dfav3412

Soft stops can be different things for different people that is why we have to tune into our bodies. Some people have runny noses (me), hiccups, sigh, and I am sure there are more.

The term "restriction" needs to be banished from the lapband arena because most people don't understand what they should be feeling after a fill. What the lapband and fills are suppose to do is allow one to eat small amounts of solid foods and you should be satisfied, not starving before your next meal time. Notice I said not starving because you should get hungry when it is time to eat. It is a different type of hunger not the starving type you had when you were dieting alone without the help of WLS. You should be able to eat most foods as long as you chew and eat slowly although there are some food items and usually ones you don't need in the first place that your band will not like such as bread and rice as they tend to ball up and can't go thru the small opening of your band. Being satisfied with a small amount of food is what you are going for and if you can't eat solid foods then I am telling you eventually you will run into trouble. That being said, many people do need fills to achieve the desired effects of being satisfied commonly in the Alergan world known as the green zone. The green zone changes thru out your journey because of changes in the body, hormones, and the fat pad around your stomach. Eventually you shouldn't need fills (usually after the two year mark give or take) possible you may need "tweaks".

I certainly was blessed, no gas pain in fact no pain at all. I was up and running the halls right after I was put in my room. Even that evening when dinner timed rolled around, I left the floor (with permission) and went to the cafeteria with hubs while he had his dinner.

Perhaps you mean your stomach is doing the gurgling which that happens but as Marlana said in the above post that if you are gurgling in the throat area you are too tight. Sometimes during a fill a person will gurgle-that tells the surgeon he needs to take a little out.

on a lighter note....opinions are like butt cracks, everyone has one.

Golly, I'm busy tonight...my thrid post .... Just keep your eye on the prize so to speak, do what your doc tells you pre and post op diet wise. I promise you that you eventually will be able to eat solid, healthy, tasty food again.

Thank you so much Carolinagirl. I wanted to know how to do that for that last 4 weeks. Truly, thank you!!!!!!

I've shared this tip before but truly it is worth repeating. After a fill, stay in the doctors reception area for 30 minutes sipping on liquids. If you have problems with the fill then that generally will show up during that time and you should get a little taken out before leaving the office. Well, that is how I do it and might be helpful to you.

It is just my opinion but "diets" fail, weight watchers, jenny craig, nutrisystem, and diet fads fail people like us. You can lose the weight on these programs but you cannot substain them forever and then then weight piles back on. Why, I don't know, do we just get bored and can we keep up the expense of having food delivered to our door type thing every week, getting weighed in front of everyone , count points etc.. can we continue to eat that really small serving. I think HUNGER makes us fail. Lap band makes it possible to eat a small amount of food and be satified not only because there is a band which makes a small pouch but it obliterates the nerve which causes us to have the starving type hunger we had when we were just dieting alone. And it is adjustable, meaning when you lose that fat pad around your stomach as you lose weight then you can have a fill to tighen the band so that the effects of having the band are still in place. I am 5 1/2 years out and I am telling you I have NEVER looked back. With proper band maintaince and ONGOING SUPPORT from your bariatrics center you will NEVER look back either. I can eat most anything I want, there are a few exceptions like bread and rice but that is such a small price to pay for what I have gained which is "ME". I am not just a lapband advocate, I am for anything, any type of weightloss surgery, anything that makes you a happier, healthier, confident person. Lap band has done that for me.

Startingover...your doctor is very wise. Being too tight generally will cause problems down the road if you don't get some fill taken out and actually will set you back in your weight loss. I will give you a tip if you don't already do this...after a fill sit in the doctors reception area and drink water for 1/2 hour. You should know by then if your fill is ok. If you have any problems drinking during that 1/2 hour then you need to have some taken out. If everything goes well and you leave then do clear liquids the rest of the day, next day full liquids, then the next day mushies. Also just throwing this out there...if you get an unfill you should do liquids too. People don't generally get that information but being unfilled there still is swelling around the band.

Awesome!

I don't remember this exact saying but I loved it when I read it: Think about it as learning a dance....your partner has to learn the new steps to dance to the music with you and after some practice he will get it

Yes, the band can slip without you feeling pain if that is what you are asking but there generally is some type of symptom that pops up to let you know something isn't quite what it should be. I slipped back in Jan. 2009 because I threw up violently from a bout of Vertigo which I never had expierenced before and never want to expierence again. My symptom came on gradually and the symptom was continually burping 24/7 but no pain and I could eat and drink. I asked my coordinator if I should get an upper GI to see what was going on and she agreed that I should. Frankly, I was surprised because I just wasn't expecting a slip but it was a big one. I was unfilled on a Tuesday and in surgery on Wed. Go figure...I was more upset about getting unfilled than having the surgery. Lapband people are very protective of their fills . My center requires an upper GI every year now just to see if band is still positioned correctly and the esoughus (sp) is as it should be. My center feels that by being proactive with the upper GI's should a problem occur then corrective action can be taken without surgery being involved.

