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It can be . If you know that you have kidney disease of any kind then you need to be careful - get proper individualised dietary advice from your Dr. Not all Dr's emphasis so much protein. In the US they do - here in Australia we are just advised to eat a regular diet.

I'm at goal and I am no longer loosing. In fact my weight hasn't changed by more than a pound or 2 for months. I think that you eventually get to a level where everything sort of evens out. I haven't had to have any fluid removed but I am also able to eat a large variety of foods and in reasonable quantities. I feel that the band now is working for me the way I had hoped it would. It lets me act like a skinny person - that is I eat what i want when I want (within reason). I do not obsess over every mouthful. If I want chocolate I eat it but in much smaller quantities than preband. If I overdo it 1 day I cut back the next and I ALWAYS weigh myself every morning. I believe that doing that enables me to stay on track.

Just tried to read this to see if I could offer support. However because of the way it has been written I had to give up. With no paragraphs it is too much strain on the poor old eyes!

If it hurts it usually means that you are eating too quickly, not waiting between bites or taking too big a bite. Either that or it is a food that your band doesn't particularly like. Do not drink when you get this sensation. You may think it will help but it won't. It will actually aggravate the situation and probably lead to more discomfort and sliming.

I agree with the rest - take them normally.

Have you been exercising?

Restriction is not what you are aiming for. Satisfied is what you should be aiming for. The band does not restrict what or how much you eat or at least not in the way we would like it too. It will not stop you eating high cal, slider foods. It will not necessarily tell you that you have had enough but it will let you know when you have had too much but by that stage you are already in pain and/or uncomfortable. A lot of the control still has to come from your head. That is if you serve up a portion of the size and type of foods that your NUT has recommended with a properley restricted band you should be able to eat that and not be hungry again for 3 - 4 hours. It is a far different feeling to being full preband . EAT SLOWLY, MAKE SURE THE food IS SITTING WELL(YOU WILL GET USED TO THE SENSATION)AND THEN TAKE ANOTHER BITE. It sounds confusing but you will work it out.

Potatoes are good for you and they contain potassium which is essential for a healthy heart rate etc. They are only high in calories if you smother them in oil or butter. Crackers are also high in calories and a lot less nutritious than potatoes. I often use wraps instead of bread. Most of the time they are easier to eat. However if i want bread I eat it. I eat wholegrain breads as I have always preferred the taste of those anyway. It is a matter of experimentation and finding out what works for you and what doesn't. Everybody is different.

No you probably have something stuck. You said you were rushing and didn't chew properley , so there is probably a large piece of food lodged in your stoma. Eating or drinking at this point may aggravate it but you don't want to become dehydrated. Try taking small sips to see if you can drink, if you can't sucking on crushed ice may help - it usually helps me. Are you sure it is acid you are coughing up or is it excess saliva - the body's normal reaction when something is stuck is to produce excess saliva to try to slide it through. I doubt vey much that your band has slipped. See how you are feeling in the morning and let us know. If you can't get liquids down then you need to call your Dr. Don't panic i am sure you will be fine.

When someone finds the answer please let me know too. I also want to be able to eat Cookies, chocolate,cake etc without putting on weight. I don't want to exercise and I don't want to take responsibility for what I put in my mouth - that's too hard. I'm looking for a magic wand - maybe I should go to Ollivanders? Please don't tell me there isn't one. I can't lose weight by making healthy choices the same way everyone else has to. There has to be a surgery that makes it possible to do things my way. I'm happy to do what it takes - if not the lapband,then a bypass, sleeve or whatever so long as it doesn't involve me having to do the work!

