HeatherO

Calcium carbonate is bad??? I didn't know this . . . and that is what I take occasionally (I have milk, yogurt and cheese on a regular basis so I don't need a lot for calcium supplements). I would love to hear what people have to say on this subject.

Good luck with everything. 18 is a great age to consider it because you are young and have a lot to look forward to with a new, healthier and happier you. If there is a will, there is a way to get this done . . . and it does sound like you are ready to make a go of it. Once you are out of UNI it might be easier if you can get insurance to cover it from your future job. I hope you will join us bandsters very soon . . . we would love to have you in our group.

Most doctors say to wait 1-2 years. However, I think it is safest to give it at least 6 months at an absolute minimum. If you have morning sickness causing vomiting on top of a new band, you might risk a slip and lose the band. Also, this is a great time to work on yourself. There is so much to learn and understand during the early days of banding. It is a lifestyle change and you should give it 110% for yourself. Pregnancy on top of it will be an added stress. If you do choose to wait, just imagine how much healthier you will feel and better you will look with a pregnant belly.

I had this problem occasionally over the last month or two. It came to a head last week where I had constant reflux all night and had to have an emergency unfill. In my case, I was definitely a little too tight.

I think all banders have this issue to an extent with certain kinds of food. For instance, I can eat 4-6 ounces of chicken and be full for hours or I could probably eat a bottomless bucket of popcorn and be hungry an hour later. I know Proteins like chicken and salmon or steak stuff me so I eat them first. They seem to act as a stopper which gives me a slow draining effect. You just have to make choices on what to eat when that make this work for you rather than against you. The stuff that "sticks" should be used to best advantage and built into your menu.

I am sorry you went through this . . . and really shocked that it happened out of the blue after you have been unfilled for so long. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and a return to normalcy.

That just sounds so crazy. You have to have the adjustability . . . I can't see them making a one-way valve because it doesnt make any sense. Plus, if you are puncturing the port with a needle and injecting Fluid, I don't see why it wouldn't come back out again. I would have to wonder if you have a leak or punctured tubing more that the wrong kind of valve. Have you felt any changes in restriction levels since you started getting fills?

I am in the same boat. I just got an emergency unfill on Thursday. I can feel the capacity and desire to overeat coming back strong . . . I feel scared and a little lost without my band helping me. I decided I am going to buy plenty of fresh vegetables and make them the primary staple of my diet for now. I am also going to eat them first by 1/2 cup and then go to lean Proteins and finally back to the vegetables. I have also decided to increase my daily Water intake. I will be avoiding all carbs for now and increasing my exercise daily. I will now go back to charting everything on fitday.com. I think I just needed to work out a strong plan after a trying weekend. Bandster rules wont work as well when my band isn't working for me. I have too much capacity and hunger right now and I had to find an alternative way of handling it. Perhaps developing a strong plan for being unfilled might help you as well. We can get through this together :0).

I just had the same thing happen last week. My fill had been in place for more than four months. I felt great and was losing weight well, at my sweet spot and everything was perfect. A little over a week ago I started pb'ing. I then got reflux at night. It kept getting worse and worse every day, until last Thursday I couldn't get down more than a tablespoon of Water every couple of hours if I was lucky. I even pb'd on 1/4 cup of weak tea. I couldn't sleep the two nights prior because I was coughing almost all night long and choking on my spit. I started reading all threads on slippage and had myself pretty scared. My husband drove me 4 hours away for an emergency unfill on Thursday. The nurse removed 2 cc's and it was instantaneous, blessed, wonderful complete relief. Not only could I drink water, but I could drink a lot of water quickly. I didnt even have to drink the water to feel the difference, my chest could feel it as she withdrew the Fluid. The nurse said that if she had removed a small amount of the fill and everything was perfect again, it is not a slip, I just have swelling and irritation and I need to keep the fill level down for a period to get healthy again. She said that people who have come in with slips are usually in a lot of pain and are toting spit cups because they can not even get their saliva down. She did say that if I didn't come in I could be risking a slip because I couldnt keep anything down . . . and I was also very dehydrated. I would suggest you go get a slight unfill. 3 weeks is risky and I can't imagine that you are feeling your best after not being able to eat much for an extended period. Plus a month or so of a decreased fill short beats a slip if you can avoid it.

