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Wow, so I didn't know that this site made other improvements besides their name! I like this better, now I can go read forums about other procedures. I originally had the LapBand. Had to have it removed due to infection. Gained all of what I lost (47 pounds). Trying to lose it on my own and it's such a struggle. If I don't lose at least 20 pounds by the end of may, I think my decision would be to get the gastric sleeve, a handful of people one here suggested it. I'd be so scared of them taking half of my stomach out, having it stapled and then losing the weight too fast and ending up with lose skin :/ don't want lose skin and don't want plastic surgery. Jumping ahead of myself here... Anyways, now I can get more info, yay!

I can admit at times too fast, but too much is impossible and the first sign of being full I stop. I know a person who never had gas problem at all. Does the pain from gas cause stress on the stitches?

Sliming is excessive saliva that begins to form due to a number of things: like eating too fast, taking too big of a bite, eating something that doesn't agree with you (like maybe fibrous foods, dry chicken, meat, bread for some). It can happen frequently when your too tight. Pbing is when you actually "throw up" a little bit (maybe the last couple of bites) from again eating too fast, too much, too big of bites, being too tight, etc. Alot of times, the pbing is just the excessive (thick) saliva that has gone down and needs to come back up. Pbing doesn't always come with sliming, but it can and it's a signal that you need to pay more attention to your eating. Hope that answers your question.

I'm a 20 year old female from CT and I just decided that I'm going to look into getting the lap band. I've been over weight all my life and not only has my health declined, but so has my self esteem. I've tried typical dieting and exercise, medi fast, diet pills, but nothing worked for me. I would like to lose 100 lbs and finally get my life started. Being over weight has caused me to be depressed to the point where I do not even want to leave my home for days at a time due to embarrassment for how I look. I'm tired of living my life this way and I'm going to my first seminar this Saturday. I'm not sure what to expect and I'm very nervous. I hope the seminar goes well and I can take the next step to make an appointment with a doctor.

How bizarre -- I've never heard of an erosion happening so soon after surgery. (not that I'm an expert! :thumbup:) Do keep us posted on what happens. If it does turn out to be erosion, I'm curious what the doc thinks might be the cause of it happening so fast -- an infection?

I am able to keep liquids down as long as I don't drink them to fast. Food is okay. I am not able to eat breakfast, but from what I have read that is pretty common, I have a hard time with lunch but I am okay with dinner.

That is awesome! How did you lose it so fast...what are your recommendations?

tbtroy78, thanks you are correct about different requirements from different surgeons. The weird thing is this is my second surgeon, and so I have already been working on the the 45 min before and 30 minutes afterward of no drinking before, during, or after eating. I think I will just keep with what I have been working on and am used to now. The slim fast thing I totally agree with you, I was totally shocked when she even mentioned slim fast. I think I'm going to play it safe, and NO Slimfast for me. lol Thanks for the reply.

I had the lapband in 2008 when I was 380 pounds at my consultation. I was able to get down to 280 but had many complications and gained all my weight back and had to get it removed in 2012. I continued in a downward (or upward I should say) Spiral with my health and weight. I rapidly gained weight and in October of 2015 I decided I needed to make a change and fast when I was put in the hospital for breathing problems and they almost wouldn't do a catscan because I was over the weight limit when I told them I was 480 pounds (which is what I thought I was). I was so overweight doctors were having trouble treating me. I ended up having to go on oxygen 24/7 because I was so overweight it was pressing against my lungs and restricting my breathing. I called and made an appointment at the bariatric surgeon the day I got out of the hospital. When I went for the consultation it turns out I actually weighed 540 pounds. I went through 6 months of preop diet and was able to lose 60 pounds. The day of surgery on May 29, 2016 I weighed 480 pounds. Today, March 16, 2017, I weight 303.8 pounds. I got my life back. Before I could hardly walk the length of a room and now I walk 2 miles almost every day. I had a lot of complications after surgery but I would do this surgery again in a heartbeat even with all I went through. I had the sleeve surgery because I did not want the malabsorbtion or dumping syndrome. Good luck to you and if you have any other questions you can ask!

