westcoastmom

Thanks - I changed it to say "pouch" is stretched. I mis-typed!

Here are some great facts from seminars I have been too. And a few thoughts as I have struggled through this process... The purpose of the band is to help you restrict your eating and control your hunger. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> It is not to cause weight loss by keeping the band too tight. You can still eat around the band. Or you can keep it so tight that you can’t eat or only eat too soft foods. Too much restriction is what you are going after. <o:p></o:p> You might not be losing weight if you pouch is stretched, if you are drinking with meals, if you are eating soft foods, or if is you are drinking your calories. <o:p></o:p> You can enlarge your pouch if you keep your band too tight or eat large meals. <o:p></o:p> You are perfectly adjusted if you are losing 1-2 pounds a week and feel like your hunger is under control. But you have to remember you won’t lose every week. <o:p></o:p> Being too tight doesn’t translate to weight loss. But it does increase your risk of complications. <o:p></o:p> You need to reduce Fluid if you are having difficulty swallowing, discomfort while eating, heartburn, reflux, vomiting, spitting up, regurgitations, soft calories, or poor weight loss. <o:p></o:p> I read a lot of stories here about people concerned that the band is not working. We really need to work with our band. I know it is hard. I have not had any fills and I am still thinking about food a lot. I am trying hard to be conscience of what I am eating to think with every bit. <o:p></o:p> I worry so much when I read stories of people not wanting to reduce fluid because they are worried about gaining weight. I am so scared that they will have a much scarier outcome – at the very least lose the band or have bigger health issues. You can’t lose sight of the bigger whole health issue.

Sorry for the confusion - I mean reduce fluid in the band. To reduce restriction so that you can eat solid food and not only get your calories from fluids or soft foods. Not reducing the "fluid" without calories you drink!

I think you are doing the right thing - we have to be able to use the band as a tool. Too many wait for the band to "work" for us. There are too many ways to work around the band - and too many ways to risk complications. I think we have to think about how we can make choices to work with the band.

Has anyone had elevated liver function test come back on a blood test after having the lap band? Just wondering if something about losing weight quickly can cause an elevation in AST & ALT. Thanks!

I am sorry it has been hard. Isn't one thing that makes it hard being too tight? I think you need to be able to get enough food to have the energy to be active. You don't want your body to think it is starving. It will hold on to everything. There is also an interesting report I read somewhere that shows that the people that have the most success are the ones that are able to eat regular foods - but smaller meals. Although it would feel good to lose rapidly, you really want to aim for a slower, but steady weight loss and overall more healthy lifestyle. I know right now (about 6-7 weeks after surgery), I have lost only about 5-7 pounds in the last month after losing 20 early on. But I am feeling good about being able to eat most foods (just much smaller portions of them). I am slowing down and really thinking about what I am choosing and eating. Even when I do eat something that is not low fat, I am really enjoying it because I am spending time realizing that I am eating it. And I know that it is a small portion. I also know that I am eating enough food that will give me the energy I need to keep up with my kids. I have not had any fills (and don't really feel like I need any yet). I really want to stay at a point where I don't feel so restricted that I am getting sick or having PBs - I feel like that would get in the way of running around with my kids and being spontaneous. I have also found the fear of complications with the band very motivating to being overtight or overating... I hope you can find some motivation and way to make it work for you. I don't think getting fills is the answer. We have to work with the band - it can't do it for us alone.

Have you talked with the dr? I was banded in late March. I was having some mild problems. The fill nurse checked to see if there was anything in my band from surgery and pulled out 2.6 cc's. She removed 0.6 cc's to see if that would help me out. I have not gone in yet for an official fill. (I have a 10 cc capacity band.) Have you gone to check to see if they flushed your band during surgery? They can just try to unfill you to see if there is anything in there - I didn't think I had anything in mine at all. And I am still not ready to have anything put in yet. Even if you really don't have anything in your band, this is something you need to discuss with your physician's office. Good luck and feel better.

I think it is good to hear when a Dr. is being conservative. I think it shows they are being thoughtful about your overall health, your body, and your band. They want you to succeed in the long run - not just meet short term goals. I worry about so many stories I read hear about people so tight that they are sick so many times - and cannot keep food down - but don't want to get a small unfill because they might stop losing weight. I wonder how we can truly be active and healthy if we can't eat enough or if our bodies are struggling. I am hoping to continue to be able to enjoy smaller amounts of lots of types of food and to continue to have the energy to run around with my kids. I was banded on 3/27 too. Good luck with your journey.

