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You need to watch this. As you are already aware the reflux may be because you are too tight and it can have serious consequences. Sounds like you have worked out how to deal with it for now but I think you should plan on getting to see your Dr as soon as you can to check that everything is Ok and maybe have a little Fluid taken out.

It sounds as though you were not educated about how the band works prior to surgery. Having a band is not a magical cure for obesity. The band is a tool that you have to use to achieve success. It will not choose the correct foods for you, it will not stop you putting chocolate and other low nutrition, fattening foods in your mouth, it will not force you to exercise. You are the only person that can do those things.
I think you need to go back to basics. Eat what you should be ating in the recommended amounts and move more than you are currently.Having your band tighter will not necessarily help. If it is too tight you gain weight and set yourself up for all sorts of complications.

It sounds as though you were not educated about how the band works prior to surgery. Having a band is not a magical cure for obesity. The band is a tool that you have to use to achieve success. It will not choose the correct foods for you, it will not stop you putting chocolate and other low nutrition, fattening foods in your mouth, it will not force you to exercise. You are the only person that can do those things.
I think you need to go back to basics. Eat what you should be ating in the recommended amounts and move more than you are currently.Having your band tighter will not necessarily help. If it is too tight you gain weight and set yourself up for all sorts of complications.

I am surprised that you were able to be banded with Lupus as it is listed as a contraindication on the lap band site. I hope that everything goes well and that you soon start losing.

How old are you? Are you close to menopausal age? Periods often get longer and heavier as we get older due to changing hormones and it probably has nothing to do with the surgery. I had a hysterectomy earlier this year as my periods were also getting out of control. In the months leading up to surgery I had mine for approx 61 out of 78 days. Plus it was heavy as well.

Fat cells never stabilise. They always have the potential to expand and multiply.
Yes something may go wrong but most of the complications of the band are minor and easy to fix. If your band slips you either get it unfilled so it can settle back into place or they can operate to remove or replace it, no big deal. Port problems are probably more common early on but if at some stage it needs to be replaced again no big deal.
The plan is to keep the band forever. If something goes wrong then it can be fixed or the band can be removed and some form of revision done. And who knows what they will come up with in 10 or 20 years time - they may have even invented the perfect weight loss pill by then or chocolate that doesn't make you gain weight or maybe we will be like astronauts and live on food pills and special liquids. The thing is at least there are options.
If you had had a hip replacement would you still be worrying because it does not last forever and chances are you will need another op in 10 or 20 years time. Or what if they replaced a faulty heart valve - would you think you shouldn't have done that because it may need to be replaced again in the future. Very few things last forever, especially body parts.
I would say you should stop stressing, relax and if at some stage you need another op deal with it then. No point in wasting time and energy on worrying.

I am a low BMI bander (was a BMI of 35 when I was banded) and I hope you don't see it as judgemental when I ask you to consider this:
Is the amount of weight you wish to lose worth the surgery?
I had about 60lbs to lose, according to my dr, and if you go by the statistics, the AVERAGE weight loss of band patients is about 60%. So for me, I had to weigh up if only potentially losing 36lbs was worth the cost, the pain and the risk.
For me, it was. In part because I believed I could lose 100% of the excess weight and I eventually lost 130% of my excess weight.
So for you, you have to consider: if losing only, say, 20lbs (60% of your excess weight) is worth the cost and risk, then do it, and stand by your decision, and accept that it will be painful, that you will have scars on your stomach (which will show if you wear a bikini) and you won't be able to eat and drink the same way you always have. And, being of a lower BMI, the weight will likely not shift as quickly for you as it does for others.
Good luck with your decision. I know what it's like to live a life being overweight, and I wish I'd done this sooner. But having said that, I didn't know that I was actually ready to do this before my surgery.

I'd be worried if you weren't worried.
It is normal to worry.
But don't worry you will be fine. Banding is the safest of all the WLS and it is very low risk. If you stick to the rules and make an effort you will lose weight.
All the best for Wed.

If your Mum is living with you she might wonder why a hernia op would require you to be on such a strange post op diet. That will probably be the hardest part to explain.

Hi Erin
I was wondering what had happened to you.I remember you struggling a lot with the band initially. I am wondering if the problems that you have had are because you were relatively young and maybe not emotionally ready for the changes that would need to come with being banded.
I think a lot of us hope(even though we are told otherwise) that the band will be a magical wand and that the excess weight will just fall off. Unfortunately that is not true and losing weight even with a band requires dedication and commitment.
I think you need to go back to your team and discuss the issues that you are having. You probably need to work with a psychologist to get your head in the right place and a nutritionist to help you plan healthy meals.Some breakfasts can be easily prepared the night before or maybe you could have yogurt or something like that to start the day off well.
Do not give up. You are not a failure. The band is still there and it is waiting for you to use it correctly. You are only a failure if you give up.
YOU CAN DO THIS.

