2muchfun

I'm also one of those who believe that if you burn more than you consume you should be losing fat. Are you tracking your calories/day. Many people count every bite that goes in their mouth and know within a few calories how much they consume? And Karen's suggestion that you sit down with a nutritionist is spot on. I did so about 2 years ago and she nailed down about 300 calories I wasn't counting. Eliminating those bad calories made a huge difference for me. tmf

Soft aerobic workouts should be no problem. Treadmill, elliptical on low settings should be fine. Just no lifting, bending or stressing the abs for a few more weeks?

My doctor explained it like this. Our esophagus and stomach are controlled by or are muscles. The esophagus uses peristalsis to massage food through the esophageal sphincter and the pouch is part of the stomach and also contracts and expands to force food through the stoma(band). These muscles seem to gain strength as they are stressed by food swallowed. Being stronger they push the food through easier than before giving you the sense your band isn't working as well. Seems to make sense to me. Before being banded, our esophagus just massaged the food through the sphincter and it fell into our stomach. Now, the pouch fills up and as we continue to eat, the esophagus and pouch must work harder than before to push food through the stoma. This could all be BS but it does make sense to me. tmf

15 mile and 1 hr 20 minute bike ride. Burned off 1179 calories. tmf

Many new lapbanders suffer from eating too fast and too big. Highly unlikely your band has slipped. When you do have a stuck episode it's wise to eat soft foods, liquids or Soup to allow the pouch/esophagus to recover from being expanded. Expanding the pouch is uncomfortable and can cause some inflammation for a day or so. Our stomas are very fickle. Many different issues can cause the band area(stoma) to shrink in size due to illness, sodium, TOM, inflammation from stuck episodes and so on. You will find this to be the case for many months to come. We just have to roll with the punch and adapt. tmf

26 lbs is more than average and much more than I lost the first 4 months. 6 lbs a month is the number most doctors tell us we can lose and you're doing it. Be proud and happy you're doing better than most. tmf

Lady is right. But it took me 3 fills before I felt any restriction so don't be surprised if you feel nothing with just one fill.

The band is around your stomach, not inside your stomach. Pepto Bismol will flow through like a shake so I see no problem with it?

It's sort of a "Petite" NSV?

Many bandster's underestimate the trauma done to our bodies during surgery. So I'm sorry to be too graphic here but remember, someone filled your body cavity full of gas, they pumped fluids, medications, antibiotics and anesthesia into your body. They punched 5 holes in your abdomen, moved all your inner body parts around, shoved a tube down your throat, took an electric scalpel and burned away excess fat and tissue wrapped around your upper stomach, the surgeon then wrapped a plastic strap around your stomach just below the lower esophogeal sphincter, stitched it in place with 5-6 sutures bringing your lower stomach up and over the band suturing the band in place and then snaked a tube out of your body and then sewed another plastic piece to the muscle tissue on your rib cage I know we were all told this was a minimal invasive surgery, but it's still very traumatic to a group of organs that have lived the good life for years and years. tmf

The silver lining here is, you were banded and because you were banded you were able to revise to a different surgical technique. You still have a stomach a surgeon can work on. This may not be the case with other surgeries? And, you probably know what to expect with the sleeve this time around. A total commitment or bust! Good luck.

I see KCGal answered your question but here's video of Catfish's(forum member) fluoro to illustrate it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjCZ3YjMzE0&feature=player_embedded

Sorry, I missed the pre and post op part. I had no preop diet assigned and post op was liquids for 4 days, creamy drinks and Soups for 4 days then mushies for 2 weeks. My post op diet was quite easy for me but for others, not so much. Each doctor has their own protocol so you'll need to check with him/her to find out what they require?

