ErinMarie

Emailed you as well!

I really need to cut out sweets for a while! All I want is chocolate and carbs!

Totally normal! Hormonal changes cause swelling and water retention and your band can be affected! Eat mindfully and don't push it!

My baby is 10 months now and I've only gotten half of the Fluid put in that I had taken out during my pregnancy. I have been having lots of problems juggling a 10 month old and trying to keep my bites small and be mindful of eating slowly. I also am eating bread and all those other carbs I wasn't pre-pregnancy. I get stuck almost every meal and its frustrating and draining and it takes me forever to eat! I'm scheduled for a fill on April 1 and I am nervous I won't be able to stay focused on eating! I've already decided to cut out breads, most pastas and tortillas again to help combat always getting stuck when I eat. I desperately want to get back on the bandwagon! I'm also about to move and super stressed by the process of buying a house! Anyone else had this problem? Were you able to overcome it? I need some positive vibes ladies!

I had half of my fluid removed but it was my choice and I was swollen and unable to eat! Some people don't get anything taken out. With breastfeeding you will need to be constantly eating and staying hydrated to succeed! I didn't get a fill until I was done breastfeeding. Msg me if you have any questions!

I waited until I was done BFing to get a fill! You need that food to keep your supply up!

Don't feel like a failure! Life is a rollercoaster! I called my lapband doc right away. I was scared to death they would do a complete unfill, but he left it up to me. I decided to take out half of my fill bc my insurance at the time didn't cover my lapband appointments and I was swelling and had a hard time eating. Your doc may or may not want you to have some or all of your Fluid out, but I would hope that if you aren't having any issues then he would leave it alone. I think I was 10 or 11 weeks when I got my partial unfill. I would NOT have gotten an unfill if I could have handled it though. And good for you for wanting to go natural! I saw a midwife too, but I had to see a dr first so they could remove my 'high risk' status for having weight loss surgery. Depending on where you go, you may not have a choice, but my place was really cool about what I wanted. They did do a full nutritional panel (15 vials of blood) on that first appointment though just to make sure I wasn't deficient in any Vitamins or whatnot. I gave birth in a baby/natural friendly hospital. I think as long as you aren't deemed high risk (by the dr's office or your insurance) you should be fine. My lap band never got in the way of my pregnancy whatsoever. Congrats! Feel free to msg me for any questions

My periods had JUST started to regulate 18 months after surgery and 97 lbs lost (was down to 197) and BAM I was pregnant. It can happen! I was never diagnosed with PCOS, but I did not have periods but once a year if that when I wasn't on birth control.

That's great! Seeing that progress is always so awesome!

Thanks to hormones and salt intake, the band will probably fluccate in tightness, especially when you are in the green zone just due to regular swelling of your body! Lots of women have issues with tighthess during their periods or if they take in too much salt/sit all day. Just don't try to push it if you are tighter that day! The more you aggrivate it, the less you will be able to toelrate! (In a bad way! There was one time I was swollen and still tried to eat and I ended up so tight I couldn't keep down liquids and had to get an unfill)

I would also guess that maybe you are still adjusting from your fill Pablo, and GOOD FOR YOU for taking the initiative to see a therapist! I really think everyone with a band or any WLS should also see a therapist. We all got this way for a reason, and it's not usually just because we like to eat! Good on you for trying to sort out your demons!

Do you have a Gordmans? They have a lot of nice plus sized options. Lane Bryant also offers (or at least did) pants for certain hip widths.

I didn't have any noticeable hair loss until close to 1.5 years after my surgery. It's really different for everyone! If you keep up your protien and your Vitamins you should have better chances of not losing a ton.

Cliff bars are good too and natural! You can also make your own! I dont have any recipes but I'm sure Google does!

I second Parisshel! I went to a support group but everyone there was RNY so they had no idea what I was going through/dealing with and my husband was NO HELP at all. I come here for the encouragement and to see other people's day-to-day to help me stay focused. How many CC's do you have? Do you feel any restriction? If you aren't in the green zone, try not to think of yourself as failing. If you aren't at your sweet spot then really any loss is on YOU and that's good! Until you get to that sweet spot you are depending your own will power more than anything and that's really hard! We got the surgery for a reason, right? So don't beat yourself up and be proud of what you have accomplished so far! I would LOVE to be 216 lbs again! Find a group of people on here that are ACTIVE and stalk them! Go where they post, see what they reply too and heed their advice! There are a lot of very knowledgeable people on these boards that love helping people! (Me included! Feel free to add me as a friend!)

I second what everyone else said...smaller bites, more chewing, add a sauce to help with dryness! Also, try maybe giving a bit more time in between bites to allow it to pass through before you add more on top. I have this problem a lot (fast eater) and pay the price!

Have you done any weight loss programs that you paid for/have proof of particpating in in the last year? Sometimes they will accept that as your 6 months of a weight-loss program. You may also look back in your records from previous doctor visits and see if weight loss was discussed. Good luck!

What great news! Congrats! If I were you, I would start gathering any information your insurance may want for pre-approval now! The more you have prepared already, the faster you get approved!

Congrats! This wait is probably the slowest part! (Well, besides bandster hell, lol)

Almost full does not equal full! The green zone can be a difference of a FRACTION of a CC! Just because you are almost full does not mean you are FULL! Keep your chin up and don't give up yet!

Try not to rush the fill process gary! A big part of the green zone is learning what restriction feels like so you don't overeat. You may feel like you eat eat too much but the stuck episode is telling you to slow down and take smaller bites! Training your body to eat a certain way is what you should be focusing on since the scale is still going in the right direction. Good luck!

The best thing I can say is to beware of bandster hell and try not to get discouraged in the beginning! Everything else is healing and learning to be around people who can eat like you used to. This process is more mental than anything!

It's like walking into the men's bathroom isn't it? Lol

I could not tolerate pizza when I was in the green. I COULD technically, but I never ate it slow enough or in small enough bites!

That sucks you had to have a drain put back in! I can only imagine how annoying those are! I'm glad your incision is healing nicely though! Congrats!