I didn't really want to do very much the next day - but I did drive. I stayed home with my kids the next day. I got them ready for school and took care of them after school. I took a quick car ride somewhere. But I didn't take any pain medication (I was in pain, but didn't really want the medication) - I probably would have wanted to just sleep with meds. I think everyone feels so different - it will be hard to say how you will feel. You can definately drive if you are feeling up to it. Even if you aren't feeling well, it might be easier to drive and be alone than to have your kids there wanted attention and not understanding why you are not feeling well. Good luck.

I know all of these choices are so personal. I was banded only about 5 or 6 weeks ago. So I probably don't have too many personal experiences to share with you. I have not been filled yet. I actually got a slight de-fill recently when it felt like I was having a bit of reflux. I want to be fairly conservative to make sure my overall quality of life is good. I know the goal is to lose weight, but you also have to enjoy life as well. I can't imagine enjoying my kids and wanting to run around with them if I was getting sick or even just weak from not being able to take in enough food. I also don't want to do something that would be harmful to the band or my overall health. It feels like PBs and vomiting could be harmful in the long run. They could damage the band or cause slippage or even start habits that might enlarge the esophagus. It just worries me when I read that people might want to live with things that seem at the least very bothersome and possibly harmful - just to lose quickly. Maybe we need to look more at the big picture and long term goals. If we can learn to change habits long term, it might help us to live a more healthy life in whole. Good luck with all your choices and I hope you feel better.

I hope you are feeling better and you find out some news. I can empathize with your feelings. I am always worrying about my decision and about something going wrong. I did all the research and knew about the chances before surgery, but for some reason, now that it is done all these "what if's" are a bit overwhelming. I am only 5 or 6 weeks out, so I have not had any fills yet. I am taking things very conservatively. I am not sure when I will have a fill. I just have taken this opportunity to eat slower and much less. It seems the fear of things going wrong and the fear of PBs and other unpleasentries have kept me at bay. I hope you got some sleep and get to calm your fears with your doctor!

It scaries me so much when I read about people PBing and throwing up so much. I hope you can get this under control. I know we all did this to lose weight for our health - but getting healthy has to be the real reason. Total health cannot include all these other things. Juliegericie - it also scares me that it sounds like you are implying that it is good that you are down to 1-2x per week with these occurances. I just can't imagine that is good for your body either. These kinds of things make me wonder about the choice of having a lap band. I know getting the weight off if really what I need, but again, we also need to be concered with our overall quality of life. I don't think these things - even once a week could be good for our body. We have to be careful that we don't sacrifice other things in the pursuit of weight loss.

I am newly banded - only 5 weeks out, and have not had any fills yet. I have actually had a bit from surgery taken out. But I have to say, that my thoughts are that you should not be living uncomfortably. All that I read about keeping things so tight that you have trouble eating scares me. These strategies seem dangerous. It seems that these tendencies are the things that could make it easier for the band to fail. Plus it just seems like it is unhealthy to live that way. But again, this comes from someone new and scaredy to go through some of these things! I will be very conservative!

I was banded about 5 weeks ago. I am very careful with what I eat and how I eat. I was feeling like I might be having a bit of reflux. I was coughing a bit and feeling like I had to clear my through a lot. This was happening with drinking Water or eating. I had things checked out - and even though I had not had any fills yet, the fill nurse actually took out 0.6 of the 2.5 flushed through during surgery. I was happy with this - I am not ready for fills. I want to be very conservative and not go through any difficulities that I don't have too. This was about a week ago. I am still feeling a bit of the same in my throat. There is some very minor throat pain and it feels a little like I have post nasal drip most of the time. Has anyone else gone through this - even prior to having any fills? I am wondering if I need to go in again to have more taken out. Or if I could still be swollen this far out from surgery? Thanks for the help!

