shortgal

Are you part of some clinical trial program? I've never heard of a test like this. Is is to measure bone density?

If your family doesn't care it might be simply because your being overweight is not their problem. Some people think you got yourself this way and it's your problem to deal with. Not saying that's nice, but possibly one reason. What kind of support are you expecting before you are banded? Perhaps after surgery, they will offer more support?

Make33, Maybe you could tell Cakegal what is different with the band for you that things changed. Are your portions different? Is it more Protein that you're eating now? Then maybe she'll know what areas she needs to change. There does not seem to be any problem with exercising, she's got that part down.

I'm still trying to figure out how good my restriction is. Saturday night I got full on a reasonable portion and yesterday I wasn;t feeling well and was full on very little food and did not have much of an appetite. Today, I'm not sure. Had a small bowl of Cereal and think I could eat more. I haven't had enough days of eating real food to decide. I'll have to try more solid food.

Are you eating solid Protein? A Protein shake occassionally won't hurt but banders should be getting their protein from more solid food, so the pouch stays full. Are you a working mom with small children? I would say being tired would be expected in that case.

Sounds like you are experiencing some of the complications of being overweight. Good news is many of those things can be improved with weight loss and if you are trying for ins. approval, you now have several co-morbidities. If you are not a big drinker than you might just have a fatty liver which can also be improved with losing weight. Sounds like you are getting banded at the right time for your body before you end up a diabetic.

I was going to say exactly what the previous post just wrote. How many calories a day are you consuming? That's the first step. Do you actually weigh and measure your food or do you guess? If you are exercising, you can't let your calorie intake get too low, but you need to know what your calories are. Track them for one week. Write down everything you eat and show it to your DR.

I think gaining the weight back is a universal fear. I don;t know anyone that doesn;t go up and down a few pounds though. Someone on the forum mentioned a book and it describes "adjustment addiction". Basically we start to believe that we constantly need a fill. We don't trust ourselves becasue we have failed so many times before so we start to believe the fill is the only answer. Remember it's natural once you reach goal to eat a little more food than when you were in the losing phase. It's maintenance, enjoy it!

Probably best to avoid going to those kinds of place until you are ready to move to the "regular food" stage. It's just too tempting. What's done is done, sounds like you didn't eat the whole plate. I don;t know what kind of tea you had.... sweet tea? All empty calories if it was sweet tea, but you know that. The post op stage is a good time to start getting good band habits. No drinking with our meal or for one hour after. Just get back on track, that's the best thing you can do for yourself now.

I was able to eat larger quantities as well, (until my last fill) but try to limit your choices to solid Protein, veggies and be sure you're getting enough protein everyday. Do you track your calories? If the scale doesn't go down for me, it's usually because I haven't counted the calories. I know we hate to do that, but until you have better restriction, sometimes that's the only thing we can do, if we want the scale to continue downward. I have a larger band and my DR. is definitely willing to fill more often, as close as two weeks, when I needed it. It took me seven or eight fills, to finally get some restriction. You are doing very good in your weight loss and it is hard to wait six weeks, when you're hungry, for a fill.

I've had three glasses of wine ( on three separate occasions) since surgery. I am in the losing phase and want to keep losing so I have limited my alcohol. I would be very careful of how many drinks at one time, as someone pointed out you do not want to vomit and fewer drinks will get to you much quicker. I will be on going on a vacation soon and I plan to "enjoy" but in a limted way. Remember it's not just extra calories from the alcohol but also extra food on vacation.

I think it is a good "carb detox" plan. If we start to find too many carbs creeping in to our daily intake, following a plan like that can help us get back on track.

How many calories are you consuming? You are working out and your body needs energy (food). If you consume too few calories you can stop losing weight.

Stick to clear liquids only (very small sips) until you can reach your Dr.

Yep, chest pressure and left shoulder pain is normal. Lightheaded, not sure why. I was lightheaded as well, but decided it was becasue I was dehydrated. Are you getting enough fluids?

Congratulations! Welcome to Band-Land!

Some surgeons that were trained for Gastric bypass have more experience with that procedure and might "gently nudge" patients in that direction instead of the band. Each patient has personal preferences and so do Doctors, but as layman we go to the Dr for advise and we accept that they know more than we do, and therefore accept their advice. There was not a DR. out there that would have convinced me to have the GBP, it just wasn't something I wanted to do. If that were my only choice, I'd still be sitting here at my starting weight of 216, instead of 35 pounds lighter. Now this is just MY personal opinion. For people that feel comfortable with GBP, I say go for it. I just was not comfortable with re-routing my insides and malabsorption issues.

The only test I can think of that sounds like what you're describing is an endoscopy. They can test for esophogus problems and they can do an H pylori test. I had one years ago and it was done with IV sedation. Just ask the surgeon what tests are needed and then ask any questions you have about each of the tests.

Sounds like you're in a really good spot now and 2 pounds down already. Funny how we can eat more and lose, right? Our bodies aren't designed to starve ourselves. Be careful when you go back for the refill, be sure you need it. Thanks for letting us know that you're doing better.

For me, it kind of depends on how it "disagrees" with me. Did I take too large a bite? Or eat too fast? A large bite can get stuck and hurt and I have to wait awhile before it goes down. If I ate a smaller bit but ate several small bites to fast, I just get a feeling that things are backing up and I need to wait it out a bit, but it doesn;t hurt like getting a big piece stuck. I have only had a couple things get stuck, but I have had food go down slow and have to stop a few minutes and wait for a burp before I can eat more. A lot of those problems can depend on how well you chew, how large the bite is, how solid vs soft the food is and how tight your band is. This is just my experience, you might get other opinions!

you did the right thing by going back to your Dr. They are there to help us and trust me, you are not his first patient to fall off the wagon, band or not. Good job. Don;t let those old insecurities get to you. Your husband is with you becasue he wants to be. There is nothing I can say about how fast men lose weight, except DARN THEM.

Ok, now let's get this straight. You had surgery to lose weight and want to know if it's normal to lose weight???? YES! Great isn't it to see the scale go down? You're normal, enjoy it. at some point you won;t be losing so fast and you be back on here asking why you lost so fast before and now the scales have slowed way down. It's all normal! Happens to most of us.

the Dr's pump gas into the belly to inflate it to give them more room to work. It takes time for the gas to go away, walking helps and some say a heating pad helps as well. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest for about the first four days and I had the left shoulder pain, too. It takes a few days, it will get better, stay hydrated.

Five Mt. Dews? There is not one oz. of any nutrients in that. Are you eating any healthly food? chicken, tuna, salad? If yes, can you add a little carb in the form of whole wheat bread or a yogurt for more calcium or even a small bowl of Cereal with skim milk? What difference what size we are, if we're not healthy? If you can;t eat healthy food then I would get a slight unfill. You can always go back for more fill, if you gain more than 3 pounds. One or two pounds is not a big deal.

My first fill was three weeks after surgery. I had none in my band at time of surgery. What are you eating now? And is it going down easily? If yes, I would think you're ok, but I would try to stay near the Dr for at least a few hours after. You might not be too tight when you leave office, but I get some swelling a few hours after fills and feel tight for the first day or two.