hairagain

Truthfully MSC, I do not really know or care what my band has or not. I just know it helps me and I love it. If I work it it works. If I try to beat the system it continues to beat me. Yes, it is hard to resist but it is baby steps. Today, just for now, one or two hours be free from eating,Anything. You CAN do this, and so can I. Just for one hour.

Msc, I find the best place to resist that stuff is at the store. I make a practice of never eating alone if possible. It keeps me accountable. I love to just graze my way through the cupboards. If I have a rule that I never eat without having someone with me, I seem to do better. I fail sometimes but it sort of is becoming habit. I also shared this with my husband so now I am afraid he will catch me eatng alone and question me. hang in there, this is a life time of bad habits we need to change. It will not be easy or quick, but it is worth it and so are you (we)

I use and like the the slim Fast shakes called Low Carb diet. They have 20 gr. of protien. Also have 190 calories. Taste pretty good. I like to get them really cold, like in the freezer for an hour or so, (set a timer or I forget and they explode, trust me on this :tt2: then I put it in my blender and whip it till it is frothy and sip it out of of a nice glass. It makes me feel special. However, somedays when time is short I down it from the can, in my car. I buy them at Sam's club. Cheapest there of all the places I checked. I have been doing pretty well. I have lost but will not weigh till tomorrow at my docs appointment. I will report results then. I had to have a unfill and then a barrium test to see if my pouch had stretched and I ate like a pig at times so you may be okay too. Just go slow and start over. The Protein drink is a great idea though. I sometimes will drink two a day. I feel like I am once again getting on the right track. I need to excercise more however, just watched my 3 grandkids for 10 days and chasing the 2 yr old was no small trick. I am not a young person anymore and he makes this old granny have to keep on her toes. Thanks to you all. It is such a pleasure getting these posts from you all. Makes me not feel so alone out

Glad you found us too. I am glad for any and all support I can find. I do wish people would respond on this thread more. They are far and few and long in between. :confused:) I have had lots of stomach issues with reflux etc. too. I am filled to the amount I think I will stay with for awhile. I also am not willing to pay for another fill for now. I found a product that has helped my reflux. I is called Zegrid. I take it at night with my dinner and it has helped a great deal. I also CAN NOT eat after dinner. I need at least 2 -3 hrs of freedom from eating before I retire. It has helped me tremendously. I think that alone has helped me get back on track. I have always been a night time closet eater. I think this band is my saviour as it does prevent me from grazzing at night. If I do I pay the price. Thank you for your response.

Well, so far so good. I had fill out for a number of weeks. Had about 3cc last time. Today had 1.8 put in and am on liquids today. No reflux yet. Have found a few of my problems were of my own fault. I can NOT eat at night before bed time. Need to be done eating about 2 hrs at least before bed. I take a about a half glass of water before bed. It seems to rinse my esophegus. Helps me. I hope I can get more fill if a few weeks. In fact I have and appointment on the 20th. Will keep you posted. I had tests to determine if all is okay with my stomach and band and it is ok. Thankfully.

Well Freebird, I can identify with your pain, we all can. Hang in there. I just started writing down all my eating this morning, I can already tell you I was eating more then I thought I was. Have you tried that?

I am scheduled at 11:00 am for a refill. I have had fill out for about 6 weeks. I am hoping to get back on track. I need to be very careful after the fill, mostly to not over eat and to chew enough. Wish me luck.

Well finally, been waiting for a call back about an appointment for a fill and visit with dietictian. I have an appointment for June 15 8:30 central time for the fill. I have and appointment Friday at 11:00 for the dietictian. Wish me luck and until then I am going to be doing major overhaul of bad attitude. Some people need a fill adjustment, I need and attitude adjustment as well. But I will get it done! Thank you for the support I know you will all provide and I will do my best to be there for all of you as well.:thumbup:

Thank you Adventure girl. I think you may be right about being kind to ourselves. It is at the least a difficult struggle and almost impossible for some of us. However, it has been done by many as well, and I want to fit into that catagory. I need to at the very least not gain what progress I have made back and I want to lose more so I do not lose my mobility again. I was almost to the point back in 2005 where i hurt to move and then movment kind of stops. I do not want to go back there. I do not understand why when my head knows all this, why do I seem to continue to self destruct? I wish I had all the answers but I do not. I just know I did it before, I CAN and WILL do it again.

