Maddy1

I had my band placed 3 1/2 years ago and last 6 months developed increasing problems with vomiting and pain with food passing through the band. No amount of chewing or small bites were helping me swallow Protein food, e.g., meats or chicken or seafood. I had some problems with this for a longer period but I thought it was all me. As it turns out, finally visited a new doctor in my practice who advised I was probably too tight. 1.25 ml less of Fluid later and I can finally eat protein foods and I am less hungry. Actually lost 10 lbs this first month on a bariatric diet! The doctor tells me that they know more about the lap band now and have found that too much tightness causes lots of problems like slipped bands and dialation. I am so glad I finally went back to discuss the problem instead of assuming it was all me.

Guessing not too many people like to talk about this, but I figure if I am honest, perhaps I'll get some support for starting over. Sometimes life can get the best of you. Lack of a support group has been a problem for me. Nothing in my area so I am trying to start one myself. Also, I retired from my job. I'm 62 and could have kept working but my husband and I have been able to get by ok this first 3 months of retirement. I am finally not tired all the time and have more time to focus on taking care of myself. This has been a huge challenge to refocus on me. I have spent 20+ years working long days and taking care of everyone. Now I am going to try to learn how to take care of myself.

Anyone out there from lower Delaware (Dover and south) interested in being part of a LB Support Group? Doesn't seem to be anything down our way and I could sure use the support and am willing to organize.

Update here! I haven't written much in the last month because I am still recovering from my broken arm. I am much improved, 4 weeks out. I start physical therapy on Monday but have been doing a little on my own. I definitely have more movement. I am not back to walking yet because the walking tends to make my shoulder area ache more near the fracture. But here's the thing, I am still losing weight, slowly, and I guess I am surprised. I was just hoping to avoid gaining any weight since I am not getting the exercise. At my age, I don't think there is much weight loss without movement, hence the surprise. I have been thinking about what has changed about me in this new "start over". Why was I less successful the first time in the year after I had this surgery? Well I've already talked about some of it, the stress of my job. But I think there is something else. I seem to have made some peace with portion size and recognizing those things that don't go down well or are hard to chew. I also noticed that when I get a full plate (say when we go out for a meal), I feel overwhelmed at how much food is sitting in front of me. I have developed an aversion to anything fried as I began to recognize it didn't feel so good when I ate it, yet before I loved it. I can tell right away what foods I won't be able to chew well. I also used to have this feeling that to avoid going back for seconds, I really needed to fill my plate to be sure I had enough. Wow, now I can pretty much judge by sight what is the right portion size and I have confidence it will be enough for me. I have to tell you, these are pretty big changes for me! And because I eat slowly, I find myself waiting for the "soft stop" cue (I got that term from Jean) to tell me when I have had enough. "Enough" is becoming my new "full"! So I am happy with this. Of course the weight loss is slow right now (5 lbs since I first broke my arm 4 weeks ago) but I am satisfied with this progress for me. I am feeling confident going forward with controlling my weight loss!

This morning I noticed blogs were up and running, so here I am! My October was eventful. I retired at the end of June but stayed on with my company per diem. Didn't realize how busy I might be and that was one of my big problems with weight loss when I worked full time, no time for taking care of me. I had a request to fill in for a manager in a facility that had lost its leadership rather abruptly. It looked like the time could go on indefinitely, so this time I made a boundary limit, 4 weeks. I found I could walk at lunchtime which gave me a head start on getting in my exercise. I also had a new tool, Emily's Bites. This is a great web site for people on the go. Emily shows how to make very tasty meals in a muffin cup. I made up several recipes from her website before I started this position and froze them in batches. In the morning, I just pulled out a breakfast and a lunch perfectly proportioned to about one cup. By the time I was ready to eat, they just needed a little warm up in the microwave. This helped me to stick to my eating plan. Everything was going well the first week. The facility knew I had prescheduled my vacation this year the second week and they agreed to that. My husband and I went off to New England and had a great several days. We walked together every day. No fast food. It worked better than I thought. Then by Friday night, we made it to Brooklyn to spend our last few days with our daughter. We had a great dinner that evening and were walking home to her apartment when I tripped on uneven sidewalk and fell and broke my left arm in two places. Probably the most painful experience I have had. So walking went on hold for awhile and I couldn't cook so we bought frozen meals with appropriate calories. A few weeks have passed and I am finally starting to feel better. Really wished I had had a recliner in my home, but I have made do with lots of pillows. The best news of all for me today was that I haven't gained ANY weight! I didn't lose any the last few weeks, but as I am just sitting around all day, and I am older (62) with a slower metabolism, I am just so happy I didn't get further behind in my goals! My arm is going to take a long time to heal (per my ortho doc) but I am hoping to start walking this week and gradually building my stamina back up. My sling keeps my arm from bouncing around too much and, although I may not get back to 2 miles for awhile, just getting back to myself and starting the process again is exciting. I will be till Christmas before I am healed and my therapy is complete, but it is such a relief to be feeling somewhat better and know I can avoid using this as an opportunity to gain weight again!

