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Hello.. I've been an occasional "lurker" at this site but thought I'd share my recent complication with others. I was banded in December of 2006, had my first fill of 1.1 cc two months later and as of yesterday lost a total of 34 lbs. I started at 195 and now weigh 161 lbs. After fill, I had some restriction, steadily lost at an average of 1.2 lbs./week but two months ago spontaneusly began getting tighter, pbing with great frequency and the last two weeks could eat little to nothing and finally, not even Water would go down. I WAS SO MISERABLE!!!! I flew to my doctor and had a fluroscope (?)/barium check. No slippage, no stretched pouch -- I simply had so much swelling that nothing could go down and I was 1 cc of the initial 1.1 cc was unfilled. The relief and comfort was almost immediate. The "coffee grounds" and dark sputum is in fact blood from a very irritated esophogus or blood vessel. When I started the pbing, I should have immediately gone to total liquids and not created the viscious cycle of pbing, swelling, pbing and swelling that resulted in total closure of the opening. I will return probably in July and the dr. recommended a slight fill of .4 cc. Sometimes spontaneous tightening due to weight loss, stress occurs and the pbing/swelling cycle exacerbates it. I am less worried about weight gain right now then I am about not getting in adequate fluids and nutrition. Just thought I'd share my experience. sumatragal:) The coughing, spitting up of "coffee grounds" was in f

I was eating around 800 calories a day and I wasn't loosing much (about 1 pound a week), I was okay with that and went about 10 days w/o tracking my food on fitday but I was keeping a written journal. When I got home I had lost 5 pounds in 10 days. I went back and put my food into fitday because I want to always have the history so I can go back and look at the trends. When I did this I was a little surprised that my daily calories were averaging between 900 - 1100 which was more than I had been eating. It had a lot to do with eating out and eating sauces, that are higher in calories; not really eating more quantity. So, for the months of February and March I decided to try something and see what my weight loss would be if I average 1,000 calories a day. In February I lost 11 lbs. and in March I lost 17 lbs. I don't get exactly 1,000 calories in any given day I just try and keep that as an average over the course of the week. I have had a few days when I have gone as high as 1,400 calories. Because of my travel schedule I don't weigh weekly but I also don't weigh daily but since the day I was banded I haven't had a single weight gain; there has always been some loss. So I guess to answer the actual question, I was still loosing with 800 calories a day and I don't gain if I have days that I go over 1,000. For me the 1,000 calories a day average seems to be what works best. I know this will be different for everyone. I did find thst by using fitday to track my intake I was able to determine what worked best for me. In April my weight loss slowed down, I only lost 9lbs. but I am getting close to goal so I kinda expect it to continue to slow.

I know I had all the tests, but my cortisol was not high. From what I remember, a high cortisol level defintely promotes weight gain and I believe is usually treatable.

I have been banded 16mo and had my fill removed because I am flying back to Mx for a tt on Monday. I was told that due to swelling it could cause too much restriction in the band. Well, I spent two days thinking of all the things I could eat again. LOL I thought I would eat pizza because I have not been able to eat pizza for so long. Instead, I find myself eatting foods that are high in Fiber, such as apples, kashi Cereal and raison bran. I love fiber and have missed being able to eat fiber. I must confess, I drank two corona light beers last night, ice cold..... ahhhhhhh. I have missed them. I am worried of course about weight gain, but I am going to stick with my high fiber foods and hope I don't gain any weight. I will be unfilled for about a month. Anyone else have fills removed for surgery?

Your first fill, right? a lot of doctors don't try to max out the restriction, because a lot of patients get swollen and can't even swallow Water. So, don't panic if your first fill doesn't "take you there." Then, (and I get slammed every time I say this, but I won't stop) a lot of the "weight" that people THINK they have "lost forever" in the first few weeks post-op is nothing more than post-op dehydration. And then when they don't "lose" more or if they "gain," they panic. It was never lost and it wasn't regained...it was temporarily lowered due to dehydration and it later was recovered. If you lost a lot of weight in the immediate post-op time, you may have been dehydrated. Now you can get in more fluids and so you have "regained" that "weight" at the same time you have been losing fat due to decreased food consumption. That may show up as a zero on the scale, and it's perfectly normal. AND, you are exercising and turning some lightweight fat into heavyweight muscle. WLS or not, most people who start exercising show a small weight gain at first, because of the fat-to-muscle thing AND because your body tends to "retain fluids" to "pad" the joints that have recently been stressed by the exercise. I think...you should go by how your clothes fit and not the scale right now...and that there is not enough Protein in most cereals to make it a great choice for your limited stomach space...and that my doctors said that yogurt was simply a high calorie drink. Good luck, Sue

Do you have to be on your period to have the Mirena inserted,like with the other IUD's? Did you notice weight gain when you first had it inserted.I need to seriously look into a good birth control.Twice I have lost lots of weight and both times,I got pregnant.Don't even want to go there now that I'm banded.I have too much invested in this band right now.Anyways I already have my 4 kids that's all I'll ever need.

