NoMoBand

In the spring/summer/early fall, I am not able to keep a tight band due to severe allergy drainage, otherwise I am spewing out froth (foam) and gagging at night, so, I get below 2.0 cc's in the band, where as in winter months I can have 2.2 cc's and keep a tight band. Reason for all the explanation is when I can handle the additional .2 cc's in the winter months, I don't feel that thump and when I'm full, I'm full and one more bite will cause the dreaded stuck episode. My band doctor gave the ok to received a Kenalog injection(sterioid) for my allergies this year and so far so good, I'm allergy free! I just might ask for the .2 fill. You may want to ask your doc for a .1 or .2 fill, if this has become a problem for you. Let me know how it goes. Jake

Checking in. Sorry I have not been on for awhile. So far so good! I was able to stay on the Protein liquids 2 days then switched to mushies for a day. My restriction is much better and I have been really good about eating the correct foods. I've completely done away with any kind of bread or flour (Tortillas was/is my weakness). I continue to work out a total of 45 minutes with 30 of those minutes doing a slow to medium jog on the tread mill. With the awesome weather change, I've added a 30 minute bike ride in the evenings. Its been a challenge but I've lost 6 pounds. I probably need a smidge of a fill but I'm really trying to disicpline myself and prove that I can do this without relying completely on the band. I have good restriction, but, if I have just a few more bites after I'm satisfied or feel full I can actually feel a thump when food passes through the stoma then I can usually eat another meal after that. Weird!!!! How are you all doing? Don't give up!! Jake

I'm starting a little late, but, looks like I'll be the only male to join you all. I also have 20 stuborn lbs. to lose, but, I'm determined. I will start my liquids tommorrow morning. As far as work outs, I've been doing them 4-6 days a week, 45 minutes running on a treadmill. Darn it, we can do this! jake.

We are all so different and you should not compare yourself to anyone else's cc volume. I'm in the green zone with only 2cc's in a 10cc band. At one point I had 3 cc's and was miserable with frequent stuck episodes, PB's. It all depends on your stomach and all our stomach's are different. I always thought that the more you had the more effective the band would be. Bottom line is you must make sure that you are loose enough to be able to comfortably eat your daily proteins and not so tight that you are getting stuck often when eating them.

I would suggest simple walking around the block, on a treadmill, on a trail. Because you are just starting to feel better with the port pain, you need to give you body more time to heal, in my opinion. I say this because I went to town on a eliphtical and biking just weeks after surgery then 3 months later I ended up in surgery again because my port dislodged. I had the port pain and ignored it. I don't know if the more intense exercise did it, but, I would not take any chances. Trust me after you lose more weight you will get a huge boost of energy and at that time you can start exercising with a bit more intensity. jake

First thing I'll ask. Are you eating small bites and chewing extremely well and eating slowly? Your meals should take 20-30 minutes. When you do this you give your mind enough time to calculate if you had enough. Next, I would suggest that you use a small plate. Using a large dinner plate tells your mind that you must eat everthing on it. At first I would use a baby's spoon because I just could not take small bites and eventually I got used to it. No more baby spoon for me. lol Last, I would suggest you get into a support group. Most band doctors provide these support groups and are usually free. You will learn lots there. Be careful with the throwing up. Lots of throwing up will eventually cause problems. Good luck to you. You can do this. jake

You'll have to stick to your bandster eating diet and rid of the "eat a meal totally off my diet", until you've reached goal, otherwise you will continue in this rut. I can share with you what I had to do several times to break this rut and it worked for me. Use 4 days consisting of 1 day - clear liquids, day 2 - protein shakes, day 3 - protein shakes and chunky soup for supper, day 4 - mushies. This will break the craving that your body is longing for (old habits). This will also give your band a rest and you should feel more restriction. I had to go to this extreme because I was craving all the bad stuff all the time. I'm doing fine now.

Is it just me sometimes wishing that I could just live a normal life without frequently thinking about or being reminded that I have a band around my stomach? Don't get me wrong my band has saved my life and I'm very pleased with the band and hope I can keep it for a long, long time and I also knew it would be a huge life changing decision, however, reminders occur daily. The normal reminders of how a bandster eats and the consequences for not sticking to the rules are daily, but, then there are reminders from friends, family that have not seen you in awhile and first thing they'll say is "you've lost weight, you look so different and how did you do it", then you have to decide do I tell them or not. Honestly, it gets old sometimes, then other times I very much welcome questions and compliments. I'm a little over a year into this and I'm curious for those have been banded longer. Do we eventually stop thinking about it so much and go on with a normal life? Maybe it is just me, the anxious person that I am, but, I'm curious if this will be the norm and also what others say or thnk. Your input would be appreciated. Jake

You also may be one of the us bandsters that required very little fill to be in the green zone and may be over filled. My first fill 6 weeks out of surgery was a unfill of 1cc, I require under 2 cc's to be in the green zone and had been given 3 cc's during surgery. If this is the case for you, you will need to be extra cautious when eating and must take very small bites and chew your food extremely well to prevent PB's. This gets better as time goes by. To give you an example some of my meat Proteins like red meat and chicken had to be about about a 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch square and I had to chew like crazy. Once I got the unfill I was able to eat bigger pieces. Your doc will let you know.

