2muchfun

One would think a reason would be that your stomach lining got thicker? Maybe retaining more blood? I read someone else's post today that they have to have saline removed every spring due to allergies causing excess mucous which can cause the lining of the stomach to swell? I'd bet a gastroenterologist could answer the question? I love my surgeon but sometimes I think the guy is myopic and can't see the forest for the trees? He's a good surgeon but I feel like I'm speaking to someone who has no idea what I'm experiencing sometimes? Specialist who understand a particular organ in the body seem to know so much more than surgeons or PCPs. I remember about 15 years ago my wife had incredibly bad breath. She constantly complained about this bad metallic taste in her mouth. Her PCP, Dentist, GYN had no answer for her. I played tennis with some docs and one was a gastroenterologist and I brought it up one day on the court. He immediately said she had some kind of Pyloric germ. She went in to see him and he gave her some pills and Voila, problem solved. I've got other orthopedic examples but you get the idea? Sorry to babble/ramble.

5 kg is about what most seem to lose so you're doing great. It should get easier with the band.

That is unusual. You have every right to be concerned since slips can cause us to feel tighter. Any reason to suspect a slip? Sorry, not trying to alarm you but I'm sure the thought crossed your mind? Sometimes I'm concerned my pouch or esophagus is dilated. But, then I'll have a minor stuck episode with just one bite. If my pouch was dilated seems like I could consume at least 4-5 bites before I felt some resistance? So, I'm satisfied my pouch is OK. So, I think we all look for those signals that something odd is going on and some people just assume it's a slip or erosion or some other traumatic issue. You're pretty calm about your oddity?

There's an entire forum in the sleeve forum just for folks who were band to sleeve patients. My personal opinion? You're over interpreting the negative aspects of both WLS methods. There is no high failure rate with the band but it is higher than the other 3 WLS methods. From what I read, reflux does happen to a small percentage of sleevers but not a high percent. The band requires a lot more cerebral attendance since so much of it is based on how you "feel" satiety and some patients never recognize the satiety feelings. You really have to pay attention to those soft signals or you may not lose a lot of weight. Band patients do lose less than sleeve pts. You can't miss the full signals with the sleeve. Stretched pouches are rare and even then, not back to the old stomach size. jmo tmf

8 days and I started with refried beans w/sprinkle of cheese.

MY last fill took 4-5 days to hit and then it got a little tighter over the next week. I'm good with that and I can drink as much and as fast as I want. You may need a small unfill(.25 cc) by weeks end if this continues?

^5

There are only a few like you who have met their goal who monitor this board so I wouldn't expect a lot of response? I wish I could respond but I'm still 25 away.

My only issue was from the trauma of having so many drugs, saline, gas pumped into my body. I felt traumatized for a week. No real pain and no issues with food or fluids for me. Just the foggy feelings from the drugs.

The drinking part of Dr. O'Brien's protocol is controversial on this forum. Even my own doc asks us not to eat 30 before, during and 30 after but admits that some of his patients do fine with drinking and eating. I'm surprised your doctor places bands so low on the stomach? The new methods that have been in place for about 7 years now are about 3 cm below the lower esophageal schincter which means your pouch is only the size of about two tablespoons of food.

1. Pre-op..They want your liver to shrink so they can get to your stomach without damaging the liver. And carbs, especially simple carbs like sugar, make your body retain fluids and of course there's the calories. 2. Post-op..Your daily calorie input is extremely limited. Simple carbs have no nutritional value except maybe a little energy. Simple carbs also spike your insulin levels and when they come down you just want more sugar. Many of us have/had sugar addictions and no time like the present to kick that bad habit.

One of the most difficult things to learn with the band is how to eat small, slow and chew your food to mush. You may think you're chewing a lot but my money is on not. It took me 10 months before I finally understood. And I still get stuck. Chewing is not my problem, eating too fast and too big is my kryptonite. One other thing you have to get out of your mind is that the band does not stop you from over-eating. Your lower stomach is still there. If you chew properly, eat very slow and small, the band helps you feel satisfied with less food. There are soft signals we all have to look for. Burps, hiccups, sighs runny nose are all signs you've eaten enough. For me, I just lose interest in my food. The band won't stop the eating demons in your head telling you to eat that cake, munch on those chips or even eat more healthy food? It will only help you feel satisfied with less food and it's your job/duty to obey those signals. Sorry if you were sold on the band as a restrictive device? It's not for almost all of us. It's a device that requires a lot of participation from patients. Have you seen these videos? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

Have you been going in for regular followup Dr visits and what does the Dr say?