I took 5 weeks off but I have a fast pace active job. Personally I think if money/benefits are tight you could make one week work, but I think anyone should take at least two weeks if possible

I've been having lots of issues with my weight loss the last two weeks....I've been using dailyplate, exercising, and limiting my carbs. I was only eating between 500 and 700 calories, realized was probably in starvation mode so I upped my calories to 1000-1100, started my period, had a 7 pound Water weight gain and now I've been drinking water like crazy trying to get rid of the extra weight fast. Well my period is over and so I decided to weigh myself last night. Before my period I was at -24...then I stepped on the scale...-31.5...I ran into the living room and excitedly told my dh. Then I thought...I will weigh myself again before putting my jammies on...I will probably weigh a pound less......... I pulled out the scale an stepped on it...My scale had lied...my digital scale that has NEVER read wrong...had....I was up 7 pounds still. How could this be?? I cried and cried...I thought everything was going well since my fill except for the low calories, which I had just changed days ago. Was my water weigh going to go away... I just don't understand! I certainly ton't want to go down to my second fill appointment with a weight gain on the 1st. So now I'm just disgusted and second guessing myself. The scale thing...I may have had it off center of where I usually have it, but I weighed myself twice and our home is only 5 years old so it would not be because the floor is uneven... Should I up my water intake again? Take water pills? Exercise moring and night? I'm just disgusted. I make great food choices and have been right on track with healtheir foods and such. This water weight gain is really bringing me down again. This is my second period since surgery and I lost the other water weight relatively fast after my period. I really need to get out of this Funk I'm in.... Any ideas.... I'll have my 2 month bandiversary on Friday!

This time I'll quote you since you edited out most of your original post:lol: What issue can't we face, the fact that we're not allowed to have self esteem because we are obese? I'm not sure what issue you're referring to. I agree we have or will or may contemplate getting the band and it was a major decision after years of failed dieting. This has nothing to do with having self esteem during our banding phase does it? Well since you've edited out your original post I can't share with others about your feelings of fat people but I'm sure I could locate them somewhere else if you'd like. You are making assumptions that we all overeat and we all under exercise and you have no idea!!! You have a very elementary point of view of obesity in my opinion and it's reflected in many of your posts. What behaviors are you speaking of that are not conducive to having "good self esteem"? I ate a piece of chocolate cake so I should have no self esteem? There is nothing wrong with people having self esteem now, do you think it comes automatically when you reach 125 pounds. It's something that people who are obese deserve as much as a 125 pound person. I just don't understand why you don't think people who are obese are allowed to have self esteem. brandyII.:confused_smile: Jachut, Ok, found your "original" post and made a copy of the one you edited out. Left in spelling errors in order to quote you precisely, good thing I did transcription for 7 years! "BrandyII I've tried so hard to be respectful of you, to understand your issues but honestly, you're the dizzy limit! Why cant we simply face this issue? Why do we always have to talk around it? Why cant we "go there"? Is it because we're all too delicate to hear it. Shhhhh, must be politically correct around people who are obese? Must we concoct stories about how its not their fault, its their genes, its the bad food in society, so lets all sue McDonalds. How on earth is that helpful? Did every single thin person out there have a perfect childhood, and nobody here did so THAT's the reason? Except me of course coz I havent been fat all my life so what would I know? I've got a novel idea? Maybe we all ATE too much. Maybe we did it because it was our choice to and it felt good so stuff the consequences. Maybe we all sat on our bums and didn't exercise because that was a bit much like hard work and afterall we have lives, jobs and kids so we dont have time right? And maybe, when we're too fat to exercise without injury, we can use that as an excuse and conveniently ignore the fact that we didn't do it when we could and that's how we got to this place? Maybe the thin people dont have lives, jobs and kids so they have the time to look after themselves. Because of course, nobody thin ever gets depression, ever had tragedies in their lives, ever got abused as childeren. So that's allright, because they're different, the fact that they look after themselves and we dont doesn't reflect badly on us does it? No.... wouldnt work. That requires taking responsibility for our own actions. Better not say it, might offend somebody. Much better to lie to ourselves instead, blame it on the metabolism, the fast food companies, our mother's insistence that we clean our pl This self destructive behaviour is not easy to break, there's many complex reasons why we do it and its exceptionally difficult when its due to behaviours learned in childhood. When you get too heavy to exercise comfortably, that's an even harder problem. Its not black and white, not at all, but there's no magic to it. Life makes it tough, and heck, I'm not saying I'm above that, I fell victim to it as well. Its insidious, it creeps in without you realising it and you think shit, where did THAT 50lb come from? I'm sorry you dont like my tell it like it is approach. I dont mean to offend anyone with it, not in the least, but honestly, if you cant even take the first step of admitting your behaviour needs to be changed, then sorry, but there's little point starting the journey. I know there's plenty on this board who will know exactly what I"m saying Not go there? Its the FIRST place we need to go! ************"

