OnTheWay to Thin

Just one thought, I had several fills that seemed to go no where, and found out I had a leak in my port. So my doctor would fill me, then it would leak out.. So check back with your new doctor in a few weeks and make sure your fill is still all there. I had to have my port replaced, but like you I wasted several months figureing it out. Good luck.

Dont beat yourself up. The band is always there, and you can decide to fire it back up at any time. Take a look at what you are eating, honeslty look at the calories. Maybe you need a fill to help you get moving again. Dont let yourself go for over 60 days with no scale movement, it it is not moving, look at what you are doing, and then evaluate the need for a fill or dietary adjustment. This is a slow process, I seem to loose abuot 4 lbs a month, I wish it were more, but it is steady and I am in this for the long haul, not a quick fix. Good luck.

I understand where you are coming from, but I agree with the other posters, you have to want to change your life, to make this work. There are some things I just cant eat and I have accepted that. They include bread, flour tortillas, some potatoes, some heavy pastas, pizza, and the interesting thing is that they are the very things that made me fat. So not being able to eat them is a blessing. I also cant eat scrambled eggs, but if I am careful with my choices I can eat a satisfying meal without discomfort 90+% of the time. If I eat too much, I will throw up, so that is immediate feedback that says I went to far. This is all about changing behavior, that for me has been habit for 48 years before banding. To lose weight the formula is simple, you have to eat less calories than you burn. If you have not lost any weight, then you are still consuming enough calories to maintain your weight. You should try one of the online calculators and honestly chart your food and tally your calories. I think this is the only way you will be able to see where you can make adjustments and therefore start seeing results. I suspect you are eating what is easy, and unfortunately what is easy is usually full of calories, you have to start over, really paying attention to your food choices, quantity, and how much you chew, and how much you eat. Good luck and I am really sorry you have had such a difficult time with this.

I am so glad to hear you say that, I am 10 mos out and just lately find myself trying to eat too much, dont know why, it comes right back up... So I am having to really watch myself and remember not to slide back to old habits. Weird how our prewired training keeps coming back to haunt us.

For me mexican was the easiest... I was able to take a bit of corn tortilla and put beans on it, felt like I was eating real food. Good luck, each doctor is different on what they allow at this stage. I also found in the early days that breakfast foods worked well, but after my fills not so much.

Normally you swell a bit from a fill, so the restriction is exaggerated initially, it does get better in a few days. As long as you can keep liquids down you are probably ok, but if you cant call your doctor right away. I have had this experience with each fill as I got closer to the correct fill level. And it is very common to have more burping and so on.

I had the same thing, after the swelling went down from the fill it got better, took a week to 10 days though. So if you can keep liquids in there is no major hurry, but if you cant then you need to go in right away. It should get a bit easier each day, if not call your doc and insist on a tiny unfil. I had to do 1/10th of cc and it made all the difference in the world. Best of luck.

quick tip for the urping and splashing in the eye! Yup have had it happen too, now I grab a toilet seat cover and drop it into the bowl first, that keeps away splashes!

You can not do this for her, and it is very very hard work. I agree with the above poster, I would check to see if she really understand the surgery and the requirements both before and after sugery. It is very hard work and requires commitment, everyone stumbles occasionally but that should be the exception not the rule. I had my surgery the last day of may and I am down 62 lbs, and I have had to fight for every one of those lbs, so if your wife is not dedicated to this, she will not be successful. I have a friend who was self pay, she did well initially but then started cheating, she had lost 70lbs but has now gained all but 10 or so back. How? Eating french fries and candy and other non healthy foods. I am not trying to be harsh, but this is a long road and you both need to be prepared to travel it. Best of luck to you.

I did and had to have a very small unfil, made all the difference in the world, you may also be swollen and that may get better, but if you cant keep liquids down call your doctor asap.

Wow that sounds awful, what are they going to do?

Goals and averages are very very subjective. I do not have a a specific goal, but several mini ones. I want to be healthy, I want my knees not to hurt, I want to be able to walk up and down the mall without being winded. I want to fit comfortably in a dining booth or airplane seat. I want to buy clothes in the regular sizes so I dont have to pay 3 times as much for the same darn thing. I dont believe that we have to be measured by averages. Mainly I concentrate on continuing to go down, knowing that without the band I would likely be gaining. Of those goals, I have met several, my knees rarely hurt now, I took a recent trip and the plane seat and bathroom were so much better. I dont stuggle to fit into booths any more, I am buying most of my clothes in the normal section (18's and xl's now) instead of Womens departments or Lane Bryant, Avenue and the like. For now my goal is to get under 200lbs, once I get there, I will likely adjust my goal but like to keep the goals smaller and more attainable so I dont feel like I will never get there.

