BandDiva

Oh wow! So glad to hear I am not the only one! Last week was my period and I was eating last week. Then wham all this happens yesterday! Fickle, Fickle! Thanks Anglea, you are too sweet! Hang in there & keep listening to your body!

Carrie, I appreciate your sweet post of concern. This is what the site should be about. My problem is when people actually insinuate that I am not a successful bandster, or anyone else on the forum for that matter. People should post their opinions without being rude and making a person feel like crap. I have watched posts on this site for almost 7 months & people can be rude & know it all's. It is offensive & that is why people have left. People need to learn to be a little more tactful. I have talked to handfuls of people that feel the exact same way (who are on this forum now as well). When you read a post like mine and it says I was tight yesterday and couldnt eat, don't assume I am like this 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Ask me some questions! Everyone is so quick to say, you need an un-fill, you arent healthy. Whatever. The band tightens sometimes with no rhyme or reason. The band is for life & to act like I don't know that is nuts! I love my band & listen to my body. I struggled my whole entire life, FAT! I failed every diet I went on because I gained the weight back plus some. I have lifetime memberships at Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss. By now, I would have lost focus and started gaining. SO, am I successful? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took years for me to decide to do this because my Aunt (who I was very close to) died 2 days after gastric bypass. Not that lapband is anything like it, but it is a bariatric surgery & me & my family were freaked out. FYI I use Muscle Milk Light, and the choc powder is only 90 calories, the premades are 160 & I am not having very many of those any more. (just when I really need the calories, like yesterday-plus they have been discontinued) But, you are right, regular Muscle Milk is laden with calories! Anyway, bottom line: Don't make assumptions that people don't care or don't listen to their bodies. I am very intune with mine. I didn't have this surgery to not be successful!!

Hey Shiney! I was a belly sleeper too & it is not comfortable for me to sleep on my belly now. I try to, but after 15 or 20 minutes I roll back to my right side. However, some people say they put a pillow under them and they are able to sleep on their stomach. So, everyone is different!

I have posted TWO times about being tight! Last week I was eating food during the freaking day!! Sometimes I think you SENIOR bandsters really forget what we go through at the begginning trying to find a sweet spot, especially since you have been unfilled. I dont need a coach, I have a Dr. in Dallas who Dr. Ortiz referred me too & for your information I communitcate with them consistently. To answer your question, HECK YES I am succeeding with my band I was down 48 lbs this morning & I am dang proud of that! I work out with a trainer twice a week and am on my elliptical for 45 minutes aday. Get off your high horse.

I live in Texas and almost drove it, but didn't. Anyway, my patient care coordinator told me that I would be fine, but that I would have to stop frequently so I wasnt sitting in one place for too too long. I would suggest the same for you.

That's good to know Sabrina, I have talked to many people like you. They told me the same thing. I am sure it will loosen.

I am living and this is a LIFE PROJECT. Sorry, but I have read these boards and I will know when I need an unfill. This is not it. Today is a new day, different day. You can't make an assumption on me and how I live with my band after me sharing ONE day of my struggles.

Dawn~ I can tolerate meat and veggies, but not everyday. I specifically said my band has gotten tighter over this past week. I quoted my food for yesterday, I didnt tell you my meals for the past month since my fill. From what I have heard, the band tightens and there is no explanation some time. Other days it is loose, my experience has been both & from what I understand that is normal. I am not PB'ng and sliming every meal (like others I have read about). But, thanks for your opinion. I do not think I need an unfill, today I had two bites of ground meat and was fine. So, you see bands are fickle. AND just to clarify, I got on the scale today and I have lost a few lbs.

Chirsty try not to panic sweetie. You are healing and you need to give your body time to respond. I will tell you that learning to sleep on my right side and not turning to the left was very hard. At this point if I were you, I would not even try to lay on that side. I tried that and found I just made the discomfort worse. For you to think about having your band removed before you have time to heal and reap the benefits would not be in your best interest. Are you taking anything for pain? If not ask your Dr. for something. Obviously, if you have a medical condition in which you HAVE to have it removed that is another story. But, do not jump the gun because you are sore. I am sure your port is super irritated having an unfill right after surgery-not sure why that happened. Get a heating pad and go to bed with it, have it on the couch etc. When I was healing It was on me ALL the time. My port was very tender for weeks. Please don't be discouraged, this is part of the process and you just need a little time to heal up. You will be fine, I am sure.

OK, so on March 9th I got 1 more CC so now I have a total of 2.5. I was tight before, but this week (after TOM, I might add) OMG I am so tight I don't know what to do! Yesterday, I was so hungry and could not keep much of anything down! I started as usual with my coffee and it was fighting me, it took me about an hour to drink one cup and I was constantly microwaving it! A couple hours later, I tried one of my muscle milk premades and it was 10X's worse than the coffee, so I only drank about 3 oz. Then about 3 pm, my husband wanted a Taco Salad so he goes up to our favorite place and gets me a side of refried beans. The first bite felt tight, second bite, I started sliming! 2 hours later I was able to heat up a Soup at hand by Campbells, Creamy Chicken and got the entire can down by sipping. Then a few hours after that, I try a jello pudding snack....PB'd for 45 minutes. Water hurts going down, but it doesnt come back up. At this point, it looks like I am going to be living on Creamy Chicken in the can! I am going to try another protein shake for breakfast. BUT, I was so miserable yesterday that I neglected my body. I did not have enough water or fluids for that matter because everything was painful going down. I see after yesterday how people can become dehydrated & sick! I do not want to get an unfill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I can eat soup and shakes for awhile I am going to. Sitting on 2 1/2 months and NO weight loss. I am working my butt off too, sometimes the scale doesn't make sense. GRRRRR!!! But, on a positive note, I can tell the working out is changing my body and I am losing inches. AND it is looking FAT that sucks! If the fat goes away in inches rather than lbs for awhile so be it. I am staying focused with my workouts! Anyway, just wanted to share what is going on with me! Today's focus is getting enough protein and water in me. Yesterday, I did not! I was able to get down my 8.5 ounce muscle milk this morning, it took me a couple of hours. LOL Taken Yesterday, 45 lbs gone. The last photos were at 35lbs gone.

Hey Sabrina~ When was your fill? Was it this tight at the begining or has it gotten tighter? I suppose it is like this everyday for you? I have days like you explain, this morning it was hard to drink coffee. I just sip and eventually it loosens up. I am not getting an unfill because I havent lost weight for 2 1/2 months, so I am ready to drop. Plus, I can eat solids later in the day, it was 2 or 3 but lately its been more like 5pm. Anyway, I am at 2.5 and can't imagine being any tighter. I know I am not answering your questions, but it does sound like that if it is consistently and not just early maybe you do need an unfill. Feel better!

I don't get it when I eat slow. Since my third fill I am really tight. I have learned to REALLY slow down. If I eat a big first bite fast, the pain comes after the second bite. So, I know I am not full. Today I haven't been able to eat solids. (yet) I tried 2 bites of refried beans a couple hours ago and couldn't breathe, my throat felt like it was closing up. Welcome to Restriction. It will take some time, but you will learn how to eat. Some days are easier than others. I can't even begin to explain why I am tight some days. lol

So happy for you Todd & Leanne! Please let us know how you are doing. I know you will enjoy your time at the OCC, everyone is wonderful! See you on the other side!

If you enjoy working out this much, you need to increase your food intake.

I posted a Kick Start Challenge last month, basically we all did Full Liquids only for a week. Soups & protein shakes. So many of us were at a plateau so we gave it a try, a lot of people did really well that week!

Hey Carrie, I have been doing protein shake most of the time as I am super super tight during the day. I am only down like 3 lbs. Pretty frustrating, but, I am keeping on! I have been doing 3 shakes a day and my evening meal most days. (I do a double for bfast) There have been a few days that I felt loose, so I did chili or eggs or turkey bacon for lunch. When I do that I obviously don't have a shake. But, I would say 85% of the time, I am all liquid before 3pm.

I had VERY BAD port pain for months! I took my heating pad to bed every night. But, I can handle pain, so I rarely complained. It did not depress me because I was dropping the lbs. Two days ago, I bent over to get something out of a lower kitchen cabinet and I felt my port pinch. That day and all day yesterday was difficult. Every move I made I was hurting, it was like the porting was stabbing me. But, today I am fine. It is still a little swollen, but that is it. Try to stay positive. I would not even think about removing your band at this point. Give it some time, I am sure it will ease up, mine did!

