giveyouthemoon

The only way I knew was that I had restriction then suddenly I didn't. It went away too fast for it to be just in need of a fill. I'd been on a trip to New Yorkk where I had eaten A LOT, really forcing food down there. But I had also been eating too fast and too much for too long. I was eating more than the "recommended" amounts of a half to three quarters of a cup of food. Actually, I am out of control and going there again and I can feel it's getting relaxed again. Dunno yet what to do....need some help for my head I think.

Hmmmm....where are you hearing that? My surgeon tells me it is lifelong as long as I take care of it. He says the silicone band will outlive me.... Is this based on seeing folks here lose their bands or are you hearing this detail elsewhere? : curious :

I had some minor dilation. Be very VERY glad it was caught at this stage. My surgeon calls the dilation a "prelude to a slip". Since you caught it NOW, you can fix it before it gets really serious. The esophagus will bounce back pretty quickly if you take care of it NOW. For me the big sign was that I'd lost restriction. It came back in about two weeks after being careful. So I wouldn't worry that you have irreparable damage. You caught it soon enough. I'd worry a whole lot about changing your eating style and lowering your portions. Take care of that band and it will take care of you!!

Oh man I love cheese. Loved it since I was a kid. Have it durn near every day. Nummyness! And I have to say, the overall total pound consumption has reduced...and so has the poundage on the scale. There's no reason not to eat cheese! Heck, cheese sticks are my "perfect portable bandster food" of choice! I almost always have a cheese stick somewhere near by when the snackies get a hold of me!!!

Yep, I knew. It's been a long time since they did RNY with the "open" methodology. I got the band because like others I didn't like my internals getting rerouted and the band has a longer term "adjustment" feature. My doctors really tell RNY patients that they have one year to get the weight off. After the year mark, the stomach relaxes and it gets really tough to lose. The band has continuing adjustment capabilities. Plus if I don't like it, I get it taken out and all my guts are where they are supposed to be. I think RNY vs band comes down to a matter of personal preference. I suggest you do A LOT more research before making a decision.

I am single but dating someone. I hadn't dated anyone for about two years after ending a seven year relationship. Do I think I didn't date because I was 130 lbs overweight? Yes. But I don't blame it all on "them". I own my piece of it too. When I was so heavy I projected myself VERY differently. Was very down and not confident. So as to the "I don't want to date someone who can't see the real me"....yes to some extent. Make sure YOU can see the real you too and hold your head high, look people in the eye and know you are as beautiful as anyone!! I know heavy girls who date a TON because they are confident and outgoing and unstoppable. I started dating this current guy when I had lost about 60 lbs and have lost almost 50 since we met. He was into me at 240 lbs, but I really do think a lot of that was because I FELT so darn good! I was SO happy and felt so light and was able to walk without wheezing and it made a difference in my outlook on life. As for telling him....my rule was after we'd been physical, which took about a month (his timetable, NOT MINE! lol!!) And I said to him...."you're probably wondering about my scars"....and he lay there and said "what scars??" See? You don't even have to tell anyone once you get physical. Most guys won't notice, believe me!!!! I'm glad someone posted this thread! We single gals gotta stick together!

I've tried beer a couple times and it HURT. Too much carbonation and it was hard to get all the burp out and like Bensmum said, there was no sort of eating while having the beer.

Hi! I was banded over a year ago (in June 2005). Lost 107 lbs so far. Gained a boyfriend, a life, new friends and WAY too many activities. I don't post much anymore but I do check in! This site is amazing but it's really super incredible for pre-op stuff. I got SOOOO much info here for that. And now I've got great restriction, got my eating worked out and am still losing weight. So there you go! No need to be freaked out!!!!

Mine is Katrinka but lovingly called Trink. BF always asks "Is Trink treating you ok?" I had an image of her as a lovely pale ballerina with her tiny fist around my tummy....beautiful and often petulant. Thus Trink was born.

Before I got this surgery, my therapist told me "an addictive person doesn't just stop being addictive....if one addiction stops, another will take its place. Make sure you figure out what that addiction will be and make it a more healthy one." And she's right. I think a lot of folks here maybe don't see themselves as having an addiction with food....but whoa does having the band really make you take a look at things. Good luck to us all that we find a new, healthy, addiction. By the by...my therapist recommended something that would keep your hands busy....scrapbooking...knitting...quilting....etc. :girl_hug:

Hon. Best thing you can do to alleviate diabetes (assuming what you have is Type II) is to LOSE WEIGHT. So you are going to get the band, right? You are already helping yourself down this road. Exercise, diet are main indicators of getting blood sugar under control. It's ok to be scared...who wouldn't be? But now use that! Use your scared to be MORE DETERMINED than EVER to get this band and WORK the band and lose the weight. ok? We're all here pulling for you!!!

Ok, so I am a recovered bulimic, meaning every day I still have to work at it. I was diagnosed bulimic and treated with professional counseling. In fact, part of the reason I gained so much weight is that I was able to stop purging but not binging. I would take in some 3000 cals or more in a sitting on my way to recovery. 100lbs came on FAST. Not pretty. So to answer your questions: 1. Does anyone feel they have traided in one eating disorder for another? (like we use to eat our feelings now we starve them?) No, I don't. I think I have the same eating disorder but I've learned that those demons are incredibly tricky....and adaptive. I can physically no longer binge on food.....but I can "binge" in bandster portions, still feel bad about it, still barf it back up. For a while I was PB'ing A LOT and one day leaned over the toilet I realized......basically I was a bulimic again, just in a different pattern. So I got back to my therapist. It's not cured, it's still a battle. With an ED, you are ALWAYS fighting the demons....it never stops, it just goes quiet once in a while. 2. Does anyone chew there food and spit it out? Like others here, I only do that if it doesn't feel right in the mouth...like it's not breaking down right to swallow. Tho there are documented cases of Eating Disordered people doing this. It's something to look into. 3. Does anyone feel like a bulimic? Yes. I have for about 15 years now. The band actually makes me feel LESS bulimic because I have some tiny bit of control on binging out....I can eat FAR less than I ever could. And all of that helps in this fight...... Hang in there...and get to a therapist!!!!

Did it successfully in 2004! Wasn't able to last year but I am gearing up for this year! I have ten chapters outlined and I'm raring to go! This year my boyfriend and his mom will be doing this as well so it will be interesting to see if having this kind of camaraderie helps or hinders. I did it all on my own with massive determination in 2004. It was a lot of fun. I recommend going to the "write ins" if you can. Not a lot of writing but a lot of fun...... Luck to all who go down this road....it ain't easy, but it's quite possible. I did it in 21 days, actually.

I have PB'd...a lot. For the past year I always thought I was a skosh too tight but my dr always disagreed. Recently I went in and said I was PB'ing every day and he agreed to take some out. No PB's for a week! yay! My personal take is that everyone should have AT LEAST one so you 1) know what it feels like 2) know what causes them and you can 3) learn how to avoid them. PB's are not to be feared, they are a part of being a bandster. It's scary the first time you do and you certainly want to avoid THAT from then on. Also, me personally, I define a PB as when I have to bend over the toilet and let the slime and whatever else come back out. OH! And many, many, many thanks to The Best Me for her advices about aloe juice. It works wonders. Calms my band after a PB and also calms the recent burny feeling I've been having. Good stuff!!!

My Iron has been a little off of late too...it makes a big difference. Not something to fool around with, definitely. Much luck on getter better Kellie!!

psssst....i eat sushi too! Just had some the other night. yum! I think that you have to get your head around this. People won't think you are weird or an outcast if YOU don't think that about yourself!! YOU have to accept what you have...that you will eat differently....and that you are NORMAL! :grouphug: We are here to support you. ALWAYS.

Rest assured, you will do FINE going out to eat. I do it ALL the time. You just have to make good choices. That is the best advice I can give post banding. It's about your choices. As for all your questions.....do what I did....write them ALL down and ask them ALL to your surgeon in that pre consultation! I had TWO PAGES. If your dr will sit there and answer them all then you know he cares enough to take the time! Good luck. You are going to do great.....

Happy Birthday fellow traveller on this path!! Enjoy your day!

I have a card that my doctor gave me when I had my surgery. It says I have a band. I've never whipped it out at a restaurant but I know plenty of folks here who have and have gotten kiddie prices or reduced pricing. Next, I've NEVER not once had a problem with my band going off at airport security. It's just not an issue. I am always careful (even preband) to not wear jewelry or belts or other stuff. I wear an underwire bra and the zipper on my jeans and I try not to wear shoes with metal eyelets. And I make it through fine.

....and are williing to be sucked in to this addictive site: http://www.silverjewelryclub.com/ My sis turned me on to this. Pretty decent jewelry, some with real gemstones. The item is free, you pay $6 shipping and handling. My sis has friends who have used it and she has as well. Good quality stuff. None of it outrageous, just fun stuff. I can't vouch for it personally, but damn, the concept of only one item every 15 minutes has me totally ADDICTED waiting for the next item to come along..... Enjoy....but don't say I didn't warn you. I personally have a terrible OCD personality and so this website is terrible for me! lol!!

I've been banded just over a year, too, and for the most of the year I was at 1.2cc's. It was fine but then here recently I've been PB'ing every day and often several times a day. So I just went in for a slight unfill, I am now at 1.0cc's. I guess I'm saying is...don't think that's weird that now you need an unfill. Just get it taken care of! I would suspect, personally, that it may also have to do with where you live now. I grew up in New Mexico and know it's very, very dry. Where you are now is more humid. I suspect your body might be hanging on to more Water which would make you feel more tight. Also...do not underestimate how much stress will cause your band to feel tighter. So happy to hear you are calling doctors. I think you'll be on the way in no time!! Post back and let us know how you do!

Ibuprofen, the main ingredient in those drugs, is VERY harmful to the stomach. My dr says that in a RNY patient, it will cause ulcers because it sits in the stomach as it breaks down. For a band patient, it sits in the pouch, usually near the stoma, and breaks down. This can cause erosion in the band, a VERY bad thing. He said if I have to take it, liquid only and even then, he'd prefer I don't.

There are some people who can lose all or most of their weight with an empty band. I wouldn't worry too much about the fill level. You have to work with what works for YOU and not compare to others. I have only 1cc in my band and it's STILL sometimes too much. It's the ol' "your milage may vary" deal. Just enjoy restriction and TAKE CARE of that band. I also had a mildly dialated esophagus but didn't have to have all my fill taken out. I found that by eating small amounts, i mean really small, everything went back to normal. Enjoy!

The band is made of silicone which is a naturally occuring substance in the body. It's inert in the body and will outlive you. That being said, if there is erosion I would imagine cancer is possible. Also, some people have reported here a condition called Barrett's Esophagus which is precancerous. I think it's not the band itself but it's side effects or complications that could. Just my .02, I'm not a doctor.

When I was working with a therapist to overcome my eating disorder, she asked me where I usually did all my eating. I said on the couch. She told me in order to break the pattern of the addiction to break the pattern in how I go about it. She asked me to eat in a different spot, different chair, different room. It really does help! And hey! You get to go buy a new couch!