elcee

I feel sorry for you with what you are going through at the moment. It must be truly awful. But the thing is even when you have a band life happens and we have to deal with that. A lot of us eat for reasons other than hunger. It can be emotional eating like you are experiencing, or habit eating or boredom eating or whatever. We need to recognise the eating as destructive and find ways to cope with it. You are going through a lot at the moment but the same can probably be said for about 50% of people with a band. Your emotional eating is not helping you to achieve your goals and you need to remember what they are. You got the band so that you could be healthy to take care of your family and that hasn't changed. Focus on that. You have to look after you now even more than you did previously. Getting more and more fills is not the solution. It doesn't matter how many you get because ultimately you are in charge of what you put in your mouth. The band does not make the choices for you. And sadly the tighter you get the worse your choices will become as you will find that you may become too tight and then the only thing you can get down are high calorie sliders.Reaching for a chocolate bar when you feel like s@@t doesn't make you feel good for longer than 5 minutes and then you feel worse than before you ate it. Look for other ways to handle your emotions. You could:- get a boxing bag and put a pic of your ex on it and take your frustrations out on that. go for a walk. join some kind of social group clear some of your cupboards and baggage out of your life start a new hobby - it is difficult to eat when your hands and mind are busy ad your own ideas here............... Good luck -I am sure that soon you will be losing weight and looking forward to your new life and new opportunities. You don't want to let your ex score another victory against you by sabotaging your health and weight loss.

It seems very strange that if the surgery and band positioning were done correctly you feel nothing. I am not disputing what you say, just wondering how it is even possible............

OMG Now we have the Lap Band police. Please , regurgitating food with the band is not a huge problem as long as it is not something that you do regularly. Your Dr's tell you that there are certain foods that may not agree with your band. Well what the heck do you think happens when you have a band and you eat something that isn't going to go down - yep you bring it back up. And no I will not say vomit it up because it isn't vomiting, that is totally different. Most Dr's gloss over exactly what happens because I am sure they are trying not to put people off prior to surgery. If you are vomiting then yes that can cause your band to slip. Vomiting comes from beneath the band, and is usually associated with quite a bit of force. Regurgitating the food is like when you have too much phlegm and you have to cough and then spit it up. Seriously this is not going to make your band slip.

My husband baked the yummiest muffins about a week after I was banded - they smelt divine - I could have happily killed him. But as the others have said you are responsible for what you put in your mouth and I also agree that you should be doing the shopping or at the very least give your husband a list. Keep a supply of crystal light or something similar at home for when he drinks soda. And who says that you can't eat out/ having a band doesn't stop you doing that. Go to restaurants, pick something that you know you can eat and is a healthy (or healthier) option . And don't forget the 80/20 or 90/10 rule. No one expects you to be a dieting saint 100% of the time - the occasional treat helps makes life pleasurable.

Question - were you losing weight with the way you were eating before? YES? Then why is it so wrong. If what you are doing works, you are happy with it and you aren't hungry why change. As they say if it isn't broken don't fix it. As an Aussie I have totally different views to what is/isn't appropriate to eat once banded. I don't diet. I don't do low carb or any other kind of recognised diet. I just eat smaller portions of normal food and try to cut down on the junk inbetween. This is what most of us are told to do by our Drs and it seems to work.This was why I got the band as I was tired of always being on a diet, now I'm not. I do have to admit though that the diet mentality doesn't really go away as I still catch myself reading diets in magazines and online and wondering if I should do them. But seriously why. If you can eat in a way that satisfies you, keeps you at a healthy weight and is easy to fit into your lifestyle then that is what you should be doing.

Generally cup cakes are easy as they dissolve before they get to the band. Fruit cake is dense and can be quite hard. Scones are doughy and cause problems like bread. Cheesecake is easy. chocolate mousse cake is easy. So choose the type of cake that will slip past your band and you will be fine( just don't do it on a regular basis)

Also if you ate 1000 calories per day of twix you would still be hungry.That would be just over 3 bars per day. 1 for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even with a band that would slide through really easily and you would be looking for something to satisfy you. If you eat 1000 calories per day of foods your Dr has told you to eat, Protein, vegies etc then you will be satisfied as those foods have a lot more substance, they satisfy you for longer and you won't have the urge to eat as much . So if you can stick to eating 3 twix bars a day and nothing else yes you will lose weight. No you won't be healthy. Yes you will be hungry. No your band won't help to suppress the hunger as this is not the way it is designed to be used. It would be like buying a chainsaw and trying to chop a tree down without switching it on. A complete waste of time and money.

Yes chicken is dry and can be hard to eat. As already suggested stick to the darker meat like thigh, have a sauce and also use wet rather than dry cooking methods. Chicken in a casserole is far easier to eat than if it is grilled or fried.

