klariade

It is totally possible! I did it! I lost my first 100 pounds in less than a year. I was lucky, too, that my body seemed to be made for the band and I lost easily. After the first 100 pounds, it got tougher and tougher to lose and my weight loss slowed considerably. I've been stalled for a few months now, but I just got a fill after not having one for almost a year, so things will hopefully start to pick up again. If I can lose 30 more pounds I'll be happy! Set realistic goals, and also set small goals. Maybe you can set your first goal to be getting to 299...and then set another small goal, and then another. When you have a massive amount of weight to lose like we do, the bigger picture can be very overwhelming. By setting smaller goals you will be able to Celebrate your achievements more often and be more successful. A word of advice on those height and weight charts...they are very unrealistic in my opinion. My best friend is 5'8" and weighs around 160 and wears a size 8 and she looks like a toothpick, and according to most height and weight charts she is at the very top of the normal weight range. At 170 she was considered overweight, and let me tell you there wasn't any fat on her body then either. Now, I don't know about you but to me that is just ridiculous! There are many more factors that go into your ideal weight than just your height. Your body type (are you naturally muscular or not), body shape, and bone structure (small, medium, or large frame?) all factor in. My advice would be to set a realistic goal. My initial goal was to get under 200 lbs. Now that I am almost there, My goal is to reach somewhere in the 180's and I feel like I will be perfectly happy there. I started at 374, and am currently 212. At 187 I will be exactly HALF of the person I used to be, which will be really cool! To me, that is a MUCH BIGGER achievement than matching a silly height and weight chart!

In my post-op phases, I never used straws. Now, I actually prefer using a straw. I have a water bottle with a built-in straw and I actually find that I drink MORE water and more frequently when I'm sipping from that water bottle. It really helps me to get my water in each day. But honestly, I think after you've been banded for awhile it's just personal preference and, like a lot of foods, whether or not your band can handle it.

My hubby and I make pot roast all the time. It's soooo easy! It also makes the meat more tender so you can eat beef easier. Put a roast in (any size), add potatoes and baby carrots (or whatever veggies you like), 1 can of cream of mushroom Soup (I use the low fat/low sodium), 1 packet of onion soup mix. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Makes great leftovers too! I also tried a DELICIOUS beef stew last week...but I have to find the recipe. I make a ton of it and froze it so we have quick meals ready to go.

I have struggled with acid reflux for years (even before the band). Lucky for me, my mother is a gastrointestinal nurse so I get lots of help and tips from her! Contrary to popular belief, acid reflux is not necessarily a sign of being too tight, although getting an unfill can give you some relief. There are a lot of other factors such as diet, stress, other medical issues, etc. Acid reflux can be controlled by diet, and will probably call for major changes. Avoid fried & greasy foods, fatty foods, spicy foods, anything high in sugar, caffeine, and chocolate (the devil food for me!). Also if you find a food is causing your reflux to flare up, avoid it! If you're not already on an acid reflux medication, you can get it over the counter. My mom suggests Prilosec over Prevacid because you can by it OTC at a higher dose, although she says all things being equal they both work just as well. She also says generic brands don't work as well (this from the queen of cheap! she'll buy almost anything generic if it's cheaper, but won't for certain meds). Also make sure you stay hydrated, it will help keep the acid down. My dad and brother also suffer from severe acid reflux, and were on medication for a while. They both have been able to wean themselves off the meds and control it simply by diet. And raising the head of the bed is the BEST thing you can do for reflux, whether you have nighttime flare-ups or not. So, there you have it...advice from a bona fide GI nurse with a bandster daughter! Hope this helps!

Yup, that's gas pain alright! Not much you can do about it, it will eventually work its way out. Do a little walking, and if you can lay down on your left side to help it pass through.

Someone once told me that being stuck is like the big-O...there will be no doubt in your mind when it happens! You had a very large fill, so it will take a few days to get used to it. When you have a large fill, it puts stress on your stomach so you need to go through post-surgery stages again (but only a few days this time, not weeks like after surgery). With a fill like that, you should be on liquids for about 24 hours. Eat some mushies for a day or two after that, and then gradually build back up to solids. Also, sometimes it takes your body up to a week to get used to a new fill. So I would give it some time yet and see if anything changes. If it's been a week or more and you're still having trouble eating, then go back to the doctor and get a slight unfill.

Ok, this is odd and I'm wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this. I'm sometimes having trouble with liquids (more often in the morning, but can happen anytime). It doesn't matter if it's hot or cold, but it feels like it's just sitting there on top of my band. I can eat solids just fine, no problems at all except for the occasional stuck on bread or pasta (which I shouldn't be eating anyway). And holy cow, I can't eat peanut butter anymore!!! I don't know what I'm going to do without my peanut butter fix! LOL! Anyway, it just struck me as odd and I haven't ever had trouble with liquids unless I was having trouble with solids as well, which are no problem for me right now. Any ideas what's going on?

