B-52

I learned about it from veterans here, who are now gone, that I used to follow..... I do it anywhere from every 4-8 weeks.....and will know when I realize I am eating too much (more than usual) too easily. I have theories as to why that is, and I will say it does make a differnce. The first time I did it intentionally was at about 2 years. Before that the Dr. and staff where always saying to go liquids for a few days such as after a fill, etc. I then started to realize that this seems to be good thing. I am now, and have been meaning to do a "Cleanse"...just have not got around to it.

You were banded in 2014 and have had a fill every month since? How much does your Dr. put in each fill? And are you paying $$ for each fill? I cannot talk about you, I don't know you or your medical history...but I will share a story about someone I do know. I was part of a support group early on....every one was moving ahead nicely....except one person whose Dr. would only give 1/2cc per fill per visit. After one year she was at a point where I was after 2 months and 2 fills. And she was paying out of pocket for each visit per month. Things did turn around for her after she got a new Dr. Most bands today are the 10cc variety, some 14cc.....I never heard of a Dr. filling one to the maximum.... My Dr. was aggressive, or at least he made no doubt what the band can do and that his goal was to get it there so I can start the weight loss process.....I had 3 fills in 3 months, total 4 months after surgery,.....never had or needed a fill since.

I think you answered your own question...the band was properly adjusted and worked great, then you had it unfilled.... Starting over from square one as if you just had surgery would be the right choice, and then get back to where the band starts doing what it is supposed to do. I am just a few months shy of 4 years, and everything has been great with no complications. I did once get 1/2 cc taken out. My Dr. could not understand why I asked, if it's not broken why fix it? Sure enough, 1/2 cc threw the entire balance out of whack. My appetitie came back, I began to eat larger portions. It was scary. I went back 3 weeks later and had that 1/2 cc put back in. So I cannot imagine what it would be like to have the entire band emptied!!! As though you didn't have the surgery at all??? As far as maintanence with the band, I am one who does not underastand the concept. For diets, sure....loose the weight after a crash diet then start to re-introduce foods....but the band, it is the same with me today as it has been since getting into the green zone, and will stay that way for the rest of my life...it is my new lifestyle, which has become the Normal lifestyle. I don't do anything different today than I did over 3 years ago. I started at 275, went down to 165, then stopped there...not that I chose to, but my body simply retured to where it should be....my weight normally fluctuates within the same 10lbs.....no big deal, and I weigh myself daily, sometimes more, out of habit.

I doubt it.....my insurance wanted the 6 months diet to show, on the official record, that I sincwerley attempted (and failed) at loosing the weight the traditional way. Telling them I have been though many diet programs was not good enough...it was just my word. They wanted something official, wirth charts, graphs and progress notes, all signed off by a MD that would go in my record, and justifying surgery as a last resort. Did they explain to you why YOUR insurance requires this???

There are so many ways to look at your story, it's hard for me to find a place to start. A couple things jumped out at me..... I am always tight in the morning, till around 11...so, aside with my morning coffee, I will have a home made smoothie which will give me 30-40 gms of Protein. Then I drink Water consistantly throughout the day. If you can't make your own, or if you are on the run, I have found convience stores are now stocking Protein drinks right out of the cooler...Muscle Milk and Naked are my favorite 2. lunch is small, sometimes just Soup from the cafeteria depending what hospital I'm at that day. The other thing that jumped out at me, is you "Fight" to get food down, regurgitating several times. One of the biggest lessons I learned, is not to fight the band, but to learn to listen to it...to obey it. That's why I will not call it a tool, as if I can control it. I let it control me and not fight it. If I can't continue to eat, then I stop. it's as simple as that. Does not matter if I ate a lot or very little. It all avaerages out in the end.....The band says stop, I stop. This also keeps my portion sizes under control, all thanks to the band. To force it, and regugitate, then try to force it again, onlty irritates the band making the problem only worse....if you don't let it calm down, you will NEVER be able to keep things down...and it can last for days That is why Dr.'s will take Fluid out...to give it a break because the patient will not........... I have learned the hard way, not to abuse it, but be gentle with it in the way I eat, and what I eat. It sounds like the band is attempting to do something....let it happen...don't get in the way but learn to flow with it...it's a new lifestyle, which means we cannot hang onto the old. (which made us fat)

