Iluvmyboyz

Oh my! I totally have the same problem and it has been very frustrating and a long and slow process. I get a fill and do great with it for about 5 months and then all of a sudden something happens and I can't even keep water down and one time I was throwing up blood and then had to get a complete unfill and slowly work back up. It is crazy! I too have plenty of restriction without fluid in my band. It is weird! I have 2.4 ccs in my band right now and have not had a fill since March and am struggling right now to drink or eat very much. I keep debating whether to get an unfill or not. I hate spending $265 each time at Fill Centers. I have been stuck at a loss of 52 lbs for months and months and finally recently hit a 61 lb loss. I love my band! It is the greatest thing I ever did for myself. I am thrilled to look in the mirror and actually smile at myself. I can imagine how happy you must be losing 120 lbs despite the crazy finnicky band. Wow! You got called "tiny." That is totally amazing!!! You rock! Thanks for sharing your story, it gives me hope. I still have 20 or so lbs to lose and there is hope. Have a great day! Natalie

Oh my gosh!!! That is truly an inspiring story. Thanks so much for sharing that touching letter with us all. What amazing willpower you have to save the money and do this. I don't even know you and I am so proud of you!!! Wow!!! I know you will do great with the band. I am excited to watch your progress!!! Welcome to bandland!! It's great here and a great place to go to for support. I want to say thanks again for sharing. Loved it!!! Have a great day!!! Natalie

Hellooooo Amber... Welcome back!!! We truly missed you!!!! What a mess!!! You have been through so much and you were the reason that I felt comfortable getting the band. You had done SO much research and you were so fun and happy and had so much knowledge about the band and the OCC that you made me feel so much better the day of our surgery. I was seriously SO scared and you made it all better for me. So, what I am really saying, is that THIS SUCKS FOR YOU!!!! You were so pumped and you just KNEW this band was going to work for you and you were going to start a whole new life with it. Well, hopefully this will all be over soon and you can move forward with your band repair. So a little setback and you are on your way to a new you. Why did you have to be the small % that has a problem??? I am SO sorry and hope it all gets better soon. Do they just go in laproscopically and check to see if the port is damaged and then hurry and replace it??? Do you know what the cost is going to be? Sorry I am so nosey I am just curious what is going to happen to you. So, you are pretty dang sure that the quacky fill doc is the cause of all of this??? That is so lame!!! Have you spoken to them about the damage??? How frustrating!!! Well, good luck and definitely keep us posted on your progress. Sorry again that this had to happen to you. My husband and I talk about you all the time, how you made the surgery and experience so much fun and you and your mom are such nice people and very fun to get to know. Your mom is probably livid!!! She was so happy and supportive of you and had so much knowledge of the band as well. Hang in there sweetie!!! We are all pulling for you!!! Natalie

Blazn Hello, I am sorry to hear that you have been throwing up. It is not fun at all. I did get completely unfilled. The doc said that he didn't have to slowly refill because I have already been up to 2.3 cc so whenever I am ready and feeling better he could refill it right to the same amount. It is a strange thing because I got my 2nd fill on Oct. 3rd and have been totally fine since. Saturday I started throwing up and couldn't keep anything down. It doesn't make sense. So, I don't think I was overfilled because I did so good for those first couple of weeks. The doc thinks that maybe a piece of chicken or something got stuck and that caused the throwing up and then it just spiraled downward from there...throw up...irritate band...band swells & get inflamed.....throw up....irritate band...band swells & gets inflamed. So, it becomes a no-win situation. I hope you get feeling better soon. It amazes me how finnicky the band is. It is different every day. Definitely keeps us on our toes and guessing all of the time. I just want you to know that I love watching your progress. I love the pictures you post. You have done amazing!!!! I can't believe how much weight you've lost. It is awesome!!! Keep up the good work!!! You are an inspiration to us all!!! Take care and let me know how you do. Have a great day!!! Natalie

Hey Anita, I have no fill at all right now. He had to completely unfill my band. I had 2.3 cc in there until yesterday, but now nothing. He said to just wait and see how I feel and that he can go right back to the same amount or a little less whenever I am ready. I am not sure when I will go back in. I feel great already and can eat & drink again. So, I will just have to wait and see. I am just so glad that I still have my band. That was a weird experience. Glad it is over. Thanks for your comments. They are so nice. Natalie

