Kalipso2

it's possible.... i have a 10cc band and at one point had 5.5cc's. i was constantly throwing up and my acid reflux was horrible. i went in for an unfill and for some reason, my band cannot handle anything over 4.2cc's... and i still occasionally have bad acid reflux at night so i think i need another .2cc's out at least. BUT, with that being said, i do have restriction. i'm rarely hungry and i've never gained even 1 pound back. it took me 2.5 years to get to my goal weight but it worked!

i live 4 hours away from my surgeon so imagine THAT ride home! i think i cried almost the entire drive home. my poor parents felt SO bad but it wasn't their fault. thankfully i had my paid meds with me.

eat now... while you can! seriously though... you probably will go thru a bit of shock after you realize how little you'll really be eating. some people can eat whatever they want but in small quantities but i'm not one of them. i can't eat most breads. no real pizza but i can eat the crust of one slice and the toppings of 2 slices. no toast, no bagel, no sandwiches. i can't eat ground meat either so that means no hamburger or sausage. my 2 favorite foods in the entire world... pizza and burgers... i can no longer eat no matter what. being 3 years post-op, i do better eating out with friends and family. i no longer drool when someone orders a hamburger. i no longer skip family functions when i know pizza will be served. but i have to eat before i attend any family function so that i don't give in to temptation. you have to learn to eat the small servings and then STOP eating. your brain will want you to keep eating even though your stomach will say stop. food will still taste the same so will you have the willpower to stop when your band tells you to?

what size band do you have and how many cc's are you filled with? what does your daily food intake look like? you might not be eating enough food. if that's what's happening, your body goes into starvation mode and weight loss is much slower. have you seen your surgeon lately? what does he say? are you keeing a food journal? if so, go see your nutritionist and she should be able to tell you what you're doing wrong.

my PCP knew nothing about the lapband before me. when i would go in for a physical she would be poking around my stomach and come across my port... the look of horror on her face was priceless even though i had told her about my surgery. since then, she's asked me a hundred questions. about 2 years ago i had to go to the ER because my cat bit me and i was worried it was infected. they ask you if you've had any surgeries lately and when i told the nurse, she had tons of questions too!

i know it's hard... almost all of us have had to go thru it. it takes a few days for the stomach to shrink down and once that happens you won't be as hungry. i would try the slimfast shakes in place of whatever your surgeon told you... at least in the beginning. i bought the milk chocolate cans and would put it in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes until it was just starting to freeze. it tasted like a milk shake. being able to follow the pre-op diet really helps you stick to the post-op diet... which is VERY important! i admit, i cheated on my pre-op diet but stuck to the post-op diet!

ordering just an appetizer is always a good idea... it's what i do now if i'm out with people who don't know. if i'm out with people that do know, i order from the kids menu. you can say you are watching your portion size.... that you had a late big Breakfast (or lunch)... the soup and side salad is a good choice too. if the people you are dining with are used to seeing you eat a big meal and you're now eating a much smaller meal, there probably will be questions. i just say "i'm not really that hungry right now".

welcome and congratulations on your journey! if you have any questions... ask away. there are so many nice people here to help!

what an awesome idea.... donating excess skin!! i wonder why it's not happening more with plastic surgery patients?

yes, there are some people whose bands slip or erode but i've heard horror stories about gastric bypass too! i really believe there are many more successful bands out there than there are failed ones. there is no shame in holding off surgery if you want to do more research but i think we all second guessed ourselves at least once before having surgery!

i agree... if you only feel that way 3 days out of the month, just go with it. i'm a FIRM believer of indulging yourself on occasion... that way you tend to not binge other times. and enjoy it while you can because there are a lot of us that get SUPER tight when its that time of the month. i don't eat for 3 days because i'm so tight. i have to stick to liquids! there are some people who say to stick with the willpower and not to give in to it but i think that will only lead to binging on something down the line. an occasional candy bar or piece of cake isn't going to hurt you in the long run. it may slow down your weight loss though.

my band will not allow me to eat any kind of ground meat... including hamburger and sausage. there are days i would KILL for a bacon cheeseburger with mayo but that's how i got to be overweight in the first place. also, i can't eat most breads... including pizza... which is my all-time favorite food. i've learned to adjust though and can eat the crust off one piece and the toppings off 2 pieces. i can eat popcorn but only if it's not butter flavored. i think the oil upsets my stomach so the healthier alternative is okay and fills my need. and for me, nuts are hit or miss. if i put only 1 serving size in a baggie i do okay but if i eat out of the container the salt makes me over eat. i also have to make sure that i chew the nuts more than any other food. it's all a learning process... you'll get to learn your body so well in the year. good luck!

i rarely feel hungry anymore either so i just usually eat at the same time each day to make sure i get in enough calories and Protein. on the rare occasions that i am hungry, i can just tell that my stomach is empty... and i feel empty.

i take a pill for depression, a pill for anxiety, 3 tylenol pm's, and an iron pill every night and all at the same time with NO problems at all!

