RestlessMonkey

ROFLMAO! Since she put it in "" quotes and since the rest of her post was pretty nice....but I did make that connection and it made me laugh! :thumbdown: I've been called many things but never a tool...yet! :biggrin: There's always time, though! :crying:

LOL it's ok. I think I knew what you meant! Besides if I'm going to dish out "tough love" I have to be able to take it too, don't I? Anyway thanks again for saying such nice things to me! :thumbdown:

You made me laugh! I am sorry I ever seemed mean! :thumbdown: I think sometimes it's hard to get across in this format. And, honestly, I can be mean, but usually only after someone is mean to me first! :biggrin: I am a tough love type I guess. But I want everyone who posts here to succeed! My dad used to call me "border collie" because that breed of dog is good at making everyone move along. I THINK he was being nice; you never really knew with my dad! :crying:

rcruz, thanks. and luluc I'm not shocked you have crazed friends LOL :thumbdown: Maybe being older I got a lot of that "character" junk from docs etc. It's only recently they realize obesity is a disease and not some failing within (like they used to think schizophreniza was caused by "cold" mothers. snort!) ANYWAY...it's something I always try to speak out against, even when it's usually light-hearted (like this post) .... kind of like positive self-talk for everyone! :biggrin:

frauhowe, your post was really interesting to me. I realized something. At 53 (last year) my primary told me "Jeff, it's all about to go to hell for you. You've been "borderline" on lots of things for a while now, but unless you do something drastic, in 3 months you're going to be on diabetes and cholesterol medication. You are going downhill and as you age there is not a damn thing I can do about it, unless you lose some weight." Rather than depress me, it helped me decide that I wanted the lap band even if I paid for it out of pocket. That was the final straw for me. In 5-6 years, at 60, if I am thinner and still not a diabetic and still without heart trouble, then I will gladly have a revision surgery if I need it. I will probably be healthy enough to weather it, since I am losing with my band. I would never have initially had the courage to do a sleeve or bypass. Now, I am not so afraid. But for some of us, we have to have training wheels. I got the band thinking it was for life. I realize now that if it isn't, I can handle it. But what I couldn't handle was any more time at 405. For people who aren't on that ledge, as I was, the decision can be hard. I was always the "healthy" fat person, and it does catch up with you.

Personally I think it's just food, not murder, not pedophilia, not stealing. I don't think of food as being a sin. I think that all ties in with the "fat people are lazy and dumb and have character flaws" mentality. it's just food. I'm past having to feel guilty if I eat a cookie. Because I have the lap band and my "relationship" with food is different. I don't count or weigh or fret. I'm just eating normally and I'm fine. My thin friends don't say "OH I SINNED yesterday". Don't mean to be pompous, but I think that for many of us, food is too darned important. This just adds to it. It's fuel. It's not a moral dilemma. Ok off my soap box and on to my first 16 oz of water today.

Good luck! You'll do FABULOUS!

Yes the pouch CAN stretch; it's part of your stomach and that is very very "stretchy". As Cleo'smom said, you need to go to your doc. You won't know what your status is until you get checked. If it IS stretched and you haven't let it go on too long, sometimes an unfill and rest period will get things back to normal. But the longer you wait, if it is stretched, the less chance of "repair". Call your doc, get back with the program. Yes it's a tool, but it must be maintained to work.

Remember too that they state over and over that AVERAGE LOSS is 1-2 pounds a week. It isn't bypass. 10 pounds in 3.5 weeks puts you 3 pounds ahead of the curve. The NP at my doc's office said many of their patients don't get restriction until 6 months out...but he fills conservatively.

Right back atcha!

I know you won't cheat! I mostly added that for others who might read it! Hang in there; you're doing so great! I will say, I didn't have any popcorn until I was like 6 months post op...I wanted LOTS of time to heal first!

I'm really REALLY lucky. I guess it's luck. My doc is conservative with fills, but says his goal is for his patients to be able to eat ANYTHING and he feels (have no idea if this is just him, or backed up with scientific data) that slow fills allow a person and the body time to adjust. And I have 7 ccs in my 14 cc band. 2-3 ounces of the right Protein keep me full for HOURS, or a little more of things that are softer like baked fish etc. And there is honestly not one single thing that I have found that I can't eat if I want it. I think it is just wonderful. I choose the healthiest stuff, or the stuff that will keep me fullest the longest, most of the time, but it's nice to know I can have popcorn, or white bread, or a fiberous veggie (had some fried okra the other day) without issues. I LOVE it! I followed his post op diet to the letter, too. (I mean I'm the fool who cheated preop and didn't get the band; I may be stubborn but I learned to follow his "guidelines" LOL) Maybe that helped; I have no issues, feel great, and can eat little bits of anything. yay!

