elvisgirl77

To answer somebody's question earlier... PB'ing is a Bandster's shorthand term for "productive burping". If something gets stuck in your pouch and just will not go through to your stomach, basically if you burp, it will come up again. This happens if your band is adjusted too tightly, or your stomach is swollen from previous PB's, or you just took too big of a bite! :biggrin: Some people's bands are tighter in the morning as well. Sometimes there is nausea involved but it usually resolves as soon as the food is disloged.

Hi guys First of all, this is a VERY long post. I am venting. Alot of you are going to read this post and just say "duh", you need to do "x, y, and Z". I am mostly writing this as a way to motivate myself and hopefully get the support I need from other people who are in my same boat (or WERE and succeeded eventually!) I was banded in July of 2003. I originally lost about 50 lbs, about half of the weight I wanted to lose. Since 2005, I have stayed at about the same weight. I started out at 244 and now I weigh 194. I have been down as low as 187 or so. I am 5-6 and 32 years old. For a while now I haven't really worried about it, but I have just gotten to that point where I want to feel and look good. FOR GOOD! However... now the weightloss is REALLY difficult. I mean like I have to struggle soooo hard to even lose one pound. It is extremely discouraging. I feel like how I felt before I got my band. Hopeless sometimes and way behind the 8 ball. I should mention a few things: 1) Haven't had a fill since 2005. I know, obviously this would be the first step. Plus, I just want to have it checked out. There has been ALOT going on in my life since then and I need to find a new doctor where I live. (Dallas now!) 2) I do know that for the most part... my diet sucks, for lack of a better word. I have gotten lazy over the years and also I have become a very picky eater. Not picky about WHAT I eat so much as HOW it's prepared. Fattening Fattening Fattening, and a carb addict. Being a bandster, you taste every little dang thing so I have totally become a food snob. I have tried to be alot better lately, but let's put it this way...even eating very healthily I find it VERY hard to stay under 1700-1800 calories a day. I am just too hungry. 3) I am having the hardest time motivating myself to exercise. I have a long commute, leave and come home in the dark. Money is tight. I don't live in the safest area to go walking at night when I get home. I get bored SOOO easily with videos and wish I just had a workout buddy, someone to walk with or SOMETHING! 4) For the record that unrelated to my band (or my diet- they believe it's hormone/vitamin supplement related), last Feb I was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in my right leg and pulmonary emboli in both lungs...(blood clots!) I was placed on Coumadin to thin my blood and ever since then it's just about impossible to lose. I also can't eat hardly ANY green vegetables. I am allowed to have a salad 3 times a week, and that is it. Green veggies counteract the meds (as crazy as it sounds) and for someone who previously LOVED her salads as a filling way to control her weight, this has been very frustrating. I know these all sound like excuses. #1, 2, and 3 can be fixed, but #4 cannot. Please please please can someone help me get out of this negative downward spiral that I am in... give me a little sunshine and hope and positive feedback... I need someone to grab my hand and tell me I can do it and I can FINALLY live up to my potential, stop hiding:cool2: behind the fat because it's NOT who I am anymore. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak! I KNOW there have got to be some of you out there who have gone thru similar things. Please help. I love all my fellow bandsters. Keep it up and lets keep each other going! Think of all we went through to get here!!!!!!!!

If you have an iPhone..I have been using the "Lose It" app... I believe it's free (or very cheap). Anyway, it is sooo helpful. I track my daily food/calorie/exercise...and also my daily weight. 7.3 lbs down since 1/5/10. :mad:

I have been banded for 6 1/2 years. I developed bad reflux right around the 6 month point. Just recently I discovered that if I follow the basic lap band instructions of not drinking while I eat (and for at least 1-2 hrs after meals), my heartburn/reflux is SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. And I've lost 7 lbs. :w00t: in 10 days.

Hey guys...FYI in the 10 days that I have been not drinking while I eat, I've lost 7 lbs. That is the ONLY change I made. I realize I also have to exercise, but this quick progress is SO encouraging. :w00t:

And by the way, thank you guys SO much for all your great suggestions and support. I am going to try one of those little mini trampolines too and hope that all my downstairs neighbors don't hate me too much for it. :smile2:

