shonette

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Always remember: The greatest love is the love of thou own self! Honey, before you can ever love or receive love from anyone else you must first “love” yourself. God made you special and unique and there is someone out there waiting to love you.<BR><BR>I wish you the very best in every thing that you do. You are wonderfully made in God's own image.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>

I am glad to hear that you are doing well. Take your time and allow your body to heal. Right now you should not worry so much about the amount of food you can take in, but keeping your body hydrated with fluids is important. Also, remember the band is very swollen from the procedure so baby it and yourself. With this lapband race- so and easy is the best way. Taking the gas stripes really helped after my surgery and also drinking warm fluids also gave me so comfort. I do wish you the best of luck.

Yes, people with the sleeve lose a lot faster that we do. They don't have all of those restrictions issues like we do, but it's really a different process both of ya'll are going through. Don't beat yourself up and do the very best you can do with the tool you have. Good luck.

I wish you the very best of luck with your procedure. Welcome to the band world!

Trust me- having some fluid taking out was the best choice I have made in a very long time. I don't have the restriction I did, but my food choices were poor due to all of the stuck episodes I was experiencing. Therefore, the weight was not coming off any way. Good luck and I pray you won't experience that anytime soon.

<P>Sometimes, we don't give ourselves enough credit for all of the hard work we have put into our band. 42 pounds is alot of weight to losts and you should be very proud of yourself. Next week will mark one full year since I had my band. I have lost about 80 pounds but my weight do slide back and forward due to my water retension. But I try really hard not to compare myself to anyone else and to be grateful for the weight God has allowed me to lose. You are doing an awesome job. Be very proud of yourself for that. Good luck with your future weight lost. </P>

The band is a tool that each person has to learn which key to use to unlock their weight lost doors. Good article. Thanks for the insight.

Great post and I have soul searched some of these same issues myself. It's really a personal journey that each person has to commit to. You have done an awesome job. I pray things pick up for you really soon.

<P>Having this band has truly been trail and error for me. I don't blame the band for anything that I am going through, but I have to learn to be proactive and responsible for the way my band works. It's crazy how some people require a certain amount of saline to feel the same restriction. <BR><BR>I do think within a week I will go back to have a little added back into my band. I am taking this time to allow my band to heal and f or any swelling to go down from all the stuck episodes I experienced. Thansk so much Deedee72 for your kind words and concern. </P>

<P>Great words to express fulfillment without food. Loved it. </P>

Within the last couple of months, I was having a lot of problems with sliming/ everything getting stuck/ and feeling just down right awful! I tried to eat smaller bites and chew my foods very slowly and wait 30 seconds before my next bite of food. Well, nothing was working for me. I had some fluid taken out almost 4 months prior so I was so afraid of losing my restriction. Therefore, I continued to endure with the sliming and every single thing placed in my mouth getting stuck. I was getting so depressed because the band is a tool that befriends you in the weight lost process, but I was not getting that return from my band. Therefore, I knew I had to make some quick decisions because the constant throwing up was starting to effect my esophagus due the acid reflux I was experiencing. I went in last week and had some fluid removed from my band. I was brought down from 4.8cc to 4.2cc. I felt instant relief and yes- I am not as tight but that was my problem. I did some research and when the band is implanted- there is only an opening about the size of an ink pen opening for foods and drink to travel through. That's why we are told to eat small bites of food and to drink fluids slowly to prevent things from getting stuck and to endure long periods of pain and suffering. Therefore, when the band is too tight it makes things that much more difficult to allow foods/drinks to go down properly. I still have decent restriction without all the uncomfortable drama (sliming/ throwing up/ acid reflux and pain)! Therefore, I have learned it's not all about how much saline is in the band, but the ability to use the band as the tool it was designed to be. I am much happier with some fluid being removed than I was having the band tighter than it should have been. Also remember, when your band is too tight you will make poor food choices. That means eating slider foods that will cause weight gain and not weight lost. (just a little food for thougth)! I am almost at my one year mark as of July 21st with only 4.2 ccs in my 10cc band. but my band is working as a friend and not a foe! I have a tendency to want everything to happen quickly, but slow and easy works better for me. If anyone is experiencing a lot of sliming, throwing up, daily episodes of food and drinks getting stuck, you may consider having a little fluid removed and allowing your band a time period to heal from the entire trauma episode it's experienced. I am starting to love and befriend my band all over again! I am definitely a work in progress. Thanks for listening and supporting me through it all. My wonderful band family!

