HeatherO

My doctor expressed today that she is becoming concerned about my weight loss. I started around 154 when I conceived and now I am at 142. I lost 1 pound since my last OB visit a month ago but she said that now that I am nearing the halfway point I need to start going up. I am not dieting at all right now. I eat when I am hungry and drink plenty or milk and orange juice. I am trying to avoid the junk food but I eat plenty of healthy foods. I am eating somewhat cautiously but not depriving myself. I am not sure why on earth I haven't gained because I am certainly eating a lot more. I have also being eating a bowl of Cereal as almost a fourth meal everyday. She said that if I had been around 200 pounds to start, it wouldn't make a difference but she needs me to start gaining healthy weight now. She even mentioned supplements like Ensure. I feel like I am in the twilight zone . . . I am losing too much weight, are you kidding???? My OB has never had a bandster before and I can tell by the questions she asks that she doesn't know a whole lot about it. So what are your thoughts??? I am probably eating anywhere between 1500 to 2000 calories per day right now. I am also still physically active so this must have some impact. I don't feel like I am doing the wrong things, I just can't explain my lack of weight gain. If you were in my shoes, would you make a concerted effort to gain weight or just continue with current habits?

I am interested but afraid to buy it. It is a big investment for something that might just be sitting in a drawer a month later. I am not sure if it is user friendly enough to be worthwhile.

I think you did the right thing as well. People know what they need to be doing . . . and if they need help or advice they will seek it out. If you would make a point about it being an inappropriate food, you might have just embarrassed this person. I would have passed on the buckeye balls as well and just show by example that I am making the right decisions for me. It will become very evident in the coming months as you lose the weight that making the right decisions is making a difference.

By the way . . . my quad check came back normal. I also had my mid-point ultrasound and everything looks great and the baby is in breech position right now. Also the tech said for the sex check that there are three lines and no dangly's . . . so she is pretty darn sure it is a girl but she is not allowed to say it with 100% certainty. It is so exciting and now it is so real. My pregnancy seems to have moved in my mind from a "condition" to an "actual baby." It makes all the difference in the world when the ultrasound shows fingers, toes, nose, eyes, etc. instead of shadowy blobs, lol.

I had my appointment today with my OB/Gyn and she said just keep doing what I am doing and didn't suggest any meds. The only thing she mentioned is maybe using a heating pad as well. I really miss my Advil which is a very definite no. I guess it is all for the good of the baby so I will grin and bear it for now. :cursing:

It was kind of a mix of both. I definitely didn't want to become pregnant at an unhealthy weight . . . because I know I would gain a lot and possibly not lose it afterwards. Family members have also suffered from gestational diabetes that never went away after delivery. So banding meant that I would be in a better position to become pregnant and stay healthy at the same time. So pregnancy was a motivation for being banded . . . but it came after getting healthy and becoming a more "normal" size. However, with a son who is 16 years old I had become used to the idea of having a single child. I was somewhat resigned to the fact that I may not ever have another child and I had accepted that possibility. So in a way it was coincidental as well. I did not know I would become instantly pregnant after getting close to goal.

I would have to agree with Jachut. Eating may never feel the same as it did pre-band. You will get different sensations, but I don't think they should be overly painful, just different. If you are constantly regurgitating food, having swelling and pain after and soothing it or avoiding pain with sliders . . . it sounds like you are too tight and could be harming yourself. The sweet spot is not always easy to find but you should be able to eat normal foods without regurgitating them. I think sometimes people keep their bands too tight out of fear of regain . . . eventhough they have already plateaued due to eating sliders that don't hurt so much going down. Being too tight can lead to lack of weight loss as much as being too loose. Eating healthy, whole foods such as Proteins, veggies, fruits, whole-grain carbs is what helps to keep your body healthy and helps your band to work better in that you feel full.

For me this is correct. I have kept an active gym membership for the past 4-5 years - and I used it. Although this did not prevent me from having a BMI of 40 when I wasn't banded . . . even with an active lifestyle and healthy food choices (albeit too much food, obviously). My sister has a BMI of over 55, she doesn't exercise or make healthy food choices and is a severe diabetic. What is the primary difference between my sister and I ??? . . . other than lifestyle, not much. I am sure that if I would not have maintained a healthy lifestyle - I would have carried an extra 50-100 pounds plus. I think starting from a healthy lifestyle and then being banded on top of it made this an easy choice for me. Perhaps I am not the average bandster although I know there are some others like me. Without being constantly hungry it is relatively easy to maintain the weight as long as I maintain what I have been doing previously.

That is great news. It is always wonderful when it turns out to be something harmless :0)

I agree. Not barbaric, just a good option for the times in which we live. Banding seems like such a simple concept, but it is very effective and it has worked for me. :cool:

I was having trouble getting back on the wagon as well. I started by cleaning out my kitchen, replacing anything inappropriate with appropriate things and started charting calories again. I use fitday.com. I hate to track something like a piece of cheesecake so it helps me to avoid that kind of food. The other thing I did was cut out carbs altogether . . . I was becoming too dependent again. Good luck. You can definitely get back on track and you have had success before. Regrouping and starting over again fresh should really help.