Be careful with choosing a pot-luck style option unless it is OK with the family dynamics. If it is tradition that the host handle everything, you might rock the boat uncomfortably for yourself down the road. Your hubby should know if this will fly or not. If you tell everyone you are having surgery, of course they will understand and you will most likely not need to worry about T-day prep . . . but it should be your choice if you want to disclose it. Personally if I were in that situation, I might have said that I needed to have surgery for a hiatal hernia repair (this was true in my case since I had the repair and band done at the same time) near T-day and I will not be sufficiently recovered in time to take on that responsibility. Of course you can cater it and/or enlist your new hubby to help, but it will be quite a stress and strain. Whatever route you take, keep your health and well-being in mind . . . that is paramount to cooking for the new tribe.

You will have to puree a couple of things. You might be able to have a little mashed potatoes and gravy. If there is anyway you can get out of doing this, I would try. At 21 days out, you might find that you are hungry again and it will be an incredible stress trying to prepare a Thanksgiving feast that you can not partake in . . . 3 weeks out is very early.

It makes me sad when threads descend into bickering. Everyone has different opinions and there can be many different opinions on any given topic, and I like to hear different opinions myself . . . but I can't stand when the tone starts to sound like a free for all. Can't we be a little nicer to each other???

I hit my sweet spot on my second fill at 8.3 cc's. It held until I had to have an emergency unfill last Thursday after getting sick. Once you get there, you stay there for some time, at least in my case. My Realize band has gotten me 10 pounds from goal in less than 8 months. I love my band.

. . . because I binged big time after an unfill . . . and am up 2 pounds :0(.

Thanks everyone. I am back on plan today . . . we shall see how it goes. I am up 2 pounds since my unfill, but I think beign dehydrated might have actually made my weight seem lower that it woud have been at that time. Back on plan, back on plan, wish me luck 'cause I am back on plan. :0)

Oops, wrong post.

Good for you!!! You are right on track, and it does get easier down the road. Kudos to you for making the right choices.

OK . . . so I am almost eight months out and only 10 pounds from my initial goal. I have been following the rules at least 95% of the time, working the plan, doing my exercise, keeping my eating in check. So banding is working and working very well for me. I have been feeling on top of the world. I also felt like I have "overcome" my food addiction which involves driven, impulsive, mindless consumption of very specific food choices either with high fat/salt content or high sugary sweet/carb laden content after dinner but before bed. I could count the number of "binge" episodes on one hand and still have fingers left over since banding. Well, about a week ago I pb'd, which happens rarely, and had some reflux that night, which also happens rarely. I got sicker and sicker day by day until I had reflux and coughing just about all night long. I went on liquids but my stomach was so irritated that I was pb'ing everything until last Thursday when I could no longer ingest more than a tablespoon of Water at a time. Over several days, I had ingested almost nothing other than water, Protein drinks and coffee. My stomach was closing up so I went in for an emergency unfill. They took out a little and I could drink comfortably, had Soup for dinner and have felt altogether human again in the days since. So last night I had a healthy dinner, a yogurt based soup which has a tiny amount of rice and mint sauteed in butter, along with a spinach/ground beef dish topped with garlic yogurt. I ate about 1/4-1/2 cup of each. Probably ate 3/4 cup total, was pleasantly satisfied. 1/2 hour later . . . I wanted a little Cereal, which I haven't eaten in months. I ate a partial coffee cup of honey bunches of oats with almonds. 10 minutes later, I had another partial cup of fruity pebbles cereal in milk. 5 minutes later, I wanted some of the cherry topped cheesecake in the refrigerator and I ate a full serving. 5 minutes later and just about full to bursting I ate maybe 2-3 tablespoons of chocolate w/chocolate chip cookie dough that was made up for a dinner party that will happen later today. Soooo . . . . I binged probably about 2 cups worth of food. This was worsened by the fact that it went down easily with milk and was mostly carb based with a ton of sugar and fat. What happened to me??? Am I still just this weak??? Loosen my band and I am just the same old/same old girl with a food problem. I feel sad and disgusted today . . . and I have a lovely dinner party to cook for throughout the day. Woe is me :smile::sad_smile::thumbup:

