Toddy

You're not hungry for four or five hours. Then you can't eat but a little bit. It's a great feeling until you don't have it anymore. I had to have a 3 cc unfill this week and I didn't realize how great the green zone was until I wasn't in it anymore.

I've read about some people never getting stuck. I wish I was so lucky. Unfortunately, if I wait too long to eat and am really hungry, I tend to eat too fast and that always causes a problem. As soon as I feel myself getting stuck, I'll go on to the bathroom and "urp" up the offending item to keep from getting too irritated.

Yep, I'd insist on the barium swallow, too. The only time I get nauseated is if I overeat. I think the fact that you were having problems with nausea before and are still having the nausea, it's too coincidental to be tossed off as a stomach bug.

If you're not having any problem keeping liquids down, then try liquids for a FULL day and then mushies for a full day. I irritated by band last week while on vacation and knew I needed to do a full day of liquids and then graduate to mushies, but I didn't. I'd start out with the best intention of doing liquids all day, but then I'd eat something... eventually my band got so irritated that I couldn't even keep liquids down and had to have a 3 cc unfill and now I'm really miserable. The unfill relieved the pain, but now I'm starving all the time and not getting full or satisfied on my normally small amounts. I'm scared to death of how much weight I'm going to gain before I can start to get fills again. Also remember that there is a difference between regurgitating and vomiting. Regurgitation, while it's definitely not healthy, it's not as dangerous as forcefully vomiting. Once I forcefully vomited is when my serious problems started which required the unfill.

I'm curious about those that "vomit" frequently. Are you talking about a forceful expulsion from your stomach, or a regurgitation from your pouch?? I vomited for the first time yesterday, twice. Shortly afterwards I started having severe chest pains, severe enough I thought it was my heart and went to to the ER. The pain built in intensity to the point that it hurt all the way from my shoulders to my abdomen and all the way around my back. It took three doses of dilaudid to get the pain under control once they determined it wasn't heart related. They called my band doctor, and he had me transferred by ambulance to his ER. He removed 3 cc's of fill and I was still pretty out of it from the drugs. They kept me overnight to check my esophagus and the placement of the band this morning, and while it had moved slightly, it hasn't slipped. When I questioned him about what could have caused that horrific pain, he said the vomiting could have caused it. The band is not made for stuff to be forcefully ejected through it. We talked about the distinction of regurgitation vs. vomiting. I know I was lucky this time and now that I've learned my lesson I will be much more careful what and how I eat in the future.

Print out what you wrote here and give it to them. Tell them if they care about you enough, they will open their minds and do some research about lapband. I didn't tell anyone that I wasn't 100% sure would be supportive about my surgery. The ones that have learned about the surgery after the fact have all seen the positive results -- my weight loss -- and have become supportive.

The first week I couldn't hold my arms over my head long enough to shampoo my hair, much less dry it. I had to sit immediately after going upstairs. It was awful and totally unexpected! I felt I started getting some strength and stamina back once I started eating. After the seventh day post-surgery, I was pretty much back to normal, but I haven't forgotten those early days. I have a friend that is getting ready to have lap-band because she has seen my success... I told her I wouldn't come near her that first week because she will hate my guts!

I could eat bread until my fourth fill. Now for me, bread is the devil. I try to deny it, but it comes back to bite me every time.

Didn't check in last Sunday because I was on vacation. However, after a week on vacation, I met my goal today... 170!!!!!!

What you're eating sounds good. One thing people really don't seem to be well educated about pre-surgery is the fact that the band really won't help much with weight loss until you have enough fills to reach restriction (I know nobody ever mentioned this to me). Until you reach restriction (which is different for everyone - in my case a little after my third fill and really good after my fourth fill) you're on your own with dieting and it sounds like you're doing really well. During this period is a good time to practice proper band eating skills! Hang in there because it does get better!!

Just came back from a beach vacation where the focus always seems to end up on food (and beverages). I ACTUALLY LOST TWO POUNDS!!! Yay!! My band was very temperamental during the week, so I'm sure that helped. I'm going back to liquids for a couple of days to hopefully calm things down. I LOVE MY BAND!!

