Wanjiku

Hi All, I've started a lap band pregnancy blog to document my experience as I feel like there is so little information out there about what goes on and what the experience is really like. Check it out at: Lap Band Pregnancy Enjoy! :sad:

I'm at 15 weeks and although I was aiming to not need/get an unfill, in the last few days, I've decided it's time. I seem to have suddenly gotten tighter and it's become a grand effort to eat my food. At certain times of day, liquids don't even seem to go down so well. I was just diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and the dietician wants me eating more calories and carbs - so it's kind of crazy that this extra tightness has arrived when it did. On a funny side note, I'm pretty sure I got pregnant on the very day of my last fill. I was looking back through some food journals when I came to this conclusion. How's that for weirdness?

Hi All, I'm 14 weeks along and have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I requested an early testing as I suspected this was going to be the case - but it's still somewhat scary even though I was expecting it. I did the one hour glucose tolerance test and apparently my numbers were so high that they aren't even going to bother doing the three hour test. I have my meeting with the nutritionist and nurse this coming Tuesday. I'm a bit freaked out by how it might have affected the baby so far. I have no idea how long my sugars have been out of whack, but it's entirely possible that they have been for a while. Do any of you have stories to share about your own GD experiences that might be helpful, enlightening, comforting, etc? Were you able to control it with diet/exercise or did you have to use insulin? I'd imagine that as larger mamas (or mamas who were larger at one point) that GD must be fairly common among this group?

Thanks for your replies. I've been monitoring for a little under a week and things don't seem as out of control as my 1 hour glucose test seemed to suggest. They haven't put me on meds yet, but I figure it's probably coming soon - so I'm trying to get used to that idea. I was spilling ketones in my urine earlier in the week too (which is not good), but my dietician made me jack up the calories and carbs which seems to have stopped the ketones. It's funny - I think this is the first time in my life that I've been told to eat more and scale back on my exercise! I think I'm also going to go in this coming week for a bit of an unfill as eating has recently gotten quite challenging. My BF is supportive and sympathetic, but he thinks it's hilarious to see me sitting at the dinner table staring at my barely touched plate with a disgusted look on my face. I certainly can't say that the lap band doesn't work. :crying:The problem is that it's working a little too well right now!

Hi All, I'm 8 weeks along and am a bit confused about what I should be eating and how much. I asked my OB for recommendations on a nutritionist as nobody seems to know all that much about pregnancy with the lap band, but so far, they haven't been able to direct me to any nutritionists who seem to have good info on lap band pregnancies. What do you other pregnant lap banders eat on an average day? Any tips? I suspect I've been mentally using the pregnancy as an excuse to stray pretty far from the plan and so far, I've gained more than I think I should. I'd like to get things under control and keep them that way for the duration. I haven't had any unfill yet - but I figure at some point, it's likely I'll need one...

I had to get to 6.75ccs in a 10cc band before I really felt like the band was sending me any clear signals in the eating department. Before that, I felt like I was relying all on my own willpower. Now I feel like I'm at a perfect level of restriction. I can eat a little of most anything if I'm careful - even bread, steak, rice, and other things that give some people trouble. After about 3/4 of a cup of food, I'm simply not interested anymore and just stop. That NEVER happened before. I used to be one of those people who had to clean my plate and then would pick off the plates of others if there was still food left.

Weightogo, Did they do a preg test on you before you went in for surgery? I think it's standard practice.

I'm pretty sure they won't do it because of the risks to the fetus from the anesthesia. And you certainly wouldn't want to get a band installed without anesthesia! Plus, you have to do all sorts of weird eating before and in the early stages with the band. Nutritionally, that would probably be very bad for a fetus.

I had this too and it freaked me out. I finally learned that it was vagas nerve irritation. After about 3 weeks, it miraculously went away on its own. It hurt so bad while I had it, I was thinking I might just have to get the band removed to relieve the pain. Belching also seemed to make it better for a little while. I had a lot of stuck air that was pressing on the band. The only way I could belch in the beginning was to lean forward and stay in that position for a while. Hope this helps!

I just had my second fill which brought me up to 6.75 ccs in a 10cc band. (5ccs at surgery, 1 cc a couple of months ago and .75 a few days ago). Wow - before this fill, I could easily eat several cups of food with no issue. After this fill, I even have to take it easy drinking water and eating just a little bit of solid protein keeps me feeling full for hours. It's shocking to me that such a small amount of fluid could make such a big difference. Even more shocking, when the doc put in a full cc during my fill, it was too much and the water he gave me to drink wouldn't go through, but when he pulled out just .25 cc, I was fine. Wild stuff! I wish someone would have told me that it might take 6 months to get to the point where all of the stuff they've been telling us (like you should be full on less than a cup of food) would finally match my experience!

For those of you who've had success with *stopping* the overeating, what tips and tricks can you share? Also - does everyone reach a point with the fills where it becomes physically uncomfortable or difficult to overdo it, or are only some folks blessed with this "you better stop or else" experience? I'm 6ccs in a 10cc band, but can still consume WAY, WAY more than a cup without incident. (I know I shouldn't be doing that, but it doesn't always keep me from doing it anyhow.)

