hrtgoeson

Thank you!

Hi all, I had lap-band surgery 4/09. Down about 60 lbs but am unhappy with it. I'm always dehydrated, either hungry or overfilled - just can't get to that sweet spot. I'm working with my surgeon tto schedule to get the band removed and go with a sleeve instead. Has anyone done this? How was the recovery? Does it seem to be worse than what people say about sleeve surgery alone? From what I've read online almost all people say they were SOOOO glad to get rid of the band and go to the sleeve so I'm excited and hoping it gets approved. At this point I have about 45 more lbs to lose. Thanks for any info!

I've had a band since April 09 and lost 90 lbs, got a tummy tuck, and gained 30 back. Now I'm either underfilled or overfilled and I'm sick and tired of it. I'm in the process of getting insurance approval for a revision for a sleeve and I'm so excited! Just the thought of no more throwing up will be wonderful - I feel like I've basically become a bulimic who is lucky enough to not lose any weight (because most of the time I can't even get a protein shake down so the only thing I can eat is ice cream lol). Tons of fillings in my teeth from erosion...just awful. I'm hoping for surgery in May. I wish I'd read about all the people jumping ship on the band before doing it, oh well!

I wish I had done it. It's just another way to measure success when the scale doesn't move.

When I was on liquids I would make Ramen noodles, drop the noodles and strain the little bits of flavoring. Awesome!

I hear everyone! I was banded April '09 and dropped from 259 to 169. Then I got a TT and got unfilled quite a bit. Ever since then I can't get back on track. I ate all sorts of crap that I couldn't before and I did get refilled but had to get unfilled 2x because I couldn't get anything down at all. Since then I've been scared to go back to get a fill even though I know I need one. Being overfilled sucks big time! So, since my TT I'm up THIRTY lbs!!! Been eating all sorts of slider foods and I know it's my fault. I had been jogging but couldn't do any sort of exercise for 8 weeks after the TT so I also got off the exercise I was doing so well on. I know I should have been back at the surgeon's a long time ago but I just hate the guilt trip about having put on weight. I'm so dejected. Today for the first time I weighed back over 200 lbs and it makes me want to cry. (Yeah, I know my ticker is wrong. Forgot the password and can't change it. And, quite honestly, it would be depressing to do so) Plus, I donated all my bigger clothes and have had to go back and buy more because I'm out of the 12's and back into the 16's. Seems hopeless really. I'm so down.

Started at 259 in April '09 and got down to 166. Then I got a tummy tuck April this year and had my band mostly unfilled for it. Of course I went mad crazy and have since packed 20 lbs back on. I've tried to get back to the green zone but have ended up overfilled twice and am now a little underfilled but I don't want to go back to the surgeon and risk being overfilled again. I KNOW that if I went back on my low carb faithfully I'd get going again but after the TT I lost my diet and drive motivation and I just can't get it back. It's been SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR for a couple months now. Anyone else been there? I've fallen off the wagon, hit my head, gotten amnesia and can't figure out how to get back on. I am up to 185 now and I still can't get motivated to get back on my exercise and diet routine.

Hi! I'm so glad to read everyone's responses! I had a TT and lipo on my hips on 4/6. Today is a bad day - massive back pain and can't stand up straight. Swelling seems even worse above the incision. I pushed the surgeon to remove my drain earlier than he wanted and now I have to get my left hip drained once a week (but, I'd much rather that then have had the drains longer. Those things made me feel SOOOOO miserable) I am also have some separation of my belly button. The surgeon's office said it's hard to re-stitch it and it's normal to have some so I'm keping it covered since it's so freakish to see a hole there. I can't wait to see the final results. That's the down side to this, the recovery is really long so it's almost a let-down at first. I paid the money and am doing the pain - I want a flat tummy! :-) But the surgeon removed 5 lbs of skin and 3 lbs of fat with the lipo. And every time go in he 'reminds' me about the 20lbs I have left to lose...sigh. He's lucky he's cute! I was thinking I was doing something wrong or had a problem since my back hurts so badly at the end of the day and I still have a lot of swelling. I knew coming to the forum would make me feel better! I haven't taken my pain meds in quite a while since they make me sleepy and the muscle relaxers don't seem to do anything. Of course, he didn't have to touch the muscles in my stomach to tighten them so maybe that's why. I'm saving up for my arms next. TT cost me $6500, not sure what the arms will be.

