Cristi

I am having the worst time with this darn band--I got a .5 cc fill in early September and all was great could eat enough but not too much, and have lost 30 lbs since then so if anything I would expect my band to loosen up a bit with weight loss but over the past 2 weeks it has gotten tighter decreasing the amount of food I could eat from half a cup to about 2 painful painful bites that come back up eventually anyway-- i was loving the rapid weight loss so i stupidly said nothing but the pain was unbearable the last couple of days so I finally called and had an upper GI done today which was perfectly normal--i am able to hold down fluids but anything else comes right back up--any advice or input would be wonderful--p.s-i am not pregnant and did not overdue it around christmas--Happy New Year

I actually went in today because I seemed to be getting tighter by the day and the pain was getting worse--he looked over my upper G.I and was baffled by how impossible it was to even see my band?(what the heck does that mean?) he showed me the pics and said "i think that is the outline there and if so its slightly turned" so he took out more then half of the fluid and i back on tuesday to see if it helped and it did i was able to eat like a normal person and I have some of my energy back--He said he would take out half and i thought he meant half a cc but he meant half the total so i'm kinda dissapointed that i took such a leap backwards--im not sure what the next step is he said maybe an endoscopy but i will walk thru fire to avoid thatbecause it helped do you think that means its not flipped after all??

One more trick--for me salt and vinegar chips are my weakness so I would chew them up and then spit them in the garbage--it was so nice to crunch and get flavor, without cheating

I had one heck of a time-the first two weeks-actually my two weeks is up tomorrow, but I started scrambled eggs yesterday and I'm not apoligizing--the only thing that got me thru those weeks was my mother in law made potato soup and because you can have -cream of- soups I would strain it and microwave a cup of it with a piece of cheese in it--I found myself looking forward to it--but still it was real hard--I kept thinking eggs and cottage cheese wont be that hard so its only 2 weeks of hell whats 2 weeks really--I know 14 days 336 hours--just hang in there--when the psch eval guy i had to say said I couldn't eat w/ meals I said "i can't do that" and he said--"yes you can "its either important or it isn't"---Its so dumb and simple--but we can really do ANYTHING because its important or it isn't--Best of luck--one minute at a time--small victories--and be proud of yourself

Ya know--I am so sick of everyone saying " make healthier choices" I think we all know that is the ultimate goal but we didn't get 100 lbs overweight by practicing that so perhaps it is not that easy. obviously being new to the band we are going to test it and see how much we can eat before we get full, and for those of us w/ families i'm not gonna force them to have fish and carrots at every meal---enchalidas are fine---EVERYTHING is fine----- "in moderation"--enter our band, to restrict 6 tacos down to one half maybe one taco. I feel very apprehensive to come on and ask questions about whatever---cheating here and there--looking for support but instead getting reprimanded. I feel that if you have been the exception and followed every rule and never tested the limits offer words of advice maybe what helped you but don't critisize--we'd call our dr. if we wanted that

I am begging for anyone who can remember to please let me know what your post op diet was and for how long?--when could you start mushies ect. My doc is really strict and I've tolerated liquids fine, no vomiting or nausea and I'm thinking i'd like to go ahead and start scrambled eggs, as I am having a really hard time getting protein in and I am sooo hungry. Also I'm thinking that if your stomach has to churn to digest any chunks(bad) why is it okay that it is flailing about grumbling because I'm starving to death?(worse)Thanx in advance for any help

Thanx guys--I needed that, I have momentary lapses of judgement but they pass and I get back on track---Now that I have the protein shots I know I can do this--What is 7 days really??

NY2LAGirl They sent you home the day of?? thats crazy to me. I too was there at 6 am on monday and I couldn't leave till 6 p.m on tuesday they forced me to walk and I have been on 7.5 Vicodin with no pain relief--you know I really thought I had an alli in you, very disappointing!lol lol just take comfort in the fact that it could be worse p.S does it feel like a middle aged man is sitting on your sternum at all times-I was'nt this bloated at 9 months pregnant

I was banded on the 12th, and i woke up to 2 nurses too busy talking about their weekend to reply to my overly-dramatic cries of "heelllppp mmeeee" Then they wheeled me to my room and said "switch beds" I thought they were kidding, I felt as if i'd just been attacked by freddy krueger but i did, don't remember much else of the past week the pain was really bad and I slept ALOT. I called the doc last night and he said if I have no fever and I can hol down fluids its normal pain. I have a pretty high threshold for pain and I can't help but think something is not right. I told my husband last night I made a terrible mistake and I want this thing out of me. Today I'm feeling human for the first time and my pants are all pretty big, so that will keep me going

