elcee

OR look at your bank account and realise that it has not decreased due to a large surgery bill

Yes , very positive

I also think that there seems to be a competition or race to see who can get the most fill the quickest! Instead of focusing on what their band is doing for them people focus on how much fill they have and constantly want more even though they may not need it. They then end up too tight which is counterproductive.
The amount of fill required will change depending on how long you have had your band as well.
I am currently in a similar situation to you. I had 6ml in my band and had 4ml taken out about a month ago as I had a complete blockage. I have since had 2ml put back in so am now sitting at 4ml. It feels as though my band is empty! Yet for a long tome 4ml would have been enough and would have given me perfect restriction. So effectively the amount required is a moving goal post and it is different for everyone.

I suppose I should "introduce" myself!
Banded June 2009.
Lost 24kg (53lb)
Current BMI +/- 21
Maintaing fairly easily.
I am very lazy - I hate exercise.
Slipping back into bad habits like eating chocolate and Cookies. I need to keep them out of the house as if they are not here I can't eat them, but this is difficult when my husband decides to bake at weekends.
I also need to plan more especially if I am going shopping so that i can take something healthy with me instead of grabbing something at the food court.
I have just read a really good book by Susie Burrell called "Losing the last 5kgs". Whilst I might not need to lose another 5kg the techniques and strategies that she mentions are very relevant although some need to be adapted for a bander. I don't think carrying a raw carrot with me to snack on would be a very good idea!

Thanks.
A friend asked me the other day if my taste has changed as she was told by WW that after a while ( not sure how long) your tastes change and you no longer want the unhealthy foods.
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP.
My food of choice is still and always will be chocolate. Even if I didn't have it for 50 years I would still want it so I have no idea how long it is supposed to take for this taste change to happen.
Think about it, if you had a choice between a lettuce leaf and a chocolate which would you choose?

I'd love to join you but I have to wait a while. See you on 2 June.

and the first couple of years are like being on honeymoon, and then reality sets in and you just get on with it.
Sometimes you wish you and your band had never met.
Sometimes you love your band more than life itself
And sometimes you contemplate ditching your band for another form of WLS.

You may have a small slip from all the vomiting. You need to go and see your Dr so that he/she can check everything is OK. It is possible that you may need some Fluid taken out so that your band can rest and reposition itself.
I have just been through something similar after stupidly trying to eat steak . I got stuck, vomited all evening, stopped , went to bed and couldn't sleep as I kept waking up choking on acid (the whole night) so took myself off to emergency the next day. Had some Fluid removed and they did a CT scan to check everything was still in place. I have had some of the fluid they took out put back in and have to see my Dr again in a couple of weeks.

and the first couple of years are like being on honeymoon, and then reality sets in and you just get on with it.
Sometimes you wish you and your band had never met.
Sometimes you love your band more than life itself
And sometimes you contemplate ditching your band for another form of WLS.

If you are able to eat and drink then you do not have a blockage. If you have a blockage then NOTHING goes down.
You are not likely to choke in your sleep. It is possible if you have bad reflux that Fluid could seep into your throat whilst you are asleep but normally when that happens you will wake up coughing.

I have to disagree. Most people will feel some hunger when they are consuming too little. It is not realistic to expect that the band can assist us to be satisfied and not hungry on an extremely low no of calories.
The OP says she feels a liitle hunger - I would say that is normal.
She is losing between 1 and 5lb a week , that is excellent.
I think she should tell her Dr everything she has told us and let him decide. I certainly wouldn't be begging for a fill if he doesn't think it is necessary. There is always that risk of ending up too tight and that is totally counterproductive.

800 calories a day is very low, I would also be getting hungry if that was all I was eating.

I think many people stay overweight because they are scared of what may or may not happen when they lose weight. In some ways weight is a shield to hide behind.
If we haven't got a partner we blame it on our weight.
If we haven't got a good job we blame it on our weight
If we are not happy we blame it on our weight
etc
Once the weight is lost then we can no longer hide behind it and we have to start facing the reality behind our problems.That can be a very scary prospect.

I don't think you are alone. When I used to get a fill I used to go and have an icecream afterwards. I figured that it was a one off as the place near the Drs has the best icecream and being as I had to be on liquids that was liquid.< /p>
None of us are perfect but we all have to take responsibility. You have recognised that what you have done won't help you to achieve your goals. So look at this as a splurge that is now behind you and focus on getting healthy liquids in from now on.

Lay back, close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax your knees and elbows, and hum under your breath.
The stick to get a fill stings for two to three seconds. You spent more time writing that post than it will take to get a fill.

