DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

Ultimately the choice has to be yours and yours alone. You know what's best for you, so stick to your guns and do what you know is right regardless of what anyone else thinks. This is one of those few times in your life where it's all about you, your needs, and your health. The best advice I can give you is to do your homework thoroughly. There are risks with the band but there are with the other WLS too. I can tell you that while you might read a lot of negativity about the band and supposed band failure, you need to keep in mind the majority of those complications are a direct result of the person making bad decisions and causing the problems themselves. This is why educating yourself to the facts before surgery is so crucial not only to your weight loss success but to your overall health. Best wishes to you on whatever you decide!

I agree! I tried many different brands and unjury is the only one I truly like. I'm 7 months post surgery and still have a chocolate splendor Unjury shake for Breakfast every morning.

For me, I'm super tight in the morning. By evening I could really over-eat if I wanted to and easily. There's a huge difference in the level of restriction between morning and night for me.

The only way to lose weight is by eating a healthy diet and exercise, band or no band. You can have the band and still eat like you did before surgery, but you won't lose weight and will likely continue to gain. The band is a tool not a magic fix. It's up to us to do the work and that includes making healthy food choices for a lifetime.

Congratulations! One small piece of advice: Do not EVER compare yourself to others. Everyone loses at their own pace. All that matters is that you're losing, not how fast or slowly you're losing. How much anyone else has lost is completely irrelevant to your journey.

I know I seem to burp an awful lot since being banded. Being as you were awakened during the night with it, so it wasn't anywhere near a time you'd just eaten, it is either the band itself (not eating issues) or possibly even a digestive issue that has nothing to do with the band. This is probably a weird question, but do you snore? Could you have gulped air in your sleep causing the problem?

I was on a lot of meds when I started this, I have Multiple Sclerosis. The cool thing is, I've been able to get off the majority of pain meds except for on an "as needed" basis. Losing weight has significantly helped to ease the stress on my body thus decrease the amount of pain I'm in. Being as you have RA, I suspect you'd see a drastic reduction in pain as well because it would be so much less stress on your joints. I do believe you'd qualify despite having a BMI under 40 because you have co-morbidites. I'd check with your insurance to be sure. Best wishes on whatever path you choose.

I think most of us have gone through what you are right now. I remember waking up a couple days after surgery, with horrible gas pains, thinking "oh my gosh, what the heck have I done to myself?" I have met many on here that have gone through a similar emotional roller coaster, too. Just remind yourself that soon you will feel good again and you won't be on the liquid diet forever. Hang in there, it does get better!

Oh I bet that's it then. The calorie tracking being so new and the week away with the gain totally explains it. You have a good plan in place now, stick to it and the weight will come off. Good luck on your next fill, I'll keep my fingers crossed it helps!

I am seriously considering it. I am going to need an entirely new winter wardrobe this year so I have tons to buy. My winter coat from last year was a 7x and I'm down to a 2x. It's like a tent on me. I've been trying to guess where I'll be approximately by November. I am considering taking the risk to buy a winter coat and some long sleeve shirts and hoping I guess correctly. This way I can slowly build up a winter wardrobe without breaking the bank all at one time.

It sounds like you're doing what you should be doing. How long have you been logging calories? I am wondering if it was recent and the loss just hasn't caught up with you yet. Mathematically speaking, if you're only consuming 1000 calories a day you will lose weight regardless of the band. If you're still physically hungry on a cup of food then I think it's a matter of needing another fill. I know it's so frustrating but hang in there, it's so worth it once you do finally have the right amount of Fluid in your band.

I completely understand your frustration and disappointment. I started off on this journey at a whopping 421 pounds. Like you, I have yo-yo dieted my whole life. As for the meat, I am not a big meat eater at all. Truth is, I could go the rest of my life never eating read meat again and be perfectly happy. You can most definitely have the band without meat so long as you're sure to get enough Protein from other sources. Seafood is actually a great source of protein as well as Omega acids. I eat tons of tuna and other seafood (in fact I just had a little tuna casserole for lunch). I'm just very careful be sure I get at least 60g of protein a day despite the fact I really don't care for meat. I think you're off to a great start! Welcome!

