cwm812

Meg, I'll bet we all felt the same way. When my doctor told me that I really had 200 lbs of excess weight, I told him I'd be thrilled to take off 100. I could not imagine being where I am now. Last week, I saw him again and he told me that he didn't think I should lose much more. It does happen and you can do it. I don't count calories or anything else. I did watch my Protein intake during the immediate post op period, but now I just try to make good choices. I still eat junk, but in very small amounts and most importantly, I am satisfied and happy. I do exercise moderately (3x a week), but I didn't start that until I had lost 90 lbs. Being successful with the band is not an impossible dream. You can do it! Cindy

I really wasn't pbing much at all, but I wasn't eating all that much. I wasn't hungry, because my meal stayed in my pouch for hours. If I drank even 2 hours after my meal, I could hear the Water gurgling through everything. I was pretty much eating a half a cup of chili twice a day. I thought my band would loosen up after the fill, but I waited 6 weeks and it didn't. Cindy

Did you have a fill just before this started? That's what happened to me. I just had .2 removed yesterday and the strange noises have stopped. I think, for me, those loud grumblings mean I'm too tight. I would hear them after every meal for at least an hour. I would also have to listen to everything I drank. I had other clues that I was too tight (reflux). I just never put it all together until I told my doctor about everything. I just hope I don't lose the great restriction I had. Cindy

I hope someone has a better response for you, but that's what I had to do, even though I did involve my primary doc for one of my diets. At my first appointment, I gave a written detailed list of my "attempts" and their dates and durations. Even though this list spanned 30 years and had some documentation, the insurance company felt I should give it another 6 months. It was incredibly silly, but in the end I got my band and they paid for it. Cindy

It does sound like you are doing everything right. That being said, I try changing mixing it up. Whenever I plateau, I eat a little more for a few days and then go back to my usual routine. Also, try changing up your workout. My body seems to get used to the same thing and then it doesn't give up the weight. It is incredibly frustrating. Four months is a really long time. I'd try something new. Cindy

...what she said... I had the exact same thing happen at my last fill. Definitely do liquids for a few days and see how things are. I thought I was too tight. I could barely get down liquids. I called for an appt, but my doc was out of town for 3 days. I didn't want someone else, so I decided to wait. I ended up cancelling the appointment 3 days later when the swelling went down. Cindy

I was on BC off and on for 20 years. Every time I had to stop for one reason or another, my period was messed up for a couple of months and then things would get really regular again. Just be careful. Cindy

I thought the psych consult was a complete waste of time and money. I spent an hour filling out a questionnaire with questions about whether or not I thought my hips were too big. Well of course they're too big, I weigh 350 lbs!!!. It really wasn't hard or painful, but I can't imagine any other demographic group having to have a psych consult to get corrective surgery. Does any insurance require a psych consult before a breast reduction? I have no problem with psychologists. I have even gone to them for various problems throughout my life, but as a condition of this surgery, it's demeaning to have to prove that you are competent to be of normal size! I realize I'm ranting, but I hate when we waste our medical resources in this country. There are lots of people trying to schedule appointments with mental health professionals who are busy wasting their time talking to normal people trying to get healthy! Cindy

I'm having trouble with this, too. I'm your height with size 10.5 feet. I'm down to 195 now, but I think I'd like to lose 15-20 more pounds. My size 14 pants are starting to get too big. I have a pair of 12s, but I'm sure that most 12s would not fit. I am figuring that soon the weight loss will just stop. I'm losing much more slowly now, only a 1 a week or so. But I figure, if it takes me 6 months to lose the last 20, I really don't care. I feel good. And as long as I don't gain, I'm happy. Even if I never see 180, I'll be fine. This is soooo much better than where I was! Cindy

For some reason, egg foo yung works for me. I don't understand it, because I usually can't eat eggs. I usually can eat rice and broccoli without a problem, but in restaurant Chinese food, I can't do it. We love Chinese food, so I've learned to make my own. It's not quite the same, but at least I know the quality of the meat I'm using. Cindy

