blackcherry2002

Well I hope that I didn't do any severe damage to my band. I had my band too tight and was getting acid...however I didn't realize it because I wasn't losing weight and was still able to eat what I thought was a lot(honestly my serving sizes are all screwed up...I think like 10 bites is a lot now.) I just got an unfill after almost 8 months...but the acid reflux wasn't everyday until recently and I took a prilosec to keep it down and that helped. I just got .5 cc's out about a week and half ago and didn't have any acid until today. I had a little bit of acid, not nearly as bad as before...and then I realized...hey! I haven't eaten in 5 hours...Anyone else only get acid when they forget to eat?

Any July '08 banders having problems getting off track? I was down to about 155 and now I'm back to 166...ugh! Anyone have any success with the 5-day pouch test?

Well I did do a round of prilosec OTC and it worked like magic. Tums and pepto bismol didn't do CRAP! However now I'm just doing 1 pill as needed-usually once or twice a week. I'm just not sure if that's safe. And yeah coffee is a BIG no-no.

I'm having acid problems lately, but I'm not too tight. And it has started gradually not suddenly. I'm thinking it maybe just due to my bad diet lately (I need to get back on things)...Anyone else have problems, think I should be worried?

See that's more of what I'm worried about--is that this is what my body wants to stay at and that it is still so far away from just being in the normal range...not that I couldn't ever get there but the work it would take to maintain there...I guess at this point it's just keep chugging along...

haha, I also had the same issue during the holidays. My weight was at 160/162 and bounced up to 167...I'm down to 157 or 158 now but that's the lowest I've ever been and it's been quite a few months since I've lost any substantial weight--not Water weight or whatever. I'm not going to beat myself up on that though as my body is finally getting back to normal again--I'm hypothyroid and since November my thyroid has been climbing, so weight loss stalled and then gained...especially with holiday eating. My meds are on track now and I"m ready to lose! lol --How tall are you by the way?

Ok so my lowest adult weight, or atleast weight at this height was about 161...well I'm at 157.6 exactly and that number is just NOT budging! And I'm still....12.6 pounds away from a BMI of 25... Anyone who has "been there, done that" know if it gets really hard to go past that lowest number? (As in every pound is going to be a battle?)

I would say go for the fill. A small one anyway...you're at 60% filled so that's really not that tight...at that point I was JUST getting to restriction so...

My advice would be to get a tiny fill and just feel it out. I have the same problem as you...in fact, at times if I eat things like chicken and veggies I can eat TOO much. If I eat greasy bad food, I end up eatting less calories because I just can't eat as much. It is very frustrating and I totally get where you are coming from. I also can eat quite a bit, yet I have problems with acid..it's like being too tight but not really lol. Does your doctor make you drink Water or eat anything after a fill? Mine makes me wait 5 minutes...drink a glass of water and eat 2 tiny squares of graham crackers...if I can't get it down then he unfills. And how many cc's in how large of a band by the way?

I've been up for the last 30 some hours. Tried sleeping last night and I kept getting woken up because of this. So yesterday didn't eat a lot of food, so my stomach shrunk a little but...when it came time to go to bed I was doing my constant burping.. No acid, jsut burps and sometimes I'll get a pain on the left side of my chest like pressure is building up, and it's relieved only a little when I burp. But it's constant and annoying and I just want to sleep right now. Has anyone had this or knows how to get rid of it?

Well I am hypothyroid. But I've been on meds for about 2 years now. However I had been at 88 mcg's for a long time. But during that time I lost about 30lbs. So when they did a recheck I was in the HYPERthyroid range...however I felt amazing for once, hypo symptoms were gone and I had no racing heartbeats or other hyper symptoms (in fact I was actually losing weight-instead of only maintaining on 1000 calories a day). However due to the TSH number she lowered my levothyroxine dose to 75 mcg's. I believe I was at .19 for TSH. and .3-3.0 is the range...I'm just wondering how much my levels have risen again because I'm struggling to maintain weight right now. It's irritating.

