desertmom

Me,me ....and my restriction disapeared with TOM and never returned.Had another fill today will see next month what happens.....

Hi I have lost 36 pounds since op but 60 something since Feb. One of my friends have told me just yesterday that our other friends talk about it behind my back everytime they've seen me.They say nothing to my face however...... I think people might not know how to react to the fact that one's had WLS.I know that I have lost my best friend since the operation.She's just made strange comments about me having to eat that little,then started say I dont want to do the things we did before....eating..I want but cant.....and then she just started staying away more and more.... Hey that's life.....obviously one must be able to see the difference in you what with shrinking so many sizes already...maybe they just dont know what to say..... What are you doing to lose that fast anyway??????????Great going.....

hi Ive been banded for 2 months today and I can physically feel the band mostly in the afternoon.If I sit down,I have to sit up straight or I get a feeling high between my breasts.Must say,as far as I have been able to research, it is just not the norm to feel the band.People actually say they sometimes forget they have the band until they eat to fast. I am having other physical difficulties with the band as well so that might be related to me "feeling" the band.I've had one fill but lost all restriction when I started TOM and it never did return the way it was before....Am seeing the surgeon tomorrow.....

O, by the way. I lost all my restriction while TOM.I could eat anything without a problem.I did fall of the wagon a little.Today my restriction is back and the pressured feeling around my ribcage that was missing for the past 2 days is back...I now figure I actually have a physical sensation of being restricted.How and why that is I dont know.It might have to do with the pressure on the esophagus in general...we'll see what the dr's say. Just thought I would mention that I love having the thing that stops me from overeating.It feels so normal to me to stop when I actually FEEL FULL.I love it and would like this feeling to be with me forever.

Hi I keep wanting to answer but keep forgetting.I cannot get prilosec or prevacid here in this country.I am on a presumably good protronpump inhibitor.I have tried the pharmacy for both products but to no avail. I am going for a "gastrograph" tomorrow to see if the band is in the right position and to check the motility of my esophagus.My dr says that you just sometimes get people that have a ultra sensitive esophagus and it is very difficult dealing with that.I have actually stopped taking all meds since yesterday and I dont feel better or worse for it. When I know that the band is 1. in normal position (havent slipped or been placed to low..) or that it will not cause erosion because of the reflux from day one...I will start taking the meds to relax the esophagus and to stop reflux and I will start taking pain medication more regularly to help me. I will then work to lose this weight as fast as posible because you dont know what can happen in the future. I must say.As I am sitting here it is 22:00 and I still have pain in my chest with the spasms.I know when I actually lie down (any time of day and night) all the symptoms disapear as if they never existed and that is not normal.Reflux is usually worse at night but not this. So,if I have to live like this I can do it for a period of time.If I keep my mind focused and know that it is not forever. I will get thin with this band.This was my last resort. Kathy,what does the Aloe Vera do? I actually saw it in a health shop over here so I can get that.... Thanks for your interest in this.

My port didnt buldge but I am very overweight and the dr put it deep.It is still tender to the touch after 2 months but I seem to think that is to be expected. If you get temptrature or the area goes hot and or red.....see the dr. that means infection.If you dont have a 100+ to lose then it is possibly just the way it is in thinner bandsters...I dont know...

hi Keep it up Kellie. I think you are doing well.From 118 to 105 is great. I also lost a few after my fill (only had one and 1,5ml.dont know if he put any in when he banded me..) and then it stalls for a while. Youll get there.Hope this fill does it for you..

HI Im so thinking of you.Shout at people around you if you must,they must understand. Suck a ginger root,or a clove...disgusting I know but reduce cravings.....stick it out...it is so worth it.....out of the blue one day you'll realize your not trying to put something in your mouth all the time.....we also miss the ritual of smoking a lot...keep something in your hand that you can stick in your mouth if you need to.I played with prayer beads all the time and that really helped a huge amount (a kiddies plastic necklace will also do..)A medium size carrot to hold and suck on also help.Sounds rediculess but it works.... Go girl,in a year you will not believe that you ever smoked and you will be to scared to touch one for fear of starting again and having to suffer again....

Chronic included,of course.

hi Thanks for answering.I am actually talking pain meds in general.For aches and pains.Ports that are sore,headache,backache,joints any thing that would get one to take pain meds. Once a day,once a week, twice a week,...... I am trying to see if post-op pill taking is less than pre-op.Most overweight people tend to self medicate a lot more than what they actually think.(Pre-op that is...)

