S@ssen@ch

Cuddlebug, I want to apologize if my post made you feel worse than you already do. I guess I misunderstood your post. My understanding of it was that in some way you were looking for the "green light" to cheat and for us to tell you it was O.K. If you're hungry, you're hungry. You need to tell your doctor you're having trouble sticking to the diet........for whatever reason. If you were simply bored with the lack of variety in a liquid diet, then there's lots of great ideas out there. Definately check out the food forum or the post someone else listed just a couple above this one. If you're on a full liquid diet, you can get really creative with those cream Soups and Protein shakes, puddings, custards, yogurts (without fruit chunks of course). It's not broth only, like the clear liquid phase. Good luck and remember, this too shall pass.

Oh my, what a terrible loss you are suffering. If you were very close, and it sounds like you were, this is like losing a family member (a loved one). Know that any one of us here on LapBand Talk are here to listen and offer our support.......for whatever. I also second the suggestion to seek support with a local lap band support group. If you could find others with similar interests and needs, you could find yourself with a new lifeline. If there are no lap band support groups, a simple weight loss support group would also work. There are loss groups, mourning and grief groups, you name it. A doctor could guide you, your local clergy, ask around. Good luck.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm not a big believer in will-power. However, you must get control over what you're doing. You made a commitment to make a change and now you're finding a way to cheat around it.

I have an elliptical, but darn if I can remember the brand right now. I left the stickers off when DH and I put it together. BUT, I can recommend that if it's possible........test the machine out before you buy it. I find that each company and each model for that matter, fits YOU differently. You must be comfortable on the machine. If not, you may not use it. Also, if you buy it at a store they can put it together for you and deliver it. Usually there's a charge involved. I couldn't tell you about moving. I would venture to guess the "moving guys" could take care of that as well. :-)

Eat some solids that count as liquids like Jello and popsicles. You can chew them and it feels like you're getting to actually eat something. On a full liquid diet (and if you're doing hot chocolate, it sounds like you're on a full liquid diet, too) I was allowed custard. Man, was that good stuff and lots of Protein as a bonus. I also second the protein suggestion. When you're getting adequate protein, you don't feel nearly as deprived. Don't feel alone in this struggle. We've all gone through it. I myself also layed awake at night then dreamed of spaghetti and mashed potatoes when I finally did drift off into that rumbling, starving sleep. And, as hard as it may be to believe this your days of McDonald's supersize will soon be over. You won't even want the darn stuff. It just doesn't taste as good when you have to chew it to a greasy pulp.

Well, you didn't give us any symptoms to go by. But I can tell you that it is VERY common to have gall bladder issues with significant weight loss. Obesity is actually a contributing factor to gall bladder disease, then with significant weight loss (especially if you've lost before then gained it back). There's an old saying that those at risk for gall bladder are: The 5 F's (fair, female, fat, fertile, forty). Remember that the gall bladder helps to process fats when we eat them, so if you're eating foods that have a good bit of fat in them and you're gall bladder is "acting up" then you're at risk for an attack whether that be stones or spasms of some kind. In a severe case, something as simple as an egg or piece of cheese can trigger an attack. The blood work will probably be to check your liver because the gall bladder irritates the liver when it's not working properly. If the ultra sound shows stones and you're having symptoms of severe pain in the epigastric area or the right upper abdomen that occasionally goes into your back then you're gall bladder will probably need to come out. Sometimes a stone can get lodged in a duct. Not only is that very painful, but depending on the duct it can also make you yellow (jaundiced) because it affects the liver. If for some reason, your ultra sound does not show stones and you are still havine symptoms of gall bladder, a HIDA scan will check the function of the gall bladder-to make sure it can empty. If it doesn't that's not good either and can be very painful. Good Luck. Gall bladders can be nasty little buggers when they're not working as they should.