I just needed to vent. Anyone else have this problem? I went to my endo and my thyroid was just .2 too low since I had lost a bunch of weight so she readjusted my meds...and I went from losing steadily without much problem, to STRUGGLING to not gain on 1000 calories and under...sooo irritating. I'm also sleeping longer again and more exhausted throughout the day, crabby and more depressed... Anyone else only function on the very low end of TSH levels?

CLEAN! lol trust me I'm the same way. I'm a college student so Christmas break was bad...very bad. Cleaning is a great way to keep your mind off of food...or read the forums...keeps me motivated.

I actually recently did a "liquid" fast,pretty much water and chicken broth for a day....It really helped though because I wanted to see how big my pouch was and if I had streched it out. Well turns out I ate very little for the next day or two, so it did help shrink things down. I can say that before the band I would have binged the day after a fast but my stomach is different now with the band and I find it helpful. Though I have to say that I also don't really have any medical issues that would put me in a dangerous place if I didn't eat, so this obviously isn't for everyone. But I do find it nice as a "reset" button....also not really a diet or a starvation mode thing if you only do it once every so often...now if it were for a week or two at a time...well DUH! that's just plain unhealthy...

I agree Jachut. At times I'm jealous that people with a BMI of 35 have the surgery because they have a better head start lol But still, for me...at 5'4" : 205 or 265? 205 is a 35.2 bmi...and my 265 was 46.5, sorry but in my book both are way too high and pretty daunting when it comes to losing weight. That and there are a lot of people with 35 as a BMI that are realllllllly bad yo-yo dieters, so how can you feel upset with them getting the surgery when it's been proven that they have a hard time keeping it off.... Wow, I guess I have strong feelings on it lol

My advice to anyone who has plateued...just keep chugging along. I got my band July '08. I lost about 30 lbs in the first month or two, most coming from my pre-op diet. I then plateued for the next 3-5 months. It was kind of sad. I wanted to give up. However between January to July I lost about another 20 or 30, and then most recently since I've had a really good fill, I've dropped 35 lbs in about 4 months, which I'm pretty thrilled about. I've learned to not freak out if I don't drop a pound or two a week, my body doesn't work like that. It likes stalling for a long time and then dropping it all at once. Just keep eatting well and it'll happen, but I have to say that my attitude towards the band has had a huge effect. If you think you've failed: you fail. If you love your band and eat well, you won't give up and eventually you'll see the rewards:P

Usmcwife...I was with Tricare, I was very young, had a BMI of 46 though, and had a few extra problems but I don't think i had the required three or whatever and I was approved in a week. They are funky people at tricare. However I did want to note that as a person who gained 90 lbs in 9 months due to bad habits and unfortunately due to a thyroid that was up to 22, I can say that a 4.9 is still too high. They change the range to .3-3.0 a few years ago but many doctors don't follow it. I hope your doctor keeps you on synthroid as it sounds like you have borderline hypothyroidism. (Not such an issue with weight loss, but it will help with cholesterol, moods, etc.)

Yes, I definitely agree that Jachut is something to aspire too. (No pressure, haha) But seriously exercise the right should be built up like that. Quite frankly if you do want mediocre results, you have to put in mediocre effort. Right now I'm very close to goal and don't work out. I have been doing floor exercises for the last few months however. The youth is on my side when losing, however being overweight like I was messed up my knees big time. Even at my weight I have weak knees, and I did have problems with a severe vitamin D deficiency and couldn't absorb calcium. I do want to run, I haven't run for probably 4 years, but I swear...I have the biggest urge to just run...just because I can now. I'm working up to it to because I know how I work. And I"m the first to admit I'm a lazy pile...so I know if I want this to stick, I have to take little steps...that's what I did with my eatting...I used to eat fast food three times a day, and probably eat a whole bag of candy 2 or 3 times a week(as in ONE sitting). My appetite was uncontrollable, but now with the band I've cut out most white breads, carbs...red meat only a few times a week...more vegetables...This might be where a lot of people started out but I was the worst eatter ever...and quite frankly I'm really proud that I can have one bite of chocolate and be satisfied and just put the rest down. And another thing: My mom has congestive heart failur and was 340 lbs for many years, she has smoked for 80% of her life....(she's stubborn and irritating and won't quit...but) she had an appointment the other day and the cardiologist said her heart improved by 5%...know why? Dancing...like hardcore, sweat-my-ass-off, can't-stand-the-next-day dancing...may not be running a mile....but it just shows that breaking a sweat is really beneficial...K I'm done blabbing:tt2:

na pretty sure a fill is all I need. It's just loosened up again. And I didn't really get the band to take diet pills.