You better keep your eye on this forum because you may not know what you're getting into? WLS can work but usually most patients know what they're getting into? Reading here a lot can educate you. I'd recommend two books. Jean McMillan's Bandwagon and Alex Brecher's The Big Book on the Lapband. There's a lot of work we all have to do to make this work and sometimes doctors gloss over the difficulties we face. I heard over and over from doctors and nutritionists that the small pouch keeps us from eating too much but that's simply not true. If we eat the right foods(healthy and lots of protein), our appetites can be reduced so we eat less just because we're not as hungry. It's the eating the right foods part that trips up a lot of people. Most of us do not diet. The pouch won't stop you from eating milkshakes, chocolate, mac and cheese, regular soda pop, crème brule', deep fried chicken, tacos, potato chips and so on. We can eat these till the cows come home and the pouch won't stop us unless we have discipline. Keep reading. tmf

Cold or hot both go down the same for me.

It's a 5 day diet to help WLS patients reset and get back in their groove. Not necessarily meant for lapband patients even though it says 5 day pouch test. Go here: http://5daypouchtest.com/

It sounds like you just need a fill and focus on eating healthy. Even if you get the sleeve or bypass, you have to follow the rules. And if your band isn't adjusted properly you most likely won't follow the rules. That's why we all got banded. None of us are good at following diets and that's what you're on now unless you get your band adjusted. imo tmf

Sliming happens when food builds up in front of the stoma and in the pouch. It then backs up into the esophagus. It can happen if you eat too fast, too much, take too large of a bite and quite often with dry meats like leftover chicken. As long as you follow the rules for bandster's, it shouldn't happen. If you're too tight from fills or swelling, this can also cause food to get stuck in the pouch and back up into the esophagus. The throat is trying to aid the excess food to slide through with overwhelming saliva. Some never experience sliming and PB'ing. Nothing to really fear. It happens. Dozens of times for me.

It's always a good sign you may need a fill. Talk to your doctor. If you are hungry between meals and find it easy to put away more than a cup of food without stuck episodes, you may need a small fill. tmf

Haylln, your story is so compelling. Please post more often of your success. BTW-I saw your spock pic. You're so right, where did you hide all that weight cuz you look fabulous now.? tmf

Not recommended. Some may get away with this but if Jenny's stomach is swollen, eggs can cause a stuck episode and could damage the sutures holding the band in place by causing the pouch to dilate. It's a roll of the dice and I'd advise against it. As you progress through this journey, you will find that eggs, even scrambled eggs, are one of the most difficult foods for many of us to consume.

Don't take this the wrong way but even if you did look morbidly obese, people will tell you not to have WLS. If you feel like you're not healthy and fear this can shorten or affect your health you should do what you know will give you the biggest bang for the buck. If you've tried every weight loss program like the rest of us, then WLS might be right for you. But, it's a huge commitment and do not, think for a second, this is the easy way out. It's not. It's a lot of work and it's an emotional ride not meant for everyone. tmf

Do you keep a journal and track every bite that goes in your mouth? Unfortunately, from the time I've been on this forum, what I've seen is, many of us reach our bodies comfort weight zone and stall. I think the only way to get below this zone is by religiously counting every calorie and adding a strong level of exercise to your routine. 1,000 calories a day in, and 300-500 calories burned(exercise), could lead to losing an extra 2-4 lbs a month. But, it looks like this is similar to going back to the old ways of dieting and we all know how well that worked.

My understanding of the pouch is that food passes through the stoma in one minute or less as long as you're eating properly. Food does not store in your pouch for hours. If you're doing this properly, food is in your stomach shortly after you consume it. tmf

Your best bet is to consult with your doctor and the nutritionist? shake Protein is good if you need the protein but it slides right through the band without much effect on the valgus nerve. Hard Proteins and veggies should be the choice to give you the satiety you need. Fluids don't offer much in the line of peristalsis of your esophagus so you need to consume denser low glycemic index foods to give you the satiety we need. Lastly, full is not the sensation we seek. Satiety, lack of hunger is the goal. And how do you know you're as tight as allowed? If you eat properly and the band isn't giving you the satiety you want you may need a little adjustment? tmf