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I use cool bananas! I think Jenny is doing well. We have to remeber that this is not a competition and that we are all different. It is correct that the more obese you are the quicker you will lose - initially. But how often do you see people struggle to lose that last 10 or 20lbs? That is because the less you weigh the less you need and to keep cutting things to a level where you can keep losing and still be satiafied is not easy. Maybe this is why they say that (on average) the band is designed to help you lose 60% of your excess weight. I see lots of people on here that consider themselves to be successful even when their BMI is still in the overweight range. Yes they are successful but technically they have given up before they have got to a normal healthy BMI which is what I believe that everyone should be looking for. As to the initial question about Soup I think it can be a really good ide. The fact that it goes straight through to your "main" stomach is probably a benefit as it is already starting to help with that feeling of fullness.

It is good of you to come back and give us an update. So often on this site people post who are excited that they are getting their bands out because for some reason they could not cope with them and they are always convinced that they will be able to keep the weight off all by themselves. Your experience shows that this is not true. Sorry that you have had a bad experience and I hope that you are able to find a way ahead and success soon. The best place to find help from people that have revised from bands to sleeves is over on the vertical sleeve talk forum. They have a section there especially for these type of posts. You are unlikely to find a lot of help here because once people have their bands out they don't seem to stick around. Please keep us updated, we would love to hear about your future success.

I would cook the chicken in some kind of sauce in a slow cooker/crock pot. It makes it nice and moist. Also the brown meat is easier to eat than the breast as it is not so dry.

Glad that you have decided to see your Dr. Not sure how you put up with that for so long. I would be concerned about taking that many pills every day, OTC or not they can still cause problems.Hope everything is OK. Keep us informed

Any cake is fine to have. The thing is to remember moderation and only have it occasionally.

Generally the lapband port is stitched, the Realize port is the one with the prongs.

Are you sure you have a slip? I would give it a couple of hours and if you still can't get Water down then you need to go and see your Dr for an unfill. You probably still have something blocking the stoma but you do not necessarily have a slip. Try sucking crushed ice. If the area is swollen that can often help to reduce the swelling enough to allow the item to move through. It doesn't always work though and it can take a while. It is important that if this doesn't fix itself though that you go to your Dr, you don't want to end up dehydrated.

I don't recall seeing band adverts here in Aus. I certainly don't recall any that state the band creates a feeling of fullness on small amounts of food. If you are looking to feel full the way you did preband then it is not going to happen. "Fullness" post band is a lot different. If you eat too much instead of feeling full you are more likely to feel pain or discomfort and generally it is felt in the chest area not the stomach. But if you eat the types of food that you should be eating then you should be satisfied(which is a far different feeling to full) for quite a long period afterwards. A lot of this process involves learning how to recognise your bodies new signals that you have eaten enough and knowing when to stop.

I would also want more info before agreeing to go ahead with the revision.

I have been at my goal weight for almost 2 years but have put on about 6lbs over the last couple of months due to having to have a partial unfill. I am still not back at my optimum restriction level so am having to fight the desire to snack when I shouldn't. I need to knuckle down and do something proactive to get the weight off. The problem is that I have had a really easy ride so having to think about what I eat, log calories etc does not come naturally.I got the band so that i could give up dieting and that is what happened so to now have to consciously think about dieting is really hard. I was playing around on a couple of sites this morning to try to calculate how many calories required etc. I entered my info on 1 site and the results it came back with were that to lose 6lb I should not go under 1200cal per day and that it would take me until Jan 4 2013!!!! Well maybe I should give up now(joking). I am wondering if anyone else has used 1 of these sites and also come up with a ridiculous calculation. I am going on away with my husband for 4 days next week for a much needed break before he starts a new job so won't be watching my intake too hard then. I think the best plan is probably to try to stick to around 1000 cal per day, get off my ar*e and do some "exercise"(which I hate) and try to log honestly what I am eating. I go back to see my Dr mid June and am hoping he will bring me up to a reasonable level of restriction again then. We are treading a fine line between me actually being able to feel like I have a band and my reflux recurring. I live in a small country town where the nearest gym is 40min away so I can't join a gym - the motivation and the cost to get there a couple of times a week whould be prohibitive. Yes I could theoretically walk or run as that is free but it is seriously freezing here at this time of year. I think my only option is to dig my exercise bike out and use that.