I have not been able to eat a solid Breakfast for years....as the day goes on it gets easier, but the restriction is always there. For breakfast, I make my own smoothies, high in Protein, with fresh fruit, etc, and I have to consume them very slowly. It has freed me from binge eating, eating because of emotions, stress, etc, cravings.......unable to ever overeat again. Does not matteer where I'm at, or what I am dong. A party, wedding, vacation, family gatherings for the holidays......the band remains a constant. Gurgling is common for me...doing it right now with my morning coffee. It's kind of cool! I had to learn to eat all over agaain...giving up certain foods, eating small bites very slowly, not to drink with my meals...all the rules come into play when you have restriction....step out of bounds and I will pay for it. I have also learned to stop when the band says stop, and not to force it. I don't eat meat anymore because it was too risky...and chicken has to be very tender. I'm starting to get away from chicken also. Things made from flour which includes all cakes (desserts), most breads, donuts...also Pasta. Can't eat rice so no sushi for me. And that's just a a ew off the top of my head. It urns out the things I no longer eat were not that good for e in the first place, so it's a win-win! In other words, I have learned to "Listen" to my band, and liv accordingly. That's why I will not call the band a "Tool" as if I have control over it. It is in reality the other way around. And I don't regret once single thing about it....it changed - saved, my life. Making me 110% successful in my weight loss and regaining my health, having lost ALL excess body fat with only a small healty % remianng. It just doesn't get any better than that! As you read throgh these forums, you will see that many people have different approaches as to how to loose weight with the band...as long as they are 100% succesful with no complaints, then that is all that matters.

Never had a big problem with excess skin....maybe it was because I go to the gym everyday, and drink plenty of Water. But I do go in regularly, every 6 m onths or so, for botox and fillers.....but that's a different area. I do it because of the aging process (gravity) and the fact I deal with the public (patients) everyday so how I present myself is important.

All the time....about every 4-6 weeks....it helps me maintain me staying in the Green Zone. It's about the only maintenance I can think of after 4-1/2 years to keep my band properly fit. In the beginning, first few months, I was more concerned about getting the band properly adjusted to where it functions the way it is designed to do...then the weight started to come off... Going liquids helps me maintain that "sweet spot" But then, that is how it worked for me....I HATE diets! (and cannot do them succesfully in the first place...hence, surgery!)

I've been there for almost 5 years now...my weight continued to drop, passing any goals I set for myself, and finally stopped where IT DECIDED to....at a very healthy place....and I have been at that same weight now for over 3 years..... You need to check your body fay %, not your weight or BMI's...that will tell you what % of your weight is essential (muscle and bone mass) and what is not (fat) It will also tell you if you are getting enough Water per day. To this day, the only thing I care about is that I get enough daily Protein, water, and Vitamins. After that I eat what and when I want....and that is very little very seldom. If I am distracted, I can go full 24 hrs without eating, and not even notice it...but you will always see me with a bottle of water.

6-8 weeks after surgery, I gained back all the weight I lost, plus put on some additional weight, from the pre and post op diets....I even had my first fill at 4 weeks after surgery and still gained. Bandster hell, hardest part of this entire procedure. For me, it took a few good fills and some adjusting on my part to get along with what the band does. Say about 4-5 months. Some people can loose weight with little, and even no fills. Me, I need to rely on the band 100% to do the job. As you are her on this forum, you'll realize many people react with the band differently....