I was banded 5 weeks ago. I can only give you my perspective. I think we all know our kids better than anyone else... I have 2 girls, aged 10 and 6. My husband is very fit and thin as are both my girls. I have friends who are concerned with weight and others who are not. I also have friends who talk constantly about weight. One thing I have always done is make sure that we do not talk about feeling bad about how we "look" in front of our kids. That includes anytime I might hear friends speaking that way. I make sure to change the conversation and I always let my friends know that my kids will get enough of this information at some point from society. I think it is important that they get a good foundation from people close to them to show that it is OK to feel good about yourself regardless of your weight or what you look like. They know that people come in all shapes, sizes and colors and that is what makes the world fun and exciting. We do talk about being healthy. We talk about what food feed our brain and body. We talk about being about to eat everything in moderation and thinking about what we put into our bodies. When they pack their lunches for school, they think about putting in a protien, a fruit, and a veggie. When I went in for surgery, I just told them I was having a procedure done that was not big deal, and would help me be a bit more healthy. I was not ready to tackle the bigger issue with them about my weight. If they ask me more questions as I lose weight, I might decide to talk with them more at that point depending on their questions. I have talked with my older daughter about being teased as a child about my weight. She has seen children getting teased about lots of things. And as they both develop a larger sense of empathy, she like to talk about things that happened to me as a child and how I handled things. Good luck in your journey!

As someone only 5 weeks out (and nervous about all this stuff) - I say this with much respect for all of you who have been living this for so much longer than I. Do we really have to live like that? Does it really feel healthy to have these sorts of things happening? I am just worrying that we can get to a point where losing weight or feeling restriction is more important than overall health. Or I might actually just be too fearful of feeling PBs, sliming and other stuff! At this point, it is hard to understand how not being able to eat enough or keep things down is good. Or how sliming too often will allow for a "normal" life taking care of kids or volunteering at school. I am not ordinarily someone who worries alot, but this has been a challenge for me. I might be the only person to never get a fill! Thank you to all you more experienced people who help us newer folks understand the process.

I was banded not long ago - in late March. I too felt full quickly with liquids. I was also hungry again quickly. When I was brave enough to move to mushy food, this was the case again. I do know that I felt weak when I was on just liquids. I got full and didn't feel well, but I just wasn't getting enough in my system. Once you move on to mushy food, you do start to gain a bit of energy. Plus your body heals more and the swelling goes down. For me, I was able to eat just enough more at that point that I didn't feel quite as sick when I was eating. I have moved on to more "real" food - but I still don't eat too much. But I can eat some things that I have read can be trouble. I can eat a small amount of very thin pizza. But I have been very careful about food - and afraid on consequences. I have not had any fills yet - and in fact have had a small unfill. I felt like I was having a bit of reflux. The nurse told me that you often get a bit of Fluid in the band during surgery. Sometimes it is enough for some people to feel restriction or tight from it. I had about 2.6 in from surgery and had 0.7 removed. I still feel get full fairly quickly and now that I am eating real food, will stay full for longer periods of time. I do sometimes get hungry 1-2 hours after I eat. And if so, I will have a small snack. I am not sure when I will feel ready to have a fill. As I said, I am too nervous about PBs and other lovely things I read about that may go along with restriction and fills. And at this point, whether it is the fear or the tightness I already feel, I am sort or eating as I should anyway. Hope this helps a little...

Jgreen - I just wanted to give you my thoughts and feelings. Now, these are just my opinions - and you can see there are so many stories here of how things have worked for so many different people. I had surgery about 5 weeks ago. I am very similar to you - I was about 225 prior to surgery and am 5'3". I am fairly active and have to be with little kids to take care of (we don't allow TV so we are on the go). I had sleep issues and polycystic ovaries, so I have been listening to my doctors tell me that I would always have a very hard time losing weight and keeping it off - especially as I get older. I know I have certainly been feeling that. In the past 6 years, the weight has crept on and no matter how active I have been, I have not been about to manage things as I had in the past. So I sort of felt like I was fighting a losing battle and really wanted to find a way to get myself back in control. I knew that I needed to sleep better. I need to get headaches in control. I have a feeling that so many things are related to weight. I think I talked myself into surgery as the only option. And really it may have been, because I was not making anything else work for me. I did my research and decided the lap band was the only type of WLS that I was willing to do. I can tell you that emotionally, it has been a struggle for me now that I have had the surgery. That is hard for me to admit, because I am ordinarily someone who is careful about decisions and really secure in them. But I am not sure now that I have the lap band that I feel like this is "normal". Again, I have to say this is a very personal feeling and I do not want to take away from how wonderful this is for others. I have lost about 18 pounds in 4 weeks since the surgery. My fears though are reading about everyones trouble with "PBs", sliming, throwing up and other things that just don't seem to fit into what I want to have as a healthy and normal life. I have not had these issue yet - I have not had any fills and I am not sure when I will be ready to move on to that step. For now, I am really relying on my own self control for eating and managing where I am. I do have to say that the longer I have been banded, the better I am able to deal with the fears I have about the band. But I do still worry about having an object in me that may fail. I worry about having fills and not being able to even keep water down. I guess I am just trying to say that I will in all the seminars and with all the people I spoke with that they would have been a bit more up front about some of the realities that come along with the band. I think I needed to be hit over the head a bit more with this information prior to surgery. Good luck as you think through this process.

