2muchfun

What does your surgeon recommend while you're pregnant? Being a guy it's stupid for me to make recommends for pregnant patients but I'll do it anyway. I'd fill right up to but just short of the green zone(sweet spot). Try to get it to the point where you can feel a level of satiety with less food. You'll have to work with your surgeon on tweaking the band of course. No need to feel like a failure though. What's happened to you has happened to many of us. I gained about 30 lbs over the last 8 months and I just recently had my band tweaked and I'm back to losing. No worries, life happens. Just remember it's still there when you want to turn the tool back on. tmf

Are you consuming any carbs/starch? Do you track your food on myfitnesspal or another site? If you're consuming less than 50-75 grams of carbs a day you could be in ketosis. Not a bad thing for losing weight? Your body is turning on it's fat reserves for energy and can cause either anxiety or lethargy? When I was in ketosis(Atkins Diet) I slept fine and only lost energy after a long run or long tennis match. tmf

JustWatchMe I know what you're talking about. I can't speak for everyone but for me the band makes dieting easier. I never wanted to call this banded lifestyle a diet but for the most part it is. Dieting before the band was painfully impossible. Not anymore. The band makes it so much easier to stop when I feel satisfied. The band makes me more aware of when to stop. I love it. I've lost 7 lbs since Jan 3rd on my way to losing 20 more just to get to my lowest from a year ago.

Erosion was my first thought. What does a perforated colon have to do with air around the band though? They're so far apart? But, if there's erosion, there should also be food contamination in your body cavity which would make your white blood cell count sky rocket? But then it's been nearly 2 years since unfilling your band so why would there be erosion? You would have had symptoms long ago if that were the case? I love mysteries but I hope you're OK. Let us know what your surgeon says? Sounds like the radiology tech or GI is stumped too?

Do you ever get stuck? food getting backed up to your stoma? You should have an occasional stuck episode with a band so tight! If not, you have a right to wonder why you're not feeling restriction or satiety. Your diet could use some tweaking with some fresh foods and less slider foods. Yogurt slides right through the band as does Protein drinks. Still, you should be experiencing some level of satiety. Good luck with the doc visit!

Around my 5th fill my band was tight enough that the saline pushed the syringe back just a little. Doc warned me that I may be very tight. But, I went back 4 weeks later and had them put .5 cc in and that put me into the green zone. What do you mean you can eat larger portions? You know we all can do that? Our lower stomach is still there and if we don't watch for the satiety signals we can keep eating just as before. What happens with your fill is that your stomach is squeezed as far as it can go so more saline won't help? Now, the bad news is this. One of the members here had her band installed above the esophagus so it wasn't working. It damaged her esophagus and she had to have her band removed? You might want to ask or demand a fluoroscopic fill to make sure the band is where it should be and is working properly. Here's a video of a fluor fill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjCZ3YjMzE0&feature=player_embedded What does a meal look like for you? What are you eating? BFast: Lunch: Dinner:

I have Silver Sneakers. I get into 19 hour fitness for free.

Most people who are successful with bariatric surgery keep it to themselves. It's the patients who fail that makes all the noise. So, your co-workers are getting their information from failures. Have any of your co-workers had the surgery, probably not? Good luck I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

I've had mine for 4 years. Love it. No regrets. For me, cutting part of my stomach out or re-routing my plumbing wasn't in the cards and never will be. I was about 36 BMI so I didn't need to lose as much as others. I just needed that one tool that helped me feel satisfied with a little less food.

That's got to be a physician decision and it would depend on how much trauma the band caused or causes as it's removed. If there's no large incisions or damage done to the stomach or esophagus I would imagine 28 lbs should be fine? tmf

I found that egg drop Soup curbed my hunger very well. It's just boiling chicken broth with a raw egg stirred in. The Protein sticks.

