Alyce24

I'm down another 3 pounds from my last weigh-in which is awesome and wonderful and exciting! I feel like my recent pound droppage is at the expense of my sleep lately though. I had a 5-8 week battle with severe acid reflux at night then I started prescription prilosec, some home remedies, changed my eating time, propped up my head at night and I finally have noticed an improvement in the acid reflux. Now I'm left with the chronic cough brought on by acid reflux along with some strange clear liquid stuff that comes up on occasion even though I don't drink water near bedtime. So very odd, but it's not acid and it's not painful or uncomfortable. I'm starting a cough suppressant tonight and here's hoping that this wonderful weight loss I've been experiencing lately won't be at the sacrifice of quality sleep....

I'm down another 3 pounds from my last weigh-in which is awesome and wonderful and exciting! I feel like my recent pound droppage is at the expense of my sleep lately though. I had a 5-8 week battle with severe acid reflux at night then I started prescription prilosec, some home remedies, changed my eating time, propped up my head at night and I finally have noticed an improvement in the acid reflux. Now I'm left with the chronic cough brought on by acid reflux along with some strange clear liquid stuff that comes up on occasion even though I don't drink water near bedtime. So very odd, but it's not acid and it's not painful or uncomfortable. I'm starting a cough suppressant tonight and here's hoping that this wonderful weight loss I've been experiencing lately won't be at the sacrifice of quality sleep....

I don't have answers but i can say that I'm going through almost the same thing right now. It has been going on at least the last 10 nights. I started with severe acid reflux at night and now that I've started prilosec and some meal time changes, etc this is what I'm left with. I was attributing it to my sinuses draining?? I also am left with a chronic night time cough so I figured the clear liquid that was coming up was because the cough didn't have anything else to bring up. I'm in the same boat as far as insurance goes. I have insurance but my deductible is HUGE because I work for a small company so I really can't afford yet another 12 minute doctor's appointment just to have the doc tell me things I already knew. I have no idea what this is all about but I do know it's very strange and I'm not sure what to attribute it to. Sorry I can't help - just wanted to let you know there are others out there.

Update for those who are interested... I emailed my surgeon and got a response. He says that he's not concerned since I've been able to keep other meals down and my current diet of liquids & mushies is going okay too. He says if I'm back to throwing up after I return to my regular diet then I need to go to a local doc, but otherwise it was probably swelling from the initial episode that kept me running back to the bathroom... So we'll see how I am when I get back to regular food this weekend. Now if they could only find a cure for acid reflux:rolleyes2:

Banded in May 2009 I have thrown up once about 4 months after my surgery because I ate too fast. Since then no more problems.... until this past Thursday. I am at 2.5/4 ccs, last fill about 3 weeks ago. Everything has been going down fine since my last fill so it wasn't like an immediate problem.... Last Thursday I started eating lunch and quickly experienced extreme discomfort that usually indicates I've eaten too much and I ultimately threw up. I scolded myself afterward and was determined to eat slowly and be more conscious of what I was taking in. Friday passed by fine, then Saturday I'm eating dinner - I had a little over 1/8th cup veggie, and 1 and 1/2 3 inch long "wraps" with a toasted tortilla. The pain came again and I ultimately threw up my dinner Saturday. Sunday night I'm eating a Smart Ones meal, chewing well and halfway through my meal...guess what??? I threw up. And again today for lunch I had 1/4 cup of carb, 1/8th cup veggie, 2 small pieces of nugget size chicken and just threw it up!!! That's 4 times in 5 days! I'm taking prescription strength Prilosec nightly due to severe acid reflux/GERD and honestly it's not helping a tremendous amount. I'm wondering if this is a band slip or is this somehow related to my acid reflux...? Has anyone else experienced this to some degree? I'll go back to my doctor if I have to, but honestly my local docs aren't that knowledeable about bands and it's hard to go to them for information... I'm so very frustrated. How do I suddenly suck at this?!?!:thumbup:

Thank you Spartan. I realized soon after my last post that the pro-doc responses are completely correct there's nothing wrong with contacting my doctor. The tough part is I was banded in Mexico so my best bet will be email (which I've written) and they'll be getting back with me soon hopefully. My hometown docs aren't very knowledgeable about the band, though I have one that I can turn to if my surgeon can't give me good info. So between here, mushies & liquids, my Mexico surgeon, and my one band conscious doc here hopefully I'll get some good results! I'll update if there's some revelation that one of the docs share with me! Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.

