shortgal

I wouldn't say "restriction" is wrong. That is how the band is meant to work. BUT excess restriction is not a good thing. I agree if your band is so tight that you cannot eat solid Protein, then I would consider that too much. The problem is there can be a very fine line between proper restriction and too tight restriction, sometimes it's as little at .25cc's. That a small (but huge) difference.

Ask your Dr about the vagus nerve and if this could be causing the pain. You can goggle it. I had that pain (like most people) right after surgery. Sometimes after a fill, my band is a little tighter from swelling and I get the pain again. The vagus nerve runs from the abdomen up through the left shoulder. If it's mild then I find it just reminds me the band is there and is working. If it hurt a lot then I would ask the Dr more questions about it.

when I see carbs starting to creep back in too often, I know it's time to detox from the carbs. I either do all liquids for a day, like high Protein, low carb shakes or I do solid food but Atkins type (high protein and I combine with low carb green veggies) for two days. I think most of us are carb addicts and once too many sneak in, it's time to remind our bodies of what we are supposed to eat.

Now I'm kind of enjoying this thread. The responses are cracking me up and a good laugh burns calories! P.S. mstrniceguy: Stop, you're scareing me!

andielmt: How did you mess up already? Maybe your food intake isn't as bad as you think it is. It is the choice of food or the quantity? Let us know what you are eating, that you think is "bad". Or maybe it will help you to be stay on track, if you post your meals for a couple days, so you stay "accountable". Whatever we can do to help you get back on track, we'll be here.

Karenjinsd: Don't worry so much yet, maybe you only need a slight unfill or some heatburn meds. If you read through the thread, you'll see that people that were too tight and had similar symptoms got a slight unfill and felt better and starting eating "band normal". Try to see your Dr. sooner if you can, so you don;t have to worry so much, otherwise Friday will be here soon. Let us know how you make out after seeing the Dr. the information will surely help someone else struggling with a similar problem.

Ouch! That seems like an overly defensive comment to me. Grace's post says that some people can be very thin and look good, but SHE can't. Perhaps her frame is larger than yours, whatever the reason, it's her reason., Her post was started by her and was about her problem. She doesn't want to be thinner and did not ask for advice on how to be thinner or why she should not want to be thinner. But when she responds to people that ask her to examine why she doesn't want to be thinner she gets attacked. I didn't read anything in her comment that attacked you, so I wonder if your comment is really coming from another place, that perhaps you are hearing from people in your life that you are too thin. Now please don't start to attack me either, I'm just don't see where your comment came from. You can be any weight you want to be. Does not matter to me at all. I am just confused as to why a thread about losing too much weight, ends up with responses that sound so confrontational.

Very brave and helpful of you to post this for others to see. Who knows if it caused your band to slip, but if we eat right post op, so our band has time to heal in place, we eliminate one possible reason why. I hope the repair/replacement goes well.

I think it's totally normal to get off track, I mean we have a problem with food that doesn't just disappear becasue we have a band. When we let too many carbs back into our diets, those old cravings come back. That's happened to me a few times in the last four months, I just go back to a day or two of high Protein and green low carb veggies only and that seems to get me back on track and stop the carb cravings. Can;t hurt to try.

Your surgeon should recommend the best diet for you to follow before surgery. If the Dr, did not tell you, call them and ask. Generally, low calories, high Protein, low carbs OR some Dr's do a liquid diet.

Sades: Sorry to hear about your BIL. Several years ago, I was exercising pretty hard and faithfully but I found later that, for me, relying on too much exercise didn;t work because eventually life got in the way of being faithful to it. I know that's not true for everyone, but it is for me. so I learned then, that I must control my food and then if I exercise it's a bonus. I feel good wen I do some exercise, but somehow of all the things in the day, that one gets pushed back if there are other things to do. I do admire people that fit "normal" exercise into their schedule. I've seen some on here that seems to just shift their food addiction to exercise addiction. Certainly a healthier addiction, but not a "weight loss" answer for everyone. I guess everyone just has to find the solution that works for them. Figuring this whole band thing out takes time.

You can't beat yourself up about something you can't change, the key is not to let it get out of hand. You have a band, but it's not working to the full effect yet. I just pretended I was on ANOTHER diet and counted my calories. I also convinced myself that if I ate the wrong food something bad would happen, so fear helped me a lot. I also knew everyone that knew me, that didn't understand how the band works ( that it can take time) was expecting me to lose weight every month. I know I shouldn;t care about what other people think, but it helped me stay on track. Sounds like you're back on plan.

did the Dr put any fill in your band at surgery? If so maybe they could remove it? I'm sorry you're having these problems.

