Cocoabean

Do a search for the 5-day pouch test. Many have said it helps them to see if their pouch has truly stretched. 35 pounds since September is great. Sometimes our bodies take a break after a good loss. Sounds as though you are under a lot of stress right now. Take a breath and relax. Get back on track. Is there a way for you to COBRA your health insurance?

Thanks for the update. Hope all the tests go smoothly and you are quickly on the road to recovery!

Do as you believe correct per your instructions. If you've been instructed to weigh out 2 ounces of meat, please continue to do so. I was trying to point out that 4 ounces of mass is not the same as 4 ounces of Fluid measure. You did not indicate what you were weighing or eating in the first post, so how I could know, I have no idea. I found what you stated about weighing out 2 to 3 ounces of food on a scale and increasing that 4 oz equal to a half cup confusing. Congratulations on your loss so far.

Putting Fluid ounces on a scale for mass would depend on the density of the food. Quoting you, "when i weight my food out its usually between 2.5 to 3.5 oz so i know it wouldn't hurt to go to 4oz" This indicates to me that you are putting it on a food scale and measuring its mass. When nutritionists talk about 1/4 to 1/2 cup they are speaking of volume or 2 to 4 FLUID ounces. A half a cup of lettuce is not the same as 4 ounces of mass of lettuce. Volume is measured in measuring cups, not on scales by weight. Surgeons are concerned with the VOLUME our pouches hold, not the mass. Whether it weighs 1 pound or 1 ounce of mass, if the volume is too great, it can hurt the pouch, especially in the early stages.

42D to a 36C. Why does the nurse think you need a reduction? Are you having back pain/problems? If not, say thank you for your input. If there is no medical reason for it, and you don't want it. Don't do it!

There's a wide range of doctors' opinions on this one. Some say you can drink up to the first bite. I cannot break my milk with dinner habit. I told my surgeon, and he was more concerned about the liquid with calories than the fact that I wanted to drink with my meal. I have experimented with drinking and not drinking when I eat. For me, it doesn't seem to make a difference. I often wonder what studies the banding rules are based on. I just don't see how sipping a few ounces of liquid could wash solids out of our stomachs any faster than the grinding action of our pouches. Gastric Bypass pouches do not grind, they depend on chewing fully and gravity to empty. I don't know...just some thoughts, and my own...written here for discussion, not to encourage anyone to not follow their doctor's orders. The fact that there is no consensus on the 'rules' makes me wonder ......

We metabolize alcohol the same as we ever did. Unlike our bypass pals, who process it differently. If our tolerance is lower, it is from drinking less often and thus, feeling it more.

8 liquid oz is one cup, yes. 8 oz weighed on a food scale is half a pound, not a cup. You said that you weigh your food and you could up it to 4 oz in response to someone asking if you could increase to 1/2 cup. That is not the same amount of food. Weight and volume are different. That is what I was trying to say. It did not come out very well, sorry.

4 oz is not the same as 1/2 cup. On the original topic..I am fairly sedentary and I maintain easily at around 1700 calories a day.

I drink beer. Sometimes it gives me the hiccups, which is embarrassing while drinking an adult beverage. I've been banded 3 years on Tuesday. I had an upper GI last September, my pouch is fine. I don't chug it, but liquids don't stay in the pouch. Follow your doctor's orders, though.

My surgeon performs the same test that yannabee spoke of, and will cancel if you are not nicotine free. He said his opinion is that smoking interferes too much with healing. My husband used Welbutrin to help him quit, it worked very well.

Yes, I would. I've had no complications at all. If I'd had complicatons, my answer might be different. VSG was not really around when I was banded, so that wasn't an option. I don't know how I'd have felt if it had been.

My surgeon said no gum. He said should I swallow it and it gets stuck, it means an endoscopy to get it unstuck. I've never been big on gum anyway, so wasn't a big deal for me. I don't want to risk it.

Angie, that's awesome! I'll be 3 years on Tues, the 15th. I feel great! Am ashamed to admit I don't exercise, but I have TONS of excuses! My endocrinologist is thrilled with my loss. He did an A1C a couple of weeks ago and I am in the non-diabetic range. He was happy, as am I! My blood pressure is low-normal, my cholesterol is normal, and I wear a size 10. Wahoo!!!!!

