bubbles in flight, needing a fill, and discouragement

Hi All,

Regarding a previous post from Charline W. - Yes Charline, your band can expand when flying if there is a bubble in your saline.  If you are having issues after flying - you should at least call Lise and get her advice.  She may want you to come in for a bit of an unfill/refill all at once.

I am flying to Ontario tomorrow and hope that I do expand a bit since currently I have no restriction whatsoever!  I can't get a fill until mid to end September.  Right now it feels like I don't have a band at all - well unless I don't chew well and then stuff goes through but it just hurts.

I am kind of discouraged and have been kind of "sandbagging" on the site, just reading, envying and wishing I was losing weight.  I play with the same 4 or 5 pounds up and down and I am kind of getting a little - no a lot -  tired of that.  I am hoping my trip will help.  We are visiting family who eat healthy and are very physically active so this might be a good trip for me.

The doctor is away the first 2 weeks of Sept or so Nathalie told me and so I have to wait until he gets back.  Usually I call for my appointment but I didn't after I had that bad stomach flu and Nathalie did not put me on the list to get called so I fell through the cracks.  I really need to have a more agressive fill next time.  I am stuck at 70 pound down in total five or take that flippin' 5 pounds and I want to lose another 50 pounds between now and whenever. 

I can just eat way too much at a sitting.  If I chew like I am supposed to everything goes straight through and I can eat large amounts.  If I don't chew enough, the bigger pieces still insist on going through but it hurts and I can actually feel every morsal go through - ouch.  If I eat just a cup of food per sitting then I am never satisfied, I am always hungry within an hour of eating - my stomach growls very loudly now. I have head hunger like you would not believe and slider foods are so tempting just now with the way my band is hurting sometimes on "chunky" foods.

All in all I am still very happy that I got the surgery - I am down 70 and feel a lot better and can do so much more and move so much more freely but at nearly 9 months out and only 3 fills I really feel like the staff at the hospital and the doctor and his office staff have kind of left me hanging here.  I love them all and they have been very kind but I am not feeling like I have gotten the full benefit of the band and I am worried that the further away from surgery I get the less success I will experience.  I really think when I return from my trip I may call Lise and ask if there is a chance of getting on a cancellation list or something.

I leave for Ontario tomorrow and might not have a chance to log onto this site while I am gone but please if you have any suggestions - anyone - post them here and I will check it out when I get back. 

I am really glad to see all the success everyone is having.  I hope my success kicks in again - I could do with a little weight loss to boost my spirits.

Ann

(((( Ann ))))

Definitely stay on Lise and the office and ensure they get you in. Til you get proper restriction, it definitely is hard.

How many calories / day are you eating? Are you doing exercise on a regular basis?

70 lbs gone is awesome. Don't give up. And please don't feel that the further out you get, the less the chance of success. That doesn't have to be true at all. I was up 26 lbs from my lowest in May of this year and am now down about 11 of that. I still have 15 to get back to goal but I'm feeling confident that it can be done.

Sometimes we just need a little tweak - whether it be a fill, a change in the foods we eat, or different exercise.

I'm sorry your struggling ... I believe you can do this! Do you believe you can?

Dear kind Ann, I have no suggestions to ofer to you, just (((hugs))). I am so sorry that you are having such a struggle with your band.  I'm sure another fill will help. In time you will find the "sweet spot" every bandster talks about and be fine. Just trying to get to there is such a long winding road. Take heart Ann, I am positive you will get there.

Enjoy your trip to Ontario and try not to worry too much about the band. Once you return you can get back to a fill and get back on track with the weight loss.

BTW, it is wonderful to hear from you again. When I first came to this site, you were one of the ones I'd love to hear from because you were always so supportive, warm and kind to everyone. Please don't be a stranger here. We are kind of like a big extended family here and we do care about one another.

I feel kind of bad to post my losses while you and Charline are having such a struggle with you bands. I don't mean to brag about it but you know how it is to lose and want to share your happiness. I think wls is such a struggle for everyone regardless the procedure.

