GoingforGoal

Just get back on track. Don't self sabotage by thinking about the wrongdoings. Put on that 'go get em' attitude. We'll see you on the other side friend

Buy the smallest portion you can. Probably a kiddie (baby) portion at the creamery. You'll be surprised how satiated you'll be even after the smallest portion. Ditch it as soon as you are content and feel obliged to eat all of it if you don't need to. Balancing our diets is an essential component to succeeding with the band. Let this be a + experience by learning that small servings on occassion will not hurt you and that you can control your weight through thoughtful decisions.

Mis is correct. Not a result of losing weight. Actually people who have had their bands a long time and have lost alot of weight usually need fills to compensate for the weight loss just to maintain. I don't want to suggest a slip, but it is possible. Not sure how long you have been experiencing this but extreme stress, hormonal shifts (think woman's time of month) or dehydration are culprits for increased restriction. Not sure if any of this applies to you but do tell your doctor about any personal changes in your life as well in case it's not a slip. Good luck hon and keep us posted

Sounds more like your accessory or primary muscles during extension during walking. Basically your ab muscles are stretching as they should, however, now you have a port going for the ride. Remember, ports are sutured into the abdominal wall and doctors want to ensure these guys don't flip or migrate. It is possible your port was secured tightly and you are sensitive to the port/muscle interaction. Should settle in and stretch accordingly to accommodate your natural movement in time. However, consult w/ doc just to be on safe side. That's interesting that your port is down there..I know people who have had them in their lower right quadrant, but not left. Good to know

HI Melinda. Thank you for sharing your blog. I can relate to your worries and hesitations. But just know, that in the end, it will be a decision you will be proud of. Different things motivate us as individuals to strive for and achieve success. I see you have a little one...so when you are able to do things you couldn't before it'll propel you to lose more. And when he grows up seeing mommy as the perfect role model when it comes to health and nutrition, you will be convinced you did yourself and him proud. Don't stress too much, don't put obstacles up that don't necessarily need to be there. Take one day at a time, rejoice in the NSVs and give yourself permission to be happy and feel what success is all about. Good luck on the surgery, here's to a speedy recovery

Can you be more specific where on the left side. Most patient's ports are on the right side, however, there are different locations to place a port. Have you had a fill or can you palpate your port enough to know exactly where it was positioned. Left side pain can be anything from your accessory muscles, to your stomach/pancreas/spleen..if lower kidneys and colon. Here's a quick anatomy pic

Congrats and welcome to band land

Good luck and welcome to band land

Due to some medical issues I do not exercise. So considering my lifestyle sedentary (minus raising kids and a farm lol) I deliberately eat less calories to compensate. I am in the 800-950 calorie bracket. This was after I did some serious food logging to track calories and my body's response to it. At 1100-1200 lbs I gain. You may just be at your sweet maintenance spot. The equation is simple fat lost= calorie intake - energy output. The trick though is to fix one variable (calories or exercise) than determine how much of the other variable is needed to sustain if for the results (weight loss) you seek

Yep, you have to remember you just went probably 8 hrs without food/drink. Cells are dehydrated causing slightly tighter restriction. Need food/drink to make it all lax again. Hot drinks help, and maybe delay your actual breakfast.

dlc, it's combination of inflammation as well as being loaded up on IV fluids. It'll take about 3-5 days to be rid of the excess fluid and up to 2-3 weeks for inflammation to completely subside (as it is very individualized). Best thing to do is get mobile to expedite the process.

Just wanted to add (if you are not already aware) these foods can increase reflux episodes: Meats. Ground beef, marbled sirloin, chicken nugget-style, and chicken/buffalo wings. Fats, Oils & Sweets. Chocolate, regular corn and potato chips, high-fat butter cookies, brownies, doughnuts, creamy and oily salad dressings, fried or fatty food in general. Fruits, Vegetables & Juice. Orange juice, lemon, lemonade, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, tomato, mashed potatoes, French fries, raw onion, potato salad. Other Beverages. Liquor, wine, coffee, and tea. Grains. Macaroni and cheese, spaghetti with marinara sauce. Dairy. Sour cream, milk shake, ice cream, regular cottage cheese.

Couple things come to mind.. 1. Did you sleep on the port? This could cause just enough irritation to start inflammation 2. Infection- Just look out for other more tell tale signs like redness at site, hot to touch, any discharge, malaise etc 3. Decreased inflammation- perhaps the surrounding area's inflammation has decreased and you are just appreciating the swelling from the port area which will take longer to subside. Not only has the area been manipulated like the surrounding tissues, but it has also been stitched into your abdominal wall. 4. Port- Sometimes in the beginning we cannot palpate the port due to all the inflammation. When inflammation subsides we can palpate a lump and some don't realize they are feeling their port for their first time. Just suggestions, no idea which one is true lol

