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I had my long awaited surgery on Thursday. I am still in the hospital 2 days later and I want so badly to go home. Uhhh! My surgery went well except I lost more blood than expected during the surgery. My surgeon told me that when they moved my spleen out of the way, the capsule that covers it is very fragile so it started to bleed. I didn't need a blood transfusion, thank God because they stopped the blood in time. Other than that, I feel great. I'm walking, feeling no pain, just minor discomfort. My appetite is non existent. They have given me a breakfast, lunch and dinner of chicken broth, jello, decaf tea, crystal light and water. After a few sips of b each, I'm done. This has been an okay experience so fast but I don't think I realized the magnitude of the decision I made. I'm so very thankful to the stories I have read on this app. It really helped me too know just what to expect.

Ok first the caveats: I am not a pro, just a person! Not a surgeon. I AM a newly graduated nurse BUT I'm not posting this because I am a medical expert, ok? Just a fellow bander who's going to share what I know from reading, google, my surgeon, and my experience. None of this replaces what your doc tells you. :wub: Firstly; are you getting AT LEAST 64 ounces of Water each day? I don't mean tea or coffee (even decaf) or crystal light but water? Are you on any medications that would require you to have more water (like allopurinol for high uric acid, for example) One thing I have learned is this: if you aren't overfilled, a tight band happens in a dry person. Dehydrated=tight. This ties in with your problems starting in the AM. Most people aren't well hydrated and if you wake up, drink a little coffee and then try to eat, BAM! too tight. IF you aren't drinking 64 ounces of water each day, DO IT. I drink 4 16oz bottles spaced several hours apart. Some sip all day long. Do 8 oz an hour, whatever works for you, but get it in. Secondly: how large is your band? 3ccs in a 10cc band is pretty aggressive for a first fill and aggressive fills have been linked to esophageal spasms. (I'm not dissing your surgeon; again I'm not a pro. Many people get fills that much, or more, and are happy as clams because they lose and don't have your issues. I'm just saying that it could be what caused them). Once unfilled, as you are, can you eat ok? Thirdly: PB'ing often causes swelling. If you eat/PB and then eat again without giving your stomach and esophagus time to settle down, then the next time you try you'll be even tighter. You might have exacerbated your problem unintentionally by trying to eat again too soon. IF I were you, I'd start over. I'd review the "rules" of small bites, well chewed, eat slowly, over 30 minutes (that last one is my doc's rule...he says no eating beyond 30 or you're grazing). DO THIS NOW even if you can wolf down a cheeseburger. PRACTICE!!! THEN once you feel like you are following the rules, getting the water in, and your doc agrees, get a fill, but a SMALLER one. Get 1.5 ccs. See how you do. Give it 3 weeks or more (because some people need 2 weeks for a fill to even be perceived, odd but true). If that works, get another cc. CREEP UP ON IT! Always practice the small bites, well chewed, eat slow, no drinking during or after meals (per your docs order) and see if you can ease back into it. I have found that if I PB then I am tense and tense=tight, so mastering the eating habits while still open will give you a weapon to fight that. You'll know, once you start getting filled, that you CAN do it; you know how to eat properly, etc. It does become 2nd nature but not as fast as you'd think. I can get distracted by conversation or an interruption (and God forbid I let myself get too hungry before eating!) and then can get into "trouble" but if I chew well (I counted once; it's 40 times for me. way more than I thought it would take! of course it depends on what I'm eating but 40 is a good number for beef and poultry) and watch my bite size (for me it's about 1/2 to 2/3 of my old norm. cut stuff up, then cut it AGAIN. Do it before you sit down to eat so you won't have to think about it) then I can eat anything. I hope some of this helps. Hydrate, follow the rules, ease back into fills, and I hope you'll be on the road again!

Thanks for the tip on the Biotin. I will get some today and see if that helps a bit. More than anything is is reassuring that to know that it won't all fall out. I am just amazed at how fast the change in my hair occurred. It seemed that most of the loss happened over just a 2 week period. I have noticed the loss is slowing down some. During those initial weeks I would run my hands through my wet hair and they would come out with 20-30 strands each time.....now I am down to about 5 strands. I am not sure if it is the Nioxin or if it is just slowing down on its own. Thanks again for the info on the Biotin. I will try ANYTHING at this point to save my remaining locks!

Hi Stacy! Are you sure you didn't copy all that from my bio?? I haven't been banded yet but on reading a lot of posts from this site I have come across a lot of people who have been losing 100 pounds (or more) so I am greatly encouraged. No, it's not as fast as RNY but I personally would prefer to lose slowly and be healthy -- besides I didn't gain it overnight! Don't stress!! I am finally excited about my life again and can hardly wait to get the band. It's been so long since I was able to lose weight -- no matter what I did -- that I am just going to take baby steps. Right now, 20 pounds would be a step in the right direction!

Hello everyone! I was banded on 5/26. Within the past 2 days, I have had this constant annoying pain in my left chest area - like right behind my left breast. I have tried stretching etc. because it almost feels like a muscle strain or something. I am not vomiting or anything - I haven't had barely any restriction since the swelling went down and can pretty much eat anything (which I have been doing unfortunately - bread will give me a little problem if I eat it too fast). My first fill is on July 14th. Could my band have slipped this quickly? I am getting worried. Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

Bread product. It was too dougy or it qte it too fast. But i havent had any problem till i ate the biscuit.

Hi everyone! I haven't been here in a while. No news from me is good news..lol We went out to eat last week and I was starving. We waited too long to eat and when my food came, I ate too fast and too much. I was in pain later that night and felt swollen with some reflux. I still do. It's a little better, but not much. Thoughts? I know, slap me up the side of the head, especially after reading all the recent complications Bandlanders have posted here with slippage and dilation of pouch and esophagus.:phanvan

I am being banded on the 28th of July, I will pray for us both to have fast, uneventful recovery time~Mandy

So last night we are sitting at the dinner table. Lonnie is eating a ribeye cooked medium well with a baked potato (butter & sour cream) & a salad. I was eating a small salad with turkey breast & cheese. Then I notice Lonnie is inching his arm around his plate, hiding it from my view. Apparently, I was really watching him eat, with a look of joy on my face. It was funny! Guess you had to be there! It still amazes me how fast he eats. He can't be tasting his food! LOL!!

Hi Jen, I just notice no one responded to your post, thats not very friendly of us!! I cant really help you tho cos im not getting banded until 6th of July! Hope its all going well for you! Any advice about opti fast? So not looking forward to it.. I have decided that I am going to go on 2 weeks early.. give the LB a headstart! So in total i will be doing 4 weeks of opti.. My Bf is going to do it as well so hopefully that will help i wont have to cook him food! Cheers Pickle

Keri, This thread got a little OFF TOPIC! You were banded a couple of weeks after me. I got stuck for over a month before the scales finally started moving again THIS WEEK! Go over to www.livestrong.com/dailyplate and log every bite you take. Also log your water intake. You'll be amazed at what you see. Make sure you're eating the right amount...not too much, but also not too little. And, vary your calorie intake up and down every few days...keeps your metabolism confused. You say you don't get to work out much. You'll have to find a way to incorporate physical activity into your day even if it's not a structured workout. Do the best you can, then don't worry about the rest. The weight will eventually come off, just not as fast as you'd like. You can do this!

I had lapband surgery in 2009 in Phoenix with Dr Terry Simpson. Fast forward to now, where I am happily married, pregnant and suffering miserably from the lap-band! I did not feel comfortable going back to Dr Simpson with my issues...his office turned into a 'cattle call' with too many patients and little to no time for questions. You virtually lined up to be seen. I was also offended on two occasions, once by a fellow patient who snickered at me and said 'why the hell are you here?' and a staff member that told me that my minimal weight loss (from 200 to 185) was probably because my body was comfortable there...huh? The last straw was my attempt to go in two weeks ago for the pain, reflux, rapid weight loss....and they said sorry, he's on a family vacation...you were self pay years ago so you should find someone else to help with your 'issues'. After a week and a half of an inability to swallow food or Water, I was desperate and was referred to Dr Jason Reynoso at Scottsdale Health Care. Wow! Talk about a caring, compassionate guy that knew I was in trouble and wanted to help me ASAP. Losing 25lbs when you are 5 months pregnant is not normal and he started the process immediately. An Upper GI indicated a slipped band and little to no liquid or food able to pass through. I was scheduled for surgery and had it done yesterday. There was a lot of scar tissue that had to be removed and it appears the band wasn't originally installed correctly as the buckle essentially disintegrated. Obviously being pregnant and having surgery is the last thing you would ever think about but I knew it was becoming a matter of life and death for myself and my unborn child. I am sore but home and can eat like a human again! I decided to write this to encourage anyone pregnant with a band and suffering to reach out to your Dr as soon as possible. I have cried many tears...mad at myself for ever putting myself and my child in this position and 'waiting it out' over the past couple of years when I was obviously having issues. Sorry for the rambling rant but I needed to get it out! Best of luck to you all!

I posted this today on my blog and wanted to post it here as well! So if there are names or backstories that I mentioned...that is why...hahah! I didnt realize how long it was! In the name of reflecting on a year gone by, I have been working on this Bandiversary post. It is a mumble jumble of some of my thoughts, tips, rules (non-rules), and lessons learned since Tina the Wonderband took up residence in my body. This year has flown by and brought me so many wonderful presents, people, and experiences. I don't have all the answers...and our journeys, while on parallel paths in the same direction, can look very different. So here you go! Happy Reading! All doctors, clinics, bandsters, and rules, are different. They just are. And I am not a slave to any of the rules. I see them more as guidelines and helpful tips. For example, I eat Soup...a lot. Soup is a liquid and therefore, slides right down the old shoot. But I honestly feel rather satisfied with 2 cups of wonderful soup. I also now almost always choose soup if we go out to eat. I noticed this when we went to Lambert's for my mom's birthday. Lamberts did not have one soup option. I think I started ordering soup out as a rule after my October fill. It just became too risky to try solid food and a waste of money. And even though I can bring leftovers home, leftovers usually go to waste in our house. I just couldn't see spending $10 on something that I could only nibble at. It does not bother me, this soup fetish of mine. I can have a couple of bites of whatever Tracey gets and I am a cheap date. Drinking with meals. This was not that hard for me to give up. At home, I just make sure that I don't have my Water near me when I eat dinner. When we go out to eat, I drink about 4 cups of water before the meal comes. I drink right up to that point. I do not personally believe that water primes the band. Water goes right down people. It doesn't just sit there. For me, when I do try and be naughty (Cookies and milk anyone?) drinking with my food either hurts OR gets me stuck. Some bandsters measure, weigh, or journal their food. All the time. I do not. I do measure Snacks though. For example, if I am going to have some nuts, I measure whatever one serving size is and put it in a little baggy. This way I know what my calorie intake is for that snack. I do not do food journals, count carbs, or watch my fat intake. Those things, for me, are all part of DIETING. They give me horrible flashbacks and I find myself rocking in the corner with sounds of helicopters and gunfire in my head. They send me to a bad place. However, from time to time I have recommended online food journals to struggling bandsters who feel lost or out of control. Sometimes when we estimate our calories we forget things, round DOWN, or just lie! So it can be a useful tool. And whatever works for you is the way to go. The scale. Another rule I do not care for is the "scale rule". Even my wonderful Dr. Friedman told me not to weigh daily. I weigh myself every day, but only record the weight on Mondays. Mondays keep me motivated through the weekends. I do not freak out if my weight fluctuates during the week...I try to reserve such freakouts for Mondays alone. Your weight will go up and down. But weighing myself every day does keep me accountable for my actions. I eat better when I bring my lunch to work. While for dinner I can usually eat grilled chicken breast, some pork chop etc., leftover meat is a no-go for me anymore. It just gets too dry when I heat it in the microwave. This is one of the reasons I make soup and freeze it. But whatever you choose, make it something you can just grab...so you don't use the excuse "I didn't have anything". It is a rare, rare day when I eat fast food for lunch. And the only fast food I do eat is either chili from Wendy's or nuggets from Chick-fil-a. I am thankful for an amazing doctor, who surrounds himself with amazing staff. I think that having the right doctor is so crucial to success. Dr. Friedman let me decide when I needed a fill. I could come in week after week until I got restriction. I see him every time I go for an appointment and he is right beside me when I get my fill. I am honest with him. I tell him when I have been drinking Sunkist or snacking. I tell him what I can and cannot eat. He listens. I was a trooper through bandster hell. I stayed the course and did not go hog wild (pun intended) when I realized I could eat anything and everything. I was on my high from my preop diet weight loss. I knew what I had to do. Dr. Friedman told me upfront that the band does not work for everyone...that his biggest fear is that his patients won't lose weight. By God I was going to lose weight. I listen for the real hunger. One of the most important lessons I have learned is when I really need to eat. How many times do we say "OH I am starving"? A lot. And are we really? No. So I took this phrase out of my vocabulary. I might say "I am hungry"....but that is different than starving. When you are fighting headhunger, try and stop and say "Am I really hungry?" If the answer is no, try to resist munching! Drink water instead! Do something. Of course I still snack sometimes whenI am not hungry, but at least when I DO, I am tsk tsking myself! LOL I tell everyone about my surgery, if they ask. This will be a debate until the end of time...on Lapband Talk and on these blogs. There are just so many factors that go into making this decision, and I know that for everyone...their choice is their own. I don't think it ever occurred to me to hide it. For me, I tell because it can help others, because their is no shame in having weight loss surgery, because it can educate the ignorant, and because the truth shall set your free. I think about some of the ladies who have been banded because they have seen my progress. What if I had just told them I did it through watching what I eat and exercising (which is not a lie, but not the complete truth either). Would they feel like failures because "Amy did it the old fashioned way...why can't I?" Would they still be putting off the idea of surgery? I am proud of my choice and where I am today. You know ironically, I get the most negative comments about choosing WLS from fat people. Maybe bc the skinny people don't want to be politically incorrect? But as I think about it...yep...mostly my heavy "friends" are the ones who turn up their noses when I tell them about the band. But that's okay...I'll give them time. A year later, I still think of food all.the.time. This by no way means that I am hungry. In fact, the only time I feel real hunger anymore is in the morning before Breakfast. I have read about those people who after being banded, food just became something they "had to do". I used to really hope for that day to come. Eh, it just might never happen for me. I did learn this year that there are actually people who do not think of food all the time. This was mind boggling to me...and still kinda is! Funny, but it seems that those people who do NOT think of food all the time are thin. Who would have thunk? There are foods I do miss...and they all involve bread. I miss peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hamburgers with buns, hot dogs with buns, cinnamon rolls, oh cinnamon rolls, Stuffing my face with cookies and chugging milk , pizza, Big Macs...It's a good thing I have the band huh? lol I set goals. Mini goals, about every 3 months along. I made these goals preband (for the first 6 months out at least). I have met every goal. Don't be afraid to set these mini-goals. Right them on your calendar, a post it note, on the fridge, or on the wall above the scale. Exercise. I have yet to become an exercise fanatic. Right after surgery I started walking to get ready for my first 5k. Then we did bootcamp/interval training for awhile. Now we just do what sounds good. I play WiiFit once in awhile, we go walking, we are going back to bootcamp, Bandita and I did Zumba. Exercise is an area that I could improve on. Another rule that does not work for me: Not eating in front of the t.v., computer, while reading...etc. They say that when you eat you should be focused solely on your food. No distractions. They say this well help you eat slower and take smaller bites. This is not true for me. For example, when Tracey and I eat at the table, or with family...I tend to eat MUCH quicker. For several reasons. First, I feel a need to keep up. Second, have you ever adopted a dog or puppy that comes from living with lots of other dogs? They eat so quick bc they are afraid that someone else is going to get their kibble. Somewhere deep down I am still afraid of not enough kibble to go around. So, when Tracey and I sit on the couch with our tv trays...I eat much slower. When I am reading a magazine or surfing the net...I eat much slower. It gives me something to do, something to put my fork down and entertain myself with. Things that have changed: Where I shop. What I eat. How much I eat. I cook more. I try new and different foods (but that doesn't mean I like them all). My love for Tracey. I love him even more. He is so proud and supportive. I can cross my legs. My lower back pain, my pee sneezes, and shin splints...they are all gone. The amount of people who read my blog. The amount of blogs I read. The amount of friends this blog has blessed me with. My pant size. My shoe size. Things that haven't changed: My self confidence. My facial hair (still the same amount...I was hoping for less). My attitude. My complexion. I thought it would clear up a lot. The way I see life. My obsession with food. My thirst for Sunkist. The way I act with, towards, and around other people. How many pictures I take. How I wear my clothes. My finances. My job. My dislike of a the majority of vegetables. Things I have learned: Peanut Butter cups and sunkist do not mix. Well, they do...but then they erupt out of your nose. Eating a muffin in shame in a bathroom stall is not a high point of anyone's journey...but your blogger friends will love you even when you share the shameful moments. You can walk a 5k at any weight. And most likely you will not be the last person to finish. It is better to set a goal and not reach it then not set a goal at all. Tweezers may come and go, but apparently whiskers are forever. Life's journey is long. You better take snacks. (okay, I stole this one from a calendar). I really do have bones in my body. I cry happy tears in dressing rooms, and am also known to cry tears of frustration. I always want more. Poopies will never be the same. Good bye big girl poop. Hello chicken nugget poop. I have no boundaries. Just when you think it can't get any better....it does. And finally, the biggie. Why was I able to lose 120 pounds in 12 months? Why Amy and not everybody? I have given a lot of thought to this question and I am not sure I have the answer. If you think about it...I could have lost more. There are certainly bandsters out there who have done it (Mary for example) and others who are well on there way. I could have lost more by making the right choices, working out harder, etc. I did not have the perfect year. But that's okay! I personally think that for those of us who start at a higher weight, we can lose a little faster at the beginning....so you could say I had that going for me. There are the things I think are out of our control: Genetics, history, body shape. Even though I was 327, I was solid as an ox under all that fat. Perhaps my muscle mass helped in the beginning as well? There are two things that I think really made a difference in my weight loss. The first is this blog. This blog and all of you who have become part of my life helped to keep me accountable. When someone tells you that you are an "inspiration", it makes you want to keep inspiring! I didn't want to let anyone down. I knew that I would be honest with you guys. I shared the ups and downs. And seeing others make it into a new pant size, or run a 5k...inspires me. The second reason I have lost this weight is...Because I knew I could and I would. When Dr. Friedman told me that the band does not work for everyone, I made a choice that I would not be one of those people. I was not going to have a surgery just to "eat around the band". I wanted to be his star patient. I wanted to be the person on the commercials. I wanted to be a success story. And I wanted to be more than a statistic. Of course, all you have to do is read through my blog to know at times I had a few doubts and questions, but overall...I knew big things (and a smaller body) were possible. And you have to believe. I was at a great place in my life. I had support from Tracey and my family. I was at a good place mentally. It was just the right time. So that's it! That's all that I could think of! I hope you made it through and I can't wait to see what this next year brings! Thank you for everything. Yours- Amy

I'm like you-lost weight several times on my own and with md...but generally after about 5-6 months of weight loss I would always manage to gain it back. So- that said I am now almost a yr out and have lost 63lbs--this is the most I have ever lost and the longest I have ever kept it off. Vomitting-will you vomit..its def possible. The lap band is a learning process. You have to learn how to eat slowly and not drink with your meals...can it be done...YES Hanging skin-that depends on how over weight you are..for me I only have a little haning that I have noticed on the backs of my arms..but my arms have always been really big. I think it depends on age, how fast you lose the weight and how your weight is distributed if all your weight is in your belly you can bet on some hanging skin. I would rather have loose skin than be fat any day. But thats me! You have to ask yourself if this is something that you can commit to for the rest of your life, can you give up carbonated drinks including beer, can you commit to going to see the doc frequently esp in the first year.... I suggest that you continue reading about the lap band and attend a seminar. The seminars are very informative and you can listen to what others went through and they can answer your questions on a face to face basis. Good luck. Just remember the lap band is a lifetime committment.

I am having the surgery at Immanuel. I am hoping to schedule for the last week of March. I have already lost 24 pounds the past month just on the diet waiting for approval. I only hope it sheds off as fast once I have the surgery!!!

Boy, I sure had the SAME question after I was first banded. I lost 17 pounds the first week, then things came to a screeching halt. If you read more posts, you'll find that until you get a fill (or two, or three.....), the weight might not come off very fast, if at all. In my case, I've had one fill and still not feeling restriction. I'm going for #2 soon and hopefully that will help. So what everyone says is true.....just concentrate on eating proper foods and healing the first few weeks and don't worry about losing weight until you get some decent restriction. Believe me, you are NOT alone!!!

Two eggs. Scrambled or soft boiled. 1/2 small banana. 1/3 cup of lowfat cottage cheese and 4 large strawberries. 1 packet of Quaker Weight Control high Protein oatmeal with extra 1/2 scoop protein powder and 3 peeled grapefruit sections. If I have time, I also make cream of wheat with 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 vanilla slim fast. I add a touch of cinnamon, protein powder and vanilla. It's delicious. Even my husband likes it. One high protein shake with fruit (after a fill or if I'm not feeling well ONLY.) I put low carb vanilla slim fast in my coffee for a little extra protien I rotate these out so I don't get bored eating the same thing.

My restriction varies too greatly to give a definite answer on this question. Sunday night I was able to eat 5 buffalo wings and half a loaf of garlic bread (!) and yesterday I was done after a few bites of taco salad. There's NO way I could have even had a bite of bread yesterday. I can eat a burger, but no bun. I don't even try fast food burgers anymore, they're nasty without the bun, so I stick with salads when I go fast food. Pasta for me is never a good idea. It doesn't chew down well and gets stuck every time. I can eat an open-faced sandwich if the bread is toasted and sliced thin. Most days, anyway. Then there are those days when a half a loaf of garlic bread goes right down. :cool: I pull apart all of my food now. Especially sandwiches. Off comes the top, I eat a few bites of what's inside, eat a small bite of bread, eat some more insides, etc. So no, to someone watching me eat, I don't eat normally, and probably never will again. However, this doesn't bother me. Most people are amused by my food quirks, and I'm actually much more comfortable eating in front of people now that I pick at my food instead of inhaling it. It's really not a bad thing, this band!

My experience has been that after I reached proper restriction, 1/2 c of soild food is all I can eat. The size of my pouch (volume) is only 1/2 c. If you eat more than the size of your pouch, the food is going through to the lower stomach too fast or you are streatching the pouch or filling esophagus. I have heard some people can stand food in the esophagus, bit I simply can not. I have to stop when I feel my full signal. Until you reach your sweet spot you will be able to eat more and will get hungry between meals. It sounds like you will still need another fill so you don't get hungry so soon after eating.

My band is pretty tight in the morning so I keep drinking the same protein shake over and over... 4 oz. chocolate light soy, 4 oz. water, 1/2 banana, 1 TB pb, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder. I love it, but I am afraid I'm going to get sick of it. So what liquid do you have for breakfast? I wouldn't mind trying some of the low carb Slim Fast shakes, but I want to call my doctor's office first and ask their opinion. I have seen the shake recipes on here. Some of the flavored syrups and powders are hard to find. A few I've tried I just don't really care for. Thanks for any advice! I really appreciate it :w00t:

Surgery on Dec 12th everything went great. Dr. fixed a few things wrong with me and I feel GREAT!!! It took me four years to come to this decision to lap band. I had to have emergency surgery after my hysterectomy four years ago and it happened to be Dr. Machado doing the surgery. She told me I was a perfect candidate for the surgery. Four years later here I am....HUNGRY!!! I am afraid of stretching out my pouch. How much and how fast should I be drinking protein and water? Can I eat, wait, then eat again? I am hungry and I need to be able to function at work (use my brain) Is it super easy to stretch it out or is it something that happens when you don't follow protocol? I am happy and lost 13 Lbs already and haven't gotten my first fill yet. Hopefully on the 11th of January I will. I am hoping that I won't be as hungry after that. Cannot wait to be somewhat "skinny" hahahahaha

There was a study that came out recently about how the body reacts to artificial sweeteners. However, I was on a low carb diet for three years before I was banded, and artificial sweeteners never made me hungry the way sugar and white carbs did (does). Even now, a year after surgery, if I had to live without artificial sweeteners, I would probably fail miserably. How long post op is he supposed to be on the liquid diet? Every doctor is different with their dietary rules. Mine said I had to lose 5% of my body weight pre op, and could use a variety of diets to achieve that depending on how much time I had to diet before surgery. After surgery, I was on Clear Liquids for 7 days, then two weeks of "full liquids" which included yogurt drinks, cream Soups, and Protein shakes. I didn't use slim fast, but I did have a Protein shake mix that contained artificial sweeteners. I still use it occasionally when I think I am shorting myself on protein. Some doctors say no caffeine after surgery, and some (like mine) said coffee is fine. I don't really know what to add about the slurping down liquids to test for a good fill level. I found that my own sensations of fullness or "backing up" were more reliable than what the doctor saw on the fluoroscope to determine a correct fill level. I wouldn't think drinking rapidly once or twice would cause damage, but on the other hand, I always would have problems drinking quickly without having some real discomfort, so I don't think it would provide a reliable indication of correct fill level. The problem with a doctor presenting a patient with too strict and too limiting a post op diet is that it makes it that much harder for the patient to stick to it. I would think he would get VERY hungry on just broth after more than a week, when the stomach swelling from surgery goes down. However, I realize we all often think our own doctors are the wisest and give the best advice, while any deviation from that is questionable.

Hello all, I was banded 9/15/09. To keep a potentially long post short and to the point - Things were great at first. I was motivated, losing weight, following protocol. I lost about 50 pounds or so in the first 4-5 months. Fast forward to now - Weight loss has completely stopped at roughly 65 pounds. I work out like a fiend, I'm active in martial arts, and my band is filled pretty much to it's max (at least it was). I feel like I can eat almost as much as before my surgery now. All day long I think about how I want to rip this thing out of me because it does nothing but make me feel weird on occasion, and once or twice a week I need to puke something up because it's stuck. I am worried to death that my pouch is all stretched out or something. Sometimes, I still get full quickly (especially when I follow the rule and do not drink while I eat). Other times, I can eat just as much as everyone else around me and I get concerned. All in all, any success I have now I feel like it should be credited towards my exercise, not the lap band. I lost my health insurance about a year ago and stopped going in for checkups. I simply can't afford to eat the cost of an upper GI. If I were still able to be full after a tiny portion of food I would roll with the lap band thing, feeling like I made the right decision getting it done. I suppose what I am concerned about is the fact that I feel like I can eat too much. Since I can't go get it checked on I came here for some words of wisdom and/or support. Does anyone else feel like something is wrong when they can eat too much, so long after their surgery with a supremely tight fill? Or, should i walk around feeling like my pouch is stretched?

Yep, It happens to all of us especially if you loose weight fast. I had to buy a cordless handvac and plugged it in the bathroom just to vacumn up my hair after I shower. I have long thick hair and it's everywhere.

Hi all...The week is going fast I hope everyone has had a good one and have a great weekend... I am happy to see another kilo gone , I am getting excited about finally heading to 2 digits (under 100kilos) whoo !! can`t wait...