2muchfun

Amber, I took 4 months to finally feel some restriction and 6 months to the green zone. I remember being in a hurry too. I didn't realize that sneaking up on this green zone is a good idea. I thought I was eating right and eating the band way. Now, 10 months out, I can look back and know how naive I was. Even when I got to the green zone I wasn't eating the band way. I was eating the right foods but I still ate too fast, too large bites and didn't chew enough. I'm not sure I'm there even now. I do know that 60+ years of gobbling, swallowing and doing it all in an Indy 500 fashion is a very difficult habit to break. So, I see why my doctor went so slow and it took 6 fills to get to the green zone. I wasn't ready and he knew it. I thought I did, but I didn't. It's still working but I've decided to take this journey a little slower than I had intended. tmf

Do everything you can to avoid the vomiting. Your band is sutured into the lining of your stomach and the convulsions from vomiting can separate the band from your stomach and then you have a slip. Also, vomiting will cause your stomach to press against the band with a lot of force and this will result in some inflammation near the band. Of course, that will cause food and even fluids to pass slowly or not pass at all depending on how much swelling occurs. Welcome and one of my big fears is what you are going through right now. tmf

OK, I agree with all the others that you're an inspiration and blah blah blah but wholly cow, did you just text all that on an I-Phone? That would take me 6 months to do that!! And you did it so well! tmf

I too was covered by my wife's insurance program and her employer's plan did not cover WLS. Then, in January when open enrollment came back around we changed to a different plan that was also offered by her employer. It did cover WLS so I eventually had surgery. WLS is like adding an addendum to your homeowners insurance covering your large jewelry collection. They will charge you for this. You have to understand that each of these add-ons increase the cost to the employer who may or may not pass that along to the employee in a higher cost, deductible or co-pay. If there are 1000 employees all contributing to the pool with higher fees, this helps to mitigate the cost of WLS to the insurance co. If each employee has a higher per year cost of let's say $50, that would pay for 4 lapbands and allow the insurance company a little profit. So, the cost of the surgery would have to come out of the pockets of you, the employer or the insurance company. Since no plan existed and the extra cost was not contributed by the members, I'm afraid the cost falls back on you. It's just basic math. Having the employer pay for it would be considered a bonus I would think? tmf

If you've been a dieter for many years like many of us, you can gain 5 lbs during one day if you eat wrong, drink lots of fluids or anything with sugar in it. Or consume a lot of sodium or carbs. It's easy to gain 5 or more lbs of Water with all the meds and food we take. tmf

Kudos to your hubby. Sounds like he would like his life partner around for the rest of his life and into your grandchildren's lives. Consider yourself lucky to have him. tmf

Good idea. Vomiting can lead to a slip. Your stomach goes into convulsions with vomiting and could dislodge your band from the sutures that adhere the band to your stomach. tmf

I've read similar posts like this and it's just the drugs talking and making you feel emotional. Of course you'll be able to eat. That's why we got the band. So we can eat. We just eat a lot less, but we can eat most anything we want as long as we follow the eating rules. tmf

PB'ing usually happens immediately after or during stuck episode. For food to pass through the stoma and into your lower stomach it does seem very odd that you would be PBing. Are you sure it's PB'ing? PB'ing happens when you are stuck and it's a combination of small burp like vomits that produce the slime and maybe some food chunks and seems to limit the amount of discomfort from being stuck? I've never had acid reflux so I can't comment on that issue? tmf

Same day and no need to stay for me.

Check out this manual from a clinic: http://www.peachtreebariatrics.com/docs/Gastric-Band-Patient-Manual.pdf Everyone's experience will be different. For me, I had very little pain and discomfort. But I was in shock over the huge amount of meds, anesthesia, anti-biotics and other crap they pump into your body. Took me a week to get over the trauma. What you eat will depend on what your doctor tells you to eat? I was on straight fluids for 3 days and then mushies. So, I drank a lot of Protein shakes, broth, egg drop Soup, crystal light, popsicles etc. Then I moved on to Soups, yogurt etc. My doctor is quite lenient about pre and post op diets so I really didn't suffer. tmf

There's a big difference between losing weight and losing fat. Depending on how much you weighed in the beginning of this journey might affect how much weight you lose in the first 6 months. I know I was carrying around about 20 lbs of excess fluids. Some people could be carrying around up to 100 lbs of excess fluids/water. Losing fat is the ultimate goal but there is nothing wrong with just losing weight. It's better for your health and your joints to lose those extra lbs. But, most of us will only lose about 4-5 lbs of fat a month once our bodies have evacuated most of the excess fluids. It's physically impossible to lose much more than that unless you're an athlete or quasi athlete. It takes 3500 burned calories to rid yourself of 1 single lb. If your body needs 1800 calories a day to maintain your current weight and you consume 1000 calories, you should be burning 800 excess calories a day. 7 days X 800= 5600 calories burned or 5600/3500=1.6 lbs per week. If you can add some good exercise to the equation you may lose more. In fact, it's so important to exercise and I mean go beyond just walking. Hope I'm not boring anyone? Missy is right about upping your calories. One of my longer plateaus was busted when my grandkids visited for one week. We ate pizza, mexican, chips, coldstone and much more. I gained 5 lbs(all water) before they went home. When they left, I dropped 8 lbs over the next 9 days. Our bodies will slow down the metabolism if we don't eat enough. Give it a try. And, BTW, most of us would kill to lose 5 lbs a month. tmf

I hear ya. I had a small unfill back in May or June? I still lost about 10 more lbs after the unfill but now I'm starving all the time. I think I'll go in in January for a small fill. I'm not gaining but this is like I was a year ago. I ate a small pizza last night. Not a hint of restriction. Gotta love these little detours eh? tmf

I think I've driven some of my friends away due to my relationship with my son. He's been my best bud for about 5 years now. I also had a very close friend who died in an auto accident 7 years ago I miss dearly. And I'm so fortunate that my wife is my best friend. We seem to be connected at the hip. We enjoy so many activities together and I do mooch some of her friends. tmf

I had someone ask me last week how I lost so much weight and I told them I found a new fad diet, it's called eating less and eating healthy. Of course I didn't mention my little tool. elcee, I envy you. You have 10 friends and I have maybe 2. Here's a picture of us back in the 80's running the Boulder Boulder 10K. He's 6'8" and now weighs about 310 lbs. I think he'd like to do what I've done but I know he's not there yet.

