Summerrain

My first fill was at three weeks then every two weeks till I hit greenzone ( about four months for me). My fills were very small every two weeks.

Ok to those of you that have had gallbladder problems what have your symptoms been? To those that had to have it removed was it a severe attack or did you have pain on and off leading up to removal? I'm asking these questions as yesterday afternoon I developed a pain just under my right rib cage area, breathing hurt and breathing more deeply hurt more, I couldn't bend down all the way either and getting into a sitting position then standing hurt too. It's a lot better now nearly 24 hours later but this morning I woke with a bitter taste in my mouth which I still have. They are my only symptoms and I do have an appointment with my local doctor tomorrow. I didn't do anything strenuous yesterday so don't think it's that type of injury. Thanks in advance to the replies.

At nine months I still get that pain from time to time and its usually within the first few bites of my meal, I just stop and walk around a bit and it settles then I can continue with my meal.

Hudgie sorry you've had such a bad start to your lapband journey. I had 4.8 cc's in my band at time of surgery and I was told that saline would be put in ( I have a 14 cc band). I'm also curious, how did they extract the stuck piece of meat? I'm nearly nine months banded and I still eat meat with no problems and I have 8.3 cc's in my band at the moment. How big a piece did you swallow? You won't have to give up meat unless it truly does give you problems once you're at restriction, you just have to take small bites and chew well. Also I buy top quality meat and am careful not to over cook it so it doesn't dry out. I'm glad your drama is sorted out, just be patient, follow your rules and you will do fine, it's a learning process day to day. Being emotional is also part of the process ( I know yours was due to what you've just gone through), its ok to get emotional. Just stay strong and follow the rules from now on. I wish you the best.

Hi all, I've just returned from a weeks holiday to Sydney (Australia). My family and I drove up last weekend. We all had an amazing time, we walked everywhere and some days we were out from 8 am in the morning till 10 pm doing all the touristy things. We walked and walked and walked and I kept up the whole time, some days it was walking for up to 6 to 7 hours, I walked with ease, I climbed stairs with ease and even when it felt like my feet were ready to drop off I kept going. I even did a thunder jet boat ride ( amazing). If it was a year ago I would have been exhausted within the first five minutes of walking. My 15 year old son came up to me and hugged me towards the end of the week and said, "mum, I am so proud of you, do you realize how much walking you've done and you kept up with us all without even saying you need to sit down". He bought a tear to my eye, I feel so much more energetic and part of society again and don't feel like I stand out like I used to at my heaviest (366 pounds this time last year). My confidence levels are returning, I'm energetic and so much more alert. I walked through spaces holding my breath because I was scared I wouldn't fit but I did and with plenty of room to spare, I sat comfortably in every chair I sat in including booths. food wise it was fine, I was never hungry for Breakfast, lunch times if I still wasn't very hungry my family shared their meals with me, a bite here and there, dinner time I ordered my own meals focusing on Protein rich meals and one night I even had pizza and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. We always walked after dinner. I managed to loose nearly 5 pounds in a week with all the extra walking and felt muscles waking up. This lapband has saved me and given me the quality of life I ached so much to have again. I still have a long way to go and for the first time in all my years of trying to loose weight I am confident I will get to my goal weight, even if it takes me another year or so. Food is no longer my focus 24/7, living is now and I have so much I want to do and will do. To those of you thinking about lapband it is an amazing tool when finely tuned and used correctly, sure there are struggles throughout the journey but so worth it. Less than a year into banded life and so many positive changes for me personally. To those of you that are struggling take a deep breath and try to refocus and get the support of your aftercare team, a crucial part of being successful is being open and honest with aftercare and a good team will get you back on track. The only pain is every morning going through my clothes to see what still fits ok without looking overly baggy or falling off. I'm at a stage where my smallest clothes are way to big so I need to get a few things and at this stage in my journey just dropping 10 pounds is making a huge difference from size to size. Life is good again, finally!

Yes very normal, you are detoxing also, take headache tablets if you need to and drink lots and lots of plain Water to help flush your system. I had to go a months worth of the pre op diet and the first week I found was the hardest with the fatigue and headaches and if course hunger, by the second week I felt much much better. Hang in there, it will get better.

Congrats on all your hard work!!

Why would drinking with meals hinder your weightloss? I am nearly nine months banded and a few pounds shy of loosing 100 pounds, in that time and I have drunk Water with my meals when I have needed too ( as per my surgeon and nutritionists instructions). I still have to follow the eat, chew well, swallow, wait a minute, sip, wait a minute etc. rule I drink right up to my meal, during my meal and right after and I've also been to a dinner with my nutritionist, surgeon and ten other banded people and we all drank with our meals. When we swallow our food we wait one minute and the food has passed through in that time it doesn't sit in the tiny pouch above the band otherwise we would constantly be stuck, so if no food is sitting in that pouch drinking does not dilute the food and make it pass through quicker. Do a youtube search for professor Paul O'Brien and drinking with the lapband, he explains it nicely. Now people will jump up and down on me for saying its fine to drink, those are my rules from a leading lapband pioneer here in Australia, if you've been given the no drinking rule that's fine, they are those rules given to those patients but to say it hinders weightloss, you should never drink with meals etc etc is in correct these days.

Don't do those fills on your own, very silly and dangerous. Just make your appointments with your surgeon from now on and if you've been unfilled then as you know it's going to be a slow process to get back to greenzone and in the meantime you just have to rely on willpower. If you're not happy with your aftercare team shop around for another. Go back to basics and if you have go journal all your food intake, might help till you're back where you need to be.