I have been overweight all my life but for me my lack of self esteem has come from the reasons I became overweight in the first place. I am a very confident person, despite my weight but my lack of self esteem was always about how I related to the opposite sex or job situations. I never felt good enough and sometimes I didn't even put myself out there. Many boys and men found me attractive but I couldn't handle that in my teens and my 20s. In my 30s I went in a different direction, going a little crazy on the casual sex scene. By the time I got to my mid 40s I'd had a number of men including some long term relationships but never a fully committed one. I always felt that I was too scared to be too attractive to men. I'm at a point in my life where I don't want to do the casual stuff but not prepared to go into a committed relationship either. Even at 53 I'm a little scared to be slim. I have a big ego which is strange given how I feel, so there is some confusion as to who I am and where I'm going. If that equates to me sometimes going off the rails for awhile then I am fine with that. Yes I have the odd whinge that I'm not losing fast enough or my restriction isn't there yet but at the same time, I don't think I'm ready to lose it that fast. We all know our bodies and our minds and for some of us we need to lose slowly so we can get used to the new us a little at a time, especially those of us who have grown up with a weight problem. Good on you Jacqui on your weight loss and amazing body and I would like to get there some day soon but you remind me of my 2 sisters who suffered the same losses etc that I did and can't understand why I can't get on with it. Of course I had some extra issues, like being molested as a child, to deal with. It's important to remember that we are all different personalities with different drives and we're not all motivated by the same things. Yes we all have one goal and that is to lose weight but we are not all travelling the same path to get there. Some people just get on with it and some stumble along the way. Neither person is right or wrong, just different. Please continue to give your advice because I appreciate it when I read it and for those who are not ready to take it in, the fact that it has been put out there might get them thinking further down the track.

I was sleeved Jan 24,beginning weight 264 i'm now 204,i was wearing a size 22 and now i can fit in a 12.there is really no slow or fast everyone is different.. but you are doing great...

Have you tried to put Slim Fast in the freezer for about an hour to get it slushy? That gives slimfast a little life. I had some potato soup on day 6 and it didn't go down well, I forgot to chew up a tiny chunk, it hung and it came back up. I am on day 10 now and really want some food, I have 4 more days to go.

I feel so badly for you. Just making the decision to have surgery and preparing for it is a pretty big deal for us even when everything goes the way it's supposed to. For you to have gone through all those preparations and the pre-op diet only to be bumped for a patient who was more important than you (ok that's a bit dramatic I know).... I go along with the others here who say always trust your gut. You absolutely deserve a doctor you have the utmost faith in, and, you are going to need to be able to depend on him AND his staff to be there for you in the coming months. I hate to think it might delay things even more for you but I'd think about switching doctors too. I would only go with bariatric doctors, and if possible, one who specializes in lap band. That was important for me and I think it's the best way to go. But as with everything on this board, it's all personal opinion. Good luck to you.... you haven't been treated fairly and I hope that changes for you real fast.

I could just kiss you all. I feel so much better!!!!!! :kiss I guess I thought all of this time things would be easy...Since I could noly eat so little....why not eat what I want and enjoy it?? Maybe my way of thinking has been all screwed up! I really was under the impression that I did not have to diet......well I now know that I must hold myself accountable for everything I do and eat!!!!!!!!! I do better on the weekdays with my eating. I normally do a couple of bites of Yogurt, or cottage cheese and a juice of Frappacino in the bottle. lunch, fast food......but like less than half....Dinner what ever is cooked...smaller portions....I got this band thinking and hoping that I could eat "normal" If there is every a thing......I did not realized that I still needed to be conscious. Now I am more in a panic!!!!! If possible. please anyone out there give me some of your typical days intake....that will give me an idea on how I can change my eating behaviour....As I am typing this I am going to send out an email to my friend and invite her to walk........that will hold me accountable....I know she'll say yes...if not, I'll walk alone. I am also going to crack open a bottled of Water and MAKE myself finish it by bed time....small steps....thanks everyone for the advice. I am going to use it wisely...I am going to post on the board asking for menu ideas! I feel so much better!!!!! Birdee!:banana

Hi Julie, I'm Julie....from North Dakota. glad to have you here.... I was banded a bit before you on 8-21 and am doing pretty well.. But I still have pain... I think from the port and from having to have a full incision rather than the laproscopic thing.. Dr says it will just take a while longer... So, I try to be a trooper, but it gets old... Can you tell me a bit more about yourself, like your age and what kind of journey you will be on. I have lost 51 pounds with about 156 to go... It seems like a long ways to go, but looking ahead is always that way... The past two months have gone by rather fast now that I can look back on them..... Glad you meet you and hope we can support each other along the way.. Julie

Thank u. I have been super careful so far, but last night I think I just ate a little to fast a mistake I'll never do again lol.

