mindwing

I've tried many braneds. After cancer I was more sensitive to odd tastes in the protein powder. The best one I've tasted is BSN Synthra Edge. Make sure it says edge. Regular synthra has sugar, and I accidentally bought the sugared one, and couldn't taste the difference.

I live in Clearlake. It's too bad you live so far away. I'd love to have you come by and taste my protein drinks. I imagine you talked to Dr. Hanna. There are two doctors in Ukiah, and when I had an emergency with my band, he wasn't able to help me, though he tried very hard several times. I had to stay in the hospital for three days, and when Dr. Hanna came in, it took him ten minutes to solve the problem. But, there isn't a lot of support there. I will say, I've tried several protein powders. I actually gave away several after only one drink. I wouldn't use the ones available in stores like walmart. I buy mine online. I haven't tried the ones available on this site, they might be tasty.

Back before the band, I started doing weight training. I was serious about it and planned on entering a contest. I worked at it hard for 18 months. I didn't have time or energy to do both when I started. But as I built muscle, I began feeling better, moving better and just getting active. Unfortunately, I didn't lose weight. But I figured 350 pounds of muscle would look better than 350 pounds of fat. That was true. My body shrank and soon I was wearing hand-me-downs from a woman 100 pounds less than me. I was running up and down stairs just for fun. My doctor friend said I was going to be the healthiest fat person in town. Unfortunately, the story has a sad ending. I contracted Epstein Barr, which progressed into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, soon to be joined by Fibromyalgia. I got sicker by the day until I thought I would die. I put on 100 pounds during this time. Eventually, I became stronger. Fast forward to now, I have tried and tried to get back to weight training, with no success. But the attempts have kept my core strong. I've gone through breast cancer with both chemo and radiation, and a stroke. Because I had lapband surgery, I now weigh 280, and hope to lose 30 - 50 more pounds. I'm still huge, but I've lost 160 pounds. Once again, I am too weak from the stroke to do carsio, but I am trying to do a bit of weightlifting. I'm starting slowly, and I know If I keep it up, the cardio will follow, just like it did before. Once the muscle is built, it is just so much fun to use it.

Long before I got my band, I had a similar problem. My belly would swell and I had to belch for almost an hour for it to go away. Turns out it was a problem with my gall bladder. I thought it was nothing serious, but after a few years, other symptoms cropped up and I ended up getting my gall bladder removed. So, if you have this problem and still have your gall bladder, you might want to get it checked, just to be safe. It might not be a band problem.

My DR is in Ukiah. I was wrong when I said there was nothing wrong with my band. When I came out of the anesthesia, they said my band was okay. But when I went to the Dr, he said it has definitely slipped, and it cannot be filled again. (sob!!). So I will be managing the next 6 months with no fill. It will be a lot harder to lose that way. There have been times when it seemed the band wouldn't let much through for weeks at a time, It really scared my husband when I urped up half my meal because a piece got stuck. My solution was to chop everything very small and drink a protein drink every day. Even with the food chopped small, sometimes a bit would get stuck. I think it was also related to how fast I ate because there were times I seemed to get stuck even on water. Each bite I swallowed took a bit of air, and that air can build up. I learned the air would keep the food out of my pouch and bring it up when it came up. I kept sandwich sized bags with a zipper lock in my purse and on my computer table all the time to deal with the guck. I live in Lake County, where are you? Protein drinks are a delicate subject, and some people can get very emotional about them. But I love them. Right now my taste buds have changed because of the cancer treatments and the only brand I can drink is BSN. I always pick the sugar free ones, and make them with milk, mostly. Every few days I add 1/2 banana and maybe some strawberries or blueberries, or kiwi. I also add ice and blend it into a lovely milk shake--or more ice and get great ice cream. (My kids loved it, and always ate it in the morning so they could tell the other kids I let them have ice cream for breakfast.) Nowadays, I live alone with my husband and can barely hobble into the kitchen because of arthritis. So I pour some milk in a shaker cup with a scoop of protein powder (I have 5 flavors) and maybe a tablespoon or so of DaVinci sugar free syrup (I have seven flavors). It has to be shaken immediately, or it will be lumpy. Then I have a breakfast to go, or not. The rest of my day's eating is a large salad for lunch, and meat and a veggie for dinner. If I am still hungry at night, I make another protein drink. When I get ready to lose weight, I will probably have half water/half milk in the drink, and will likely have only one drink a day. As long as I keep my carb intake fairly low, that is enough. But if it goes too high I will crave candy, cookies, and crackers by the box. I am sedentary, so I can't eat much. But my appetite thinks I'm a marathon runner. I tried low carb dieting before the band with limited success. Now I have become so sick and sedentary I have to live low carb just to keep from gaining. The joy of living low carb means I can have a splurge now and then--a low carb splurge. Bacon, a cocktail sausage dipped in cheese sauce, cheese on my salad, an avocado-- all these high calorie foods can be eaten to get me through a rough day. If you are having trouble keeping things down, I would suggest you live on protein drinks and soups for a few weeks. The liquid diet will let your band rest. My favorite protein powders through the years have been EAS Whey (Pure whey with stevia for sweetening) and Syntrax Matrix (one of the best tasting and lots of flavors,) and of course, BSN Syntha 6 Edge.? Good luck. Are you on facebook?

I find it interesting that those on this thread that are so confident that the lapband will work again and will continue to work are those that have had the band for the shortest amount of time. I disagree. I've had my lapband for ten years, and it has worked great--that is to say, I have learned to work the band. I haven't made my healthy weight yet, but I am a lot smaller than I was. It took me a while to learn to work the band. Eating small amounts of food chopped into tiny bites took a while--unless I was foolish enough to eat too much and ended up tossing my meal. I went through several episodes where I went for days with a swollen, sensitive band. I cheated sometimes, but when I went through spells where I couldn't eat solids, I managed a protein powder drink instead of going for ice cream. Oooh, do I love crackers and cookies. But working the band meant saying no to those treats most of the time. I've had my cheat months, and even cheat years when I went through cancer. But I always returned to proper eating--just like my first weeks with the band. Now I am at the time in my band life where it is likely to cause trouble. I just had an MRI and endoscopy over the last several months, and my band is fine. Want to get some fill in it and start losing again. But in late spring I will have the band replaced with a sleeve. I think it is good I had the band first. It taught me what I need to know to lose weight.

I AM NOT MY SIZE, I really believe you can do it, but it might take time. I hope you can let go of your bad doctor experience. Believe me, being as enormous as I became, I met some doozys. Recently I had to get a new doctor, who mentioned I was "fluffy." I told her I wasn't fluffy, I was fat. But I had lost 140 pounds. I once was the size of small shed and now I'm only the size of a young elephant (who are 200 pounds at birth). One doctor at ER had trouble seeing past the weight several months ago after my stroke. (Yes, I have really gone through a lot.) and another doctor that saw me during the stroke, apparently didn't believe in Fibromyalgia, because he took me off my Lyrica. I'm learning to train them or reject them. And I'd let go of my anger, If a doctor is a cow's anus with his patients, he's bound to be worse at home. And that hurts him more than it hurts us. If you can go back and start back at the beginning and stay very disciplined in following the rules, I'm sure you will find what works for you. Be sure to make sure you get enough sleep. Feel free to write me if you have a question.

You haven't made an update so I am hoping you got things under control. I recently had to have my band checked out--three doctors were certain my stomach problems were caused by the band. They gave me an MRI. and sent me to my lapband doctor. I had to have an endoscopy. My lapband doctor said he had to do it because only a bariatric doctor with band experience knew exactly what to look for. Had it yesterday, and there is nothing wrong my band. So it looks like you need to find a lapband doctor near you who will take you as a patient. I'm in N CA and the only lapband doctors I know about are in Ukiah and Sacramento. There are probably a few in the Bay area, but I am north of that.

