lellow

Morning all (well it's morning here anyway!) Welcome to all the new people! I think it's a great thing to see so many people recommitting to the lapband lifestyle. I think 'falling off the wagon' is only natural, but saynig that this is a lifestyle change means just that - it's for life. I'm sorry I've been MIA. Started a new project and that always is a frantic time for me. I have been reading but haven't had time to post. Well my port and tubing replacement surgery is tomorrow. This week, I haven't counted calories, haven't exercised, have been eating junk and smoking too much, thanks to working 15 hour days. But hopefully this surgery will fix the band issue at least and I will get back on track. I know that exercise was helping me deal with the stress of work, but (and I know this is an excuse) I already feel like I don't have enough hours in the day to cope with my workload, and takign an hour out to work out just doesn't feel like something I can do right now. But once I heal from the op, no more excuses. I need to put aside time for me. My partner is leaving for New York tomorrow for work and he's freaking out about me being alone after my op, but I actually am looking forward to laying in bed, reading, watching TV and not having to do anything all weekend!

highland, yep, mine does too when I'm well restricted. My daughter calls them 'fruit burps' because I cannot burp properly when I have restriction.

Ha! I'm almost 4 years out and until my band started leaking about 2 months ago, I still did that. And embarrasingly enough, it seemed to get worse during sex (lol, sorry TMI I know!). I usually don't have to explain it to anyone, but it's a little bit harder to ignore right smack in the middle fo getting intimate with someone! It is part of band life, and after a while, you get used to it. I figure those noises are still better than most people's loud belching or flatulence!

Mine was higher up orginally, above my waistline and it was good, pretty out of the way. Then I had my body lift and it was repositioned just to the right of my belly button. Now most work pants I buy sit right on it, and can be uncomfy. I try to get lower waisted pants, but I don't think they looks as professional, esp seeing as I'm almost 42 and am in senior management. I'm due for a tubing and port replacement in a few days, so may ask the surgeon if he can place it just a smidge higher up.

me too, elcee. I think it's human nature though to get complacent and apathetic and slip into different patterns. And like anything else, things change with time, be it the band, or the sleeve, your mindset or even your toaster or your TV! Everything changes. I think it's easy to forget the lifestyle, esp if the band isn't working at it's optimum, which tends to happen after a few years - whether from lack of fills or complications. I think though that this group in particular proves that the band can be adjusted/fixed/used to get back on track, and together with reminding ourselves of the right mindset, it can continue to be successful past the 5 year mark and beyond.

I actually thought I looked fine when I was 215lbs. I dressed well, was generally happy, never really felt unsexy, never suffered from lack of attention from men, but let's face it, I was still very overweight, and I was risking my health and my future if I didn't take control of my continuing weight gain. I understand seeing someone with a much lower BMI and not getting what they're unhappy about. But anything over a BMI of 35 is considered obese. And obese is obese. It isn't healthy and it isn't good for you in the long run, whether you're 50lbs overweight or 250lbs overweight. So people deciding to do something that will give them a longer life, better health and a better chance at less obesity-related disease is a good thing. Does it really matter *when* they decided to do that, in the grander scheme of things?

It does return sometimes, especially as you move through the different consistencies of food and your body has to readjust to a new 'process' of digestion. I got gas pain on and off on my shoulder tips for the first few months. I always had peppermint tea on hand, coz that's what helped me. And walking too. I would suggest if you're prone to gas pain, like I am, eat slowly as you progress through the difference food phases until you're on solids. I feel for you, I do, but I promise it won't be forever.

hell yes, I didn't want to do it. I resisted my family dr's gentle persuasion to get it done for 18 months. I was not particularly unhappy being heavier either. I thought I looked good, I dressed well, and my husband loved me, so why would I do something so drastic as getting surgery? Then my brother found out that if he didn't lose weight, his diabetes and heart problems (both hereditary) would likely kill him in 10 years. And he's younger than me. And he couldn't afford the surgery in the country where he lived because it wasn't covered by his health insurance. But my health insurance covered mine. And I had a 2 year old son. And I thought, oh lord, I want to see him marry and give me grandkids. So I got the surgery. Even though I never had wanted to before. I figured, I have to try this. And it will work, and I will make it work. And now, running around with my son, playing soccer with him, going bike riding with him, I know it was the right choice. For me, it was choosing to take control. Of my weight and of my mindset. And that is the opposite to giving up.