You guys are so awesome. I am so glad I posted here because it feels so great to know that I'm not alone. Another long post. Get ready! This one is a good one. Okay so I have had some very encouraging self-enlightenment these last few days. I remembered something from a very long time ago, when I had researched the band IN DEPTH. I mean I still see it all the time, but it's like if you've read it once, you've read it a hundred times. Us "experienced" bandsters tend to think they've tried it all and heard everything. Well, I do anyway.:smile2: I randomly remembered something that was pounded into my psyche in the beginning, that it was completely taboo to drink anything while you eat. I remember when I was first banded, doing that felt so uncomfortable. It was strange getting used to the tight feeling of being full in my CHEST and not my stomach area. So, at the time, I asked my doctor. Keep in mind, my doctor was the head of bariatric surgery at a famous hospital in Los Angeles, so I trusted him completely *at the time*. (Keep in mind, this is the same dr. who screwed up the original placement of my port, and also the same guy who said it would be totally fine if I took Tagamet for the rest of my life every single day, without trying to get to the source of the problem. Do you know how bad that is for you? Really? Long term use? Well, it is.) I asked him if I could drink when I eat, and he said sure, that is no problem. The way he answered it, he made me feel like he was trying to say "don't believe everything you read, you silly Google addict!" I felt relieved, because drinking while I eat removed some of the pressure I felt in my chest and I could eat more comfortably. I had been worried that drinking was going to STRETCH the pouch, which can happen...but that is not the point. The point is, drinking when you eat totally defeats the restrictive purpose of the band. It washes the food from your pouch so you can just keep eating. After getting the blessing from the Dr, I got so used to drinking with my meals again that sometimes I wouldn't eat if I couldn't have something to drink with it, because I couldn't stand that uncomfy full feeling. I learned to actually like the feeling of food sliding thru the band opening because I felt "relief" and it meant I could keep eating. (mostly because I love the taste of food, I am an emotional/stress eater, and I love to cook and spend hours on elaborate recipes- its so frustrating to spend all that time cooking and only get to enjoy 3 bites of food!) I don't know why I didnt correlate the drinking while eating thing with the almost complete slow-down of my weightloss from that point until now. That was like 5 1/2 years ago!!! I mean I am a smart girl! Why did I never put two and two together? DUH!!! I also realized that when I started drinking with meals is when I started experiencing MAJOR heartburn. In the past few years, I had been having SOOO much trouble staying on a calorie restricted diet. I had to REALLY work HARD to stay under 2000 calories, and even then I felt like I was dieting. I felt like I didnt even have a Lap Band. If you read my post above you will feel my frustration. I think in the beginning, I wasn't really accustomed to the weighty feeling in your chest signaling fullness. It felt sooo uncomfy to me. In my inexperience, I was probably taking too big of bites and not chewing enough. So,on a whim last week, I decided to try the "no drinking for 30 min before, during, and 1-2 hrs after a meal" again for the last few days. In 3 days, with hardly any exercise, I have lost 4 lbs, and have felt almost zero hunger.In the last few days, I have been able to stay at 1100-1200 calories with absolutely no difficulty, and that is with 3 meals and 2 Snacks. If I was eating chicken, steak, or fish & veggies, I would probably be around 1000 calories or less. That is my goal for next week. I am going to go by how I feel. If I feel weak eating so little, I will eat more. But if I am losing weight and have enough energy from the Protein, then it's full speed ahead! I have been eating pretty much whatever I want, but trying to choose filling foods, with alot of protein (if I can), and eat very slowly, chewing well. When I feel uncomfy in my chest, I stop. If the uncomfy feeling goes away, I take another bite...and so on, until I am satisfied. You can bet that this weekend when I grocery shop, I will be buying lots of solid protein and veggies. I can't WAIT!!! This is soooooooo encouraging!!!!!!!! I feel like jumping up and down!!! I mean, it has been my own dang fault, but I feel like I just woke up from a bad dream or something! Also re:heartburn. In the last few days since I have been doing this, I have experienced virtually NO heartburn, no matter what I eat. I have a theory about this based on some research I've done in the last couple days. When you eat, it triggers the production of stomach acid throughout the entire lining of your stomach, including the portion of the lining within your banded pouch. When food hits the stomach acid, the acid has a job to do, i.e., somewhere to go. It uses it's acidity up on the food and processes it for your digestive system. However: If you are drinking when you eat, you are washing the food from the pouch down into the lower part of your stomach. The problem is, the lining inside the pouch is still producing acid-but that acid just kind of sits there with no food to digest. It can go thru the opening of the band into the lower stomach, but it's such a small area that it doesn't flow freely. Lately, since the food I eat has been sitting in my pouch till well after I am done eating, the acid does its job and moves along its merry way, causing me no pain. I feel like the most fantastic weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I hope maybe by reading my book-like post (sorry!!!), someone else will try this and hopefully ease some of their frustration that they might be having with the same issues! My workmates & I are doing The Biggest Loser. We shall see who wins... :thumbup: Take a good look at how much you are drinking when you eat!!!!!!! See if it helps!!! I will keep you all posted, and really try to keep my posts ALOT shorter. HAHA :sad:

