HeatherO

We have a lot in common. I was banded in Jan of this year and am due 9th June. I have lost a couple of kilos since I got pregnant but it must be luck because I am definitely eating more. I also have been drinking a lot of plain milk as well . . . I just seem to crave it.

Just keep responding and giving it a shot. Many people get an initial denial and later everything goes through as long as they are diligent.

I was told tylenol as well but for some reason, it never works for my headaches.

I have never had a problem with lettuce or salads, but everyone is different. I love sushi, but don't eat it right now because I am pregnant. However, I could usually eat 2-4 pieces. When I was tightly restricted, I would pick most of the rice off the roll which is messy but still yummy. I would rather have riceless sushi than no sushi at all.

Both Jachut and ColtonWade had excellent points. Adjusting your habits is indeed important. However, if you decide to hold off on a fill for the holidays you need to be careful. It sounds like it is just making it too easy to overingdulge. It might be helpful for you to start charting what you are eating either on paper or online using fitday or the dailyplate. It is really important to know what you are consuming over a time to really understand where there is room for improvement and adjustments. I would also suggest going back to basics as well. Limit your calories to a specific range, and don't go above the range. Eat Proteins or dense foods first because they are slow going through your pouch. Highly processed foods, slider foods, Pasta, etc are not typically good choices for bandsters. If you do have them, it should be few and far between and should fit in your calorie range while still eating proteins or dense foods first. Have you ever felt good restriction or close to your sweet spot? Are you avoiding drinking with eating? Are you getting exercise? The answers to these questions also make a big impact on your weight loss as well and are important to keep in mind.

I also forgot to mention that I can't lose weight under 900 calories a day and am typically 1000-1200 calories daily (now 1200-1600 with pregnancy but havent gained yet). Some of us went super low-caolire but it doesn't work for everyone. You have to find the range that keeps you losing and tweak it when you get to a plateau.

My BMI is 25 down from about 40 so that puts me at about 100% loss and at the tippy top of the normal BMI range. However, I would still like to lose 16 pounds to get to my high school weight as a bonus. I am surprised that almost everyone who responded to this thread has lost 100% or more, lol. However, I can tell you that there are common themes among those of us who achieved being in the "normal" BMI range. 1) Long-term commitment to banding and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 2) Following bandster rules most of the time. 3) Maintaining a healthy diet which may or may not be low-carb, but still avoiding "junk" most of the time (an occasional bite on a special occasion is normal if it can be kept within bounds). 4) Exercise, exercise, exercise . . . some people lose weight without it but I think the majority of us who achieve our ultimate "dream" weights make it a normal part of our lives. For me, it is about 3 sessions of an hour weekly plus lots of little stuff like walking whenever I can, taking a bike, running up and down the stairs, etc.

I see that you mentioned in an edit that you did have a fill under fluoro and the band looked fine. I have read other threads where people say their band worked differently post pregnancy (there is a pregnancy forum on this site). For some reason, it just doesn't work the same in that it is tighter or looser than normal . . . or is just more fickle in that finding the sweet spot is really hard. My band was perfect before pregnancy . . . I got to my sweet spot quickly and maintained that fill level for many, many months steadily losing until all of a sudden, my band became horribly tight. Later I discovered it was pregnancy related. Since I have been pregnant, I can no longer tolerate anywhere near my previous fill level or I can't eat. I don't really have morning sickness or vomiting problems and never did during pregnancy, but it feels as though normal fill levels cause my band to almost close completely. I am hoping, praying, dreaming that post pregnancy my band will work normally again . . . but alas the future is not known to me as of yet. I am not sure why your band is behaving this way and you are uncomfortable eating dressed. I have read many, many pregnancy threads and this is the first I have heard of it. Perhaps a slight unfil may help the sensation (but then it also allows the food to flow more easily which may inhibit weight loss attempts). Perhaps you can get a slightly larger band size on your bra or pants if they fit snug. I would ask your doctor at the least and keep posting threads regarding how clothing affects the band.

I agree with Jack, you just have to take the bull by the horns and not overeat. If it was easier to overcome, I wouldn't be banded today. We all have that desire and I still have my little binge demon whispering sweet nothings in my ear from time to time. What I have learned is that power to overcome it accumulates. If I can say no . . . I can keep saying no. If I say ok, just this one because of this, that or the other . . . I am likely to do it again in the very near future. If the desire doesn't go away, I have something like carrots or broccoli . . . I can never binge on these things much because I get tired of eating them long before I overdo it.

