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You're probably real close to your sweet spot. I notice that when I am going past my capacity I start to hiccup or burp. I think I read somewhere that those actions are a sign that you've eaten to your capacity or maybe a little over. I shouldn't have tried to answer this but that's my opinion :wink2: Dee

WHAT!!!!! You should have said " I think you should have a vasectomy!! Wow, just wow!!

Thanks Beachbunny and Laurie for your well wishes. I know it is a big dream to lose 100 in a year and I will be happy with 75 that will bring me to a manageable weight but I'm gonna really shoot for 100 by 8/16/11. I've wasted too much of my life being fat and unhappy. I have myself on a no-shopping thing now. I was mad at myself because I cleaned out my closet and me and DH had to take 4 large garbage bags with mostly my clothes ,shoes and bags in them. It made me feel ashamed of being so wasteful and having clothes of all sizes that were either too small or too large. So I want to get to a good weight before I buy anything else. So I have to get on the ball. timandmich and Amber I am sincerely sorry for the pain you've had to experience and I wish you all the very best especially Mich as you go forward in your pregnancy. Dee

I made some shrimp scampi today. I was going to make it with some whole grain Pasta but I decided to put it over brown rice instead. I was only able to eat 2 shrimps with about 2 tbsps of brown rice before I started feeling it up in my throat. My favorite one pot meal is Perdue shortcut chicken breast strips ( I keep these in the freezer all the time) with some fat free cream of mushroom soup and a bag of frozen mixed veggies. I simmer that all down together... of course i season it with a little seasoned salt , garlic powder and black pepper. I serve it over brown rice and sometimes sprinkle a few of those crispy fried onions on the top of it. Yummy!!! Dee

No problem, I was so confused by this whole thing I had to seek help too. Failure is not an option for me and you neither. I just consider myself off to a slow start and I'm hoping in the next couple of months or so the losses will pick up. If I had not had my surgery I highly doubt I would have lost 26lbs. Even though I wish it was more . I worked so hard for this so I'm going to push myself into a grateful mode. Dee

There is a very inspirational lap bander on Youtube. I think she's from NJ but her Dr was Dr. Geiss (I think) and she has done a phenomenal job. She is one of my inspirations in my journey. Her name is Skymoon1982 check her out if you haven't already. Dee

I have a Vitamix which I had before I ever seriously considered surgery so I use that and i love it. Thought about buying a Magic Bullet but my surgeon said to stop drinking my Protein . They want me to eat my protein so I'm on that right now.

No , nothings wrong. We are the fortunate ones . I had no pain either after surgery. I credit that to a good surgeon. It takes most bandsters a while to get to the "sweet spot". I was banded 8/16 and I have had 1 fill. I am tight in the morning but towards the evening I can eat quite a bit. Sometimes I feel like I was never banded too. If I didn't clearly see my port I would wonder. Just follow your Dr's instructions and try to stick to plan as best you can. Hopefully we'll get there. Dee

Why do you feel the need to correct people's ignorance or try to change how they feel? I was just on another site that I frequent where a woman was asking about dating and being her word "a fat girl" . Someone came in and said if you're not happy where you are "just lose the weight, it's just that simple". I responded back but then again someone came in and backed her up. Weight and those that are overweight and obese are the next favorite group to ostracize , criticize and feel superior over and people that have these feelings will not change unless it affects their own lives. It's just like racism . Laws can change what people say and do in public but it can't change their hearts. I probably would have looked at them and caught their attention just to shake my head and walk away but to say anything to such ones is futile. Save your energy for yourself and the journey you're on . Manda87...you can show them better than you can tell them. You've already lost 71lbs which is enviable and anyone with half a brain would congratulate that keep on marching to your goal and see what doofus says then. Personally, I laugh at people that make comments about something that they don't know anything about. Pure ignorance!!!

I am so serious about this that I am now consulting with a life coach that specializes in helping Lap-banders. My surgeon was great but I find that he really doesn't have a strong after care program . There are support groups but they are inconvenient for me. His nutritionist is not strong and direct and I have just been floundering . Failure is not an option with this band so I had to reach out for help so that I can find what works best for me with the band and to find and solidify a good program that's gonna work for me. My goal is to lose 100 lbs in my first year and if I continue on like this I won't do it. I needed help so I got it. Dee

So sorry for your loss Amanda. This will be a test for you in more ways than one but can make it through. Be well. Dee

Hey Diane, Good on you for getting back on track. I was not able to do too well yesterday . I think I mentioned earlier that I have unexpected guests now so we have been taking them out to eat. They are leaving this evening so I will definitely get back on track tomorrow first thing. I'm anxious to be back on the ball. I am ready to clearly see some weight loss. I drank a cup of senna tea this morning to jump start my cleansing and to get the gunk out. I haven't been eating much but just bad choices. I may call for an appt for a fill too around the end of month. Time to get it in gear. Dee

I was thinking that too. I cannot eat a lot of food like that at one time. A banana is very filling and then a bkfast sandwich and then a sub, chips and cookies ...that's a lot. I have been afraid of bread. Yesterday for the first time I had a bagel thin sandwich but that was an all day thing 2 bites in the morning and then the rest at lunch. I'm with Diane if you can eat that much in one sitting you most likely are due a fill. No karma just sounds like you need maintenance. Which band allows only 4ccs? That's just about where I'm at now and I know I have a ways to go to get to my sweet spot.

