elcee

I disagree. If anything this site has a disproportionately high number of problems. Most people on here (with some exceptions) are relatively new or are having issues. That is because when people are having issues they look for support or solutions. On the other hand people that have been banded for a while that are not having problems don't come to sites like this because they don't need to. They are too busy living their lives.

You might want to look around the site, I believe there is another very long thread dedicated to the very same issue.

I am wondering if it is possible to ever truly shake the dieting mindset. The good food/bad food, I shouldn't be eating that etc way of thinking. I have been banded just over 2 years. I reached my goal at about 8 months and have been happily maintaining ever since. I don't diet, I don't log my food, I don't low carb etc. If I want a biscuit(cookie) I eat one, ditto chocolate so essentially my band is doing exactly what it should be doing. Allowing me to live life as a normal healthy weight person without having to think about it too much. Yet I still find myself looking at "new" diet books (and some of the old ones I have in my study), reading articles, watching things on TV and wondering if I couldn't be doing better. If I have a really "bad" day I may even start logging my food onto calorie king. Usually when I do that it confirms that I have eaten far more as Snacks or unhealthy extras for the day but that my total consumed for the day is less than it should be. I then don't bother logging anymore. I see the virtues of a low carb way of eating presented and wonder should I try that .......................... and so it goes on. It would be nice to not think like this but as they say old habits die hard. Is it just me or do some of you find yourselves doing the same?

I have a friend that has recently been diagnosed with this. She also doesn't have a lot of info and is not sure how it will affect her life. Hope all your questions are answered soon and that you are able to get your band.

And lets face it a gag reflex is a gag reflex. You don't need a band to have one of those. I also don't think that was the way the question was worded. It was worded as though the actual band was going to get in the way.

Well it would have to be about 16 just to get anywhere close to the band and really bendy and probably pretty narrow. Generally when you are doing that kind of stuff it's not bendy. But if what you are saying is that your partner has one like that then I feel truly sorry for you and yes I think your reflexes would be rejecting it. Funny, when you mentioned orally I was thinking of you receiving not giving................

Of course you should tell the trainer, for several reasons. I disagree , I think the decision to tell or not is a personal one. 1. Some trainers make you drink Water several times during a work out. You need to be careful with this. It could make you throw up. Just drink (sip) at your own speed. 2. Some exercises press on your abdomen- be careful of your port site. Agreed. You could just tell the trainer you have had a recent op and need to be careful. I am sure you can come up with something if you don't want to tell. 3. All lap band patients should wear a medical alert tag in case something should happen that you can't speak for yourself. This is overkill. If you are ever in a situation where you need urgent lifesaving help the band is the least of your worries. Plus with XRAYS etc the med facility should see it anyway. 3. it is important to get an adequate amount of Protein so that you can build muscle.. www.myvi.net/katelm 4. You should be proud of the band.... and your trainer will be proud to be part of your journey to better health. Best of luck to you!!!

Note for future. chicken IS NOT MUSHY. The chicken is probably stuck at your stoma. Not good at this stage of the process which is why there are very specific eating guidelines. You need to phone your Dr. If you have any fill in your band it is likely that it will be removed so that the chicken can pass through. If there is no fill I am not sure what the Dr will do. You have to be able to drink or you will end up dehydrated. I just hope that you haven't done any serious damage.

The mind boggles? Is this question for real? What worries me is that if someone can ask questions like this it would seem that they know very little about the band. I would be doing a lot more research to make sure I understood what the band is and where it goes before having surgery. To answer: The band is inside your body around the top part of your stomach.You cannot feel it once it is there. I cannot by any stretch of the imagination figure out how someone could imagine it could get in the way orally. Even having toured the sex museum in Amsterdam and seen all the strange stuff there I don't know what kind of sex a person would be having for that to happen. Your port you can feel through your skin if you are trying to. It feels like a hard lump. It doesn't interfere with sex at all.

