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Well... Yesterday, I saw my Dr. for my monthly visit. I shared my symptoms and homemade resolutions. The doctor agreed to go ahead and remove .25 cc's. Last night I was able to sleep well. I've had no phlegm at all. Things are working well. I'm able to eat "better". Right now I'm able to eat about 2 to 3 ounces of food...I'm soooo okay with that. I did; however, lose 16 pounds in the last month. I'm still not under 300 but getting there. I'm now on 2 - 3 month dr follow ups.

Just thought I'd share...another day of periodic nausea. It seems during the time of no food is when it occurs. I do have a followup appt on Monday. I've done some research and wondering if maybe some blood work will show more "clues". It's at times while I'm eating or drinking orange juice that I DON'T have nausea. I went ahead and restarted the Prilosec OTC to see if that will help a little. It's kinda funny cuz the box says "NOT for immediate relief". We'll see. I'll try to update as days go on

I get on here once in a while to share the latest. Since the last time I had posted, I've gotten a different job that I absolutely love. Unfortunately, my family and I have no health insurance. We (my wife and I) have had the band for a little over two years. I've lost over 160 lbs. Most recently (about a week and a half ago) I went in for a fill. This fill made me probably the 2nd tighest fill that I've been. I was so tight, once, I had to go to E.R. to get it removed...Thankfully I had insurance. This time...I got my fill...drank water (which my body doesn't do well in morning anyways) and left Dr's ofc. Later that day, I was hiccuping. I called the office and was encouraged to wait it out. It's been a struggle. I liked how tight I was. Later that week I went out of town for a few days, came back home, and struggling with phlegm. My doctor suggest 2 days liquids, 2 days soft, then slowly introduce "regular" foods. It was a day or two after I started eating "regular" food, that I noticed phelgm. It wasn't the food pb that most have experiences...more dry. I also noticed I was getting acid reflux. The acid reflux would actually wake me up 2-3 hours after falling asleep. I tried a few different things like...hot lemon water, apple cider vinegar (which I think actually helped...taste horrible), and a few other things. Oh yeah...I was experiencing acid reflux too. I called the Dr's ofc who suggested over the counter (otc) meds for heartburn. I picked one up but saw the package stated...no instant relief...please allow up to 48 hours. (sigh). Took one...btw...when I take caplets, I break them in half. Well, I have to admit. I also added one more medicine to my repetoire of meds...Nyquil. Nyquil actually helped me sleep and minimize the phlegm. It was nice. The only obsticle was the Nyquil hangover the next day. It was a good compromise. Last night I got about 5 hours sleep and I had a little phlegm espisode but not really acid reflux. Got up, took so more Nyquil (first dose was only a half dose). Lately I've notice nausea around. There's a couple of possibilities...one could be a cold bug that's going around my job and the other could be my body telling me I need to eat (which is kinda new). I didn't really eat breakfast before. My daily meal consisted of Dutch Bros. (kinda like Starbucks) for breakfast, no lunch or snack like nuts, and then dinner. Now it seems like I may have to actually start eating breakfast which is VERY different for me. Another interesting note to all of this, I cannot tolerate hot liquids as much as I used to....my body seems to prefer cold. Hot food is fine, of course, but not hot liquids.

I'm very excited to share that it has been a little over a year since I was banded(November 27, 2007). I thought I would take this opportunity to share with everyone my experiences. My highest weight was approx. 460 lbs. As of right now, I fluctuate between 315 and 320. I'm okay with that, but still working on getting it off. To include in the story, my wife was banded about a year ago also and there have been some big differences. Another story for another time. My doctor required a 10 percent weight loss before surgery. Done! At the time of surgery, I weighed 400 lbs. To lose the 40 pounds, I changed my diet to a primarily liquid diet and walked during my lunch at work. When I got home from work, I would have something like meatball Soup (mostly liquid and a little protein). I also started the Protein shakes (big mistake). Just FYI, the mistake was not because it delayed be loss, but I cannot bare the taste of Protein powder any more. After my surgery, I did the same thing, worked out by doing a lot of walking. As of today, that is still my exercise of choice. I have made every doctor's appointment except for one (due to job and insurance change). I received my first fill about six weeks after surgery. I was told it didn't hurt, but the initial poke did. Now, not so bad. I worked on food choices as far as what and how much. Believe it or not, how much wasn't as big of a problem. I would eat toast, crackers, tortillas, and rice. Now, I cannot. I still lost the weight. The difference is that breads get stuck and I have to wait it out. It has just been recently that I got my "good" fill. I cannot gulp liquids. It is very noticeable in the morning that the evenings. I sip coffee throughout the day and have a great meal at night. I'm rarely hungry during the day. At night, I eat about 3 ounces of protein and about 1 -2 ounces of veggies and / or carb. I choose not to drink sodas. I cannot eat cake or any other white flour products without it getting stuck. Overall, I am very happy with the progress. I look forward to getting under 300 pounds. When I can afford it, we'll be joining a gym to knock out the reaming pounds.

