Chele

:thumbdown:I am to the point of hating my lap band! I have not lost any weight and do have some restriction. I can not eat bread or flour tortillas but can eat almost 1/2 of a steak and all the cheetos i want. I can not eat breaskfast because my band is too tight but by noon, i can eat lunch. I can not eat chicken or turkey because it always gets stuck and i puke it up..and i have trouble with oranges....so i know i have some restriction...the delimma i have is that i get so gassy and bloated about 2-3x a month that my abdomen is rock hard and it HURTS!! I have to down a bottle of anti-gas mylanta and take about 3 gas-x pills and walk around to get rid of the bloat. I constantly burp and have gas from the other end..it is so annoying..... i gave up carbonated drinks, drinking from a straw etc..the gas is killing me..and i swear, i almost fainted from the pressure once (like a vagal reaction) when i was super bloated (and i am not a whimp..(usually:rolleyes:)..anyways, i have not lost a pound after two years, my lapband doc has made me have my gallbladder ultrasounded (normal) and my primary doctor wanted to start me on valium to relax my reflexes to decrease burping(yuck..i didnt do it). I am frustrated beyond belief. so not only am i still fat after surgery..i am now fat and gassy...what a great combination!! I am afraid of getting more restiction since i can have such an issue with the gas already...i dont want to be so tight that no gas ever gets out and i IMPLODE!! (but i really want to lose)...any advice would be MUCH appreciated...HELP!!!!!!!

o seen zumba on Dr. Oz ( i starting watching because of an earlier post)..that looks like so much fun! I am doind a little better...eating small portions...i plan on seeinf my lap band dr soom ( have to go for a breast biopsy in an hour)...wish me luck......You all are so nice...thanks

all your comments are SO encouraging. I like to think I am a smart capable woman..but my weight is still such a mystery to me...i dont know why I am fat...and i hate it....but I cant seem to get rid of it.....I need to make changes and I think I have over the past couple of weeks...now for the lifestyle changes...that will be harder.... i puked up my omega 3 vitamin the other say...maybe i do need an unfil?

I am a nurse in an ER..it takes a lot to offend me! (smile) I work very hard but exercise is so distasteful to me....I had a State Inspector try to follow me at work the other day (surprize inspection)..and she told my head nurse that she couldn't keep up with me...(not bad for a big girl!!)...so i am not a sloth....just not a fan of exercise. I really like the idea of keeping my goals small. I do look at the big picture and get discouraged...like having to lose 100 pounds...egads!! that is overwhelming to me...so i have made my goal at 10 pounds...and then go from there. I have to give up the idea that my band has the magical power to cure my fat....'cuz it doesn't..even though i really wanted it to..:scared2:..i still have to diet and exercise...poo...time to stop feeling sorry for myself and start living again....and moving towards getting healthy.

thanks for all of the replies. I know what you say is the truth! I guess i needed to hear it again... i bought a wii fit and used it yesterday with my daughter. It was fun. I told my husband to dust off the treadmill in the basement so i can get going on that. I never thought about the meat fermenting in my stomach but since i have been really limiting my food intake this week, i have noticed the gas is so much less...so it is not the band but the foods i chose to eat. I will have to see what bothers me the most. I will go back to my doctor to see what he says..sometimes he is helpful but not really. he is quiet and seems like interacting with people is painful for him! anyways, you all have been so nice.....and brutally honest...i love it!! :blushing:

What you say is so true! ((but i really wanted a miracle))..i guess i thought the lapband would give me a mini-stomach and i would feel pleasantly full after a few bites and walk away from the table satisfied..not having to alter my diet...just eat mega less of food...but that is so far from the truth. I have no self discipline and i was hoping this would be the tool for me.....but now i can eat cheetos and not oranges....pray for me that i can go back on the diet track again...after so many failures that led me to the band, i am not that hopeful...

thanks for the reply. If i did all that you mentioned..or had the discipline too, i doubt that i would have needed the lap band at all. That's what is discouraging to me. I do not drink anything cabornated and still get major gas trapping. I feel like I need another fill not an unfill because i can eat a lot of foods that i can eat...steak, cheetos..but i have hell to pay if i eat a piece of chicken. Sounds like the lap band worked for you...but all that you are doing would have been successful without the band, maybe the band helped 10% but goodnight, diet and exercise like you are doing now would have produced similar results alone ..dont you think. I wish i had your motivation and i would not be fat in the first place...my band just 'hurts' me...it has not helped

Hi. I have UltaTrim light chocolate to use as a shake. I am tried of chocolate shakes . It has 29 grams of protein, I was reading on this board the name of a NON-flavored protein powder that can be added to foods. ..now i can't find the thread it was in so i can buy some! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!:help:

i have the same problem!!