I'm soooooooooooooo excited, but of course nervous. I don't remember my pin for my counter but I'm down 90lbs (around 170) with maybe 20lbs to lose. Since I"m training for a 5K I'm hoping to lose maybe 10 by the time surgery rolls around. This will be my second real surgery ever (lap-band being my first, unless you count having my wisdom teeth surgically removed) so I think I'm more nervous than most. If it goes well I hope to get my arms done next! I've read too many horror stories of plastic surgery so everyone think good thoughts! I like my surgeon but cosmetic surgery is so different from anything I've ever done or anything any other family member has done that I have absolutely no personal knowledge to draw from.

I've had some recommendations for Ft Laud and Miami but I'll be recovering alone and need someplace closer to home. Any suggestions?

I don't have any rashes but I have Aetna and will need to have something done. What is skin breakdown?

Hi all, I started out fine with my surgeon's suggestions for diet. No more than 40 carbs a day, high protein, etc. Now, however, since I'm down as much as I am and have upped my exercise to jogging I don't think the same diet applies to me. All my magazines on running say that runners need more carbs. I've emailed the surgeon's office asking about this and was told emphatically that I should be following the same diet 'everyone else is'. I just have a hard time accepting that someone who weighs 300 lbs who just had the surgery should be on the same diet as someone who has lost 85 lbs and is doing high intensity type exercise 4-5 days a week. Anyone have any personal experience with this kind of situation? I have been tempted to make an appt with the nutritionist at the surgeon's office but since she works with them I imagine their approach is what she pushes.

Anyone had a problem with this since surgery? I've had my band a little over a year and all of a sudden I have to go see a periodontist about my gums receding so bad that it's very very noticeable. My reading up on it suggests that one cause is eating disorders - aka: throwing up a lot. Granted, doesn't happen to me on a daily or even a weekly basis, but enough in the beginning to make me wonder if it caused my current issue. Anyone else having this issue?

Hi all, Well, I had my surgery on 4/24/09 and I guess I've been lucky so far. I haven't had a month that I gained anything, it's been fairly steady 2-4lb loss per month with one month of big loss because I was overfilled and lived on ice cream for like a month. But, the real point is that I seem to have reached my first plateau and, of course, it had to be right at the 200lb mark. I got a little off-program for a bit but still managed to lose some weight. I re-commited to eating right, got off my butt and started exercising...and plateau'd just about immediately. Figures I'd be backwards and plateau when I did something different as opposed to everyone else who plateaus and has to do something different to get OUT of it LOL! Any suggestions, hints, words of encouragement? I hear the carbs calling and it would be WAY too easy to give into them because I'm frustrated. I just want below 200lbs!!!!:smile:

Hi all, I was wondering if it is possible to only be overfilled by a little bit.....I got my fill about 3 weeks ago and haven't been able to eat solid foods for 2 of them, I keep sliming and throwing them up. Even protein shakes/yogurt won't go down. I emailed my surgeon's office to ask them and got a semi-scathing reply that it was obviously something i was doing - not chewing well, taking too big bites etc. I figured they were right but i just can't get back on solids without throwing up. I figured I needed to go completely back on liquids for a couple days just to be sure but I just had to go throw up my protein shake. I'm afraid I'm going to get a slip if this keeps up but now I'm afraid to email my surgeon's office again. Anyone have any advice???? I have an appt with my surgeon on Thursday the 10th, should I just wait until then?

Thanks for the help guys. I called the office and the surgeon and his wife/office manager are on VACATION!!!! So, they actually said I was 'out of luck' until my appt on Thursday. So, I've thrown up a protein shake and mashed potatoes w/gravy. Gonna be a fun weekend!!!!