Glad you're feeling better. Too bad we have to learn all the lessons the hard way, isn't it. Good advice someone gave me: "Don't let yourself get too hungry or too full." And that helps....I've always been guilty all of my life of not eating on schedule then getting too hungry and eating too fast, too much. That's one of the lessons I've had to learn the past few months.

Hi all, So I am 3 weeks out and I was having good restriction at first. I am now on pureed foods and I was doing well with them up until Sat. On Sat I went to a Funeral and at the repast I , who was now starving ate a little tuna salad along with mac&cheese, which was soft. I only ate a little but I must of eaten fast because I was a little over full. Now my DR's plan is to due pourable Protein at this stage, now I am wondering if my increase in hunger is more than just head hunger but more of a craving for carbs, due to the mac&cheese. And yes I brought my plate home and put it in a blender later. So today for Breakfast I had about 1 1/2 oz of cottage cheese about 9am, at 11am I was very hungry again. Any insight or am I just healing and can eat more in small meals. I afraid to eat too much in one setting. Thanks

I got first meal tonight. I'm not ure if I ate too fast but it was not good. It tasted great but tummy gurgles and gas was painful and 5 min later and I barely made it to the restroom. Does it get better?

I can't believe it's been 10 days since surgery! It's going by so fast! The surgeons said the surgery went great! But I had a reaction to morphine in recovery and was there for 3 hours, writhing in pain and broke out with a rash. They pumped the benadryl and fentanyl to me and my respirations dropped.. It was definitely an interesting experience, haha. But I'm good now! I went home the same day, which I found kind of scary, but more comfortable anyhow. I stayed the night at my parents' house so my kids could be home with my husband and I could rest alone, though I wasn't able to get much sleep. The pain was never incredibly bad, just a burning feeling behind the incisions. The last dose of pain medicine I took was on Day 3, so I'd say I'm feeling pretty good! On Day 5 I began feelling antsy and hopped back on the treadmill, I did 30mins (1.75miles) without any pain or discomfort! My instructions were to not lift more than 10lbs until I have been seen in the office, which isn't until this coming Monday, but I have a 2 year old that still requires lifting every now and then, and of course I have been taking care of him. Well, the night before last I was having some pain in my largest incision (I still have staples in, by the way) and noticed a scant amount bleeding/drainage coming from it, I cleaned it up and let it be. Yesterday it continued to drain a bit, so I covered it with gauze and a bandage, and at the end of the day there was a spot about the size of a quarter on the gauze. When I removed it and cleaned the incision I watched it drain.. it was a light orange-red color. As far as I can tell it doesn't have an odor, but I'm kind of worried about it. I go to the surgeon on Monday to have the staples removed so I've been holding off on calling about it until then. Hopefully it's not infected, and hopefully it's not something I did! I had been getting frustrated with my weight, as the scale had stopped moving for a couple days. My husband says I've been obsessing over it, and I'm sure I have. I'm down 10.5lbs since surgery, 27.5 since starting the pre-op liquid diet, and 36.5 from my highest weight (January). I walked along a window in a hallway the other day and definitely noticed a difference in my reflection, it was exciting! The surgeon said he didn't put any saline in my band at all, which kind of frustrates me, but excites me at the same time (exciting because I've still managed to lose 10lbs, but frustrating to think that I could have lost more, and knowing that I'm progressing my diet next week and don't have restriction scares me!). I thought they usually put a couple cc's in to begin with? I have to wait 6 more weeks for a fill. I'm still starving as of right now, but I'm so scared of screwing something up that I've stuck right with the liquids.. and I'm surprised at how easy it is for me. I'm so excited to advance to pureed foods this week!.... I never thought I'd say that.... Any suggestions on foods for that stage?! The only thing I've heard is mashed potatoes and baby food, but are potatoes really the best thing to be consuming while trying to lose weight?! Anyway.. any advice is greatly appreciated!

You've answered your own question -"If I take my time and eat small bites and chew my food - it doesn't give me any problems." This sounds like your problem, not overfill, just not eating the right way. Dont worry, you dont really learn this until you *have* to and it comes gradually with each fill. Once you're filled right, if you eat too fast and dont chew enough you'll have problems, well you can have problems well before youve hit your sweet spot if you eat like that. Being well restricted is, well, restrictive! You cant just go out and eat anything, you have to choose carefully and eat carefully. It gets to be second nature though and I enjoy food more now than I did when I could just inhale it.

I was eating off of soft foods stage 3 when I was supposed to be eating off of mushies/purees. I didn't eat a ton of anything mostly just chicken and soft cooked vegetables and I chewed a lot. Had one night where I maybe ate a little too fast but that went away. I'm worried!!!! Do you think it did any damage??!