Saraboo

Getting congested might be your boodies silent signal that you are "full. Everyone has different signs. It could be you've hit a platuea(sp?). It happens. Are you getting any excersize in at all. If you are, try swicthing up what you do. Shake up your routine. To me it doesn't sound like you need a fill,but I'm not a Dr, so who knows.

When do you start getting congested? Only after you eta, or while you are eating? And how much can you eat at a meal? How long is it after you eat that you start to feel hungry again?

I wish it was as simple as needing a fill And I already zig zag my calories. Those are great suggestions though. I'm hoping it's a just a fluke and my ody is readjusting itself, or something like that.

Ugh, my weight loss as been going well up until the past week. I was loosing steadily(sp?), I hit my 100#'s gone and made it to Onderland. Now, all of a sudden, I've gained 6 pounds in the past week. My daily routine has not changed, nor has what I'm eating. I have the exact same activity level and diet as when I was loosing about 2 pounds a week. I'm not pms'ing, it's not that time of the month. there is absolutely no reason for me to have gained 6 pounds in a week. The only thing that I can think of that is different, I don't think relates at all, unless is my horomones changing or something. The only thing different is my sister said I smell different. She has a thing with smells, and sniff me at least twice daily. She's done this for as long as I can remember. (She has Aspergers yndrom, which is a type of High Functioning Autism) Around the same time I started gaining, she said I smell different. To the point where she's sniffing me like 8 times a day. I don't stink or anything-it's just my natural smell has changed. That is the only thing that is different with me. I'm frustrated because I have no clue what is going on.

I was like that too. I didn't lose or gain for months, then I got tighter and started losing. I liked losing the weight. But the constant of the food coming back up caused my band to slip. You don't want that to happen. Tell your Dr. It's better to have an unfill now, and let your stomach heal, than to have to have revision. Call your Doctor.

Having started my experience with the same people you di, I know the type of care that you are talking about. However, i was lucky enough to be refered out, and get a different surgeon. With the right Dr.'s you can have an awesome experience. If you do choose to get banded again, I think it will go better this time around. Good luck, and keep us posted

I've gone from a 9 or 9 1/2 down to an 8 or 81/2. Prettymuch none of my shoes fit anymore

Good luck. It's tricky once youare that closeto good restriction. It also ends up that some people just have heartburn. WHih stinks. Hopefull you get it all cleared up It could be that you tightened up temporarily too from something-either your band didn't like something, TOM, or just plain stress, or dehydration. I know that all of those are big factors for me.

Sounds to me like yolu're too tight. That used to be one of my major signs taht I was too tight, and neededan unfill. Unfortunatly, since I experienced a slight slip, I have heartburn now. I take zantac right now, and keep tums on hand.

I had a great one yesterdsay. My Aunt and Cousin ae down in the area visiting colleges on my cousin's spring break and I hadn't seen either one really since before I was banded. I had run to the store to get some drinks because they were coming over, and my mom didn't tell my aunt how I looked because she wanted to see her reaction. I walked in, her jaw dropped, and she started crying. She said Im the Sara she remembers from when I was 4 and 5 years old. Back when I was nice and small, lol. She couldn't stop staring, it was awesome. ANd my cousin said that if she hadn't known it was me, she would have passed me on the street and not recoginized me. Their reactions made me feel so good, especially since my cousin is like 6'2" and super skinny. Like, she could be a super model skinny, and she beautiful and exotic looking on top of it.

None of my tats have been affected, but I have them in spots where the skin doesn't stretch too much. Only one may be affected by a tummy tuck, but i don't really care if it is. I can easily change it

Most of the time "ideal weight" means when you officially aren't overweight anymore. So, for me, the day I hot 168 pounds will be the day I have lost 100% of my excess weight. But I want to get to the middle of my weight range, hence the more than 100% excess weight lost.

That's good. It's a really crappy feeling when liquids don't want to stay down. I try to sip at times like that, they stay down better. I'm glad you're feeling better!!!

As of right now, I've lost 80% of my excess weight, and I have plans to go past that 100%. My ultimate goal is about 150 pounds. The ideal weight range for my height is 135 to 168. I will be within that normal weight range. Right now, I have people that tell me I don't need to lose anymore, that I look awesome. And, if I wanted to settle, I could stay at this weight. But I don't want to be obese or overweight for teh rest of my life, so I'm going to keep on trucking forward until I blow "their" statistics sky high :success1:

If you got stuck, it couldbe you stomach swelled some. Stick to liquids for the rest of the day, and you can try taking some children's motrin for the sweeling. Peronally, I uually get stuck on yogurt. One of those things that stumps me, but whether I'm loose or tight, it just doesn't go down.

