elcee

Generally if your Dr has told you only liquids that is what he/she means. A banana is not a liquid and it is also high in carbs. If you are looking for ways to not follow the diet you have been given now preop how are you going to cope post op? Yes it is hard, we know that, we have all been there too but it is part of the process. Your Dr gives you instructions for a reason. If you think you can't stick to what you have been told phone your Dr and ask if it is OK.

Never heard of PEDMAS, over here our kids get taught BODMAS.

Your starting BMI is very similar to what mine was. I have lost all my excess weight with the band and am really happy. Although if I had to have a sleeve now it probably wouldn't worry me when I was at the investigation stage I would have considered it too permanent and too drastic.Having so much of your stomach cut away sounds really scary.

So far i am liking the new look. It is much brighter and cleaner.

Sorry to hear that it has not worked for you. I am surprised that your Dr banded you as all the info lists autoimmune diseases as a contra-indication to being banded. makes senses reall, if your body works in a way that it attacks itself then it is not going to like something foreign. Have you been advised that the symptoms will resolve after removal or is it a case of now that you have them you are stuck with them?

Money is not everything. You have to weigh up the pros and cons of each.What are your future goals? How important is job satisfaction. Would you be able to cope with the extra hours? Do you need the money? How much extra would you spend on meals out etc because you are too tired to cook. Will the extra hours cause stress and subsequent medical bills. I would draw up a long list and weigh each thing up very carefully. I would love to have more money and all the things it can buy but I wouldn't go back to full time employment for anything. I love living a more relaxed lifestyle.

I can eat 1 or 2 thin slices so long as I take it slowly. But the longer you are banded the easier it becomes. initially I would have really struggled with it.

When I got it done the only person that knew was my husband. A couple of months later i had to come clean to my kids( my daughter started thinking I was bulimic). The further out I am the more people i have told. There are still some friends that don't know but they are the ones that look down on WLS so I can't be bothered getting into an argument.

Welcome to band world. Where things go creak and squeak and bump in the night ( and the rest of the day too). It is usually at it's loudest when you are in a room with other people and there is a lull in the conversation!

Oma you do have some strange misconceptions about the band. I for one do not have any food restrictions to speak of(unless you include tough, dry meat). I can eat anything. I would never go to a restaurant and order a kids meal as the choices are awful. I go and order what I want, sometimes just a starter, sometimes a full main and I eat as much of it as I want and I can assure you that is a lot more than 2 bites. I also believe that you are slightly misinformed about the sleeve. Yes it is true there is less aftercare but there are people that do have issues. I believe it is possible to have foods that are difficult to tolerate and if you read all the threads on the sleeve board you will discover that there are people with hunger issues. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the sleeve or your choice just that it may not be quite as perfect as you currently seem to believe.

I hadn't realised that eggs were a liquid! They can be a really hard food to eat even when you are not too tight. You may be too tight but it could just be that you are pushing the limits and not doing what you were told to do. Go back to the liquids and then take the next stage slowly. After a fill you have to get used to it and how to eat again. You may be eating faster than you think etc.

The reason you have heard more stories about the band is that it has been around a lot longer and a lot more people have it. It is simply a numbers thing. There is quite a high surgical risk with having the sleeve which there isn't with the band and also a high risk of developing a life threatening leak for a period afterwards. If you follow the rules, treat your band with care and don't have it too tight the risk of anything going wrong is actually very low. If something does go wrong such as a slip it is an easy fix. I am happy with my band and don't know if I would have been game to have a sleeve as my first WLS. To me it sounded too drastic.

I had a low BMI and my Dr still made me do it.

What stage are you at? Once you are past the initial postop stage there is no reason to drink Protein shakes at all, you DON"T NEED THEM. It is perfectly easy to get enough protein from a normal healthy diet and if you really want some extra protein that goes down easily have a glass of milk or some yogurt. If you are still preop it is a little bit harder as most Dr's make you use them for the preop diet. If you are at that stage ask your Dr if there are any alternatives to shakes that they are happy for you to have.

That is insane and so are the Dr's that enable that kind of behaviour.

I would be careful. If you are on a liquid or mushy diet the alcohol is likely to affect you a lot quicker than it normally would. You may end up feeling awful and you don't want that. If you do drink the alcohol remember not to eat and drink at the same time .

the sleeve is the first part of a 2 part procedure but it has now been proven to work as a stand alone procedure. The advantages of the sleeve no fills you reach a level of restriction straight away and should lose from the beginning less issues with bringing food back up you should be able to eat most things disadvantages higher risk surgery if the sleeve is not made the correct size then you may still be able to eat too much and not lose weight most sleevers seem to be on antireflux meds as a matter of course The advantages of the band it is adjustable(some may tell you this is not an advantage as it just means more effort to get to the right spot) much lower risk surgery it can be removed ( but there could be lasting damage) disadvantages it is a longer slower process to get to the correct level of restriction more aftercare and consequently this means ongoing costs some people find there are lots of foods they can't eat stuck episodes! some people develop reflux I think both surgeries are probably equally as effective. The sleeve is still relatively new so there are not a lot of statistics on its success a number of years out. Both these types of WLS are a tool and not a magic wand. The level of success with either will depend on the commitment of the person. If you decide to graze all day long, eat Cookies, candy etc neither will stop you from doing so. Also neither will force you to exercise. So at the end of the day it is best to choose the surgery that you think will suit you best. Don't get a band if you don't intend visiting your Dr regularly or if you think you may not have insurance or money in the future to cover the visits.

