mbanja

I took alli before I got banded. I also took it some up until I had good restriction because I had it left over from pre banding. It didn't really do anything for me except keep me changing underware more than regularly. If you try it, don't pass gas until you are on the toilet cause you may mess your pants. It really is no joke any kind of fat you consume becomes this orange oil that leaks out of your backside. I did have to use panty liners. It wasn't as bad once I was banded but it still happened. I did notice a couple oz. loss after being banded but never a whole pound.

Good point of view Mandy I agree with you. Bottom line is....if you want one, get one; if you don't, DON'T. Does a normal healthy person (who eats healthy) HAVE to take vitamins, no probably not, does it give them a piece of mind that they are getting their vitamins and minerals,yes.

You might have eaten something that the band didn't like and then your stomach and esophogus might have became irritated and swelled up. I am not sure if things can just sit there for 2 days with out being digested, a more likely explaination is irritation.

Hey some can do it for a while without a fill. Just keep going, you are doing good! Don't worry about it until you start being able to eat more and gaining weight. Once you body heals and you start solids you might start gaining, some people even start gaining on mushies, but it is absolutely possible to not have a fill and have good restriction with the band alone.

Hi Smiletracy, I too have an infant and I got banded when she was 8mos. I had no problem lifting and carrying her even in her car seat right after the surgery. She is only about 20lbs, and was about 18lbs when I had it done, my port sight was a little "muscle" sore but that was about it.

Wendell, I just wanted to say thankyou for this post and all your other posts. I enjoy reading you posts because they are so informative and upbeat. I wish you posted more!! You are very elloquent with you advice and I don't thing I have ever read a negative post from you. Keep posting and good luck getting to your goal SIZE!!

It seems kinda ignorant on your hubby's part by not knowing what kind of ins he will be putting his family into. I mean what if it is minimal coverage and you end up having to pay out the ass for everything. In my opinion one of the first things he should have done was find out what kind of ins coverage he will be subjecting his family to, I mean if he was single and only worrying about himself it might be fine, but as far a him having a family the insurance care for family should be a #1 priority on his list. I mean better money is always good, but if the ins is crappy the extra money will be spent on medical.

Can he not give them a start date after the surgery or does this job need him asap? Could he talk to the new employer and explain that his wife is going thru a medical procedure and he will need the ins coverage until you are able to have it. Could he extend his current ins coverage thru cobra until you have it done? Could he ask his employer if there is an option to start new coverage right away- my hubby's employer had an option to start coverage immediately but we would have to pay the employers portion as well as our portion until 6months were up. I think you husband should explain to the new employer that you have a need for a medical procedure asap and see what options are that they provide. If they want him bad enough they may be willing to work with him on start date, or immidiate coverage. Also if not, could all the files be transfered to the new ins so you won't have to start from the beginning? Have him ask those questions to the potiential employer, and have him find out what ins they provide and get a phone # for them and call and talk to them to see if the files can be transfered. You never know they may be glad not to have to pay for the previous pre-op routien.

That is a good question. In theory I guess it would be a no no, because the reason you cant drink with meals is cause it pushes food faster thru the band making you able to eat more and feel hungry faster. So in essence the cereal is not hanging around in your small pouch, just flowing thru to your larger pouch. But, I know alot of people on here eat cereal for b'fast. I just recently read that Kashi has made a high protien cereal that people on here are eating.

I don't personally know of any, but try finding a couple of places you WANT to have the surgery, and call and ask them if they do financing.

If you have been working out the same way for 3yrs maybe you need a fitness change up. Sounds like your body is used to your routein and is storing your calories instead of burning them. I once again say get out the tape measure.

Ok, so I have a 4cc band and my first fill was 1.9cc. I could still get a significant amount of food down so I went in for another fill. My fill nurse put in .8cc more in to bring me to 2.7cc. Well I couldn't get any water down while still in the office so she took out .2cc and the water finally went down. So, I go about my merry way and stay on warm liquids the rest of the day and the next. The day after that I couldn't get anything cold down and started throwing up everything I tried to drink. So I made and emergency drive 4hrs away to get her to unfill me more. She took out .4cc more to bring me to 2.1cc which is only .2cc more than what I had on my first fill. Well, it has been a week and I still can't get anything solid down. My question is am I swollen from all the PBing or is it too much still. If I could eat practically anything with 1.9cc why CANT I eat anything solid now at 2.1cc?:help:

Yeah, I have been on liquids and I am going to get unfilled tomarrow. I think I am still too tight!

Stevia is actually an herb and it is much better for you than sugar or sweetener. I have not tried it yet but I heard to be careful cause it is very sweet and it is easy to over sweeten things.

I have also heard on this forum that 1/4c of food is a myth. As far as your weight loss is going, keep in mind that if you are working out as much as you say, you are building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat. Instead of weighing try measuring. I have lost 20lbs, but I haven't gone down a pants size yet, but I do notice my upper half has lost significant inches. Get out you tape measure, I'm sure you are probably loosing inches and getting toned!

If you were overfilled you would not be able to get anything solid down. Sounds like anxiety, hey just sit back and enjoy the xanax!