I hope you are feeling a little better soon. I am sorry the dinner plans didn't work out for you. I agree with the others who are saying that you might be al little too tight . . . but sometimes it does loosen up after a fill. I can really eat at least something at every restaurant now . . . even if it is only Soup.

I wish you the best of luck as well.

The source of my pain is an injury that happened about 6-7 years ago when gardening. I never felt it happen at the time, but I was in pain for about a week thereafter and it was nothing crippling. It would come and go occasionally in the years thereafter, just a twinge for a few days but nothing unbearable. I would take some liquid advil, lots of bubble baths and a little massage and that was enough to get through. Then I got pregnant. The pain that used to be every few months started happening every week and was worse than ever before. When I am at my worse, I can get around but I am not comfortable and can't concentrate on work or anything. It is a misalignment right where my bra strap crosses my back. My chiropracter helped - because I was definitely misaligned. He said it is because pregnancy releases something called "relaxin (spelling?)" and I am just more prone to be misaligned because my joints are looser. He also gave me exercises. I have to stand in a doorway with my hands in the jambs and do a stretch kind of like a push up. I also do the stretches on my hands and knees where you arch your back in and out. The exercises are helping amazingly enough. I am going to ask my OB for some baby/band safe meds for when it is really bad next time. Tylenol doesn't do anything for me at all - I am starting to think I am immune to the affects. Monday is my exciting mid-point ultrasound where I get to hopefully find out the sex. I can't wait :0)

MyNewLife, I am really so sorry to hear your news. My heart goes out to you. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

LJM, I am so sorry you are having such a rough time of it. I hope these last couple of weeks pass very quickly so you can hold your baby in your arms.

Some people seem like they are less than informed on what they should be doing. I think for most people posting these kinds of threads, the primary problem is that they are just non-compliant and not following the rules. They know what they are supposed to be doing but just don't follow it and are looking for feedback (and unfortunately sometimes looking for justification to continue doing what they are doing). Banding is not easy and we all have slip ups in the beginning, but wantonly disregarding the post op diet and rules on a regular basis is the easiest way to fail the band. Everyone of us has the ability to succeed or fail at this, we just have to decide which side of the fence we want to be on - and then take personal responsibility for the results.

I personally wouldn't risk it unless I was a nurse. Mistakes can be very costly.

I have never had a numbing agent and it is not much more than a tiny pinch to have a fill done. It is really no big deal. Unless there is a lot of poking and prodding, I bet most people who get the numbing agent probably would have felt just fine without it. I have to lift my legs up to a 45 degree angle while keeping them straight during a fill. The first time I did it, it was really hard to keep them that way for a while - now it is really easy. I put similar leg lifts into my exercise routine and my legs are a heck of lot "lighter" than they used to be, lol.

I have the same affliction . . . constantly freezing. I now dress in layers. I have also started taking a bath each evening before bed so that I feel OK. When I am really cold, my hands and feet just don't seem to warm up until I take a bath.

I still don't have morning sickness . . . but I have been vomiting lately. I had to fly both yesterday and today for a business trip and I was sick on both flights. Out of nowhere I seem to be getting sick around 3 times a week on average for the last month or so and my band is unfilled and completely open, thank goodness. It seems to be after I eat and the food is sitting for a while - it almost seems like my stomach sometimes rejects it afterwards.

No port pain yet . . . but back pain has been really bad. I have never been to a chiropracter in my life but have gone twice in the last month. I am really miserable sometimes and can't sleep (and I have a high pain tolerance). This has been a problem for me since the beginning of pregnancy but it is getting progressively worse. Has anyone else suffered with unusual back pain in early and mid pregnancy? I am starting to get worried about the third trimester.

Slippage is not incredibly common for the statistics if you are following the rules the majority of the time. When you wantonly disregard the rules immediately after surgery, you are risking slippage. Please go read the threads about people who have had slippage and check to see some of the reasons for slippage. Non-compliance plays a big part in the majority of slippage cases. Even if slippage was only 1% - if you are that one person out of 100 that has the slip, it really sucks. Wouldn't you want to know that you did your best to avoid it by following the rules instead of having to accept that you failed your band??? You are right, we all have made our mistakes, but there is a huge difference between refried Beans a few days early and eating burgers immediately after surgery.

I agree completely. This is more than cheating . . . this is self-destructive behavior and if it is already going on regularly immediately after banding I am not sure that there will be a significant improvement in the future without help. I would highly recommend seeking professional help from a psychiatrist or psychologist that deals with food addiction.

If you allow yourself to get overly hungry . . . it just sets you up for dissapointment later by the time you get home. I would suggest having a snack when you are hungry and just build it into your day (cut out a few calories earlier if you need to). At night the best hunger busters for me were something along the line of a cheesestick, cottage cheese, boiled egg, etc. There is no reason to stay hungry if it is physical hunger you are battling.