Rachel412

call your doctor first thing tomorrow. This is NOT something to mess around with.

Yum, sugar...

I think the port needs to be close to the surface so they can find and fill it easily. Don't worry, it won't grow "out" or anything, but as you lose weight it'll probably become more noticeable.

double post!

Listen, here's the deal. For a lot of people, banded life is a diet with an extra helper. Some people like their bands very tight to KEEP them from eating certain things, other people have their bands loose and this means they need to struggle to control their portions. If you're concerned that you won't be able to make the dietary changes, you perhaps need to look at a different surgery, one that will actually make you sick if you eat sugar, or will make it so you physically can't eat very much. It's incredibly easy to "eat around the band." And this doesn't always mean eating sliders all day- it could just be eating "normally". This band is sooooo far from a macig pill for me

None of us are you- we don't live in your skin. I'm amazed how many people are telling you that you made the wrong choice. Above all you need to listen to what your gut is telling you. Yes, I chose to be banded, but that doesn't mean that I think EVERYONE should get one. Please don't have the surgery if you are full of doubts and concerns!

I hate eggs, and i have done just fine getting my Protein without ever eating one You'll be just fine! I do a Protein shake for Breakfast every morning, it's easy and I have a few sugar free flavored syrups that I mix in to flavor them and make them taste different. Cottage cheese... I like it well enough but I haven't had it in months. I do a lot of greek yogurt. It sounds like you're going to be just fine Good luck!

I had the choice of either band, but my surgeon said he liked Realize better because it's low pressure and his patients have better success with it than with the LapBand. I don't really think there's a huge difference between the two.

I'd say follow your doctor's orders as close as you can, even if it's really hard. I'm sure your doctor put you on the liquid diet for a reason! I'd suggest lots of tea to help comfort you and fill your belly when you're hungry or craving some food.

To be fair let me say that I lost 11 pounds pre-band and I include them in my totals. These pictures were taken on surgery day, and the new ones were taken earlier today, so there's a 50.5 pound difference between them. 50 pounds in the last 6 months- THAT is a loss I am happy with! That's 1.94 pounds a week since being banded. I like numbers. ANYWAY pics.

Thanks!!

I think the answer can only be found by contacting your individual insurance company.

It's crazy, isn't it?? Good for you! I am sure someone out there will make great use of your "old" stuff.

Yuck! If I were you I'd call him in the morning and see if he recommends a small unfill.

What an amazing difference! beautiful!

Good questions When I asked I was said that nuts have too many carbs (??) and "let's face it, carbs are what make people fat in the first place". As for the 100g, she consulted a chart that was stuck to her bulletin board to give me that number.

So my update is this: my surgeon is leaving the practice (it's a practice run by the hospital, not by any particular surgeon) and they're not doing any surgeries until November when they'll have a new surgical team. I met with the new dietitian (new to me, she's been with the practice 5 years) who told me that my old dietitian taught me the the wrong way to eat and I need to cut out all nuts. that I need to get at least 100g of Protein a day, and that the only carbs I can have a fruits and veggies. When I finally got in with the PA I stressed to her that I felt there was a problem and I really needed her to check the Fluid in the band. She still claims she does that every time, but this time after watching her worry out that fluid, I know for SURE she didn't do it the last 2 times whether she says she did or not. That was a little worrying but the upside is that I now know I don't have a leak. I got another fill, up to 8.25. Thanks for listening to me whine everyone

I'm sorry Amber Very fishy.

I'm not sure what about this article would be upsetting or "agitating"... jlaroux, can you fill us in on why it bothered you? I absolutely have to use self-control for success with this band, every day. Heck, probably hourly I have to have a fight with myself and say "don't eat that." People who have had bypass get violently ill if they eat sugar so of COURSE their brains have re-wired themselves 10 months after surgery. It's not like the article is making a value judgment about which surgery is better.

I'm glad you finally feel like you're in the right place!

One word: brachioplasty

There's really no "never" that applies to the band, which is great news There are plenty of things we shouldn't do, and there are some foods some people can't eat, but I wouldn't at all say you'd never be able to eat pasta again!

I'm not going to lie to you, this will be hard. Particularly if you have so much of your identity revolving around food. That might change for you-- or it might not. Yes you can still enjoy food with a band. Hopefully, the band will help you to enjoy less food- the whole point is to be satisfied with smaller portions. So as to your specific questions... yes, you can sometimes have some Pasta (if your band isn't too tight). Yes, an occasional wine is OK- the problem is the calories, not that you can't digest it. Yes, holidays can be really hard, and you have to make the choice to gorge yourself or to control your portions. Yes, sushi or sashimi is fine, though some people have trouble getting it down. The truth of the band is really... no matter how much research you do beforehand (and I think everyone should do a ton), you really just don't know how the band will affect you once you have it. People have such wildly different responses to this surgery, it truly amazes me. The further I get into this journey (I'm just past 6 months banded now) the more I realize that there really doesn't seem to be a "typical" surgical outcome. Some people get stuck on bread from day 1, even if they never get a fill. Some people like me (I'm at 8.25 cc's) never get stuck at all and spend lots of time wondering if the band is actually DOING anything in there. So I can tell you... for me, so far, this has been a diet with a very high price tag, as I had to pay 20% of the surgery cost. I wasn't expecting a miracle, I feel like I had really realistic expectations for the band, but I'm getting to be on the high end of amount of band fills and I'm starting to come to grips with the fact that at this point, I am very much on a diet. That's not true for everyone who is banded, but it is for me, and I just need to deal with it. So there you go... way more info than you asked for

that's a good point, Jacqui. Actually I call them nutritionists but both my "old" and "new" nutritionists are RDs and LDN- Registered Dietician and Licensed Dietician/Nutritionist. the practice I go to is owned by the hospital so the team there consists of a mental health counselor, some surgeons, one nutritionist, and a Physician's Assistant. So they require me to talk to the nutritionist at certain points and this time, I have to keep food logs for the next month and bring them in to be checked. She told me I need to aim for 100g ("or a little more") of Protein daily, too. I'd previously been told 60-80g per day. I guess I'm willing to give anything a shot, but it seems weird when I was losing in the target 2 pound a week zone already. My complaint is that I still don't feel like the band is doing anything for me, and they said well, that could be because I'm eating "so many" carbs that it's causing me to crave food right after I eat. And then I think... I REALLY don't think I'm eating that many carbs. Like I get it, carbs are the enemy, blah blah. But quite frankly I feel hungrier an hour after eating an apple than I do after eating a low-carb wrap, and they want me to push fruit. Push fruit, no nuts. Ohhh my aching brain And my growling stomach!