Are you getting adequate water in (at least 64 ounces?) if you aren't that MAY be why. either way, call your doc tomorrow if you don't feel better.

I don't like pickles so can't help you there but can't imagine why you couldn't. And I can eat popcorn fine. BUT don't cheat on your diet; let yourself heal. It's really important!

If you scroll through the forums you'll find topics that address lap band complications and removal.

Again, you were SO SMART to call the doc! you really did save yourself a trip to emergency room, and a lot more suffering! Glad to know you're doing better today!

Good! glad you called, sorry you had to go to emergency. Dehydration happens FAST. It is REALLY important to get that 64 oz of water in each day; and as we get dehydrated the band actually gets tighter, so it can become a vicious cycle. Cheers, everyone !

DEV03...Your growling stomach is normal, and most likely so are the "spasms" in your chest. The top of your stomach is almost right between where your breasts are (roughly) so it makes sense you'll feel a little discomfort there. Your "innards" (great scientific term! LOL) aren't used to being moved around and bothered with and they're still complaining. You'll heal and settle down. If you are in pain, though, and worried, call your doc tomorrow!

HH as usual makes a good point. I wanted the band in 2003 when someone I knew got it and lost tons of weight (she had plastic surgery in 2007) However, my insurance wouldn't cover it. And I wasn't SURE enough to pay 15K or whatever for it. And through the ensuing years I would think/rethink about it until by 2008 I was readier than ready and have never looked back. I didn't have post op blues. I didn't mourn the loss of food. I WANTED the band. I am not saying that a person can't come to the same decision way faster than I did! LOL AND I'm not saying that a person who has post op blues was wrong to get the band. But like HH said, if you aren't sure, wait. Think it over. It is reversible but like you'd think no one would get married thinking well I'll dump him/her in a year if it doesn't work, the band is supposed to be for life. Take time; it's a big decision.

Good luck tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you; post when you can!

Good for you! There's also a forum on here for 20's bandsters that you might like. You can probably navigate through here better than me, but if you click on home and then scroll down, you'll find it! I hope you do great; I know you will!

Great! Good start! and call your doc. (get your car into that mechanic LOL) You'll be at goal before you know it!

the only band website I really frequent is this one. AND please...again....interesting though the info is here, and helpful as everyone is and tries to be, that is NO replacement for you seeing your doc, making sure your band is ok/intact/not slipped/not eroded/not leaking, and so on. Ok? Professional medical advice is what you've been missing and what you need. This is supportive, but don't consider it a source for info on how you should live your banded life. Get your doc to help you there, ok?

A PB is a bandster term for "productive burp" which happens thusly: Usually once you have good restriction, but possible any time, if you eat too large a bite, don't chew well enough, or are overfull, the bite of food can't fit through your stoma (hole formed by the band between your "pouch" or upper stomach and your lower stomach) and it has to go somewhere, so it comes back up. The esophagus isn't built to have things just sit there, it's a conveyor belt that likes to move things along. So it will spasm...and if the food doesn't go on through, the body produces a lot of mucous (called slime here) which lubricates the esophagus and offending bolus of food and helps move it up and out. it is different from vomiting in that there are usually no stomach spasms involved, and there is no stomach bile/acid expelled. It can be dangerous if you PB too strongly or too much at first, before your band is healed, and later on even if healed, if you PB a lot (some do it daily as a way of life) it is very hard on your innards and can cause the band to slip. An occasional misstep/PB, however, especially if it happens after you've healed from surgery, isn't really a cause for concern but it should be a lesson to be learned. They are almost always caused by "operator error"...not chewing well, bite too big, or overeating. Occasionally, though, a PB is caused by being too tight (too much fill) and if that's the case, you need to get a little saline removed quickly or risk poor weight loss/weight gain, problems with your band, etc.

If you go to amazon, they have customer reviews and you can pick a couple up-to-date ones that sound like they'll fill the bill for you. Since you already HAVE the band, you probably want something that doesn't really address the "band or not" issue...but there are bunches. Call and find out how much it would be to go back to your w/out insurance. Having a band and not getting followup is like having a car and keeping it parked in the garage. it is pretty much pricey and useless. And just another thought...your surgeon may be great, but if in 2005 he let you get out without any guidelines, even if you WERE 20, I would wonder about him. If you were old enough to get the band, you were old enough to understand it. There are 2 different band manufacturers, and even in '05 different sizes, so you need that info too. Call and have them look it up for you!