Today I am 10 days post op Lap band. I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could shed some light on for me. First let me tell you a little about what my doc's post op orders are for me at this point. I am on thick liquids now till Friday when I begin mushys. I have been having a Protein drink for Breakfast and cream Soups for lunch and dinner. If I am hungry in between I eat SF Jello. My first fill is scheduled for 2/5. Here are my questions: 1) Will this gas in my tummy ever go away? Will I always be gassy and bloated? I don't have the pain in my shoulder gas anymore just in my tummy. 2) I only have a BM like once a week. Is this normal 10 days post op? Should I take a stool softener to help? I walk everyday now 2+ miles and drink fluids. 3)I have quit losing weight for 4 days now. I only eat about 400-500 a day and exercise. Just seems like the scale should move some. I love this site and Thank you in advance for any insight on these questions. I go for my 1st follow up tomorrow to see my surgeon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraphina, Just a heads up. This forum(banders #7) is a forum for folks who want to lose 100+ lbs. In the future you should post your questions in one of the post surgery or surgery discussion forums. I know this site is huge and can be confusing but I advise you to post on those forums simply because there are many more people watching those forums and you'll get a much better response. But, let's talk about your issues: Your doctor seems to be aggressive with fills if your first one is the 5th. That's good! Your post op diet seems to be similar to many others and I like it. 1) I'm not sure your gas issues are in your stomach or stomach area? The gas pumped into our body cavity can take a month or more to completely evaporate. Stomach gas should mostly go away once you start eating normal foods. jmo 2) BMs? It's quite normal to have very few BMs at this stage. Not much solid materials in those fluids. I used Miralax and it worked quite well. Find one that works for you? Stool softeners should work too. 3) Stalls/plateaus occur right around the 10 day mark for many of us. It's normal to lose 10-15 lbs the first 2 weeks and then nothing for a few weeks to months after. Here's a link that explains why: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.UqP7uBLn-Uk You have a low BMI for bariatric surgery. Let's hope you lose 10 lbs a month but don't be surprised if it's closer to 4-8/mo? Let us know how your surgeon visit went? tmf

Debbie, so good to see you doing so well. You're an inspiration to all who take this journey one day at a time. So many(me) expect it all to happen in just a few months.

I don't see a problem. I have another ID but I can't remember what it is anymore? I set it up when I wanted to access BP on my Kindle a few years ago.

Heavy vomiting or dry heaves can cause your band to slip. The lower stomach convulses violently to expel ingredients in your stomach. The retching can tear the sutures away around the band. You should talk to your doctor asap? I've been around here for several years and I've never heard of your dilemma before.

I don't think there's a secret way to lose the last 15 lbs. I think I read somewhere where there can be groups of fat cells that just don't respond to eating fewer calories and exercise? Something about blood flow? Could have been a hoax too? But your dilemma is shared by many here.

If you are on a PC, you can search for surgeons in your area at the top of this page. Then you can find patients who used those surgeons. Good luck.

I would think excessive burping would come from swallowing too much air? Have you changed anything in your eating habits like using straws, drinking carbonated beverages or eating too fast?

All of us find ways to eat around the band. I did it over the holidays and vacation. Went back in a week ago and got a small fill. I believe for the vast majority of bandster's we all struggle with this lifestyle. I know how hard it is to avoid eating slider foods. Fortunately, we have no children at home now so there's no chips, crackers, candy, chicken nuggets, tater tots in the house. And my wife is maybe 15 lbs overweight so she's fine with eating healthy. Living with someone who can eat whatever they want or with children or a spouse who eats "slider" foods would be the death of my weight loss journey. Like it or not, this is still a weight loss diet. The band is supposed to suppress our appetites and mine always has. giving in to head hunger can kill any bariatric surgery. I was at a bariatric meeting Wednesday and one of the members had bowed out. He had the sleeve but couldn't stop eating crap. He's still lost 20 lbs but for how long? It's a weight loss diet. We have to obey the signals that tell us we're not hungry any longer. tmf

Here's all 4 segments of O'Briens videos. O'Brien may have a different take on how we should tackle our weight loss journey. We should follow our own doctors wishes or at least speak to our doctor about any differences we may want to try? I spoke to mine and he said as long as it(sipping fluids) worked for me, I should continue(as long as I was maintaining or losing weight). 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

B-52 used to have a saying in his signature that was so true but I think he removed it because the term "restriction" connotes an image of the band squeezing the stomach and restricting food to the stomach? I could be wrong? "Until there's restriction, it's just another diet" I still love this comment. And I understand the restriction term is negotiable? I think most of us understand now that it's not the restriction, it's the satiety we achieve through peristalsis? It's been a while since I've posted this from Dr. O'Brien but it's still true, at least for me it is? And it can take some band adjustment tweaking to get there. There are 3 other parts to this that are also very important to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc

A bariatric doctor would know. Here's a link to the symptoms: http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/weight-loss-surgery/dear-doctor-i-think-my-band-slipped-what-are-the-signs What do you mean you're having trouble eating? What kind of trouble? What are you eating? Many people gain weight if their bands are too tight. They tend to gravitate to slider foods that won't benefit or aid in weight loss. Some people find it difficult or impossible to adhere to the band eating lifestyle and also eat the wrong foods and eat like a Bandster. A good doctor can help you get back on track but it's still your responsibility to follow through with the plan. Good luck and I know where you're coming from. I too gained weight the last 6 months but an adjustment has me back on track again.

Chew, chew, chew your food to a Soup like consistency. Slow down, put your fork down between bites. Small bites, very small bites. It can take months and sometimes a year or two to get the hang of eating correctly with the band.

Crohns patients can have such a limited diet, I'd think the sleeve would be preferable because you can eat most any food, just not very much of it. tmf

No I get emails from her husband regarding times and locations for the meetings. I just copied and pasted the info.