Alexandra

Glad to hear things are looking up for you, Tutor! Now the fun begins. Take it slow with eating as you reintroduce solid foods. Welcome to Bandland!!

Congratulations, Mrs!! Rain on the wedding day is supposed to bring good luck, and I'm living proof. :biggrin1: Can't wait to see the photos!!

Hey, Babs, that's great news! It's good to know you don't need surgery. I think it's entirely possible to be "too tight," at this late stage of the game, and not know it. What's "too tight" might be just another way of saying that, three years out, our sensation level has dropped to the point where it's easy to routinely take one more bite than we would have otherwise, and without any negative repercussions (that we can feel). I mean, remember when we first had good restriction? I used to take a bite, wait two minutes, take another bite and so on, and after just a few spoonfuls of whatever I'd be done. Now that seems laughable, but if my inner architecture hasn't changed then that's what I should STILL be doing. Otherwise, I guess, I'm inadvertently packing the pouch a bit more than it should be. Sigh. The learning curve never ends, it seems.

I hear ALL THE TIME from people who have recovered from sleep apnea after losing weight. Of course, it's not a given--there may be other causes for the apnea that weight loss won't alleviate. But in the pre-op meetings I attend there are always people saying that when they lost XX pounds they lost the CPAP machine. Good luck--I hope it happens for you! Chances are excellent that it will.

Yay that it's all over and you're on the road to recovery! Take good care of yourself and rest up. Congratulations on another step to better health! :biggrin1:

Congratulations on your banding! These pains will fade with time, and in a couple of weeks they will be nothing but a memory. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself comfortable, and don't let yourself get too hungry as you're progressing through the healing phases. Good luck and best wishes for speedy healing!

What now? Only you can answer that. There's obviously too little context for anyone else to provide insight. Is your relationship good in general? Do you have any reason to believe he lies to you about anything else? Is it possible that he has been lying out of a misguided attempt to spare your feelings? How's your sexual relationship?Could this be about money as well as porn? How much has he spent? Talking it through, with him, is the only way you're going to find out anything more. Good luck and I hope it works out well!

That is indeed an awful situation, VWvaporchick, and I'm so glad they finally figured out what was wrong! Good on you and your mom for not letting it go. Take care and heal fast, and I too hope the rest of your banding journey is completely UNeventful!

Hi Denise, Until and unless you know precisely what set her off, you can't really address her fears. It is certainly odd, because as a nurse she should understand the relatively low risk. I'm thinking her concern is more about other things--the most uncharitable that comes to mind is the idea that you will lose weight and she won't, and that's bothering her. I had a similar reaction from a relative who, while she didn't come right out and beg me not to have surgery, was up front about the fact that she would "hate" me if I lost significants amount of weight. You know that this is YOUR decision. If she's not going to come clean with you so you can have a reasonable discussion about it, then you have every right to ask her to keep her concerns to herself. Of course we want our families and friends to be supportive but if they can't do that, the least they can be is quiet. Good luck, and do let us know what her problem is, if you ever find out. I'd be interested to know!

DEFINITELY go to the support group meetings! They are so helpful, I can't overstate it. There are two each month, and the second one (on the last Wednesday) is led by the nurse practitioner in the practice. I haven't been to one in a while since it conflicts with the pre-op seminars I like to attend, but maybe I can make it this month. The other meeting is held on the second Wednesday of the month, and I'm often at those as well. Come on down!!

Holy cow, Wheet, that is the oddest thing I've ever heard--and I thought I'd heard it all! I can't wait to hear where your port's gone wandering off to...

Babs, you've made a huge stride forward in getting a doctor who cares to do the right thing by you! That must be such a relief. Good luck with everything; I hope it turns out that you don't need additional surgery to stay healthy. :hug:

Hi Michael, The first thing you learn about banding is that everyone's journey is different. There are people who reached goal in one year and have never needed another tweak, and there are people three and four years out who are still struggling to find their own sweet spot. All I can share is my own experience. I'm three years out and have lost 130 lbs. Am I "at goal"? According to the weight charts I'm still a good 30 lbs overweight. But I haven't been actively trying to lose weight for almost a year now, so I guess I fit your description. In MY experience, there is a status quo reached that allows me to eat whatever I want, in small quantities. My hunger pangs have never approached what they were prior to banding, although since I'm human I will get hungry if I haven't eaten in several hours. The only reason I will PB is if I eat too fast or too much, which is honestly easier to do now because some of the sensation seems to have disappeared over time. I had an unfill back in March to deal with persistent reflux, and an endoscopy and other tests showed everything was in fine order. Just recently I had a small fill and it's proving to be quite a challenge. I've sort of forgotten what real restriction feels like and I'm having to learn all over again. In the next several weeks I imagine I will lose a few pounds, and if I can get back to that status quo of effortless maintenance I will be as happy as can be. The long-term goal is to maintain without having to TRY every single minute to control my intake. I want my band to help with that by lowering the desire and impulse to eat. It's doing a wonderful job and I hope to keep it in me the rest of my life.

Wow, Julie, all I can say is GOOD LUCK! It sounds like there is no "wrong" decision here. Either way you go you will have a wonderful job and things you value. You're a very lucky woman. I don't know how old you are, but from where I sit (the ripe old age of 44, with two kids and a job that has me in a total rut) the new opportunity sounds mondo attractive. Weight loss is up to you and can happen in any environment; we have a member who moved to Africa shortly after being banded (brave soul!). Job opportunities like the one you describe don't come along every day, and it's the paths we don't travel that we regret. Whatever you decide, though, you win. Remember that.

I've been assured that the journals will be returning. The owner upgraded the forum software and is still working out some issues that caused. They should be back shortly. Thanks for your patience!!

Hi everyone, I've been assured that the journals will be returning. The owner upgraded the forum software and is still working out some issues that caused. They should be back shortly. Thanks for your patience!!

Congratulations!! That is a wonderful validation indeed. :biggrin1:

I picked "none of the above" because I had maybe a 10% loss a couple of months post-surgery, not enough for anyone else to notice. And it grew back completely. I had the same experience after giving birth and after my endoscopy.

Oh you poor thing! :puke:

I started a new thread with your question, Tutor, because this way a lot more people will see it. Welcome to LBT! My take on your symptoms is that anything in the immediate post-op period is likely normal. Internal pains might be stitches dissolving or muscles reverting back after the gas leaves your body, and of course anything might itself be a gas pain. If you have redness/swelling/heat anywhere on your abdomen, that could be a sign of infection and you should absolutely call your doctor. Bruising is probably just a holdover from surgery. If you have any questions you should call your doctor, and congratulations on your banding!

Randi, it's a personal thing and you may just have to experiment and see what works. Many people can eat a couple of crackers where one bite of a bagel would stuff them up completely. So it's really just a try-it-and-see thing!

The board was being updated earlier, and it's possible there are some residual kinks to be worked out. I'll let the owner know but they're probably working on it as we speak.

Take care of yourself!

Yowza, Chameleon, tell us how you really feel! I have to say that I am one of those very odd people who appreciate having my time saved in stores that don't sell things in my size. If a salesperson is rude, in any way, I'm very likely to never shop there again and might even complain. But I don't feel victimized; that person is likely rude to everyone in different ways. If the scenario in the OP happened to me, I'd probably just have given the person a glare and said "thanks, I know" and kept shopping. As with all things, sweeping generalizations get us nowhere.

Carla, only time will tell. You know enough to know that staying too tight is no way to go. Stick to liquids longer if you want; there's no reason to rush back to solid foods if they're not comfortable for you. But if you are having any trouble with liquids an unfill is in order. Good luck, and stay healthy!!