B-52

I've been here for 5 years and when reading some posts, I still feel clueless. Good luck, and know this...it does work.

You're band was super tight and you lost only 50 lbs?...after 8 years? Sorry, but I am not clearly understanding everything.... I am 5 years banded...I keep my band tight enough to restrict me from overeating, to restrict me from eating the wrong foods, and also restrict me from eating wrong, like a pig. (need to take it small and slow) If I challenge this, I will be miserable. So the band is forcing me to change my personal habits...fixes my brain, behavior modification. It has become a way of life, don't need to think about it anymore...don't need to tell or remind myself what I need to do or not to do...don't need strategies for the holidays or eating out.....it has become all matter of fact.... People call the band a "Tool"...I DO NOT! A tool is something I can take off the shelf, and use it however I wish to, then return it to the toolbox.... The band, is much more than that..it tells me what to do...step out of line, or try to fight it, and I will only be miserable.... But learn to fall in line and find that groove...HEAVEN! I cannot fully inderstand your situation, but if that was happening to me I would say I was fighting the band and what it was trying to do...the more I fight it, try to cheat it, the more inflamd and irritated it gets only makeing things worse making it ipossible to drink Water without issues.

Welcome....best decision I ever made, wish I had done it sooner. Just wanted to say hi. I'm a new member and was approved for the Lap Band surgery. I have my operation on Dec 16. I start my pre op diet on Dec 2. I am going through Smart Shape Weight Loss here in Canada. Hope to see you around! Martin Personally, I'm glad I did not find this website until after I had my surgery. It can be a blessing and a curse, positive enforcement and negative. But know this, this thing does work!! Best advice I can give is focus on the treatment plan your Dr. has for you...and don't get distracted by what others are doing...it's your life and you need to take care of yourself and your own.

I ask for a receipt for petty cash. Then go home and eat them all myself. This reminds me of the so called good old days of eating three apple fritters and feeling sad because there were no fritters left. Now if I choose to eat a fourth of a fritter it takes me twice as long to eat the fourth as it took to eat 3 fritters. Taking the time to enjoy food is a real blessing Would take me forever to eat a fourth of one also, plus the risk of getting stuck is great so I don't eat things like that anymoe..... Old days anything left laying around was not safe if I were there.... Love my band, and the behaviour modification that came along with it.

Have no first-hand experience with this or any other complications, but I have heard people say the tubing had become disconnected and a simple procedure to repair it. I don't see how a slip would have anything to do with the loss of Fluid. Please report back so other banders can learn

Peoiple are all over on this....everyone is different.... I don't eat pizza,(globs of melted cheeses, plus the bread dough) I don't eat red meat....and that's just a few...anything made from flour so breads, rolls, do-nuts, etc, are oiut. chicken...has to be tender, and I've found most chickem when eating out is not... Your band is working, which is good considering all the people who complain otherwise. What you need to do is find your lifestyle...you're groove, then watch all the weight magically and easily start to fall away. Or you can get Fluid taken out and eat anything and everything you want, and rely on old diets again.....some people prefer that also.

5 Years now, and I have never felt full....that is a physical feeling. What I do have is my brain telling me I'm full, as though I were...simply cannot, and do not want to continue eating. Yes, nothing sounds good, or desirable. It is more mental for me. A lot of people here say they feel full from the band...I never had that feeling, to do so would mean I would have to eat more than I should...and when I do that I feel pain....(pouch stretching?) ....not very pleasant. But then, that's just me...other people have different experiences ftrom what I read.

I have a Protein shake everyday for Breakfast for the past 5 years.... I invested in a very good (expensive) blender, and I use either the freshest fruits or vegtables to make the healthiest drinks possible to start the day....just need to add a scoop of Protein powder and I'm set. May contribute to me not being hungry all day, not to mention the energy...and what it's doing for my skin tone, etc. Also prevenatives against cancers, and other sicknesses...boosts the immune system.... Like to see anybody come up with somethig more traditional for breakfast to compete with that...that's a lot of eggs, oatmeal, etc...YUCH! I'm glad WLS forced me to discover this lifestyle...and I have come to learn that people everywhere, WLS or not, are doing it because of the benefits... Learned to stay away (obstain) from meat.....also feel the benefits Add to that daily exercise, plenty of Water, Gee...all that because I had to take a Protein Shake.

I'm 5 years post Lap Band....far exceeded my expectations also....easiest thing for me also, and yes people don't like to hear that but it's true fro me.... If the band controls my hunger, cravings, and portion sizes,...what's difficult? Being sure to get daily Protein, Water and exercise is about it... Many veterans have long been gone...this forum is dominated by people just staring out...within the first year or two... This subject has been touched upon quite a bit.... I've learned to live a new way of living, with eating new healthy foods, enjoying being active, and loving being healthy and lite on my feet.... Not constantly struggling with diets and worries about weight issues.

I'm a lap bander...I chew gum occasionally with no problems.... However, because the bands restriction, and the risk of getting stuck with regular food, accidently swallowing gum would mean a trip to the hospital should it get stuck...food will/can digest, soften and either go through or come back up.... Gum on the other hand.... In all my life I have never swallowed gum...but evidently people do....

