allydd

I am 8 months post-op and doing FABULOUS! I've lost 70 lbs. and have 70 to go! I found out about Lap-band from my mother who had the surgery two years ago. I was very leery about the procedure at first bc of all of the problems my mom has had (slipped band and chronic pneumonia from the acid reflux) but I found a great surgeon and I have had absolute success. I used to play a variety of sports during high school but ankle injuries side-lined me and I began to live a very sedentary lifestyle while taking in the same amount of calories. I'm actually very tall (6'1) and it took awhile for people to notice my weight gain. I remember going for my pre-op physical and the nurse being shocked that I actually weighed 321lbs. But since the surgery, I've rediscovered my love of physical activity. I actually look forward to my daily work outs and have to force myself to stop most of the time. I love have this much energy and I have a productive outlet for my competitive nature. I've known about this board since before my surgery but I normally just lurked. I had some problems earlier this week after a fill and decided that I definitely need to participate more with people that KNOW what I'm going through. So here I am! I'm looking forward to getting to know the Lap-band community!:tt2:

Hi guys! I just started incorporating a little running in my daily walk this week. I can usually only go about 1 minute every five minutes during my first lap (4 laps around my college campus). I'm a little self conscious about running but I'm getting over that. Any way, I've notice that I gain between a lb. or two whenever I do run or walk recently. I had to take some time off from exercising two weeks ago bc I had an upper respiratory infection. I dropped almost 10lbs in that week and a half and I was eating the same amount. So why am I gaining when I work out and losing when I don't? Is it too soon for me to start running and building muscle mass?

I have trouble with water, as well. My doctor told me it could be bc of gas in the stomach. Like the others said above, carbonated drinks can cause that. I have to work up to water during the day bc it seems like the water sits on top of the gas and won't go down. If I can get yogurt down first thing in the morning, that tends to open my band up a little and also gets something in my pouch so its not filled with air when I try water. Milk could also work as well since its thicker than water. I've had to learn that since my last fill. I also have a hard time with liquids whenever I get a fill bc I become irritated so its hard to determine if I'm too tight or not. I'm going to take some yogurt to my next appt and see if they will let me eat that instead of water since I do better with yogurt first thing.

theworldaccordingtoeggface: It's National pizza Week I love pizza too but can only eat the topping. This website has some excellent pizza recipes that involve using whole wheat tortillas as the crust. So you can eat pizza without the guilt! I've tried a few of the recipes and they are extremely yummy. She also has a ton of other recipes that are really good, as well. Enjoy!

I could eat sushi early on when I had less fill but, that only lasted until the third fill (10cc band). I now have trouble with anything that is layered like sushi and sashimi is a little too thick and tough for me now. It could be very different for you, though. Some very fortunate people can still eat steak, sushi, and pork chops easily but I'm not one of them. If you do try it, make sure you do it at home first so that you can avoid any potentially embarrassing situations. I do still eat a lot of fish though. In fact, that's the majority of the Protein that I get. Good luck with your surgery and enjoy seeing those lbs. melt away. Giving up some of your favorite foods is seriously worth that experience!

I had a fill on Tuesday and my band was way too tight. I started vomiting up foam and absolutely could not get any Water or other liquids down. I called my doctor early Wednesday morning and they got me in right away. They took out .5cc's (they had originally added 1cc) and I felt immediate relief. But I knew that my esophagus and pouch were going to be very irritated due to the band being that tight. I've been very careful to eat only Soup the last couple of days but I've started experiencing some severe pain in my chest after I eat or drink. Its like an intense gas pressure and I'm having a hard time burping. I have to literally push on my stomach or gag myself in order to burp and get relief. Occasionally, I'll have some liquid or food come back up after the burp. I'm concerned that I need to go back and have more more cc's taken out. Its getting better but its a slow process. It takes me 2-3 hours to drink a glass of water bc the pain is so intense and I have to burp after every sip. Its the same with food. Is this normal? Do I just need to wait the irritation out or is this something different than my esophagus and pouch being inflamed?

I just had the same thing happen to me on Tuesday. I went in for the fill and about an hour and a half later started vomiting up foam. Couldn't eat or drink anything that night and was up all night "foaming" every 45 minutes or so. I went back the next morning and had some taken out but I still couldn't eat or drink without having this horrible gas pain, like something was stuck in my chest and couldn't move. I guess the swelling made it impossible for me to burp. I was considering going back but on Friday, I was finally able to get a Protein shake down even though it took me hours. From then on, I've had success with food and no more signs of that gas pain in my chest. I'm thinking that the irritation and swelling on top of a completely empty stomach wouldn't allow the air to escape. Once I slowly got something back into my stomach, the problem was solved. Hope it gets better for you too!

I listen for it to go down. Maybe I'm weird but I can actually hear the water hit my stomach. This may be bc I always get a fill on an empty stomach. Try to listen for it next time.

I'm eight months out and still have problems with sushi. I love it and would be a really easy Protein source for me but I can't get the rolls or the fish down, especially after a fill. But other people have had success so you might as well. Good luck with your band!

Hi! I've been banded a little over 8 months and have lost 72lbs so far. This is the first problem that I've ever really had a problem with a fill. I'm doing much better now. I've drank about 72 oz of Water today in order to rehydrate myself. Thanks so much for your response. If the problem pops back up again then I will immediately head back to the doctor. Don't want to experience that again at all! Are you thinking of getting banded? If so, good luck with your surgery!

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm considering going back to have some fill taken out on Monday but the problem has actually gotten much better in the last 24 hours. Once I was able to get a protein shake down, I didn't have any more problems with the gas or pain. In fact, I was able to eat about 2 cups of chili last night and then some frozen yogurt with no pain whatsoever. So far today I've had a protein shake for breakfast and then a scrambled egg and two pieces of bacon and have had no problems. But if I experience anymore of that earlier pain that I'm definitely going back to the doctor. I can't live like that.

Thanks! You're going to love watching the pounds just fall off. Its the best feeling! I'm so glad to hear that Dr. Baker is the one doing your surgery. My mom's surgeon was Dr. Lutrell and she's had a horrible experience with him. I do have the Lapband band and haven't had any problems with it other than with that fill. I will warn you that my weight loss hasn't been steady so don't get frustrated. I will usually drop 10 lbs. rapidly right after a fill and then gain a couple of those pounds back and then have to really exercise to lose them before I have another 10 lb drop. It's actually kind of weird and I always joke that I have to lose every pound TWICE. My goal is to lose 120 pounds or so and I'm half way there at the eight month mark. My guess is that you will actually lose more weight faster than I did, especially at the beginning. It may take a little longer but I have no doubt that you will have success! Good luck with your surgery!

Maybe you can go in an hour early or stay late and then work through lunch in order to make up the time. My appointments usually take about an hour to an hour and a half and that includes the mandatory group meeting with the office dietitian. My doctor normally schedules fills on Tuesday at 1pm so its normally between 2 pm and 2:30 when I get out. I always go to a restaurant nearby and order a baked potato. If I have trouble eating that then I know that I'm going to have problems. I should have done that at the last fill but was pressed for time. I'll know better in the future. I've already talked to the receptionist about changing my appointment schedule for this semester.

Thank you! How did your surgery go? My best post op advice is to get up and get moving right now. That is the best time to start your exercise program bc you are already starting the habit. Plus, it will help you recover faster. Just don't push yourself too hard! As far as my fill, in my previous fill I somehow ended up with less cc's than I had to begin with so I was eating more and always hungry. Luckily, I didn't gain any weight, but I didn't lose any either. So this time around, we were a little more aggressive and I ended up getting 1 cc added. About two hours after my fill, I started experiencing the spasms that you have when food won't go down. Except, I hadn't eaten anything. Every thirty minutes or so I would have to go throw up this frothy substance. I couldn't eat or drink at all. I lost about 6lbs in the 16 hours it took for me to get back to the doctor and have .5 cc's taken out. As a result, my esophagus and pouch has been irriatated all week. Getting Water and food down has been extremely painful. This is the first time that I have ever had the experience of my band being too tight and I don't recommend it at all. I'm usually very careful about making sure that my band isn't too tight before I leave the doctor's office but on Tuesday, I was running late to a class and had a project that I had to turn in. So lesson learned. In the future, I will always make sure that I have enough time scheduled in order to ensure that I can live with my fill. Good luck with your band! You are going to love all of the new possibilities its going to open up for you!

Oh, I always have to lose every pound twice. But if you've just had a band adjustment and you are eating more and are hungry, you might want to to go back and have you doctor check your fill. I had that problem last month after I gained and lost the same 3 lbs the whole month. When I went in for my fill on Tuesday, they found that somehow ended up with less fill on my last visit. I guess the good news was that I didn't gain anymore weight but after increasing my exercise, I was really getting frustrated.