NJGirl32

I did fly and was a little panicky the entire time-not about flying but about eating anything that would caude me to PB. Geeze I can't imagine being in the bathroom puking in a plane. So I didn't risk it. We stayed in New Orleans for 2 nights before our cruise-that 2nd day I was SO sick. I hear the band can sometimes tighten. Vacation is really a time to unwind and enjoy life-not a time to test the band. I actually thought it may have slipped due to how sick I was-but it passed. We have to remember that our spouses are onvaction too-and should be a little considerate about not ruining their vacation either with constant trips to the bathroom and worrying! On a side note I did get a full body scan and got called to the side for a private search-it had to be the band!

Wow!!! What a difference! You have a cute little shape!

I just came back from a cruise 9/2 and I would advise to NOT get a fill prior to your trip. I had a fill a few days before I left. Prior to that fill I really had very little restriction. That fill was a tight one and I had no problem flying (thank goodness) but I worried about it. I got really sick the day of the cruise-I had a constant feeling of needing to throw up. I sat at the dinner table barely able to eat anything and by the end of the meal I had to excuse myself and I barely made it back to my stateroom in time. I was eyeing out room service trays laying outside people's rooms just in case I couldn't make it. The rest of the cruise went fine and I was able to eat the lobster for elegant dining night-but if I had to do it again I wouldn't have gotten the fill. Why even risk it? This is your anniversary and a time to have good memories of it-not memories of worrying about puking and getting stuck, Enjoy your trip!!

Nope, I do not think eating afte the fill is the cause. I do think you aren't yet in the green zone. Hang in there-you'll get there!! Some docs only put in .5ccs each time-which is a slow process. Once you are in the green zone you won't want food after the fill! Good luck to you!

Stretchy pants are a must! Yoou will be sore and have stitches so some yoga pants for the first 2 weeks. I tried dress pants for work 5 days later and it wasn't comfortable. I was so glad I brough my MP3 player-I was on morphin and couldn't focus on TV-the music helped me relax and sleep. Buy some SF pops to suck on for the first few days. Good Luck!!

I don't think the bandster police will issue a ticket! lol But creamy soups are sometimes loaded with calories so be careful. I get New England Cleam Chowder from Progress0 (light) and I think it's 299 calories for the entire can-and so yummy! I chicken wing is barely worth a mention! lol Good Luck!! Sounds like you are doing a great job!

Oh that sounds yummy! Good for you -rocking the band!! You go girl! Now I'm in the mood for eggplant! lol

You have officially entered "Bandster Hell" and this is a very difficult stage because you are hungry, sometimes very hungry and you start to wonder why you even went through with surgery. You wonder if you are goingto be one of the few who don't lose weight even with the band! This was my experience-my weight was almost at a standstill and I was just so glad that I didn't tell anyone about the surgery because they would be wondering why I wasn't losing weight! It took me 4 fills to feel a difference and it was a dramatic difference!! I can only eat small amounts of food and the weight has starting to come off again! My advice is to use this time to learn portion control, getting use to taking vitamins and drinking water, doing some sort of exercise-consider lapband bootcamp. Each fill you get will help get you closer to the "green zone" and you'll know it when you reach it. Good luck you can do it!!!

If I am being honest I would have to say I don't enjoy it as much, but still to some degree! Now I have o be careful of what I order and worry how it might go down. Food is now a deliberate choice I make instead of mindless eating-which is good. I am so intuned with my body-I can feel the food go down and when it goes into my stomache. I can tell when I lose weight even if it's only a pound. The lapband has taken some of the joy out of eating-but I am grateful for that.

Depending on the restuarant I think you have quite a few options-other than soup. Soup would be a great starter because it helps open things up, but you could have crab cakes, crab imperial, quiche, mashed potatoes, or order an appetizer as a main course. During my mushy stage I could easily eat soft food without a problem-not sure what week you are on but fish is a good option-especially if it is in a sauce (so it goes down easy). Really, there are more options than you may realize. Stick to small bites and stay away from the bread basket. If anyone should ask why you aren't eating much simply say I want to fit in my dress for the wedding! Most importantly just have fun!!

So I call up a friend from work and we agree to meet at a diner for lunch-it's around 1pm and all I have had so far was yogurt in the morning. I am hungry-I really want to eat and I feel as though I could eat (unlike mornings). Anyway this friend knows I have the band...I order a garden veggie egg beater omellet, fruit cup (instead of home fires) and no toast. Well, I could barely get 4 bites down. I had to ask for a to-go box and I ate 2-3 small pieces of fruit. I guess that wasn't a good choice for me. I am thinking eggs over light might go down better-geeze! Tonight we are going out for my daughter's birthday-I was going to do Hibachi -but no way can I do that and not stand out. Only thing I can eat is seafood and at night I can mange more.