Pam, Very exciting...hang in there!!!! Keeping you in prayer!! -Mike-

Pat, Since I started on my journey, I've lost about 135 pounds. My wife has lost 50 pounds from her heaviest and now most of her health issues, as mine, have gone away (ie type 2 diabetes and consistantly high BP). I actually started on this journey intently in July 2007. My doctor required a 10% loss prior to surgery. After surgery, I've lost 73 pounds. The hardest thing is getting to know which foods my body will and will not accept. At first, the foods I was not supposed to be able to eat (i.e. bread, Proteins, vegetables, etc...) I had not problem. As I became more restricted some things I've learn my body doesn't accept. The latest and strangest has been Peanut Butter. When I try to eat more than a teaspoon, I burp burnt peanut butter taste. Ewwww. One of the surprising things I didn't have a hard time with was soda. I loved Diet Pepsi. In my serious frame of mind, I did not. nor do not, want more soda which can expand my stomach. We do a lot together. Bicycling is certainly one of them. We also walk around as much. The difference has been the longevity. I ride further and walk further as well. Most of the time, my son keep up with me. I know, in time, my wife won't have any problems keeping up. Shopping has been a new experience. I thought it wouldn't be until December before I'd be able to buy "off the rack" from Walmart. Well, it's been happening. The pro's - less expensive than catalog...the con's - it takes money to buy clothes and now we're out of closet space...go figure. One of the ways I've been able to see a big difference in weight loss is my lunch at work. I can only eat a little and I'm not supposed to really eat for more than 30 mins and I should be full. (The latter I'm still working on...I eat slowly to avoid getting food stuck, but I eat beyond the 30 minutes.) At work, I have a 45 min. lunch, so I eat for 10 mins, and then go for a walk for the remaining time. I do that 4 times a week. I can see a difference when I do and don't. It's so exciting having the surgery. I would do it again, in a heart beat. FYI, window shopping is another great exercise.

Hey Pat, I don't believe there were any pitfalls being banded so close. We had our surgeries about 3 weeks apart. Even more interestingly, we had our surgeries done by two different doctors. I had mine first. What has been interesting is the personal experiences with post-surgery, like the new activities and capabilities. I think my wife gets a little bummed sometimes because I lost a lot of weight quickly. I noticed the more I move around (walking and bicycling), the quicker it comes off. Talk to ya later -Mike-

Tutornmom, my family and I will keep your family in our prayer as well. PMCFARM, keep it up. While we're lifting up prayer, I ask that you lift up my gall bladder surgery I just had yesterday. I found out last week or the week before, I had gall stones. It seems my weight loss caused the gall stones. My doctor, who also did my lap band, did share he took out 2 cc's of Fluid. It's been about a month and a half since I've had a fill. I've gained about 3 pounds due to lack of exercise. Right now, I'm a full time husband, dad, employee, and student. Without health issues, it's already a challenge to find time to exercise. I prefer bicycling with my wife and son. Due to the the gall stones, I've been laid up and now behind in my school work. The good news is I only have about 2 and half weeks left of this school session and then I get a week off. That's usually when I can try to start to catch up on my lost exercise time by bicycling. The other good news is the weather is starting to cool off, which makes it better for a good ride. Life is gonna get busy again and since I'm laid up and the pain meds are starting to kick in, I thought I'd share.

Good Luck with your surgery. I've been banded since November 2007. I know the benefits after are great. It's still an unending battle, but I couldn't have asked for a better surgery. I'd be glad to address any concerns. My wife and I both are banded. My wife was a month after me.

I'm open for a response. My wife and I are both banders. Ask away.

Yes, it's been a while. I've lost a bit of weight. It's slowly coming off. I've got the "gassy" issue taken care of. It's unfortunately taken time. One thing that seemed to help besides getting enough fiber in me was having 2 liters of water with 1 - 2 drops of peppermint oil. The oil helps the belly. It works and you smell good.

I've been taking the Benefiber and the gassy, bloatedness :clap: has been subsided for the most part. This morning I got up and was experiencing somewhat of the same thing but on a smaller scale. I think it's because I'm eating too much and/or too fast recently :clap: . I'm also due for my first fill :musical_note: . When I say too much, it'd be like 10 oz steak, 2 tbsp of green beans, and 1/2 cup of potatoes. I think once I get my fill, tomorrow, things will be on track :mad: ... Oh yeah, and I've cut down on my Benefiber :cake: . I only have it once a day in the morning with my coffee.

Recently I sent in a Dr. question and unfortunately I couldn't get an answer. I was waking up around any where from 2 AM - 5 AM full of gas and belly distention. Well, I went into my Band Dr. and after questioning my diet, he explained I needed more Fiber. We get so focused on Protein we forget about the fiber. So, I went out and purchased Benefiber from Walmart and then went to costco to get the big one. Because my wife and I both are banders, we both are using it. Benefiber is nice because it's tasteless and orderless. You can put it straight into Water and no taste. I usually put it in my flavored water and, again, no added or strange flavors. I wasn't having regular BM's until last few days. I was sitting daily, but only going once a week. Now, I'm going daily, 3 AM, so now I'm going to increase my fiber intake and I'll let you know how it's going.