Jodi_620

I was never really told to measure my food and generally have always eaten a bit more than a cup per meal. I just take a small bread plate and put small portion of meat, veggie and starch and eat in that order until I am satisfied. In the beginning it took a little trial and error but eventually I got to the point where I knew how much I can handle today. In my program, we gauged portions by the scale and being satisfied. You make sure you get all your nutrition, serve it up in small portions, chew well/eat slowly and stop when you are full. If the scale does not show results then you get an adjustment. 3 oz of meat is the size of a deck of cards or a bar of soap. I may have eaten that much meat some days during my weight loss but usually not quite. I probably eat about 1/2 cup of fruit and/or veggies and 1/4-1/2 cup of starch.

Those commercials bother me too. Just creepy, sappy BS.

Yes, I lost around 100 pounds then stalled for a year or so. I was fine with that didn't stress about it and spent that time learning the art of maintenance. There finally came a point when I felt ready to pick it back up kick the last 20 pounds and I when I was ready it happened. I have maintained my goal weight almost 2 years now.

Does this throwing up happen regularly or was this the first incident? Maybe your band is too tight or you had a little swelling for some reason. How soon before bed did you eat or drink. I need at least a couple hours to digest before bed, if I don't I will have a foamy backup a couple hours later. There should be no pain. If you are taking small bites, eating slowly and not overeating etc. then there is something wrong. Did this start with your last fill or have you had this problem from the beginning?

I guess we all just have to take a look at our personal situation and decide what will work for us individually. An occasional drink or two will not wreck everything if you are sensible and don't overdo it. As a veteran bandster, I can tell you I allowed alcohol sensibly and it did not hinder my weight loss. I lost most of my weight within 9 months, lost 100% of my excess weight in the first year and I have kept if off and lost a little more in the four years since I was banded without denying myself much of anything including a drink when I wanted one. I respect the choice of those who choose to keep diaries and scrutinize everything, if it works for you and you are happy with that, then that is wonderful. I didn't do all of that and my way worked for me. Just be respectful of those of us who choose our own way, none of us have all of the answers, share your experiences then let everyone take their own paths on this journey.

I am a little over four years post-op and have been at goal for a couple years now. I have not had a fill in a year and a half and have been maintaining a good weight, even lost a little over the past couple months. My thyroid has been controlled well over most of this time. I had to have my dosage lowered early on but until recently there have been no issues. In December my levels were way off so my Endo increased my dosage. He has increased it every month since then with little result. Two months ago I began crushing my Synthroid and waiting two hours to eat but that did not help either. I am not sure if it is the band that is not allowing me to absorb the medication or perhaps I have developed some sort of other GI issue. The Endo is going to increase my dose one more time and if there is no improvement in a month I will need to see a GI specialist. I have not gained weight but I am always very cold, tired, moody, brain fog and thinning hair. I am not sure if a slight unfill will help or not; I don't even have a Lap Band doctor at this time since Dr. Pinnar closed up shop and moved to Florida. Just wondering if anyone else has had issues with absorbing thryoid meds or any other meds this far out with Lap Band.

He feels it is an absorption issue, perhaps related to the Lap Band but realizing it could be related to non-Lap Band GI issues. He did test me for Celiac Disease but it came up negative. The Synthroid is supposed to be absorbed on an empty stomach and at one point, his thought was that maybe the pill is sitting in my pouch too long and being absorbed too slowly which is why we tried crushing the pill and waiting two hours for me to eat; I thought the theory seemed possible since I am so very tight in the morning even water has a hard time passing. As mentioned, he will try to increase my dose once more and check for any improvements in a month, if there are none then I will see a GI specialist. In the meantime I thought I would throw this out to everyone on this forum since I do not have a Lap Band doctor to ask.

No need to be frustrated you are where all of us have been in this journey. You are still in the healing phase. Put your energy into healing and the weight loss will come in due time. I lost around 18 pounds during this time so you are doing great! Not feeling full just means that the swelling has gone down and you are healing. The full feeling will come with the fills, maybe not the first one but be patient listen to your doctor and it will happen.

Body shapers do wonders! I wear the Tank Top kind under all of my clothes and it tucks the skin in very nicely. It tucks the waistline skin and is long enough to pull over my lower belly to firm it up as well. Spanx is very expensive but Maidenform makes a version called Control It! that works fine for me. I never go without one.

It would depend on how well your thyroid is being regulated. I have been hypothyroid for more than 10 years and I see an Endocrinologist to keep it regulated with Synthroid. I did just fine with weight loss, you can see my timeline below. At about 9 months my Synthroid dosage needed to be lowered due to lower body weight. I actually stopped in to LBT today to search around and see if anyone else has ever had issues with absorbing the medication and ran across your post. I have been at goal for some time now and I am starting to have issues with my thyroid again. Not sure why but I am apparently not absorbing my medication, my dosage has slowly gone from 50 up to 250 since December but my TSH levels just keep getting worse. Trying to see how crushing the pills help to absorb better. I have not gained weight but I am so sluggish my memory and mood swings are terrible, I am so cold I am wearing jackets in the Virginia summer heat and my hair is thinning.

I didn't count calories while I was losing and I don't count calories now that I am at goal. Like always I am mindful about the quality of food I eat and just listen to my body/band. I rarely feel hungry but my body tells me when I need food and I tend to crave what my body is needing so I just eat accordingly and when I am full I stop eating.

I have had pain off and on in my right side more toward the back rib area since I had surgery. Not severe but more annoying than anything. I was told by my Lap Band doc that the only thing there was my gall bladder so he took it out..three years later I still get the pain.

