Can anyone give me any suggestions on COMPLETELY starting over? I have been unfilled for 1 1/2 yrs. I am getting ready to finally start seeing a new Dr. & start over to succeed again :D

If you care to read, here's a lil background on my prior experience. I was banded in July 2010. I went from 270 lbs to 169 lbs after having lap-band surgery in 6 months. I was on a roll! Doing everything my Dr. told me & working out EVERYDAY for 45 mins minimum :) Then I found out I was expecting :o Within 4 months had to have my band completely unfilled due to pregnancy complications (Preeclampsia) was hospitalized on STRICT bed rest the last 32 days before delivering my son 6 weeks premature (He's a champ & completely healthy btw). During the time of my un-fill my Surgeon (who I loved very much) moved 4 hours away :( Next closest Surgeon is 1.5 hrs away. So with the baby, working a 3rd shift job, I just haven't been able to balance the time to get back on track. I have went back to all my old eating habits and have put back, I'm pretty sure ALL of my weight. I haven't weighed myself in over a year because I can't face seeing the numbers! I'm tired of making excuses & ready to get myself together but not sure where to start? Should I just start over as if pre-surgery with the 10 day liquid diet prior to starting my fills or get my fill then start? ANY suggestions would be MOST APPRECIATED! I just don't feel the connection with the new Dr. to discuss much of anything. He is very rushy it seems unlike my last Dr. that really seemed to take as much pride in my success.

It may not be a good idea sine you are so newly banded but once you are able to eat solid foods I would give it a try. My Surgeon was actually who suggested it to help up my protein intake once I found restriction, I found it was no problem at all to eat. I'm thinking the dehydration process actually makes it easier to chew?

I don't believe I could have nor would I have lost the weight that I've lost thus far without my band!
For me personally, I just couldn't find the willpower to do what I knew needed to be done prior to getting my band because I was sooo afraid of being held personally accountable & failing. Had it been someone I care for, I would have no problem rooting them on. I just couldn't seem to do it for myself?

You asked if anyone  "felt like they worked hard to lose the weight anyway because they had the band and didn't want to seem like a failure"? ABSOLUTELY! I now don't feel so accountable for myself but more so for my band. I went through so much to have it, I've accepted the responsibility to tend to it the best I can!
I don't believe the band is what has made my BODY lose weight, but it definitely took some of the weight off my MIND somehow to let me overcome my own self pity! I'm sure the compliments I've received along the way have gave me some of that drive also

That said, I've also only experienced restriction for the last 4-5 weeks and I'm still working on perfecting it, just had a .5 cc unfill yesterday. I'm at the point where I feel I have changed so much in my eating/exercise habits that I CAN'T WAIT to see what more I am capable of with my "tool" functioning how it was intended.

Best of luck to you in your decision!

Thanks Kate! I'm hoping my weight loss doesn't change it. You made me chuckle thinking of my Mother for some reason, she left me a note in her passing that if I EVER cut it she was coming back to whoop my a$$ LOL She's probably rolling over knowing I've lost 70+ lbs.

Thank you Michele & Kate for your kind words & advice. Why I turn here is because I know there are such caring folks as yourself out there

Btw- I am feeling great today, still sticking to the room temperature & warm liquids with no problems. I managed to consume about 80 oz of water yesterday What a difference 48 hours can make!!!

Excuse me but I do have a clue, I have enough sense to know not to EAT! Yes, I was panicking.... I experienced pain I never imagined possible! Seriously, why do you need to be so nasty? More questionable.... why did you feel the need to start a new thread to bash me when all I did was ask for advice, which is what I believed these forums were intended for?

Thanks Maria, propping myself up makes sense and I hadn't thought of doing that.

I'm pretty sure, okay definitely sure I'm a little too tight and I have a call into the Dr. But since he is only in Mon & Tues, I'm expecting not to get any relief until Monday at the earliest 
In the meantime can anyone offer me some advice to get through the weekend without vomiting or being as completely miserable as I am now? I can drink water in very small sips and maybe a HALF bite of yogurt as a meal, but that's it! I attempted to eat some cod (unbreaded of course) I stopped eating after 4 teeny tiny bites and within 15 minutes I was miserable with pain & tightness in my chest. Went to the commode, coughed real hard it came back up very easily.
I have vomited so much over the past 3 days that my throat is SOOOOO sore, I made me some hot tea to sip & that definitely brought some relief. AMEN! It's so weird, last Monday at my appointment I felt like I had hit that ever so sought after "sweet spot" and suggested I not come back for 4 weeks. I was losing good and feeling satisfied after minimal amounts of food. Did have 2 vomiting episodes the week before my appt. but assumed it was lack of chewing or breaks between bites. My doc suggested a slight unfill but I said ABSOLUTELY NOT! Up until the last 3 weeks ALL of my loss has been because of my madness for exercising because I didn't have good restriction & was struggling to make good food choices. Just as I'm sure most of us are I am TERRIFIED to see the scale go back up! All I'm eating now are those 2 words!!!!

If I have to resort to sipping water & tea for 2 days to not cause any damage to my band (hopefully I haven't already), I guess I have no choice but does anyone have anything other to suggest???

I have had 2 issues with severe lower abdominal cramping (worse than labor pains cramping!) on my left side the last month & I don't know if it's just a coincidence but both times I had a stuck episode the night before and took 4 papaya enzymes to try and get my food to digest. The pain last for hours, it's so bad I am drained physically for the next 1-2 days. I talked to my surgeon about it and he thought it was just a gas/constipation issue, not band related.

Anyone experience anything similar or have any input?

Appreciate any & all comments!

Haha... My Psych eval was a joke!! The lady spent the hour talking about her problems more so than mine. She went so far as to tell me she was banded because her husband had cheated on her and she wanted to make him regret it I want to know WHO did hers!!!!!

She did ask me about 5 basic questions that only a fool that didn't want to get banded could possibly answer wrong. 

Trust me, don't sweat it! 

Aww Gia... hang in there! If it makes you feel any better, I am struggling also.... Are you still on liquids? My Dr told me to stay away from the liquids for now on because they just won't keep me satisfied until i get the first fill. Figures since i practically bought out walmarts atkins shakes the day before surgery. DUHHH Your diet for the day doesn't seem all that bad to me since you don't have a fill yet but I guess what really do I know?
I've decided I'm just going to start each day fresh and leave yesterday in the past. I started logging all my food daily and it does seem to help me stay on target, when I do it anyhow. Today was definately a better day than yesterday! (((HUGS)))

I would think it's the breading and bun that is giving it all the carbs. Skip the bun and peel off the breading and it should be good to go. I have been buying cod filets at kroger, sprinkling a little cajun seasoning on them and throwing them in the oven.... They are delicious! I only eat Frisch's tarter sauce also, all the others have too much of a strong onion flavor for my liking. 2 TBSP Frisch's tarter sauce = 190 cal, 20g fat,  and 2g carbs. I know it isn't the healthies choice, but since I'm skipping the bun & breading it's at least an improvement for me. :D

What an awesome idea, especially hanging onto the lil containers! Thanks for sharing. I wonder if those little puff things would be good with the band? I would snack on them all the time with my daughter & they are rather tasty also. I'll have to try them out once I get past the begininning stages.

ONE WEEK OUT TODAY! YAY!