Hi everyone! Welcome Nicole, glad to have you here. Ready4, welcome! Keep up the good work! One word of caution I give about setting a number goal by a certain date. If it doesn't happen, don't beat yourself up. Sometimes you can do EVERYTHING right and still not lose an ounce. It can be very frustrating, and annoying. Just ask ElfiePoo, right, Elfie? I've seen people set a goal of say 6 pounds lost in a month. It is reasonable, yes, but when they 'only' lose 5, they say they are a failure. NO, they are NOT. They lost 5 pounds!!! Rosey, welcome to you, too. All you can do is what you can do. I understand fibro makes exercise hard...but just a short walk is a good start, when you are feeling well enough to do it. Your losses may be slower, but do your best. Is your thyroid being treated? If you are on replacment hormones and your levels are normal then you should not be hypo. (Your diagnosis is Hypothyroidism, but if treated properly then your thyroid is operating normally and should not be much of a factor in weight loss). If you are indeed still hypo, go see your doctor and get the dose adjusted. I have a very long history of thyroid problems. Elcee, you've been on my mind a lot this week. Hope your son's surgery comes out well. Shammah, does being unfilled make you appreciate your band? This is a serious question. Next Tuesday is my 3 year Bandiversary. I KNOW my band works and it works wonders. But things are just "normal" for me now. I often try to think back to my appetite pre-banding and I honestly cannot remember. It is as though I have always been like this. Leigha, nice to have you back after your taxes...was afraid you might have gone to jail when you were done cheating on them! Sorry I've been MIA lately. MIL is slowly deteriorating. DH and I have been doing a lot of talking in the evenings, and I don't want to be rude by being on the computer. He needs me right now. He has 3 siblings. His brother who supports his arguments for her care lives in Las Vegas. They believe she should be moved to hospice care and accept the inevitable in as much comfort as medical science can provide. Her PCP is in agreement and spoke at length about it at her appointment yesterday. His two sisters who are local feel that the doctors should be able to cure her and don't accept that she is in her final days. Mom is in agreement with the sisters. So unless something the doctor said sinks in, she'll keep getting rushed to the hospital to fix things that cannot be truly fixed. One of his sisters normally comes to appointments with him, but yesterday she could not. The other will not go, why I do not know she doesn't work, but demands that we tell the doctor that he, "needs to address this issue and that issue." Uh, no...he needs to address what he considers the priority. She has a vested interest in Mom staying alive as she lives in the second house on the lot for $250.00 a month. The other sister is about to lose her house and is considering moving in with Mom. DH said she might reconsider that as she will most likely have to move right back out if Mom passes. She says why? With my share I can stay...... Huh? What? yes, you have a quarter interest in the property, so what. You've bailed on 2 (yes TWO) mortgages in the last year, DO YOU THINK YOU WILL GET A LOAN to buy the other three out???? The sister in the back was pissed about 6 months ago when BIL told her she'd not be able to stay in the back house when Mom passes. So was Mom, she cannot fathom that the boys will not take care of the girls. Different generation, I guess. Mom's own instructions are for the property to be divided 4 ways. Unless she changed something, and we don't know. But she generally asks DH about stuff like that. The good news? I am not overeating! Woot woot!!!

This comes pretty late in the game..hope it helps. Your endocrinologist could write a letter of need as well. He or she probably has weight records, also. A thyroid condition would not be considered a co-morbidity, the pre-diabetes could be. Contact the medical records department of the OB-GYN office and tell them you want copies of your records. You ARE entitled to them, but you might have to pay for the copies. If you have weight watchers records dating back that far, that should also suffice. If you are working with the nutritionist as prescribed by your endo, that should suffice as medically supervised.

I drink my cup of coffee on the way to work. Then when I get hungry I have Breakfast. Usually an instant oatmeal, Protein bar, or graham crackers with Peanut Butter. If I try to eat first thing in the morning, it just isn't pretty. But I am up at 5am and hit the ground fast, out the door in 30 minutes. I don't want to eat that early in the morning or in that big of a rush. I wait until I get the hungry signal from my stomach. The last time I tried to eat that early in the morning we were getting ready for an early flight. My hubby, bless his heart, scrambled us some eggs and made toast. The eggs REFUSED to go down. It was 4:30am. No way, no how were eggs gonna go...I felt horrible. But he was very sweet and understanding. Course I was starving two hours later on the plane...oh well.

