2muchfun

Are you on pain meds? Pain meds shut me down. Closes off the lower stomach sphincter so nothing goes through. Or, you've got a lot of swelling. tmf

I had the same problem when I was filled on May 11th. It's taken me 3 weeks now to re-learn how to eat with my band. I was eating too fast and chicken and beef are a real problem. So, no steak only hamburger now. No dry chicken or leftover fish. I'm making it work but if you're eating right, you may need a small unfill. tmf

OK, it's time for the Gipper to step in and slap you two around. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. WHAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING IS NORMAL. IT HAPPENED TO ME AND IT HAPPENS TO PROBABLY 50%(swag) OF BANDSTERS. NOW GET OUT THERE AND DON'T GIVE UP!!! Seriously, I had 4 fills before I finally started to feel some restriction and now I'm up to #6 and I'm in the green zone. I too felt like you except the failure part. I was very discouraged. I know a couple of people who were banded after me and they had lost 50 and 70 lbs each. I didn't feel like a failure but I was disappointed and pissed. Keep going back for fills and make sure you're not eating slider foods. It will come. The force is powerful with this one. tmf

At this stage my doc and nutritionist allowed me to eat deli turkey and chicken. I tried beef and ham and they were still too rough to get down. Salmon was on my list as was orange roughy and cod. I'm in the green zone now and salmon is one of my favs. Although I've learned to cook just enough to eat and no leftovers. Some leftovers tend to be too dry and get stuck no matter how much I chew. tmf

I hate reading these stories. I so feel for you. I'm so excited about my journey and I would be crushed if something similar happened to me. I want this so badly and for me it's the only way I'll ever be thin again. And thin or "not fat" is health for me. Somehow you have to get back up on that horse and ride it again. Think about your health, your family, your partner. It's just another hill for you to climb but if you did it once, you can do it again right? Keep in touch with the Dr's nutritionist. For me, she was the difference between failure and success just 3 months ago. Be honest with her/him and spill your guts about what you eat and how you eat. Something went wrong, not saying it was you, but don't let it be you! tmf

I was hungry the next day 11/30/2011. And it continued till March 15th 2012.

There's also a fine line between stuck and restriction/satiety. Like Mis73 said, stuck is eating too fast etc. But you can have the proper restriction and if you aren't following the rules, your band will tell you. If you've just had a fill and you're getting stuck, understand that you must re-learn how to eat with your band all over again. I know for me each fill created a new challenge. I thought I was too tight but after reading time and time again on this forum that we all need to eat slow, eat small and chew big I'm now a greenie. tmf

Banded 11/28/11 and as of March 15th(nearly 4 mos) I had lost 12 lbs. Fill #4 changed my eating habits as did #5 & #6. From March 15th to now I've lost 21 lbs. A visit with my nutritionist helped me make better food choices and I ramped up my exercise routine. I think so many of us go into this hearing how some people lose 10-12 lbs a month and I know I ignored the ones who said they lost 5 lbs a month and didn't lose any in some months. I knew that wouldn't be me. I too was discouraged but now I'm excited about my weight loss. You will be too if you just hang in there. If you are not feeling restriction and can still eat too much I'd advise another fill. Small fill maybe? tmf

OK, if it's up to me, I say yes, you can join the LBP(lap band party) again. tmf

I don't remember having an orientation? You mean with your doctor or pre-op consult with a nurse? tmf

Considering your food choices, 5 lbs is incredible. Sweets will cause your body to retain Water as well as add fat if you eat too much? You can only expect to lose 4-8 lbs a month with the band. In the first few months most of the weight lost is fluids. After that if you can lose 4-6 lbs a month you are doing wonderful. Do you count the sweet calories in your 1200/day? If you're getting lots of calories from sweets you aren't giving your body fuel to work out or lose with. tmf

Like someone pinched me gently.

OK, here's one that you don't hear often: Get back on the band program or you might not live very long? If that doesn't motivate someone then I don't have an answer either? Heart disease, diabetes, stroke, joint degeneration, cancer, depression: These words are true whether you're thin or fat, but the odds of not hearing those words are much better if you are thinner. tmf

liquid diet for 24 hours, then soft foods, then get back on that damn horse! (sound of whip cracking) Stay away from slider foods, and find a reason to be thin again. For, your kids? Your husband, boyfriend, family, or most of all, you? tmf

Yum, Protein shakes. LOL Well, let's pray you don't need a fill and avoid bandster hell k? tmf

You're taking the right first steps. I'd recommend you google Bariatric docs in your area and attend several(not just one) seminars to get a feel for what's to come. Good luck. tmf

Your lower body has much more muscle mass than your torso. Lunges, squats, both with or without weights. Lay on the floor on each side and do side leg lifts, on your back and do leg lifts, on your stomach and do leg lifts to work your glutes. Add small weights to your legs if you can. If you can do 2 or 3 of these for 15 minutes, your heart rate will soar and you be strengthening all your muscles and, this will increase your metabolism for hours afterward. Go to youtube and look up Squats and lunges for women. There are so many videos to choose from. I find the lunges to be difficult so I use a small chair for balance. I have bad knees so I also have made some small changes to accommodate my bad joints. Good luck. tmf

Oh yes it is so normal. Took me 6 fills to find the green zone. The first 3 I was like you but the next 3 seemed to help me not be so hungry and I started to lose weight. You'll find many others with similar stories. tmf

And do you keep a journal? We'll need to know more to help you Sandy? Do you feel like you are using the band as a tool or are you eating around your band with slider foods? Losing weight is basically a mathematical equation if you use the band properly. Consume fewer calories than you burn. Most of us use about 2000 calories per day or 14,000 per week. If you can just cut that to 1500 you will burn 7 X 500=3500 calories burned or 1 lb of fat lost. If you ramp up your exercise program just a little you can burn an extra 300 X 7=2100 calories per week. Those two would add up to about 6 lbs per month. Now if it were only that easy no one would complain. But we all know that medical issues and family issues can derail the best plan. But, still we should all be able to lose 4 lbs per month if we follow the plan. And I looked at your profile and it seems like somewhere along the line you were doing well? What happened? tmf

Aint it great to be a loser?

Make sure you aren't eating slider foods. tmf

You are such a showoff!!! Aint it great?

My wife had Pneumonia back around Xmas and it affected her asthma so the doc put her on prednisone. She gained about 12 lbs in two months but lucky for her she wasn't overweight to start with. But she was eating twice as much as I was. Of course, I was newly banded but still, she attacked food like a May bear. How does one find the motivation? If that could be answered easily no one would need a band. A change back to the lifestyle you created when you lost all the weight but it's all in your head. Maybe drop some dollars on a psychologist who works with people like us eh? Shrinks can be very helpful but some are just plain turds(sorry). We've had to work with a few with our son when he was in middle and high school and some of them suck! tmf

Sojourner, have you lost all that weight(58) since surgery? Or is some of it part of pre-op? Either way, it's outrageously fine. I'd like some of those complications. tmf

You can count yourself as one of the lucky ones because at 3 weeks out I was super hungry and I could eat just as much as I could before surgery. That's why I needed 6 fills to get to this point. And of course, my surgery was 11/28/11 so I was hungry right in the middle of the Holiday season. But, through will power I managed to not gain any of the 12 lbs I had already lost. Sounds like you are right where you need to be. tmf