AngieB

Odette - I thought of you yesterday. The gal doing my fill had a bit of a time getting my port. So much so, that she bent the first needle all the heck and had to get a second one to finish up. I am not scared of needles or anything so it wasn't tramatic for me, but I thought of you because you just had difficulty with your fill. Mine was under floro too. So sometimes they have a tough time. In Mexico they put in a low profile port, which is the small size port.

It's a snow day here. We are under a winter storm advisory or a blizzard something or other. So me and Lil D are here at home chilling out. I got the walk and the drive way snow blown and had a NSV because of it. Last year, the time I would be finishing up my lower back hips area would be spazzing out. This year, I am in much better shape. I love it! Our neighbor was out scooping his walk and drive and he was 1/2 way finished when I began. He finished moments before me. That makes me feel great. Oh and I did part of the neighbors sidewalk too. I love it~

Sabrina - as soon as I win the lottery we can be ladies of leisure together! LOL

The band has taught me a lot about myself and my eating habits that I realized, but had no idea how "deep" it really was. Being aware of an "issue" is 1/2 the battle. Yes floro will be able to show any dialation or problems. Hang in there and do the very best you can.

Welcome back! Why do you think you will have to have surgery? Did something happen to your band or have you been having trouble? I was checking out your stats and noticed your first fill was .6 cc's. My first fill was much like your. I had .7 cc's added to my band. I just had a fill yesterday.....it was my 5th fill!! WOW! I am amazed. My last 2 fills were good. The first 3 fills were alright but the fluid ran through my band with ease. The last 2 the fluid was slower to pass. Yes! I am hoping I can go for a while now with out another fill. It's cost me $1350 so far this year. I was banded in April. Yikes!

I am not sure if you have screwed up, but I will suggest that you get on track now that you are aware of your miss step. It is important that you take care of yourself and the band. Starting today, change your portion sizes. When I was first banded I kept my portion size to 1.5 cups of food. Sometimes I would want to eat more, but I had to focus on if I was still hungry. You don't have a fill, yet so you really don't have a pouch, but you do have a band. Do not drink any carbination for a while. I think Dr. Ortiz says 6 months. Other than an occasional beer, I do not drink carbination at all. No sodas ect. This is a big lifestyle change that we are making. It is a challenge to change, but if I can do it, so can you! I suggest you come here and get support. It is a transition that is often more difficult than what we expect;. I have found the ladies and gentlemen here to be very positive and super supportive. Hang in there, this is the time for change.

WOW! That is my kinda price!

I am back from my 5th fill. Yes, I said #5. I can say with confidence that this will be a very good fill. Matter of fact, this is the best fill I have got out of them all! The last fill was a good one too, but even this latest one blows it out of the ball park. Finally! Not only that!!! But my intuition was correct. I felt the vibe of, “you’re calling again so soon for an adjustment.” [unspoken tone in their voice] Um, yeah! I filled out there paperwork that goes into detail of how much I am eating, and what foods I am eating. Yes, I can eat bread. Yes, I can eat a cup of chicken. Yes, the information I put on the sheet is correct. (Matter of fact I am sure I had a shocked look on my face when she was interrogating me as to if what I had relayed was indeed the truth.) Who am I doing this for…. ME! No a cup of food does not fill me up, am I satisfied, YES. Could I eat more, yes! Do I? No! I don’t want to harm my pouch/band ext. Not to mention, after 4 fills one would think you’d have restriction. I’ve read the literature and books, participated in this forum darn near every day since Marchish. I know what I bought into; I understand what I am striving for. I am not ignorant for Pete’s sake. The good news! My esophagus and pouch looked great. I took another .4 cc’s!!! The gal who gave me my fill did say, after the 5th degree of questioning me as to what I put down on the sheet, “oh I see what you mean.” Thank you, thank you very much! Validation! I am not a big dummy. I am not deaf to my own body. No I do not mistreat my band. I am not PB’ing and have no trouble eating breakfast. Do I have restriction, well yes, yes I do, but I should hope to high heaven I have restriction after 4 fills! Am I at my sweet spot? NO, that is why I am here!! Am I loosing weight? Yes. Yes I am. Sorry for the rant, I needed to get that out. Recap, I am validated, AND I feel like this is a good fill. I hold out hope that this will be my “sweet spot.” I now have 2.4 reported cc’s in my band. If I sound dramatic here, it’s because I am a bit dramatic, yes. Dare I say ready to be at a good restriction level!