You are down 25 pounds in 6 months. That's an average of 1 1/4 pounds per week overall. Your last fill was about 4 weeks ago. Bandsters can expect 1-2 pounds per week AVERAGE weight-loss. You are right on target, even if on a plateau. Sometimes our bodies take a while to settle into a weight. I know mine did. I would lose some then stay the same for a while, then lose more, then up a little bit. But overall the trend was downward. Journaling is a great idea to see exactly how much you are consuming. As a previous poster said, if you are eating when not hungry, another fill might not help with that, but then again it might. When my band is at the right adjustment level, I don't seem to focus so much on food. This keeps the desire to graze at bay. I'd suggest you take your measurements. Often when we aren't losing weight, we are losing inches. What were your doctors orders for a food plan? Were you given one? I wasn't. Many are given a low carb diet plan to follow which seems to work well. For me. I don't do much meal planning, but generally..... Breakfast either packet of instant oatmeal, a couple of graham crackers with peanutbutter, a Protein bar. lunch half a sandwich and salad, weight watchers frozen meal, half a meal from cafeteria (save other half for next day), sometimes cup of noodles--yeah, great nutrition there! Snacks (planned eating, not brainless munching) banana, avocado, apple, string cheese, cashews, almonds dinner meat of some sort (3-4 oz), veggie side dish 1/2 - 1 cup), starch side dish (however much room is left in stomach). Someone once said to judge how hungry you are by whether or not you would eat a can of green Beans. I often think of that when evaluating if I am truly hungry. I hope this was helpful.

Congrats on the loss! BUT, call your doc's office and let them know. There are meds to help with nausea. You really don't want your stomach heaving right now if it can be avoided. Aside from the fact that it just plain doesn't feel good. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

My understanding is that there is scarring where they put the stitches to anchor the band in place. How much depends on the individual body. Some can have full ecapsulation of the band, some just have the stitches and the little scars where they were placed. You say you only went to a few doctors appointments. Did you ever have restriction? I ask because if you did not get proper follow-up with proper fills, the band most likely will not work well. As to the procedure to remove it. It is similar to putting it in. I am not sure what your definition of outpatient is, but it involves general anesthesia and a laparoscopic surgery the same as placing it. If you have a lot of scarring, then they might need to do more work to release the adhesions. With your recent symptoms, you need to be seen and find out what is happening, you could have some scar tissue causing problems. As ElfiePoo said, getting removal paid for by insurance is not as easy as saying, "hey, I want this done..thank you." What they determine to be medically necessary for removal may not be the same as your opinion. Needing a full operating room with general anesthesia will not come cheap. Best wishes to you. I hope you get it sorted out.

Does the surgeon require you to have been BMI 35 or over for any length of time? This is a new one on me, that the insurance doesn't require it, but the surgeon does. I am not well versed in Tricare at all. But you might point out to the surgeon (if this is true) that you have gaind xx pounds each year and it is just a matter of time until you get there. Does he know you are purposely gaining to qualify? If so, he should understand the problems associated with yo-yo dieting. There is also a study going on (I think it has begun) to lower the suggested BMI and comorbidites for use of a band. I believe also, that if it is medally waranted, a surgeon can place a band in a patient with a BMI of less than 35. There are many who were less than 35 on here who self paid for the reason that insurance would not pay for it due to the low BMI. Your situation seems to be the opposite.

Get yourself to your surgeon. It could be that your band has slipped.

You are welcome! Best wishes on your journey!

Aw, thanks Karen! Gotta agree with Crystl, this thread (and you all) is my support group. My surgeon's groups meet about 30 minutes away and don't start until 6:30pm and go until 8:30. I am up at 5:15am, and I just can't be out that late. Heck, I am not even UP that late! Karen, you'll break the plateau at some point. Keep on keeping on and it will happen. Unless you are like me and think you are eating 1400 calories a day when in fact you are eating 1700 when you actually journal. Shocker!

Zen...Can't speak for melody but you can find me on facebook. I'll PM you my email addy to find me.