Alexandra

How frustrating! But you're super lucky that you only have to wait a week. I'd have to wait a whole month if I missed a fill appointment. Don't worry! 7 days is not a long time, and you won't even remember this in three weeks.

Decades of dieting have made certain habits second nature. For example, day after day I forego between-meal Snacks, thinking oh, it's only another hour till (whatever), I can make it. But between lunch and dinner there's often 6 hours, and even though my stomach isn't exactly growling, I'm definitely hungry. But nibbling during meal prep has always been a big problem for me so I habitually stay away from the kitchen while hubby is making dinner. But then when I finally do sit down, GROWLF!! But guess what? I can't do that anymore. So two bites later I'm in pain and dinner is over for me. Evidently a snack between lunch and dinner would be a GOOD thing. Another ingrained dieter's habit is that of eating the salad or vegetables first. For decades I'd go for the bulky stuff first on my plate. Now that's just out of the question...two bites of lettuce and there's no room for the actual meal! I just hope I learn to break these habits before I hurt myself! :cool:

Donali, thank you for posting that; you're not boring me AT ALL. It really speaks to me about how I deal with food, and I think it's extremely helpful to read again. Not everyone has the same issues or approach, of course, but you and I are definitely on the same wavelength. :cool:

Lulu, I was exaggerating a bit when I said two bites of lettuce fills me up. But what does happen is that those bites take up precious room in my pouch, so when I start eating the chicken or whatever I've only had one or two bites when I start to feel the infamous "golf ball." So dinner is pretty much over at that point. :cool: Leo, one of the things I'm coming to understand is that my version of a serving (or meal) is really warped. This is true of Soup too, so I'm avoiding it until I have a better handle on what is a normal-size serving and can control myself better. (I mean, does anyone normal have 32 ozs. of hot-and-sour soup for lunch? I think not.) Now with winter coming on, my chef husband loves to cook soup; I may just have to give in sometimes. Nancy, I never really mastered being on a diet, so I know that approach wouldn't work for me. All I really did master were the avoidance techniques I describe above. The good news is that with the restriction I now have, quantity control is finally within my reach. :D

I responded in the Fills section as well; this is a copy: Wow, it never fails to amaze me when I hear someone say that so little fill can make such a difference. I know it's true, but it's amazing nonetheless. Beyond the extreme of being completely obstructed, I think what is "too" tight is a matter of perception. For some people, what you describe would be unbearable and they'd have to have it adjusted for their peace of mind. Others seem to thrive on that level of restriction, because it keeps them -- forcefully -- from overeating. Your doctor will have an opinion, too, of course. If you can eat solids sometimes and have no trouble with liquids, you won't starve or become malnourished. If you're having frequent PBs or vomiting episodes, that's something you need to address, but it may not be purely a function of your level of restriction. What happens when you eat even more slowly and carefully? Many people attest that their level of restriction changes back and forth over time, from day to day or week to week. In addition, restriction can seem to lessen because as people learn how to eat with the band there's less going in that will create a problem. I know I've experienced that myself. So you may want to give it a little more time and see if it eases up a little, for whatever reason. But PLEASE be very careful and try to avoid barfing in the meantime.

Wow, it never fails to amaze me when I hear someone say that so little fill can make such a difference. I know it's true, but it's amazing nonetheless. Beyond the extreme of being completely obstructed, I think what is "too" tight is a matter of perception. For some people, what you describe would be unbearable and they'd have to have it adjusted for their peace of mind. Others seem to thrive on that level of restriction, because it keeps them -- forcefully -- from overeating. Your doctor will have an opinion, too, of course. If you can eat solids sometimes and have no trouble with liquids, you won't starve or become malnourished. If you're having frequent PBs or vomiting episodes, that's something you need to address, but it may not be purely a function of your level of restriction. What happens when you eat even more slowly and carefully? Many people attest that their level of restriction changes back and forth over time, from day to day or week to week. In addition, restriction can seem to lessen because as people learn how to eat with the band there's less going in that will create a problem. I know I've experienced that myself. So you may want to give it a little more time and see if it eases up a little, for whatever reason. But PLEASE be very careful and try to avoid barfing in the meantime.

