B-52

Your infections are only a side track..... It is absolutely expected to feel back to normal after surgery...that is the one thing your Dr. is looking for..... First you prepared for the surgery, then the surgery itself where the appliance was placed...then the healing phase after surgery so you can get back to "Normal"...right where you were before the surgery....once you get there. THEN the games begin of band adjustments, self adjustments, lessons to be learned to obtain the new lifestyle....can take months after surgery to get there... Aside from the side track, you are right where you are supposed to be....If I was your Dr. I would be very pleased that now we can enter the next phase and get things in motion..... Hang on...now the fun starts.

Thinking about myself in your situation....I quess my band is tight enough, but not over tight, that I cannot drink to push food through...if I did, it will come back up and out.... So when I get that feeling you are describing, it is either time to slow down, or stop eating altogether...or perhaps the food I am eating is not appropriate... and drinking Water will not make it go away, only make it worse.... So eventually, over time, my addictions, my cravings, my approach to food and eating entirely, was FORCED to change due to having surgery, not with anything I did through my own will power....(I don't have any in this regard) It was behavior Modification..... I am not in the habit of telling other people to do or not to do...their lives are not my business and I will not Dx over the internet with strangers.... But I will look at my experience with the band and it would appear my band is adjusted a little tighter, where in the beginning had unpleasant consequences, but forced me to change to where I don't even notice it anymore, and don't think about the band being there at all.....changing a life time of bad habits and addictions that were killing me and ruining my life. A little while back I had a 1/2cc taken out....tipped the scales entirely allowing me to eat more, and returning my cravings and hunger....I had to get the 1/2cc put back in within 2 weeks... But again, that's me and my story...there are 100"s of people ere who have found their success with different approaches....somewhere in the mix you will find yours.

If nothing could get in sync since 2007, then I would say it's not going too....the reasons are not important at this point, there was plenty of time to try to figure out what was wrong.... Sorry out did not work out for you....have you considered other surgical procedures? such as the sleeve?

Gas-X can only give relief for inside the digestive tract...the pain people who have undergone laproscopic surgery is as 2MF describe as Co2 pumped inside the body cavity to inflate to give a little room to work. Gas-X will not touch it. If it did you have some serious life threatening problems.... Another thing to remember, you were under full anesthesia, laying in perhaps in a very uncomfortable position... a OR table that for good reasons, are not very soft....lower back pain is very common post op for many people.....

I fly all the time also, never made a difference...it could be coincidence...

If you can drink Water, then you are probably not stuck. If so, the water would have no where to go but back up and out...not to mention the sliming...accumulation of saliva. I've had this many times, when I eat something too large or to hard, or both....traumatizes the area. can linger for quite a while. And anything I try to eat after only hurts more..... Getting truly stuck never causes me pain....when I was still in the learning phase I could get stuck 2-3 times a day...I was a hard headed learner and many bad habits to break.... When this happens I stay with soothing things like soup...and even Ice Cream... All part of the behavior modification IMO....FORCED to learn to eat differently, or else.....this is when the "Rules" start to make practical sense... I don't eat cheese, for the most part. Some types, but not much......the more you chew, the more gooey it gets...not very band friendly for me anyway...another reason I cannot and will not eat pizza, aside from the doughy crust.

Everyone is different, because no two bands are exactly alike in terms of adjustments and how ones body reacts to those adjustments..... For me, the first thing to go was rice...thought I would have some sushi....No mas! Then it was bread, and eventually all things made from flour...rolls, cakes, Pasta, etc...that also took care of pizza once and for all...I cannot tolerate big globs of meted cheese....things that are deep fried and crunchy....and eventually red meat, which I gave up.....chicken is hit and miss, it has to be very tender and most places when eating out overcook it or it is just old.... However...it does not bother me..as a matter of fact I find it a blessing...looking at the things that I do not eat, almost none of it is very nutritional....or not good for you in general. My Dr.'s have been trying to get me to stop eating red meat, or at least cut it back to once a week...same with all those Desserts.... So the band has FORCED me to become more food conscious, seeking out the best foods out there..natural, organic....I have become a real "Health Nut" And it's all because of the Band...I would, and could not, do this on my own....but I do not have a single regret...quite the opposite.

