Humming Bird

We are all so different with the foods that give us trouble. Even your food lists will change as you get fills along the way. The best thing to do as you try new things is to chew every bite well and eat slow. It is such a learning process. I don't chew so much I get grossed out or liquify my bites. I just make sure every bite is well chewed. My list of foods I can no longer tolerate is long and has been from day one. You may be able to tolerate many more things. Just try a tiny bit, wait to see how it goes, then proceed with caution. You shouldn't avoid eggs just because someone else can't eat them. They are a great source of protein and many bandsters have no trouble. A small stuck episode may be the only way you can figure out what you can't tolerate. My list that comes to mind: bread pasta rice tortillas pizza crust eggs dense meats cucumbers fried foods anything too dense or dry

What?!!! That is crazy! I have never heard that from a lapband doc. Mine said I can keep it for life.

Three years today When I first got banded they said I could keep it for life, but as we all have read, things can happen along the way. I think the band it's self may last a lifetime, but in many cases it is the stomach that has issues. When we hear of "a band eroding" it is not the band at all. It is the stomach tissue that erodes. I sure hope I can keep mine forever.

I never put anything in a blender ....... just the thought is gross to me. I found plenty of things that were already the right texture. I didn't eat baby food either .... just gross. Well, I guess I did make smoothies in the blender. Protein powder, sweet n low, yogurt, strawberries. oatmeal cream of wheat Soups Protein shakes and smoothies cottage cheese yogurt those are a few that come to mind

I'm only speaking from my own experience ...... I don't believe you have 9cc. Did they remove the fluid and measure it at your last fill? Did it measure 9cc? There are cases where they miss the port and the fill does not make it to the band. The reason I believe this is because I've seen many posts like this where the bandster thinks they are almost full to capacity and it just isn't so when they go back and have it measured. I also feel this way because of my own fill level and what it feels like. ( after 3 years I have 5.7cc in my 10cc band and am almost too tight)

My pre-op diet was 2 weeks of Atkins diet. At my consult my surgeon showed me pictures of a thick liver and a thin liver and explained the importance of having a thin liver during surgery. His explaination was enough to convince me to do the Atkins diet for 2 weeks. It worked out well and I didn't feel the "punishment" of those crazy liquid pre-op diets.

Tomorrow is my 3 year bandiversary and I choose "success stories" to post about it! It sure doesn't feel like 3 years. A little history of my journey: I started out with a BMI over 43. and was wearing size 22-24. I wore size 2X scrubs at work and they were too tight. I now wear size 10-12 and size med-small scrubs! (I'm 5'7") Walmart size small scrub pants fit loose! I dropped the first 100 pounds in 1 year and have maintained my weight for 18 months now. I have not counted calories or tracked anything. I give the band 80-90% of the credit. I have not put in much "work" or effort. I believe the key to my success has been finding the green zone early and staying there. This has been the easiest weightloss and maintence of my life. I have been on almost every diet known over the years and the band is the one that has worked for me. Loving life now!

I started taking my vits just a few days after my consult. I figured I might as well get started on them. I did not have a liquid pre-op diet. I also started taking large doses of biotin because I feared hairloss........it didn't help, but maybe the hairloss would have been worse if I had not taken it.

Of course you have to follow your surgeon's rules............ That being said, mine didn't have me count calories.....or anything else really. I have not counted since day one. If you feel better about "dieting and counting" then you should count and track. During the journey we all have to find what works for us personally. If counting and tracking works for you, then you should do it. With proper restriction, I think it's a waste of time, but that is just how it has worked for me.

Sometimes after a fill I have to take it much slower than it sounds like you are. Dense meat is way too solid sometimes right after a fill. Try chili, cottage cheese, yogurt and things like that, then very slowly work your way back to denser stuff.

Don't get band surgery if you think you will be able to eat anything and everything you want, but in smaller portions. A few folks can, but the majority of us have to give up some types of food forever.

Just get another fill and move forward. I was living in hotels for a week while being evacuated for the Waldo Canyon Fire here and swore I had gained because my eating was very bad. I keep myself in the green zone, so I'm happy to say I didn't gain! Getting fills to the green zone and staying there is key for me.

I get a little maintenance fill about every 10-12 months. I can feel it when it's time. The feeling is much like the one you posted.

This is a very old thread I'm sure I may have posted in it at some point. My spelling and grammar get pretty bad sometimes, but not so bad people don't know what I'm trying to say. Y'all can't expect me to be perfect in EVERY way

This is the reason I still can't bring myself to the point of posting before/after pics. I just can't stand it. How did I let myself get so obese?! There is also that part of me that will nit pick at new pics. Maybe at some point there will be a new pic I like and I will post those dreaded before/after shots.

I tried the 5-hour energy stuff, but it tasted nasty and didn't work for me. The energy strips seem to work better and no jittery feeling. I get them at Walgreens. They are called "Sheets" brand energy strips. As far as I know they come in Mint, Berry, and cinnamon flavs. I just looked at the last one I have and it has a website www.takeasheet.com

I had the problem for many years. In the summer I would just wear capri pants. I also have a couple pairs of stretchy jogging/biking type shorts and wear them under sundresses. Last summer and this one I pretty much stick with the capris. My arms are pretty ugly for the sundresses now.

You still have your band so put it to use by going back and getting the thing filled. You may be surprised that the lecture won't be bad at all. The visit back to the surgeon for a fill just may be the thing you need to get this thing going again and start feeling better about everything. Just do it! Make that appointment ASAP!

The article fails to mention how rapidly this practice can erode your teeth! As a Dental Hygienist I would not recommend this. It is way too much lemon way too often. I see damage to teeth from this often. When the enamel is gone there is no getting it back.

I just met Dr. Weaver the other day. I had to find a new doc because mine retired. Dr. Weaver is very nice. If you want any more info let me know.

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".