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It's pretty common, and if you're taking Tums or Rolaids the lovely Calcium carbonate and sugar alcohols are probably responsible for the gas and rebound reflux. I would get back on a true PPI, take it on an empty stomach and wait about 30 minutes to eat anything other than liquids.

There will always be naysayers. There will always be those who don't understand. There will always be those who truly worry for you. My sister has severe stomach problems. She could not understand my willingness to risk ANY possible complications to my digestive tract. She still thinks I was nuts. But she loves me and supports my decision to take care of my health as I see fit. You need to say thank you for your opinion, but I have made my decision. food addicts cannot go cold turkey and avoid food as smokers and alcoholics can. Not that the road to sobriety is easy. It is different. Quitting smoking is no easy thing, either. I am assuming you are not entering into this lightly. You have tried all options that are easier than major surgery to help you get your health under control. If they had worked, you would not even be considering this last step. Diets fail. We have proved it over and over again. WLS succeeds. You have to do your share. But you should have done gobs of research by now, and know what you are getting into. Tell them you appreciate their concern, but you are well aware of the risks and the benefits outweigh them. You are ready to proceed in this next chapter of your life!

Hey everyone, I came looking for the thread because I guess most of us are approaching our 6 month surgiversary. Mine will be on Wednesday too . I was banded 8/16/10. I am down 39 lbs but like some of you have said I can be doing much better . My biggest problem is the weekends my Dh and I are in the habit of eating out all weekend or getting take out. I also like to have drinks on the weekend. So whatever progress I make during the week is set back on the weekend. I am recommitting to my band for the next 6 months still keeping the hope that I can be at or close to goal by my 1 year surgiversary. I have to follow the rules every day and stop the drinking on the weekends. Alcohol stalls me and bloats me so no more for now. Failure is not an option.

i'm not able to drink as much anymore since i've been banded. i get both full and tipsy faster but maybe its because i don't eat while i'm drinking? long island ice teas are my drink of choice so i'm feeling pretty good after 1 now when i used to be able to handle 3 or 4... but i was eating while i was drinking. each surgeon is different... my surgeon said no soda or alcohol 3 monts post-op. i've been drinking 20 ounces of diet pepsi a day for the past 2 years and have been fine BUT follow your doctor's orders!!

I used to look forward to Friday nights with friends and a few beers. Since I've hit restriction I still look forward to Friday night but I only have one beer which most times I can't finish. My doctor said that the only reason that we shouldn't drink alcoholic beverages is that they are empty calories. He said that a drink here or there won't sabotage your weight loss and won't stretch your pouch.

I'm 11 months out and I can eat anything in very small portions. The only thing I have trouble with is sweet alcoholic drinks like margaritas and so on -- I stopped ordering them because they are SO sweet and fill me up too fast and I end up not being able to drink more than half!

Since the only thing that is absorbed IN THE STOMACH is alcohol it would make sense that you would get buzzed faster if your stomach is smaller now. Granted all liquid passes through the band, but that is my thought on the matter and I'm sticking to it LOL

My surgeon said no alcohol at all for the first year, but the reason was because it will sabotage your weight loss.

We metabolize alcohol the same as we ever did. Unlike our bypass pals, who process it differently. If our tolerance is lower, it is from drinking less often and thus, feeling it more.

