TheGh0st

The item that is stuck like the above poster said is stuck down in your stomach not able to pass through the band. With the possible added complication of too much food being stuck behind it and backing up against your stoma. Though it really can feel like you are choking or having a heart attack. (Not always and not for everyone, but for some people.) You just have to stay calm and keep reminding yourself that you really are able to breathe even if it doesn't feel like it. I've been banded nearly 3 years and this has only happened a very few times. I'd say 5 or less. It doesn't take too many negative re-inforcements like this from eating too much or not chewing well enough before you realize you need to change whatever behaviour caused it or to get a slight unfill.

Indigo, Sades - thankyou so much for responding to Shortgal's posts. I think support for those that are or have had problems with the band is probably even more important than support for those who it is currently working for. Sometimes when you are having problems it is all to easy to feel as if you are the only one, especially on a site that sometimes seems full of people determined to only look at the positives. Your input is very important to us all. As we never know if or when we may have to face our own complications.

Great Post! Only thing I'd like to add is NO MATTER which size band you have they can ALL be tightened up until you couldn't swallow your own spit. I've physically held each of these bands and "played" with adding and removing Fluid to them outside of the body and I repeat they ALL can be filled to the point there is no opening whatsoever. The only real problem associated whith fill adjustments between the 4cc & the 10 or 14cc bands are there are some people who's stomach wall and surrounding fatty layer are too thick for the smaller 4cc band. Which is why it should always be the doctors decision as to which band is placed. I have one friend who had the smaller band placed before the larger ones were even available. The first few months were difficult for her as she was a bit too tight until she lost enough weight to shrink some of the fatty layer around her stomach.

Hi there. What area are you from? I'm originally from the Fremont/Lincoln area myself.

I think its unanimous. Let us know if your band doc gets you in today. He really should if he understands you're having problem with even water.

I think you are right about the whitening. The kit was NOT cheap but it was suppose to do it all in 2 hours as opposed to over several weeks. It involved rinsing with a special rinse then painting my teeth with something and holding a special light that came with the kit up to my teeth for several minutes then repeating the process over and over for 2 hours. Very tedious and towards the end my gums started to feel like they were "popping like popcorn" strange description but I swear thats what it felt like and everytime I felt a "pop" a small part of my gums would suddenly be swollen and white. By the time I was done my gums were all white, extremely swollen and bleeding. I thought it had to do with high levels of hydrogen peroxide in the kit but not positive. My teeth were a bit whiter but my gums didn't recover for several weeks. As far as which is closest I live near downtown KCMO but on the KS side and my son goes to Montessori School out by the Legends. What is the name or phone number of your place? You can PM it to me if you like.

I have another friend who was able to ask her doc to have photos taken during surgery. It was just for journaling her initial band placement but maybe you could insist pictures or even a video is taken of your surgery. She had to provide her own camera and film but they didn't refuse her. It seems worth a try, and it just might make the doc nervous enough to concede paying for the re-surgery.

I am so SORRY for what you are going through. I applaud you have been able to lose even without the assistance of a properly functioning band but how discouraging it must be for you to feel this time has been wasted. It hasn't really considering you have lost not gained but it I can sure appreaciate how it would feel that way. Do you know which type of band you have? As you can tell some have been "un-locked" but as a complete non-medical professional I too wonder at how that is possible at least with some of the brands unless it was never properly locked to begin with. I would definitely be pushing for the doc to cover your expenses. Document EVERYTHING!!! Even if he won't cover it, a friend of mine recently had some trouble with a leak due to the doc puncturing her tubing with the fill needle and it looks like she is going to be able to get her money back by going through small claims court. Hopefully, this thread will bump some more responses for you. Keep us posted on what happens

I know some that did eat baby foods but personally YUCK! and a lot of my band friends threw stuff in the blender like roasts and said they tasted great again I just couldn't get past it. Once I switched over to the creamy/mushy phase at the 14th day I was all over the various cheese Soups if they had veggies in them I either gummed them to oblivion or fished them out. I couldn't be bothered to do the whole blender thing like I should have. I also made a variety of Protein puddings by mixing whey protein powders with instant sugar free puddings. (Chocolate, Cheesecake, Lemon or Lime, etc..) Later I discovered an even healthier option where I would blend Cottage Cheese until smooth and replace most of the milk called for in the pudding recipe with that instead. It had a much higher protein to carb ratio and tasted great. Most people think it sounds disgusting but really it tastes very creamy like you made it with whole milk (no hint of salty at all) Oh and if you freeze the puddings for a while before you eat them and stir them up they taste like eating soft serve ice cream. Yummy. Right now one of my favorite protein rich foods is Cottage Cheese with some Yogurt and a Cherry or Rasberry Crystal Light bottle Water packet stirred in. I've just been feeling too lazy to take the time to blend up the puddings and mess up the kitchen. But I'm not sure if cottage cheese would be considered "soft" enough for the 14 day mark. This stage was SO HARD for me but I just kept repeating to myself I can put up with anything for just a couple weeks and being self pay I couldn't risk the possibility of having to pay for any complications much less the loss of money with more time off work without pay. Speaking of work, one of these days I may need to talk to you about the whole teeth whitening thing. I'd love to do it but always assumed too expensive. Tried one of those home kits once and was VERY sore and dissapointed though I managed to get my money back. I personally think I would need veneers to do any good on my teeth. (though I'm not nor ever was a smoker)