Well that is good news because you really don't need Protein bars or drinks. You can easily get enough protein without them, I never use them. Can you eat chicken, lean meat, fish etc? If you can then you should be fine. Concentrate on unprocessed, whole foods. e.g lean chicken, some veg and if you have space some form of carb as well. That should fill you up enough.How about dairy? Although technically yogurt is a slider food it is a better alternative for a snack than something like cake, fries, donuts etc.

So if you are allergic to :- all Proteins all fruits all vegetables what do you eat?

I had my band installed December 31st 2007 (Hell of a New Years Resolution). Back then I weighed 300lbs. Over the next year and a half I was down to 190. It wasn't easy. I never went to any support groups and the rapid loss wreaked havoc on my hormones making me a bit unstable. My surgeon was pleased to see someone in their late 20s with a band thinking I will be healthy and have almost no issues. Sometimes I worry at night. Trying to sleep I find myself terrified of erosion. Before I was terrified of heart trouble from being overweight. But I feel like I can't stop worrying.I think this is fairly normal. Some people are born worriers and worry more than others ( you sound as though you may fit that category). I find myself worrying sometimes too even though that is not my normal personality type. It is because you can't see what is going on. If you take care of your band erosion is rare. During the day, I maintain a distracted life at work. Lately my hours have been 60-90 hour weeks with work provided meals.Just because work provides them doesn't mean you have to eat them. You can still take your own healthy food. Due to this I had my band loosened by 1cc last August.It is never a good idea to have a band loosened so you can eat more unless the band was too tight previously. I can now eat anything without much trouble. My appetite is strong and unforgiving. My metabolism didn't handle it too well and I'm 20lbs heavier today. I had 0.5ccs added last week, but I can still eat mostly anything.That is good. You should be able to eat anything. What you need to do is make healthy choices and don't eat huge portions. If you are still hungry(proper hunger not head hunger) then you may need another fill. I'd like to say I was a model bandster, but I'm not. Not even close. Once at my comfortable weight, I found my band as a tool to eat almost anything without gaining weight. I would push it more and more to get more food. Over the last year I gained 10lbs, but it never went higher. I drink carbonated soda, and eat almost anything. I eat slowly depending on my restriction, but it seems to be more lose in the evening. It was because of my inability to maintain control that I had it loosened a bit since the band was a bit uncomfortable. It is normal to be able to eat more at night. I still don't understand why you had your band loosened though - what does a bit uncomfortable mean? I want to tighten it back up to a strong restriction and get back to my target weight, but I'm very afraid of my irresponsible side slowly killing me. Sounds like you have other issues than hunger. I would make an appointment to see some kind of psych that specialises in food related problems to find out what your problems are and why you are sabotaging yourself. The band doesn't solve emotional eating problems. The lapband diets are difficult for me. I have major food allergies. Raw fruit / vegetables, shell fish, nuts, all close up my esophagus. Protein products give me the same problem. My wife stocks the house with food for the kids, a inventory I can't seem to steer clear from. I want to feel full, a feeling I couldn't achieve even without the band. I instead feel uncomfortable or regrettable. It sounds as though you are making excuses to justify your poor decisions. I am a first aid trainer that teaches Anaphylaxis courses and it would be very very very rare for all Proteins, vegetable and fruits to cause this problem.What kind of foods does your wife buy for the kids? Why don't you go shopping together and buy healthy food for the whole family. The younger the kids get used to eating healthy stuff the better and the less likely they are to have weight problems later on in life. I need friends I can talk to. In person works great, but difficult to find in my area. What is your area? Feel free to PM me if you want. Sorry if some of my responses sound harsh - they are not meant like that but I am not into couching things in flowery language!All the best in recommitting and getting back on track.

I would say that you are right. It is amazing what our subconscious can do/say whilst we are sleeping.

sparkplug I would say that it is probably time for you to get a fill. Your body has obviously come to the end of what it can do without one and now seems to need that little bit of additional help.

OMG That is so sad, my heart goes out to you. I wish you every success in your journey, I am just sorry that you have been made to wait so long particularly considering the circumstances. All the best. Lynn

I don't think you were stuck I think you were probably overfull.It doesn't sound like a good choice of food and eating squashed up in the car can also cause problems.

I have had my band 2+ years and I do believe that the sensation changes over time. It is a lot easier to eat many foods now than when I was initially banded. But I do not think I need a fill as I am at goal and maintaining. In fact I think I would probably get refused a fill at this point and having one would probably make me too tight. I think that the effect wearing off or dimming a little is common to all types of WLS, it is often referred to as the honeymoon period. It is new, exciting, you are really committed , the effect is strong and the weight comes off fairly easily. The longer you are together the more comfortable you are with each other, the less effort you put in , the novelty has worn off and you need to put in more work than you did when it was all new and exciting!