Well, I called the insurance company and they do not seem interested in getting involved. They said he is billing for a consult and agree that almost $2,000.00 for dropping off records is high but basically said that it is between me and the doctor and I need to call him if I have any concerns about what is being billed. They also said that he submitted the claim to the wrong department and told me that I should call him and give him an 800 number so that he can get the correct address. Screw that! Let him figure it out for himself.

Well I did go to Dr. Merchia's Reston office back in November. I didn't see what choice I had so I took my records in for basic a meet and greet as I am already at goal and didn't need a fill or anything. Spent nearly two hours sitting in a sleep study room as they were so backed up. A lady entered my info in the computer and took my Pinnar records and I waited a while longer. I saw Dr. Merchia for a couple seconds, he ooo'd and ahhh'd my success and asked to introduce me to Dr Greenes staff, talked to them for a couple seconds and that was it. No medical exam, no weigh in, no fill and I spent most of the two hours sitting by myself in that room fuming. Today I got an EOB that was sent to my previous insurance (my insurance changed in Jan). Billed by After Band LLC. There are two amounts for the same visit. One for $991.19 and the other for $954.18. The bill will now be resubmitted to my new insurance and I intend to contact the insurance company to find out if these charges are valid.

I chose it for all of the reasons mentioned, it is safer, less invasive, adjustable and reversible. I also know two people that had bypass and they both regained after a couple years. One now has the Lap Band.

Oh no, that is insane! I haven't seen anything like this yet but will let you know if it happens. So is it Merchia that is doing this?

Good point, xavier. I also felt guilty about my eating. And embarassed because I always felt like people were judging my eating. Now I enjoy what I want!

Getting stuck has never been an indication of restriction for me. Heck I was able to get stuck when my band was completely empty. Getting stuck for me means I ate the wrong food, took too big of a bite, ate too fast, didn't chew well, ate too much or was too stressed or not relaxed. (stress during a meal makes eating a baby spoon full of applesauce impossible for me!) When deciding if I need a fill my doctor only uses two indicators: 1.) Are you losing or gaining weight? 2) Are you hungry between meals. I would say first to increase your activity level a little at a time. Increasing exercise helps boost your metabolism. Review what and how you are eating (sit at the table in a relaxed environment without distraction and stress, eat small bites, chew well, pause between bites, avoid tough, fibrous, doughy foods and do not drink with your meal). And once you get exercise and eating down, get going on a few small fills until you see some weight coming off.

The Lap Band completely changed how I enjoy eating. I used to enjoy just grazing on all kinds of food not being selective and I kept eating until I was full...and getting full allowed for a good amount of food. Looking back I didn't really enjoy the food itself as much as I enjoyed the process of eating it and how eating it made me feel. I am not even sure I took the time to taste the food half the time. I am now more selective of what I eat and by selective I don't mean low calore, low carb, low whatever... I am not diet-crazed. By selective I mean something that tastes good and will satisfy my needs nutritionally, I am more in tune with what my body needs at meal time whether it be Protein, fruit or even a little sugar. I know that I will not be able to eat a lot so I get something that will taste good and will satisfy me. I still take pleasure in my meals, probably moreso than before because I eat slower and taste and enjoy what I am eating more. The Lap Band no longer makes the old way enjoyable which is a good thing.

I get it sometimes as well and yes, only since being banded.. I am over 3 years out so definitely nothing to do with intubation. It is not bad or frequent enough to see a doctor but on occasion I try to eat certain foods, mainly sweet but sometimes mayo or ketchup as well and very back of the roof of my mouth burns, like a very raw and painful sore throat but only when the food makes contact. The same offending food might go down fine a few hours later.

Yes I got my gallbladder removed after losing around 80 lbs with the band. My surgeon did remove some from the band for the gall bladder surgery but I had it refilled as soon as I recovered. Went on to lose the last 30 or so pounds without any issues.

My gallbladder removal had absollutely no effect on my ability to lose weight or keep weight off. There really is no reason why it should.

Oh my, it is much too soon for you to be frustrated. Be patient and give it time to start doing its job. The first six weeks are for healing. Once you get at restriction it will get a lot easier. If you follow your surgeons instructions it will happen. As far as diet I eat mainly fresh meat and fresh fruits/veggies and whole grains from the bakery and avoid processed pre-made pre-packaged foods.

I weighed daily from day-1 and three years later, though I do skip days, I pretty much still do. This truly being an age-old question here on LapBandTalk.com I know from many discussions that there are differing opinions and I came to a conclusion early on that this is very much a personal choice. If you want to weigh daily and can handle the guaranteed ups and downs, then go for it. You will fluctuate a pound or two from time-to-time, even if you have stuck to your plan 100%. I weigh the same time every day, first thing in the morning after using the bathroom. It helped/helps to keep me on track and be aware of how certain foods, my cycle or lazy days can affect my weight.

Neither hypthyroidism nor the meds directly cause cravings or weight gain. Having your thryoid off kilter can make it difficult, even impossible to lose weight though because your metabolism slows down. Is your doctor following up with bloodwork and tracking your TSH levels? When mine would get off kilter, it would take more than a few weeks and sometimes one or two Synthroid adjustments to get me back on track. As for lack of periods, that definitely can be caused by a improperly functioning thyroid, could be a sign that your Synthroid dosage still isn't right. Stress may be causing you to eat more as well. Are you eating a lot of comfort foods (starchy and or sugary carbs)? This is what many of us turn to when we are stressed and that just causes more intense food cravings. Then again maybe you just need a fill.