bearbandit

I highly recommend Dr. Snyder. All things have turned out great for me. Still have no complications, (keep my fingers crossed).

First off, if your throwing up your too tight. I am pretty tight and sometimes certain foods I have issues with. As for the gas issue its what your eating that causes it. One major source of gas would be soda and sugar free candy. Also having a high protein diet will cause cause (at least it does me) Try the gas-x strips they work for me. I think gas is normal to have with the band. Maybe because when we eat more air goes in because of the band, thats my best guess. I am sorry for your troubles with the weight loss. I dont know your exercise routine so I can tell you to exercise more. All I can tell you is what I have done to allow me to lose all my weight. I eat every 3 hours, 4oz of food (volume) no matter what!(small healthy snacks) 70%protein 30%complex carbs. I work out a minumum 5 days a week! 60 mins of cardio and some weight training to build lean muscle. I drink a minimum of 100 oz of water per day to flush my system and keep my hydrated. When the weight started coming off I continually increased my work out by time and intensity. The sky is the limit once you start seeing the weight come off. Start by going to your doc and getting a slight unfill. As a rule I have never go more than 2 days without working out (unless your sick or something)..that way you stay within your routine. Good luck and your will power will come back ten fold when you start to see results. PS I ran a half marathon on Sept 7, 2009 in 2hrs 17mins. If you knew me just a year before that I had trouble walking up stairs. Things can change quickly if you have the desire to make the lifestyle changes needed to do so...good luck!

Sounds like your getting the exercise...Try to increase the intensity and change it up a bit. Try cross training, doing sets and moving to the next exercise without taking a break. Also I am a firm believer that only eating 3 meals a day is not good for stumulating the metabolism. I eat every 3 hours. no big meals just small healthy items to keep you metabolism running strong. Plateau's can last a while and then all of a sudden the weight loss starts up again. Bottom line is your body is used to your routine...change things up...Shoot for 1200-1500 cals per day assuming you are not burning a huge amount during exercise, and if that is so you may need to consume more....try using The Daily Plate on LIVESTRONG.COM - Calorie Counter, Weight Loss, Food Calorie Counter, Nutrition Facts | LIVESTRONG.COM (its free!)..great tool to keep track of calorie counts....Eat often!...At least that is what I would do...ps congrats on your weight loss thus far..great job and keep up the good work.:thumbup:

First off congrats on you weight loss. I am assuming your exercising on a continuous basis. It sounds like to me your not getting enough calories. The closer you get to your goal weight the more your body burns.. thus you need more fuel or your body just stores everthing to fat...Believe it your not you need to eat more and eat ever 2-3 hours. to lose those last pesky lbs. try this website The Daily Plate on LIVESTRONG.COM - Calorie Counter, Weight Loss, Food Calorie Counter, Nutrition Facts | LIVESTRONG.COM and track what you eat and how much you exercise. (its a free!) it helped me a lot...Focus on keeping your metabolism turned up! I am actually at my goal weight because I gained some muscle. If I lose any more I will look too thin. next step for me is the tummy tuck. good luck :biggrin:

Being 17 years old makes your decision even harder. Just to let you know things can change without surgery. From my personal experience I was heavy my whole life. At the age of 24 my weight was out of control (375lbs!) and I decided to change my life or die. So I did. I changed my eating habits and started exercising. I ended up losing 165 lbs in 16 months. So yes you can change without surgery...But for me personally I have an addictive personality and eating when I am depressed was an issue. So as time went on I fell back into my old bad habits and before I knew it I was almost back to where I was before. My wife has the band and I saw her success. I new I could lose it again on my own but I thought that if I did it again I would just fall back to what got me there in the first place. So I simply got the band to 'keep me in check' so to speak. *the band was just a tool nothing more* I had to do the exact same things as I did before to get the weight off. The band just helps you reduce the volume of food you intake, nothing more. You can't binge eat with a band, (or at least not eat nearly as much) so it is always a constant reminder to myself. So your choice is a rather complex one. If I were you I would try it without the band. And I mean dont just slow your eating down, change what you eat how you eat...etc...Change your addiction of bad eating habits to eating healthy and exercise. (this at least worked for me). Give your will power a chance. Educate yourself on weight loss and how to increase your metabolism. Just fyi once you get down to a low body fat you have to eat all the time to keep it that way. (go figure). Good luck at whatever you decide.

