halloween2124

I had a fill back in February. I dont' feel tight or restricted, although I can eat or drink very small amounts at a time. The problem I have is pack pain in my upper back. It's extraordinarly painful, and it seems to happen after I eat or drink. Since I don't feel like i'm too tight, i'm wondering if the band could be causing the pain. Has anyone had anything similar happen? It's not gas, and it ususally goes away on it's own, until I happen to eat or drink again. Any thoughts?

This sounds a lot like a problem that I've been having but a little different. My problems have gotten so bad that I don't eat in the evenings at all, it seems to come right back up or it will happen that night. I've complteltey givien up drinking (no occasional margaritas) becuase that's the kiss of death, I wake up through the night with the burning in my chest. Mine IS acidic, and when I throw up my vomit is a dark or black color. I'll do ANYTHING to keep from puking, which includes not eating. here's the complicated part. I had pneumonia a few weeks ago that was accompanied by severe upper back pain. Yesterday my fever and pain started, but the chest pain is horrible. I don't think it's acid reflux becuase I've taken everything, pepcid, mylanta, etc and that doesnt' seem to help. I'm not sure if I have a band problem, or my symptoms were brought on by the penumonia. How can you tell if you have a slip?

Although some would say i've ultimatley been successful on my weight loss journey (I've lost 70lbs since last feb), the truth of it is I have another 50-70 lbs to go. For me, the lapband is a slow process, i can only get my band tightend a little bit a time (believe me, i found out the hard way through trial and error) I get so frustrated when I hear people who drop the weight so quickly and here I am plugging along like a tortoise. None of my clothes fit, and I can't buy new ones becasue I was apparently so fat I have a ton more to loose. Sorry to sound so negative, but i'm just TIRED of this whole process and I really NEED to get to where I am going to be weight-wise so I can move on with my life. This transition period is really frustrating me now. Is is just me, or others get to a similar place along the line? I know I sound ungrateful, that 70lbs is quite an accomplishment, but when you are only halfway there and stuck in the middle things get tricky. It's depressing, i can't buy anything new but shoes because at least i know they will fit 2 weeks down the road. I know, i know, i brought it on myself....but how long does it REALLY take to get to where you want to be? Can anyone shed some light at the end of this for me?

I had my 6th fill about a month ago, and I haven't lost ANY weight. On my 5th I didn't feel like I was tightened up enough ( i lost 12 lbs in 2 months, which wasn't bad considering i felt allmost no restriction). On my 6th, i asked for a little more, and even though I can't eat hardly ANYTHING, I've only dropped 2 lbs in the last MONTH! My doctor is 2.5 hours away from me and I have another fill appointment on the 13th of october, rescheduleing will put me back another month, right before thanksgiving...I"m thinking about using that appointment to get unfilled to where I was before. Like, I'm seriously suffering for nothing here. Any suggestions or thoughts on this?

Thanks everyone for such a positive response... LOL Yes I'm suprised nobody told me to shit down and shut up for loosing that much in that short of time! IF ONLY! the one thing I realize I didn't make clear was that I really meant to say Feb of 07, so I'm coming up on 2 years of being banded. I think 2two years of transition is more than enough and I'm inspired by those of you who have taken longer, I know i'm not alone in my super slow slimdown. I guess i just have to step up my game a little and I should try to make my weight loss goal complete by my 2 year anniverssary. wish me luck.

It took me a SUPER long time to get to a point where i wasn't starvign all the time, i'd say between my 3rd and 4th fill. Truth be told, i'm a fat girl, and i want to eat like a fat girl and i am never really hungry, i'm HONGRY. Lol, there's a difference. The hard truth of it was I love to eat, and It took me over a year to realize that just because I love food doesn't mean I have to have it. I've been craving subway all day but I can't HAVE it. I want a whole cheesecake right now but I KNOW i can't have it. Before I would have at least tried, gotten sick, then gotten PISSED, but now, I have had to learned to be satisfied with less. For me, it was more of a mental thing. Yes, I would LOVE a stuffed crust pizza, but, alas, I can't have it. When you get to a point when looking at certain foods causes you physical pain, you no longer want them, and you learn to be satisfied. My stomach would growl constantly by the way. If you keep SOMETHING in it, even liquids, you should adjust.

Yeah I know all about the crushing chest pain. That's your signal you've taken on more than you can chew, literally. I'm not sure if it happens to everyone but it's normal for me. I now have a 3 bite rule: Take 3 bites, wait, if everything feels okay after about 5 minutes, i take 3 more.

I had a bad fill experience on my 3nd fill, everthing i tried to eat came up, i felt like there was an elephant crushing my chest everytime I ate, I was so miserable. I went a month later and got unfilled back to my first. It was around October of last year so I figured I'd enjoy myself during the holidays, then go back, but I was so scared of getting a fill becasue i didn't want to be in the pain and endure the restriction. I didn't go back until March to get re-filled. I learned two things: My fear set me back a whole 6 months in my weight loss, and that I have to take it slow. I need small fills, not big ones. Just get a small fill, and don't be afraid to tell your doctor that you are frightened. He can recommond the right amount for you to allow you time to adjust to it. Don't let that fear keep you from moving forward, and if it doesn't feel right, dont' wait, call them to let them know what's going on.

