Still Confused

[mail mom]

I wrote on here like a week ago about only being able to eat like three bites and getting stuck. So I was wondering if I was to tight, then somebody sugguested to take smaller bites and chew better. So I have tired this and I am still not able to eat more then three bites of anything. You would think that would be good but the fact is I havent even lost a pound. I am so confused on how to make this band work. I almost want to give up! Somebody tell me the secret. I have been living on protein shakes.

[CALF]

I wrote on here like a week ago about only being able to eat like three bites and getting stuck. So I was wondering if I was to tight, then somebody sugguested to take smaller bites and chew better. So I have tired this and I am still not able to eat more then three bites of anything. You would think that would be good but the fact is I havent even lost a pound. I am so confused on how to make this band work. I almost want to give up! Somebody tell me the secret. I have been living on protein shakes.

What is your exercise program?

[RevyD]

Sorry to hear you are having so much difficultywith the band. I would suggest you call the OCC. It sounds to me like you are too tight. I could not see when you were banded but you should be able to eat more than 3 bites so give the OCC call and get their opinion.

Debbie

[magkai1]

I am very new to this lifestyle but to me you sound too tight. Please call the OCC and get their advice. Let us know what they say. Good luck!

[MyNewLife]

I agree with most of everyone who is saying that you are too tight. I would call the OCC and talk with them. Sounds like to me that your body is storing because you are not eating and you will not lose if you are too tight. What kind of foods are you trying to eat????

There was someone and I am sorry I dont remember who it was, that was too tight for WHILE and when they got an unfill, it made ALL the diference. They were able to eat and started losing the weight!

I know it would be easy to have the Magic number of calories, but I have found in my experience that someones "magic number" or what works for them may or may not work for you.....I have still not found my magic number.....Everyone is SO different!

Good Luck to you!

Carrie

[IrishRN]

I know if I have days like around TOM...where I am tight. I tend to graze more. I dont eat 3 meals like I should and calorie wise go over what I want to do. I feel like I have not had enough to eat. This maybe what is happening. Call the OCC.. they are a huge help

Good Luck

Laura

[Richie]

Sorry to hear you are having so much difficultywith the band. I would suggest you call the OCC. It sounds to me like you are too tight. I could not see when you were banded but you should be able to eat more than 3 bites so give the OCC call and get their opinion.

Debbie

Hi Debbie

Are you from Vancouver Island? I am from Ucluelet, Vancouver Island. When do you have your band done? Where did you get your fills done? I just in the consideration mode and I not sure if this is the right road for me. It's nice to know of other BC'ers out there to chat with.

Debbie

[AshleyMarie]

I agree with most of everyone who is saying that you are too tight. I would call the OCC and talk with them. Sounds like to me that your body is storing because you are not eating and you will not lose if you are too tight. What kind of foods are you trying to eat????

There was someone and I am sorry I dont remember who it was, that was too tight for WHILE and when they got an unfill, it made ALL the diference. They were able to eat and started losing the weight!

I know it would be easy to have the Magic number of calories, but I have found in my experience that someones "magic number" or what works for them may or may not work for you.....I have still not found my magic number.....Everyone is SO different!

Good Luck to you!

Carrie

That happened to me. I was only able to eat about two to three bites, maybe 1/2 a small can of tuna and that was it. I often tried to force myself to eat more and spit up almost everything I ate. I was confused and thought I needed a fill because I was eating all day. My fill Dr. actually gave me a little bit of an unfill because he said I was not eating enough (I was spitting it up). I have only had 2 fills and 1 partial unfill and I am still losing. Since my unfill I have lost 15lbs. I strongly believe you should go to the dr and have them check you out. You may think by eating so little it helps, but your body needs enough calories to lose weight.

[Myskinny]

I wrote on here like a week ago about only being able to eat like three bites and getting stuck. So I was wondering if I was to tight, then somebody sugguested to take smaller bites and chew better. So I have tired this and I am still not able to eat more then three bites of anything. You would think that would be good but the fact is I havent even lost a pound. I am so confused on how to make this band work. I almost want to give up! Somebody tell me the secret. I have been living on protein shakes.

It may also depend on what you are eating. I have a list that I keep in my phone to remind me of what I am eating. Try eaing soup. I eat soup alot. Hopefully your band will loosen up. I also can eat cereal, bananas, oatmeal, fish, guac sometimes. Yogurt, pudding, DO NOT GIVE UP!! Get through it.

Lori

[CALF]

Hi Debbie

Are you from Vancouver Island? I am from Ucluelet, Vancouver Island. When do you have your band done? Where did you get your fills done? I just in the consideration mode and I not sure if this is the right road for me. It's nice to know of other BC'ers out there to chat with.

Debbie

Hi Debbie...I just read your post and thought I'd say Hello to you in Ucluelet !! I'm in the Victoria area and am heading to Tofino next month for a little getaway!! You live in one of my favorite places on the Island...

I traveled to T.J Mexico last month (Oct. 15) and had my band inserted on the 16th. It's been a great experience and the weight loss has been substantial! And I haven't even had a fill yet! Thus said, there is no Dr. on the Island that will do a fluorscope fill. If you had an emergency situation Dr. Armson/Dr. Tang in Victoria will do an UNFILL using the fluorscope.

I am going to Marysville, Washington on Dec. 5th to have my first fill (fluorscopically) by the NorthWest Fill Management Clinic. The clinic is about 40 miles north of Seattle. If you want more details you can email me.

I have tried many doctor prescribed diets over the past 27 years. My G.P here in Victoria suggested the lapband as a possibility for me. I have two friends that went to OCC in Mexico and they highly praised Dr. Ortiz and his team.

I'm so glad that I took their advice. It's allowing me to become healthy and fit and at the ripe old age of 58..it was now or never!! LOL

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Regards,

Cheryl

[dawns]

I wrote on here like a week ago about only being able to eat like three bites and getting stuck. So I was wondering if I was to tight, then somebody sugguested to take smaller bites and chew better. So I have tired this and I am still not able to eat more then three bites of anything. You would think that would be good but the fact is I havent even lost a pound. I am so confused on how to make this band work. I almost want to give up! Somebody tell me the secret. I have been living on protein shakes.

If you go to the OCC website and pull down the tab of "complications" and or "aftercare" it will tell you in there that only being able to eat a very small amount and not losing is a sign of being too tight. I was too tight for 3 - 4 months, only able to eat 3 bites at a time and needing to spit immediately after and only lost 2 pounds during that time. Had to have an unfill after becoming very swollen and having pain. After I had my unfill and finally got the swelling down I was able to eat 1/3 of what I would normally eat before being banded, I have started losing weight again. I just got back from going to the OCC to have everything checked out since it is 1 month past my one year anniversary of having my band. Dr. So confirmed that a person is too tight if you can only eat 2 -3 bites of food. Please don't put your band in jeopardy. Call the OCC and talk to the doctors - they are so very helpful.

Good luck and keep us posted.

dawn

[RevyD]

Hi Debbie

Are you from Vancouver Island? I am from Ucluelet, Vancouver Island. When do you have your band done? Where did you get your fills done? I just in the consideration mode and I not sure if this is the right road for me. It's nice to know of other BC'ers out there to chat with.

Debbie

Hi Debbie. Good to see another Islander on here. There are a few of us actually.

I live in Shawnigan Lake and work in Duncan. I am a Registered nurse and being banded was the best thing that I ever did for myself. My only regret is that I never did it years ago.

I was banded on Sept 29th at the OCC. Being a nurse I was a little nervous about going to Mexico. But after I researched Dr. Ortiz I was completely confident that he was the most qualified surgeon for me. I also read this forum daily and asked tons of questions and read everyones experiences especially nurses and doctors who were banded.

I can tell you as a nurse that the OCC was cleaner than most hospitals or clinics I have been in . They used state of the art medical equiptment and their OR was all the most up to date equiptment.

Staff was amazing!!!!!!!!!! All the doctors were fantastic.

I did not tell anyone I was having my band done or where because I did not want to hear any negativity. I researched it, made up my mind and flew down by myself to have the surgery. Everything went very smoothly. I flew down Monday, Had surgery on Tuesday, flew home Thursday and was back at work Monday.

I have not had a fill yet. I am loosing consistently and not hungry so I will not bother getting a fill until my weight loss slows down for several weeks or I get really hungry.

Hope that answeres some of your questions and I wish you the best of luck with your decision making process. If you keep reading this board I am sure it wont be long and you will be making plans to fly to Mexico

Debbie :lb11:

[mail mom]

Thank you all so much for your info and support. I will call the OCC and see what they say!

[Richie]

Hi Debbie...I just read your post and thought I'd say Hello to you in Ucluelet !! I'm in the Victoria area and am heading to Tofino next month for a little getaway!! You live in one of my favorite places on the Island...

