MrsBerggren

I start my Protein shakes Monday for two weeks and I have been eating like crazy!! I feel like I need to eat all my favorites this weekend before I begin the shakes. Ugh!! Where to begin? lol I am not looking forward to the next two weeks but I know it will all be worth it! Surgery is Monday, August 13. Good luck to you all!

Hello all, My name is Mari and I was banded in 2009. Due to a recent slippage, I am revising to the bypass on August 13. I am looking forward to having this band removed from me. Starting my meal replacement shakes Monday, can't wait!

Yes, I have had symptoms. I got a fill about two months ago and thought I was in my green zone as I was losing steadily. I've had good and bad days but lately it has been more bad than good. I've been having to throw up every single day and all day long. My heartburn and acid reflux has been so bad that I would find myself vomitting in my sleep. Or I've needed to sleep sitting up to avoid feeling it in the back of my throat. My teeth and body just aches from what I believe is malnutrition. My hair has been brittle. Ugh. My father was recently diagnosed with Stage 3A Lung Cancer and has been so sick from chemo and battling pneumonia, emphysema and COPD so I've been stressed and worried sick about him that Ive put off seeing my doctor so I could support him. I don't know when my surgery will be. I PRAY that somehow my insurance will cover a different procedure after the complications of this. Time will tell but I am fearful of gaining the weight back. I feel awful that I've failed the band. But I cant change it now I guess. As far as insurance laws, I am not sure if this is true for all carriers but I do know that Medica and BCBS Minnesota no longer cover bariatric surgery. Thanks for your input cocoabean - I hope I will be one of those people that it will work out for. I did not come all this way just to lose the fight.

Ugh! Went to see my doctor this morning and had an upper GI done. Found out my band has slipped. She was going to write my insurance to see if they would cover a revision althought I don't know that is what I want. Why would I want it fixed just to risk this all over again?? To be honest, I don't, I think I want it out of me. It has been nothing but a pain in the @ss to me with constant vomitting, heartburn and inconvenience of constant maintainence. I am waiting to find out what my insurance says although I dont believe it will be in my favor. She said I could consider a different type of procedure but I can't afford that and with the new insurance laws these days, bariatric procedures are no longer covered. Not only that, I don't know that I would qualify for a different procedure now that I have lost what I have. FML.

If I'm being honest, I have asked myself many times why I got the band. I have had it for almost 3 years and have yo-yo'd with it. My biggest problem BY FARRR was the emotional toll it took on me knowing I physically could not eat what I wanted and when I wanted. The times I couldn't handle not eating "freely," I got an unfill just to allow myself to eat more. I should mention that I did have a baby since I've been banded and that was one of the main reasons I had the procedure. At 250, I was unable to get pregnant and my husband and I desperately wanted another child after the death of first son. It has been a year and a half now since giving birth and I am forcing myself to finally DEAL with the fact that I got this band for a reason and it's time I face the emotion grip food had on me. I still have bad days but I am very happy I did have this procedure done rather than dealing with the torture I was putting myself through by overeating and making myself and my life miserable. I am down 50 lbs and my quality of life has not been better. I am more confident and am able to enjoy life now without feeling self-conscious about my weight. That is priceless. Point is, YES I would do it again. Please stick with it, if it gets hard, try and determine what it is you are struggling with and try and face those struggles head on. You will be glad you stuck with it. Best of luck to you.

This thread is just what I needed to read right now. I have been whining on here in the last couple of days after having a .5cc fill and went from tremendous appetite and hunger to not being able to eat 1/2 cup of SOUP BROTH. I have lost 7 pounds in just a few days and I think now I am a tad too tight, but it just amazes how me how I went from wheret I was at before my fill, to this. I have been very discouraged along my journey and it has been very emotionally draining on me. At times I have felt like giving up, but I feel like I am so close finding my green zone and I cannot wait till I am there.

I am experiencing the exact same thing as you right now! Last Friday my doc gave me a .5cc fill, since then I have litterally ONLY been able to drink fluids, and I am lucky to keep even that down. I have been pbing often if I take too big of a drink, so I have only been sipping and cold/warm fluids do not make any difference for me. I too have lost 7 lbs because of it. Yes, its nice to be down that much so quickly, but I cannot live on broths so I am going in tomorrow for a slight unfill.

I just posted what I am about to say on another thread.. but I am experiencing exactly what you are wanting to avoid. I have had my band for two years and lost 25 pounds. I also got pregnant and had a baby in that time so I forgive myself a year of that time. So I have been trying to get back to where I was before getting pregnant and I had a fill in February that ending up being a nightmare for me and went to the ER and had most of my Fluid removed. I've been getting fills since then and up until Friday had been able to eat whatever, whenever. Friday I went from 6cc's in my band to 6.5cc's and now I cannot eat real food and have only been taking TINY sips of Water, broth, etc. I took a drink of milk yesterday morning and could not keep it down so that irritated my band. I was sipping the rest of the day and was lucky to keep any of it down. Today, the same thing and to be honest, I am SICK of it. I cannot find a happy medium and I am starting to resent this band. I am so stressed out about it and I am just tired of dealing with it anymore. Yes, I know this is a poor attitude, but I cannot help feeling this way. My life right now does not allow me time to drive an hour to my doc every week to figure this out and I am at a loss. This has been such a huge emotional struggle for me and I dont even know what I want anymore, other than I would love to eat something to get rid of this headache I have from hunger. I am so sad and frustrated right now I am just beside myself.

I am in the same boat as you right now, and to be honest, I am about to the point I want this thing out of me. I am so sick of the up and down feeling with my band, I am ready to have a mental breakdown. Before my most recent fill on Friday, I was able to eat just about anything and never felt a lick with my band. Friday I had a fill of .5cc and have only been able to take tiny sips of liquids, period. I am hungry and have a headache from not being able to eat 'food' and I cannot take off work to drive the hour to my doctor because my coworker is on vacation. I am at my wits end with this band, I just cannot take it anymore. I am in hell.

I will pb if I take too big of a sip.. I had a bad day yesterday after pb'ing in the morning and was ruined for the rest of the day, it was awful. So I just have to be more mindful before doing drinking in the morning. But it sure tasted great to have that small amount of soup today!

I had a fill Friday that has given me considerable restriction. I am now only able to sip my morning protein shakes and was only able to eat about a 1/2 - 3/4 cup of soup for lunch.. I'm curious if I am too tight, or are you only able to eat about that much as well for lunch? I do realize that I will be able to eat a bit more as the day goes on, but I just want to do some comparing with others. Thanks for your input!

I hate to be such a downer as I am typically a positive person, but I am tired of this yo-yo feeling I am having with my band. I've been banded for 2 years, and I also got pregnant and had a child in that time as well. The most I am down is 25 pounds. Granted, I will take credit for failing the band at times, but it is hard for me to take a half a day off from work every few weeks to go for a fill and figure out perfect restriction. I exercise regularly, eat well and get my Protein. I know I need a slight fill right now, but now I am paranoid about being too tight when I do go in. I had a scare a few months ago that made me too tight and was unable to drink Water and I was 4 hours away from my doc in the middle of a frozen lake in a winter storm. It was AWFUL. I just feel like I am struggling to find a sweet spot and am getting sick of searching for it. I just dont have the time with a job and family at home. My husband is on the road all summer for work and that alone makes it hard for me to rely on others when it comes to my children. Ugh, I just need to vent. I really thought I would have been a LOT farther in my journey, and I am sad that I am not. I feel like such a failure.

Thank you everyone.. I WISH I was pregnant however, I am menstrating right now and pretty heavily. Maybe that is what is bringing me down so much in the past few days along with all the work we've been doing in our home. I have had my thyroid checked in the past year or two and everything was fine there. I emailed my doctor last night after posting my thread and am waiting to hear what she says to do. I picked up more Vitamins this morning and am sure those will help me. I am going to up my Protein as well so hopefully things will begin to change. I appreciate your input everyone.

Hi everyone.. lately I have been extremely tired and can hardly make it through the day. I drink a large coffee in the morning and it doesnt seem to help. I have recently run out of my Vitamins and am not sure if that is the reason but I cant go on like this anymore, Im miserable. This just started happening in the last couple weeks, other than that Ive felt amazing and extremely ambitious. We've been doing a lot of home reno lately, a complete bathroom remodel and just last week ripped out all of our carpet and replaced it all, even a fresh coat of paint. I feel like I should be caught up on sleep by now but this is just not a way to live. Any suggestions? If this doesnt change in the next couple days I will definitely be seeing my doctor. I cant wait to go to bed lol.

I was in the same boat, I thought the band was worthless because I thought I should have been losing more early on. BUT, I did not start to lose until after my 3rd or 4th fill and that took 3 months to get to that point. To think you should file a lawsuit is ridiculous.. you havent let the band do its job. You cannot criticize it until you've actually filled it enough to feel restriction. I could eat pretty much ANYTHING until I got to my sweet spot which, for me, is 6.5 cc's or something around there. Everyone is different, might take you more or less. You went through major surgery just to give up already... Didn't your doc tell you that it is not an overnight thing? You will need to constantly work with him to get to where you need to be? You've had ONE fill, and it's going to take a lot more than that.. you better start saving to get your fills rather than blow your money on specialized foods. Use the band for what it's there for and don't think you'd win a lawsuit after you think it's failed you after one fill. You haven't even gotten started yet.

