MerryHearted

I know it's hard to think of "starting over" but truly, if they are treating you this way pre-op you are not going to get good post-op treatment from them. And that's critical. Is there any other bariatric surgeons in the area that you might consider switching to?

You need to go back to your surgeon and have them look at your band under fluoro then. If it's fine, then you need to deal with the stress somehow -- have you tried an anti-anxiety med like Xanax? I went through a short period several years ago when I needed it to deal with something, and it really helped until I could get my head around the problem. Even if these problems all have physical causes, you are clearly upset and stressed about them. Have you had a chance to have your lungs evaluated yet? Sorry this is still going on. :sad:

Every morning; it helps keep me on track. Sometimes I forget, but I weigh in most days. I think after losing over 100 lbs though, I'm at the point where I'm not obsessing over it -- I know to look for the overall trend and not get upset about minor changes. It's given me a good feel for my usual fluctuations over the course of my "month" (5 weeks for me), and that's good info to have going forward so I can address minor weight gain at 3-5 lbs before it turns into 10 or 20 lbs. That's my plan anyway. Who knows if it'll actually work. :sad:

Hang in there -- slow losing is still losing, and the pounds add up eventually.

Richard -- yes, once you have fill, that constant hunger for food will be turned off. There will be times in the beginning (after the swelling goes down but before you get filled) that you are really hungry, but once filled to the right amount, you can reasonably expect to feel satisfied after eating a small amount of food. It's wonderful.

Absolutely -- look for the center with the most aftercare support. Having people on staff who are banded themselves is a huge help for them understanding what you are going through. Don't use a surgery center that mostly does bypass surgeries, especially one that gives the same instructions for both. Instead, go with one who specializes in banding and has experience with the long-term aftercare for bandsters. Good luck!

Karen, are you feeling better now? I hope so. I just saw this. Generally when I'm feeling nauseous I like chicken broth, saltine crackers, and tea. I put aside bandster guidelines when I am sick to my stomach -- my goal is to get over whatever bug I have and then go back to eating by my normal guidelines. So liquid calories are something I generally do have when I'm sick -- Soup, juice, whatever it takes to get back on my feet without making things worse. Pop in and let us know how it's going!

Was it this one? http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/questions-ask-your-surgeon-20287/

In my early days before I had much fill, I could eat part of a burger. The bun wasn't a problem for me. Mostly what I found is that burgers at places like McDonalds are pretty gross when you have to chew them so much. A home-grilled burger or one at a nice burger place like Red Robin is better, but these days I just go for a few bites of the meat. Like someone else said, I rarely order a burger anymore because they don't make good leftovers and it's a waste to only be able to eat a couple bites. I just have a bite of DH's if I really want it, and order something more band friendly - or at least leftover-friendly.

You may find that surgery is the only thing that will really help you be able to get down and stay down at a reasonable weight, given your starting weight. Are you wondering whether LapBand is the right choice vs. RNY or some other type of WLS, or more whether surgery vs. no surgery? It's a very personal choice. I like that the band is, in general, safer. If you have complications and/or hate it, you can have it removed. Best wishes on making your decision.

Name..............Current.....Goal.....Lost...Still to Lose by July 4th atallen06...........231........215.......0......16 Bea1129.............231........200......5.5.....25.5 BigBandFan..........296........270.......0......26 Epm316..............230........200.......5......30 erikadawn...........217........190.......0......27 faithmd.............302.1......300.......7.3....2.1(by6/21) Hastings............253........228.......0......25 KarenG..............170........160.......4......10 kathystrick.........318........288.......0......30 kellygirl0520.......236........220.......0......16 legster.............188........180.......9......8 Lenore1890..........263.4......247.......4.3....15.7 Leslie2Lose.........233........208.......1......24 LessNLess...........149........140.......2.......9 Lilmissband-aid.....240........225.......7.5....15 Luu2008.............215........185.......0......30 luvinke.............217........190.......4......23 Marissa's Mom.......388........358.......0......30 MollyMolly..........195........188.......9.......7 nancy52.............197........170.......0......27 Nettie..............193........170.......0......23 Newhope4me..........173.8......160.....3.2......13.8 njudono............ 298........277...... 5......21 NukeChik............233........222.......9......11 nurse7263...........244........150.......0......24 renewedhope.........192........170.......5......22 Sades...............195.5......185.......1.5....10.5 Sunshine2...........179........160.......4......15 (by6/29) Suzzzie. ...........273........260.......0......13 Tess415.............327........299.......5......30 TexasFire67.........170........145.......0......25 Wombat712...........132.2......120.......3.6....12.2 Jennypoo............179........170.......0.......9

Definitely! The 2005 forum is so quiet -- nobody's talking in the August thread so I moved into Sept... I think it'd be much better if we did it by year once 2+ years out.