I had to giggle when you mentioned that men "eat in volume." I certainly got my lapband as a woman due to eating in volume, lol.

You may need a slight unfill. However, in the mean time, start drinking warm or hot liquids. Anything cold makes you tighter. It might loosen up in a day or two (this has happened for me in the past), however if for any reason you are no longer able to get liquids down you need to go in for an emergency unfill.

I understand what you are talking about. I handle it this way. Rare pb's occur to all of us. If I am so stuck I am sliming and afraid to move away from the toilet then I just bend over from a standing position over the toilet and it will slide out with no additional effort either on its own or with a slight cough. This only speeds up the inevitable, but doesnt force it. However, if you are triggering your gag reflex by inserting your fingers. This is a very bad sign. What makes it even worse is that gagging causes your stomach to heave which can definitely put you at risk for slippage. If it is not occurring on its own, you dont want to make it happen. Also, most of us did not get on the banded path by not having food issues. It is very easy to get in a habit of eating too much and then relieving yourself. After banding, it doesn't take much effort to get to where you want to pb. You don't want to get into a binge/purge cycle because it is not healthy and can be extremely damaging. If you want to keep your band, don't do it. Just imagine if you had lost your band because of it today, would you want to go back in the past and tell yourself to do something different? If so, for your own health and well being, stop now.

It happens to all of us. However, I have found that if I am drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day plus an extra cup to offset any caffeine I have ingested it, the water gains/losses are diminished and practically non-existent unless it is related to TOM.

Every doctor has their preference. You need to make the decision that is best for you. Your weight does not seem exceptionally high althought I don't know your height. Lapband works well for those that are willing to work it. The best part of it for me is that it is adjustable so I cann keep it at just the right level to keep losing weight. If you read the bandster rules and find that these are something that you can be committed to following, you can find success. It also hopes if you do not tend to graze all day and are more of an overeater. Another important thing to consider is whether you will have significant problems with slider foods/sweets. You have to avoid them after banding, can you do this and are they a big issue for you now? The band will not prevent you from eating these things while R&Y can give you dumping syndrome. I think both options will help you lose weight, which is the best is such a personal decision. Banding was my personal choice and I feel that I made the right one . . . had my issues been different I might have gone the R&Y route.

I took chewable Vitamins from CVS called Spectravite and Tums for calcium. As for Water,I bought a water bottle that has marked ounces on the side up to 52 ounces. I measure out the bottle for the day and made sure I drank it. You should be halway done by early afternoon. It was too much effort for me to meaure it out by short time increments. This worked well when I kept it near me.

Jack is coming from a different angle, but I think he has a definite point to be considered. Sex is a part of any healthy relationship, and a lack of initmacy may mean a lot of different things but it usually does not bode well for the relationship . . . especially if it is sustained over a long term. This viagra deal is an unpleasant surprise that complicates everything at the moment . . . but if you can count the number of times you have been together over the last several years on your fingers . . . there must be some serious issues in the relationship. Whatever the source of the problem is, it is very good that you are in counseling. Is the source of the issue a physical problem or have you become disconnected emotionally . . . only the two of you know the answer to this. Open, honest communication amongst all parties is the best way to move beyond this situation . . . regardless of whether the final outcome brings you together or forces you apart.