Brandychick

My band slipped in June. Or possibly before that! I was vomiting all the time, could not keep any food down or any liquids for that matter. Went into hospital where they emptied my band (so they said anyway, but there was still 2 mls left in there). Even after the defill, I could not keep any foods down. My surgeon had to operate to re-position my band as it had slipped and twisted. This was why I could not keep anything down. I am sure the experience is different for everyone. I had a lot of reflux too, terrible pain and mostly at nights with reflux vomiting! Just been back to my surgeon and everything seems to be back on track now. It was touch and go for a while as the overfill could have cause the band to embed itself into the osoephagus. The vomiting could also have caused a lot of problems with my stomach. Most scary of all, my band could have burst from being overfilled!! Take a note from my book, when you go for a fill and unfill, you CHECK that needle and make sure how much is in your band. I thought there was 7 mls and in fact I calculated that at its most, there would have been 11.5mls (my band is not even big enough for that!) That's my experience and I am sure other people have had completely different ones, but I hope it will help.

I would be very surprised if your band had slipped through eating the wrong foods! They do stitch it in you know! I have just suffered from a slipped band but this was caused by my band being overfilled by a good 3/4 mils! They had to operate to re-position the band. Sounds to me your band is too tight and probably could do with unfilling a little? Did they fill it during the op? You have to remember that post-op your stomach is very fragile and it could just be that it is not liking the excessive amount and the nature of the foods you are eating. Don't panic just yet though. Let us know how you get on after your doc appt. Good luck.

Sorry, not been in for a looonnng time! Been really bad and have put on 7 pounds! Oups! I have been living off junk. After my last fill, I thought all will be fine. It seems that I am restricted well in the morning but still not at all in the afternoon and evening. This is the time of day that I will be bad so not much good to me. My only hope is to save up and go back for another fill. I am thinking of changing my fill provider too. Today I have eaten: Breakfast: sunflower seeds; lunch: green salad with ham and salad cream. I am trying to have a good day. Wonder how long the good intention will last!

Lucky you Anon! Well done and keep going! I have been pretty good since my last fill and have lost 3 lbs! Today: breakfast: 500ml of milk lunch: lettuce tomato and 1 egg in salad cream, 2 spoonfull of spag bol mix (need protein!) tea: 3 new potatoes, salad and half a burger could do with more restrictions but happier than I was!

Hey Mrs D, how did you get on? Do not leave us in suspense? Tell all! We know you are going today and we want all the dirt? Please say that it is all on for another WLS?

Well today seems a good day, so far one carrot throughout the morning ( I cut it in small bits and keep it on my desk in a glass of water so it feels fresh) and for lunch 2 spoonfulls of pasta with half a breast of turkey. Hope this goes on! Feel much better now I am restricted again.

Hello all! Have had a mixed up week. Been very good i portion but not always very good in food (we had 2 birthdays at work and the sweets were far too tempting!). Still I have lost 3 pounds since my fill so I feel pretty good about that! I will try and be good for the next week and put the right food in my stomach! Starchie foods seems to do the trick at the mo as I have enough with 2 meals a day that way and do not feel hungry at all! So that might be the way to go for the next week. Will see and update you all next week.

Cookies'n'cream is right. I started with a much higher BMI at 47 but I know some surgeons will operate on lower BMI. You will have to find the right one. My surgeon would not operate on me now and my BMI is still higher than yours. However there have been good results to lower BMI banding, so keep in there. I was back at work with 10 days (thought I would have a holiday at the same time. though I could have gone within a few days really) but I was up front about my op and everyone and sundries knew what was happening. For a high BMI they expect a weight loss of around 5st in the first 6 months and I was consistent with that although I then lost nothing for 8 months due to bad after care (sorted now and started losing again! Yipee!) Good luck with everything and let us how your appointment goes.

