ValleyGirl

I'm so confused about needing an unfill. I get the pain too but not all the time- one day I can eat and the next day I can't...there is no rhyme or reason. The minute I get the severe pain (mine is REALLY bad too) I think, "this is not normal, what have I done, get this thing out of me, this can't be a healthy way to lose weight"....I feel panic, anger, basically handicapped and I just want to feel like a normal person!!! The next day I have no problems and I'm back to loving my band. I couldn't eat all weekend but today I feel perfect. I ate very watery oatmeal for breakfast, half a chicken breast and veggies for lunch and plan to do salmon and veggies for dinner. I guess what I'm wondering is how many pain episodes are too many??? Once a day? Once a week? Or should I be pain-free all the time? Sabrina:)

What is fraxel???

I don't know why it's so important to me what other people think, but I'm astonished that afetr losing 45 pounds NOBODY has noticed! I haven't told many people about surgery so that they are not "watching me" but it's like I'm completely invisible. In the past when I've been on a diet, everybody is always commenting on how much weight I've lost but lately I haven't heard a single comment...not from people at work, not from the moms at the school, ballet, skating etc! 45 freaking pounds and NOTHING!!! I even asked my husband if he can tell and he shrugged and said, "not really, but I didn't notice when you gained it either". Bless him for that, lol! The few friends who know about surgery say they can see it a bit but that I always dressed so well and was so good at hiding my weight that I still look pretty much the same to them too- that they didn't see anything wrong with me before anyway. That's a nice thing for them to say but it's not what I want to hear. I want to hear, "look how skinny you're getting"....."look how tiny you are"....."lose any more and you're going to dissapear" hahahaha. Seriously, why do I care? I do, though. I've been hiding under this fat for so long. I want to be noticed now!!! Thanks for letting me vent.....again! Sabrina:)

Don't be discouraged. I gained five pounds before my first fill! As soon as I had a fill, it started to come off again. Sabrina:)

I only planned on five days off work and it wasn't enough for me and I ended up calling in sick for the first time in my career. Physically, I was still sore but emotionally I was worse- just feeling all over the place and not ready to face the world. I suppose being on liquids and so few calories messed with my blood-sugar a bit. If you have more time, take it! I wish I could have had two-weeks off. Sabrina:)

If you have a lap-band you should try to avoid ALL N-saids. I was already allergic to them so had time to get used to living without them, but there are a million over-the counetr drugs (including Contact C) that are n-saids so google it, print out the list and try to avaoid them. About the only thing I can take is tylenol but I have to cut them in two. Sabrina:)

I was searching on the net for lap band chest-pain and it brought me here. I know it's an older post but relevant for me right now. Are you still experiencing this Amanda? It's been happening to me since I got my third fill last week. I can't even eat pea soup without the severe chest pain so please don't tell me I need to cut my food to tiny pieces and chew! There's nothing to chew!!! I'm on liquids right now because I can't tolerate solids and can't get an unfill until at least Thursday and even liquids hurt half the time! I've never been able to PB and I can only slime if I make myself bend over and touch my toes for a while and then it starts to come up- I only resort to doing this when the pain is so severe I can't take it any more. I'm so bummed I'm going to need an unfill since I have yet to hit my "sweet spot" and now probably never will. At 2.4 cc I get hungry exactly two hours after a meal and have little restriction and at 3 cc I have this chest pain. Let's hope my sweet spot is somewhere around 2.6...although I don't see how such a tiny adjustment would make a difference. NOT enjoying the journey right now Thanks for letting me vent. Sabrina:)

For me it is avacodos and refried beans (with no added fat)- love them both but they are both mushy so I don't know if I should stay away from them. They are healthy mushies, so are they okay?