I have the copper to prevent weight gain and it was very painful - but ive never had children

I've heard about some doctors doing "Cosmetic" Lap banding for anyone with only 40 pounds to loose. I was "stupid" and gained weight just to get my BMI up. After doing that it really took a long time for my weight lose to kick in. And I found out my doctor wouldn't have done the surgery anyway since i was self pay. (The first surgeon I saw wouldn't do it (even self pay) so I gained weight and went to another surgeon. - Later found out he would have done it without my extra weight gain)

Amy-- I am a PA....but don't do tons of women's health...have never had an IUD....I didn't think IUD's did much for anything but prevention of pregnancy.....but here's what I got when I googled "IUD": Health Risks: Getting any vaginal infection while using an IUD can increase the risk of developing a serious pelvic infection. This can result in a loss of fertility. For this reason, women need to assess their own risk for infection. If you have multiple partners or if your partner has multiple partners, your chance of infection is much higher. Piercing or perforation of the uterine wall may occur during insertion of the IUD. Over time, an IUD may become imbedded in the uterine wall. An Imbedded IUD is still effective, but it can be painful and may need to be removed. There is a risk of surgery and/or sterility if an IUD becomes imbedded. If a woman becomes pregnant while using an IUD, it is highly recommended that she have the IUD removed, whether or not she wants to carry the pregnancy to term. An IUD increases the risk of having a miscarriage or premature birth. A woman who becomes pregnant while using an IUD is also more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg attaches and grows outside the uterus. This can be very dangerous and requires emergency medical attention. Side Effects back to top Both the ParaGard and the Mirena IUDs can cause longer, heavier, and more painful menstrual periods, but this is much less common with the Mirena. The increased blood flow may cause anemia. Spotting may occur without serious cause or as a sign of infection. The Mirena IUD can cause ovarian cysts. Some women using the Mirena stop bleeding altogether. Usually their menstrual periods return when the IUD is removed. Mirena can cause weight gain, headaches, increased blood pressure, acne, depression, and decrease in sex drive. HOpefully, this helps....Personally would ask more questions..... GOd Bless, Melody Banded 3/20/06 -47lbs

I have PCOS as well and infrequent or absent periods has never been an issue. Insulin resistance, weight gain, brown patches on the skin...oh yeah. Perfect 28 day cycles are about the only thing that makes me not the norm "cyster".

Yeah, DM!!! Don't sweat the small weight gain. I TOTALLY understand the stress-eating... Congratulations!!

Me too. I thought about you today when I opened the thread and we still hadn't gotten an update. Scary! But glad you are doing better and that your band is still working for you. Dianamae- Definitely give a personal trainer a shot at you before you find a surgeon. We all love our bands, but we love them because all other avenues led to weight gain. Try everything before you try surgery. And if you get banded, you'll know it is money well spent. Toodles, y'all Brenda

I just had band surgery May 1st. I see my doctor tomorrow. It is important to write down what you eat each day! For me this is a new way of managing your food. instead of the food managing you!! It has been a challenge for me not to want to eat more than I should.. But at age 53 I DON'T want to weigh 280 lbs. Nobody said this was a miracle cure for obesity. I contributed to my weight gain so I need to contribute to my weight loss. "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." Please hang in there it will be worth it. I know WE can do it!! Debbiedawl

