elcee

At my Dr's they recommend that you stay away from these forums are there are so many horror stories that it can scare the @@@@@ out of you. But I like being contrary and I like being informed. I have found this site to be very helpful. I do not find that most of the posts are horror stories but you have to remember the old adage " no news is good news". What I am getting at is that people who are happy do not keep posting. How many times can they start a thread saying the band is wonderful, it's the best thing I have ever done etc etc. You would soon get bored. Most people that are banded and successful do not spend time on these groups. they go off and happilly live their lives. So you have to remember that you will see what seems like a high proportion of problems. I found the info on this site invaluable and I always read the complications thread! It meant that I was informed and knew what to expect. I learnt about PBing and slimming and how it feels to get stuck etc so when it happened to me I was prepared and did not feel an overwhelming panic. Yes there are complications and if you have a responsible Dr you should have been told about them. The book that my Dr gave me has a whole section on complications. You do have to remember though that every surgery has the potential for complications. Hell my father nearly died from MRSA caught when they did his hip replacement. Also not every bandster is successful. That can be because they expect the band to be a magic fix which it is not, it is a tool. You still have to watch what you eat, exercise etc. But it is an invaluable tool that makes a huge difference. A bit like the difference between trying to handsew a dress or use a sewing machine. if you are committed to the process and prepared to make a lifestyle change then there is no reason why in 18 months time you won't be a successful bandster.

The new Dr's advice does seem rather strange.There is nothing wrong with fruit or oatmeal. Lots of bandsters struggle with bread , rice and pasta so they can be a no no. It could be that your new Dr has a low carb philosophy which your old Dr didn't, but even with low carb i can see nothing wrong with eating oats.

Or when you are hungry.

I see nothing wrong with what you are eating. You shouldn't have to eat Protein then veg then carbs. Eating things seperately is not normal - most people eat things together.I got banded because I wanted to be normal! I agree that being on a diet is hard. Making healthy choices is easier (even if it is the same thing). Maybe try what your Dr has suggested and see if it helps. I know lots of people swear by journalling.

You do sound as though you are too tight. You are relying mainly on slider foods and these leave you hungry and often cause weight goin. I think you should go and get a small unfill so you can start eating proper food. You will probably find that once you do that the weight will start dropping again. reasons for bands getting tighter include stress,hormones, dehydration etc.

I still don't know where the notional 1/2 cup of food per meal comes from. It is not something they use here in Australia. Our Dr's focus more on making healthy choices and eating less, perhaps using a side plate instead of a dinner plate, than they do on measuring exact quantities. There are not many people that will be satisfied with 1/2 cup 3 times per day unless they are too tight and being too tight leads to all sorts of problems. A lot of bandsters actually eat 5 times a day rather than 3 as they find that they cannot go 7 hours or more between meals. So long as you are choosing healthy Snacks this is also fine. As you get further along in the process you will find what works for you.

Don't forget the brand will make a difference as well. It is even possible that you could lose weight and end up taking a bigger size if you try a different brand to normal.I have clothes in my cupboard that are an Aus size 8,10 and 12 and they all fit me.

Wish I could help. Maybe the problem is just that you are a little bit older than last time and not able to bounce back as easily. Maybe your dr can prescribe some kind of tonic to give you a boost. Hope it all gets better soon.

Danielle you have only been banded 2 months and you have already lost 36lb. Your body is probably trying to catch up and regroup ! It is normal to plateau sometimes.Just continue doing what has been working for you and I am sure that soon the weight will start dropping again. Also try eating different things and doing different exercise. Sometimes doing the same thing every day causes problems - mixing it up a bit often helps.

You have been banded less than 2 months and you say this is not the answer to weight loss. What were you expecting? That you would wake up from surgery and suddenly be skinny? That all the excess weight that you have presumably had for a long time would dissappear very quickly? I feel sorry for you if you went into the surgery misinformed and with your eyes closed. I know that some Dr's do not give a lot of info but we have so many options open to us these days to get info that we must also take part of the blame if we are not well informed. Going for surgery isn't quite the same as going and buying a new dishwasher - it is risky and you need to gather as much info as you can before the time. I am also surprised that with the long ins approval process that it is possible to be ill informed. If you are in need of help please ask and we will be happy to help. Ask questions and you will get answers. But please don't post a thread trying to put others off -I find that really annoying and counter productive. I imagine what you are feeling at the moment is down because you can still eat a lot more than you expected to be able to, you get hungry and you are not losing as fast as you hoped. If this is your problem then be aware that it is normal. The period is often referred to as Bandsters hell because of it. Until you have had a number of fills you will not have the "perfect" restriction that you are hoping for. Use this period to learn to eat healthily, to exercise more and to practice eating slower and chewing properley. You will get to where you want eventually but it is not an overnight fix. You also have to remember that the band is only a tool - it does not do all the work - you also have to do your bit. I am sure that you will soon have the success that you are hoping for.

