HeatherO

Have you considered that you might have a carb addiction? If I eat carbs like chips, crackers, Cookies, potatoes, Cereal, snack cakes or anything similar, I am hungry in less than an hour and I have no energy at all. It could be the carbs affecting your blood sugar that might be making this so difficult for you. If this might be the problem, the best way to overcome it is to cut out the carbs/processed sugars completely for two weeks and see how you are feeling aterwards . . . it might just make all the difference in the world. The 5 day pouch test is a great way to get back on track . . . here is a link if you would like to check it out: Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test I highly recommend it. Why don't you try one thing at a time? Commit for yourself that you will do one thing to help yourself on your journey for two weeks . . . and then add in a new piece so that it is not so overwhelming. They could be things like the following: 1) I will not eat junk food. Either it is a Protein, veggie, fruit, dairy, or whole grain food. 2) I will not snack between meals. (but scheduling a snack into your day at a time that you know you will be hungry is fine if it is healthy). 3) I will eat my lean proteins first, veggies second and everything else last. 4) I will chart every bite of my calories and proteins either online on thedailyplate, fitday or any other site or even with a pen and paper to see what I am taking in. 5) I will exercise for at least 20 minutes every day, even if it is only walking. 6) If I become very hungry between meals or I am eating more than one cup at a sitting - I will eat non-starchy vegetables as filler. You can do this and we are all here for you. We are all in the same boat and trying to find our way through to the other side. The band is there for you to make it easier, and you have to ask yourself . . . is your second band failing you or are you failing your second band . . . . by not putting forth the effort to make it work. Now it is up to you to hold up your end, get the weight off and be the best and healthiest that you can be. I think if you follow these steps, you could be looking a whole lot different and feeling like a new person by the time summer comes around.

My name is Heather and I am also a certified scale addict, lol. I swear I will weigh myself both before and after using the bathroom . . . first thing in the morning, last thing at night and sporadically during the day. It is really too bad they don't make a shoe scale so you can stand on one foot and know where you are at a moments notice anywhere and everywhere, lol. If they put the read out on the bottom of your shoe, it might even improve the flexibility of the wearer, lol.

I lost my taste for Crystal Light as well post banding. I used to really like pink lemonade and after banding it just tastes sour on my stomach. I also tried a sip of diet coke that was sitting out for a while and was flat and none too cold . . . it tasted awfulll . . . how on earth was I drinking 4-6 every day before banding . . . was it just the bubbles and caffeine??? Banding changed my tastes in other ways as well. I seem to crave water or milk more than before. I do like tea with splenda and I like coffee with creamer only. I also found that stuff I used to like (potatoes, rice, even sweets) are kind of bland now and not too interesting. A fast and easy way to make ice tea (if you don't go the sun tea route) is to boil some water, put about 8 tea bags in a big pitcher and pour the hot water on top and let it soak for about 10 minutes, take out the tea bags, add cold water and it is done. You can then sweeten it as a whole or just in individual cups.

My step-mother had R&Y several years ago. She was losing sooo well, even now, years later, she is 5'3 and around 115-120 pounds and maintaining well. I had a BMI of 40 so I started the journey myself early the next year. My doctor said I was a better candidate for the band considering age/weight/health but my insurance only covered R&Y . . . and I could not afford surgery without insurance. I did the 6 month supervised diet, took all the tests, was ready to finally schedule a date and my company changed their insurance plan immediately before surgery and had a nifty, new WLS exclusion in November of that year when I was scheduled for early December. Needless to say I was devastated. More than devastated, I couldn't even appeal what I didn't have anymore and I felt like life was over. So in desperation, I took my step-mom's diet and plan and followed it to a T starting in early December of that year. I lost 70 pounds fairly quick . . . it worked and I found like I had hope again . . . until I started to slowly but inevitably climb the scale again the year following. Yes you can follow it and lose the weight with motivation and ambition . . . but the really difficult trick is in the long term maintenance. Hungry is hungry is hungry and it can only be denied for so long, and the band can help with that part of it so that you can find success.

You still have a pouch but the bottom end of it that empties into your stomach is more like a funnel right now (everything passes easily) but later will be like an hourglass (a slow trickle into the lower stomach).

I think your answers are there in your initial post. Exercise is important and you have to build yourself up. If walking for 25 minutes is all you can do at this point, then you need to work your way up to doing better by regular exercise. Even if you only started with 25 minutes 3 times a week, by next week you would find it easier . . . before long you can go longer and faster. It is never easy to start from scratch but it gets easier over time and you get more energy. You are going for your 10th fill, but why do you need another fill? You say that all that passes is junk food - then you are too tight. You will always feel hungry quickly on slider foods, that will never change. If you can't eat Proteins or veggies or fruits or other healthy foods, then you have bypassed your sweet spot. If you really want to make this work, you need to make exercise a part of your life (and it doesn't have to be 2 hours a day of intensity, you can start simple and just do it regularly). You need to eat healthy foods and proteins. Cut out the junk food, you can't lose if that is a staple of your diet. Many people are going on the 5 day pouch test diet to get back into weight loss mode and the banding lifestyle. You might find that this is a good way to recommit and get started again with the new year upon us. Good luck.

You really should go back to the doctor and get it checked. If you did stretch it than they might unfill you for a while in hopes of getting it to go back on its own.

It helps to get both banded and R&Y patients back on track and it definitely gets you back to "feeling" your pouch and renewing your mindset.

Thanks :0) This is my second, but since my first is 16 years old . . . it is almost like my first all over again. I have been scared to regain, especially with a mostly empty band . . . but so far it has only been 2-3 pounds since September so I am good to go. Banding has even been a blessing for me empty, lol. I have been very lucky.