Weight: 220 lbs/99.8 kgs/39.9 BMI Height: 5 '3 or 160 centimeters Current: 141 lbs/63.96 kgs/25.0 BMI Goal: 140 lbs/63.5 kgs/24.9 BMI or a "Normal" BMI Reasons: 1) Health Concerns: My mother sadly passed away due to complications with heart disease and diabetes at the ripe old age of 51. She was as healthy as I was in her early 30's - no problems except obesity. My sister was diagnosed as a diabetic at age 18. She is not controlling her sugar very well and needs 3 shots a day plus an overnight medication to keep her sugar stable at night. I was beginning to feel like a ticking health timebomb - it was just a matter of time. I wanted to do something before I became sick. 2) Definition of Self: To be obese may be a feature of who you are (like having red hair and freckles) but it does not define who you are as a person. In our society, the first thing people notice is general body type and assumptions are made. I didn't want to be the "fat" girl any longer . . . I just want to be me. 3) Vanity - Life is just not as fun when you are obese. It prevented me from being myself with full confidence. I also have an adorable husband and always wondered if people thought "what is he doing with her???" if you know what I mean. 4) Many, many other reasons to numerous to describe :0). All I know is that I am very, completely, ecstaticly happy to be within 1 pound of goal.

Congratulations!!! You must be healing splendidly to get moved up on your food plan. Happy melting.

That is terrible and I really feel for you. I would definitely pursue a formal complaint at a minimum, and perhaps legal counsel. Failure to investigate chest pain could be life threatening . . . and you obviously suffered serious complications that were unaddressed. This behavior is intolerable for a doctor/hospital and should be addressed. My biggest concern would be that the doctor's next patient may not be quite so lucky. Anything you can do to bring this issue to light may just end up saving someones life down the road.

It scares me a little that your doctor is already saying that the band does not work for everyone and is already suggesting alternatives this early. Although this is a true statement in that some fail with the band, the majority of us see significant weight loss with the band. Most common reasons for those that don't are because they have other underlying physical reasons preventing loss, or failure to confront emotional eating and learn better behaviors, or inadequate support/follow-up care, or they become dependent on slider foods and liquid calories. In the first 2-3 months, it is very difficult to say that you will not succeed unless there are immediate issues with compliance. Many people do not lose well after they lose their post surgery restriction until after their first fill. I didn't lose well in this early stage after the first two weeks of liquid diet . . . yet here I am at goal with close to 100% excess weight loss. My doctor even told me that it is a bonus to lose anything before your first fill or two because you will get hungry. If my doctor would have told me that early on that I may not be successful and start thinking of other options, I am sure this would have had a negative impact on my confidence. The band needs a little time to kick in with fills . . . and restriction makes all the difference in the world. When you have no restriction, you are not really much different than before banding. If you are following the bandster rules, eating a healthy diet, and getting in some exercise then the weight loss should come for almost every one of us. Most importantly, stay optimistic and give it your all. 6 pounds is definitely a start in the right direction. Much of what makes banding work is in your head more than in your stomach, a positive attitude can work wonders. You can do this and we are all rooting for you.

If you are nearing capacity at 3 cc's in a 4 cc band, you still have at least 25% to go and a band can be slightly filled beyond the capacity line if necessary. Most of us fine that our sweet spot is a very narrow band of how much we can be filled . . . so much so that 0.10 cc's can make a huge difference. You aren't at the end of your band, you just haven't gotten significant restriction yet. I have read someone say on this forum before that lack of restriction could mean a slip. However, I know my own doctor has said that the symptoms to look for are in the in the opposite direction where nothing goes down and you have super restriction where sometimes you can't swallow your own spit. I can't diagnose a slip since I am not a doctor but it doesn't sound like a slip in my limited knowledge. Good aftercare is vital to the success of your banding experience. Your doctor does not sound like a very caring or considerate person. If you can switch, it may make all the difference in the world. You might have to pay a patient transfer fee to go to a new doctor, but you have already invested a lot in the band and it could be worth it. I wouldn't give up on it just yet, you may be only a fraction of a cc away from restriction, getting back to bandster rules and taking the weight off as you originally intended.