Hey Anita... It's Natalie. Remember me? We were banded the same day together at the OCC??? I was with my husband Lyman??? Well, I want to tell you CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You look amazing!!! I can't believe the diffence the weight loss makes. I saw your pictures last night and called my husband downstairs and told him, "Look at Anita!!! She looks SO good!!!" I am so happy for you. Way to go!! Keep up the good work!! Do you love your band??? I love mine. It is amazing how easy it is to lose weight now huh? I also love your picture with Dr. Ortiz. He is so handsome. Wish I would have gotten some pics of him too. When he came in to talk to me before my surgery, I was too drugged to enjoy his beauty. He chuckled at whatever it was I said to him and said, "Ah, I better talk to you after your surgery, your pill is definitely working." So, who knows what I said to him. How embarassing!!! But that was a fun experience for sure. Natalie

Hi BigDaddy, Just wanted to quickly give you my thoughts on pizza. I can only eat the toppings off the top of the pizza and then I am done. It is great!!! I don't eat it very often, but once in awhile I do. Can't eat a half a pizza like I used to, but certainly can still enjoy the yumminess of pizza. The toppings are the best part anyways. As far as wings go...I have not tolerated any kind of chicken very good at all with the band. So, not sure what to tell you on that. Good luck!!! Getting the band is actually very exciting, you think of new ways to eat food and you enjoy food instead of inhale food. It is a truly amazing tool!!! I love mine!!! Natalie

I had to go get an emergency unfill today because I was throwing up blood. It was very scary. I had no energy, I was shaking, crying and could not even keep water down. I called fill centers and they got me in fast. I was so weak and sick but drove there anyway. The Dr. unfilled me and had me drink some barium and water and I swear I felt better almost immediately. The doc said that I probably have a thing called a mallory (spelling?) tear from throwing up so many times and that is what caused the bleeding. He said that they are pretty harmless, it is just a little tear in your stomach. He said to take it easy for a couple of days and drink liquids and see how I do. If I don't get better he said to go get my stomach scoped at the hospital. So, today I hated my band and wanted it out because I was in so much pain. I am glad I went to the fill doc instead of to the ER. My doc said they would take the band out in a heartbeat. He said to never let them do that, always go to fill doc first then back to the OCC to see if there is something that they can do. I was so sick today that if they would have taken out my band, I wouldn't have even cared. Now that I am feeling better I am glad that I still have my band. I really do love what it has done for me. Just thought I would post about my traumatic day. Thanks for listening. Natalie

Excellent Post Jann, Great info. Thanks for taking the time to post that. Also, wanted to say thanks for the nice words you sent the other day when I was feeling like crap. But most importantly I want tell you that your weight loss picture is probably one of the most drastic changes I have ever seen. You look like a different person. Not only are you thinner, I swear you look 15 years younger. WOW!!! That is amazing!!! You are one smokin' hot babe!!! You look happier & healthier. An absolutely extreme transformation. Keep up the great work!!! Natalie

Cheryl, I am SO glad you are going in tomorrow. I am so curious as to what they will say. That is very interesting about how you were sick the day before you had your fill and now it seems to be overfilled. Those darn bands are sure finnicky. It is actually pretty amazing what affects them. Weird!! Good luck to you!!! No food since Sunday, you've got to be feeling weak and tired. Man oh man!! Miserable!!! Sorry you are going through this...it will be so nice for you to be able to eat again...even just a little bit. Talk to you tomorrow. Natalie

Hello again Painter, I am wondering what is going on with you now? I am glad you have gotten some water down, anything else? I am just curious what is happening to you. It is scary to be so sick and not be able to eat anything. Please let me know how you are today. I am feeling better. I did call my fill doc yesterday and fill centers and got in to see my regular doc. My doc gave me anti-nausea suppositories and the fill centers said to go on warm liquids for 2 days and see if things settle down. So, far I have kept soup down, lots of water, crackers and a sprite (with the carbonation out of course.) I can't believe how weak and tired I was from getting no nutrition. That was super scary for me and I am glad it is over. It reminds me to take extra care of my band. Well, I hit my 50 lbs lost point finally so there is one good thing that came out of it for me. LOL I got a good nights rest last night (I guess the anti-nausea meds make you sleepy) and that was totally ok by me : ) My Doc called me at home this morning to check on me and fill centers is calling me tomorrow because they said if I wasn't better to go ahead and go in for an unfill. Scary times!! So glad it is over!!! Good luck!! Get feeling better soon!!! Natalie

