2muchfun

I'd do it again. And I'm so glad I have the band. There seem to be a lot of new non surgical, non-invasive type WL techniques on the horizon such as the endoscopic plication and the new endoscopic sleeve without removing 85% of the stomach. There are also new meds on the verge of coming out that deal with ghrelin production. I'm happy with what I have for now but I'd switch for a different WL technique if it offered no stomach removal, no re-plumbing and could eliminate most of the eating issues we banders have with stuck and slime episodes. Removing these two issues alone would eliminate 90% of the slips, erosions and dilations some banders go through. tmf

Lose vs. loose is my only spelling and/or grammar peeve on this forum. I see other misspellings(had to look this one up ) and I easily overlook them, but the "I'm not loosing weight" type comments seem to grate on my nerves too. tmf

Let me be the first to say that we all wish you the best in your cancer battle. And this entire forum would like to be your mentor. You can IM me anytime you want, I lurk here every day.

I too see a lot of folks talking about being able to eat a lot of food and they puke a lot. I don't get it? To those folks, go back to basics. Eat very small bites. Eat very very slow. Put your fork down between bites. Chew your food to the consistency of cream Soup. Watch for the satiety signals like runny nose, burping, heavy sighs and mostly look for the feeling of hunger? If you suddenly find yourself not hungry any longer or if the food on your plate is no longer appealing, stop eating and next time put less food on your plate. I suggest if you're having problems with eating too much or having stuck episodes all the time, utilize the 5-day pouch test. www.5daypouchtest.com to get a jump start on restarting your journey. Sorry for the rant too but this seemed like a good place to inject a little advice!

Lucky you. Most of us have to wing it with a half dozen fills. Keep up the good work

OK, I get it now. This is aside from whatever the insurance company dictates and is prior to your pre-op diet to shrink the liver? Doctor knows best! It sounds like the mortality rate or the risk of major complications rises when you BMI is over 60? Have they offered any medications to assuage hunger. The bright side to this is that people with BMI's over 50 carry a lot of Fluid with the excess body fat. We've seen many forum members drop 50-75 lbs in a few months and much of that was excess fluids. Good luck and please follow your doctors advice. Your future may depend on this short diet. tmf

17% of what? Your current weight, excess weight, weight to get down to overweight? What's "reality" mean? Still, that's just ridiculous! If you can do that, why would you need surgery?

My wife is in healthcare and was very skeptical about WLS. Not anymore. Everything is better if you know what I mean. Your hubby will love you for this in a few months.

Hump 1 defeated

Not normal if there is such a thing as normal? Just pay attention to chewing a lot and eating slow with small bites. It's so early after surgery you may miss the satiety signals? If you feel a lump under your breastplate, stop eating till it goes away. It's the beginning of a stuck and or slime episode. Let's hope you don't experience this but so much saline in such a short time?

I can still gulp my water. Not quite as I did before surgery but enough to quench the thirst.

YES

I'd recommend you talk to your surgeon and your bariatric nutritionist. I know you think you chew a lot but I keep seeing this same scenario time and again. I too thought at one time I chewed enough but I was wrong. Try this and I know everyone thinks this is a big sin. Take a swig of Water before you eat. If you think you're going to be too tight for the meal you're about to eat, help the food slide through with a sip of water about 30 seconds after you swallow the bolus of food. Learn to use salsa, sauces, gravies to lube your food if you keep getting stuck. The pain 20 mins after a meal is a concern and should be addressed by your doctor. When was your last visit with Dr?

"Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert at Stanford University who didn't participate in the study, said saccharin doses given the volunteers were within federal dietary guidelines but still much higher than what a typical person would consume - the equivalent of 42 12-once sodas a day for a person weighing 150 pounds" 42- 12 oz sodas? Egads. I think I'll wait till the randomized double blind studies come out. Till then, pass the Splenda

If not for the hair everywhere I think I remember seeing that same shot on my first girlfriend

One thing I've found with fasting days is, once I have something to eat(usually around 2 pm) my mind and body kick in to overdrive and demand more food. It's easy to begin grazing shortly after that lunch meal and the cals start piling up. I usually can keep the total under 1,000 on those days I cave, but I usually keep it around 600-700 cals. The silver lining is that this is a constant reminder of how badly we all were with dieting and how much we rely on our tool to keep us in check!

Erin, why can't you eat dinner with hubby? For instance, if you had dinner last night at 8 pm and have a light 150 cal lunch the today, you can still eat a 300-400 cal dinner tonight. You will have gone 16-18 hrs between meals which is all that is required for a fast.

Some of us have no pre-op diet but most do. Every doctor will have their own protocol. Some want you on an Atkins type diet. Some want only liquids, some want to keep the carbs below 40. X fingers for you to not have a pre-op diet!

I've always been able to drink/gulp Water and I'm in the green zone. There really aren't any foods I can't eat if I follow the lapband eating rules. Dense Protein and vegetables can be a chore to consume but I still manage with only an occasional slime or stuck episode. It took me 3 fills and 4 months to feel enough restriction/satiety to be able to go hours without hunger. It took 6 fills total to find the green zone. tmf

I eat them with no problem.

What are the steps?

What kind of pre op diet are you on? It's normal to feel tired and slow if you're on a low carb diet.

See catfish87 profile.

catfish87 had a similar experience. Your band could have slipped, unbuckled or lost it's Fluid. Or, are you consuming lots of slider foods?

I've never followed how many CCs are in my band so I'm not much help. But it is possible to feel more or less restriction with fills and unfills. Our esophagus is wrapped in 3 different muscles. These muscles didn't have to work much before we had surgery since most of us were gobbling down slider type foods and washing them down with blizzards, beer and coke. When the band is placed and as we get fills, it becomes harder for food to travel that 10" to our lower esophageal sphincter since we're concentrating on dense foods and naturally food stops at the stoma before being massaged into the lower stomach. Our esophagus and stomach muscles become stronger simply because they have to work harder to push food through the stoma. Therefore the muscles get stronger and more efficient. This can give off the appearance or feeling that our bands have loosened. Now, if your band is tighter with less saline in it, it could be caused by a repositioning of the band due to a large unfill or it could also be that the stomach in the band/stoma area, has folded over due to the loose band. The fold could cause the stoma to shrink a little. Don't know if this helps but it's all I got?