B-52

I followed all thee pre-op diets, protocols, etc.....2 days before my surgery, after my final office visit and weigh in before surgery, I had my LAST MEAL! We went out to a place that I knew I would NEVER be able to go to anymore....one of those All-You can eat Buffets....but a upscale one.... Ate like a pig.....and enjoyed every minute.... Then for the next 2 days I went all liquids, and fasted, and was fine for surgery..... And yes, 2 1/2 years later I have never been back to that buffet....and never will unless I want to blow $35 for a small portion.... And best of all...I don't miss it, or miss food and eating for that matter....

I have not counted calories or measured portions in over 2 years.... Being in the Green Zone means my portions are automatically set ...I Cannot overeat if I wanted to....and my hunger is totally under control, not between meals, but 24/7. The band is there 24/7, right? So is the signal sent to my brain... So, seeing that I eat considerably less than what I used to, I just make it a habit to as healthy as I can...low fat, no junk, wholesome good foods...and get plenty of Water and pay particular attention to my Protein....I also quit Red meat for 2 years, thanks to the band....and if I forget to eat, which happens, like yesterday, then so be it...as long as I got my protein.... It has become a new lifestyle, without ever having to diet again in the traditional sense, and having no fear of gaining weight......everyday is just another day... That's what being in the Green Zone, over time, will do.....

A little general info......just because you have pain does not mean you are stuck.... I have not been stuck for almost 18 months....but I still get pain if I do something I know I shouldn't.... Like swallowing something too large without chewing it down properly will cause me a lot of pain....it will pass through the band, but the pain can linger for what seems forever...like someone punching you in the arm....the damage is done and everything swallowed will be felt with pain because of the irritation done. I have even experienced severe pain by drinking Water alone...at the gym, running on the treadmill and working up a sweat, I'll take 2-3 large gulps of water without thinking...faster than it can pass through the band...PAIN! And that can linger for a while...just from water....a sure sign I am stretching my pouch!!! IMO, the LAST thing anyone should do is drink carbonated drinks while stuck....unless you want your pouch to stretch, possible doubling your pain.... There is a reason many Dr.'s say no carbonation...I drink them all the time...but I know what I'm doing when I do, and my Dr. has questioned me to be sure I understood....and one of the tricks is knowing a carbonated drink is passing right through to the stomach freely....being stuck would mean carbonation will accumulate in your pouch and, well, your asking for problems.... Many people I know swear by papaya enzymes for getting un stuck...I never used them but some never leave home without it....carry it with them all the time.... I have always simply sipped water...if the drain is truly clogged, than adding water will make the sink overflow....and with the band, will bring up what was causing the blockage....if not, then the slime will start to accumulate eventually which is the body's way of accomplishing the same thing to dislodge the cause... But pain alone does not always mean you are stuck..it can mean you traumatized the area and need to give it a chance to heal, and learn how to avoid it in the future...unless you like pouch dilation and possibly erosion..... If you cannot recognize these things, and treat it accordingly, then the Dr. will have to give you a un-fill to let the site heal properly....

Monmouth County.....I use Central Jersey Bariatrics at Centre State Hospital in Freehold....they also have a office near Bayshore Hospital in Keyport..... Is you Horizon NJ Health your Medicaid ***? In other words you are 100% Medicaid with no other primary....I would definitely give them a call...

I belong to other groups, one in particular has over 200 members and they ALL at one time or another used to be active here on this forum, well over a year ago........NONE of them come here anymore, they, like you, have gotten tired of hearing the negatives, and wanted to surround themselves with like minded people..... And that group is not as active as it once was because many people, being banded well over a year, have met their goals, and comfortably living in the Green Zone, and are happily moving in with their lives..... That happens here a lot also....many of the people I used to follow have succeeded, completed their WL journeys, and never come around anymore.... Plus I quess the majority of people who post here are those who are still struggling and having issues, looking for advice....soi that bis what we see most often...people with problems or those still trying to figure this all out....