I'm not panicking yet because I'm pretty sure (although I was half asleep) that I gulped a big amount down then went straight to bed before it had time to go down. Also, my fill centre has us on liquids 24 hrs and then mushies for another 24 hours after a fill so I just tried some chowder and it went down no problem- even the clams. I was reading some older posts and it sounds like a lot of people are tighter late at night- I had always thought this was only a morning issue. At least it was for me up until now. I'll keep you posted. Also...I just posted some photos in the member's gallery. Sabrina:)

I posted this in another area but I've moved it up here hoping to find out if this ever happens to anyone else. I had my third fill a couple days ago. I went from 2.4 to 3 cc in one shot and I might need an unfill now. I have this habbit of waking up a few times in the middle of the night because I am parched (and always have to pee) and when I went to sip water at 3am this morning, it hurt like hell. Water getting stuck???? I could feel it sitting there, like a clogged drain. I couldn't go back to sleep because it was so uncomfortable. I finally went back to sleep from 5-7am and now I'm drinking hot coffee which seems to be going down but that water incident has me worried. I hope this will pass. My fill was less than 48 hours ago....hopefully it is just swelling. What a wild ride this is! Sabrina:)

chewing your food to smithereens and choosing softer foods? It doesn't amke sense to me that we are supposed to avoid soft or mushy foods if we chew everything to a paste anyway. Isn't it the same? Sabrina:)

I'm thinking I should have donr the same and gone up just .2 cc cause I went from 2.4 to 3 cc in one shot and I might need an unfill now. I have this habbit of waking up a few times in the middle of the night because I am parched (and always have to pee) and when I went to sip water at 3am this morning, it hurt like hell. Water getting stuck???? I could feel it sitting there, like a clogged drain. I couldn't go back to sleep because it was so uncomfortable. I finally went back to sleep from 5-7am and now I'm drinking hot coffee which seems to be going down but that water incident has me worried. I hope this will pass. My fill was less than 48 hours ago....hopefully it is just swelling. What a wild ride this is! Sabrina:)

I'm going for my third fill today. I'll let you know how it goes! Sabrina:)

Is this the same Samantha that's going for a fill Tuesday? If so, what time? My appointment is at noon. Maybe I'll see you! Sabrina:)

I thought since my last fill has really loosened up that I would try some sushi. BAD idea. Not sure if it was the rice or the seaweed that got stuck. Can anybody eat rice? Luckily I don't really like rice but sushi is good now and then, I'll miss it.

Ditto Dana! My eating was getting OUT OF CONTROL before getting banded in December. Since then I have made it through the holidays and two seperate vactaions and have LOST weight! Not as much as I hoped I would but I'm certain without the band, I would have gained another ten pounds at least. I, too, feel like I am in control again. Just the fact that I've been able to kick my drive-thru habit is huge. They are baby-steps but they are steps in the right direction. Sabrina:)

I LOVE this post!!! I'd also love to grab some veggie recipe ideas from you that my 4 and 6-year old might enjoy. They are not adjusting so well to mom's new healthier meals, ha ha. They find every bit of green (no matter how small) and pick it out!!! Ideas? Sabrina:)

Pammie, I'd love to do lunch one of these days but I can't wait until the 31st for a fill cause I've already arranged child-care and my mom has already booked the day off work this Tuesday but thanks for the offer!!! I love going there...casino, shopping, casino, shopping, casino, shopping. I'm going to miss it when I don't need to keep going for fills, haha. Sabrina:)

I'm sure the topic has been covered but I can't find it, so.....for those fortunate few who have hit their "sweet spot" how many cc's in your band before you got there? I know it's different for everyone but I'm curious to see if there's an "average" amount. I have 2.4 cc's and very little restriction. I'm going for my third fill Tuesday. Sabrina:)

It's amazing what we can do when we put our minds too it, huh? It's also great that you have a hobby and something to keep your hands busy! I'm finding so much of my eating is boredom eating and now I try to pick up a book or magazine instead of food. Re-arranging furniture is a good distraction too! Sorry to hear about your dad. Sabrina:)

MY post-op instructions from Dr. Ortiz (all docs are different and sometimes their directions are different from patient to patient) but MY post-op dircetions were clear liquids for seven days (so no protein shakes, soups etc until day 8) and then on day 22 (after 21-days liquid diet) I could start adding food. Sabrina:)

I have a friend here who went to dr. Joya in Puerto Vallarta and got the Johnson and Johnson Realize band and she has very little restriction yet they won't giver her any more fill either. They said she's not aloud any more fills!!! SHe's obviously upset. Have you heard of this happening before? She's checked the band under fluoro and it looks fine. Sabrina:)