Are you always conscious of your band?

[B-52 7,113]

Not any more...it has become a normal part of me...day to day....

I often refer to it as someone who has undergone a total knee surgery.....pre-op, post-op pain, frustration, anxiety......then about 6 months of intense rehab learning how to walk all over again...learn the rules.... (Band adjustment phase, Bandster Hell) after rehab then another 6 months re-learning how to do all your daily activities....then eventually, after you're all healed and after you're well adjusted to the new lifestyle....it's back to everyday living....you know it's there, but you really don't think too much about it....

I know people who have had bi-lateral knee replacements and they're back running marathons.....

I know the band is there, but I have gotten used to it......my eating changes, types of foods, and adhering to the rules in order to exist in the Green Zone, have all become a day to day Lifestyle...I am always in the Green Zone...it has become the "New Normal"

I don't think about calories......food portions.....how to chew, bite sizes, drinking while eating, taking it slow and easy, etc. etc. I did within the first 3-4 months, but no more....

I don't need to be reminding about the rules, or pull out a MFP to drive my car everyday....I've done it so often it has become second nature....

As I was learning....I got stuck, slimed, regurgitated very often...sometime 2-3 times a day BECAUSE I needed to change and learn if I wanted to remain and live in the Green Zone....and I did. And I have NOT gotten stuck in well over 18 months, yet I remain in the Green Zone having all that goes with it....

I do everything my non-fat skinny friends do every day....which is totally different from the way I used to do it before surgery...

Eventually you heal, learn the rules to live in the Green.....there is life AFTER this is all over....

People who come here and say they fell off the wagon and gained their weight back after 3 years (other than medical issues)...,,,,well, that's another topic altogether. I have my thoughts why that happens that I will keep to myself....

[KAATNS 1,473]

Mine is still fairly new to me and I'm still learning to live with it so it's always on my mind when I eat. I don't actually "feel" it though.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

I am wondering if your band is always on ur mind (other than when you eat)? Do you find yourself forgetting it is even there sometimes? I guess i am wondering if you can always feel the device constricting the stomach or if you can go about your day feeling as if nothing foreign is in there. ( obviously for those a couple months out and fully healed).

the only thing i can (feel) is the port....esp more now since i have lost 100+ pounds...i put my hand on it sometimes when i walk and its like an old good friend.....i cannot feel the band itself as its on the inside but she sure lets me know she is there at eating time.....love it and i love my life now...today..

[Kitt3000 757]

Just a quick note follow up. Doc thinks I am feeling the band. When he flushes the air from the little pillows around the band, some residual Fluid stays in. We decided to leave it alone for a few days, see if it gets better. If not, he will remove the little bit in there, have no restriction, and see how that goes. He did say because it is in the early healing stages, the removal may be more uncomfortable than a port that is fully healed. So, hope this adds to your info....

[wannawearabikini 9]

I've had my band almost 2 years. I can't feel it inside my body or anything but a lot has changed because I have it. Chewing gum feels so weired to me...air gets all caught in my pouch or something and sometimes it makes me need to throw up...it's the craziest thing! Also I get hiccups a LOT!! After I eat, drink, chew gum, even just randomly throughout the day. But I wouldn't change it!! I look and feel sexy as hell lol