♥LovetheNewMe♥

Constipation is a problem that I think all of us have had to deal with one time or another since we have been banded. Drinking plenty of water and getting some fiber in does help. I struggle with the fiber tabs, they give me so much gas, since my last fill if my bowels move 3 times a week I am lucky. I have done the sugar alcohol trick before and it will give you diarrhea if your lucky. good luck on your weight loss, it is so rewarding to lose at that rate in the beginning it is such a motivator and makes you realize that the band can and does work.

Good job sticking up for your self and shame on the doctor for trying to take advantage of the situation. I hate fills in the office, I have had one unfil and fill in the office and it hurt like hell. The stuck me more times than I care to remember because my port was tilted, thankfully my doc did not charge me for his mistake of overfilling me. I have reread your blog 3 times and from what I am understanding, he pulled out all of the fluid and only put back in .5 cc's when he removed 10cc. Now how did he think that was going to work. My doc always pulls back all fluid to check how much is there compared against what he had placed in before but always puts back the amount he removed plus some new. Of course mine are done under fluro and he watches the flow rate on the monitor when I drink. Hope your ok and I agree people paying out of pocket should get a discount.

Congratulations, you made it through a difficult situation and come out on top. Way to go................

Sounds like you are in the green zone, and you are right on when you say you fill satisfied. If you are filled properly you should have a feeling of satisfaction between meals. I eat 3 meals a day and am rarely hungry between meals. You should be able to take in 2-3 oz of protein per meal. Sounds like you are on your way, look at world here you come. Katie bar the door.

Great progress, glad it went well. After a fill it does fill a little different for a while, I usually fill it in the back of my throat when i am full or when I drink to fast.

Happy Hump Day everyone! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I have been enjoying my new electronic toy, the FitBit to track my steps, a pedometer on steroids I will call it. I am finding it as obsessive as logging all my food on myfitnesspal. I do find it more rewarding to do the exercise when I can actually measure it accurately and record the numbers. Tomorrow is my 4 week follow up from my last fill, it is actually 5 weeks and I get weighed. I rarely weigh myself at home because the scales can vary so much so I will be excited to know where I am. I still think I am a little tight because I still find it difficult to get all my food in and I rarely fill hungry. I am only able to eat about 1/2 cup at each setting so I have been eating at least 1 snack per day to add some protein and calories. My regular MD did reduce my blood pressure meds on Monday to have the dosage so this was a hugh milestone. I have been on top dosages on my BP meds and asthma meds for several years. This was great news and a great milestone for me. My never be totally off but this is still great. Everyone keep up the good work, we will all make this journey. Believe in your self and you will succeed. Happy Wednesday and talk to ya later!

Great post, good luck and over time i am sure you will accomplish each and every thing on your bucket list.

The surgery is done laprascopically, they put gas in your abdomen to make it easier to work. The gas after surgery has to be expelled from the body and this happens with belching and flatus, gas that is trapped usually gives you some mild chest pain and pain under your shoulder blades. Walking, belching, passing flatus and lots of gas-x help this. Gas was my only pain post op, some have it some don't. Good luck, just be prepared for the gas and keep moving post op. This helps.

Southern Girl, we all understand how you feel. I also had gas for a while the initial weeks after surgery, Gas-x and phenergan were my best friends. I rarely needed any pain pills at all the gas pains were the worst for me. I ate so many Gas-x I thought I would become toxic. Each of us is individual, if you were to compare more do not lose weight before their first fill and if you read the literature this is suppose to be our healing time. This is as stated above a life time commitment and we would all like to wake up skinny, because I have always said, "I went to bed one night and woke up fat" It is also ok to be frustrated, and to whine and complain. I went through months of feeling sorry for my self because I could not eat like everyone else and than one day my brain finally caught up with my emotions. I still have occasional days that I feel irritated with what I can eat and not eat. Good luck to you and just remember we all have these days and moments and voicing it on here is better than eating. Good luck and we are all here so each of us can succeed.

So sorry for your complication but this is just a little set back. Not sure why they told you not to eat protein, I would follow up with your doc or a nutritionist. I know you must be hungry if only taking in liquids. Hope everything works out, keep us updated and let us know how we can support you.

Constipation has been a problem for me also, I tired the fiber tablets and other stuff but it gives me so much gas that my family can't stand to be in the same room with me. Sorry TMI! Make sure you drink your water and exercise I have found this helps me some.