People throw the term "Vomiting" around here loosely, in relation to getting stuck..it's NOT the same. I have not vomited since way before surgery, but I do dread and fear the day I actually do.....especially if it's consistent say from the flu, or food poisoning or similar....or sea sickness... I am prepared to have all the Fluid taken out in the event it does happen....

My first impression was there is a lot of people in New Jersey who had bariatric Surgery....but on the flip side..."Man...there's a lot of Obese people in New Jersey" Must be all that good ethnic food...REAL Italian restaurants, Jewish Deli's....I've been all around the country, the world for that matter...there is nothing like it (except NYC)....can you say "Pork Roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll"??? It's 3am...am I having head hunger?? It'll pass..and I will be at the gym at 5

WOW so sorry this has happened,,,,but it shows it can happen to anyone with the band.... Did your Dr. give any suggestions as to why it may have happened??? I find it noteworthy, that whenever anything like this happens to anyone, the Dr. will give a complete un-fill.....to give everything a rest and let things return to normal..... For me, the only thing I do for band Maintenance...if such a phase after success even exists....is go full liquids for 2-3 days, every 5-8 weeks or so, or when I feel subtle changes to my eating habits.... Again, to give everything a rest and let it all return to normal. The alternative, and this is my belief, is that I could do nothing and wait for something to happen such as what you are unfortunately experiencing, and be forced to give the band a extended rest by getting all the Fluid taken out. Some call this a 5 day pouch test, which I don't get...there is no testing involved....

I know people who have multiple "Mini Meals" throughout the day, as opposed to the traditional 3 meals a day...that way they make sure they get both Protein, and later their veggies.... I look at the big picture, what have I eaten for the entire day, instead of each meal....I'm Ok with slider foods also, they seem not to even exist for me.....ice cream, Soup, etc, does not matter. Cannot eat meat, and chicken has to be "Perfect"

I too was taking daily injections of lantus, and oral meds also....as I lost weight, my Diabetic meds, as well as the rest of the meds I was taking decreased.... I have been off all Diabetic medications for years now... I still get routine lab work done every 4 months, and everything has been spot on...completely normal. I was a real mess, with one foot in the grave...my PCP kept telling me if I could loose weight, it would all go away....of course I could not loose the weight by any of the standard diets, tried and failed....it was then he brought up Bariatric Surgery and suggested I go for a consult.... I have been 100% successful for a few years, my weight as well as my health!!!! Never had an issue with my band, other than getting it adjusted...... Best decision I could have ever made... Changed...and saved...my life.

Early on, my main concern, as was my Dr.'s, was to get my band adjusted properly, and measuring and calorie counting was secondary... Now that it is, I do not have to worry about portion sizes, because I can eat just so much.....as far as calories, considering I eat so little as compared to my old life, I just make sure what I do eat is the best choices I can make....and Protein is always first on my mind... Been that way for some time now and will remain that way for the rest of my life...my NEW life. So when I read posts such as yours, my immediate thought is "How is your band performing?" Is your band doing anything or are you relying on your self to get it done.... If I had to rely on myself, then I would have failed within a year, probably sooner, just as I did with so many diets in the past... There is a reason I needed Bariatric Surgery...

I like it when you said you felt like you were dieting again....you can differentiate between the two... I can only speak from my experience, but there is a "Magic Spot", green Zone, whatever you want to call it.... I had my last fill over 3 years ago, and still feel the same today as I did back then...hunger and cravings under control, regular portion sizes, inability to over eat.... A month or two ago, I asked to have 1/2cc taken out, for no good reason, and against my Dr.'s advice....1/2cc totally disrupted that balance, and I had to go back and get it put back in....and face the laughter of my Dr. and staff....

