GuyMontag

Yeah. Let's just say the lap band has had the added benefit of curing me of my fear of needles. Overall with fills and a slight unfill here and there I've been poked over 20 times. Fortunately I haven't needed any adjustments for over a year and don't plan on getting any.

I take Restoril in a capsule without problem.

You'll burp. Trust me.

Embrace the fast weight loss. I lost 10lbs in my first 4 days and lost 100lbs in six months. I was happy to see it go quickly. Keep up the good work!

Tuna salad might be close.

I love the vitafusion gummies.

Not being able to fit on a roller coaster with my kids at King's Island. The seats were a little smaller because they were for little kids and adults so I told my wife I didn't want to ride the coaster. She insisted, I got up to the ride, after the attendant tried to forcefully bring the shoulder harnesses down several times on my stomach and chest and they wouldn't lock I finally walked away completely embarrassed. I knew at that moment I had to do anything it took to lose weight no matter what.

I sometimes think people are not taught enough about 'reading' their band and knowing what can tighten and loosen it almost daily. One post in here talked about how one day they could eat anything and the next almost nothing and there was nothing wrong with their band. This is very common and can be caused by many things such as exercise, dehydration, stress, TOM, etc. Let me give you an example. Two days ago I felt like I could eat almost anything. I could go grab a supreme burrito from taco bell and a meximelt and eat it just fine and maybe even be hungry only a couple of hours later. However, I also went on a 5k walk that night when it was 90 degrees and close to 100% humidity and when I weighed the next day I was down 2lbs. Basically what I realized was that I had lost a TON of Water weight. Now some of you may think that's a good thing but it's really not because what it ultimately did was dehydrate me. Knowing my band like I do I knew this would probably happen so I made an extra effort to take in extra liquids that night and the next day but when I went to try and eat lunch I could barely eat it. Today I'm doing much better as far as being able to eat regularly but it's only because I've been hydrating like crazy and I knew this was going to happen. This is another reason I try to warn people against getting too tight trying to chase the elusive green zone. Just because you're not in the green zone for one or two days that does not mean you need a fill. Loose days can just as easily swing around and turn into tight days so be warned. Rewind two years ago and I didn't know as much about my band as I do now. I went on a 5k run in 90 degree heat and played basketball afterwards. I failed to hydrate properly before, during, and after my exercising, got too tight, and ended up not being able to swallow my own spit. I'm not saying the band doesn't work or that people failed the band or anything like that. What I am saying is that as bandsters we need to constantly be educating ourselves and learning as much about our band as we can. This is why I also don't advocate this surgery as a set it and forget it type of solution. The band takes attention and fine tuning. If you just want to 'eat less and lose weight' then definitely go for bypass or sleeve. Does the band fail for some people out of no fault of their own? Sure it does. Those people should not be blamed or looked down on. Weight loss is tough for everyone and we all need to support ourselves through victories and failures alike no matter whether the failure was on the part of the band or the person.

Since I'm usually tight in the morning I just skip Breakfast and eat my first meal around Noon. I used to think peanut butter had a lot of sugar in it but looking at some of the labels it doesn't look too bad. I don't have a lot of experience with it and weight loss because I kind of avoided it so I can't really give a good opinion on it.

Here's a good definition of a slip. As marfar7 points out, pain does not always present itself in all cases: Slippage or pouch dilatation can occur if the Lap-Band moves down the stomach, or if the pouch above the band stretches up. Patients with these problems may notice heartburn or regurgitation of food at night when they lay down. Slippage of the band is unusual and occurs in approximately two or three percent of patients. It can cause acute symptoms of abdominal pain, or can cause failure to lose weight. The acute symptoms are pain, bloating, vomiting or difficulty in swallowing liquids and solids. Christopher S. Cobourn, MD Mississauga Bariatric Surgeon

I never had it come out in clumps but it was just a hair here or a hair there. Enough for me to notice in a hat or on a comb but not enough to notice on my head. One disclaimer is that I don't have a ton of thick fur up there in the first place. Lol.

As you lose weight and your stomach becomes leaner the band can feel looser. This happened to me often when I would get a fill, lose weight, then 'lose' restriction. As you continue to lose weight and get fills this will happen less frequently until you find a good balance and reach your green zone.

When we say baby first we mean if you are already pregnant worry about having the baby and then lose weight afterwards. If you need to lose weight to get pregnant then go for it. Just realize it's likely you'll gain a lot back during the pregnancy but that is usually the norm.

Believe it or not I had to have 18 fills before I hit my green zone. That's because I have over 14cc Fluid in my 14cc band.

For me a cheese burger would be anything with a bun basically. If I can go to mcdonald's and eat a big mac without issue then that's not good in a major way. Same with a whopper. There are some times I take the first bite to test things and and end up just scrapping the rest of the bun and going for the burger.

I have heard of one rare case where the band was not properly buckled. It's been about 3 years since I heard about it so I can't give you any details but it is very very rare. I was worried I had a leak at one time because I had 14cc of fluid in my 14cc band and I could still eat a big mac. It turns out my stomach was just VERY lean (unlike the rest of me) and once I got just over 14cc in my band I was at a good restriction.

Could be your blood sugar levels? Without more details it's hard to say what might be going on. You can always call your doc for guidance.

I really like this workout: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/ It's very concise and you can use cool websites or apps like this on your computer, phone, or tablet to help you out: http://7minworkoutapp.com/

Slow and steady wins the race!

Oh you had yours done in IL? We're definitely lucky to have him down in Cincy now.

I stick with meats, cheeses, and eggs. If I'm on the go I'll grab some jerky or some almonds or if I need to do fast food I'll get a Big Mac without the bun or a roast beef sandwich from Arby's and just eat the meat.

I had to laugh at the 'gurgling' comment. That's such a bandster thing isn't it? Lol. BTW, I see Brad did your band, WOOT WOOT! What a great doc!

It's hard especially at first. The weight loss is a great motivator but I also had to utilize the support group at my doc's office a lot for help. Later on I even saw a therapist to help me work through some things. It'll get better so just keep your chin up!

I never pay attention to calories. I've always paid more attention to what kind of calories I taken in than the quantity. I try to avoid carbs basically.

Monday night was zuicchini lasagna, last night was alice chicken, and tonight I'm doing crab cakes.