sirena63

Sliming is rather gross. Your mouth produces a large amt of thick slimy saliva, it's your body's way of producing some lubricant to get that thing we ate dislodged. It has happened to me several times. It only happens when we forget to eat like a bandster and revert to old ways. My kids have seen me in this situation, it hurts to swallow, so I have to spit it out, and it is so thick you can't "cut it", have some good paper towels on hand if this ever happens. Or a disposable cup!:biggrin: Happened to me in the car with 1 bite of french fry, which I thought I chewed well!

Hi there! I so understand your struggle. I did the same thing as you....considered lap band, investigated, then decided I could do it on my own. One year later I was still 300 lbs, suffering from sleep apnea and waking up with irregular heartbeat! I was scared for my kids and decided that if at the age of 41 I couldn't do it on my own yet, how was I going to do it this time? I think you should talk with a bariatric surgeon, one that doesn't just do one kind of surgery. They can interview you and help you decide which surgery would be best for you. I wish I would have talked more with my surgeon before getting the band......they have seen so many patients and can give you the options that best fit your health and situation. I don't want to sound like I am against the band. I love my band and after finally getting at the right fill level.....I have very little hunger and great restriction.

I had my fifth fill on friday. The doc suprised me by saying he was going to put .6cc this time. I thought it would be too much, plus I was seeing him at 6pm. Thought I would get a fill in the pm as we all know we are much tighter in the ams. My problem is I am so hungry and can eat just about anything at night. So my fill was just right. I can start losing weight again (I've been at the same weight for a year now, gained some too) The best part about this last fill is that my appetite is GONE! And I do feel full with very little food, I had to stop eating 1/2 way through a cup of yogurt. Basically I have to just do liquids in the am, but if I have no appetite, that is no problem! I am so happy now that my appetite does not control me.

there are medications that you can apply to your scars once they are healed. Maderma and another Scar Therapy. I've bought one from Mexico called Cicatricure that works wonders on my keloids.

Hi Erica....so nice to find bandsters in my area, I live in Edinburg and had my surgery done in December, have lost over 90 lbs total...it feels great! Don't regret my decision at all. I had my surgery done in Monterrey, had a wonderful surgeon and wonderful hospital. Hoping to go back sometime soon for another fill. feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any support

I had severe left shoulder pain for 13 days post op. I felt like I had an ice pick stuck in the top of my shoulder...hurt to breathe in or out. It finally went away and I haven't felt it for 9+ months...and my port is on the left. Just recently I have had a bout of diverticulitis and have been experiencing the Ice Pick again when I am hungry and when I have eaten. Today so far has been a good day for no pain....but I need to vent about doctors...particularly radiologist reading my x ray, calling my band a gastrostomy tube....like what they put in people when they cannot eat, and feed them formula through the tube.. To the same radiologist that read the CT scan of my abd...totally focused on the port and tubing location and the fact that I have a partially collapsed lung and tried to blame that on the tubing....he totally ignored the problem that had me there which was diverticulitis.. What a waste of my money, now I have to have a colonoscopy done. I know that my band, port and tubing are not the problem, they just happen to be in the area that I have pain and infection, and some ignorant people with no band experience cannot see beyond it...literally!!!!

I did it again, grazed all the while I was fixing dinner for the kids. I have been trying to cut out carbs so that I don't crave so much, and the only thing I seem to binge on is high carb food. So tonight I munched on carrots while I was fixing food. I have to be very careful with carrots, I chew them forever and still feel them stick a little. Had a roasted chicken thigh, a piece of cheese and a few bites of the dinner I prepared. At least I didn't sit down to a full meal afterwards. But it looks like I won't have time off to go for a fill for a while.

