lisacaron

Guy and Missy are right. Dumping syndrome does not apply as a side effect of the Lap Band. Unfortunately for patients who have the bypass or sleeve procedure, dumping syndrome can be a painful and embarrassing situation caused by the rapid emptying of the bowels. Usually triggered by greasy or high sugary foods as well as other types of carbohydrates. For a while my port was tender after surgery but now I am able to sleep in all positions even flat on my tummy which is not good for my face! I tend to wake up puffy when that happens

I can't wait to get that feeling! I'll be going for my third fill in Sept.

Have the Dr. check your blood pressure especially if you are on meds. Mine was too low and they had to reduce the medication.

Both my husband and I have experienced hair loss and we are not losing weight fast at all. I know every surgery has it's draw backs when it comes to hair loss. Anesthesia has something to do with it. I have had several surgeries over the years for different things, and I have had hair fall but nothing like it seems to be now. I made an appointment with my PCP for a full blood work up just to be sure that I am not having some kind of Vitamin deficiency. I have been feeling very fatigued lately as well, so it's something I feel I need to check out. My hubby noticed right away he was losing more hair, a couple of friends who know him to have hair when his Dad and brother are pretty bald asked him if he was losing his hair. Needless to say that didn't go over well with him. We have been taking Biotin supplement, but not really any hair treatment system. I have long thick hair that is now thin and fragile so that's a first for me. Most people don't notice the loss but I most definitely do. Especially in the shower and on the pillow!

See if you can make an appointment sooner, and try to keep track of your calorie intake in the meantime. It's not a magic bullet but it does help to know what's going in. I've had 2 fills and I know I'll need another when I see the Dr. in Sept. They only like to do fills once every 4 weeks to give your body a chance to adjust. They say it takes 2 weeks to feel the effects of a fill, but for me I find in 2 week's time I know I need another one. I was hoping this one would be enough but it's not there yet. I am hungry again too soon after eating and I am able to eat more in a sitting then I think I should be to satisfy that hunger. So I think I need some more Fluid placed, but I too will have to wait until my appt. in Sept. so I am tracking, and trying my best to keep exercising when I can.

Thanks for sharing and this is the place for venting! I find it hard to keep my mouth shut sometimes when it comes to "educating" people. Not just about WLS surgery either When people just don't understand the struggles we go through to lose weight no matter how we choose to do it, I get a bit upset. No matter what you do in life to improve it, there is work involved. No one is perfect and we are all trying to live our lives the best we can from moment to moment. I'd rather spend my time making my life better and understanding why I make the choices I make, then judging someone else for theirs. Though I will admit sometimes I can't control my eye rolls

Can you go back in for another fill?

Did they want you to lose weight before they would schedule your surgery date? Or was this a 6 month program requested by your insurance company? If it was requested by the insurance company, did they ask for just a six month supervised diet plan? If so then you should be fine. Even with a moderate gain, you should be cleared to move forward for surgery. If the Dr. or the insurance company wanted you to lose a certain amount before the surgery that could delay things for you a bit. My insurance company wanted a 6 month supervised diet, but didn't require any pre-set amount off loss or penalize for any gain. I really didn't start losing weight until the pre-op diet 2 weeks before my surgery. You can contact your insurance company directly to see if they have any requirements for approval.

I am also losing slowly. It can be frustrating but I am not ready to give up or give in! Trying to make all these changes so they stick for the rest of my life. Learning to change the way I eat, the things I chose to eat the times I eat them and the reason I eat them. All those things take some time to learn and adjust to, and my body is just as much a rebel as my mind is! There are days I think it just holds on to that fat like it's gonna lose its best friend, only it's a toxic friend that has never and will never serve it any good. I limit the calories, I work it out and it responds about as positively as my kids do when I tell them they have to do something. Eventually it gets done, but I have to keep hammering away at it.

RD you are doing great. Glad you found something to work for you! Best of luck to you.

Well my friend you're doing one of them now! You’re here and you're looking for motivation!! I have not been with my band for very long, but I would think a good first place to start is with a visit to your Dr. see if you need a fill, give yourself a kick start by going back to the beginning when you first got your band. Maybe try that 5 day reset by going back to a liquid diet for a few days and jump starting a healthy eating program. Best of luck to you!

