shellyj.

megan- please let us know how the scope goes! alex- i hope your swelling continues to go down! i am open to any ideas we can come up with, so far all i have is eat less and exercise more.

ok so maybe this changes my answer...when i am walking down the street when i see someone who i think is HOT, generally they are... manly, probably overweight but in general not MO or SMO. i like a tall man, a thicker build. i want him to be able to pick me up, throw me down and... just kidding. in general though you dont see someones 'personality' when your walking down the street checking them out so its strictly superficial. the man i married is perfect (for me) inside and out! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

i voted that i dont care how big they are etc. its the inside that RAELLY matters. i wouldnt want someone who had given up and was on an all out binge everyday and steadily gaining though. its a pretty sad existance, its where i was before i heard about the band.

oh megan, i am soooo sorry to hear of yet another long term bandster having these problems!!! i am at the same place you are. i am TIRED! i am tired of waiting after the unfills for a refill only to have to get unfilled again. i am tired of all the tests, poking and prodding. i am tired of all the money i have spent on these tests and fills/unfills. i am tired of the lack of information- no dr's knows what it could be, no dr's have heard this happening (yet here we are) and most of all i am tired of all the emotion that goes into it- hoping it works *this time* only to be let down again. i am just sick of it ALL!!! i know the bewilderment you feel at the smaller amounts of fill required. at one time i was at 3.4 cc's and had good restriction. currently 1.8 cc's seals me off to the point of choking on saliva. babs and i talked the other day about scar tissue that forms with each of these 'episodes' around where the band is placed and thats the reason you require less of a fill. however my dr said he didnt see any scar tissue. i dont know what to say. the MAIN reason i got the band is so it would be adjustable for the next 10-15-20 years *whenever i needed it* and now i am faced with the facts that i will never have restriction again and adjustments are just a form of emotional and physical torture.

being unfilled you better believe i have been going through some veggie burgers! i have been eating 1 a day for lunch on a slice of health nut bread with flax seeds and as much lettuce and tomatoes as i can pile on top and some light ranch! today i bought 4 boxes at fred meyers, 2 for $5! i got 2 black bean, portabella and original!

so i spoke with the dr this afternoon! he said my band was not eroded, he said he could not see a slip or prolapse. this is GREAT news!!! my band does not have to be removed. he agrees that i do not need to seek restriction but more of appetite suppression, not sweet spot restriction but about .4-5 ccs looser. he is gonna refill me to 1.3 or 1.4 he removed 1.8 cc. if i have motility issues with this smaller fill then i will get a motility test done while the fill is in there. i am also gonna schedule my barium swallow for 3 weeks after my fill to ensure i dont have a slip and to see if the liquids are pooling or going down with the mild restriction. i asked about long term motility issues because i do not want to cause permanent damage and he says he has no idea, (great) he's never seen anyone with these issues, but we will work through it. he didnt think it was spasms because the tightening was slow and over a few weeks. so i am happy with the results. i will get a small fill but after that...i am leaving well enough ALONE! as long as i can maintain the weight i am now, with the mild restriction i can lose more weight with willpower. my fill is 10-3 so i will be emtpy 5 weeks. no biggie- i have been empty as much as 4 months! during my 3 years of being banded i have had true problem free restriction for 9 months. the other time i was either to tight or unfilled. i have no doubts that if i had continued problem free, i would be at goal.

you know i asked my current dr and my band dr if this is common and i am ALWAYS 'the first case they have heard of' i find that hard to believe!!! the very first time i 'swelled' and had to go in for an unfill. this was 2 years ago. the normal thing is to let the swelling go down and then refill. for the past 2 years anytime i have had a fill that gave me restriction it would start swelling to the point of me spitting my own spit in a cup. then i would get another emergency unfill and start all over. this last unfill, 2 weeks ago it FINALLY dawned on me that this is gonna happen everytime i get a fill. my dr agreed that 2 YEARS of trying with the same result, maybe its time to just test and see if it can be left inside of me, just empty. i thought when i got my band it would be adjustable for LIFE, turns out for ME it was only adjustable for a year.

i thought it was from smoking for 15 years!! sometimes it happens when i drink something that 'sits' in my pouch for a minute. i will cough and spit out a yucky ball of mucus. its NOT like 'slime' the mucus that you produce from getting stuck its like something you 'cough up' when your sick. thats why i thought it was smoking related.

hey babs, all of my fills, tests, surgeries are out of pocket too. i dont want to have to pay for a removal too! i really dont know what exactly the nurse meant. i take it to mean no erosion, no slip but i wonder if thats it. do the see scar tissue from the scope? i assume you could tell a band was slipped but i dont know? the sleepy time dr said there was a test to test your esoph. movement i will ask the dr about it. leenerbups, after everymeal i usually cough and spit out some mucus. this happens if i have restriction or not. i thought it was from having a smokers cough. its pretty gross.

well i had my scope today. i didnt get to talk to the dr although the nurses told me he didnt find anything. i am having a barium swallow on wednesday. they said the dr will call with the results. the scope was very easy, i dont even have a sore throat and i got a buzz that i was able to sleep of in a nice nap! i'll post when i find anything out!