First of all, don't panic. It takes much more than one throwing up episode to make a band slip. As was posted take deep breaths and try to relax. You may try taking very small sips of something warm to try to settle your stomach. Once this goes away I would stay on liquids for today, but, drinking slowly. If it gets worse, then call your doctor, but, I'm sure you'll be fine. jake

Need advice. I am 20lbs. from goal and cannot get there. I have been at a plateau for 5 months with 5-8 lbs. up and down. Frustration is overwhelming now and here's why. I work out 1 hour at the gym, 5 days a week consisting of running on a treadmill for 30 minutes and 15 minutes very rapid walking and 15 minutes on the elliptical. I sweat like crazy and feel the workout but the results on the scale are not there, nor are they on my clothing fitting looser. I average Water intake of 1.5 gallons per day, not including other liquids. I am in the green zone with my band with decent restriction. I started a calorie/food log and I average under 1000 calories per day. I carefully eat the correct amount of Proteins per day and make sure I have small amounts of veggies and fruits and very little bad carbs. I'm baffled!!! Could I be drinking too much water that may be causing this? In addition, I do average about 6 cups of coffee per day using low fat creamer and splenda, could this be the culprit? I have a evening cup of sugarfree low 25 calorie hot chocolate with my nopalina which has several types of Fiber in it (zero calories) - could that be it? If it is muscle weight from the workouts, why isn't my clothing fitting looser? I have a doctor appointment in 4 weeks to check if I have a under active Thyroid, however, this was checked 8 months back and it was normal. Any input would be appreciated please. Jake

"now that I'm a few weeks away from being banded I'm worried I will fail the band. That I will go back to my old ways , that I won't have the will power? I know deep down I won't. I know this is it and I'm going to make it work but I'm still stressing about this.. Anyone else??" KR, What you are feeling is normal. Trust me you do have the will power and the band helps you stay on task with not being able to over eat. The one thing is being careful on your food choices. You'll have to be careful with high calories goodies (cake, candies, etc.), but, when it comes to eating the right foods to loose weight the band keeps you from over eating as long as you follow the rules - no liquids 1/2 hour before or after meals, protiens first, veggies/fruits second then carbs last (carbs are last because you get full before the carbs and eat less of them) etc. etc. I always tell people that the band keeps you in check from overeating. You'll do fine.

Thanks Hummingbird, you are right on the money, obsession is my problem. Keeping the band on my mind, good or bad, 24x7 sometimes drives me nuts and this, as you shared, should get better as time goes on. I hope so. Anyhow, I don't want to go cold turkey on this site because I have learned so much here. I do have to cut down on the amount of time on here and maybe be more selective on which forums I read. Thanks again. Jake

Thanks B-52, Let me explain. By nature, I worry alot, especially my health, tis why I did this surgery. A few months post-op on my journey I did have one complication that sent me back to surgery a second time. A few months after surgery I started dealing with a suroma on one of my incisions. The suroma was drained several times and after the second time my port tubing broke thru the skin and I had 3 inches of the tubing sticking out of my belly. When I called the doc that night I was instructed to place a bandage on it and report to the OR in the morning. I took pictures of it and have a reminder of the scary event. Anyhow, the next day I reported to the OR and doc also discovered that the stitches had all broken off and the port had completely dislodged. Doc put me under and had to create two more large incisions to move the port to the other side of my belly. Because the tubing had been exposed the second surgery lasted 2 hours long with the port being attached and the disinfect proceedure. Recovery for this surgery was much worse that the first, thus, I'm terrified of other complications. Your reply has helped me come upon a realization. I need to not come onto this website as often as I do. When I read about slippage, erosions etc. etc., I start to dwell on the negative. I need to get on with my life and come what may, I will cross that bridge when and if I come upon it. It's funny that I've given that advice to others and it's finally sinking in with me. Thanks again. Jake

Jachut, Going off the subject a little bit, I just wanted to thank you for all your input to these forums. Your williingness to help others is very much appreciated. Many of your posts have really helped and encouraged me. Your awesome testimony makes you one of my heros. jake

You are probably experiencing this due to sinus drainage. I get the same foaming also called froth (frothing) when allergy season is in full bloom. I get a slight unfill and I'm fine.

