Thats All Folks

Fills don't make you lose weight. Think of it like a bracelet around your stomach- it doesn't speed your metabolism. They are to add Fluid to the band to make it tighter, resulting in your hunger being dimmed. When you're less hungry it's easier to eat less food. How much you lose depends on your eating and exercise habits. They average weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. Best wishes

True, but for post op reasons the extra calories will just be temporary. Once you're back on real food it won't be an issue because you won't be on a special diet anymore.

I don't see why it would be a problem. The only issue I can think of is with the Protein shakes. You may have to really search to find one with sugar rather than artificial sweeteners. Otherwise, once you're back on real food, it shouldn't be an issue.

I had a very strict, long post op diet too. I was on liquids for the first 4 weeks, then 2 weeks puree'd food, 2 weeks soft food, then finally back to normal food. Like you, it was 8 weeks before I had regular food again after being banded. The way I survived it was finding liquids I liked. For instance, V8 makes soups with no chunks whatsoever, so you can count them as liquids. They have great flavors like Potato Leek, Garden Tomato, and Butternut Squash. These soups helped me a lot because even though they were liquid they tasted like actual food. Plus, they have a full serving of veggies, so it helped with energy too. Just keep reminding yourself this is a very short bump in the road that's necessary for you to heal properly. Best wishes

I have found the V8 soups at both Kroeger and Walmart. They come in green boxes, not cans, so they're really easy to spot. I would measure out a cup of the soup and put the rest in the fridge. After the first week, I was able to eat a whole cup. (or rather drink, being as it's all liquid with no chunks)

For full liquids, I also really liked the V8 juice blends light. It's lower in calories, comes in many flavors, and you can some veggie servings in with them. I also liked the V8 Soups. No chunks whatsoever so they count as full liquids but they have a lot of flavor. I liked the Potato Leek, Garden Tomato, and Butternut Squash.

When the doctor is doing the surgery, he has to work very close to your liver, in fact sometimes it even has to be moved a bit. Because obese patients usually have fatty livers, they do the pre op diet to shrink the liver to make it safer and easier to do the surgery. Interestingly, there have even been times a person didn't shrink their liver enough to do the surgery safely and the surgeon will sew them back up without placing the band.

There is no dumping with the Lap Band. (one of the many reasons I chose it!) There are a lot of people on here who are on Atkins like diets with their bands.

It's definitely real, however the number of fills it takes to get there is really dependent on both you and your doctor. Some are there with no fills and others need many fills. How long you remain in it depends on you, too. The first time I was in it for about 4 months, but as expected my stomach shrank when I lost weight and eventually needed another fill. Since I got into the Green Zone the second time, it's been 8 months (and counting). As far as the food obsession, I'd like to be able to tell you being in the Green Zone will "cure" that but I'd be lying. You have to remember, the band is around your stomach not your brain. If the food obsession is do to food addiction then that is something you'll have to come to terms with. If the food obsession is because of physical hunger (not head hunger) then being in the Green Zone will help. Best wishes.

I completely understand and would probably feel the same way in your shoes. Best wishes and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

You're doing so incredibly well- you should be VERY proud of yourself!

Awww thank you! :wub: Honestly, I'm just a regular woman. I just needed this too bad to screw it up, if that makes sense. I knew I had to lose the weight so I wouldn't die prematurely. I was a ticking time bomb. There are a lot of others like me out there, in fact I know a few on these boards. My memory sucks but I know Cazzy, Floridays, and Jim1967 have all lost over 200 pounds, too. (there's others too!)

Before I had the band, I don't think I knew what hunger was. I just grazed constantly so I never allowed myself to feel hungry. Now, hunger is when my body physically needs nourishment. If I ignore the feeling of hunger, I'll end up light headed, dizzy, and a headache. Hunger is a physical need.

I am so sorry you're going through this. It's sad but your story isn't at all uncommon for those with the old 4cc bands. I breaks my heart when I read stuff like this. I'm not surprised you have the reflux and hernia, either. Do you think it's possible to replace your band with a new one and fix the hiatal hernia at the same time? Very often, they fix the hernias at the time of band surgery. I'm curious if they could do the same for you.

This is strictly my interpretation, but I take to mean you can have both non-cream AND puree'd. If the soup is puree'd or liquid already, then you don't have to puree it. But if it has chunks, then you have to puree it first. Just curious, are you not allowed cream Soups at all?

Sounds good! I'll definitely be trying it in the weeks to come!

Same here most days. There are days I am satiated for 5-6 hours and forget meals entirely, usually it's about 4 hours.

It can be symptoms of a slip, yes. I would ask your surgeon to check your band to see what's going on.

I agree with the others, I would get a second opinion if I were you. Did they ever do a culture to find out what type of infection it is? Or a scan to see whether it's superficial rather than inside too? I would insist both be done asap.

Ugh I know exactly what you're talking about. I've lost a lot of weight over the last 19 months and I still struggle with this a lot. When shopping, I consistently pick up clothes that will be too big for me, but when I try on clothes the proper size they "feel" too small to me. It's really hard to change years (for me, decades) of trying to hide my body under clothes that are too big. My answer to this problem is bringing someone with me whenever I buy clothes. In my case, it's my daughter. Before I buy anything, I try it on for her. More often than not I'm standing there awkwardly going "are sure this isn't too tight?", but she always tells me honestly if the clothing fits properly or not. She is kind of my reality check for me when shopping because I still gravitate to clothes that are too big when on my own. Btw- something I've also learned? Properly fitting clothes will actually make you look smaller. Baggy clothes that are too big make you look bigger. (even though the baggy clothes are more comfortable emotionally) As far as the cost issue, I agree with the others above. It is really costly to try to keep up with clothes. One thing I find myself doing is buying stuff a season in advance. For instance, if you find winter stuff in the store in July, it's from last season. More often than not, it will be marked down big time to get rid of it before this year's stuff comes in. So, I buy it while it's on sale but I buy it a size or two smaller than I'm currently in. I actually just bought 5 nice sweaters for about $50- just one of them would've been $40 if they weren't on sale. Best wishes and congratulations on your success!

"My band has never restricted what I eat - I could always eat more by stop myself." The band's job isn't to restrict what you eat. Dr. Simpson explains this very well here: "When talking about the band, some patients talk about restriction. Let's first be clear about one thing: the purpose of the band is not restriction; the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite. When band professionals talk about restriction we are talking about something totally different than "restricting what a person eats." In fact, many band surgeons avoid talking about restriction so as to not confuse patients. The band works by dimming the appetite, and this provides a conscious control and decision made by the patient, it does not work by "making" a person do something, or keep them from eating too much." (entire link: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html) On the same line of thought, just because you can gulp Water, eat in the morning, and can eat foods without issue isn't a sign you need more Fluid in your band, either. Whether or not you need more fluid in the band is determined by hunger. You said you can go 3 hours without hunger, so that would be borderline Most doctors (but not all) say we should be able to go at least 4 hours without hunger when in the Green Zone. As Jim pointed out above, you'd be shocked how much even the smallest fill can make a huge difference. I've had fills as small as .1cc So, don't worry about how much is in your band. If you're not in the Green Zone now, you sound as though you're extremely close. Best wishes!

I was given one, too. It has nothing to do with the band, it's to prevent post surgical pneumonia. It's commonly given to patients any time they go under general anesthesia.

As long as both your surgeon and Rheumatologist both know about the Lupus and surgery plans, and both approve, then you should be fine.

It can be, but you can have a slip without heart burn.

Unfortunately any major weight loss, rapid or slow, can result in gallbladder issues. I just had my gallbladder removed in April.