You are right in being concerned, many are just scared of the surgery and are taken by surprise by the changes afterwards. The way I see it is that you can consider it like you and food are getting a divorce, you will not have as close a relationship and you just remain friends rather than lovers. You will eat to live, not live to eat. I had not problem keeping down liquids and had no vomiting but many have. The secret is simply small sips taken often. At first it will be probably be VERY difficult to get enough liquids. As you should refrain from exercise and hard physical labor for about 6 weeks it should not be an issue to remain hydrated. After the 6 weeks you should be able to get in more liquids although if you are like me still not as much as before or in as large a gulp as before either. Again, small, frequent sips from like a sports bottle will keep you hydrated. Restaurants are a big change as well. My wife and I go to a restaurant and usually order ONE entrée and split it about 75/25 with her taking the larger portion. Sometimes we even end up taking some home. Other alternatives are getting child's portions or senior portions. I've not been to a restaurant yet that would not cooperate if I explained why I could not have full size portions. If I ever did I would just eat a small part of the meal and take home the rest or leave it behind. It'll be 4 weeks or more before you can go to a restaurant so you'll have a good idea by then what you can eat or not. remember to eat Protein first and then carbs. It's a matter of selecting the best food for the small amount you can eat. Alcohol is out for at least 6 weeks. It can be consumed but be careful as alcoholic drinks usually have a large amount of calories but an occasional drink will not hurt much. The lifestyle choice after surgery is in reality the largest change, more than the surgery itself. It is where the battle for weight loss is won or lost. The surgery itself does little to cause weight loss, it's the consuption of fewer calories that does it. If you sabotage the sleeve by eating too often, too much and the wrong foods then you will fail the sleeve and not the sleeve fail you. There are psychological effects from the sleeve for most people and the desire to eat is lessened. However this can be overridden if you allow old habits to take hold again and eat in excess. It will be a massive change. Just plan on it and it will work out.

Since we are on one of my favorite subjects...alcohol ..I have a question. Those of you that are saying that you aren't able to drink as much as you did before, etc. Did you drink a lot at all before? On a normal night out.. how many drinks would you have? I haven't had a drink since this whole thing started... so almost a month...that's a long time for me. I normally drink a few times a week.. just being honest..so I'm just curious how much you drank before being banded as opposed to now...that you can feel so much of a difference.. does that make sense?

Congratulations Diva!! I am so happy for you. No one understands what the band does both mentally and physically to a person!! I am also creeping up to my lowest band weight.....only 7 pounds to go. My doctor said he won't consider my surgery a "success" until I am lower than my lowest band weight. You are certainly right about the first month but the feeling of being lighter, healther, and dare I say......sexier .....LOL is sure worth it. I make sure I visit this site every day to keep my eyes on the prize. I am a recovering sweet addict. I know that I can't have them just like an alcoholic can't have a drink. I savor my sugar free fudge pop each night and I am fine with that!!! I know you will continue to reach your goals...Keep up the great work! Nina

I began my 3 week pre-op December 1st and was banded the 20th. Since beginning this journey I am down 55 pounds - averaging about 5 pounds per week. Its definitely not easy. I see a trainer twice a week and work out at least 3 times a week on my own. I calorie count and try to stick to 1000 - 1200 calories per day. For me at this point its all will power, I feel little restriction and do get hungry a couple hours after I eat. A personal choice for me was cutting out caffeine, alcohol and red meat. I think that has helped. We are all doing well! Mar

my Doc & surgeon, said to stay away from alcohol sugar..soo i do!!!

Wow! Great stories! This is exactly what we need to keep ourselves on track. Having gone to Alanon for many years and attended open AA meetings to hear special speakers and having hung out with a lot of recovering Alcoholics, a lot of their phrases stick in my head. When someone relapses they'll say, "It takes what it takes. There but for the grace of God go I." "They're not ready yet." "They haven't gotten sick and tired of being sick and tired." Many of them refer to themselves or others as "rehab rangers" because they relapsed and went to rehab so many times. A hospital in Dyer, IN had an emergency short-term rehab known as the "Dyer dryer" mostly for falling down drunks. Some of the recovering alcoholics I'd met had been there several times. Over and over again, every alcoholic who spoke was willing to tell his/her story in jaw-dropping detail and honesty. Helping other alcoholics recover was the key to their own recovery. Honesty about one's past and present is stressed to the max. That's got to be part of our recovery, too. We have an addiction. It brought us places we never wanted to go. We didn't grow up thinking, "I want to be a morbidly obese food addict when I grow up." We are horrified to find ourselves there. And we can never forget. To do that we need to share our stories in all their embarrassing details. How about having trouble wiping your butt or getting all your parts clean? Wondering what that smell is and realizing its you? Trying to clip your toenails with your stomach hanging between your wide spread knees? This is a serious life-threatening-shortening illness. Embarassing. Gross. Ugly. We think we only affect ourselves, but what about the children we robbed of quality time with us? The $ we spent on food that could have been spent improving the lives of our families and beyond? The employer's and insurance companies and the government (the American people) we ripped off with our inability to do our jobs to the best of our abilities and the ailments whose cost got absorbed by our families and the rest of society? Take your bands seriously. Treat them right. Take your disease seriously. Are you ready to do whatever it takes to be "clean and sober?" Cheri