Got on the scales this morning and I am up to 51.5kg. That probably has something to do with all the chocolate, biscuits and other junk I have been consuming lately.
I decided I have to get this under control NOW before it gets out of hand. Step no 1 ignore the Cookies in the cookie jar - tick. Step no 2 have a sensible , calorie controlled, high Protein , quick and easy Breakfast - tick. Had a celebrity slim shake at approx 7.30am.
Problem. 8.30am and I am STARVING. Trying to decide what to eat that will not set me off on a morning of binging as there is no way I was going to be able to make it until lunchtime. Decided to have some yogurt.
My band at the moment feels like it is doing NOTHING. I have noticed that I am unwittingly eating faster. I was finished at the same time or before the rest of the family at dinner last night, OK I had a smaller portion but that is still not good. I have always been a fast eater and it seems without any restriction I still am. I only go back to see my Dr in about 3 weeks. How do I keep this under control until then? Should I be doing liquids, or low carb or just eating lots of bulky foods like fruit and veg? I'm confused - I haven't had to diet for 3 years and now that it looks like I need to I am finding it just as confusing as ever.
Suggestions appreciated.

I think many people stay overweight because they are scared of what may or may not happen when they lose weight. In some ways weight is a shield to hide behind.
If we haven't got a partner we blame it on our weight.
If we haven't got a good job we blame it on our weight
If we are not happy we blame it on our weight
etc
Once the weight is lost then we can no longer hide behind it and we have to start facing the reality behind our problems.That can be a very scary prospect.

I don't think you are alone. When I used to get a fill I used to go and have an icecream afterwards. I figured that it was a one off as the place near the Drs has the best icecream and being as I had to be on liquids that was liquid.< /p>
None of us are perfect but we all have to take responsibility. You have recognised that what you have done won't help you to achieve your goals. So look at this as a splurge that is now behind you and focus on getting healthy liquids in from now on.

Sorry to hear that and wishing you all the best with your new surgery.

I understand where glove is coming from.
She has had her own struggle with trying to decide if she should go ahead with the band or not. Most people when they are making a decision like to have information that backs up their opinion and confirms that the decision they have come to is right.
So if we are going ahead we look for success stories. If we are not then we look for stories that support that not going ahead is the right one.
It is good to look at both sides of the story so long as you understand the motivation behind a particular side. Each person can then decide for themselves if this information is useful to them or not.

I had most of my fill removed a couple of weeks ago as I ended up in emergency as I thought I had a slip. They took out 4ml and left me with 2ml. I went back to see my Dr 10 days later and he also said that generally they would leave things for a couple of weeks to settle before refilling but he agreed to give me another 2ml bringing me back up to 4ml. I have to see him again in about 3 weeks, that cannot come soon enough, I am always hungry and struggling to "behave" like a bandster. It feels like my band is empty. At meal time I don't think I am eating quickly but I finish at the same time as or sooner than everyone else and sometimes I am still hungry.My weight has been fluctuating up and down by approx 1kg for the last few months and I think that is still where I am. I am terrified that I am going to gain but I seem to be self sabotaging by eating stuff that I shouldn't be.
I hope that you are able to stay on track better than I am doing and that there is nothing seriously wrong with your band.

Yes it is. You have been on a preop diet and probably lost some weight and it can take time for your body to catch up. Plus after surgery you tend to retain more Fluid etc. And it takes a lot of weight loss before you start noticing a difference in clothes.
Don't panic. Just keep doing what you should be doing and the weight will come off. You didn't gain it overnight and the same is true for losing it.

There is a problem with some people in that they do seem to encourage others to blatantly disregard instructions because they did it and they are fine(or so they think). They really annoy me too. I like to try to point out why the rule is there and the reason a person should be following it.
You cannot stop these people posting you can only try to show others that what they are suggesting is wrong and what the right way should be. Above all a person should trust and listen to their Dr and if for some reason they disagree with their Dr's instructions then they should discuss it with the Dr.
But I believe that you are probably quite close to the truth when you compare all these posts to the posts that say Help I'm not losing................

After banding you don't normally feel in your stomach. The feeling is normally higher up in the chest. If you overeat it can be really painful whereas previously you would have just felt "stuffed"
Yes you will feel satisfied but you don't get that OMG I can't believe I have eaten so much I can't move kind of feeling.

There is a problem with some people in that they do seem to encourage others to blatantly disregard instructions because they did it and they are fine(or so they think). They really annoy me too. I like to try to point out why the rule is there and the reason a person should be following it.
You cannot stop these people posting you can only try to show others that what they are suggesting is wrong and what the right way should be. Above all a person should trust and listen to their Dr and if for some reason they disagree with their Dr's instructions then they should discuss it with the Dr.
But I believe that you are probably quite close to the truth when you compare all these posts to the posts that say Help I'm not losing................