10 month report

[Guest marys]

Warning - a bit rambling and long...

Well it has been 10 months since my surgery (Nov 05) and my first fill in January. I have lost 15lbs. It has been a lot more challenging then I thought it would be and my weight loss is less than I hoped for. I was so concerned about the surgery and not dying I didn't focus much on living with the band. I thought that would be the easy part. Ha. The band is definitely no magic cure and no one told me it was but everyone I talked to was a 'success' and easily and quickly lost their weight. Of course now that I'm more knowledgable I know many the band does not 'work' for but I may not have ever thought that would be ME even if I had talked to them before hand.

Do I regret the band? I make it a practice to never regret anything - what's done is done. But I do wish I had thought longer and harder about doing it. The band has stopped me in my tracks with eating and exposed so many bad habits and behaviors that I didn't even recognize I had. I know now that I would never ever be successful at losing and maintaining a weight loss without it - I'm just not sure yet if I will ever be successful at losing and maintaining weight loss with it either - ha. All I wanted was to be able to eat like a normal thin person - eating a variety of foods in small quantitites and stopping when full. I am just learning NOW even what full is suppossed to be so that is pretty huge. But, I'm still 'dieting, still obsessing about food, my body, my fill level, pbing, etc, etc and it seems to have just added a another layer of obsession to my crazed mind - the jury is still out on that one.

On the positive side I haven't binged (pretty impossible) although I 've had some crazy cravings nights and ate toast with butter and sugar (maybe 1-2 times) you know that time of month!, I don't snack or graze near as much - hardly at all as that usually ends up stuck, I eat a TON less then before banding, I don't get up at night and eat, or shovel and not chew like before so I see these as all positive things. And my weight is pretty stable and I've not gained the 40 or so lbs i would typically gain in a year. Yes, my weight has fluctuated about 5lbs but it is pretty stable (for me). So at least I know what it takes to be this size forever. Hence the problem, what the heck do I do now to get the weight off.

Well I started working out 6-7 days a week, I do cardio 45-60 minutes 4 times a week and lift weights the other days. I'm getting pretty darn fit for a fat girl. But I'm still fat and am now resorting to my old dieting tricks - no food except dinner, no carbs, high fiber, low fat - different diets different days. Not happy about that but the band alone is not tool enough to do the job. And I'll be the first to admit - if I had lost 25lbs even, I'd probably be singing a different tune but here I am. Is this a slam against banding or Ortiz - Hell no. I'm still happy and somewhat hopeful I will lose all the weight I want and Ortiz and Martinez and Romero and everyone are beyond wonderful in my book - BUT.... I guess stay tuned for another update on my year anniversary!

[Denisemcse]

Questions for you......

Have you only had the one fill in January?

Any fills since?

Where were they done? Did you go back to Ortiz or did you go elsewhere?

Which band do you have - the "regular" one or the VG band?

Have you told Ortiz that you've only lost 15 pounds in 10 months?

I am a recent patient of Ortiz and I would think he would consider this weightloss to be unacceptable in 10 months' time. I shouldn't put words in his mouth, that's just my own logic.....

My understanding is that it will take 2-3 fills to get good restriction and that's if you go to him to get the fills. If they're done in the states it could take 4-6-8 fills to get restriction.

Let me know your thoughts? Your e-mail really concerns me....

[Guest marys]

Hello,

Here is my fill record -

Surgery November 18, 2005 (Dr. Ortiz)

1st Fill 1/14/06 = 2.3cc's

2nd Fill 6/27/06 = lost to 2.2 filled to 2.6

Unfill on 7/13/06 = 1.8

3rd Fill 8/23/06= 2.0

4th Fill 9/11/06 = 2.2

I have been in contact with all Doctors including Miranda - i have sent food diaries and discuss this at every fill. I recently wrote Dr. Miranda re: getting metabolic testing at my next fill and if that is possible (I don't have health insurance so it isn't financially possible for me to do it here right now).

Yes I am concerned too but what can I do? My boyfriend keeps me thinking of the lifetime long term perspective and thinks if I lose 10lbs a year that is good. Well, so do I but it will take me 6-8 years to lose the weight.

oh yeah, all fills have been in Tijuana with Ortiz's office. I have the smaller band.

[Littleroo27]

I know that's very frustrating - I would be POed too!

I have another question for you. What was your starting weight and BMI? It seems like a lot of people who have problems with losing slowly started out at a lower BMI, so I'm just curious.

