kgloverii

Just as an FYI- I read about this trick... Get up in the AM and make yourself a nice mug of hot tea. While you are drinking it, STAND UP and read the paper, do the dishes, whatever. The point is, as you are drinking, STAY STANDING. Stay standing for about 10 mins after you're done drinking. The warm liquid while standing gets those digestive parts working. If I have time, I'll drink TWO cups. I've been doing this for a week and have had success EVERY DAY I have done it, and NO success the days I haven't. On days it has worked, I haven't taken the Miralax... Anyway, it is worth a shot and another thing that works for me.

There is more and more scientific evidence that proves this. I read the article Oprah wrote about her food addiction in this month's O magazine and I kept telling my husband "I'm rolling my eyes" as I was reading it. I truly believe, more often than not, it is a physical/physiological thing that is making people hungry, not some food addiction. After I hit my sweet spot, I literally had a breakdown and wept because my brain literally was rewired. I no longer was planning my next meal. This is the BEST part of the band. Even if I had stayed fat, and my brain was no longer consumed with thoughts of food, I would've considered the surgery a success.

FYI- Per Miralax.... I must take it everyday for success. If I take a few days off, then it takes a few days of the Miralax to get me going again.... The good thing is it is SUPER gentle and there are no annoying side effects...

CONGRATS! That is an AWESOME Feat! Don't shortchange yourself, it is not 'just a number.' It is a big deal!

I actually called my husband about an hour ago and told him "I need you to help me out... I totally forgot to eat ALL day and that is just NOT good." I literally have not eaten ANYTHING today, and have only drank 2 cups of hot tea with milk. Eating never crossed my mind today, I have just been too busy. Who the heck would've EVER thought that would happen a year and a half ago?!

Amen to all you said, Donna. I am completely in agreement with everything you've said. I am just at the 80 pound mark and 14 months out so it hasn't been exactly 'fast' for me either. But, I've eaten anything I've wanted, in moderation of course, haven't dealt with the constant PB and reflux, and have enjoyed my journey thus far. The best part, for me, is that the demons in my head are no longer there: the demons that reminded me I was never full, always hungry, always wanting the next meal.

Actually, it is more like 98%. But who is counting, right? Seriously, I looked at odds like that and that's why I voted with my wallet for the Band. If my Band fails me, my wallet will be more than happy to come out for the sleeve.

I had a broken foot, ankle and toes 5 years ago that had to be put back together with pins and needles. My doc did not think I would be able to walk after the severity of the break, even with multiple surgeries. I was lucky, and had a phenomenal surgeon that exceeded any expectations I could have hoped for. Even on a consult with another foot surgeon a year later for an unrelated issue, that surgeon could not believe the awesome work that was done on my foot. Even so, I still have some nerve damage in my foot and the pain is on and off. I have now lost 80 pounds and the pain in my foot is significantly less, at least partially due to the weight loss. Lap-Band surgery is definitely something to consider, and may help your ankle pain in the future as you lose weight.

Ummm... this pic is from the end of Sept. of Kirstie. She's looking like she might be retaining water or something... :blushing:

Just some thoughts: 1) In a 10 cc band, I had a fill of .4 ccs that I ended up getting an emergency unfill of .3 ccs of that cause I was ridiculously tight. That .1 ccs got me to the 'sweet spot.' Sometimes it only takes a very SMALL amount to get you to where you need to go. 2) Different foods go down differently for me. I can eat 'a lot' of certain foods, but not very much of others. This may be what you are experiencing. 3) Are you drinking with your meals at all? Drinking with meals, if you are not at optimum restriction can wash the food through the band, making you be able to eat more... and it only takes a few sips to make the food go through... 4) Dehydration will sometimes make a band very tight, and once you rehydrate it will loosen. This may be another reason you are having odd band issues. When I am dehydrated, I can barely eat ANYTHING, but if I am fully hydrated, I can eat more... HTH!

My God. That is the craziest thing I have heard. Well at least the guy caught it... My God. Here's hoping your stomach recovers quickly from that...

The only way to kill the sweet craving is to kill the sweets. I was a major sweet eater pre-band and I knew post-band I'd have to get it under control. So, I really cut the sweets big time. If I ate sweet, I ate the real thing. I didn't eat the low-fat, no sugar, fake sugar thing. If I had ONE cookie, I ate a REAL cookie with the sugar in it. The REAL sugars were almost a shock to my system, cause I was so used to eating sugar-free. The odd thing is, REAL sugar is much more satisfying to me than fake. Fake sugars make me crave more and more and more. Real sugars.. I need just a bit. I still practice this principle. I have banned fake sugars from our household. We are primarily whole food, organic eating people. But if we eat sweet, we do it real. If we eat fat, we eat fat. We have whole milk, whole yogurt, etc. No one has gained weight, and I've steadily lost. So, that was basically a big tangent. The moral of the story is... cut the sweets till you get control of yourself and then you can slowly reintroduce. And FRUIT is highly underestimated... My favorite SWEET is an orange. Mmmm...

YES YES YES. Call your doc for an unfill. in my VG band which holds 10 cc's, even .3 ccs made a HUGE difference. my friend who has the 4 cc band says .1 cc makes a major difference to her. It doesn't take much. DO NOT suffer through this. it will only get worse. I tried to suffer through my tightness in hopes some weight loss would help it loosen but my stomach just got more and more inflamed from being so tight. CALL TODAY!! And in the mean time, try HOT liquids like hot teas.. Those helped me stay loose enough that I could at least swallow those! And with me, cold liquids have the opposite effect, so HOT is your friend!

it is probably an allergy to the sutures. There have not been any cases of a person being allergic to the actual Band itself. Call your doc and talk to them and try to get that rash under control for once and for all! Hope you feel better soon!