Hi Mom! You didn't give a name, so is it OK if I call you Mom? Seems like there are a few others who do, if your name means what it seems to mean. Wow, six children? You have lots of great motivations for getting healthier!! (I'm a mom of two and they were my reason for finally getting serious about my weight.) Welcome to the forum, hope to see you around lots! How has your recovery been? You sound chipper; that's a good sign. :cool:

Hi Janet, Nice to meet you! I'm sure you're having a very frustrating time of it. Can you give us more information? Have you been back to see Dr. Sanchez or anyone else to talk about why you're not losing weight? Please tell us if you've had any fills, and how they effected you or not. There are a million questions and variables and I'm sure if we put our heads together we can come up with some answers for you. Thanks for coming here to share your experience. We'd love to hear more!

You are NOT alone in this! Weeks after banding I have the nightly experience of not believing I've had enough to eat. This is, I guess, something all WLS patients go through--having a pouch to fill is a very different thing than a stomach. We all have to learn that done is done, even if it really is only a fraction of a pre-surgery meal. Now how do I get my head to accept what my stomach knows?

Hey, Bronxgirl, congratulations!! We look forward to hearing about a smooth procedure and quick recovery. We're waiting for you here in Bandland! :cool:

Hi Carmen, Once again, every surgeon and every patient is different. I had only a blood test immediately pre-surgery, and I know of other people who had no testing whatsoever. But there were people in my same pre-surgical "class" who were handed a list of multiple tests. If all your qualification testing is complete, there shouldn't be *much* left to do right before surgery. But it all depends on your personal situation. Good luck!!

YAY, CARMEN!!! You'll be a bandster by turkey day! Now THAT'S something to be thankful for. :cool:

Al, you are very lucky because UHC is among the most band-friendly carriers. But you must find out the specifics of your plan before proceeding if you don't want to waste time; every plan is different. If you have a PCP that's always the place to start, but not all plans require a PCP selection. But the good news is you're on your way. Congratulaions!!

Hi Sheryl, Congratulations on your release!! Honestly, I can't imagine being on Clear Liquids for two weeks. Full liquids, maybe. Clear? Nuh-uh. Anyway, I think all recent bandsters have the same experience. I know I did. When you start with the soups and so forth and you're surprised at how much you can take in. That's because it just slips right past the band down into your lower stomach, and there's virtually no difference in the amount you can drink now vs. the amount you could drink before. You won't do any damage if you're sticking to liquids. Since it's not solid food, your esophagus and stomach don't have to do any work to get it where it's going. So there won't be lots of movement that can interfere with the healing; that's the point of liquids. No matter when you start mushy foods, go slowly. You'll be several weeks out by then so you may not have any problems at all, but it pays to be cautious. You may not have any swelling or restriction at all but don't assume that until you've taken a small bite of something and swallowed. You don't want to find out the hard way! :cool:

Sue, that's a wonderful post. Learning a new way to eat--eating to live--is the hardest thing in the world to do. If it were easy, no one would be fat. Bypass surgery does nothing to instruct and reinforce new eating behaviors. Well, except dumping, but there's no guarantee that any given RNY patient will experience that. EVERY band patient with proper restriction will have the negative reinforcement of an obstruction that prevents gulping, gorging, or overeating. That's a sure thing and exactly what I knew I needed. I know that by learning to avoid these behaviors, I will inevitably lose weight. THAT'S what the surgery is doing for me. I'm losing the weight myself, my new behaviors at the ready. And they will be with me forever, whereas bypass surgery gradually but inevitably loses its effectiveness as the body adjusts. For me it's not about how fast the weight can come off. It's about gaining the control to keep it off, about internalizing a completely new way of eating. I've only been banded two months, but I can tell I'm definitely on my way.

Sue, that is a really brilliant idea! I'm happy to say, however, that when I met Dr. Bertha at my fill and I asked him the question, he responded as I would have hoped...that is, he said that fills are determined purely on a basis of individual need and progress. I think when I decide it's time for my next fill, I'll be asking to speak with the surgeon and not waste time with his defensive line. But your suggestion is a good one. If I encounter real resistance later on I'll definitely consider it.