So sorry to hear your terrible news. You are being very strong. May God hold your family extra close........

it took me awhile to figure out how to order. I don't order anything fried. I have learned to go with an appetizer like shrimp or a half chicken Caesar and then pick the least fattening vege as a side. If I have a craving for red meat I look for a "petite sirloin" which is usually about 4 oz and I cut it in half (same with a plain burger)and give the rest to someone else or take home to for a meal another day. You will find that eventually you can change your old habits and a normal plate of food can seem overwhelmingly huge.

Could I just say the "starting over" seems to be improving! I would have posted in my blog area but those are closed for the time being. I am excited I am losing some weight. I expect it will be slow as I am older and my metabolism is lower than many young people. However, I am equally excited by new things I am learning and practicing: One thing is that I am truly learning to listen to my stomach and not be as confused about when to stop eating. I am also learning to measure food, eat the amount you are supposed to even if you don't seem to feel any response by your band. I know these are two important lessons to learn but I didn't quite get them the first time around. Without the stressors I had previously, I seem to be more in tune with my body. Secondly, I continue to feel motivated to walk and am starting to enjoy the exercise. I feel better for it and I have come to realize any stiffness improves after 5-10 minutes and I just have to move through that. These may seem so simple to many of you who have been so successful, but they are really big deals to me now because I can see some progress. It is giving me courage and faith in my own abilities to continue the journey! Yes!

Know something of what you're experiencing because I have been there too. I spent a lot of time soul searching, writing on here, and getting support back. Lots of people have gotten off track like we have but have been able to get back on track, as I am doing as well. Can you get a weekend away to pull yourself together and get off the roller coaster? Can you maybe just decide one positive thing you try to do for yourself every day? Maybe its only one meal to work on, or one exercise session. Take it one meal and one day at a time. Draw courage from the times you do well and forgive yourself when you don't. Every day is a new opportunity to take care of yourself. Good luck. If you want a buddy in the process, feel free to contact me.

There is a brand new one coming out now. Just read about it on Google News today.

I think there is a law that prohibits not covering pre-existing conditions. Check into it.

There are so many factors involved in this, only your doctor can say for sure. BUT, these are classic symptoms of being too tight which can be dangerous. You should call your doctor immediately.

There are so many factors involved in this, only your doctor can say for sure. BUT, these are classic symptoms of being too tight which can be dangerous. You should call your doctor immediately.

I am also starting over. So far, successfully this time. I started a blog on here by that name "starting over". I thought if I could honestly talk about what I was experiencing, maybe that would help me. Everyone who has responded to me has been supportive. I think we can start over. That we have the desire to is so important. We are not failures, we just took a detour and can get back on track.

I am also starting over. So far, successfully this time. I started a blog on here by that name "starting over". I thought if I could honestly talk about what I was experiencing, maybe that would help me. Everyone who has responded to me has been supportive. I think we can start over. That we have the desire to is so important. We are not failures, we just took a detour and can get back on track.

Also, online you can go to Emilybites.com. Basically she converts recipes to perfect portion sizes for the LB person. She lowers the calories by using low fat products and ends up cooking the recipe in muffin tins. I just discovered it yesterday and tried two recipes, one for pumpkin cranberry apple oatmeal and one for chicken parmesan. She even includes calories and other nutritional information as well as Weight Watchers points. I love it. You can cook one recipe and freeze several other meals.

So things have been going pretty well. I am getting one or two 30 min walks in every day and sticking to the diet. I was down to 229 lbs. this morning, the first time I have been under 230 for months. I was feeling very positive. I headed for Walmart for a few groceries. As I was entering the store, sitting on a bench in the entry area was a 30 something woman who appeared to be having trouble breathing. She was extremely obese, likely over 450 lbs (I can reasonable make that guess because I had an aunt who weighed that much and was about the same size). As a nurse, I was concerned for her and I asked her if she was ok. Through her difficult breaths, she indicated she would be ok and she said "I'm waiting for an electric cart. I just walked in from my car." I was stunned and felt a fear I hadn't experienced before....I could be experiencing those same symptoms if I don't take care of myself. Funny how I don't think I was ever afraid of being overweight before. It didn't interfere much with the things I do, but did I only do the things I was able to do, not everything I could do? That is a thought I am going to give much attention to as I go through this journey.

Pork roast, no matter how I make it or how tender I cook it, just sticks there.

I was banded January 9, 2011. I was so excited. Did well on an Optifast diet prior to surgery. Did very well the first 4 months. Lost 43 pounds and felt so good. New clothes, people noticing. Then I started to struggle. At the time, I had an upper management job and my responsibility was 24/7. Things started getting very challenging at work and I found myself working 12 hour days (mostly a desk job) and I became exhausted with little time to eat and less time to think about it or exercise. Not an excuse, but I am 62 years old and this was too much for me. My weight loss stopped. Several months went by and I started to see myself barely moving, grabbing anything I could to eat quickly through the day and the weight started to creep back up. I gained back 20 lbs. So...I retired because I knew it was time. After a couple of months of finally getting my energy back and I am working to get back on track. I am trying to walk at least 30 minutes every other day. I want to get back to every day. I am working on my diet. I have lost 9 of those pound over the last 3-4 weeks. I am desperate for a Support Group because the closest one in my area is an hour and 15 min away. So, today I posted a forum to seek possible new members and I will start one myself. Do you think it is possible to start over after all this time? I feel so much stronger now. I didn't realize how much my job was killing me in stress and time I did not have to take care of myself. I would appreciate any advice anyone might want to share.

Feel so good about yesterday and hopeful for today! One day at a time. I can do this. I can control what goes in my mouth. Phrases I keep saying to feel strong. I made it through yesterday and did well. I had a second 30 minute walk with my husband in the evening. My feet and legs were hurting from the intensity of my walk in the morning but I kept telling myself I could push through the stiffness and 10 minutes into the walk I felt much better! I woke up to more weight loss this morning, now 230.5. I was pretty happy about that. I am thinking about what it is that stopped the positive thinking in the past. Clearly that positive thinking leads me to success but why is it so hard to sustain? I want to make it past that point, just like I did with the walk last night. When it gets challenging, I want to keep myself moving forward until the feeling passes. Would anyone share with me what you might have done to get through these moments?

My mom used that phrase, "honesty is the best policy" and I decided to start this blog with that thought. I have mostly failed at keeping up with my lap band program. I was banded in January of 2012 and lost 43 lbs in the first 4 months. I was very happy with the results, bought new clothes 2 sizes smaller and loved the positive comments from people who noticed the change. There was no support group in my area but thought I would make out ok. After all, I am a nurse and thought I knew it all. I guess what I didn't know was how many negatives in my life were supporting my bad habits. Not an excuse, but I had a 24/7 management job and it was killing me. So many hours, often 12 hrs a day and over weekends. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, lost my time to exercise and ate whenever and whatever I could and didn't take the time to plan it out. As the stress increased, I slowly began to gain weight back, a total of 20 lbs. I knew before the first year post LB that I couldn't keep up working like this and ever be successful with the LB. I just hadn't realized before how much work was affecting my life. At age 62, I decided to retire and I did. It has taken me nearly 3 months to "get myself back". I am no longer constantly fatigued and I have the time to take care of myself. Over the last several weeks, I am back to losing weight, 9 of the 20 lbs so far. I am trying to walk at least 30 minutes most days. I am also trying to find a stable spot with my blood sugars and how much of my oral medication I should take so I don't become hypoglycemic. I would like to use this blog to keep myself focused and gain support. I mostly see posts about success but not too many about someone who fails the first time around but comes back and meets that original goal. I want to be that person. I welcome any comments or advice you have. This morning I walked 30 minutes at a brisk pace. I weighed myself at 231 lbs. I had a nutrition packed shake (almond milk, protein powder, kale, blueberries and pear. 287 calories. I had one cup of beef stew loaded with veges for lunch that I made myself, little fat and low on salt. Wish me luck I can finish this day with a band friendly dinner and another 30 minute walk afterwards!

Hopefully this will help your difficulties and then you can get back to the work of LB. Best of luck to you. Continue to post your progress and we can continue to support you!

Thank you both for your responses. I posted a notice in the Support Group Forum for people in my area interested in a SG. I also contacted a friend who has had LB and is interested in working with me. Already I feel so much more encouraged. Thanks again.

I am 61 and had the band for 6 months. I feel so much better with the weight I have lost. Anyone try a Zumba class and not be able to keep up with a 20 year old instructor?? I am settling for a bike, walking and some weight training.

My doctor told me the possibiity was there but that it rarely happened in their practice. They were careful about who they chose to do outpatient,