elcee

Well, CONGRATS on regular sizes!! Yay! I fondly remember that day.
Reality bites sometimes, doesn't it? I don't wear anything shorter than capris. But my weight was spread all over, so my thighs and upper arms deflated like balloons. I don't wear tank tops either. The running joke in my house is that if my DH makes me mad I will use my bat wings like a whip and he won't know what hit him from across the room!

So......I HAD to go shopping last night because I literally had nothing to wear. I gingerly approached the regular petite department in a major department store with a great deal of anxiety. I was sure to be humiliated by a clerk turning me around and heading me to the plus size department! Well that didn't happen so I began pulling 16p pants off the sale racks. I took about 6 pairs back to the dressing room and they were ALL too big!!!!! Long story short I ended up buying 4 pairs of size 14p pants and to jackets that were 16p- all 60% off!!!!! I was on such a high-realizing I truly was out of the plus size department for REAL and that I was not going to be glared at by sales clerks wondering what I was thinking trying to shop in their area. Where's the low?
Well I arrived home with my purchases and immediately started trying the clothes on... Caught a glimpse of myself in the full size mirror in between
outfits and went from a hundred to zero in one second. You see my legs have always been good. I'm an apple shape. I've always worn short shorts and love to swim. OMG!!!! My upper thighs have soooo much excess skin. Yuck! I expected the sagging in my stomach, but never in my perfect non dimpled, non celulite thighs!!!! So onto the computer I went looking at prices for a body lift as opposed to a TT!! Oh my, I better start saving my money!! lol
Just wanted to share. Really not complaining.... I FEEL wonderful!

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

That is correct. A huge number of the population have it without knowing it, it only becomes a problem in surgery or if you have an open wound or a depressed immune system. I think it should be standard practice to test everyone prior to surgery as that could help alleviate problems but unfortunately they don't.

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

Your Dr seems to have been negligent so because of that you advise everybody that they should not get a lapband.
People get organ transplants and their bodies reject them - would you advise them not to get the transplant?
Women get pregnant and die in childbirth - does that mean people should stop getting pregnant?
You can get MRSA in hospital - does that mean noone should go into hospital.
You can have surgery for something minor and end up dead because of a blood clot or some other unforeseen complication.
You can take medication and have a serious allergic or anaphylactic reaction - should everyone give up taking medicine.
Yes you have had a bad experience and I am sorry about that. It sounds as though the NHS or whoever it is in Scotland messed up. That is hardly a good reason to advise others not to go ahead. If you want to caution others maybe you should make them aware of the risks of this particular Dr or the NHS in general.
Life itself is risky. There are no guarantees. Imagine trying to live your life without taking any risks - that life would be no life at all. You wouldn't be able to go outside your front door because you could get struck by lightning or run over by a bus. You certainly couldn't go in a car as that is one of the most dangerous things people do every day. But staying at home is dangerous too, that is where most accidents happen. You could:-
Have a fall
Burn yourself
Get electrocuted
Be poisoned by food, or chemicals or gas or plants
You certainly wouldn't want to have sex as that could involve catching a life threatening STI
You would probably be so bored sitting in your room wrapped in cotton wool to protect you and keep you warm that you would over indulge in food and then you would get fatter and fatter and fatter and probably die prematurely anyway from a stroke or heartattack

My goal was to get down to a reasonable weight. I was hoping for 50kg but would have been happy with 52kg. As it is I seem to have settled at around 51kg. At the time I thought I would give up chocolate, Cookies etc and for a long while I did. The problem came in when I discovered that I could still eat them and not regain. I do have to make sure though that I do only eat them in moderation.
The fact I have maintained my loss for approx 2 years with very little effort makes me feel great although i definitely think maintenance is harder than losing. Your band gets looser over time, things that were difficult to eat initially get easier and your motivation is not quite as high as in the beginning.
I would love to have a perfect body with a flat stomach but at almost 50 and with 2 Caesareans and a hysterectomy behind me I don't think that is likely to happen!

The band is designed to work best with solid food. Things such as meat, chicken , fish, vegetables etc. These do not break down too easily and pass through the band slower therefore increasing the amount of time until you get hungry again.
If you have too much Fluid in your band it becomes very difficult and uncomfortable to eat foods such as these so generally a person will start eating foods that go down easier.Foods that are liquid, smooth, dissolve in the mouth etc. These are termed sliders as they go down easily.Think chocolate, biscuits(cookies), crackers, nuts, custard, icecream, mushy foods etc. As well as going down easily they are generally high calorie and they do not satisfy you for very long.
What happens is a vicious circle. The person thinks they are not tight enough so they go for fill after fill after fill. They are able to eat less solid foods and they eat more sliders. The person still feels hungry between meals and they are gaining or not losing weight so they think they need another fill and so the problem gets worse.
Too tight leads to weight gain, reflux, slips, erosions and all sorts of problems.
A lot of the reason that people get too tight is because they are chasing a mythical "sweet spot" or "restriction" . They have read about it many times and think that just 1 more fill will put them in that magical place where they can eat next to nothing and never be hungry and never want chocolate. That place doesn't exist.
Each fill makes a difference. Some great, some slight. It is important to recognise and work with each one.
HTH and that I haven't confused you too much

Whoa.
That is a lot of bad luck for 1 person. I hope that is the end of it.
Welcome and all the best on your lapband journey

ABSOLUTELY. It is soo annoying...many folks like to say, "we took the easy way out"..cuz. yeah, this is easy...the easy thing would have been to do nothing....
the fact of the matter is, this is not, as you know, instant weight loss, like the bipass....a lot of folks dont realize that...this IS work.....
I have been banded for about a yr and a half, and have lost about 150 lbs....my band does not drag my butt to the gym 6 days a week, I do..my band does not control what I put in my mouth, I do.
The fact of the matter is, we have made a decision to take control of our lives and our bodies....most people dont have the courage to do that...this person sounds like one of them....
Personally I wouldnt even dignify her with an answer...or if I did, it wouldnt be nice...I dont tell too many folks about my band, because most folks just dont get it, and really, who needs to know? hang in there, and dont let folks get ya down...work your tool and you'll do great!!!

One of my friends told me yesterday that some people were beginning to worry and talk about me because my legs are so skinny. WHAT THE. I am still a normal BMI, I eat far more than any other banded person I know and I still have a stomach.
I think people are just jealous.
Jealous that they didn't have the guts to get the surgery and also because so many people are obese there perceptions of normal are totally skewed.
If you still have fun with these people then next time they mention your weight tell them to butt out or pick on something about them that you know bugs them. Hopefully they get the hint.
If not then maybe you have outgrown these friends and need to move onto new ones that are not going to be so critical.

Most of the issues you are having with the band you would probably have had with the sleeve as well.
Try going onto the sleeve board and reading some of the threads there - life isn't always greener on the other side.
Would you have felt ashamed if you had needed a kidney transplant because your kidneys weren't working properly? No, then don't feel ashamed that you neede WLS because your hunger control mechanism wasn't working properly.
You might feel that you could have lost 60lb without the band but I bet that you couldn't have lost that and kept it off. If you could have done then you would have done.
Stop being so down on yourself. Instead of looking at the glass as being half empty see that it is half full.
And most importantly make sure that YOU ARE WORKING THE BAND and not expecting it to do all the work. You should not have a band that is so tight that it restricts your diet. Ideally a well adjusted band should mean that you are able to eat most foods but less of them and not get hungry soon afterwards. Being too tight leads to weight gain, slips and other issues.

WHAT IS DONE IS DONE BUT THE SOONER YOU START FOLLOWING YOUR DR'S INSTRUCTIONS THE BETTER.
You may not think you have done any damage but you may have done something now that could contribute to a slip in the future. The postop diet is there to make sure that the stitches holding the band in place are able to heal. When you chew solid food your stomach churns to digest it, this does not happen with liquids.
This period may be hard but it is sooner over. We know what it is like because we have all been through it. Stope acting like a defeatist and show THAT YOU ARE STRONG. If you put your mind to it YOU CAN DO IT.

That is pretty amazing. Either she is a WLS surgery saint or she has a short memory or she was trying to make you feel at ease.
I didn't suffer hair loss, or have shoulder pain or gas pains etc but I went through a period of belching a lot more than previously. However in the big scheme of things that is so minor I don't count it as a negative.I also eat just about everything, drink wine, don't diet, haven't cut out carbs etc. I am guilty of not exercising but we won't talk about that as losing without exercising is the exception not the norm and I would hate to make everyone else think that they shouldn't exercise. I also get stuck sometimes but to me it's no big deal.
I think what i am trying to say is that I also have no complaints but don't be surprised if your journey is not quite as rosy as the picture that your friend paints. If it is great, but if it isn't don't be disappointed as some of the things are just minor inconveniences.

I've only been here almost 3 years and it is actually amazing how many people have left. Some that were great and really helpful, others that thought they knew everything and others that you just wonder what happened and how they are doing.
Are you new to being banded or only new to the forum?

Initially I was on a 3 - 4 week schedule. Now I see my Dr about twice a year. Quite a lot of the Dr's have a problem with being overbooked so sometimes it is better to make your next appointment when you go for your fill. If it turns out you don't need it then you can cancel.

As much as I love my band, I have to say that it's a fickle mistress. It can take several fills to achieve optimal restriction, and then as you lose weight and the fat surrounding your inner organs (including your stomach) shrinks, your band will feel looser so you'll need more fill. Also, restriction can be affected by the time of day, the climate, medications, allergies, hormones, and the position of Mars in the sky. You'll feel more restriction when you're making healthy food choices of SOLID foods, less restriction when you're choosing to eat soft and slider foods (some of which are healthy, like yogurt, but a lot of them are high-calorie and nutrient-poor, like ice cream and potato chips).
We're all sick of dieting by the time we have WLS, but in a sense success with the band does involve dieting. Your band can't make good food choices for you, it can't make you exercise, it can't make you say no to trigger foods. That's all up to you. I'm over 4 years post op, 2 lbs. below my goal weight, with excellent restriction, and I still have to work on all of that in order to maintain my weight loss. It's a lifetime project.
Finally I have to say: just because you can eat anything or overeat doesn't mean you should. Overeating can indeed stretch your pouch and/or esophagus and it can indeed cause your band to slip. Nowadays self-control seems to be a no-no word, but Portion Control is up to you, at least until you learn your soft stops. Your band won't ring a bell or flash some lights when it's time for you to stop eating. You have to eat slowly and pay close attention to how you feel as you eat. Soft stops are usually subtle - a hiccup, a sneeze, a sigh, a burp, an urge to clear your throat. If you eat through that kind of signal, looking for your pre-op sense of satiety (what I call "Thanksgiving dinner Full"), you'll go on struggling indefinitely. Success with the band is a lot of work.
Although it's possible that you've stretched your pouch, only an upper GI study can prove that. If you go on overeating, it'll just make the situation worse. So I suggest that you make yourself do the evil D word (diet) for a week, pay very close attention to your satiety signals, keep a food log including the times of your meals or Snacks so you can get a handle on how long your satiety lasts, and only then go back to your bariatric surgeon to discuss another fill.
Jean

It is shock. When there is insufficient blood volume or blood pressure to supply the whole body the blood is diverted to the most important organs.Your stomach isn't very important as compared to the others so it is generally one of the first things to be affected.
I am surprised you didn't faint(or at least feel faint) as well.
Sorry for your bad news.

It is shock. When there is insufficient blood volume or blood pressure to supply the whole body the blood is diverted to the most important organs.Your stomach isn't very important as compared to the others so it is generally one of the first things to be affected.
I am surprised you didn't faint(or at least feel faint) as well.
Sorry for your bad news.

That all sounds very odd.
You don't normally get leaks with a band that is something that you would expect from sleeve surgery.
The band is generally tested before they put it in as they do not want to have do a second surgery to take out because of something that could easily have been checked beforehand.
I am also very confused as you say that there was a problem with how/where the liquid was entering your stomach but you haven't said how they rectified it.
Yes the liquid diet is horrible and really hard but remember there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can do this.