I'd say if you are still feeling weak, you may want to go ahead and "eat" somemore food. However with this being the start of your 3rd week do be carefull about sticking to mushy foods. Even soup can be a bit too lumpy with the pieces of chicken and such. OK Honestly, I'm really not a food nazi, problem is it is hard not to come across over the internet as either a over critical know it all or someone that sounds like they are practically encouraging behaviour with potentially dangerous consequences. And even when you are sure that the person you are writing your response to would understand the difference you never know who else is reading and how they will take it. Truth is even I ate some slightly chunky soups at this stage but I was extremely careful that the chunks have been chewed to mush and watered down with the soup before swallowing. (Think baby food) The reason has to do with the healing process of your stomach and the band. Not just some jump start to your diet. I seem to remember you mentioning that your Mexico doc hadn't given much/any aftercare advice which is part of why I may be coming across a bit preachy. Feel free to tell me to back off if I am. But iIf you are interested you might check out the link below to the manufacturer's post-op guidelines. Lapband.com - The First Few Weeks After Surgery I've also heard fantastic things about a Interactive Patient Education Program called "Emmi". If you call Malley's they can set you up to view it over the internet. It shouldn't matter if you have seen them yet or not. I was actually banded by someone else as well but am using his office for fills now and they've always treated me well.

I'm not a fan of the Protein shots either. I'm also a bit unsure of the quality of protein some of them are based off of. But I do like the Slimfast if it is the Low Carb variety with 190/20/2 (Cal/Prot/Carb). The other Slimfasts have too many carbs for me and not near enough protein. I've only been able to find them for sale at Walgreens & Sams Club (Not CVS, costco or anywhere else so far) I also like the Grape Frost Isopure drinks from GNC but ONLY if I add a Crystal Light Lemonade packet to it to boost the flavor. 160/40/0 (Cal/Protein/Carb) I usually would only drink 1/2 bottle at a time as I've heard the body can't absorb more than around 30g of protein at a time and the rest would just go to waste. Not sure about the dizzy/confused issue. I'd call Dr. Malley's office and ask for their opinion or your doc in Mexico. You were banded just 11 days ago so you are probably still just recovering but its better to safe than sorry. Good Luck and feel free to ask any questions. I may not always have an answer but I'll always try.

Yes give us all an update once you are up to it.

Back to excuses here I know but I have a treadmill. Very nice one infact. Only if I use it when he is awake he throws downright tantrums if he can't get on or if I'm not watching tries to sneak on which leaves me feeling like a both a bad mother for yelling at him and a nervous wreck that I'll hurt him at the same time. Alternately, if I get on when he is asleep its noisy enough it wakes him up every time. DH wants me to just sell it but I'm still hopefull that I can get to a point that I can use it with or without the son in the room.

Leslie - I feel I'm in the same boat even 3 years out. I have a 4 year old son and a dh with the apparent mentality of a 4 year old, a full time job and a part time job. Even with both jobs times have been so tight what little "free" time I have is usually spent "couponing" so I can afford the next tank of gas or gallong of milk. I do manage to get away from the house once a week to walk with a friend and another 2 times a month for a local band support group and our neighborhood association group that I'm on the board until the end of the year. That adds up to a whopping 6 nights a month I get out of the house and its like pulling teeth just to get those. My DH is always complaining I need to spend more time at home. But still in some ways I still feels like I'm just spouting one big set of excuses. I think I'm going to try and take some of the others advice and do the multiple 10 minute walks (maybe 5 minute walks) even if its just around the house. I use to play "pacman" with my son around the house which consisted of him shouting out that he was different color ghosts, whenever he was blue I was to chase him and ofcourse just before I'd catch him he would turn green or red and then start chasing me. He loved it and it was a great mini-workout for me. I just need to start doing it again and make it a daily event.