Wow, I must have missed the mean posts you guys have been reading...either that or I didn't read that into it. I think there is a definately a problem with written words as you cannot hear the intent or see the person writing it --- so something that may be said with sincerity may not come off that way. I guess for me I figure if I put something out here for the world to read/respond to then I have to take what responses I get and ignore any that rub me wrong. Don't let a few bad experiences chase you off -- people are imperfect and you never know what was going on with that person that day....we all have bad days/weeks/months....and sometimes it takes our buffer off and we may say things and not realize how it comes across to others. Ya know? I know on days that I am feeling stressed and tired that things annoy me a lot more than they normally would....and it could be the case that I could say something that someone takes wrong. I would hope that nobody would intentionally go in and be mean....if so I think we need to vote them off the island! LOL Hang in there --- there are lotsa wonderful people on here and everyone has their own experiences and advice...those grey topics like alcohol or soda pop will always spark a debate, it seems, and it is one of those things that folks will tell you what they did/heard from their doc/ etc and then you make your own decision. I can't tell you have many times I have read the negative posts about how wrong it is to drink pop, yadda yadda, which irks me...but I don't care as they are not my doctor. *I* make my choices and my doctor said it was OK after you have healed....and I like the caffeine free diet pop....I figure one or two a day isn't going to kill me, regardless of what everyone else thinks! My advice is to stay here and focus on the positives ----- and cut folks some slack if they may say something you don't like....unless it is a regular thing where they are being rude all the time to folks and then we need to take action and report them. This is a place for us to find compassion and understanding from our peers, not knock them down! Good luck! Kim

I had mine yesterday. I went in and talked with the Dr. first. He was very impressed with himself and his knowledge and spent 55 minutes out of an hour talking about how great he was. When I left, I was a little dissappointed because I felt I knew more about him than he did me. Then I had to sit in a room and answer questions about my personality as to if they were very true, somewhat true, mainly true, or false. The Dr. said It's not really a pass or fail thing as long as you are not addicted to drugs or alcohol or they see something outrageously odd in your personality profile.Hope that helps some.

<br /><br /><br /> I agree with Heather, there are times that I respond with a reality check. Normally this is in regards to people expressing behaviors that are likely to cause them physical harm. Some examples: I ate a Big Mac two days after surgery (not making that up), It's been 3 days since surgery and I'm starving so I ate nachos and chicken wings now I'm sick!. Not long ago there were several discussions about drinking alcohol after banding. Personaly I find that to be counter productive to dieting. I have never been a drinker so my responses were regarding calorie content. Some posters however made it into a morality discussion.

I don't like beer due to the carbonation and how filling it is. Wine is a different story. I drink it & my nutritionist is fine with it at this point in my journey. One fear is transfer addiction - meaning trading one addiction (food) for another (alcohol). alcohol goes down easy & is not filling - so just be careful how much you allow yourself. A glass in the evening is fine ... A couple glasses with friends is fine ... Overdo it? Not so fine. Besides wine ... most mixed drinks go down fine. Margaritas are high sugar, but one or two on vacation is perfectly acceptable. You can also try Screw Drivers, Rum and Coke (hardly any fizz is noticed when it's mixed like that), etc. Enjoy your vacation. Congratulations on your 2 years. Please feel free to stop by sometime and let us know what life is life for you at 2 years. How are you maintaining? Any "secrets of your success" for the rest of us?