I simply continued living the way I lived since surgery...to me, there is no such thing as maintenance as though I was on some diet.....since surgery, I have adapted a new lifestyle...a new way of eating, along with new foods and foods I gave up forever, and a steady workout schedule. I never counted calories or portion sizes, so everything I did I will continuing doing for the rest of my life. As far as reaching goals, who's goal? Every goal I made for myself I met and then continued on....untill my body decided I was at a place it should be...turns out it is a very healthy place, good weight and a very LOW body fat % I should say, I have had the Lap Band surgery....so maintenance? What do I do? Get Fluid taken out so I can eat more? There ar a lot of gastric Sleevers here, and I don't have a clue what that is like. But the Band, the band is a permanent change forever,

My Dr. was very aggressive....he has the "Yellow-Green-Red" poster on the wall. And he made no doubt that post op, getting me in that "Green" was the next step following surgery. I saw him every 4 weeks after surgery, and he would ask me to show him on that chart EXACTLY where I felt I was...then after a few questions, my weight compared to the last visit, he would either give me a fill or not. It took 3 visits with 3 good fills to get me in that Grenn Zone....(then about 8 months of getting used to it) and I have been there every since. And that was almost 5 years ago. You would think a Dr. would want what;'s best for his patients, and that He/She would want to see their patients succeed...making their outcomes positive.

People would make comments to me, mostly with humor but pointed nonetheless. Such as "Wow..I can't beleive you ate all that" or "Doin't leave it where he can get at it or it will dissapear" Now, that I have lost all my fat, I realize just what those jokes really meant....I see things from a different perspective. From the other side. I go to resturants and can't believe my eyes how people can eat like there was no tommarrow. I see morbidly obese people at buffets, etc, and notice the junk they have on their trays and say to myself "No wonder they're fat" I see TV commercials on how disgusting they can design a pizza or the latest burger...and wonder "Who eats that stuff? It must be popular or why else would these companies keep competeing with each other?" I also say to myself, when I see an obese person, that's there is no reason for them to be that way...years ago I would say it is i mpossible for somee people, as myself, but now, I KNOW there are solutions if they want it...if they cannot diet (like myself) then there is always surgery. And surgery does work where everything else does not. And surgery is not that bad. I don't shame people directly, but as with anyone reformed/cured from an addiction - sickness, you come to despise it.

I didn't think anything could possibly give the results that I have, but it did...and it surpassed my expectations.... I am 63 years old, and I'm now the same healthy - fit weight I was 45 years ago in High School. You didn't say what surgery you are considering......I had lap band surgery and can only give experiences from that. I tried everything to loose weight, failed time after time.....Weight loss surgery did it....so what if it was the easy way out (for me)...it worked and that is all that matters.

If you are truly stuck, then anything you drink will have no where to go but back up....and it's not vomiting, it's regurgitation....big difference. If you don't do something, then your saliva has no where to go...sliming....and eventually, just like drinking something, it too will come up...just takes longer to happen. So, when I (used to) get stuck, I would go into the bathroom, and take small sips of Water...it will come up. May take once or twice, but it will clear it out. Done it at restaurants many times. Sliming is the body's way of accomplishing the same thing....drinking something will just speed up the process. I found that if I can drink anything with no problem, then I'm not that bad.

This is the internet....and you are dealing with strangers....let's face it, you really don't know who you are talking to. Even on this forum....I rread posts all the time and scratch my head if this person is for real or not. No one here knows me, what I do for a living, etc, etc....and I don't know you. When people here ask questions for advice to address a certain problem they are having, I will NEVER give an answer...I don't know you, have never met you, and have never done a proper workup-exam, don't know your full medical history, menatal status, etc.......so how in the world can I, or anyone else for that matter, give anyone an answer as to what their problem is???? I don't know whats worse...giving out affirmitive concrete answers or those who actually listen to a strangers medical advice.... I have been on this forum for years....and all I will ever do is tell someone what I have experienced, and remind them other people have different experiences, and the bottom line is that they should see their Dr. for a reliable answer. This is the internet!!!!!

I had to get a new passport....the old picture looked nothing like me, and I would get scrutinizd everytime I went through customs. The last straw was when they called over a supervisor, who then pulled me out of the line for furthr interrogation....