Also, I have to agree with your point of "at least I didn't gain anything." I managed to gain back ALL of the weight that I'd lost and maintained for 4 years. It took me less then a year for it to come back.

314 to 240/250 in 2002

Maintained that until January 2005 when I thought it would be just nifty to start dieting again

Got down to 230 by Sept 2005

Had out of town guests and fell off the wagon

Am now back up to 310 as of Sept 2006.

So, yeah, I gained a good 80 lbs in a year. Wouldn't I be thrilled to have gone 15 in the other direction instead!!!

I'm scared to start dieting again in case I end up gaining MORE weight!

[Chelley]

Mary - Thanks for sharing your update. Transitioning with this band is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Like, you all I heard were the success stories and I'm actually watching one unfold before me. My sister, who was banded on the same day I was has lost 60lbs in 5 months. Hang in there... maybe we should start our own slow to loose club. I admire your perseverance and determination! Thanks for all the support you have lended me.

Chelley

[6Jewels]

Warning - a bit rambling and long...

Well it has been 10 months since my surgery (Nov 05) and my first fill in January. I have lost 15lbs. It has been a lot more challenging then I thought it would be and my weight loss is less than I hoped for. I was so concerned about the surgery and not dying I didn't focus much on living with the band. I thought that would be the easy part. Ha. The band is definitely no magic cure and no one told me it was but everyone I talked to was a 'success' and easily and quickly lost their weight. Of course now that I'm more knowledgable I know many the band does not 'work' for but I may not have ever thought that would be ME even if I had talked to them before hand.

Do I regret the band? I make it a practice to never regret anything - what's done is done. But I do wish I had thought longer and harder about doing it. The band has stopped me in my tracks with eating and exposed so many bad habits and behaviors that I didn't even recognize I had. I know now that I would never ever be successful at losing and maintaining a weight loss without it - I'm just not sure yet if I will ever be successful at losing and maintaining weight loss with it either - ha. All I wanted was to be able to eat like a normal thin person - eating a variety of foods in small quantitites and stopping when full. I am just learning NOW even what full is suppossed to be so that is pretty huge. But, I'm still 'dieting, still obsessing about food, my body, my fill level, pbing, etc, etc and it seems to have just added a another layer of obsession to my crazed mind - the jury is still out on that one.

Hi, I thought I would put my 2 cents in and let you know what has really helped me. I found a wonderful book. The title is "Eating For Your Blood Type", and for me and my husband it has really opened our eyes and changed what we pick to eat. I couldn't believe the things I have tried to eat while dieting SO MANY TIMES was exactly what I should not have been eating. With the changes I made because of this book taking the weight off for me since my Lap Band is melting off, and it hasn't even been that long. My husband who has not had the Lap Band has also been losing his by the different things he now does or does not eat. The book is loaded with good information. I hope this can help you. Good luck on your journey. I will keep you in my prayers.

Catherine

On the positive side I haven't binged (pretty impossible) although I 've had some crazy cravings nights and ate toast with butter and sugar (maybe 1-2 times) you know that time of month!, I don't snack or graze near as much - hardly at all as that usually ends up stuck, I eat a TON less then before banding, I don't get up at night and eat, or shovel and not chew like before so I see these as all positive things. And my weight is pretty stable and I've not gained the 40 or so lbs i would typically gain in a year. Yes, my weight has fluctuated about 5lbs but it is pretty stable (for me). So at least I know what it takes to be this size forever. Hence the problem, what the heck do I do now to get the weight off.

Well I started working out 6-7 days a week, I do cardio 45-60 minutes 4 times a week and lift weights the other days. I'm getting pretty darn fit for a fat girl. But I'm still fat and am now resorting to my old dieting tricks - no food except dinner, no carbs, high fiber, low fat - different diets different days. Not happy about that but the band alone is not tool enough to do the job. And I'll be the first to admit - if I had lost 25lbs even, I'd probably be singing a different tune but here I am. Is this a slam against banding or Ortiz - Hell no. I'm still happy and somewhat hopeful I will lose all the weight I want and Ortiz and Martinez and Romero and everyone are beyond wonderful in my book - BUT.... I guess stay tuned for another update on my year anniversary!

Mary, sorry some how my reply popped into the middle of yours. I hope you still get the information. The book I was telling you about is a BIG BIG help.

Catherine

[Linda23585]

Chelley,

It's so great to have you back on the board posting again! You have so much to offer all of us in our weight loss journeys. Even though your weight loss has been minimal so far, you have been an inspiration to me and I want to be sure that you know it. I truly hope that you can get everything straightened out with the band soon and that you can begin to lose weight again.