Coffee with ff creamer greek yogurt with fresh strawberries 20 oz vw bag of pretzels protein shake with 1/2 of a bananna

The kiddo's luck out again! LOL Good thing I was in the dark about these outlets. I would have done some damage.

Sabrina girl you are thrifty! Gotta love a good deal! Have fun and I hope you have a wonderful time and hook up some fun peeps!

Sadly part of the larger picture of getting this surgery had to do with the fear that sooner or later my insurance (health coverage) would not cover me or make me pay an inflated rate, much like a tobacco user. Now, with the Obama administration, I am not so sure heath care will be moving that direction. It was only a facit of why I wanted to have surgery, but it played a part. I personaly think it is both good and bad. Sad and a happy change. It is hard to be told you are over weight. The subject is sticky and I can see both view points. Thanks Shelby for sharing this article.

I've found local after care at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They are wonderful! I love the staff and the surgeons. There is actually one gal who is sub par but I really don't know her. She seems like she is all business and I am a chatty Kathy....um can you tell. LOL I am sure at some point I will wear her down. It's hard not to get along with me. I have that kind of personality. I kinda grow on the people who don't get me right away.....

You are welcome. The band will teach you many many things. With each adjustment, you have a learning curve. Matter of fact, I decline any invites for lunch or the similar the first week after a fill. it's just to much for me to handle, unless I can order soup. I hope that I am getting the "experience" I need under my belt to make this fill a smooth transition. Let's hope I have zero PB episodes!!!

The band is an amazing tool. I have a friend who has the band and has been pregnant 3 time. She uses it and drops the weight so well after each pregnancy. It is amazing. She unfills it and fills it right back up. So don't think it's ever to late. I am going for my 5th fill tomorrow. I have been staying on top of my fills and I am so glad I have. My weight loss has been great! So far I am down 40 lbs. Some might consider that slow, but I think it is fabulous! With each fill I learn more about myself, my eating habits and the band. It's a trip. This one should be interesting! Take it easy! Angie

Thanks Steph! I am looking forward to my next fill and learning curve. At least I will have time to get use to this fill before Christmas. (What I am really saying here is before I have to eat in front of an audiance....which will be my entire family at Christmas.) I am sure I will be posting or blogging about it as soon as I am able. Haven't stepped on the scale....really want to, but I am holding true.

Hi Andy - glad to hear about your weight loss! That is great. More than not, I now take the time to cut up or prepare all my food before I eat it. I rarely eat "rip" foods the typical way. What I am referring to as a rip food is anything you have to bite off a piece of. Take a slice of pizza, burger, hot dog ect. I cut everything. If I eat a black bean burger I smash the thing into bits. LOL I don't drink while I eat or for at least 30-1 hr after. I have started to measure out my food so I have a better idea of just how much I am eating. Protein is a first unless it is a special occasion. Listening to my soft stops took me a bit to get use to. I now, hiccup, or start feeling satisfied. If I hiccup, I put the fork down right then. No more goes down. For a while I was in the habbit of eating "one bite to many" which would cause me to have a nice blob of slime coming up with the last bite. Living with the band is a learning curve. I am really digging it now, as I feel more intune with my body then ever before. It's pretty sweet, and gives me a feeling of empowerment. I found ways to work the "rules" to my favor. Like I have a hard time with plain old water, but I really dig this vitamin water. It is zero cals, carbs, ect. Zero's across the board. I drink that like I use to drink Diet Coke. Which was a very indulgent habit I was in. If I feel like snacking during the day, sometimes I can curb it by simply taking a supplement. Like my calcuim pill, vit E or neocell. Sounds like a trip but it helps. I have also really been finding some cool protein foods that provide me with the cravings I seem to have. So I am really digging finding new things. Hope this helps and wasn't a rambling mess! LOL Good job on the weight loss. You rock!

Sounds to me like your stress level is affecting the band. I'd say go visit your Dr. if you need piece of mind, but to me it sounds like stress. Sour stomach and all. Let us know what happens.

I think it is cool. So far I have only used positive votes. I think it would have to be a real crapper for me to bother with a negative vote, but that is just me. I run out quick. Matter of fact it is a good and sad thing we only get 3 a day. LOL I would be voting like crazy! I love that the multi quote is fixed and give you two thumbs up for the work done. I would give you a vote.....BUT I AM OUT! LOL Cheers!

