christa94

hello all. quick question. anyone experience dumping syndrome? from my research done before i got the band, it was not a situation that banders had to experience. that seemed to have been something that our sisters in surgery (gastric bypassers) had to struggle with since their food bypasses their small intestines for the most part (or whatever it does in them). but, lately, whenever i eat sweets, i get sick. chained to the toilet for days (i know gross). i was banded in june and was pretty scared to even attempt sweets because i didn't want to get hooked on them and counter the positive results of the band. well, within the last 3 weeks i finally broke down and tried them (i was too scared to try wedding cake at my own wedding in september because i didn't want to get sick) and it seems to be that either i immediately get sick to my stomach (immediately as in 40mins. to a couple of hours later) or within 24 hours i am chained to the bathroom toilet. i know some would say, well just don't eat sweets. not a bad idea, i am just wondering if anyone else has this issue too.

anyone banded at the molding clinic? i am scheduled to be banded there on june 29th. i am so excited!

i seem to keep losing and finding the same 2 pounds! i need to go back to the protein shake and exercising. i think this will jump start me again. being 7 pounds from my goal is so frustrating. since i ate sweets during the holidays it is hard trying to get off of them. i have tons of stretch marks. but, i don't mind that. proof of weight loss!

pinky--yep, having issues getting it together again. today is my official 6 month bandiversary. i have mixed emotions. i didn't make my christmas goal of 140. 7 pounds off. i know some think that is not bad, but i hate to fail- or fall shy of my goals. this month, i didn't exercise like i should and just had some issues staying on track. however, i did lose 41 pounds since 6/29 which is good because before the band, i couldn't lose a thing and was exercising 4 times a week, and doing tons of different diets. i feel more in control of my eating instead of feeling enslaved to food. i don't regret doing it. i am glad i did. more so disappointed in myself for not reaching my goal.

ok. i am pretty bummed out. i had my worse banded day ever yesterday. i went absolutely crazy with the sweets the other day. i can't believe it. i have not over eaten at all like this since i was banded. i think i did it because my husband and i have been trying to conceive and been unsuccessful and i think it is taking a toll on me. my period finally arrived after being 3 days late and i think i just said whatever, i am going to eat. of course, i have gained 2 pounds. maybe it is water, maybe it is not. i am now in this rut. i started my day off with 2 big cookies. there is tons of sweet stuff to chomp on here at work. i shouldn't have it. but, why not?

audree, why are you taking cod liver oil pills?

barbara465-i think you did the right thing by getting an unfill. you don't want to spend your cruise miserable. you are doing great! enjoy yourself, your time away, and your weight loss!

kimberly.31. 1 daughter-8 y/o. newly married in september. 188 to start. now 146. don't do low carb plans. you need a well rounded diet. and i agree with jachut that when you go off, you gain it all back, then some. i see the band as a lifestyle change. could you be on a low carb plan for the rest of your life? i don't eat alot of bread. mainly because i was scared i would pb to my death on it. but, then i was told that bandsters are okay (or some are) when the bread is toasted. so i tried it. it was okay. but, i still only have toast maybe once a week at most. a food log is an awesome idea. i do better when i do that. it is easy for calories to creep on when you are haphazardly going throughout the day. you could aim for 1000 calories a day, but by the end, you have nibbled on this, taken an extra bite of that, and you could be up to 1300! so, i monitor and log it to keep myself under control. i am happy with the choice. i try to take care of myself and my band so that we will both last a while. bingeing and reacting to food is a process. it is good to get a handle on that pre-banding. people can overeat the band. it is important to deal with the issues that can cause you to overeat. things will trouble you post band, so you have to have a plan for how to cope and deal with issues.i am sure you will do what you will need to do.