I've been reading the book YOU on a DIET The owner's Manual for Waist Management by Drs. Roizen and Oz. It's a great book that explains how food is processed by the body and advocates eating healthier. By that, it proposes eating foods as close to nature as possible: whole wheat, no trans fats-OH goodness I'd never be able to go into the whole thing here. For anyone who's read this book, and for those who haven't, I highly recommend it. I've been trying to make some of the changes recommended and I can honestly say that I can tell a difference. I feel better other than the reflux that I've been suffering from for months (a little too tight, I guess). Anyway, the book advocates finding a buddy. Someone who you can go to and be accountable to. To tell them that you've exercised, or call when you're feeling weak. I think ordinarily people would use someone close to them, a friend or a spouse. However, my husband is the biggest saboteur. Whenever I've tried to take unhealthy foods out of the house, he brings them back in. He also goes out to eat, including fast food, frequently. Aside from getting rid of my husband all together, I need to develop a support system around me. The lap band helped me get started, but I've stalled for about a year and I think it's because I simply can't transition all the way to a healthier diet. I have made great changes, but not all the way. Won't someone be my buddy? And, I need someone who understands Dr Roizen and Oz's concepts. I went to their recommended site, but thought I'd have more difficulty finding a buddy who also had a lap band-which I think is vital to understand as well.

I agree with you, wholeheartedly, Wheetsin. Although it's normal to have some pre-surgical jitters. It's vital that before you take on any WLS you must be absolutely sure that this is for you. You must be committed to the lifestyle changes required of you. I would highly recommend understanding the procedure, any potential complications and how to deal with them. njmomof3, please do your research and if, for some reason you don't reach a reasonable level of comfort prior to your surgery maybe surgery isn't for you at this time. Talk to your doctor and your surgical team (such as dietians, nurses). Talk to other bandsters. Read about the procedure. Spend lots of time online, either here or other sites like this one. "Reasonable Level"=only you can decide that. Again, a certain amount of pre-surgical anxiety is normal.

Here's a very vivid description I picked up along the way: Imagine your stomach as an hourglass shape with the pouch more like a funnel so to speak. You put solid food in there that's well-chewed. Now, you put a liquid in there. You will literally turn your well-chewed food into a slurry and wash it down the funnel so that your pouch is no longer full. Therefore, you will no longer feel satisfied and feel the need to eat again, sooner. There's also the theory that you shouldn't be able to introduce liquids with proper restriction. I've heard of some bandsters experiencing terrible pain when they drink with their meal. It would be a strong deterrant if it worked like that for all, but I don't think it does. Most just sort of flush it down, then they say they can eat more. In fact, at a support meeting I went to one bandster admitted that if she was dining out she'd purposely sip water so she could finish her entire meal. :faint: I can honestly say I can count on one hand how many times I have had something to drink with my meals since banding-and still have fingers left over! Flushing out the food defeats the purpose of the band, to make me feel full/satisfied for longer periods of time.

Here's a link to one of the individuals involved in the FDA trials. It was very inspiring to me and I hope it soothes your fears. http://www.geocities.com/robinh26/ As others have said, once you're so far out from surgery the lapband and the lapband life becomes part of who you are. For the most part you don't really think about it, UNLESS you find yourself in need of support. You get out, you enjoy life and not to sound negative.........if you're here (statistically) you're here for a reason-ie, you think you're having a problem, you need a kick in the pants, etc. I know as a person who's 20 months post op, I only come online to look and see if others are experience any of the struggles I do, to offer my "experienced" advice and to have others remind me that the cookie I ate after dinner wasn't the best choice.

