Kellyinpdx

Beverly,
I've had the same problem. I've only lost 20 lbs since my surgery last June. I was talking to another patient who had her surgery the same day I did, and she mentioned my unhappiness to OCC, who immediately reached out to me. I'm flying down tomorrow to have revision surgery. I know how you feel about spending so much money on this and not getting any results, and then too have to pay for surgery, to fly down again, taking more time off work... but I looked at it this way. Since I have already invested so much, my only choice is to spend a little bit more in order to protect my investment, and ultimately my health. It took a lot of courage to do this to begin with. Gather up that courage, tell your husband to shut up and support you and then call Dr. So.
Let me know if I can be of any support! - Kelly

Thanks Katie - I am struck that you lost 41 lbs in the first 3 months. You called it your free ride. I'm exercising and watching what I eat and the weight isn't budging. The whole idea of having the surgery is so I could live my life without being obsessed over how much food I was eating. I just want to eat healthy foods and just the appropriate amount. I am so sad and frustrated. This seems like yet another failure at trying to reclaim my body.

Did anyone else experience hunger when you knew you shouldn't be?

I'm barely losing any weight at all. I am exercising, drinking water, eating small amounts of protein several times a day. The hunger is still my nemesis! After spending $8000 I was hoping for this tool of WLS to be sharper! I'm so discouraged. Has anyone ever followed up with OCC when they found things weren't working as planned and got the help/support that made the difference?

Hi folks,

So I got my eroded band removed on July 1st (sigh) and am heading back on Oct 2nd - to have the sleeve on October 3rd. Very excited and wish it was October...

Thanks

Donnac in Seattle

Glad to hear from you Donna. I know how disappointed you were! But October will be here before you know it, and in the meantime you can start making life changes that will help this next surgery be even more successful!!! I'm curious, did you have to pay more then you planned on? Was it expensive to have the band removed?

Stay in touch!

Kelly

OMG! 2 Weeks yesterday and down 15 lbs. Not a single day of nausea, not a single pain bill needed, (did have a headache, but a tylenol fixed that right up). I have to admit that on the 2nd or 3rd day I was secretly regretting it. Only because I was thirsty and couldn't drink more than that darn baby spoon size sip. I was asking myself "what did I do to myself". I can't believe I actually gave thought to turning around and going back to have it undone.

My husband reminded me that this was temporary and he was right. I was on vacation for 2 weeks and took advantage of that. I'm from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and had never been to California so we rented a car and drove from Tijuana up to Yosemite Nat'l Park. This was 2 days post surgery. I walked all around Yosemite, then it was on to San Francisco where we walked for about 8 hours. No kidding. This was just 4 days after surgery. Then went to visit my son and of course walked the malls.

I walked so much and it was never uncomfortable. By day 5 I was like my old self. Other than the small amount I can consume I would have never believed I had the surgery. I think the walking did it. By the time I got home I had lost 14 lbs. And that was on day 7 after surgery. Since then I've been TRYING to walk about 2 hrs. each day.

If anyone has any hesitations about going to Mexico, DON'T. It was very, very safe. We shopped while there and the hospital was cleaner than we have here.

Awesome Beverly!! I had my surgery a month before you and I've only lost 11 lbs post surgery! I think the difference is the walking. I'm not doing it, my schedule is a busy one and I really don't put in the extra effort. Although I did go for a brisk walk tonight and it felt great! As of this morning, I am down to 223 (from 249 decision weight), which has me more motivated to exercise, but it means changing my habits. Something I def need to work on!!!

Congrats again and keep up the good work!

Kelly

Source: Life Science/Yahoo

Thanks for the article Lindsay. I went to a WLS seminar in Portland before my surgery at OCC. The surgeon said that he believes we are 10 years away from finding the drug that will cure or prevent obesity.

I still feel hungry, although I can't eat as much as before. I was hoping that I would be one of those patients whose appetite was removed. Oh well.

One more thing...anyone here getting cravings and want to eat at 9 days into the plication or am I the only one?

