cduval04

I know that my bariatric NP told me that for most who lose a bunch of weight, the bad usually gets looser by itself & requires a little fill. However I remember one girl from my local support group who said the opposite was true, as she lost weight her band actually got a little tighter. Now w/ my 3 yr ann'y approaching & down 85 from heaviest & 65 pre-op I am starting to notice this as well. Does anyone else share this? Requiring slight unfills w/ weight loss as opposed to the other way around? Thanks, Carlie

I am giving this a bump b/c I still find it to be true and am curious if anyone else has had the same experience.

hello, Dec 20 will mark 3 years since my LAGB surgery. I lost about 40 lbs and stayed the same for sooooooo long. Got my last fill in June. And within the last couple months (started school, started going to gym more, activity level increased greatly, less time to eat) I have really started to crawl out of my slump and start using the the band to it's full potential once again. I have lost about 25 lbs in the last 8 weeks or so. My problem is, I always had a bit of GERD issues, but the past month or so (and even more the past week or so) have been having a lot of it-I usually start coughing when it starts, and can't stop coughing until I take zantac or pepcid. I can take tums for a lot shorter period of relief. (I really have an issue with PPI's and will not take them) I do not want to get an unfill b/c I am losing weight for the first time in years and am very happy with my new, improved body. Also, I can eat anything, just small amounts, and have had no trouble keeping anything down when I take small bites and chew. Reflux is mostly in the AM and when I dont eat for much more than a couple hours. I have vomited, but only 3 or 4 times since I got the fill in June and it was because I was stupid and ignored my signals. I have an appt with my Bariatric nurse on friday, any advice/anecdotes/words of wisdom would be appreciated. -Carlie

At least u can toot lol. My gas often gets trapped for whatever reason & causes me pain. I have found gas-x to work very well. Also anything with peppermint helps, and fennel tea also helps. Hope this helps!!

you know, I was watching extreme weight loss on ABC last night and I cannot believe not only the lack of family support, but the downright sabotage so many people have to deal with from their own family! What is it about food? if you had a drug addiction would they sit right there and light up in front of you? Or worse, would they try to encourage you to as well? Food is no different and I don't understand why family, the people who are supposed to love and support us can't understand that? I am so glad my family does all they can to help me b/c if they didn't I probably would have ended up much heaver than I ever have been. Younger people teens and children deserve a little slack because they can't quite fully conceptualize things even though they can think they know it all! You daughter may just be scared about the actual surgery, going under anesthesia, etc. Also if you just told her the day before it may have just surprised her! Good luck! And this is about you, and don't let anyone try to wreck it!!

how interesting....was that one of the metametrix igG tests? I tested as a 5+ for milk, but can't completely give it up! I'm not much of a meat eater,so it'm my Protein source! I LOVE greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, milk (the only thing I have done is switch my milk to almond breeze, unsweetened, coconut flavored. But I also have a 3+ to almonds peanuts oranges and garlic...ahhh can't win lol If I had to pick one food that was a major trigger for me it would be ice cream. I was actually gonna post on here about it...Quahog I think you may have given me the strength to try to start qutting!

Pita crisps or Triscuts As others said, anything pickled will do for a salt craving Nuts (almonds have the good Omega 3s) Lunchmeat (Protein & salt-yeah) cheese is pretty salty too.

hello, I had my surgery 19 months ago (to the day actually), and yes I am a slow loser, but am not going up and do continue to lose, albeit slowly, I have lost about 42lbs since surgery and have gone from a BMI of 47 down to 41. and here is my question: I hardly ever drink booze, I maybe imbibe once or twice a year and try to take very good care of my stomach. but thursday night was one of those nights where I decided to break that personal rule.In addition I did everything else that is ill advised if you want to reduce your chances of feeling like death in the am. I had not eaten anything since about 6:30=empty pouch. I did not drink Water in between drinks. Then from the hours of about midnight to 4am I drank 5 nips of 70 proof vodka with punch, 1 nip of whiskey with cola and a hard cider (my friend works at a liquor store and gets free stuff), I proceeded to go to sleep at about 4am, still with nothing in my tummy and the spins.I ruffled around in my purse to try and find some of my zantac or pepcid but I had forgotten it. Large mistake. I woke up at 11am and when I sat up almost instantly puked. It was black, and granular. I puked like this 2 or 3 more times over the next hour. On the way home my friend stopped and got me a gatorade, I took one sip, and about 15 minutes later that came up too, it was gatorade with little black flecks in it. That was the last time I puked. My friend said I was fine, and that what I was seeing was the cola from last night, Except I has only had about 6-8 ounces of cola, but that was 7 hours previous. I have a history of ulcers and bleeding in my family (my dad had his first bleed when he was 18, bled in the same spot when he was 43, 50, and 55). And almost died once. I overuse nsaids, although since surgery I take about half the amount that I used to and try to take them with zantac or pepcid b/c my bariatric doc said that's ok. I had an endoscopy about 8 month before my LAGB surgery and it showed mild erosion in the antral area of my stomach. I do have GERD but refuse to take PPI's regularly (I am against them for several reasons) and use zantac and pecid as needed, and was told this was ok by my doc Problem is, I hate the doc and the hospital, and I am a very anxious person especially when it comes to this because I watched what my dad went through, which means I can over-react a bit. I have felt a little woozy and like butterflies in my stomach, but that could just be anxiety, because I'm thinking of what ifs. & My BP runs very low anyway .I guess my main question is, Would I have thrown up cola 7 hours after drinking it? is that even possible? one would think it would be way past my pouch by that point, but is that even possible? I am posting here because I really don't want to go running to the doc unless absolutely necessary. (I once peed pink like 10 years ago and freaked went to the ER, and then realized I had eaten beets lol). AM I over reacting about my black/dark dark brown, somewhat granular vomit? Could it be anything else than blood? Please help tell me what I should do..thanks! P.S. Sry for the long post, I tend to be quite wordy :-)

thanks everyone. I am ok. I chose not to go to the ER. Now wait - before you judge, I recovered late friday evening, and i have felt ok since. My mom is a nurse, my vitals have been ok, BP, pulse, o2sat, and no more vomiting, my fingernails are pink, not white,appetite has been fine & I have had one BM since friday and it was not black. Also, I need to go for a physical anyway, so I will bring it up then, make sure they get a BMP, & CBC at the least. To clarify, I not only dislike doctors, I despise the disrespect a lot of them have shown me when diagnosing and "un" diagnosing me with various illnesses. My brush with depression, anxiety and a previous history of psych issues, has made many doctors judge me when nothing is immediately wrong, I have almost died (had I not sought a second opinion or had someone in my family know to) at least once that I can think of right now. I have had doctors that look only at tests on paper and tell me I am fine, making no effort to concern themselves with how I might be feeling. I also don't trust the medical system as a whole in this country, believe that there is enormous amounts of corruption, and that a lot of health professionals make their decisions at the mercy of insurance and big pharm, and not based on their better judgement, for fear of putting their careers in jeopardy. So no I am not going to see something scary, and go running off to the ER at the drop of a hat. I know in a way what I am saying sounds crazy, but the only one who has made me not only dislike, but distrust doctors, unfortunately is, doctors. And if I go for my physical, and turn out to be really sick, the only one I will have to blame is myself. Thank you so guys all so much for expressing genuine concern, it is more than I could expect, especially from most doctor's offices.

Ha! Big yes..in fact it varies so much that it can be sort of annoying..I think for me stress & anxiety are biggies and also the weather...my doc described it as the stomach is a muscle and just like our other muscles tighten with stress, so does the stomach. Also allergies and "that time of month" for women can affect restriction as well.

Wow brebre I thought I was reading about myself! You are not alone. I am 2 years out (as of 12/20) and started @ 238 and am now 206..and the scale hasn't moved in a LONG time. I too often make wrong choices, take bites too big and eat too much, and then end up in the bathroom, regurgitating loads of that same clear mucus you describe. One of the issues is I think my band is too tight because I am getting discouraged with that lump in my throat feeling and "wet burps" sometimes after just a few bites so I am eating slider foods which is very bad. But I have been afraid to ask for a little unfill fearing I will still make the wrong choices b/c I often get cravings for sugar/salt/fat and if I get a little unfill then I can eat more. On the other hand if my band is a little looser maybe I would be able to eat the appropriate foods high in Protein and then I wouldn't crave the junky food. I have resolved one thing tho even if I cheat on wrong foods, DON'T drink my calories-EVER-it becomes wayyyy to easy to get wayyyyy to many calories. Frappes, Juices, smoothies, milk etc. You will put on weight faster than you can blink your eyes and it is easy so you will do it more and more. Anyway brebre, I know EXACTLY where u r coming from and I hope you can conquer the mental thing and I hope I can too!!

any thoughts as to why I have been having mad itching directly on my port incision, 22 months post op? it is so weird no place else on my abdomen itches at all...I don't even know where to begin on this one.. coming from inside or outside? Has anyone had gallbladder issues after surgery? I have noooooo idea. Suggestions? -Carlie

hello, I am 4 months post banding & I was massaging my abdomen today (yes, I have IBS it helps sometime) and I felt this hard lump about the size of a ping pong ball maybe...it is not as defined as a ping pong ball though.... I was really worried so I asked my mom to feel it cuz she is a nurse & she said she could feel it...but then she noticed that it was directly under one of my laproscopic incisions, which led her to strongly believe it was scar tissue and not something "bad", then again she did admit that is what she wanted to belieive, but that she did really think that was what it was....& if it had not been right under the incsision she would have been way more concerned... just curious....has anyone (esp. with sensitive skin) had a buildup of scar tissue below an incision post op? I dont know if it has been there all along & I just didn't notice it, or if it just "appeared" thanks in advance!!