VegasGrace

Of course you can! Getting a lapband implanted isn't the lapband system. It's only the beginning. I'd start out by getting an adjustment. Then 4 weeks from now, another. Do this until you get restriction. Do this till when you eat normally you gag/slime, etc. Then back off the food a bit...learn your stop signal. Get a slight unfill if it's too restrictive. And then sit back, enjoy the weightloss. But remember, the band causes you to not eat as much....are you ready...really ready for that?

I had my first hamburger from McDonalds 1 week post op. Never will I do that again! A few months later I had one at home. Not going to do that anymore, either. Recently I tried WhiteCastle burgers...you know how they are so small. Nope! Don't know what it is...but I slime up burgers.

Plan? None. I use the lapband system, eat tiny and frequent meals and make good choices. Wow, look at you! You are going to really lose weight if you can diet, too.

Don't worry about your doc. Diets fail... everyone knows this. But what you want to do is weigh benefits/costs analysis to your eating. If you drink soda, you will gain weight. Is it worth it to you? [we should already know the answer to that] I think you (and anyone else reading this) should have a number that if they gain that much to that number then there is a set action plan to put into place. Don't worry about it! Just get back on the bandwagon and if needed, get an adjustment...at least for a while. Sometimes we loose restriction, or go on maintenance and forget we can get an adjustment to help us. Good luck! You've done so well.

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. but at 1 week post op...why are you dieting? Eat! Enjoy!

I had mine removed, too. But years ago when I was dieting and got down to a good weight. Oh the pain! I'll never forget it. No one told me that dieting can cause the gall bladder to go wack. Oh well.

Embrace compliments. Many women can't handle compliments...weird but true. Even thin, beautiful women can have a hard time with them. Saw an entire show on this...Dr. Phil or something. So, it's not the weight...it's something more deep rooted. You deserve compliments! You deserve to be validated by others...Validate yourself! Congrats!

Well, it's Saturday again and I'm suffering. I go 6 days w/o going and then take a laxative. Got the Miralax....taken it for 3 days and nothing...just gas. That stuff is $1.00 a dose. I guess I'm just going to have to eat sweets a few times a week. I just hate to do that because the whole point of the band was to modify my behavior. I've been on maintenance for months. I'm haning in around 138-141.

I'm approaching my 1 year bandaversary in a few weeks and there has been one issue over the past year that I can't seem to get a handle on. This past week I've been miserable and after a few days of weight gain (just 2 pounds in a week)...I finally figured it out. Correctol took care of it. 1 dose didn't work. I took 1 and a half dosage the following night. Finally, relief...and those 2 pounds gone. Constipation has been an untold issue for me since being banded. I remember having this problem when I was on Atkins a few years back. I've increased Fiber...I've decreased fiber, MoM doesn't help. Softeners don't help....I require a stimulant to do the job. I'm really concerned with what my liver and large intestines are going to look like before long. My doctor has recommended many things and even a script. But the only thing that I can get to move me is sugar. But I try to avoid sugar as my new way of eating. Yet, it's either a Krispey Kreme or Correctol. Can anyone shed some light on this issue? I need my large intestines to not absorb so much Water. HELP!

Hey! Used to live in Allenhurst/Walthourville..... military. Miss that place often. Bet it's growing....heard Walmart opened in Hinesville and the govenor came? hhahahah Best wishes from a June 07 bandster.

I'm not a Feb bandster but loved your post. One thing I've learned in my 38 years is if you want to achieve something...find someone else who did, too...and copy what they did. Most times it will work. And then of course if it doesn't ....copy someone else. This applies in school work, business, home repair, etc. It also goes for weight. Funny thing, skinny people don't diet. And they eat frequently. If they want a snack...they have it. If they don't...they won't. I have found that to be true for me. I now eat like your skinny friend. I love biscuits, Cookies, and bread. But don't eat cookies often, but will have them if I want them. (avoid oreos! they pack on the weight). Thanks again for your story....you two are truly blessed to have a friendship like that.

Your favorite beverages (don't worry about dieting after surgery-avoid soda pop and apple juice - gas) Get your scripts filled before surgery so you won't have to wait at the pharmacy after or have someone go fill them for you. A remote.

From another post: Hi and welcome to the boards. Going thru the process- how exciting! You hang in there with your insurance company. PB is an acronym for Productive Burp. I can't really help you out with this one as I've never experienced it. But what I understand is it's simply burping and the air that comes up moves the food. But I could be wrong. Sliming.... now that one I know. I do this frequently. Everyone has this, banded or not. The esophogas produces slime to help move food from the mouth to the stomach...it's a natural occurance. Those banded with restriction....the food moves slower (as a few bites fill the pouch and those other bites...hang out in the esophogas). The build up of this slimy substance is the body's way of helping digest food. It will help it slide thru the band or help bring it back up. Want to make this clear that sliming is not vomiting. Vomiting involves the stomach and sliming is nothing like vomiting. Of course, you can vomit and slime at the same time. It's so important to chew well and eat slowly. ... and walk away after a few bites because you may be full and don't realize it yet. Hope this helps!