I bet your heavy friend is jealous she never got it done and your thin friend is jealous cos she wont be the only thin one around

I don't even dare ask!

My fattest area was my stomach and it still is . I don't "need" plastic surgery but if I wanted a model perfect body (which even models don't have) then I would NEED it. I have what all my friends refer to as a balcony! It is something that they all have too. Some have a small balcony, others have a huge verandah! I think it is perfectly normal as you age especially when you have been cut trans abdominally for something such as a C Section or hysterectomy.
I also do not have any stretchmarks. I didn't get any through either of my pregnancies and I haven't got any now. I think genetics plays a huge part in these.

I completely misread your title, i thought it said help me piss! I was really concerned that you had a major problem and that you were in danger of ending up with kidney damage.
Glad that wasn't the case.

I completely misread your title, i thought it said help me piss! I was really concerned that you had a major problem and that you were in danger of ending up with kidney damage.
Glad that wasn't the case.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I only have 2ml atm and am going back to see my Dr next week.

It is a terrible term and it should be outlawed.
What it means is that you can eat a smaller portion of food than previously and that should satisfy you for a number of hours afterwards.
It does not mean that you will stop wanting chocolate and suddenly start craving lettuce.
It does not mean that you will eat 3 spoons and not be hungry again until your next meal.
It does not mean that you won't ever have head hunger again.
What you should be aiming for is to eat the recommended portion of the type of foods that you have been told to eat by your Dr. You need to eat slowly, chew well and wait between bites.You need to be aware of your body signalling that it has had enough and these signals can be different for everyone.
Some may hiccup, sneeze, have a pain in their shoulder..................
Some people find that they are no longer able to eat certain foods but this is not the aim. In fact the more restricted you are the harder it becomes to eat healthy foods and the easier it is to eat soft/slider foods.
If you are hungry a couple of hours later then eat a small healthy snack. Most bandsters are not able to eat 3 small meals a day with no Snacks even if that is what a lot of us were initially led to believe would happen.
HTH

It is a terrible term and it should be outlawed.
What it means is that you can eat a smaller portion of food than previously and that should satisfy you for a number of hours afterwards.
It does not mean that you will stop wanting chocolate and suddenly start craving lettuce.
It does not mean that you will eat 3 spoons and not be hungry again until your next meal.
It does not mean that you won't ever have head hunger again.
What you should be aiming for is to eat the recommended portion of the type of foods that you have been told to eat by your Dr. You need to eat slowly, chew well and wait between bites.You need to be aware of your body signalling that it has had enough and these signals can be different for everyone.
Some may hiccup, sneeze, have a pain in their shoulder..................
Some people find that they are no longer able to eat certain foods but this is not the aim. In fact the more restricted you are the harder it becomes to eat healthy foods and the easier it is to eat soft/slider foods.
If you are hungry a couple of hours later then eat a small healthy snack. Most bandsters are not able to eat 3 small meals a day with no Snacks even if that is what a lot of us were initially led to believe would happen.
HTH

It is a terrible term and it should be outlawed.
What it means is that you can eat a smaller portion of food than previously and that should satisfy you for a number of hours afterwards.
It does not mean that you will stop wanting chocolate and suddenly start craving lettuce.
It does not mean that you will eat 3 spoons and not be hungry again until your next meal.
It does not mean that you won't ever have head hunger again.
What you should be aiming for is to eat the recommended portion of the type of foods that you have been told to eat by your Dr. You need to eat slowly, chew well and wait between bites.You need to be aware of your body signalling that it has had enough and these signals can be different for everyone.
Some may hiccup, sneeze, have a pain in their shoulder..................
Some people find that they are no longer able to eat certain foods but this is not the aim. In fact the more restricted you are the harder it becomes to eat healthy foods and the easier it is to eat soft/slider foods.
If you are hungry a couple of hours later then eat a small healthy snack. Most bandsters are not able to eat 3 small meals a day with no Snacks even if that is what a lot of us were initially led to believe would happen.
HTH

You need to look at what you are eating and how you are eating it. Are your bites too big? Are you chewing properly? Have you been waiting between bites to make sure it has gone down. Are you eating dry tough foods or fibrous foods or foods with skin as these often cause problems.
You may already have some fill in without realising it.
You also need to talk to your Dr about what is happening so that he/she can assess why it is happening.

Hey there!
LBT used to have a way to search for threads that had no replies. Does that still exist? I can't seem to locate it.
If not, can it be added back? I like to find threads to which no response has been given, and see if someone has been overlooked.
Have I overlooked something?
Thanks!

That is a huge amount of "food". That is if you can call it food - it all looks like greasy, fatty, overprocessed muck!

Who cares what other people think. Do what you need to do for your own health and the people that don't like it can go **** themselves!

Who cares what other people think. Do what you need to do for your own health and the people that don't like it can go **** themselves!

Never heard of dumping with the band, it is usually a consequence of a bypass. This seems very strange.