Ouch -- I'm so sorry! I hope you will feel better as soon as it's out.

Most people are able to drink with their meals, although at some point if you get tight enough and try to drink right after eating solid food it might just come back up. The idea is to avoid drinking with your meals though, so you don't wash the food through and eat more than you should. Although without restriction, your food is probably just dropping right through anyway. One of the things that's contributing to your appetite increase. You'll probably start losing once you get some fill, unless you are willing to start monitoring your portions/calories now.

For me, the sensation of "full" with the band is nothing like it was pre-banding. It's more of a "I've had enough" feeling. And at my current restriction, the signal is pretty strong, but it wasn't prior to this last fill. Still, I guess the big question is: if you eat the portion you should be eating, can you walk away and not be physically hungry again for at least 3-4 hrs? If not, then you probably need another fill.

You guys are all doing so great!! I'm sidelined now with back pain which turned out to be, according to my PT, my hip out of alignment and a bulging disc near the bottom of my spine. My "exercise" today was chasing my kids around the park. :biggrin: PT has not given me clearance to start back in on the Couch to 5k; she wants me to work on doing my back exercises & stretches. June, hopefully, will see me back on my Couch to 5k, with my alternating days being weight training and/or Pilates to strengthen my core so I can keep my back healthy. On the positive side, so far the back thing hasn't stalled my weight loss. Karri -- OMG, a size 4?! You must feel great!!

Hang in there Leslie! Sorry to hear about your port flip. :crying: Don't worry, once you're straightened out you'll start losing again -- will they give you a fill at the time of the port revision to at least get you started? Name..............Current.....Goal.....Lost...Still to Lose by July 4th atallen06...........231........215.......0......16 Bea1129.............231........200......5.5.....25.5 BigBandFan..........296........270.......0......26 Epm316..............230........200.......5......30 erikadawn...........217........190.......0......27 faithmd.............302.1......300.......7.3....2.1(by6/21) Hastings............253........228.......0......25 KarenG..............170........160.......4......10 kathystrick.........318........288.......0......30 kellygirl0520.......236........220.......0......16 legster.............188........180.......9......8 Lenore1890..........263.4......247.......4.3....15.7 Leslie2Lose.........233........208.......1......24 LessNLess...........149........140.......2.......9 Lilmissband-aid.....240........225.......7.5....15 Luu2008.............215........185.......0......30 luvinke.............217........190.......4......23 Marissa's Mom.......388........358.......0......30 MollyMolly..........196........188.......8.......8 nancy52.............197........170.......0......27 Nettie..............193........170.......0......23 Newhope4me..........173.8......160.....3.2......13.8 njudono............ 298........277...... 5......21 NukeChik............235........222.......7......13 nurse7263...........244........150.......0......24 renewedhope.........192........170.......5......22 Sades...............195.5......185.......1.5....10.5 Sunshine2...........179........160.......4......15 (by6/29) Suzzzie. ...........273........260.......0......13 Tess415.............327........299.......5......30 TexasFire67.........170........145.......0......25 Wombat712...........132.2......120.......3.6....12.2 Jennypoo............179........170.......0.......9

For me it's all about the satiety. I used to eat all the time, even when I wasn't hungry. I could eat a huge meal and be in the mood to snack an hour later. You could call it "always being hungry" -- like I had no shutoff switch. Now, I eat my small portion of food (I aim for ~1200 cals per day) and because of the band being there, my body gets a signal when I eat, and that translates into "hey, not hungry anymore!". It's wonderful. So yeah, I still have to make good food choices, because it'd be easy to pick junk food and get in way more than 1200 cals a day. It'd be easy to drink my calories -- milkshakes, coffee drinks, ice cream, chocolate -- which doesn't give me the satiety signal because the band works on solid food, not liquids. And I could graze, but I don't need to anymore -- my body doesn't cry out constantly for more food. It won't solve emotional eating -- that was my downfall about a year and a half into this where I stalled for a long time. I'm back on track to reach goal though, now that I have tools to deal with this. It's not a con. This is really an amazing tool.