OMG So much going on. Breakins, sick MILs, pregnancies !!!!!!! What can I say except commiserations, sympathy and congratulations. Hopefully I got that in the right order. It's amazing how much can happen in a week. I have been reading everything but as usual too lazy to post. Did someone mention the "E" word? Let's not go there. I am still guilty of not exercising. My son seems to be doing well. He is back at school and his eye seems to be healing fine, no infection or anything. We see the specialist again at the end of June - just before our trip to South AFrica. I had a major NSV this morning. Had to go to the gynae to reschedule the hysterectomy that I put off at the end of last year. She told me that as I am SKINNY and healthy my recuperation period will probably be around 3 weeks. What can I say - there is nothing that feels as good as being called SKINNY by a medical professional. Was wondering what Denise was talking about in one of her messages when she said that as a Federal employee she may not have a job soon. They explained on morning TV here today that congress are stuffing around and if they don't pass the legislation the wheels of govt will grind to a halt and that noone will get paid etc. Seems ridiculous and I am sure it won't get to that point but it is so typical of a govt to not be doing the job that they are supposed to be doing. We haven't got that problem - our pollies just lie blatantly to get elected and then do a total about face when they are in power. Hence our PM Julia Gillard is now known as Joo liar Gillard! BIn the words of the old joke "How can you tell when a politician is lying? - Their lips move". Hope everything gets better for everyone soon.

I agree - those symptoms do sound as though they could be heart related. Not something to mess around with. Go to ER NOW.

It sounds like you have a fever. I would get to ER or your Dr ASAP. To be feeling like this so soon after surgery could be serious. They need to check you don't have an infection and you probably need antibiotics. The lump in the throat could be caused from fill combined with post op swelling. If they have prefilled your band get them to take it out. Good luck, please keep us updated.

I have people calling me skinny all the time yet when I look in the mirror(naked) I see my stomach and it still looks huge. I have skinny legs, a flat bum, reasonable boobs but my stomach is still a mound and there seems to be very little definition at my waist. I have been told by my Dr not to lose any more weight although I think a few more kgs wouldn't hurt. So no I don't think I will ever be perfectly happy with my body but I am now at the stage where I can accept that it is GOOD ENOUGH. Especially when I see other people my age or close - I definitely look a lot better than most of them.

Glad that your problem is all sorted out. I have never heard of air in the band being a problem before(except if you fly when it is unfilled) but if that is what they found then that must be correct. Good luck with your lapband journey, I hope that everything now goes really well for you.

It seems strange to be having pain in the centre of your chest. Post op/gas related pain is usually in a shoulder or sometimes the stomach. I would be going back to the Dr and asking for some more tests. Are they sure this is band related pain? I certainly wouldn't mess around with pain in the centre of the chest. It may be that it is a side effect of the surgery. Could possibly be a clot that has travelled and lodged somewhere that it shouldn't have and if so this is an emergency. Most people that have problems with their bands have them at a later stage, problems at the time of surgery are rare. Often problems at this stage are caused by incorrect placement , an inexperienced surgeon or the band being prefilled. I would recheck that there is no fill in your band at this point and if there is make sure they take it out. Fill + postop swelling is too much for most people and causes lots of problems. I hope you get this sorted out soon. As to the negative stories about the band you will always hear them. Some are true, many are not. The same can be said for the bypass, the sleeve or whatever. There is no 1 size fits all WLS. You have to research and find out which is the most likely to suit you. One of the reasons the band "fails" is because people expect it to be a magic wand. They think that once it is in that is it, they will never have to diet again. Lots of these people think that they will be able to eat what they want, sit on their bums and that the weight will still fall off - THIS IS NOT TRUE. The band is a tool that will assist in your weight loss but it will not do it for you. You are still in charge of what you put in your mouth. I have had my band for almost 2 years and I couldn't be happier. It works the way that it was explained to me. That is that if I make good choices it will help me to eat less and feel full for longer which will mean I am able to lose weight more easily than preband. I have lost all my weight and now wear an Aus size 8 which I think is a US size 4. I am by no means perfect. Some days I make good choices, some days not so good choices. Some times food goes down fine other times it gets stuck . This doesn't happen as often any more as I am now far more experienced in operating my weight loss tool. I know what works and what doesn't. How anyone can complain about losing 50lb I don't know. As to the story about the grape I would take that with a big pinch of salt - if it is true then the person is stupid. They are not using the band the way it is supposed to be used and they are setting themselves up for possible problems in the future. If your Dr isn't helpful then you should change your Dr. The medical profession are notorious for being arrogant - we as patients are notorious for treating them like Gods and putting up with it.

Of course I remember you. You are from Sydney and you love mustard!

That's great - well done.

