Humming Bird

Geez, I can't get a fill until May 6th because my schedule and my surgeon's don't jive. :frown: He is only in the office Tues. afternoons, Thurs. mornings, and every first Fri. of the month. Crap, I work this Fri. and I normally work Mon-Thurs. so not much time to drive to Denver. I hope I don't gain 10 lbs. while waiting for a month! Does this mean I might have to 'diet' for a month :der: or exercise! :eek: (The dreaded "e" word!)

The band has worked very well for me. I think the key was getting to a good restriction level early in my journey. How many fills have you had?

It sounds like you might need to ride it out for a bit until you can go back to the doc. If you can get to the point where you are not throwing up, you may not even need the unfill. With the throwing up so often, I would bet there is some swelling going on. If you can eat soup and mushies, at least it's not an emergency. After my 2nd fill I was very tight for over 2 weeks, maybe 3. From day one I have been very sensitive to very heavy, solid, or dense foods. The majority of my journey has been on mushy type foods. After you stop throwing up and get the swelling to go down, you might be at a livable restriction level. You might have to change the variety of foods you have been eating. Try only cold things for a day or 2 to help with the swelling. Make a smoothie in the blender with lots of ice and don't forget the Protein powder. Progress to other mushy things after you stop the throwing up, like oatmeal. I got to the point where I could add things to the soups to make them a bit more hearty, like canned chicken. Chili is a great way to get protein in when you are tight. If you can get the swelling down and go for several days without throwing up, I think things will be much better for you. At this point, where you are hovering around the green zone, restriction becomes a personal choice. Some bandsters insist on being able to eat anything. In most cases those people will like a band that is a bit looser. I don't mind giving up a few types of food, so I go with a bit tighter restriction. I hope things improve for you no matter what you do with it.

I've found that the weightloss slows down to an almost stop anyway, so there is not really much that needs to be done or changed to maintain.

I also did Atkins for 2 weeks as my pre-op diet. It was great and there were no complications with a thick liver because I ate zero carbs for those weeks.

I'm a July 2009 Bandster. I've done well and am now in a size 10 (my goal size). I am going to set up a fill appointment because the last 2 weeks I've been getting way too hungry shortly after I eat. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check in with my surgeon's office anyway because I have not been there in 10 months or so. I lost the first 100 pounds in 1 year and have been coasting since. Life is good.

I've already changed my mind LOL. The food is just not sticking with me long enough. I'm hungry shortly after I eat. ewww, sorry to hear about the flu....that sucks. Hope you are feeling better.

Today I'm thinking I don't need a fill. Tomorrow that thought may change. I think I might be at a decent restriction for summer. I always have eaten a bit healthier in the summer and much more active. I just had a nice little salad for lunch and have been able to eat a tiny bit more tender meats. I hope I can just cut back a few carbs and take off the 5 pounds I put on.

Set up a consult with a lapband surgeon in your area. You just may get good news

The good news is that when you start dropping large amounts of weight you will no longer need many of the Rx meds. You should have a very detailed talk with your PCP and with your surgeon about this issue. Of course all of us bandsters can tell you what we think, what we do, and even what our surgeon told us, but the details of your personal situation needs to be discused in person with your docs. (take your meds with you, not just a list) In my case, my surgeon told me to NEVER take a pill of any size whole. He told me of a patient that had to have a pill that was stuck surgically removed and that was enough to convince me. In the 21 months since surgery I have not taken a pill whole, but I was not taking any Rx meds prior to surgery and do not take any now. All my vits. are chewable, sublingual or liquid. I have had to take something stronger for headaches than what comes in liquid form. I found that it makes it so much better if I first crush and then disolve in a teaspoon of warm Water. Then there are no nasty bits left behind.

wow, wasted money and time to go to that psych. , but if it's a hoop you must jump through check it off your list and move on to the next hoop.

Cheri, It sounds to me like you need a fill. If your food stayed with you longer you would not feel the need to graze. As far as the identity stuff goes, you need to do some socializing outside of your family. A part time job outside the home, a sewing/quilting class, bible study group, home interior parties, something that gets you out with other people.

Maybe your stomach is still hourglass shaped and retaining that with scar tissue?

BIG NSV for me today. I just wrote out the final check to pay off my surgery!

See, like I said, touchy subject................

OMG Deb! That is one of my worst fears. It sucks that they took stuff, but I'm glad it didn't turn into a much worse situation.

Yes, I really do think it's time for a fill for me. Right now the problem will be setting the appointment on a day off so I can drive to Denver. I normally have Fridays off, but this Friday I have a hair appointment and I am working an extra day next Friday. My hunger is back with a vengeance this week and I have gained some weight back. That does NOT feel good at all! I fear the scale in the morning. If I have to wait 3 weeks it may not be pretty. I guess I better call the surgeon's office and figure something out.

108 pounds lost is not a mini success That one goes in the huge success category!! You are doing great!

Success is in the eye of the beholder. The meaning of success is different for everyone. Some may consider getting off meds. for diabetes or high blood pressure the ultimate success. Some may consider being able to run a 5K or having 6-pack abs the ultimate success. Some may consider dropping 50 pounds a success while others would only say they are a success if they reach a BMI of 20. I consider myself a lapband success. I did not get banded to get healthy. If my overall health has improved, which I'm sure it has, it is just a nice bonus. I got banded to look better and feel better about myself emotionally. I dropped 100 pounds in the first year. I went from a size 24 to a size 10. I look better at a size 10 and I feel better about myself at a size 10. I no longer avoid social situations because of my morbid obesity. I consider this the easiest diet I've ever been on and have put in very little effort. I do consider the band to be 'magic'. Life is good.

For me there are 2 different kinds of burps. One is the kind from eating or drinking too fast. It's like I get some air in there with the food or drink. The other type is while the food moves through the stoma, or is done moving through, air from the lower stomach part can then come up and out. It's like I can feel it was trapped in the lower area and is finally getting the chance to come. Very strange at first, but now it seems pretty normal to me.

Did you call your surgeon and/or your dentist about your tooth? All the posters did bring up some good advise. I have been working in dental field for 13 years and can not tell you much without seeing an x-ray and the tooth. I hate to see anyone get a tooth extracted. If you were told the tooth needs root canal therapy, the tooth IS infected, even if you do not feel pain. One option you might want to ask your dentist and/or your surgeon about is taking some antibiotics to hold the dental infection at bay until the heparin is out of your system. My surgeon gave me 7 days of liquid antibiotics along with the pain meds after surgery to avoid any type of infection.

Wow Melody. You are much more "in tune" with your own body than the docs. I wish sometimes they would take 2 or 3 minutes to "listen". geez

I had no pre-op testing, nothing, no seminar and no psych eval. I had a long consult and spoke with the NUT, then had surgery 3 weeks later. I did an Atkins pre-op diet for 2 weeks. I have not really had problems and my surgery went well.

I didn't put anything in a food processor or puree anything that wasn't meant to be eaten that way. It was just way too gross. I found plenty of foods that were already mushy. Cottage cheese, yogurt, apple sauce, smoothies, oatmeal, soup ......

Checking in. I did quite a bit of spring cleaning over the weekend, so started off the week with some aches and pains. My housework is never done, ugh. I stepped on the scale today and was up a couple pounds....yikes! I have been hungrier lately. Now I'm tossing around the idea of getting a tiny fill. I looked back at my last fill date and realized it was in June 2010. That fill was one that took me back to my original sweet spot from Sept. 2009. Before I mess with my fill level I guess I should go look at the "what did you eat today" threads. Maybe I just need some variety and lower cal foods.