I also made my Jello in different ways to give me different textures. Something as simple as stirring it up into little pieces after it has completely chilled or whipping it up with an electric whisk into a kind of mousse after it has started to cool can help to give your mouth some different textures to "eat".

It sounds like you are on the right track, going in to see your doc. I suspect you are a little over filled. I've lived with an overfill before myself. Despite all the info I received from my local support group and here online I let it go for too many months happy I was still losing at first then too afraid to go back in for an unfill and risk re-gaining what I'd lost. But I have to tell you when I finally did get a proper unfill it was such a relief. I no longer have the coughing or reflux at night and don't have to sleep with 7 pillows propped under me any more. It has been wonderful. And so far (touch wood) I haven't regained any weight infact I think I may have lost another pound after months of plateauing and slowly gaining a few pounds.

renewedhope thanks for your post. I needed that reminder today as well.

Oh, and Huskerette, I couldn't help but notice your name. I've lived here in the KC area for the last 15 years but am originally from the Fremont/Lincoln Nebraska area. Where are you from?

Hi there Huskerette & Joiful. I just stumbled on this thread. I was banded in 2005 here in KC. I'd be more than happy to speak to either of you. I'm no expert but I LOVE to talk. This is also extremely short notice but there is an area wide (non-doc specific) support group meeting tonight that might interest you. I've pasted a copy of the reminder e-mail I received this morning. Its not a large group, maybe 12-20 but it is a diverse group with people ranging from pre-op to 7 years out. Just a quick reminder that our July KCBandster meeting will be happening tonight 7/14/08 at the Antioch Library in Merriam, KS from 6:45-8:45pm... Join us for a powerful exercise/discussion on milestones. Tonight will be a great time to reflect on your weight loss journey and if you are new and considering lap band surgery, this will give you great insight into how the band has changed many lives!! This is a "not to miss" meeting and I hope to see you there! Jen Runyan Banded 1/11/01 Directions to the Antioch Library: I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway East to Antioch Library is on the northwest corner

Its been a while but I think I was similar. I was on an all sugar free liquid (plus Sugar Free Jello) pre-op diet. I remember I kept waiting for the hunger to kick in, and it did at first but it never reached the level I expected. You know the I'm ready to rip a stranger's head off and eat it raw stage. Instead I remember not really being hungry at all and to this day I'll be happy if I never eat another bite of Jello in my life. Good luck and stay strong. The pre-op diet is important to help shrink your liver before surgery but try to force those fluids down you. You don't want to be dehydrated for surgery.

Welcome to LBT. Congratulations on the weight loss so far. I'm a bit concerned about your saying you were feeling like you weren't getting enough nutrition earlier but glad you are taking steps to correct any deficiencies. We aren't medical experts but we are all on the same journey and are more than welcome to give our opinions.

basically its just a dump and stir recipe. It tastes pretty good just mixing cottage cheese & fruit flavored crystal light (the one bottle size packet) but I like to add a little yogurt to make it creamier and I also like to add fruit to give me some variety in the texture of what I'm chewing. But if you are really trying to keep calories and carbs to a minimum, like I said you could just stick to stirring in the Crystal light only.

Let's see if it works this time. On my previous efforts it would lock up when I hit "Preview" so I'm trying this time without previewing. FRUIT FLAVORED COTTAGE CHEESE.pdf

Funny you should ask I've been trying to post a pdf of the recipe/nutritional breakdown for the last 20 minutes but my browser keeps locking up on me. I'll try one more time.

Thought I'd check in after the weekend. Living without most of my fill has not been as hard as I thought it would be, I even think I lost a pound or two though I've been so reluctant to get on the scale the last several months I don't rightly know what my weight really was to start. So I'm going to use yesterday's weight as my new "start" weight. I don't plan on listing all my daily foods but thought I'd post my weekend foods anyway. I'm not sure of calories but this is what I ate: Sunday: Breakfast: 1-cup fruit flavored cottage cheese Lunch: Outback: 1-1/2 crab cakes and 1/2 of a mash potato sidedish Afternoon Snack: 3/4 cup sugar free chocolate pudding Dinner: 1 cup fruit flavored cottage cheese Late night snack: 1/2 cup fruit flavored cottage cheese Saturday: Breakfast: 1 cup fruit flavored cottage cheese Lunch: 2 slices thin crust pepperoni pizza dipped in extra marinara Dinner:1-small hard taco (meat, Beans, cheese, no lettuce or tomato) and about 1/2 cup of the taco filling on the side. Evening Snack: 3/4 cup Sugar Free Chocolate pudding I've never been great at mixing things up. Instead I seem to get on these tracks where I eat a lot of the same foods for a while then don't eat it for months.