I don't think it will take 9 months either. It will probably be a little harder than it was initially especially without reasonable restriction. Thanks for all the encouragement.

If you sleep on your stomach you will probably not be able to at first and if you sleep on your side you will probably be more comfortable with a pillow next to your stomach but generally there is no reason not to be able to lie down.

I am sure it would be easy. A couple of bowls o icecream, a chocolate bar or a milkshake would easily do it. Remember it is all down to food choices.Even with a properly restricted band you have to choose the healthy,lower calorie options.

It is possible that the problem lies with the person doing your fills. They may not be hitting the correct spot and could be puncturing the tubing.

I have heard of this before but no idea why it should happen.

The reflux started in about Dec just out of the blue. I hadn't just had a fill, wasn't tight, could eat just about anything. It wasn't every night but i did wake up a number of times coughing/choking. The unfill was because my band was so loose I decided I could try to eat steak.Bad move. I threw up all evening and then went i went to bed could not lie down as the reflux was so bad. I took myself off to emergency where I got 4ml taken out under fluoro ( 2ml left in) and had a CT scan to make sure the band was still in place. I am now back up to 5ml and not feeling any restriction. Thanks for the suggestions on exercise, I know that I am just making excuses. The frustrating thing is that I got this far doing very little and now I have to get off my behind and do something. The main reason I started this thread was not for the exercise etc it was because of the totally ridiculous amount of time that some of the websites tell me it will take to lose a mere 6lb.According to their estimates it is going to take me longer than it took me to lose my initial 48lb! I know that I now have a lower BMI so I need less calories but the calculations are ridiculous. I was wondering if anyone else had had a similar ridiculous calculation?

So you are going to have a huge weight loss all in 1 go! That is a really big step you are taking. I hope it all goes well , especially without someone to support you. All the best.

Yes, although many people like to tell you that you NEED to drink 6 - 8 glasses of water a day that is not technically true. It is actually fluid that you need. I hardly ever drink water except in summer when it is really hot. My drink of choice is tea, no sugar and with a dash of skim milk.

There are lots of people that will tell you that it has taken 2 weeks or more for their fill to kick in so what has happened to you is not unusual. Being a careful lapband patient is always the best option.

Reading things like this makes me very happy I live in Aus. Our healthcare system is not perfect, far from it but at least i know that even if I didn't have private health insurance I would get the medical help I needed - eventually! Having private health insurance here is quite weird. It lowers what you pay in tax, it means that you get medical procedures done quicker but it also means that you end up paying more for them because of the ridiculous out of pocket expenses.

All the best.

I had a hysterectomy last year and it is the best thing I have done. I had a period that lasted about 63 days just before the op and I had had enough. However if you want another child then this is obviously not an option.I would suggest having your 3rd child ASAP and maybe look at having a combined caesar/hysterectomy. It means that you have 1 less surgery to worry about if you do it that way.

It would be useful if you gave us some background as to where you are/how much you have lost/what you are currently doing etc. But some general advice would be :- Go and see your Dr. If you need a fill get 1. Make sure you are exercising and maybe increase how often/the intensity. Make sure that you are making the best food choices that you can.

I would stick to June 21. After any op you need time to recover, I don't think that you would have long enough if you chose the earlier date. Plus you will be on a very restricted diet which has a huge effect on your energy levels. To be freaked out about surgery is normal, we have all been there, all had second thoughts etc. It is not that bad you WILL survive. You can start losing weight now, you don't have to weight until after the surgery.

Excellent