Generally things have gone about the same, no ups, no downs, no improvements, no deterioration. So I figured why bother with an entry. Also there's that old addage: If you don't have anything good to say, why say it? Well, I'm blowing that all to hell with this post. So a warning for those who want to read something good and fluffy about the band. Yes, I'm still a proponent of the band. Yes, I would recommend it to anyone. But I would not recommend Drs. Duckett and Oweis. Although I have no proof, I think they either placed my band incorrectly or I have had a slipped band for over a year. When I had the EGD with Dr. Curry, he said my band was "higher than he usually sees it" or maybe he said "higher than he usually placed it" gimme a break, I was coming out of a drug-induced stupor. Anyway, it was higher than where it probably should be is what I've come out of this with. I didn't start having some of the symptoms I most hate until I started vomiting related to the gall bladder. So..............despite the fact that Drs. Duckett and Oweis kept telling me that I don't have a slip, is it possible that I have slipped up? Because I had some pretty violent vomiting when I went through 6 months of gall bladder attacks that they told me were "esophageal spasms". ONE NOTE: I mentioned all of that vomiting with the gall bladder. Yes, it was violent, yes it was painful-I thought I wanted to die-but most of it was mucous. Also, I have NEVER had a PB. I swear! I have never eaten something and brought it back up. I have vomited due to the gall bladder attacks and about 2 months ago, I a morning that I thought I had the stomach flu. I vomited twice-I hadn't eaten anything so that wasn't a PB either. How can that be? I will freely admit that I have, on occasion, over eaten. I do my best to stop when I feel full, but I'm sure I have eaten more than I should have. I know it's not uncommon for people to not have any food sensitivities, but I'm tellin' ya I don't have any food that I absolutely cannot eat. The worst that happens to me is that I have a little tummy ache until it passes. Anyway, the purpose of my post today is to spell out all the complaints that I have and to detail all the symptoms that I have. Since I've been living with the understanding that most bandsters live with the band with no symptoms, basically not feeling anything or hardly knowing it's there I figure something is wrong with this picture. It's to clarify it in my own mind, not necessarily to ellicit anyone's opinion of what the hell's wrong with me. I plan to contact Dr. Curry after the first of the year (I figure there's no hurry since I've been living with this so f-ing long). #1-I have not been able to lay comfortably on my back since the summer of 2005. During that time I was having the gall bladder attacks and when I told Dr's Duckett (fuckett) and Oweis, they filled me, unfilled me, filled me, unfilled me and kept telling me that I was having esophageal spasms. Once I got the gall bladder out, I hoped this would go away but it didn't. What happens is that after a while (I couldn't say how long because I'm usually asleep) a pressure builds up in the epigastric area and wakes me up. I don't cough. I don't choke. I don't sputter. It's an aching pressure in my epigastric area that is painful enough that it wakes me and keeps me awake for a while after I've turned on my side to relieve the pressure. Hell, this even affects me if I want to have missionary-style sex. Let's not even get into the fact that sometimes I feel the port during this position. (Again, thanks to Drs Duckett/Oweis my port is at my waistline and is occasionally bumped.) I feel pressure in the epigastric area when I lay flat, this makes missionary-style sex kind of difficult because I'm at the very least, distracted. #2-I AM SICK TO DEATH OF SLEEPING WITH MY HEAD (upper body) ELEVATED ON A BLANKET AND 4 PILLOWS! I have been doing this since July! I would give anything to sleep flat. If I do, after a couple of nights, I wake up with sore throats and dreaming I'm choking although I cannot honestly say I have choked. #3-I am tired of having a sore nostril. I've had this off and on since July or August. Quite often, after I've eaten (or had a very fast drink) I will get a sore nostril. At first, I tried to blame this on my seasonal allergies but I have come to the conclusion that this is directly related to eating and possibly my band-that it's some sort of weird form of reflux. #4-Sore throats. I don't have them all the time like before Dr. Curry did the slight unfill, but I have them a lot and although I'm sure it's because of reflux and I'm probably still too tight, I'm SICK of having them. #5-Pain in my left upper quadrant of my abdomen (that's where the stomach is, for those who don't know). Occasionally I get intense physical pain in this area. It has nothing to do with eating, it has more to do with NOT eating. When it's at it's worst, I haven't eaten in something like 4 or 5 hours (which shouldn't be uncommon) but when you have pain like that you're afraid to eat, which causes the pain to intensify. This particular symptom I have also had since the summer of 2005! #6-I feel obsessed with food and I'm not even losing weight. When do I eat? What do I eat? How do I coordinate my eating with my drinking? When was the last time I ate? (because I want something to drink) O.K., O.K. I can see that I probably need an unfill. I'm planning on asking Dr. Curry for one after the first of the year (I've got to send him some medical records first and get my finances in order). I knew that before. However, the #1 complaint (being unable to lay on my back) happens whether I'm completely unfilled or filled. I'd like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about the band and how it's supposed to act. But why is it that I always have symptoms that don't seem to fit the norm? Then, when I go to my doctor, they want to blame it on my psychological state rather than investigate into what may really be causing it? Plan: contact Dr. Ducket/Oweis's office to get my appropriate medical records forwarded to Dr. Curry first thing Monday (12/18). Once I know Dr. Curry has the records, I'll contact his office with my symptoms and make arrangements to get insurance pre-approval for an adjustment (unfill, slight or entire-whichever will relieve these symptoms). Just ranting. Bear with me.