When you do a search under a spesific member's name only 500 is available to read.Why is that? Thank you

Hi How often do you take painkillers?I mean anything like panadol,Tylenol or any such thing for any pain? thanks

hi I am getting increasingly paranoid about stuff like is the band positioned correctly? The fact that I have this tight feeling on the outside of my stomach is driving me insane.I am aware of pressure in my abdominal area almost 24/7.At night I can sometimes forget that I had this done because I dont have this feeling when Im lying down and even sometimes when I wake up and just lie in bed....no sensation of anything different....As the day progress I increasingly get this tightning feeling and by late afternoon I have a very "hot" esophagus and a very pressured feeling around my abdomen......and then I start worrying about long term erosion and stuff like that while sitting on my chair without my bra and nothing touching my abdomen........ The dr have never done an upper GI or Barium swallow ever.I have had the same symptoms from around 3 days after the operation.It is not changing.Is is the same every day. I certainly dont physically feel the same than before the operation.I am aware of this thing all the time because I feel like I have a SIZE 8 CORSET ON A SIZE 26 body and I cannot get out of it......Nobody told me that this was what it feels like.Nobody tells me that now for that matter.How can I just accept this as normal?It is changing my life,ok, but not positively..... I hate the way this is turning out.I did research on this operation for 2 years.I never for one minute considered that I could have "phantom" symptoms that no one seems to recognize as real that would change my life like this.. In those 2 years I tried my best to lose the weight by myself.well, I was very positive about this operation and now I feel kind of lost and not knowing how to make the dr see that this is real. I have been fat for many years but I have always been healthy and happy.I see myself as a well adjusted person without "hypochondria" and I hate the idea that this is how the way I feel might be seen by my dr or anyone else for that matter. Every morning I get up feeling good and every day I believe that this will be the day that will change my life back to normal....and every day I am dissapointed again.... Im sorry if this sounds like a whine but sometimes this gets to much for me now.It is summer holidays and somehow holiday seems so out of the question when I feel like this. Hope you all have a good "losing" day....

hi I just want to know a few things.Do any of you suffer from reflux or heartburn? Do you still have discomfort in stomach area or can you "feel" the band?Any esophageal spasms? Anything????? Im not doing as well as I thought I should at almost 8 weeks out and cant get reaction from my dr. I am losing weight so I'm greatful but I want to know what is normal at this stage? Thanks for your help!!

I am learning to think completely differently about weight and weightloss and myself in all this.I have been a very successful yo-yo dieter.My weight have never stood at any number for longer than,well the plateau I had before my first fill...... I am either gaining or losing but never just at one weight.When I hit a plateau,while being on 1000calories,I got very depressed and because I have problems that havent been sorted out yet I thought I'd made a huge mistake getting this band. This week I am at my lowest weight in 3 years and I have hope again..... I know what I should do to lose weight.....to get your own will to work with what you know is sometimes so hard..but possible...

hi Was banded 30 April.I have lost 33 pounds to date.I still have a lot of problems with the band and will be tested for H Pylori this week.I defenately have a gastritis and have severe reflux for which I now take a Pantoloc. I am now low carbing and only eating 100grams of Protein twice a day or sometimes 3 times a day with a scoop of low carb ice cream at night.I have cut the vegetables almost completely because I get a huge amount of gas and discomfort from most of it... When problems are sorted out I will start exercising again....

hi I have had one fill and can eat around 100gm Protein and half cup veg.I can eat anything but vegetables that makes gas....eg.brocolli,cabbage,snowpeas,greenbeans or any Beans,garlic onion. Have not tried lettuce,orange. Feels like Im eating very little but nothing got stuck so far after the fill....

Thanks for bumping this. Maybe this is what is going on with me after all.I will see the dr after the weekend to find out.If I dont take the Pantoloc every day I get the burning sensation in my esophagus every afternoon and at night.Also the pressured feeling in my chest and stomach.....I will insist that the dr test me this week.

hi I started taking Pantoloc yesterday.When I went for my fill the dr prescribed it for the reflux that he actually said I couldnt possibly have...... Well,the back ache didnt return last night.Also the squeezed tightness around my midrif was much better.I spoke to a friend ( a surgeon,not bariatric though..) he says I should have myself tested for H Pylori.Some of the problems I have been experiencing from the start suggests to him that I might be positive for that.... So,I will contact the dr and have a test done. Char,I could clealy feel that I was having a refered pain form my stomach.I dont know what could be causing your pain on the right.I think it must be muscle or "frame" related. When I lose weight I ususally have a certain amount of back ache.My dr once said that the fat sometimes support the spinal colomn and when you lose weight and not have strong muscles then it might cause back ache.Exercise and strong tummy and back muscles will help with that...... I sometimes think if only I could take Mobic or Voltaren it would change my life right now......(I also have a lot of joint pain that I cannot treat now.....) so I keep fantasizing about effective pain control...isnt that pathetic? Have a great day.

