Donna34

That's amazing Donna. Keep up the great work girl! I know what you mean about goals. Dr. Miranda told me that 166 would be the perfect weight for me. I have 17lbs to go, but I am not sure if I want to be at 140 or 150...only time will tell . You look AMAZING!!

Thanks Ashley! You have done awesome as well!! I thought I would be happy at 165, and that is what I weighed before my first pregnancy. Now that I'm really close, I keep thinking back to when I weighed 145. Doesn't seem that impossible after losing 81 pounds! What's 20 more right?? LOL You look great also!! Best of luck to you!

Donna

Donna,

Congrats to you and thank you for the update! I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing these wonderful stories!

You have done really well and I too think it is pretty neat you do your own fills. I would be scared to death...lol

Carrie

Ps: You pictures is AWESOME!

Thanks Carrie!! You have made awesome progress as well!!! Doesn't it feel great??? The lap band saved my life, and I LOVE it!! Best money I ever spent! I was scared to death to do my fills too. If my cousin who is a registered nurse hadn't shown me exactly how to do it, I would have never attempted it! I would never advise anyone to do it. If you have a good fill doctor, stick with them! :-)

Best of luck on the rest of your weightloss!

Donna

Donna - I love that you do your own fills. After you posted a while back, I began looking into supplies and doing my own fills. I've decided that I am going to continue going to my Dr for fills right now, but the thought of it was very interesting indeed.

I am so happy that you are in the drivers seat of your health care and are doing so well. I recently had my 5th fill! WOW. So far, I have not had an issue with eating any types of foods. I am hoping I can get my portions under a cup and continue on. It has been hard waiting to build up my fill level. Right now I have 2.4 cc's in my band. It's difficult when your restriction level is not good keep up the good fight.

I hope to see more posts from you!

Yes Angie, I know exactly what you mean. I've been there. That's why it took me so long to lose this weight. If I had a more aggressive fill doctor, I think I would have lost a lot faster. However....losing slow has been a blessing!! My skin actually shrank gradually while I was losing, so now I don't have a lot of saggy skin like some people get with fast weightloss. I honestly believe that was due to losing more slowly. It got very frustrating at times, but looking back now, it doesn't SEEM that it took that long at all. You will get there. When you get more weight off, it will be easier to feel your port. That is why I'm comfortable with doing my fills now! Best of luck to you!

Donna

Congrats! That is awesome! Glad you are having success.

Thanks Angie!! I love the quote in your signature!! ;-)

Donna

Just wanted to say "hi" and let everyone know that I'm almost 3 years out, and STILL LOVE MY BAND!!! I've lost 81 pounds. I have lost it slowly, up until now...seems like I'm losing faster now at the END!!! My original goal was 165. I'm 4 pounds from there!! So, I decided I want to get down to 155 now!! Maybe 145? Who knows?? What I do know, is that if I COULD DO IT, ANYONE CAN!!! Happy Banding!! Love ya Dr. Ortiz!!!

Donna

Hi, I had my surgery 12/08 and also have a 4cc band. I am very close to 4cc

still have 40lbs to lose so I to am a bit worried.

Let me know how you do with your fill. GOOD LUCK!

Don't freak out!! Believe it or not, a lot of people don't get restriction until they are at 4cc or a little more with the 4cc band. That was the case with me. I had NO restriction until I was well over 3ccs. Now I'm at at least 4ccs. The good thing is, when you get to that point, it only takes a tiny drop to make ALL the difference! Hang in there!

:-)

Donna

Hi Donna,

Thanks for posting; as I near my surgery date 9/25 I am starting to freak out a bit and it's nice to hear that you still love your band three years out. And did I read that you do your own fills???? Explain!

Margaret

Hi Margaret! Congrats on the surgery date!!! You won't regret it!! It has changed my life! Yes, I do my own fills, but please let me stress....I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING IT ON YOUR OWN. The reason I started doing mine was because I had a relative (RN) that trained me. I had lost a LOT of weight before I began doing my fills, so my port is fairly easy to find. You can REALLY mess things up, if you are not careful. Always best to seek an experienced lap band surgeon for fills. Not to mention, it's pretty scary getting the nerve up to stick that needle in your tummy! :-) Good Luck!

Donna

Hi Donna! Glad you popped your head in to say hello! Congrats on your wight loss and three years living with the band! I couldn't help notice you are a Heartland Gal too! Iowa City. I am a Omaha gal myself. If you ever make it to the Big O, give me a holler!

I too noticed you do your own fills. I think that is great! Not to mention affordable!

Hope you check in more often!

I moved to Iowa from Tennessee 3 years ago! I'm dying to go to the zoo in Omaha!! Maybe we can meet up sometime! :-)

Donna

Welcome back! I weigh around the same as you and I have a feeling this is where my body wants to "settle in" but I could be wrong. Did you lose most of your weight in the first year and then it halted or have you been losing over the whole three years? Just curious.