I am still struggling to get those numbers on the scale to move in the direction I want them to. Dr. is doing fills slowly for me and I like that. It's giving me a chance to get to know where I am and what I am doing at each phase, but I have those days where the darn scale will jump up 3-5 pounds on me and I get frustrated because I am not doing anything different. Not eating any more or working out any less, but I'm a woman and my body likes to have its emotional response to life's stimuli too I guess. Occasionally (pretty much every day it seems these days UGH!) I am stressed out about one or to be honest about at least 30 different things at a time, and I notice that I start retaining Water as I'm sure those lovely cortisol levels shoot through the roof in response to my adrenaline spikes. I would like to find some way to control those things!!! Stress is a killer, and makes me gain weight faster than eating a whole box of ice cream could! Sigh….and now taking deep breaths closing my eyes and ruminating on having a stress free 5 minute break before all hell breaks loose again. TGIF!!!

I just go with the flow. I find the more you keep secrets about things the more people want to know. We all want to be "in the know" so I found it easier to just let people know, and I find once they do know they are more uncomfortable then curious unless they have similar issues to mine. Which if that's the case I don't mind sharing my story with them if it can help them or a family member get healthy. Most people back off the topic and don't ask again, and eventually everyone forgets that you were gone and it's a non-issue. Occasionally I'll hear things like you look great, or how are you doing? I say thank you and I’m doing great and keep moving forward. I have found that most people really don't give a hoot, they just want to be in the know. So I hide in plain sight and I'm happier for it.

It's normal to feel a bit like you got hit by a truck. You just had major surgery. Try walking around and moving some of the gas out of your body. A heating pad or hot Water bottle can help with the shoulder discomfort but nothing works like walking and getting the gas to move out. As for the coughing up green, you need to take really deep breaths and expand your lungs so you don't get pneumonia and keep coughing that stuff up and out. If you have a fever of any grade over 100 you should call your doctor ASAP. Take your pain meds get lots of rest and enjoy some ice pops they are a wonder. Hope you're feeling better soon!

Your limiting yourself by sticking to what you don't like. Call the Dr. tell them these are not working for you and change it up. They give you these lists as a guideline, as long as you are within the Protein and calorie set for your pre-op diet it doesn't matter what type of shake you use. I use a Protein powder called Pro-Flex 20 and another called Attain, and mix them with Water and it's not an issue they are delicious. If you want this to work you have to be flexible and find a way to make it work for you. You are going to be on and off Protein shakes for the duration, and not just during pre-op. If your finding this difficult it's about to get more so, find something that works for you and then make it work.

Plication is a procedure where the stomach below the band is pleated. A portion of the stomach is folded in on itself and stitched. It works in a similar way as the gastric sleeve without having to cut, staple or remove any part of the stomach.

I'm sorry that you have to go through this but I appreciate that you took the time to share it with all of us. I think we all at some point feel like we want those numbers on the scale to change so badly and we want so much to succeed that we would do just about anything including putting ourselves in harm's way. It's reading posts like yours that are informative without being fatalistic that really help put things back in perspective for me and help me to keep monitoring not just my band but myself and my choices. Thank you.

Happy Friday to you!!! Glad you are doing well, and feeling great!

I have had the lapband and plication and so did my husband. I healed up right away and I have no trouble eating drinking or digesting food. My husband who was banded three days after me, had nice restriction for quite some time after surgery. I have needed multiple fills and I am not in that green zone just yet, and the hubby is doing well without as many fills. Everyone is different, and I know there are some people who have had the lapband and plication and have never needed a fill. Your still in the healing stages right now. As you move forward if you feel that you are eating more or not being held as long then you might need a fill then. Right now sounds like you're doing great.

If you don't feel like you need a fill then tell the Dr. that you are good and you don't need a fill. They should be asking you how long you go between meals and what your eating at the visit to indicate if you need a fill or not. If your happy and your losing weight steadily then your good, but please make sure you are getting in the nutrition that you need. That might raise a flag with the Dr. and they might want to take some Fluid out. So try to eat right, even if you have to put a reminder alert to let you know you need to grab some nutrition.

Happy bandiversary to you! I understand how you feel, sometimes I think I should have lost more weight than I have by now. I see some who have dropped significant weight in 3 months, but they are not me and I am not them. I am working every day, to learn more and understand more about myself my choices and my body. Why wait till September 1st? Today is the day, just putting the intention out there is a step forward. Why not keep going a little further every day? The positive vibes, and support are great inspiration to help us reach our goals. Thanks for sharing, and motivating me today!

Great work!