Cocoabean

Maybe you need a slight unfill? Have you tried doing liquids for breakfast? My surgeon doesn't want me doing shakes, but maybe that would allow you to eat more for lunch and dinner.

Sip the Soups slowing, in tiny sips. If you are vomiting, I'd be concerned, otherwise, not so much. Take a little break between sips and let them settle in. Nausea is pretty common post-op. If it gets too bad, call your doc for some anti-nausea medicine. Hope you feel better soon!

My surgeon has me do an Upper GI yearly. This year I also had an esophogram, which just takes the Upper GI scan a bit higher on the GI tract. An endoscopy will check for erosion. I am not sure what else it checks for.

It's not really a question of whether or not you could, but whether or not you should. I was moved to solids at 7 days, but with caution to cut things into eraser sized pieces and chew, chew, chew. Yes, food is mushy when chewed well, but what about the bite that you fail to chew? Someone asks you a question, and without thinking you swallow it to answer....I've done it. Then there's the piece of meat with that little bit of gristle that you didn't see. Down it goes. Drinking while eating. A tiny sip to wet the whistle, no biggie (IMO). But as you reach restriction you might just find, as I have, that if you add a good sized drink of liquid to a filling-up pouch that it upsets things and causes a stuck episode. After once or twice of that happening, you'll find that you avoid the glass while dining. Most surgeons add no fill or 2 CCs at the time of surgery. Most people feel no restriction as they heal. Many don't feel restriction until fill #3. The point is, you are healing. Bands are anchored down with a few stitches. You don't want your full and grinding pouch to put a lot of pressure on those stitches while they are healing and scarring over. Take it easy and take care of your band! Best wishes!

White meat chicken, and I had a nasty break up with bagels and doughnuts!

There have been many good points made here so far. Bands are removed in about 25% of patients for varying reason. GBP has the highest excess weight loss rate of bypass, sleeve, and band. I'd be curious to know of those who have revised to bypass or sleeve from bands, where their problems related to non-compliance of the rules or medical complications. I'd also be interested in the new bypass and sleeve patients weight-loss rates at 5 years out from the new procedure. There is a huge honeymoon period with bypass where you can eat whatever you want and still lose. When that is over, if you haven't changed your eating habits..BAM! The weight can come back. My surgeon once observed that for most patients, if they are unsuccessful with one procedure they will be unsuccessful with another, because in his mind it is usually non-compliance that causes failure. As in size10again's case, that is not always true, but it would be interesting to see long-term follow-up on revisions. In the US, bands have only risen to popularity over the past 5 years when insurance companies started paying for the procedure. So now we are getting some longer term results here with the newer placement techniques.

Each day can be different for me, along with the time of day. Mid-day I can eat the most. After a bad stuck episode, I can have trouble for a few days. If I am sick, I get tighter.

Liquid in=liquid out. I kept having what I called "explosive decompressions" every couple of days. As my diet stabilized, so did my gut.

I believe there is a pregnancy forum here at LBT. Check with your surgeon how far past pregnancy you'd have to be to have surgery, including breast feeding if you plan to do so. There are lots of band babies around, but don't plan to lose weight while preggers. As to the 6 month thing. Many insurance co's require it. Mine did. I was denied a consult at first because of it. I appealed with Weight Watchers records. Won the appeal, then it still took 6 months for other testing and the psychologist (who took 2 months to write a letter!) to get done, then the insurance approval before I had a surgery date. So, you can accomplish some things during the 6 months! Don't let it be time wasted.

Feeling stuff pass depends on your level of restriction. When my band is loose, I can't really feel it. When it is tighter, I can feel liquids sort of gurgle on the way down. Somewhat like a 5 gallon Water bottle on a dispenser. You sometimes see the bubbles as you are pouring water into a glass. With food, if I have chewed well, I don't feel much, if I haven't..I can feel it reflux a bit before it goes down. I even saw it on my last Upper GI. Very strange to watch it. For how much to eat..for me, full hurts. I eat to satiety, then I am done. If I go to full, I am miserable. I have to pay close attention to what I am doing when I eat. This is especially true after my last fill a few weeks ago. A couple bites extra can put me over the top into misery. In our world, a clean plate is not always a happy plate. You will learn, just be aware of what you are doing, don't eat brainlessly. That is not an option after you are banded. Enjoy every bite. Chew it well. Think about it.

For me, I stop eating at the whisper of satiety, not when I get full. Full is painful. Satiated is comfortable. It is a good habit to foster early in your banded life.

Yes! They can take part of it out. They don't have to remove the entire fill. You can always go back later for another fill. That is what I did. I can't remember all the cc numbers now, but I had half of what they put in removed, went back a month later and had that amount plus some put back in. It was such a relief when he removed that little bit. After having been stuck on mashed potatoes and yogurt. It was wonderful!