Sabrina:)

Hi Sabrina!

It has been a LONG journey for me. I lost about 30 pounds the first 6 months maybe. Then I STOPPED. I mean REALLY stopped!! I was SO frustrated. My fill doctor was putting like one tiny drop at a time in my band. I had NO RESTRICTION. Finally, my cousin who is an RN (and also has a band) gave me a fill. She showed me how to do it, since we live 600 miles away from each other. I FINALLY knew what restriction was all about! I started losing again, just last summer. Now, when I feel like my restriction is gone, I give myself another fill, and I'm off to the races again! LOL

But, to answer your question Sabrina....if you STILL have restriction, your body could be just adjusting to a new set point. I hit LOT'S of plateaus. If that is not the case, consider getting another fill to get going, or increase the exercise to see if that helps! I feel like I'm losing faster now, than at the beginning. But, again, that's because my fill Dr, wasn't aggressive enough! :-)

Donna

I started out seeing one fill person who was a PA. He said that with all my fills combined I had a total of 4.5cc in my 4cc band. I switched and started going to a lapband surgeon, (the same one Shelby goes to), the first time I had a fill with him he removed all the fluid and I really only 3.1cc. I questioned him on the difference and he said that it is really easy to miscalculate the amount of fluid being put in the band.

Just another point of view.

dawn

You can never pull out ALL the liquid, so there is generally about 1cc that NEVER comes out of the band. You probably had 4.1cc's. Your PA may have been right. :-) I gave up on trying to keep track of the total a long time ago! LOL

Donna

Hey! I haven't been on here in ages! Looks like a completely different group! Just wanted to check in and say, I'm almost 3 years out, and all is well with the band! I feel GREAT!! Still have a little bit of weight to lose, but I'm getting there! STILL LOVE MY BAND!

Hope you all are well!

Donna

I'm amazed at how you all held up! LOL Now I really feel like a baby! I bawled my eyes out when my oldest daughter started kindergarten. I cried yesterday when my youngest went off to kindergarten, but not like I did with the first one. I don't know why, but I thought I was gonna DIE when the first one started. I guess, it's not so scary this time, cause I know that big sister will be there with her. But, yeah, I feel your pain. Monday was not a happy time for me either! And now.....It's WAYYYYYYY too quiet here!!

Donna

Danielle,

You are a beautiful girl already!!! AND, you're young! Try not to be upset over this. I know how dissappointed you must feel. It took me over a YEAR to talk my hubby into letting me do this! But, like everyone else has said, there are more ways to lose weight, and I think the high protein diet is one of the best ideas! Also, as others have already said, don't sabotage yourself, by saying "I think I will fail!" Get excited about this!!! Start a daily journal, and write down EVERYTHING you eat, and start adding exercise. I do this myself. You can do this, and you will feel SO PROUD OF YOURSELF for doing it on your own!!!

Donna

Hi Guys, thanks for your replies.

Just to clarify, yeah I probably do need a fill and should not consider the Xenical. I think I’m just about there with the food restriction, and my food choices are reasonably good too.

I was on Xenical before by Band op - And yes I suffered all those dreaded side effects ( I basically eat too much fat in my diet and boy did I suffer !) The reason I was asking is that I’m struggling to finance the fills at the moment ( loooong disaster story with my first Band and the aftercare package). I had a few packets of Xenical left over and as my diet has now improved, I thought I could use them up to maximum effect , just until I can get than band filled again.

thanks again,

I definitley understand where you are coming from! My fills WERE extremely expensive as well. I also got to the point where I wasn't losing, and just couldn't afford to keep getting fills that were basically doing nothing for me. It is SOOOOO frustrating! I had some Cambridge diet product on hand, and thought I would do that in the meantime. That didn't last one day! LOL

If I were you, I'd just try to count calories, and maybe add a few more minutes of exercise until I could afford a fill. I'm assuming your cost for fills is coming out of pocket. Have you exhausted all your options for doctors that will do fills? It never hurts to call all the bariatric centers in your area, just to see if they will do a fill, and find out what they charge. Sometimes you might find a doctor that will do it cheaper. Also, if you have been having fills with fluoro, (which is way MORE expensive) think about having an experienced doctor that does blind fills to do it. This is usually a cheaper route.

I got lucky because my cousin who is an RN has started doing fills, and she does mine now. For the FIRST time since I got banded, I finally have restriction. REAL restriction. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes! Hang in there, and try not to get discouraged. This band is ALL you need to lose weight, and with proper adjustments...you WILL.

Good luck!

Donna

I have really been enjoying Campbells Select Harvest, Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla soup. I add a dash of garlic powder, and a tablespoon of sour cream. It is DELICIOUS! One serving has 130 calories, 2.5 grams fat, and 8 grams of protein! Yummy!

