parisshel

NaNa, this is precisely what was happening to me. I had hunger pangs like never before! My stomach was empty empty empty--I could not give it what it needed. It was clearly telling me I needed some fill taken out.

Love this story! I love how you remember the old you and do not take the new you for granted. That makes your hard work and success all the sweeter! Thank you for being such a strong and sane support system on this forum.

I was back at the radiologist's practice this morning. I'm seeing him all too often. Two weeks ago I was on his table, getting fill number three injected into my lapband. I sensed immediate restriction but figured the tightness would settle down over time. It didn't. Not only did it not loosen up enough for me to eat comfortably, last weekend, while I was riding my bike all alone in the woods, possibly kilometer 13-14 or so, I started having these intense spasms/pain in the middle of my breastbone. I had experienced this type of pain after my initial surgery and immediately went to my doctor to rule out a cardiac incident, since the pain mimics one symptom of a heart attack. At that time my surgeon suggested it was due to a loose band kind of bobbing up and down, creating irritation to my lower esophogeus, and assured me once I had some fill that the spasms would go away. He also put me on Nexium. I stopped spasming, but always doubted his diagnosis. Turns out I was correct to doubt Mr. 150-euros-a-visit-and-don't-bother-to-ta ke-your-coat-off because I had identical spasms with an overfilled band. Esophegal spasms are a sign that one's band is too tight. Some bandsters seek a too-tight band, thinking it will help them lose weight quickly since they are limited to liquids. But that thinking may backfire because Bandsters Cannot Live On Liquids Forever. What happens when your band is too tight? You get Soft Calorie Syndrome. To avoid the pain which happens when you try to eat solid foods, you rely on foods that will slide through a too-tight band, just 'cause you are hungry. But Soft Calorie Syndrome and the foods that compose it will never provoke satiety. So you end up eating way too much, and perhaps even gaining weight. Ice cream, milkshakes, even soup and yogurts---all soft calories which don't promote a feeling of fullness. I knew my band was not settling well after this last fill when a small fingernail-sized of biscotte (a type of breakfast toast like Melba toast) got stuck in my band and made me feel like I had swallowed a huge golf ball. Pain that lasted at least an hour. Also, I was unable to eat any solid food until dinnertime, when my band would open up and allow me to eat some fish or chicken. And still, even with small bites of that type of food, I was taking one hour to eat a couple of ounces of protein. This was no fun, and no way to live! I was in a very bad mood, and coming to the table started being scary. I wasn't sure which food was going to set off my band/pain cycle. So this morning I went back and got to drink some more barium and have more xrays and needles and injections of saline. The radiologist took out .5cc so I'm now at 6cc in a 10cc band. I immediately felt the pressure that had been in my chest for two weeks dissipate. Oh sweet Lord...it feels so much better. I'm at the point in my band restriction where it is now more art than science. I'm extremely tuned into my band and know how to eat and at what pace. I also know myself and know that I would not be happy with overrestriction. Even with the nice drop in weight it creates, that honeymoon period would not have lasted long with me. My goal with my band is to eat like a at-goal weight person, and selective anorexia is not part of my plan.

Thanks for posting! I'm very interested to read the experience of young bandsters and am following the research on this in the USA. Congratulations for your success, and I applaud your bravery for being a participant in one of the clinical trials. IMHO you've done yourself a great service, because you've avoided a lifetime of weight cycling and gone straight to the gold standard of WLS. It is unproductive to have regrets, but my biggest regret in my life is that I spent so many years cycling between fat and less fat. As you touch upon in your post, the ridicule from my peers, and all the normal things I didn't get to experience as a teen, greatly shaped my personality. (I was in high school in the 70s at a time where there were few overweight teens--unlike today where it is more common--so I really stood out.) You made a courageous choice and look at all that you've been able to participate in because of it!!!! Homecoming queen, a normal happy healthy college life, and more awaits you. I hope you are patting yourself on the back, because the choice you made shows determination and bravery. I have a niece who is morbidly obese and has been since she was a young child. Now she is 16 and I see her being put on the sidelines and not having a chance to experience all those normal teenage events: a group of supportive friends, boyfriends, going to parties, being looked upon as a winner by her teachers..It is so sad. I hope one day she will come round to the idea of WLS, and not keep viewing herself as a failure or lacking in self-control. Remember why you chose the band in the first place and it may help you to recommit to the bandster lifestyle. Take it hour by hour, day by day...and your will find again your motivation to keep reaping the benefits of this amazing tool. Wishing you all the best for a wonderful life, freed from the prejudices of obesity.

