2muchfun

You've still got about 4 more weeks of healing before you can start your journey. So relax, follow the doctors orders, drink Protein shakes, don't worry be happy. Until you get some fills and you feel some restriction this is just like any other diet. If you want to lose weight during this phase, you must consume enough protein to feel satisfied and you will have to keep your calorie consumption to under 1200-1000. And the amount of fat you lose may only be 1-2 lbs a week if you follow a strict diet plan. tmf

It's completely up to you and how much you commit to it.

Old news. They're still looking for buyers. Pharmaceuticals sell units all the time.

I left you a couple of comments on your status page. You must get a lot of people who don't even recognize you now? You look incredible. I wish we could just rerun this topic/post every day to show the naysayers how it's done!

Well, obviously not many folks here have had a similar experience but we want to know how this works out for you? Keep in touch? Be positive, you've been successful before and you can be on the positive side of the 50/50! tmf

You could also just be feeling your Xiphoid process which is a bone in the lower part of your sternum. Your band is deep in your body cavity and you won't be able to feel it. tmf

You're in bandster hell and will be till you get the fill that gives you enough restriction to feel satisfied longer. And the goal is not to stay full. The goal is to not be hungry for 4 hours. I still struggle with the hunger part and I eat a snack at 10:30 am and around 3 pm to make it through. And, I lost 12 lbs the first 2 weeks and not another lb till 4 months when I got the right fill and enough restriction. This is a diffcult time but keep going in for fills till you get the one that gives you the satiety you need. tmf

No, the foods we all eat may be different but it's how we eat that's important. You've heard the saying and will hear it a lot, that we need to eat small bites and chew, chew, chew to mush and we need to do this slowly and methodically. Many believe they do eat this way but seem to have no problem eating slider foods like chips, ice cream, Soups, lasagna, macaroni and cheese etc. If we can eat these foods and not eat healthy foods like lean meats, vegetables, fruits that means we must not be eating small bites and chewing propertly. Because if we were eating correctly, the foods we eat would resemble the same mush consistency of the aforementioned slider foods and pass through our bands without the stuck episodes that doom some bandsters. It took me about 10 months to figure out how to eat correctly. Some others it may take less or more time. We're all different but many bandsters fail, simply because they refuse to eat correctly. After all, we all have a lifetime of eating incorrectly and changing old habits dies hard. tmf

You might look on linkedin.com to find your surgeon.? Also, google bariatric or weight loss support groups in your city? Or, call another surgeon and ask if they recommend a particular support group?

It depends. We're all different. Nothing gets stuck with me if I eat properly. Some meats are more difficult than others such as leftover chicken, steak and some fish? But if I eat real small and chew big I can overcome the problem. tmf

Pictures por favor?

Wow, you went from a circle to an exclamation point. Well done!

The band will not stop you from eating more than a cup. The point is for you to feel satisfied/satiated with just a cup or less. I was a low BMI patient too. I had only lost about 32 lbs 6 months into my journey. I finally reached the green zone but I kept getting stuck so I had some saline removed. Now I know that I was not eating correctly. I thought I was chewing my food enough, I thought my bites were small enough, I was wrong. Learning to eat correctly is one of the most difficult things for a bandster to do. For some of us, feeling, sensing or understanding what satiation truly is, can take months or even years to fully develop and understand. It does sound like you may be too tight but ask yourself this? Can you eat Soups? Soups like progresso or campbells chicken with noodles or beef and barley? If you can down soups but can't eat normal foods, you may not be eating like a bandster. Because, eating like a bandster means the food you chew is similar in consistency to Soup as it hits your pouch. tmf

The other comments are right on. But don't be afraid of your doc. If you think for one minute that all bariatric docs have not seen dozens or hundreds of patients with your problem, you're dreaming dude! Go in, take your medicine and come back to the fold. Gee, I feel like singing a Journey song right now? Open arms? tmf

Your band is around the very top of your stomach just under your sternum.

And one more thing. I'd still take a 50% chance of becoming happily thin over 0% if I didn't.

Fox just reported that Christy got the band 2 months ago and has lost 40 lbs. The media is going to crucify him for this. http://www.today.com/news/nj-gov-chris-christie-reveals-he-underwent-weight-loss-surgery-6C9814050?ocid=msnhp&pos=2

You're reading studies about the old lapband from 15 years ago. There are 3 different versions of the band and the most recent version has a much lower revision rate. http://www.lifeshape.net/blog/2013/02/study-demonstrates-the-long-term-benefit-of-laparoscopic-adjustable-gastric-banding/

LOL..I remember the first few times I had a stuck/sliming episode. I was so happy because I knew the band was starting to work. Oh, I was miserable for a few minutes and it did slow me down and made me rethink how I eat but I knew my real journey was beginning :wub: Distraction is my enemy. Watching TV and eating, or gobbling food down too quickly or too big because I'm too hungry or the smell of the food is overwhelming is how I get stuck a lot. You should post your weight loss so far? Create a weight loss ticker so we know more about you? tmf

"I can't seem to keep anything down" Do you mean you're barfing food or slime or what? Getting stuck is not so much about keeping food down, stuck means your pouch or esophogus has too much food and is struggling to massage it through the stoma. It can come from eating too quickly, eating while distracted, not chewing enough, eating very dry meats and so on. Stuck episodes typically last for 30-60 minutes and for newbies it's very common. It takes so long to learn how to eat with the band. I've pretty much figured it out but it's not uncommon for me to still get stuck a couple times a week. So many things affect your stomach where the band is. It's simply a muscle and can tighten up due to swelling from sodium, TOM, allergies, medications and stuck episodes can cause enough trauma to create quite a bit of swelling. One last comment. I was in the green zone and I knew it. But I kept getting stuck too much. I had some Fluid removed and then could eat more than I should. I now know I just did not know how to eat with the band. tmf

You should fill in your profile so we know more about you? It's difficult to advise with so little to work with? But I agree with Dylan, a nutritionist is worth the dough for anyone at any stage. tmf

It's easier to not buy it than it is to avoid it once it's in your pantry or candy dish. Spoken from experience I do allow myself 2 hershey dark choc bliss cubes every night. It satisfies my chocolate craving, and some idiot nutritionist said it's good for me? Go figger :wub:

I cheated a few times and had some tomato Soup. BTW-You do not want to vomit at this stage or any stage with the band or you could have a band slip.

Seems like my tolerance for alchohol has diminished since being banded. I had a couple of glasses of wine a few weeks ago and did not eat much. That old feeling of the room spinning and saliva buildup in my mouth came back. I was lucky, no barfing. Hope you're alright and learn your lesson. I think I've learned mine. But, you know, this alcohol thing can rear it's ugly head out of nowhere so being a person in a glass house, I won't throw stones your way

Stop buying it.