I will fully admit that I am new to this. I have never blogged before. I'm fairly new to weight loss surgery. But one of the ways that I think I can help hold myself accountable for my weight loss is through this blog. If people read, great. If not, that's fine too. At least it's a spot for me to journal what I'm going through. So here I go... Lap Band. I've got one. I'd thought about getting one in the past as my weight continued to balloon out of control. But I was always so nervous about it. I didn't want to be one of those people that couldn't lose the weight on my own. So I would diet. I would exercise. I'd lose weight -- 20 pounds here, 50 pounds there -- but it would always come back. However much I lost and then some. So I finally decided I needed to do something to save my life. I set up an appointment with Dr. Hung to discuss having a lap band. I hadn't been on a scale in a couple years. Even at my annual physicals, the physician stopped weighing me. I think they knew I was big. Real big. And they didn't do much more than that. So I stepped on the scale at the doctors and there it was. The number I was dreading to see. 345.7 pounds. I immediately thought -- I have no idea how I got this big. But that's a lie. I knew exactly how I got that big. Mindless eating, fast food, eating way more than one person should, drinking alcohol to the point of excess, late night food, not exercising. There was a list that went on and on. And I could have stopped right then and there. But the nurse that weighed me knew what I was feeling and knew what to say, "Okay, that's the last time you're ever going to see that number." So fast forward through the doctors appointments, through the pulmonary specialists, the psychiatrists, the physicians, the pre-op diet, the actual surgery to six months later. Here I am. I have lost weight ... quite a bit of weight ... and I'm happy with that. But not happy enough. Today I weigh 287.8. I've lost 57.9 pounds since that first day at the doctors. And I'm ecstatic about that. I feel better. I look better. People have commented how well I'm doing. But it's not enough. I have officially stalled. I weighed 286.6 before Christmas. Since then I've fluctuated between 283 and 290. That was seven weeks ago. In almost two months I haven't lost anything. Fortunately, I'm not completely upset with that to the point of quitting. I try to be positive about it. It was the holiday season. It's not an excuse. It's an inevitability. And looking at the last how many years of my life, I've never continually lost. It's always been an increase in weight. But I'm not settling for 60 pounds. I want another 60 gone, and then some. I was a self-pay patient for this surgery, so my wallet has lost $16,000. I don't want that to be for nothing. I know all the tools. I know what I need to do. I know the band isn't a cure-all. It's a tool to use in order to help you lose weight. So I'm getting back to basics. I'm journaling all my food and drinks. All day every day. Not just during the week and then letting things slide during the weekend. I'm not going to sneak food off of my family and friends plates like I have been lately. I'm going to start exercising again. I'm going to make this work for me. I have to. Sure 60 pounds is great. But I'm still obese. 287 pounds isn't where I want to spend my life. I want to be able to feel more comfortable with myself. So here we go, band. Let's get this journey going again. The six month honeymoon period is officially over. Now the real work begins. And I want it to. I want to be successful and hold myself accountable. Which is why I've started this blog. Time to be accountable for my actions. February 9, 2011 ... 287.8. Let's see how it goes for the next six months!!