I asked my doctor about this after I started reading this forum and heard about the pre-op liquids. He said that they used to do this at their practice years ago and through experience they determined that it really didn't matter. Their patients who admitted to cheating on the diet did as well as the ones who followed it to the letter, so they stopped requiring it. I do think it has to do with the amount of experience your group has with the procedure. Every time someone writes on here that the pre-op liquids are killing them, I'm tempted to tell them what my doctor said, but I don't. I do know that I had no pre-op diet whatsoever, given my weight, I'm sure I had a fatty liver and I did fine. Cindy

When I had my preop EDG, they found an ulcer, too. My surgeon treated the ulcer, I had a repeat EDG in 4 weeks and then they scheduled my surgery. I still take acidphex daily, but I haven't had any problem with my band. In fact, I've been very pleased. Cindy

I get so tired of lots of people saying how the LAP-BAND® is a diet. Well, not for me. Like Hummingbird, I don't count anything and I exercise moderately. I eat chocolate and ice cream occasionally. At Christmas, I even gained five pounds. The huge thing is that the band is adjustable. I went to see my doctor, got another fill, and lost that same 5 lbs in a week. With restriction, it takes little effort to eat like a normal person. I am happy with one piece of chocolate. I don't need to eat the whole bag because I'm hungry, or simply because it's there. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm in control, not my hunger. The true test of my band will be if I've kept my weight off 5 years from now. That's why I wanted the band. I never want the food to be in control again. I have no doubts that I could eat around the band by living on soda or milkshakes. The difference is that with the band I don't want to. It doesn't feel like a diet to me, I feel the band has given me a "normal" person's sensations of hunger and fullness and that is certainly something I was missing. Cindy

I still get hungry, but not as quickly as my pre-LAP-BAND®® days. I also need alot less to fill me up when I am hungry. I have learned that if I wait until I am starving, I tend to eat too quickly and get stuck. So I often will eat a little something (a spoonful of ricotta, 1/4 cup of dry cereal), just to take the edge off. This tiny snack will often hold me over for an hour or two. When I overeat, I just feel too full. Kind of like Thanksgiving and one too many Desserts. I don't feel nauseous and I have never thrown up from overeating. If I don't eat properly (slowly and chewing thoroughly), I will get stuck. This is incredibly unpleasant. You just feel like something is wedged in your stomach and it must come out. I will try to get that to come up and usually it works quickly and relieves the problem. It's not like throwing up. We call it PBing , (productive burp), because you just end up with a small amount of food and it isn't partially digested or anything. It's still gross and I like to avoid it as much as possible, but I've learned that if I don't get the problem out of there quickly, I may be in pain for 2 or more hours. That is the downside of this whole thing. Cindy

Bobbie, I don't have any secrets for the weight loss. I don't really diet. I try to eat healthy, but I eat my junk, too. Just less of it. I do go to the gym, but only 3-4 times a week for an hour or so. I just decided this time, I was going to live my life. No counting calories or points or carbs! I know this doesn't work for everyone, but it does for me. As for the petites, I suspect I have short legs for my height. Also, I've found that they run longer at some stores. I do best at Penney's. I must have 4 pairs of their petite jeans and corduroys. Cindy

I'm not a diabetic but my son has had Type 1 for 10 years and wears an insulin pump, so I know about your issues. There will be times with the band that you can't eat much. I'm not sure what you do for lows, but if your band is tight you won't be able to gulp orange juice or coke. That being said, you should have no problem chewing glucose tabs, Since they dissolve so easily, they aren't going to get stuck anywhere. Also, gels and cake icing should work well. I know that the pump instructors always tell you to bolus before you eat, but with the band, sometimes you think you are going to eat more than you do, or suddenly you know you can't take one more bite. I think this could be easily handled by bolusing after you eat. Yeah, it's not recommended, but you'll be eating so much less that you aren't going to have the huge spikes in your blood sugar. I don't know any type 1 bandsters, but I'll bet they are out there. My guess is that you would do great with a band. People with Type 1 have so many rules they need to follow. If you can handle pumping, you'll be able to manage the band. Cindy