I never heard of 6 days-that seems like a lot. With that being said, my last (4th) fill was tight and I probably would have done very well with liquids for 6 days. If you can tolerate mushies I don't think it would hurt after 2 days of liquids.

Mine felt super tight and I couldn't eat anything, although I could drink I had to do it very slowly. You might feel louy because you aren't getting the proper nutrients (take yr. vitamins) or you are dehydrated and not drinking enough Water. Not sure if that's what you ment by feeling lousy. Hope you feel better!

Same exact thing happened to me-give it 3 days and the swelling will go down. Don't even attempt solid food in the morning (unless it's cream of wheator maybe yogurt). It will get btter and if it doesn't you'll need to get a slight unfill. Good luck!

2 burgers- well not a great idea but this IS a learning process and she is just being very honest. My trigger food was pizza and here's how it went: 1st fill- no problem eating pizza 2nd fill-actually had 2 slices one night with no problem (other than feeling like a failure) 3rd fill- eat 1 slice of pizza on the boardwalk-got SO very sick-vomiting, sliming. OMG-I even thre up on the boardwalk-I was with my friend who didn't know about my surgery. 4th fill- got a slice on vacation took 1/2 teaspoon size and was sick the entire next day. Tonight the family ordered pizza and I got a salad-I could only eat 1/3 of the salad and had NO pizza. I simply can not eat doughy-type bread items. My point is that it took me 4 fills not to be able to eat pizza at all. I won't even attempt to eat it anymore. You'll feel that way about burgers with the proper fill. My eating habits have dramatically changed since this last fill-sometimes my head wants to food, but my body threatens me with getting stuck or PBing and I don't want that!

Average 8-10 pounds per month

What about sticking some metal weights in your bra-seriously! Why should you have to gain 5 pounds! There's got to be a way to weigh yourself down! I agree with the others that he wasted your time and then told you to wait a year=I'd find another doctor or get another evaluation done. Have to spoken to our primary doc? Would be be willing to verify your health issues?

I totally understand your frustration!! I felt the same and thought maybe this wouldn't work for me. I could eat anything-same thing-sometimes thing would get stuck. That all means that you are getting closer-you are 1 or 2 fills away from the sweet spot! Don't get discouraged now-you are SO close!! Seriously, 1 week I could eat pizza the next week (after a fill) I couldn't even take 1 bite - that's pretty dramatic. You will absoultely get there and you are getting closer with each fill. Good luck to you!

Well, I decided NOT to get an unfill because I really didn't want to over eat on vacation, plus it seemed a little better by the time I left. I made sure I didn't eat anything that would remotely get stuck for the plan ride to New Orleans. I was doing fine the first 2 nights. Sure, I was very tight and couldn't eat much, but I was able to drink. BUT the day I set sail for the cruise was bad-really bad. I felt sick all day and could barely keep anything down. I wentto lunch took a spoonful and had to go to the bathroom to bring it up. On the actual cruise-well I tried to eat at the sit down dinner-but I simply could not. During dessert I was sick and excused myself. I tried rushing back to my stateroom and I didn't think I would make it in time, but thank goodness I managed to get to the bathroom! Uggghh! Not a good day. The rest of the cruise was better, still tight, but better. I even finished a lobster tail! When I first got on the scale when I came home it said I gained 4 pounds-but no way that was possible with the amount of food I ate! The next day it said I only gained 1 pound! Whew! That's more like it! I am still tight, but it's getting a little better. I still can not eat more than a dixie cup of solid protein. This morning I had oatmeal with a chopped up banana and a few sprinkles of nuts. It all went down without a problem! Today I go to a BBQ-we'll see how that goes. The last few days I have not been able to drink beer. I know we aren't suppose to anyway, but I like a coupld at an outdoor event. It takes me hours to finish a beer and then it's warm. I guess that's good. I know it's got to loosen up soon. I have a September 2nd fill appointment-we'll see! The danger of being too tight (besides PB and getting stuck) is overeating. I know this doesn't sound right but you get really hungry and tend to go for slider foods such as ice cream and other sliders. The band really works with solid protein to keep you full so a too tight band isn't necessarily a good thing. Today the scale said 215 - I can't wait to see it in the ones!!

