La_madam

Sue Great thread... Am I the Michelle you referred to in your post?? If I am just know I do struggle for me the band was my tool to get off the excess weight. I no longer have it and it is not easy at times and I do struggle trust me I struggle but no to the point I will allow myself to spin out of control.. this is where my OCD comes into play for me. I have obsessive compulsive disorder in a big way..it is working to my advantage in keeping my weight off, my house is no longer clean and spotless but I am not gaining weight. I do not want to go back to where I was, so I do whatever I have to each day to not gain weight. I still try to eat like a bandster and not drink with my meals and wait an hour afterwards, I eat my Proteins first, the only difference for me is no "golfball or stuck feeling any more" and I find myself never full but in my mind I say to myself I dont have to be full to be satisfied. I have to be satisfied knowing I ate enough nutrients to survive on. Iam no longer living to eat ..I now eat to live. When I go out to eat I ask for a box right as my meal is served and put half away before I even take my first bite to cut my portion size in half..I have learned a few things I still apply today It is not easy but I am determined to not be a statistic of gaining weight back after losing my band. I spent too much money to lose this weight and sold my convertible mustang to have this surgery. I do not want to be a failure in the eyes of my peers and my husband and family. What motivates me is the compliments and praise I get from my peers. The cute clothing I now can buy in the normal size department, not plus size department, the fun I have, the more energy I have and how much happier I have been in years, all these things and my OCD help me to want so badly to keep this weight off. I do however find my self obsessing ( part of my OCD) about it unlike I did when I had my band.. to this day I have yet to go back to drinking sodas since I lost my band so that is something I have learned to live without but there are days when I do struggle, I can not lie about that! I told myself when I decided to have the band 2 years ago this week that I did not want to be fat at 40...I will be 40 in 2 weeks...so far I have managed to achieve that goal. my brother did the Optifast diet and lost over 100 lbs in 9 months..he started 3 months after I had my band surgery...guess what, he has gained every last pound back and more. We live together and it breaks my heart to see him eat his way back to being obese. It is hard for him to see me maintain my weight loss and he can not. He has no control or will power, he spent all that money on weekly classes and meetings for what, he learned nothing or I should say he has not applied anything he learned at those classes to help him to maintain his weight loss, I know he learned plenty but what good is learning it if you are not applying it. It has been almost 6 months since my band removal and I am still maintaining my loss, and still wearing my size 10 jeans but I struggle..I struggle I am not perfect, far from it, but I am determined.. plain and simple

Trish my port was located under my port incision as well , but I agree with everyoneelse, it wont hurt to have it looked at by your doctor.

Two years ago today I was banded.. I do not regret my decision for one single second to have my band nor that I went to MX to have it done. It changed my life..I am happier and healthier then I have ever been in my life, despite my erosion on November 28th 2005. For 18 months my band did its job..I am happy to report I have lost 106 lbs to date and NO weight gain in the last 5 months without my band. I went from a size 22 to a 10..I have learend to use my head and do this solo, it is not easy ..no lie there but I am determined. Best of luck to all of you..I wish you the same success I had with my band :scared:

Bandless but not hopeless

Definately good thoughts being sent your way Jess :eek: Good Luck!

I need the address for my secret pal..I was sent the name of who it was but no address..I do not want her to feel left out so Kimberlilly if you see this please respond to my PM's

I had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz on April 6th 2004 You will be in good hands with Dr. Ortiz and his entire staff.. Delarla gives good info..ditto to what she said Best of luck to you :confused:

There are negatives with every thing in life...but for me I focused on the possitvie things my band did for me regardless of my erosion. I do not regret my band for one single second. Even though I NO longer have it I am happier and healthier then I have been in years. I am maintaining my weight loss without my band and I am damn proud of that ! Do not let the negatives scare you..think possitive :confused:

Great News Megan, Iam happy for you that everything looks good with your band

For me the tighter I got with my fills the more gas I produced when I drank from a straw.

Dr. Pleatman Does every patient regain their weight? I had my band removed on November 28th 2005 from erosion...I have yet to gain ANY weight back yet...when does this happen? How long after the band is removed will weight gain occur? I would like to think I did learn something from my band journey which is helping me to not gain the 100+ lbs I lost in 18 months with my band.

Teresa, I am happy to hear your good news .....Fantastic!!! Ditto to what Vera said! You have done a great job with your band...Be proud

When I have head hunger I brush my teeth..it keeps me from wanting to eat. I have the cleanest teeth in CA

First of all you are not a failure! You have been through a very emotional trying time with the loss of your brother. What you are experiencing is normal, we all eat for comfort. Secondly, YES call your Dr. I am sure he will be very sympathetic to your situation as long as you are honest with him and tell him all you have been through. A fill might just be what you need to get you back on track...I know for me a fill was re-juvenatiing for me, it sparked a new desire to succeed with my band, it got me back on track. ((Hugs to you))

I had bad feet when I was 100 lbs heavier. I used to wake up in the morning and want to die from the pain of trying to walk my first few steps...but since my weight loss I have no pain in my feet what so ever

Thanks Jess for updating us. Glad to hear things went well....Congrats Kelli, cant wait to see pics of the new you

Best Wishes Jonathan, you know how to reach me if you need a little extra added support or a friend. You will be in my thoughts.

When I found out mine was eroded I did not wait. Iwanted it out. Just knowing it was eroding in my stomach made me sick to think about it. There is a woamn here who had a bad case of erosion and had a horrible horrible infection.. the had to cut her wide open to remove the band. I was fortunate I caught my erosion in the early stages. Personally I would get it done ASAP!

Ok Girlfriend, take a deep breath... tomorrow morning start your day with ONLY Protein. NO SUGAR OR CARBS !!! We all know that carbs and sugar only crave more carbs and sugar, it is a vicious cycle and it is a proven fact. If I ate cereal in the morning for breakfast, you might as well chain me the the fridge and cupboards I would eat all day long. Protein does help to curb your cravings and hunger. All that sugar you ate today just made your body want more more more which is why you probably ate 5 pieces of toast, the hershey bar, the chips and dip.Where was your protein today girl?? . The key is to start your eating with protein only..it works I promise..purge that crap out of your system, drink lots of Water tomorrow and eat lots of protein. you will feel better...and do not beat yourself up about this, tomorrow is a new day, no damage was done, you are not sick, you are normal (((HUGS TO YOU MY FRIEND))) YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Kelly sorry to hear of your slip..I can rel;ate to your feelings of just wanting it removed. Once I found out i was eroded I wanted it out! Maybe you will be fortunate to have it slip back into place without surgery..hope things get better for you. Please keep us updated.

Donali gives great advice, it is now time to take action and demand answers...you must have an endo..you are in the right time frame post op for one. Rule out erosion...

Happy Bandversary WOW you have done amazing. I am so happy for you Our stats are very similar.. Be proud, very proud..you have done well with your band and your head too Congratulations

Alex hit the nail on the head. I could not of said it better myself and Iam one of those ones who can attest to NOT doing so like Alex mentioned above. I got a terrible case of esophagitis becuase of not doing liquids for 24 hrs after a PB.

I suffer from major Insomnia, have for the last 8 yrs, the one thing that gets rid of my mind chatter and helps me to relxax is xanax, all the other sleep aids make me feel hungover then next morning. Insomnia sucks, my husband sleep in seperate rooms because of my insomnia, well and his snoring too :biggrin1:

Call your PCP and tell him what is up..get a prescription for phenergan suppossitory, it is for vomiting. It helps, I kept in on hand all the time in the event I ever got sick.