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

unfortunately, there is no one answer to losing weight. I have had my band for ten years, and have s-l-o-w-l-y lost weight(160 pounds). I'm almost wheelchair bound, and exercise is difficult. But my band still works if I work at it. You don't need to go on a diet, but change your way of eating. Some people do well on a low calorie diet, others on a low carbohydrate diet. For me it is low carb. I wonder if you have time to plan menus and always have proper food available. Have you been able to empty your house of foods that tempt you to overeat? I've noticed I always blow it if certain foods are in the house. My husband is the opposite of me and thrives on healthy, high carb food. So I am careful what I allow in the house. His high carb foods have to be cooked, which helps me not to cheat. I don't allow sweets, and we have few processed foods. I once gained 50 lbs in a month, and the doctor told me it was impossible. Later, I read of a study done on a tribe of Indians that live near the Mexican border. They tend to put on a lot of weight on few calories. They can also gain a lot of weight in a month, but the researchers learned they weren't overeating when the weight gain happened, but over the next few months their eating increased to maintain the weight. What I'm saying is there are weird genetic factors that influence how you gain or lose weight. And the band requires work. Before you condemn yourself, ask if you've really had the time or energy to make up menus, keep your kitchen free of tempting foods, and keep a food diary. Also, are you getting enough sleep. I had so many diet failures because I tried to live on 6 hours of sleep a day, or cut my calories too low. I'd recommend you get your family on a healthy diet and work on your eating plan from there. I agree, luck is not an issue. But if you really want to lose weight, keep trying until you find a way that works. I've known of bypass patients who lost a lot of weight the first year, and gained it right back. Others lost weigh and kept it off. The main difference is that the ones who kept it off took the time to learn what and when to eat and never stopped following the rules. No shortcuts, no "this is probably close enough", but follow the rules as closely as you possibly can. But because we are all different, you need to pay attention to what helps you lose weight and what makes you want to cheat. Maybe the rules say sweet potatoes are okay, but you find yourself grazing in the kitchen every time you eat them. Then sweet potatoes are a no no for you. For me it is beans--beautiful, delicious, healthy beans. But they cause me to crave more and more and I will eat until I am ready to burst, and try to eat more. Find What Works. Look at what you've been doing and start making changes. What did you do the first year that you aren't doing now? start making choices, and if they don't work, make other choices. I was a horrible candidate for a lapband, and the doctor apologized to me, because he doubted I had what it took to make it work. almost housebound, using a wheelchair, to sick to cook food for more than 5-10 minutes a day, too weak to do much of anything. I am losing slowly, and had to stop trying to lose weight for a couple of years due to cancer (and gained 50 pounds, but lost it again). But losing 160 pounds is an accomplishment, and I'm planning on going on a strict diet and losing 50 more pounds over the next few months. The lapband has been a great tool. But that's all it is, a tool that I have to work.

1. What made you choose the Lap Band over the Sleeve? My doctor wanted to do the sleeve, but 10 years ago my insurance wouldn't cover it. The bypass was a no, no because some reports indicated it could have adverse effects on Chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. 2. Have you had Hair loss with the Lap Band? No. Plenty of hair loss with chemo, but not with the band. 3. What can you absolutely NOT eat now with the Lap Band? Bread is a big problem. So is any solid meat, like steak or chops unless the meat is cut tiny (pencil erasure size) AND has a sauce to help it go down. Rice and pasta are iffy. 4. At what point did you know you made the right decision with the Lap Band surgery? When I realized I didn't regain the weight. I have to go to extremes to lose weight--Atkins below 1000 calories a day. If I do it right, I lose a lot of weight fast. But if I go to say 1100 calories a day, the scale doesn't move. When I lose, I lose fast, but can only keep it up a short time. So my weight loss has been s-l-o-w and intermittent. But I don't gain it back easily Over the last ten years I've lost 160 pounds. I did have a regain, after cancer treatments, of 50 pounds (I wasn't paying much attention to what I ate then) However, the weight came off over the next few months. I still have 100 pounds to go. 5. What as been the best tool you've used in keeping your weight loss progressing? Following the bandster rules. Eat small amounts of food, cut very tiny. No drinks with meals. Watch your body for a sign it's full, then STOP eating. For me it is a small belch. Always have a sauce for your meat. Be very careful with eggs or hot dogs. If you aren't paying attention you could get stuck. Keep forbidden foods out of your kitchen if possible. (Not possible with me, but...) If you have a gain, go right back to what you did at the beginning. For me, I eat a ketogenic diet, tightening it and loosening it. I do allow myself 5 cheat times a year. Christmas, Easter, my birthday, and two other holidays. When I see an ice cream flavor or a candy bar, or something I know I can't have, I tell myself I will have it at the next cheat day. It is important to keep that promise to yourself. If I had been given a choice, I would have taken the sleeve. But I have learned a new way of eating with the band, and I believe it will help me with the sleeve.

