Cocoabean

Are you following your band rules? Concentrate on solid Protein and complex carbs, don't snack, lots of Water, small bites, chew well, no liquids with meals, no liquids with calories, and beware of slider foods? How is your restriction level? You say "only 25 lbs down" but you know, 1/2 a pound a week average is nothing to sneeze at. I could not have done that without a band, could you? You say you've gotten off track the last three months, ok. Have you gained or maintained? Are you listening to your body or eating anyway? If you are listening to your body, and eating when hungry--if you are still not losing, then you are most likely due for a fill. I say good for you for reaching out!! Well done!

Thanks for the info. I was going to post that thyroid is a natural hormone. If extra is taken by someone who is at a normal thyroid level it will speed up their metabolism and help them to lose weight. My thyroid was overproducing thyroid hormone. Does that mean I should have left it and kept my metabolism high? No, of course not, along with the possible weight loss came high blood pressure, a resting heart rate of 120, sleepless nights, and twitching muscles. Just because it is a hormone and occurs naturally, does not mean it belongs in the body at all times. I don't know much about HCG. Other than it is a hormone produced during pregnancy. My opinion, for me....I am not pregnant, I don't think I should have that hormone in my body. But, there are some band docs that will prescribe appetite suppressants for use until you get your band dialed in.

I didn't have any choice in location, and never thought to ask. Allergan has two ports, a regular one and a low profile. My surgeon uses the standard port in original op, but will do a revision if the patient wants one later. He did tell me in a conversation after my op that he's found surgeons have a wide range of port locations, all due to personal preference. He likes his location (to the left of the belly button) because it doesn't have a lot of tubing running to it, and it has some fat to cushion it. I don't like it because some pants bother me along the waistband. But it cannot be seen, even if I were to wear a two-piece bathing suit. Unlikely at my age.

I think that with the band it is better than with bypass as far as the long-teerm help from the procedure goes. I've been attending one of my surgeon's required pre-op meetings. He has some of his post-op folk go and sit on a panel for Q & As. I am the longest post-op aside from the facilitator who is 7 years GBP. The facilitator speaks a lot about the honeymoon phase with GBP, where you need to change your eating habits. She says that the body learns to work around the malabsorbption and can absorb everything you eat. She says this is the reason many bypassers regain weight. I just don't find that with the band. As we've absorbed every calorie we've consumed. Nothing has changed. Sure, we cannot keep forcing food down, else we can trigger a dilation. Or we can trigger a slip with extensive vomiting. But if all that is good and we are eating a bit too much, we can get a little fill to help us out. Nancy, don't wait to see your doctor because you are embarrassed by the weight gain. You might have problems with your band. Get it seen to. IMO, there is no point in keeping trying if your band isn't working right. That is the same thing that got us to needing WLS in the first place.

This is a last resort step. If you think you can do it on your own, then please, attempt it one last time. The failure rate of traditional diet and exercise is 95%. So, even though the odds are against you, you might be in that 5% that succeeds.

Thanks, Elcee!! I've been having trouble with my blood pressure dropping low the past few days. I sure hate when it happens as I don't feel very well. Yesterday DH and I went to a Catholic Mass memorial service. All the up, down, and kneeling was NOT fun! DH said my knuckles where white on the pew in front of us. I never thought I'd go from high blood pressure meds to feeling like I was going to pass out by just standing around.

For me, drinking with a meal can cause me to get stuck. Otherwise, a few minutes after I've eaten I can drink and be fine. I've experimented with how long I wait, and for me, there's no difference in how long it takes for me to get hungry.

Getting stuck is when something we ate blocks the band's entrance into the larger part of our stomach. It is caused by eating something that is too dense, too dry, taking too big of a bite, or not chewing well. It feels like you swallowed a rock and it is sitting below your sternum. If well and truly stuck, you cannot swallow your own spit. If it is not a bad one, then you can still swallow, but it is painful. Walking helps with the pain for some reason, and can sometimes help the offending item go down. The book answer for resolution is to wait it out. Hopefully the food will go down. This can take time. Sometimes a long time. When I was newly banded my worst episode went on for about 5 hours. As I could not swallow, I was spitting saliva for a long time. My DH just asked what I needed (a bucket) and left me alone. Each person finds how best to handle stuck situations. Some swear by papaya enzyme tablets which help break down the food. You can get them in the supplement section. For me, a quick urp, and I am done. I might help it along, but I want to be out of pain ASAP. Don't laugh at her, but help her to keep a sense of humor. I got a full face shower when I was urping at a PF Chang's. I forgot they had auto-flush toilets..... Got back to the table, "Honey, why did you wash your entire face and bangs?" 'I have one thing to say....auto-flush!" ha ha ha ha ha ha...the laughing went on for 5 minutes. Oh, and a seat cover in the Water will stop a backsplash into the eye. Learned that one the hard way.

Hey Jack, You've had IBS developed since banding? Me too. It started about 2 years after I was banded. They think I had a case of c. diff. after a round of antibiotics that triggered it, but cannot be sure as that is the one test the lab failed to run. The don't think it is band related, but interesting you said it as well. It can certainly be debilitating, no? I was one sick puppy that first go round. Ended up in urgent care on IV fluids. Way fun...NOT

So, I wanna move to Aus..will you all sponsor me? I'll be getting retirement from the U.S. Government, so, a permanent income. Then I could be part of the crowd and know what you are talking about. All I know are H M Os and P P Os. Not sure if I could get used to Christmas in summer. But then, where I live, winter isn't cold, so who knows! Lellow, how often will the doc fill you before you get the leak fixed? I went out to dinner with friends last night, and aside from the margarita I had, I did well to stop eating when satisfied. Especially since it was a quesadilla, which with the cheese and tortilla is a total slider for me.

