2muchfun

It's easy for me to understand the insurance carrier's position. If you failed with one WLS, why would you succeed with another? People fail with all WLS techniques mostly due to patient compliance issues. The band does have a higher % of complications of course and if the procedure is causing some life threatening issues, I can see why they should offer a revision. But to revise because it just didn't work out, could be a problem for some carriers. Trial and error is very costly and health care is already very expensive. jmo

4 months out from surgery I was struggling too. I had a consult with my surgeon's nutritionist and she nailed down where I was making mistakes and set me on the right course. Call your doctor and make sure your band is adjusted properly. Ask for a nutritionist consult while you're there or schedule an appointment. This isn't going to work for you unless the band is filled optimally! tmf

Let me apologize if I come across preachy? It's just that we see so many people post with very tight bands only to fail with the band and experience slips, dilation, hernias and erosion from bands being so tight as yours appears to be? Many of these other forum members also turned to slider foods since they couldn't eat fresh healthy foods. Just want to see you succeed and not experience any complications?

Just my opinion but you're way too tight and your food consumption is mostly all unhealthy slider foods. The quality of calories is very important and it does not sound like you're eating healthy foods. I've seen many posts like yours from people who think that as long as they're not hungry the band is doing it's job. Not so in many cases. You should be eating more Protein and vegetables. And you don't say anything about exercise? Get your life back and take some Fluid out of your band and start eating real food again. Processed foods like Soups, Peanut Butter, choc milk, beanie weenies and tuna is no way to live.jmo You should be eating lean beef, fresh seafood and poultry, salads and steamed veggies. And eggs, ham, omelets, turkey sausage, Greek yogurt with granola for Breakfast. Missing one meal may be OK but if you do, you should fill in the other 2 with healthy foods.

What does a daily menu look like for you and do you track calories or have any idea how much you consume/

You're doing extremely well considering all that you've gone through. Hoping your 1 CC gives you some restriction? Did they say anything when they watched the swallow test on the screen about how slow the Fluid moved through?

Good to hear a rational "I fell off the wagon" story from someone who realizes 5 days does not make a total failure and letdown. There are still 360 days in the next year to get it right eh? I too was bad this last weekend holiday. But, yesterday was anew and I'm back on track again.

Your welcome. Here's a new one. Got stuck yesterday for 1 hr and 45 mins on two bites of a stinking peach(good one though). It was ripe, sweet and very mushy. Have no idea how or why it took so long to pass through but this nearly 3 year long journey keeps coming up with surprises. On liquids till tonight's meal and I'll make sure it will be on the slider side of texture. tmf

I stalled for several months and went on the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet. But I changed it up to a 4:3 diet. I've lost 17 lbs in the last 3 months. Here's an overview if you're interested? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Aj6hRYg4A

Maybe not with kids. Depends on how old they are and how comfortable you are with them dressing and feeding themselves? And, you might have complications or be one of those who has a lot of pain and discomfort? Most patients are fine but you never know? But usually one or two days tops is all the help you would need.

I didn't really understand your time limits? You only need him to take and bring you back from surgery. I didn't need anyone the following days. Surely you have someone else who could bring you home after surgery? It would be good if he were there that day but after that it's not necessary to have someone 24/7. jmo

Count me as one of the few who doesn't really buy into the "starvation mode" idea. I spoke with my nut about this issue and she said that our bodies might slow down somewhat if we are eating 600 cals a day but if you're burning more cals than you consume you should be losing weight? Do you track how many cals you put in your mouth each time you eat? Are you exercising? Do you know how many cals you burn each day, including your normal daily routine plus how many you burn with extra activity? Did you read my answer to your other post regarding if you're too tight? Try the Soup test to determine if you're too tight? I too thought I was too tight 2 years ago and had some saline removed. That helped but then I had this epiphany that I wasn't eating slow enough and wasn't chewing food to a mush. I thought I was doing it all right but I wasn't. The foods you mention are tough for most banders to consume. Lettuce is no problem for me but maybe I chew more than you? But bread and lettuce and cheese if eaten too fast can all clog up your stoma. tmf

