papoose

I got my card on mylapbandjourney.com and it has a serial no. on it. I called the no. and told them all of my info and they sent me a card in the mail.

I am going through the same thing. I have been banded 2 years and lost 135 lbs. I had a painful episode in April, went to the emergency room after being in pain for 3 days. And was told nothing, must be gas. Also went to my gastro dr. he said nothing was wrong, to take Miralax everyday to make sure I am not constipated. Since I have been taking the Miralax on a regular, I have had no problems going to bathroom or passing gas. Everything I eat was coming out in about an hour (sorry tmi). On Friday, I came to work and had to be sent home in car service the pains were so bad. I had to open my pants, I looked like I was 5 months pregnant. I went to my primary dr. she sent me to the emergency room to have a Cat Scan. They found nothing. I am going to watch what I am eating also. I have been eating a lot of cottage cheese and greek yogurt for breakfast. I definitely will try going dairy free. I think I will stop eating that and see what happens. If anything has any good suggestions for us, please let us know. Good luck to you.

I have a problem with eating left over meat. The only left over meat I can eat is chicken and that may be for only one day. I also cook my meats a little bit longer to make them extra soft. When I reheat meat I put in a pan with some water and let it steam heat. I can not microwave meat and expect it to stay down. Microwave dries out the meats. Hope this helps you.

I take Vitafusion Multi Vites Gummy Vitamins 2/day and Vitamin B 12 (they melt in my mouth). Some people take a Vitamin D. In the beginning it may be hard for you to swallow large pills, you may have to break them in half or if you are scared like I was in the beginning take liquid. I am 2 years out and I am just starting to take small whole pills. Good luck to you on your journey.

Also chew, chew, chew your food a lot. I was told put a piece of food the size of a pencil eraser in your mouth and chew it 25 - 30 times before swallowing. Very hard. Your food will go down a lot easier. And also put your fork down in between bites. No more shoveling food down your mouth. I am 2 years out and I am still struggling with it. Good luck.

We all eat something we should not eat. I eat a lot of Ice Pops, Icees sometimes they are fat free and sometimes not. Put a bag of chips in front of me it is gone. Just remember not to do it everyday. Every once and while won't hurt. Good luck to you.

I am almost 2 years out and my last appointment with my dr. we discussed my eating habits and I told him everything I was eating and he said that I should be able to eat everything with the band. My only problem is when I do eat fast I will throw up. And it is usually when I let myself get too hungry. I think I have about 6 ccs in my band. I have not had a fill since March. I am maintaining my weight, almost at my goal another 5 lbs and I will be there. But I am fine if I don't make it. I have lost 130 lbs. wear a size 12. Never thought I could do it. Somedays I do overeat but it is a horrible feeling. Good luck to all.

I was just reading your messages, do you think you need a fill? I am almost 2 years out and just started eating bread, potatoes and rice. I mainly eat protein and a very little bit of vegetables. I am now starting to have bad habits of eating chips, I really try to eat baked chips. I crave salt. I dont add a lot of salt to my food. I know you are going on a cruise and want to enjoy yourself. But just be careful, you don't want to gain back all that you have lost. But as soon as you get back, go and get you a fill.

What about salt cravings. Most days I have to have a small bag of chips. I try to have 100 calorie chips. I don't buy it for home. If it is in my house at night I will eat the whole bag. What can I eat or take to get rid of my salt cravings. My blood pressure is not high. In fact, I am off of my high blood pressure medications. Any suggestions.

The samething was happening to me, in the mornings I was not able to get anything down. The Dr. told me to drink something warm in the mornings. The band tightens during the night. So I now drink something hot before I eat in the mornings. It works very well. Good luck.

Next month I will be 2 years out. During the first year I went every 4 - 6 weeks to see the Dr. He discussed my eating habits, weighed me and then decided if I needed a fill. During the second year I went every 3 months. My last fill was in March. I had an appt. in April to check to see if I needed an unfill, but he checked with flourscope and decided I didn't need one, he told me to eat less and chew my food longer. I had another appt. in June, discussed eating habits and weighed me. He then told me I did not have to come back until March 2013. Of course call him if I run into any problems. So far so good. I have lost 130 lbs. I would like to lose another 10 lbs., but have hit a plateau, so not losing anything just up and down 3 lbs. I don't need another fill, because I am still tight and the warm weather has made my band very tempermental. I tried doing Zumba about 6 months ago, but started having sciatica pain, so now I am going to therapy and having a MRI on Friday to see what is going on. When I am feeling better I will go back to doing some type of exercise so I can take off the last few pounds.

What is your blog name?

It does take a while for you to feel it. I had my surgery 9/10 and I have now lost 130 lbs. I wear a size 12 pants and medium top. Even fitting into smaller clothing it didn't register. And just recently I feel like I have lost weight. When I look in the mirror and do say to myself I am skinny. I have been so used to not looking at myself in the mirror. Everyone else has been saying it for a long time. My mother and husband say I look frail. So good luck and keep up the good work. Our mind plays such games with us. Take a lot of pictures and you will also notice it.

I agree with lollicat, my food gets stuck and the next thing I am throwing up. It used to push my food through. After about my third fill I could not drink right after eating. My dr. told me 1 hour to wait and 1/2 hour before. Sometimes I push it and it is fine. Other times it is a challenge.