Hi CMK-

I had my surgery Jun 8th (did I meet you there?) and so far I haven't really wanted to eat. I feel nauseous much of the time, so food just doesn't look appetizing to me at all. My son is visiting and he bought a bunch of junk food - Pizza, Pizza bites, Doritos, etc. - and it all just looks gross to me.

I went through a period where I was starving. I couldn't seem to get enough to drink. But then I realized that my old habits were playing in. I would go way too long without eating or drinking and then could only drink a little because of the restriction and felt constantly hungry. I adjusted and now I am drinking first thing in the morning and again at lunch and dinner. I'm trying not to allow too much time to go between meals.

Kelly

I had the plication. But I think I'm figuring out what I am doing wrong. First, I went on vacation right after, so my "diet" was difficult to stabilize. Second, now that I am home, I don't have supplies in the house. My habit before this was to not have food in the house, but to go out to eat when I was hungry. What would happen is that I would be so busy, it would be too long before I ate and then I would over eat. I'm doing the same thing now, and it isn't working. I went this afternoon grocery shopping and on the way home I drank an Odwalla protein drink. Because I'm hungry I drank almost the whole thing! Now I feel sick and nauseous and I have heart burn. This surgery is going to teach me to eat more often and to not allow myself to get hungry and then gorge!

I would get really hungry, but it's because I would think about it so much. Stay busy, go for walks, organize something you've been meaning get to... I don't know, do what you enjoy and focus on that instead of the hunger. It's all mostly head hunger anyway. I hope it gets better.

Thanks Erica. It doesn't feel like head hunger. It is in my stomach. Plus I am really really REALLY irritable and I have a hard time thinking at all. I went to Jamba Juice and got a high protein smoothie in plain frozen yogurt with 2 oz of soy milk. I get filled up pretty quickly, but like I said, within an hour I have hunger pains again. This is really very miserable. I wish there was an answer.

Hi Folks,

I had my surgery a week ago today and I have to say the biggest issue is that I'm STARVING! I called Dr. Miranda and she had me start with the drinkable yogurt and protein shakes. But within an hour of my "meal" I'm so fricken hungry I can't think. I thought that this surgery was going to remove the overwhelming hunger, but it has increased it. Did / does anyone else have this problem? How did you deal with it?

Kelly

Hi Bluebear!

The US doesn't do Plication either, so we have all had our surgery by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. I just had mine 7 days ago. My problem is that I am STARVING! The hunger is overwhelming. I drink water, I get in the protein shakes and yogurt drinks, but within an hour I'm starving again.

Do you have that?

I wouldn't expect that you would have a bowel movement like what you are used too because you are on liquids. No real food for your system to process. I made the mistake of drinking apple juice without diluting it first - it caused what Dr. Ortiz said was rapid transit (explosive diarrhea). Not fun considering I was strolling around a resort in San Diego at the time!

I'm kinda annoyed that the forum is not what it used to be. I remember back when everyone would update on their progress and motivate each other and everyone was pretty much a happy little WLS family. Everyone would share tips on what worked for them and were so active on the forum. I think I'm just going to take my support elsewhere. Anyone who'd like to keep in touch, is welcome to add me on Facebook. Message me and I'll give you my info. I wish everyone a successful journey. I won't be deleting my account, I just won't be checking my account so often. Am I alone on this?

Hi ALL -

I for one, am glad that you guys still post and try to support us newbies. It's like any support group, sometimes you are supportive and other times you are the one in need of support. You never know if you might be the one that has just the right words to help a person out, or if someone is going to offer you just the right words you need to hear. Just like any other support group, people come and people go, but the ones that stay are the backbone and they encourage new members along the way. So thank you all for being here and posting and updating your status!

Kelly and docb, my daughter and I are scheduled for the 10th for plication. I look forward to meeting you when we are there. We are Laurie and Sarah.

I'll look for you!