I traveled to T.J Mexico last month (Oct. 15) and had my band inserted on the 16th. It's been a great experience and the weight loss has been substantial! And I haven't even had a fill yet! Thus said, there is no Dr. on the Island that will do a fluorscope fill. If you had an emergency situation Dr. Armson/Dr. Tang in Victoria will do an UNFILL using the fluorscope.

I am going to Marysville, Washington on Dec. 5th to have my first fill (fluorscopically) by the NorthWest Fill Management Clinic. The clinic is about 40 miles north of Seattle. If you want more details you can email me.

I have tried many doctor prescribed diets over the past 27 years. My G.P here in Victoria suggested the lapband as a possibility for me. I have two friends that went to OCC in Mexico and they highly praised Dr. Ortiz and his team.

I'm so glad that I took their advice. It's allowing me to become healthy and fit and at the ripe old age of 58..it was now or never!! LOL

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Regards,

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Thanks for your reply. I do agree Ucluelet and Tofino are pretty great but I love the hustle of Victoria and oh the shopping!!! It's very limited and expenise here. Where and when are you staying in Tofino? We have a beautiful oceanfront suite that we just open in Sept. With this wind and rain storm you should see the waves. I hope you enjoy your stay in my neck of the woods.

Did you go down to Mexico alone? Is it hard to make the adjustments to the eating or lack there of? Are you worried about not getting enough food? Do you think you can live this way for the rest of your life? So many questions. Are there not Dr.s in Vancouver to do the fills? I know there don't have the exray machines to do a proper fill but does the Dr. in Washington have a exray machine? What is the cost? Please email his phone #. I think what I find hard and will have a difficult time explaining to my husband is that I can't do this without help. And of course the cost to do this. I look at what stage I'm at in my life (I'm soon to be 53) and than say if not now when? My weight is taking years off my life and if I don't get healthier soon I'm placing one foot into my grave. I want to live a happy and active life with my wonderful husband that has stuck by me though all of my weight gain.

Have your friends done well with their banding? When did they have it done? What happens if you have trouble with eating or the band being to tight? Where did you fly out of? Anyway, I have to run. We will talk later.

Thanks again,

It's nice to talk to someone in the same boat.

Take care and enjoy your stay in Tofino.

Oh by the way 58 is not so old. I nipping at your heels.

Debbie

[Richie]

Hi Debbie. Good to see another Islander on here. There are a few of us actually.

I live in Shawnigan Lake and work in Duncan. I am a Registered nurse and being banded was the best thing that I ever did for myself. My only regret is that I never did it years ago.

I was banded on Sept 29th at the OCC. Being a nurse I was a little nervous about going to Mexico. But after I researched Dr. Ortiz I was completely confident that he was the most qualified surgeon for me. I also read this forum daily and asked tons of questions and read everyones experiences especially nurses and doctors who were banded.

I can tell you as a nurse that the OCC was cleaner than most hospitals or clinics I have been in . They used state of the art medical equiptment and their OR was all the most up to date equiptment.

Staff was amazing!!!!!!!!!! All the doctors were fantastic.

I did not tell anyone I was having my band done or where because I did not want to hear any negativity. I researched it, made up my mind and flew down by myself to have the surgery. Everything went very smoothly. I flew down Monday, Had surgery on Tuesday, flew home Thursday and was back at work Monday.

I have not had a fill yet. I am loosing consistently and not hungry so I will not bother getting a fill until my weight loss slows down for several weeks or I get really hungry.

Hope that answeres some of your questions and I wish you the best of luck with your decision making process. If you keep reading this board I am sure it wont be long and you will be making plans to fly to Mexico

Debbie :lb11:

Hi Debbie,

Thanks your reply, Wow you were brave going alone. Have you told anybody since joining bandland. What has their responses been? You look like you are doing awesome. I first saw Dr Ortiz on the show The Doctors and tucked it away in my mind as an option. I'm thnking maybe the time has arrived. It's hard to come to terms with the realization that you can't do this without help. If you can do this on your own but it will take forever. Do I want to waste time or do I want to get healthy. I'm almost 53 if not now when?

Where will get your fill done? Cherly, another Islander, mentioned a Dr in Washington. You answer most of my questions, I have so many more. I'll write again. I have to run.

I'll have to figure out how to turn on the spell check. (spelling and grammar not one of my strong suits)

Thanks again,

Debbie