B-52

If you can drink Water, then you are probably not stuck. If so, the water would have no where to go but back up and out...not to mention the sliming...accumulation of saliva. I've had this many times, when I eat something too large or to hard, or both....traumatizes the area. can linger for quite a while. And anything I try to eat after only hurts more..... Getting truly stuck never causes me pain....when I was still in the learning phase I could get stuck 2-3 times a day...I was a hard headed learner and many bad habits to break.... When this happens I stay with soothing things like soup...and even Ice Cream... All part of the behavior modification IMO....FORCED to learn to eat differently, or else.....this is when the "Rules" start to make practical sense... I don't eat cheese, for the most part. Some types, but not much......the more you chew, the more gooey it gets...not very band friendly for me anyway...another reason I cannot and will not eat pizza, aside from the doughy crust.

Everyone is different, because no two bands are exactly alike in terms of adjustments and how ones body reacts to those adjustments..... For me, the first thing to go was rice...thought I would have some sushi....No mas! Then it was bread, and eventually all things made from flour...rolls, cakes, Pasta, etc...that also took care of pizza once and for all...I cannot tolerate big globs of meted cheese....things that are deep fried and crunchy....and eventually red meat, which I gave up.....chicken is hit and miss, it has to be very tender and most places when eating out overcook it or it is just old.... However...it does not bother me..as a matter of fact I find it a blessing...looking at the things that I do not eat, almost none of it is very nutritional....or not good for you in general. My Dr.'s have been trying to get me to stop eating red meat, or at least cut it back to once a week...same with all those Desserts.... So the band has FORCED me to become more food conscious, seeking out the best foods out there..natural, organic....I have become a real "Health Nut" And it's all because of the Band...I would, and could not, do this on my own....but I do not have a single regret...quite the opposite.

People throw the term "Vomiting" around here loosely, in relation to getting stuck..it's NOT the same. I have not vomited since way before surgery, but I do dread and fear the day I actually do.....especially if it's consistent say from the flu, or food poisoning or similar....or sea sickness... I am prepared to have all the Fluid taken out in the event it does happen....

My first impression was there is a lot of people in New Jersey who had bariatric Surgery....but on the flip side..."Man...there's a lot of Obese people in New Jersey" Must be all that good ethnic food...REAL Italian restaurants, Jewish Deli's....I've been all around the country, the world for that matter...there is nothing like it (except NYC)....can you say "Pork Roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll"??? It's 3am...am I having head hunger?? It'll pass..and I will be at the gym at 5

WOW so sorry this has happened,,,,but it shows it can happen to anyone with the band.... Did your Dr. give any suggestions as to why it may have happened??? I find it noteworthy, that whenever anything like this happens to anyone, the Dr. will give a complete un-fill.....to give everything a rest and let things return to normal..... For me, the only thing I do for band Maintenance...if such a phase after success even exists....is go full liquids for 2-3 days, every 5-8 weeks or so, or when I feel subtle changes to my eating habits.... Again, to give everything a rest and let it all return to normal. The alternative, and this is my belief, is that I could do nothing and wait for something to happen such as what you are unfortunately experiencing, and be forced to give the band a extended rest by getting all the Fluid taken out. Some call this a 5 day pouch test, which I don't get...there is no testing involved....

I know people who have multiple "Mini Meals" throughout the day, as opposed to the traditional 3 meals a day...that way they make sure they get both Protein, and later their veggies.... I look at the big picture, what have I eaten for the entire day, instead of each meal....I'm Ok with slider foods also, they seem not to even exist for me.....ice cream, Soup, etc, does not matter. Cannot eat meat, and chicken has to be "Perfect"

I too was taking daily injections of lantus, and oral meds also....as I lost weight, my Diabetic meds, as well as the rest of the meds I was taking decreased.... I have been off all Diabetic medications for years now... I still get routine lab work done every 4 months, and everything has been spot on...completely normal. I was a real mess, with one foot in the grave...my PCP kept telling me if I could loose weight, it would all go away....of course I could not loose the weight by any of the standard diets, tried and failed....it was then he brought up Bariatric Surgery and suggested I go for a consult.... I have been 100% successful for a few years, my weight as well as my health!!!! Never had an issue with my band, other than getting it adjusted...... Best decision I could have ever made... Changed...and saved...my life.

Early on, my main concern, as was my Dr.'s, was to get my band adjusted properly, and measuring and calorie counting was secondary... Now that it is, I do not have to worry about portion sizes, because I can eat just so much.....as far as calories, considering I eat so little as compared to my old life, I just make sure what I do eat is the best choices I can make....and Protein is always first on my mind... Been that way for some time now and will remain that way for the rest of my life...my NEW life. So when I read posts such as yours, my immediate thought is "How is your band performing?" Is your band doing anything or are you relying on your self to get it done.... If I had to rely on myself, then I would have failed within a year, probably sooner, just as I did with so many diets in the past... There is a reason I needed Bariatric Surgery...

