lapbandbarb

I'm sorry about your problems! How understanding is your Dr? I would talk to him and maybe he will work something out with you. I think my Dr would if I was in your position. Good Luck!

I think that is a really good idea! Go for it. My Dr has been aggressive with my fills and it makes all the difference in the world. I am not hungry in between meals at all. Good Luck!!

areellady- Thank you for saying that. It made me feel so good!:crying: That DH thing is so funny!!:wink2: And true!

Jenz- I think that what is happening with you and your husband is very common. I go to a lot of WLS support groups and hear it all the time. Men become insecure and afraid that their wives will find someone else when they lose weight. I have heard it over and over again. It sounds like you may just need to let your husband know how special you think he is and that you are doing this for your health-not to meet other men. Tell him he is the one you love and married. I have been married 14 yrs and been up and down and up 100+ lbs. with each pregnancy. This time, with the help of my friend, the lapband, it is coming off easier and I WILL keep it off. Yes, I do get more attention when I am thin and I met my husband thin and he knew I was popular with men. He wasn't worried then or any other time I was thin. I sometimes used to think when I weighed 273 that people wondered what my good looking ,fit UPS man husband was doing with me. Or I would see the way people looked at me every year at the company picnic when one year I'm thin and the next, enormous. So it goes both ways. If you married your solemate and your marriage is good,it will survive this(and anything else) My husband and I have been through so much more than just my yo-yo weight over the years. Looks are only skin deep. One day we will be old and shrivilled up together-hopefully, I'll be thin and shrivilled up! :smile2:

Ugh! No! Maybe meant to be funny but it is sad. Scary to think about how fat our society has become and how obsessed with it. Scary for our children. Would never want mine to see that site. Yet another idea to give them an eating disorder and not accept themselves. Baby fat is acceptable and adorable. I can see how one might think it funny though.

Jodi- Thanks for the info! A medical card sounds like a necessity! I am going to get one from Doc. Where can you download the food card? That would be good- no buffets for me anymore! but kids menu would be perfect!

Hey guys, Thanks to those of you who posted yours cards! I had no idea there was such a thing. You would think that my surgeon, who has a great reputation and was banded himself, would have mentioned this to me! I will be calling the office. Not only is the buffet card a good idea, but I think a medical card is necessary.

I keep hearing about the medical card. I am kind of upset that my Dr, who has such a great reputation, and had the band himself, did not even mention it to me. I will call later! I think my Dr does aggressive fills-in my 10cc band- 3cc at 1st and then 3cc at 2nd fill. Mornings, I am really restricted. At night, not so much. Anyone else feel this too? (I also think about food more at night)

Interesting! I never thought about setting off metal detectors. You know, I am a bit upset that got banded by one of the top Bariatric surgeons in the country and no one ever mentioned a Lapband medical or any kind of food card to me. I had to find out about them on this website. I am calling my Dr office later. Did you automatically recieve one when you were banded? Thanks for the info.

Good luck to both of you! Wow, you were are off and running less than a week after your surgeries. I was still taking it easy although I had a pretty easy time, too. I am exactly seven weeks out today. Feeling pretty good,too. Have a great day but don't forget you did have the surgery only a week ago! Take it easy,don't forget, you are still healing!

Very Funny! But the funniest thing is that I know exactly what you mean! :w00t::tt2::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Congradulations on your band! What on earth kind of pill did your Dr give you? I never heard of that before. I take a chewable vit and swallow a small pill everyday without a problem and I am well restricted. There are different feeling and things that go on when food gets stuck or you eat too fast, take too big big of bites or swallow before you chew well enough. There are also signs to tell you that you have had enough to eat. You "PB"(productive burp) when you are full and may have eaten too much. It is when food or heavy flem (we call this slimming too) comes back up before sliding through your band. This does not hurt and it is a sign to stop eating if you do not know the "physical" feeling before this happens. Usually I get the hiccups before this happens and I know I have had enough. Then you know you have restriction and the band is working. When food gets stuck, this is different and painful! I read someone else on this site explain it like this "it feels like a flaming golf ball in the middle of my chest between my boobs" and they were right on target. That is why I chew and chew my food and try to eat slow. It is a new way of eating that we all must learn. Good Luck, you should be fine!

I Know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I think we have restriction!

Aubrie, The way you described it is right on target! Exactly the way it feels! Need to print it out to remind me! Thanks!