I have a little thing I do that really has worked for me. I usually don't get stuck often. Has happened twice with Eva since we've been here. Gabbing, one extra bite and it might hit. I put my fists into my armpits and pump like I am doing the chicken dance. Granted, you might not want to do this in the middle of a restaurant...head to ladies room or outside. It most always works for me and no food popping back up. Sorry for your mom's continuted troubles. Hugs. Apples, I got a great visual on that. Would pay $ to see that. Wish I were with you and Eva and Janet and Phyll. West Coast reunion. Hope you all can make it to the Midwest reunion. Laura, I've not had any Tramadol now for two days. Didn't like the fact that I kept waking up at night. Very relaxed from muscle relaxer but figured something was in the Tramadol just like Vicodin. Plus, it wasn't working that well on my pain. Supplemented my regular anti-inflammatory with arthritis strength acetiminophen and got more relief. I've also been hanging from my inversion table which has been slowly stretching out the spine and surrounding muscles and relieving the pain in my neck, lower back and hip. So, no trouble getting off the Tramadol. Been on liquids for two days. Protein drinks and SF pudding. Love the new Jello chocolate SF Mousse. They have choc. mint, too. Unfortunately, SF means sugar alcohols which means lots of gas. Amazing how the weight is melting off. Hopefully, with soft Proteins tomorrow and then the harder proteins I hope the carb cravings are gone. When I think about what I went through before and after the surgery because I was so determined to get the band and shrink my liver enough to get the 1 incision surgery. I gritted my way through liquid diets and then gradual reintroduction of food, then Bandster Hell while I hung on by my fingernails until I could get to my first fill, which wasn't enough, and then the second fill and adjusting to that. Then getting to goal and beyond. Reached one year of having the weight off last month. A year ago I had my feet knocked out from under me and had all kinds of body pain and limited movement while I healed. Stuck to my food plan. Didn't gain and eventually lost more. Back up to where I was last January but I'll be dipped if I'll go any higher and I'm determined to get back down and stay there. I don't want my clothes to not fit. I don't want to buy a bigger size. I like being in size 10 pants. I like wearing a large in tops and some mediums. I want to be able to walk all over Europe on my tour and sing my heart out and totally enjoy myself. I don't want to go back on blood pressure meds or increase my cholesterol and pain meds. I want my eighth grade students to continue to think that I'm a "beast" in my leggings. I want to be able to play with my grandkids. I want to be able to dance with my husband. I wanted to be able to look down and see my feet. All the reasons for losing weight are still valid as reasons for keeping it off. I think all of us need to list the reasons we went through the torture of getting the band and why we wanted to lose the weight. Some of us are at our ultimate goal and some of us have settled for major improvements. And that's OK. But if don't want to end up back where we started we have to stay hungry, not for food, but for a healthier, more manageable life. For many of us, this time of year is the hardest. We don't see the sun, we can't get outside, it's hard to get to where we can enjoy exercising. So this is the time to remember how far we've come and why we've come this far. Cheri

Ah thanks for the link, interesting read. I *hope* that my cholesterol is so low only because this last week I've had a cold and haven't been exercising or drinking alcohol. I was just curious if anyone else here has seen the same thing happen?

We just had a health screening at my job and I just got told that my LDL cholesterol count is extremely low. Has anyone else seen this post-op? I guess it's not exactly dangerous for it to be this low, although it does bolster my risk for depression and anxiety. I was told that I need to exercise more and drink more alcohol, two things that I currently feel I'm doing a lot of! LOL