Are liquids going down? It sounds like you just need a small unfill. I'm sorry you have to wait until Fri. did you tell the Dr's office how bad it is?

I had a piece of whole wheat bread (untoasted) with peanut butter today.

What are the Acceptance" guidelines by this center? Why are some people not accepted into the program.. Sure sounds like they are part of a "study" program where they track all participants for statistical purposes. Interesting.

Check out the "fill" section on the forum and the Wisconsin group. Scroll down on the main page and look for "support" section, then USA, then alphabeticaly by state. You might get advice from people close to you. And No, it's not too late the band is still there, you just need some fill in it.

I hate to sound rude, but if you don't like the site, you don't have to visit. People come here for reassurance that things they are experiencing are normal. This is surgery, there is bound to be some pain, complications, problems we didn't know might occur after surgery. I don't think anyone is here to "scare" people. We answer questions, ask questions and give and get answers. I don't think anyone here is making anything up. It's a public forum and you are entitiled to post your opinion and have no right to tell others that they can't post their opinion.

It's hard to rely on others for support unless we know they can give us the kind of support we need. Many of us have told others of our plans to be banded only to be faced with comments of "you don't need that", "it's unnatural" "it's the easy way out" or whatever. If your family/friends don't know how to give you the support you need, you have to go it alone at home and come to a place like this. Here, people obviously understand how you feel, why you choose a band, what it feels like to diet repeatedly only to gain it back. For some other people, they just don't get it.

Panda Girl, How are you doing? Staying strong? It must be so hard for you. I have a band but don't have great restriction and some days (today) are a real challenge. Most people seemed to struggle yesterday (Easter) and I had no problem yesterday, but today I am have bad cravings! Go figure. How many more pounds do you have to lose?

After having B'fast and lunch, I still felt the need for a snack late afternoon, so five days after my fill, I'm thinking this one hasn't gotten me where I need to be. The first few days when I get swelling around the band, it's perfect. I ate Cereal yesterday a.m and was not hungry for hours. I didn;t want any of the appetizers at my SIL's house, which was lunch time. My the time they served dinner, I was ready to eat, but felt comfortable with 2 meatballs, carrots and a small portion of potatoes. I also had a quarter of a cupcake. That's all I ate all day. Today, I am hungry like before the fill. And I was able to eat an apple with the skin. One of the nurses ( she's been banded) always seems surprised when I tell her this. My afternoon snack was a piece of whole wheat bread with Peanut Butter. I guess I'm going to need at least 8cc's in my band. I put off my appt until May 3rd because of our vacation. Another month without good restriction. UGH! More willpower, I guess. I had no idea it would take this long to get restriction. Let me know how your fill holds. We have about the same amount in our bands.

I have done very little exercise since being banded. My exercise of choice is walking. The spring and fall before banding I walked three miles in an hour about 4 to 6 times a week. Winter and cold weather hit after banding and spring is just coming around. I've walked maybe 2 or 3 times recently. Exercise is totally my biggest challenge. I worked in my yard today for over an hour. I do like gardening. I like the walking, too once I get into a routine, I'm pretty good with it. It's getting into a routine, that's hard for me. food, I've been fairly in control even without decent restriction. I thought my recent fill was going to be the ONE that would work, but only five days after it and really starting to test it with solid food, I have doubts. I know the band is working but I'm not getting a full feeling long enough between meals and I still clock watch, waiting for the next meal! I know the next 40 pounds will require good restriction and some exercise. I'm only willing to do as much exercise as I think I can maintain long term. Two hours in a gym 5 days a week, I just don't think I want to do that.

It's called addiction transfer. Do an online search for info or check an online book site maybe there is a book.

I am a organizational nut! Not in an OCD way, but I love when my drawers, closets, kitchen etc is neat and everything has a place. My laundry area, too. It feels so good when my environment is not chaotic. I did some yard work Saturday and today, too. Congratulations, I'll bet the place looks great.

Sounds like suture material. I had a few little pieces the PA removed in a post op visit, one of them was like a knot tho' that wouldn't come out, it took about 6 weeks before it finally dissolved.