doubletrouble

I have had my band since 2005 and I get the hiccups at least 3-4 times a week if not more. I don't have a clue why but it is a side effect. Here are some tips if looking for some. Buy a magic bullet (walmart) for soft or purred food it is asweome. I took normal low fat foods and pureed them mac and cheese, veggies, fruits, meats whatever. It is small so you make small portions. Protein drinks I hated hated hated them, did i tell you i hated them. I found a drink called unjury (has website) they have a unflavored (can mix with anything including food) chocholate an other flavors very good mix with milk and ice in the bullet. Also put in a tablespoon of peanut butter in a chocholate protein drink OMG awesome. Take your vitamins I lost alot of my hair because I did not do it (it did come back) The big key is to exercise with your weight loss to prevent the flabbiness. Have confidence in your self. You did not gain the weight over night and will not loose it. Also a journal is helpful because you can look back and see that you are progressing. Nothing feels better than to put on a pair of jeans that are so big you cannot wear them. Just use common sense. There is really no secret. Good Luck :smile2:

I have had my band for 3 years and I am the other end of spectrum. I lost 130 pounds in about 1 1/2 yrs. Now that I have had about 5-6 fills I can eat all the junk food in the world (chips, ice cream, cereal) with out a problem. However, give me normal healthy food and I throw it up I try to stay away from the junk food and not buy them but when you are hungry you are hungry. My neighbor has the band too and she has this problem and just don't get it maybe the fat makes it go down easier LOL. Good Luck Ladies

I just have a few suggestions I have found over the yrs that would have made my post op surgery easier. I found a protein drink called UNJURY you can find it on the internet. It has 20 grams of protein per severing and taste 100 percent better than the othe drinks. It also comes in unflavored so you can add it to anything. The other would be the magic bullet. It purees the food so well and you can do it per seving instead of making huge portions. It purees meat so you can make chicken and turkey salad with fat free mayonaise. I pureed just about everything when I have to eat soft foods. You can use it to make protein shakes with fresh fruit. Sometimes you have to forget what the food looks like and go with what it taste like. A few more hints add peanut butter to your powder protein drinks when you make them and it will totally change the taste and give you added protein. Also UNJURY sells fruit flavored protein powder you can make popsicles and jello with. After awhile you have to become creative with your meals or the become nauseating. Good Luck.:thumbup:

if you have the $$ go to the gym. I bought a very expensive treadmill and other exercise equipment to workout in the winter and had every entention to exercise in the fresh air and quit my gym membership. I am back on the couch because i put it off. When I go to the gym it is like a have scheduled an appointment for the workout. Pluse seeing all of the little skinny girls working out it gives me more motivation. I vote keep your membership.:thumbup:

I have had the same pain. You can try a few things before having band taken out. First go back on a liquid diet for a few days then advance to pureed then soft foods. Second try to drink somethink warm before you eat this will decrease any swelling you have around your band site. Also ask your doctor to have some or all of your fluid removed from your band and start over again. I also find if I do not eat after six at night I do not have a problem while sleeping. The pressure that you feel in your chest is actually the reverse pressure of your band. Like something is stuck. Modify your diet and see what happens, Good Luck

I have been banded for a few years and sometimes still wont have a bowel movement for 5-7 days. FYI drink more water

A little late on your entry. I have diabetes and have lost about 130 pounds with my band. I am going through problems with hypoglycemia right now. My doctor has me check my sugar two hours before I eat and 2 hours after I eat to see the difference. I can sometimes feel the low blood sugar. I feel hot dizzy and nauseated almost like i just came down with the flu. I am no longer on any meds. It is smart to check your sugar and to keep something with you in case you need it because when i need it i need it quick. good luck.

I usually have problems in the early in AM with restriction. You should feel better in the afternoon. Hot drinks usually help because they decrease inflammation from the irritation caused by the food being stuck. I have been banded for 3 years and cannot handle chicken. I recently found that it is easier for me to eat dark meat than white ( I think because it is too dry). Hope that you feel better and good luck.

I am sure that it will take more than a few times to stretch your pouch. Not drinking while I eat is the hardest thing for me. I actually will have pain if I really over eat. If you felt that you over ate then the next day try not to do it again. Everybody cheats and if they tell you that they don't then they are a liar too. If your are doing this then you need to correct it now. You cannot go back to stress eating that is what got me into my weight problem. It took me awhile to understand that I pick up the food and I put it into my mouth so I am responsible for my own weight. You have to find a different outlet for stress instead of food. Actually alot of this is find out what makes you over eat and correct it. I also have learned that I need to eat to live and not live to eat. Good luck to you and you WILL succeed.

Also to help you visualize the inner portion of your band is about the size of a dime and like said before your pouch is about the size of an egg. But remember this prouch is still your stomach and like before banding if you over eat the pouch will stretch. Portion control is a big part and also exercise is a huge part. You will eventually learn to live with your band and understand your body and know what it too much or not enough for you. Good Luck.