It can take many more fills before you feel satisfied with less food. It took me 3 fills to be able to eat much less and 3 more to finally find the green zone. Did you not go to a nutrition class before surgery or visit with a nut? And just eating less may not allow you to lose fat. Many of us were eating 3,000-4,000 calories a day so eating less than this won't do much. This isn't a diet. This is a way to learn how to change your lifestyle consuming healthy foods. It doesn't mean we can never eat pizza or ice cream, it just means we won't depend on bad foods to live. You will have to learn how to measure food and calories. Consume less than 1200 a day and exercise and you can lose fat. But your band will have to be adjusted properly for all this to happen. You might consider speaking to your nutritionist/dietician?

I'll be following this topic. Mine sticks out like a 3rd nipple shaped like a pop bottle cap. I would think that many of the people who thought they felt less satiety are worry warts like we see on the forum(no offense folks). Any rationalization to be able to eat more food. Seems like injecting through muscle might be a little more painful than just through the epidermis?

The studies show about 5% will have their bands removed. Some of the complications such as slips, dilation and erosion can occur with the band. I guess you could say these are failed bands or banded patients. There are also failed sleeves and bypasses but they have nothing to be removed so most of them go quietly with their lives. Many people who have their bands removed revise to a sleeve or bypass and that's the silver lining with the band.

Plastic doesn't corrode. I've always told myself that if I can get 7+ years out of my band I'd be happy. I'd go for another one if it should fail and my stomach would allow it. BTW-Re: Foreign objects? Dental implants Fillings Breast Implants Heart stints Total knee replacements Anterior Cruciate replacements(cadavers?) Metallic screws and bands for broken limbs and spinal fusions Pacemakers And the list goes on and on. So, foreign objects within our bodies is quite normal and will happen to almost everyone. tmf

People share different opinions on WLS. Some people simply don't understand what it's like to be obese and just can't grasp what a struggle we've all gone through to finally come to this point where we feel like we're throwing in the towel. But it's not throwing in the towel, it's taking a different tactic to live longer with less pain. And it's personal. Even obese people don't understand why they're obese and some lack that hunger to not feel like crap all the time. Then there are the ones closest to us who shower us with phrases like, "But you've got such a pretty face" or "you carry your weight well". I think they mean well and believe they're supporting us with these comments. They believe that these words make us feel better about our obesity and unwittingly only make the matter worse. It takes a lot of mental commitment to try to understand why we want this so badly and why nothing else has ever worked. Cripes, even PCPs, Nurse Practitioners and nutritionists find it hard to understand so to the typical family member, this is just too much to comprehend. The only answer is time. In time, after surgery, they will see why you want this so bad. tmf

I think it was GoWalking who said that she was always very good at losing weight, it was the maintenance part that she/we always failed at. Sounds like the same can be said for WLS only when we dieted we gained it all back and then some.

Exciting isn't it? I've dropped 12 lbs in the last 2.5 months myself and I'm reinvigorated once again. Well done No More.

Sitting here chuckling uncontrollably. Great story.

Keep in mind that one carb = 4 calories. So, 80 = 320 which is about 25% of what most of us should be consuming a day unless you're a heavy exerciser. But you're doing this solely to shrink your liver so it's short term.

Do you exercise and do you count/track your calories? So many of us tend to consume more calories than we believe? And stalling for a couple of weeks is quite normal. Exercise is very important with the band.

I've seen many posts similar to yours. People fall of the wagon and forget how to use their band. Many never did learn. Don't know if it's due to lack of interest, denial or they have bad Dr follow-up? I do know that one can commit and get back on the bandwagon if they choose to. But 30 lbs is still quite an achievement after all this time and bingeing on sweet drinks. Learning how to eat with the band will be your next challenge. Eating slow, chewing to mush and eating small isn't something most obese people learn easily. Keep working at it and keep us informed?

The Green Zone is the time/phase of your journey where your band is adjusted just right. You feel satisfied with less food for longer periods of time. Watch this video. This doctor does a good job of explaining the Green Zone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5CLZlWJ2EU