canuk98828

Hello had my plication done in mexico Jan 19 by Dr lopez corvala , down 16 lbs was more then I anticpiated but looking back was good.I went alone and would not suggest that ,I have no pain anymore very little hunger if any. Also had long term concerns but as they told me lapbands at one point were not FDA approved. As always listen to your heart I know you will make the correct descion . I am 50 6ft1 250 at time of surgery will be under 200 for first time in 40 years looking forward to it gave myself this gift. Any questions hit me back. Fred

congratulations on your successful journey. Love the positive attitude. keep it up

How many calories does everyone eat per day? I was told by the Surgeon that is doing my fills that 500-800 calories is the average for the people who are loosing about 2 pounds per week with the Lap Band. Do those of you who are losing weight find this to be about right? He said people who are Morbidly obese need to eat less calories per day to loose weight. He also said as long as I take my vitamins and make sure I am getting my protein, veggies, and water then that is all I should need... I guess you must have to have a band that is pretty tight to feel full after that few calories...? I get my next fill the end of the month and I hope and pray for some more restriction at that time.

Although I have not counted my calories on a regular basis, I would say that he is probably fairly accurate on his statement. I think I am consuming approx 800 to 1000 calories a day currently and at that amount am maintaining my current weight loss without any problem. I absolutely do the protein, vegetable, fruit then the occasional carb. I also have flavored water at the ready 24/7

I am down 52 lbs since my banding in September. I have been doing cardio, but want to implement weights into my routine. Are there any exercises I should avoid with the band? I didn't want to upset my port with certain weight training. Let me know your experiences. Thanks!!!

Mark

I don't have any input into your question, although I think I will actually benefit from you asking once someone with knowledge responds. But what I did want to say is, MAJOR CONGRATS on the journey thus far.

MY Dr. was right up front with me. It was his decision to do the Plication. Less invasive no fills. I am 4 hrs. from the Dr. so this works much better for me. I had never heard of it before. I am relly glad that he made this decision for me. He is the best and he is in Canada which is really good. My husband will drive me there and home. There is a hotel behind the hospital run by the nuns. I am waiting to get the info. I was told it is $50. a night. and you can get meals there as well. I am looking into that now. Doris QC.

wishing you the best and know that you will be successful. Keep in touch and let us know how you are

yeah, i am keeping the ater bottle by me and just having to remind myslef to keep sipping all day. For breakfast this morning I tried a scrambled egg and um...no, that did not work. I guess I will stick to the shakes for breakfast.

You might try a recipe from http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.com. It is called Breakfast bites and I found them very useful and versatile. She has a lot of really good recipes on this website.

Wow, You never needed a fill at all? I had no idea that some people never need fills.

There are a few of us that have never had a fill. Some on this forum lost all of their weight without ever getting a fill. The most awesome I remember is a woman that has reached goal (actually I think under goal, 147 lbs) without a fill. I am nearly at goal and as such beleive I will be able to do it without a fill as well. Right now I am working on toning and think that it will get me over the last few lbs/inches to my goal. All that said, I am so sorry you are having so many issues. Hang in there, I have faith that things will turn around for you as you travel on this adventure. If there is anything I can do to help, whether it be a venting spot or what ever you need, know that I would do that for you. You can send me an email and I will give you my #

Roxanne

Washington State

I just got my second fill and finally understand what everyone is talking about on restriction and having to eat slowly and not being able to eat certain things. I have discovered that I am really tight in the morning and I am wondering what you guys do for breakfast. I was thinking of a shake but I don't know if a liquid breakfast would keep me full for 3-4 hours. Also, I have been drinking my water by gulping it down to get it out of the way......not anymore. How do you manage to get 60+ oz of water in if you are sipping it and not for 30 min before or after eating. Oh and one more.... I do breakfast at 6 am so by 10 am I am starving but lunch is still an hour off. I know that we are not supposed to snack but what do you do in this situation?

My only like experience that I can comment on is the difficulty in getting the water in. I also struggle with drinking enough as I am not in a career that I can have liquids during my work shift. Thus, I have come to the conclusion that when I am able, I have a water around all the time so that I can be sipping as much as I can. Some days it is definitely not as much as I should but you do what you can. I keep a bottle of water everywhere I am able so that I can always have the capability to sip when time permits.

What are your favorite veggies? I'd always been a big veggie-eater, but when trying to incorporate more veggies into my planned menu, NOTHING struck my fancy.

I will say that broccoli hurts. No matter how recent my last fill, I haven't been able to handle broccoli well after my surgery.

Thanks for listing.

Josie

my absolute favorite is steam baby asparagus. Also baby carrots.

First of all congratulations on your weight loss. I think if you should definately give your band a rest. When you say you are "paying" what do you mean?

