jr64044

I have been banded 7 mos and find this to be a very grey area of the surgery. Every surgeon is different but I find it odd this particualr subject as they claim will do damage to your pouch is still different from surgeon to surgeon. In my orientation/class they tell you no carbonation. (I remember as they were having one in the office during my last fill visit and this is the part I walked in on) Although-I was with you that I wasn't a soda addict so to speak but I enojoyed one from time to time. I asked the Dr about it and he said some banded patients simply cannot, it hurts them to drink it, and some patients are just fine with it, it all depends on if the carbonation hurts your tummy going down, but it would not hurt you in any way. I drink maybe one per week if that and I have no trouble, with that said I did not try one untill I was 3 mos out and I have not had any problems. I would strongly suggest discussing with your dr one on one, and waiting quite a while post op if he gives you the ok if you would like . I will tell you somehow the taste changes over those couple of months and it doesn't taste the same after you've been off the carbonation for a while. Good luck to you! :biggrin:

Yes that is exactly what I afraid of, which is why I went in the next day to have Fluid removed. Thats my point I was trying to get across was that it doesn't have to be so tight that we are miserable in order to lose weight. I don't beleive that was the original intent of the band. I am sorry to hear about your slip, I hope the best for you.

was having this same sort of problem. I was banded July 20th, 2009. My first fill was 3 cc's, second was 5, then eventually around Nov went to 6. I was doing great with it, found I could eat a little more but wasn't getting anything stuck which I looooved. I hate the feeling of something being stuck, its the worst feeling in the world. I also bumped up my cardio by alot and was finding I was hungry more often. Not knowing if it was the increase in work outs making me feel that way or if I needed a fill. I went in and he added another .5 cc. Which put me at 6.5 cc's out of 10. I went two days not even being able to get water down, hot tea wouldn't even get down. I realized when I went to lay down after pbing all night long I had a acid reflex feeling. Which coming from someone whos never even had heartburn, lets just say it was enough to make me call in the morning. I had lost 2 lbs overnight, but fealt exhausted since I hadn't even been able to drink water. They did an un-fill but put the needle in and left it in while I sat up and drank water untill it went down smoothly. That was pretty sick-sitting on a table with a huge needle sticking out of my stomach gulping water. They ended up taking out 1.5 cc's so I am down to 5 again. which is less than I had before the fill from hell lol She said my stomach was probably swollen and they would leave it at 5 for 2-3 weeks. I actually enjoy being able to eat food w/o it getting stuck. I decided I'm going to go 70% and let my band go 30%. I am still making good choices, I just don't want it to have to be so tight in order for my loose weight that I'm uncomfortable. I still don't eat bread, maybe I could I just haven't tried. I am going to see how this works for a while. Maybe I was doing it wrong all along, who knows but its a learning curve for everyone to find what works for you, I just don't think we need to be miserable :wink2:

Yep I had the same thing. I have been banded about 7 mos and haven't been really emotionally affected much, but I have come to realize the things I covered up or compensated for because I was over weight and unhappy about it. For example-I was a huge purse-aholic. I bought a new Jessica Simpson bag probably every month. I also tanned like it was my job. I have noticed now that I've lost weight I haven't had the urge to run to Dillards and get a new purse, and haven't set foot in a tanning bed. I realized I was doing it to compensate for how unhappy I was with the way I looked & thought maybe tanning and a new bag would help. It didn't. You will find your own things you realized you did and it traces back to weight. Its different for sure with everyone but I think if nothing else you will realize how much happier you are going to become. You will have your days thats up and down but overall you should be very proud of yourself at the end of the day, this is a big step and a very honorable thing to do for youself. Take care..and good luck to you :sad:

Yep I did this week. I go to the gym 5x's a week and burn between 5-650 each time. Where as I was going only 1-3 times a week. Talk about being in Onederland! thats my 2-3 lbs! I have been between 201 and 203 everytime..no more..no less. These couple pounds are keeping me from hitting my first goal! I signed up for a biggest loser competition at work starting this week so I am gonna kick it in the butt and they are comin off if they like it or not! I have a tough love relationship with my body lol

Omg I'm so glad I found this cuz I am in the same exact boat!! I always lose like 7-9 lbs all at once it seems (like 2 week period) and then 3 weeks nothing..nada. Inches come off here and there but I am about 35-40 lbs away from my goal and I cannot budge this time. I've been losing and gaining the same 2-3 lbs for 3 weeks and its really irritating. I don't want to make any DRASTIC changes bc I have tried hard not to make this a diet, but do things I can do for life and doing a liquid diet to get a few lbs off isn't realistic to me, bc knowing me, Ill go right back up if I eat 3 oz of chicken. I have an appt next week as well and they haven't given me a fill the last 3 times I've been in. I haven't had a fill since early Nov. I currently have 6 cc's in a 10 cc's band and while I thought I was doing great and maybe needed a small fill, I almost pb'ed last night. Soooo I don't know, Im going to try to drink more water and double check my protein everday and see what happens. I think platues are just part of the journey, and just keep pluggin away, it'll come off. In the meantime I'm trying hard not to stress over it, I've come this far by god I'm finishing it this time Good luck to you all!!

I live in Des Moines, IA but I was born and raised in Davenport. I just moved here about 4 years ago!

I am 6 mos out and I remember that feeling like it was yesterday. The feeling of knowing my life was going to change and not sure for better or worse. You can rest assured it will be the best decision you've ever made for yourself. You will have your ups and downs, but in 3, 6, 9 mos being able to go back and look at pictures of yourself and not hardly recognizing yourself is the best pay out in the world. You will do great :smile2: everyones expereince is different, but I had a pretty non invasive amount of pain..pretty much just what I expected-but it usually calms down pretty quickly with pain meds and following the instructions given by your Dr at discharge. I painted my bathroom 5 days later! So take care of yourself, listen to your body, rest, stay hydrated and most of all get excited for the life changing journey you have just begun. Best of luck to you all-you will be just fine :thumbup: