ElfiePoo

All I can say is, it's a darned good thing it's time to fix dinner because I'm about ready to chew my arm off...and I'm pretty sure that will put me over my calories (although not carbs) for the day. Melody

Thanks, Leigha. I'll go check out the report. .

I read a couple medical reports and 'supposedly' people who don't get that lack of hunger with the band, often are successful with the sleeve because the sleeve (because of removal of the stomach) is better at stopping/suppressing the ghelin. What concerns me is that whether it's band or sleeve, the hormone eventually 'finds a way' to reassert itself. I'd rather not have another surgery although it's looking like I'll have to either to remove the band, or go in and do an exploratory and find out what/where it's rubbing on my diaphragm. I still have some pain but it's nothing like it was before he took the fill out. .

Caught me unawares and I'm sitting here laughing like a loon.

Slim Fast's low carb chocolate in a can is good but it's pretty low in Protein. I agree about the EAS canned (or cartoned?) protein drinks but their powder is pretty good. I get the EAS chocolate powder from Sam's and it's pretty inexpensive. I mix it with unsweetened almond milk to keep the carbs down. Muscle Milk <blech>. My son said it tasted like coffee to him but I like coffee so that wasn't the problem. The chocolate Isopure isn't too bad, but I think EAS is better. .

The band is a funny creature. Just when you think you know how it is going to behave, it throws a curve ball. You say that 3 weeks ago your band started giving you problems. How long before that did you have your fill? I ask because it would take at least 2 weeks before my band showed any reaction from a fill. It sounds like your band is too tight *or* you're not chewing well enough *or* not taking small enough bites *or* drinking with your meals. If you're taking small bites, chewing well, not drinking with meals and waiting between bites, then you might need a bit of an unfill as PBing and sliming on a regular basis is not desireable or necessary. .

Ditto on the larger portions. I never had to go through bandster hell because my surgeon did not require his patients to eat the limited quantities they supposedly would after their fills. I just followed his advice and made good choices, eating reasonable portions. For me that meant about 3-4 oz of Protein, 1/2-3/4 cup of low carb vegies and maybe 1/4 cup of rice, potatoes or some other type of starch...and I never 'eyed' anything. It was always measured. I'm dealing with hunger right now and find that a hot cup of chicken broth mid-meal with soothe the belly and keep me going until my next meal. .

Will wonders never cease. We agree. It does still take willpower and I want to smack those who believe we did this because we 'lack' willpower. Ditto on the food ads. I rarely watch tv in the evening anymore because I find that the constant food ads make me hungry. As with anything, people will have both good and bad experiences. To give weight to one side more than the other is foolish, but it should all be taken into account in deciding whether or not to band. .

Thanks, Stacie...I found it and have been reading steadily for the last couple of hours. I also spent quite a few hours last night surfing the 'net and reading various medical articles. I have to say that at this point, I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do the sleeve because it's so much more drastic than the band and has the potential for not working as well. I also had an epiphany while reading the experiences of others...and not sure why it didn't pop out at me last year or even over the last year. Unlike many who choose to get banded or sleeved, I didn't deal with constant hunger. I had good days and bad days. When I look back over my food journals, the good days are days where I report 'no hunger'. The bad days are days when I feel the need to eat nonstop and it's not a head craving but a physical need. Interestingly, the good days are also the days where my blood glucose readings were stable. They may have been high or even on the low side...but stable with no major swings. On the bad days I'm showing swings...and swings cause an intense urge to eat...the body's way of dealing with an insulin spike. So...for the next 6 weeks, I'm going to be a fanatic about my diabetes control. It will be interesting to see if controlling my diabetes also controls that hunger. The last year with the band hasn't been totally wasted. Not only have I met a bunch of people here that I enjoy tremendously, but I really am eating a fraction of what I used to and have created some good habits over the last year...not the least being that I'm actually exercising. .

Try drinking warm tea or hot broth. I'm trying to deal with my 'hunger' as well and find that if I keep something warm in my belly, it helps *a lot* with the hunger. .

Elcee, Where is the sleeve board? Here on lapbandtalk? If so, I'll see if I can find it. If it's somewhere else, can you point me in the direction. I gave the surgeon the go ahead to move forward to surgery, but said I need to do some more research before I make my final decision. In any event, bypass is not an option. There are worse things than being fat and that, in my opinion, is one. I hung out on a bypass board before I found this forum and it was a bit scary how the quality of life rapidly deteriorated for a number of these people due to medical problems as a result of the malabsorption. Some did very well. A couple died as a result of organ failure and an inability to retain even their goal weight. No...not something I will ever do. Oh well, in the meantime I'll continue what I have been doing. Watching my carbs and protein (which ultimately keeps my fats and calories under control), continuing to walk my hour every day and aerobics twice a week...although I enjoy neither and see what happens in the coming weeks. .

Wish some of these doctors would quit generalizing. That may be enough for some...not enough for others and by generalizing and having a mindset that 2 or 3 in a year is enough, they're setting their patients up for failure. .

Billy, This is exactly what I've been experiencing for the last year. Now I find that there are about 20% of the banded whose bands never work. Yes, we can get them so tight we can't eat...but that sense of hunger never goes away. According to my surgeon, that is not in our head...it's because the band is not stopping that 'feed me' hormone that the stomach produces. The band sits on two nerves and at some point, tightens enough (and that will vary by individual) so that the stomach says "oh I'm full" and stops producing that hormone. That's why some people never need a fill and the band alone does it...and why some people need a tighter restriction on those nerves. For some of us, we can get so restricted we can't eat and the nerves are still not talking to those hormones. Perhaps a talk with your surgeon about a revision to a sleeve might be in order? .

Don't give up, Billy. It's not how many fills you have but the total amount of fills. I have a Realize band and my surgeon said that most people don't get to their sweet spot until around 7-8cc (14cc band). I think Lap band's are lower because they're smaller. At only a 2nd fill, you have plenty of time before you know whether you're one of the 20%. The odds are good that it *will* work for you! .

Cleo, I can relate to the 'takes a lot of food'. Prior to the band, I would put enough food away at dinner to feed 3 grown men. That's my problem now. I want...and am able...to eat that much still. It's only through sheer willpower that I don't...which is why I haven't gained back the 30 I've lost...but with enough bad days that I'm not losing anymore. Congratulate yourself for coming so far on your own! .

Because... No, most likely you're getting far more calories than you realize in the junk food. If you are having difficulty eating 'real' food and are resorting to sliders, you may be overfilled. Been there, done that. You might want to consider a slight unfill depending on how long ago your 2nd fill was. .

Congratulations! They don't ask for weight on our driver's license. Makes sense since everybody lies anyway. Kind of like putting your eye and hair color. It's so easy to change both, why bother? .

Ditto on finding a new doctor. I can't believe this guy would be so cavalier about opening you up. Everyone I know who had their gallbladder done laparascopically had a very fast recovery time. My mom had hers done the old fashioned way and has a huge scar down her stomach, not to mention that she was 3 months healing with all sorts of restrictions on what she couldn't do. .

Good luck on your college entrance exam and at your doc's appointment! I'm still reading up on the sleeve so not sure how/if it operates differently as far as getting stuck. I have a vague recollection of my doc's nurse telling me that, like banded people, she has to take small bites and chew well but that's all I remember. .

Thanks everyone! Actually, I was going to stay anyway because I'm still working on changing lifetime habits and it seems to me that while I may not be dealing with all of the vagaries of a band, I'll still be dealing with some of the same issues of having to take small bites, chew well, etc. that banders have to deal with...or so my doc's nurse tells me. I'm not going anywhere! .

Thanks HB. My goal now is to at least maintain this loss until/if I have the revision surgery. If I lose some more...bonus. .

Denise and Leigha...thank you for your supportive posts. Actually, I was lying down when he was taking my fill out and my arm was really hurting (usual in that position)...and almost immediately the pain was gone! The 1 1/2 hour ride to the clinic was miserable! I didn't even realize that I had tears running down my face from the pain (the car seat puts me at the right angle apparently). Coming home...nothing! Sweet relief! .

HB, He agreed that the pain was being caused by the band. Unfortunately, the only way to actually find out how it's rubbing against the diaphragm is to do an exploratory laparascopy and move the offending piece. However, and I just posted a long thread on this, since I'm most likely going to do a sleeve revision, we decided just to remove the fill until we see if insurance will pay for a revision. I still had some pain before I started getting fills, but it was more irritation and didn't interfere with my sleep, so this is a good short term solution. If my insurance will not pay for a revision, he said they will pay for the exploratory laparascopy due to the pain and they could remove the band at that time. Kind of an end run around the insurance company if needed. On the ride to the doc's, I was in intense pain. On the ride home, not a twitch so I am looking forward to a good night's sleep! .

LOL...saw this after I came back, but I did ask him this. I also asked him how it's possible that I'm eating half the calories I used to *and* walking an hour every day, aerobics twice a week and not only *not* losing weight, but going up and down in a vicious cycle. I said if it's all about calories in/calories out, then I should be losing consistently. His exact words were...it is *not* about calories in/calories out. The type of calories make a difference and it will vary by individual. He said more, but I should've expected such a radical departure from traditional weight loss beliefs since his specialty is bariatrics. .

Throw a little spaghetti squash in the bottom of that bowl and call it a healthy dinner. .