Hi MsRhonda, Your port can be sensitive for a little while. Have you overdone it? Other than walking most docs tell you not to start exercising until the 6th week. I know I did around the 3rd week and wasn't a good idea as I did feel it in the port area and my bariatrics center told me to stop as I was in the healing phase. If you are concerned then call your surgeon's office and def. call if it gets worse.

Ok, I can't stand it any longer....people can be respectful with being honest. I have seen someone actually respond this way and please understand that I don't talk or write this way.....WTF, you should look at other threads because that has been discussed over and over.....to me that is talking down to someone and very disrepectful. I don't have to see their face to know what the tone of voice is when I see something like that. I think these boards for the most part are great and most of the posters are great too giving their opinions even if what they have to say doesn't agree with what the orginal poster is asking/posted. Each persons journey is different but in alot of ways the same. We all need encouragement to substain us and sometimes brutal honesty too but done in love.

I've got to agree that some people, thank goodness not the majority, are very harsh and judgemental in their responses. I seldom post but I do read these boards. This is a very good place to get information and exchange ideas. And if there is a point someone needs to make that might not agree with another persons post then it can be stated factually and respectfully.

When a person is newly banded they have all the printed materials that tell them important aspects about the band BUT they don't have the expierence on how this material will work on them because they are just starting to travel the road. And frankly many lapband patients are orphaned meaning that they are on their own after the actual surgery so they turn to these boards to get encouragement/support. Do you know that most lapband people can't describe what "restriction" means in lapband terms (one word I wish that was never used in conjunction with lapband)? I'd cut some slack to a newly banded person and give them encouragement while telling them to follow their doctors instructions. I think that is all they want is assurance they aren't alone and that others have gone down the path, bumpy and smooth, and have come out on the right road.

I've never had a problem with chewing gum and I have been banded over 5 years. It was never addressed in any reading materials I rec'd or from my bariatrics center.

you should always contact your bariatrics doctor when you are throwing up and let him determine the course he thinks you need to take. The signs of my slip wasn't any pain, I could eat and drink....my only indication of something being off was constant burping....I had vertigo in Jan 2009 which caused me to throw up big time for a better part of an afternoon and all this led to me being rebanded later on in the year. My motto from that experience is it is better to be safe than sorry.

If you get the flu or stomach bug whatever, call your doctor and he/she will decide what needs to be done. Usually it is recommended that you have fill taken out. Throwing up can cause slips and if it means getting some fill taken out so be it....beats having to go back to surgery to be rebanded. Been there done that over a bout of vertigo.

Yes it is possible to have a slip and not know it but generally you will know something is a little off. In my case I burped continually. I had an upper GI to investigate my band and the reason I was burping so much. I was unfilled on a Wed. and in surgery the next day to be rebanded.

I have never found a New York strip steak that my band didn't like

Here's the thing, if you are satisfied with 2/3 to 1 cup of food for 4 hours then no you do not need a fill. You do however need to be mindful and stay within the 2/3 to 1 cup (most doctors even say 1/2 to 2/3) so it is wise to measure. The band isn't suppose to keep you from eating healthy foods although it will keep you from eating foods that ball up like bread and rice after you have a few fills. The bands job is saiety (probably spelled that incorrectly) with a small amount of food which it sounds like it is doing for you. However if you really feel you need a fill then talk to your bariatics person who should recommend the proper course for you such as a fill or holding off from a fill. This is my opinion and I hope it helps.

mine was at my waist but I had it moved in 2010 to about 1 inch below my belly button on my left. I like it there much better.

Hi, I was rebanded in 2009 due to slippage, the reason for my slip was a bout of vertigo which I never experienced before and hope never to experience again. The vertigo caused me to vomit violently thus the slip. I am doing grate and I have been maintaining since the rebanding (I was near goal when the slip occured). My center requires an upper GI every year to see if the band is in place and or any other complications as they feel if any thing goes wrong that is caught early can be fixed without complicated surgery. I had my upper GI in October and everything is fine, well I am actually on the loose side and it is recommended that I get a fill however I am fine with the fill I have. All this being said you need to know that I have an excellent bariatrics program. After 5 years I still go in for a one on one every week which I am asked questions about how my band and I are behaving etc, get weighed, and once a month get measured, also once a month we have a support group meeting all at no cost to me. Personally, I think my success is because of the excellent support I have, I know not all bariatric centers have that.