I think as a short term solution it is a good idea. I think that a used named "alienbandit" did the same. You may want to look her up and send her a pm

I have also done the same. IT'S EXCITING AND FRUSTRATING ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Yes it is too early. You need to give all the stitches time to heal fully. Check with your Dr what exercise is/isn't appropriate at this stage.

There is nothing that says it should be replaced every 10 years or so....... I am a size 8 (Australian) which equates to a size 4 US. My port doesn't stick out but I am sure everyone is different. It depends on where the port is placed and where you lose your weight. I have skinny hips/legs but do not have a completely flat stomach.

Glad you are not feeling too bad. The problem with doing it via a diet is that no one can seem to agree on what kind of diet works the best. Most Dr's advocate the low fat, high fibre, mainly carb type of diet but some people now believe that that exacerbates the problem Others say that low carb/high Protein is the way to go. Some people will tell you to avoid eggs, others say that they are fine that eating cholesterol rich foods does not cause high levels of cholesterol. Confused, yep me too. And this is without looking at the other side of the argument that says high cholesterol does not cause heart disease and that lowered levels of cholesterol actually cause an increase in diseases such as cancer.

Yes it could be. You may be eating too fast or the band could be putting pressure on one of the nerves.

It is designed as a permanent device. So if there are no complications then yes it could theoretically stay in for ever. However in 20 years time there might be a new , better solution for obesity and you might then opt for that instead. I suppose it all depends on how long you live as most implants do not seem to last for ever, many have to be replaced(hips, knees, heart valves etc)

How many people have you spoken to? How many people are on the sleeve support group as compared to the lapband support group? How long have they had their bands/sleeves? Probably not too many people that have had a sleeve for 2 or more years. I have a band , I am 100% happy and I believe myself to be successful.

The sleeve is the first part of a bypass or duodenal switch. However it has now been found to be successful as a stand alone procedure. As to the reflux this is a hard one. Some people that suffer with reflux preband find it goes away when they get banded, others may start suffering it for the first time. Often reflux is a sign of being too tight. Most sleeve patients are routinely prescribed a daily acid reducer so it can be an issue with the sleeve as well.

PS. If you were female I would have said go and see your gynae and get your ovaries checked out!

I agree with the above. You need to go and see a Dr. Any change to your digestive system/habits can be a cause for concern.

The best thing to do in this situation is to stop trying to eat or drink and suck crushed ice. The ice helps to reduce the swelling and eventually eases it enough that you can get water down again. Also the melting ice helps to keep you hydrated. You should also try to relax as much as possible and not panic although that can be easier said than done.

I am just over 2 years out. I can go for weeks without having to bring anything up and then I may have a bad patch where it happens a couple of times in a short period. The other problem I have at this point is that it is way too easy to eat foods that I know I shouldn't. No that doesn't mean I am existing on sliders but I have been eating way too much chocolate lately. I need to stop before it becomes a problem. I am fine when I am busy but when I am at home , not working I still find myself eating things I don't need just because I feel like it. So in truth I suppose my habits still haven't really changed.I think that I am still lazy when it comes to food - it is easier to grab something quick out of the cupboard/fridge than to make a proper healthy lunch. (Breakfast & dinner are not an issue, those are generally fine).

I struggled with raisins early on but now they are not a problem.

Looking good

It is personal choice. If you don't want the hassle of going to see your Dr frequently(once a month for the first year, and once or twice a year thereafter approx), are happy to have a large portion of your stomach cut away, are comfortable with the high surgery risks and want to start losing straight away go with the sleeve. If you don't mind the follow ups, want a lower surgery risk but a higher risk of possible problems in the future, and a slower initial weight loss go for the band. If you weigh it up then basically it is 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other! With a sleeve you lose weight faster initially but people with the band soon catch up. Generally you don't throw up with the band you PB which is very different but until it happens to you it is difficult to understand. Normally this can be prevented by taking small bites, eating slowly, chewing well and not having your band too tight. People with sleeves do throw up too( probably not a well publicised fact but if you read the sleeve board you will find some of these things out) Both surgeries have an initial honeymoon period when the weight loss is relatively easy and the further along you are the slower it gets. Both surgeries can be cheated i.e. if you decide to eat all day long it is possible and then you won't lose. Both surgeries will fail if you decide to eat high calorie slider foods such as icecream,milkshakes, chocolate etc instead of healthy foods as recommended by your Dr. I have had my band for 28 months and I am happy with my choice. I only need to see my Dr every 6 months or so and I actually enjoy catching up and checking everything is OK.

My stomach does this all the time. And as Karen says it is not a sign of hunger . As far as I am aware it is just noises your digestive system make as food , air etc passes through. If I was you I wouldn't be embarrassed at least you're breaking wind! BTW - mine is so loud my hubby doesn't need to put his head on my stomach to hear it. I would like to bet that if you put your head on your fiances stomach you would probably hear something similar even if it isn't quite as loud.