La_madam

As a child I was sent away for a summer to a "fat" camp..this is one opf the behavior modifications I was tought, to this day it has stuck with me..I do exactly the same thing and my husband hates it when I ruin my food..another thing I learned at that camp is to always leave atleast one bite of each item on your plate..

Glad you arehome and resting... Walking is the best medicine to get that gas moving and out!

Great Pictures, it is so great to know bandsters from LBT get the chance to meet in person. I love it when that happens

I know United Health Care covers the band here in California..my girlfreind just had surgery here in So Cal 3 weeks ago and was approved quickly..good luck to you , I hope the same for you.

Just got back from my 2nd fill of being unfilled for 2 months, I now have 1.5 cc's. Let's see if I can get to goal with this ammount. I feel a difference all ready with just drinking liquids. He tried to put me to 2.5 like I was before I was unfilled and there was no way, complete shut off..and then he backed down to 2.0 and still the barium was barely going through. I asked why after an unfill you can not go back to what you were before the unfill, he told me many paiteints can not and there is real no explanation for it, so Iam now at 1.5...I will just have to see how this works for the time being and let my head do more work then the band.

Thanks Christina You are so sweet These last few lbs are the hardest..however I was unfilled from April 20 until June 20. That doesnt help thesituation Then had 1'cc put back in June 20th , Iam going to see Dr. Ortiz today for some more fill...He told me if I needed more then to come back in 2 weeks , well it has been 3 weeks today. I need a little more. When I was unfilled due to my bowel obstruction surgery I had 2.5 cc's ...so 1 cc is like nothing to me. Im greatful I have not gained in this time, that justtell me I have learned something over the last 15 months. Having no fill for 2 months and only 1cc for 3 weeks and no gain is a victory in itself. Iam hoping by Labor Day I will be at goal..that is my desire andwhat Iam striving for. Thanks again for thinking of me and cheering me on!

Junk food craves junk food Once you put the carbs & sugar in your mouth, you willl graze all day, never be satisfied and never be full..this is a proven fact. Start your day with strictly Protein, it curbs hunger and cravings! NO CARBS & Drink lots of Water. I have been where you are, I know how you are feeling, it is a battle but a baattle that can be won Hang in there...PROTEIN..PROTEIN...PROTEIN today, no carbs, no junk! You can do this One Day at a time

Linda, what you are experieicing sounds just like Gastirtis. I was diagnosed with it, I had an endoscopy and it showed gastritis. Here is a link about Gastirtis, sounds just like it to me. There is a difference between gastritis and GERD http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=342EF017-2230-45E3-9B6C9D069CEFA6DE&dsection=2 The burping, the burning, the pain in your stomach Ask your Dr. to do an endoscopy if you are really worried about your band. He will be able to see what is goin on down there. Also ask him if you could take some Prilosec OTC, it helped me alot. I was on Nexium and prilosec OTC for 2 months, my esophagus healed , the gastritis is gone.

I use Splenda, Equal and sweet & low, it depends what is available when I am out, at hone I use equal it is just my sweetenr of choice, not because my Dr. told me I couldnt use the others.

My experiencine with flying since my band is YES my band tightens after I fly, I seem to retain water after I fly which leads me to believe why my band gets tighter, also I find different climates from traveling affect the tightness of my band. Personally, I would not get a fill right before a major vacation. I would hate to be too tight and not have a doctor who is experienced with the band near by in the event I could not eat or drink...besides vacations are meant to eat and drink a little more the you do at home I like to enjoy myself with that aspect of vacation ( food & drink)..Just my opinion and my experience.

I always know how much there is in my band, my doctor tells me what he took out and exactly what he put in and he is always right on the number when he takes out. I like knowing personally.

Frank also it is proven that carbs crave more carbs and sugar craves more sugar. I know for me if I eat carbs and sugar I graze allday long and I am never satisfied or full . Most soft foods are full of carbs and sugars except for eggs and cheese

Well since you are on only mushies right now, you may not feel the restriction. Once you go to solids you should feel some restricton. Remember the band does not restrict soft or mushy foods. I bet when you go to eat a piece of chicken you will feel a difference. I can eat mashed potatoes or a baked potato and feel nothing but give me a piece of chicken and WHAM restriction! Also like Kathy said, in the larger bands it does require more then one fill to notice a difference. It also happens where your first fill may take a week to kick in, I know mine did. Most Dr.'s want you to wait two weeks to get another fill. Restriction also comes from the foods you eat like I mentioned above, junk foods goes down easy, hard Proteins dont. Wait and see how it goes once on solids and make sure you eat your hard proteins first. Carbs will crave more carbs so if you are eating lots of cabrs you may be hungrier often. It is so true for me. I can not eat carbs in the morning or Iam hungry all day long. Give this fill a few more days and some real solid foods, then come back and letus know how it is going. You may be supirsed

I think alot of the clothing the teen girls wear these days does not help the situation either. At my sons high school he and I are always commenting on how the heavy girls dress. My sons favorite thing to say in a question tone is " She looked in the mirror and thought she looked good?" As a child I would of never left the house with my belly hanging out or low waisted jeans.so tight I had to squeeze into them Nor would my mother of let me leave the house looking like that being an overweight child.

