GoingforGoal

Only way to prevent it is to do core strengthening exercises in addition to your cardio. Your abdominal, back and glut muscles need equal strengthening to accomplish this. And than there's the fact that most of us haven't used these muscles in a long time and just like when you do circuit training you can expect to be sore soon after. Running requires your erector muscles to be contracted the entire time and this could be the source. I'm not sure how superficial the pain is (meaning muscles vs spinal etc) but try heating pads as well as things like bengay to relieve the pain in the interim. I have back issues (non weight related) and have found my symptoms more manageable since losing weight. However, I avoid activities that exasperate the symptoms. If your pain feels more like the spine and/or nerves than it's not advised to compound the injury w/ reinjury.

Yeah congrats and welcome to band land

Hello, I posted a similar response to a woman who wanted to know if she should get the band and she too was lower BMI. I see exactly what you are saying and agree. I too was BMI 30 (once) and it just kept going up despite my efforts to lose. There is something god awful about having to weigh enough (and usually obese/morbid obese) before insurance will do anything about it. I even know people who will gain to meet the bmi 40 requirement, how insane is that? Here in the US preventative medicine is not our forte although there are changes being made to instill that approach. Unfortunately we need insurance companies to tag along lol. Good luck on your adventure..you are not a fraud lol

Hello I have taken all sizes, last being an antibiotic the size of my foot geesh. I hate pills. However, when I do take them I make sure that I drink before hand and with them to ensure the band is open first and it'll slide through. Also, if timing isn't an issue, try not to take them first thing in the mornign when most of us are at our tightest. Last comment, PLEASE make certain any pill you open and/or crush can be done so. It is dangerous to do it to time release meds. Just ask the pharmacy or have doc specificaly prescribe meds that can be crushed/opened.

haahh this is funny I lost a 2 month old horse (that's just fricking sad) I prefer to say... I lost 2 small bales of hay or 5 automobile tires ahhaha

I am going to throw an assumption out there and say you are probably just a very honest person and to hide things feels unnatural. I get the q all the time, how did you lose the weight? I say high Protein low carbs ahahaha. It's because I don't want any judgement, opinion or to have to give an educational lecture about the band. This is a very personal decision and journey and it does not require involvement or input of others thus others do not necessarily need to know. The q's and comments are natural. It is astonishing to see someone drop 50 and 100+ lbs in front of your eyes. It's not something that you can hide. And yes, this accomplishment can make others jealous, standoffish even defensive. So those are the givens..but I say if you can drop 50 and 100 lbs you can definitely get over this LOL

Just moved to Calgary.... so I'm sort of close lol

Oh God you just justified Guy's reason to not eat breakfast ahhahaha

Welcome back. Best of luck on your new adventure w/ the new AP band

Hello Most of us stay on liquids for 1-2 days before transitioning into foods after fills. THere will some inflammation after your fill and so as to not further exasperate the inflammation, liquids are the way to go for now. Since this is your first fill, you may or may not feel any restriction. You may find eating food is a nonissue until you get higher fills and are closer to green. However, word of advice, avoid dates and appointments immediately after fills if you can help it. You need to get a few to learn how your body responds. And yes, you dont want to findyourself in a predicament you dont want to explain away lol

I remember the first week being uncomfy. One due to the overall pain and gas and 2 because Im a belly sleeper and I was sleeping in positions I was not normally accustomed to. Be sure to sleep with a heating pad, maybe use a body pillow to ease ab pains etc

Please clarify, can you not pee or stool? If you cannot pee this is a sign of dehydration. Not sure how your intake is, but you need to up the fluids stat. If you cannot stool, 6 days is really pushing it. Bandsters either experience diarrhea or constipation. You sound like you are getting constipated which is the result of the opiates you are probably taking and diet change. However there are other issues like intestinal paralysis from anesthesia. Not to scare you, but this is why you need to communicate these abnormalities to your doc so they can do the tracking and assessing to determine if it's normal, prescribe your meds or softeners to get you restarted or order tests to for other diagnoses.