I have Lymphdema in my right leg. I had a blood clot in my leg over 30 years ago. There is no clot as of now, but I still have the swelling. I have lost 130 lbs. It went down for a few weeks, but it is swollen again. I think mainly because of the heat. I live in NJ. So we have been having a lot of heatwaves this summer. I am also on 25mg. water pill and still swollen. I have had a doppler study this year and there are no blood clots. So I can't tell you if your leg will go down or not. I do notice it is not as swollen as it was before I lost weight. But still considerably swollen compared to my left leg. Good luck on your journey.

Yes, we do follow a high proteing/low carb diet. The liquid diet and soft foods is for right after you have your surgery. When I am out and socializing I will have a couple of glasses of wine or a drink. You just have to be careful, you may feel the alcohol faster. I could only do 1 or 2 drinks depending on what I am drinking. Plus drinking alcohol may make you start eating junk food. But everyone once and awhile is no problem, we are human. Good luck to you if you decide to go with the lapband. Just do your research and go to a Seminar to see if it is the right thing for you. For me it was. I had my surgery in Sept. 2010 and have lost 130 lbs. I have a few more pounds to reach my goal. I don't think I never would have lost it without the lapband. WW and other diets just didn't work for me. Good luck again.

I don't think its choking. It just feels stuck in your chest, you may feel a burning sensation. It feels like it just won't move. Very rare will it pass through for me. Most times I throw it back up. And throwing up is not like it used to be, it is a little bit different. It's mostly mucuous. You shouldn't throw up a lot, it may cause problems with your band. I just feel so uncomfortable. So just try to pay more attention to your chewing and the size of the food you put into your mouth.

I think it is very smart that you are trying to be aware and practicing it ahead of time. It takes awhile. I am almost 2 years out and practiced before hand. If I am not paying attention or talking I will eat fast and then I get stuck. And you don't want that to happen. So, my advice is to just try and remember to cut your food pieces into small pieces. I was told the size of a pencil eraser and chew, chew your food good. Also put the fork down and wait a minute or two in between putting food in your mouth. Good luck to you.

There is no diet. Just smaller portions, nutritious foods, lots of protein foods, no junk food, exercise and drink plenty of water. Good luck to you on your journey.

My last fill I got in February the same thing happened to me. I couldn't eat for 2 weeks, everything came back up except liquids. I went back to Dr., he checked with flouroscopy and he said it was fine. Just chew my food more and eat less. And it worked. I really thought I needed an unfill and didn't want one. I think that was my 5th fill. I went for a check up on Tuesday and he talked about my eating habits and I didn't want a fill after what happened, I just felt I was in the green zone, he said I was and didn't have to come back until March 2013. Unless I have heartburn or start pb'ing again. So hopefully, I won't have none of that. And he was very happy with my weight loss of 130 lbs. I had my surgery in Sept. 2010.

You should really go to speak to your Doctor. He should be able to help you out.

Hi Lisa A - why don't you do fluids for a few days and that will get your stomach settle down. When I was having my hard time. I stuck to liquids and soft foods until I could eat normal foods. The last few weeks I have been doing good with my eating. I am fine if I don't lose another pound. Since losing this weight my thyroid has become hyper - so I guess that is helping me to lose weight also. Good luck to you. I always read the post operations forum also.

In the beginning of this year my primary dr. had me do some blood work and my thyroid level came back abnormal, i then took another test and the same results. My levels weren't to bad, it came back that I am now hyperthyroid. She sent me to the endocronoligist and she had me do a thyriod ultrasound - with that they saw a small nodule that may be cancerous, but she couldn't really tell from the results. So I then went and had to take an xray pill and then xrays. That wasn't telling her much. She doesn't know what to do. I am not on any medication for it, levels are not that high for it. I am just tired of all the testing and she still can't tell me what is going on. I am now going to the ENT dr. because he will be the one to remove it. Get his opinion on what is going on. She said sometimes they need to remove to tell if it is really cancer, but if it is it is the easiest cancer to treat. She also said it is better to just remove the nodule on the thyroid, then I don't have to always come back and forth for testing. Just zap it with radiation and then it is over. I never had thyroid problems before. After losing 130 lbs. I guess my whole body is off, so it needs time to adjust to weight loss.

I was banded 9/22/10. I have lost 135 lbs. and now at my goal of 170 lbs. Woo hoo for me. Didn't think I could do it. It was hard. I had my last fill in February 2012, for 2 months I had a very hard time. I thought I was overfilled, but went back to the Dr. in March and he checked with flourscopy and said I was fine just chew slowly and eat less. Well it worked out very well. All of a sudden I felt less restricted and started losing. I went today for an appointment and the Dr. was very happy with me. He checked on what I was eating and not eating. Told me the object was to eat a little of everything which I am doing. I could eat almost everything I used to eat but a lot less. He told me to that I did not have to come back until March of 2013 unless I was having bad heartburn, felt tighter or any other problems. I am now wearing size 12 bottoms and medium tops. This was previous size before I had my two kids 24 years ago. I really can not believe it. I feel so much better and feel as if I can do so much more. I just have not mastered exercising. I do walk a lot, but can not stand working out on the machines.