Humming Bird

Melody, so sorry this crap is going on. I agree, the weight should be coming off with all you are doing and it just doesn't seem right. With this last gain are your ankles swollen? Of course I'm no doc, but it sure sounds like you are retaining water. Maybe a dieuretic / water pill would help you? ( the OTC ones don't work well, Rx would be better) just a thought.......

IMHO it sounds like your doc may have used a band that was too large, but he is the expert and must have seen something during surgery that made him use a large one. I think it will still work out fine for you, but it may just take longer and more fills for you to get to your sweet spot/green zone. I can only go from my own experience, but once I reached my sweet spot the band has really done the work like he told you. I don't have to diet or try to control my portions. I don't have to obcess over calories or anything else. The only things I have to do is pay attention to my full signal, chew everything well (not to liquid or mush), and stay away from foods that give me trouble (bread, steak, rice.....) You can get to the point where you do not have to weigh or measure anything. If you are still feeling like you can eat too much and you get hungry too fast, you are not in that green zone yet. As you get closer, a very tiny fill could put you in the red zone (too tight). You may just have to be patient with the process and diet for a bit, but I really think you will get to that point where the band does do much of the work for you.

This is why I am just going to maintain at the higher side of a "normal" BMI. Believe me, my saggyness is worse than yours. I am also dealing with age (my son is older than you) and sun damaged skin. I can tell you that the loose skin does get a bit better with time and your youth should help you a bit. You have done well so far with the weightloss, so try to stay focused on the positive. If your husband thinks you are hot then you ARE HOT!! When you are spooning in bed it is a very different feeling for both of you than when you are picking yourself apart in a full length mirror. When you fit in smaller jeans it is very different as well. Try to stay positive and continue with the great job you are doing. I think the emotional part can be very rough at times, but at the end of the journey you will have your head in a better place more often than not.

It really helped me to accept the fact that this is a very long road/journey. You have really just started that long walk down the road. 2 pounds a week adds up to 104 pounds in 1 year. That should be great weightloss in anyone's book. Sometimes when people lose weight at a very fast pace (like you mentioned with bypass) they tend to lose a great amount of hair. I lost quite a bit with the band and would have been very upset if I had lost more. Sometimes if the loss is too rapid people look very sickly, and it is because they are malnurished. So far you have done great and you need to give yourself credit and continue on this long journey with positive thoughts about your choice. Just think, one year from now you will be posting how you have dropped 100+ pounds! I don't even think it will take a year for you to be posting that.

I guess it would depend on how you think of the words. restriction = like when a teenager is in trouble and grounded, they are on restriction....... negative restriction = like you are limited with the amount or type of food you can have......negative or positive depending on attitude restriction = the tightness of the band ....... negative or positive depending on attitude I tend to think of the word "restriction" as simply the physical tightness of the band. I don't think of it as being restricted or grounded from eating, though that is really part of it. For me "sweet spot" means I can feel satisfied on small amounts of food and lose weight without constant real hunger (or in my case maintain the weight I'v already lost). Sorry, I guess that doesn't really help you find a better word. It's all mindset I guess. One word that has gotten on my nerves all along has been the word "meal." I have not eaten a "meal" since July 2009. Most toddlers eat bigger "meals" than I do. How in the world can I call 1/2 c of solid food a "meal." It feels more like a "snack." I just can't wrap my mind around it and consider it a "meal."

I reached my sweet spot with my 2nd fill. They had also put in a fill at surgery. Just go very slow with the liquids and very slow moving through the creamy, mushie, and so on. I was VERY tight with my "sweet spot fill" for about 2 weeks. I think most people know within a week or 2. If you can do liquids and stay hydrated it's worth riding it out at least a week.

Great NSV !! ....and thanks for the laugh

"All great achievements require time." — Maya Angelou I agree that stress can cause issues with weight. Sometimes there are things in life that cause us stress and we have little control over them. It is at those times we need to take control and get our minds in the game. Sometimes our body just needs to adjust to all the changes and it will stop losing weight. Hang in there and keep your mind on what you need to do for yourself. Best wishes to you.

I agree with those who said wait until you are at goal to even think about doing anything with the girls. At that time it is YOUR personal choice, not the nurse's or anyone else's. I went from a 42DD to a 36C after 111 pounds lost.

I try not to watch other people eat now. If I see someone take a big bite and swallow it without chewing it almost causes me pain .... very strange. I didn't notice other people's weight much before I got the band, but now I do. It makes me feel a bit guilty. Like someone else said, who am I to judge. If someone is obese looking I think, "the band would really help them." If someone is normal weight I think, "I wonder what size they wear?" If someone is very thin/tiny I think, "there is no way I will ever wear a size that tiny." I don't like noticing how other people eat or sizing them up. I think these thoughts will pass and I will start seeing others the way I used to more.

I chew sugar free gum often and have not swallowed gum since I was a kid. I would be much more concerned for those who swallow pills.

I can feel my band sometimes ..... it depends on how I'm sitting or laying. It's not that I feel it around my stomach, but more like I feel it up against a rib or something. I can feel my port more often..... like when I lean against something, but it does not stick out.

I don't think it would do anything at all to the band or the port. When I was younger I used to lay out in the sun and was pretty tan every summer. Then I switched to tanning beds for a few years. I am now paying the price for all that tanning. After the weightloss I think I have more wrinkles than I would have if my skin didn't have all that damage. I also have some age spots on my face from it. I think lotions and spray tanning would be a better option.

The only thing I am able to eat at sonic is icecream, so I better stay away. Oh, I can drink the iced tea and coffee there.

"You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!" — Maya Angelou "The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story..." — Maya Angelou "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning." — Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) "a friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face." — Maya Angelou "Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avaoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you." — Maya Angelou "All great achievements require time." — Maya Angelou "Whining is not only graceless, but it can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood." — Maya Angelou

I tend to agree with this. I didn't want to burst the OP's bubble, but these won't be the types of shakes I will use. The guidelines given to me were skakes could not be over 150 cal and the carbs should be very low......I would have to look up the number. That being said, I don't count calories or carbs. I do keep them in mind and would not be mixing marshmallows of a sheet of graham crackers in my shake. The person the OP mentioned for all this advise , the body builder guy, is not educated about lapband , no? This thread is also pretty old, so not sure how many bandsters really went with it.

You don't sound too tight to me. It sounds like maybe you just need to make a mental note about what types of food give you trouble or of how well you chew....... the basics. If the weight is coming off and you have no trouble with fluids and no reflux problems, it sounds like you are in the green zone. If it were me I would just stay at that fill level and proceed with caution.

I can only tell you what my own experience has been and here it is: YES! I would do it again in a heartbeat! I sleep on my stomach every night. My port does not stick out. I lost 100 pounds in the first year with very little effort on my part. I know all the "tool" talk, but think it's hogwash.......remember this is my own experience. This band has been like magic to me..... my own experience. I have not done much "work" at all. The band does stop me from overeating. It stops me in my tracks. If I even eat one bite too much I feel discomfort, so I stop eating. It does stop me from eating fried food. It does stop me from eating fast food (except Wendys chili....yum) Oh yes, I would do it again.

jinks

That is too funny! but so true!

I would think that solids this far post op should be fine. As for the rest of it ..... lesson learned and move forward. At first it is all a learning process and it's a good thing we don't start out at our sweet spot or we would all be in big trouble.

I think I heard the tubing can hold 2cc before it even reached the band. .......but, do we all have different lengths of tubing between the port and the band?

I'm sorry to hear this, but just think of it as a minor glitch. Keep your head up and your attitude strong and positive. This is just a little bump in the long road you are headed down. You may have to "diet" for a bit longer while you wait for a fill, but you know you can do that.

I agree with reverie. It really sounds like infection to me. It would be worth going to the doc if you need some antibiotics to clear it up so it won't cause problems. Call the surgeon's office ...... right now. Best wishes.

I agree with Cindy. You may need to just get a very tiny bit taken out. You should not have a problem with fluids and throwing up with liquids ever. My advise would also be to stop getting fills at this point. Once you reach a good restriction level, it's good to just leave well enough alone. Your weightloss is great !! WOW!