I was banded a little over 4 weeks ago. I have polycystic ovaries and am on the birth control pill to control that. I also take the pill without the withdrawal week to avoid migraines associated with menstration (with dr. approval). Fairly soon after surgery, I started spotting and randomly and have been pretty much ever since. I have still been taking the pill continuously, though. Ordinarily, I would not have a period on or off the pill. Has anyone else experienced this? I have lost about 20 pounds so far, but this started fairly soon after surgery, so I didn't think it was weight related. Thanks!

I also should have said that I empathize with you. There are times I wonder if I made the right decision. I am sorry you are having such difficulties. I have already told the doctor's office that I am not sure how long I will wait for a fill out of fear! I hope things get worked through for you.

I am new to being banded - only 4 weeks out, but much more nervous about all the things that can happen now that I actually have the band. I just don't think you can be too careful about things. After reading so many stories here, it would almost seem like throwing up, PBs and other not so pleasant occurances are normal - but I just can't believe that we should think they should be. We have to take care of our bodies; not just think about losing weight. So much damage can happen by keeping things too tight or throwing up. If your doctor isn't listening to you, you need to find a way to make them understand or find another physician. I was just have a bit of reflux and not feeling quite right - and had not even had a fill yet. The office I went to checked everything out to make sure the band was OK and actually removed a bit of the Fluid that was flushed in during surgery to make me more comfortable. The physician and office should be working with you not only for weight loss but to make sure you are healthy in whole.

I had surgery about 4 weeks ago. I am eating fairly well now - slowly and small amounts. I did not have reflux before surgery and I am not really sure that is what I have now. But after I eat - and it doesn't seem to matter how little - I seem to have to clear my throat a lot. It isn't terrible, it is just a bit uncomfortable. I am wondering if this is a reflux. Has anyone else experienced this early on? If so, shouldn't things just go down fairly normal now - before you have any fills? I seem to get full pretty quickly. But hungry again quickly too. I don't think I will feel ready to get a fill any time soon!

I was banded on 3/27. I am eating very runny soft food right now. When I researched banding and spoke with people, I didn't get quite as much detailed information on all the PBs, sliming, vomiting, and other issues that are scaring me now. I am actually almost too scared to start eating real food. Have others gone through this? I am wondering how we can go through life "normally" if these things might occur. How could I take care of my young kids if I am in pain with food that is stuck or can't keep anything down after a fill? What do you do if you are eating out and something gets stuck? Especially if you are just with your kids? I am at the point now where I can't imagine ever getting a fill based on the fear of pain and all these other things that just don't seem "normal". Thanks for your help and trying to be non-judgemental.

I was banded about a week and 1/2 ago. I am physically doing fine. I am someone who in the past has made decisions easily and not changed my mind many times. I do lots of research and feel good about how imformed I am about decisions. I certainly researched this decision. I knew the challenges. It seems that from the time I came home from surgery, I have been concerned that it might be a mistake. I have been overwhelmed with worry about all the things that can happen when banded even though I knew about them. I am so concerned about vomiting, PBs, restriction and pain, that I am not sure I will be able to eat food when it is time. I am on the mushy stage now - and I have barely been able to move on to that. I am getting hungry very often, but it is not enough to make me want to eat more, or try to make the "mushy" food less liquid. Even though I've been obese and struggling for years, I have not been sitting around crying and upset with my life. I enjoy my children and am active. Since the surgery, I do have so many moments of crying and wondering how things will be normal. When I read how well people on this board have done, I also read the pain and struggles in their stories. Can it really be worth living with wondering if a food is going to get stuck or come back up? How can you run around with your kids or be spontaneous when you going through restrictions and sliming? I am struggling with how to make this feel normal.