elcee

watching a nature programme you finally understand perfectly the difference between vomiting and regurgitation! (Sorry if that one is gross)

esv what are you eating? Are you eating solid foods that keep you full for a while or are you eating sliders? I don't know why you are not losing but it could be a couple of things. Weight loss not occuring is due to still taking in more calories than you expend. So maybe you haven't had sufficient fills and are still eating large quantities of food. The opposite could also be true. You may be too tight, unable to get solid food down and eating high calorie sliders such as icecream, chocolate, crisps etc. You may be eating around the band by constantly snacking. This is easy to do ask me. (I just went on a scrapbooking weekend and ate far too many sweets as they were sitting there on the table - the food choices at the weekend were also very limited so not good for following my diet but in the big scheme of things it is 2 days out of the rest of my life and I am already back on track). Are you exercising? So you need to look closely at what you are doing. Maybe record calories/exercise for a while. If you are not in need of a fill and are really eating less than you expend then you should go back to your Dr as maybe there is another factor affecting your weight loss. But you need to be honest with yourself. As fat people we are very good at convincing ourselves that we are not really eating that much.....................

For those that haven't realised my post above was very definitely tongue in cheek!

Come on don't be so harsh. Why should the OP follow her Dr's orders? What does he know that we on lapband talk don't. I mean he only performs the surgery we are the ones that live with it on a day to day basis right? As some people have said every Dr has different instructions so if you don't like the ones your Dr gave you why not follow someone elses. Preop, postop whenever. Surely it doesn't really matter does it? Surgeries being cancelled, complications, slips, stretching the pouch no of those could possibly be caused by not doing what your Dr told you. Could they???

Its probably just a coincidence. Having a fill doesn't normally make you feel unwell. How much did your Dr put in and are you able to drink? If you haven't had anything to drink you may be starting to get a bit dehydrated which can make you feel unwell.

Reading through posts on this board it appears that more fluid is required in the realize band to reach restriction.I am not sure why.

Well you are not eating much so regardless of how tight the band is I would think you would be hungry. Soup is not the best food to eat because it doesn't stay in the pouch so it doesn't keep you feeling full. The bread on its own doesn't sound very nutritious. Did you have the glass of Water with the shrimps because if you did that would help them to go down easier and again wouldn't keep you full. Or did you only drink 1 glass of water all day- if you did that is really worrying. Maybe you are too full. It sounds as though you should be eating more food so that you can use the band the way in which it is intended. You need to aim for nutritious and well balanced. You should be able to eat a range of healthy foods from all food groups including veggies etc.

I think you will find burping is a common problem amonst bandsters. I certainly burp lots now.

You find that stash of clothes that you bought years ago that were just a little bit too tight but would be fine as you were going to lose weight, you try them on and they still don't fit.............. because now they are too big!

Its a fantastic feeling isn't it? I know I was rapt when this happened to me and the feeling when I stood on the scales and was no longer overweight was also amazing. It is so good to be able to see your progress - it motivates you to keep going. WELL DONE

I am sure that you already know that this means that you are too tight. Go back to your Dr and get some fill taken out. You need to be able to eat properly so that the band can work the way it is designed and you don't want to end up only eating sliders as then you will put weight back on.

I would be a bit concerned with your Dr. Like any product newer models have improvements that are added based on research etc. The older Lap Band may be perfectly adequate but if so why did they bother changing it? There must be very valid reasons any changes. I would question why your Dr is using the older model. Its probably a case of using up old stock but aren't you better than that? Shouldn't you be getting the latest and best model available. I know I wouldn't be happy with my doc putting old parts in me unless there was a very very valid reason. To my mind cost saving is not a valid reason - I am worth more than that - I want the best!

Excellent. Its great to hear stories like this.

PS. To take 30min to eat 1/4 cup of pureed food seems ridiculously slow. My Dr's recommend that eating a meal should take 20 - 30 min but that is real food not puree and I am allowed far more than 1/4 cup. I know all Dr's have different requirements but this seems crazy!

At this stage it doesn't reall make a huge difference as you have no restriction. It is only once you have restriction that you will understand the need to eat small bites/slowly because if you don't it hurts like hell! It is good to practice eating slower but reallistically I don't believe that most of us get it quite right until we have had some fills. In the meantime eat as slowly as you can but don't stress about it too much.

The liquid phase is tough but the reason for it is to allow your body to heal.Do not cheat with things that you have to chew as this can lead to band slippage. Rather increase your Protein as this can help you to feel full longer. Use Protein shakes, add things like lentils,chickpeas to soups and then blend them really well.Drink skim milk etc. if you feel you have to chew something eat diet jelly as it dissolves before it gets to the stoma so there is no churning of the stomach involved. We know how you feel. it is horrible but you can do it. Remember it is not for ever but for a very short period.

It's not. Once again it sounds as though it is from lack of information. If you read through the threads on this forum you will see that it is normal for it to take a no of fills to reach restriction and that this often takes months.In fact smaller fills that get you to your sweet spot slower are believed to be safer than more aggressive fills and less likely to lead to a problem such as a slip in the future. So sorry not to be able to give you the news that you were looking for but at least you are closer now to reaching the point that you want to be at then you were before. Most people do lose before reaching ideal restriction. Remember that you didn't put the weight on overnight and that isn't how the band helps to take it off either. If that is what you were expecting then unfotunately you have been misinformed and possibly chose the wrong surgery.

If you are a grazer and a big sweet eater the band may not help you much. it is easy to eat past the band by grazing - it does not stop you doing this. It is also not common to feel restriction when eating chocolate,sweets etc. They slide right past the band. The band does help by making you eat smaller meals and reducing your hunger in between. But a lot of people eat due to head hunger rather than actual hunger so again it may not help. I think you need to discuss this further with your Dr, nutritionist and possibily a therapist that specialises in eating issues before you make your decision.the band may not be right for you and you may want to consider other options.

Most people tend to be tighter in the morning and looser at night. If you need a snack mid afternoon have one it won't hurt. Just make sure it is something healthy.Tuna and a few crackers, yogurt with a sprinkle of muesli, an egg etc. I find that combing Protein and healthy carbs keeps me satisfied a lot longer than Proteins on their own.

Crappy foods will always go down easily.You can never be filled enough to stop that - that is something you have to deal with yourself by making good food choices.Sounds as though you need fill taken out so that you can get the healthy stuff that you should be eating down. Remember the band is only a tool - it doesn't do all the work- it is still up to us to make sure that we eat correctly.

I take my pills uncrushed all the time - no probs. I normally make sure that I take them with a large swallow of water but so far they have all gone down fine.

I can't tell you how to recognise if your pouch is stretched but I am going to tell you not to worry. Your stomach and pouch are a lot higher than you think. Closer to your chest than where you traditionally think of your stomach as being. If you have ever been stuck you know where you get that awful pain - in the centre of the chest between the breasts. Think of that as where your stoma is so the pouch is sitting just above there and the rest of your stomach just below. HTH

That's good. I can never understand the people that drive around for ages looking for a space right next to the entrance. Once they get inside they are going to be walking so surely it won't hurt to find a space a bit further away. trying to get too close means you waste valuable shopping time!

Just read this thread and it seems to be going around in circles re " exercise". Exercise = Activity Activity = Exercise Exercise does not mean you have to sweat it out in the gym it means that you need to be active and burn more energy than you take in. As kart and some of the others have said there are lots of choices. Find the activity that suits you and stick with that. If you like hiking, walking that is fine. If you prefer to sweat it out in the gym then that is also fine. Also look at how you can increase your incidental activity level. Things like parking further away from the shops and walking the last part, getting off the bus one stop earlier, doing your own housework, hang your washing on the line instead of using the drier all this kind of stuff helps too. The point is that exercise is broad it does not only mean going to the gym.

Speak to your Dr - maybe he can prescribe something. Hopefully it is allergy related and can easily be resolved. If it does turn out to be something else then it may be better to postpone. I know it would be dissappointing but you don't want to have surgery if you are not well - too risky and it will also impede your recovery. Good luck - keeping my fingers crossed.