I too am a grazer, was before I was banded and tend to do the same now. I plan my day coffee and granola bar for Breakfast holds me over to lunch, which can be a salad or yogurt and fruit, I keep Snacks in the car so I am not famished when I get home from work...then while I am cooking dinner I taste this and that and before I know it, I have consumed who knows how much....I used to sit down to a full plate of food, now I feel full and have a few bites more and I'm done, but still I don't know how much I am comsuming due to the grazing. When I first felt good restriction I would not graze, I am beginning to think it's time for a fill, and the scales being stuck for almost 2 months are screaming....time for a fill. Beth

Price and experience inserting lap-bands. Most doctors in the US are used to gastric bypass and are new to the band. My doctor in mexico had 10 yrs experience and had done hundreds? thousands?....

I said the same thing, I went on line and researched, even spoke with one of the "reps" on the phone, heard the price and decided to diet one more time. 6 months later I had gone from 305 to 290, but had some scary health situations that told me "you better do something quick and permanent". I am so glad I did not go for gastric bypass as one friend had done. I feel the band has taught me better control of my portion size and the speed at which I eat. I make healthy choices 95% of the time. Find I can still over eat if I am "in a mood" and take my time. But those times have been fewer and farther between as time goes by. I believe that one day I will no longer use food as a tranquilizer. My main problem so far, what is holding my weight loss back in lack of regular exercise.

I took $6000 out of my 401K another $2000 from my savings and had my band put in in Monterrey Mexico. When I filed my taxes this year, I paid tax on my $6000, but found there was no penalty because it was to pay for a medical procedure....that is exept from the penalty! The doctor and hospital in Mexico were wonderful, follow-ups/fills have been easy too. I do live 10 mins from the Mexico border and speak Spanish, so that helps!

Hi Denise......I had the same thoughts you do, and asked my doctor, why not keep the pouch at around 2-4 oz so the patient feels full when the pouch is full. He said they tried that, made the pouch 4 oz and patients had no weight loss, kept decreasing the size until it was about 1 oz and the patients started losing weight. I feel that it is not so much how long the food stays in the pouch...as it controls the speed at which we eat. Slows us down, makes us chew longer, and feel full faster, if we drink with our meal the food in our stomach and pouch gets washed through faster.

thanks cjulzgo I actually look forward to seeing this patient and hope I can help her with her problems.

this is slightly off the subject, but still dealing with the feeling insulted when someone points out the obvious. I am a home health nurse and see patients with complications from obesity, whether it be diabetes, surgical incisions that open/become infected. Some of the worst complications from obesity can be leg ulcers. My current patient is starting to have discoloration on her legs and swelling. We all feel horrible when someone, even a doctor or medical professional calls us obese...it feels like a label. But it is a diagnosis! It has to be said....they could say...."so and so is 80lbs over weight" in medical terms it is called obesity. WEll, I need to tell her (teach her) that many of her problems are caused by her weight and lack of activity. Also to explain why she is developing problems with her legs. This woman weighs exactly the same as I. I have the delema of trying to teach someone about complications of a disease they have while suffering from the same thing myself. If it was any other disease....like arthritis it would feel different, people are always thinking...if you know so much about my problem, why don't you do something about it yourself? Well, I am now, and have lost 45+lbs. I hope as a medical professional I can talk to this woman with tact and not offend her, but still come across as someone who knows what I am talking about!

What is a "bodybugg"?