What the heezy!! I can't believe you had to fly out to Mexico on a wrong diagnosis. You're taking it very well. I would have been livid. Glad you're ok though. Wow, at 185 I'd be close to goal. Don't worry though it seems like we are all going through about the same thing and we're all basically in the same time frame so I guess we're in our learning curve :puke: . 6cc's was a very aggressive fill. I hope when I get there I have good restriction. I can eat just about anything too and I hate that. I love that I have not had any bad episodes and I don't push it with a lot of bread or anything .My eating has not been good though. Beachbunny have you noticed that you are tighter at some times than others? I've noticed that it seems that in the morning I am tight 2 bites of anything is more than enough but later on towards the evening I can eat just about anything. I bought those papaya enymes tablets. They are chewable, they taste good and are good for digestion and they even help when you eat something that may seem like it's stuck. I have 2 big bottles of them. I reached out to a successful bandster on Youtube for help and ideas. I'm waiting for a response now. I am starting this thing all new tomorrow. I cannot fail with this band. Dee

Thanx, I had no pain at all. I asked for a pain killer the night of my surgery hoping it would put me to sleep but not for pain. I didn't go to sleep but I was ok staying awake dreaming of how I will look now that I'm banded. I had no pain then but I am struggling now to find a regimen so that I can start losing consistently and have the energy to exercise as I should. Herraven...there is a lap banded woman that has a vlog on youtube . I think her name is Butterflybegins. She is at goal and her port is about where mine is and it sticks out like a golf ball too but I think she's like me . If it doesn't bother her she's not bothering it. She is on there in a bikini but I will never be out like that so I'm OK. I'm too mature (code for old ) and my thighs are too big to do that. So, as long as I look good in my clothes I'm cool. Dee

Your port is probably placed in a different location than mine. Different Dr's use different placements. My port is kinda in the middle of my chest , I would say btwn my breasts more toward the lower right side. I can clearly see it under my skin . It doesn't bother me .

Your alright Emerald. I was banded on 8/16 and I had no pain either from the surgery and minimal gas pain. When someone asked if I felt like I had done a lot of sit-ups I couldn't even say it felt that bad. If I didn't have this port sticking out I would wonder if I'm really banded :biggrin: We are the fortunate ones. count your blessings. Dee

good!! we've come too far to go back now. Dee

Yeah, we covered that territory yesterday. I'm fed up too and that causes me to eat badly and my weight has picked up and I'm depressed. I mean I can't eat much but I have been making bad choices. I'm starting new on Monday like I was just banded. Failure is not an option with this band. We'll do better. Dee

I've had more gas since being banded than I've had in my whole life but I have noticed that it is a lot less than it was. I was sleeping with a can of air freshener next to my bed. :biggrin::blushing: I hope it stays that way but if not I do walk with Gas-X chewables in my bag and I have 2 big bottles of papaya enzyme.

I'm in the same boat Diane. I want to exercise more but I have no energy. I asked a few pages back if anyone knew or recommended any energy supplements but no response. I was thinking about taking some 5 hour energy just to get started. Dee

What your experiencing sounds like gas pains. Many suffer with that after banding and most say that walking relieves it. Why don't you try some Gas-X that may relieve some of your discomfort. Hope you feel better.

No question is a dumb question if we don't know we don't know and I don't know :thumbup: I have read of people getting a low profile port when they get a tummy tuck or whatever. In my mind I would think that insurance would not cover a lower profile port just because. I think that may fall in the category of cosmetic surgery. I really don't know. When I get to goal I know mine will be very noticeable as it already is but if it doesn't bother me I won't bother it. I already know no matter how much I lose I will never be able to wear a bikini and that's the only way I can see it bothering me. My thighs are shot not for public display :thumbup: It seems they should use them from the beginning , maybe it has something to do with a bigger port being more accessible for fills. Sorry for all your troubles Joycie but congrats on the loss of 40 lbs.

Yes, you can see my port very clearly under my skin when I don't have on clothes. I imagine when and if I finally get to goal it will stick out like a golf ball because it's almost there now. When I was trying to work out :thumbup: I wore one of those ab braces and that kept my port pretty stable. I know I'm fortunate to have insurance. I'm grateful. I am soooo feeling that just another diet thing but I read that many feel that way. I too need to get more aggressive with my exercise. I know that will help a lot to increase the losses. I read in another post that they have to muck out a lot of stuff to get that port where it is . So I feel that it will take a while for it to heal completely. I always brace my port with a towel or I hold my hand over it if I'm bending or something because I'm also paranoid of flipping it . I know it's not that easy to do but I just try to be careful. Congrats on that 50 lbs. Yeah, Laurie we have a lot of company in our misery on our expensive Lap-Band diet. Just like we're going through this together hopefully, we'll all start dropping it like it's hot together real soon. Dee

I'm sorry that you 2 are having a little rough time too but I'm glad that I'm not alone. I'm feeling like such a failure. I haven't made the appt for my next fill yet but I guess I should get on it for the last week in October or the first of November. I just got the EOB from the insurance yesterday. My surgery cost close to 20G and the 1st fill was $340. so I better get on the ball. Thank goodness for insurance . Dee