overeating. I also read and re-read tons of bandsters experience's and every rule very carefully to be sure I could do every rule. Lets face it, I knew I could, and it may sound stupid, but I didnt do much thinking about them, except for the no water with meals. BUT............YOU MUST do the protien first, then veg, then carb. Not always of course, because depending on what your eating it's not feasible, but generally most of the time. Because it's the protien that fills you up first and faster then soft foods, ( I feel lots of restriction with solids and must take small bites and chew very well) also I dont really feel like wanting or eating much after that. I find that when I dont follow that rule, I can overeat on things that are eaiser to get down, like the soft foods because they do not fill you up like the protien does. So for me, that's a rule I need to be very aware of when making food choices. Experience and not getting results is a great teacher. As for Kyle, he is such a teenage eater!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know, pass on the fruits, pass on the veg, and basically loves pizza, fast food stuff, etc. I think he needs another fill. He has not lost anymore, other then the 20pds but has not gained and is starting to eat to much again..................like 4 good size pieces of pizza at one sitting. So, I will keep learning and posting. I like posting winning results when I can, and it stinks not to be able to post about consistent weight loss. Especially when you know your not doing everything you could be doing to get the desired results you want. #-o Nothing like getting "mentally naked here" about my eating, but I must be true to myself and honest about my own journey with this band. Since I'm a pretty carefree person, I tend not to think about it to much, and it seems it takes me sooooooooooooooo long to do what I am suppose to do. Ya just cant "skirt" around with the rules............the band needs to work and will do the job if we do our part....................the rules are in place for a very good reason. It's up to all of us to work with it. Somehow, I dont know why, but I kindof NUMBED that whole concept out of the picture. Teri #-o

Hey Bubbles If you go into AZ thread, Cyndi has posted some fill docs there. Glad to have you. Teri

If it takes you a while with lots of fills to reach your sweet spot, you will be frustrated. Just be prepared for that. Every persons situation with fills are different and it seems a lot of fill drs. are different too with the amount they think you should have. I think Dr.s are cautious in the beginning with fills, because there is no need to be overfilled. Your body and band will ultimatley determine the amount thats right for you. With the band.........the fill amount you have is key. Best of Luck. Teri

> > > Littleroo, I pray for a better day today for you. Your 6 month pre-op diet?.............What do you have to do for that? I can't imagine drinking 2 slim fast a day and a lean cusine for 6 months. I think the HMO's are a little OFF! How much sense does that make when someone is overweight and struggles minute by minute basically with food. Everyone's had the whineys, but your doing something good for yourself and WHAT a day that will be when it's finally arrived for you!!!!!!!! Thanks for all YOUR support with this forum and hopefully we'll all "ditto that" support for you. Blessings galore, Teri >

Elaine, I can understand the 1/4 cup if you are well restricted, but if you are not, gauranteed, you will be hungry after only eating 1/4 cup. Then you will find yourself eating 1/4 cup every hour because you are still hungry. Sorry about not having menus, it wouldnt be good to get those from me, since I do my own kind of thing on eating. Teri

So far, I have not had a problem with ANY foods yet. I have upchucked a few times, but it was my fault for not chewing well enough. Teri

Way to go Roger!! Your doing great! It's great to read everyones post's because in reading, I think everyone that has been banded looks at the band and how each person works with it so differently then others. Personally, I was so tired of diets for Kyle and I, getting geared up at different times, staying with it for a while, then, (the cycle of gearing up to diet began over and over and over), that I havent ate real healthy. Not that I don't want to, but I'm still "weak" on the healthy choices. Looking forward to it though soon! Keep up the great healthy choices! Teri =D>

Hey Greg! Just wanted to pipe in to this whole frustration with fills/ restriction topic. Your situation with weight loss, fills is similar to mine. I Am so glad to hear you are restricted!!. I havent experienced your experience with not being able to drink though, ever. I experienced those mini-burps, almost like hiccups following fills. It goes away after a few days for me. I have the smaller band and reaching the sweet spot with either band size is key, but have read the larger band can take longer. Since my last fill 2 weeks ago, I have lost 5 pounds. Sometimes for me, its hard to do the protien first, then vegetables because my family is use to me cooking hearty meals like lazanya, chilli, spagetti, buritos, pizza, etc. Prior to surgery, and having to deal with being on many different diets, I learned to modify everything for myself and Kyle....and then I have a daugher. (This would not work for my hubby, he loves hearty foods, and I wouldnt be able to get away with feeding him the way I was eating.) Meaning, cutting out the butter, fat, using low-in-fat foods to cook with. That being said, after surgery, it has been wonderful not having to cook the same meal 3 different ways. It was a pain in the you know what, looking back on it and cooking this way most of our lives and not losing, but took a lot of effort. So, it has been a form of freedom for me to eat and enjoy the same food as the rest of my family since the surgery. In being honest, the food choice's I have made and am eating, are not diet foods. That freedom alone is wonderful. I feel I could help my weight loss along if I made better choices. But..............when I thought about getting the band, I also thought, wow, how great it would be to eat what you like, but bites of it??????? And so, that put me into thinking I was in heaven so to speak. Being restricted is a wonderful thing, and I could make better food choices. I also feel healthy thin people eat normal hearty meals but a lot smaller portions and stay under the daily caloric intake, and keep weight off. I love good food so much, I use to plan what I was going to have for the next meal while still eating a meal. Thank God, that obsession has not been quite important anymore. If I have to think about having to continue to diet all the time, well its so boring, blah, blah. and more blah. I will if I have to, but I'm just not ready to do that (just yet), but eating "normal" like I am, and not gaining is way to much fun. As long as I FEEL FULL after eating very little, I'm happy for now. Becoming a healthier eater most of the time will be the goal and of course weight loss. Since trying to stay on a diet was hopeless, I have to think of healthy eating as something I can incorporate into my life everyday. I'm just not there yet. :-? Good Luck to you!! Teri