And don't expect weight loss to be consistently downward week after week. You will have weeks where you do everything right and lose nothing (or go up a pound), especially if you've recently lost a lot. Keep an eye on the big picture and don't sweat the day-to-day scale fluctuations. If you haven't already, I suggest making a chart in Excel, on graph paper, or some other way, to track your overall progress. If you go 2-3 weeks without losing, then it's time to make adjustments.

Do you have sleep apnea? You should not have to sleep sitting up at night. I know when I was heavier I would feel like I was suffocating if I were lying down, unless I was using my cpap. Sorry you are having this trouble. I hope you find a doctor who will listen and figure out what's going on.

I totally get the wanting to have the surgery and wake up thin feeling, but remember this band is for the rest of your life. Not a quick fix or a short term fix. Regardless of your fill level, you're going to need to control your calorie intake and work out if you want to lose weight. Might as well start now and just keep going. Most people can stay on a "diet" for a few months before falling off the wagon -- if you can do that, then you'll be putting yourself ahead of the game compared to just waiting for your sweet spot before you really work at losing. Try "The Beck Diet Solution" for some cognitive therapy ideas for staying with an eating & exercise plan long term. It's quite helpful, and these skills will come in handy even with the band.

Most of us tried WW multiple times and failed at it before banding, so that probably wouldn't have worked either. There's no reason why you can't try it now though -- plenty of banded people are doing WW, South Beach or other diets along with their band. I guess it depends on the doc you went to -- it sounds like he/she did not do a good job of explaining the band and the work involved. Mine did, and I knew up front that I'd have to do a lot of work to get and keep the weight off. Sorry you feel bamboozled. Is it an option for you to have RNY or the sleeve? Even those can be "eaten around" with liquid calories though. You will still have to make good food choices no matter what WLS procedure you have. :wink_smile:

Ice cream is liquid calories. It's not a great diet food, but you didn't stray from the "only liquid calories" rule unless your doc has you on Clear Liquids. Like others said -- don't beat yourself up, it's counterproductive. It's not the first time you will make a bad food choice between now and when you die. :wink_smile: chocolate is also liquid calories -- that stuff melts in your mouth and goes down as liquid. So does Jello. So not everything that is solid is really solid, if you know what I mean. You didn't harm your band or surgery by having liquid calories in the form of ice cream, even if it is a food not conducive to weight loss. You might cause problems if you eat solids too early though. I do recommend pulling out your detailed list of reasons you want to lose this weight and reading it daily though. If you don't have one, make one. And no vague references to "being healthy". Be specific and detailed. And then rearrange the list to be in priority order. What exact health improvements do you want? What improvements in appearance? Will you feel different when you are thinner? More confident, more in control? How about things you want to do that are difficult or impossible at your current weight? Any reasons related to other people? (most of my reasons are for myself, but I do have a couple like "I want my husband to feel proud that I'm his wife when we are out walking around in public, not embarrassed that he's with the fat chick" Not that he's ever expressed embarrassment -- he's always been supportive and loving -- but c'mon, most guys want to be with a good looking girl right?) Clothing-related reasons? This can really help you stay on track if your reasons for losing weight are fresh in your mind. If you need it, stick a picture of yourself at the top or bottom of the list so you can remind yourself what you look like right now (if looks are one of the reasons you are doing this).

Like you said, you're not banded yet. If, once banded, you find that a bowl of homemade chicken soup keeps you full for as long as regular solid food does, then why not? As long as you are keeping an eye on your calories too and not eating more because some is getting washed through the band. Same thing with foods like oatmeal and yogurt, or even a regular bowl of Cereal with milk. I think it's akin to what someone else was saying on the "no drinking with meals" thread -- if you are carefully monitoring your portions/calories, losing weight and staying full between meals, then does it really matter that much? Well, maybe it doesn't. It's something to look at as soon as the weight loss stalls though, especially if you aren't monitoring your caloric intake & portion sizes carefully.

I drink out of a straw all the time... they brought me a drink with a straw in it when I woke up from surgery to make sure liquids went down fine. I know some say watch out for straws because you may swallow more air, which will make you burp a lot. I think you'll just need to try for yourself and see whether it affects you or not.