Painter, Ah! Thats terrible. You poor thing!!! I have been sick for two days and I don't know if it is food poisoning or the flu or my band is going crazy. I have not been able to keep anything down for 2 days except for 1 bottle of water today. I have found that laying down is horrible and hurts so bad with the burning & churning going on in my stomach. The only thing that has brought me a bit of relief is laying on a heating pad. I know it sounds weird, but it seems to help relax me and help my stomach settle down. If I try to eat anything I spit and puke little bits for about 4 hrs also. What the heck is going on? It is kind of scary huh? I feel for you. I hope you feel better soon. I am so afraid of food right now but my stomach is growling like crazy but no way am I going through that awful pain again. The band is finnicky and hopefully yours will settle down. I have heard stories of gals going to get unfills because it is way too tight and then they have no restriction after a couple of days of healing. Good luck! I wish I knew what to tell you. I am considering going into the closest InstaCare and having them give me a script for anti-nausea suppositories. I am that desperate!! Keep us posted and let us know what happens with you. Hang in there!!! Natalie

Hello all. I woke up this morning with a backache, so I got up and took 800 mg ibuprofen. I ate 4 saltine crackers and tried to go lay back down. I have been sick ever since. My stomach burns and if I burp, a little bit of bad tasting bitter puke shoots up the back of my throat. So, now I wonder if the ibuprofen made me sick or if I have a touch of the flu or if my band is messed up? I am stressed and that is probably not making things any better.... I don't know what to do from here. I just tried to eat some soup and it came back up. The only thing I have kept down today is some hot lemon water. I feel awful and when I lie down it makes me sicker because of the burning churning stomach. Ah!!! I am frustrated & confused. I know that I should just stick with some liquids for a couple of days and see if everything goes back to normal. I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could act accordingly. Sure wish I had some anti-nausea medicine right now but my fill doc laughed and said it was not necessary. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks for reading my all too detailed post. LOL Natalie

You are funny!!! I don't think that you have to do a longer pre-op diet because you are so ginormous. That is just silly!!! They have 3 pre-op diet options...I am not sure exactly what they consist of but I went with the 3rd option which was only 1 week long and it was rough but at least it was short. I just went through all of my saved emails from Dr. Miranda and Lori from the OCC and this is what I discovered. I got desperate during that week and so I emailed them alot and asked several questions. I think this info makes this pre-op diet not so difficult. This is the 1 week pre-op diet... You are supposed to have 3 weight loss shakes per day. Any brand of protein shakes that are under 220 calories. You can have up to 4 lbs of leafy greens per day with salad spritzer (Yes I typed 4 lbs) Can you say rabbit??? You can have 1/2 cup of either zucchini or sugar snap peas per day You can eat sugar free jell-o. You can substitute Minstrone or Vegetable soup for one shake per day I bought the Slim Fast Optima and I thought they were totally gross. The best flavor was French Vanilla but I had to add lots of water to them to try to get them down without gagging. They were just super thick and rich and I liked them a tiny bit better watered down. Also, Lori told me that one night when she was on the pre-op diet she was desperate and threw a piece of grilled chicken on top of her salad. Once I received a few more ideas, it didn't seem so bad. So, I am sharing these pre-op ideas straight from Dr. Miranda and Lori. I think it helps a ton and I swear I emailed them and asked so many questions, they probably thought that I was crazy. LOL : ) YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! It goes by pretty fast. I even went out one night on the pre-op to my favorite Mexican restaurant for my sisters birthday and I sat there and drank water and just focused on the new life ahead of me and knew that it was worth it!!! They all assumed that I wouldn't go to dinner because I couldn't eat, but I was not going to miss out on my sis's birthday dinner. I lost 13 lbs doing this pre-op diet so I personally know that it works. Dr. Miranda was very happy and complimented me on sticking to it and losing that much weight that quickly. If I can do this anyone can. I have failed miserably at every diet out there. Spent lots of money trying to lose weight and failing. You can do this too!! Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon!!! I hope this helps Natalie

YEA!!!!! Congratulations!!! You did it!!! I am so excited for you. Sounds like your experience was awesome!!! Now a great new life lies ahead of you. You are on your way to a new you. I can't wait to watch your progress and I am so glad all went well and you are alright. Good for you!!!! Natalie