You're still in an emotional time, so those feelings will come. The best advice I can give you is... that red velvet cake isn't off limits forever. It is just until you can eat real food again. You won't be able to eat the WHOLE cake any more, but you sure don't have to cross it off your list forever!

My aftercare surgeon told me that when I hit my goal weight, I may have a little tiny bit taken out so that I don't continue to lose, but as Jachut said, mainly nothing happens. I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey, so every pound is taking FOREVER to come off. So, I figure one day, the weight loss will completely peter out and I will just be where I am...

I think Jachut feels the same way too. In an earlier post I referred to someone who asked how much of a tuna sandwich they should be able to eat, and they got an earful from dieters claiming HOW DARE THEY THINK OF EATING A TUNA SANDWICH! All carbs are not the same and there are worse things out there than a tuna sandwich, lol. I personally stay away from white carbs because they are nutritionally deficient and personally, post-surgery, I crave the GOOD for you stuff. Fibrous foods, fresh veggies, etc. But you know what? My favorite dessert is carrot cake. And if I happen upon some every once in awhile, I eat a bit. Are there better choices? God Yes. But do I disallow anything? No. I just don't eat the whole damn cake anymore! :confused_smile:

1) RNY= quicker weight loss. 2) Statistically, the average weight loss over 5 years is greater with RNY. 3) Dumping Syndrome can be a GOOD reminder that you are eating crap and you'd better cut it out... Those are some of the reasons you might want RNY. Remember you are coming to a Lap-Band board, so most of the answers you get are going to be very "pro-band." I myself am pro-band because I was highly successful with it. However, you asked why someone would want RNY and I want to tell you the honest truth, not just the reasons you wouldn't want it. That does not help you make an informed decision. People talk about the band being reversible. You need to go into any surgery you have thinking of it as a one shot deal. Saying the band is reversible gives you an 'out' if you're not successful. You can choose to blame it on the band and go for a revision, instead of considering that you in some way may not be making it as successful as you could be. Do all of your research and consider ALL sides. so many people don't and end up regretting or questioning their decision later.

I'm glad to see the Aussies jump onto this topic. I truly was waiting to get flamed for my comments about it being surgeon skill along with the diet differences. So many people on the board get bent on every morsel they eat, and I just KNEW I was going to be told that my anti-diet mentality had to go, and that I was going to wither away to some sagging skin and breaking bones cause I don't take Protein bullets. :confused_smile: Thanks for the true Australian perspective! I truly believe that your perspective is one that needs to be taken note of...

Girlfriend, as you told that story, I got that sick to my stomach feeling, like "I know exactly how this is going to go down..." because I think every overweight person has a story of embarrassment. And my stories, even from years past, I will NEVER fully get over. You are a strong woman, and that strength will help you as you embark on your Lap-Band journey. Congrats on making such a meaningful decision for your health!

I cannot reiterate what Jacole said enough. You are newly banded and you are in 'Bandster Hell" right now cause you can eat anything you want, and have no restriction. I passed the time by becoming OCD on my calorie intake during this time, counting every single morsel I put into my mouth. It worked for me, and I continued to lose until I had good restriction and could stop counting... Hang in there. You're going through a normal, frustrating part of being newly banded.

I think your desire for immediate change is a normal part of the process. I know I went through the same thing. I expected immediate changes to my life, but as you know, it doesn't happen that way. Some things change. And YOU will change over time. But I don't think anyone wakes up one day, finding themselves eloping, pregnant, and holding the winning lottery ticket. Life will improve. You'll have more confidence. But it is a slow progression... But you knew that. You're normal, I promise!

There is WAY too much diet mentality. For ME, the diet mentality went RIGHT out the window as SOON as I had the band in. I followed pre-op and post-op to a 't' but now just eat as a normal person would, albeit a LOT LESS. I don't have ANY sort of food obsession anymore. I was on another Band board and someone asked how much of a tuna sandwich they should be able to eat. Everyone on the board came back and RAILED the original poster for thinking a tuna sandwich was acceptable. "Tuna sandwiches have carbs, you should not eat anything white, etc. etc." OVER and OVER from all kinds of posters. There is another poster on there that is NOTORIOUS for talking about how they weight EVERYTHING they eat. They have a flipping scale in their PURSE. NO JOKE. Talk about trading one obsession for another! That CANNOT be healthy! The Aussies on LBT all talk about how they've never heard their docs talk low carb, high Protein, low fat, or whatever. Their docs say to make the Band work for them... Most banded on the board would want to crucify me for drinking WHOLE MILK, eat full fat yogurt and ice creams, dipping bread in olive oil, eating REAL sugar and abhoring the fake stuff, etc. I eat like a NORMAL weight person. And you know what? It works for me... I don't sit here thinking of food 24/7.

I think Australia has had the band longer, so surgeons are more experienced. They also stress eating a 'normal diet' after healing from the surgery. That takes away a lot of that food obsession, which may make it more viable for a lot of patients long term...

Every person is different. You might need 8 fills before you feel restriction. You will not have a 'honeymoon' till you get restriction. You will have a really hard time to lose weight until you get that restriction. Count calories and eat mainly Proteins until you get that restriction. Patience is a virtue. Keep going back to your doc for fills until YOU feel restriction. Ignore his comments about other patients. They aren't you.