I was banded a month before you and I've only lost 50 but I shouldn't say only. I'm very happy with my weight loss but the last 10 have been very difficult and have taken about 3 months and a lot of biking and exercising. I bike about 70-100 miles a week and also do intense exercising along with some racquetball. If not for the extra exercising I don't think I could have lost any weight. I had some saline removed about 3 months ago and I'm just a little out of my green zone now. Sounds like you're not there either? I think after the Holidays I'll get a small fill and try to get back into the green zone. You may only need a small fill of maybe .25 cc or less to get there. It makes a big difference. And, walking is good but it's not going to make you lose weight like you want? I'd recommend you find a gym or some way to break a sweat and get your heart rate up to 140+ at least 4 times a week. tmf

I'm happy so far. I could not have done this without my band tool. tmf

Marci, I was a lo/no carber for about 25+ years. It worked for me until I turned 50 and then it got real hard. I know what you mean. I have 30 lbs to go and it's so much more difficult now. For me, living here in Colorado, it's the end of the fruit and harvest season. I've been eating far too many melons, apples, grapes, peaches and the list goes on. But, I'm not gaining. I too will be going on a lo/no carb diet here the first week of October to drop another 5-8 lbs before we go to Mexico. I did feel deprived back 20 years ago but I spent 30 days in May back on a low carb/Paleo type diet and dropped 10 lbs. It was tough and I did miss fruit but I didn't really miss bread or rice. I think I'm over the bread, rice, potatoes thing now. I think your husband is right if you decide to go for the purist no carb diet but it's so difficult. I lost my 10 lbs in May still eating 1 or 2 fruits a day. Maybe one apple and a few handfuls of blueberries was all I allowed myself. If your hubbie is also on a similar diet it would be so much easier since you won't have to watch him eat Beans, rice, breads etc. Look at the Paleo diet. It's very similar and is lo carb. You must keep all processed foods out of your diet and that's just good nutrition.imo tmf

Every fill can cause some inflammation where the band is restricting your stomach. Could be swelling but call your doctor if you can't get fluids down. Burping is normal. tmf

Sounds like the classic too tight syndrome? I'd give it another day to see if it's just inflammation from the fill but don't let it go too far. Make sure you can still get fluids down. If you get to a point that you can't swallow Water anymore you need to get an urgent unfill. Couldn't hurt to call your doctor too? Most of these docs have done 500-1000 of these and have much more expertise than one of us bandsters. I've never experienced what you are going through but I'll bet someone in his office might know? tmf

I hate people who drive slow in the fast/passing lane. I'm hating Frank/Dodd act right now(I'm a mtg broker) I hate all these political ads and phone surveys. I hate that it's getting dark sooner and summer is really over. I hate using the word hate? Pretend all those hates are "Dislikes" tmf

We have one forum member, B-52 is his handle, and his quote, that is so true is: "Until there's restriction, it's just another diet" This is so true. I stopped losing weight after my first two weeks post surgery. Then I lost and gained nothing for the next 3.5 months. With the help of my dietician and my 3rd fill, I started to lose weight and it kept coming off. Just try to eat healthy till you get that fill that gets you closer to the green zone. It does get better, but it's a slow, slow process. tmf

I rarely see those posts? I do see where people say "Help" and "Depressed" which is quite normal. But the folks who come on here and say bad things are minimal. You have to realize that over 20,000 bands are placed every year so over the last 10 years there are thousands of these things out there. And yes, sometimes the band doesn't work but mostly it's the patient not working with the band. tmf

I spent 3.5 months in bandster hell and it's no fun. But, to make it easy on myself I ate healthy, but I ate more than the usual 1/2-1 cup per meal. I lost 12 lbs the first 2 weeks and then when I entered BH I didn't gain or lose anything for 3.5 months. Fill #3 gave me some restriction and along with a visit with my dietician I started to lose. So, I didn't suffer or feel deprived those 3.5 months. Just don't eat pizza, ice cream, sugar and stay away from bread as much as possible. I ate fish, chicken, salads, veggies etc. But I ate more than recommended. tmf

You're only failure is to not see how much weight you've lost and how successful you've already been. If you're a failure, so am I, but I can't see it and neither can anyone else around me. I'm sure you can look at your eating habits and you already know why you aren't losing but you should also be aware that the band is successfully keeping you from gaining. If you want to lose you will have to re-commit yourself to eating right, receiving fills to attain the green zone and you must exercise more than 2 X/week. I was banded on 11/28/11 and about two weeks ago I met my first weight loss goal of 50 lbs lost. I'm happy and proud that I've lost so much weight. I hope and plan on losing another 30 by next summer. I haven't been at this weight since 1995. I fit into so many clothes that I had put away. A defeatist attitude will only make you sad and lose self esteem. Pay more attention to your dreams and not your fears. Work harder to reach those dreams. You can if you truly want it. tmf