Where in AZ are you from? Were in Gold Canyon, out by the Superstition Mtns. Teri

Congrats Kim on celebrating things without the food, and your awesome weight loss. I dont think it sounds silly at all, all of us have experienced the awful sight of something that looks to small on us. #-o Your doing great!! Teri

Hi Linda C. First off, welcome to this forum. It's banded people who contribute to this forum. When you read postives and negatives about the band, its all good, because you need to become informed with the good and the bad. I scared myself for days straight reading ALL THE BAD I could find, then decided to read all the good. I then asked myself ONE QUESTION: Could I allow this tool to work for me IF I worked with it??????? I knew I could, because the rules with the band were easier than what I was doing. It was so much harder doing it my way and trying so hard to accomplish weight loss even with help from diet pills, fad diets, going weekly to weight in, when I knew what I should be doing, etc. Take some stress off your shoulders and become empowered! Teri >

Well just a little update. I am very happy and satisfied. After reading so many posts about the band being "fickle", hmmmmmmm................that it is! It's very strange how some days, I take bites the size of a pencil eraser because I absoutley have to...... or pay with pain!!! Then other days, I can eat a whole hotdog, with bun, pot salad, baked beans, no problem, with dime size bites and chewing that last's and last's, so it seems. I am so glad to have this band, even though the scales are slow. That is ok with me, because I know I am eating consideribly a lot less food then ever before, even with prior dieting attempts and portions that go along with the diets. So, some days I eat more, BUT, without the band, I would be eating, say, 2 hotdogs, and piles of the rest of the meal if I didnt have this band. #-o Some days, I think of the band as work, kinda like a mom thats going into labor. You go thru it, but the joy at the end is all worth it. It takes effort sometimes to get down a meal, then other times, it's easy. You just never know how the band will perform on any given day. I love that it keeps me in line, because i could never be accountable to myself with food. My social life with food always took over. The partys, fun, the whole dining experience, out with our friends was what I enjoyed so much. I don't know why, but, food, and good food, was the center of all the planning. And I am finding out, I can still enjoy all of that, and so much more, because I can feel good about BEING good with the food choices, the things I still love, little portions, and still have great company with friends. RESTRICTION is a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just letting it sink in and in and in and I'M BLESSED TO HAVE THE CHANCE AND CHOICE TO HAVE IT! Teri

Way to go Michelle, =D> It sounds like everything went great. I cannot believe it's already been 2 weeks for you since having to wait for things to settle down. I am so happy for you! It's good to have someone close by since, you never no how many fills and unfills will be needed and flying on top of the fill can get costly, very quickly depending on how the band wants to react on any given day. Keep up the great attitude you have, and wonderful weight loss. I just started to lose again and finally reached a level of restriction I can work with. Until next time, Teri :-h

Hi Linda, No worries about you gaining weight back in between and waiting to get your first fill. Most people do gain some back, it is normal. And I happened to be one of those people along with my son. We both gained all our weight back. Some people need the restriction and others do not. I met a lady in the waiting room while there for our first fill and she had lost 140 pounds without ever having ONE fill. The band was restriction enough for that time for her. So, you may, or you may not. But it's only for a short time until you get the fill and once your filled to the right level, you will lose.

Hi Cyndi, :-h Count me in for the bandster meeting/party. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago on this forum to invite interest. Hopefully you will get better feedback. March is good, just not the last Sat.---- and April we'll be in Hawaii the last 2 weeks. Wow!!! You are doing wonderful on your weight loss. What an awesome awesome tool. I am doing much better after my 3rd-4th???? fill. I have 3.4cc now and need every bit of that restriction. Tomorrow it will be one week, and I am very happy with the amount of restriction I have, so..............hope-in the pounds will drop too. Teri