Lifestyle more than anything else has been my problem. I had a wonderful childhood, great mother and family. Up until the last few years I have been very active, played lots of golf and worked 100 hour weeks for 30 years. I was able to do so because I required little sleep and in general was in very good health considering my weight. . I strongly feel that my problem was that I was on the road a lot and relied mostly on fast food (about 2/3 of all meals). I graduated from high school weghing 180 pounds From 1965 to 1988 I gained about 250 pounds. Since 1988 I am down about 30 pounds from a high of about 475. In retrospect I was gaining about 1 pound a month, that's a little over 100 calories a day. I have a wife who also is heavy and loves to snack at night, an additional problem since seeing her eat triggered my appetite. Looking back it seems that it would have taken so little to avoid my tremendous weight gain, eliminating a piece of bread, soda etc daily would have made a huge difference. Since 1988 I have needed to change eating habits to keep from gaining and aditional weight. At first it was eliminating the soda, then late night snacking etc. Now I eat a very heathy diet with very few refined carbs and that is what is required simply to stay even. I am due for lapband surgery soon and hopefully I can drop enough weight to start exercising so I can increase my metabolism. As you would expect I have constant back pain and joint problems. Moving from the midwest to the Northwest has been an eye opener. There is no question that there is more emphasis here on a healthy life style. People are far more active and make better eating choices. I also now have many neighbors from their 40's to mid 80's who are extremely fit. My friends back in the midwest were all heavy, ate lots of unhealthy food and exercised little. For years I passed the buck and simply blamed genetics and thought that poeple who were thin were simply born with "skinny genes". I am sure that helps, but my neighbors are all very disiplined about exercising and they eat very healthy diets, that more than anything else accounts for difference between us. So friends, in my case lifestyle and lack of self disipline has been my downfall.

I think what happens, and I could be wrong, is that we develop a mindset of being able to eat whatever we want because the band limits the amount. Then, if we lose the fill, we question why am I gaining weight when I'm eating the same things I did before?! The fact is, that without that restriction, we do get hungry and it does take more food to fill us up. So eating more of the "same thing you ate before" is naturally going to cause weight gain. Add to that the stress and worry of gaining without that fill, and in come the comfort foods. It is not natural to eat 1/2 to 1 cup of food and be full. So don't be so hard on yourself. What has happened is very understandable and can be reversed. It was a hard lesson learned, but it sounds like one that you will not soon forget. As for the feelings of envy and and bitterness... I think those most likely equate to fear. When we feel ourselves slipping backwards into the dark pit we just climbed out of, it's hard to keep a smile and cheer on the ones who are still climbing. Tomorrow is a new day, with lots of choices to be made. And you have the power to make whatever choice you truly want to make for yourself. Beating yourself up isn't going to give you the desire to keep trying. So do try to remember to be kind to yourself. This is probably one of the hardest things you've ever tried to overcome, and the battle is far from being over. *hugs*

Ok, that's what you call planned parenthood. Pretty impressive. It's also a good idea to get at goal weight and then get pregnant...with hopes and good exercise habits and nutritionist to keep you feeding the baby but not gaining too much weight. A good weight gain from pregnancy is 30 - 45lbs. So if you are at 135 (not remembering your goal weight), you'd not have a difficult time losing it all after the baby. I think I'd like another one too but I'm kinda scared at this point. I'd like to lose and get my PS. I have a boy and a girl but I feel like I am missing someone... I think another lil girl or boy is calling. I don't feel complete yet, is that weird? Plans for Today I'm walking/jogging/running for 4 miles 200 crunches (uggh)

What I mean by sleep eating is waking up in the middle of the night and digging in the fridge for whatever and eating, not realizing you did it till you wake up and see a spoon with Peanut Butter residue or bread crumbs, etc. I did this alot before I was banded. I know for a fact that eating at night or while I practically slept (cuz I really had no idea I did it till the morning) contributed alot to my weight gain past few years. I almost started to slip once since I was banded but I figured out a way that will make sure this won't happen to me till I can retrain my brain and it out of my system. Sounds crazy but I have gotten a bike chain with a combination and have my husband and son lock the fridge at night. I refuse to know the combination. :huytsao I put Cereal and peanut butter, (my biggest night food) in the fridge so that it won't jump in my sleepy mouth. Funny thing is, I don't eat these items or ate them during the daytime, only at night when I wasn't aware. It's working. No weight re-gain yet and no night sleep walk eating. Anyone experiencing this weird late night occurance, sleep disturbance?

In my experience, exercise is the most powerful tool ever in preventing weight gain. I think it has more value in preventing weight gain than it does in losing weight. I hope you're better really quickly.