I started off with shakes as well in the early days . . . but at that point I stopped losing and my fill doctor said not to do the shakes because I was defeating the purpose of the band and making it harder on myself. They told me shakes will never make me full if I am not tightly restricted and it is too much of a "diet" to try and keep myself satisfied in this way. I stopped the shakes and my weight loss picked up. I would occasionally eat light yogurt for Breakfast and maybe half a piece of fruit sometimes (1 - 2 times a week), but mostly I would just have two eggs cooked however I felt like at the time coupled with a little low fat cheese. Sometimes I would eat cottage cheese. lunch would usually be Protein like salmon or chicken or eggs if I didn't have them for breakfast with veggies of some form (salad, steamed, etc). dinner would also be a protein, but generally I would spend a little more time at dinner cooking it in a way I really liked. Sometimes I would saute beef with mushrooms with spices with a little tomato paste and Water. Sometimes I would pan-fry salmon with fresh dill and accompany it with some plain yogurt mixed with dill and cucumber. Sometimes I would brown little chunks of chicken breast with a veggie. Sides were always veggies of different sorts, but I avoided starchy things like potatoes or corn. By sticking primarily to Proteins first, I got full quickly. Veggies are almost like free foods . . . I ate as much as I wanted when I was hungry. This really helped me through times of minimal restriction because I would eat as much as I needed to feel full, but they were healthy choices and I could still lose weight. I would consider my diet a modified low carb and it helped me to keep losing. I didn't snack and avoided any carbs that were not whole and unprocessed. Nothing pre-packaged or chips, Desserts, breads, rices, Pasta, etc. I also started off at 800-1000 calories the first month but found I lost more consistently at 1000-1200. My weight loss has been steady in that I lost every month . . . but it was always plateau, lose a little, plateau, lose a little more.

Congratulations on your decision. No one should ever take the plunge with weight loss surgery unless they are sure and have really given it a lot of thought. Having a doctor you feel comfortable with also makes a huge impact on your decision as well. I have been in your situation before . . . something happened, or someone said something, or I went through a break up and I would have 4-6 months of dieting motivation to get me on track. Unfortunately for me, life intervened and I got complacent and the pounds would drift back. Yo yo dieting always made me end up a few pounds heavier in the end, I was never this way when I was young. I needed the band for my personal situation and it has worked like a charm. I wouldn't have been ready for it in my early 20's but I was ready for it at this stage of my life. You can find success through diet and exercise. The band is only a tool that makes the diet part a little easier but it can still be done without a band. I wish you the best of luck.

There is a clothing exchange group on this website. You might even be able to set-up a trade.

I am not receiving any emails today. I am not sure if there was another update. I have not changed any settings.

The further you get out from banding, the less you have these feelings. For me, food was everything before banding . . . it has changed to an afterthought. I used to even have dreams regarding eating, now they are gone. The change in mind set is the hardest part of the journey . . . but you may be amazed by how much it changes in the first six months of being banded. Restriction really makes a difference in your outlook on food and life in general. It only gets easier as time goes on.

I am thankful that my band has gotten me down to only 1 pound from goal and a normal BMI in less than one year. I am thankful that my weight loss has helped me to become healthy and pregnant (afer having a child 16 years ago and thinking I would never have another). I am thankful to have support through this website, family and friends on this journey that helped me to lose almost 100% of my excess weight and to reach a goal that I never really thought was truly even possible. I am thankful that for the first time in my life, I will have achieved my New Years Resolutions. I am also thankful for the usual things, family, friends, employment, health, stability :0).

You look great. I can definitely see it in your body and more definition in your face as well. I hate to say "you have such a pretty face" because it is so cliche and not such a great compliment to those of us battling obesity. However, you do have great bone structure, love the cleft chin and your haircut is absolutely adorable and becoming. You look so much more happy and confident in your new pictures as well . . . the beauty just shines through. Congratulations and happy melting!!!

Some pain/discomfort is common with the port over the first few weeks regardless of where it is placed. I have read of others having it in the same location, they seem to do well with it there. Unfortunately a bra may not be comfortable for a while. My port is in my abdomen but I still was not comfortable with bras for a while. You might want to look into a sports bra - they might give you the uni-boob look but at least you will be more comfortable, lol.

The first couple of months after being banded, I couldn't understand why we had to go so slow either. Later, once I was restricted . . . boy did I ever understand why it takes a while. You just can't eat fast without getting sick when restriction is tight. You take a bite, chew it, swallow it and then your pouch decides if you can keep going or not. The bandster rules are something to be practiced in the early days . . . but later they are harshly enforced by your band with restriction.

You did the right thing by giving it a few minutes. Sometimes stretching your arms over your head or walking around some helps. Sometimes trying a little Water helps some people, but if I am really, truly stuck, the water can't go down either, everything is blocked and it makes me vomit which is dangerous for the band. Water can only help if I am partially stuck and uncomfortable.

I had this happen too at about 4 weeks out, but mine was caused from starting abdominal exercises again before I was ready. My doctor told me to back off and give it another 2 weeks. I agree you should call your doctor just in case. If there is any chance of infection it could be a much more serious issue. Does the port site look any different? Did you notice any redness, does it feel hot or look swollen?