This is the time to focus on healing, not every one or two pound fluctuation. Be prepared because it might get worse before it gets better. Your band will really be pretty much useless until you have enough fills to reach restriction. If you don't want to gain during this time, you have to diet. Sorry to deliver bad news, but I think it's important to know the bad as well as the good.

Hang in there. You're in what is known as "bandster hell". Unfortunately, you will have to really diet during this time to keep from gaining weight. You're band will probably not help much until you have enough fill to reach restriction.

I'm a pretty social creature, so lots of girl's nights and lots of couples nights/weekends. The only time I mention being banded is if it noticeably disrupts a meal -- got stuck, got to run to the bathroom. The guys couldn't care less, the girls are somewhat interested. If no one says anything, I just go about my normal business. When I can't eat much of my meal, I joke about filling up on appetizers. I have found that nobody really pays much attention to what you're actually consuming!!!

I am almost six months post-surgery. Today I began having port pain for the first time ever!!! It's not severe, just a definite twinge here and there that has lasted throughout the day. I haven't done anything strenuous that would have caused any kind of pulled muscle. I probably wouldn't even be very concerned about it, except we leave for vacation early Saturday morning, and there's no way I can take off any time tomorrow to run up to my doctor's office and let them check it out if I call them. Does anyone have any experience with port pain this far out from surgery and its possible causes?

OMG, 15 times!!!! Wow, I hope he numbed you up before he started sticking. I've not had a fill in almost a month. That's what's really bothering me, is there is no explanation for why I would start having this pain all of a sudden.

There is no way I'd let an anti-band doctor put a band in me. If he's this vocal about not liking the band now, imagine what his support (or lack thereof) is going to be like after the band! The psych eval and nutritionist consult is usually to satisfy insurance requirements so you should be able to transfer that to another doctor. I wouldn't walk away from your current doc... I'D RUN!!

I'd lost 35 pounds before anyone who didn't know I was dieting ever noticed. And then about five more pounds before anyone else has said anything. I only had 72 to lose to get to my goal weight, so I am over halfway there and only two people have said anything. Of course the people that know I'm banded or dieting are constantly going on about how much I've lost.

Not for most people. You will eat less food, but you will not get that feeling of being stuffed, like after Thanksgiving. You will probably not get hungry as often, but you will still get hungry. One thing that the band absolutely does not stop is head hunger. If you can resist head hunger and only eat when your body is physically hungry, and stop eating when you feel satisfied, not stuffed, then the band is a wonderful tool.

I've experienced the great NSV myself recently!

I had mine out about four years before I was banded. I never had any pain or symptoms at all until I woke up one morning a little nauseous. Stayed nauseous throughout the day, and started having some minor chest pain, so I went to the ER that evening. They diagnosed gallbladder and I had it removed early the next morning. I thought the ladband surgery was a little more difficult to recover from than the gallbladder, but it may have just been that I was four years older when I had the lapband! I have three scars from the galbaldder (not including the one in my bellybutton), and six from my lapband, so my stomach looks like I've been sliced and diced!!

Sometimes I can eat bread and sometimes I can't. I just have to take tiny bites, chew forever, and have enough time between bites to make sure it's going to work.

I hit the green zone with my fourth fill. The first couple of weeks after that fill, I thought my band was too tight because I was having a lot of episodes of PB's. However, just like 2muchfun said, once I adjusted my eating habits, no more PB's. I also agree with his expected 4 to 8 pound loss a month. I average about 6 pounds a month now.

I can't get used to Sunday weigh-ins so I'm late checking in again. On Sunday I was 172.

I met with my surgeon on January 4. January 7 left for a ten day cruise. Got back on January 17. Started my pre-op diet on the 18th. Had surgery on the 31st. The last time I was weighed was on the 4th, so I have no idea how much gain I had on the cruise, so I really don't know exactly how much I've lost.