mariedebbie

I am sad to say that I had to have my band removed. I could somewhat manage my symptoms for a while but it was short lived. I had it removed in January. I felt worse initally and then I started recieving NAET treatment for the band and for some foods from a chiropractor and it has improved significantly. I still have to avoid Gluten and have to take a lactace suppliment when I eat cheese or Yougart (milk is out of the question I get too sick). I am sad that it came to this and upset that the medical community will not acknowledge this to be a problem.

LouAnn. Try having them take some of the fluid out of your band and see if it gets any better. I was hesitant because I did not want to gain weight but, when I did it was much better (it took 2 weeks to see a difference). I still have to take a lactace pill with dairy and cannot drink milk or eat ice cream but it is a whole lot better. I guess that having the band too tight caused so much inflamation at my band site that it began to damage the lining of my stomach and then the enzymes needed for digestion were not being generated because of the damage resulting in cramping, gas and diaherra. I did not get this information from my nurse she said that it could cause that problem but she has not heard of it happening to that extent before. I just know from my experience and doing my own research that this is the problem. I hope that you can get it figured out and can start feeling better soon.

I wanted to give an update on my condition. I was starting to have more foods bother me and so I started thinking that maybe my band was too tight. (I was at 7.5cc.in an 11cc band.) I went and talked to the nurse at my surgeons office and she said that she had heard of people having problems with food sensitivities but not to the severity I was having. After talking about it we decided that it was worth a shot to have some Fluid removed from my band and see how things went. She took out 1.25cc's. I was so worried and actually cried when she took it out, I was so worried about gaining some weight back. I had no idea how tight I was, way way too tight and I am so glad that I had some taken out. I am happy to say that within a week I saw a marked difference and two weeks out I can eat nearly anything with the exception of raw uncooked dairy. I am so excited and cannot believe that nobody has had this happen so I hope that this will help somebody. Libby I really hope that things work out for you, I am so sorry that you are having so many struggles. I pray it gets better.

That is horrible! I am sorry you are having so many problems. I hope that you get it all figured out. I found out that mine is just wheat /gluten and dairy sensitivity and if I eliminate those things I am great.

I have had chronic diarrhea. I am a year and a half out from surgery. I have found that dairy and gluten make it worse. I have eliminated them but I still get it just not as often or as intense. I also have started taking citrucel 3 times a day and it has helped. I know that it is important to not take psyllium (metamucil) products as they can expand in your band and cause some severe problems. It is pretty discouraging and after some research I found that lactose intolerance is a possible side effect of the lap band surgery. I was not informed about this before I had the lap band. I still would have had the surgery had I been informed of that. Good luck to your daughter I hope she finds some relief.

I get tight around ovulation also and I just have to drink hot tea before I eat and I also eat soup (i drink the fluid first then eat what I can of the solids) and sometimes have to put chili or soup in the blender and drink it or have a protein shake. I just have to baby it for a few days and then it gets better. I also had to baby my band when I finally got restriction I had to do the same as it felt too tight and then after 5 days I was able to eat okay and it was fine.

I have strep throat and have experienced a real tight band with this. I am having to ease back into food and drinking lots of warm/hot liquids wow this is crazy how it tightens up with different things.

I would try some hot tea it always loosens the band up for me.

My clinic will only do .25 cc at a time and I am at 7.25 in a 10 cc band, so I lost count, it took me 7 months to get to this point. FINALLY at 7.25 It felt tight for about 10 days and it was hard to get stuff down. I really had to work with it by drinking hot liquid before every meal, having protein drink for breakfast, thick stews for lunch and dinner and then it loosened up a bit. I wondered if I should go get unfilled a bit but I was hesitant because I knew that 7 was not enough so I figured it out and I am glad I did. I did not feel hungry and was able to stay between 900 and 1300 calories with no problem a matter a fact I had to work to get over 1,000 in the 10 days. I lost about 3 pounds a week doing that. Now, 3 weeks later I am noticing that I am getting hungry and it is hard to maintain 1300 with no hunger. I am sure I gave you far more info than you asked for but I hope it gave you somewhat of an answer!