Hi Everyone!! Ok... I leave tomorrow morning for San Diego & then TJ. I've slowly shared with family and friends what I'm doing and for the most part everyone has been very supportive. Some have had a few qualms about a surgery in Mexico, but mostly they trust that I have done my research and am doing what is right for me! And I am! Today is my birthday. This coming year I will be losing all this weight that has been holding me back, I will graduate with my MBA and who knows? Maybe I'll even fall in love (this time with someone who loves me back!)

See you on the flip side!

Kelly

Hey Sandi,

You are in Washington State- I am in Seattle. So glad you posted and told your us your journey.

I am heading to the Band group dinner on Tuesday night to chat with several of my banded friends about plication...seems alot of us are in the same place - 8-10 years out and needing revision.

DonnaC in Seattle

I'm in Portland. Let's here it for the Northwest!! Woot Woot!

I had this same question Donna. I hope someone answers!

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

My name is Teresa I had my gastric plication surgery on March 29 2011. So far I have lost 36 pounds. I know if I was to be exercising I would be down even more.

But I have not started a regular exercise routine yet.No real reason why I haven't acutally I have just been busy with dayhome and stuff. After I had my surgery I was feeling great the following day I went back to our hotel room and rested for the rest of the day. The

only side affect I had was nausea for a few days and some heart burn ( which I never had before ) I still to this day get heartburn but mostly at night so I sleep

with 2 pillows as to the one. The meds they give for heartburn really work well.As th the other posts who state they have had hair loss I have not experienced that at all.

I am very happy that I had the surgery and no regrets. The hospital and staff are very nice. We stayed at the Lucerna hotel and it was very nice our room was on the 6th floor and

the veiw was beautiful . The staff at the Lucerna were pleasant and helpful. Our whole experience through this was great I am happy I booked the surgery and so is my husband .

I would recommend this procedure and the OCC to anyone looking to better there life through weightloss. I feel great I have no other problems from the surgery and I have so far dropped 5 sizes and plan to go down even more .So I wish you all the best when you go for your surgery next month I know you won't regret it. Just rememder the nausea lasts only a day or two

and they say to walk as much as you can and it will help.

Hi Theresa! Thank you for your feedback! My son is going to meet me in San Diego a few days after the surgery (he's in the military and is not allowed in Tijuana, otherwise he wanted to be with me for the surgery). We are going to visit friends and family in San Diego for a few more days and then come back to Portland. I hope I'm not being overly ambitious, but from what I have read, people are back to normal functions within a few days (other than heartburn, nausea, etc). What do you think? Is it silly of me to plan a vacation around this????

Hi Kelly. I had my plication done at OCC on January 27th. My weight has gone from 211 to 174.? in the last almost 4 months. I have had a stall, or as most know it a plateau..............so I just recently went back to the basics............640z of water a day min, protein to be eaten first, measure my portions rather than visually trying to guess. Snacks need to be a protein, or say a light veggie, or unsalted almonds. I have come to realize plication like any WLS is really only part of the picture....................it provides a tool .......then it's up to me to either chose to use the tool wisely or not. The latter doesn't help me at all. I also was not exercising regularly...................so no buring up those calories I carry around in the form of extra weight. I chose this type of WLS because it fit my life style. Meaning I travel alot, and often to places where there is no place to have fills for a band. If I were to do it again I would still chose plication.............or if I had more weight to loose then I would have gone with the Sleeve. My goal weight in in the mid 140's so in reality I am more than half way there. I think if I had a lot more weight ot loss say 100+ pounds, I might have gone with the Sleev. At this point it's only a guess cause that wasn't how it was. I have lost hair too, and I didn't have any extra hair to loose...............fine thin hair from birth. So I started taking 10mg of Biotin, 10,000+D3 plus using Rogaine drops, 5%.........yup the stronger strength.....................I can buy it over the counter in the States. So although I live in Canada, I'm about 40 min. to a Walmart in Bellingham, Wash. I saw a demertologist and she recommmed these 3 things to deal with hair loss. She did tell me it takes about a year for all these things to show results.....................so I keep doing these things even tho the results are way down the road. Hey sort of like loosing weigh...........ya do the things ya need to do........then somewhere down the road it all comes together..............................OCC is a great place to have surgery. Clean, Professional, and patient care is foremost. Maybe this might help you. K:)

Wow, the hair loss thing is an issue. I have a lot of hair and only went through hair loss when my Thyroid burned out. But once I got on medication and adjusted my diet it all grew back. Are you hungry at all? Were you able to function normally within a few days of the surgery? -Kelly

Hi I had plication on Oct.2010

Well let star with the Occ it is not a hospital it's a clinic very clean

And the staff are all super nice and sweet people

The Dr.s are all professional and better than the ones here in the USA

The hotel staff extrimely nice. The view not so nice And a lot of constrution

I stayed at the Radisson

The ugly:I only lost 20 pounds in 7 month's and I have huge bold spots in my head do to

tons of hair loss.I call the Occ about my weight and they told me that I have to go back to

do it again.Don't know at else to tell you.Better luck to you.

Thanks for the feedback Marie. I wonder what the hair loss is about? Do you think it is from a lack of nutrition? -Kelly

Hi Everyone:

I am excited to become a member of the bandster club. My surgery is scheduled for June 9th! I wish you all great success.

"]Ticker

Hi! I don't know your name, but I'll be there at the same time. My surgery is the 8th. My name is Kelly so come say hi!

I just talked to Lori and have my schedule date for June 29th. Super excited. Planning on starting my pre-op diet tomorrow so I don't have to stress about getting the weight off. Look forward to talking with any of you that are getting ready too:)

Steph

Good for you Steph! I'm scheduled for Plication June 8th. I'm starving on the Pre-op diet, but lost 10 lbs in two weeks, which I was never able to do before. I guess just the idea that I have a reason to lose the weight is worth the hunger - that and I'm banking on not being hungry after the surgery! I read this board a lot looking for tips and encouragement. This will be another tool to add to my tool box, along with my gym membership (that I never go too, but I pay for every month..just in case ), my hypnotherapy cds (which I listen too every night and I love them). I eat healthy organic foods, but I'm always hungry so I over eat. My hope is this will solve that!

Kelly

Hi Folks,

Thought I would see if I could start a new topic each day and get this board rolling. These questions are to both pre- and post op folks - and don't have to be limited to plication folks.

Todays Question: Pre-Op Diet - expectations and results.

In reviewing the options, does anyone have a comment on which of the pre-op methods for diet seem to be working the best? If so why? Anyone change in mid stream?

I am starting the option 2 - which is shake twice a day and a small meal once a day with unlimited green veggies and salads. I went with this one as I wanted the bulk that the greens would give me as well as the fiber.

I debated the option 3 - Adkins induction - but have found that I miss the greens too much to be a good camper on that one.

As for expectations - I was told to lose 5lbs before surgery - which should be pretty easy to do on this diet. My expectation is that I will lose a bit more - but the important part I think besides the diet is to limit the fat intake so that the liver can shrink.

Anyone else?

Thanks

Donna

3/2003 lapband

310/145/210 moving to Plication 7/1/2011 with Dr. Ortiez

Hi Donna! Good to "see" you here! I'm doing the #2 diet as well and I'm STARVING. When I do eat though, I get full on smaller portions, but then I get hungry. I drink tons of water, and I take the fiber pills which help somewhat. I'm down about 10 lbs and have two more (at least) to go. My surgery is a week from today!! I'm hoping the hunger goes away after the surgery.

Hello All,

I am looking for experiences from previous patients who have gotten the Gastric Plication surgery. How do you feel now? Is there anything that you regret? Has there been any complication or discomfort that you were or were not aware of beforehand? How were you treated all along the way, by the staff, the doctors, and the hotel?

I'm looking for honest references, the good, the bad and the ugly so that I can make a thoroughly informed decision.

Please either post here, or email me directly at Kellyinpdx@gmail.com. My surgery is scheduled for June 8, 2011.

Thank you so much!!

Kelly