Nice! Congrats

Need a little more info such as what your first fill volume was. What did you feel differently from the first fill to the 2nd fill. Without knowing this I will comment that when we all start our diets that our body readily dumps it. If you are minimizing volume, calories etc the weight loss can be significant and can be lost quickly. However, that will dissipate in time as your metabolism levels out. Again, without knowing all the details (to include your food intake and exercise output) perhaps you are leveling out and will have to wait until you reach 'green' resistance. Side note: It is not realistic to want or expect to lose 1-2 lbs per day. Regardless of other's loss, your previous (or starting) trend, it simply is setting the bar too high and ultimately will lead you to disappointment/failure. You need larger setpoints (like weekly losses for instance). This takes away daily fluctuations (water, one bad meal etc) and gives you a more realistic glance at your trend. If you put 10 ppl on the same diet with the same factors (height, gender, weight etc) they will all lose differently. Just saying

FYI Signs of dehydration: Symptoms By Mayo Clinic staff Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause: Dry, sticky mouth Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual Thirst Decreased urine output — no wet diapers for three hours for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens Few or no tears when crying Dry skin Headache Constipation Dizziness or lightheadedness Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause: Extreme thirst Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes Lack of sweating Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber Sunken eyes Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head Low blood pressure Rapid heartbeat Rapid breathing No tears when crying Fever In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

You are not limited to any one group. Post in one or all, or simply here. There is also a chat room option for live talk. Hope to hear from you soon.

It's a better q for the doc. However, 6 weeks is typical for full recovery. However, you have zero margin for any setbacks so take extreme care during your recovery to eat well, drink lots, relax and heal.

Hi James and welcome. Yes, the good ol internet has a profound way of giving us sometimes extreme and wrong information that can sway us away from healthy decisions. For every action you can find an example of why it is harmful, wrong etc. The best thing to do is get educated to make an informed decision. Everyone here is supportive, and more importantly, honest and matter factly. You will find a spectrum here as well from those who are noncompliant/unsuccessful to those who have been successful for over 10 years. Please find someone whom you relate to who you feel can provide you excellent information to assist you in making this decision for yourself.

Hello all. It's your body's natural reaction to stress. Biotin (hair/nail vit) may help with growing strong/longer hair but it does not prevent hair loss. Think of it as a building compound for future follicles. So once your body is ready to regrow hair, hopefully, biotin can expedite the process. I am not familiar w/ studies that can give us an idea of how long stress induced hair loss lasts for and when we can anticipate regrowth (or of any compounds that can help with preventing hair loss although I don't think it exists). If anyone has anything to add to that topic, please advise.

You can alternate your meds. So instead of taking both meds at the same time every four hours..take one med and than two hours later take the other (so basically you are taking a med every 2 hrs just separately). Swelling will subside with time which will make it easier to swallow. Whatever you do, don't stop taking the meds because will only increase your symptoms and prolong healing

Just to keep the topic going.. I find it interesting how some docs have set volumes and others go by the patient's response (ie sip test etc). I would find it frustrating myself if I learned another bandster got a 3cc fill on fill 1 and I got a 1.5cc fill. Take aside the argument of following your doc, safety/benefits blahblah...think about it from just an inconsistency standpoint. I would like to see our medical professionals be more consistent in their practice. I think prolonged fills (like 0.1cc fills every blue moon) can jeopordize a patient's full potential and longterm success. I also think that for patient's paying out of pocket, this is an absurd practice. I am NOT saying patient's get to make the demand of filling up with aggressive volumes mind you. Rather, there should be a protocol through evidence based practice that determines stricter guidelines for practitioners. Just saying

Hello. I got pregnant after having the band for one year. I never had to have my fluid removed. This was based on careful watch of my and the baby's weight gain. As long as the OB-GYN is informed they will monitor your and your baby's weight gain. If insufficient, they may ask that the fluid be taken out (at least in part) to allow for better nutrition. Also, other considerations..if you end up being one of those mom's that vomit excessively, you may want to have all the fluid taken out as a precaution. Not for baby, but to prevent slips etc. Also, be realistic about your nutrition. If you find yourself not eating, not eating balanced and you know this may pose a risk...time for an unfill to allow for greater variety or portions. Hormones can be tricky on the band (for instance some woman find their bands tighter during their PM). If you find your band being more restrictive than normal, have a partial unfill to accomodate. Be in constant and honest communication with your ob-gyn to ensure that you and your baby stay healthy during your pregnancy. Congrats!

Wow, I'm impressed you ladies are on LBT the day of surgery. Hi5. Congrats and welcome to bandland

Hello, Happy the day has finally come You didn't specify what you were nervous about (the actual fill or eating afterwards etc). But I wanted to reassure you that there is nothing to worry about. The fill will be over before you know it. Most docs use lidocaine before the fill so you'll feel a slight pinch from that but nothing after that. Some docs use xray, others dont. Doc will fill you up and have you do a Water test to see if the water passes. If not, unfill is necessary, if yes, than you are set until next time. Most people will get a temporary restriction from their first fill. But usually on day 1 you'll as least get the first hand experience of what it means to have restriction. Hopefully this will be an ahh haa moment where you understand how the band works for you and why it's so important to follow the rules As for eating afterwards, first fill is usually the most forgiving. But it's a great test run to learn what foods work and which don't. Gives you more time to practice adequate chewing and proper portions etc. You'll have to be more diligent as you get more fills. Good luck and tell us how it went