Immediately after surgery prior to your first fill it is not uncommon to be able to eat most things. After your first fill you should notice a big difference in what you can and can't eat and especially if you do not chew. It is great that you have been losing a lot of people do not lose until after their first fill. Just remember to follow the rules and learn to chew and take small portions. It takes our mind and eyes a while to catch up with the fact that we really can only eat small portions. Still today if I allow myself to get hungry and tend to overfill my plate and than throw it way. Good luck to you.

Old feelings and thoughts are hard to break. It takes our brains a while to catch up with what is actually looking back at us from the mirror. We have all went through some serious self esteem issues from being obese and mirrors and scales were not always our friends. Here's hoping that one day all of us can look in the mirror and stand on the scale and say, WOW! who is that gorgeous creature looking back at me. Good luck to you.

Great progress, keep up the good work.

This is great, keep up the good work!

You may be surprised on how you fill. I have only had 3 fills in the past 14 months. I did excellent after my first fill and it lasted for 6 months before I needed another fill. My surgeon added 5 cc's the first time but everyone is different, mine did it under fluro and made me drink that wonderful chalking stuff and watched it go through the band. I felt immediate restriction and it was kinda scary for me. I thought I had some restriction just from having the band but after my fill I realized how much I really had to chew my food. My second fill did not go as well, but this third fill I think has been the best and I wish I had done it sooner. I actually do not get hungry between meals. Good luck and I know you will do fine, and just remember if the fill doesn't take you to the green zone go back and get a little more.

garfield1461, Did you reach your goal. It is nice to see persons who have maintained their lose post here. I like you do miss some things that I am no longer able to eat but I do not regret my surgery, I know me and I wold never have been able to do as well as I have on my own. Lapband gave me back my life and I am thankful to my surgeon and all of my famliy and friends who believe in me and support me. I also keep a fat picture of my self on the fridge but I also keep a thinner picture of me beside it. A nice reminder of why I don't eat those things anymore. Thanks for sharing.

You can add me also, same as my name on this site. LovetheNewMe.

I vote Mirilax all the Benefiber does for me is give me more gas. I also tried probiotics and all they did was give me more gas. make sure you are drinking all your water this helps also. I have decided I will never be regular again, I don't think I eat enough fiber, I tried fiber tablets but again gas. Good luck.

I agree with both statements above, I am actually surprised when you were screened before surgery they allowed you to have lap band. Developing eating disorders can be come very common with post of WLS patients. We all have our situations of obsessive compulsive in some area or another and that is one of the big reasons for good therapy follow up. Please seek some help, your life and health depends on being healthy and stopping the self distructive behavior. Because you willing posted this on a forum tells me you are asking for help and maybe ready to face your fears and seek help. Please talk to someone who you feel safe in sharing your feelings with before it is to late.

i have been banded since 10/2010, I set small goals along the journey. First was to be obese and not morbidly obese, next goal is to be classified as overweight not obese. Not that I am just slightly to the overweight side of the pendulum I would like to be at a healthy BMI of 25 as long as it is below 30. My BMI is currently 30.2. Best advice is like stated above set mini goals along the journey. Looking at a long term goal can be very overwhelming when starting out. Good Luck!

I would call my surgeons office, it may just be a localized reaction but better to check it out. I had some soreness around my port after surgery but it was never swollen and red at the site.

Knew you could do it!

Emotional MorelGirl, I do understand how you feel. I have been banded for 16 months. I stayed the exact same weight for 5 months. I tracked my calories, I increased my activities, I too tracked and recorded every morsal I allowed to cross my lips, I increased my protein, I decreased my calories, I thought I was eating to many fats. Actually I almost drove emptional me off a cliff. I has my band adjusted 4 weeks ago and I drop 15 lbs in no time, first time the scales have moved in months. I can't explain it, neither can my physician. Moral of my story, hang in there, if your eating right and exercising the weight will come off maybe not as quickly as you want or would like but it will come off. Oh and I do agree, it is B*&^%T about the 3500 calorie to loss a pound. My BMR told me I needed around 1600 calories just to maintain my weight, I have faithfully ate 1000 to 1200 calories a day for over a year. Keep working it, at least exploding with words will burn some calorie and it's better than a piece of cake.