I have anxiety issues that come and go, and because of breathing issues was put on a different anxiety med - pristiq - which actually has appetite suppresant qualities. Sunday night I ate something that I should have known wouldn't be good, and I was right, I threw it up for about 10 minutes. so, all over right? wrong. Yesterday i couldn't even get milk down, just came right back up. anything I tried to eat/drink came right back up. Needless to say it was a miserable day. Luckily the pristiq kept me from being hungry so it wasn't too miserable a day but i was dang thirsty! even apple juice came back up. seems to be ok today though. I'm doing shakes all day to make life easier and the first one went down ok. i figure since i have so much restriction i just got swollen enough to be about all blocked off. anyone else had a day that bad and do you have any advice if it happens again? :thumbup:

OK, I'm getting used to the small bites, slow eating and chew chew chew but I'm not great at it yet. So sometimes I do have to go and throw things back up. Usually I can tell I need to by the fact that the burping after I eat is 'thick' and doesn't really happen but the feeling is there. So, my issue is, when I do have to go throw up I never throw up the food, it's always just the slime. AFter that, everything is ok. I learned the hard way about snacking on turkey pepperoni, and after about 3 heaves I actually got some of the, um, mush back up but that's the only time it's been anything besides slime...is that really a problem with what/how I'm eating or am I just weird? Seems like if I was eating too fast, taking too big bites or not chewing well enough that the food itself would come back up, not just the liquid (slime). Also, does any else have a problem with fruit? I've had strawberries today and I LOVE them but they don't make the band happy and that is disturbing to me. just doesn't sit right or something....

yeah i thought that was descriptive lol.... well i'm trying to train myself to not wait to eat until I'm starving - I'm sure that's a part of it. once you get to that point you may as well forget small bites and chewing, seems to be out of my control. so i'm making a concious effort to eat more often.

Well, I had my third fill on the 8th...I calculated that I was up to 3.0 cc's and going to 4.5. Imagine my suprise when my surgeon said I was up to 5.5cc's! He said I had been at 5 and at this point he only gives .5cc fills because ppl with my size band generally reach the green zone between 4.5 and 6.5. Now, how do I know if I'm in the green zone? I'm still a little hungry between meals but everything I eat seems to hurt going down. Now, I am freely admitting that I don't have the small bites and chew chew chew down yet...but should *everything* feel like it's clawing its way down my throat? I can't imagine getting an unfill because 5.0 was definately nowhere near green....anyone have a similar experience?

I had the Viv Straw/Ban smoothie there the other day and it was YUMMY!!! It has a whole banana and a scoop of whey protein powder and I think fiber powder too. Definately going to get that again

you know, the hardest thing about that is the pushy waiters who just can't believe you don't want a drink. i thought about just ordering water so they'd give up but then i thought that it would be too much temptation. my dad finally started saying that i'm on a 'special diet' and that seems to get them to go away LOL. but I agree with the posts above that it's better to just not have it around

yeah I love his stuff. my favorite mix is the vanilla (with skim milk) with some SF chocolate fudge pudding mix and if I'm feeling naughty half a banana.... chocolate banana milkshakes were always my downfall. i got a single serving of the strawberry on his website and it wasn't strawberry-y enough for me. The dreamsicle one was OK but I'd be hardpressed to find something to mix it with and that's the best part. I'm going to try the vanilla with the pudding mix and some powdered PB, yum!

I just had my second fill 2 days ago so I'm at 3CCs and let me tell you, that fill didn't do anything! I'm ready for #3!

Well, I'll throw in my $.02 as one of the 'whiners' LOL. I lurked on this board a while before making my decision to have the band. I didn't like the idea of bypass and this seemed safer. I knew about 'Bandster Hell' and that I wouldn't see real results until after at least a couple fills. But.... After all the hoops you have to jump thru and being scared that insurance will deny you, and paying $1500 oop after insurance, etc I had indeed hoped it would be more than it has been so far. I know it will get better and I've only had 2 fills so it's not like I've had it a long time, but I know I half-expected the results to immediately equal the effort. (Though the other half of my brain wanted to smack me around because I knew better deep down.) Make any sense? And I can't help but compare myself to others - especially in my support group (because it includes both bypass and bandsters) - that have lost twice as much weight as me. That's another cause of the 'whining', I want to be doing as good as them!!! But I know eventually we'll all get there! Much as we all hate to do it, whining seems to be part of the process, it's a good reason to support each other!