Yes I'm still here , just had a hectic couple of days. The procedure was on Tuesday 1.30.Warwick was pretty nervous but that was to be expected. The Dr that was going to be sitting with him and applying the drops during the procedure was great. He took lots of time to explain everything and let Warwick listen to his ipod whilst the procedure was being done. They did the prep at 1.30 and then we had to wait about 1hr15min for the next stage. They took him through and were finished just after 5pm. At that point Warwick was fine - much better than I expected. He started feeling sick etc in the car on the way home. Not surprising as it was rush hour and we live out in the country so to get home took ages. He went straight to bed with no food(he's 16 if he doesn't eat you know he can't be feeling good) and slept through till about 9am yesterday. He didn't need the sleeping tabs or the strong pain killer. I helped him with his first lot of drops yesterday and then had to go to work.We left him with a long list of instructions as to what to take when and kept phoning to check he was OK. The only problem he had was slight boredom as he is not allowed to play on his DS until the bandage contact lens comes out next week. Hubby and I then went straight from work to see Riverdance. The tickets were booked and paid for months ago before we knew he had to go for this "op". We weren't too worried as his 22 year old sister is living at home at the moment so he had someone with him after work. The show was excellent. We had centre, front row seats.The dancers legs are amazing - I swear they have knees that swing both ways! Hubby enjoyed it too even though when I told him I had booked tickets he looked at me rather strangely. (Apparently that was because he had forgotten what it was , we saw Lord of the Dance about 11 years ago). Off to see the specialist for a first checkup today, we are lucky as we have been told we can go to the local one not the one that did the procedure - so much less stress with travel and parking.Then we need to go again nextweek and if everything is good they will see him in 3 months at which point they should know what the results are. Warwick is up and seems fine - he has just gone to run himself a bath as he cn't shower in case he gets water in his eye. Thanks for all the good wishes.

Glad to hear that you are doing well. Sorry that your first band wasn't a success. Have they used the same type of band this time or switched? All the best.

I eat with friends that don't know about my band and they have never noticed or commented on what or how much I eat. I am careful though to try and choose things that I know won't get stuck.

Spartan I am sure you are not really evil. We all have good and bad sides. Somedays we will say something that everyone likes and other days we will p@@s everyone off. I just want to know who you were in your previous life but I'm sure you are not going to share. You should back out of the window very carefully because presumably these days your butt wouldn't cushion your fall! Nice to see other faces here, it is not an exclusive, members only thread.

My sons eye op/procedure is on Tuesday. Trying not to get too stressed out about it. He seems to be quite calm at the moment which is good. Had an interesting week. My boss wanted me to work on Wed at a school which is way over the other side of the city. I told him I didn't think I would be able to get there in time (there are some areas of major gridlock around Melbourne) so he suggested I stay in his city apartment the night before. I did and my husband came along too. It was a 19th floor apartment overlooking Docklands which is a new/trendy/waterside area of Melbourne. The views were stunning.Water, expensive boats, Bolte bridge ........... It was also nice because hubby and I were able to walk to dinner with a huge choice of restaurants and then walk back again! Can't do that where I live. On the downside it was noisy so I slept with the windows shut which then meant it was pretty hot . Staying in the city is nice for the occasional "treat" but nothing beats the peace and quiet of living in the country. Yesterday I went to a crazy patchwork class. i think the crazy referrred to the patchwork and not the people but you never know! Today I am off to meet a friend that I haven't seen since Jan, for coffee and then I have to do the really exciting task of grocery shopping! That always seems to take forever. Walking around the shop, making a choice from too many overpriced items, putting it in the trolley, taking it out of the trolley, putting it back in when it never seems to fit, lugging the bags into the car, then out of the car then unpacking when you get home. What a schlep! Maybe its time we swapped food for a daily nutrition pill. Think of all the time and money we could save - not to mention all the weight we could lose! Working tomorrow. Sunday I shall probably go to the local annual quilt show to get some inspiration.

Melody glad that the surgery went well and that they have solved the problem and that the pain has gone. Sorry that the solution though did involve losing your band. Was the scar tissue caused by the band? Did this happen because it was positioned incorrectly originally? Please stick around, I love reading your posts. As to Vicodin I have no idea what it is , if they use it here and if they do what name it goes by . I just hate surgery because I always get nauseous afterwards.