It must be especially difficult for you to compare your weight loss with that of your sister. Was it you whose mother was banded the same day as well?

Linda

[Guest marys]

[Thanks everyone for encouragement and suggestions (Catherine, I will try out that book but I just bought Insulin Resistance Diet and am giving that a go!)

LittleRoo - Ok - here are my stats but please don't hate me because I am lower bmi as I've had a lot of discrimation from other local bandsters and makes me crazy. I'm 5'2 (barely) and have fluctuated from my high of 245 or so (didn't weigh much then) to a low and very fit 125. I am a yo yo dieter and I typically lose and gain up to 40lbs or more a year. If I get to a high or low weight I can maintain for up to a year (roughly) before the scales start to move drastically. Between those times I will fluctuate like mad. I'm one of those persons who can never remember how big I was from year to year - it just changes too much. I still have size 20 clothes and am finally selling size 6 clothes on ebay - I've had them for over 5 years!

Anyway, I weighed 183 when I scheduled surgery and 179 the day of thanks to pre op diet. And I lost that in one week as I scheduled as was on the plane in a week's time.

At my first fill in January I weighed 179 and kept two pounds off from my pre op weight. I had lost 10lbs during the liquid phase etc and gained all but two back before the first fill. I had no restriction.

Since my first fill in January I have lost to as low as 160 (right before my unfill) due to no food or liquid for two days, quickly went back up to 164 and fluctuated around that until subsequent fills.

On my last fill on 9.11.06 I weighed almost 169 again but today after the bathroom, a cup of coffee and one hour of hard work on the treadmill it again said 164 so there it is

Summary

Surgery weight November 05 = 179

First Fill January 06 = 177

Last Fill September 06 = 169

Todays' weight = 164

Total Lost since surgery weight = <15lbs

I've been "allowing" myself 300 calories all day and I eat whatever I want/can get down. For dinner I eat healthy and small amounts so I'm pretty sure I am staying under 1000 calories a day. I'm hoping this will start the scales moving down again. My fill seems to help ward off hunger during the day (I ignore it or drink a lot a water or have my mini snack)

[Littleroo27]

I would never hate you no matter what you weighed!!! Good grief, we all have enough problems without turning on each other.

The reason I asked is because I am around 310 right now and have yet to hear any "failure" cases from high BMI patients, though I'm sure there are some people who have a crap time losing no matter how heavy they are.

Your BMI was around a 32.7 on the day of surgery and your "ideal" weight is 104-135.

So, let's go for a safe 125. That's 54 lbs to lose.

They say most people lose about 75% of their excess weight in 3 years.

40.5 (75% of what you have to lose) divided by 3 is 13.5 lbs a year. And you've lost 15, right? I'd say you are really right on track. I know most people do lose all their weight at once and I know it's frustrating as hell. I can't see how you are even walking at 300 calories a day - your body has to have gone into starvation storage mode by now!

So, I don't know if my math will frustrate you or make you feel like you're doing well, but there it is. You're right on track compared to the average weight loss of most lap-band patients.

I'm giving you warm squishy thoughts and hope things to work out better soon for you and everyone having problems with the band. I'm sure I will be on your side in about 9 months!!!

Below is the chart I made for myself to try and motivate some pre-surgery weight loss... it hasn't kicked in yet, but I'm working on it, lol.

[Guest marys]

Little Roo,

THANK YOU - I do remember reading/hearing most people lose about 70% of their weight (that would probably work for me) but I wasn't sure of the timeframe. I think it would be fascinating to study how true that is. I think working out that 'calculation' wth patients before surgery would be educational for patients - and could be used as a guide as to how well they are losing. Possibly something the nutritionist can do with the patient -

However, Dr. Ortiz and Co. (and really every other doctor I've ever heard of) all go by the 1-2l bs a week and that would be over 32 lbs (counting from January too - first fill) for me.

But I like what you say and think it is more realistic (maybe more so for lower bmi patients) then 1-2 lbs a week. 1-2 lbs a week which isn't really feasible (for most people) esp over time. Our weight fluctuates too much to be that regular of a loss.

I played with your calculation to see what a three year average would be for a 54lb loss - and that would be 18lbs a year (my math is Horrible) and I could even make that by my one year anniversary -

I actually feel much better -

mary

[Littleroo27]

YAY! I'm glad I could help you out some, even if I can't help you lose faster.