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.