I considered my first 3 fills my "adjustment period", no pun intended. It wasn't until after my 4th fill i really started noticing weight. I'm on my 6th fill now and I haven't lost any since then and it's been 4 weeks. Sometimes it's inches, not weight.

Dang I know how you feel! I'm starvin' like Marvin'. When I had the surgery I was told I wouldn't feel hungry, but I did. After my 1st fill, I was told I wouldn't be hungry, and I was. I had my 2nd fill last week and it's a *little* better since I physically can't eat much. I complained to my dr and they recommended me for counseling. I'm a little pissed off about that becasue I already know 1. Yes i'm fat i eat too dang much that's why i had to have the freakin surgery in the 1st place and 2. I think they are making the whole thing up about "you shouldn't be hungry". I've found it does help to keep my stomach full of something like liquids or Water but mostly all this does is satiate me for a little bit then I have to go pee. I keep protien bars arond and nibble on those throughout the day. The protien thing doesn't really work for me either. They swear if I get my 60 grams of protien daily (which I do) I shouldn't be hungry. I think it's a bunch of crap. They are also telling me that my stomach growling is not because I'm hungry. Yeah right. After the band, my stomach growling causes me discomfort to the point where i need to eat something and right then ! I will say, through it all, this 2nd fill is workign a lot better than my first. Don't let yourself go too long on an empty stomach, other wise you will regret it and probably eat more than you should. My stategy is not to over-eat, but to keep myself from being hungry, which works for me. I hope this helps and doesn't frustrate you further, but I feel like there has to be more people who feel like me and you. I really think the more you get filled, the easier it will get. so hang in there.

Yes this whole experience has been quite a lesson for me as far as personal responsibility and dealing with my eating issues. To me it's kind of like any other issue, If you are a recovered alchohilic you are STILL an alcholic. For me, I'm a fat girl and when I finish loosing all my weight I'll still be a fat girl. I like to eat, and that's all there is to it. Learning how to contol it with the band is an experience, Ive been banded since 02-16 and I still have a ways to go. I've lost 20 lbs, lots of inches, and it's easy to get frustrated. This morning, I was trying to eat some pancakes and I simply could not get but amlost just 1 of them down. I did not want to eat 3/4 of a pancake. I wanted both of them, not becasue I was necessarily hungry but because i wanted more of the delecious pancake flavor. The band is a reality check and that's seriously what I need. Just keep reminding yourself of your goal. It makes it a lot easier. It does take time, but give yourself time. You'll be glad you did it

I don't know if I'm crazy or what but ever since AFTER my surgery (I was banded on 2/16) my libido is going through the ROOF!! I was wondering if this is something that anyone else has expereinced or am I just going through that whole "peak in your 30's" thing? i'm thinking that since my mind is no longer on food so much my mind is on...well, you know. I was also wondering if with increased weight loss with the band...is this something that carries on? Like the more weight you loose the more you wanna get it on? I'm sorry I'm not meaning to be blunt or rude but my mind has been in the gutter 24/7 post op and I'm wondering if this is part of it.

Hey everyone. i'm 5 days post op and hungry all the time. My taste for sweets has diminished, and I'm finding that I'd rather BE hungry than do liquids. I can have shakes and smoothies and cream soups, but only soup that doesnt' give me gas is potato soup and I feel like if I eat it AGAIN I will hurl. I've tried smoothies that i've made on my own and I prefer them but I get hungry again within several hours. I don't really think I could be "cheating" but I"m wondering if I should try to move up to more solid foods like yogurt or pudding, but I don't want to compromise the band. I've had no problems getting anything down but I don't see how the band is going to do me any good if i'm starving all the time. On my liquid diet I drank constantly (so I wouldn't be hungry) which worked but now I don't want to wash all the food through the band. I've been drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, a slim fast protien shake for breakfast, a large shake or smoothie throughout the day (small amounts at a time), then lots of water and gatorade. When my stomach growls it HURTS! Is there SOMETHING I can mix in that will fill me up?

I"m not a professional singer, but I have a pretty good voice and I enjoy singing immensley. If I couldn't sing, I just wouldn't be the same person. Post op (i'm on day 11) I pretty much feel back to normal and have not had any problems with my voice sounding different. Then again, I"m probably not singing from as deep down as you are. Can you give me some pointers?

This was by far the most horrible, depressing experience of my life. I think the hardest part is, that it's a reality check, for me I really realized just how much my life revolved around what I ate. Especially in those types of situations, where all this stuff is in front of you. I had to keep reminding myself, "If I wasn't such an out of controll fat*ss I wouldn't be going through this in the first place, 10 days or torture for me is not all that bad considering what I've been doing to myself for years with all the fats and sweets" I have a friend who was supposed be be banded 2 days before me, but they found a tumor (it's ok it's benign) now she has to do the liquid diet AGAIN.

Okay now that I have my band and I am eating....I"m not sure what in the world to do now. Do I count fat? or calories? OR carbs? I'm not really sure what I should be doing from here. What works for everyone else? Do you try to stay within a certain calorie range or do you count more than one of these to keep yourself on the straight and narrow. I feel like most of the stuff I can actually EAT at this point really isn't good for me anyway, so I"m trying to work it all out. I also am trying to figure out why all the protien is so important. How many grams do you need a day and why? I dont' think I"ve been getting enough.

Well, you should stay hydrated, my dr told me I should drink 64 ounces of liquid in the first few days, which is no problem I stayed full as long as I had something in me. I went through the hungries as well, and On day 5 i started with yogurt. Today for me is day 8 and I have had cream of wheat, pudding, yogury, eggs, refried beans, queso, mashed potatoes, etc since day 5. Everybody has a different experience and is told something different by their dr. I was not supposed to start on food like that until day 13, BUT, If I'm hungry all time, PLUS the fact that when my stomach growled after the band it HURT, I needed to make sure I stay full. If I were you I'd try to stay on liquids as long as I could, then gradually see what I could tolerate.

How soon has anyone had alcohol post op? I admit my social drinking habits were a little extreme. i'm in my 30's and I'm quite a partier. Not having any kind of alcohol in about 3 weeks is killing me. Is it too soon for me to have a glass of wine or something? Anything? Or maybe a pina colada! whew!

MAAAAAAAN Derrick I feel ya when I was on my liquid diet I hated life and hated corporate america. EVERY OTHER FREAKIN COMMERCIAL is for BK, Pizza hut, wendy's, etc. I really only NOTICED it though when I couldn't have it. We are so desensitized by it all. No wonder I was so fat, then I worry about my kids, they are getting the same messages. If someone was smart, they'd firure out a way to filter commercials out of your tv, like invent something for that. I've never wanted Wendy's before in my life but I was about to loose my mind over wanting that wendys bacon mushroom melt.

I remember in kindergarten I thought I looked so cute on picture day, and this other kid said that I looked like Mrs. Piggy. That nickname followed me around FOREVER! I was maybe a wee bit chunkier than most girls my age. In high school I was a chearleader and I was even in the Miss Teen Texas Pageant, at about 150-175 (i'm 5'4), but I was always the "big" cheerleader, you know, the big girl representin'. I always felt big but I know I wasn't...i was about a 14-16, but back then, growing up in a small town, it wasn't easy to find those sizes so i always felt huge. I can't wait to get back down to that size...i'm shooting for a 16. My mother and grandmother harrased me constantly, I couldn't put ANYTHING in my mouth without being told to "put the soft pedal on". I always had high self esteem though, I was and still am beautiful, but post partum depression took a toll on me and pre op my weight balloned to the highest point ever which was 304. I think people will recognize me because I have one of those faces that never changes, but people will be damn suprized that's for sure.

Thanks everyone. I called my Dr. and he said that they pump you full of gas so they can see around in there and that the pain is common, it could last up to 4 weeks.

I'm post op day 4 and for the last few days i'm having alot of pain in the left side of my back. Is this normal?

Hey Tiffany! I was also banded 02/16 in Richardson, tx, so I'm not too far away from you. I haven't had the pain you are experiencing...although last night I ate some pudding and it had that feeling like it was going down the wrong tube for a little while, but it wasn't unconfortable. I've been having problems with a LOT of back pain. when I called my Dr, they told me what when they do surgery they have to basically 'air you up' a bit so they can see and the gas can get trapped and cause pains. they told me it could last up to 4 weeks. Maybe you have gas trapped. You're right you should be drinking more, i was told to drink 64 oz the day of and after surgery to make sure I was hydradted. What are you drinking? I would call your dr if you are in that much pain and ask them if it's normal. I was feeling a lot like you are on Tuesday, I was hungry, hurting, and I've lost 12 pounds but that was all on the liquid diet, and I was thinking the same thing, did I make a mistake? I know that once we get through this "transitional phase" we'll start feeling a lot better, but yeah, call your dr and make sure this is ok. I've learned from reading over everyone's posts on here, no body really has the same experience, but keep your chin up. It will get better.

Dang I feel like I got ripped off I had to be on a liquid diet for 8 days before my surgery. Nothing but water, gatoraide, tea, broth, etc. It was so my liver could shrink enough that it is not in the way when the dr is putting the band on. I can't imagine you being cancelled on your surgery just for a couple of days. Just keep yourself full of liquids at atll times so you are not hungry

I was wondering that too..but last night I just had to go for it, 4 days post op. I think maybe the banding increased my libido. Just do it!