That happened to me my first fill after surgery. It took two doctors and about 20 minutes for them to get the needle into my port! They had me in all sorts of positions trying to get to it, I wasn't sure they would ever get it! He said sometimes there is scar tissue around the port from surgery, or it moves a little making it hard to access. The next time and every time afterwards it's been very easy to find, and I am sure it's because there is less fat tissue covering the port. Hopefully your fills will be smooth from here on out!

Are your sinuses stuffed up? If so, you're probably having post-nasal drip that is clogging up your stoma. Whenever I get a cold (which is often, because I teach elementary school and their germs are EVERYWHERE!), I get incredibly tight because all the glorious snot is clogging me up and I have trouble eating. Some bad colds I've had to do only liquids for a few days. My doctor said this is very common, and suggested a decongestant and drinking hot tea for some relief (it helps to open you up). Hope this helps!

I don't count calories, carbs, protein, or anything else. I don't measure my food, I just listen to my body and stop eating when it tells me I'm satisfied. I eat sensibly, and make sure I have protein at every meal. I eat protein first, then veggies/fruit, and then carbs if there's enough room left in my stomach. A typical meal for me would be 4-6 oz of protein, 1/4 cup veggies or fruit, and a 1/4 cup of carbs of some sort. I mix it up too so I don't get bored, so sometimes I might eat more carbs than protein at a meal and that's ok. It all evens out in the end. I try to snack on protein bars and other high-protein snacks and/or veggies and fruit. I've taken this weight loss approach as a lifestyle change, not as a diet. I don't want to be counting calories and proteins and carbs, weighing and measuring my food for the rest of my life, so I haven't done it during my weight loss. I do once in awhile measure my portion sizes just to make sure I'm staying on track and keeping myself in check. Overall, your goal should be to live a healthy lifestyle and make healthy choices.

I swear the more I lose, the more skin I have! LOL! I think of my batwings...and tummy rolls...and thigh jiggle...and saggy boobs...as battle scars. I'd rather have the skin than the stuff that filled it before! Besides, 20 more pounds and I should be able to take flight with my batwings.

I remember noticing right after surgery that my stomach signals come from higher in my stomach. When I'm getting full, I get a little bit of pressure right behind the bottom of my sternum (middle of rib cage). I very rarely get the low gut full feeling. I also burp when I'm full (completely involuntary, although I've learned to stifle it well).

I doubt your mom was saying anything to be hurtful. You probably surprised her by eating more than she expected you to be able to. It was probably more of a shock comment than anything. If it bothers you, I would just say something to her about it or ask her what she meant by it. I've even surprised myself when comparing what I can eat to other people. Many of the thinner people I know eat about the same as I do before they are satisfied or slightly full. Of course, there are those people who pile their plates so high it makes me want to vomit and I wonder how the heck they fit it all in...but that's another thread. Sounds like you're doing a great job!

You're probably still full of gas from surgery. It helps to walk a little bit, and if you need to lay down lie on your left side (it helps move things along since your digestive system is on the left side). Some Gas X may help too. The gas pain is the worst part of recovery, and no amount of pain meds will help it go away! I remember my first good burp after surgery...it never felt so good to let out a good belch! LOL!

Ditto on the H2O!! The days I don't get my water in, I have a lot of trouble eating. When I do drink at least 64oz of water a day, I rarely get stuck (unless I eat mindlessly and forget to chew!). I think once you're 2 years out or more, the game changes a little. I don't want to be constantly going back for fills and unfills the rest of my life, so I'm learning to live with what I think is the good restriction I have now. Stress and that time of the month also effects my band and makes me tighter. I've learned that at certain times of the month I just can't get certain foods down! I think this is a life-long learning process. The past year I've only lost 10 pounds, been riding the weight loss rollercoaster and been under tremendous stress with my job and planning a wedding. So, I feel ya! I've got about 30 pounds to go myself, and I've noticed the closer I get to goal the slower I lose. At this rate It'll take me 10 years to get to goal!!

It is very common for your lap band to feel tighter in the morning. It has to do with how your bodily fluids are dispersed while sleeping (more evenly dispersed). As you go throughout the day your fluids shift and release the pressure on your band. I have trouble eating in the mornings, so I normally don't even attempt anything solid. I drink protein shakes or eat yogurt or cottage cheese. My doctor also suggested drinking hot tea in the morning to open yourself up. I don't know why, but chai tea does the trick for me every time (I sometimes drink it when I get stuck too). You could also be having a "first bite syndrome," when your first few bites don't go down easily and/or get stuck. I get this a lot. Eat your first few bites VERRRRY SLOWWWWLY and wait a minute or two before taking your next bite. And of course remember to chew! After those first few bites, everything should go down ok.

