Alexandra

My advice is only to not beat yourself up about it. If we were able to eat like birds prior to having restriction, we wouldn't have needed the band! It's most important to eat healthy foods during this time, since you're recovering from surgery and are setting your body up for an extended period of significantly reduced calories, but I don't really see the point in actively trying to LOSE weight while it's so hard. Concentrate on what you're eating, not the quantities. You know the bandster mantra: Protein first, then veggies, then carbs. So work on making that a permanent part of your life. That's plenty to keep you busy while you're waiting for your next fill. Leaving our MO lives behind means changing many habits, permanently. It's completely unrealistic for anyone to expect that they can all be changed overnight, particularly when we are not yet getting the help we need so desperately. This is what led us to the band in the first place! Don't beat yourself up because you're not a miracle worker. You're doing great!!

Hi Terri! You did great, and welcome to LBT! I'm sure you'll get lots of thoughts and advice about Mexico and financing, though I have nothing to offer on either. Just wanted to say hi and welcome!

Tee hee! Here's one I never thought about: Just now I was cleaning up and organizing my many bookmarks, something I don't do nearly often enough. In the category "shopping" I deleted a dozen saved sites for PLUS SIZE clothes! Won't be needing those again, nosirree!!

The alcohol may have contributed by allowing the LES (lower esophageal sphincter) to relax more than it usually would as you sleep, and thus permitting material still in your pouch to migrate upward into the esophagus. This is just an amateur theory, mind you, but stopping drinking is one of the many suggested treatments for reflux so it makes sense to me.

From age 10, when I spent the summer in diet camp, to age 40, when I lost 40 lbs using ephedra, I've tried many different approaches to losing weight. They all failed in the long run because ultimately there was nothing to prevent me from eating more than I needed more often than not. And the weight came back on. Banding is the ONLY thing that has helped my body KNOW when enough is enough. And it's the only thing that has helped me maintain the weight loss for any length of time. I'm totally in love with my band.

I did shakes for a long time after banding too, but they weren't elaborate like yours. (Sounds good!) I just used a Kashi mix that I got at Trader Joe's and shook it up in a bottle with milk. I would drink it on my way to work. While very satisfying, I realized at some point that I was getting something like 350-400 calories in that way! I was filling a 24 oz bottle and it was just way more than was called for, but less than that and it didn't keep me full long enough. So I switched to Protein bars and that's still my favorite easy breakfast.

Thanks for the information, Tricia. Best of luck to you!!

Oh, Pam, I'm so sorry to hear your news. You have a great attitude, though, and that's what's going to keep you healthy through this. Leatha's right, 5-6 weeks seems WAY too quickly to think about rebanding. 6 months minimum is what I've heard, and even then rebanding is considered only case-by-case. I suppose the protocol might be different with the MidBand as opposed to an Inamed band, but I don't see why that would be. Good luck to you with your removal surgery. One thing at a time, and this too shall pass. Enough cliches! You know our hearts are with you and wishing you quick healing. :hug:

I'm completely unfilled now and have been for six months of this year. It seems to take only a very tiny little amount of fluid to over-restrict me, so I'm sticking with what I've got for now.

Tee hee! I can't imagine the same thing ever happening to me, but I can imagine how you felt. I got the same tingle recently when I looked at the label in a sweater I bought a while back and it said L. No XXs, just an L. That sort of thing gives us a lift for the whole day. Yay for you, indeed!!

It's wonderful to see a post like yours, Melanie. Continued success to you and thanks so much for posting!! :biggrin1:

Lady Janey, it's unrealistic to expect a steady, day-by-day loss of weight no matter WHAT regimen you're on. Your body isn't a machine, and it loses weight in fits and starts. I did Optifast years ago and yes, the weight dropped off quickly but not in a totally steady way. You may not have lost today, but by the end of the week you will have lost weight. Not to worry. Well, you might want to do something about being weak and tired--try to get in more fluids and rest a bit. I'm not a fan of Optifast for this reason, but if your doctor wants you to do it you'll just have to soldier through it.

Carrie, just checking in to see how you're doing! Feeling better and better, I hope! How are things?

Momof4, what's MGB?

How are you feeling this morning, Corinnel? I have no suggestions about "easy to keep down" liquids--liquids are liquids and if you can swallow your saliva and eat a popsicle you should be able to drink anything you want. Just drink slowly!! Take small sips and leave time between each one to let it go down. Good luck, and please keep us posted!

You guys are all absolutely, perfectly NORMAL. The return of hunger means your healing is going well, and as Bobby says you will return to a normal menu soon enough. This is the hard part, and my best advice has always been to not let yourselves get too hungry. Go ahead and eat if you want to, just don't overdo it at one time. You're human! You get hungry! Just now you're healing and that's why you need to be gentle with yourselves, but there's no point in starving. Good luck to all of you, and congratulations on your banding!!

Hi Bobby! You know what? I'm going to climb on that bandwagon with you. 198 by New Year's!! We can do it!!!

Mrs. P, I hope your friend is all right!! It is, or should be, common knowledge in the banding community that ongoing and persistent reflux can lead to significant esophageal problems. This is why everyone recommends that reflux be cured, not just treated with medications. Loosening the band is something that a lot of patients don't want to face, since they assume it will lead to stalled weight loss or even weight gain, but if reflux is a persistent problem it must be done. And if that doesn't address the reflux, band removal is the next step. But even given that it sounds as though your friend had other issues going on. She must have been having serious symptoms if her esophagus is damaged enough to require removal! And it's possible that even pre-banding she may have had a compromised esophagus or been suffering from reflux. I'm not discounting that the band may have added to her problems, and the story dramatically points up the need to be alert to symptoms and issues post-banding. I'm just saying that for the situation to have become as serious as it sounds, medical attention may not have been sought as soon as it should have been. Once again, I hope her surgery goes well and she heals quickly!!

Now, you'd think they'd have foreseen this possibility. I'd say he has significant grounds for a suit! Poor guy.

From what I've read, the Vertical Banded Gastroplasty is no longer done much in the U.S., unless it's been improved upon since I was doing research. It's not adjustable and is more prone to dangers complications such as staple-line disruptions. I was attracted to banding specifically because it didn't involve any permanent changes to my anatomy. If I were going to make that leap, I'd probably go for the RNY if only because it's much more enthusiastically endorsed by the medical community.

Sweetrepose, you'd be amazed at how little food obese people actually need to stay nourished. These periods of "forgetting to eat" do not go on long--a few weeks here and there, perhaps. No one is going to become malnourished in such a short time as long as they are drinking enough, getting some Protein (Protein shakes are great for these times), and taking a Multivitamin. Sooner or later, for whatever reason, we are able to eat a bit more over time. Not to worry.

Corinne, no one here can do anything for you. CALL YOUR DOCTOR. If you're really not keeping anything down you may need to be given IV fluids again. This is nothing to fool around with--CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!

You can eat what's in the sushi rolls, but the rice and seaweed might be very problematic once you have a good level of restriction. You'll see other threads on this very subject, in fact, if you look around.

You say your rebanding cannot be done laparascopically. Is rebanding even an option, medically? It sounds as though your stomach had some pretty significant trauma. What does your doctor say?

Wow. I wonder what sorts of other problems she's been having? It sounds like from this that removing her band will only lead to her eating more of the same.