xavier

I really dont know why you would take your DH or anyone to the appointment. The decisions to be made are between you and your surgeon. I can see taking him if it was to discuss something like cancer treatment but for elective cosmetic surgery? I dont think most men even want to be involved in that...its a little like shopping for lingerie or handbags....leave him home!

If you are not losing weight, you are either ingesting too many calories (get a fill) or not burning enough calories. it is as simple as that and you know you need to make a change. I am not an exerciser so I vote for the fill. Good luck.... PS Weight watchers actually caused me to gain weight...they allow a lot more calories than I need to lose weight.

I understand how you feel and I totally disagree with your doc about the band feeling the same level of restriction all the time...let me guess, he doesnt have a band, right? My band fits just like my wedding ring...tight in the morning (fluid shifts around while we sleep) and loose at night. I think most people here would agree. A lot of people have this and of course dont like it because the night snacking is made easier...I keep mine tight and really can only have liquids before noon but could eat quite a bit around 8 or later at night...hang in there!

Love the post...keep on!

You need to be healthy and have a long life to take care of your child and set a good nutritional example for that child. Let yourself off the hook for the 'cheating' foods, we have all done that! Just hang in there and remember that child and what you want to give him or her...a healthy Mom!

Mine and my banded friend's started falling out about three moths after we got our bands, lasted about 2 or 3 months and then started to come back. My friend had her gallbladder out about a year later and the exact same thing happened...dont worry about it.

So glad to hear you are cancer free! You have been through a lot and handled it really well. I agree that nutrition is key and I guess I never thought I would say this but other than a few rare indulgences I am now eating to live long and healthy! I think the band has changed my tastes or maybe its just the good feeling of fitting into a size 6 instead of 16! Well keep on and thanks, as always for all the help you have given to all of us!

Dear Dawn, well good luck I think a fill is just what you need. I had been stuck at about ten pounds from my normal BMI goal and it seemed nothing changed for a few months. I got a tiny fill (only 0.3cc) and in the two weeks since I have lost four pounds! I live in Pismo Beach which is on the coast about halfway between LA and SF. It was a 4-5 hour drive to get fills and I hated the traffic so I found a fill doc in Santa Barbara which is only an hour and a half for me...

Well good luck...I really do believe this is all about the fills and the right amount of fill makes it easy. I simply cannot eat very much and I need it to be that way. I dont have to diet or exercise (have done that in the past and just never could keep it up!) and I am now 7 pounds from goal of 70 pounds...I have lost 90% of what is called excess weight! I self payed for my band (15,000) and now I pay 190$ for a fill but it is all well worth it (I have losy insurance!). Keep on struggling along...thats all you can do. It must be much harder to find fills etc over there...here (especially in California)this is on all the billboards like Botox and tummy tuck surgeons etc.

My fill doc says if you have half or less than half volume of fill (5cc in 10cc band or less) it is like you do not have a band. I did not feel full or restricted (cant eat more than a cup) until I got to 6.7cc in 10cc band.Right now I can not eat a half sandwich or even a full slice of pizza without feeling miserably full...good luck and sorry to hear you had to have a second Surgery! Hope you are fully recovered now.

So sorry for you loss...they give us so much and ask so little. Seven looks like a Maine Coon and the seven toes indicate that she is a descendant of the Hemmingway line...good feet for walking on top of the snow! You gave her a wonderful life...she was a lucky cat...

Great blog...I agree. Sometimes I feel self conscious in front of other people because I eat such tiny portions but I figure its better then the self-consciousness I felt when I was fat! I know I could have (and probably did) eaten a whole pizza back in the day but now I can only eat about a half a slice and very carefully...I love my band!

I am 2+ years out and I still get the left shoulder pain when I do something bad! And I STILL think I have injured my shoulder until I figure it out! Ha!

Soooooo frustrating, I really feel for you. After I went through a few calls with those 'people' it came down to I had to gain 19 pounds to even be considered to be covered...I had no comorbs...anyway I ended up self paying 14K but two years later I would do it again and even pay double! I probably saved that money on food becuase I now eat very tiny portions...LOL! Good luck and hang in there!

Great to hear from you...I am on the fence about getting some PS when I get to goal. i Have 7 pounds to normal BMI and I think things are moving along because I just got a tiny fill. The main thing is I have lousy insurance so I just dont know if I want to spend the cash...plus I am scared of the pain! (I self payed for my band) anyway PLEASE keep us posted on your recovery and results...inquiring minds need to know!!! Diane

Agree with Acadia. I loved my doc who did basically 1cc fills at a time and that was ok. But I ended up going to a doc closer (4hours) to home and her approach to fills is one I have never heard of...I call her the fill whisperer! She has you lie down and puts the needle in your port. Then she cranks up the table so you are in the sitting position with the needle still in your port and hands you a glass of water and tells you to chug. She starts injecting the saline very slowly as you drink and when you choke and nearly spew it in her face, she stops and in a lovely French accent says, "perfect!". The first time I went to her I had 5cc in a 10cc band and she said that is like not having a band...the choke and spew point came with her giving me 2.7 for a total of 7.7 cc I think. I lost about a pound a week with little or no effort after that for a few months. Then I plateaued out at about 157 or 158 for a few months and I just figured it was becuae I was so close to goal and everyone says it really slows down (goal of fist normal BMI is 145). But after consultation with a few wise friends I decided to go see her - exact same procedure but only 0.3cc added! It has been exactly 12 days since that fill and I have already lost 3 pounds...I am now 7 pounds from normal which for me is 90% of excess weight loss... Go elsewhere if you can...YOU are the consumer!

Thanks for all the compliments...i really do want to help and have have gotten great help from a couple of band rock stars who blazed the trail before me...one of them is Jachut, (Goddess above)who always talks straight with no bull! She is kind of an exerciser but I dont hold that against her! The other is band_groupie with her blog called the sweet spot. Shes lost 100 pounds and hasnt really dieted or exercised....I wish you all the best and would generally say, with the right level of fill (which can be hard to get to!) this is actually pretty easy. I have something I never had before ( a waist? Ha!) no the complete faith that I will never gain the weight back, which of course I did with every loss on a diet before I got my band! Good luck to all! Diane

The GI tract's lining has little protrusions (villi) all over it which are too small to see. They get sloughed off with any trauma as in diarrhea. These villi are what makes lactase and they need rest to grow back. I sometimes think the majority of lap band docs dont know very much about a lot of things...

Great to hear from you...I LOVE my band and if I could ever follow a diet and/or exercise regimen long term why would I need a lap band!? So many people on here are exercising like fiends and counting every calorie...and I just keep my band tight and eat less...I am too old and lazy for all that! Thanks for friending me...

Oh, and I do have some cute glass 1 cup bowls I use and some cocktail silverware!

Not sure what your fill situation is yet but I suspect you are not at your sweet spot. Thats fine for now as it can take a while to get there. One of my docs said if your band is half full or less, its like not having a band. Anyway I am at my sweet spot and a bAR FOR BREAKFAST WOULD CAUSE ME INTENSE PAIN. I AM TIGHTER IN THE MORNING AS I THINK MOST OF US ARE (MY WEDDING RING IS SNUG IN THE MORNING AND THEN VERY LOOSE AT NIGHT) sorry for the caps, I m not a good typist! Anyway I like my band pretty tight so I really can only have liquids in the morning and then the rest of the day I have to be careful and thoughtful. I can eat about a half a cup or maybe 3/4 at a meal and I focus on Protein (I think its better to think of what you must eat instead of what you shouldnt!) I love a Boca but can usually only eat about 3/4 of it. Even at midnight I can never eat a 6 inch sub...I think I could eat and inch or two of it. I lose about a pound a week when my band is how it is now. If I could eat two cups of food as some people said above, I would not lose weight and would want a fill. Good luck, this is a long (forever?) process!!

I might have already said this but I like Premier Protein drinks which they have in the chocolate flavor at Costco. They taste like sweet milk (not horrendous nasty stuff like most) and they are 30 gms of protein and 160 calories. I order the vanilla and the strawberry from the company and have had one every morning for a couple of years...

Just my opinion and many will disagree but... STOP dieting and get a fill!

I am always super cautious about swallowing pills but I do take a protonix which is pretty small. I chew a flintstones every day and it tastes ok but not great. Most vitamin pills are so big...I wonder if you could crush the centrum and just wash it down with water...

Yes, I think it is normal and temporary. Give your body a rest from all dairy for a month and your intestine's ability to produce lactase (enzyme which breaks down milk sugar or lactose)should return. If you take lactaid, your body will give up trying and you will be living with it forever. When you start back go very slow in re introducing dairy.Good luck...