I did it.....The OLD MAN did it!!! St. Kitts, climbed a Volcano, over 3000 feet through a Tropic Rain forest. I am 63 years old, the next age was a couple who were 42...after that everyone was in their 20's and 30's. We broke up in 3 groups of 12...if you were falling behind, you would drop back a group. If a group was slowing you down, then you moved up a group. Took us 3 hours to get to the summit. I started in the first group, and stayed there. Half of the 2nd group didn't make it, and we never saw the 3rd group...they all quit. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week, run 5 &10 K's, but THIS was probably the toughest Challenge I have done in 20 years!!! That's why I did it...to prove it to myself! Yes, I was once morbidly obese, had diabetes, heart trouble, etc etc. Five years ago I could not climb the stairs in my house without getting short of breath. Am I bragging?? You Bet!! And it is all because of the Lap Band Surgery!!! (Next day I jumped off a 45ft cliff into the crystal clear Caribbean....no one else would do it)

I've been doing that for years...not to feel full, but to burn fat...need energy to work out, so I used the energy I had stored aweay as fat instaed of burning anything I recently had eaten. And it worked !!! After my workout, I would have a high Protein, nutritious "Recovery Shake" ( I have to have my morning coffee, and I drink plenty of Water while running)

For me, not like that, but I have experienced pain...it is a lesson that has to be learned about changing how one eats, and choosing foods that go well with the band.... I stopped eating red meat for that very reason....did not go down easily, and could result in pain. I have not gotten stuck in years....but did plenty of times during those early days of learning this new lifestyle.

It took me 3 fills, one month apart, which was around 4 months after surgery to finally hit the Green Zone.... BUT it took me a good year to finally adjust and deal with living in the Green Zone...it was not easy...but once I did, it has all been as easy as can be.....but it did take a lot of adjustment both for ME and the band.... A lot of people do not like change....perhaps that's why so many people struggle...just a thought. I really don't know. As far as how much...that can be very different from person to person. Some people here have very little, if any at all in their band, and they do just fine....some people need more restriction...

I had that problem....severe..... I found not to eat anything close to going to bed...I made it a personal rule not to eat after 7pm.... In my case, no more reflux.

The first few weeks I lost weight, mainly from the post op diet I was on...liquids-mushies, then solids. 4 weeks after surgery I had my first fill. My second fill was 4 weeks after that...in between the 2 fills I GAINED weight. The band did not function for me until after my second fill....all I could have done during this time was follow some kind of diet....But I stink at dieting....that is why I needed lap band surgery. To do what I could not have doe in my own....if I could follow a diet, then surgery would not have been needed, in my case. 1-2 pounds per week, lets say 1.5 lbs per week...= 6.0 lbs a month, which = 72 lbs per year....there a many people struggling with traditional diets that would do anything to loose 72 lbs in a year.... But first, you have to get your band properly adjusted...otherwise it's pure dieting. I never followed any particular diet.... before surgery, I could eat anything and everything...like a machine...as if I was trying to win a contest.... Now, because of lap band surgery, that has been taken care of, and I eat like a normal person should eat...and I now weigh what a normal person my height should weigh....it's that simple.

It really varies from person to person...there are people here that report they have never had a fill and yet are doing fine loosing weight.. (good dieters perhaps?) And then there are people who say their bands are filled almost to the maximum and nothing is happening....(hard to believe IMO).... My first fill was about the same as you...4cc's here in the states, did absolutely nothing...as a matter of fact I started to gain weight between the first and second fill.... Too 2 more fills, for a total of three....7cc's in all, to find that "Magic" place.....that was almost 5 years ago, and since it has all been a very easy experience, other than learning to eat all over again. But like I said, I read here about people having fills all across the board and are extremely pleased with the results.

I used to smoke cigarettes, 2 packs a day for over 30 years..... Along with a lit of things, I quit for good. I am now a cigar aficionado. Yes, I smoke cigars, drink coffee, double espressos, consume alcohol, enjoy ice cream and other delights, At 63 soon to be 64, I am enjoying life more now than I ever have. I can now appreciate the things life offers, rather than being a glutton and sitting on the sidelines as a spectator. Of course, listen to your Dr. and gauge your results/successes against your new lifestyle.