Hi guys- Just a little tip on laying down with reflux, etc... make sure you are laying on your left side if possible. I have had to train myself to sleep on my left side. If you look at an anatomy chart, the stomach curves to the left side of your body. If you sleep on your RIGHT side, basically everything is pouring out of your stomach into your esophagus. If you sleep on your left side, everything should stay down where it is supposed to. sleeping on my back is also sometimes okay, but ONLY if my upper body is elevated at a good angle. I usually elevate my upper body (not just my head but also my neck & back) with a few pillows and I am good to go for the night. Just something I learned the HARD WAY (waking up in the middle of the night choking and coughing like crazy, so bad you want to cry!) Take care! Hope you find some relief soon. Banded 7/31/03 244/194/goal of 154

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are soooo awesome. I feel so unbelievably good after reading all of your comments. I should have come here long before now, but I'm glad I finally did. Thank you so much for the support. I needed that so much. And yes, I was thinking about going to counseling. Since being banded, I have learned I have some deep seated issues regarding 'eating for comfort' and I am more readily able to realize it now. Overcoming it is the next hurdle. What do you think about hypnosis combined with therapy? Have any of you tried it or heard of anyone who has been successful with that? Thanks again so much. I am so glad I have this forum!

I was, on 7/31/03. He was good, but like a previous poster said, it took FOREVER to get appointments with him. As far as the aftercare went... it was just "okay". I felt like he really didnt want to listen to my concerns that something was wrong with my port... and kept dismissing me. Turns out something was wrong with my port, they had to replace it. It hadn't been sewn down tightly enough in the first surgery, so it twisted and the tubing broke. Also, I developed severe heartburn after about 6-8 months, and wanted to get to the bottom of it. He didnt seem to think it was an issue, saying "it would be okay if you had to take Tagamet forever."... That just didnt sit right with me, rather than wanting to get to the heart of the issue, he was okay with me just taking an antacid for the rest of my life. I moved away in 06 and haven't seen him since 05... but my experience with Cedars Sinai wasn't as glorious as it should be for the high bills I paid. That's just my 2 cents though. FOR THE RECORD: There were a couple of other doctors in there with him. Dr. Ted Khalili did my port replacement, and his bedside manner was excellent. I wish he had been my surgeon the first time around.

Hey TracyD... did you ever get the "port" issue worked out? I remember when I was first banded, I knew there was something wrong with my port. Also, all of a sudden I wasn't losing weight and I could eat alot more. It felt just like how you described...bothering me and sticking out a little. I knew it was supposed to be sewn tightly to the abdominal wall. I kept bugging my dr's about it. They continued to say everything was fine, just external examination. It kept bothering me and I kept bugging them about it. Finally, they took an x ray of it. Turns out, my band's tubing had twisted and broken away from the port and was hanging loose inside my body. All of the saline leaked out of the band. They had to replace my port and the tubing and it's been fine ever since. (well, everyone has their ups and downs!) Supposedly this happens to only 4% of banded people, but I just thought I would suggest it as possibly a reason why you weren't losing any longer. Anyway, I know it's been forever since you posted, but just wanted to give you a suggestion that helped me. Take care & hope you are well!

Anyone know of a good lap band surgeon in the Salt Lake City area? Preferably affiliated with a big hospital, not an independent surgery center. Thank you! Also- it would help if they accepted Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance. Thanks!

Hi- I was banded about 3 1/2 years ago in Los Angeles by the Dr's at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. These guys were great!!! I have had a few little problems with my band but nothing huge. Well for the last couple years I have had bad heartburn every day, I take tagamet every day to keep it at bay and prevent my band from eroding. I do this at the recommendation of my Dr's at Cedars... but it doesn't seem right to me that the heartburn isn't going away. They checked me out under the fluoroscope and nothing was wrong as far as slippage, etc. I don't want to take Tagamet for the rest of my life and I don't want to live being afraid of coffee and chocolate. haha. I suggested to them taking the fluid out of the band for a little while and taking something like Prilosec to HEAL the irritated areas. I would take it now, however, you can't take any other antacids with it, and I can't wait the 7 days before it starts working. Seriously, it's bad..and SUPER annoying. It bothered me that my doctors didn't want to unfill if I thought that was necessary to heal. They said that I could take Tagamet forever and it wouldn't hurt me. But now I am really starting to question that. The last thing I want is erosion and removal of the band, and I feel like that can be prevented if I can just heal the source of the heartburn. I just moved to the Dallas, TX area. DOes anyone know a good doctor at a REPUTABLE hospital who specializes in the band? If so, please PLEASE let me know. I need some help with this. Thanks!!!!