It was close to 4 weeks before I was transitioned into solids. I'm sure you are getting the hint that what you did was not only a huge mistake, but a huge risk to your health and life. It scares me when people are educated and advised on their surgeries, the risks and the postop instructions and they agree wholeheartedly and sign consent just to turn around and ignore everything they were told. lellow was kind enough to link you to a recent post about another bandster who abused her band and it damn near killed her. And some people have indeed lost their lives due to complications. Question is, was it the band or the abuser? Sorry for the irrate tone of the post, but it is absolutely infuriating to hear someone be so careless and than come onto this site looking for fellow abusers to soothe their guilt. I'm just not interested in hearing it.

lol thanks for the laugh

OMG I think I slipped my band with the mental upchuck..thanks alot hahaha

Side not: Caffeine can increase gerd/reflux by increasing the acidity of the stomach. Drink it if given permission, however, if you start suffering from reflux/heart burn just realize the coffee would be contributing to your symptoms

I answered this question yesterday. Look up back pain on another person's post. It's your phrenic nerve

Working in am is better to rev up your metabolism Its always encouraged to do cardio and weight lifting simultaneously opposed to waiting for a certain weight to start weight lifting. Workout as much as you want, but 5 days of cardio and 3 days of weight lifting should suffice. Also, when lifting weights, alternate muscle groups. SO one day focus on a leg circuit, next arms, next back/shoulders etc. 1 hr cardio is also not necessary. A better more strenuous workout in 30-45 mins is sufficient. Examples include increasing speed and/or angle on the treadmill, wearing leg weights when walking, walking on the beach opposed to flat land (just examples).

That is hysterical... you should have said both..so I could lose twice the weight <wink>

Hi Sasha... This post is not intended to be used as a diagnosis. Just an explanation of the conversation we just had. I'm so agitated because I found and posted pics onto this response but it wont allow me to send it. So I will try to explain it instead. It will help to look at a picture of your anatomy. You will see your esophagus which connects to your stomach. At this junction is where your diaphragm lies. To keep this simple, when you eat your pouch is basically pressing on the diaphragm irritating the phrenic nerve that innervates the diaphragm. This nerve in turns radiates pain to your shoulder (called Kehr's sign). This is also what causes the hiccup response for anyone suffering from hiccups when they eat. Now the vagus nerve is a different subject. Your vagus nerve is actually banded just like your esophagus/stomach to create your new upper pouch. Pressure on the vagus nerve is what sends the signal to the brain that you are full. However, too much compression leads signs of vagal irritation and that is the dizziness you are experiencing. My only advice is this: 1) I know you are eating slowly. However, take a couple bites and just stop. Let the vagal response do its job and see if you get that satisfied/full feeling. If not, eat a few more bites and repeat. Basically you want to cut off food as soon as you are satiated as to not further irritate the nerves and become symptomatic 2) If you do this and it continues, than unfilling the band partially may be warranted. By no means should you have to deal w/ being dizzy and/or fainting. Also, both nerves have very real capacity for far more serious symptoms as they innervate both the heart and diaphragm FOR STARTS. This requires some patience and respect. THe unfortunate truth is that as individuals some of us are just more sensitive to these pressures than others. Work with the band to avoid these symptoms which may include an unfill. I hope this was easy to understand.