You sound motivated and determined. These two factors are imho crucial for success. Wishing you a smooth and uneventful pre and post op process, and let us know how you are doing.

I liked the page but I will not be responding on it. If a Facebook page is public, your comment is picked up and indexed on Google immediately when you post. If your own FB page is under your real name, which mine is, anytime anyone googles your name, your posts on ANY public FB page will show up. (I learned this the hard way after posting a criticism of an author's new book on a FB book group page.) Also, when you like a page, the like will show up on all your friends' feed. So if you want to remain private about your WLS on Facebook, you may not wish to "like" any WLS-related pages.

Perhaps a slip with the band now pressing on a nerve? In any case, make your appointment and get seen now. This clearly needs to be checked out. Feel better soon.

The statistics I read said those who have to have the band unfilled/removed gain their weight back + 10%. I think the statistics for those who stop non-surgical dieting are similar. Count me among those who hopes never to have complications with my lapband, because I know on which side of the statistics I would fall should I ever have to have my band removed.

Happy Bandiversary, Terry, and thank you for all the support you show us on this site. My surgeon says it takes an average of nine months to understand one's band, so you are spot on there! Well done on your loss, and (more importantly), your attitude.

My sense is the post-fill protocol is to protect the stoma from the trauma (for lack of a better word) of the fill. The fill will induce a natural swelling as the stoma reacts to the tightening of the band, so you need to baby it by returning to the post-op protocol. My team has me do an abbreviated version of the post-op protocol (liquids, mushies, then on to small bites). I know my band pretty well and know when it is safe to move from one stage to the next. My last fill was about 10 days ago and I'm still not back to raw fruit and veggies yet...I can tell my fill hasn't settled in yet.

I gave up all carbonation on the day of my lapband surgery. I knew I'd miss fizzy Water, so I had loads of it up until my surgery date. (Not that that was helpful---like sleep and expectant parents, you can't "stock up" on stuff you are about to give up.) I don't miss it unless I see it. For example, going out to a meal and someone at my table orders a Diet Coke...then I miss that association of Diet Coke + my lunch.

The fact she did not allow herself to be photographed full body makes me doubt her "I'm totally happy with my weight" statement. Fat-acceptance subscribers are usually women still in their youthful years who have not yet felt the perfect storm of what obesity can do, and are not yet showing the markers of carrying all that extra weight: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, bad knees and ankles, aching back, PCOS, etc. It's easy to say "I love being fat" when your weight has not yet showed you what it can do to you. I can't blame them for stopping the diet/binge cycle. Traditional dieting is doomed to failure, except in rare instances, and it is a dreary and depressing task to always be battling hunger and deprivation. Thankfully I chose the lapband to help me do what I couldn't do by myself. Am I happier at a lower weight today than I was last year at this time? HELL YES. No question about it. Happier, more mobile, certifiably healthier, wearing clothes I only dreamed I could wear a year ago, seeking ways to incorporate movement into each day, brave, fierce, self-confident and just all around in a good mood all the time. I would not change places with that writer for a million bucks.

Welcome to this supportive site, from another March 2013 bandster. Use your band to help you kick those old eating ways. Unlike a traditional diet, where you had to do it all by gritting your teeth, having a lapband is a great aid. Make sure you are adjusted to your optimal green zone, otherwise you are still just dieting. (I learned to really listen to my band and when my feeling of fullness after meals was no longer apparent, I knew it was time for a fill. This is normal as you lose your weight.) It sounds like you are committing to working with your band to reach the goals you set for yourself prior to your surgery. Grab that motivation and don't let this fantastic tool go to waste. It really will help you do what you couldn't do on your own. You do need to do your part, as you recognize, but doing that will be a lot easier with a properly-adjusted lapband.

I weigh myself every morning. It keeps me on track. I don't see it as anything odd or abnormal---the scale reflects me efforts over time and I like seeing the number go down. If the number is up (or stays the same for a significant amount of time), I know what I need to do. It's just another way I stay accountable to myself, along with my clothing and my photographs.