Total honesty is the best policy. If he is really into you then weight loss surgery should not be an issue. The sooner the better. Lucky for me my wife has the band too. So we are band buddies.

I started using it right away. So I guess start now. As for cheap ones, Suave and Jergens are not bad. or you might even find a generic walgreens. For me it did help and drinking lots of water. I mean like 100 oz a day is what I shoot for. Especially at the beginning as it helps prevent kidney stones from the weight loss.

I was at about the same pace. I lost 40 lbs in the first month and about 20-25 each month after then the weight loss slowed down. I am actually at my goal weight now and my one year is coming up in October. So I reached my goal in less than a year. To be honest all I have left is some loose skin, which is not too bad. So maybe some plastic surgery down the road. I am an unusual case as I am one of the rare folks who traded a food habit with an exercise habit. I am actually training for a half marathon coming up in a couple of weeks. This is a tip for a fast loser. Use skin firming lotion, (doesn't matter which brand, I have tried them all), go with the cheapest. It seems to help tighten the skin. good luck with your journey and I am sure if you stick with it and make wise decisions you will not have any issues.

Being stuck sucks! It really hurts and feels like a sharp pain in the center of my chest. Usually if I start slimming I can just wait and maybe burp a little and that seems to resolve the issue. I have however had a few times where I got stuck really bad. So the only option is to PB. Which is not exactly vomiting. More like just pushing it out, since it is not really coming from your stomach. its crazy because sometimes foods i can normally eat without issue and then what do you know I am stuck. My band has a mind of its own.

congrats on starting your running addiction...My only suggestion is make sure to run with proper form...Always focus on your from because as soon as you start getting tired the form goes out the window and before you know it you have an injury. I am currently training for a half marathon....its however a cross country run and its at 6500 ft in elevation. Definately a great challenge. Good luck and keep at it. :thumbup:

I lost 165 lbs without having a lapband and gained most of it back....Simply put I went back to my old habits and gained the weight back...I got the band to keep me in check and keep me from gaining all my weight back. Very, very, very few people can lose a 100+ lbs and keep it off. Eating issues are deep seated in our habits and brains...I personally eat when stressed...thus having a band when I start eating while stressed stops me from eating too much. :smile2:

make sense to me if you stretch your stomach out from over eating this will cause the muscles near the port site to move or stretch thus causing the stitches or whatever they use to pull on that muscle it is attached to...make sense to me. I am not an expert but *I stayed at a holiday in express last night*...lol

Isopure Creamy Vanilla- recipe 8oz-low fat vanilla soymilk, frozen mango (1 cup)/(or fruit of choice), 1 banana, ground flax seed, 2 scoops of Isopure, 1 cup ice.....very nice! roughly 60 grams of protein! (I however only drink this after a good work out for muscle recovery). I personally feel drinking this for a meal replacement is not healthy and stick with real food for my meals.

I felt the same way when I started running. Forget them, besides they are not looking anyway. Have you ever thought if you do see someone looking at you that the are just jelious. Saying to themselves I wish I was fit enough to run. And as the weight falls off you will eventually want peeps to look at ya....P.S. Make sure your stretch before and after to avoid injuries and make sure to do strength training as well to help avoid those possible future injuries. Just to let you know I am currently training for a half marathon.....13 miles. good luck and make sure you have a great pair of shoes.