Congratulations, Todd! Keep up the excellent work!:smile2::thumbup:

I, too, had this pain in the beginning and it was AWFUL. I talked to my doctor's office about it and they didn't have much to say. Weeks later, when I was really unhappy about it, I called again and my doctor's nurse said that it was probably phrenic nerve irritation - but suggested that their patients never really experienced this. She didn't have any solutions to offer other than Tylenol. I did a bunch of research on it as I was freaked out that the pain might be a permanent situation for me, but with time it went away. From my research, it seems that some people have it go away after a number of months. Band shortening seems to have worked for some folks as well. And then there were a few folks who still had the pain a year or more out from their surgery.

Greetings Bandsters, I know that this isn't the place to post region-specific requests, but the regional boards seem to be essentially dead. I'm in St. Louis and could really use a LB mentor, partner, or support group. I called my doctor's office today and they told me they don't have anything/anyone in my general vicinity. I found this quite surprising - but I guess I've got to work with what I've got. SO - if there are any of you out there in St. Louis City or nearby who would be open to meeting, mentoring, or helping each other out on our journeys, I'd love to hear from you! Thanks! :tongue_smilie:

Dear Fellow Bandsters, I've been at a frustrating plateau for some time now and I'm quite sure it can be attributed to the fact that I'm eating too much (and indulging too often in the wrong things). I know what I *should* be doing and I don't even necessarily find it super hard to do (when I'm doing it), but in analyzing my behavior, it's become clear to me over the past couple of days that what I'm struggling with is the mental piece of this whole thing. I haven't figured out the strategies which will help me make a good eating plan and stick to it, or to say "no" to the temptations that cross my path every day. Perhaps it's self-talk messages I need to develop or some kind of reminders for myself about why I am doing all of this? I don't even seem to have the voice in my head that stops me and says, "are you sure you want to eat that?" when I see a treat in the office breakroom. I just see it, want it, eat it, and then later on think, "whoa - what just happened?" Ditto on quantities I'm eating at meals. Do you all have tips on how you've conquered the mental piece of the equation? I'd welcome any thoughts or suggestions you all have. Thanks!

Stuckity stuck stuck has been my experience with them, but everyone is different. Even when I tried to moisten them with sauce, they didn't go down well. No more veggie burgers for me - though their profile is great on the calories/fat/protein combo!

Does anyone out there have any tips or words of wisdom for those of use whose loss seems to be going at a snail's pace? I'm happy to be headed in the right direction and I'm thrilled over the pounds I've dropped, but I'm frustrated by the rate of loss. Are there things I can/should do to speed things along - or should I just settle in, get used to it, and let things work over time? I'm 3 months out from surgery and I guess I expected to feel and look different by now, so it's a little disappointing...but far less disappointing than gaining 20 pounds would've been! :smile2: I suppose I should mention that my ticker includes weight lost prior to the surgery. I've dropped about 20 lbs since my 10/28/09 surgery.

Thanks, all! I appreciate your replies! I think I could probably use a fill, but I'll work on ramping up the exercise, cutting back on the carbs, and trying to be extra careful about what I eat. All the best to all of you out there on your journey!

I, too, experienced this after my surgery. I discovered that if I leaned way forward (supporting my hands on a table or desk) and waited a few moments, the big rumbly burp could escape. Try it and see if it works. Getting the burp out feels great!

Nebraska, I, too, suffered from this problem - but found great relief when I was able to figure out how to release the burps. Leaning forward worked for me. I would put my hands on a table or something and lean forward. Sometimes, I had to hold the pose for a little bit, but then up would come the burp. Sometimes it was quite impressive too! Try it and see if you can get it to work. After a few weeks, I no longer had "stuck burp" issues.

A glass of Citrucel (while not a cereal) tastes good, doesn't cause gas, contains negligible calories and is easy to drink.

I was banded on 10/28. I just checked my weight log and I really haven't dropped anything at all in the last two weeks. I went in for my first post-op appointment last week, but the doctor decided not to do a fill as he thought I was doing OK on my own. I didn't protest as I think I'm still eating in response to head hunger rather than fully having adjusted to the concept of eating until satisfied - and no more. I'm scheduled for my next appointment in early January - so I'll have to work hard to get through the holidays on my own. My total with pre-op loss too is 20 pounds. Less than I'd like to see, but a heck of a lot better than where I'd be had I not been banded! Oh - and I haven't started exercising yet. I have no excuse - but I certainly need to get my rear in gear if I want to see the numbers on the scale continue to change! Congrats to all of you out there on your wonderful weight loss!

Woo hoo! Great work! You must feel like a whole new person!!! Congratulations. That's an amazing accomplishment!:thumbup:

Thank you all so much for your supportive words. Here's hoping all of you get to experience amazing results as well on this journey!!!

I was banded on 10/28 and have dropped about 20 pounds with the pre-op diet and the post-op diet. My primary care doctor told me to stop taking my diabetes meds (Metformin) when I got the surgery done, but to continue with my blood pressure meds (Micardis). I had my first post-surgical appointment yesterday with that doctor today and my sugars were great and my blood pressure was low enough to take me off the blood pressure meds too! Woo hoo! I'm officially med free - and astounded that all it took was 3 weeks! :thumbup: