Birdie1973

Please don't stretch your pouch over a long period of time! I had my Lapband placed in 2006 and found my sweet spot and things were going great. I lost 2 sizes and I was in love with my Band so I coasted & did not try too hard to reach a goal on the scale. My diabetes, high blood pressure & etc. were improved or gone and I am 80 plus years old, so life was at it's best. I recommended the Band to anyone who inquired! Then in May of 2012 I had a mamagram and found I had Breast Cancer. The next week I had the saline removed from the Band and had breast removal the following week. To make a long story short (or long) I had drainage for several months after surgery and my eating changed. When I got back to normal health I couldn't stop eating over the long winter months. So when I visited my Bariatric Center last spring they did the dye picture & then said my pouch was stretched & there was nothing to do for me. (Age or ObomaCare? I don't know.) I cried, and then told myself I would work to find my "zone" again on my own. I've lost a little, and I still have my Band & it hasn't slipped. Now I need to just get my mind off food. I visited a Nutritionist last month and am reading some new books recommended in SparkPeople & Lapband for inspiration.

I'm very sorry orry abour the breast cancer. I hope that you are doing better now and that you are in good health. If I understood correctly, your band was deflated, but the pouch was still able to stretch with the deflated band ? If you are able to shrick your stomach with a liquid diet, would you be able to get a fill on your band again ?

I recently got approved and surgery is scheduled on November 4th in Chicago! I'd love to talk to and meet others who are getting or have been recently banded. I'm 23 and living in the Chicagoland area. I'd really love to talk to all of you and track our progress together!

Hi Swankybangels ! Nice to meet you . I've been banded for 3 years. Had my surgery at Day zone Health in Chicago. My name is Adriana. Currently I have no saline in my band because I stretched my band a little. Are you on a liquid diet now ?

yes I had them bad my dr prescribe me some med for it' date=' it finally got better, I think you will be ok, good your getting in to see the doctor, they may prescribe you something to control the spasms....good luck[/quote'].

Hi there! Just wondering .... Which was the medication for your spasms ? Thank you !

Thanks everyone. Today is pretty hard I have to admit. I had 3 Muscle Milk Lights (didn't finish them' date=' I can't find the stomach to finish it) and 2 cups of lettuce with a little vinegar. My stomach is screaming at me, don't know how I can do this for another 13 days. What did you guys do to get by?[/quote']

During my liquor diet I went and got a juicer . I juiced kale, celery, 1 green apple, spinach, and parsley, just the juice, not the Fiber . This can help you feel less tired and the Vitamins and minerals will give you a boost.

Check with your doctor first !!!

Good luck to you, best wishes. Take Csre.

Wow that's fantastic. I was banded August 2012. I have lost 83 lbs. Congratulations on your success .

I Hate Being Stuck!! And Nothing You Can Do But Be In Pain!!!

Have A Great Day This Too Shall Pass!!!

When I get stuck I drink hot Anise tea. It always helps. Anise is good to relax and soothe your stomach nerves. You need to sip hot beverages as they will expand your pouch and unstuck you . Good luck.

I met a girl in one of my lapband groups. She went for a fill and they made her drink Water then eat a cracker! She told the nurse it felt kind of stuck so they did not give her a fill. She really needs a fill. Any comments?

Thanks,

That's pretty mean that her doc's office did that. It sounds like they tricked her.

It's more important to log when you fall off. I know it's hard but it makes you accountable and maybe next time you'll think twice cause you know you are going to have to put it to ink.

Keep doing what you are doing. You'll get there. The head hunger and cravings are a real B*****.

I know. You are absolutely right. I guess I just don't want to see it in writing because it feels terrible.. Like today, I went out to dinner with my mom and my boyfriend. We went to my favorite restaurant, with my favorite people in my life. I was surrounded by food. Good food. I ate healthy, but I felt like ate wayyyy too much. I know that I ate wayyyyyy too much ! I thought, why bother writing this stuff down for today ! But you are right. I will have to write down everything. I need to be acoountable for this eating behavior. And see the thing is , my band used to be tighter. But I had to get an un-fill a couple of months ago due to a very slight slip. It fixed it self, Thank God, but I feel that my doctor is now skeptical to fill up my band as tight as it was before. Now, my fills are really spread apart. I'm supposed to go in in April for another one. I can hardly wait ! As of right now, I have to do more work with keeping my sanity and stop overating so much ! Thanks for listening. I really appreciate your reply.

My binge food starts with choc chip Cookies so I don't even buy them lol. It's ok if you have a slip up just brush it off and get back up and start all over again. I was just wondering how in the world you were able to eat all that bread. I would still be hanging my head in the toilet. I can not do bread or any potatoes. Good luck you can do this.

It's because my band feels loose. I asked my doctor for another fill last month and he gave me a very small one. He told me to go on liquids for a few days , if I felt like I had stretched my pouch. I called his office days later and asked his nurse if I could come in and get more Fluid because I wasn't at my green zone and the doc said "NO !!!!". He said I have to wait at least 2 motnhs before another fill. So, I kinda feel that I have to use my "will power" all the time and it's been hard. I got used to the band doing all the work for me.

I have this thought about going to another doctor to get the fill that I need, but deep in my heart it feels like the wrong thing to do.

Birdie, we all have triggers that cause us to binge. What I did was I kept a food journal. I would log everything I ate, time of day, how I was feeling, what happen during that day and anything else I wanted. This helped me find patterns to my head hunger, once I knew what to look for I could take measures to divert it.

Be proud that you recognized your downfall and you got right back on track. This journey has lots of bumps along the way, you will get through them all.

Good luck to you. You can do this.

I keep a food journal, but I noticed that when I fall off the wagon, I don't write the stuff down that made me cheat on the band. I guess it's time for me to be accountable of my eating habits. I will begin doing that tomorrow. Thank You for your reply.

ok, you fell off....shall i banish you from my kingdom now or later??

so get back on and carry on......

I did a lot better today. But I still need to work on these carb cravings ! I know I need a fill but my doctor told me to wait 2 more months before I get another one. Kinda makes me want to go to a different doctor, but I won't do that because I know my doctor truly cares.

Hełlo Everyone. Thank God for this site. I was doing so good 2 days ago RESPECTING the band and last night I just plain abused it. It started with a simple "slider-food item". An innocent "low carb" cracker. And it just went down hill after that. I ate the entire bag. And then... I ate some Pizza Crust. No toppings. Just wanted a piece of the crust. Weird. Then, . It got bad enough that I made a special trip to Subway, and got 3 macadamia Cookies. The thing is, through out the entire binge, I knew I was doing wrong. Yet, I continued. I sabotaged all my previous efforts. This morning, I have started on the right foot. Square one. I just hate when I give in to behavior so destructive like last night. A struggle. Shouldn't be. I just wanted to vent and make my confession. . I wish everyone today a wonderful day. Good wishes to all Respect the band. That's my new motto.

Hi Tamara' date='

Congratulations on a successful weight loss, 103 lbs that is impressive work! As for the plateaus, yea it bums and it does happen to many of us, including me. I hit a plateau that lasted for almost 5 weeks. The only thing I can say that worked for me was to go back to my food tracker and see what I have been eating and if I needed to work on any of my nutrients. In fact, I found out my carb intake was too high! it was okay in the beginning of my journey when i was taking in about 110-125 grams per day, but since a big huge weight loss my body cannot break down the carbs like it was use to. So, I cut it more than in half and have been losing steadily since. (that was back in October of 2012).

I can only speak what works for me, that is tracking everything I eat, exercising daily, and making sure I was reaching my Protein intake of 60 grams or more per day.

Give your body time to adjust once you start exercising, this could be what you need to jumpstart your metabolism. Hang in there, this is the toughest part some time, its very frustrating to say the least...

Best wishes,[/quote']

How many carbs do you eat each day ?

Do any of you guys drink liquids at a specific time slot, say between 10:00 a.m to 12 Noon. And then stop, so that you don't have to drink anything after luch or dinner, and consequently maximize a feeling of satiety ?

Just wondering how may people do that or do something similar to that. Do you guys any specific liquid "routines" besides the no liquids rule before and after a meal ?

Thought some of you may be in my shoes. My last fill in January (7.6 oz total) has finally given me real restriction for the first time. Yes' date=' I PB - especially if I eat too quickly or don't chew enough, and I am finally getting comfortable knowing when I need to just stop eating. However, I'm probably PB'ing too much and think that I should get some fill removed. Only... I don't want to. I've broken my plateau and really don't feel hungry. I've lost about 8 lbs in the 4-5 weeks since the fill (I'm a shortie and now more than halfway to my goal). It's easier to completely walk away from my fav carbs (bread or pasta) and focus on my Protein and veg.

Has this happened to you? Have you stayed with the increased restriction or gone to the MD to have Fluid taken out?[/quote']

Ask your Doc to remove only half of what he put in. It might make a big difference without losing all of the strong restriction. But don't wait too long. I was extremely tight like that about 8 months ago, lost a ton of weight, but ended up at the emergency room for a complete "unfill". My band had slipped just a liitle and Thank God that 3 weeks later when I went back for a follow up , it fixed itself and snapped back into place.

I am completing my after fill diet tonight and I make my shakes into very thick shakes by using lots of ice. It becomes thick as a McDonald's shake and they do fill me for 4-6 hours. I also use 2 scoops of the powder so i am getting 52 grams of Protein in each shake.< /p>

Tell us more about the after the fill diet.Is it like a liquid diet ?

I'm currently taking in about 500 calories a day. Is that too little?

It sounds like too little. When did u have your surgery?

I've had a problem ever since my surgery on 01/24/13. I cannot stay hydrated. I have always preferred drinking Water over anything else' date=' but since the surgery I have a difficult time with Water. Protein shakes, yogurt smoothies, Soup, and coffee have no problem going down, but for some reason as soon as I drink water it seems to get stuck and go down a LOT slower than other liquids. Has anyone else had this problem? I've lost 25 lbs including preop and I'm sure I could have done better had I been able to drink water. There's no telling how many times I mistook hunger for thirst. Thanks![/quote']

Is it cold water or hot water (as in tea) that you have trouble with ?

Hello everyone. Ideally speaking, is it o.k. to consume 1 full cup of food per meal or should it be is 1/2 cup ? If we can consune more than 2 full cups of food, is it an indicator that we need fill ?

During my recent fluoro' date=' they have me stand up in front of a C arm fluro. He was able to see right away that I was too tight because the Barium took far too long to exit the upper pouch. I think it's superior in detecting problems but heard that since food doesn't go down like Barium does, it'll still rely more on honest patient-doctor communication to reach one's sweet spot. For example, letting your doctor know that you can eat more than 4 cups of food and get hungry within 2 hrs... etc. (need a fill) or keep getting stuck (need a slight unfill).[/quote']

I keep telling my surgeon that I can eat more

than 4 cups of foods and he gets mad, yet I feel like I have to beg him to get a fill. So frustrating ! Technically speaking, how many cups of food are we supposed to be eating ?

I had dinner 2 1/2 hours ago and went to bed. It was cereal. Now my body has woken me with stuck symptoms (heavy mucous production and tight chest). I'm surprised it would take cereal that long to present as stuck. Is it perhaps just reflux' date=' since I've been lying down? Is it maybe a combination? Is it important to stay upright for a few hours after meals to allow gravity to help the band? I ate a ham sandwich for lunch on some pretty dense bread with no problem. So why would soggy cereal be an issue?[/quote']

It happens to me too if I lay down. In my case, it doesn"t matter what I eat, if I lay down right away then its a problem.

I wait until I'm truly' date=' undeniably physically hungry. Stomach growling (though it can make noise that has nothing to do with hunger) and that "ok I'm starving" feeling. If I don't feel that way for 6 hours and miss a meal, no biggie. It's more important to listen to your body's natural hunger signals than to listen to a clock.[/quote']

Thank you for your response. Your answer makes a lot of sense

It's taken me over a year to figure that one out. I still find myself in the kitchen with a handful of nuts or an apple chewing away and realize I'm not really hungry' date=' I just like food. Some people are emotional eaters, some have disorders or addictions to sugar. I just love the taste of food. And my waistline shows it.

The last couple of months I've been able to think before I eat much more than before. I stop, I listen(is it empty) to my stomach. If it's just me wanting to chew on something I drink some Water or some Water with MIO in it and return to work. I'm not always successful but I'm seeing progress. It doesn't come overnight for many of us.

"When a craving doesn't come from hunger,

eating will never satisfy it." Michelle May[/quote']

Thank you for your response !

I have 1 prior to each meal in a glass of crystal light...it really keeps me "moving"

Have you tried the PGX gel caps ?

You can get the granules...I use them to keep me regular.

How many granule packets do you take each day ? Do you take them on an empty stomach ?