I have lost over 100 lbs, and all my tops are way too big, as in indecently big. But my pannus is so huge that I am still in the same size pants. Actually, I am losing weight in the top of the pannus, so it hangs lower each month. If I sit (which I do always because I am in a wheelchair) the pannus peeks out from under my floor length skirt. It almost reaches my ankles. Money is extremely tight, so buying new clothes as I lose weight isn't possible. As it is, I sew my clothes to save money. My solution--I use the pants I have worn for years to cover the pannus. This summer I cut them into shorts because it is too hot for long pants under a skirt. Wearing the pants alone isn't an option because the pannus is so large. When I am standing, it hangs below my knees. I have some very hard fat at the bottom that refuses to melt, so the bottom of it is huge. I made simple floor length skirts--elastic in a sleeve at the top. As I lose weight, I need to cut some of the fullness out of them or they will get caught in my wheelchair. I've already cut a foot out, and need to cut out another 6 inches in the next month. Blouses were the big problem. Then my 90 lb neightbor showed me a dress she wears that she thought would be perfect for me. I thought "yeah, right!" but checked it out anyway. It is perfect. It is simply a piece of material folded over with a hole cut out for the head, and sewed up on the sides right by the outer edges. I use 45" material, so it covers my batwings. I used a zigzag stitch around the neckline and hemmed the bottom. The side seams are 3" from the sides of the material. It looks great on me, and I know it will be just fine as I shrink--The sleeves will get longer, but no seams to make it look too big. When I lose enough weight, I will sew another seam up the sides 2 inches in from the first. I only buy 2 yards of material for each blouse, so it is a blouse instead of a dress. That just leaves a chest binder--those things are so expensive. I sew seams in my old ones to take them in, and use one of those plastic things that hook the two straps together in the middle to make it fit tighter. I will still have to get a new one, but I figure the plastic strap holder will give me an extra month or two. The good news for me is that they won't make me wait until I am at goal to remove the pannus. When I lose another 50 lbs. they will take it off. I figure I should lose about 30 pounds from that surgery. I can hardly wait because I can't drive or walk or do anything active until it is gone. mindwing

I mix the shots with water--one shot with three tubes of Water and pour over ice. not the greatest, but it helps. Watch out on the sugar free candies. Some people get diarrhea from them-ick!! Foul smelling gas, too. I add Davinci sugar free syrups to my shakes, and it helps. Also, buying Atkins shakes or EAS advantage helps. Mindwing

I gained ten pounds with my surgery. Apparently, the liquid diet they put you on before surgery causes you to be dehydrated, so by the time they pumped me full of liquid and operated, I was a full ten pounds heavier. I was horrified. But I kept telling myself this was a time for healing, not for weight loss. Your body has a lot to adjust to. I've had a lot of challenges, but I eventually began losing (only after getting fills) and have already lost over 100 lbs. since I started. I had dreams of being the fastest loser ever, and I ended up being the slowest, but it was all worth it. Relax and heal. If you are like me, you will have to 'diet' to lose weight, but the band makes it much easier. mindwing

I felt like a failure my first year after getting the band because my doctor didn't believe in giving fills. I only lost 5 lbs.during the whole year. Now that I have changed doctors and have a good fill, I am losing weight. I have always felt the lapband is a tool, and I have to work at losing weight. So I am careful to eat only Protein and vegetables. I find the more carbs I eat, the more out of control my eating is. I don't worry about fat, since a large amount of fat in the diet comes from processed foods, and I avoid them. I do eat Atkins bars: and I drink shakes, either Atkins or EAS Advantage--They are a great low carb meal when I am busy. When I have time to cook, I take 2-3 ounces of chopped meat or fish fillets and cook them with vegetables (onions, celery, peppers, chard, sorrel, or tomatoes) Sometimes I make a gourmet frittatta- sliced mushrooms, onions and tomatoe with two eggs and an ounce of cheese. Of course, most of the time I can only eat half of the frittatta at a time. I average between 800 and 1100 calories a day. Chewing my food to goo is a large challenge because I have very few teeth, so most food is pre-chopped, giving it a mushy texture. I avoid anything with sugar, and avoid most fruits (except for berries and melons). Eating Beans is a no-no for me on such a low calorie diet. I can hardly wait until I lose enough weight to be able to add them back. It should be noted that when you first remove carbs from your diet, you are overly hungry for three to four days. Then the appetite slows. I eat small Snacks of meat, fish or cheese during that time--or drink shakes. I don't worry about calories or weight loss at first because I know my body is adjusting to the new eating pattern. Eating the vegetables is critical, because a meat only diet constipates you. I get a lot of recipes from the low carb group on yahoo and the atkins site. But often I just mix the meat and whatever vegetables I have on hand. The good thing about eating this way is that it reduces the fat in your liver. A fatty liver causes you to crave food and put on fat according to recent studies. I plan a few free days every other month when I eat ice cream, sugar free candy(good to clean out the system) and snack crackers. I gobble down fruit, and have mashed potatoes and gravy. Real homemade whipped cream (no sugar, just sugar free daVinci syrups), sugar free hot cocoa. I don't eat enough to have a PB, but I eat small amounts and really enjoy. It makes it easier to stick to the strict eating pattern if I know I get a break every now and them. mindwing