As you say, you have to work with it. I would recommend concentrating on the foods that you know will help the restriction. Anything too soft like Soups, mash potatoes etc will glide easily through and so you will feel that you are able to eat quite a lot. I have been to the surgeon lately for a fill and was told to be wary of Pasta. they fill you up but also glide through the ring. I have been through a period of 8 months with no or little restriction, it takes time to adjust the band to the setting that suits you. I was told that possibly, some of my stomach had been caught in the band originally giving me restriction and when it escaped, I was left feeling wide open! Not sure about that explanation. However I have lost 5 stones since op and am hoping to start losing some more now I have a better restriction (not great but better). You will also note all those that have lost quite a lot of weight on this forum. My thought is that it does work. We all want an esy ride, after all we had no willpower in the first place otherwise we would not have had the band, so it is no use asking us to have willpower now! As I said, try to stick to food that will fill you and you will soon start losing all that extra weight. meat is very good for me. I feel stuffed after half a slice of beef or half a breast of chicken! Don't lose hope, keep in there and let us know how you get on!

Hi, I have not yet seen anybody talk about the lack of fizzy's in their diet?! And by this I mean that I was told that I could not have anything fizzy post-op. I have also experienced that fizzy drinks causes me to blotter out and feel really uncomfortable. Gazes have nowhere to go??? Anybody out there having similar problems? When I came back home after the op, one huge problem was what to drink if we went out socially. I am not big on orange juice and let's face it it isn't a low fat option! Coke is out of the question and so it lemonade! We experimented down my local pub with various drinks! My tipple is Brandy...like you wouldn't have guessed that! LOL. Very hard to make a long drink with a non fizzy option. After various unsuccesful (and sometimes hilarious or disgusting!) attempt, I am now having Brandy and coke but I flatten the coke first. That's ok when I am in my local as they put it in a pitcher and I have a great band of friends who take it in turn to stir the coke until it is flat. Sometimes a bit dangerous when some lovely landlord decide to put sugar in to flatten it quicker!!!! Do they not get the meaning of diet pepsi!!!!! Very annoying when we are going around town or when visiting friends. I normally end up carrying bottles of already flat coke with me! I also found that however well the coke is stirred, there are still remnants of fizz in it and it eventually still makes me feel blottered. My surgeon says that I should not find it a problem as I should not be drinking much alcohol as it is fattening...one I gave up my food, not my alcohol altogether as well!....two, I still need to have a soft drink option when socialising...or should I stay home as well!!!! Any kind soul out there who would like to share their wisdom on the subject?

Good luck Anon! I have had a fill last week and feel a little better about things. My restriction is still not perfect but certainly much better than it was. All I have to do now is eat good things and hope the weight starts falling! Not much then!

Yeah, tried brandy and water but as you say, not sweet enough really. Thanks for the advise tough.

Hey Mrs D, will not be able to make it to Bristol for the meeting after all. Bummer! I have something planned in August also (pool outing that day!) so will probably not be able to meet them all until September meeting! 5 days since my last fill. He only put 0.5 in (I wanted 1 but he is such a t**t would not listen to me again!). I feel the difference already though. Not able to stuff myself as I have been doing the last few weeks! (although nowhere near as bad as I used to do pre-band!) Lost 2.5 pounds whilst I was in France, my mum don't feed me! haha! Hope to speak to you soon, let me know how you get on at your next appointment and if they will let you have another wls!

Hey Simon, nice to know you are doing soo well! Is the inhaler for asthma. If it is, I have good news for you. 1 year post op, I was told to waive them goodbye! My asthma is now under control after my weight loss. I now have to go back to the asthma nurse once a year only as a precaution and I keep the blue inhaler at hand in case I feel a bit "winded". So there is hope for you yet. Wish you the best of luck for your weight loss, let us know how you get on!

You will find it hard going on holiday so soon after your op! The good news is that the pain from the air they pump in you during the op should be all gone then (mine was hurting in the shoulders and it is not funny, so if you have not heard about it yet, be warned! but it normaully only lasts between 7 and 10 days) As for drinking, you will be on your post op fluid period. This means that you will be able to drink but be careful with those hidden calories in alcohol! Do you think you will find it hard to be on fluids and mushy only whilst on holiday? Might be an idea to get yourself prepared as I am not sure how helpful restaurants will be with your post op diet??!! Let us know how you get on.

sounds drastic! Why did they tell you to go on fluids only Anon? Feel a bit better restricted since my last fill and find that I am not able to eat too much! Yipee!! So yesterday I had a jacket potatoe for lunch (had skipped breakfast! I know naughty!) and a chinese for tea, although I did not get through half of the meal! Great! Today, 1.5 boiled egg and 1 slice of bread for breakfast will attempt roast chicken with carrotts and peas for lunch, not decided on tea yet.