For me to really get into exercising, I need a schedule. I joined a gym to start in Sept. when my kids go back to school. I have an elliptical at home and have started slowly doing a little at a time every day at the same time. Routine works for me and it helps keep my motivation up. I can't wait to really have time to go on a schedule. Whether you decide to rejoin or not, having a plan to follow will keep you going. At least, that is what helps me.

I have been burping a lot and having my stomach make unexpected "belch" like sounds come out of no where since I had my second fill and have restriction. This can happen anytime of day. I had no gas at all before that, even right after my surgery! I thought I had escaped the "gassy" side effect of the lapband. Oh well, go figure. Not so lucky, I guess!

Diddo. So sorry, Janet. My best wishes are with you and your family. Thanks for being there for us! You are an inspiration. Take care of yourself.

I have tried bananas several times since my last fill and they just won't go down. I even tried blending them in a protein shake until it was like liquid and I had pb like 10 min later. Don't know why but bananas and I are not a good pair anymore:thumbdown: They must regroup. Good question to ask my Dr next time.

You are a funny guy, Florida Pete. You gave me my first laugh today! And incase you didn't see my other post, you really supported Hammer and I admire that.:smile2: I have cut down on my coffee intake and gave up soda all together. I was never much into soda anyway. My Dr said up to two cups of coffee a day is fine both pre and post op. I used to have it with tons of sugar but now have gotten used to it with just a little skim milk. I make sure that I drink tons of Water a day to prevent dehydration. It would be hard to keep going without my cafe! :wub:

Reading this forum and how supportive most everyone has been to Hammer has brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of you, Hammer, for going and getting a fill. If this one doesn't help, go again! Keep talking about your feelings and keep a positive attitude. 80lbs is a great start! The future will be brighter, if you want it to be. Hearing the inspirational stories from Big B and Florida Pete has really impacted me. We all have emotional issue of why we have got to the point of needing WLS and we must deal with them. The amount of weight we have to lose really is not the issue. It takes dedication to change your habits and recognize your shortcomings and stop yourself before you start to eat and sometimes it is so hard. The Lapband is a great tool and we are fortunate to have it. We consider ourselves even more fortunate when we are properly restricted and find it helping us. Even then, the old habits and obsessions with food are still part of us unless we deal with the issues and get good support. I have had individual counceling and have been involved with OA from the get go. This website helps me tremendously. We are blessed to have each other!

That article is obnoxious! At least, the band was not really mentioned except in reference to having it removed. Clayverde-Thanks for pointing it out to us and supplying the link for it.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, Fluffycat. They do still use 4cc bands. Interesting! Glad you are doing well. Yes, It is a learning experience!

Nancy. I am so sorry to hear about your difficulties! So frustrating! I agree that maybe you should look into having a bigger band replace the small one while having the port replaced. Talk to the Dr. It would make a big difference! I have restriction. I have a 10cc band and about 6cc in now (with two fills) My stomach feels full when I have ate enough. If I push it, which I do sometimes because I have only had my band 6 weeks and trying to learn new habits, I feel like the food is backing up and I have to stop. My Dr told me this is how we train ourselves to know when we have had enough. It is a learning process. I hope things work out well for you! Please let us know what the Dr says about maybe needing a little bigger band to work with. I don't know for sure, but I don't think that they even use 4cc bands anymore. GOOD LUCK!!!!

MY VOTE:NO!!!!!! There are several other sites out there that are geared to Gastric Bypass and RNY surgeries and I have gone on them. The Lapband is rarely mentioned and the surgeries are very different. The main concerns with people who have had the other surgeries are getting all their vits and nutrients and triple the amount of Protein we need per day so they don't lose their hair or get really ill. They lose much, much quicker than we do because they have a "honeymoon" from food for about a year! It is like they have a super tight, restrictive, permanent band right away. They lose and then have to deal with the emotional and personal reasons why they became candidates for the surgery in the first place. We have to face the food and demons right away in order to succeed. After they lose all their weight, they then have to face the food issues and a lot of them gain back weight, stretch their pouches (it is less likely we will because we get adjustments) and that is why some get the band as revision surgery. It would be great for those people to join us but we do deal with many different things than gastric bypass and RNY people. I love our forum the way it is, I have gotten so much out of it! I hope I did not offend anyone. This is just things that I KNOW. (My debate team days in college are coming back to me--Watch out) :laugh: