Humming Bird

I chew sugar free gum often and have not swallowed gum since I was a kid. I would be much more concerned for those who swallow pills.

I can feel my band sometimes ..... it depends on how I'm sitting or laying. It's not that I feel it around my stomach, but more like I feel it up against a rib or something. I can feel my port more often..... like when I lean against something, but it does not stick out.

I don't think it would do anything at all to the band or the port. When I was younger I used to lay out in the sun and was pretty tan every summer. Then I switched to tanning beds for a few years. I am now paying the price for all that tanning. After the weightloss I think I have more wrinkles than I would have if my skin didn't have all that damage. I also have some age spots on my face from it. I think lotions and spray tanning would be a better option.

The only thing I am able to eat at sonic is icecream, so I better stay away. Oh, I can drink the iced tea and coffee there.

"You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!" — Maya Angelou "The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story..." — Maya Angelou "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning." — Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) "a friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." — Maya Angelou "Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avaoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you." — Maya Angelou "All great achievements require time." — Maya Angelou "Whining is not only graceless, but it can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood." — Maya Angelou

I tend to agree with this. I didn't want to burst the OP's bubble, but these won't be the types of shakes I will use. The guidelines given to me were skakes could not be over 150 cal and the carbs should be very low......I would have to look up the number. That being said, I don't count calories or carbs. I do keep them in mind and would not be mixing marshmallows of a sheet of graham crackers in my shake. The person the OP mentioned for all this advise , the body builder guy, is not educated about lapband , no? This thread is also pretty old, so not sure how many bandsters really went with it.

You don't sound too tight to me. It sounds like maybe you just need to make a mental note about what types of food give you trouble or of how well you chew....... the basics. If the weight is coming off and you have no trouble with fluids and no reflux problems, it sounds like you are in the green zone. If it were me I would just stay at that fill level and proceed with caution.

I can only tell you what my own experience has been and here it is: YES! I would do it again in a heartbeat! I sleep on my stomach every night. My port does not stick out. I lost 100 pounds in the first year with very little effort on my part. I know all the "tool" talk, but think it's hogwash.......remember this is my own experience. This band has been like magic to me..... my own experience. I have not done much "work" at all. The band does stop me from overeating. It stops me in my tracks. If I even eat one bite too much I feel discomfort, so I stop eating. It does stop me from eating fried food. It does stop me from eating fast food (except Wendys chili....yum) Oh yes, I would do it again.

jinks

That is too funny! but so true!

I would think that solids this far post op should be fine. As for the rest of it ..... lesson learned and move forward. At first it is all a learning process and it's a good thing we don't start out at our sweet spot or we would all be in big trouble.

I think I heard the tubing can hold 2cc before it even reached the band. .......but, do we all have different lengths of tubing between the port and the band?

I'm sorry to hear this, but just think of it as a minor glitch. Keep your head up and your attitude strong and positive. This is just a little bump in the long road you are headed down. You may have to "diet" for a bit longer while you wait for a fill, but you know you can do that.

I agree with reverie. It really sounds like infection to me. It would be worth going to the doc if you need some antibiotics to clear it up so it won't cause problems. Call the surgeon's office ...... right now. Best wishes.

I agree with Cindy. You may need to just get a very tiny bit taken out. You should not have a problem with fluids and throwing up with liquids ever. My advise would also be to stop getting fills at this point. Once you reach a good restriction level, it's good to just leave well enough alone. Your weightloss is great !! WOW!

It is a rule of many diets to sit at the table for all meals. Another is to put your fork or spoon down between bites. It is best to have a clean table with no stacks of bills or newspapers or other clutter. Setting a pretty table and turning off the T.V. have also been proven to help. It sure wouldn't hurt to try some of these things. For me it just seems like a lot of wasted effort to go to all that trouble when I can only eat 1/2 c of darn food. I think if I were still in the weightloss phase and needed help, these things would be worth a try. It may be a simple solution to getting out of bad habits and retraining yourself. The best thing about all of it is it's free!!! No therapy costs

I have been on both sides ..... I have been offended and I'm sure I have offended others. I'm not so sure they were trying to offend me and I know I have not tried to intentionally offend anyone. I try to just keep in mind that we are not all just fat people. We come from all walks of life and are all unique in our personalities. There have been times when the site and the people get on my nerves. I just take a little break and then return. If someone really rubs you the wrong way just put them on your ignore list and go on about your own journey. It's as simple as that. Please keep in mind that I am not perfect and I can really only stand to be nice 98% of the time I have had pretty good luck with the band and try to offer help with how it has worked for me. What I say may not help you one bit. You may think I'm an idiot. I may be an idiot. At least I'm a thin sexy idiot in my own shallow mind My point is ..... try not to be so offended. We are all just human.

Welcome to the thread Nicole :seeya: Congrats on getting banded and the weightloss so far. I was lucky and my bandster hell wasn't really hell at all. It was just the last "diet" I was ever on.

1/2 cup of solid food. Of course if I eat soup or something like that I can eat more than 1/2 cup. Maybe if you can eat more than that, it is going through the stoma and down to the larger part of the stomach .... not staying in the pouch?

I "did Atkins" , mostly extended the induction phase, which sounds like the paleo diet, I guess. I did it many years ago and it worked very well, but of course I put back on the weight I had lost plus some. I felt good and was not hungry while doing it. I also messed around with the south beach plan for a bit. Over the years I also tried weight watchers, nutrisystems, diet pills, diet center, other weightloss centers, medi-fast ..... the list could go on forever. During my big weightloss phase with the band there was a time when I wished I could do an Atkins-like diet to make the weight come off faster. The problem is that from the day I had the band placed, I am very sensitive to meat no matter my restriction level. I have been sensitive to pretty much everything on the list of things that are known to give bandsters problems. I think the only exception to the lists I have seen is broccoli. I'm not sure why that is on the list, but have not tried it raw. I love it and eat it often. I think it's ok to try different "dieting" methods to find our own nitch and make the band work in our own situation. For me, the band is boss and makes the rules for me. I think I'm lucky with that, but some may look at it differently. I eat what my band will allow (within reason) and don't bother tracking, counting, journaling, measuring ....... I'm not on a diet. For me it has pretty much been .... insert band, get a couple fills, learn some hard lessons about what it will allow, the weight drops off.

There is always the option of telling your family about the band so they will understand why you eat like a bird. Of course if you are actually too tight a tiny unfill would be a good thing, but I wouldn't mess with your sweet spot just so you can eat more and keep the big secret. Just a thought .....

I eat a vitafusion fiber gummie (from Target) daily and it has been a simple solution to this same problem for me.

With the fill that ended up being my sweet spot I was very tight for 2 weeks. Eggs have always been a problem for me. If you can drink a protein shake you are not too tight. I would give at least a week. I had that fill 09/29/09 and it took me to 5.3cc. I am still at that same fill level today, so I would consider that my sweet spot. My weightloss has been as close to perfect as any bandster can expect. It comes down to personal choice sometimes. If you insist on being able to eat specific foods that you can no longer eat after a week or so, then get a tiny unfill.

I have heard of several cases where the band has been replaced by Allergan because of a defect. All bands are marked with identifying numbers and I read a post about one surgeon having to replace a couple bands from the same lot. The problem is you have to take the band out and prove it is defective. You don't give enough info in this post for me to offer any further ideas. Did you do all your follow up? Are you eating properly?

slime is foam, foam is slime. It's all the same in my book. Maybe we just swallow air when we are stuck and that makes it foamy, It sure teaches me to avoid getting stuck and stay away from some types of foods. crude tool.