i was swallowing whole pills a week after surgery.

for me, it's all been trial and error. i try the food to see if my band will accept it. if it does, i continue to eat it. if it doesn't, i just know i cannot eat it again. most fruits are fine... as are veggies except for cauliflower. no matter how much its cooked, it just won't stay down. potatoes are fine except for french fries (which is probably a good thing!!) i can't eat hamburger at ALL. it doesn't matter if it's well done, medium rare, dipped in mustard, with cheese, low fat ground meat, higher fat ground meat... i just throw it right back up. i've tried every way possible! i do okay with chicken... prepared in any way. the same with pork. sauces usually help if the meat is dry. i can't eat hardly any bread... including pizza. i can eat the crust off one piece and the toppings off two pieces. everyone is different on what their band will handle. it IS better to be safe than sorry... i know this from experience!

yes, it is acid reflux. it's a good idea to get a small unfill before it gets worse. my acid reflux got to be so bad that i would wake up in the middle of the night choking on the acid.

i can't believe that it's almost been 3 years since i was banded. in one sense, it feels like just yesterday because i'm still having acid reflux issues and may need a slight unfill but i also feel like this journey has taken FOREVER! i finally made my goal weight 2 years 10 months after surgery.... 68 pounds lost. i want to lose another 5 so i can fluctuate a few pounds without going back into the "overweight" bmi. i haven't gained any weight back but it sure as hell has taken me a long time to lose! it's been a year since i've been to see my surgeon so i need to make an appointment to get a yearly check-up. i want to make sure my band is still placed correctly AND to show him that i lost an additional 26 pounds during this past year... something he told me i probably wouldn't be able to do. when i went in for my check-up last april, i was 171 pounds. he said i was a "success case" because i lost 60% of my weight. he told me i wouldn't lose any more. he was wrong : )

that's awesome!! i've always been fascinated with running. i joined a "running class" right after my surgery to learn the proper way to run and to train for a 5k. i think i set my expectations on myself way too high too fast after surgery. i got too depressed when i couldn't even run a mile that i just gave up altogether. i have yet to try again. i live in cleveland and the weather is getting nice so you might be my inspiration to try again!

i've been in that dark place where your are... and it's scary. i had never been more scared in my life. at that point in my life (which was pre-band), i had multiple people i know die. i was consumed with grief that i was having thoughts of "doing something drastic". thankfully, i had a therapist at the time and things got better. i'm glad to hear you have a therapist too that will help you out of this dark time. a lot of us have "binged" like you did with the mcnuggets. i'm sure your band is fine and the experience scared you enough that hopefully you won't go down that path again during the next stressful moments in your life. it sounds like you had SO many great memories of your friend, so try to concentrate on how happy his life was... and probably still is!

i remember the first few weeks after surgery, i spent SO much time trying to feel the band around my stomach... even though the thought of feeling it freaked me out! of course, you can't feel the band at all but it did drive me crazy for awhile. i can feel my port but that doesn't stress me out anymore... it relaxes me to touch it and know why its there. if i were still overweight people would probably think i'm pregnant because when i walk around the office i find myself running my fingers over my port. it's only natural what you're going thru... you're second guessing your decision but it will all be worth it when that first person asks "are you losing weight?"

i'm almost 3 years post-op and when i started my journey i needed to lose 68 pounds to get me to "normal" on the bmi chart. it took me the entire 2 years 10 months to reach that goal but during my first year, i was overfilled for too long and my pouch stretched a little so i had to get unfilled for a month and then slowly refilled for the next 3 months. i also don't exercise and believe in indulging every once in awhile instead of staying strict with the no sugar. i'm okay with losing slowly though. i have yet to gain 1 pound back and i'm still losing! i hope to lose another 5 pounds before starting to maintain. i think what you want to do is doable but it will take a lot of hard work and discipline! good luck!!

my port is in the same place as yours... and if i lean up against my desk, i feel it too. i don't look at myself naked often because i just don't like what i see (in general) but my port scar is pretty visible and i think it sticks out a little. i embrace them though. when i need reassurance that i did the right thing, i reach for my port location and it makes me feel better. does that sound crazy?

yes, you might gain a few pounds back but it won't be 20 pounds... so don't worry. you're entering what is commonly called "Bandster Hell" because you are banded but have little to no restriction... so you're going to be hungry and able to eat somewhat normal until you begin having fills. try not to get depressed over it... the weight will come off!!

you have to learn to trust your band... and learn to know the signs that you should stop eating. i've said this before, it's almost like having the devil (your brain) on one shoulder and an angel (your band) on the other shoulder. the devil will tell you to keep eating because the food tastes soooo good and the angel will tell you that your body is satisfied and not to eat another bite. if i listen to my brain and eat that one extra bite, i WILL throw up but if i listen to my band i'm left feeling depressed because i WANT to continue to eat. which will you listen to... the devil or the angel?