Wow, I think I have found a new home. I have come to the forum several times in the last year or two but I was only reading about successful people. I felt so humiliated, I could not post so here goes. Stay with me folks, I have a fairly intricate story. I was banded in Bismarck ND Jan 19, 2006. I weighed in at a whopping 275 lbs. I lost down to the lowest 219. Now I am at about 243. How has this jouney gone. Well, off to a rocky start from the beginning. I got a nasty infection in my port area. There was a stitch inside that did not desolve and that took major amounts of anti biotics and finally a mini procedure to get it taken care of. So no fill till April of 2006. Went fairly well for a while, then I got a too tight fill and had to unfill. It got so expensive I had a huge bill and did not go back for awhile till I could pay it off. My hubby is an invalid so I am afraid I put myself on the back burner all too often. I did not cook for myself like I should have. I ate too much too fast, too late, wrong foods, you name a bad habit, I have more then likely done it. One I have not done is throw up on purpose. If it came up it came up. (however sometimes I prayed it would and drank water till it did. Hence, my problems with reflux were intense and severe. I had most of the fill taken out of my band two years ago and stayed the same weight for some time. The last year or so I have been on a steady climb. Reflux and heartburn from Haitis. About one month ago I had a scare in that I could not stand the heart burn and was afraid I had stomach cancer or something. Had a ton of tests and they found my band was prolapsed. I had all the fill removed and I feel much better. Now I am thinking of going in and having fill put back in because he said my band is fine, and so is my port and tummy. I want to do it right this time and have a meeting on a reg bases with the dietitian and doc. So, I am going to count on all of you folks to encourage and old timer, who is full of remorse and desire to get this fat gone. However, that said, I dread the time I have to give up my friend, food. Am I the only one that ever thinks like that?? It is my comfort very often and I need to find a new way to find comfort. I know how, just not sure I always want it do it. HELP! I do excercise, mostly in the water. I do deep water excercise and a fair amount of walking. However, walking is getting harder again as I have gained back some of this fat. I am amazed at the similar cercomstances with many of you. I lost a sister too a few years back. Took me for a real spin and still does. I will be looking forward to this thread each day. Just a note, if excercise is hard on your joints, have you considered water excercise? I love to be in the water. Nothing hurts....

I have had my band for several years. Jan of 2006 in fact. I have some pain from time to time, if I lift things that are heavy, I will feel pain the next day. Like a strained feeling. I also have some pain if I wear pants that are too tight accross the band. My port is right on my waist band area. Hope that helps. I would say you need to see your doc.

I have finally found the thread that is addressing my issues. Thank you everyone. I am going to call for a refil. I have had reflux issues and am on a band holiday for going on 3 wks. I had tests and all looks well so it is behavioral to a large degree. I am making appointments tomorrow with a dietitian and hopefully can get back on track. I will be rechecking this thread soon. Thanks

Well, where do I start? I was banded on Jan19, 2006. I lost 55 lbs and stayed with that loss for some time. I started having reflux issues. I did nothing about it, but to add some meds for it. I continued to have the issues. My husband is disabled and all the attention has gone to getting him better. I have sort of put myself on the back burner. I want to get back to working with my band and the bandster rules. (can't hardly remember them anymore) I went to see a doctor here in my area. Not my original doc because he seems to have moved. I don't know where though. Doesn't really matter anyway. In fact it may be good because I feel like this is a new start. I had all of the fill removed just recently. It was 2 weeks ago today. I had tests to see if my band was prolapsed after my fill was removed. He thinks it was but it is not prolapsed now. I will have a refill in the near future. I will call for an appointment tomorrow. I do excerise some but need to do more. I will also make an appointment with the support folks down in Bismarck, ND and see if there is anything they can say to help get me back on track. I need some help big time and I think that is where to start. I have gained back some of the weight I lost. About 20 lbs. I am scared I will have it all back soon. Like you, I got comfortable with my new clothes and I was able to do most of what I want to do. I still had 50lbs to lose then and now I am up to 70 so I do need to do this. I have been feeling sorry for myself and am trying to get past the feelings of poor poor me. I wish there was a support group here in my area, I think it would help if I were able to get back on track with a support group. I guess I will have to use Lapband talk forum more to keep upbeat. Thanks for listening! I will keep you posted as to progress.

Hello, I was banded in Jan of 2006. I am just coming back on this thread and am desparatly needing a fresh start. I have not followed band rules for a very long time. I lost 50lbs but now 14 have come back on. I need to get some help and maybe even find a support group in the area we are living in now if there is one. I still have lots of lbs to lose. In fact about another 50 or so. I am not worried about that right now. I want to focus on getting back to good habits. I have very little fill because I have a fairly bad reflux and heartburn issue. Can anyone help me get the basic band rules? I moved to Arizona for a number ofmonths so I am not close to my doc to get some help. I think LBT is about my only hope for right now. Thank you to any and all of you for any help you can offer me.

Hello to one and all. I am not new to this forum, Have been a member for gosh, about 3 yrs. I have not been on here for at least 2 of those years. I was banded on 1/19/06. I did very well from the beginning and had lost about 50 lbs. I maintained that for some time. I had (have) bad reflux but I bring it on myself. I eat to fast and I eat too much and about every thing I could do wrong I do. I have been scared silly very recently because the weight has started to come back. Now I am up about 14lbs. I am in a panic! I need help and want to get back on track. Does anyone have any advise for me. I do not remember how much fill I have. I don't think it is very much because the doctor removed most of the fill because of the reflux about 1 1/2 yrs ago. In fact it will be two years in July. I can eat a fair amount. Like tonight I ate about 2/3 of a med. sized hamburger and the bun. I had some fries made in the oven. I ate a few pickles and carrot sticks and a small glass of milk. Don't know does that seem like a lot?? I am not close to my doctor and have thought about looking for a doc in the southern part of Phoenix Az. We are here for the winter. We will return home to ND in April. I have none of the materials given to me when I had my band put in place. They are all at home. I need guidelines again. I need help!!

I know it is hard to stay motivated. I find it helps me to look at my materials they gave me before banding. This web site helps too. I don't have all the answers but I do know this is a process. For me the best part of being banded is that when I put forth the effort to lose the pounds, they usually stay off. I still have to excercise and diet to lose but I know there was a time I could gain back 5 or 6 hard lost lbs in a indulgent week end. Now I have restriction and no choice about it. Yes, there are times I would love to go to the golden arhes and have a Mac and Fries but I know that food will make me sick because it sticks in my band. All bread doughy things do. That is a good thing. (If only ice cream would stick too) Tee Hee. Just hang in there and it will come in time. I sometimes look at people who had bypass and see how thin they are but I also know many who have much of their old pounds back. Banding is good too, just different. I beleive it is healthier and if we do as we are told we can have a normal life and re-learn healthy habits for a LIFE TIME of better choices. This is not a race and we become impatient with ourselves. We want it so bad and the disease fights us all the way. Be kind to yourself and practice a few non food rewards for a job well done. Twenty five pounds is great and a hard fought victory that needs to be celebrated. Only those of us who have been there understand your pain. Good luck and I know if you get past this stage you will be right on track and flying.

I have trouble too. I did however have some trouble before banding. I make sure I do not eat late before bed or eat too much. That really gets me going. I take something before I eat dinner at night. I also take a prilosec otc in the morning. I get break through reflux in the evening. It is miserable but I live with it as best I can. I also try to sleep with a bit of an incline. I have lost 50+ lbs. I know it has been slow but I am still thrilled with my results. I know if I had excercised more my lose would be better. I would like to lose another 50 and then I would be under my original goal. I will keep at it and the day will come.

I have trouble too. I did however have some trouble before banding. I make sure I do not eat late before bed or eat too much. That really gets me going. I take something before I eat dinner at night. I also take a prilosec otc in the morning. I get break through reflux in the evening. It is miserable but I live with it as best I can. I also try to sleep with a bit of an incline. I have lost 50+ lbs. I know it has been slow but I am still thrilled with my results. I know if I had excercised more my lose would be better. I would like to lose another 50 and then I would be under my original goal. I will keep at it and the day will come.

Hey too all ND bandsters! I have not been checking in lately. I have been doing well and had trouble getting into the site. Finally got it going again. I think it was with my computer. My son fixed it for me. Does anyone still get together for a support group anywhere? I know there is one the medical people do but I did meet some gals from Bismarck at Red Lobster once. Would love to do that again. I live in Minot and I do have a friend here who has a band and we could come together. I am just at the 50 lbs mark. My loss has been slow but sure. I think the best part of being banded is that the weight does not seem to come back once I have worked hard to lose it. Before I could put back on a 5 lb loss in a week end fling. Now I have obvious limits and I don't have any choice in the issue. I still sometimes have things I shouldn't and suffer some for it but feel good as a rule. If any one would like to respond I would love to converse. Darlene

Thanks for the suggestion. I have already made my home food "safe" Sent all my red light foods with my husband. Even the ones I bought today. I do excercise some but could do more. I do deep water aquacise. 3 times per week. Other days I don't do anything so I will make a pledge to start tomorrow. (Bed time now) I just have to adjust my thinking to be in the right frame of mind. Instead of thinking I can't do it successfully, I need to self talk and say yes, I can do this. I have proven it before and I can again. I need to find a motivated friend too. Someone who will motivate me to walk and eat right.

I was banded on 1/19/06. My port sight got infected and I had some drainage. I believe it was from going swimming at too soon a time. I did however have doctor appoval to go back to aquacize. It was about 3 weeks out. He (doc) also found a stitch that was not desolving right. After he removed that it healed up fairly quickly. I took antibiotics for a while. Could not have a fill till it was closed. First fill was in April of 06. Have since lost 40 lbs. Wish it was more but I have not always followed all the rules and could excercise more. I am truning over a new leaf and going back to the things that worked well for me from the start. I have since had no trouble with infection of any kind. I do have lots of trouble with reflux and am on meds for that but still have trouble. I have had 2 fills.

Well hello, I am very glad to see this thread because it fits me totally. I was banded about 14 months ago and to quote Tess, I have not been the best bandster either. In fact lately I feel like the word failure was once again the term that fits me best. I have had two fills and think I am pretty close to where I should be. I suffer with a great deal of reflux trouble. In fact tonight is absolutly one of the worst in spite of meds my doc has given me. I am down about 40 lbs and have about 60 to go. I have many of my old eating habits still haunting me. I at times eat too much and too late and wrong things and and and...... YOu know the story because you have all lived it. In fact today I brought home cookies and many other things I can't resist if they are here and have had 3 and the night is young. I feel in a panic because I can't seem to get a grip anymore. From the beginning I had control with a capital C. Now I am sliding and sliding fast. I am hoping to go to a support group meeting soon if I can find one. I don't think we have one in my town but about 120 miles away we do. I apprietiated the suggestion to read the materials I got when I was a new bandster and I will do that. I also need to get on this site and use it like I used to. In fact I have not been on since August 25th of 2006 so I have lost touch. If any of you have a suggestion I would love the help. I hope that just admitting the pickle I am in is going to be a help. I am good at self denial so this is huge for me. I think my husband has just givin up on me getting my weight down. He does not say much but I know he thinks it. Relationships, that is another entire issue, I know I have issues with that too. Hoping to hear from any one of you who can identify with me. This is my cry fro help!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!

I drink warm water before I eat. Then I baby sip sometimes but not much because if I do I have an immediate feeling of a pb coming on. We jsut came back from a cruise and the way we ate in the dinning rooms worked so well. WE would get a course and wait 15 min or so and then get the next cours and so on. Worked good. I also sipped a little wine in between. That seemed okay too. Maybe I need more wine?? Ha! However drinking much during meals is not my norm. My doc says it washes the meal through to fast and then hunger returns sooner. However I do have a few sips if what I am eating foods that are a little harder to eat(dry chicken etc.)

Today, not sure why I feel like I need a boost. I get tired of the effort it takes to eat the bandster way. It is so easy just to do Ice cream and yogart and things that slide down easy. I know it is stinking thinking but somedays I just get weary of the struggle. Today, I made soup in the slow cooker. Everything was very tender but the recipe called for black olives. Of couse they didn't get very tender and I must have eaten one to fast and the stupid first bite stuck and I didn't stop eating in time and I ended up losing my lunch so to speak. Yuc!!!! Now it is back to protein drinks and things that run down easy. My tummy is sore and I spose it will take a day or two to come out of it. Some days I just get weary!! Does anyone else hear me?? I am normally pretty happy with my band. I have been banded for awhile 6months or so an am down about 32 lbs. I know some folks are more but I feel like this is a victory for me. We went on a cruise to Alaska and I still maintained the weight thing. I know this too shall pass but for today I fel a little like whining. Help!!!!

Thank you to you all for the encouraging words. Today is a much better outlook and I feel good. I am doing only a protein drink for breakfast and a cup of coffee. I still feel a little sore from the up chuck experience yesterday. I decided I need to start weighing and measuring food better. I am eating what I know is more than 3/4cupat times. Brings on problems. It is nice to know that out there somewhere you folks are going through much the same thing I am. I also need to kick myself in the rear from time to time. WE have been doing alot of vacationing and I have done very well at not gaining but my loss has virtually been standing still. I need to get it going and the only way is to do the things that work. Won't go into them because we all know them, but today is the day. No more self pity and alot more grabbing the bull by the horns and doing the task at hand. I want to lose 5 lbs by Sept 6th. That is my mini goal. (I just set it now) I want you all to hold my feet to the fire and check in to see if I am on track. I need to be accoutable to someone and it might as well be all of you. Thanks for the support, you're all swell!! Darlene