For you newly banded folks, one of the most important things you need to do in these early stages is to get your Protein in. Sometimes it can be hard but if you're restricting your caloric intake to under 1200 your body will turn to fat AND muscle to burn as fuel. This is why it's important to drink those crappy Protein shakes. Many brands offer 25-30 grams of protein, enough to fend off muscle depletion. It's great to lose weight, but make sure it's the right kind of weight. In the early going, much of the weight you lose will be Water weight. Muscle burns calories so you want to keep as much muscle as possible. So yes, it's important to drink protein shakes or other protein sources while only eating 12 TBL of food per day. Plus, protein shakes can help to fend off hunger throughout the day. jmo tmf PS...Shakes do count towards your daily Fluid intake.

kkbrod, That does make sense. Sort of like one of those balloons they use to make balloon animals. The first few puffs are very difficult due to the balloon being so stiff, but once the balloon inflates(dilates) it's much easier to refill it with air. If you decide to keep your band and continue to use it I would think it would be imperative that one would have to follow the eating rules to a T? No room for error? That's a lot of pressure/stress eh? What alternatives has your bariatric surgeon given you? Removal, sleeve, Bypass? I know for me, before my band was filled so I was in the green zone it still gave me some restriction/satiety. Now that I understand how much I have to chew and how slowly I must eat, I would think a slightly looser band would still urge me to eat less? Hoping you get this worked out? tmf

I've not experienced this complication. But, why would one not be able to lose again? The band reduces our need to eat too much food or you can say it gives us more satiety from eating much smaller meals? So, as long as you're eating less food and you're eating healthy, you should be able to lose. It's still a factor of burning more calories than you consume right? And since you've been so successful in the past, you should not have any problems doing it again? tmf

My test to suspect being overly tight is this: food consistency is the test. Take Progresso Soup for example. If you can eat Progresso Soups like beef and barley, chicken noodle soup, fajita chicken soup or most any of the soups with small bits of meat and well cooked soft vegetables, you're not too tight. I still chew most all of these bits of meat, vegetables, rice and barley before swallowing. I also still eat very slow so that it usually takes me a good 15 minutes to eat a can of soup. So, if you can eat soups(not the creamed soups) with meat, veggies, rice or barley, you may not be too tight. If these foods still cause stuck and PB episodes, you may need a small unfill. I had .25 CC taken out once and it made all the difference I needed. tmf

It's varied. Earlier in my journey it was 6-9 lbs a month but now it's down to 4-6 lbs a month and I'm still 25 away from goal.

Yes but not while eating.

? Please translate?

Mine didn't require weight loss. Just 6 months of doctor monitored check ins and 6 nut consults.

Only go for the band if you feel like all you need is a little help in controlling portion sizes? You and I are about the same size and weight before surgery. I just needed a little help in controlling my appetite so I could eat less. I do feel like if I had gone with the sleeve I might be at goal or closer now but I wasn't ready for anyone moving my innerds around or removing them. I love my band but I do recognize some people's bodies reject the band or some people just can't control their emotional eating or bingeing which can cause some very serious problems down the road. It's about a 10-15% chance of complications. I'm OK with that. You should know this before you jump on the bandwagon?

About once a year I do the 5 day pouch test to make sure all the plumbing is in working order. Other than that, no. I do fast 3 days a week from dinner on a Sunday night and don't eat anything till about 2 pm on Monday and then it's a Protein shake followed at 6 pm with a regular dinner. I repeat this for Wednesday and Friday. It's a form of interval fasting. Not true fasting but no food from one dinner till a late liquid lunch(shake) the following day and then a regular dinner at 6 pm. It's a form of the 5:2 interval fasting diet.

Why can't you eat vegetables? It's only supposed to be about 1/3 of your food intake and amounts to about 15% of your calorie intake. Are you wanting to consume vegetables or high carb roots like potatoes, carrots, rice?

tifme, you echo my journey of over 2 years ago. It took me till my 3rd fill where I actually felt enough restriction and satiety. LOL..It was almost like a reward to finally get stuck on food. I finally knew that my band was working and it let me know. I don't recommend stuck episodes to anyone but I celebrated being stuck and it started me on a path of chewing more and eating slower.

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