Sounds like you are probably too tight to me. It's not uncommon for a fill to "kick in" a month or more after the actual fill. Also, after a PB do your best to drop down a food level for a day or 2. If you're on regular go to softs or even mushies. Heck, I've even done liquids if I had a sliming episode and persistent sore throat that I knew wasn't related to a cold. When our stoma's (where the band presses in and kind of separates your pouch or upper stomach from the larger, lower stomach) irritated it swells. By dropping down a food level you give it a break and hopefully decrease the irritation. If this doesn't seem to help, DEFINATELY contact your doctor for a slight unfill.

A word of caution before you go gung ho on the carbonated beverages. As someone mentioned earlier, they let it go a little flat because with full fizz it can be quite painful. I would highly recommend waiting until you're at least 6 months post op to try it, that way you've completely healed. Then, try it in very small quantities with some of the fizz flattened. You'll have to try it and see. Then, after a fill you'll have to try it again and see. It's very individualized. Many times, I've heard of bandsters telling stories about the terrible pain associated with carbonation or horror stories of bringing it back up because there simply wasn't room for the expanding carbonation in their pouch. Think nose explosion. I go to Dr. C and his dietician said as long as it's diet that nutritionally it's O.K. and for those of us who have been out from our surgery for some time it probably wouldn't affect us. My previous surgeon said "no way, no how" and I just got used to not having it. The closest thing I've had to carbonation since 4/4/05 has been an alka-seltzer that I let fizz til it wouldn't fiz no more. :sick