I've just finished reading all or your stories and "I feel your pain". I remember every fat comment made towards me. Once I was walking out of a restaurant with a LARGE tray of food for the family and a few friends. Several people walked past me, one said "you think that's all for her?" and another said "don't doubt it". I got in the car and cried, took the food home, thew it on the table, went to bed and cried...no I did not eat that night. Another memorable hurtful story. Was walking out of a store and someone held the door open for me and turned to their companion and said did you see Dr Phil yesterday? No........well I had, it was about obese people that could not leave their homes because of their weight. I think I was walking out of a Subway with sandwich in hand....couldn't seem to choke that sandwich down through the tears! And my father only said one hurtful thing that I can remember (although I always felt my parents were ashamed of my weight and I felt like a failure) I was around 10 yrs old and we were just starting a long (6 hr) car ride, just the 2 of us, and he lit up a cigarette (which I hated in the closed in quarters of the car) I said, "Why don't you quit smoking?" His response, "why don't you quit eating?" That was one long silent car ride! At that age I did not know how to respond, I now know to say, that smoking is not a necessity of life! Having been overweight all my life, there have been so many incidents. Never being asked to dance at the dances. I just remembered one! Picture this.....high school dance...all the girls standing in a line, kinda listening to music, just waiting to be asked to dance. A not too popular guy starts down the line...."wanna dance?"...no, wanna dance...no, SKIP THE FAT GIRL...wanna dance? wanna dance? You get the picture, don't you? I could go on and on, I have a life time's worth of stories. I am sitting here, hungry for the last hour, but cannot bring myself to eat right now...cuz I am fat and should be NOT EATING and should be EXERCISING...right? Reading all these posts has made me feel sad for all WE have gone through. On the brighter side, I am glad I made the decision to have the lap band surg. I look forward to being thin and healthy the rest of my life.

Hi Ibrahem..... I was in your shoes until last week. I was trying to lose weight first so I wouldn't hurt when exercising or, so that I would not get so tired and out of breath....kept saying tomorrow too. I was so lucky, my boss got us a stationary bike for work...has it sitting right in the middle of the office. It is a top of the line cycle with computer that tells calories burned, distance, and gives you a grade at the end of your work out. I could only do 10 minutes at the beginning, and boy did I get tired! Now I am up to 25 minutes at a time and I have even increased the resistance (so it is harder to pedal) I feel so good after a work out! It gives you more energy too! Also, I did not lose any weight this week BUT I have lost inches, today I was able to wear a pair of jeans that I could not wear last week. DID THAT FEEL GOOD! So, just get out and walk for 10 minutes, then 12 minutes, and the next thing you know it will be thirty minutes and you will feel great! Banded 12/20/06 Dr DeLaGarza Monterrey MX down 30 lbs since surg!

Hi Gerbera....good question. The way I understand it....and I could be wrong...is that we all have a "sweet spot". the right amount of restriction to keep food in our pouch long enough, and not too much so that we are pb'ing or getting stuck all the time. Everyone has a different amount of fill that will attain the right amount of restriction. I have read about people losing all their weight with no fill at all, and others that have had up to 6 fills before reaching that sweet spot. Since our band is a tool, if the doctor filled us to that spot right away, we might not keep anything down. Our first fill teaches us to take those small bites, 'chew till it's goo' and wait awhile between each bite. The next fill, we feel even more restriction which makes us stop and say...."hey, I need to eat even slower, take smaller bites, and eat even less." It is a process, and not an exact science. I hope that helps, and anyone can correct me if I am wrong....and I am sure there is more to the story. As for our stomach being able to shrink...I have always thought it did with dieting...eating less. But have read in several places over the past several months that our stomachs do not shrink, but have also read that people with gastric bypass stretch their pouches? I for one would love to have more restriction and less appetite. So far I have discovered that my band does not limit the amount I eat, just how fast I can eat. And, if I am eating with others, I need to stop eating when they do, even if I have only gotten a few bites down. I am going to take your advice on eating more protein, I do much better when I eat protein and veggies. I have found myself eating more starches lately with the excuse that it is "just a small amount"...but it keeps me going back for more. I also need to work on my psychological reasons for eating. I find that if I've had a bad day, and come home hungry, I have less self control, start thinking that it won't hurt to eat these potato chips this one time, or that I deserve to eat something fattening. I really need to work on that, because it is my old mind set, and I don't want to treat myself that way.

