Allison0927

most people never feel any restriction at all after 1 or 2nd fill - odds are you won't even notice.

hi - july bandster here! i'm doing well - have had 2 fills - my next one is day after tomorrow. Have not felt a lot of restriction and can still eat anything but 90% of the time i stick to the 800 calories a day my surgeon wanted and i'm down 51 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm really hoping to feel some real restriction with this next fill! Good luck to all of us on our continued journeys!!!!

don't worry about the exercise - i have done next to none and am down over 50 pounds. i'm sure i'll have to exercise when i start hitting plateaus but by then i'll be down even more and exercise will be easier. Don't worry about the surgery itself it is short sweet and to the point - very, very minor compared to other surgeries i've had (c-section, gall bladder). I wish you all the luck in the world on your journey!!!!!

I would ask that they do a complete de-fill and then re-fill it. It could be that your band has a leak and this whole time there has been little to no saline in your band -happens sometimes.

You are down 111 in just 5 months? Holy cow!!!! that is fast in bander world - congrats!

great job!!!!!!!!

they say there are lots of effects from the weight loss - other than the physical. We have to adjust our thinking and the way we view ourselves and interact with others. He probably was flirting with you - just remember - you are beautiful and deserve respect and attention. Thanks for the slice of life blog - and good luck to you!

trust me it gets a lot easier as each day goes by - you get used to it and your stomach shrinks so you're less hungry. A lot of people on here put something up on the fridge so you can "cross off" each day that goes by - or a sign that says i can do anything for "x" days and then countdown the days! best of luck to you - the 2 weeks of "hell" is nothing compared to the success after - i'm 2 1/2 months out and down 44 pounds - well worth the pre-op diet!!!!!

I've been pretty open about the whole thing - particularly now that people are starting to "notice" the weight loss (sad that it took 40+ pounds for anyone to notice anything but hey - it is what it is). Not one person has expressed anything but encouragement. What goes on behind my back may be a different story but to my face it's been nothing but positive. Two of my husbands best friends who I am also very close with both made comments to my husband that he better prepare himself for what is coming (me getting thinner - getting more male attention etc.) and both made comments to him about watching out as I may have "loose skin" as a result of the weightloss. Needless to say I promptly reamed them both out. Frankly, I was always a very confident person even at my heaviest - with each pound lost my confidence grows even more. At this point, if anyone made negative comments to me or told me I should have just had more will power etc. I'd just stare at them and say "yes, and?" LOL. Congrats on your success and keep up the GREAT work!

the not eating rule - i'm told - is more about "healing" from the fill than weight loss. If you eat after a fill - you may be somehow hurting your stomach but it would not mean anything much to the whole weight loss or gain thing - just like any other day as far as eating/weight go.

Ok - i had surgery july 5. All has been very well - no complications - down about 44 pounds including 2 week pre-op diet. The surgeon is great (center of excellence, nice guy, very experienced) EXCEPT he can never give me a "straight" answer on how much saline is in my band. He claimed there would be a "little" in at surgery - at first follow up appt. he said there was none in at surgery. At first fill appt he said he gave me 3ccs, what he called a "good/large fill" then at second fill appt he said there were 1.5 ccs in the first fill. He gave me 1 cc more at second fill. The not so straight answers are frustrating but i have not pushed it yet because at this point - to me - it does not matter - everything is going perfectly - and we are no where near the fill line and believe me if i wanted to push for more answers i am not shy about doing so. That's not why i'm writing - but if anyone else has experienced that "jumping around" from there surgeon i'd love to compare notes. As of this day, after 2 fills, i still feel i can eat everything and anything - which i know is not that unusual as it may take several more fills to feel real restriction. I don't eat anything and everything and have been sticking to a lien cuisine size or smaller - been losing weight and all is well. Mostly will power up until this point. I wouldn't even know i had the band except for what i'm about to say - and i have not seen anyone else on here comment about this so i thought it was unusual enough to ask all my fellow bandsters if they have ever felt this. I feel no restriction/saiety (sp?) satisfaction at all while i'm actually eating. Admittedly i do not always take 30 minutes to eat, but i have slowed way down and take smaller bites etc. However, after i wait the requisite amount of time to drink (my dr.'s office says 30 minutes - i've heard of others saying 1 hour - i try to wait 45 mins as a compromise) - i am IMMEDIATELY full as if i just ate a huge meal. In fact, i'm uncomfortably full - even if i just only drank 6-8 ounces, for example. SO, it's the combination of eating then the drinking that is causing my fullness/satisfaction. After this second fill, that feeling of satisfaction - many times but not always, can last about 4 hours. Anyone else find that the "restriction" only works AFTER waiting the correct amount to drink and then taking those first drinks? Just curious. If so, anyone experience that but then later, after more fills, experience that same fullness/satisfaction on the food only - before the drinking later??? just curious.

