NoMoBand

I'm 5 weeks post op from getting port revised. I get massive iching and spasms at port and incisions, but, is getting better day at a time. I notice that when I exercise I tend to get the spasms. Ice helps. I also notice that the itching gets really bad with gas in the belly. GaxX or mylanta helps with this. It gets extremely frustrating. Hang in there. Jake

WOW!!! You are absolutely correct when you say "how different the band is for each and every person and for each and every day!" It is crazy! You would think that we all would have common ground, but, the range of differences is mind blowing. I'll bet and hope the decrease will help you.

I'm so glad you asked this question. Yes, cold weather and stress both affect my band. When the weather is cold I have to be very careful as to what I eat and how slowly I eat because the band becomes very tight. One trick is to drink something warm before eating (coffee, tea). This really helps (especially in the morning). One of the doctors at the clinic is banded and I asked him about cold weather and the band. He said that he also has the same symtoms with cold weather. We are not alone. Try the warm/hot liquids. Hope it works out.

With colder weather now in the winter time I have one hell of a time with the band experiencing many of your symtoms. Have to drink more warm liquids all day. Another thing that I have big faith in is Aloe Vera juice. It has both healing value to the stomach and also the digestive system. I read this on a post somewhere, tried it and discovered that it really helps me. Of course we are all different but give it a whirl. You can get a bottle for about $10 at walgreens. jake

Tortillas, Diet Dr Pepper but most of all a bologna sanwich wih tons or cheese, lettuce, tomatoe , onion slices and a super hot jalapeno. Mouth watering right now!!!! Bread and tortilla's get stuck :-(

Jake here.Banded 10/4. Almost lost band today, but emergency surgery fixed problems with the port and tubing. Totally happy with band. Can have struggles at times but the rewards out weight the struggles any time! jake

Sun Rae. As you know we are all very different, but I will share something that really helped me with my stomach nausea and ill feeling. Recently, i had some problems with my belly and swelling I felt really bad and stomach could not hold much. First thing that i had to do was go easy on my tummy which i did liquids for 3 days. I read on a post that aloe vera juice has healing properties for the stomach I went out to Walgreens and purchased a gallon (cost about 10 bucks). I drank about 3-4 oz at a time, 2 to 3 times a day. I am convinced that this made all the difference. I felt immediate relief. As I said we are all different and may not do anything for you, but it may be worth a try. jake

I posted last week about not being able to eat much and was freaking out. Well, I'm fine now after I went on 3 day liquids that made the swelling go down and I am back to eating normal. Thank God! I need some additional advice from experienced bandsters out there willing to share. I am scheduled for my very first fill next week and I am undecided if I should proceed or not. I have good restriction where I really do eat only 1/2 cup of food and I kid you not if I have go over 1/2 cup I get sick. I really do measure because when I go over the amount I end up PBing. My question to you is, should I think about a very slight unfill? I'm thinking this because one other thing that happens to me is when the weather gets cold, I get so tight that I cannot eat hardly anything. I have to drink warm and hot liquids all day in order to get anything down. What would you do? I will be getting advice from my doctor but before I see her next week I'd like some feedback. After all experience makes all the difference. jake

Banded 10/4/2010. No fill yet and have had just the right amount of restriction (sweet spot). Since starting my journey (started a diet day after lapband seminar. I have lost 60 lbs. thus far which is blowing my mind!) I am losing about 1 pound a week or more depending on amount of exercise. I am very pleased with the results and with the band. This surgery is the best thing I've done for myself!! Anyhow, all has been great except 3 days back and I cannot eat but maybe 1/4 cup of food or less per meal. I get very full and very quickly (actually feel stuffed!), then end up PB'ing. Today was the very worst of the 3 days! It's so bad that I could not eat 1 complete scrambled egg in the morning for Breakfast, very little for lunch (about 1 tablespoon cottage cheese and 1 tablespoon tuna salad and dinner was just a small piece of fish (about 1/2 square inch) and could not touch the green Beans. Had a pb after each meal today. What the heck is happening? The most obvious potential problem can be eliminated immediately. I'm eating very slow and bites are about a pencil eraser size and I chew chew chew until babyfood consistancy. I'm sticking to soft foods and have not pushed this at all. Until these 3 days I was eating about 1/2 cup of food and no problems. I am satisfied without hunger for 4-6 hours, so I don't snack. I know this sounds like the ultimate deal, but, I'm a bit concerned. I'm concerned that I am not getting enough nutrition. I'm having a small Protein shake at night just to be sure. I'm taking my chewable Vitamins faithfully. I'm also concerned with loosing weight too fast. Holy smokes I never thought I would be saying that!!!!!!!!! My question to experienced bandsters out there. Should I be concerned? Is this a bump in the road and how can I get back on track to eating a little bit more? I've had no official first fill yet and have this much restriction. Is this Normal? Could it be that I'm one of the lucky ones that will not ever need a fill or could I still be swollen from surgery just about 1 month out? I feel great physically but a little concerned mentally. BTW, I did talk to nurse today who tells me that this is all ok and could be that I'm drinking Water to close to mealtime, which could be true but this is not true today. Any advise would be appreciated. jake