Generally things have gone about the same, no ups, no downs, no improvements, no deterioration. So I figured why bother with an entry. Also there's that old addage: If you don't have anything good to say, why say it? Well, I'm blowing that all to hell with this post. So a warning for those who want to read something good and fluffy about the band. Yes, I'm still a proponent of the band. Yes, I would recommend it to anyone. But I would not recommend Drs. Duckett and Oweis. Although I have no proof, I think they either placed my band incorrectly or I have had a slipped band for over a year. When I had the EGD with Dr. Curry, he said my band was "higher than he usually sees it" or maybe he said "higher than he usually placed it" gimme a break, I was coming out of a drug-induced stupor. Anyway, it was higher than where it probably should be is what I've come out of this with. I didn't start having some of the symptoms I most hate until I started vomiting related to the gall bladder. So..............despite the fact that Drs. Duckett and Oweis kept telling me that I don't have a slip, is it possible that I have slipped up? Because I had some pretty violent vomiting when I went through 6 months of gall bladder attacks that they told me were "esophageal spasms". ONE NOTE: I mentioned all of that vomiting with the gall bladder. Yes, it was violent, yes it was painful-I thought I wanted to die-but most of it was mucous. Also, I have NEVER had a PB. I swear! I have never eaten something and brought it back up. I have vomited due to the gall bladder attacks and about 2 months ago, I a morning that I thought I had the stomach flu. I vomited twice-I hadn't eaten anything so that wasn't a PB either. How can that be? I will freely admit that I have, on occasion, over eaten. I do my best to stop when I feel full, but I'm sure I have eaten more than I should have. I know it's not uncommon for people to not have any food sensitivities, but I'm tellin' ya I don't have any food that I absolutely cannot eat. The worst that happens to me is that I have a little tummy ache until it passes. Anyway, the purpose of my post today is to spell out all the complaints that I have and to detail all the symptoms that I have. Since I've been living with the understanding that most bandsters live with the band with no symptoms, basically not feeling anything or hardly knowing it's there I figure something is wrong with this picture. It's to clarify it in my own mind, not necessarily to ellicit anyone's opinion of what the hell's wrong with me. I plan to contact Dr. Curry after the first of the year (I figure there's no hurry since I've been living with this so f-ing long). #1-I have not been able to lay comfortably on my back since the summer of 2005. During that time I was having the gall bladder attacks and when I told Dr's Duckett (fuckett) and Oweis, they filled me, unfilled me, filled me, unfilled me and kept telling me that I was having esophageal spasms. Once I got the gall bladder out, I hoped this would go away but it didn't. What happens is that after a while (I couldn't say how long because I'm usually asleep) a pressure builds up in the epigastric area and wakes me up. I don't cough. I don't choke. I don't sputter. It's an aching pressure in my epigastric area that is painful enough that it wakes me and keeps me awake for a while after I've turned on my side to relieve the pressure. Hell, this even affects me if I want to have missionary-style sex. Let's not even get into the fact that sometimes I feel the port during this position. (Again, thanks to Drs Duckett/Oweis my port is at my waistline and is occasionally bumped.) I feel pressure in the epigastric area when I lay flat, this makes missionary-style sex kind of difficult because I'm at the very least, distracted. #2-I AM SICK TO DEATH OF SLEEPING WITH MY HEAD (upper body) ELEVATED ON A BLANKET AND 4 PILLOWS! I have been doing this since July! I would give anything to sleep flat. If I do, after a couple of nights, I wake up with sore throats and dreaming I'm choking although I cannot honestly say I have choked. #3-I am tired of having a sore nostril. I've had this off and on since July or August. Quite often, after I've eaten (or had a very fast drink) I will get a sore nostril. At first, I tried to blame this on my seasonal allergies but I have come to the conclusion that this is directly related to eating and possibly my band-that it's some sort of weird form of reflux. #4-Sore throats. I don't have them all the time like before Dr. Curry did the slight unfill, but I have them a lot and although I'm sure it's because of reflux and I'm probably still too tight, I'm SICK of having them. #5-Pain in my left upper quadrant of my abdomen (that's where the stomach is, for those who don't know). Occasionally I get intense physical pain in this area. It has nothing to do with eating, it has more to do with NOT eating. When it's at it's worst, I haven't eaten in something like 4 or 5 hours (which shouldn't be uncommon) but when you have pain like that you're afraid to eat, which causes the pain to intensify. This particular symptom I have also had since the summer of 2005! #6-I feel obsessed with food and I'm not even losing weight. When do I eat? What do I eat? How do I coordinate my eating with my drinking? When was the last time I ate? (because I want something to drink) O.K., O.K. I can see that I probably need an unfill. I'm planning on asking Dr. Curry for one after the first of the year (I've got to send him some medical records first and get my finances in order). I knew that before. However, the #1 complaint (being unable to lay on my back) happens whether I'm completely unfilled or filled. I'd like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about the band and how it's supposed to act. But why is it that I always have symptoms that don't seem to fit the norm? Then, when I go to my doctor, they want to blame it on my psychological state rather than investigate into what may really be causing it? Plan: contact Dr. Ducket/Oweis's office to get my appropriate medical records forwarded to Dr. Curry first thing Monday (12/18). Once I know Dr. Curry has the records, I'll contact his office with my symptoms and make arrangements to get insurance pre-approval for an adjustment (unfill, slight or entire-whichever will relieve these symptoms). Just ranting. Bear with me.