Hi ya'll! This is all new to me. I am in the early stages of researching lapband surgery, and trying to decide if this is for me. For the last 10 years I have really been struggling with my weight. My weight has really seemed to sky rocket since the birth of my twin girls, 3 1/2 years ago. I don't even recognize myself anymore. Because of my weight gain, I suffer with sciatica (nerve pain in the legs), knee pain, lower back pain, and plantar fascia. I am on so many different medications; and have been told by my Family Practicioner, Gynocologist, and dietician that the medications have slowed down my metabolism to almost null and it will be very difficult for me to lose weight. My cousin is a member to your website - JerseyTammy - she's really a S.C. girl! She has been great about sending me information. I have been to one information seminar so far with Dr. Bour. I have been told by a few people that they believe he is the best in the area. Unfortunately, I did not feel comfortable with him because he really pushes the gastric bypass surgery and doesn't seem to have alot of faith in his lapband patients. He commented that alot of them find ways to cheat and that this was not a miracle cure. I would really like to hear from anyone that has used Dr. Bour in Greenville, SC. His office has already checked with my insurance company, and yeah! I would be approved. Also, I would like to hear from anyone in the upstate area that used any other WL doctors. Thanks so much! Anita:hungry:

PAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whew... You are aliveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! :confused: Sorry about the DS... It's unfortunate that a man's "wand of procreation" isn't a better judge of character. *sigh* One day he will come to his senses... hang on till then! Sorry about the weight gain... we'll kick your butt and you'll be back on track by Monday. :party: Yup... gaining the amount I have back has been devastating... BUT... there's no use crying over spilt milk! :party: Well... My DD and I took the pups for a 45 minute brisk walk. THe walks are a part of Ava's behavior modification program and she is doing really well! I can walk her with her leash draped over my shoulders most of the time and I can stop and talk to people without her flipping out. :party: We can walk by most distractions without her even turning her head to look... she looks at me instead. :party:

I've been using a c-pap for about 4 years. It has been great for the most part. To tell the truth, some nights I fight it. But I will not even take a nap without it. Not able to sleep without it. I was 180 when I first got it, now I'm 220 and all my old symptoms are back. I have already talked to my dr and he said with the weight gain, my apena might have gotten worse. He wants to do another sleep study. I have been putting this off hoping that after my band and my weight loss that the apena will get better. Just hope that I get a "go" date soon or I'm going to bite the bullet and go in for the study. I can still remember after I used my c-pap that first night, even though I was not used to it and had a little trouble falling asleep, the next day I was awake all day with no headaches. I was heaven.