Never gave it much thought....I have a drink now and then, especially when we go out.... a glass of wine most nights at home, and on occasion, like last weekend, a few beers.... I also go to the gym 5 days a week at 5:30am....run 5 miles, do weights but not as much as before....THEN I have my Breakfast which is a high Protein smoothie.... Sit in the sauna for 30 minutes, then whirlpool for 15.... I do not have any significant sagging skin issues... What it all came down to is that I used to overeat, could not control myself... and was unable to be active....that's why I was Obese and very unhealthy.....now I eat about 1/3 of what I used to, and exercise often....I don't count calories, don't measure portion sizes (let the band do that) My Dr. informs me there is no weight left for me to loose...if I did it would not be the healthy kind.... I'm 61 years old, had one heart attack a few years back, resulting in cardiac surgery....WAS a diabetic, HAD high blood pressure, cholesterol, you name it....ALL that is behind me now.

What do you mean when you say " You had fluid in the band when there should be none" ?

How deep can he go? Generally it is attached to the abdominal wall muscles....below all the skin and fat layers...deeper than that would be very painful indeed when getting a fill.... When all the belly fat is gone, and there is nothing left but a thin layer of skin, then it will be very noticeable. Especially if you belly is tight and hard from all those crunches.... My port is so noticeable...it is large lump...looks like a horizontal lollipop, the stem being the tubing which you can also see very clearly....a one armed blind man can do an adjustment....

When I used to get stuck, which was sometimes 2-3 times per day during that learning phase....I would go into the bathroom and sip warm water...since I was stuck and nothing is going to pass, sipping water results in it all coming back up.... I know a lot of people who carry papaya enzymes with them...I never tried it. BTW, I have never vomited from being stuck....

Any meaningful exercise is hard....otherwise what's the point....you just have to get it into your head how beneficial it is fr you to get out there and do it...then after a spell, you will begin to see the amazing things that are happening to your body and your health...both physically and mentally...then you're hooked, cannot get enough, which only brings about more amazing results...which means you want even more....and so on and so on.... There's a reason you see people out running or cycling everywhere you go......

Can't speak for other people, and won't guess your situation..... I have been in the Green Zone for 2 years now, No Hunger, Portion Control, Steady consistent weight loss till nothing left to lose....no additional fills needed since that 2 year mark.... I speak and listen to people who at some support groups and many people have said they thought they were there only to find they did need another fill....then eventually it became fixed, and a every day part of life.... The band is a constant...it does not change, does not get tighter or looser....but our body's fluctuate all the time....

I drink the same as I did before being banded..which means anything I want.........except for beer or anything carbonated...I waited over a year before "Learning" how this is done and getting to know my band well enough..... Memorial day Picnic....I drank maybe 4 beers??? Incidentally I did not eat anything either, nothing there that was band friendly for me.....except chips and dip. I always get a cocktail before dinner when we go out....NEVER drink while eating or soon after, learned that lesson the hard way...... I never drink to the point I'll vomit...sorry, those days are over...... And of course, there seems to be many people on this forum who are very much into dieting and calories counting....so you all need to know how drinking can de-rail your diets....

True...unfortunately there are people who will argue with the "Life Experiences which are more fact based"....it happens here on this forum all the time.....maybe people just refuse something could possibly be true....or they don't like their views being challenged by other peoples even if it is fact based upon personal experiences with successful outcomes....

That's how it was for me in the beginning...I would crave something, say a dough-nut, buy one, take one bite, and thanks to the band realize I really did not want it...it was just something in my head telling me I needed it....after about a year of this...throwing food away I thought I wanted but didn't, the cravings went away altogether....

These are the vitamins I take every day....plus I take some liquid proteins not pictured.... I'm NOT saying this is ok to do....like everything else such as eating and drinking, you need to get to know your band, learn to listen to it to know what you can and cannot do. read this forum enough and you see some people can tolerate some things, while others cannot.... / /

Initially, when you start strenuous exercising, you get muscle pains, which in fact is millions of micro tears in your muscles, etc....which is in effect a injury, very widespread...When you have an injury you have inflammation - swelling...where you have inflammation you have Water retention....= weight Thats the quick short term explanation....after that other factors come into play....but your goal is to always burn fat! As hunter gatherers we store energy/food away as fat for periods of famine, when there is no food to gather...that's how we are designed before there were A&P's and Shop-Rites...........WLS, exercising and burning fat means it's Famine Time! The whole point behind losing weight is to burn more calories per day than you consume per day....exercising speeds up the process.

I have not been able to eat anything solid in the morning, for about 2 years now....too tight when I wake up.... I do have a coffee or 2, along with my "Gurgling" sounds..... Every morning I make myself a smoothie in the blender wit fresh fruit, and a LOT of Protein..... The band loosens up as the day goes along.....I could have Breakfast at 9-10am for instance, but why bother...I'm am not hungry nor interested in food by that point....