Hi Ibrahem....boy do I know how you feel. I do the same thing, wake up with good intentions, drink my Herbalife shake for breakfast.....take along healthy snacks and a second shake mix for the road....sometimes I am good through lunch, but most of the time I end up eating something else. And well, by dinner time, I am snacking while cooking for my kids. I do believe I am doing much better than before being banded, in that I may snack while cooking but eat much much less for dinner. I have skipped dinner sometimes too, (because I had snacked and filled up already) that, I would never have done before being banded!

nanaviv, I was banded 12/20/06...I had planned a trip to Florida with my family since Aug, reservations (nonrefundable) made since Aug. I had the time off from work, all the arrangements made. It was 3 weeks before leaving, that I could not feel excited about it, did not look forward to packing (nothing fit), could not bring myself to buying new (bigger) clothes. I got on line and reconnected to the coordinator for my surgeon, whom I had talked to 6 months before, and said..."schedule me for the end of December". Now I had something to look forward to! I felt bad for my kids, but hope to make plans for next year when they can enjoy their trip with a much healthier mom!

Before getting banded and recently post op, I read several posts about people being able to eat just as much as before, feeling hungry and not losing any weight. Some had complained about feeling like they are "doing it on their own"...like the band was not helping them at all. I thought these people were the exception, that they weren't trying hard enough or "eating around the band". I have had one fill, I do feel restriction and some things get stuck...but I do not feel full, or anywhere near satisfied with the small amts of food we should be eating. I saw the barium on the x-ray, it fills the little pouch, which looks like it would not hold more than an ounce, that is like a mouthful of food, and empty within 10 seconds. It seems like I'd feel immediately full, and not want to eat any more. but I feel as if I eat until my "big stomach" is full. So, my question is, do you all feel satisfied after a few bites? or maybe that 1/2-1 cup of food? feeling restriction makes you eat slower and chew better, but I don't want to stop until I feel full. I guess I need to change some of my habits? I just thought the band would make me feel full right away so I would stop eating. any comments? answers?

Hi to all, enjoying reading all your posts today. Today I was with a group of people (co-workers) that do not know I am banded, they served me a bunch of food....and I just picked at it. But so much of it was getting stuck.....it was chicken and shrimp with some filipino noodles.. pansit. I would take smaller bites, and chew chew chew, but I could not seem to get it past the band, thought I was gonna PB in front of every one, which has not yet happened to me. Well, I couldn't eat any more than those 3 bites I tried, and everyone was asking why I wasn't eating, if I didn't like their food, I tried to distract them by changing the subject,,,but I think someone's feeling were hurt. Oh well, I'm sure they will forget soon enough....maybe they will stop feeding me...that would be a big help! I had my first fill on Feb 3rd, 1.2 cc's. I don't feel alot of restiction, but my problem is when I eat a bandster portion, say 1/2- 3/4 cup of food, I am hungry a couple hours later. My doctors advice was to not eat between meals..."eat small portions of good quality food three times a day, no eating between meals". I'm sure someone would lose weight eating like this...excuse me, anyone would. But, I can't seem to go another 2-3 hrs with my stomach growling as loud as a garbage disposal. Sorry this post is so long, but I really feel like sharing tonight. Beth Banded 12/20/06 Dr De La Garza Monterrey Mx

Hi to everyone, glad I found the Dec bandsters here. I just got back from my first fill today. Saw Dr De La Garza in Monterrey, was done under flouroscopy....it actually didn't hurt much at all. Got to watch it all and see the barium go through the band, he tried 2cc's but it closed off completely, went down to 1.2 and we got the restriction he was looking for. My appetite has been decreased so far, and I was able to eat a small meal with no discomfort. Now I hope to start losing faster!

nanaviv, sorry to hear about your allergies to milk and soy...that must be difficult. I know that vegans make milk from almonds and cashews, and there are powdered eggs and egg whites. You could make your own protein shake. there's also rice milk, but it wouldn't have as much protien as a mild made from almonds or cashews.

Thanks Shesha....hope to start loosing again soon. I lost 10 lbs, before surgery, another 7 the week after surgery, took me a week to lose 3 more for a total of 20, then have been stuck for 2 weeks. finally weighed on saturday, have lost another 3 lbs. I hope to get a fill soon so I can feel some restriction and really start loosing.