I like it when you said you felt like you were dieting again....you can differentiate between the two... I can only speak from my experience, but there is a "Magic Spot", green Zone, whatever you want to call it.... I had my last fill over 3 years ago, and still feel the same today as I did back then...hunger and cravings under control, regular portion sizes, inability to over eat.... A month or two ago, I asked to have 1/2cc taken out, for no good reason, and against my Dr.'s advice....1/2cc totally disrupted that balance, and I had to go back and get it put back in....and face the laughter of my Dr. and staff....

Definitely.....people fail to realize, that from eating so little over time, our stomachs will shrink.... I don't know about amounts of food, but if I were to eat sliders, say, I still can only eat so much because my stomach is now smaller....and with all excess body fat gone, my stomach is flat and hard...so much so my port sticks out like a big lump under my skin...can even see the tubing. I can tell right away when I drink beer...I have to wait a period of time between the first and second beer....in the pre surgery days, I could drink beer after beer after beer...not to mention all the food that went with it....

One time at a 4 star restaurant, after having Soup and an appetizer, I could not finish, let alone even start my entree....the waiter kept asking if everything was ok with my meal, and I kept assuring him it was fine and I would take it home with me..... I quess he told the chef, who made me another entree, one of his choosing not on the menu...something he felt that surely I would enjoy....you could imagine my awkwardness when the server put another meal in front of me....

It's early....I was gaining weight 6 weeks after surgery, and I had my first fill 4 weeks after surgery....( I had Lap band surgery) But then 1 year after surgery and I was 80% successful....shortly thereafter 100% But again, you did not mention what surgery you had....

I gurgle all the time....I'm drinking my morning coffee right now and am gurgleing...no big deal, kind of cool if you ask me.... Burps and hiccups are associated with my eating....usually I'm doing something wrong...nothing major, just something I need to pay attention to.

Who did your surgery? I go to centre state in Freehold....

5 Incisions....each one maybe 1/2" long...almost 4 years later and you cannot find a trace of a single one..... I did not find this forum until AFTER I had surgery, and in my opinion, I'm glad I didn't otherwise I would have been confused as all heck..... Only source of information I had about the Lap bad, what to expect, what the coming months would be like, were from my Dr. and the staff there....and I have not changed my beliefs since, still stay with his protocols... Although I did have to learn and experience for myself what they we trying to explain to me....

First off, I am a Bander, not a Sleeve.....things may be different, or perhaps it is just me and my Dr.'s treatment plan.... I do not believe in "maintence" as if I was on some kind of diet....Since surgery, I have adapted a new lifestyle over time, new nutritional eating plan, giving up certain foods, learning to rely on new foods....as opposed to the way I used to eat before surgery, which led me down a path of destruction... With this new way of eating, how I eat and what I eat, I did not decide when I should stop loosing...I let my body decide when it reached what was normal.....which it eventually did....reaching a point of equilibrium......being certain I was loosing body fat and not essential lean mass... I have not lost, nor gained weight in over 2 years....I have a new lifestyle, a new normal weight, and this is where I will remain for the rest of my life.... For me, to increase calories would mean I want to gain weight, start to eat the wrong foods again, ...for me anyway.... This is how I have completed this Weight loss program with surgery....I consider myself 100% successful, could not be more pleased with myself and the end results.... Not saying this is the way to go, and that other people should follow my lead...just sharing how I did it....and live it today...

Could not agree more...but one must be willing to accept change...if not, they will always be struggling (fighting) the band, and may go and get fluid taken out rather than accept an alternate, new way of life..... Granted, we lived our entire lives eating the wrong foods the wrong way, and it can be hard to let go and change within 6 months.... but IMO that's what it is all about....

A weight loss plateau (stall) occurs when your weight does not change over a period of time. One of the most common reasons is because your metabolism has adjusted to meet your new lower weight. As you become smaller and lighter, your body does not need the same amount of calories. Weight loss will slow down, naturally, as your metabolism adjusts to the new you. For me, when I felt I was in a rut, I changed up daily routine...both in eating and exercising...., usually eating less and more healthy, and exercising more...every day possible. I started out with the minimal time and resistance on the elliptical, and over time, increased it to the point it was not doing anything for me....so I found I needed to start running....slow and minimal at first, then gradually increasing that in terms of speed and time (distance means nothing to me)....

My wife and I both work long days, so we go out to eat often....often I will just have a cup ,of Soup, and something from the appetizer list....then share a dessert with my wife..... When I do order a large entree, I will bring what is left and can make 2 meals out of it....

Yes it can...plus a dozen other things.....that's why it is addictive, and I feel like crap when I miss a day or two....