Hello Well first and foremost, congrats on a tremendous job. Sounds like you are doing great I'm going to answer your q's in backwards order. Can you get out of the green zone... yes..and here is how/why: 1. Usually when you get a fill you will have some inflammation for a few days. Unfortunately as the swelling subsides your restriction is looser which can be enough to put you into yellow again. 2. In time, saline evaporation does occur. However, this is on such a small scale. To give you an example. I went 3 years without a fill and never losing restriction. So I am inclined to say it would take a considerable amount of time to notice evaporated Fluid 3. Sometimes we leave the docs office comfy and than in 1-3 days it turns out we are tight and in the red. This is no longer due to swelling and we need unfills. So what is green? In reality, everyone of us will define this different. When you speak about technical definitions, its when your food is restricted to about 1 cup per serving, when you feel satiated between meals by at least 3-4 hrs, when you do not suffer from adverse symptoms like gerd, vomitting or inability to eat most foods. It is also when the band is restricted enough that food stays in your upper pouch for at least a few minutes before sliding into your lower stomach. These few minutes allow feeback to occur to the brain giving you a sensation you are done eating to prevent overeating. Now there's lots of room for interpretation here. Some like to eat more and have better control of eating small volumes without the bands help. So what is yellow for me is green for someone else. In reality, its about you as a person and how much you can control vs how much you rely on the band to help you. Somewhere in there you define the perfect band restriction. With this being said, it's important to express that unfills are as important and necessary as fills. We are so focused on getting tight and reaching green, we forget that its about finding our own personal target zone. Too many people say they get filled and are too tight yet are afraid to get an unfill because they want to lose weight. The logic is just not there. So practice introspection. How are you doing on the band at its current fill? Individualize it so that you feel the band is working AND you are in control adn that you at a place you can live with long term.

I cant answer your q I just wanted to let you know that some patients who go to Mexico for surgery have a harder time finding a dr who will do fills for them back home Dont ask me why. I just relocated to Canada (from US). Before I even said anything beyond I have a band, they said did you get it in Mexico because if not we cannot treat you. Say what/?? Fortunately I had my band in VA, but I just didn't want you to be confronted with this obstacle since fills are vital Good luck on your surgery PS I intend to ask the doc why no mex. patients. Will post why later

Alot of times people hide their insecurities through attacking others and their decisions. You and I both know how badly these woman would just like to lose weight. You also know how bad they wish surgery is not the only solution for them. They too have to come to the realization and accept that indeed surgery is the only solution for some. They will learn through self education in many ways. I catch myself wanting to approach people who are extremely obese and share my story and tell them about the lapband. But than I quickly remind myself how embarrassing that might be for that person and how inappropriate it really might be lol. It just hurts to see people suffering (and in your case ignorant to options).

I don;t think the fill does it as much as 1) weight loss or 2) stress does. A recent surgery, calorie deprivation etc constitutes as stress on the body. Give it a few months to get back on track.

Hello, Alot of ppl get tt's, body lifts, arm lifts, breast lift/implant after surgery. There are many variables that determine if you will need/want Cosmetic Surgery (CS). Some of these variables include: 1) How rapid you lose your weight. Unlike the previous poster, some people lose their weight extremely quickly. Anything over 8#/month should be consider quick 2) How much weight you are losing. You may luck out if you only need 50 lbs to lose. 100+ it's unlikely you'll end up with a flat toned stomach after carrying that much excess weight 3) How long you've been overweight. The longer the skin's elasticity has been stretched, the less likely it'll rebound 4) Age. Sure the younger you are the more apt your skin can rebound, but that in of itself is not a guarantee. 5) Good ol Genetics. Some are just more inclined to keep toned 6) Where did you gain weight. If your weight was equally distributed that is better than all or most of it in one area due to the excessive stretching 7) Are you exercising? Keeping up lean muscles will help fill out the space fat once filled. Making the transition for your skin slower and easier. But this too is not a guarantee. I dont know your particular stats. But even if I did, it would be impossible for us to tell you what to expect. It's a wait and see process. Also, do not focus on the early stages to guesstimate either. It's not until you are close to goal will you see the end result and what you are working with. The last 5 lbs came out of my breasts which has totally transformed my proportions. I am 35, started at 250 now 150-5 and I am scheduled for a tt, arm lift, breast lift/aug in October. My excess skin is not something I want to live with. It's a reminder of what I was and not what I am. Good luck in your wl