howdybooth

Nancy - you are correct and said that very nicely! I think we were all trying a lot of tough love! Everyone one of us must make our own decisions at the end of the day!

Btrieger: Yes she does and it isn't pleasant to be around!!! Hey looks like you're doing an outstanding job with your weight loss. Congrats!

Rsilversea......my sister had RNY and has dumping and it's pretty awful. She gets very, very gassy and runs to the bathroom non-stop with diarrhea. She had her surgery 10 years ago this month and has lost about 180 pounds. She went from 400 to 220 – most of it lost during the first 18 months after the surgery. She now struggles to keep her weight down; she’s around 235-240 right now and is considering going in for the band. Like a lot of RNYs, she’s discovered that she has stretched out her stomach and can eat more food. My hero is a gal where I work. She has gone from 335 to 145. It took her about 2 ½ years, but she’s kept is off. And if she starts getting were she can eat more, she goes and gets a fill. That’s what sold me on the band over RNY.

Blue - I have the Lap Band AP, but I'm not sure if it's L or S - but it holds 10cc and I'm at about 7 cc. My surgeon doesn't just do bariatric surgery - he's a general surgeon and the banding is only 5% of his business. He's very easy to talk to and allows me to be as aggressive with my fills as I want. My first fill was 2.5cc, my second 3cc, and my third with 2cc, but I had to go back and have some removed the next day……just too tight. From April, May, and June I was going great and then just stopped losing. I was still tight, but I'd lose 2 than gain 4. Then from one week to the next I went from tight to feeling like I was wide open. So I did get another fill last week, only .6cc and I'm tight again. But - I'm 49 and I've started having problems with hormones, which my doc was very common with women and losing weight. From what he told me, estrogen is stored in fat and as I've lost fat, I've lost estrogen and I'm just not producing it as much as I did in my younger days.....the joys of getting older! Any way - with the bump I got last week, I'm down 7 pounds this week and I don't believe it's all because of the fill........I think it's part of it’s hormones and not retaining fluid this week!

Blue_Eyes - it looks like the two of us got banded pretty close to the same time.....mine was 11/16/09. I started at 290 and I'm down to 225 as of today!!! I actually managed to gain 7 pounds between my surgery and my first fill in January. Been pretty steady since then.

Just ask for a more aggressive fill........my surgeon is all about what I want. Just remember, with an aggressive fill you will be VERY tight. 2-3 bites of anything and you are full for 3+ hours. But you must also remember that the lapband isn't a fast weight loss surgery - it's slow, but steady.

My surgeon is different from others……I was allowed mushy stuff starting on day 3. You might want to try some fat-free refried beans – they are still my fav! Add a little cheddar cheese and it’s a delis meal. Also – if you just can’t eat, just make sure that you are drinking fluids! You can go a long time without food, but not without fluids.

Then I suggest you post on those sights.......you asked those of us that have had lapband.......we gave you our answers......you didn't like them and got hostile. We can't help you. And please - don't you be so judgemental! We are stuggling every day ourselves to keep on the right track - it's not any easier for us than for you. Not one of us that posted an answer has been lucky - we've worked our butts off!

You aren't going to like this, but neither of the other options are going to help you if you don't change your eating habits. I know two women with the DS that have started gaining back their weight.......I know another that has kept her weight off, but lost most her teeth from throwing up because of over eating. As for the by-pass - two people I know have gain back most if not all the weight they lost........you must face the fact that if you don't change the way you deal with food, nothing is going to help you. With that said - I feel confident that you will go ahead and have major surgery. Sorry to sound negative, but I think you are looking for someone to agree with you and I just can't! My own sister is now looking at getting the band - after by-pass, because she still has a bad relationship with food and can no longer lose weight. She went from 415 to 230, but since she is only 5 foot tall - she is still very over weight...... Good luck with your decision.....

My doc say there isn't any reason to not have sodas. I have one every couple of weeks and they aren't diet!