Firstly I am surprised at what you are eating so soon after surgery. My Dr still had me on liquids at that point but every Dr is different so as long as you are following your Dr's instructions that is good. When you have a band with some fill and a reasonable level of restriction if you eat too much you will normally feel it in your chest, around about where you would expect your heart to be. The feeling can range from mild discomfort to OMG I'm going to die. You are not going to feel full in your stomach the way you would have felt preband. Your message does have me confused though. You say you don't know if you are uncomfortable because of the meds /eating or whatever then in the next line you say you felt fine.So are you uncomfortable or not? And when do you feel uncomfortable? At this point in the process you generally won't have much restriction so you will not feel the full benefit of the band yet. That only happens once you have had a couple of fills.Do not rely on your band to stop you overeating, serve up the portion your Dr recommended and only eat that - even if you feel that you could eat more.

No I am not hungry all the time. I eat much smaller portions than before the band and stay satisfied for a lot longer. That isn't to say that if someone put chocolate or cake or something yummy in front of me I wouldn't want some because I probably would. But that is not hunger , that is "head hunger" which is completely different. With the band it is a lot easier to say no - it puts you back in control. The advantage to the sleeve over the band is that you don't need fills so you feel the benefits almost immediately. With the band you have to go for fills so it can take longer to feel the full benefit. It is possible however to eat around(cheat) both these types of WLS. Whatever you choose you have to be prepared to put in the work and follow the rules given to you by your Dr. The surgery is not a magic wand it is a tool that you have to utilise correctly to get the maximum benefit. Good luck on deciding what you think is the solution best suited to you.

It seems strange that he said that you wouldn't be able to tolerate a specific antibiotic. I am wondering why? Maybe you should call and ask him. It's certainly not something that I have been told or read anywhere before.

Well done

and don't forget the hello. Hello to the new, healthy, slim you.

It's hard but because it is being done with an end date and goal set it makes it easier. I have never been able to stick to a meal replacement diet before but preband because I knew I had to do it to get surgery I managed. Yes it was tough but I got through it and I am sure that you will too. It is amazing what a person can do when they want something hard enough.

exactly - ABOUT.

Juicy My apologies that your thread appears to have been hijacked. Here is hoping that some other people will attempt to answer some of your original queries. I am sure when you posted your original query you were hoping for some more supportive helpful answers. As for Dr Sanction who has been in the medical field for 25 years...................(If that is the case I would have expected the information that you posted to support your argument would have come from a more scientific source - not one of the first sites that comes up when googling this question). As you obviously have far superior knowledge to the rest of us will you please explain what the point of Allergan producing different sized bands was? Also people are different sizes, as far as I am aware that means there are going to be variations in the size of their organs. We have babies, children, adults. Presumably organs grow as we as progress from birth to adulthood - at what point does the stomach reach its "one size fits all" stage? Even when you reach adulthood people vary dramatically in size. I am female and 5' - there are people who reach 7' and over. I am stunned and gobsmacked to discover that we all have the same size organs. Wow - that is amazing.

sanction I hate to tell you that not everyone has the same size organs and this has nothing to do with how obese a person may or may not be. Why do you think Allergan decided to make bands in different sizes? If everyone is the same inside there would be no point in them wasting money producing different sized products. I am sure that the reason behind the different sizes was based on very thorough research. to quote The.LAP-BAND.AP®.System.is.available.in.two.sizes,.Standard. and.Large...The.physician.should.choose.the.appropriate. size.depending.upon.the.patient’s.individual.anatomy...Most. patients.with.correctly.fitted.bands.report.minimal,.if.any,. restriction.following.resolution.post-operative.edema.until. saline.is.added.to.the.band,.regardless.of.band.size..The.Large. band.is.normally.used.for.re-operations.(particularly.conversion. from.other.procedures).and.the.pars.flaccida.dissection.. Surgeons.are.advised.to.evaluate.the.amount.of.tissue.within. the.band.prior.to.band.locking.and.suturing.in.place,.and,.if.it. appears.excessive,.to.remove.some.omental.tissue.or.move.the. dissection.closer.to.the.stomach.wall.or.higher.on.the.stomach.. Additional.information.regarding.size.selection.is.provided.in. the.training.program.