Not sure when you were filled, but if it was recently you could just be swollen. Drink hot liquids and I could do a few spoonfuls of cream of wheat, hot broth, and definitely proetin shakes. I had trouble with sliders for a few days. If you can't eat anything I would go for a slight unfil-but I honestly would wait 3 days first (that's just me). I am about 2 weeks post fill and still feel tight, but I am able to eat more which if good and bad. Good luck to you!

Okay-you are mentioning 2 concerns: #1- getting stuck #2-still being hungry and being able to eat lots of food 1. Getting stuck-certain foods will have to be avoided or can caude you to get stuck. Sometimes eating quickly or while standing (mindlessly) cand attribute to the stuck feeling. Also, dry meats (that have being microwave or BBQed or overcooked in any way) can cause that feeling. Yes, chew the hell out of your food-and chew moist foods. Pay attention to the food so you don't take a bite that's too big. 2. If you can eat 2 hamburgers you simply aren't at a proper fill level. I was able to eat 2 slices of pizzas (not proud of that) after my 1st fill-not problem. Now I have had my 4th fill and I can't even take 1 bite of pizza-yes I tried and it was a slimming, PB mess! Even withthe proper fill you need to eat smart choices. Plan your meals and snakcs ahead of time. After this last fill I can not eat cheeseburger on a roll. I can only eat 1/2 of a burger (no bun) and I have to dip it in ketcup, even then the burger is pretty dry for my band. Good luck to you!

Hang in there-things will get better!!! This is just the "sucky" stage. If you could have lost it on your own you would have by now-and chances of gaining it back would have been high. Just keep thinking about all the good things about losing weight. Think about your health and how great it will feel to look in the mirror and like what you see! Keep positive thoughts going. I found that making a Protein milkshake helped so much during those early weeks. You can get carnation instant Breakfast packets (add a scoop of protein if you wantto boost it up) or simply use your favorite protein mix. I used GNC's total lean pre-made shake choc. Put it in the blender with a half of a banana (or other fruit), a bunch of ice cubes, pour into a fancy tall glass, put a dollop of cool whip and a drizzle of SF choc. syrup on top (cheery optional). This will fill up 2 tall glasses and tastes absolutely yummy! Try some different recipes- make a crockpot full of soup so you can have it on hand when needed. You CAN do this-I think the first 4-6 weeks are the hardest. Keep busy!! Good luck to you!

I would say 3 months...at least that's what it took for me. Prior to that, it was a slow time-just being very patient and letting the band ride it's early stages. Since my 4th fill of 4.5ccs total, I can now see the scale going down and I cannot eat much food at all. Actually I think I might be a tad too tight. I have lost 32 pounds since my pre-op diet and I can sense the scale going down each week (which is new-since I was stuck at the same weight for weeks). A couple of people said "you look like you lost some weight" but that's about it-no dramatic comments. I still look at pictures and see a fat girl. I am thinking that next 20 pounds will bring on a dramatic change and I am looking forward to it (plus it will get me in Onederland). The band is all about patience. There will be a period where you think why did I get this done when it doesn't seem to be doing anything. Then all of a sudden you'll get the fill that does the trick and really helps. On a side note- I noticed when I started excercising I started losing weight. I think helped to get my metabolism working!

:)Sometimes it can take a while for the band to tighten-that's normal. Be careful eating too many mushy type foods. I can eat ice cream and it feels good, but it's not good for me (they call this eating around the band). I went on a cruise and couldn't eat mostthing, but thos umbrella drinks sure went down without a problem. The key is to plan your meals ahead on time. Mornings are usually tough for bandsters so enjoy a nice cup or tea to help smooth the band. Have oatmeal, yogurt or really moist foods. At lunch maybe a cup of soup and you can add some meat (chicken) or make a tuna salad on crackers. Get a protein shake in if you aren't getting the right amount of protein in. Take your vitamins at this stage too. For dinner try not to reheat food as it tends to be dry-stay away from pasta and carbs. Fish works well for me or seafood items. The trick is to eat very small amounts and tune into what works for you. Try to get your sleep in-it's really important to your overall heath. Best wishes!

Yep, you have a tight fill! Either get a small unfill or choose very carefully. I am in the same exact spot as you-can't enjoy food without feeling that I may either get stuck or it will sit there and slowly work it's way down. I get hungry too-I know it's head hunger but sometimes you just want to eat! I am stickingto mushy type foods or making sure my foods ae wet with some kind of sauce. I got a chicken salad from McDonald's and could not eat the entire thing. I could only manage a tiny bit. I really do want to enjoy food at some point, but I also want to lose weight. I am hoping it loosens up because I don't really want an unfill. Good luck!