I am so glad you wrote to tell me this - I thought I was going crazy. Last night, for example, my husband, son and I went to favorite mexican restaurant (that also has some American food on menu). I had the veggie/pinto burger - took off the bun and just ate the burger and the cheese on it. I was still hungry when finished BUT i took just a few sips of Water (did not wait the 30 mins this time) and low and behold - i was full. Not uncomfortable - but full for sure. I easily pushed the fries away and did not try even one. I didn't want to - the drinking of just those few sips (maybe 3 ounces or so) did the trick. I was telling a friend - that if this works WITHOUT stretching my pouch (always my main fear) then I have found a loophole or something and this is the key to success. Now, with that said, I've only had 2 fills - only 2.5 ccs of saline (or 4 ccs depending which day you ask my surgeon per my original message), of a 12 cc band - and perhaps I will get this full feeling from eating alone at some point. But, until then, I am happy that the little bit of water seems to be doing the trick. I don't understand why either - since if water is mixing with food in the pouch before hitting the main stomach - that means there is actually food still in the pounch - and I would have thought that food in the pouch alone should be causing the satisfaction/fullness.

what about a taxi? it would be worth it not to have to move the surgery - best of luck to you!!!

good luck - you will do fine!!!!!

i was banded july 5 - have had 2 minor fills - feeling a little restriction but not too much (2.5 ccs in a 12 cc band) barely any restriction yet - i can chug water no problem - i'm guessing i won't be able to when i get more fills????

my big one was the one causing me problems too - was not bleeding and was not smelling bad - but you could tell something wasn't right with it - it just was all red around one end and there appeared to be some puss or something inside it but not oozing out or anything. Anyway, my surgery was on July 5 and i did not have my first follow up until around july 23 (due to surgeon vacation). He knew right away that one of the stitches was irritated or had inverted or something - so he took the tweezers and removed it (kinda hurt). Ever since then the end of that scar has scabbed over - i'm really hoping it diminishes over time as i am like you i hate scars - but i will say i am down 40+ pounds so i will take the scar in exchange LOL. Best of luck to you.

I am here to tell all you newer bandsters (like me) that there is potential relief from bandster hell after only one fill!!!! I had my first fill 8/10 (was supposed to be 8/9 - was feeling strange pain for 3 days prior so dr. opted to do flouroscopy fill on 8/10 - turned out all was well with the band equipment and pain has since gone away). My band was empty at surgery and the dr. put in 3ccs on 8/10. From about one week after surgery until the fill I was starving every day on 800 calories with a healed/normal stomach. Well - I did not expect to feel any relief/restriction off only one fill - as many on here say it takes 2-5 to get good restriction. But, guess what? I'm feeling restriction - following all the rules - and I'M NOT HUNGRY FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!! So - I'm here to give everyone in bandster hell hope - the first restriction CAN give you at least some relief - and I hope it works that way for you too (we all know everyone's different). BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON THIS JOURNEY!!!!

I think you'll be ok - just don't do it again. my pre-op diet was 3 Protein Shakes a day plus two lien cuisines per day. It was hard but i never cheated once - thankfully mine allowed those lien cuisines - not sure if i could have done two weeks liquid only but i like to think i could have - who knows for sure. Again, i wouldn't sweat it but then again i would recommend not straying again just to be safe.

I weigh every day - like the others first thing in the morning after using bathroom - naked just before i get into the bath or shower (LOL). I even take out any hair scrunchies because you never know how much they weigh (double LOL!) My philosophy is for years i avoided the scale and that's how i got into this mess. Even though i am momentarily crushed when the scale is up - especially if i've done everything perfectly right the day before - i still say that weighing every day is what i HAVE to do to stay on track. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL!!!!!!!!!

I was banded july 5 - on aug. 5 or thereabouts (just prior to my first fill) i experienced an odd pain i'd never felt before. It was a dull pain that persisted for about 4 days. the best i can describe it is if you drew a square around my upper chest. the pain seemed to move from one side to another - sometimes sharper sometimes very dim. but it was there for the 4 days. I went for the first fill and told surgeon about it - we were both perplexed - i am otherwise in perfect health. he opted to do the first fill under flouroscopy (with a little nudging from me). he was convinced it was not the band but to appease me he wanted to rule it out., we did the flouroscopy the next day and everything looked normal - and he did the first fill of 3ccs. that day i still had the pain - dull and dim but there. After that day i've never experienced the pain since. very, very strange. i'm convinced it had to do with the band - even if nothing "looked" out of place/wrong. I was going to follow up with my primary care dr. but since it went away i haven't. best of luck to you - if you haven't had a fill yet or have another planned soon - insist on flourscopy - it was quick and painless - and BONUS you get to see your own band as the dr. fills it (LOL) BEST OF LUCK!

NICE!!!!! GREAT NSV!!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

Best of luck to you fellow July 5 bandster! Please keep us posted with how it goes - it could happen to any of us at any time. Also, did he/she say what caused the port to flip???

Good post - sometimes we all need to cut out the BS plattitudes (sp? LOL) and give each other a good stiff kick in the behind!!! Well said....

nice to meet you - keep the blogging up!

I hear you - i'm 5+ weeks out - down about 30 and have really not exercised much at all. I have, however, stuck meticulously to the 800 calories per day. I will exercise for sure if i hit a plateau to kick start the weight loss - but for now i'm losing based purely on the calories. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL ON OUR JOURNEYS!!!!