Leigha that is quite interesting. I have heard that alchol can make you gain weight as often people snack more when they drink but just swapping those calories for something else and still losing seems strange. I wonder if there is any kind of scientific explanation.

The theory behind starvation mode is that if you don't eat enough calories your body gets "scared" and hangs on to what it has. This means that you don't lose weight or don't lose as much as you expect. Increasing the amount you eat actually then helps you to lose. However I don't think that this has been scientifically proven although it seems to happen to a lot of people.

Icequeen, I think that during ramadan nothing passes the lips - so no water would be allowed.

You can easily gain weight:- If you choose high calorie "sliders" e.g icecream, chocolate,milkshakes etc. The band cannot restrict these. If you snack a lot. It is quite easy to eat in between meals even with a band.How the band helps is it makes you less hungry so hopefully you won't feel the need to snack but lots of people eat for reasons other than hunger. e.g boredom,stress,sadness etc etc If you are an emotional eater then you may need to get additional help(counselling) to find new ways of dealing with issues other than by eating.

Have they checked to see if your band has maybe slipped. It may be a case of you having to have it repositioned or replaced.

Most nights I don't get to eat dinner until 7.30pm. Sometimes I have greek yogurt or a diet choc mousse afterwards at about 9pm. This hasn't caused me any problems so far.

OMG. I eat so much compared to some of you that i feel like a glutton. Breakfast - poached egg on wholemeal toast lunch - sandwich usually toasted with whatever on. Sometimes I can eat both slices of bread sometimes its an open sandwich. Mid afternoon - nut bar or something similar. dinner - same as the rest of the family, meat + carb + veggie. evening - greek yogurt with cinnamon + splenda.

My first fill was 1ml. I still lost weight and didn't feel like I was starving.

It is normal to be hungry when you get home from work. The band is designed so that you are not hungry for approx 4 hours. The period between lunch and dinner is generally a lot longer than this so a healthy snack mid afternoon should help. Another fill probably wouldn't eliminate this hunger and as you say it may make you too tight.

Leftovers often give problems. They are a different texture to when first cooked and are often a lot drier as well.

If you were further along I would tell you to try and cough it up , but as you are only 3 days out that could cause your band to slip. You can try papaya enzymes as they supposedly help to move/digest stuck food. However they have never done the trick for me. Try sucking crushed ice as that helps to reduce swelling and it is possible that you are swollen. Other than that I have no ideas, my Dr had me on liquids for 2 weeks after surgery so its hard to know what to suggest.

I agree And what makes it worse is that this kind of insanity is actually encouraged at the highest levels.

I would talk to your Dr.They are normally more concerned about high than low. As far as I know your readings are still OK.The table below gives a rough guide. 130 -85 = High Normal 120 -80 = Normal 110 - 75 = Low Normal 90 - 60 = Borderline Low 60 - 40 = too low I asked my Dr at what level I should be concerned when it comes to high BP. It depends on the time of day as it is normal for BP to differ depending on time. I was told in the morning it shouldn't be over 150/90-95 afternoon 160/90-95 and evening 160 - 170/100. HTH

The same thing happened to me a couple of months ago. I collapsed in a lift at the hotel we were staying at! Hotel called 000 and I got taken to hospital by ambulance and spent the night in emergency. They also couldn't measure my BP initially as it was so low. After doing lots of tests the only other thing they found was that I had low potassium so they made me drink an evil tasting supplement. I am happy not to be on BP meds any more but it's not the best way to find out. I am also paranoid that it could go back up so I have a home monitor and measure it at home to check that it is still OK.

I think this will differ from person to person. The same way as 2 people can weigh the same but take totally different sizes.