jayres14

40 pounds is a lot!! I am proud of you!! Imagine how much harder back surgery recovery would be with 40 extra pounds to haul around! I want you to think about this, if you lost a ton of weight at once, your skin is not equipped with the elasticity to bounce back and shrink up at that same fast pace. Then you are stuck with wings under your arms and a saggy pouch hanging farther down your abdomen than you belly actually was. You would end up having to have surgery to remove the skin and I hear it is rather painful and full of complications. Take pride in your accomplishments so far and remember that this is a life long journey, just be healthy!!

I am no Doctor, but if that situation had happened to me all the sudden, I would definitely go check to see if it slipped. Better safe than sorry!

I need to go to a chiropractor again but I am really nervous about him pushing, popping and twisting me around for fear of band slippage, port pain (it is just below my sternum), or the tube getting disconnected. Anyone have sound advice about this?

If you are not already, you should eat sugar free fudge pops. They taste great and the cold helps with the swelling. Also, they are great to eat after your fills for reducing the swelling.

I sometimes fill this way if I eat too soon before bed. I remember reading on this forum someone saying it is a good idea to clean out your pouch right before bed, as in drink a good amount of water to flush it out. You won't get hungry before falling asleep so it is okay to flush it all down. Hope that helps!

Thanks, I will make sure to let him know first, I just really need an adjustment! Even more now that I have lost a few pounds and my body is changing.

You are never too young to do something for your health!! Being 31 and banded in July, I wouldn't change it for the world. It is a whole new lifestyle and it is a lot of hard work, but the benifits are well worth it. Good luck with what you choose to do, you only have one life, you don't get to trade this one in for a new one. You might as well be happy every day of it!!

Your list made me cry, especially the part about carrying your handicapped son. I have a daughter with autism and I did this for her, because I want to be the best mommy she deserves, not a lazy, boring mommy. When this journey gets hard, when I have to pass up dessert, when I have to go on liquids for two days after a fill, I just look at my daughter and realize I can do anything for her! Congrats to both of us, to everyone doing the hard work to make our "skinny" list some true!!

That is awful! I felt horrible waiting only three minutes, he took the one cc out and I felt better. I couldn't imagine feeling like that an entire night. After this over fill experience, I ate a lot of fudge pops, like six that night. I really believe that helped bring the swelling down. I had read from successful banders on here that they were a great liquid to eat after fills and they were so right! The cold kept my stomach from swelling so much after the crazy fill. When I went on soft foods the next night, I didn't get stuck and haven't since (its only been since Wednesday but it is an improvement from last time.) I still don't think I am at my green zone restriction. I probably need a .5 cc fill but i'll get that in two weeks. My surgeon said the more weight you lose, the more fills you need b/c you lose the weight everywhere, including your stomach. Good luck to us both on the journey, it is definitely harder than any diet I've ever done in my life but totally worth it.

I want to share my story today b/c it was definitely a weird experience. I went in for my third fill having 2 cc put in each time. So today, my surgeon fills me from 4 cc to 6 cc (10 cc band). He warned me it would probably be too tight, that we would see. So after the fill, he gave me the bottled water to drink before I left. I took my first sip and I could feel it funnel but no big deal, so I took another sip/gulp. OMG!!! It wouldn't go down!! I paced the floor as my mouth was watering, my chest felt like it would explode, and my eyeballs felt like they were floating!! I have been stuck before but this was multiplied by ten!! I felt like I could puke at any second, right there on the floor!! After about three minutes thinking it would pass, and painfully discovering it wouldn't, I called the surgeon back in. He had me lay on the table and he pulled 1 cc back out. As soon as he started pulling it out, i could actually feel the water go through. He then had me sit up with that needle still sticking out of my chest and drink more water. this time the water went through with no problem. It was crazy!! Talk about restriction!! More like a no passing zone!! So the next fill I go for will only be a .5 cc. I hope this fill will get me to the green, I have never experienced it before and am excited to hit that heavenly place!

I want to wear sexy lingerie for my hubby and feel comfortable in it!!

I want to wear sexy lingerie for my hubby and feel comfortable in it!!

\ I got my third fill today and am now up to 5 cc. He had initially put in 2 cc to make it 6 and I couldn't get any Water down. It was a very creepy, painful feeling. Hopefully now we will both get the green we have been desperately needed!! Good luck to us both!

62 pounds! That's wonderful!! And as for the age, better late than never. Sounds to me like you have a good system going and have met the fabulous "green zone". Hopefully i'll be there soon! Again, congrats!

Woodslass, that is GREAT information. It makes sense about the muscles contracting so much b/c they are ready to go to work. I will remember that when i begin to eat each meal. I seem to get a little stuck with the first couple of bites and now it make so much sense. It could be too that I am so hungry at meal times that I do not chew as I should. Hopefully that will change when I get to the green zone. Thank you for the time you took to give us such valuable information. Doreenviv, I only have 4 cc in my 10 cc band too. The restriction is not there either and I am hungry a lot. I am still losing the one to two pounds weekly but that is strictly due to will power. I am not losing as much as a lot of people on here. I figure that is b/c I started at 208 and never had to do the pre op diet. I hope we both find our sweet spot soon. I have read that 10cc bandsters need 5 to 7 cc to get to the green so we still have a ways to go. Good luck to you and keep your head up. Every pound lost gets us closer to our goal than we were.

Ummm, not a nasty comment, not sure why you are getting defensive. It just does not shock me at all that people can eat two burgers with the band. If they don't have any resistance, it is pretty easy to get them down.

Not sure why you are so shocked... we ALL got overweight by making bad food choices and although we have the band now to HELP us along the way, that doesn't mean our brains have changed and we no longer have the desires and weaknesses that got us to this point in the first place. Must be nice to have such super powers...

My success with getting rid of the awful gas pain was to walk A LOT!! I would walk the driveway back and forth and every five or so minutes, I would stop and bend forward as far as comfort allowed. Some how, adding that bending motion moved things around and I was eventually passing the gas when I bended (classy, right?). Hope it helps.

When my band was placed (10cc band), it did not have any saline in it. At my two week check up, my Dr put 2cc in it. I did not feel much restriction at all. I could eat the same day, I have only lost two pounds the past two weeks since the fill. I am going in for another fill tomorrow and I am hoping he will put a lot more saline in there. I have read that it normally takes about 5 to 7 cc to get to the green zone so I am going to ask him to at least put three more in there. I know this is a process and that I should be patient but I paid 12 grand for this and I want my "tool" to start helping me! I have gotten out of the practice of chewing vigorously b/c it hasn't been needed. Hopefully things will work out and I will reach this blissful green zone I've been reading about and not be so hungry anymore. Wish me luck!!

I had my second fill today and my Dr said liquids for the first 24 hours and that tomorrow night I could try soft mushies. I am starving now but I am faithfully sipping my protein shakes. Some creamy egg salad is gonna be great tomorrow night!!

Got two more cc's and I can feel the water and protein shakes now. Excited about the coming weeks!!

Oh no! That is awful for you! I had to sleep on my back for the first three weeks after the surgery because of port pain. Every time I tried to roll to one side, I could feel the stitches pulling. I still can feel them to this day and sometimes have to push the port back into its resting place when I roll back over (it is right below my sternum). I wish I had some good news for you. Good Luck and I hope it flips back on its own.

I got banded July 21st and I am having some post op pain. I am extremely sore from all the gas in my cavity and I feel like I have to burp every time I eat or drink. I do not burp which makes it more uncomfortable. I am pretty sure all is still okay from the procedure b/c I have not vomited and can keep some solids down. Anyone have any tips on getting rid of the gas? Walking helps some and gas-x does not help at all. From what i've read, time is the only thing that will help. Also, i hiccup every now and then and it is very uncomfortable. Is that normal?

So I am one week post op and I can pretty much eat anything (as long as I chew really well). I do not feel any restriction in my band and am not getting a "full" feeling when I eat. The problem is, it takes so long to eat a meal that I pretty much give up and quit. I have had two "stuck" issues and they were so awful that I am totally afraid to go through that again. I make sure to chew so much that I can't feel the food slide down my throat. I am pretty much hungry all the time but it seems to me that i'd rather feel the hunger pains and keep going through my day than stop and focus on a meal for FOREVER...... I am not even getting in the 1200 calories a day I should be getting. I guess I need to add a Protein shake daily but then again, it takes so long to drink it that I don't even care to. Anyone have suggestions to get this train moving along?? I guess as long as I am getting my multi-vitamin in, I should be okay. Side note: myfitnesspal.com is a great app for keeping a food and exercise journal. And it's free!!

That's some really great stuff!! I like the cool whip idea. It seems the protein shakes are a little thick so I am all about a thinner shake. I am trying to stay away from most meats for fear of careless swallowing. I had Wendy's chili last night and finally got that full feeling. The chili was pretty good, which surprised me! Thanks for the GREAT advice!!