Donna

Remind me what Xenical is and perhaps I can answer.

I don't see that it would affect the band at all, but I AM confused about why you would want to take that, if you have a band. If you have a band, and are not losing weight, you should get another fill. I took Xenical years ago to try to lose weight, and it was a NIGHTMARE. I wouldn't wish that on ANYONE. That stuff is NASTY. LOL

But, to answer your question...I would think it would pass right on through the band, and go to work in your stomach/intestines, as it is designed to do. So, it shouldn't do anything at all to the band. My only other concern is....with the limited amount of food you are consuming (assuming you have an adequate fill) you probably would need to absorb everything you can from what you are eating. I guess I just don't see the benefit.

Hope this helps!

Donna

Laffing and doing the happy dance with you.. much more fun when there are two. Gotta love that happy dance! Woot!!

So glad you got a good fill!! So glad I got a good fill too!!! I've been battling with this for over a year, and after my 8th fill, FINALLY have restriction!!!! Good job on the 52 pound loss!! THAT IS GREAT!

Donna

OMG thats so funny that you asked that! I was sitting at my desk this morning wondering the same thing!

Take a break from moving Michelle and let us know

I just LOVE success stories, and the WOW moments!! I used to LOVE that show "I Lost It" on DHC. Especially at the end when they see someone, who had no idea they were losing weight, and they shock their socks off! Of course, I've just about memorized all of them! LOL

Donna

So, I'm curious!! LOL Were your in-laws totally WOWWED, when they saw the new you?? Did they know before they got there, that you were losing weight? I bet the looks on their faces were PRICELESS.

I can't wait for my WOW moment. My inlaws have seen me off and on throughout the past year, so no real shock. I won't see them again until late October, so I'm HOPING that when I see them then, it will be a WOW moment!!

I bet you feel SOOOOO good about yourself! You should!!

Donna

I got my second fill. I feel more restricted in that I am having more difficulty swallowing my pills. I can tell I have to take smaller bites and chew more or things will get stuck. I am not has hungry as before...but when I am....I can eat the same quantity as before the fill. What is up with that? I know my band hasn't slipped. Shouldn't I get full faster?

How long since your fill? Sometimes it takes a little while to catch up. Don't know why, but sometimes my fills didn't show up until a week or two later! What size band do you have, and how much is your total fill? Do you have your fills with fluoro?

Donna

I think I know what you are talking about Ackovach. I think my lower stomach has shrunk too. Small portions fill up my "new stomach" quickly, but if I eat something like soup, that goes down easy...I get that STUFFED feeling in my lower stomach. I had almost forgotten how uncomfortable it was to be stuffed like that. I've decided to limit my intake to 1/2 cup even if more will go down easily. I don't like that feeling AT ALL.

LOL

Donna

And we are SO glad you do share your progress!! What a motivator for the rest of us! Keep up the good work! I wish I hadn't told anyone about my surgery now! I always feel like they are looking at me, and thinking "well, WLS isn't even working for her!!" But, I've had more trouble than most, and I'm sure all that is going to change now!

Donna

So all of you know how my Dr. gives those teeny tiny fills. I have been threatening to go somewhere else for awhile now and today I finally made an appt near New Orleans. I have had 4 fills and have a total of 1.8cc in my band. I have restriction in the morning, but by night it is gone. I am gonna see the fill Dr. that Trina uses.

My appt is next Friday.

Good for you Kim!!! Sounds like my long distressful story! I had a very conservative fill doctor as well. I've had 8 fills, and NO restriction! I was banded over a year ago, and had only lost 35 pounds, and most of that was during the post-op diet! I had totally GIVEN UP. I thought the band was just NOT gonna work for me!

Well, last week I went to TN. (where I am from originally) I had my cousin to give me a fill. She is a registered nurse, has a band, and has been trained to do fills. She even does her own. Well, she gave me a GOOD fill. Now, I know what everyone has been talking about! It actually makes sense to me now!! I'm losing again!!!! It's WONDERFUL. So, my advice to ANYONE who is stuck with a doctor who BARELY gives you a fill....FIND another doctor!!! Don't mess around with it. Get it right, and get on with it!!! If you have to drive a little further....it's worth it in the long run!

Good Luck Kim!

Donna

You don't owe me anything! LOL I'll just be glad to get them out of my closet! It will probably be a few days before I can get them shipped though. My car is in the shop. As, soon as I get it back, I'll get them sent!

Donna

OK, this is what I have! I have 2 pairs of size 20w jeans. They are the stretch denim. They are both bootcut. One is Faded Glory, and the other is Daisy Fuentes brand. I also have a pair of size 20w khaki dress pants, Liz and Me. They are brand new, never been worn. Also stretchy. If you are interested, let me know!

Donna