You all were right on. After these few days of liquids I was able to eat a bandster meal consisting of 4 vienna sausages, a little green chile stew and some some lentil beans for supper tonight. I know, what a combo huh? lol I'm back to normal!!!!! I was able to hold everything down totaling about 1/2 cup worth and very satisfied without feeling sick. I plan on still taking it a bit easy tomorrow just to be on the safe side . Once again Thanks to you all for the input. I now know that I have a sensitive stomach as some of you and will have to be cautious with what and how I eat. Thank you all again! Jake

Jack said "No Bandster is yet on record as having starved to death." I got a chuckle out of this. You are absolutely correct! After so many years of cleaning the food off the plate of my first and second and sometimes third servings I now think I am going to starve to death. LOL N0T!!!! Just wanted to share some info for anyone with stomach swelling. I read that Aloe Vera juice has healing value to the stomach along to the digestive system. Well, along with the 3 day liquid diet I used the Aloe Vera juice which I thought made things feel better. If anyone else tries this let know if it helps. May be all in my mind. Jake

"Thank you" for the posts. I am a type of person that goes to the extreme and thinks the very worst right away. I am disappointed with the nurse practitioner at the clinic. I have called her before with other questions and she has not been very helpful. You have no idea how much I appreciate your input. I started liquid Protein shakes today having one for breakfast and one for lunch and will have Soup for supper. I feel much better today both emotionally and physically. I'm so appreciative of people that are willing to share your experiences to help me. God willing I will eventually be a person of support to others soon. Thanks again. jake

Traciecat, How did your fill go and how do you feel now as far as restriction? Was it painful? I hope it all worked out well. As far as scales go, I bought a $16 Health O meter digital scale at Wallyworld that is right on the money.

You are not alone. I was banded on the 5th. I started out ok with manageable gas pain on shoulder and above rib cage. On the 4th day it hit with a vengence!!!! Ouch!!!! It hurts like hell!!!!! I've been walking 2 to 3 miles a day. It gets better but comes right back. I get pockets of air trapped in the belly and can't get it out. I think that hurts the most. Anyhow, gas-x worked very little, but, today I mixed it with Malox which seemed to help a bit more. I saw my doctor today and told me that we are just the misfortunate that suffer the gas pain afterward. I hope you are feeling better today and hang in there you are not alone. jake

Ok October bandsters I was originally a September 17th bandster, yes tomorrow, but, I am now joining you in October. Here's what happened. My surgery was scheduled for Friday the 17th, but, I got a call from the hospital this past Monday and was told that all 20 lapband surgeries scheduled for September (16th and 17th) were cancelled due to a shortage of a surgical drug that the hospital could not get until the end of the month. I could not believe my ears!!! This was my 10th day of the miserable 2 week protein pre-op diet required by the doc. I was in shock to say the least!!! Anyhow, I continued the diet until the next day thinking, there is no way that they would cancel 20 people. I called the hospital at noon the next day hoping that it was a mistake or hoped to hear that they borrowed the drug from another hospital. Unfortunately, it was no mistake and no drug was available and my new surgery date is now October 4th. I went off the diet right after talking to the hospital. I will restart the pre-op diet this coming Monday. :-( So close but what could I do? I'm looking forward to next month.

Approved!!!!! Will enter lapband land September 17. Can't wait!!!!!!!

OMG, no wonder why I'm starving!!! Yes, this is all I get. I can also have sugar free jello, but, it fills me for 10 minutes after I eat the whole bowl. I'm gonna call the dr. on Tuesday and ask if I can have something else, and that's only if I can survive until then. Wow, what the heck is my dr. thinking????

ledgins, what does your pre-op diet consist of? Mine is 2 protein shakes and 1 can of soup at nighttime. Tonight is very difficult for me. My stomach growls like a bear lol. I think I'll eat my soup after 9pm after today.

I'm not banded yet but I've been taking metamucil for many years. Was told that after banding I cannot use it anymore. I started looking for alternatives, and finally found that Unifiber works. Up to the point that I found Unifiber, I was told by my doctor to use Milk of Magnesia and it worked like a charm. Who would have thought. Anyhow, it wouldn't be a good long term solution but give it try for now

Pre-op done. Paperwork to insurance submittned on 8/1 (BCBSNM). Started pre-op diet yesterday 8/3 and I'm starving!!! Once approved surgery will be on the 16 or 17. If insurance denies I've lost $50 for protein that I purchased from bariatric clinic and hopefully 10-15 lbs. This protein brand is the worst I've ever tasted. YUCK!!! Wish me luck!