Sigh the stuck feeling, as others have said you'll know if it happens. My personal experience is it feels like I've swallowed a rock, it hurts and it's so uncomfortable, you produce a lot of saliva, mucous as your body tries to push it through the banded opening and if it won't go through it eventually comes up and not very pleasant. My first time was with broccoli second time with spaghetti I took too big a bite, my phone rang, instinctively I swallowed whilst running to the phone, the phone never got answered I did a Linda Blair reinactment and that Pasta shot out like an erupting volcano lol, thank god I was home, learnt my lesson well that day. Other times I've got stuck it wasn't so bad I just walked around and stood up straight and it passed through , painful also. I have really good restriction now and rarely get stuck anymore, learnt to take small bites and chew very well,

The swelling is very normal, it's from surgery and whatever they pump into us. It took a good month for all my swelling to go down.

The heat pad is great and walking. When that shoulder neck pain used to hit me I'd walk a few minutes then lay on back back very still and do deep breathing for ten minutes then walk again. Unfortunately pain meds didn't help me. Hope it gets better quickly for you!

I also value your posts and reading them keeps me on track when I need to be when I slip out of the greenzone and when I do and my head hunger returns I start to doubt myself thinking I'm just being weak but I've learnt to recognize that's when I need a small top up to get back into greenzone. Once I'm back I have like an ah ha moment and realise yep this band takes away all my interest in food and my head hunger when I am truly in the greenzone and I don't get hungry, don't think of food and turn my nose up at every bit of food I see, it makes it hard to shop unless I have a grocery list now. There are days I can go without food all day because I truly am not feeling any hunger at all because my band is working as it should but I make myself eat otherwise health wise I will make myself sick and I take my Vitamins religiously. When it comes to my normal friends they do eat more than me ( being in greenzone) but they certainly eat healthier than I used to. I hate dieting and counting the calorie content of every morsel that goes into my mouth, I always failed at that and having this band I don't need to do it, my band at the moment is perfectly fine tuned, it does a lot if the work for me and when I do eat because its such small amounts I make the best choices to get my Protein in. I no longer crave chocolate or the things I used to crave but I did when my band wasn't where it should be. Just last night I spent hours making rum balls and a wicked chocolate cake for our family lunch today ( Good Friday at my mums) in all that time I didn't even think to put a bit of chocolate in my mouth, my wonderful band at work!!! I know personally I had this band to stop my yoyo dieting and having to calorie count and to take away my hunger and interest in food, it also does limit my food intake, I can still eat everything provided I take small bites and chew properly, even bread, I have the perfect amount of restriction and my band is doing its job per its description of what it's supposed to do. I also know that as I loose weight my band does require tiny top ups to keep me where I am and I've learnt to read the changes when that happens and to not question myself. Wish I had of done this years ago. Also my aftercare team is brilliant and so helpful and based on all my responses at every appointment if I am in that frame of mind iof doubting myself with what I'm feeling they know the answers to get me back on track. So very crucial to be totally open an honest with them so they can give the care they are trained to give. Now there are some things you post I don't agree with but that's perfectly fine, it's your journey, your experience with the band and that's what you write about. We all have what works for us individually and that's fine also, we are not all from the same seed but in saying that I take away what is relevant to me and ignore the rest on the forums.

You poor thing, those shakes had the same effect on me too, I tolerated them for a week then started using the Protein bars and the Soups, not sure what brand you're drinking but I did Optifast, the bars were nice and the chicken Soup was tolerable, I had to do it for a month and managed to loose 22 pounds. I tried the different flavored essences and even blending berries into the vanilla one but they still made me sick.

I had to pay $4,000 out of pocket and upfront, that's to cover all my visits for life but my fills are bulk billed. My surgery was 100% covered by my insurance. Not sure about the USA but here in Australia I can claim that amount with my tax returns at the end of the financial year.

You are very welcome and yes to meeting you once you settle down here. And if you do end up going to my Bariatric centre I will be more than happy to schedule our appointments at the same time so I can give you a lift.

Hyac from what you've typed you know what you're doing and have learnt the hard way like a lot of us. If you had 1cc removed and you had problems and now you're due for another get a small fill. I've had fills as little as 1 cc and 2 cc spread out over a month, maybe that's what you need to do so it gives your fill time to settle and also so you don't sail right back into the red zone. Good luck!!!

I was given the same instructions and its fine for some but some of us need that snack, as long as its the right choice and you stay within your calories/portions. We need to do what works for us. My nutritionist said it was fine to snack with fruit and that's what I did when I needed something in between my meals till I got to greenzone.

I was the same post op the first few weeks, it will slow down, as long as you're feeling good you should be ok.

You are stunning and boy what a difference!!!

liquids pass right through the band so you're fine, I'm at the restriction I need to be and can chug away, only time I need to be careful is some mornings when I'm a bit more restricted. 500 ml in two hours is fine, I drink that amount in 30 minutes.

What you've eaten is fine for your solid or mushie stage but no your liquid stage, I know it's really hard but you really need to follow your surgeons post op instructions at this healing stage. Just keep sipping those liquids, don't worry about calorie amounts at the moment and try to distract yourself with something else when it gets hard and you want to eat. I can eat everything, only problem I've had with certain foods is if its been to dry or I've taken too big of a bite and I'm at a good restriction. The lapband is not about not being able to eat food, sure some will have problems with certain foods but this thing about never eating bread or meat is a wrong. Nothing is off limits just what you personally can't tolerate. It's about eating clean with the odd treat in moderation.