OMG! I just had my first fill and right after the doc put in 4 cc in my 10 cc ap band, i couldn't swollow water! It was gurgling in my throat and he could hear it from across the room. He immediately laid me down, poked me (no, this is not a cheap romance novel..((i couldn't resist!! haha))) and took out 1 cc....then the water went down..but it didn;t go down super easy. That was on a monday...I could not drink water comfortably until Thursday (almost a week later, i can drink liquids except carbonated things). I talked with the nurse and she said to take smaller sips and not to have real cold liquids. ...so, i would really like some answers from you more experienced bandsters...1st..why do I feel an occasional ball in my throat immediately with a gulp of water or a chunk of food (even happened with a bite of banana). why in my throat vs my stomach?? why is there a restriction in the back of my throat?? that just makes no sense to ma at all!!! (somethimes if i can understand something, I can deal with it).. I can eat a whole baked potato right now..when i am at my most restricted...how much of that potato could i eat at one setting? (just to give me an idea of the changes i am in for) thanks!!:kiss2:

i believe coventry (at least in missouri) will not cover anything wt. loss related. Sorry.

HI, i had a hernia repair. I never knew i had one but i did have a problem with reflux. The doctor even showed me a opic he took of it. Mine went through the diaphragm and was "big". I had no clue...but i am so happy he fixed it. (the pic was kind of neat!)...anyways, i did have a lot of burping and gas in the first week...but i can't say that was fron the hernia repair..people have those symptoms from the band as well. I think overall, it can only be a good thing to get it fixed at the same time. Good Luck!

why dont you have a friend call and ask about surgery etc...go to a seminar...and record it ? ask about how much fills are etc?? (past the year,,how much do they charge?)even if there are complications how much are office visits...if they want to be sneaky crooks and unethical, beat them at their game. Just cause someone is a dr doesn't give them a pass to be a jerk. Sounds like the wife is the bad cop ...confront the dr directly not just the wife, they hate confrontation ...he probably knows what his wife is dong..and glad she is doing it for him...but if you ask him...dont you remember saying that to me..i bet he would admit it. What a jerk!! 1,000 for a fill is robbery, i dont care if you could pay it 5 times over...a rip off is just that. I would let the wife know that you are going to post your experience and that this dr charges 1.000. per fill on every message board you can find...if they pay for advertising say you will do it for free...but it is probably not the advertising they want!!! She doesn't give a dang about you....they do not want to play nice.....go on the offensive...if you lose, you will not be any worse off than you are right now!! Good Luck!!!!

i get my first fill from dr.malley on july 30th. He did my surgery. I haven't really gotten to know him yet. His office staff seems to be very busy but i love his nurse Nikki. I am happy with my band and the incisions look great. I am the 4th and final nurse from my ER that has gone to him. We asked a lot of questions and looked into things before using him. The "underground" nursing buzz is that he is a good doc. He did leave a practice under not so nice circumstances but I have not heard what they were...and i would bet ya it had more to do with politics or $$ than anything else. The 4 of us all had great experiences with him. I do know that some of the KC area surgeons that are now doing this were general surgeons and swithced over to this procedure probably due to the demand. I seen one doctor advertise that i found was absolutely creepy when i would work with him as a nurse in the hospital...but he looks good on paper. But there is no way i would ever go to him...and he has a great office....so, since i have 3 friends that have gone to Malley and are doing great (the first was over 1 yr ago and down 90 pounds)..i will stick with him. It is so hard to decide who to go to ....maybe you need to go to a few different ones and find the dr. that you really like. This is a long time plan so it would be better to find someone you really connect to. Good luck

