AlienBandit

Whenever I fall off the wagon or can't eat right I do the 5 day pouch test. This is great to see how your band is doing, if you need a fill, shrinks your stomach a bit and gets you back into healthy eating. If I have an appointment with my doc and I am debating a fill I do this for a few days before to see if I really need a fill or if my head is getting the best of me.

My port is on my left side, now under my muscles a little below [and to the left of] my belly button

My port is on the left side of my stomach. It used to be right beside my belly button but the thinner I got the more it stuck out. I had it moved and now it is under my muscles on the left side. You can discuss with your doctor the pain you have and see where he usually puts people ports.

The first time I noticed my pants were getting longer I thought I was getting shorter. In the past when I lost a lot of weight and my pants were getting longer my boyfriend at the time would think i was getting shorter. A few months ago I was getting frustrated because I wasn't losing weight but then my pants started getting longer so I knew that it mean my body was changing. Great job on the longer skirt!

I found after my tt my stomach felt weird because it was numb. Therefore I felt more comfortable wearing my wrap. I wore mine for the first 6 weeks 24/7. Then i started to wear it when I was out ( moving around the most) and at night. Slowly by 3 months I stopped wearing it but then had some changes made and I am wearing it again. Right now I have one on 24/7 and it's been just over a month.

Go with your gut feeling. If you are not mentally prepared then its ok to wait to do the surgery. I researched the band for 7 years in Canada and wanted it badly but never thought I would get it done. Then I moved to Korea and started researching again. After a few months of research, I contacted a few doctors but dragged my feet some. When I was good and ready I made an appointment to see a doctor and had my surgery 3 weeks after my first consultation ( self pay gets you through things faster). Yes I thought it was quick but I felt ready and was mad I had waited as long as I did. Everyone is different though:)

Some people do the 5 day pouch test to get back on track. The first time I did it I lost 3kg. I do it to get back on track, get rid of my cravings and see how my pouch is doing.

The band is not a magic wand. When you have good restriction there are certain things that you can't eat but all of our bands are different. Yes some bad foods will be easy to eat. Icecream, soda, sugar drinks, chocolate etc can move easily through your band because they are liquid. You need to have will power and motivation with this band for it to work. Some people even still do diets like weight waters and Atkins etc to help them lose weight. Everyone is different though. I can eat fruit no problem, eggs, chicken and cheese. It is only when I am overfilled I can't eat these things. I try not to eat bread because I lose weight faster if I dont.

Getting used to your body takes time. Trust me, I am still not used to my body. I was starting to accept it though I didnt see myself as being thin but then i had a tummy tuck and have to try to get used my body all over again. You have lost 80lbs! That is great! Your body is changing still and will continue to change as you lose weight. JDon't worry your skin will change too. Keep trying hard and working out. You are becoming a healthy you

I love wordpress. I was using blogspot or something before and it was terrible. Wordpress is organized very well i find and I have never had a problem using it. Yes I have the free version. If I was making another blog I would def use wordpress.

My doctor said once my incisions were healed a bath was ok. However if you can find really good waterproof bandages, those works too

Heather, I recently fell off the wagon as well. For me when this happens I do a few things. If I need a fill I get one ( got one last week ) I also try to exercise more and reduce my carbs. If I have trouble getting back into healthy eating I do the 5 day pouch test. It is easy for me to do the 5 day pouch test right after a fill because you should be doing a few days of liquids anyways. This website is certainly a great place Happy weight loss

You and I are almost in the same boat. However I never had problems with my fills until my doctor moved my port. It is now under my muscles. My first few fills post op moving my port were fine. My doc could feel and poke and be successful the first try. Recently I had a tummy tuck and I am still a little swollen, but was dying for a fill so my doc said he could give me one. After checking with anultrasound to find my port he poked me and missed. It was so painful because he was poking and poking through my muscles. Then he tried again and missed again. He used the ultrasound and tried again and missed again. Then I went for an xray which he looked at and then tried again and missed again. It wasn't until he took a very large pillow and put it under my lower back so my stomach was up high in the air that he was able to hit my port. Gosh my muscles were sore for days after that. Anyways I feel your pain freaking out, not wanting another surgery etc. I was so worried but everything worked out. Sometimes our ports hide a bit. I am sure everything will be fine. Maybe your doctor should try the pillow trick? Good luck

What band do you have? I have never heard of a 12cc band unless your doc is considering the tubing to hold the last 1cc. There are 11cc bands out ther I know. I used to have a 11cc SAG band ( generation before realize) and my doc thought I would be good at 7cc. However even at 10cc I wasn't at my sweet spot and I know someone else who had that band and had 11cc in the band. Everyone is different. Stomachs are different. Bands are different. I now have the lapband which has a different style then SAG and realize and I have almost perfection restriction at 4.5cc in a 10cc band. Its strange to think I once had 10cc filled in an 11cc band when I know that much fill would kill me with this different band

The first little while it might take some getting used to having the band before you love it. Just think if you got the sleeve you might have regretted it and wished you had gotten the band. I think we have all been there. Been stressed, not losing lots of weight, regreting our decisions etc. Heck I have been there a few times and even considered getting the sleeve again after my first band complications. However I love my band and decided tostick with it even when I could have changed to the sleeve. Keep your chin up things will get better. Just remember atleast your not gaining weight

this website is driving me nuts. I am about ready to give up and stop trying to get on!

What is this pain like? I had erosion but we caught it really early. It was 3mm in size and I didn't even really know I had it. How I got to the point of getting an endoscope check was I had acid reflux one night, my tubing hurt ( which can mean infection or erosion) and I had some weird stomach pains sometimes at the top of my stomach. My doc decided right away to check and sure enough there was erosion. I was completely unfilled for 2 weeks and on meds. After 2 weeks we checked my stomach again and it was healing really well ( photo here http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/home-from-the-hospital-and-photos/) so my doctor said I had 2 choices. I could have my band removed, wait 3 months and get a new one or he could keep me unfilled and stitch my stomach on the inside and wait for me to heal before giving me a fill. I decided to have my band removed and waited a few months before gettng a different one. I am now 7 months post op my second band and no problems of erosion

Life with the band is different but you learn to live with it. I have been banded on and off for a year and a half and sometimes I forget I have the band. I am so used to the way I eat that I don't think twice sometimes about food it is more a hmm what to eat for dinner well how about blah blah blah and I just know that things like bread etc wont be eaten. The band is not something that will hang over your head and take over your life. It is a lifestyle change. However this is not the easy way out. If you dont watch your eating and dont exercise then you can easily gain weight and think that the band was a waste of time because you are working just as hard before the band. I have had some problems lately and havent been able to go gyming and I need a fill and I gained 6 pounds! My doctor will surely kill me when I see him next but this is a learning experience really. Good luck! This is a great choice your making

I find if I use a bit of benefiber every morning with my coffee everything works out fine. Sometimes if I have problems I have to change my diet. I know what really gets me going is nachos ( bad I know but it works), nuts, and kimchi ( something you probably dont know). Hopefully you can find some things that will work for you. It's all about relearning how to eat, live and poop lol

I know these might be some weird suggestions but living a country where I can't seem to find many things like MOM, etc here are some solutions I have found sometimes work to help move things along Brown rice Bananas ( ie low cal banana bread I make) Beans yogurt ( Probiotics help) flax seed ( can get at costco add to yogurt, shakes, etc) coffee kimchi lots of Water aloe juice lots of exercise coffee covered nuts ( from my experience) Benefiber ( shipped from Canada) dried mangoes prunes prune juice Right now if I have any problems I try coffee with some benefiber. I also have a backup senecot but I dont use it often at all. Usually something on this list helps. You also dont want to over do it because then you might have major diarrhea problems!

When I had my first band surgery I came out with 4 incisions. Here is a post with a photos of my incisions and how they looked after some time http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/band-and-lipo-scar-photos/ Since I have had a few surgeries I have a few different scars that are all at different stages of healing. I really must do another post like this again soon. My last band surgery was July and the scars from that time are not even noticeable unless you within 12inches of my stomach staring at them as I point to them.

Our goal weights are all dfferent because we have a different 'goal' in the end. Some of us want a low bmi, certain fat percent, certain amount lost etc. If you are happy at a certain weight and your doc is saticfied with what you want as your goal weight I yhink that is fine. You might down the line your goal weight might change again. My goal has always been 130 but I could never get past 150lbs so I have always had negative feelings towards 150lbs. However i am there now and was almost happy with my body so Imoved my goal weight to 140 and now 145. I might never get to 145 so if not 150 is ok but the highest i ever want to be.

Sure ifferent people have failed with the band for many different reasons. Some people dont realize the work needed with the band expecting itto be a magic wand thus disappointing them. Some dont change their diets good enough or keep up with bandster rules preventing them from losing weight. Some dont keep up withxdoc visigs and fills which can prevent success and others have complications that can prevent or stall weight loss If you follOw your doctors orders, eat well , exercise and work witj your band you can be a success

I ve done the pouch test twice and blogged about it. You can search it on my blo if you want to see what I ate during that time

Whats your band size and fill size? I had the SAG band which is an earlier version of realize and I need a fill of atleast 10cc before i had restriction. I also had to push myself at the gym to lose weight. It isnt easy but you can do this!