xavier

If food is more important than your health go ahead and cancel...its as simple as that. I eat very tiny meals of really good food and I do enjoy everything I eat.

I just LOVE my band...I never thought I would be where I am and I know some people of course are going to have complications and fail but its not their fault. But I think the vast majority that fail the band need a procedure that is much less dependent on behavior change. I think that is what the psych evals are trying to determine but that is hard to predict...I didnt know if I could change my behavior enough so how can the psychologist really know?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, my band!

coffee ground emesis = blood
Go to your doctor!

Everyone goes through this ! Be nice to yourself you arent supposed to be perfect! Everybody had several last suppers before surgery to say goodbye to certain foods and then most of us found out we never had to because we can still eat small amounts of anything!
There are two kinds of people here...those that cheated and those that havent admitted they cheated! Good luck!

Everyone goes through this ! Be nice to yourself you arent supposed to be perfect! Everybody had several last suppers before surgery to say goodbye to certain foods and then most of us found out we never had to because we can still eat small amounts of anything!
There are two kinds of people here...those that cheated and those that havent admitted they cheated! Good luck!

I had two long plateaus and each time I thought well this is it or I have to start dieting (which I no longer believe in!). I went for a fill both times and started losing again!

Very normal, I usually have a Protein Drink in the mornings. Just like my wedding ring, my band is very tight in the morning and actually too loose in the evening. Not because of calories but because of heartburn I have to really work not to snack at night...its all good!

This is crazy! BOTH PBing AND reflux can be caused by what and how you eat so you cant automatically say you are too tight! This is just a band holiday and since I look at this as a lifestlye for life (I dont diet and Ireally dont work out) I am completely against unfilling for a holiday pig out!
I would expect a good doc to give you a similar lecture...snap out of it!

Go over there and bring muffins...shameless I know but its guaranteed to work!

I am wondering how many calories you are getting now...it doesnt sound like enough. One pound a day is not good for you as I'm sure you know. Yes, you will plateau or even gain as you advance the diet but this is for the rest of your life, its not a diet, its a lifestyle. Its not a race, take care of yourself nutritionally and the weight will come off.

Beans are probably the cheapest food ever and the highest source of protein...but if you want them really cheap you cant be lazy because you have to soak them and actually cook! The big giant pillow-size bag is like 5 bucks and you could live on it for months! 2 words: crock pot!

Air travel will not be an issue...but trusting your doctor is...you have had a really weird experience! If you were numbed up at all with a shot of lidocaine before accessing your port that can cause things to feel like they are in a weird place. Also your port moves a lot from sitting or standing to laying down and that may be why the band aid seems like its in a weird place....
Overall I would say if you feel well and are happy with your level of restriction...let it go if you can.

Let me guess, insurance paid your whole bill? I self-payed and it really made me value what I had spent the money on...good luck.

This is crazy! BOTH PBing AND reflux can be caused by what and how you eat so you cant automatically say you are too tight! This is just a band holiday and since I look at this as a lifestlye for life (I dont diet and Ireally dont work out) I am completely against unfilling for a holiday pig out!
I would expect a good doc to give you a similar lecture...snap out of it!

OLD BANDER HERE: Lighten up everybody! Those rigid rules are setting you up for failure and they are just not reasonable! Have a margarita or two...they're not poison!! I have NEVER dieted and NEVER exercised beyond walking my fat dog...I have tried to only make changes I can live with forever...I have a glass or two of wine every day...I'm French!

My fill level means I cant overeat, its as simple as that. And yes, sometimes I still try to overeat and its very painful. I had two very long plateaus (Many months) where I thought my restriction was good so I resisted getting a fill. I guess my restriction was only good enough to maintain that weight and I didnt want to settle for that. I dont have a lot of discipline and I need a nice snug fill to keep me thin...try a fill instead of giving up...what do you have to lose?

It will all be worth it down the road...

Well good luck and I hope you make the right choice for you. A lot of your negatives about the band are not true for me. I eat every food I ate before and have really had no problems. I can eat a small meal in a restaurant but if we are comparing a golf ball to a banana (four times as big?) my golf ball has put me fairly easily into a size 6 and if I doubled let alone quadrupled my intake I might have never gotten to goal and below it...hard to know until you see how whatever choice you make works out for you...either way its a leap of some faith!

I have said this on another thread but apparently the band is different for everyone because for me...
IT IS ALL ABOUT RESTRICTION!!
I used to be able to eat a ton of food and appetite wasnt the reason for it...now I can barely eat a cup of almost anything... so I lose weight! I dont diet, I dont ever eat low fat or low sugar foods, I dont work out but I consistently lose weight because I eat less due to restriction. OK, yes, if I ate ice cream all day (it slides right thru the band I guess) I could probably gain 100 pounds but with regular food I just cant eat as much. When my fill is right I lose about a pound a week. I have had two very long plateaus (one was 8 months and the other 2 or 3 months) because I needed a fill and couldnt seem to get down to LA (5hours of hellacious traffic) to do it...no big deal, its not a race.
I was bursting the seams of a size 18 and now I wear a Gap or Calvin Klein size 10 consistently. Got a fill a week and a half ago and have already lost three pounds...I got a fill doc closer to home...good luck to all.

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!

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

These dont work because the gas is not inside your digestive tract (like if you ate Beans etc) it is free in your abdomen and put there by your surgeon to puff the cavity up so he can see around...just have to let it diffuse out of your tissue over time and walking seems to help.

PLEASE don't let people like that in your life...they are poison! Good e mail but DONT go back to him.He is basically giving medical advice without going to medical school. I read so many posts by people who let others in their lives be mean and hurtful to them...if its family its hard to make a change but why pay someone for emotional abuse...we will cheer for you here! This is not cheating and your PT is a complete douche and shouldnt be in the line of work hes in!

The absolute BEST treatment for IR is losing weight! Insulin resistance is a medical way of saying over fed...the body can no longer handle what you are eating. Metformin is a temporary bandage but will not help you lose more than a few pounds. Good luck. I hope the band is right for you. I am in love with my band after 20 years of failed dieting!