This month will mark one year of being banded, and I have lost about 80 pounds. Some people's bodies respond very differently with weight lost. However, If your restriction is good you may be eating a lot of high calorie foods which keeps the weight from coming off. I have to be very careful not to consume hight calorie foods that are a lot easier to get down. I do know it will cause the weight lost process to stop. I do pray you figure out what's going on so you can get the other 50 pounds off.

My prayers are with you always. I can't even imagine what you have gone through. It appears that you have a very positive attitude about it all. God will give you the strenght to endure it all. I pray things continue to go well for you and your health continues to get better with every day to come. Your are an inspiration to me! May God continue to bless and keep you in good spirit, mind, body, and soul!

I am close to my one year of being banded, and yes I have very good restriction. Sometimes, I think a little more restriction than what I want to have. However, I remember someone on this site telling me earlier on in this process that time was the only thing that would get me to the place I wanted to be at. Two months is very earlier in this LB process. It's going to take time to feel the restriction you desire and truly want to have. Learn to be patient with yourself and your band. The weight did not come over night and it's not going to come off over night. When you lose the weight a little slower, your body is allowed to rebound properly. Therefore, you will not be left with a lot of unwanted skin and your body will look and feel tone and tight. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://cdn.lapbandtalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif"> <BR><BR>Give yourself time to get to the place you desire to get to. I do pray you have a speedy recovery so you can get back to working out. I also injured my left knee a couple of weeks ago, but after a couple of days I started my workout back but at a slower pace. If you are only able to do chair exercise , do that because its better than doing nothing at all.

Always remember why you are going to put your body through this entire process,and then is the food you want to eat worth the set back you will experience later. The habits you form now will more than likely be the same way you behavior when get your band. This road is hard enough to travel than most people think, therefore learning how to abide by rules now and it will make things a lot easier later on. I do wish you the very best to come.

Great news and I know you must be very proud of yourself.

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">I really do appreciate everyone's support with the issues I am having with my band. Sometimes, it's easy to think you are losing it or the only person in the world who is going through these issues with their band. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><BR><BR>Therefore, I really do appreciate other band patients like you being open about your own personal issues and struggles. No, the doctor I am currently seeing does not have a band. The doctor who originally did my surgery had a band, and he related a whole lot better with some of the issues I experienced. No, I really don't have that personal insight from my current doctor any more. He is very nice and he tries really hard to understand some of the things I am saying, but honestly he really doesn’t have a clue. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">One good example about this band being an every day unknown struggle was lunch yesterday on my son's summer camp outing. We ate in the park and I made turkey sandwiches on wheat bread. "God knows that was one of the biggest mistakes I could have ever made for myself" I took very small bites and Lord knows I chewed forever but yes it got stuck" Therefore, you can only image how the trip was for me from then on. There was almost an hour of me sliming and trying to get that food up or down. It was also very embarrassing, because- remember I was in a park with absolutely no privacy! The closest rest area was like a couple of minutes away, and I could continue to run back and forth to the rest area to spit up. Therefore, I used almost a whole roll of paper towels. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">It was just awful in every way. </SPAN></P>

I am so very sorry to hear that you are experiencing this awful stuck feeling. Unfortuately, I am experencing the stuck feeling more often than I would care to talk about. I eat slowly and chew my food until there is nothing left to chew on. I take very small bites of food at any given time. I feel like my band has a mind of it's own, because every day is never the same and thank God for that. I really don't know who encouraged you to drink on top of something being stuck, but that was never a good option for me because thing only got worse when I did! Remaining calm and taking deep breaths really help things to pass a lot quicker. I am normally able to bring up whatever may be stuck at the time, but it's still a very painful and a uncomfortable feeling at the same time. I hope things gets a lot better for you.