Hi Photo, I am one of those bandsters that made reference to the honeymoon stage. None of my remarks were meant to be discouraging to new bandsters. The point was some of the things Paul said are true, but they are not the Ten Commandments. All fast food is not bad for you. But if HIS addiction focused on eating too much fast food, then HE needs to stay away from it and not prostelytize about the merits of staying away from fast food joints and suggest all of it is crap because it is not. My problem is NOT fast food but the fact that I have a satiety disorder so I guess that would mean I should never go grocery shopping again. Not all bandsters exercise daily. Some have knee problems or need hip replacements or edema or other physical ailments that prevent them from moving around. Great advice to new bandsters would be to exercise, but what about the ones who cant? One of the most successful bandsters I know who is a nurse has not exercised at all through her whole journey and has been at goal almost one year and weighs 150 down from 290. She now has the gift of mobility and has the choice of whether she wants to exercise, but telling her that she needs to exercise to be successful longterm is a moot point. She has been maintaining her present weight for more than a year now and who am I to lecture her about what works or doesnt work? And what works for one, does not necessarily work for others. When the honeymoon is over (which is true for all WLS procedures) things do change and when you lose your restriction, dont have any restriction or lose your band all the demons come knocking at the door and even the folks who have been totally compliant, followed good bandster protocol and exercise daily find that they need far less calories to move around a person half the size. Weight gain for WLS patients whether it be band, RNY or any other procedure happens. If you find it demotivating for me to point out that perception changes, then that is your perrogative. I am thrilled that Paul has been so successful with his regimen. I too lost 120 lbs my first year of banding and busted my ass to achieve this success. In my second year, I lost an additional 34 pounds and then plateaued for 6 months. I quit smoking, gained about 12 pounds, had plastic surgery and all my fill removed and many of the food demons come back with the missing saline. My whole point is for those who have not reached a sweet spot or have never had one, the tool is a lot less effective and it could be very discouraging for those newbies who are not losing for those reasons to think that they are not trying hard enough. And just think how hard it would be for someone who really tries and is not seeing the results that Paul is seeing? Also for you to say that you can only think of one reason why someone would point out that there is a honeymoon period this instead of offering words of encouragement and WOOHOO!!! s and GREAT JOB! and its not a pleasant conclusion (paraphrased) is really off the mark. I do find it a little confusing that someone would think that I am trying to be hurtful by pointing out that things really change radically through this journey. Somebody once told me that there is a big difference between truth and perception. I have more or less maintained my weight give or take 5-8 lbs. Now that the honeymoon is over, it is a huge struggle to maintain this weight. 3-4 hours of exercise and a 1300 calorie a day eating plan of mostly meat and veggies and some limited carbs just aint cutting it to keep the weight off. Theres only so far you can go with restriction ( I dont barf very often 2 or 3 times a year) and the tool does become less effective several years out for lots of reasons like dwindling satiety, the fact you get used to restriction and find ways to eat around the band even though I said I would NEVER do this. I dont drink when I eat, but a pre meal cup of warm tea helps to get that little bit of extra meat down. A little more Sauce for my meat acts as extra lube and before you know it, I ate an extra two ounces of steak. OOPS! Sometimes your portions get bigger just a 1/4 oz more of this and a little of that and you dont notice until you are now eating a cup of food once again. And its easy to get complacent once the weight is off. So although many of the things Paul are saying are true, they are more easily said when you are losing 20 lbs a month. I recall when I was first doing research on the band that I went to obesityhelp lapband forum and posted and got one reply 3 days later to my posting. I remember "SouthernBandgal" Michelle was the only person to reply to my questions. THere was very little information available about the lapband three years ago, so all the protocol Paul so kindly outlined in his posting wasnt available at all and most of us back then stuck with our docs protocol and winged the rest. As said here by an earlier poster, obesity is a managed addiction. I love my band but there are limitations regarding this tool and there really is a HONEYMOON period where one should maximize losses and try their best to be as compliant as possible. I understand what Paul was doing and he has a big heart, but his guidelines work for him, not for all of us. I went to a nutritionist, a psychologist (pre and post banding), hired a personal trainer, worked out daily and posted religiously my first two years of banding. Things do change at year 3, 4, 5, so if this bothers you that I point this out, then so be it. THeres nothing I can do to make you feel differently. Babs in TX 334/180 ish Size 14 -16 Dont weigh myself anymore but my clothes still fit!!

Just thought I would drop in and say Hello to everyone. My mother and myself are going for our initial visit tomorrow in Ocala, Florida with Dr. Jawad. Im excited, and nervous. I doubt insurance will pay for both of us, even though we both fit all the requirements. We have Cigna, and from what we have heard its a pain. I just have a couple questions or concerns which I am sure that I can ask tomorrow, BUT, I would rather hear it from people who have had this done. I ride horses, and with the exception of wanting to live a healthy life, my horse's are the biggist reason that I am considering this. In the past few month's it has gotten harder and harder to ride my horse and I feel like I cant to do anything. But prior to this last patch of weight gain I was around 220 and was able to compete and exercise my horses, I now weigh 265 and physically am becoming unable to ride my horses. My question is, can you still do all things that you could without the lap band? Is the pounding from the horse going to effect me once I get the band? I am just worried that I will get this done and then not be able to ride. Are there people on here that have been approved by Cigna?

Hi Everyone- Private Teresita & Shore thank you again for holding down the fort - even as I type. This has been a HORRIBLE week & I have had zero time to do anything. My mother had surgery & that went fine except she pinched a nerve in her back & welll I have had to travel or spend the night over there through out the week. Than the rain & my ceilings leaking!! Holy COw! The guy is out of business & its only 8 years old. Crappy job he did. So I am dealing with workers. Than of course things in 3-----one of my dearest friend's Mother dies yesterday. So I have food to make & a wake & furneral to go to. So Please all of you keep doing what your doing & know that I am so stinking diligent during this week that I haven't messed up but one time. (over my frineds death) & even than I still haven't gained an ounce. --Why ??? Because of all of YOU!! I don't want to start rep[orting in tomorrow or Sat & have any weight gain - only loss'. Miss you all & I am back just in the BRINK right now;0)

Photonut - P'Nut - whoever you are today lol -- quick - please change the first page stats lol -- I don't want to see the weight GAIN from last week lol -- staying the same is at least something I don't have to hang my head in shame for lol