Jim1967

I can relate. My Mom told her Sister and My Father's sister and they in turn told everyone else in our extended family. So all my cousins, aunts and uncles know.

What I find funny is a few individuals around me talking about how they want to do it because I have been successful so far. They have absolutely no clue just how hard this is and how much work it is. You really need to be educated to do what we are all doing.

Congratulations on your surgery date by the way. I am 9 months post op and I would do this again in a heartbeat..

I did come clean and I wish I hadn't at times. I am constantly getting asked how I am doing and how much I have lost. I was once asked and I quote "What are you going to do about all the loose skin once you lose all the weight?" I also hadn't seen a co-worker who was off for a month and he came in jokingly saying "What you haven't lost all the weight yet?" None of it really bothers me but I wish I was a little less forth coming with the information. Most people have been very supportive and I have not heard any real negative comments.

I have been through exactly what you described and agree completely with Missy. Definitely sounds like you ate fast. When I eat fast and forget to chew my food very fine I will get hiccups and if I eat one more bite I usually end up with a stuck episode and I get the chest pain you describe.

Congrats!! I hope to be there soon. :-)

I do not feel the band at all. Some complain their port area aches but I haven't had that problem. Only way I can tell the band is in there is by how little I eat and if I eat too fast I end up throwing up. Eating slow and chewing and chewing and more chewing is the name of the game. I am 9 months out now and my incisions have almost completely faded.

Seriously, Kristy 170lbs is far from failure and anyone to say so must be on crack. Where your health and well being is concerned screw what they think anyway. You need to get some answers. In my opinion (and you know what they say about opinions) there two kinds of band failures. 1. Band failed as in defective or the body rejected it 2. Person with the band never worked with it properly either because they didn't want to put the work into it or they were not educated by their Surgical team to use it properly. You are no failure by any means. Please get checked out and put your mind at ease.

Good luck to all of you!!

Kristy, Sorry you are going through this however if your band is completely empty then you should really contact your doctor right away. This may not even be band related. A wide open band and not able to drink a smoothie is very concerning. I can bet the next several posts after mine are going to be folks telling you to call your Doctor asap.

hiccups is one of my soft stop signals when eating and if I ignore it I wind up having a stuck episode.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to all the new bandsters. As for lurking...why lurk? Say hello and participate. Matters not whether you are pre or post op or even just starting to research.

I would love to have the insight as to what is going through these peoples minds. I often wonder if they are afraid to call the doctor thinking he/she will say "OK, come in we're taking your band out".

I wear a cpap nightly and my wife is very happy about it. I used to stop breathing in the middle of the night and it would scare the hell out of her and she would wake me up. Some nights I would suddenly stop snoring and she had to check to make sure my chest was going up and down. Just remember the cpap is for sleeping, not relations although I did ask my wife once if she wanted to have a 'go round with the elephant man'...probably a little TMI there...LOL sleep apnea can kill you and it is no joke. Look on the bright side...you are married. Think how much it would suck if you were single.

I have had more stuck episodes then I wish to admit. Some of us learn the hard way. Hopefully, I didn't stretch my pouch. My last episode I ate when I was driving to work. I was paying attention to everything except how I was eating. Needless to say I ended up on the side of the highway....not fun.

Yup looks like it was a year ago if you look at the profile and last status update shows Jan 31st looking forward to a fill in February. Oh well my bad for not looking at the profile..

You were banded on Jan 3rd? Was your Jan 7th appointment supposed to be a post op follow up visit? Probably not a wise idea to skip if that was the case. That is an important appointment so your Surgeon can check on you as well as see how your incisions are healing. You are not even a month post op and this is the healing stage and the not the time to be to concerned with weight loss. Regardless of how rocky the road has been putting off appointments to save face with your doctor is a recipe for failure. Your Doctor is there for you through the good times and bad. Be honest with him or her....it will only help in the long run. As for Protein shakes I still drink one daily even at 9 months out. I have that as one of my meals. It is an excellent source of protein and my Nutritionist is happy that I have found one that I like and is good for me. as for your "plateau" and lack of weight loss I can tell you that I understand where you are coming from. I got very frustrated because I hardly lost any weight the first month and half but really this time is for healing not losing weight. As for a plateau...that is down the road. Give yourself some time and do not put so much pressure on yourself. Weight loss will come in time but until you get some restriction it is all on you. How long did your Doc want you on liquids post op? Sounds like you transitioned to solids pretty quick. I know all Surgeons have their way of doing things. Good luck and get in and see your Doc and let them help you.

Congrats on the weight loss!! You are an inspiration for sure. I really needed to hear your story because lately I have been a little stuck mentally and scale-wise. I have lost about 3lbs in the past three months. Eating what I am supposed to eat and working out whenever I can. I have actually ramped up my gym activity in the past month with hopes I would see movement. Nothing yet but hopefully soon. Even after dropping 140lbs I still have such a long road ahead of me. thanks for sharing