elcee

There supposedly is a slight increase in metabolism from eating spicy foods but it is so slight that it is not going to make any difference to your weight loss. The exception would be when you have curry that is so hot that you are then forced to sit on the loo for a couple of days afterwards and cannot get off to eat anything.

Also wondering are these allergies or intolerances? Normally a change in the form of the food does not affect an allergy, if you are allergic to lactose it doesn't matter what form it is in you will react whereas if your problem is a food intolerance then you may be able to eat lactose in a modified form. cheese, yogurt instead of milk etc. Wondering because you said you have a problem with RAW fruit/veg

If you have so many allergies then you should be asking your immunologist what you should be eating not us. We don't want to give you advice that could kill you.

I didn't change my meals too much as I have always eaten proper healthy food . What I did do was cut out all the crap in between. Preband I would eat a couple of biscuits(cookies) before Breakfast, probably a few more mid morning. Eat a chocolate bar every day, eat cake, run back and fore to the fridge to nibble on stuff. With the band I stopped all that ( although I wasn't a saint). I would sometimes have a slice of cake for lunch instead of as well as lunch. Unfortunately the longer you have been banded the easier it is to cheat especially as you cannot sustain that initial motivation. I am struggling with an additional kg which has been hanging around on and off since before Christmas. I need to take control again. Going away this weekend for hubby's Birthday didn't help but I now need to stop making excuses.

I mentioned the beauty salons because if you can't afford to buy the system outright you may be able to pay for the treatment at a salon

I know the things you are talking about. Some of the beauty salons used to use them years ago, don't know if they still do.

I sleep on both sides with no issue.

Mine was approx 32. It took me approx 6 months to lose 22/23 kg and get to a BMI of around 22. That was almost 2 years ago and I am currently maintaining a loss of between 22 - 24kg.

They are compression stockings. You should be able to buy some at a pharmacy as they are the same type of things that they recommend people where when they fly long distance.

OMG you have just made me feel old! I am 49 and if a sexy Grandpa found me sexy I would be seriously unnerved. I think I would want to run in the opposite direction. Now if it was a sexy toyboy that would be cool. Maybe I need to face up to how old I REALLY am!

Glad you are Ok. Cocoa I also thought that the band was contraindicated for autoimmune problems. I have just got back from a w/e away for hubby's Birthday and have a million emails etc to catch up on. Will pop back into LBT once the backlog has been cleared.

There have been a number of people that have had bands removed as tubing was putting pressure on the vagal nerve and causing shoulder pain that they could not get rid of.A slipped band can put pressure on this nerve and cause left shoulder pain. If you eat too quickly, too big a bite etc then that is often felt as referred pain in the throat which again is something to do with the vagal nerve so I would think that it is possible that damage to the nerve could be causing your problems. I have no idea what to suggest to help but I would certainly keep chasing your Dr's until they come up with some kind of answer. Good luck.

I thought from your initial post that the pains were lower done in the stomach, and you also mentioned constipation which is why I didn't mention any of this. I think a lot of us that have been around for a while just assume that people know more than they do so then we don't repeat it. If what you have found here seems to apply to you then yes the solution is much simpler - watch HOW you eat.

Pain, gas, constipation sound like some kind of food intolerance. Obviously your diet has changed a lot post band , maybe something you are eating does not agree with you. Maybe lactose or it could be soy or some other Protein in one of the shakes that you are probably drinking. I rarely use them but there was 1 I tried that made me feel awful. Stomach pain, foul flatulence etc. Burping is quite normal postband. A lot of bandsters can out burp a sailor. Constipation is probably because you are not getting enough fibre in your diet especially if you are doing the high protein thing. Try changing what you eat and see if it helps.

Is that a diagnosis of oesophagal dismotility? I have heard that there is a higher chance of this after being banded. Sorry that it has happened to you and good luck with your future weight loss.

When you eat less the alcohol will hit quicker. Also as your body weight drops it will take less alcohol before you are affected. So by all means have a drink or 2 but be very careful and make sure you do not inadvertently end up over the limit. One of my worst experiences since having the band was when I drank too much wine at a friends. I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and feeling like I wanted to hurl. Preband that is what i would have done - stuck my finger down my throat to speed the process up . Unfortunately vomiting post band is not so easy ( and it is not recommended either as true vomiting can cause the band to slip) so I had to suffer for far longer. Lesson learnt, I have not done it again.

It can be hard after a while.When it is all new the motivation tends to be higher. I think you need to focus on why you are doing this, what your goals are etc. Figure out some rewards(non food) for when you achieve those goals.E.g a new outfit, a lipstick, massage, new piece of jewellery - whatever keeps you motivated. And do not try to be perfect 100% of the time. Forbidden foods have a much stronger attraction than if they are not forbidden. If you want a small piece of cake or candy fine, so long as you do what you should be doing 90% of the time then it shouldn't make a huge difference.

That is awful. Sorry that you are going through this. I am amazed that it took so many tests and so many Dr's to diagnose this, you would have thought it would have been simpler to diagnose than that. Are you going to revise to a sleeve or just try to maintain the loss by yourself?

It is pressure on the vegas nerve, It may mean that you have eaten too much so try to be aware of the subtle signals that your body gives you

The low pressure versus high pressure makes no difference in slips. The way the surgeon stictches the band into place plus a patients adherence to the rules, not having the band too tight and not constantly vomiting is what counts there. Low pressure can actually be more of a disadvantage than an advantage. Typically patients with the Realize band take far more fill to feel any restriction and some are even "overfilled" ( they have more fill than the bands supposed capacity)

It sounds to me as though you are slimming. You are probably taking too big a bite or not chewing properly. the food gets stuck at the opening between the band and the stomach and the bodies response is to produce extra saliva to try to help it through.The saliva won't go down so you have to keep spitting it out. Try taking smaller bites, chewing properly, leaving time between bites before you take the next one etc. Do not try eating dry or fibrous foods. The other possibility is that you are too tight. I would try going back to liquids for a day or 2, then soft foods and build it up from there. If you do all these things and you are still having issues then you may need a little bit of Fluid taken out.

I think for most people the fear of the unknown is huge. What if it doesn't work How much will fills hurt Will I still be able to eat normal/favourite foods. Getting stuck problems in the future. What if my band slips There are so many unknowns and so many things that you can get stressed out about. Just rest assured that even the thing you fear most is no where near as bad as you expect it to be. I think my biggest fear was not waking up after surgery. Totally irrational but I have the same fear every time I have to be put under.

It might be nerves/stress. Or even hayfever. If you really think you are coming down with something there is not much you can do although zinc, Vit C and echinacea may help a little.

This is the right place for you to come. Lots of supportive people with lots of experience. Although most people are from the USA there are some Brits, some from Asia and even some from down under!

I don't think that is a lot of food. You need to be able to eat from a variety of food groups to get all your nutrition. I would say that if you can stick to these amounts and be satisfied inbetween then you are doing well. If you really wanted to cut back on caolries without noticing then the easiest way would be to lose the nuts, choc chips and honey.However nuts are good for you and so long as you are measuring your portion and not going over that then it is fine. if the little bit of chocolate keeps you on track and sane then again I do not see this as a big issue. Having a band is not about being on some insane strict diet. It should be about eating smaller portions of healthy food and you should be able to stick with this for life.