Almost every tax question can be answered with ... it depends. It does not matter if you paid out of the country for medical care. What does matter is your diagnosis and is the expense a medical necessity? The following is straight from the IRS website. The colored portions deal with weight loss (which was not always on the medical expense list). Topic 502 - Medical and Dental Expenses If you itemize your deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, you may be able to deduct expenses you paid that year for medical care (including dental) for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, contains additional information on who will qualify as a dependent. You may deduct only the amount by which your total medical care expenses for the year exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You do this calculation on Form 1040, Schedule A in computing the amount deductible. A deduction is allowed only for expenses primarily paid for the prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness. Medical care expenses include payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. These expenses include payments for legal medical services rendered by any medical practitioner and the cost of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices used for medical care purposes. Medical expenses include insurance premiums paid for medical care or qualified long-term care insurance. The deduction for a qualified long-term care insurance policy's premium is limited. If you are self-employed and have a net profit for the year, you may be able to deduct (as an adjustment to income) amounts paid for medical insurance for yourself and your spouse and dependents. You cannot take this deduction for any month in which you eligible to participate in any subsidized health plan maintained by your employer or your spouse's employer. If you do not claim 100 percent of you self-employed health insurance deduction, you can include the remaining premiums with your other medical expenses as an itemized deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A. You may not deduct insurance premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan (cafeteria plan) unless the premiums are included in Box 1 of your Form W-2. Medical expenses may include: Fees paid to doctors, dentists, surgeons, chiropractors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and Christian Science practitioners for medical care expenses Payments for hospital services, qualified long-term care services, nursing services, and laboratory fees including the incidental cost of meals and lodging charged by a hospital or similar institution if your principal reason for being there is to receive medical care Payments for acupuncture treatments or inpatient treatment at a center for alcohol or drug addiction are also deductible medical expenses. You may include amounts you paid for participating in a smoking-cessation program and for drugs prescribed to alleviate nicotine withdrawal The cost of participating in a weight-loss program for a specific disease or diseases, including obesity, diagnosed by a physician. In general, you may not deduct the cost of purchasing diet food items or the cost of health club dues The cost of drugs is deductible only for drugs that require a prescription, except for insulin Admission and transportation to a medical conference relating to the chronic disease of yourself, your spouse, or your dependent (if the costs are primarily for and essential to the medical care). However, you may not deduct the costs for meals and lodging while attending the medical conference The cost of items such as false teeth, prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, laser eye surgery, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, and guide dogs for the blind or deaf, and Transportation costs primarily for and essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses. The actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, or ambulance can be deducted. If you use your car for medical transportation, you can deduct actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical expenses. With either method you may include tolls and parking fees You may not deduct funeral or burial expenses, over-the-counter medicines, toothpaste, toiletries, cosmetics, a trip or program for the general improvement of your health, or most cosmetic surgery. You may not deduct amounts paid for nicotine gum and nicotine Patches, which do not require a prescription You can only include the medical expenses you paid during the year. Your total medical expenses for the year must be reduced by any reimbursement. It makes no difference if you receive the reimbursement or if it is paid directly to the doctor or hospital. See Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, for additional information. Weight-Loss Program [/url]You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of a weight-loss program if the purpose of the weight loss is the improvement of appearance, general health, or sense of well-being. You cannot include amounts you pay to lose weight unless the weight loss is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease). If the weight-loss treatment is not for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician, you cannot include either the fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group or fees for attendance at periodic meetings. Also, you cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa. You cannot include the cost of diet food or beverages in medical expenses because the diet food and beverages substitute for what is normally consumed to satisfy nutritional needs.

Food addictions are quite real. Calling it overeating addictions is the same thing. We crave food the way an alcoholic craves a drink. It gives us our comfort. Our getaway. It's our way of dealing with life's stresses. The difference is, we have to eat. We can't "quit" like an alcoholic or a smoker. Our addiction is necessary to our survival. So we must approach our addiction differently. We must learn to control it rather than avoid it. I doubt there's anyone here who hasn't backslid at some point. And there are those like me who completely lost control and are struggling to regain it. I read a post on here advising another who had lost control. It said "you don't want to go the rest of your life being a failure at this". It slapped me across the face like nothing I've heard. it's a struggle we all deal with and there are some fine people here who offer their advice and encouragement. But ultimately it is ourselves who must make the right choices. We CAN do this. We must! Our very lives are at stake! Allow yourself a treat now and then. eat something decadent. or give in to your craving, but in moderation. Don't beat yourself up too badly while waiting to get back to your sweet spot. However, remember all you've gone through to lose all that weight. Do you really want to sabotage yourself and put it all back? Dig down and find that inner strength. Find something to take your mind off food. Boredom is the enemy. Good luck.