Thanks SO much everyone. I decided to go with liquids, etc for the next few days and let my stomach heal. I forget about the trauma vomiting can put the organs through and I think cwm is right and I never really let my stomach recover from that episode. I'm going to give it a few days of liquids & mushies and then see where I am after that. I've been under a lot of stress lately not to mention my acid reflux and I think combining everything has just put my digestive system through the ringer. If I don't see an improvement in a few days I'm definitely going to call my doc and see what can be done. At least the frustration is gone, and a plan is in place. Thanks again to everyone for responding - it's really nice to be reminded that there are others out there

I like to stay positive. It's hard because things can easily get overwhelming when you think about everything at once. So here I am sharing with everyone the things that have turned my busy/bad/yucky days into good days :mad: I went down a shirt size - AWESOME! I zipped up pants that wouldn't cover my rear end 3 weeks ago - AWESOMER! I'm down another 3 pounds - HOORAY! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow that will hopefully lead to a settling of my acid reflux and more importantly a full night's sleep - A GREAT BIG SIGH OF RELIEF :eek: Yup that's all. I'm going to get back into working out this week, I'm eating better, stressful things are slowly being checked off my list... life is good.

I like to stay positive. It's hard because things can easily get overwhelming when you think about everything at once. So here I am sharing with everyone the things that have turned my busy/bad/yucky days into good days I went down a shirt size - AWESOME! I zipped up pants that wouldn't cover my rear end 3 weeks ago - AWESOMER! I'm down another 3 pounds - HOORAY! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow that will hopefully lead to a settling of my acid reflux and more importantly a full night's sleep - A GREAT BIG SIGH OF RELIEF Yup that's all. I'm going to get back into working out this week, I'm eating better, stressful things are slowly being checked off my list... life is good.

Hi, I was banded 5/19/09 in Monterrey Mexico. I'm a 24 year old female currently living in Fairbanks, AK - though I will be moving back home to Georgia in July of this year. I've currently lost 37 pounds. I feel like I'm doing alright but I'm not reaching my potential with this if that makes sense. I'm still struggling with telling myself "no" as far as food goes. I looked to food for so long so it's tough now to turn away. I'd like to just have someone to email or message back and forth every now and again when I'm looking for encouragement or suggestions, etc. I really want to maximize my potential and get the most out of this experience and I feel like having someone to keep me accountable will help with that goal. I guess that's all. Thanks.

Thanks so much for the replies :cursing: I did forget to mention fills.... I'm going in for my 3rd fill next Thursday. I have a 9.75 cm Inamed band so my max is 4 ccs. So far I have 2ccs in my band. Restriction has been great for at least 4-6 weeks post fill so I'm hoping for the same this go round. I'm a therapist, I work with children. I wouldn't call my day "sedentary"... I move around, play on the flour, demonstrate exercises, and I'm up and down stairs every hour. I wouldn't call myself "active" either though. I was working out daily then I got a cold (probably from one of the kids) and I stopped my daily visits. Last Friday was my last time in the gym. I'm feeling better now, so I'm planning to get back into my routine which has been at least 30 minutes of cardio. Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the support. You probably will start getting messages from me I wanna be all I can be:blush:

I think that's a wonderful plan & I wish you the best with that. I can definitely relate to your feelings, especially with exercising, I'm hoping to just start working out every day so there's no excuse.

Yay!! Reading that made me happy, so I can only imagine how you feel :-) I can't wait to be overweight... And I think happy dancing is a COMPLETELY valid form of exercise.

Being new to all of this I am slowly learning the terminology & abbreviations. Found out today was NSV stands for and I thought I'd share one of mine.... The one that stands out the most is silly but significant (to me anyway). I sat down one day to put on my socks and shoes to get ready for work and I crossed my right leg over my left knee... and it stayed up there!!! I was so very excited. I can't remember the last time I was able to put on socks & shoes that way. I make it a point to do it every time I'm getting ready now just to make sure the skill hasn't left me as quickly as it arrived. Silly I know, but I LOVE it. Small victories keep me moving:thumbup: I find it easy to get discouraged, especially when you're uber aware of family & friends around you and it feels like they have these expectations for you to be successful...quickly. But I have to remember to stay positive. I'm always encouraging others to stay positive - I need to learn to practice what I preach :rolleyes2:

It is so encouraging to read posts like these and realize that there are SO many people who are currently experiencing or have experienced the things that us "newbies" are going through. I'm 9 months post-op and I have found that it is incredibly easy to get discouraged if I just focus on the negative things that are going on in my life and around me. I've started taking a day-by-day approach while trying to be as honest with myself as possible. I like BobbieND's approach. Get over the negativity and make sure it's better next time. So I didn't work out last night...that doesn't mean I won't go and work the heck out of that elliptical tonight :wink: Focus on the positive and hold onto those things for dear life. You could even go so far as to list out the good things that have come from this surgery (I'm a list person...). Some things on my list include: I'm healthier, I have more endurance during physical activity, my pants are more loose than they were pre-op, etc, etc. Think of yours and don't let them go, they'll help you through your "things are not so hot I want to sleep the day away" days.

I know what you mean by missing food. I'm 9 months post - op and I still have that feeling every now and again even though my diet is no longer restricted. What I'm finding though is that food has become less and less important to me over these past 9 months. I used to think about my next meal hours before the time came or obsess over that sweet something or other waiting for me in the break room. I like to think that I'm winning against food now - it's losing its power over me. I hope that gets to be the same for you (and that it continues for me). I wish you the best in these next few weeks and onward! It's an exciting time!

Being new to all of this I am slowly learning the terminology & abbreviations. Found out today was NSV stands for and I thought I'd share one of mine.... The one that stands out the most is silly but significant (to me anyway). I sat down one day to put on my socks and shoes to get ready for work and I crossed my right leg over my left knee... and it stayed up there!!! I was so very excited. I can't remember the last time I was able to put on socks & shoes that way. I make it a point to do it every time I'm getting ready now just to make sure the skill hasn't left me as quickly as it arrived. Silly I know, but I LOVE it. Small victories keep me moving:thumbup: I find it easy to get discouraged, especially when you're uber aware of family & friends around you and it feels like they have these expectations for you to be successful...quickly. But I have to remember to stay positive. I'm always encouraging others to stay positive - I need to learn to practice what I preach :tongue_smilie:

Thanks for the encouragement & suggestions. I'm scheduled for a fill for next Thurs. so we'll see how things go after that.

I've been a member of this community for almost 6 months now and I haven't posted or written anything at all. I'm hoping that I can turn here for encouragement and support. I was banded May 19th, 2009 and so far I've only lost 30 pounds. I'm disappointed in the amount I've lost, especially considering I am a full 9 months post-op. The really terrible thing is I know that my lack of extreme or significant weight loss is mostly my fault. I'm a chronic over-eater and have been my entire life. I eat for any and every reason and I knew that having this surgery would'nt solve all of my problems. I have cut down significantly on my consumption but not enough to lose more than 30 pounds in 9 months which is slightly less than 1 pound/week. I feel like I have failed miserably at this. But I'm hoping deep down that this isn't the case. I want to get better, I want to improve. I want to control my intake and not compulsively eat just because the food is there.... Now for my motivation: I'm getting married in 15 months. I have 15 months to get down to a "comfortable" weight.... no pressure. A comfortable weight for me would mean I need to lose around 75 more pounds before my wedding, technically before I buy my dress.... man oh man. I want to be successful. I want to show people and myself that I can do this. I can do this.

I've been having it really badly the past 6 weeks or so. I don't feel like this is fill related as I haven't had a fill since October. I'm relating it to stress right now (my fiance moved 5,000 miles away for 6 months - he left 6 weeks ago). I'm thinking his departure stimmed the reflux and since then it hasn't gone anywhere. Last night was TERRIBLE. Like the previous post, I woke up with it and it kept me awake at least 45 minutes. I've been taking zantac at least once daily and I try to remember to take it twice a day (once in the a.m. and once more after work). I also have days where I need to pop Tums throughout the day. I HATE IT. I was diagnosed with "gastritis" a month before my surgery, surgeon said it was okay to operate... after the surgery I had absolutely no problems with acid reflux, gastritis, ulcer, etc. It was like the surgery fixed it and now it's creeping back into my life. I guess I need to keep a close watch on my diet to figure out what foods are making it worse...??

Surgery Date: May 19th I was banded in Monterrey, Mexico. I arrived at the wonderful facility bright and early with my boyfriend and one other girl my age who was also getting banded that day. It was nice to be there with someone who could understand what I was going through. My boyfriend and I waited patiently for my name to be called to begin the pre-op process. I was called back, changed into that awful limited coverage gown and I was told to lie down in a hospital bed to get an EEG done and to receive my pre-op meds. The nurse was absolutely amazing, incredibly kind and understanding. I was honestly worried about this part of the experience because of the language barrier, but she spoke enough english to make me feel comfortable. She explained every procedure before she did it and basically took one more concern off my plate. The surgeon and anesthesiologist came over to check on me, which was nice as well. The time came for me to roll to the OR. I remember very little about being back there. They had me count backwards from 10 and before I knew it they were calling my name as I woke up out of my drug induced sleep. They rolled me into the recovery area. This part was NO fun. Everyone was still very kind, but I was experiencing nausea like I had never had before. On top of my nausea I was worried because I was nauseous. The one thing everyone said before surgery was "Make sure you don't throw up..." and here I am ready to hurl. Turns out I did vomit a little into an emesis bin (that's what they're for after all) and I didn' hurt anything. I remember being annoyed with the male nurse who brought me the bin because as he hands it to me he says "try not to throw up, you shouldn't throw up" and I'm thinking sure I'll do my best - thanks for the encouragement. But it was no big deal, I took some deep breaths and the feeling went away eventually. Once I'd been in recovery long enough they took me to my wonderful room where my boyfriend was waiting:smile2:. All I wanted to do was sleep and sleep and did I mention sleep...? But after a while they woke me up and pretty much forced me out of bed to walk. Definitely didn't want to, definitely was necessary. Walking was no fun - I was regretting that I hadn't packed my iPod or something so I could at least entertain myself while pacing the halls, but oh well. I guess that would be a suggestion I have for future music lover bandsters - take music with you for your post-op experience!!! Anywho, other than walking & sleeping not much else happened on that first day. Overall it was a great experience. I tell people all the time that having my surgery in Monterrey was the best decision I ever made. The entire hospital experience was phenomenal and everyone was so helpful & encouraging. Good luck!

I've been a member of this community for almost 6 months now and I haven't posted or written anything at all. I'm hoping that I can turn here for encouragement and support. I was banded May 19th, 2009 and so far I've only lost 30 pounds. I'm disappointed in the amount I've lost, especially considering I am a full 9 months post-op. The really terrible thing is I know that my lack of extreme or significant weight loss is mostly my fault. I'm a chronic over-eater and have been my entire life. I eat for any and every reason and I knew that having this surgery would'nt solve all of my problems. I have cut down significantly on my consumption but not enough to lose more than 30 pounds in 9 months which is slightly less than 1 pound/week. I feel like I have failed miserably at this. But I'm hoping deep down that this isn't the case. I want to get better, I want to improve. I want to control my intake and not compulsively eat just because the food is there.... Now for my motivation: I'm getting married in 15 months. I have 15 months to get down to a "comfortable" weight.... no pressure. A comfortable weight for me would mean I need to lose around 75 more pounds before my wedding, technically before I buy my dress.... man oh man. I want to be successful. I want to show people and myself that I can do this. I can do this.