My Dr. did not care what I ate on my pre-op diet....all he wanted me to do is loose X # of pounds or he would postpone the surgery, and then we would have to start all over again.... Just so happens the shake way is the quickest and easiest to drop weight fast...so I did that, but I followed my own regime... BTW, my surgery was a Monday Morning....Friday I had my last appointment, including my final weight in.....after that, I went out and had my "Last Meal"....a favorite place where I knew once banded, I will never be able to go there again.... Then Saturday and Sunday I fasted, and good to go come Monday....

My approach has been simple...I was fat/obese simply because I ate too much..enough for 10 people.... Now, after weight loss surgery, I eat about 1/10th of what I used to....so since I eat so little, I try to make the best of what I do eat....eating the best foods I can, being selective for organic, etc... I have found that quite naturally, I started to omit certain foods from my life...like red meat, all breads, Pasta, rice, etc, etc.... I still eat chicken and fish, but I find I am eating less and less chicken.... Do I still have foods with sugar, carbs? I'm sure I do....but like I said, no matter what I eat, it is miniscule to what I used to consume,,,,Weight Loss Surgery I did not start out thinking vegan, or even vegetarian, but naturally, mainly because of the band and the food restrictions that went with it, I'm slowly headed that way....

Sounds about right, with the lapband....in most cases they have not done anything other than "Install" the device....now is the post op phase where it is all about healing from the surgery and getting back to normal...which sounds like you are doing. The next phase will be a series of band adjustments - fills....this is where the fun begins... Four weeks after surgery I had my first fill, and it was a good one....after which I started to gain weight....untill my 2nd fill 4 weeks after that..... I was very frustrated and upset to say the least....was told I needed to be counting calories, measuring portions, keeping a journal..... I immediately told them that that was what I've been doing with just about every other diet I have ever been on, and there have been plenty, and I did not need surgery and all the hoops and $$ that went into it, just to do what I have done before.... They calmed me explaining the adjustment process, Yellow-Green-Red Zone, etc, etc, and until I got the band in good harmony with me, there was nothing else I could do but diet.....but I stink at diets so weight gain it was...even with the band. For me it took 4-5 months after surgery to get it...then another few months of numerous stuck episodes, etc, adjusting my eating habits and behaviors, a new way of doing things... Happy to say, having gotten through that phase, the band is, and has been working PERFECTLY for the last 3 years now. Diet is a four letter word....I have adjusted myself to co-exist with a adjusted band, and have come to live a new lifestyle....a lifestyle that has brought me back to a normal weight, restored my health, and many other factors.... best thing I could have ever done for myself..... This thing DOES WORK!

First, without getting into too much detail, I am in a situation that I carry a syringe with me when I travel out of the country..I have had food poisoning, or some kind of bug, before being banded and I do not want that with the band. so I am prepared to do a complete unfill should I get the Noro-Virus or similar... My Port is 1/4" below the skin, and a one armed blind man can do it!!! Having said that, it is something between my Dr. and me, and I am not saying this is something I suggest to anybody...and I would say it is not the norm for banded people. But it would be something to speak with your Dr. about if you feel you would not have an issue doing it. As far as cruising, my wife and I go frequently.... First cruise after getting into the Green Zone, I let it ride and trusted my band....and sure enough, it did not matter how much food was offered to me, my band performed just as if I were anywhere else....I can eat just so much, then that's it...plus the lack of hunger/appetite, and general lack of interest in food doesn't hurt either.... But that's not me, that's because of WLS...... I have always found that my band is a constant...it does not change from day to day. (other than that minor tightness - looseness) But the big picture, it does not matter where I am at...a party, family gathering, fancy restaurant...or an all you can eat buffet... It's the band that makes the difference, not me. If it was up to me, I would have failed a long time ago just as I did with so many diets before WLS.... All I need to do, since my portions are limited, is to make the best of what I do eat and not blow it on food that is not nutritious...junk.

When I (used) to get stuck, NOTHING passes, not even saliva - hence the term Sliming...and I knew it immediately and had to take action immediately....needed to leave the table right then and get to the bathroom.... I read many posts from people saying they were stuck all day??? I wonder if they are feeling the results from traumatizing the band area, possible swelling, as opposed to really being "Stuck" I have at times taken too large a swallow, or not chewing thoroughly, something too hard perhaps, and feeling "Pain"...only to have that feeling linger all day...like being punched on the arm.... Getting stuck is not pleasant, but it was something I did not get overly scared about...it showed me the band was there, working, and that I needed to change my personal behavior and eating habits...as I got the band more adjusted, I too had to adjust more and more.... Changing forever the old ways that made me fat, introducing new ways that has made me skinny and fit. If you like to cook, you know you are going to burn yourself now and then, until you learn...does not mean you give up cooking....Yet, In MY Opinion, too many people run and get unfilled the first time they get stuck, instead of letting the band make them learn how to eat all over again.