Everyone knows. This just makes the awkard situations easier to deal with, like having to leave at the dinner table at a restaurant, or when I need to stop eating and wait for a few mins before continuing. That way the already know why and I dont have to lie or make up something. Be proud of your band, and dont be embarassed. Besides I have always lived by the philosophy that 'who cares what people think' Your not hurting anyone and you got a lapband for the simple fact you need help to get your weight back to a healthy level...Good luck on your journey and always be proud of having your band...

I get sweaty if I am nausous...maybe your nausous...if your taking anti-nausous meds then you might not feel nausous...

At about day ten is when I moved to the mushies stage...refried beans, apple sauce etc....As soon as I started eating mushies I felt 100% better. If your not taking anti nausea meds I suggest you do so. My doc gave me the patch. Worked like a charm. Remember your body is trying to get used to having the band on..foreign object in the body. Things will improve once you start eating real food again...hang in there.

Just look down below....in less than a year....I whole idea of 'dumping' scared me from bypass

Well I actually lost 165lbs without the lapband about 6 years ago....Guess what I gained most of it back. This sent me to a new low. So I decided that I wanted to make my weight loss a permanent thing. So that is why I have lapband. Once you get down to your goal weight then its there to keep you in check. As for people that say its cheating. I disagree. You still have to eat healthy, do all the exercise and make wise decisions. Talk to your friends that complain and say its 'cheating' a couple years down the road and see how much weight they have gained back. Very few people keep it off. We all overeat for different reasons and we will all fall off the wagon, but the band gets us back on very quickly.

First off sorry for your loss. My prayers go out to you and your family....If you can drink water then the band has not slipped....sounds like your band is tight from stress. Take it easy for a while and I am sure your band will feel less tight. You might want to hold off on the fill until your band feels like it use to.

Being affraid is totally normal. I was a bit scared on my first fill. Turned out to be no big deal. The second seemed to hurt a little more because of the scare tissue. I have a great fill nurse and she hits the port the first time everytime. Good luck and keep getting those fills as soon as you get loose again.

Mine is on the left side about 3-4 inches away from my rib cage....Never really bothers me...

My body as gotten use to only healthy foods now....Low fat, low sodium, low sugar etc...I actually experienced something I never thought would happen. It was my B-day and went out to eat at PF Changs...I got my fav which is twice cooked noodles. Well the food was fantastic however a few hours after eating it my blood pressure went up, I got a headache and felt horrible. This last for 24 hours. Later that week I went to the doc and asked him and he said the sodium in the food caused it. When you body gets used to certain things and something drastically changes for example the high sodium you will feel it. So yes I refuse to eat certain things because I know my body will actually feel the physical effects of it. Dont need that junk anyway...I am sticking to what I know makes me feel good. Healthy foods!

I was a self pay...Dont kid yourself thinking it will be easy...It takes a lot of hard work and smart eating decisions on your part. Such as turning down a piece of cake at a birthday party or not having a donut when someone brings in a dozen to work...once you do it a few times it gets easier. Exercise has to be part of your life. Choose something that interest you and makes you feel good. I am a runner. I am actually training for a half marathon this Sept. Wow, just saying that out loud is crazy because just last year I was breathing hard just going up the stairs. My advice is to be sure you research your surgeon. Mine was Dr. Michael Snyder of Denver Bariatrics. mine was around $14,000 by the way. Make sure they have a low slip rate and what kind of after care program they have. Also make sure you have a good chewable multivitamin. Support groups are a very good thing also. Slips and errosions are usually caused by a person not following the 'rules of the tool' and vomiting all the time. Just to let you know I am approaching my one year and have only pb'd one time. This was totally my fault because I was eating too fast. So if you are pb'ing all the time your too tight or your eating too fast. Good luck with using the tool...its a great tool if you use it correctly!

Congrats on the no coke thing....I was completely addicted to soda....giving that up is a must if you want the weight to come off. I drink from straws and never have had an issue....Maybe try a different flavor of crystal lite. I have tried most of them. My favorite is the citrus 'focus'...it has a little bit of caffine to help me wake up in the morning. Never could understand the no straw thing...good luck.