The day i had surgery was also the 1st day my dr. used the ap band. I really didn't know much about it but am glad that i have that band. I dont get my first fill until july 3oth...right now i am eating like normal and feeling great...no restiction yet. I would ask your surgeon about the ap band..it is possible he meant the ap band and said the wrong thing...like when you get your kids names mixed up!!

do you think it could be from being intubated during surgery? is your voice the same. Is it getting worse, better or no change? the reason i ask is that two times since my surgery, i have had food get caught in back of my throat...like a big lump. I have no idea why that is?... it hurts for a brief period until the food goes down. ...in my throat, not even close to my band...go figure, i swear it is always something!!

I didn't even think of that. I guess i should ask. I do know that they want us to increase our protein...i did order some whey isolate off of ebay. I think the unflavored stuff should be okay. Thanks eveyone.

PLEASE>>>make sure you tell your surgeon if you are taking any diet pill. I like ionamin and have taken it on and off for years. It was an energy booster for me..and did control my hunger but not enough to make a difference. please tell you surgeon as amphetamines can cause your heart to race and cause palpitations....I was told specifically by the anestheologist to NOt take these during the two weeks pre-op... hey, i was scared enough. I really needed a diet pill...but i really wanted to wake up OK in the recovery room. Don't ever hold anything back from your surgeon. He may not agree but he needs to be able to take care of you in case of an emergency. He doesn't need to be second guessing about possible reactions etc.... PLease be careful with the diet pills, even the natural ones can cause rapid heart rates and conduction problems with your heart. .... I love ionamin...maybe too much, but i have not had any nor do i plan or restarting...that's one monkey i've gotten off my back that i do not need again. ...plus, i want the band to control my eating..... Good luck everyone.

i get the burps so bad it almost hurts. I can burp 10-15 times in a row. It's a pain!! soneone wrote on another thread that it is from the port "tail" or the band itself irritating the diaphragm. (sp?) I was banded 3 weeks aso and it really has slowed down from teh first two weeks..but i dont like it at all!

you should be able to keep your appointment time...an egd takes about 10-15 mins total where as a colonoscopy can take 30 mins to an hour depending. Good luck

NDPrairieLover you and i are getting our first fill on the same date. My surgery was 6/28. I am eating pretty much like normal except i haven't tried solid meats yet. I know I can eat a lot more quanity than right after my surgery. I guess it is normal to go back to an almost before surgery eating pattern until the first fill. I am a little apprehensive about the whole thing. I had a lot of post-op gas and discomfort. I hope the fill isn't like that....and the thought of PBing is so distasteful to me..yuck....hope i can avoid it.

I have worked doing endoscopies for about 8 years (now i work in the er). There is a big difference in the prep. The colonoscopy involves a lot of laxatives to clean you out, The upper is usually nothing by mouth after midnight. Since I am not sure what they are looking for, make sure you call the dr's office that scheduled it and ask to speak with the nurse for specific EGD instructions. ..I use to give out all that versed..pretty good stuff!! I got 2 mg on the way to my OR for the lap band...and I was out like a light (I had two male nurses..and man were they handsome...i called them Nurse Mcdreamies!!..too bad the versed knocked me out so fast)....good luck!!

today i felt so much better....i went fishing, I have noticed i am a tad emotional towards my family...need to get a grip on that! The gas is better...the burping really is easing..although i can could probably win the world record for most continuous burps.....and i had a margarita today (just a small one). It was yummy!! things are looking up...lost another 5 pounds too!!

Wow...i guess i am normal. I seen my doctor on friday and he advanced me to soft foods. I told him about all the gas and burping non-stop...and he didn't seem worried. He said it would pass...and slowly but surely...it is getting better. (Do you think i can use the no housework restriction for about a year??haha)..anyways, i still feel bloated but am having diarrhea now. Yuck!! not sure why that is happening. wish it would stop. I am going to try the ibuprofen suggestion tomorrow. It makes good sense to me. Oh, and thanks to whoever wrote about why i am burping. It helps to know that there is a reasonable cause. You guys are soo smart!! thanks