Our bands feel tighter in the morning because the stomach tissues retain Water while we are sleeping--like many organs. So the stomach swells a bit with this edema, and we sense a tighter band. Once we are vertical and active, gravity works to reduce the swelling (this Fluid moves downwards hence the cankle effect) and our band feels looser.

You look great and your hard work shows. I don't have problems adjusting to the new me, but I do have on standby a psychiatrist (the one who did my preop evaluations) just in case things get difficult. She told me that many WLS patients do need to have a bit of help with owning their new body. I know I would not hesitate if I sensed any discomfort with my changing shape.

Checking in: December first I was at 217; my goal was to lose five pounds by today. This morning I weighed in at 211 so I hit my weight goal and went over it by one pound! Exercise goal was completely unmet due to a stress fracture brought on by too much exercise. So I'm currently on crutches Happy New Year everybody! May 2014 cover you with good health, boundless energy and new goals to meet and exceed.

This is where I am too, today. Had my third fill on Friday, today is Monday and I'm still not ready to test solids. It is taking me 45 minutes to drink my coffee! My fills seem to take a couple of weeks to settle and show their efficacity (or not). Right now I'm totally in the green zone but the real test is when I get back on solids. I sense this is a good fill (I sure don't want to go any higher right now) and hopefully it will take me all the way to goal! Agree also that one just "knows" when one needs a fill. It's kind of hard to explain, but I knew when I started having portion creep (my salads got bigger, and I was searching for food between my meals) that I needed to get topped off. And sure enough, fluroscopy showed I had no restriction whatsoever left from my previous fill last August. (I'd lost so much weight that the band had loosened up...this is normal as the fat pad comes off your stomach).

I think I'm just going to walk around naked all the time, enjoying being at my goal weight. J/K. I'm already buying bodycon dresses....I love the Herve Leger bandage dress look. Hopefully it will stay in style! Don't forget to try on those smaller sizes you all have stocked away in a box or the back of your closet. I had the very sad experience today of stumbling upon a gorgeous Elie Tahari linen suit I had bought in Florida a couple of years ago on vacation...telling myself at that time I'd lose enough weight to fit into a size 18. Well, I forgot to try it on over this past summer and did so today. No way I would ever wear it....it is just swimming on me now. Not only was that money wasted, but I REALLY LOVE THIS SUIT. I'm going to e-bay it, but still....check your "skinny" clothes stock and don't let a nice outfit fly by you on the way down the scale.

Do you have Mango and Zara where you live? They sell very stylish clothing and not too expensive. I love Ann Taylor, too (as a previous poster mentioned). Also like White House Black Market--you can pick up their stuff cheaply at an Outlet Mall.

I have a blog that gets updated fairly regularly...I started about four months before being banded so it goes through all the thought process involved in this decision. It's on Wordpress and called TheLapbandChronicles (link in my signature below). I hope you will find something helpful and identifiable in my story.

I fly alot, and I fly international long haul flights a lot. I have never ever had an issue with my band due to a short or long flight. My band does not tighten due to air travel. What I do do, however, is never rely on airline or airport food to be band-friendly. In fact, it's pretty rare to find band-friendly airport/airline food since I don't eat bread--and there's a lot of sandwich shops in airports. I always pack my own band-friendly food and I always pack extra (Protein bars, even though I hate them). Flights are often delayed and I've had to dip into my stock more than once.

Not to mention carbonated beverages, chocolates, cookies, pizza, drinking while eating, etc. I smell a troll here. What do you all think?

Yes! When surrounded by people groaning about the 20 lbs they gained between Halloween and the end of the year, I remember that mindset. But last year, when I ended 2012 saying "2013 is going to be MY year!" I just knew that this year, my year of getting banded, I would finally be free from being "on" or "off" a program, free from obsessing over points and calories, and free to experience what a dimmed down appetite would bring into my life....peace around my food. Had I not chosen to move forward with a lapband, I am certain I would weigh more today than I did at the end of 2012.

Agree with B-52; I'm surprised that, after evaluating your eating habits, you were approved for a lapband. My surgeon would never have suggested a lapband for me had I not been a volume eater, unable to turn off my hunger. It sounds like your decision for removal is an appropriate one, given you eating habits. Maybe working with a nutritionist once you are unbanded will help you select the best foods for weight loss. Wishing you a good removal surgery and recovery, and on to success.