hi I was quite restricted until 5 weeks.I have a 9cc band and they sometimes put some saline in when they do the banding.I have also had a fill of 1,5cc the 11th of June.He wanted to put more but I said no.....first need to get used to it...... I can eat exactly 100grams or 3.1 oz. of Protein with about 3/4 cup vegetables then Im full.I really do this thing by the book. I have had this feeling from the start and it really bothers me sometimes.I think if I just know that it is normal then I will try to make peace with it.However some days it stops me from doing what I usually do to just sit and take off the bra to feel more comfortable.... Thanks for replying.I still hope this will resolve by itself.I will eat slower and chew more....

hi I know this is a very old thread but I am still battling the back pain and uncomfortable squashed feeling in the afternoon.I have been complaining on and off about this since the op.My doctor dramatically threw his arms in the air and said it is abnormal but didnt offer any advice or selution for the problem.He just said then he cannot fill me and I said that would be the day....I need to lose weight..... I would describe the pain exactly like all of you did.Only in afternoon after I've eaten (even when I eat very little..) and it definately goes with this sensation of been squeezed around my stomach (like the bra is 6 sizes to tight....) Anyone still get this or did it go away? I am so paranoid by now.It just isnt going away.It might be better for a day and then it is back.The spasms I had in my esophagus is mostly gone. I just worry about erosion..... Thanks

Hi I had my first fill on the 11th.I have read a lot of scary things about my fill dr. on another forum and was very scared.One of the things was that he likes to fill....puts a lot in with first fill and that people have had to unfill and BP and all that..... Well the moment he had the needle in the port (first try ..no fluro..) I got into a panic and told him to only put half of what he had in the needle in the band.....he could surely see I was panicking and kindly did what I asked..... Now I regret it a lot....I have no restriction.Have lost 1 pound....and I am being good as gold with 1000 calories per day and exercise..... How soon can one have another fill? He didnt say and I was out of there so fast that I didnt ask. There seems to be no spesific protocol for anything in this county so I just need to know,physically how soon can one have another? Thank you.

hi Yes there is a forum as well.I am going to try and put the link here (hope Im allowed....) http://www.wlsinfoforums.org.uk/wlsinf/forums/index.php? I hope it works.

hi Ok, I suppose that I do get a very strong clue to stop eating.It is not physical however and is therefore more easily ignored.I read a book with the title "I can make you thin" by Paul McKenna and it is really amazing if you practice the principals of the book. 1.Eat only when you are hungry.......stomach not head. 2.Eat what you want to not what you think you should eat. (one only wants junk the first few times and for some reason you then want real food.....)3.Eat consiously and enjoy ever mouthful 4.When you THINK you are full,stop eating. The one thing that changed in me since reading that is that I definately get a THOUGHT that I am full and should stop eating sometime while I am still busy eating.I guess that should be my signal to stop. I dont want to because I still have an issue with wanting to eat just for the sake of eating....... What confuses me about the WHAT TO EAT is that when I ate what I wanted I lost weight for a good while but then I started wanting more again and started eating what I think I should have.Protein,veg,carb.....and I stalled immediately.....and I started eating way to much...... Look I suppose having to work so hard for every pound is also something new to me.....I have always lost weight very fast on Atkins but now I just dont lose fast no matter what I do.....(only exercise really helps to lose faster) The point is that ALL OF YOU ARE RIGHT.....OK? I just find dealing with all this very tough.I just cannot deal with all the issues I have with eating...or not eating.....and me being so into all the pop psycology and having studied psycology always able to identify everybody's issues so fast, being so in touch with myself and all (LOL) dont know how to say no to myself and get like a naughty stubborn child when I cannot eat.... So, enough said.I am no different from anyone else.My issues are huge and difficult.I am bored,low drive and lazy to boot and I know that ONLY I CAN CHANGE THESE THINGS.And that sucks sometimes.....not having a quick fix.When the scale goes down all is well but when it doesnt I go nuts. Having this forum and seeing myself being so pathetic is good therapy.I am ashamed of myself and will cheer up and do the right things.... Thanks for good advice and I will start implimenting some of the strategies.(and thanks for allowing a whine.........

Help I get no sign what so ever to show me I have had enough to eat.That is mostly after having no idea what to eat.....I just cannot seem to know what to eat.... No soft stop and well,the hard stop comes about 20 minutes after I have stopped eating.I get a pressure pain in my stomach and back(area where stomach is) I now know already that this happens too often but do I stop eating after I get the "idea" that I have had enough?No.......and so the pain comes and well,I have to sit it out.... Stupid.The problem is will I ever learn? I had one fill and well,some restriction if I should use it correctly...... What do you all do with your heads? I have fine days and terrible days but it is so exhausting that I sometimes wonder what have I done?This is never going to work.........and then well....I try again because what can I do now? How did you all manage to lose weight?