Had mine done 9 months ago.......got to the hospital at 6 AM and was home by 11 AM. The only thing I work up feeling was woozy and thirsty!! So don't make the mistake I did and start gulping down any liquids.....that's really the only time I hurt. Later I realized that pain is the same pain I still feel if I eat too much. Of course you are sore........but really - nothing that the pain meds can't take care of.........and Knaroz is correct - don't plan on sleeping on your stomach or left side for awhile. Most doctors place the port left upper side of your body, next to your ribs. Good luck - you'll be fine!

Franky Gee - any of those things listed will be fine! I love and still eat a lot of fat free turkey chilli with shredded cheese and fat-free re-fried Beans - but then again, I live in Texas so those two things are daily staples here! I was banded 11/09 and didn't have my first fill until 1/10 (because of the holidays and my surgeon having surgery) and I managed to gain 7 lbs!!!! Just remember - most surgeons don't do fills for the first 4-6 weeks after surgery to allow your tummy to heal and during that time, the opening between the two stomachs is pretty wide open and you can eat just about anything - just in smaller portions. It's a pretty rude awakening after that first fill when you eat 3 bites and your done, but after all - that's why you choose the band. I'm currently 9 months out and I've lost 65 pounds and I keep my band tight and I'm hardly ever hungry! So hang in there!

Esin - I think some of these folks with problems are the minority.......most of us do just fine - as long as we follow the rules. I personally can't eat most meat unless it's very moist.....too dry and it will stick and I will be uncomfortable. I also can't eat too late or I will have problems with acid reflux - which I never had before. I recently got another fill (only .6 cc) and I'm tight again. I'm back to 3-4 bites of food, chewed very well, and then I'm full and not hungry for 3+ hours. Am I always satisfied? Hell no, but that was pretty much why I was over weight to begin with....... I recently had someone tell me how "lucky" I was to have the band. As I sat there a few minutes, staring at her, I finally said, "yea, I'm real lucky. I just had one chip, with some queso with sausage, and now I'm full for the rest of the evening - I'm real lucky". Sometimes eating isn't just about satisfing your hunger.....it's also a social event that we now can't participate in. But in the end - I'm ok with that! When people see how sucessful I've been with the band and ask me if they should have it, I tell them only if you never want to eat another hambuger again........and that's just a fact you have to live with. At least while you are losing the weight. Banded 11/09 - 290 lbs Current weight - 225 lbs

Got my fill - only .6cc this time - smallest fill I've ever had. Now I'm nice and tight. Back to 3-4 bits and I'm done! I stay nice and full and never hungry....once again, I have to remind myself that I need to eat otherwise I start filling weak! Already lost 5 pounds in 5 days! Back on track again.....wooohooo!

You guys are in for a rude awakening if you're already "cheating"! It is true that right after surgery your stomach will be swollen and you won't really feel like eating, but.........all Doctors are different when it comes to your first fill and as the swelling goes down, the opening between your little stomach and the rest of your stomach gets bigger.......and you can eat more food and worse - any type of food! Some of us even managed to gain some weight before our first fill. I saw one post where a woman says she's at 8cc on a 10cc band and she has only lost 1 pound.....in 6 months! That means she is eating all the wrong food - cheating! My suggestion is to stick as closely to the diet as you can - and try a Protein drink with more protein!!! I still drink the Myoplex Lite (20 grams of protein) for breakfast since I can't really eat first think in the AM. I've lost 65 pounds in 9 months. BTW - I was afraid that I couldn't stick to a liquid diet for 10 days before my surgery so I started the liquid diet for 2 meals per day 4 weeks before my surgery! Then the 10 days full liquid was an easy tranistion. Good Lucky!

Hope you really didn't mean 3 plates of pasta!!! That's extreme! When you say you can eat anything you want except most breads and some meats, then what are you eating? When I'm tight and losing, I can't eat any breads and very, very little meat. If you are eating chips and slider foods you will not lose weight - no matter how much less you eat now compared to before the surgery. The band doesn't work miracles.......you've got to help it by eating the right foods. You could have 10cc in a 10cc band and still not lose weight if you aren't eating correctly.