There are a number of different bands. The old lapband was 4ml(I think) but this not used anymore except possibly in Mexico. The newer bands are 10ml and 14ml(again I think). Which band is used depends on the size of your insides not your BMI. The Dr will generally be able to tell which is best once you are "opened" up. Then there is the Realise band as well. I think this one is 11ml. The difference with the Realise band is that it is a low pressure band and typically more fill is required before any type of restriction is felt. I have even heard of patients with this band being filled to more than the apparent capacity. So you not only need to know the capacity of your band but also which type. More importantly however is what are you doing? Are you following the rules? That is not drinking with meals or for a min of 30 minutes afterwards, small bites, chewing well. Eating good quality dense Protein and some healthy veg/carbs? Exercising etc. If you are doing all these things then you should be losing some weight. But it is important that you are honest with yourself. Lots of people don't lose because they think that the band will do all the work, they forget it is only a tool. Try to forget the term sweet spot. I think it is like the G spot. Some swear it exists others don't. The sweet spot isn't some magical place where you suddenly lose weight with no effort. If there is a sweet spot it is the place where if you are following the rules you can eat a smaller portion than previously of healthy food and not be hungry for 2 - 3, if you are lucky maybe 4 hours afterwards. Hope some of this helps.

The band can cause shoulder pain. It is not something I have experienced but I know of several others that have.Maybe your fill is too tight or it might settle down shortly.It can be caused by the tubing rubbing on a certain area which then causes pain that is felt in the shoulder. Don't ignore it - if it doesn't go away go back to your Dr.

Why are you still vomiting? Is it on purpose or can't you keep food down. Are you not taking small bites , chewing slowly etc? What size band have you got? 1cc in a band is not much , even with the older, smaller band that would not normally be enough to cause problems. I'm a bit confused about what your problems are and what sort of help you are looking for, from your post it is not very clear. To me it seems as though:- You have some kind of eating disorder. You said that you became obsessive - if this is true you need professional help. Can't tell if you have been successful with your band or not.You don't mention what you weigh or what your goal is. I would love to be able to offer some help or insight but you need to be a bit more specific with what you are struggling with. Please give us some more info.

I didn't have a long list. One of the things on your lists that would definitely not be on mine is the rides at the amusement park - I hate them,. Can't stand heights and when they are combined with speed and sudden drops as well no way! Yes I'm chicken. As I am already on the other side here are some of the things I love about being slim. Being able to go into a shop and have stacks of choice because just about everything will fit and should look pretty good. Being photographed instead of just hiding behind the camera. We went for a family makeover/photoshhot and it was good to feel realxed and to look great. Nobody ever believes my age. I have always looked younger than I am but when my weight went up so much I think I started looking a lot closer to my actual age. Now its gone people are usually way out when they guess. Modelling - I have done this twice and at only 5' it is something I never ever thought I would do. Ok it was only at 2 local fashion shows but it was still a huge buzz. Being able to pick up bargains on sale and at the op shops. The Burlesque thing sounds like fun. Enjoyed watching it on Rafters the other night but I don't think there are any classes out here in the sticks. I would love to do one of those raunchy photoshoots but I still don't think I'm brave enough plus what would i do with the photos afterwards? Plus I would probably have to remortgage the house just to afford it as those places really know how to overcharge.

That is really low. To take advantage of people like that.

Well I eat what I want(within reason), don't count calories, don't focus on Protein and don't stick to a plan and my band works just fine. The reason I don't do those things is that I got the band so that I could give up the dieting mentality and concentrate on having a normal relationship with food. It works for me. However I agree that your Dr sounds like a total A@@e and it really doesn't sound like he has a band or even has any idea of what they are all about. I would say your decision to change Drs is the correct one.

It is actually quite common for the band to be too tight if fluid is inserted at the time of surgery. The fluid combined with postop swelling is for many people a really bad combination. There have been many people on this site that have posted wishing they had never been banded as they had just had surgery and couldn't eat/drink etc. When they went to their Drs many of them had had fluid inserted during surgery and this was the cause of their problems. Now that yours has been taken out hope you start feeling better . You can heal first and concentrate on getting fills and losing a little later.