Does anyone else have seven holes? My doctor said "yeah thats normal" but everything I saw said 4 holes. I have been in so much pain I'm wondering if that has something to do with it

my mom is here taking care of me and she makes me cream of potatoe soup w/ milk and takes a hand mixer to the potatoes so it is no thicker then broth it is delicious she also puts shredded cheese in it--it is sooo good not just tolerable---try the same with bean soup w/out the milk--good luck

I too was banded on may 12th and I am still in an immense amount of pain. I am really not a wimp I was walking fine8 hours after a c-section and off pain pills the day after. I feel like my guts are popping out everytime I try to sit up. I am so groggy from the pain meds and it is not even touching the pain. The trapped air is unbearable--I really wish I didn't have the surgery at this point. I can't seem to get even 200 calories much less 500. This has been HELL--I really thought I'd be better by now.

I'm hoping someone here can help me as my dr. will not give me a straight answer to save his life. What i need to know is how long will I have to have my mom here to help take care of me more impotantly my 4 kids (ages 11,3,1,9 months) Shes coming from out of town, and she needs some idea of how long she'll be here. How long is recovery?, when can I lift my 20lb baby?-when can I drive?, how long should I need painpills? I'm 31 and my BMI is 41.8-should that matter?-Thanx in advance for anyone who can share their experience

dperson--just tell her that you are not sold on it (even if you are) but you would like a refferral to see a surgeon to see if you would be a good canidate for surgery and to get the information that you are looking for. She doesn't have to agree with it but it is your choice. let me guess shes about 28 years old and 110lbs right?

I too am sooo addicted to diet coke. If you are anything like me then if you know the reason behind it, following it is alot easier and if you think about diet coke--if its warm its not fizzy/bubbly but if it is cold it is. Thats because the cabonation is a gas that gets released when it heats up (i.e-inside of our stomachs) so with that release of gas it can easily stretch out our tiny little pouches rendering them alot less effective. I plan on weaning slowly down in the next two weeks before surgery then only drinking it at room temperature in tiny sips if I absolutley need the taste down the road--on the upside it will be a whole lot easier to not drink with meals without my coveted beverage of choice. What is it about diet coke that is so addictive I don't hear people talk so passionatly about any other drink--not even diet pepsi-If i open the fridge and there is no diet cokes, i feel physically ill like it is the antidote to a snake bite, hows that for obsessive, also one a day at lunch isn't so bad I easily drink 8-10 24oz. bottles a day

I am yet to be banded but I have this image of my body shrinking (YES!!!)and my excess skin just hanging there(NOO!!) what happens to it does it shrink as well. Also if your able to answer that for me maybe someone can tell me if those first 2 weeks on only fluids, are you STARVING, or does the protein and the whole healing thing keep you satisfied? Thanx so much

Hello everyone--My name is Cristi and I am so happy to have found this site. I was always thin growing up and I never even knew to appreciate it its just what I was. I gained 100 lbs with my first pregnancy and have had no metabolism since-I worked really hard to get all 100 plus 30 2 yrs after birth but it was a constant battle-it had to be my every thought. since then I had 3 babies back to back to back so you can imagine. I have severe asthma so its almost like a catch 22 for me--I can't move around and do alot until I get some of the weight off, but I can't get the weight off until I get more physical. My insurance just approved the surgery today-(after jumping thru a series of hoops) and the surgery should take place in the next 2 weeks. I am sooo excited and ready for this--I'm ready to play with my kids again I'm ready to not dread getting dressed everyday, and I'm ready to not be out of breath just from reading a sentence or two to my boys. I look forward to taking this journey with all of you and I wish you all luck

Hi Judy I'm new too and I was just laughing at how similar our "what do you want" answers are--how many kids do you have?

It definitly sounds like an ketosos which is an awesome thing--your body normally burns food for energy but now it is burning stored fat for energy and the only way it can secrete the keytones is in breath saliva and urine. So you don't really want to stop it--from all I've read even mints and gum won't mask it for long at all, You are very lucky even if it may not seem that way----I'm envious

I want to go bike riding with my kids, jump on their trampoline--even just go for a walk with them, lay with my husband on the couch, Not wear layers all the damn time, look forward to summer, have some energy back, feel good about how I look, I want my face back, I want to not dread having my picture taken, I want to not worry about embarrassing my kids someday--I wanna be that hot mom at the soccer games!!lol

I took phen-fen back in 96 and lost 80 lbs as well-I also gained back 100. I had a routine echo because of the drug in 99 and they found a tiny bit of regurgitation in one of my valves, since then I have developed alot of regurgitation in all four valves. I have echos every six months but until they are bad enough to need replaced the only complication is taking antibiotics before dental work-its still scary tough