4 months and a struggle

[pointbeach 0]

Hi June Bandsters, I am Mary I am trying to be apart of your support group. I really need it. I got banded in June2nd lost alot at first then stopped. Got filled once in August and did not lose any.I struggle with eating to fast and then the food comes back up. I am doing better with that because I am not eating any Pasta or chicken. But Ican still eat my carbs easy if I get in one of those moods where I just want to eat. The body is one issue but the head is still in to overeating. know I am due for another fill. So thats ir for now Mary

[cathychatts 1]

Mary:

Welcome! and congratulations on your banding. I strongly suggest you get another fill!~ Don't feel alone for giving into the Carb-comfort thing! Most of us were banded because we couldn't do it alone! The band it only going to help if you are at the right restriction! Just keep at it and you will get to the right place!

It has taken me 4 fills and 6 cc in my band to really feel the band! I am also a slow looser... you may be too!

Just keep in touch, even if you don't always post the other's post will offer encouragement and support.

Some on here are "super-stars" and will give you wonderful hope of what is in store for you once, you (and ME) reach that level of restriction. As my Doctor said to me on Friday, "once you get the right fit on your band and you start to really loose then the will-power will increase as well!" That made me feel so much better!

Good luck! Remember we are all friends here and their are a bunch of Wonderful threads all over the board!

[kizzie 1]

My Lord.. I haven't been on this forum for a few months.. and was about to post stating the EXACT same problem!!!..

I lost 30 pounds in the first 8 weeks and then NOTHING. I have been so good and trying my best (exercising religiously and eating carefully).. UNTIL THREE WEEKS AGO!.. I moved from Spain to the Caribbean and then to Miami and haven't really settled into a good eating programme. I thought once I was back in the US I would be taking advantage of all the lovely high Protein goods you have here.. but no. I have been stuffing my face (and my band) with all the wrong carbs. I get up in the morning with all the good intentions in the world.. lots of fluids and a Protein shake.. by mid morning I am hungry and have a thick high carb Soup or hot chocolate!!!.. WHY WHY WHY???... I just can't get out of the mindset..even when I have my head in the cupboard or in the fridge I am screaming at myself inside my head 'stop it!!!!!'...

I have no idea what my weight is right now but I know for sure I am NOT my lowest 213!!. I may have even crept on another 10 pounds. (can feel it in my new jeans!!). I went to OLD NAVY last week and was happy to find that I could fit into the 1XL and the size 18 jeans etc.. (instead of my usual 22/24) so I am happy about that.. but now the waist band is tightening!!>> EEEEK..

I DO desperately need a fill. I am pb'ing a lot though. I had sushi last night and brought most of it up.. I can't eat eggs in any form..but you can bet that I can get down steak, chocolate (why did I even have a square!? which leads to so much ) and white nasty carbs!!..

Thankfully I can't eat bread so at least that is something.

I just have to find a doctor who will fill me!!.. so hard and so expensive!..

KEEP WRITING ON THIS FORUM! We are here for each other!!!..

much love

Kizzie

(and if you find out how to get out of that mindset please let me know!!! and we can publish a million dollar book!! LOL)..

[greyhoundmom 0]

hi kizzie, and all!

hang in there kizzie! with all that travel, you are bound to be having food choice problems! i find when i'm in a routine, i do much better (i.e. work day v.s. day off).

i can't recommend this book (below) highly enough - there is a nice section of questons 'do you need a fill?, do you need an attitude adjustment? do you need an exercise adjustment?'. i look back at it all the time.

are the pb's from eating too fast, not chewing well, eating dry food (sushi would definately cause me a problem!)? v.s. having too much Fluid in your band?

there is definately a mental component here - to learn how to use the band and to then practice what we learn. it is not easy. i too have opted for high calorie, easy to eat Soups sometimes. that seems to be my problem area.

here's the book link on amazon:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Laparoscopic-Adjustable-Gastric-Banding-Achieving/dp/0595311148/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223398212&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: Achieving Permanent Weight Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery: Jessie H. Ahroni Ph.D. A. R. N. P.: Books[/ame]

i have it on my desk and look at it when i need help or just a refresher on what i should be doing!

congrats on your shopping trip to old navy!!

i had my 4th fill yesterday - not sure yet how it's going other than it's good with liquids!

bye for now!

[pointbeach 0]

Hi friends thanks so much for all your answers. I know I need a fill so bad but my doctor was wanting for me to get my behavior in controll first, I was still eating way to fast and things were coming up too often. So we were waiting on the fill.

I want to share that on Monday night my doctor has a support group for us who have had surger, once a month. I shared that I was stuck in my old behaviors taking care of everyone else and not myself. The group said to me if you had a disease like cancer or diabetes would you stop and take your insulin or chemo? Obesity is a disease they said I need to treat it as such. Now none of this is new to me, I have been in and out of OA for years BUT for some reason on this day by these people it clicked. So all day for the last two days I have been saying in my head I have a disease, I have a disease,and for some reason it is slowly working.

I am eating slower,which is huge for me, and also saying I cannot just pick up and eat anything because I have a disease, it is helping for today.But I am not perfect I still ahd ice cream last night after work because it is my comfort food, the GREAT news is I did not finish it YEA

[pointbeach 0]

PS moving is huge, it kicks up all sorts of fears and anxiety, cut yourself some slack go do some loving things for yourself, like getting your nails done,and the jean thing is huge that ahs not happened to me yet, thanks for the inspirationMary

[greyhoundmom 0]

hi all, update on the 4th fill i had monday. got acid reflux and i can hear 'gurgling' when i drink. thought it was not too much of a deal until last night at midnight i took a tylenol for hip pain that was keeping me awake. and it got stuck! 1 tylenol! i slimed and had pain for about 5 minutes then i felt it 'pop' thru my band into my stomach. so.. having a small unfill monday and staying on fluids this weekend. it was such a small fill too - because she thought i was pretty close to the 'sweet spot'. either my stomach swelled or this is just too much Fluid in there for me. weird. acid reflux is giving me chest pain all over the place but i've had that before so i think it's just that. taking prevacid until i have my appointment monday.

i must have gone past the sweet spot - need to back up a little! i didn't lose anything between fill 3 and 4. so i was hoping to get more restriction. not this much tho i guess.

and this last fill - was a hard one. she had to stick me 2 times and the Fluid did not want to come out (they pull out what's in there to measure it then push it back in with more to do the fill). i asked, is everything ok because it took so much longer than usual! it was ok. but i guess my stomach wasn't too happy with it after all.

glad for Protein shakes and very mushy food! tho someone told me today 'you look like you've been thru the ringer'. so i guess i look a bit worn out!

hope you are all doing ok. this is not easy but it is better to know the tool is there and will work with me when i work with it! v.s pre-surgery and having no success with weight loss at all -feeling hopeless.

[Lynn42 8]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I had my band done on June 6/08. I lost steadily for the first 3 months and now I have been fluctuating between down 28 and 30 pounds for the last month. It is frustrating. I went for a fill in September and my doc talked me out of it as he said he would like to do a fill under fluroscopy. I think that is a good idea but I should have had a fill then as it has taken 3 weeks for the fluroscopy and I am finally getting it this week.

I am dealing with a lot of head games and I feel like I am just struggling on a diet like I have all my life. "tomorrow will be better/ I will exercised more tomorrow/I will make better food choices tomorrow" <guilt,guilt guilt>.

ANyways, I am glad to be here to learn from all of you.

Take care,

Lynn:confused_smile:

[greyhoundmom 0]

hi Lynn, and all! Lynn i was banded on 6/10 - just after you! i have lost 38 including pre-op weight loss from 5/1/08 on. the last 2 months have been very slow. i guess until we get the fill that puts us at the 'sweet spot' - the ideal fill to lose weight - we will struggle. we have to keep doing the best we can until we get the right 'fit' for our bodies. hang in there!

i did have a small unfill yesterday. the last fill (a week ago) was too tight. mostly the problem was heart burn and acid reflux(not vomiting).

i noticed i went from 2 cups of food at a time to 1 cup of food -which was really good - but the acid was not good. don't know what i can eat with this tiny unfill until i get of fluids again around friday.

we'll see. this is some process! some of us are losing pretty well and some of us are stuck and just not there - YET! i'm not exercising much right now - because of the reflux - gets worse when i breath deeply. hoping to get back to it the end of this week. that will help.

bye for now!

[greyhoundmom 0]

hi this fill #4 and then small unfill seem to be doing the trick! i can eat less then before (2 cups to about 1 cup) and i feel full for a long time (even if i want to eat something else- no room).

i hit 40 lbs down today! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was stuck for about 2 months. '4th times a charm' - maybe for me?

the right 'fill' level really seems to make a huge difference, so if you aren't there yet - hang in there. and eating solid foods where the band stops you (makes you feel very full or pain if you go a little too far) works much much better than Soups and mushy stuff.

bye for now, happy weekend!

[whatfolly 0]

I was banded on 6/23 and as of today (10/23) have lost 16 pounds. Not very much but I've experienced a dramatic remission with my diabetes since the day of surgery and have gone down one size. In one day, done with insulin maybe forever, and that is a very big thing. But..it is not enough, and I want to lose weight, and fast...but I feel so hopeful now, like never before, that I will lose the weight...eventually. That has been a breakthrough for me. A big one. "Its just a tool" are the truest words I can say about lapband. You really do have to do the work. I thought it would be easier and that the weight would just fall off, but for me it is not working out that way. But I know I am eating different, and I know that I think about food in a different way. My goals with this are not all weight related, I wanted to change my life (along with the size of my butt!) and it all is going to take...as long as it takes. Give yourself the gift of time with this process. You are on your way!!

[hopefulebndr 0]

:confused:Any help, assistance, or comments would be appreciated.... I am worried. I was banded in JUNE. I had one fill July to 2.5cc and then to 4.5cc - I only lost about 15 lbs. as of mid August ----- NO RESTRICTION. Today, after being gone for a month oversees I came back to get another fill - I'd lost NO weight since my last fill and in fact gained back 3 lbs. so I am at only 12 lbs or so LOST. So today he said he filled me to 9cc - I asked ... "my god, how much more can you put in there? and he said you have a big band - 20cc... this is after I got a huge lecture on that I wasn't supposed to be eating anything, I wasn't controlling portions, and that I had probably lost all the weight I was going to loose, etc., etc., - he basically scolded me the whole time. I told him I had no restriction and he commented that I wasn't supposed to, that first I needed to not eat more than a few bites at each meal. I am totally frustrated and confused. I have had no control over my portions, I admit it, but I have had no restriction at all to help me out. He is basically telling me that my band is working because I won't stop eating. HELP HELP HELP.... what can I do now? I now feel HUGE restriction and am sipping everything and I definatly feel a difference. Do you think he is just trying to get me motivated? Is it normal to NOT have restriction and NOT loose weight during the first few fills. I feel like a big failure - PLEASE HELP!!

[cathychatts 1]

Hi all you strugglers!

I am a slow loser! Here is what I do to kinda shake things up:

I do low carb liquids for about 3 days. I need to do that again for a few days again.

Try it

Good luck

[brown bear 0]

hopeful - you are not a failure. I don't know why your doc is sending mixed signals. I know some like you to diet instead of relying on the band, I am so glad I don't have one of those docs. Congrats on the fill, this will probably help you a lot. Try to only eat until no longer hungry - it is hard sometimes to adjust to the change a fill commands. It sounds like you got what you needed so be happy with that and good luck!

[jdrocks226 0]

Hi, anyone know what to take to replace the big fish oil capsules??? I found kids chewy gel ones, but was afraid it would stick. They have the consistency of Gummy worms? Wondering,, they say to eat solids, not mushy things, but then to chew till they are like liquid. So what is the difference to have applesauce with a meal or apple slices? Other than chewing longer. No support group in our town and we need one. Thanks to all of you for your support.