xavier

Ask for as much as they will give you as long as you can still drink some water! This is a tough time getting enough fill to have your band working for you! I promise in a year you'll be laughing about all these things!!!

As i lost weight I definitely got some wrinkles on my face and in some other weird places...I think they are well-earned and I know I look better!

Yes, please let us know if you are feeling a little better!

I still dont think you should blame yourself..we are all just trying to figure out what works for us! But what do you mean about trying to push food down when stuck?

I don't understand why so many people here have gotten unfilled (and then gained or plateaued) when they have had symptoms of reflux? Why not take a medication (I take Protonix) to reduce the acid and keep on losing to a healthy weight? Maybe some tried that and it didnt solve the problem but I am just trying to understand why wouldnt the doc just treat the reflux as you would in any other person? I would love to hear from anyone with an opinion on this...thanks!

I think an average of five pounds a month is perfect. That is about how mine has gone with a few long plateaus where i was too lazy to drive down to LA (4-5 hours) to get a fill. This so-called slow loss makes me 100% sure that I will never gain any of it back. Its just a lifestyle now.I know the changes the band helped me make are forever...

Well I dont know then but I will say my GERD symptoms are totally different now that I have good restriction than before I was ever banded...I will wake up sometimes choking on acid and with a pain like a knife...weird how surgery can change thigs. Thyroid is a good idea though.

Thanks stateof zen...you are an inspiration to all...you are really doing it! You deserve that glass of wine!

My first stuck episode was a half a banana and I said i would never do that again...but I did, many times, and I was a slow learner! Seems funny now but not at the time!

I feel terrible for you and wish you all the best! My doc sews the bands in place and says hes never had a slip but I always worry especially if I have a phase of vomitting...any advice on how to avoid a slip? Or did it just happen? So sorry...good luck!

I also buy the Premier Proteins at Cocso...I like the vanilla. I think a lidded cup (even better with a straw) is a great idea but I think I have a better one: I had a job that involved a horrible stench (think CSI) and I used to put a tiny bit of Vicks vapor rub or the oil from an orange peel up my nose...it worked!

I dont think its a lack of calories...800 is plenty unless you are an NFL player. I think its perfectly normal and it is due to the stress and continued wound healing from the surgery...dont let it make you eat more to feel better! We all know where that got us! Just hang in there you should be springing back to your normal self very soon.

You sound like a normal post op patient to me. You only need Water at this point. You could go weeks without food but dont worry you wont! I feel you probably should have stayed overnight but I am guess you are already a tiny bit better...keep us posted!

Dear G Love, For me, these days life is pretty simple. I take Protonix once a day for reflux, have learned how not to get stuck, still sometimes eat when I'm not hungry, my hair looks great, I drink wine or a cocktail every day, no problems with pills, Water or constipation. AND I just tried on a pair of my daughter's size 2 Abercrombie shorts and they fit! The truth is I usually wear a 6 and those shorts were micro short! OK so I love the band (I even self payed!)but I was a slow learner and I did struggle but heres the big picture for me: I am 48 years old and I was obese and dieting for nearly 20 years. Some wise person once said that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That was me on every diet never keeping the weight off but expecting to! Maybe you are a young pup who can realistically hope to "get serious about dieting"...if so, great! But after nearly 20 years I really had an "aha!" moment that told me I had officially failed at dieting. Good luck, these decisions are tough since we cant see the future...I was so afraid I would also fail the band...

Just FYI: The protein powder sleeves I have are called K20 and the K is like the one on special K cereal. They are 5 grams each and the one I found in my cupboard was strawberry kiwi...good luck!

This really sounds like heartburn or GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) to me. The band can make it worse, sending stomach acid up to the esophagus and laying flat allows it to sneak up also. For people who have never had it they dont realize it can be as painful as a heart attack! Take a few Tums or a swig of Pepto before bed and see if you consistently sleep fine all night...if so, you have probably confirmed that you have reflux. Talk to your doc about it. I have got it pretty bad depending on how tight my band is so I take Protonix daily because I need my band tight to stay where I am. I hope I have helped!

Agree on the drastic nature of letting a doc cut in and lasso your stomach! The whole thing seems crazy to me even now. I didnt have a single health problem but I'm sure there was a slow train comin'...to quote Bob Dylan! Someone once said the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result...well that was the story of my 20 years of dieting. You have a boatload of reading to do and it sounds like no hurry...thats exactly what I did. I really started from square one...good luck!

Shakes or any liquid would have to go in checked bags. Otherwise there are little 'crystal lite' types of protein powders in little sleeves you put in water. You can bring plain protein powder and then just stir it into a tomato soup in a restaurant I guess. You can also probably get a protein shake in a major airport like an Odwalla or even maybe at a Jamba Juice...not sure if I am any help! Good luck!

Good luck John, I am also 48 and one day my husband said he couldnt get the lap band jingle from the car radio out of his head (I have sat radio so I never heard it). I asked about it and his tone was plain like its just something people do...no negative tone to a fat wife from a skinny husband...yeah, he's pretty great! Anyway I guess it planted a seed in my head and I started to realize I had been obese for nearly 20 years and perhaps that meant all my approaches to it were officially a failure! I lost weight lots of times and kept it off for a while but I always gained it back plus a little. So I started my lap band research and here I am about two and a half years later and I couldnt be more thrilled. I never had any comorbidities and I had to self pay even but I would do it all again. I dont think about it too much anymore because i'm used to how I eat now. I wouldnt say the whole thing was easy (yes, I have yakked into a ziplock bag under the table in a restaurant!) but now I have it down to an art and my band just keeps me from eating my former crazy portions! Ask ANYTHING here we are very supportive I think, and vERY honest...good luck!!!

Oh!Also make sure your height has been accurately measured because depending on your age maybe you have lost some...an inch (many gals have slouched purposely for this!) makes a huge difference!!!

Keep going...dont give up! I think I needed to gain 38 pounds or self pay and ultimately I decided to self pay. But now that all is said and done I might have tried to gain it...I was scared the lap band wouldnt work and I would just be that much fatter. But now in maintenance maybe it was doable! The other thing is, plenty of people here on this site have done all kinds of sneaky things to seem to weigh more at the doc's office and I dont think the docs really care...the surgeon just wants to do the procedure so why should he care that you have ankle weights on? Seems like 15 would be ok to gain (it would have saved me $1,000 per pound!) and then ten in sneaky weight. I know one gal who drank a gallon (almost) of water and then wore a diaper in case she couldnt hold it! PS: A gallon weighs 8 pounds! Good luck, life is not fair, but do not give up!!!

Shirley, Thanks for the positive twist!

Caffeine causing irritation and an erosion (or gastric ulcer for those who are not banded) has been disproven in the medical literature more than ten years ago. If your health care professional (!) is saying thats why you shouldnt have coffee they are practicing old out of date medicine...be careful!

Thanks, Jacqui, you always put it in perspective...you are absolutely right...obese people are dying and dont know it! Obesity is beginning to almost be considered normal! (mainly in the US I think).

No I never did think it would be possible! I am 48 and had been obese for nearly 20 years with every diet ending up putting a few pounds on above where I had started! I didnt tell anyone but daughter and huz because i was so sure I would fail...I had failed everything before this so why not? I hit a major plateau at 180 and I thought well I would be happy here forever really and a friend told me go get a fill...got a fill and got to 155 which I was thrilled with but 145 would be normal BMI and I was starting to think it was possible. Got a fill of 0.3cc and lost 15 pounds in about 4 months putting me below that normal BMI goal. Now I am living at about 140 without any real effort and I still dont recognize myself in a mirror! I tried on a pair of my daughter's size 2 shorts from Abercrombie for the heck of it yesterday and they were snug but they fit...way too short but I just about died! Mostly I wear a 6 but for some reason my Levis are a 4. I bought size 29 Citizen jeans and they are a bit loose...I LOVE MY BAND!!!