Basically feeling restriction when I eat. My soft stop is a lot of sneezing and it is occurring no matter how little I try to consume. I then end up spitting up a little phlegm and the tightness in my chest goes away. Good lesson learned.

I'm a 6 month bandster who feels she has had wonderful success. I have dropped 67 lbs without the need for any fills. Unfortunately due to stress I beleive I have abused my band. Last week for the first time I broke eating correctly and "chowed down" on some potato chips. I have been paying since. Today I finally admitted my error and am thinking that I will go on a liquid diet for 3 days to give my band some recovery time. Please if someone can give me a thumbs up on my thought process or any other suggestion. Thanks in advance.

First I like to say I Love my Band. I have been banded for almost a year but I still have ?'s.

I have 4cc in my band that really didn't change my feeling of restriction. From the beginning , it was hit or miss, meaning sometimes i have restriction and sometimes i don't and sometimes I have a hard time drinking water. I got a fill because I was told that i should get a fill . It really didn't change a thing. I was hoping it would stabilize my fluctuating state but it never did. I have spoken to Dr. So when I was first banded and I had a hard month of not being able to eat anything but then i stabilized somewhat. I have tried to follow the Doctors instruction to the T, and I think I have done well. The reason for this outcall is.... Has anyone else had similar situation? I have learned when I can eat and when I can't eat and I go with it, but their where times that i couldn't keep anything down and the washroom is where i lived. My restriction varies day to day, usually the week before my period I can NOt eat a thing or barely drink . The rest of the time it's day to day. I don't understand the need to get a fill and I don't understand why my restriction fluctuates.

I also had a MAJOR issue with my hair following out, I started taking a Liquid multi with a liquid iron and liquid silica with b12/6 pills ( when I can swallow) That seemed to cure my hair loss.2 weeks ago I notice my hair following out again and trust me I can't afford anymore more hair loss. I rather be FAT with Hair than Thin without Hair ! Anyhow here are a few things that make me say , "Hmm".

I was also experiencing significant hair loss and was started to get worried. Another forum member recommended using Avalon Organics "Biotin B-Complex Thickening conditioner". I have been using it for approx a month now and have definitely seen a drop in the hair loss. Don't really know if it is the conditioner or whether it has just ran it's course but that is my 2 Cents.

Hi Everyone, Figured since I am turning 50 on wednesday and feeling good I would update you all! I was banded May 2008. I was A low BMI and lost weight right away, but got stuck at 150. I mantained that until start of 2010,

I had a rough year, My dog died ,my sister in law died, my mom died and my son who is in the Army crashed his helicopter and almost died, (he survived and it is a miracle, and he will be ok in time) I couldn't handle all the stress, this all happened

within 2 months, My band slammed shut so I turned to alcohol to self medicate! It went down easy and made my band losen up and then I could eat. Before I knew it I was back up to almost 200 lbs.i quit working out and became a couch potato. I

stayed in this cycle for months, i became

Depressed. I was able to hide it from my family and friends, I suffered in silence, I was always the happy go lucky person. Well to make a long story short, I realized I needed help and went to the Drs. He made me quit drinking and get a slight

unfil! I have been sober for almost 3 months and dropped 30 pounds! I have been working out again and loving life! I learned that being overfilled is not good! and the band does not help emotional issues nor does alcohol. I am so thankful for my

band but still have to remeber it is just a tool. I feel and look better than i did 20 yrs ago.. Happy 2011 to everyone.

Take Care,

Linda

http://i343.photobuc.../202_0265-2.jpg Picture on the right taken last night!

thank you for sharing. You are doing awesome in the face of diversity. Stay strong

I've had my band since 7/26/10 and have had 2 fills (both with fluoroscopy). The first was 6.0 mls and I had only noticed restriction with foods like white bread and had minimal weight loss (7 pounds in 1 month). I had a second fill a month later of 1.5 mls and I then noticed restriction. The problem I am having is that I am unsure if it is me that is chewing poorly or eating too fast but I am so inconsistent with the amount of food I can eat from day to day or hour to hour. Some days I can barely get a protein shake down before 1pm and other days I can eat several pieces of thin crust pizza or even several crunchy tacos before noticing any restriction. I have had several PBing incidences since my last fill at the end of October but I have been trying to be more observant as to how and what I am eating...still seems inconsistent. I am a woman who really has a problem with retaining water so I notice a dramatic tightness during that week of the month. I have noticed that I have often found myself avoiding solid food and going to protein shakes, etc over the last few months to help avoid any PB episodes since I am so scared to hurt my pouch...which most likely accounts for why I am only down another 20 pounds in 2 months...and stuck there. I finally have time off work to get a recheck in 2 days to see what is going on. Just thought I would throw the question out there and see if any of you have had the same experiences.