Lunch pasta Tea courgettes soup with a slice of bread

Well been to France and he refilled me by 0.5cc. Lost 2.5 pounds since Monday so obviously seems to have work. I still don't feel a great restriction but my stomach hurts like hell if I eat slightly too much. So fingers crossed I start losing regularly again. Today, Breakfast a pint of skimmed milk Lunch

Hi, I am back. Not been recording my food lately cause I did not want to face to the fact that I was eating junk! But I have to get back sometimes right? So today I will be good. Breakfast: lettuce, tomato and egg salad Lunch, lettuce, tomato and egg salad tea: low fat burger with new potatoes Will try to keep off the mayonnaise (that's my addiction!) as I have had a big pot of hellman's just in the last week! Hidden fat, not good! Am off to see the surgeon next week for a fill. I shall try and find out how much is in there as it feels completely empty to me even though he said that I was on 3.4 out of 4cc last time I went. Have zero restriction! Must sort it out once and for all and get back on the wagon! Belated birthday wishes Anon, sorry I missed it. How bad was you on your birthday? haha!

Welcome Simon. Good luck with your band adventure. This is the beggining of the rest of your life.

Hi Mrs D, The weekend was a ball and it was great meeting you all! Jan had a very good time even without a band!! haha! Thank you once again so much for the wonderful welcome to your group. I will see you all on the 14th July in Bristol!

Definitely want to be looking around. It makes me laugh that the dietician wants you to lose a few pounds before they refer you!!!! If you could that, you would not need the op???!!! You prob will lose a few pounds then go back and she will tell you that you don't need the op as you lost weight on your own!! Definitely, might want to give them a miss. Loads of them out there will do it if you medically need it. Have a look and you want to know exactly how many other ops they have done. Not just for the operation itself but for the after care as well. My surgeon done a good op, but I am just realising that he knows nothing about fills etc/...!

The usual for an hospital stay. No particular drugs pre-op apart from the ones I had been taking for the pain and acid. Stopped taking all drugs after op as did not need anymore. A good book is a def plus, ipod can be good for the middle of the night! I woke up at 2am after a day sleeping post op and could not sleep again as was soo excited. A notebook is cool as well. I felt that I needed to get all my experience on paper for me to look at again a few months down the line. Really spooky to see that you have become a new person altogether. Anon is right, nothing you medically need, just what you feel you will need to pass the time. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Hi all, had a really bad couple of days! Yesterday was the worst. I was out to prove that my restriction is no good! Ate 1 ham and lettuce wrap, an egg and mayo wrap, 1 nectarine, 1 cornish pastie, 1 packet of watsits, 2 faggots, loads of mash potatoe with onion and carrot gravy!!!! I ate it all and did not p'ub! My stomach wasn't half hurting though!!! Not used to have to handle quite so much food any more! At least I can got to the surgeon in 2 weeks time armed with all this and get him to check the fill and give me a proper restriction! Today, much better. 1 carrot for Breakfast 1 bowl of Cereal with milk 1 packet of low fat crisps 1 bowl of casserole vegetables with one sausage.

I love this thread! The worst thing was the pain! But the shopping came a very close second. Having to buy your clothes in a catalogue because it is not as embarrassing, then finding out the stuff you order don't fit so you have to wait weeks more before you get the new batch! Walking into a shop and the saleslady looking you up and down as if to say "we don't keep nothing your size!"...so rude! I was shopping for size 10 mum! Actually been told in Pilot once that I would not find anything my size by a salesgirl! All the jokes people make about fat people in front of you! Then say...but not you love! Yeah right!! I could keep going all night! Well done Helen, did me as good as punching a punching bag for 10 minutes!