Ladies I can tell you from experience it feels FANTASTIC!!! I started at a size 32 and could only shop at Catherine's or Fashion Bug (because they're the only stores that carry up to a 32). I'm now in between a 14 & 16. I just bought 2 pairs of size 14 jeans at Old Navy...I don't fit into them yet but I've been trying to shed my 16's for months now so I needed some motivation and they were on sale. The first time I tried on a pair of jeans at Old Navy (about a year and a half ago) I bawled my eyes out right there in the dressing room. People looked at me like I was crazy but I didn't care! Now I can shop anywhere I want! I can go shopping with my girlfriends and we can shop IN THE SAME STORES! That's never been the case for me, and I love it! My entire life I've watched all my friends go into stores I couldn't go into, and gotten weird looks when I stepped foot in those stores. Now I've become a bit of a shopping addict. haha. Keep working those bands girls, you'll be out of Lane Bryant before you know it!

Well said Cindy! I'm also finding that being on these boards and giving advice to the new bandsters is helping me in my own journey. It makes me stop and think about whether or not I'm following my own advice! This is indeed a great place!

Normally I would say wait it out a week, but since you are going on vacation you might want to get an unfill. You don't want to be on vacation and be too tight with no way of fixing it. Especially since you're going to be on a boat in the middle of nowhere. You can always get a fill again when you come back. I agree though, after my first 3 fills I've never had more than .5cc's at a time. Even that's a pretty big difference for me now!

I have a friend who was banded a month before me in 2009. She only lost 4 pounds the first 8 months, and she was following every rule but had trouble getting good restriction. It was extremely frustrating for her, especially since I lost 100 pounds in the time it took her to lose 4. Finally, after losing weight extremely slowly for 8 months she started to lose 2 lbs a week and finally had good restriction. She has since lost over 60 lbs and is feeling great! Don't give up hope just yet, you might be one of those people who just take more time to lose weight. Also, have you had your thyroid checked? An irregular thyroid level will cause you to have trouble losing weight. There could be other medical reasons as well, so have your doctor run a full bloodwork panel to see if there's anything else wrong. Keep the faith!

PB = productive burp. It's when you burp and some food or liquid comes up with it. It happens to me mostly when I don't chew enough or when I've eaten too much. Not pleasant, but better than getting stuck.

Definitely get to the doctor and get some fluid out! I had the same thing happen to me last year...I had a 0.5cc fill and I was way too tight, was PBing all the time and could hardly eat. I can be very stubborn, so I stuck it out for almost 3 months hoping I'd adjust. I ended up gaining weight because I could only eat slider foods (which, let's face it most of them aren't all that healthy) and irritating my stoma and going on liquids for a few days. My doc took out 0.2cc's and it was a world of relief! It's amazing how much difference just the tiniest of an adjustment can make.

An x-ray should be able to tell your doctor where your band is positioned and if it has slipped. Just like any other profession, every doctor has a slightly different approach to the lap band. My doctor doesn't do fills under flouro either, he just feels for the port and then sticks the needle in. My doctor also doesn't tell me how much is in my band unless I ask, and even then he doesn't like telling. His reason is because everyone is different and where someone might have good restriction at, say, 4cc's, someone else might need 8. He doesn't want us to get all caught up in how much is in the band, rather paying attention to our bodies signs and letting our bodies tell us when our band is too tight, too loose, or just right. Not fully knowing your situation, I would be inclined to go with the doc and say that you're just too tight. Last year when I was too tight I had all the same symptoms you do, and I could hardly eat a thing. Having just 0.5cc's taken out made a world of difference! It's funny, when I was too tight I also gained weight because the only stuff I could get down were slider foods, and they aren't always the healthiest! Keep us posted on how it goes!

It is up to you what you want to do, but if you do your own fills and something goes wrong (either from the fill or otherwise, like a band slip or erosion) there isn't an insurance company in the world that will cover any surgery to correct it and it will end up costing you thousands of dollars. I would try really hard to find a doctor or fill center or some other alternative other than doing it yourself. You need to have someone that knows what they're doing and knows how much to put in/take out based on your diet and weight loss. Please be careful, you could really end up doing more harm than good.

Unfortunately the insurance industry has taken so much control over the medical field that it has caused the price of services and meds to skyrocket. Insurance companies often pay your doctors less than half of what they charge (it's not the doctor's office charging less, it's the insurance companies paying only a portion of the cost), so that ends up costing people who don't have insurance even more. I also have to pay for my fills as of a couple months ago (got married, new insurance that doesn't cover fills) and yes, they are expensive! I now fill/unfill with discretion. If I don't really need it, I don't get it done. Keep in mind also that while the cost may seem high, you're paying for more than just the saline. You're also paying for the needles and any other equipment your doctor might use, as well as for your doctor's time. They also factor in malpractice and a boatload of other costs. Still, it does seem a high cost. But, if you really do need a fill, isn't $250 worth it for your good health?