If you are PBing everyday, maybe you need to rest your stoma and esophagus and do liquids for 24-48 hrs, this could be another reason you are PBing everyday, swelling does happen after a PB and many Dr.'s reccomend 24 hours of liquids after a PB.It becomes a vicious cycle if you dont, al lyou will do is eat. pb, eat, pb.. I PBd once and it was a doozey but did not listen to my Dr. and do 24hrs of liquids and I got the worst case of esophagitis ever..very painful.. I was forced to be on liquids for 2 weeks. Not fun! Good Luck to you I hope you get relief soon

Frank maybe if you went to 2.5 instead of 2.8 you will be much happier, the smallest ammount removed can make a huge difference in still having restriction but yet still being able to eat solids and lose weight. Good Luck

Kathy, Im sorry to hear you are going through this, It sucks! But you are being a very responsible bandster and going in to have some fill removed. I hope once you get some removed you get relief. How much fill did he give you? What is your current fill level? Maybe if he backs it down .2 cc's you will still have good restriction but yet still be able to eat and lose weight. It is amazing that such a little ammount removed can make such a huge difference in comfort and still have restriction. Let us know how it goes tomorrow Good Luck

Sounds to me like you may be too tight also Here is an excerpt from the Inamed handbook that is valuable to your situation With the Lap Band system in place, you should be able to eat only small ammount so the food you eat should be as healthy as possible. Do not fill your stomach pouch with :junk: food that lacks Vitamins and other important nutrients. Your meals should be high in Protein and vitamins and low in carbs. solid food is more important then liquid food or soft food. The lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid or soft food. It passes through the stomach outlet very quickly and does not make you feel full. Here is another excerpt form the book If the adjustment (fill) results in too tight of a stomach opening you could have a hard time eating most foods, sometimes this causes people to avoid solid foods. They may drink liquid meals or soft food meals and this may result in weight gain. A band that is too tight may cause reflux symptoms and can also cause frequent vomiting. I hope this info helps you

Vines, I have the opposite. I have OCD when it comes to clean and clutter, I can not keep anything. I throw everything away in fear of clutter. My family wishes I was a horder. Nothing lasts in this house, if it hasnt been used in a month it is in the trash, if it is left out to clutter my house it is thrown in the trash, my kids have learned to pick up after themselves in fear of mom throwing it away. It is a habit Iam trying to break, when I was on the Paxil for it , it worked great I did not throw things away , I was able to let it go.but I gained 70 lbs which is why Iam here today.

Joe , just because you are a bypas patient doesnt mean you are not welcome here, we all are battling the same demon. Please keep in touch and best wishes to you

I'm satisfied and Iam not even at goal. For me it is not just the physical transformation of weight loss but all that goes with it, like feeling better, more energy, less aches and pains, smaller clothes. doing more with my family & friends, more social etc.. I still see myslef as being obese when I look in the mirror but my size 10's tell me Im not obese any more, its hard to get away from it after so many years, but I know Iam healthier and happier then I have been in my entire life To me that is satisfaction

Here is the link to the walk if anyone is interested, they are all over the U.S. http://www.walkfromobesity.com/ I'm going to be in NY the day of the NY walk , I may do it, Im not sure yet but there are several others here who are participating in the NY walk in Sept. P. S> yes Fireman you are a nice guy

Iam the worst to give advice on exercise but here is what I have been doing lately 3xs a week I seem to exercise more on the summer months. stationary bike 20 minutes free weight for my arms every night when I watch TV, for 10 minutes you'd be supirsed at the difference it makes in toning the flab and sculpting your arms In this heat I have been swimming in place with bouys and I have arm buoys to do my arm exercises 20 minutes a day is all it takes, somethin is better then nothin We all have excuses not to exercise, I have 3 boys, runnin them around town during thesummer, I run a business and I take care of this household and all it's duties but I find the time, I deserve it, even if it is just my arm exercises.

Iti s most likely your esophagus is irritated and swollen from the whole PB event My Dr. reccomends 24-48 hors of liquids after a PB I did not listen once to him and I sufferend miserable for 2 weeks with the worst case of esophagitis. Now I know better. You dietician advised pushing it down with a diet coke? OH MY I would die if I tried to do that, for one liquids make me back up when food is stuck and then to drink carbonation to push it through I would want to die of the pain..OUCH

Amen to that Megan!