BandaCat

I've been banded for 17 months. The first 6 were awesome!!! I lost weight without even thinking about it. Being on every diet in the book and always regaining more, I think thank God for the band. I may not be at my goal weight but almost 50lbs down is a place I wouldn't have gotten to on my own. The last 11 months have not been so great. But overall I would say I don't regret it. My advice is if you get a fill that's too tight don't let it go. Get some taken out. I lived too long with too tight of a fill and it caused some major problems that I have been dealing with for the last year. After a year of basically maintaining, up about 5lbs, I am now finally thinking my body can handle a fill again and start the journey anew. One thing that really surprised me is how much stress really affects my band. I have had a very stressful year with a business partnership gone bad and to this day even the mention of the situation and I get tight and can't eat. I have learned to not talk about stressful things before or during meals and I'll be alright. Even if I don't lose another pound I'm in a better place than I was pre-band.

I get SUPER tight when I fly and it takes a few days to get back to normal and by then I'm flying home and another few days of tightness. I'm going on a trip at the end of the month so I'm curious to see how it goes now that I have a complete unfill.

Dr. Kuri's office in Tijuana is awesome! I can call them for anything. In September I had appendicitis and thought it was a band problem. I called Dr. Kuri at 9pm and it rang through to his home. He talked me through it and told me to call him back if the doctors at the hospital needed him for anything. I haven't ever gotten that kind of care from one of my doctors in the states. The whole team is great! I do have to add that I only live 25 minutes from the border and can drive down to the office at any time. Also, I grew up camping in Mexico so I am not afraid of it. I'm sure that's a factor for some people. The only bummer is the border wait. I have to plan a whole afternoon to go down there because you can never know what the border wait will be.

Things got really bad over the holidays. I've learned that my band gets REALLY tight when I fly and doesn't get better for a few days. I got a complete unfill at the end of December. The doctor recommended not getting filled again until after my wedding which was in February. It's May now and I still am unfilled. I've struggled with gaining weight but the vomiting has drastically improved!!! (I've gained about 5 lbs. Not terrible but I get really nervous watching the scale go up instead of down.) I have struggled with reflux still but not nearly as bad as in the past. My chiropractor put me on some vitamins that started helping immediately and I can almost say that I'm free of the reflux now! It's awesome. The vitamins help to strengthen my diaphragm which she thinks has gotten all out of whack from all the vomiting and that's where the reflux has come from. Well she must be right because I feel sooooo much better! I am thinking about getting a small fill again to start losing weight again. But we are flying at the end of the month and I know that doesn't work well for me so I will wait until after we get back. So anyways, that's the update. I don't feel like a bulimic anymore. My family still doesn't like the band, but they aren't as concerned as before. I'm still hoping for positive results. For now I just want to get back into Onederland!!

I'm just newly pregnant and have started losing weight after being on a plateau for a long time. I have no restriction (complete unfill due to acid reflux a few months ago.) I have absolutely no appetite, but I haven't started any nausea or morning sickness. I have been trying to read every post about weight and pregnant bandsters. A part of me is excited to be losing again, but I'm also concerned for the health of my baby. I still am about 50 lbs from goal weight so it's not like I don't have it to lose. But can it be ok for me to lose while pregnant? I feel like it's such a catch 22! Anyone have info. from their doctors about this? I want to be able to pass on any info to my midwife.

Thanks for the replies! I've lost 5 lbs this week. It's the first week I've known I was pregnant and it made me nervous. I'm definitely not dieting so I will just let my body do what it needs to do and be grateful.

I've been banded for 17 months. My doctor said he just wants me to stay unfilled for the entire pregnancy and everything should go just fine. I never tried to get pregnant pre-band. But it only took us 2 months to get pregnant once we started trying! Super fast I know.

I know it's exciting to finally feel like you have restriction, but be very careful about figuring out how to stop vomiting. Because I let the daily vomiting go for too long, I now am struggling with severe acid reflux and had to have my band almost totally unfilled. People warned me that it was going to cause problems but I didn't listen because I was happy to be losing weight. Now I have gained back 15 lbs because I had to get unfilled due to the excessive vomiting. I haven't been able to get another fill because my body has such a quick vomit response that I still struggle with it even unfilled. Break the habit now so you don't end up in the same boat as me!!! Best wishes!

I got engaged a couple months ago. I was thrilled and super excited, but immediately there were a million questions and decisions that needed to be made. I was sooooooooo sick with acid reflux because my band basically closed. My doctor ended up removing everything but .1cc. Now I have virtually no restriction. The stress has definitely calmed down and unfortunately I've gained some weight since then. I want to get a fill again because the wedding is in February and want to enjoy the pictures. But, I have some MAJOR changes going on in my business life. So I'm nervous to get a fill knowing that the stress may get worse again. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Good news: It's been 6 months and I've lost 44 lbs. Slow but steady is working for me. Met an amazing man, pretty sure he's the ONE. My new office is going great. It's been a very positive 6 months. Bad news: About a week ago I started being rudely awaken at 4-5am in the morning with terrible chest pains. I have to rub my chest, walk around, and burp repeatedly to feel better. What's that all about???? Is it something I'm eating? Am I eating too late? It hasn't happened every night but enough to make me wonder what's going on. Anyone else have this issue? All my gas pains from surgery have been long gone. This seems to be something new! Any ideas?

I've learned not to expect to get much down in the morning. And when it's that time of the month FORGET IT! I'm locked tight for 3 days.

Hey Raynie, I'm in the same boat you are! I totally feel your struggles. I can probably count the days on my fingers that I haven't PB'd since my first fill in November. So in that respect I feel that I'm definitely tight enough. However, I have been on a plateau for almost 8 weeks now. It's frustrating, some days I can barely eat and other it feels like the flood gates have opened. I had another fill at the end of December, but it hasn't made a bit of difference on the scale. I find myself resorting to junk food alot too because it's the only thing that will stay down. But now it's at the point where I've just developed some really bad habits. I don't really think I need a fill, but I definitely am not working the band right. I've been thinking about putting myself back on only protein shakes for a week or two to see if I can shake things up a bit. But then I don't seem to have the willpower to stick to it. I'm not a good bandster by any stretch of the imagination, and I know that's part of my plateau problem. But I guess I'm hitting a mental block to kick into gear and make things happen. Anyways, I just wanted to whine and say I totally understand your feelings. Best of luck. Catherine p.s. As I write this I'm struggling to drink a cup of hot tea. UGH!

Oct. 5/ 28lbs/ 2 fills (second one due to getting really sick, dr. said all the vomiting moved my stomach just enough to need a fill.) I've been on a plateau since early Dec. No exercise so I guess I can't really complain.

my doctor told me that I am too tight in the morning because I am eating too much at night. she said my body gets inflamed because it's irritated from processing too much food. she recommended a couple days of liquid to get it back to normal and then make lunch my biggest meal of the day. then try to keep dinner small and soft. It's worked for me.

ugh. i've been on a plateau for over a month. Just when I think I've lost a pound or two, I gain four, and back and forth for weeks now. I had a fill a few weeks ago and it made me tighter for sure but still no change. It's frustrating because I feel like I should be making more progress. But I can't even begin to pretend that I've been a good bandster. I guess the easy ride is over and now I have to start working at it. Bummer!

I can barely eat during TOM. Even liquids are difficult. I spend at least 3 days on liquids and preferably hot liquids like tea, coffee, and soup. My doctor said it's due to water retention. That's why for many it's recommended NOT to get a fill during TOM because when the water retention goes away the fill won't feel as tight.

Dr. Kuri's team is great! I would recommend them to anyone. I was banded 3 months ago and have been very pleased with my care during surgery and for fills.

Today is my 3 month anniversary of my band. I think I've just had my most profound NSV to date. I was just spooning some cole slaw into a tiny 1/2 cup tupperware and had the thought.... "Wow that's ALOT of cole slaw!" Are you kidding me? I never would have believed it until it happened. Sure during my first week of recovery it took me 3 hours to eat 1/2 cup of Jello. But not now! Seriously I'm floored. Talk about a change in self-talk. I may be just slowly ticking away at the weight, but this moment shows me that alot more is changing than just my size. Woo hoo!!!!

I've just started doing something similar. I PB almost everyday, but since I've started my new plan it has almost stopped. (except when I forget my new rules) 1. Start day with hot liquid (tea or coffee) 2. Liquids until lunch. (protein shake) 3. Soft lunch (soup, yogurt, Pasta, etc.) 4. Early dinner (4:30ish) Sip hot water/tea when feel golfballs 5. Hot liquid before bed. I've also learned that my band doesn't like potatoes unless they are creamy mashed potatoes.

You were banded almost 3 weeks after me and have lost almost 10lbs more than me. You're progress is great. I look at it this way... Could I have lost this much weight pre-band? No way! So the band is working great! It may not be fast, but it's steady! Woo hoo! Take a look at what you're eating. I find that I'm hungrier on the days that I don't get enough protein. Now I'm starting my days with a protein shake and that really helps.

My New Year's Resolution is to only eat chocolate for medical reasons (i.e. my period). That means a couple days out of every month I can have chocolate. Other than that, NONE!

Chew and Spit is a very common bulimic behavior. I think as long as you don't make a habit of it and you're not doing it to avoid calories then it's probably no big deal. I found myself doing it too much for awhile there and realized it was my way to still binge with the band. So I had to stop doing it. Just something to be aware of.

I had a really bad episode a couple weeks ago (food poisoning/flu??). Violent vomiting for 6 hours. It definitely made me have less restriction. My doctor got me in right away to do a flouroscopy because he was concerned about slippage. No slip but I guess all the movement made the band adjust alittle bit and made me need a small fill. I'm very happy that I went to get it checked. They also recommended staying on liquids for a few days to give my stomach time to recuperate from the vomiting.

i've had two fills and noticed they got much tighter after a week.

I PB almost every day. I've been banded for almost 3 months now. I've had 2 fills. I'm at 1.3 in a 4cc band. It doesn't seem like much of a fill but it definitely is for me. I fear people will think I'm bulimic too. Sometimes I wonder if I am. I definitely have developed some bulimic behaviors, like chewing and spitting or binging and purging. But I am also learning what types of foods and behaviors trigger my PBing. Here's what I've learned: 1. Fast food=PB 99% of the time. 2. Some foods are triggers: tortillas, scrambled eggs, bagels, crackers 3. Eating in the car=PB 4. Warm drinks loosen, cold drinks tighten 5. Extreme restriction during my period 6. I never PB on sweets which is why I think my loss has slowed. My bad habits and compulsive behaviors are the real root of this problem. I'm hoping that as I acknowledge what is happening I'll start making better choices. PBing all the time is not a way to live!