I was on full liquid diet for 1 1/2 weeks before my surgery and then clear liquids three days before my surgery. I was told that if the liver is too fatty and large that the surgeon is not able to get the band around the portion of the stomach they need to place the band at. My surgeon told me that he can tell the patients that follow the diet or not when he does the surgery and that he has actually started the surgery and was not able to place the band on some people and had to stop and do the banding another time because the liver was too swollen. This was the hardest part for me but it also showed me that I have will power and I can do this. I felt so good about myself each day that I followed the pre-op diet. I was not going to have the operation started and then not done because I could not follow the diet. I also think that this shows the doctor that you will have the ability to follow the restricted diet once you are banded. I also lost 33 pounds in the two weeks I did the diet. I personaly would follow your doctors instructions because not following other diets and cheating is what got us all in the situation that we are in right?

October 30, 2007 Well today I am totally starting over. I need to focus on the weight issue. I have gained about 10 pounds and I need to get it off and still loose the weight I need to. I am about 207 pounds right now. I want to be about 160 so I am focusing on loosing about50 pounds. I have the lap band as a tool and I need to use it. I just had the VNS put in this month. They forgot to turn it off and I was being shocked about every two hours for about 8 days. We are seeing a laywer about that. I am suppose to go tommorow and have it activated. I am pissed off at the fact that all of the physicans know that the deivce was on and not one of them called and apoligized or even checked on how I was doing after it was shut off. I am doing the serious diet thin this week to try and shrink my stomach and then next week if my incisons feel better I am going to start to exercise. I will go when I am off and take the twins to school. I am going to try to write in the journal and update everyday that I am off. I will write later.

October 30, 2007 Well today I am totally starting over. I need to focus on the weight issue. I have gained about 10 pounds and I need to get it off and still loose the weight I need to. I am about 207 pounds right now. I want to be about 160 so I am focusing on loosing about50 pounds. I have the lap band as a tool and I need to use it. I just had the VNS put in this month. They forgot to turn it off and I was being shocked about every two hours for about 8 days. We are seeing a laywer about that. I am suppose to go tommorow and have it activated. I am pissed off at the fact that all of the physicans know that the deivce was on and not one of them called and apoligized or even checked on how I was doing after it was shut off. I am doing the serious diet thin this week to try and shrink my stomach and then next week if my incisons feel better I am going to start to exercise. I will go when I am off and take the twins to school. I am going to try to write in the journal and update everyday that I am off. I will write later.

I can feel mine if I am standing up. I can see mine when I am laying down. I have lost about 130 pounds. The more weight you loose the more you can see it. My port is located below my ribcage and with the laws of gravity the flabby skin and fat I need to loose all hang down. The thing that really freaked me out was when I could actually feel my sternum (chest bone0 :>

Do not get your self all worked up. Weight loss is big business and big business is big bucks. These doctors want you to get approveed as much as you do. They know what needs to be done and documented to get you approved. They also know the big diagnosises that insurance companies want, ie hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, hypothyroid, PCOS, gallstones or gallbladder removed. Do these sound familiar to any of you. If we do not get approved the surgery they do not get paid for the surgery. These doctors have staff members that only work on getting the proper papper work processed and clients approved. I know I sound bitter but money is money regardless if it is open heart, c-sec or lapband. I love my lapband and would actually take a personal loan out to pay for it (of course if I knew at the time I was going to lose 130 pounds in 18 months I would have been more confident). What I am trying to say is show up to the appointments and they they will do the rest. Good Luck :>

I too and Pro-choice. I am not sure if I could personally have an abortion but I am glad that the option is there if I needed it. I cannot stand the people that sit outside placed like plan parenthood and yell at the women going into the building. If a women takes the responsibility and does abort a pregnancy because she feels she can not support and take care of a child right now I think that is alright, however it should not be used as birth control. There are so many children born to women that are abused and mistreated, because they were not wanted. When these children are molested or even beaten to death people always say why didn't anybody help. I feel that this is a womens choice. It is also a womens choice to have herself sterilized if she choses so. People can always point the finger at someone else and judge them when they truthfully need to look at themselves in a mirror and judge the reflection. I also feel that the men should have a say so. If they are willing and want to take responsiblity for the child then they should be given the choice. I know, people are going to say it is my body and I am not going to carry the pregnancy and give it to him. It was a joint decison to have intercourse and we all now how a baby is made and if you are willing to have sex you are willing to take the chance of becoming pregnant. If you are truly going to have an abortion for the "right reasons" and not birth control or convienence then you should be willing to terminate your rights as the mother and give the child to the biological father for he too is a part of this so called life.