What you are feeling is very normal - probably for most of us anyway. Not only are you dealing with the unknown, I can bet that you are also feeling the jitters of pending surgery. I can share with you that I cancelled my surgery not once but twice and not because food was more important than my health. Without going into great details as to why I cancelled, I can tell you that I am so glad I did go forth and very thankful to a very supportive wife and family. Here I am 1 year later, feeling great and have no regrets. As far as the unkowns, you take it one day at a time. Trust me you will enjoy food but much less of it. Until your band and stomach completely heal you may not tolerate some foods, but, what you can't handle today may bring a different outcome tomorrow. In my case I could not eat steak for the first 8 months or so, no matter how small the piece or how well I chewed. As of today I do just fine with steak as long as I chew well. My advice is to trust God and surround yourselves with the most positive supportive person(s) and go forward. You won't regret it. Jake

Kazeeeee, I'm saddened that the band didn't work out for you. The most important thing right now is your safety and health. Don't look at this as a waste of $ and time. Take what you've learned and go forth with no regrets - you can do it. It amazes me how the medical field has not come up with a definite pre-op answer as to why the band does not work for some. The scary thing for me is that we are all candidates for complications that can result in removal, thus we are all not guaranteed a life time with the band. Surely, there is life after the band and what you learned from the banded lifestyle can make you successful in the future. I also wish you the best of luck and the advice I have is "Never, ever give up! Jake

You may contact Lovelace Bariatrics with questions. The number is (505) 727-2300. They also have another Bariatric doctor there, his name is Adam Smith. Doctor Smith is out of Texas and comes in to do surgeries here. He also see's patients for their follow ups. I personally prefer Dr. Sanchez, but, Dr. Smith is also a very good doctor. Jake

Joan, Thanks for sharing your story. I also have extreme allergies (hayfever) and have to get deflates during allergy season. This really concerns me! My allergies are all drainage to the stomach and don't have the sneezing and watery eyes and ...... associated with allergies. With allergy season in dormant stage right now I asked my band doctor about Kenalog injections in the spring time. I used to get these years back before banded life and they are awesome taking all the symptoms away. My band doctor gave me the ok on these injections, so, come around April or so I will get one. See what happens. Just wanted to mention this to other allergy sufferers. See what their doctors think about these injections. I'm so sorry you lost your band and wish you the best of luck. You can and will keep the weight off with the determination you have. Keep the positive attitude. Jake

It sounds like you need more fill. Do you have any kind of restriction at this point? Good restriction or green zone is when you eat about 1/2 to 1 cup of food in measurement and feel satisfied. It take a while to get there. Along my journey I've experienced the scale not moving down for a week or two then out of the blue finally breaks. Yet another possibility - Count your calories. Fats, mayo, salad dressings add up in calories. Start a meal journal and check how many calories you are eating per meal/day. Another possibility along my journey, I remember I got into the habit of eating sugar free chocolate candy and thought that I would be ok with calories. Well, the scale locked up and I finally thought of reading the nutritional information and there it was, 4 candies was equivalent to one meal in calorie count. No more SF candies for me. In addition I was eating lots of cheese as Snacks which is also high in calories. Don't give up, once you are in the green zone with fills or discover whatever may be hindering you the weight will come off. Hey, 20 lbs. already lost is a huge accomplishment. My question to you, would you have lost 20 lbs. before your journey began? Don't beat yourself up, you WILL get there. Jake

I did start my journey by attending their seminar. I've been banded 1 year and 3 months. I have lost over 100 lbs. and feel great!!! Before the band I was in a terrible medical state and was on 8 medications for HB pressure, gout, arthritis, high cholesterol and was about to go on medications for diabetes. I also had severe sleep apnea and used a cpap for over a decade. One year after band install, I am only taking 2 meds for HB pressure, gout is gone, no more cholesterol problems, arthritis on knees and feet has gone from severe medicated to very mild non-medicated pain. I am completely off my cpap. I am running daily and feel absolutely great!!! My last complete blood work and physical all came back normal. Awesome!!! Brand new beginning for me. Wish I would have done this years ago. It is a very scary decision and you must really make sure you understand that it is a life changing decision, but, it is very worth it! The seminar will introduce the process and things to start thinking about. Dr. Sanchez is awesome! She has really taken care of me. I had a few complications at the beginning and Dr. Sanchez was extremely supportive . I have the upmost respect for Dr. Sanchez! The staff is also very supportive and encouraging. Another person posted that they saw Dr. Sanchez very little after their surgery. This is because fills are done by her PA, however, Dr. Sanchez is at the clinic every Wednesday for appointments and you can ask to be seen and get fills with her on those days. It took me 4 months from the day I attended the seminar to surgery day. I had BCBS of NM insurance and had to meet their requirements. The clinic friendly personnel helped me every step of the way. You can tell that they enjoy their jobs. I do have one bit of advice if you do decide to proceed. Make sure your Primary Care doctor is on board with you and the surgery. He/She will submit a letter of necessity which has a big impact on denial or approval if you are using insurance. Hope this helps. Jake

I started out not being able to eat many things, but, as time went by I introduced those foods in small portions and as of now there is nothing I cannot eat. Well, bread is still difficult for me so I decided to not do breads at all. We are all different so you won't know til you begin your journey. Jake

Great post Kelly! Had me rolling, but, oh how true. This happens to me every so often. No explanation by doc either. The only explanation I myself have come up with is that the stomach is a muscle and if it is relaxed enough we may be able to push more through. ?????? The mind is a different story. I get into those moods where I want to eat what I know will result on the scale the next day, but, at that moment I say to myself "ah forget the scale", then regret it the next couple of days when I'm huff and puffing at the gym. When it is the amount of food I am dealing with I do the same as B52. Go on liquids for a day to two. Works every time.

Great encouragement! Thanks for posting.