well I'm in ND so he's about the only fill doctor for miles. Most doctors won't touch "someone" else's patient. But idk, I have his nurses still...and I did go from 212 to 164 with the last fill so...I think I earned another one lol

Ok I would doubt your experience could be much differen than mine. My actual surgery was only 30 min! I was really nervous too, since it was my first surgery. I got there at 6am and waited until about 11am. There were 2 or 3 other surgeries before mine. They had me stay in my room, no food or liquids. They did have me hooked up to an IV though. They put compression socks on, and had a little machine that squeezed my ankles so there weren't blood clots. About 2 or 3 nurses came to take me down to the prep room. They put a hair cap on me and wheeled me down. When I was here they took my blood pressure, etc. Then they injected this stuff into my IV and I said bye to my mom and I passed out! When I woke up I was so confused lol. I thought the surgery was over, but really that was just to calm me down and to put me to sleep, when I woke up they were wheeling me into the OR. They lifted me onto the operaing table and nurses were putting warm blankets around me. (I was still really out of it and tired, not at all nervous amazingly) Then I remember looking behind me and a nurse was putting this milky-white stuff into my IV and I don't even remember if they had me count but the last thing I remember was my doctor holding my hand telling me not to worry. Next thing I knew, the nurses in the post-op room were waking me up. I didn't feel any pain or anything. After that it's a blur for the next hour or so. But they took me back to my room where my mom and b/f were waiting and put the machine back on my ankles. I think they gave me koolaid to drink and eventually I had to stand, then I had to walk to the door of the room, and then I had to walk down the hall. I didn't feel any pain and walked to the end of the hall on my first try up. After surgery my stomach...rather my abs sorta hurt and I was so freaked out about ripping something so I was always sure to get help getting up and down from a sitting position. But that only lasted a week. I didn't take ANY of my pain meds and I was fine. To date I have lost about 100 lbs and am only 20 from goal. I was nervous and I had many times when I doubted the band and myself--I thought that maybe I'd be one of the few it didn't work for, etc. But the band has given me back my life. Just keep that goal in mind and you'll be fine. I hope your surgery goes well...

hey missKayla...where in Minnesota are you from? I'm from Fargo,ND and I got the band the summer after my freshman year of college. It really is hard to lose weight during college but it is possible lol. I love my band.

I'm in! This is my first challenge. Like someone said above, if I can just keep from gaining over Christmas that would be great. I don't expect to lose very much anyway because I'm so close to goal, but another ten pounds would be nice--and my 3-year anniversary is 5 days after Valentine's Day so...something else to look foward to lol.

Thanks guys. Do your doctors make you eat/drink before you can go? I have to eat two graham crackers and drink like 10 oz of fluid in 10 minutes:S I get the crackers down, some of the water and then pour half of it out--it's worked for me so far. I think my doctor is biased towards gastric bypass--that way he can do the surgery, be the hero and be done lol no more work for him. Oh well...lol

Ok so I'm just wondering if I should get a fill or not. The last fill I got was...47 lbs ago. At the time it was perfect. It was probably the first time I was at a sweet spot...but it was at 8cc in a 10cc band. Currently I can eat and get hungry about 2.5 hours later. I also don't really have to be cautious about big bites, never have been, so I'm wondering if maybe it's time again. Only problem is that my doctor is an a$$ and he told me 47lbs ago that this was it...I was going to have to the rest on my own...I was just a little flabergasted at that...That and he doesn't listen when I say I want a small fill, so I'm going to his nurse to do the fill this time but...for those of you that have lost weight around your stomach/under the band and need a refill, how much of a fill did you get? I'm thinking .25 or a .5? And I really do think that after this one I'll be to goal:) Sorry for the long post.