I have been seeing a naturopathic doctor for years now. She has been to medical school, done a residency and can write scripts. I cannot believe the knowledge she has she has helped me as well as friends and family who have seen her. I would see if you can find one in your area.

You are so normal! I felt selfish for doing something that could leave my kids without a mom just to lose weight. I also felt that I was getting myself into something that was really going to change my life and that was unknown and lets face it unknown is scary. I also thought that I should have been able to lose weight and keep it off without such a drastic measure. I also felt bad that it was going to cost so much and honestly wondered if I was worth it I also thought about how let down I would be and how devistating it would be to fail on again another attempt to lose weight. I looked at the stats of people who die from this and why. I found out that my Doctor had 1 patient out of 15,000 die after this surgery and it was a result of an undiagnosed heart condition. That was enough comfort for me. I also thought that I did not want to keep living with the known...it sucked and I was ready for the new scared or not. I read all of these awesome success stories and thought "that could be me, I am doing this". I also came to accept the fact that yes I am worth the money this costs and yes it is a drastic measure but I had tried everything but this and this has proven more success than all of the other "results not typical" diets and plans I had previously done. I felt the same way you did and felt that way until had the surgery. It went well and I recovered fine and it was good. I experienced one of my fears; the scale was slow and sometimes not moving at all and it took me 6 months to reach a good restriction in my band and to figure out low thyroid level was keeping the scale still and now that I have that fixed the weight is coming off at about 3 lbs a week YES! it is wonderful I love it and I am so glad I had this done. It has not been easy I have had some struggles and frustration but this is so exciting and I am thrilled that I did it, and I have not even lost a monumental amount of weight. I want to encourage you and tell you that the good far out weights the bad and no it is not an easy fix but it is an effective fix. It is so great to say goodbye to those pounds and know that they will stay gone. I hope I did not add worries to your mind but I just wanted to share my experience. Good luck and get ready for a skinny you!

I am wondering if you have any symptoms of hyperthyroidism? That was my problem and finally after months and months I have began to lose weight.

I get it when I eat something that takes a whole lot of chewing...i.e. meat.

I pureed soups I made them in my crock pot and usually just left out the carb and pureed them up. I also made smoothies with protein powder I would get 30 grams of protein from that. I would also go for an extra protein shake if I needed to. I agree it is hard to get the protein you need but you will feel so much better if you do. GOOD LUCK!!!

I too have United Health Care and they did want my BMI to be at 40 but I know all plans are different.

I have had good results using these weight training videos. You can purchase dvd's that will target certain problems, i.e. cellulite, saggy skin. I have had good results but it is work.

I am also doing my pre-op diet and it is hard. I feel so weak and tired especially chasing my 2 kids around. I was told to consume between 750 and 960 calories a day. I have been having 2-3 shakes a day at 130 calories each then at dinner I have a meal. The nurse suggested frozen meals which do not exceed 450 calories. I have found that if I figure out what dinner I am going to have and add those as calories consumed then it is easier to gauge how many shakes I can have. I was also advised to walk 30 minutes a day and I have been. I have been losing about a pound a day. I was told that if my liver is too big they may have to cut me all the way open. I had 2 c-sections and know all about that...I would choose this diet over that! I think that this is one of the hardest things I have done before. It is rough and having no energy and the demands of life staying the same wow this is rough. I have to work at not being grouch because I am hungry...really hungry and weak. I get that anything worth doing is going to take effort and I have to keep telling myself that this is going to change. It will not be like this forever and this is something I need to do to ensure a safe surgery. Thanks for giving me the forum to complain also! I do not think it is much help but misery loves company sometimes : ) I wonder if you tried what my doc said to do if you would see results that you would be happy with? I want to encourage you, this is the path that you need to take to get to your destination....you can do it press on!

I think a pound a day is about right, that is what I have been doing...I am on day 5 and have lost 5 so you are right on track:thumbup: