Humming Bird

I agree. When I started the journey it was the best way to learn and now that I'm almost at the 3 year mark it's the best way to keep my head in the game.

After about the first week I was back to stomach sleeping.

LOL ! I always think the same thing when looking at pics online. I think they are all just diehard Bret Michaels fans or *trying* to have *sexy pouty lips*. awww, I guess it's not nice to comment about people's poses, but I don't like the lips thing. Maybe it's a generational thing......

Honesty is the best policy 99.9% of the time I too am a walking billboard for the band. I almost shout it from the rooftops for anyone who wants to hear, and some that don't. That being said, I was dishonest that .1% at the time of surgery. I had 2 part-time jobs and was only going to miss one day at one of them for the surgery. The boss and his wife were very snobby and nosey. My co-workers and I came up with a plan if the boss & wife asked about what I was having done .... and they did ask in a snobby/nosey way while I was taking that one day off. My co-worker told them I was having vaginal rejuvination! We all had a good laugh and it shut them up. It was in good fun and I knew I wouldn't be working there much longer anyway. I found a different job a few weeks later and they still don't know the surgery I really had done. I guess they just think my husband is having great sex

We all have to find our own way and what works in our lives. It's a learning process and what we learn along the way is different sometimes. Here are my thoughts on the subject: I did not avoid fills. I wanted this band to start working ASAP! I dropped weight rapidly before my first fill, but the fill was needed because the swelling from surgery had gone down. I reached my sweet spot on fill number 2 and it was smooth sailing from there. I dropped a whopping 100 pounds in the first year with very little effort. That is why I took such drastic measures and got WLS in the first place. Life is so good now! I don't diet. I don't exercise like I'm in competition with The Biggest Loser. I just live my life From day one I have not counted, journaled, or tracked anything. The band has worked very well because I had it adjusted properly. I just went in for a maintenance fill yesterday. It is very important to keep up with this. I can stay the exact same weight every day with very little effort for about 10-12 months and then I can feel when things change and I need a little bump fill. It is so sad when I read posts that say the band doesn't work and the bandster has put back on a large amount of weight. In the same post they say they didn't go back in for a fill in several years. IMHO they should have gone in for maintenance fills and not let the weight creep back on. The concept of filling the band to capacity does not register in my mind at all. If the band is filled to capacity there is one of three things happening. 1) The wrong size band was used for that person's anatomy. If a large band is used on a stomach that should have had a small band, much Fluid will have to be added to squeeze the band/stomach to a level of restriction. Or 2) The port has been missed and the fill that is believed to be in the band is not really there. Or 3) There is a leak someplace and the fluid is not staying in the band. After goal/ maintenance. There are very long periods of time when the person just stays at the same restriction level and it's smooth sailing. In that 10-12 month period some of the fluid disapates .... goes away. It's not a leak. It's like osmosis. For example, I stayed with my fill of 5.3cc for about a year. When I went in for a maint. fill the doc removed all the fluid to measure. It was at 4. something. My fill at that time brought me back to about 5.7........ another 10 months passed....... another maint. fill ..... we didn't measure, but I'm betting I'm now at about 5.5cc again. My band is 10cc. If it were filled to capacity I would not be able to even sip Water. It will never be filled to capicity. geez.... long post for me. I consider myself a success story and I give 80-90% credit to the band and proper fills, not my "work".

I too drink up to my first bite, not a big gulp size or anything, just to quench thirst. It's all a learning process. You will get what works for you all figured out.

Too funny! It reminds me of walking in a department store with my son last summer. I said something like, "Maybe I'll get some of those thongs." He gasped. "MOM, those have not been called thongs in years! Don't say it so loud. They are flip-flops now. Thongs are something totally different now!" When I was younger any type of shoe with a strip of something between the toes were called thongs .....What can I say, it's hard to call them something else. Now the strip of something on a "thong" goes between the person's fluffy butt cheeks!

Yes, it is very common for some of the fluid to be gone after such a long period of time. This is why I'm going in for a maintenance fill tomorrow. I can really feel when I need it. Some of the fluid does go away ..... think osmosis. I wish they would explain this to bandsters before they gain a bunch of weight back. I hope you say something about the rudeness and get it cleared up.... there is no excuse for that. Don't let the frustration get to you so bad that you have the band removed. Just understand that in order for it to keep working you need to go get maintenance fills about every 9-12 months unless you become an exercise queen.

I get all mine at walmart and Target. Did your surgen tell you exactly what to take? It can be bad to take Iron if you are not low on iron ......... Mine told me to use adult Centrum chewable and I take a couple other things ....

I have the problem with avoiding the camera as well. I have been at/or close to goal for a very long time now and I still can not bring myself to the point of posting before and after pics. I'm looking forward ..... no looking back! I just am so ashamed of how huge I got, the before pics would seem like dwelling on the past. I would rather not look at them and I sure don't want others to look at them. Maybe one day I'll feel like I can post them. Believe me, after over 100lb loss there is a huge difference, but I'm just not at that place to post it.

If you are starting with an empty band I don't think 3 weeks is too soon. My doc put in 2.7cc at surgery and my first fill after that was 6-8 weeks. I reached my sweet spot at fill #2 and I do believe that is how I had great success with this thing.

Try taco salad ..... I'm not talking about the kind you get at taco bell. no deep fried tortilla and no iceburg..... make it at home and if you have a family that will eat it that will be great too. Here's what I put in mine: Leaf type lettuce salad onions fine chopped red/yellow/ or orange bell pepper light red kidney Beans ground beef seasoned with salsa cheese a few crunched up fritos for crunch dressing of choice Believe me, it is very yummy and a good way to get the Protein with the cheese, beef and beans ...... I mix up all he veggies and serve the other stuff in dishes on the side. That way you can store it and have it again for another meal .... just nuke the beans and meat the next day.

If I ever get a slip or erosion it won't be from drinking carbonated stuff. It causes discomfort, so I don't touch the stuff. There are plenty of other things out there to drink.

I'm not sure what perfect would be because there are so many different rules and guidelines out there. I guess it doesn't matter what perfect is because I guess I've figured out what works for me personally. From day one of this lapband journey I have not dieted, counted, tracked anything. I don't exercise either, but I am more active in general since I'm no longer lugging around over 100 pounds of excess weight. Life is good, so maybe that in it's self is perfect

Keep in mind when we hear "lapband erosion" it is not the actual band that "erodes". No matter the cause, it is the actual stomach tissue that erodes.

I agree. After weightloss surgery .... Take your Vitamins!

It may just be a suture from the inside of the incision site that was supposed to disolve. I don't know, I guess it could also be what they use to anchor the port to the muscle and they left a long tail on it or something. If it were me, I would definitely contact my surgeon about it, but it would be a real drag if it's like that all weekend. I would not go to the ER for something that is not an emergency, but I also do not have insurance. It would be an expensive visit.

Well said Cazzy and elcee I guess in the beginning I felt a bit strange about having an object inside my body, but I was desperate to get rid of my morbid obesity. The band has become part of me now just as a knee replacement would be to someone who needed it.

I would say that before being banded my fav foods were all junk food/fast food. It was just so easy to go through the drive-thru and pick up that stuff. I loved pizza as well. Now I can't eat that stuff and it is amazing that I don't miss it like I thought I would. After being banded I've gone through phases of fav foods. In the beginning I ate quite a bit of chili. It is a great Protein source.

Jacqui, I just love how you still manage to keep your head in the game even when things get hectic. Things in life happen and tend to take over for awhile sometimes. It's great that you don't let them get you off track for long before you nip them in the bud.

Ditto what Kimaly said. It is very common for us bandsters to have constipation issues along the way. I take Vita fusion brand fiber gummies so I don't have the problem. Even with taking something for it, it is very normal to not go daily. Sometimes there is just not enough volume of solids going through your system to make it through every day.

They should have told you. It's inconsiderate. Most people not only have to pay, but also have to take time off work.

I agree. My doc told me to go to weight watchers because that is what his wife does. I went straight to a lapband doc and I have had great success! (the wife........not so much, but don't want to gossip. )

Wow Sue, I hope you get it figured out. Have you considered thyroid?

I don't think it's wrong to "milk it" a little, but I'm sure it will be short lived. It seems when you are the one that always takes care of everyone else, those people are clueless and sometimes don't return the favor for long. Don't be upset if it's short lived. Work on recovery and start living your new life