Keep in mind too that it takes some people longer for their fill to kick in. My first fill took 3 weeks to kick in. I was at 1.9cc in my 4cc band. You are probably just starting to fill your real restriction and it may be a little too tight. I agree with others that you need to chew more too. If you still feel like you are too tight, try getting the doc to unfill you .1cc at a time and see how it goes. Sometimes that sweet spot is only .1cc away!

Well, what is it exactly that you are eating or drinking. My addiction was sweet tea. Man it was hurting my weightloss significantly. I hated the taste of artificial sweetener in my tea. Well, after some really good advice on hear I concured my addiction and now I will never go back to old fashioned sweet tea again. I was told to mix 3parts splenda to 1 part sweetnlow or equal, or 3 parts splenda to 1/2 part sweetnlow and 1/2 part equal. Well it worked and I am so glad for the advice I was given. Also my family is big dessert eaters. If you don't have a dessert at the end of a meal, the meal was incomplete. So, I started buying the Smart ones frozen box desserts, and man are they good. They are also portioned and tell you how many calories you are consumming so it takes all the guess work out of it. Another thing I do is buy sugarfree birthday cake from publix, which in my opinion is way better than the regular cake. I found this out prebanding because my dad is diabetic and he had a sugar free birthday cake. It is sweetened with sorbitol or malitol (sp?) which in all actuality is a baby laxitive. Needless to say, one piece of this cake will put me on the toilet wishing it had some handle bars to hold onto. That usually cures my sweet craving for a while, cause who in thier right mind would want to spend an explosive day on the pot? Plus sugar free sweets have come a long way and now most taste like the real thing and you never miss the sugar. Just be careful or you will be running to the bathroom every 5mins.

If you are only experiencing cold on one side of the body that kinda sounds like some kinda circulation problem, then again it could be nothing, I'd check with my doc just to make sure. Also, being cold could be a result of low iron or at least my doc tells me so.

P.S. click on the link that Nina posted cause there are some good things to read on that one.

Hi Tracy, I am 26,5'5 and was 235 before banding. I have been banded since Aug. I have lost 20lbs. I had a similar sweet tooth. I did notice that once I was banded it wasn't as bad. About a month after surgery I was at the grocery store with hubby and he wanted some ice cream and he asked me what flavor I wanted, well after spending about 10 mins in the ice cream isle I didn't see any flavor that tickled my fancy and he just got a pint of what he wanted. I can't garuntee that your cravings will stop but I do know that for some people their tastes kinda change. I chose the band personally because I have a little one less than a year old and could not afford that much down time. Also I am not done having children and I wanted to have a way to re loose the pregnancy weight. I knew if I got bypass I would most likely be skinny up until I got pregnany then gain alot of weight back. With the band, I can get a fill after pregnancy and start all over again. Not true with bypass. To tell you the truth, I had no recovery time. I was back to normal activity the day after I got back from surgery. I think you would probably only need a week of recovery if that much. I am 100% happy with my band. Only you can make the choice for you. With the band I can still enjoy the things I like to eat, but most of the time 2-3 bites of it satisfies my craving and I am done with it. I know with bypass you have to be careful what you eat and change your eating habits completely other wise your body will start dumping, which doesn't sound fun to me. Only YOU can choose what you think is best for you, do your research though and go into it knowledgable and 100% sure that you have made the right decision. I would encourage you to explore all the threads on this board and maybe find a bypass forum and explore their threads too. Good luck!

I think Star Jones looks amazing too!! Good for her that she could afford the plastic surgery!! Now if she could only find a witch doctor to shrink her head so she doesn't look like a bobble head doll.........

I think the weight control oatmeal uses nonfat milk powder to up the protien. I don't really know and I threw away my box so I cant read it. But it is more creamy than regular instant oatmeal that is why I think it is milk powder.

My face is kinda like yours. I compare my face to a full moon or a cabbage patch doll, cause I have chipmunk cheeks. I was recently trying to decide on a hair cut since my was at the middle of my back, and I have a baby. I wanted a change. After doing alotta research online about haircuts that flatter face shapes, I decided to take it up to about 3 inches below my chin. They say if you get it cut up close to the chin it will not flatter a round face. Also keep in mind that 9 x's out of 10 your hair will not look like hers. I am not trying to dissuade you, but you will also have to think about how thick or thin you hair is. If you have a good "knowledgable" stylist he/she can deffinately help. I know my hair cut made me feel good, hope you get what you want and look great!! Goodluck! P.S. I am not trying to sound racist, PLEASE Please don't take it that way, if I offend anyone I am truely sorry. But, african american hair dressers who are willing to cut caucasian hair do an amazing job. My hair is very course and My stylist (who is african american) does an amazing job. Plus when they shampoo you it is like a mini spa day it feels so good. The first hair cut I got from her, I had it a whole year and it never lost its shape. That was amazing to me.

I have seen and IMHO most american surgeons are trying to push GB because it is their "familiar ground." The band is a fairly new procedure but it is catching on. About the vomitting issue, It is really not that bad. I don't throw up any stomach acid. It doesn't smell like puke either. It is slimy like I have a cold and all the drainage is comming up, but it is really what your body produces when it feels something is stuck. If I could choose PB over vommiting, I'd PB 5 times a day as opposed to vommitting once a month. I often wonder if I will ever vommit normally again? I do notice my gag reflex is alot more sensitive, but it is truely not bad at all. All in all, the best thing to do is do your research, and make the decision for yourself.