How interesting that you should say that. Now that I have given it thought, I realize I had migraines regularly before banding, worse right after banding and then they were miraculously gone. Perhaps there was more to the problems with my overindulgence in diet coke/dr. pepper than just caffeine overload, lol. I am certainly healthier now than before and I drink mostly Water. It could have been the sugar substitutes I was drinking to excess daily.

I agree with Jachut that red wine is healthy in moderation. I don't drink alcohol anymore but I do take in a light dark grape juice to try and take in some of those same benefits on occasion. I did get a warning from my doctor that you have to be careful with alcohol intake due to transferring addictions. Some of us are obese due to food addictions or emotional eating, and if we are not careful it might be a little too easy to begin over indulging in alcohol. However, taken in moderation and considering the calorie content while avoiding carbonation is not a bad way to go.

I agree with RestlessMonkey, call your doctor. It seems a little unusual to have pain in those specific locations at 2 weeks out. Usually those of us who still have pain have it mostly around the port area or in the left shoulder/neck area. It seems like 2 weeks is a little far out to still be getting rid of the gas you would have received at the time of surgery.

Congrats on getting back to work. In some ways it is easier when you get back into the swing of things to get used to dietary changes. It sounds like you are off to a great start.

I think the placement is a little unfortunate if the weight of your underwire pushes down on it and causes discomfort. Mine is never sore anymore but now that I have lost my weight, I can see where it is if I don't have a shirt on and it can easily be felt. It might get better over time. At 2 months out I was still getting the occasional port pain from abdominal exercises. Can you give it a "rest" sometimes by wearing no bra or a sports bra when you are at home and don't have to go anywhere? Perhaps you can get a new non-underwire bra that might feel a little better as well.

If it makes you feel full and works, then that is what counts. :tongue2: That is why I went back to shakes in the morning for Breakfast when i have tight restriction . . . because I am full until well after lunch time and have had some nutrition as well. A person can never argue with what you know is working. I think it is only a problem when you go back to dieting and dealing with perpetual hunger again that might set you up for difficulties. If I tried a shake of any kind for dinner . . . I am sure I would be hungry in less than an hour after.

I had migraines too but I think it was more from dietary changes than the band. I only had them in the early weeks post banding and they went away as my body got used to my diet (I also suspect being a heavy diet coke drinker that I had to pay the price for going from caffeine overload to almost none). I was only allowed to take Tylenol for them but it never helped. You may want to ask if there is anything else you might be allowed to take that might help you make your way through.

Almost everyone plateaus for at least some of the time usually after 2 weeks up to the first fill. It is not only normal it is expected to happen even if the doctors don't always mention it. Just keep following the rules, don't lose hope and the weight will start coming off again. Your body just needs to catch up after surgery.

I follow 3 meals and only had a snack if I was hungry. I would typically have one low-cal snack (sometimes just veggies) after dinner because that is when I was hungry again. At first I started measuring food but now I just go by feel and I know how much I can eat by the signals in my stomach.

Now that I think about it, my method is just an extremely low tech version of the sinus rinse suggested by kgloverii. However, it works for me and I was a pretty constant sinus sufferer before and spent tons of money on OTC sinus meds.

I had a lot of sinus issues before but found a way to get rid of them. After I take a shower, I cup my hand and snort a little warm Water up my nose around 3 times and clear it out. My sinus problems have dissappeared. This might sound weird or uncomfortable, but it is not after you try it a couple of times . . . and it is only water. It made all the difference in the world for me.

My first bite syndrome is that the first thing I eat when I wake up will get stuck easily. I can get around it by drinking a hot cup of tea or coffee first and having something like a bite of yogurt or something soft first, waiting a while, and then eating. You ususally dont get this until you get to tight restriction.

My doctor told me never to drink it as it will stretch my pouch . . . so I just don't want to risk it. I paid too much for this surgery and it is too important for me to risk it for a little carbonation. If this is the biggest sacrifice I have to make for better health, so be it.

Checking the fill level is so quick and easy as a means to see what is in there. I ask them to check mine every time I go now . . . but I did have to ask them to do it because they don't normally pull it out as standard procedure. I am not sure that the fluoro would show so much regarding a leak unless you have such a big leak that they can see an increase in the flow from your pouch to your stomach over the few seconds that they are watching it.

By the way, for all of you re-dedicating violets out there, there is a thread regarding using the 5 day pouch test as a restart for the holidays. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/starting-holiday-detox-early-anyone-wanna-join-me-84070/ I have done this before and it works great to jump-start weight loss and get back to banding basics.

I really, really truly need to rededicate myself after the holidays. I went to work today . . . and can you believe there are new cookies and treats that are more tempting than last week (I have a weakness for peanut butter buckeyes). Anyways, it is time for me to start charting my calories and intake again. That is the only thing that keeps me on-track after I have fallen off the wagon for too long. I need a fill but they said they will not give me more than .25 cc's a month at a max and that is not guaranteed due to pregnancy (official policy is an empty band). I am really essentially bandless right now without a fill and woe is me. The thought of using a dog cone around the neck and having unbendable elbows as a means to reduce calorie intake still has me laughing, that was great. :0) TracyinKS, I am so happy your phone was answered and you can get it back. I would be sooo lost without my phone because I no longer have peoples phone numbers anywhere else, lol. Technology has improved my life . . . but what would I do without it??? I think I might just venture over to the gym today for a step class. Have a happy Monday everyone!!!