gee karel, i am so sorry to hear of your problems. i have been banded 3 years and i am being scoped tommorrow to see if my band has to be removed. i am having the same issues with movement in my esophogus or LACK of movement. i am most worried about long term esophogus problems. i dont know what to say except that i hope everything returns to 'working order'. michelle

hey leener, whats ON your sandwich? to me condiments can change a sandwich to a mushy type food....tomatoes are juicey! how long do you feel full? 1 sandwich doesnt sound so bad to me. i take it you want more restriction? when you get fills in the future i would be cautous because it sounds like you have SOME restriction. when you get close it only takes a small amount for a BIG change! how long has it been since your fill? they really can 'kick in' like a month later. good luck leenerbups!

hey babs, i CANT imagine being totally unfilled and on liquids for 2 MONTHS! i am just totally unfilled and on solids and the hunger is RAGING! at this point, trying to act before your insurance ends makes things hairy for sure. your lucky to have so many dr's around you but your SO RIGHT dr's dont like to take patients from different US drs either! i had a helluva time getting them to take me and i had moved across the country. i wish my dr had more banding experience but i cant drive to seattle for every banding appt. hugs to you babs, michelle

i had a drill sargeant type PE coach and my parents forced me to play basketball on her team. yeah...life was hell. i eventually just quit basketball but that made PE even harder. the witch had it out for me!

did you go to the dr today babs? i do make some noises but its the draining sink bandster noises. i think lactose intolerance could be the culprit! ...waiting to hear what your doc says..

before the band when i would lose weight i always regained all my weight + when the pill, diet, exercise, whatever it was...ended. with the band you dont have to DIET you just have to eat a healthy diet like 80% healthy and 20% indulgent, if you have restriction and you are eating decently healthy meals you will lose. now when you DO NOT have restriction, if you still want to lose, it becomes more effort on your part with food intake and exercise. as long as you are able to maintain restriction, portion control is much easier with the band. when you dont have the option of overeating it takes away the desire! yes chocolates and chips for the most part always go down but i always would eat my *healthy balanced meal* first and if i still wanted i would have a small serving of the *treat* 30 minutes later when i was still semi full so i wouldnt eat to much.

i definitally have the run-on-and-ons and being from the south i say fixen to and taters and when i am being silly i say fridgidater (one of my friends redneck grannies used to say that one) and i type that i am fixen to workout. i know that its not proper but thats just how i talk. i am not concerned with being proper! for my job things have to be proofed and proofed again for grammatical, punctuation and upper lower case and thats enough for me! i am sorry but i dont care if someone cant spell or if they just cant type! in personal emails and message board activity i dont do upper lower case. its all lower and i dont do ' for words like don't- it's time consuming and i am just trying to get my thoughts out quick before i lose them! i am sorry for all past and future misspelled and grammatically incorrect posts! there...now i am set for life!

is tops a gym? i dont even know if theres a meeting in my town. i wouldnt want to go to a group that was 3-4 members. actually having a 'group' of different people increases the chances of someone having something to offer me. (or you or whoever!)

terisita! thanks for sharing your experience with OA. you did the hardest part...sharing your story. why did you never go back? just embarrassment at the showing of emotion? i think i am gonna go to the library and get some books on eating disorders and things of that nature and maybe my friend and i will just talk about what we are reading.

i am not someone who binges and purges. i dont even feel like i binge that much- more like just overeat in general. now that my band is empty i am afraid this will become a problem!!

i am not usually one for that kind of thing either but i thought if i got something out of it it would be worth an hour of time...i have been to al-anon too. i didnt care for any of them and the 12 steps are a bit of a turn off for me! i think if me and my friend talk about our food issues then that alone may help.

i didnt realize those chicken things were tofu! i love the chicken patties or nuggets but my FAVORITE is CORN DOGS! yummy! and i love the facon. when i was a veggie (non banded) i still gained! i am not a veggie but still like some of the products. i had portabella veggie burger for lunch yesterday.

i got a TREK bike for $30 i prefer goodwill to yardsales- its like a thousand yardsales in one...where the clothes are sorted by size, the lamps and electronics are tested, its air conditioned, it has a bathroom, shoes are sorted by size, you can use a checkcard, you are helping a good cause, if you get home and decide it doesnt fit right you can re-donate it or return it even. at goodwill i have gotten: $2 cardio glide $5 stairstepper $20 punching bag, the large one $12 dr marten sandals

i DO wish you lots of luck!!! my mom does LA weightloss and likes it. i definitally think 28 lbs is a lot more do-able than 128! i joined WW when i was like 12, my mom got me the 'lifetime membership'. i havent gone since i was 13, it was 40 miles from home and a hassle to get to.

i too have eaten the heck out them and other seedy foods with no problems. if you have restriction then, as always go slow the first few bites to be safe! my dh is an RNY'er and he eats strawberries all the time! i dont think he was told to avoid them!