Humming Bird

My band has been pretty tight for most of the journey. I've never had to chew my food to a liquid or gross consistancy and I've never put things in the blender that I normally would'nt. I do make sure every bite is well chewed. I don't count how many times I chew each bite. It is a learning process, but if you pay attention it's not too hard.

My hunger control? It's out of control. I have not gained any more weight as of this morning, but wish I could get a fill sooner. Of course my mind starts messing with me ..... do I have a leak? yada yada........ I just think It's been a long time and I need a tweek.

Deb, so sorry you are going through all this. Yes, it will get better. Hang in there. My thoughts are with you ((hug)).

Karen! OMG! so nice to hear from you and congrats on the new addition! Vicky! So glad you have joined the thread! update on me....... the new job is going well ! wooo hooo! good-bye stress!

The dreaded "E" word .... exercise

When your favorite thread on the www is 'you know you're a bandster when' !

I hope you are doing better now,,,,,,,,,, You might want to stick with liquids and mushies for a few days now. The fill plus the episode will cause swelling. Sometimes the band is a very crude learning tool.

So true. I agree with what you said. I guess another plus would be much less excess skin issues to deal with.

I went to a BMI calc. site and put in some figures .......... if someone is very short .... 5' 0", and they weigh 155 pounds it puts them just over 30 BMI. If they lose 30 pounds and get to a weight of 125, they have a normal BMI. I didn't have to worry about doing much math.......... I was Morbidly Obese with no comorbid conditions. I quailfied by the old standards just by my BMI alone. I started at 41.3 BMI. ....... something to be ashamed about for sure.

I watched the video clips. I'm not sure I agree with lap-band for people who only need to take off 30 pounds, but they are the experts.

WOW! Great job! It looks like you have lost even more weight than that! :clap: :waytogo:

Geez, I can't get a fill until May 6th because my schedule and my surgeon's don't jive. :frown: He is only in the office Tues. afternoons, Thurs. mornings, and every first Fri. of the month. Crap, I work this Fri. and I normally work Mon-Thurs. so not much time to drive to Denver. I hope I don't gain 10 lbs. while waiting for a month! Does this mean I might have to 'diet' for a month :der: or exercise! :eek: (The dreaded "e" word!)

The band has worked very well for me. I think the key was getting to a good restriction level early in my journey. How many fills have you had?

It sounds like you might need to ride it out for a bit until you can go back to the doc. If you can get to the point where you are not throwing up, you may not even need the unfill. With the throwing up so often, I would bet there is some swelling going on. If you can eat soup and mushies, at least it's not an emergency. After my 2nd fill I was very tight for over 2 weeks, maybe 3. From day one I have been very sensitive to very heavy, solid, or dense foods. The majority of my journey has been on mushy type foods. After you stop throwing up and get the swelling to go down, you might be at a livable restriction level. You might have to change the variety of foods you have been eating. Try only cold things for a day or 2 to help with the swelling. Make a smoothie in the blender with lots of ice and don't forget the Protein powder. Progress to other mushy things after you stop the throwing up, like oatmeal. I got to the point where I could add things to the soups to make them a bit more hearty, like canned chicken. Chili is a great way to get protein in when you are tight. If you can get the swelling down and go for several days without throwing up, I think things will be much better for you. At this point, where you are hovering around the green zone, restriction becomes a personal choice. Some bandsters insist on being able to eat anything. In most cases those people will like a band that is a bit looser. I don't mind giving up a few types of food, so I go with a bit tighter restriction. I hope things improve for you no matter what you do with it.

I've found that the weightloss slows down to an almost stop anyway, so there is not really much that needs to be done or changed to maintain.

I also did Atkins for 2 weeks as my pre-op diet. It was great and there were no complications with a thick liver because I ate zero carbs for those weeks.

I'm a July 2009 Bandster. I've done well and am now in a size 10 (my goal size). I am going to set up a fill appointment because the last 2 weeks I've been getting way too hungry shortly after I eat. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check in with my surgeon's office anyway because I have not been there in 10 months or so. I lost the first 100 pounds in 1 year and have been coasting since. Life is good.

I've already changed my mind LOL. The food is just not sticking with me long enough. I'm hungry shortly after I eat. ewww, sorry to hear about the flu....that sucks. Hope you are feeling better.

Today I'm thinking I don't need a fill. Tomorrow that thought may change. I think I might be at a decent restriction for summer. I always have eaten a bit healthier in the summer and much more active. I just had a nice little salad for lunch and have been able to eat a tiny bit more tender meats. I hope I can just cut back a few carbs and take off the 5 pounds I put on.

Set up a consult with a lapband surgeon in your area. You just may get good news

The good news is that when you start dropping large amounts of weight you will no longer need many of the Rx meds. You should have a very detailed talk with your PCP and with your surgeon about this issue. Of course all of us bandsters can tell you what we think, what we do, and even what our surgeon told us, but the details of your personal situation needs to be discused in person with your docs. (take your meds with you, not just a list) In my case, my surgeon told me to NEVER take a pill of any size whole. He told me of a patient that had to have a pill that was stuck surgically removed and that was enough to convince me. In the 21 months since surgery I have not taken a pill whole, but I was not taking any Rx meds prior to surgery and do not take any now. All my vits. are chewable, sublingual or liquid. I have had to take something stronger for headaches than what comes in liquid form. I found that it makes it so much better if I first crush and then disolve in a teaspoon of warm Water. Then there are no nasty bits left behind.

wow, wasted money and time to go to that psych. , but if it's a hoop you must jump through check it off your list and move on to the next hoop.

Cheri, It sounds to me like you need a fill. If your food stayed with you longer you would not feel the need to graze. As far as the identity stuff goes, you need to do some socializing outside of your family. A part time job outside the home, a sewing/quilting class, bible study group, home interior parties, something that gets you out with other people.

Maybe your stomach is still hourglass shaped and retaining that with scar tissue?

BIG NSV for me today. I just wrote out the final check to pay off my surgery!