i was 188 when i started this with a bmi of 35 or 34. i have lost 41 pounds since 6/29. the first 5 months i didn't really exercise. now i do at least 3 or 4 times a week. i haven't had a fill. i had 3ccs of saline put in the 4cc band at time of placement

hello all! barb465-so are you recovered from your fill kicking in? i seem to keep losing and finding the same 2 pounds! what is that all about? i did my own step route last night for 20 mins. boy was i panting and sweating at the end of that! i took last week off, and i think i shouldn't have. even though the scale is not acting right i have a couple of nsv. the new bras that i purchased on my pre-honeymoon back in september now have lots of space in the cup. enough room to hold my cell phone and some dollar bills! also i went to the store last night to christmas shop and decided i owed myself at least one pair of pants that fit right (not scrapping the ground). but, instead of pants or jeans, i saw a denim skirt i wanted. well, i tried the 5/6. it was a tad snug, but still fit because it was that stretch denim. i didn't feel confident enough to wear it. the next size up was the 9/10. i got it! then last saturday i sent my husband to the store to get me some pantyhose for church on sunday. i told him to get size "c" which is down from my usual queen size (and pre-banding i was a queen plus). well, they didn't have any size "c" so he got size "b". and they fit! amazing. so, i guess the band is working, even if the scale isn't cooperating with me!

lucymann- thanks for the encouraging words. it is helpful at times of discouragement!

i am so frustrated. just when i think i have this banded lifestyle down, the band seems to get fickle. i finally got down to 148 (40 pounds down--hip, hip, hoorah for me!) i had to exercise 4 times a week and count calories to make sure i wasn't being over the top and having alot of hidden calories. my goal was 1000 calories a day before exercise. i finally hit the 148 last sunday. well, this week, i have only been able to exercise once. i haven't had my normal 46g protein shake daily, but i haven't been going over the 1000 calorie mark, and some days i was at the same caloric intake that i would have been at after exercising.( hope that wasn't confusing to anyone). now, i am back up to 150 and i am not happy. i don't cheat and have stuff i shouldn't have. and i don't want to have to count calories like a feign either for the rest of my days! i feel frustrated that i do the right things, but yet don't see the results that i want sometimes. @#@#@#!!:help:

i have times when i go weeks without losing, but generally if i readjust and reevaluate what i am doing, and make changes i start to lose again. not tons of weight, but it starts again. i see that you have lost about 41lbs. since june. you don't think that is good? sometimes when i feel myself getting in a funk about not losing the 50lbs that i had hoped to lose by the end of december, i make myself calculate how much weight i was losing prior to the band and that number is a big fat zero! i was actually gaining. so, this has worked so far. sometimes i get green when i see folks that have lost 70 pounds. but, then i remember that is great for them but i didn't need to lose that amount. if i could just get my head and eyes to recognize and see the weight loss that is actually there, i would be glad. if that makes sense.

regina, i think that is great! it may inspire others to take control of their health, but it will also give them a true picture of what wls is all about. it seems that people have it in their minds that it is a quick fix and they don't understand that it is hard work and that lifestyle charges are a MUST.

barbara465-are you saying that the fluid in the band just disappears? does this happen to everyone? how would i know if that has happened to me? when i got the band they put 3ccs in it and it holds 4ccs. i have not had a fill since then. i can eat a good 4oz. sometimes less, sometimes more (if i decide to push it)-but i usually stay within in that amount.

joann-not the time of the month. i was ovulating. maybe that has something to do with things? does your hormonal level affect the band? beckamarie--i will try the calorie fluctuation thing. i have heard that you were supposed to do that, but, it seems kinda risky. what if you gain?

so, you seemed to have lost most of the pregnancy weight right? you say the band got tighter as the pregnancy continued? do you know what that would happen?

so, you had your baby banded right? did you gain alot of weight? or did the band help you to keep your weight down? did you have to get the band totally unfilled? were you able to breastfeed? (hope that wasn't too much to ask) my husband and i are trying to get pregnant and i have worries and questions about what life/pregnancy would be like banded and if i would have a hard time losing after the baby was born.

it is tough. there are so many things/issues associated with food. we don't just eat for nurioushment. alcoholics can stay away from booze, they don't NEED it for life. drug addicts can stay away from crack. but, food, you absolutely NEED. and it is hard to not use food for emotional purposes. i am not bulimic anymore, but i have to constantly check myself and my emotions and make sure that i am handling them properly and not somehow turning to a bulimic tendency to cope with issues. i thought the band would make it easier. but, i count calories and weigh myself way too much. at times i become overly focused on weight and the number on the scale or the number that is in the tag of my clothes. when i realize i am being overly focused on it (or someone that knows my history points it out to me) i have to stop and take inventory of what is going on in my life that could be causing me such stress.