I'm sorry you're so frustrated. It takes some people more fills than others to feel restriction with the band. It actually has very little to do with the size of your band and everything to do with the size of your stomach. It's entirely possibly you simply haven't hit that perfect fill amount yet. As far as muffins, bread, Pasta, meats and seafood- there is no reason you shouldn't be able to eat them. The band is supposed to make feel satisfied with less food for longer periods of time, not restrict what you can and cannot eat. A couple points and questions: - Are you eating a cup of food or less per meal? If not, you should be sticking to the band sized portions. Even if you can eat more than a cup of food it doesn't mean you should be. - Please realize the band is not supposed to make you feel stuffed full. If you are searching for a feeling of fullness you're going to end up with a band too tight and potential complications. The band is supposed to make you feel satisfied (aka not hungry) with less food for longer periods of time. So when you're eating your cup or less of food, focus on a feeling of satiety not fullness. - Know the difference between head hunger and physical hunger. Very often we mistaken head hunger for being physically hungry when that's not the case. - Have you seen a nutritionist? If not, I highly recommend doing so. A nutritionist familiar with the needs of bariatric patients can help you set up realistic eating guidelines for a lifetime. - Do you log your food and calories? If not, I recommend doing so for awhile. This way you can see exactly what you're eating and where you need to make some changes. People who don't log food and calories are usually shocked how much they're actually consuming once they do. Best wishes.

Very exciting!! Best wishes and we're here for you!

Honestly, I think it's great she was honest with you about the risks. There are way too many people who go into Lap Band surgery totally ignorant to the facts. It's good you know the truth.

It takes me 20-30 minutes to eat my meals, I'm always the last one sitting at the table all alone lol

You're very welcome. I found out the hard way, too. After my last fill in May I was constantly stuck for a week before I realized my idea of a small bite wasn't nearly small enough, switched to bites the size of the pic, and have been fine ever since. I actually took that pic the day I figured it out, it was my "ah ha!" moment LOL. Hang in there, the band has a definite learning curve

Protein takes longer to digest and keeps you full longer so I would suggest a protein shake or something else with high protein before bed. Low fat cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, or Greek yogurt are all good choices and fit into the mushie food phase.

If the gas pain in your stomach, then OTC meds, peppermints, or tea may help. However if it's the gas they pump in during surgery absolutely nothing you can take via mouth will help. That gas is in your abdominal cavity not your digestive system. It has to be reabsorbed by the body which unfortunately takes time. Continuing to walk and use the heating pad is your best choice to help ease it. Good luck.

I eat really tiny bites, chew it until it's mush, and pause between bites. Here is the size bites I take. I put my finger next to it for size comparison,

Every surgeon has their own ideas and opinions, however I simply tried to stick within the nutritional guidelines my nutritionist gave me for all stages, including liquids and mushies.

I hope you don't mind but I'm going to copy a previous post about this because it very much applies to your situation: ------------------------------------------------- It seems to me there is a lot of misunderstanding out there when it comes to restriction. Over and over, I read post after post of the following statements: "I have had fills but can still eat whatever I want" While some people do have issues eating certain foods, there is absolutely no truth that you shouldn't be able to eat foods like breads, Pasta, and rice. If you are following a low carb diet that's one thing, but being banded doesn't mean you shouldn't be physically able to eat them anymore. Many of us can still eat absolutely everything we ate before surgery. "I have had fills but I can still eat more than 1 cup of food" This may be true, however, just because you can eat more than a cup of food doesn't mean you should. More often than not, if you eat slowly and stop after eating no more than 1 cup of food, you will find that you are satisfied and no longer hungry despite the fact you could still physically eat more. Quit trying to test your band to see how much you can eat, because the only one that will fail the test is you, not the band. "I have had fills but I don't feel full" Big misconception- the band will make you feel full. Wrong. It's true some people do feel full but it's a different full sensation than we had before banded. In fact, it's almost uncomfortable. The band is not supposed to make you feel stuffed full, it's supposed to make you feel satisfied with less food for longer periods of time. If you keep getting fill after fill because you don't feel stuffed full, you are going to end up one of the many people who have bands too tight and slips as a result. Being satisfied means you are no longer hungry, not that you feel as though you just ate a seven course Thanksgiving dinner. Quit trying to feel full and start listening to your body because it will tell you when it's satisfied. I encourage everyone to educate themselves on the Lap-Band, what it does, and what it doesn't do. Too many people are walking around banded completely ignorant to the facts and I fear many will have complications and slips because of it. It's your body, take responsibility for educating yourself on it.

Because when you get a fill, it constricts the stomach and is likely to cause irritation and swelling. Swelling will make the band feel tighter than it actually is and can cause a lot more stuck episodes as well as PBing. Most surgeons do the liquids then mushies/soft food after a fill to give the swelling and irritation time to subside.