GuyMontag

Finding substitutes can really help. I can't believe how good zucchini crust pizza is. I think I'll be baking it weekly now it's so good and really fills my pizza craving.

Is that why you came into chat and verbally accosted me? I may not have dipped my advice in honey and sugar but I think it's valid. If you're having major problems with your band then maybe another surgery would work better for you. If you are having major problems with your doctor then get a different doctor. If you need support then find a group in your area. If you're looking to be coddled and babied then find another forum. See? Simple actionable advice.

Some rules come from the lap band manufacturer such as 'no carbonated drinks', some rules come from different doctors, and some are just from different lapband people's experience. It does seem odd that some 'rules' are more flexible than others. Although the lap band manufacturer states, NO CARBONATED DRINKS, it seems to be one that many lap banders break. I also can't remember the last time someone said that carbonated drinks dilated their pouch or hurt their band at any time. This is where anecdotal experience comes in. As for drinking with rules that's a pretty universal one and it's simply to not flush food through your pouch as well as not strecthing it. I've never heard of anyone breaking that rule without eventually suffering the consequences. The no NSAID's is to prevent ulcers because the pills stay in your pouch and pretty much eat holes. That's why most docs if asked will allow liquid NSAID's like motrin. The bread, rice, Pasta rule is more based on individual tolerances and is also tied to the no carb rule. Many people have a hard time eating bread, rice, and pasta and just find it easier to cut out of their diets but this isn't really a 'rule' it's more just good advice. This goes along with the no carb rule. Since most bandsters avoid bread, rice, and pasta because they are difficult to eat with the band it makes choosing a low carb diet easy to follow to lose weight. By no means is that a rule but just a good idea with the band. Many people choose different routes though and find their own success. I think a lot of the misunderstandings that happen here happen when people quote personal opinions as rules or don't realize that some rules are more flexible than others. For example, I drink soda and I know I'm breaking that rule. I would NEVER advise another bandster to drink soda. It's my choice to break that rule and if I have problems because of it then that is on my head. However, the drinking with meals one is a no-brainer. I've known too many people that have dilated their pouches and sabotaged their weight loss by doing that and would never ever do it myself. If someone else can do it and they don't have problems, then best of luck to them. I may think it will end badly for them but I could be wrong. Basically, it just boils down to my experience and opinion which is pretty much what all of us have in here. People can choose to listen to me or not. That's the beauty of the Internet and these forums.

Yup. One of the reasons they give for not drinking with your meals is so you don't wash the food through your band. The more important reason is that simply put, it HIGHLY raises the risk of dilating your pouch. I've seen it happen countless times with fellow bandsters. They complain that it's SOOOO hard to stop and then they cry when they dilate their pouch but the don't correct the behavior and have to have Fluid out and gain their weight back in a never ending cycle.

Owning up to our mistakes and having the knowledge to make the changes in our lives are VERY important steps to getting to a better place. You're not blaming anyone else and you realize what roadblocks have been put before you. I can totally relate. Probably the best thing you could do would just be to start going back to the doc and you'd probably be right back on track. Your advice is sound as well, with our bands our doc and his/her office can be the difference between success and failure. Without support the lap band is not nearly as effective. Thanks for sharing.

I was like that for awhile but then the band turned me into a damn sweets machine. The good thing is can't eat an entire pizza by myself anymore. The headache may have been from your blood sugar spike. That can be a nice natural deterrent for sweets. Keep up the good work!

GET OFF MY LAWN!

The weird thing is fruit can be one of the most difficult things for me to eat for some reason. It might be its density that it goes down VERY slow for me. You're definitely not alone in this boat.

Only when I yell, KISS MY GRITS MEL before I serve them. Other than that, it's all good.

Hear, hear.

You're only ignorant because it hasn't ever bitten you in the ass. Lol. Heartburn is like a burning in the chest. I honestly get it from Water if I don't take the prilosec but a lot of people get it from spicy food. Acid reflux is when crap actually comes back up in the back of your throat and it burns. It's most prevalent in lap band patients at night and can definitely be a sign of a bigger problem. It's also associated with night cough.

Don't let the door hit you when you leave.

So if those stats are old and you're 'well aware what can happen' then where are your new stats? Like I said before, I was the only person to provide ANY statistics so if you don't like it then get your own. Also, if the subject has been beaten dead then stop replying to this thread.

I had heartburn right away after banding and I hear it as a common complaint. I've taken Prilosec for over 4 years now and it's solved the problem. Now acid reflux is a different story and can be a sign of something more problematic.

I almost never eat in the morning. If you're really tight in the morning then just drink liquids until lunchtime. As for knowing when I'm full, I usually eat VERY slowly so it's easy to figure it out. I make sure to put my utensil down between each bite and chew chew chew.

Well you cover a lot of ground in that thread. If you aren't going to follow the rules then maybe the band isn't for you. If your doc isn't supportive maybe he/she's not the doc for you. It might be a good idea to get some professional support group help with someone that can give you face to face answers. If I were you I'd look for a lap band support group in my area and maybe seek the counsel of a therapist for several of those issues.

My favorite line is, I keep drinking with meals...it's sooooooooo hard to stop...WHO ELSE DOES THIS??? PLEASE SAY LOTS OF YOU DO IT TOO SO I CAN JUSTIFY MY STUPID BEHAVIOR PLEASE. <insert sensible comment from lap band veteran about how this will dilate their pouch> THIS SITE IS TERRIBLE AND NO ONE ENCOURAGES ME!!! WAAAAAAHHHHHH :'( :'( :'( BOO HOO!!! WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY AGREE WITH ME AND SAY WHAT I WANT TO HEAR?!? (me lol'ing)

Welcome to bandster hell and it sucks here. You'll get past it and start eating again. YOU CAN DO IT!

You wish you wouldn't have known about studies that might have educated you because they would have scared you out of getting banded? I guess constantly keeping your head in the sand is a viable way of living your life. The point isn't to scare people but to give them knowledge that will help them realize that this is a serious surgery and it takes serious commitment. If you don't like when we post statistics that don't agree with your view or perhaps scare you, I recommend putting your fingers in your ears and humming a nice tune like Row Row Row Your Boat while you skip them.

Mine hasn't been bad enough for me to seek out medical help yet. As long as I don't eat after 9pm I'm okay. If it gets worse or I have other symptoms I'll definitely go in though. Thanks for the tip.

As long as I don't eat too late I don't have problems at night. If I do it's about 4am and drainage starts pooling at the back of my throat. GROSS! I just wake up, sit up, try and wait for a little bit before thinking, another night with the band, and go back to sleep.

I like the term removable vs. reversible for sure. Good point.

There's always ways to spin statistics. I was just trying to at least elevate the discussion above anecdotal evidence. I mean, I've known TONS of people who's bands have failed and it seems to happen more and more the older their bands get. I still see old timers come back into chat or the forums upset because of problems with their band. Many times it was something like, they wanted to lose that last ten pounds so they went in for a fill for the first time in a year...and BAM...started throwing up and they dilated their pouch or worse, slipped their band. I don't want to scare newbies but this is a surgery, not a walk in the park.

Which is ironic because isn't the band supposed to be 'reversible'? Yeah...sure it is. I'm still a band advocate but I also think there's a lot of misinformation out there and people are sold on something that isn't quite what they're told it is.

For most the band is pretty wide open at first and you begin to get restriction with fills/adjustments where they add more saline solution/fluid to your band.