La_madam

The band was not designed to only drink your meals, you should still be able to eat solids before 5:00 pm..if you cant then I would say you are too tight and need a slight unfill, remember as little as having .2 cc's removed can make the biggest difference in you being able to eat solids but still have enough restriction to lose weight. Being too tight you are at a higher risk of slippage, reflux, gastritis, esophagitis etc... From the Inamed Handbook That may be helpful to you With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in Protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting.

Do not make yourself vomit. Avoid vomiting at all costs. Vomiting can risk your band to slip..so chew chew chew, slow down and take smaller bites. Do whatever it takes to avoid vomiting. Use a smaller fork ( crab fork) , avoid foods that you know will get stuck..etc..

I've never been agressive with my fills. I only had 3 fills and lost 104 lbs in 19 months. If you are losing 1-3 lbs a week then in my opinion I see no need for a fill.

Crystal, what a great story. You both will benefit from it. How wonderful to have such awesome support from your husband.

Yeah Francesca!!! So happy to hear each day is better for you. I will be in touch withyou Love you girl!

I couldnt sleep last nightthinking of Penni, knowing she was in surgery. It got me to thinking about things...People just because you have an upper GI does not mean your band is fine.. Penni is perfect example of this.. Here is a quote from her post last week in regards to her upper GI Then they sent me to have an upper GI. I was shocked they wanted me to have it done today. I was equally shocked I was worked in so fast. ANyway I drank that horrible stuff and rolled and tossed on the table while the doc looked at my innards. He showed me the pictures and he said it all looks fine. It doesn't appear I have either a slip or erosion but then again he wasn't my band doc. A week later after and endo she is in surgery having her band removed due to erosion. An endo is the sure way to tell if you have erosion. Just my opinion on all of this. If you want to know for sure if your band is OK have an endo over an upper GI

Great Job, Congratulations!! I'm very happy for you

I had erosion, I did well with my band. In my mind I imagine a piece of fishing line tied tightly around my finger, if I keep tightening it, it is bound to erode into my finger or atleast cut it somewhat. That is the same theory "I" ( me personally) have on my band. I was one of those who was not so fortunate, my body rejected it after 19 months. but again I lost 104 lbs with my band and I'm still losing without it. I do not regret it for a minute. Without my band I would still be morbidly obese and have no life, my band gave me my life back and Iam now in the normal range for my weight. It feels good

Ditto to exactly what Donali said!

mashed potatoes and refiredbeans were my 2 favorite mushies

I use the Tylenol liquid cold medicine, works wonders for me.

Most people I know who have the VG band do not feel the proper restriction until they reach atleast 5 cc's , maybe this copuld be the same for you? My good friend had 2 fills and did not feel nothing and only lost minimal wieght, he just had his 3rd fill and is at 5.5 and is doing great now, weight is coming off and he feels the band doing it's job.

Great post Sue I am at 25.9 BMI, started at 42 Here is a BMI calculator for those who do not know their BMI http://lapbandtalk.com/bmicalculator.htm

Thanks Christina for the Penni update..I've been worried all day about her. So happy to hear it all went smoothly

So far so good, I feel great and am losing weight. I too feel like I still have a band. My behavior still in my eating is helping me, I eat small portions and chew chew chew, not drinking with meals, basically following the rules of a bandster still. Thanks for asking

Any news on Penni? She has been on my mind all day long

Paula an upper Gi may show signs of erosion if the barium flows over the band and not through the band. In Penni's case he said all looked well with her upper GI again though he was no band doctor., an experienced band doctor may detect something wrong with the band doing an uppper GI but to be 100% sure an endo must be done.

Kathy all I am going on is what my Dr. tells his patients. He wants an endo between 18 -24 months post op. I'm a perfect example of no erosion at the 1 yr mark when I had the endo due to my bowel obstruction no erosion then but in November I had erosion. Go figure.

Well Penni it is 6:01, by now you are getting prepped for surgery. Just want you to know you have been on my mind all afternoon. Hope everything with the removal goes smoothly. I'm waiting anxiously to hear an update from Lisa or Christina. Love you my friend. Sending lots of love and possitive thoughts to you right now

Thank God, I'm not the only one My family and I fight to have the heater on in the car and the house. Same thing at work..my employees are always hot where Iam always freezing.It's a constant battle with them, they turn on the air, I turn it off and turn on the heater. My poor husband, when he wants to get intimate he has to get through 6 layers of clothing to do it

I can only speak for myself..I had no pain or pressure..I was losing weight and had great restriction, the only difference I noticed was my tummy was gassier but I also have gastritis...

Pat, it has been a year all ready? Wow time flys! Well you have done a remarkable job and like the rest have said COngratulations on a great year and keep it up

Don't do it..stay filled. You will hate yourself if you gain those 10 lbs back. Ive always said the best thing about the band was that I could still enjoy food but in much smaller quantities. Enjoy the food they make for you but eat less of it. The band was not designed to be filled and unfilled to eat or not when some special occassion arises. This is where the head has to do some of the work. I fI told my doctor I wanted to be unfilled so I could eat over the holidays he would NOT do it. I'm having anxiety about having noi band over the holidays. I'm doing everything I can to maintain this weight loss and not give in to the evils of holiday goodies. I wish I had a fill. I wish I had my band. Stay filled Estella..you will love yourself later for it

This is the technique Dr. Ortiz used on me and I still eroded. He even has a chapter about it in his book http://www.lap-bandforlife.com/chapters_06.html From the book it reads : This technique has been related to a drastic decrease in the number of band slippages or pouch dilations that may occur. Mentions nothing about erosions occurring less. Some bodies are just not meant to have a foreign object in them for long periods of time, regardless of what technique they use. Plain and simple.

*Sighs* Penni, my banded sister...I feel your sadness. I know what you are going through. Please know that my heart and thoughts are with you. We were banded on the same day and had our bands removed one week apart due to erosion. Strange huh? I believe like your daughter does.... that everything in our lives happens for a reason even though we do not know the reason right now. Just know that I'm here for you every step of the way. We can support eachother just as we have been doing for the last 20 months. We can do this! Love you and big hugs to you Tonight I will be with you in spirit, holding your hand and wishing you well