Thanks Odette, that really means alot to me. It's a difficult situation because in his current state, he is unadoptable. The human society will put him down. I don't feel like I can post him to a good home when he is peeing outside the cat box. He is declawed and been an inside cat for 8 years. So he is a sissy cat, and that would be a huge lifestyle change to put him out in the winter and turn him into a outside cat. I wish I had a solution to this nightmare. The last thing I want to do is put him down. We can't continue on this way. It's frustrating cleaning up pee all the time and steam cleaning ect. My son and this cat get along sooo well to. The entire thing makes me sick to my stomach to even think of. When I moved to Omaha, and did not have family around. Cleo was my family. He was my friend and we were never alone cuz we had each other. I know this is TMI but my cat and I have a bond and it is hard to break it on purpose. My husband said to me. It's okay honey, if you can't or are not ready yet...... The question is, is anyone ever ready to do a sad life change? How many times do we need to replace out carpet or steam clean the area? How long is long enough. This has been a year of great challenge for he and I.

Yeah, I had 4 fills before I had restriction that stuck. What i mean is the first 1-3 I would have restriction, for a week maybe two, then poof, it would disappear. I was always saying, I hope this is the one. LOL I am going in for another fill tomorrow, to dial in to my "sweet spot" but then again, I will have to evaluate how I am in the morning as I have recently had some stress, that may indeed tighten me up. If that is the case, then I will reschedule. What else is there to do. Odette - under the circumstances you did wonderfully! I have been fortunate in I have had floro with each of my fills, which helps dial them in to the port. I have not had any poke or proding done. I suppose I would be the best person to be used as a pin cushion cuz needles don't bother me in the least. Sorry you had to endure that. Woo hoo! Girl you are on your way.

There is a back story, like everything seems to have. I am not going into it right now. This is more for me than for anyone who reads this so please excuse me if I don't focus on the story up till now. I just don't have it in me. I've made the decison to put my cat down. My husband will take him to the vet tomorrow. I will have Doc B runs some tests on him, that are only going to cost me money. I know in my heart there is nothing wrong with him other than his personality. Which by the way makes him him. I love Cleo so much. This is my cat, I love him so much all I can do is cry right now. I am have been doing everything this year to try and get him to stop his behavior, and it is not working. I am so distraught right now. It would be something if he were sick or old. but that is just not th case. He is stubborn. It's his personality. Darn near all year, my husband has been supportive and helpful. I know how he feels and he has been putting that aside and letting me come to terms with this situation. I think I am making progress only to have it happen again and again. I can't justify it anymore and my heart hurts. I've tried everything, moving litter boxes to the places he urinastes, buying more litter boxes, I even have a cat genie. We have changed litter brands, and nothing seems to work. He pee's right in front of the litter box. The carpet has been cleaned over and over. We will have to pull it up, and replace the flooring. When he was doing it in the basement I was bleaching the tarnation out of the cement down there. Then he moved up stairs. Now he is changing places. I can not have my cat urinating all over the house. He does it when he gets mad or when he feels neglected. He was an only child for the longest and my spoiling him has ruined him. There is only so much of me to spread around. It's not like Cleo is left unloved. That cat is very loved, and this is the reason why we have been dealing with him urinating in the house. I can't go on like this. So nearly a year after the behavior has begun, I am putting my foot down. Monday, Cleo is going to see Doc B. and odds are he won't be coming home again. I am more than upset and it is very difficult for me to type, think or do this. The time has come for me to say goodbye to my long time best friend and this really sucks.

Odette - I say do what is best for you. You are the owner of the band, it is yours to take care of. That mean making the decisions you need and want for you. Pretty cool huh! Personally, I do my fills under floro. (I am not sure if they would do it with out floro....) I also think that the first fill is the least important one to have floro on. That is my own opinion. At one time I really investigated doing my own fills and buying the supplies. It is WAYYYYY more affordable. I have decided for now, to continue on with the after care I have set up.

Congrats on making it to goal. that is great. Sorry to hear that you had to be unfilled whether it be all or just some. Acid Reflux, as you know is a symptom of a band that is to tight. Baby that band and take it easy. Give your tissue time to go back to normal. What did your Dr. say when he gave you an unfill? Most Dr.s will fill you as soon as your swelling is down. Did he/she mention if your pouch was enlarged? Right now, focus on eating the right amounts and letting your body heal its self. I personally think you should call your Dr and ask him about your concerns. Take care!

Congrats on setting up your 1st fill date! Woo hoo!