deparis Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 I just received my first fill yesterday 2ml on a 4ml band. I was very excited for this trip and oh Lord what a depressing one it happened to be! Not my fill, because it was as always a great experience, everybody is GREAT at the O CC, but I met a bunch of losers that made my trip, well... I was picked from the airport in SD, along with 3 women (believe me I wished they were Mamamichele to keep me going) that were averaging at least 250lbs each. After we all were comfortable enough to talk to each other, I realized that these women have been banded an average of 1.5 years each and no weight loss... They gave me a lecture about their stories, and I concluded that these people paid 8,000 dollars for this procedure and kept on eating. None of them made an effort to change their habits and, of course they had an excuse for everything. One of them wanted to test her band right after surgery at... A TACO BELL. I couldn't believe it! Anyway, back to my band and fill, I hope this first fill brings all the restriction I need to knock down another 20lbs like I did post-op. I don't think I'll live with myself if I lost this battle after putting my family through this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Gosh that would be depressing! I'm sorry you had to experience that but maybe some good will come out of it by reiterating to yourself as well as all of us that the band is a tool. You have to be willing to work with it under it's rules. If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. :lb11: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will T Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Look at it as a POSITIVE experience. Be positive that it won't happen like that with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaMichelle Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Sorry that you had that negative experience during your fill, I will say that I have heard of people "testing" their fills (for the 2nd fill and beyond) when I went in for my 2nd fill there was a woman there who had lost 60lbs (started at 200lbs) and was right about at her goal weight, she had to have an unfill 2weeks before (I don't recall why) and had gained 10lbs back so she was there to get all of her fill put back in. She actually brought a McGriddle sandwhich from McD's with her to the OCC, she went into get the fill and then sat in the lobby eating the sadwhich (in all of about 2 min, bread and all which shocked me) then went back into the fill room to get more cc's put in... Sadly you will find that not everyone is a success story, but you can just as easily learn from their mistakes as you can learn from the success stories that you have read on here... It sounds like you're already seeing how their mistakes are ones that you don't want to repeat- so good job!! I really like this quote by George Washington Carver "Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses" 2cc's is a big fill it might be perfect or it may not be enough for now, either way you CAN work with what you have and make the best of it!! Best of luck sweetie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mona-camille Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 TACO BELL? You got to be kidding me? Now that is someone who is looking for a magic pill and isn't realistic at all! Why even bother getting banded? Try not to let it bother you, Apparently, they don't care enough about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittycat Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 MamaMichelle is so right!!! You can do this!! Take this experience and learn from it. You don't want to endure the struggles they have. Good Luck! Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nothereanymore Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Its not hard to loose the weight if you stick to the program, there are 3 other women at my work and I'm the only one who lost weight. (Michelle I'm surprised they gave her a fill at the OCC - I thought you weren't supposed to eat before a fill). Now we will have moments when we can’t follow, (work outings for example) but those should be the exception and not the rule and we should still only eat 30% of what we use too. I believe being consistent is very important during your weight loss period. As you go through life with the band you are going to find people who eat through their bands. I was told by a very prominent Doctor that true results of a successful diet is 2 to 3 years. That means you’ve lost the weight and have been successful on a maintenance program. I’m trying to figure out how to make my own maintenance program work – its hard, haven’t gained – but the fear is kicking in. Also, I’ve always thought that I have been on a diet – the lap band diet. We have different rules, if you really want to loose and change your body your going to have to eat healthier and exercise and follow the rules, the band is a tool and we decide how to use it to benefit us. Most important, my firm belief is that if we follow the guidelines provided by the OCC we will succeed, you'll get lots of varying information on this and other sites and it can be confusing. So try to stick to one program and I believe you have less chance of failing. If you have another doctor, follow their guidelines, we all choose our doctors for a reason. I’ll be honest – I didn’t choose Dr. Ortiz because he was less $$, I choose him because he was the best based on my research. If I was going to do this I wanted to succeed and going to him was my best opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazn Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 (Michelle I'm surprised they gave her a fill at the OCC - I thought you weren't supposed to eat before a fill). I had to read the post a couple of times because I though the same thing as you but I think MM is saying that the woman brought the sandwich with her....had her fill....ate the sandwich afterwards....and then got another fill (since she was able to eat it with no problem). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deparis Posted July 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Thank you Mamamichele and all of you e-friends out there. It's a true blessing to have such encouraging words from all of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magpel Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 That's so crazy! I know there is the time when you have hit a low and stop loosing weight - I've hit that, and it's had to stay motivated. I found myself looking back at snacks - I'm such a salty girl. I quickly realized that while I didn't gain any weight, I didn't loose any, either. SO, I took action and posted for motivation, even had the luck of meeting with another gal from this group (holla LISA!) and got a good talking to, got more information - pep talk,e tc. Knowing that I was not the only one going through it, that it was normal, and that things will work out, and the weight will start to come off again. I went back to the OCC to get a fill and have them check me out, make sure everything was still in place - my fill was great, they were super informative, and really helped me know that things will pick up again. Sure enough, I'm down another few pounds, and feeling better again. I tell myself every day - The Band and I are a team. If I stop working with the band, It will stop working with me. There's no other way to get the weight off! I HATE working out - but I get to the gym 3 days a week (most weeks) and when I don't get there, I spend my days chasing 2 small children, so that's a little bit of a workout too. Anyway - we should all be smart enought to know that anything from a drive thru is not for us - OK, salads are good if you watch the dressing, etc. But really - bringing a McGriddle to the Clinic is an insult - I wish they would have pointed it out to her while she was eating it. Sometimes that's the crack in the head people need to know they are not helping themselves. Good Luck to us all!! Peace, Maggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenlynn79 Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Speaking of unrealistic people; about a year ago I went down for something, probably an unfill when I was trying to get pregnant. There was this lady in the back radiating negative energy, literally. Later Francisco (driver) told me that she'd been banded only a few weeks before. She didn't lose weight in 2 weeks op and so DEMANDED a fill. Not sure if she got one. THEN 2 weeks after that concluded that the band does not work (after 4 weeks and obviously no fill) and was back that day to have it REMOVED!!!! WHAT!? Crazy! It did not take this lady 4 weeks to pack on the pounds and that's all the time she was willing to wait to lose it???? I was shocked..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magpel Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 That's crazy Karen! What a waste of money. I suspect she had issues going on that were deeper and she was not ready to loose the weight. We can only hope when she's ready, she'll decide to take care of herself and live a long healthy life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julieburns Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 What a great topic. Thanks all for posting, all of you have helped affirm what it is we need to do to make this work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C1BandedBabe Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Sorry you had such a negative experience, but hey look at it as "Motivation"! You will get this weight off because YOU want to.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banded4life Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 I agree. Reading this post motivates me to not be the people that refuse make the changes that are necessary to become the new healthier me! Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 First reaction: Last supper. It's the last time a maple pancake sausage evilstrocity will make it down again. If that's your poison, pick it well. Last time for everything, right? Second reaction: every Bell curve has two ends. 70% is in the middle and will succeed. They're the 10% "don't go there" end and you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to observe them. Whatever they do, do the opposite and you'll be the size 24 to size 4 in a year. Sorry you were subjected to such negativity. Karma says you have to learn from it and pick the positive. You go girl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now