I've made the roasted red pepper and fish chowder and it was DEE-LISH!!! I get many recipes sent to me through email as well from this website. I just think its WONDERFUL that we are still able to eat delicious but nutritious food after being banded. Let me know if anyone else has tried a recipe from the site!

Hi there, I have not had any problems with my band but I just wanted to wish you the best of luck... that is INSANE what you are going through. I can't believe they can't figure out why you are unable to keep food down, that's so strange especially considering you dont have any fluid in your band. Please keep us posted as to what you find out.. I imagine you are sicker than hell.

Just thought I'd share this link to these recipes. There are recipes for all kinds of Protein shakes, appetizer, soups/purees, fish/seafood, etc. Enjoy!! BariatricEating.com Health & Nutrition - Bariatric Recipes

Yes let me know what you think newgumpee. I will definitely be ordering some things from the site. I never understood doctor's not wanting their patients to drink Protein shakes. I understand them wanting us to EAT our protein but to me, I dont see the harm in drinking a shake. I dont drink them to fill me up but it is a good alternative for Breakfast because I cannot eat much in the morning. My doc told me that I still absorb all the protein in the shake so its better than not getting my daily intake for the day. It's just a supplement.

Oops, I forgot to mention that she has been using this site for a long time and said all the protein powdes are SUGAR FREE and all mix really well when they are mixed. This is just what I needed, I cant wait to try it out!!!

Hi everyone! So I just visited with my former boss who had gastric bypass six years ago. She told me about this website that sells Protein powders and ready-to-drink Protein shakes of all different flavors. Protein drinks and others!! Yay! We dont have to drink the same old crap from Walmart. This thread sounds like spam or some sort of advertisement, sorry for that. I just know that I have become so SICK of my same old Protein powder that I have to GAG down these days. I am THRILLED to have some variety and feel like I will stick with this protein thing much better if I have some options. Hope you enjoy!!

Reneek--"My boobies now look like baseballs in tube socks." I'm sorry to laugh but that is freakin HILARIOUS!! What a great description. Mine are heading down the same road as well, I will definitely look into getting them fixed when I am near my goal weight. Everyone has said it already, but I would wait too, Id hate to go through all that pain just to have them sag more once you do lose the rest of your weight. I think youd be happy once its all said and done.

Thank you all for your replies. I have been fine with the surgery until recently and I think it just may be that I am a tad too tight and am probably swollen yet from getting something stuck last week and I havent let it fully fix itself. I understand I HAVE to take a step back and stick to liquids to let this get better. Up until last week, I have been fine with not 'eating' as much as anyone else, that has never been the problem for me because I do still enjoy my smaller meals with my family. It was just that night during dinner that those two bites did not go down well. The same thing happened to us at the casino last Friday as well and I've come to realize both of those times were when I was eating out with a group of people. I am still pushing myself to eat the better things out there and while at a buffet Friday, I got caught up with the good food I saw and wanted to try it out with everyone else. Then, as a person sits at the table and you are talking to everyone else, you take a bite and do not fully chew like you should and there it goes... I have always gone in spurts with my diet my whole life.. I can really kick ass and it feels so easy to live healthy and then the next day I can't take it anymore, its like a switch that flips on and off. I guess its something I will always go through. But I have to say this.. I AM happy that I have a band rather than the latter. I realize I was just releasing my frustrations on the band when it is myself that needs to change. I need to be more aware of my eating habits when Im with others because its easy to get caught up in the moment and forget that Im banded and am not able to chow down like everyone else. Thank you all again for your replies.. I do realize I am fortunate to have the band and I am thankful for it.

Ok, I am not sure if I am too tight or what is going on. I have 6.5 cc's in my band and things have been going well for me.. But in the last few days everything seems to get stuck.. I have hardly eaten today and tried to have dinner with my family and ate one pickle slice and one fry and it got stuck.. completely RUINED my whole meal as I was unable to eat a lick of anything else so I sat there and watched everyone else enjoy their meal. I am getting discouraged with this band and am honestly wishing I had done gastric instead. I want to enjoy my meals with my family.. I hate this getting stuck crap and watching everyone else eat. Is this really worth it to me?? I am seriously asking myself that a lot lately. I am definitely going to make an appt with my doc and have some taken out because this is no way to live.. at this point I am sure my stoma is swollen thus making things worse. I used to worry about over-eating and now I hardly enjoy a meal anymore and it just sucks.