barbara465-there are many ways in which a bulimic can purge. vomitting is not the only way. for example: a bulimic may go on a binge and take in 2500 calories. a way to purge may be to vomit. another could be to exercise until they have burned off 2500 calories. or they may purge themselves by starving for a couple of days to counter the effects of the purge. and you can still be overweight because you are just purging yourself after a binge, not after regular eating. hope that makes sense. eating disorders can not be summed up in a single word or phrase, but someone else did a good job of explaining an aspect of it. it is not about the food. the food is just a vehicle used to get to the purge. or at least it was for me. the purge was euphoric. it was my way of releasing out of me all the icky bad stuff that was going on on the inside. in order to get that stuff out, i had to recreate the situation. i had to stuff food in so that i could purge myself to get the bad out. i gorged on food so i could feel the purge. so i could feel the release. to those that don't struggle with it, they don't understand what i am saying. it almost sounds crazy to them.

well, i am totally frustrated with the band. it seems to be fickle. and i am growing weary. i do the right things, but don't always get the results that i desire. this week i have been really tired and have only exercised once and i didn't have my protein, and i seem to have gained 2 pounds. i am not uping or taking in more calories. not exercising is going to make me gain? wow! i am trying to tell myself it is just fluid. AND all of a sudden i seem to be tight in the mornings. just all of a sudden!

barbara465--yep. i take the scale with me anytime i am away from home overnight. yep. i am 8 pounds from goal. according to the scale. but, in the mirror it looks like i should go another 20 or 30 more. of course, i won't. but, it just feels like that with my distorted body image.

hello all! well, i did it. i hit my first mini-goal-40 pounds lost! now, i have 9 more to go. i hope i can do it by december 29th. my husband and best friend are really on me because they think i am getting out of control with this weight loss thing. i can't see a 40 pound difference and they think it is a big red flag. body image issues that could lead me down anorexia avenue again. i disagree immensely. it is not that i can't tell i have lost weight, but to me it just looks like a 5 or 10 pound loss. but, my husband stresses that i have lost over 20% of my body weight and that i have to get a grip. i am out of control because i count calories and how many calories i have burned, and exercise four or more times a week and weigh myself daily and if we go out of town (like for our honeymoon) i will tag the scale with me. but, i do that to stay on top of things. to monitor things so that i know if i need to make changes. i had this surgery for success so i am trying to make that happen. what could be so wrong with that?

do you love your band or do you wish you would not have gotten it? i was thinking about the band and the journey over the weekend:finding a doctor in Mexico, getting it financed, getting my then fiance/now husband on board with it all, the actual surgery, immediate weeks post op, learning the band, losing weight,pb's, etc. then i saw a couple of church members that have had the gastric bypass and i thanked God for letting me get the band. one person has lost like 200 pounds in a year. one had lost alot of weight from having the surgery some years ago, now she has regained it all then some, then another girl had it 2 years ago and lost, but has stopped and she is still pretty big. i thank God for giving me an alternative that i think is great--for me. unlike with the bypass, i can control my weight loss years from now. if i begin to plateu, i could get a fill and just start my losing again. and i don't have to worry about malnutrition. i didn't think it would be as hard a work as it it. let me explain, portion control has always been an issue for me. i knew with wls your portions HAD to be altered. planning a complete meal in only 3-4 ozs was hard. how do i get in everything in 4 oz meals: Protein and veggies and carbs. i got it down now. handling cravings was easy at first. i didn't want to eat any of the wrong stuff that might hurt the band. bread is still completely out. but now, i realize Cookies and cake can make it through the band. so, that self discipline has got to kick in and I HAVE to make the right choices. the band can't do that for me. then there is exercise. at first, the weight was coming off without exercise. now, i have incorporated it in my journey experience. what a dunce i was for not doing it sooner. but, i find it easier to do 36 pounds lighter than before! pb's. had never heard of this before the band and still didn't really understood it till i had one! if there is anything i can take away from the journey, it would be those and slimes! but, they help remind me to slow it down and chew and enjoy food-something i didn't really do when i was wolfin' it down before

pinkylee-i had 3.o ccs placed in my band at the time the band was placed in my stomach! it really freaked me out because per my research, i had never heard of such. but, the doctors in mexico declared it was safe and that is the amount that was needed so the band would have a tight fit on my stomach. so far, no issues. sometimes i wonder if all the 3.0 is still there. but, then when i follow the band rules as i should i start losing weight again, so i guess i am all good.