Did they give you any anti-nausea meds? If not, call and ask for some. Heaving isn't good for us..plus, ouch! 2cc fill at the time of surgery is fairly common...having to have it removed afterwards is not uncommon. Hope you feel better after swelling goes down. Take smaller sips and see if that helps the liquid to go down. As a note, being in an upright position is a must to consume anything for me. If I try to eat or drink anything while reclined, it will come back up. Gravity is our friend.

You know, it really is one day at a time, one meal at a time. Don't focus on the long term. Yes, this is a journey, not a sprint, but take your eye off that for the moment. If your habits aren't in place, pick one to work on. You don't have to be "The Perfect Bandster" for the rest of your life. You need to get it mostly right most of the time. You really do need to find what works for you. How can you fit the bandster rules into your life? I hate exercise...so I am just more active. I do things on the weekend to incorporate activity. I hate tracking and weighing and measuring food. I don't do it. I do focus my meals on Protein and eat that first. But beyond that, I don't track my food. I haven't had a need to. If I find a need, then I will do it. I knew going into banded life that things would change, but I also knew basic things about me would not. Such as hating exercise and not wanting to log food. You CAN do it!

Getting an unfill is not failure! I had one. You may just find that your losses continue at a fine clip now that you are able to eat nutritionally dense foods. For me, when I got stuck on mashed potatoes then yogurt, I knew I was in trouble. I lost 7 lbs in 1 week. Like you, I loved it, but knew it was too fast. After the unfill, I didn't even plateau, if memory serves. My loss just slowed down. But then, my losses were never steady. I bet you feel much better now, though, eh? I sure did, it was immediate relief. Also, I was able to go back a month later and have the amount removed plus a bit more put back in. Bands are our fickle friends, aren't they?

That is so nice of you! Some surgeons' offices do clothing exchanges, too. p.s. I love Coldwater Creek!! Part of me wishes I could take advantage of your offer.

As far as treatment, if you have a slip (where the stomach comes up through the band--causing a larger pouch area) or dilation, the normal treatment would be to unfill the band and go on liquids for a time to see if the stomach corrects itself. Here is a link to the complications page on my surgeon's web site: http://www.thinnerti.../all-pages.html It is not meant to scare. Just to inform. Questions are best asked before an event, so keep them coming!

An upper GI and esophogram will show any problems, and it is an easy test. I have one once a year. What is more likely is that you can dilate your esophagus. http://www.lapbandguide.com/lap-band-vs-gastric-bypass.html has an article about pouch stretching. It is more of a bypass issue than a band issue, due to band placement.

VSG wasn't an option for me at the time I chose banding. I felt that my BMI was too low for GBP (even though the qualifications per my insurance company are the same). Bypass is just so drastic. Add all that to the fact that my husband was not supportive of bypass, but was of banding.... In discussion with my surgeon about my medical history and eating habits, he felt I was an excellent candidate for a band. My surgeon said that not every patient is a candidate for each procedure. I was pre-diabetic. He indicated that if I had been full blown diabetic, he would not do a band on me, due to the ability of bypass to basically end diabetes within a few weeks. For me, it has worked out very well, I do not regret my decision a bit. If VSG had been available I don't know what I would have done. It also seems very drastic. It is also very new in my mind, and doesn't have the long-term data that bypass does for such a drastic surgery.

The bloated feeling is common. Keep moving as much as you can. Use a heating pad, it feels sooo good. Welcome to the "losers' bench!"

For me, all the shakes are nasty. It was mostly a matter of chugging them down to get through it. My surgeon does not like me using shakes anyway, so I did not spend much time searching for the perfect product. I just slammed down the Medi-fast ones for the pre-op. Now on the odd times I do use shakes, I have found Isagenix to be pretty tasty to me. It's only available online.

I don't have any pictures. Mine is a few inches to my left of my belly button. I am not so thin that you would be able to see it anyway, even though I am at a normal BMI. The only downside to the location is that some waistbands will bother me. It is higher waisted clothes that hit me wrong. If I had rock hard abs and were thinner, it might stick out. But I am not, and I am not a bikini wearer..so for me, it is all good.

Before adding anything to your pre-op diet, be sure it is Ok with YOUR surgeon. Different docs have different rules. Yours might even allow you something different if you don't like what you have. Mine sold HMR in his office but I had a bunch of Medi-fast stuff, so he said I could use that. I had to do it for two weeks. Medi-fast includes a "lean and green" meal, so I got to eat something every day. I lost 8 lbs, I think, during the two weeks.

If it were me, I'd not want to risk it. The point if the pre-op is to shrink the liver, like a previous poster said. Alcohol goes through the liver. It also lowers inhibitions and might make you more tempted to eat that evening and really blow the pre-op diet. Some surgeons don't require a pre-op diet, but yours does. Mine did, too. Mine also said if he got inside and my liver was not in shape for the surgery, he'd either have to do it open (huge incision and recovery) or would close me up and no band that day. That's my opinion, take it for what it's worth and have a Happy Birthday.

I take full-sized multi-vitamins with no problem. It depends on your fill level. Can you open the capsules and mix them in something?