Here's one from someone fairly long banded. When she gets "stuck" don't make a big deal out of it. Especially if you are out with people. Just let her excuse herself and do what needs doing. No theatrics, "Oh NOOO, she's stuck again! Unbelievable! Poor thing!!" Also, don't make her feel bad if some foods are off your home menu for a while. Part of why I chose banding is because I was under the impression I'd still be able to eat all foods. So now, as problem foods like breast meat chicken and very soft breads are removed from the repertoire at home, I hear about it. My DH does the cooking, and is not happy about that fact. But he is retired and I am not. So, every time I get stuck on something, I hear, oh great, another food we cannot eat. Which adds to my stress level, and isn't necessarily the case. Just because I got stuck once, doesn't mean I cannot eat it. Just because I cannot eat it, doesn't mean he cannot eat it. But he prefers to get upset about it. I just wish he'd take my stuck episodes more in stride. They cause him more stress than they cause me. They are a part of being banded. When she has one, sympathize, but there is no need for dramatics.

Shues, Sushi is hit or miss for me, I never know. Sometimes one bite in and uh oh! Other times I can eat an entire roll. If I go with just the DH it sucks, because he doesn't eat it, so I am up the creek with the whole thing in front of me and it not going down. So, happily it was all cooked, I brought it home and will attempt it tonight for dinner.

Breast meat is totally off my menu, no amount of gravy will help it go down. Thighs I am good with. Many have trouble with steak, I am ok if the pieces are small and I chew well. Yes, banded life is a huge learning curve, and after every fill....bigger learning curve! But to me, so very worth it. And I kept telling myself that last night while I was majorly stuck on sushi.

Ports seem to be placed in many places. Mine is to the left of my belly button. I can get irritated my waist bands. I think every placement has its good and bad points.

Our bodies let go of the weight when they let go of the weight. That is the biggest thing I learned through this process. Some weeks I'd eat the best I'd ever eaten and lose nothing. Other weeks I'd go way over on calories and lose. It is not always an immediate cause and effect. I also discovered that my body would hold onto weight then let it go all of a sudden. I'd stay the same for weeks then post a 3-4 pound drop. Then I might gain 1, drop 2 the next, then stay the same for a few weeks. Overall, the trend was down, and my health was improving. I finally figured out that this was all that really mattered. Being banded is a lifestyle and a lifetime event. It is not a diet that will end. Generate habits that you can live with forever, the rest will follow. Get OFF the scale. The stress isn't worth it. Only weigh yourself once a week, at most.

Wow, Lellow, re-op sucks, but at least the problem should be solved, yay! I got massively stuck on sushi last night. Wah. That seaweed paper is horrid to chew. And it was soooooo yummy. Other than that, it was a good week. Next Wednesday I am attending my surgeon's education seminar with a friend of mine who is interested in WLS. That should be interesting from a post-op perspective.

Dehydration is nothing to fool with. Glad you went in. If you can't drink for 24 hours you REALLY need to be seen. This goes out to all. Let us know what the Upper GI shows. Glad you are feeling better.

Do you have allergy problems? Others here have reported getting tight when their allergies act up. One even finally had her band removed. Also, have you traveled at all, for some flying can have an impact. Restriction comes and goes for me, some days tighter than others, but not to the point of not being able to get liquids down, and rarely to the point of not being able to eat.

Lap Band literature says 1-2 pounds per week average. That's it. This is not a quick weight-loss procedure. I averaged 0.75 lbs per week. But the trend was downward. Just work on good habits, the rest will follow.

Fever should not be a part of it. That is generally a sign on infection. Weak and nausea, yes. Hope you feel better soon!

There can often be swelling after a stuck episode. I'll do liquids for a day if I it was a bad one. Or if I get pain the next time I try to eat. When you eat, pause between bites to be sure things are moving along. Piling food on top of food can be a very bad thing! Hope you are feeling better!

The pre-op diet is the worst! You don't have a band to help you through it. Just keep focusing on why you are doing it. It will make the surgery safer for you. You CAN do it. I made it through mine, and I can remember hearing my surgeon tell my DH that he knew I did not cheat because my liver was nice and small and very easy for him to move around during my surgery. THAT made it all worthwhile! I read on a gastric bypass board of a lady whose liver split in two during her surgery! It was a fatty liver and was just too brittle to be moved about. Her medical condition was poor when she had her bypass, but that would be terrifying! She lost a lot of blood and ended up having an open procedure to fix things. You CAN do it!!!!

Why do you make a sad face at 10 lbs lost in 6 weeks? That is fabulous! The first 6 weeks post-op are really for healing more than losing. Bandsters can generally expect 1-2 pounds per week average loss. You had 1.5. In my first 6 weeks I lost 0. Yep, zero. You should be doing hand springs in celebration!

For me, stuck is a rock just under my sternum. More often than not I cannot swallow my own spit. Sometimes it will pass on it's own. Generally it takes intervention on my part to bring the offending item back up. If I swallow a few swallows of Water that will start the launch sequence. Welcome to truly being banded.

My psych doctor took 8 freakin' weeks to write the dang letter. I finally had to go to the office and sit and wait for the letter to get written. There was no excuse. At the appointment he said, oh, I'll have it done next week. Uh huh! Maybe a letter to the medical group or insurance company is in order? Somebody is their boss.