I'm gonna give another to Airbourne. Other than this recent sinus infection that I've somehow contracted, Airbourne has really been a blessing. It has either kept me from getting sick at all or significantly reduced the length and severity of my symptoms. I highly recommend it. I've even tried the night time one. It's like hot apple cider.

I'm sorry I missed this thread, too. And, I agree with the majority. This is an unacceptable practice. It goes against everything we've been taught about universal precautions (assume everything's contaminated) and in this case, you know it's been used and has a risk of providing further contamination. He's putting your very health and possibly your life in jeopardy. Please pursue this and somehow force this doctor to cease this practice. You've already indicated that other patients have questioned this, so you know he's doing it to others. Whether you pursue legal action is your decision, but bottom line it needs to stop. "Needlegate"-I love it.

Here's my response. I felt he needed some corresponding articulate argument. You're entitled to your opinion and you've clearly stated it here. However, you've discredited yourself by offering guestimates and assumptions rather than cold hard facts. When you discussed the societal issues in the first couple of paragraphs you assumed that obesity or some sort of lack of self control is the CAUSE of many of society's failings. Without going into an entire debate on the subject, obesity is only a small drop in the bucket of a dysfunctional society. First, I'd like to address the causes of obesity besides the obvious overeating and inactive lifestyle. There are numerous studies that have shown that chronic overeating and food addiction are diagnoses as legitimate as nicotine, alcohol or heroin addiction. This is not a simple case of lack of self control. Would you say the same thing of a smoker or an alcoholic who goes through withdrawal? Or a drug addict who is seeking his next "fix" because his mind and body literally crave that substance? The only difference is that individuals who are addicted to food CANNOT live without food. They must somehow learn to live with their addiction by ingesting smaller quantities of the addicted item versus the abstinence methods of alcoholics or drug addicts. The examples of how your life has been inconvenienced, in my opinion, do not hold up. In general, food prices have gone up due to production, processing and serving costs. It has nothing to do with the fact that the obese have decided to protest against "super sizing" or use any kind of public assistance programs. It's the nature of our economy. Insurance rates are high due to increasing health care costs. That's, in part, due to an aging population as well as those individuals who have lead unhealthy lifestyles such as smokers as well as the obese. Those individuals who have opted for surgery (whether it's on the dime of the insurance or not) have opted to improve their health therefore saving the insurance untold amounts of treatments for hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, sleep apnea and various other obesity related illnesses. OH, and by the way, weight loss surgery is NOT the easy ticket you seem to assume it is. For it to be successful, the patient MUST participate and make permanent lifestyle changes. It's prejudices against the obese like this that have only perpetuated the disease. Continued discrimination causes these individuals to become more depressed, therefore withdraw from society and ultimately eat more to comfort themselves. Whether the individual is 50lbs overweight or 200lbs overweight, they're still obese and prejudices like this hurt. If that's your goal, you've certainly stirred up a lot of emotion.

Other than the consult for the fill, that's me to a T. Keri, You're definately not alone in your struggles. This is the place I go to when I have to have those M&M's or want to burst out in tears when the scales don't show any change after what I feel was a "good" week. It helps me stay real and it gives me perspective. I say celebrate that you have maintained. I know that I do. As much as I'd like to see more loss, I'm so very glad I'm not gaining.

No offense to Dr. Curry since he's my current doctor, but I find it hard to believe that he hasn't had one patient complain of hair loss since banding considering the number of weight loss surgeries he's done, especially banding. His own dietician that works with him (who is banded) has thin enough hair that I can see her scalp. There may be other reasons for her hair loss such as has alopecia, certain medications, hormonal imbalances, cancer treatments, etc but it was something I noticed. I agree, hair loss is common with significant weight loss. It's also common after anesthesia. So those who are fairly new post ops you may notice some right away. Generally, it grows back. The key is to monitor your dietary intake of Vitamins and nutrients, get a balanced diet. I've heard wonderful things about Biotin although I've never taken it. Currently I use Nioxin shampoo and scalp treatments and have had success with that. My own hair loss was probably at it's worst about 6 months to a year out. It has slowed and fortunately it never got so thin that I felt concerned.