Thanks for listening. I feel like such a loser. I am a medical professional and feel like I should have a better handle on this than I do. I am certainly finding this journey much more difficult than I expected.

Christy

Christy,

My main question would be - Okay so some days u say that you can consume several pieces of thin crust pizza or even several crunchy tacos before noticing any restriction - why would u do that? Dr So's comment to me was. Do not push to see how much u can eat but how little u can eat to feel satisfied. I beleive if I truly tried I could also consume a fair amount, as I have never had a fill but why would I want to do that when I do feel satisfied after my "approved" amount of food and then if I change up and get busy doing something else. Which as I write now, I realize I am starting to not do as consistently, thus slower weight loss - so thank you for the reminder.

Thank you for the fabulous suggestions. I've never heard of Allegiant before but looked them up; a return to San Diego for two people is less than $300 including taxes. Amazing!!! Don't know where Mariesville is in WA, but will do some research. Do you recall the doctor's name in Mariesville? I have heard about Arseneau, but I know I really want the fill done with fluoro so will continue to puruse that route. Sure sorry to hear about your fill problems and hope the OCC fill is doing well for you. When you cross the border, returning to San Diego, can the taxi drop you at the immigration building or do you have to join the long line of people walking across. We were in the OCC van going back to SD and I was completely blown away by the numbers of people in the line up and the length of it. It was seriously miles and miles long. Thanks again for all your very helpful advice. Greatly appreciated!

If you are talking about Marysville Wa, the center is: http://www.nwfills.com/ I know that they do also travel to Tacoma Wa once a week to do fills.

I see many mixed reviews hope I am doing the right thing going to Dr Ortiz.. Any support would be helpfull Thanks

I think that you would not find one of us that would have wished anything different from the OCC. The whole experience is a transformation of life for you and u just need to sit back and work with the team and enjoy the ride.

I recently seem to have lost the quick update and blog section of the page when i am looking at New content. Could someone tell me what to do to get them back. Early thanks

can someone please tell me how much weight i can really expect to loose my 1st 6mo and my 1st year? I am going o get the lap band in march and currently weigh 312- although i have weighed as high as 330 and am currently loosing weight to get below 300 for my surgery date. I lose weight fairly easily and have always just had trouble keeping it off. so assuming i am at 300 the date of my surgery what do you think I should reasonably expect? I do work out 5 days a week for a min 1 hr. please let me know what you think.

every one of us is different and lose weight differently. The main thing to remember is to stay true to the program OCC lies out for you (if that is where you are going) and the results will follow.

Hi! I have GERD and frequent heartburn. Has anyone had this? If so, did it get worse or better after gastric pliccation?

I'm scheduled for Feb 14.

Thanks

I also suffered from GERD. I had the lapband put in on 8/3/10 and Dr Ortiz noticed I had a Hiatal hernia and fixed it while I was under. Have never had any heartburn since.

Thanks. That does help. I was thinking the same thing.

on the other side of the coin, I as wells as quite a few others on this forum got the band, never needed fills and have lost the weight we wanted to lose with no issues. Just wanted to give you as much data as you need.

I wore it all summer in a hot hospital with no air and it was great. Did not make me any hotter than usual. They wear them in Texas and it is hot there

Debbie

good to know thanks

http://www.maurices.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4105876&cp=3677344

I think these are what she is talking about

these are. I bought the tank top looking one. I love it. They have a lot more options in the store than what is showing on the web.

Hi guys,

What did you order in one piece? It sounds like a winner..if you can give me the information I would be so greatful. I have ordered some spanx and a couple of new bras...

I actually got it at a store called Maurices. It does not go through the hips but there is an additional piece for the below abdomen

Welcome to the land of the band. it is an awesome journey you have started on.

Hi everyone!! I am fresh out of the OR, so excuse me if my typing stinks.

My surgery took about 25 minutes, I was in the recovery bed for about an hour, and now I am up walking aroud. Dr. Ortiz stuck his head in while I was getting up to walk and was amazed at how fast I came out!

I don't feel terrible...maybe like I was punched in the stomach a few times, but it is getting better.

Just wanted to let anyone who is on the edge about coming here know - DO IT!!!

The staff is great and I know I am on my way to the best life I can live!!

Melissa

I bought these all in one piece garments. I forget what they are called but I know my lingerie shop orders them from texas. They are like a camisole with build in bra yet they hold everything in really good. Holds the girls up high and gives them good shape as well as holds the tummy in . No back fat lines or muffin tops. I love this garment and still wear it when going out even though I had my tummy tuck and am very pleased with it.

Debbie

I just got my first one of these "apparatuses" and love it. Jut worry how hot it would be in summer as where I live it gets to be over 100 - air conditioning a must for me this year