OK, let me tell you that you can eat a taco a bit later, but you still can. I just had a hard shell taco for the first time the other day and couldn't even finish it. It was good but you will get creative in your eating. When my family is having tacos, I have a taco salad. When we are having tuna sandwiches for lunch, I dip some baked Pringles in the tuna and it is so good. When we are eating a ham sandwich, I eat a salad with chopped up ham on it. I swear it is sooooo worth it. You just think of another way to eat it and it is kinda fun. I swear I was the biggest bread and pasta freak and I do not miss it like I thought I would. I don't even try to eat it. I just know that I won't do well with it. I still serve bread and pasta with a lot of meals and I am not even temped to eat it. One time I ate a tiny piece of the center of a hot homemade loaf of bread and I was good to go. You can do this!!!! It is so worth it!!! I think you are sooo pretty now. You are going to be one HOT NUMBER really soon here...So hang in there!!! Natalie

No gowns for me. I just wore cut off sweats and a t-shirt. I was so comfy and was very happy not showing anyone my butt. LOL I wouldn't buy anything new because soon nothing will fit you and what a waste!!! I also wore capris and stuff like that. I didn't want to wear anything that hurt my stomach area or was tight fitting. Just loose clothing. I can't wait for your surgery. It is great you are asking questions so that you are so prepared. GOOD LUCK!!!! Natalie

Cathy, I know that this is off topic. But I just wanted to tell you that I think it is amazing that you spend the time to post and answer so many questions on this forum. I think that you are helping ease so many fears for people. I think it is great. I just wanted to say thanks to you for all your time and effort. Keep up the good work!!!! Oh, and congrats on your progress. You are doing amazing!!!! Natalie

Hello, I was also worried about the whole thing because it was my wonderful time of month during surgery. They actually did give me the paper thong and a pad to go with it. It was lovely but not the end of the world. I heard them tell the girl next to me, "no tampons." They also said that it is good to know beforehand that it is your time because they give you extra anti-nausea medications in your i.v. For some reason that time of the month seems to make you more likely to get nauseated. So, look on the bright side...You get more drugs:-) LOL Does that make you feel any better??? I sure hope so. You will find when its over, it happens so fast that it is all just a blurr anyways. A paper thong and yucky pad are a small sacrifice for the great step you are taking in your life. GOOD LUCK!!!!! Natalie

Hello there...I did have restriction from the surgery also without a fill. I could not eat much at all. I was amazed!!! It was awesome and I took advantage of it. I lost 25 lbs before I ever went in for my first fill. I have only had one fill so far and have SO much restriction. I can't imagine getting another fill. I have lost 45 lbs total, so I guess it is working for sure. It sounds like your band will be the same as mine. I feel lucky to have so much restriction already. It seems like the pounds will just start falling off you. How exciting!!! Keep us posted on your success. We love to cheer you on!!! Good luck and have a great day!!!! Natalie

Just wondering why my picture that I finally just figured out how to add onto my profile doesn't show up in the corner when I post on a topic??? What can I do to make it??? Thanks for helping!!!

I finally lost 45 lbs today. I have been stuck at a 44 lb. loss for a couple of weeks and have been frustrated. I am so happy!!!! I kept considering getting a fill but I am positive that I do not need one yet. Just thought I would share the news. Thanks for listening!!!! Thanks for all your support!!!! I love this forum and read it every day.

Arlene, I am sooo glad that you figured that out. I have been thinking about you every day and waiting for you to post and tell us what happened. I was worried. Good for you for figuring that out. I think you got some great info from Dr. Ortiz. That is so good to know. I am sorry you had to go through that. I hope you get feeling better and that we can all listen to our bands like we are supposed to. I know that I could certainly be better at that. Good luck to you!!!! I was considering going in for my second fill but was worried because I have really too much restriction at times and now I know for a fact that I will not go in yet and will use the band better. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It is good to know. Have a great night. Natalie

Amber, hello again. It's Natalie. We had surgery on the same day and I have a 10.0cm band. Is that the same as yours??? Just wondering. Dr. Ortiz's cell phone number is 1-619-247-9695 or you can email him at drortiz@obesitycontrolcenter.com. I hope this helps. I would be so freaked out by what your going through. I hope that this first quack just missed and now you just need another fill for better restriction. I really hope this all turns out ok for you. I have had only one fill and have a ton of restriction and don't dare get another one yet. Sometimes I take just a couple of bites of food and can't even hold down any more and have to go spit in my toilet for 20 minutes to feel better???? It doesn't make any sense. What gives??? Sorry for what you are going through. Let us know what happens for sure. Good Luck!!! Natalie