On July 21st it will make a whole year since I had my band put in. Lately, I have second guessed my choice to have this band. I have had some many episodes of feeling that stuck feeling and throwing up a slimly substance because things are not going down properly. I have spoke with my doctor about these issues and several different reasons have been given for my episodes. No- I don't eat large bites of food at any given time, and I always take my time while eating. No- this is not happening all of the time, but yes- it's happening more than I would like for it to be happening. I feel like "my" band has a mind of its own. There are certain days I feel super tight and other days things feel just right. My doctor has explained that my band should always feel the same unless it's swollen and irritated by something I have done wrong. Honestly, this band has so many rules and does & don'ts! I do thank God for my weight lost, but it has truly come with a price. I could have never understood this before actually going through a lot of different trials. Having this band is not an easy fix with losing weight. It really takes a lot of discipline and complying with a lot of different rules. On the flip side, my niece has the sleeve and she has none of these issues to deal with. She can only eat a smaller portion of food, but there are not all of the other restrictions Iike band patience do. I can deal with the smaller portions, but sometimes I feel just miserable and wishing my choices was different. I do understand that with any weight lost procedure anything can go wrong, but sometimes I just want to feel normal during meal times. I really don't eat out with my family any more due to the awful things I experience while attempting to eat. (having to leave the table to spite up food that will not go down or have this crazy look on my face because I fee this awful pain in my upper chest area) Then I have days that I have no problems at all. I want to emphasize once more that small portions are not a problem, but to always worry about my meals and if I am going to be able to swallow what I am eat is. It’s the most difficult with my 6 year old son when these things are going on, because he now tell me “Mommie you should have never got that band”! I feel like I've come too far to have every single thing taken out of my band, and honestly I only have 4cc in a 10cc band. My doctor wants to take everything out and for me to start all over again with my fills. I am almost at my 12 month mark and my fills will be no longer covered per my contract. My band is not even half full and in less than 17 days I will be a year banded. There are some things that I have found that really help me not to experience that stuck feeling in my throat/upper chest area. If I drink warm drinks throughout my day things have an easier time going down vs. me not drinking warm drink. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but if I try to eat real food my day is shot from then on. Therefore, skipping breakfast or having a protein shake works a whole lot better for me. I just want people to be aware that there maybe complications with this band and there is definitely no easy fix for losing weight. Each person has to figure out what works best for them and their band and continue to apply the principles of having a band. (Don’t mix food and drink- eat very, very slowly to prevent things from getting stuck- don't over eat to the point of throw food back up- don't over do the protein because it's bad on the kidneys "I learned that one the hard way"- exercise is your best friend if you want quick weight lost- learn to research things you have questions about or seek information from reliable sources) Following these steps have really helped me to get to the point where I am now with my weight lost. I do realize this is a daily effort to keeping my weight off, but having these tools handy will really make things a lot easier to accomplish your goals.

Sorry to say it but whole corn does not do well for me at all. I can tolerate eating cream corn but not whole corn. I hope you continue to do well. Good are looking very well.

<P>I do agree with Ne-CeeCee, the best thing to help your gas pains to past is moving around and taking the gas-x stripes were really good. I pray things continues to go well with you on this new exciting Journey!</P>

Just remember that your liquid diet is just a short term goal, and pretty soon you will be on your way to a new and improved person. Therefore, it seem very hard and difficult but it's worth all the things you are subjected to right now!

<P>That is wonderful news and I can only image how proud you are of yourself. I too have been pleasantly surprised to get into sizes that I never thought I could or would wear again. Good luck and I hope you continue to see the sizes go down. </P>

You have done a great job and it appears that you have learned how to work with your band as a tool to help you reach you goal(s)! You have a beautiful face and awesome smile.

Congrats on the weight lost goal. I pray God allow you to find that teaching job just in time for the upcoming school year.