I've had it and I directly relate it to being a little overfilled and getting a little reflux. After I got a slight unfill it sort of went away, but gets worse if I overeat a little. Again, I call it reflux. My original band surgeon also argued with me about calling it reflux because I wasn't choking or vomiting in my sleep, but when I got a 2nd opinion I was told that reflux comes in many forms and just because you're not vomiting or choking doesn't mean you're not getting a little acid refluxing up into your esophagus. Tricks for helping reflux: do not allow yourself to remain overfilled/too tight Sleep with your head elevated Don't eat after 7 p.m.-the goal is to go to bed with nothing in your pouch Drink a glass of Water before bedtime (helps flush out your pouch) *disclaimer: this was reflux for me, but that doesn't mean that's what it is for you. Let your doctor know all of your symptoms as well as what aggrevates/relieves the condition.

Bandednomore, are they sure your gastroparesis is directly related to your banding and subsequent erosion? Gastroparesis can happen even in those who are not banded. It is a serious condition and one I honestly feel for you for having, but this is the first I've heard it directly related to banding. Is it possible that the band just happened to be involved in a patient who just happened to get gastroparesis? Just food for thought.

That's actually the premis of food addiction. Most morbidly obese individuals have food addiction in varying forms. How that presents itself, with compulsive binging, chronic grazing/snacking, overeating, etc depends on the indivual. We all have our demons that we have to continue to fight every day.

Thanks everyone. I thought I was jumping to conclusions, but maybe there is something to this. I'm really not sure what I should do. I was overfilled, in MAY. I got reflux. I got a slight unfill in AUGUST. I felt better. I even had an EGD and upper GI. I was told I was O.K. The symptoms were improving and I felt I was on the mend. I even felt well enough that I started being able to sleep flat again. Yeah me! That lasted only about a week or so then I started waking up choking. Now I have the reflux again. It's not as bad as before. More of an irritation in my chest and a sore throat in the morning. I'm getting darn tired of sleeping sitting up. Can we say "INSOMNIA"? I thought may be somehow I was causing this because after the unfill I really did start feeling better. The only time I noticed the acid in my throat was when I had eaten a little too much. For the last 2 days I've made a very serious and honest effort to stop eating when my nose runs. No more, even if I think I'm still hungry. I go to bed with my stomach absolutely growling for food. I do not eat after 7 p.m. So far, I haven't noticed any significant imrovement and I've added a new symptom-HUNGER PAINS, literal pain in my stomach which is resolved when I eat or drink. Which is something new to someone like me. If this sounds like a rant, I'm sorry. I've just got to get it out and hope someone has an answer. I hesitate going to my doctor not because I don't want an unfill. I just switched to him and I don't want HIM thinking I'm as psychologically defective as my other doctors did. I guess I don't want to be one of "those" patients who are constantly complaining of something. So I stick it out hoping it goes away or I can treat it myself-nurse's mentality I suppose.

Question for all you "experienced" bandsters out there, and hopefully Dr. C: I read a post that dated back to August that was very detailed about how after time, we can possibly stretch out our pouch and by doing so the little receptors have a more difficult time telling when we're full. It even theorized that the stomach muscle tone becomes less able to move our food through efficiently. By stretching out our pouch, we also experience fewer PB's. Not that PBing is a goal or anything, it just happened to be something the poster noticed and wasn't sure if it was due to experience or this "stretching out" of the pouch/weakened receptors thing. Here's the thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22437&highlight=stretch+pouch Anyway, a thought occurred to me.......can "pouch packing"/chronic overeating and therefore dilation or stretching of the pouch have a direct link to reflux symptoms?

What the *#@% happened to Dr. Phil? I used to really like his show. But the last few episodes I've watched have just come across as fake. Even Dr. Phil himself comes across as insincere. It's so sad.