If you're going to snack, make it something healthy......also you will find eating close to bedtime will result in some unwanted side effects..... For myself, and some other people I know, it all comes down to the fact that since being banded, we lost weight because we eat less than we used to.... I do not diet, count calories, etc.....been there done that...... In my case, because of the band, I eat about 1/3 of what I used to eat. (sometime less) ..and it is not something I have to struggle with or work at..it's just how the band works........so it is not so much what times of the day I eat, it is the fact that on a given 24hr period, I eat only 1/3 of what I used to.... then I exercise to work a lot of that off also..... I am unable to eat anything solid early in the morning, and because of adverse side effects I am cautious not to eat close to bedtime time.... So yes, I can snack at anytime...IF I was hungry.........but add it all up and it does not make much difference....

I had a long talk with someone at the car wash this morning.....he saw my license plate.... I'm sorry, but 45 years later and people will never understand or "get it" But I can walk up to any individual (vet), (some very scary biker types that freaks my wife out when I do it) and say just 2 special words.....and we both know and accept each other........ So if you see a Vet today, don't just say "Thank You"....say "Welcome Home".....

I have had many "moments"...but, and I will try to put this in the right words and sound too much like I'm full of myself....so I apologize but I need to say it... I have an overwhelming feeling of self confidence...I feel there is nothing I cannot do....and believe me I'm doing it all...I'm not holding back.... I never get tired, I have more energy than I know what to do with....I go to the gym 5 days a week, run every day...I look around at the other people I am keeping up with and realize I am now in "That Category"...I'm one of "Those People" who has always been athletic and never fat a day in their life....(if they only knew) It spills over onto other people....I have developed new relationships with all kinds of people, many new friends....and I'll just say it, I can tell people like me being around me, and enjoy my company... Whereas before, my self image was low and I stayed mostly in the background, or blended in....but now people are more friendly, and I am sure I am also to them.... Bottom Line....I am enjoying my new life! It doesn't get any better than this...I only wish I did this 20 years ago. BTW, been in the "cardiac wing", and also cardiac surgery (I should be dead).....but even my cardiologist says that is all behind me as long as I continue to eat healthy and stay active....

I do not condone it, it is always between you and your Dr.'s treatment plan.....I know what your friend did, and she did it wrong....like eating solid food, there is a technique to everything you swallow....we simply cannot do it the way we used to....

My tastes have changed dramatically...it is typical, plenty of people tell me this......foods I used to love I no longer have a taste for....eventually, I have developed hardly any interest (Lack of hunger) in food in general, thanks to the band...there are days food does not interest me the slightest, or you can say I have no "taste" for it... As a characteristic of the Green Zone"....NO HUNGER.....for me, that is not between meals as some say...it is 24/7...I mean the band is there 24/7 so why would it not send signals to my brain 24/7....??

I cannot exist without my coffee....the more the better....BLACK!

Speak with your Dr.....I am 2 1/2 years out, drink carbonated drinks all the time...no problem but you have to know what you're doing....I had 2 beers yesterday, and plan on quite a few more at the holiday picnic Sunday.....(doubt I will any food) I don't drink everyday, but when I want to nothing stops me....but then again, I know how to "Listen" to my band, and work with it....and my Surgeon is fully aware... I have not drank soda in over 3 years purely for health reasons......

The port is attached to the abdominal muscles, on top, under the fat...the more fat you loose, the more visible the port becomes....I now have zero belly fat..you can see every nook and cranny of my port, and can even trace the tubing under the skin till it goes deep....I can grab my port between my index finger and thumb and move it around a little.....if it were to ever flip, I could probably flip it back myself....but it is still attached and the skin also holds it tight so I don't see that happening.... Also, as my abs got tighter and harder, there was pinching and tearing pains which my Dr. told me is was normal...for me...even congratulated me that I was getting those pains...which have stopped a long time ago... I do all kinds of ab exercises....one I'm doing now is I am horizontal to the floor on this apparatus, only supported only from my lower waist down....holding a 35lb weight behind my head I flex down till my head just touches the floor, then extend up and arch as high as I can go...3 sets of 24..... I do other types also, never afraid of complications to my port.....it seems to me, that peo[ple who have issues with ports flipping, are those with a great deal of belly fat...but that's my own observation....