I mostly agree with you B52. I think if someone decides, say, to get an unfill so that they can eat more, then they can't really complain if they gain some weight, you know? Or if they don't want to go get fills, they can't really b***h about their lack of restriction. But I think everyone should be entitled to make their decision on it. If you want to keep eating more, and therefore not lose, or even gain, who the hell am I to tell you not to? But OWN that decision. Live with the consequences. I have no issue with someone who gets the band then decides that that's not the lifestyle they want to live. But what I hate is people saying 'the band's not working' when it's really their choices that's not working. I agree though with jayres that sometimes you need to be kind to someone when they're down. I think as heavy people we're so used to failing, so used to being helpless when it comes to our weight. But I always say, there are so very few things in the world that we can control, and the way we think is one of those things. So sometimes people just need a push in the right direction to get them believing in themselves again, and I think B52, from the posts of his that I've read, knows when someone just needs encouragement.

I don't know if public health with cover for it. I wanted it done asap so I didn't even think about whether I'd go private or not, I just asked him to book me in asap. My health fund and medicare will cover a lot of it. I think, from memory, it will be about $400 all up for me to pay out of pocket. The rest is covered. The gastro-endoscopy was completely covered by my PHI too.

Thanks Jacqui, I know it'll be resolved soon. Which is better than an erosion, anyway. I just can't believe I went from barely being able to get liquids down yesterday to being able eat 2 pieces of fish and half a plate of Pasta 24 hours later. I only felt the band kick in in probably the last few mouthfuls. Next Saturday cannot come round fast enough. I wonder though if I will be unfilled and will require a slow refilling process to get back to the green zone. Because if that happens, I swear I'm going to lose it.

...and then today, I don't feel so restricted anymore.... DAMN THIS LEAK!!

I can't stress this enough - the band and getting it filled is supposed to help you. I'll paint a picture: I have a leak, so have had no restriction for 2 months. I've been watching what I eat, measuring my food, counting calories exercising, all to maintain my weight. I saw my dr yesterday and he withdrew all the liquid from my band. I had 5cc of the 7cc he put in there a couple of weeks ago (so definitely leaking). No wonder I was hungry all the time! I got to his offices absolutely starving (because I hadn't had lunch) and he decided to push my band up to close to the point where I had the best restriction (8cc). In the few seconds it took for him to depress the plunger on his syringe and put that 8cc, I went from hungry to not-in-the-slightest-bit-hungry. That's what being in the green zone is. It stops you from being hungry. I have been killing myself trying to stay away from chips and ice cream and slider foods the last 2 months and today, after the fill, I have zero desire for any of it. So if you're struggling, go get fills and get in the green zone. I cannot stress that enough.

When I'm well restricted, sushi is a definite no no. The rice, the stickiness and everything just doesn't agree with me. But I can eat sashimi. I loooovvvve sashimi!

He's not doing a full replacement, just port and tubing. I did ask him why he's only replacing those things and from what I gather from what he was said, if the actual band was leaking, there would be no Fluid left in it at all. That I had some fluid left classes me as a slow leak, and that's almost always attributed to a leak in the port or tubing. But I will say I arrived at his rooms straight from work and I was starving. And when he put the 8cc in my band, I went from starving to not in the slightest bit hungry in the how-ever-many-seconds it took for him to depress the plunger on his syringe. I know this restriction won't last long, but damnit it feels good to have it back!

Well turns out my band has a significant enough leak to warrant port and/or tube replacement. I've lost 2cc in 3 weeks, only had 5cc left in my band. I'm scheduled for the replacement on the 3rd. He wasn't too concerned about the slip, he said it was so small it was almost insignificant in the scheme of things. So hopefully in just over a week, this will be fixed. In the meantime he's put 8cc in so I have some restriction for few days....

I agree. It's frustrating but the simple answer is = we're not made up of math. Our metabolism is affected by lower calories, our BMR is not stagnant, you retain water more in certain environments than others. So the short answer is, if you keep up what you're doing, you will lose weight. It's not going to necessarily happen in a week. It's not going to happen in a month, maybe. But when you look at your weight loss over the course of a few months, you will see that you've been losing if you stick to this plan. The thing is, this irregularity is why people fall off the wagon. They do all the right things and yet they plateau. It doesn't seem fair. But your body is changing, even if you can't see it on the scales. So don't give in to emotional you and listen to rational me. The band works. Look at my pictures. It works.

shues, I replied to your other topic on scales. I need a new one too. Today it said I'd gained a kilo. I hate when that happens! But the good news is I see my lapband dr today. I hope to get an action plan on how we're going to deal with this slip and the leak. Though, and I'm crazy to get so excited by this, I went out and had indian last night, tandoori chicken, lamb rogan josh and a beef vindaloo with some saffron rice and I actually got a little bit stuck after eating only 1/3 of it. It hurt but damn I was happy to feel my band. I think it's the first time I've really felt it in about 2 months! Then about 20 mins later, I did a couple of big burps and it went down lol. Silly to be so happy, huh?