Josie - always - always eat protein first!!!! It will fill you up and keep you full for longer periords of time and you will keep your HAIR!!! As for 9cc - you didn't say if you have 10 or 14cc band. If only 14, then 9 isn't so much. I'm going in for a fill this week too. I have a 10cc band and I'm already at 6cc, so I still have more to go. Last fill I had (3 months ago) I asked my doc what happens if I get to 10 and he said not to worry - 10 was very tight. I'm 9 months out and I've lost 65 lbs.

So, just when I think I have this banding thing down, something changes! I got my last fill at the end of April, which was my 3 fill since I was banded in mid November. I've had really good restriction - can't hardly eat what I call my "bad" foods (breads, pastas - all the things that greatly contributed to my need for a band! ). I've been doing great on the weight loss - 2 lbs per week. Then during July I started this up and down stuff so that basically I'm at the same weight I was at the begining of July. Then Monday, I'm suddenly loose! I can eat breads, organge chicken, etc. Small amounts, but still more then I need to be eating. So, I've scheduled another fill! It just is so strange to me that I go from having good restriction to barely any restriction! Has this happen to anyone else?

You know what? The same happened to me. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to follow the 10 day per surgery liquid diet that I started it 4 weeks before my surgery......lost 17 pounds. After the surgery, with no fill, I lost 7 more pounds. Then I went 8 weeks, getting less and less restricted......gained the 7 pounds back. It wasn't until I had a very aggressive fill (3 ccs) that I steadly started losing weight. I'm now down 65 pounds total - 8 months out. But, if I'm not really restricted - I don't lose any weight - even at only 1000-1200 cals per day.......I have to be under 1000 to lose. Only thing I can tell you - try and get an agressive fill!

I'm 8 months out and can't eat more then 1 tiny bite of half those things you listed......except for maybe the cookie :cursing:) It took me 3 fills before I got the restriction that "I" was looking for........I say it that way because I like to be tight. If I'm not tight, then I too can eat just about anything I like - just very small amounts and I'd rather not have that temptation. So, maybe you need to be tighter?????

I have consistently lost 2 lbs per week until very recently - I'm 32 post band and I've lost 65 lbs. Now I won't lose for one or two weeks or even be up a pound and then lose 4 lbs........So, I'm thinking it's because I've gotten down to my last 30-35 lbs to lose and I will now have to work even harder. I know I don't need a fill - I'm still pretty restricted. I just beleive that I need to make better choices with food and bump up my exercise.

Actually - if you think about it - how is it really any different? Those of us who have it done the "normal" way know that our first few fills don't tend to be a whole lot before you're restricted. As I've lost weight, I've had more agressive fills. So with that in mind........wouldn't filling it up all the way and then removing until the liquid passes amount to just about emptying the band? With that being said, it just seems like a waste of saline to me.....Plus - I have to pay for each of my fills and I really don't want to have a pay for a flouro each time!!!

Waynes6 - I haven't noticed either of those causing tightness. Here's what I do know.....If I eat too late, when I go to bed, I have problems with slimming or just plain old acid reflux (which I've never had before!). Then my pouch becomes more sensitive and I'm tighter feeling the next day. It really takes me 3-4 hours to digest my food and it's really hard to eat by 6:00 pm. So, I try to have a bigger meal at lunch, where I have an hour to eat and the rest of the day to digest and a very light meal at dinner.

You should notice a difference. Right now you are eating less, but basically what you've always eaten, but remember - you have nothing in your band right now! Once I had my first fill it was really a rude awakening! I no longer could eat bread (love bread - hence my weight problem), pasta is really hard, and meat is a struggle. I have a protein drink in the AM, I now love and have added greek yogurt to my daily meals and chicken! I really, really work hard at getting my daily requirement of protein!!!

You all may just be eating more then you realize. As your weight goes down, your band should be less tight - causing less restrictions. That in turn allows you to eat more, or maybe even eat foods that you couldn't before. So you may want to pay extra close attention to how much and what kinds of food you are eating.