Don't get too worked up about it. When they did my preop EGD, the doctor found a big ulcer. I had no idea that I had it. It was negative for H. pylori, but I still needed to get rid of it. I was treated, had another EGD to make sure everything was ok and I got my band about 6 weeks later than originally scheduled. Everything has been fine since banding. A little delay is annoying, but you will be ok. Cindy

I definitely have the same problem. I don't know how tall you are, but the pants that fit me best are petites. There's a smaller rise and therefore they don't bag in the hips. I'm 5'6", so I'm not really short, but the petites are working for me. I don't understand it, and my waist has gotten smaller, but the hips are downright tiny. Never in a million years did I think I'd ever be wearing anything out of the petites section on the store! Cindy

This is going to sound strange, but I feel shorter and taller at different times. I feel shorter in the car and at my desk. In fact, I finally started wearing shoes with a small heel. I always wore flats because my feet hurt. I feel taller because I can reach things. Once my stomach started disappearing, I could reach the bottom of the grocery cart and the top shelf in my kitchen. The other thing that's weird is that people tell me I look taller. I guess it's because I'm not as round. I love it. I've always been the short girl (5'6") in a really tall family. Cindy

The same thing happened to me after my last fill. I kind of panicked and after 48 hours, I called the doctor for an appt. The office staff told me he was out of town for 3 days, but I could go to the ER if I was really worried. I decided to wait and after 2 more days, the swelling went down and I could eat again. I cancelled the appointment and have great restriction now. This could be your sweet spot, but you won't know until the swelling subsides. Cindy

I think what you are going through is entirely normal and in no way means that you aren't ready for the commitment of the band. I had 8 months between my first appt. and my actual banding. At first, I followed all the rules the nutritionist laid out and I lost 35 lbs. Then around Christmas, I fell off the wagon. I started eating and I gained the 35 lbs and 5 more. This wasn't too surprising. I had followed this pattern countless times before. After all, this is why I need the band. If I could follow all the rules all the time with no additional support, I wouldn't have a weight problem. My surgeon doesn't make his patients do a preop diet, so I didn't have to worry about that. I did just fine with the post-op diet restrictions. I wasn't tempted to cheat. I just felt different. I think it helped that I wasn't frustrated from a couple of weeks of liquids only prior to banding. You can do this. You just need the support that the band will provide. Cindy

In the beginning, it was great to tell everyone how much I had lost, but after I hit 100 lbs, I stopped telling most people. I couldn't stand to watch everyone calculate my starting weight in their head. I realize that people aren't stupid, but most of my normal sized friends think that someone is fat at 200 or 250. They can't comprehend how I've lost more than 150 lbs and still have plenty of weight to lose. Now when someone asks how much I've lost, I just smile and say, "More than 100 lbs." My close friends and family know the real numbers, but I'll let the acquaintances keep guessing. Cindy

We may all look successful from our tickers but most, maybe even all of us were failures at one weight loss attempt or another. My most spectacular one was losing 140 lbs and gaining it all back plus 20 more. The good news is that you've got your band and you have an appointment soon. You'll get restriction and you'll put the brakes on your slide. It's going to be ok. Your doctor has seen this before. at my last appointment, my doctor told me to see him at least once a year. He said that sometimes people start gaining and then they are afraid to see the doctor, but that he's the one who can help. He said not to try to handle it on my own. That's why the clinic is here. Good luck. Things will turn around for you. Cindy

I had restriction from day 1. In fact, my doctor thought I might be one of those people who didn't need a fill, but it didn't turn out that way. I needed a fill about 3 months after surgery and I've small ones every 25-30 lbs. I think it's common to need a fill as you lose. I never went through the bandster hell that so many do. My post-op liquid diet wasn't bad, because I wasn't hungry. Cindy