Hey everyone, I was just curious to see if anyone else had a tempermental band. Mine has been all over the place recently, restriction wise. Got my last fill 9 weeks ago. Was tight the first week the way I always am after a fill, the 2nd week I was tight becuase of TOM, and then the 3rd week I was sick. For each of those things I fully expect to be tighter, it's how my body works. After the 3rd week, I had pretty good restriction for a couple weeks. Tight in the mornings, but that isn't an uncommon thing. Small meal around lunch time, same for dinner. Then all of a sudden, I was staying tight in the mornings, but come 5 pm I could eat whatever I wanted. That was a new one for me, seeing as the only time I could eat like that after being banded was when i had no Fluid in my band at all. But even though I could eat whatever, I still couldn't eat after 7pm becuase if I did, I'd end up with reflux all night. I was fine with that, and made sure not to eat after 7- I feel ebtter that way anyways. Fast forward to this past week. Now, all of a sudden, my band is tight. Tight, like I would be if I had just gotten a fill, and it was too much. I'm feeling kind of frustrated. My band has tightened up enough that I am experiencing reflux every night, which sucks big time. This has happened before too, last year. I had a fill that was fine for like 3 months, and then got tight on me, and I had to have an unfill. I had a period of 6 months, where every couple months I would have to get an unfill. It drives me nuts. I already know that I'm going to be calling my Dr tomorrow because of this. I always stress some when I have to get an unfill, for the fear of gaining anything back. And this time, I have teh added fear of starting a new desk job within the next week or too. It's going to be a tough transition this time, but I need to be able to at least get a Protein shake down in the mornings. Ok, well, I think I needed to vent more than anything, sine it's 1:30 am, I'm exhaustedand can't sleep because of the reflux. Though, I am curious to know if anyone else has a band that switches up on them like mine does?

I've donated both blood and platlets since being banded. I was fine. My only issue was low iron, but I had that before being banded, so nothing new. I was worried about thta as well.

A lot of it depends on where you carry your weight, if you've been a big yo yo dieter, how much water your drink. The last time I lost weight and was down 50lbs, my skin was fine. But then I gained it back, like always. This time around, because I had shrunk and stretched my skin so much, it's flabby. It sucks. I was not expecting to be wrinkly when I started this journey, lol. But it happens. Some people their skin will shrink up, some people-like me- not so much. But it is sooooo worth it. I'd rather be healthy and wrinkly, than morbidly obese and smooth.

Sara checking in at 196.8. Down 1.8#'s for the week.

Lol. Yea, that's what I understood too, but I seem to be opposite. Instead of it being the more weight I lose, the looser I get, it's the more weight I lose, the tighter I get.

I just saw your post or I would have responded sooner- sometimes the smallest adjustment can make the biggest difference. I would have suggested exactly what you ended up doing. If you stay too tight, for too long, you can really mess up your band and stomach. Especially if you're having to bring stuff back up. It can cause a slip, and/or for your band to be completely unfilled. Being completely unfilled can be a slippery slope. I had my band completely emptied back in september, and I ended up gaining back roughly 30 lbs. I had gone so long not being able to eat, that I over did it once I could. It was a big no no. My band has been tempermental for forever it seems. I stayed good with a fill for like 3 months last year, then got tight all of a sudden, and it's been a game of fill/unfill since then. My current fill I've had for 9 weeks, and over the past week it's gotten progressively tighter, to the point I have to call the Dr tomorrow. Part of me dreads the thought of another unfill, but being this tight is no fun. I can keep liquids down, and such- but no matter what I eat, it gives me problems a couple hours later. And I have major acid reflux.

I'm a pretty open person, and I've been upfront with the guys that I've dated. But that's just me. I tell pretty much everyone it seems. Every guy that I've dated since losing weight hasn't had a problem with it. Honestl, the only person that I've ever had issues with over my surgery is an ex. He just stopped talking to me the week of my surgery. But that's off topic, and a whole other story, lol. Back to the topic on hand, I've found that it's easier for me to tell people ahead of time, if possible. They have all understood, and didn't look at me weird when I ordered a half appetizer, or in the case of my now boyfried, when I will eat a couple bits of whatever he's eating and I'm good. But again, I'm a very open person, and I don't care who knows. In teh end, it's all about you being comfortable.