First off WOW you have done great! I have had to have my port replaced too and I know it is not fun. But... if you are having reflux you need to go in and get a bit of an unfil, I had that issue and they only took out .1cc and the reflux was gone. So dont get discouraged, sometimes things in there shift a bit, and our fluid need changes, just get a tiny unfil and you will probably be right back where you need to be.

yep we will need adjustments periodically for a while. Call your doctor and get a little top off...

I think we all love food for one reason or another or else we would not have an obesity problem. For me the band has been about changing my relationship with food. I used to eat cause it was good, I could, it comforted, it soothed... now food is nourishment, I still eat some things I am not supposed to occasionally, but the band keeps me from going overboard. Would I love to chow down a cheesecake or pizza? You bet, but when I eat those things now I have to do it in moderation. You will have your cravings and you will have to figure out what your food triggers are and work on changing them, but like everyone else has said, when you see the difference in your appearance, the way you feel, the energy you pick up, it becomes less important. At least it has for me. Good luck.

Still holding, but not going down. :-( Hopefully some movement this week...

I had occasional reflux issues before banding, usually when I overate. Since banding I had a week that was horrible because I was too tight. We backed off .1 cc and that fixed the issue. However, I can still get reflux if I overeat, eat too late or lay down too soon after eating. I find that if I dont eat a single bite after 8 (I usually go to bed about 10:30) I am usually fine, unless I have a cold or lots of congestion, that will bring the reflux on too. Banded Age 49 Gall Bladder - yep taken out in my 20's Tips: Keep hydrated, dont eat within 2-3 hours of bed time, dont lay down after eating and do not overeat. If you have a consistent problem with Reflux see your doctor, you may need a tiny bit of Fluid removed.

I totally understand your fears, but you have not been living in a healty state. It almost sounds like you have the kind of fear of weight that a person with anorexia has. You need help, medical and emotional to address this. Your band is too tight, that is why you cant eat nourishing foods and instead are eating stuff that is easy and probably not healthy and has empty calories. Please find another bariatric doctor ASAP, go in and explain your fears and concerns, any good doctor will understand and work with you to get you back to health again. You should be able to eat healthy meats and veggies and get your vitimins and minerals from them, if you cant something is very wrong. You are so young and have so much ahead of you, get the help you need ASAP.

I did not tell a lot of people initially but find that as time has gone by I am more comfortable mentioning it. The reality is that if someone has not truly had an obesity problem it is impossible for them to understand what we have gone through or tried and no amount of explaining will change their mind. It is a combination of ignorance and inability to comprehend what you dont truly understand. Dont let it get you down, you know you are doing what is best for you. If someone gives you those sour vibes you can either ignore it, try to explain or simply say if you cant be supportive of my efforts to be healthier then please keep your comments to yourself.

I have pretty much given up on bread too, I can have a very thin small piece of french bread if I toast on both sides, almost to be like a cruton, and tonight I tried a whole wheat thin Orowheat hamburger bun, I only used 1 side and toasted it and was able to eat some of it. At least it felt like a real hamburger. But for the most part bread is not my friend.

When I am congested due to cold or allergies I can not eat as much and have to be more careful, not sure why congestion makes the band tighter but it seems to be the case.

Mine was due to my knees. I had been having shots under the knee caps every 6 mos for a couple years, all due to arthritis which was ugly due to my weight. The shots were a series of 3 shots each 1 week apart. The last series I had caused my leg to swell up so bad I could not walk for 2 days, that scared the pants off of me. About the same time a friend mentioned that she just found our our insurance covered obesity surgery.. The wheels started turning and I made my decision pretty quickly. I am down 60 lbs and have not had a shot in my knee in over a year. I am taking 1/2 my arthritis medicine and think with another 20 lbs I can do down to occasional aleve as needed.

One other thought, after a fill you have a bit of swelling that makes you feel tighter than you will be after a week or so. So it may be that if you give it a few days it will level out. Are you able to drink liquids and keep them down? If you are then you can afford to watch for a couple days, but if you cant keep liquids down go to the doctor immediately. Always call their office if you have questions, that is what they are there for.

Every doctor is different on what they advise based on your starting weight, how much you have to lose, age and so on. The norm is between 6 and 8 ounces.

Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to continue to lose at that rate? Unfortunately, it can't and shouldn't be done. The goal with the lapband once you are healed and all that is 1-2 lbs a week. Some weeks you wont lose anything at all, some weeks you will fall. Don't get discouraged, it will come, just follow your doctors advise, watch what and how much you eat and you will get there, but it is a slowwwww process for most.