Betsyjane

Great idea, Kat! Parenting classes with BF might lead to some interesting discussions about how you guys want to raise the little one.

OK...so now it's no drinking so you don't effect the fetus..no smoking...no drugs...and read everything you can on childcare. What might also be fun, since you are a writer, is the start a journal to give your baby about all of the experiences you have had and what you've learned. Or maybe first write a journal to yourself about what you've leanred and how you want to parent a baby. At some point, you'll need to tell you child that he or she has an inherited vulnerability to alcoholism or addiction, and should be very cautious about ever drinking or drugging. You'll also have to keep an eye out for evidence of bipolar stuff. Do you have any people in your life who you consider to have awesome parenting skills who can kind of mentor you through this time? Any idea what you'll do with the baby while yotu are in school? Gosh. There's so much to think through, isn't there?

I think the reason I responded to this thread at all is that the OP says over and over that the band is a big con. Under the guise of wanting information, the person isn't asking but it telling us that the FACT is that it's a con. To that, I'd say, go do your homework and come back when you are more educated.

LOL! That's the con for sure! My lap band doctor NEVER told me I'd be spending money on new clothes! How dare he!

Hey gArfield! I'm now off all my diabetic meds, and I could only get my blood sugar up to 100 by eating ice cream! My osteoporosis also completely reversed. Whadda con!

And soccerdad.....you may not be restricted yet. Don't kick yourself. It took me 3 fills before they hit my sweet spot. I was banded mid November and wasn't restricted until the end of January. Keep the faith.

I applaud you for fessing up. Remember this. You are human and not perfect. It is totally normal to fall off the wagon. Alcoholics do it and so do other addicts. Sometimes an alcoholics's goal is just to fall off less often and for less time. It's also normal for old behaviors to crop up for us humans and try to reestablish dominance before they are gone forever. It's also possible that your pouch is a bit stetched...been there. Whenever you feel like you have gathered your energy to try again, take a deep breath, go on liquids for a day or so to settle yourself back in, keep a food journal for a couple of days, go to support group, and move forward. You know how to do it or you wouldn't have lost all that weight. It may be that you aren't ready to get going again until your next fill, but whenever it is, you'll do it. This human being stuff is hard, isn't it? Maybe you can get your fill moved up if you tell thyem you think you might have stretched your pouch or might have a leak and are eating way too much. You'll succeed in your time.

Hi Sweetpea. After however many fills it takes to get restriction, you'll have more tools on your side. The first is that you won't be hundry, so that will help. Until then, you really are functioning almost as if you have no band. But junk foods, unfortunately, usually go through the band better than good foods.... so for now, your best bet is to practice the bandster lifestyle as much as you can. Be sure to eat protein and vege meals with no "sliders" (water, gravy, butter) so you can practice filling up and chewing slowly. And keep soing what you are doing...identifying behaviors you'll need to work to change like eating the kids' snacks. It was hard for me to ony eat at meal time. And to eat slowly. And to avoid ice cream. One of the things I found was that I ate too much and too often whenever the TV was on, so I needed to change that. Consider your band to be about a 6 month education for you, learning to do things differently. Fortunately, once you have restriction, it's a whole lot easier.

You can find that member by clicking on Memberlist.

Don't worry about learning to eat slowly and chew chew chew. Believe me.....You'll be so cautious as first and when you have restriction, you'll be punished if you don't. I too was a fast eater, and I have found that turning off the TV at meal time helps. So does taking a deep breath first and then concentrating on eating, almost like a meditation. I spent a lot of years in an eating trance. Now my trance is about honoring the food and my body.

That's great. You're ready to go! I went on that program years ago, and also lost weight. Couldn't keep it off....same old story. What a great way to start your banding experience...with a success!

No more diabetes. No more osteoporosis.

I hope before you consider seriously getting banded, that you will read a lot of this website, and do your research. You have to be psychologically ready to follow the bandster lifestyle, which for me was MUCH easier than dieting...and has had real results like I've never had before. Don't do the band until you are completely past ranting and fully into researching. And thanks, Wendell, for the concise post. I agree with everything you said.

Don't you love having no appetite? My Dr. is liberal, so I was only on liquids for 2 days and mushies for another 4 days. But my apetite came back as soon as I got on mushies.....

I crushed my pills at first, and took away the bitter taste by chewing my chewable vitamin just after. Now I just take my pills whole one at a time. I throw my chewable vitamin and chewable calcium pills in my blender with my ice, fruit and protein shake for breakfast. I use EAS CArb Control shakes because they have around 100 calories and around 20g of protein.

Yeah, some insurance plans cover the surgery and some don't. If yours does, your lap band doctor's office can walk you through the requirements after they check your insurance too. They've been through it so much that it will be worth getting your initial consult soon so you'll know what your path will be.

My dilation was caught pretty early so it wasn't large. I had gone in for a fill because I could eat anything, and she showed me the flouro pic from then and from the time before and my pouch was definitely larger. I was actually back to normal after around 3 days of liquids. One of my problems had been that I'm really restricted in the morning, so I have a shake but I had been gulping it down, and even the liquid was taking too long to go through the pouch and backing up. The dilation was actually a good thing for me. I've become much more sensitive to my pouch because of it. Whenever I feel like I've had more than usual to eat, my next meal is liquid. I needed the wake up call.

Terry! We'll be at the Sahara, and then moving later to Bellagio. I'll IM you my details in case you want to meet for a cuppa.

I had the unrestricted feeling with mine, but I understand that pouch dilation can cause a little band slippage that can make you feel WAY restricted, and that a partial or complete unfill sets the band right back where it is supposed to be...not like major slippage that needs surgery. So you may very well be right.

Hey everybody.... I'm trying to figure out whether to get a slight unfill before I leave for Vegas. I happily keep a pretty tight band, but I'd hate for it to get tighter with air travel. If you get travel restriction, how long does it last?

Thanks Shelli! Here's my new challenge. I'm headed to Vegas Monday and trying to decide whether to get a slight unfill first... I keep a pretty tight band anyway, but I hear so much about people being more restricted after air travel...and I don't need to be tighter!

Hey fellow Spivakers! How many of you get tight when you travel? If you do, how long does it last? I'm trying to decide whether to get a slight unfill before I leave for Vegas Monday. I happily keep a pretty tight band, but wouldn't want it much tighter! Thanks for the help.

Went to see Dr. today. They say that even if you don't reflux, if you have any bile taste, it's probably GERD due to too tight a band or eating in the evening...or a variety of other things...can be caffeine, eating chocolate, spicy food...oy. Mine is most probably due to the Advil I've been taking the last few weeks. They thought I could get away with a few weeks of it, but I couldn't. Advil is a challenge for lots of bandsters. So I'm off the Advil, on short term GERD meds, and I don't have to have an upper GI unless the symptoms don't go away. Oh, AND they told me that if you are using extra pillows at night so you don't reflux, that's not a good idea because that puts you in a position that cramps the abdomen and may actually increase reflux. They said to raise the top of your bed 6 inches by putting something under the feet of the bed..and then just use one pillow. Not my problem, but I thought it was interesting.....

I'll be in Vegas next Monday...but I want to see you all! How about the following Monday?

I just called my lap band Dr's office and they said I need an upper GI because any taste of bile is an indication of problems that left untreated can cause band erosion. They said other tastes may be OK, but any bile taste needs to be addressed immediately.