Humming Bird

It is a rule of many diets to sit at the table for all meals. Another is to put your fork or spoon down between bites. It is best to have a clean table with no stacks of bills or newspapers or other clutter. Setting a pretty table and turning off the T.V. have also been proven to help. It sure wouldn't hurt to try some of these things. For me it just seems like a lot of wasted effort to go to all that trouble when I can only eat 1/2 c of darn food. I think if I were still in the weightloss phase and needed help, these things would be worth a try. It may be a simple solution to getting out of bad habits and retraining yourself. The best thing about all of it is it's free!!! No therapy costs

I have been on both sides ..... I have been offended and I'm sure I have offended others. I'm not so sure they were trying to offend me and I know I have not tried to intentionally offend anyone. I try to just keep in mind that we are not all just fat people. We come from all walks of life and are all unique in our personalities. There have been times when the site and the people get on my nerves. I just take a little break and then return. If someone really rubs you the wrong way just put them on your ignore list and go on about your own journey. It's as simple as that. Please keep in mind that I am not perfect and I can really only stand to be nice 98% of the time I have had pretty good luck with the band and try to offer help with how it has worked for me. What I say may not help you one bit. You may think I'm an idiot. I may be an idiot. At least I'm a thin sexy idiot in my own shallow mind My point is ..... try not to be so offended. We are all just human.

Welcome to the thread Nicole :seeya: Congrats on getting banded and the weightloss so far. I was lucky and my bandster hell wasn't really hell at all. It was just the last "diet" I was ever on.

1/2 cup of solid food. Of course if I eat soup or something like that I can eat more than 1/2 cup. Maybe if you can eat more than that, it is going through the stoma and down to the larger part of the stomach .... not staying in the pouch?

I "did Atkins" , mostly extended the induction phase, which sounds like the paleo diet, I guess. I did it many years ago and it worked very well, but of course I put back on the weight I had lost plus some. I felt good and was not hungry while doing it. I also messed around with the south beach plan for a bit. Over the years I also tried weight watchers, nutrisystems, diet pills, diet center, other weightloss centers, medi-fast ..... the list could go on forever. During my big weightloss phase with the band there was a time when I wished I could do an Atkins-like diet to make the weight come off faster. The problem is that from the day I had the band placed, I am very sensitive to meat no matter my restriction level. I have been sensitive to pretty much everything on the list of things that are known to give bandsters problems. I think the only exception to the lists I have seen is broccoli. I'm not sure why that is on the list, but have not tried it raw. I love it and eat it often. I think it's ok to try different "dieting" methods to find our own nitch and make the band work in our own situation. For me, the band is boss and makes the rules for me. I think I'm lucky with that, but some may look at it differently. I eat what my band will allow (within reason) and don't bother tracking, counting, journaling, measuring ....... I'm not on a diet. For me it has pretty much been .... insert band, get a couple fills, learn some hard lessons about what it will allow, the weight drops off.

There is always the option of telling your family about the band so they will understand why you eat like a bird. Of course if you are actually too tight a tiny unfill would be a good thing, but I wouldn't mess with your sweet spot just so you can eat more and keep the big secret. Just a thought .....

I eat a vitafusion fiber gummie (from Target) daily and it has been a simple solution to this same problem for me.

With the fill that ended up being my sweet spot I was very tight for 2 weeks. Eggs have always been a problem for me. If you can drink a protein shake you are not too tight. I would give at least a week. I had that fill 09/29/09 and it took me to 5.3cc. I am still at that same fill level today, so I would consider that my sweet spot. My weightloss has been as close to perfect as any bandster can expect. It comes down to personal choice sometimes. If you insist on being able to eat specific foods that you can no longer eat after a week or so, then get a tiny unfill.

I have heard of several cases where the band has been replaced by Allergan because of a defect. All bands are marked with identifying numbers and I read a post about one surgeon having to replace a couple bands from the same lot. The problem is you have to take the band out and prove it is defective. You don't give enough info in this post for me to offer any further ideas. Did you do all your follow up? Are you eating properly?

slime is foam, foam is slime. It's all the same in my book. Maybe we just swallow air when we are stuck and that makes it foamy, It sure teaches me to avoid getting stuck and stay away from some types of foods. crude tool.

I am so happy for you! It sounds like things are going great! :clap:

I have not started yet bad bandster, very bad

You will find that the band works for all people in different ways. For me, it is both of the ways you mentioned plus some. I am not as hungry as I was before being banded and I am satisfied with very tiny amounts of food. Many food items I avoid because it causes discomfort to eat them. After I have had discomfort with one type of food, it just no longer even sounds good to me and I don't crave it. I'll give you one example of how this has worked. I was already healed but not at my sweet spot and had not eaten much that day. It was time for me to go pick up my grandson from school and I decided to go through the drive-up at McDonalds to get a small coffee. I also ordered a small french fry and figured I could eat maybe half of them with no problem. I pulled in the "flow lane" where many other parents were parked waiting for the school bell to ring. I ate about 4 french fries and made sure I chewed them very well and very slow. All of a sudden I needed to throw up! The feeling was instant and I had very little time to react. The only thing I could do was hunch down in the car a little and throw up in the McDonalds bag. It was an experience right there in public! After that day, french fries don't even sound good and I don't miss them. (along with other fried foods)

Ditto ....it's frustrating

Yes, It's been pretty screwed up. Sometimes I can't get on the site. There are several posts I made that no longer show up. I even went back to edit spelling on a couple and now the posts don't show up at all in those threads.

That's very sweet and I agree with you. The people here at LBT and a specific group (this thread) have really helped me along the way. I really wouldn't feel right calling my surgeon's office all the time when I have questions and I can't attend their support groups because they are all the way in Denver and I would never even make it all that way after work until the group was already done meeting. Even though we all do it different as far as exercise, tracking, counting protein/carbs. lifestyle........... Just checking in or reading really helps me keep my head in the game and has helped me in general to drop all this weight. A L L O N E H U N D R E D A N D N I N E P O U N D S! E A C H P O U N D, O N E A T A T I M E!

strawberry banana Smoothie (Starbucks) Serving Size: 16 oz, Calories: 280, Fat: 5g, Carbs: 56g, Protein: 15g I have them add extra Protein for $.50 to bring the protein up to 30g Skinny vanilla Latte - Tall (Starbucks) Serving Size: 12 oz, Calories: 90, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 9g

I have fibromyalgia, but your symptoms do not sound like that is it. I'm not a doc, but have had symptoms for many years before someone would listen and finally figured out that I had fibro. They tested me many times for lupus. In all these tests they have done have they ever tested you for lupus? I've known several people over the years who have lupus and the symptoms can be very widespread and strange. I always get yelled at for trying to self diagnose and use of the web, so please take the thoughts of us here at LBT as not being that of real docs.

Great support from all who have posted. Sometimes life just sucks and you have to live through it and continue to do your best. It's time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get that determination going again. You can and will do it. It's what mothers do and you already know that. All these things are just bumps in your road.

I did it to look better and to feel better about myself emotionally. I wanted to stop being discusted by what I saw in the mirror. I wanted to wear normal size clothing. I wanted to stop avoiding social situations because I was so overweight and felt so bad about the way I looked. I know it may sound strange or shallow, but I'm just being honest. I did not do it to get healthy like many others do. If my health improves with all the weightloss it is just frosting or gravy.

I think for some the reality sets in that there was a deep emotional attachment to food that they didn't know they had. Sometimes there is a deep emotional attachment to their fat as well. Being fat puts a wall between a person and the rest of the world. (deep, I know, even for me ) I think sometimes a person will fight the band all the way ...... like self sabotage. When I read some posts about wanting the band out right after someone gets it placed, it sounds like this to me.

This is where the band is a very crude tool. You just have to learn your lesson and do your best to not let it happen again. I sure hope you are feeling better today.

I hear ya Melody. Sometimes it wears on me too. Don't stay away too long

I don't even think the pre-op psychologist can tell how a person will feel after being banded. I was not required to meet with one and personally think it would have been a waste of time and money. Unless the psyc gets to know the person for a very long time they really would have no clue, and even then may not be able to predict or help with regrets. I do get what the Elfie was saying in the OP and continue to value her experience in life and as a banded person. I too don't understand sometimes when a person goes through whatever they need to pre-op and then all the way through major surgery only to say they regret it before they even give it a chance. I guess I don't have to understand them. It is just human nature to read a post like that and then have thoughts go through my mind. I personally did very little research and had zero hoops to jump through pre-op. I had the "I want it, and I want it right now." mentality. I'm lucky it has worked out great for me, but it's not all luck. I knew I didn't need help from a psyc., and if at any time in my life I need one I will seek the help.

It doesn't sound normal to me. If there were no infection there would be nothing draining and it wouldn't even be open to drain. If it were me I would go have the surgeon look at it. Do they have you taking antibiotics?