Syrah

4RE4ME, you are giving me hope! I have the 11 CC vanguard. I am so glad this thread came back up – I was looking for it a few days ago. I am at 7.5 CC and I am feeling some pretty good restriction but I think I need more. I have lost 23 lbs in 7 months.That is REALLY good for me (I lose very slow, and usually gain). I am thrilled with that. But I also realize I need better restriction and that most bandsters loose much faster than that. My surgeon is very conservative. The band was completely unfilled initially. (Some surgeons fill it – to a degree – before they finish surgery.) My first fill (6 weeks later) was 2 CC. Since then I have gone up by 1 or 1.5 CC increments. I appreciate my surgeon’s reluctance to forge ahead recklessly for fear of complications. After all, I think it’s pretty safe to say that slower WL is better than super fast WL, and it is only wise to proceed slowly to avoid problems. I also acknowledge that I have not been super aggressive about getting fills and have been eating too many carbs (as well as protein shakes – they were completely nixed at my last appointment 6 days ago). There are some aspects of the diet that I have fudged on a bit. For example, I have probably eaten too many carbs. I often eat soup + crackers for dinner (bloated carbs fill you up!) while my family eats steak, hamburgers, etc. I was advised to knock that off and dig into the dense proteins. I guess I knew that before but meat is not my thing and I thought reduced calorie soups would be ok. Instead, I'm learning that the bandster dieticians are essentially pushing an Atkins-type diet. (When I was first banded, they were promoting the protein shakes and light meals; they told me the other day that they are changing their tune on that advice - skip the shakes and focus on protein, not calories.) During my fill last Monday, I actually felt (physically) the band tightening for the first time. In previous fills, I watched it on the fluoro screen and saw barium going through very rapidly and without any trouble. I have mixed feelings about this band. I once heard someone say it is used for people who carry most fat in the belly. I don’t – mine’s mainly on my hips and butt and thighs. But I think it is the only band my surgeon’s office uses these days. They like it bc it offers a lot of tinkering and MANY fewer complications, from what they’ve told me.

<p>You just aren't properly filled yet, Joho. My first fill did nothing for me. Neither did my 2nd. I am 7 months out and I just had my 4th fill yesterday. We'll see what it does. So far, no hunger. But before yesterday I was dealing with a lot of hunger issues and my weight loss has been slow. My advice is to be aggressive about getting your fills. If you are still hungry and your weight is not going down, don't beat yourself up and think that it's strictly YOU. Get to the doc and request more fills. The band is there to help you. I'm at 7.5 CCs (out of 11). My doctor will do new fills every 3 weeks. Good luck!</p>

Horns, I got filled to 7.5 today on a VG band. Sheesh! I am hoping this does the trick!

I was afraid of eggs as the pre-op dietician indicated they are hard for many bandsters to tolerate. I was looking for foods that would make me feel "full" and eggs did the trick.

Hi Sparkette - I am sorry for the delay in responding. I have been off the board for a while. Please check your private messages!

Klassicant -- we are practically neighbors! Please check your private messages.

I live in Iowa City and was banded in Grinnell, so I'm probably not much help. I'm not sure where you live but Grinnell is fairly "central." It's about one hour east of Des Moines. Here is the website of the group I used: Grinnell Regional Medical Center These guys are great and have been doing GB for years. Sundberg especially has been around the block repeatedly (though he's not my surgeon). Their focus is changing to lap band. They predict that a majority of their patients will go from GB to lap band within this coming year. Good luck and PM me if I can give you any other info!

I am losing, but slowly. I'm actually OK with that. I feel great and am thrilled to see the scale go DOWN vs. up, albeit slowly. But I'd say I'm losing slowly bc I'm not properly filled yet (and have not been aggressive about this). I am now at 7.5 CCs with the Vanguard band and we'll see if that does the trick. Otherwise I have a fair number of hunger issues but I think I need to beef up (literally) on Protein. Also, I eat too many carbs. Until recently I also drank a lot of Protein shakes which I've been told to dump in favor of food. I also looooove my wine so I need to reign that in. I have a few glasses on weekend nights and I am going to start cutting back to one night, and then cut down from there. I am pretty good about exercising 3-4 times a week but need to kick that up a notch as well.

Nothing negative to report. Most people are supportive but fairly ignorant about the band. I suspect that will change -- my surgeon's office specialized in GB for a looooong time. They were pioneers. But now they are doing more lap bands than GBs.

I'm not quite properly filled yet (though I had a fill today so my story may change in the next few days...) and I find that I can eat almost anything as long as I chew well. (But I have admittedly avoided most meats.) I once slimed and vomited raw carrots bc I was very hungry and ate too fast while working on the computer / not paying attention. It was more the way I ate than the food itself. Blech.

<p><p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Mine too. The theory is that liquid meals don't really fill you up and they are a lot of calories. This was one mistake I made for several months. (I haven't been very diligent about getting my fills.) I am told that food is the best Protein source and will keep you more full than shakes, but that shakes are recommended for GB patients.</p></p> <p> </p> <p>I try to find foods that fill me up. I am on an egg kick in the mornings. One egg plus one egg white and a bit of salsa keeps me full for a few hours. But I had another fill today so we'll see how mornings go, since everyone says morning eating is more difficult once you are adequately filled.</p> ETA: The eggs are scrambled, lest anyone think I pull a Rocky and drink them raw! LOL!

My surgeon's office requires this routinely. Patients have to meet with a psychologist and take the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) -- a really long multiple choice and / or true-false test. Ditto what FaithMD said. In addition, my surgeon's office is looking for signs of depression so that it can be treated before patients undergo the surgery, if need be.

You will probably be fine right now, since I assume you don't have any fill just yet?