My Wife and I once went to the Baltimore-Washington airport to pick up our Daughter returning from England with a college group. This airport also happens to be a MAC facility, and was filled with men and women in dessert fatigues shipping out to the 2nd gulf war. We went into a resturant while waiting, and every table it seemed was taken with groups of soldiers. I told my wife I was not going to let these young men and women go thriough what I did in airports....I spotted a table of 8-10 soldiers, and told our waitress to bring me their check. She said sorry, someone already did...I picked another table and said how about that one...Nope..that ones been claimed also. Seemed every table, someone was paying for their meals and drinks...our waitress had to get another waitress to give us a table to pay for clear on the other side of the resturant!!! So yes, times had cjhanged..... BTW, when they finished eating, they came over to us and one by one shook my hand and thanked me for dinner and for MY service as well....PERFECT Ladies and gentlemen, heading off to war. A truley memorable event.

A little bit of EVERTHING....but, because of my band...it will be very little...so I need to have a taste of it all. I enjoy my new life, and I don't punish myself.... Since surgery, DIET is just a four letter word....now it's a lifestyle. And Thanksgiving is definitley part of life.

First off...Welcome to the Banded Life....I'm just shy of 5 years, the best decision I could have ever made.... Bayshore is just up the parkway from me, had a lot of my pre-op testing there, but my surgery was at centra State in Freehold. Sorry, I can't remember exactly what those first few weeks were like, other than I hated puree foods...stuck mostly with heavy Soups like cream of chicken, broccoli, etc....moved up to chili, etc.... There are many people recently banded as youself that will chime in with plenty of help

This is one of those questions, like alcohol and caffeine, etc., You ask 10 different people, you will get 10 different answers... Really comes down to what you can do, and what your Dr. says you should do. There are people here who cannot tolerate swallowing pills whole....myself, not only do I take a large multi-Vitamin whole, but other supplements as well....plus certain oral meds I need to take.... But just because I can tolerate it with no problems, does not make it Ok for the next person to do so. Again, a lot of these questions there is no right or wrong....

The flirting was a tongue in cheek joke, sort of... It was definitely a different time then, than it is now... We were told by our superiors NOT to wear our uniforms while on leave or when going home, even though you could fly any of the 50 states for free (on standby) if you were wearing your uniform. I did wear mine home once, and paid dearly for it....

Yes, they are mine.... The green one with the date 1960 on it is the "Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal", which was awarded during 2 time periods...1949-1954, and the second time period was 1960 to ???? There is no end date because the republic ceased to exist. So, it remains simply as 1960. The one in the middle is the "Vietnam Presidential Citation Medal", and the one on top of the three is the "Combat Action" Medal, awarded for satisfactory performance under enemy fire.

I do it every now and then, 6-8 weeks...but not 5 days, and not ther schedule put forth in the 5 day...I just go all liquids for at least 2 days, sometimes 3. I don't do it to get back to basics...I do it to let my band have a rest, and recover from any stretching. A Dr. will take fluid out of your band to accomplish the same thing...I just lay off solids. That's about the only maintenance I can think of with the band.

Call your Dr....there are 100 reasons for this, none of which anyone here should assume to a stranger on the internet. (no offense) Being in the Medical field it unnerves me to hear people on this website give out medical advise....and I read it everyday.

Cooked cabbage is one of my favorite foods since surgery....I like to fry the leftovers in butter....no corn beef though, don't eat meat since surgery. But then, I'm a lap bander...things are different for me.

Depends on your surgery I suppose.... Rice was one of the first things I had to give up because it did not go well with my band...stuck too easily

Last Time...High School....and THAT was 45 years ago!!! I'm back....

Coming up on 5 years banded.... I will go all liquids for a few days every 5-7 weeks or so.... The band keeps my portion sizes under control. also I cannot eat thing like cheeseburgers, hoagies, etc....so that is not a problem with me... However, as you described, when I notice it is becoming easier to eat certain foods, and my portions are getting larger....(I can't believe i finished all of it) then I know it's time to go all liquids... THIS is the only maintenance I can think of being banded.... Having you band drained as you had done, accomplishes the same thing...gives the band a rest... I stay away from solid foods, giving the band a rest.

"I think there is a great misconception that has been permeated into urban legend that weight loss surgery does the work for you" WLS, specifically the Lap Band as opposed to the other surgeries (which I have no experience with) HAS done the work for me in that it has controlled my portion sizes, curtailed my hunger and cravings, etc, etc.... For me, and not necessarily anyone else, it is not a legend but a everyday reality...again, I know nothing about gastric sleeve, bypass etc...I am in the minority on this website with the Lap Band. BUT it is up to me to make the best food choices I can....I have given up meat and dairy products, most everything made from flour such as breads and Pasta... And in some respects, my WLS helped me give up these foods because they are not very band friendly, high risk of getting stuck...or worse. When I read about people eating everything and anything after having the Lap Band, it tells me they are not following up with their Dr. and getting their band adjusted...because if they did it would be difficult to exhibit such behavior without exhibiting some ill effects. But the Band is adjustable, and the individual can determine and dictate how the Band works for them. Big reason why Dr.'s are moving away from it more and more...patient has too much control and can hang on to the old habits if they so choose. And it's those old habits that got me in this predicament....

Congratulations!!! It continues to get better, even after you have lost all the needed weight and fat...