Hi Ann, I feel exactly the same as you do right now.  I'm 10 months out and wide open.  I've lost 51 since surgery but that was back in May that I hit that mark and now nothing.  Playing with 2 lbs every week.  Call Lise,  You don't have to go through Natalie.  If Lise has an opening she'll take you.  I have to go through natalie only because I'm always done under fluoroscopy.
I'm very frustrated as well.  I need to see some loss cause I'm getting frustrated.  Hopefully my next fill on Sept 17th will make a difference.  fingers crosed...
Take care, nice to hear from you and best of luck.
Have a great trip.
Penelope !!!!!

I lost 50 pounds in the first 5 months (February to July 2008), nothing for 6 months (end of  July to beginning of February). During the 6 months I did not loose, I needed a fill but there was no place in the waiting list for me. It was last year. I had finally a fill in the beginnig of February, a slight unfill at the end of February, another fill in May. I have lost another 30 pounds since then. So I have lost 80 pounds since surgery (February 15 2008) and 130 pounds from my heaviest in 2004.

So everything is possible with the band, you can still loose after many many months at the same weight.

Hugs xx

I see you were able to gwt your name changed. That's good.

Wow, I didn't realize that you were having problems with Felix too.That makes Ann, Charline and you having issues with the band.

I considered the band but in the end didn't want the fills and to be running back and forth. I just wanted to be over and done. I think you bandsters are the real troopers of the wls gang. I don't know how you do it. It would require way too much willpower for me. I sincerely appluad anyone opting for the band.

Hi there, so sorry to hear you are having problems....:-( Can you folks get like "piggy back" appointments....ie make the next one after that one.??? Then if you don't need it, just cancel it. I don't know much about the band so maybe I am way out to lunch on this one. I choose the VSG because we have no-one here to do fills and I am not sure I would be as strong as you ladies to wait so long.

Have fun in Ontario and hang in there!

Sugarbear

 

Wow let me first congratulate you on your 70 pounds gone!!! What a great loss Ann!!!  That’s so great! I know you’ve never relied much on the scales but congrats!

 

I hear you all on needing a fill, I can also eat more than 1 cup of food so I am anxious to get started on the fills part of the journey. I should get one soon.

 

Everyone, please do not get discouraged. I know that the weight loss is slow but its part of the journey. Everyone is losing marvelously and I notice that everyone seems to be aligned with the statistics which is great!

 

My friend was banded with Dr. B in 2005 and she did not meet her goal within the 1 year. It took her 2 years to reach her goal so don’t believe in all the hype that if you are over a year out, you’ve lost most of your weight. That statistic is assuming you are at your sweet spot.

 

My friend lost a total of 130 pounds and during her first year she only lost 80. I say only but it is a great success either way and now she is at her ideal weight.  It took her a good two years to reach her ideal weight.

 

Everyone is doing absolutely great and we all deserve a pat on the back. I know playing with the same 5 pounds get aggravating but it’s just a bump down the road of a long weight loss journey.  I don’t think you should sandbag this site, sure some lose faster than others, but everyone is different in medical history, weight, genes, and age. It’s like going to weigh****chers; you won’t lose the same as your weigh****cher buddy.

 

This surgery is such a different experience for everyone that you really can’t base yourself on someone else’s results because as you can see, everyone has different results.

 

I’m not a patient of Dr. B but when you go for a fill, couldn’t you schedule the next one during that appointment? True you may not need it, but at least you’ll have an appointment if you do.

 

Anyway everyone is doing great! Let’s all support each other!

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.  I was just having a down day there I am okay really and very happy with my loss thus far.  Please don't not post your losses, if someone is losing then there is hope for me.  I will call Lise as soon as I get back from Ontario and try to get a fill ASAP.  In the meantime this trip could very well be a jump start for me since the people we will visit are active and they eat healthy. 

Nevertheless thanks so much for all your encouragement.  I love this site.  When there is a need you just have to come here and it will be filled. 

I'll be in touch,

Ann

Have you had a fill yet Ann? Are you having restriction? For the 2 months I have restriction, I lost well, but now I no longer have restriction and have gained a bit.
BTW, real good to hear from you.