Gosh! I wish I were like you! You are my hero. Sounds like you are a bandster with a plan. I bet if you and I were to have our bands removed....you'd keep losing weight and I'd gain. I didn't do any of those things and relied only on the band for my weightloss. Now that I'm on maintenance I find myself relying on the band a few times a week. My goal is to over this next year to get to the point where I can stop all by myself w/o the bands signals.

Sliming isn't gross at all. You have slime banded or not. It's simply the mucus the esophogas produces to help move food from the mouth to the stomach. When you have restriction, eating too much or too fast can cause food to linger in the esophogas longer...causing a build up of slime. This will either carry it thru or help bring it back up. Takes only a second and is painless.

And too, I've always felt if a man was THE ONE or ONE of the ONES..... it wouldn't matter if you were fat or thin....it would be right anyways. Being thin is something you do for you....not for a man or to even get a man.

OMGoodness! I haven't thought about that one...as I have always known it was attraction....and some guys just aren't attracted to obese women. But at the same time, if you don't love yourself...that shows. But what I have thought of often is my children. I've never married. My oldest is 18, my middle child turns 17 this month, and I have a 13 year old in the 9th grade. If a man couldn't love me with my children....why in the world would I want him now? Now that I'm thinner, happier, going places, etc.

Oh, plus being held hostage at home the day after taking laxatives! "oh, we missed you at church".... hmmm.....

Thanks for all your responses so far. I'm going to get some prunes. Haven't thought of that. I eat plenty of fruit but not prunes. If that doesn't work I'm going to have the Miralax...saw commercials for it. But I thought I've tried everything at the store. Keep the suggestions coming as it's almost a year and I'm tired of not going to the bathroom!

Yes! Me too. I do not buy diet foods anymore, either. I do not have the deisre to purchase any more shakes, pills, plans, etc. Plus I can buy food for a family of three and it will feed my family of 4. And as an added bonus...I don't eat out as much anymore and that's saving me a ton.

Let the band do what you paid for it to do.

Wow, 6th day? After surgery? And you have good restriction? Wow! You are lucky! When I got restriction I still felt hunger. Don't understand the commercials about 'not being hungry'...because I was. I'd eat til just a tad overfull (slime a bit). But I'd have to eat within another 2 hours. Seems like I ate all day long. I know some are to eat 3 or 5 meals a day and that will do it for them...but for some, we have to tweak that. Even if it takes 6 hours to eat one meal...eat a little at a time. Just talk with your doctor. And if you are vomiting (ever) get seen immediately as vomiting can cause something to go wrong. If it's just sliming....just don't eat as much/as fast...and talk with your doctor.

Nope, you are right on track. Most require more than just one adjustment to get any feeling of restriction. After my first fill, I continued to eat normally. It wasn't until I got restriction that I started losing weight. But if you can diet...do that, too. Your weightloss will be faster.

Yes, been there-done that....won't do it again! I had a jumbo gumball w/o thinking....about 2 months after being banded...after my second fill....after getting restriction. It was in the evening. The next morn I tasted the gum in my mouth... I just knew it was lingering in my esophogas/pouch. Went to the ER.... GI, under a general....they had to retrieve it with the netting thing. Woke up in recovery....went home. Now, another option is simple...go to your fill doc. Get an unfill....with the needle still in you drink Water or something til you feel it go down. Then the doc will simply replace the Fluid. Your choice! But you did just fine with the action you took. Hopefully others will learn from you and I.

I'm going to disclose something to you I've never heard anyone say. And to those reading this...do not flame me. We all come from somewhere and are headed to better health...and it's a process. As long as we take a step forward...we are doing good, right? Okay, that said. I still eat too much from time to time. I've gotten better...but still. I frequent the Vegas Buffet. I always have a stack of cups in the car or in my purse. You know those Solo or Dixie cups...plastic...either red or blue.... anyways. I eat...then when I feel something getting stuck...I drink to bring it back up. I simply lean over a tad w/ the napkin at my mouth hiding the cup. It take less than a second. I put the cup down. Location is everything...need a bench, wall, plant or something to at least block view. Now, that's what I do from time to time when I eat out. No, it isn't right...sure it isn't healthy. But I do it. I call it .... the cup. I rely on that cup when I drive long distances and have to eat drive thru, I rely on that cup when I try a new dish and don't know whether or not it will get stuck...I rely on that cup often. I used to do it w/ every meal. Then thru the process I retrained myself to learn my stop signal. I got it down to once a day, then a few times a week....now it's not so much anymore. But I do it when I go to a buffet. Other than that, eat! Have fun! You don't have to eat a whole lot to enjoy food. Even at a buffet you can simply have a teaspoon of everything and just sample it. The buffet at Treasure Island is my favorite...most tasty. The funnest place is at the Excalibur...Angry Dick's Last Resort...they are a hostile staff and you get yelled at...the younger crowd loves it. Have fun!