Cinderella 121

I completely feel for you --- I have gone through the same thing before. It seems to come in waves for me. I'll have problems eatting everything and then suddenly I can eat again. I try to switch my mindset and the foods that I eat during those times. In my experience, I think that my stomache swells at times and when that happens, my restriction is greater. I also have problems eatting when I have sinus issues. My doctor told me that when you have post-nasal drip it collects in the pouch and acts like saran wrap over the opening into the rest of the stomach. So I am really in pain when I have a sinus infection -- I had this issue for about a two week stretch and I was miserable. Everything I ate got stuck. I was averaging 2-3 bites at each meal if that. I have to say that I was very frustrated and also felt some resentment of the band during that time. Hopefully this will pass for you soon. Have you tried soft foods like macaroni and cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese? I'm sure you've tried everything. If it keeps causing you a problem, you may want to consult your doctor to see what he might recommend. It might be necessary for you to have a partial unfill. I have had 4 fills and after the last two I needed to have half of what they put in taken back out. What relief!! Good luck! Banded: 1-21-08 Start wt: 337 Surgery wt: 297 current wt: 239 goal wt: 150

In my experience, I have a PB when I eat something that just doesn't sit right and I feel like I have to burp. However, instead of just burping, the air bubble pushes the last bite of food up and out. It's fairly gross. Banded: 1-21-08 beginning wt: 337 surgery wt: 297 current wt: 239 goal wt: 150

During my surgery, my doctor found a hietal hernia and repaired it while he was in there. It must be something that is done often. Banded on 1-21-08 Beginning wt: 337 Surgery wt: 297 Current wt: 240

I was banded on 1-21-08 and had the shoulder pain. Well, I still have the pain off and on 6 months later. At first, it was caused by the gas left over from the surgery. When that horrible pain subsided, I was left with the intense pain in the shoulder/neck on my left side instead of the radiating pain caused by the gas pressure. It doesn't happen every day and seems to be getting less intense over time. I tend to feel it more when I have eatten and feel really full. My doctor told me once that there is a nerve that runs from either the stomache or the diaphram (I can't remember which one he said) up into the neck on the left side. I also had a hietal hernia repaired at the same time as the banding so I'm wondering if that was the reason for the pain especially if it is nerve related. Well, whatever causes it - I wouldn't trade being banded for anything. Banded: 1-21-08 PreOp weight: 337 Surgery weight: 297 Current weight: 240

I have already been through the 6 month pre op dieting and am now 6 months post banding, but I wanted to wish you good luck. I embraced the 6 month's prior to the banding because I felt that I needed to learn how eat in a healthy way for the rest of my life. Working with a dietician throughout that time really helped me. I was able to lose 40 pounds pre op. That almost made my insurance company deny the surgery since I had lost weight. My doctor fought with them and finally they approved it. Good luck!

I have had 4 fills and 2 partial unfills. The unfills were after the 3rd and 4th fills because I was unable to keep anything in the day after the fill. I definatley know when it is time for a fill -- I begin to feel hungry much quicker than before. I also can eat anything I want to without much problem. When I have both of those things going on at the same time, I need a fill. One of the nurses told me once that I should think of the band as I would a necktie. As I lose weight, the necktie (band) becomes loose. A necktie would be tightened around the neck and, thus, the band can be tightened around the stomach. Definately do what you are comfortable doing. If you are losing weight at a healthy, steady rate - there may be no reason to have a fill. If you find yourself becoming very hungry often, that might be when you can explore a fill with your doctor. It is completely up to you. You will always have the option to get a fill in the future if you decide to go without for a while. I have found that when I am at the point when I need a fill, my weight loss tends to slow down and even has plateaued until after my fill. Banded: 1-21-08 Starting weight: 337 Weight at banding: 297 Current weight: 240

Unfortunately, I am able to eat most of the foods now that I ate before banding -- only in very small amounts now. I have alot of problem with chicken (white meat), lunch meat, bread, corn, and any other type of doughy food. I have found that I can eat something for a few days with little problem and then suddenly I can't eat that food with out have an issue. Weird! I have tried fried chicken since banding and I end up having maybe 3 or 4 bites of it and then I'm done. I completely avoid bread (I don't need it anyway), soft pretzels and doughnuts. Grant it-I shouldn't eat pretzels or doughnuts, but I tried them both at separate times since I was banded and after just a few bites (and I really thought I chewed well) it was stuck and I was spitting up for an hour afterward. That was enough to get me off of those foods for good. I can't stand the stuck feeling when the food gets caught and won't go down. I also have found that I can't eat much of anything in the morning. Your right, Odizzydori, my stomache definately swells up in the morning (not outside, but inside). I'm lucky if I can get much liquid in or some yogurt. I feel more restricted in the morning until about 10:00am. It goes without saying that I can't eat cake -- however, ice cream goes down without a fight. I still have to be very careful about my food choices and the band definately keeps me from eatting all of the food (and amounts of food) that I used to eat. That is the best part about being banded (aside from the being smaller part). Oh yeah - I have become a crystal light drinking fool since being banded. My favorite drink is to mix a tub of ice tea and a tub of lemonade together with a gallon of water. This mixture is so yummy. I also love the fruit juice drinks -Fuze. If you get the right ones they have only 20 calories per bottle - and they are very tasty.

Hi - I have been reading posts for months and have felt blessed to have found this website. I am able to find the help I need for what ever issue I'm having in regard to my band and weight loss. Here's a little about myself -- I have been overweight my entire life (well from age 7 or 8). From the time I got married 14 years ago, the scale has been going up and up. I peaked last year at 337 and decided to have gastric bypass surgery. I started the process in July 2007 with a consult with my surgeon. On Aug 1 2007, I started my 6 month pre op weight loss program through the surgeon's office. I did really well and lost 40 pounds by Jan 2008. I felt so good about myself because I had never been able to lose that much weight before. I decided to change my surgery plan to LapBand. I felt confident that I could lose the weight in a much healthier way with the band as opposed to bypass. I will never regret that decision. I was banded on 1-21-08 and have lost 58 more pounds. I am so happy with the weight loss but I have much more to go. It feels great to see the scale going down now. I'm also enjoying exploring smaller clothing sizes. Life is so much better in a smaller body! Overall, this has been a great experience but I have experienced some difficulty at times. I have had issues after fills and have needed 2 unfills so far. Some days the band feels tighter than others - this is definately a day by day adventure. I love getting advice from others and if there is any advice I would give to anyone it would be -- 1. keep track of what you are eatting in a food diary, 2. do not drink liquids right after eatting, 3. chew your food until your jaw hurts and 4. eat slowly. I have the most problems when I am so hungry that I don't chew my food enough and before I know it - it's stuck and I'm in pain. Thank you all for your posts and good advice throughout the last few months. I know that I can come here and get the support I need and I look forward to more posting.