I too was banded in 2003 and was going through the same bouts of abdominal pain periodically, about once a month or so. Seemed to be right around my belly button, I thought maybe scar tissue from my port had blocked my intestines or something, I also thought of the pancreatitis route, trying to look something up on the internet to match my symptoms. It got much worse when I started taking Adderall for my ADHD...which is a stimulant and also very dehydrating. I finally figured out that I was chronically constipated (although I COULD still go #2), and because the port area was "slightly" pushing on my intestines- which is normal-, any time the stool was very hard and dry inside it made my life MISERABLE. I could only lay on my right side, fetal....and when I stood up straight it was excruciating. So, in desperation, I took to drinking at least 2 liters of Evian every day (can't drink any other bottled water) and also making 4-5 prunes, a box of raisins, or at least one apple part of my daily eating. Usually I just eat the prunes cuz they are fast and I can get it over with- and they work REALLY well. |. Knock on wood, since I have been on this water/prune routine it hasn't happened. That is the ONLY thing that has worked for me. Not saying you shouldn't go to the doctor, but maybe try this first and see if it helps relieve things. If it is anything like what I had, it is MISERABLE, so I feel your pain. Hope this helps!

Just my 2 cents... I was banded 7/31/03 in Los Angeles by Dr. Cuneen at Cedars Sinai. I haven't lost all that I thought I would lose... but I have lost almost 70 lbs and I cannot imagine life without my band. (don't ever want to even go there again). I am slowly but surely on my way down. I DO miss food...not WHAT I eat, but how much I eat. I can eat anything, but sometimes I miss the feeling of big bites. In the beginning, I swear I wished I could just take HUGE bites of a chicken Baja Fresh burrito and shove it down my throat. (don't know why it had to be a burrito! haha) Something twisted in me felt good about taking large bites, and I MISSED being able to do that. It took a long time to get over that, but the weight loss felt so good, and now chewing my food 30 times is sooo natural to me, it's like breathing. If I don't chew well enough, and I feel a big chunk go down, I have to admit I feel some panic waiting for the inevitable PB. I have a passion for cooking, and I spend alot of time making my meals. Sometimes I get frustrated after I spend along time making a nice meal and I get full after like 3 bites. I have a hard time with leftovers, I'm just a picky eater. So I feel like I'm wasting alot of food when I have to toss it after a day. That was very hard for me in the beginning...now I feel like it's okay... at least I'm not EATING all of it. I think if I had had psychotherapy to deal with my food addiction as soon as I got the band, all of this would have been much easier to deal with. Also, I don't know if it is just me... I have become the PICKIEST eater on the planet. It has to be prepared exactly the way I like it, or it's almost not worth eating. I am now able to taste EVERYTHING that is in my food, probably because you have to chew a million times, whereas before I was just shoving it down my throat. haha. But all in all... for the few times I have really missed the volume/type of food I wanted to eat, that is all completely overshadowed by the fact that now I can shop in regular stores for my clothes (even those cheap little places like Windsor Fashions and Charlotte Russe) and honestly, that is SOOO worth it to me. I tried on a tankini the other day, my first in my life, and I was so surprised about how it looked- it just made my day. I would do it over again in a HEARTBEAT. I have no idea where I would be without it.

Hey guys, thanks very much for all of the help! BTW, I do know that Prilosec is NOT an antacid, it is a proton pump inhibitor...which means that you cannot take any additional antacid products on top of it, because they interact. Which is a problem for me, because sometimes it takes days for the Prilosec to start working enough to make a difference, and I know that my heartburn would be unbearable in just a few hours. I would need Tagamet and be unable to take it. But if I were completely unfilled and then took Prilosec to slow the production of acid, so my body could heal itself, then I believe that would fix my problem. I believe if I were completely unfilled my heartburn would not be as unbearable in just a few hours. Also, I have noticed when I am following an extremely low carb diet, I have almost no heartburn. But what fun is that? haha just kidding. Thank you all for your advice!

Hi, I also had that weird clicking feeling after surgery, my port felt like it was sticking out WAYYY too far and it was kind of loose. The dr. didn't think there was anything wrong with it, he said it was normal, etc... well it persisted and finally the tubing connecting my port to my band broke off the port, and the sharp metal end was scratching me inside--- super painful. They had to replace my port. This only happens to 4% of people with the Inamed band. I think it happened because my port wasn't stitched down tightly enough and therefore was flexing that little piece of tubing more than it should have, and it broke. SO if it REALLY bothers you, keep on your doctor about it and have them really take a good look & feel. It could be something more. After the 2nd surgery (just spent the day in the hospital) my new port felt so much more like I thought it should, it doesn't move around and there is not that clicking feeling. I really hated it when it was like that in the beginning. So keep on them if it bothers you!

Hi there- about 3 months post op (in 2003) I started experiencing severe pain and discomfort around my port area and then all around below it. (mine is to the left of my belly button). Anyway, turns out the plastic tubing that leads to the band had broken away from the port and the sharp metal end was scratching me inside. I had to have an outpatient surgery to repair it. It only happens to 4% of people with the band, and of course, my motto is... if it can happen, it will happen to me!!!. So definitely get your band surgeon to check you out. It's so worth it.