I have diabetes and I have a tatoo on my lower back that took over 4 hours to apply. Usually the diabetics that are discouraged are type one (who take insulin). Actually the best person to talk to would be the tatto artist. If you go to a good parlor that artist themselves should be educated. A good rule of thumb would be on how well your body heals. I got my tatto after I lost 100 pounds this was a reward to myself. I say go for it :>

I was just going to suggest the same thing. Go to your ER and they will have to get in touch with your surgeon. You might also be dehydrated. It sounds to me like you have two different problems at the same time. The only way to get aspiration pneumonia is if you vomitted food up and then inhaled into your lungs. It sounds like you do have GERD. If you have straight forward pneumonia and it is not treated with anitbiotics it will get worse and you will loose energy, not want to eat and feel like crap. The thing that worried me about your symptoms was the brown sputum. Sometimes that is blood mixed within the sputum. However, if you have been coughing for the last few months or so it is not uncommon. You have little sacs in your lungs and the can rupture causing the bleeding. My biggest suggestion is if you have a doctor that you can not get into see and does not make exceptions to appointments what good is he to you, you may as well not even have a doctor. Please get medical attention today. Good luck to and god bless. Also, please give us an update :>

The steri strips will fall off usually after a few days. If they do not fall off and start to look funky losen them up in the shower and they will come off. All the steri strips do is help keep the incision togther, however you have multiple sutures under the strips. Basicly all the steri strips do is help to give you smaller scar. They way I look at it is I never wore a bikini before the scar and odds are I never will after :>

I can eat some breads usually toasted. I have a hard time eating most foods that are dry. I can eat pasta if it has alot of sauce on it. But like they said above carbs are most likely what got us into the boat that we needed the band. However, I have the hardest time eating raw veggies and white meats go figure :>

Gina you will be fine, this is all normal. I found it kind of funny when it happend to me. I had the surgery because I could not control my eating and then I could control it and I paniced. It is normal because your stomach is only about a 30 ml pouch (FYI is the cup on liquid tylenol) We all were used to eating about 99% more than that with every meal. I was on liquids for almost 4 weeks post banding. The important part is to push protein,protein,protein and water, water,water. If you cannot drink the water try ice cubes, in the long run it is still water. I have had my band since 2005 still if I do not eat protein and lack energy and feel like I am starving. The longer you have your band the more you will be able to eat and drink. The pain that you have in your chest is most likely swelling around the band site. That goes away in about 1-2 weeks. Also, at this stage I made crystal lite and poured it into ice cube trays and would eat them like popsicles. Another tip, when you can have protein drinks take the protein powder and blend it in the blender with ice cubes and a tbs of peanut butter. It adds more protein and alot more taste. Good luck.

I hated when I "was fat" and people would talk about how pretty my eyes were. I have lost about 120 pounds in the last year and a half. I ran into a girl that had been in birthing classes with me about three years earlier. She ran up to me telling me how "cool" it was that we were both having babies again at the same time. The one that really ticks me off is guys that flirt with me now that did not even know I existed before. I just walk away from them and do not even give them the satisfaction of the flirt.

I had a best friend in high school and we stayed best friends for about ten years after. We talked to each other everyday and went out every weekend. One day I called her home and her mother answered the phone and she said that "Amy" moved out of there house yesterday and has her own home. I was floored that she had done this and never told me or anything. After that we talked every once in awhile. I asked her if there was something wrong and she denied that I did anything to her. Her sister married my brother so we see each other at family functions and we speak. However, we never got that "best friend" relationship back. My mom told me that somethimes people just grow out of friendships. I had to go on with my own life it has been about 15 yrs now. I still think about what happend and what went wrong. I finally came to the conclusion that we will never be friends like we were and I am using all of this energy up on something that I cannot change. I know have another best friend but I am leary because I was hurt so bad in the past. There is nothing I can tell you that will change what has happend except you need to go on with yout life. The ball is in her cornner and you can not make someone be your friend. Good Luck and God Bless.

Welcome to the land of the band. The first time that I did this I thought Oh My God I am having a heart attack. The pain was so intense. If you can drink water than you should be ok. The next few days go back on your liquid diet. You may have inflammatin to stoma. Meat is the worst for me. Warm liquids also help. After 2 days if you are still in distress call your physican. I have had food get stuck in the stoma and if I drank water it came back up with such force it was unreal. Eventually you will learn the foods to stay away from. Chicken and bread are the worst for me. I can feel this pressure in my chest and it is huge bell that is saying you better stop or you will be sorry. I was scared all the time that my band was going to slip. My surgeon told me that he actually sutures the band into the stomach like a pouch and is very hard for it to slip. I felt so much better after I found that out. You should talk to your doctor about your fear. Good Luck and Good Weight Loss.

When you reach the correct restriction in your band. The band will tell you what you can and cannot have. I have a hard time with meat, unless it has gravy or ketchup on it. Right now you can have small portions of foods that you like, however, these are the foods that got us into the trouble we were all in. It is better to stick to the foods that are healthy. I myself find that if I cheat and eat something that I should not triggers something in my brain and the next thing I know there is a hoho in my left hand and pizza in my right. Good Luck :>