I agree Mona, my trainer told me a healthy amount for me is 80 (at this current weight).

You are welcome! I just do not believe the standard 40-60 grams will do. Like I said, I literally feel like crap if I don't get enough. By these calculations, I need 90 a day!!! I feel the best when my protein levels are up & the protein comes from meat/bean sources. I am now limiting myself to 2 protein drinks a day. The rest comes from my food.

FYI:You may need more protein. If you get headachy or dizzy, increase it. I can't function unless I have 60 and I normally do about 80. I would recommend figuring it up. I got this off google What is protein? How much protein do we need? Is it possible to eat too much protein? These are important questions for people following a low carb way of eating, who usually are replacing part of their carbohydrate intake with protein. What is protein? Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, being about 16 percent of our total body weight. Muscle, hair, skin, and connective tissue are mainly made up of protein. However, protein plays a major role in all of the cells and most of the fluids in our bodies. In addition, many of our bodies' important chemicals -- enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even our DNA -- are at least partially made up of protein. Although our bodies are good at “recycling” protein, we use up protein constantly, so it is important to continually replace it. Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. Our bodies cannot manufacture nine amino acids, so it is important to include all these amino acids in our diets. Animal proteins such as meat, eggs, and dairy products have all the amino acids, and many plants have some of them. Learn more about amino acids in our diet. How much protein do we need? Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person, 92 grams. Another way to compute protein needs has to do with lean body mass. This method is discussed in the Zone Diet and Protein Power books. Learn About This Method Do people who exercise need more protein? Although it is controversial, there is evidence that people engaging in endurance exercise (such as long distance running) or heavy resistive exercise (such as body building) can benefit from additional protein in their diets. One prominent researcher in the field recommends 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for endurance exercisers and 1.7 to 1.8 grams per kg per day for heavy strength training. But shouldn’t protein intake be a percentage of total calories? Quite a few programs and nutritionists quote percentage of calories, usually in the range of 10 percent to 20 percent, as a way to figure out how much protein a person needs to consume daily. This is a rough estimate of a person's minimum protein needs. It works because usually larger and more active people need more calories, so the more calories they need, the more protein they will get. Where this falls down is when people are eating diets which are lower in calories for any reason, conscious or not. People who are ill or losing weight, for example, do not need less protein just because they are eating fewer calories. What happens if we don’t eat enough protein? Unlike fat and glucose, our body has little capacity to store protein. If we were to stop eating protein, our body would start to break down muscle for its needs within a day or so. Is it OK to eat a lot more protein than the minimum recommendations? This is the crucial question for people on diets which are higher in protein than usual, as low-carb diets tend to be. In a review of the research, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the only known danger from high protein diets is for individuals with kidney disease. After careful study, they recommend that 10 percent to 35 percent of daily calories come from protein. They point out that increased protein could be helpful in treating obesity. There is also accumulating evidence that extra protein may help prevent osteoporosis. Extra protein can be broken down into glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. On low carb diets, this happens continually. One benefit of obtaining glucose from protein is that it is absorbed into the bloodstream very slowly, so it doesn’t cause a rapid blood sugar increase.

So glad you are going to give Dr. Jay a try! You will love everyone at his office! Such sweet people! Stay in touch and let me know how it goes!

Lindsay, This is my Fill Dr.'s instructions: ** If you are taking aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDS) pain relievers, please inform the office so you can be placed on proper medication. Tylenol is what he has me take. At this point, I can not take the capsules. So, liquid is what I have to take. I don't think they make it sugar free, but I don't have much of a choice. However,I do not have to take it very often.

Sounds like someone is taking advantage of you, unless you have a previous medical condition that might prevent you from having surgery??? I dont think any of Dr. O's patients have gotten this test.

You have to wait 3 months to do any ab workouts. (I waited 5). I began briskly walking after 3 weeks & started on my elliptical at 5 weeks. I think you should do what is comfortable to you, just don't lift anything real heavy for awhile.