Definitely.....people fail to realize, that from eating so little over time, our stomachs will shrink.... I don't know about amounts of food, but if I were to eat sliders, say, I still can only eat so much because my stomach is now smaller....and with all excess body fat gone, my stomach is flat and hard...so much so my port sticks out like a big lump under my skin...can even see the tubing. I can tell right away when I drink beer...I have to wait a period of time between the first and second beer....in the pre surgery days, I could drink beer after beer after beer...not to mention all the food that went with it....

One time at a 4 star restaurant, after having Soup and an appetizer, I could not finish, let alone even start my entree....the waiter kept asking if everything was ok with my meal, and I kept assuring him it was fine and I would take it home with me..... I quess he told the chef, who made me another entree, one of his choosing not on the menu...something he felt that surely I would enjoy....you could imagine my awkwardness when the server put another meal in front of me....

It's early....I was gaining weight 6 weeks after surgery, and I had my first fill 4 weeks after surgery....( I had Lap band surgery) But then 1 year after surgery and I was 80% successful....shortly thereafter 100% But again, you did not mention what surgery you had....

I gurgle all the time....I'm drinking my morning coffee right now and am gurgleing...no big deal, kind of cool if you ask me.... Burps and hiccups are associated with my eating....usually I'm doing something wrong...nothing major, just something I need to pay attention to.

Who did your surgery? I go to centre state in Freehold....

5 Incisions....each one maybe 1/2" long...almost 4 years later and you cannot find a trace of a single one..... I did not find this forum until AFTER I had surgery, and in my opinion, I'm glad I didn't otherwise I would have been confused as all heck..... Only source of information I had about the Lap bad, what to expect, what the coming months would be like, were from my Dr. and the staff there....and I have not changed my beliefs since, still stay with his protocols... Although I did have to learn and experience for myself what they we trying to explain to me....

First off, I am a Bander, not a Sleeve.....things may be different, or perhaps it is just me and my Dr.'s treatment plan.... I do not believe in "maintence" as if I was on some kind of diet....Since surgery, I have adapted a new lifestyle over time, new nutritional eating plan, giving up certain foods, learning to rely on new foods....as opposed to the way I used to eat before surgery, which led me down a path of destruction... With this new way of eating, how I eat and what I eat, I did not decide when I should stop loosing...I let my body decide when it reached what was normal.....which it eventually did....reaching a point of equilibrium......being certain I was loosing body fat and not essential lean mass... I have not lost, nor gained weight in over 2 years....I have a new lifestyle, a new normal weight, and this is where I will remain for the rest of my life.... For me, to increase calories would mean I want to gain weight, start to eat the wrong foods again, ...for me anyway.... This is how I have completed this Weight loss program with surgery....I consider myself 100% successful, could not be more pleased with myself and the end results.... Not saying this is the way to go, and that other people should follow my lead...just sharing how I did it....and live it today...

Could not agree more...but one must be willing to accept change...if not, they will always be struggling (fighting) the band, and may go and get fluid taken out rather than accept an alternate, new way of life..... Granted, we lived our entire lives eating the wrong foods the wrong way, and it can be hard to let go and change within 6 months.... but IMO that's what it is all about....

A weight loss plateau (stall) occurs when your weight does not change over a period of time. One of the most common reasons is because your metabolism has adjusted to meet your new lower weight. As you become smaller and lighter, your body does not need the same amount of calories. Weight loss will slow down, naturally, as your metabolism adjusts to the new you. For me, when I felt I was in a rut, I changed up daily routine...both in eating and exercising...., usually eating less and more healthy, and exercising more...every day possible. I started out with the minimal time and resistance on the elliptical, and over time, increased it to the point it was not doing anything for me....so I found I needed to start running....slow and minimal at first, then gradually increasing that in terms of speed and time (distance means nothing to me)....

My wife and I both work long days, so we go out to eat often....often I will just have a cup ,of Soup, and something from the appetizer list....then share a dessert with my wife..... When I do order a large entree, I will bring what is left and can make 2 meals out of it....

Yes it can...plus a dozen other things.....that's why it is addictive, and I feel like crap when I miss a day or two....