Yesterday I had a conversation with the person at my doctor's office who schedules people for fills. What she told me got me wondering what other people's experiences have been. My surgeon told me early on that we'd schedule fills when my weight loss dropped to less than 1-2 lbs a week for a period of three or four weeks. That's fine, that's exactly what I'd understood would be the yardstick. But yesterday I was told that their definition of "stalled" weight loss was more like 3 to 4 MONTHS without loss. Huh? I managed to convince them that I was ready for my first fill, since the 17 - 19 lbs I've lost so far all came off in the first three weeks. I've been "stalled" for four weeks now and next week it will be five. And the facility that does fills only does them on one day a month. So if I didn't do it now I'd have to wait until "fill day" in November. I'd rather have several weeks to accustom myself to a new restriction level than several days, with the holidays coming and all. In any event, the basic facts that: a) the band needs to be filled to work, and that each person feels a fill level differently, and c) it may be necessary to "sneak up" on the right level of restriction all seem to not be part of the equation. And I've heard the same comments from patients of many other doctors. So why is that? What do you think is behind the common reluctance to schedule adjustments? I presume it's not the surgeon doing the adjusting, so what's the big deal? They don't balk if you want an office visit just to say hi, and that's almost as much trouble! OK, vent over. I'm glad to be looking forward to my first fill, but frustrated to know that no matter what it will be months before I can have it tweaked if necessary. This journey may be longer than I'd planned.

YAY Megan!! Congratulations, our little guinea pig is banded! :cool: Welcome to your new life, m'dear!

I completely agree. There is a guy at my office who is married to a wonderful Italian cook. Every day for lunch he brings in some phenomenal dish, most often some sort of Pasta. OK, so he eats a lot of pasta. He's a perfectly normal man, tall and well-filled-out, but not at all fat. Yet the people in our office who have embraced the low-carb life simply will not leave him alone! Every time he takes out his lunch it's another round of ridicule. The guy himself is one of those people who thinks being teased makes him one of the gang, so just brushes off all the comments, but it ticks me off for him! I can't stand that sort of thing. Grrrr.

Hi Alex, My doctor said there are no medications I should avoid, beyond those that may cause stomach upset. I don't know anything about the drug you're asking about, but whatever it is I can't see how it would affect your band at all. If it's a very large pill you may want to break it in half, but that's about it. Good luck with everything!! :cool: (And, of course, I love your name!)

So this morning I'm lying on the table getting my first fill, and watching the monitor to see how this works. And it struck me what an incredible invention this little band is! Such a simple thing, so straightforward and elegant. It could be -- make that, it will be -- the key to a new life for me and I thanked the cosmic dice for letting it find me at the right time. Whatever problems or obstacles I encounter are small Beans compared to the bigger picture, which is a SMALLER ME, eventually. And this little piece of silicone will help me make it happen. I'm a lucky, lucky woman. :cool:

It's funny you should ask this. I had the same initial thought looking at my stomach on the screen, but then I realized that the perspective was not what I thought. How did I know that? I could see the clips of my bra up there on the screen, and they were HUGE! So I got to compare the pouch and band with the clips on my bra, and that's when I realized how small the pouch really is. Plus, as Donali mentioned, there was no question that it took only three good-sized swallows to fill me up completely when the stoma was closed. THAT was very enlightening. :cool:

First of all, "cannot" and "should not" are two entirely different things. It's true that some foods will keep you satisfied longer than others; those that are soluble (like chips and cookies) or soft will indeed pass through the stoma faster. Chewing solid food into small bits ensures that it will not get stuck in the stoma, but it still retains its mass longer and so keeps you satisfied. Chewing meat, for example, into tiny bits still won't make it actually dissolve before its time.

Oh, Ginger, I hate that sort of thing. I work in a small office too and know how intimate everyone is. Although not everyone here knows I've had the surgery, everyone has noticed that I'm eating differently. And what we are eating is a favorite topic of conversation around here. :cool: I think you have to set the tone for how people are going to act. If you wanted that cookie, you should have had it and said, thanks, honey, I've got it under control. What was her point, anyway? Does she know that with the band eating sweets is not a problem, that it will not cause a physical reaction? Maybe she was warning you off of the dumping syndrome she may have heard about. Or did she actually think she was telling you something you don't know? Is she a motherly type? Was she trying to be nice and helpful or snide and sarcastic? I'm assuming she's not a good friend, right? You, like the rest of us, have enough on your mind trying to learn how to live with the band. The LAST thing we need is to worry about what other people are thinking, which is of course harder to do if they're not civil enough to keep their mouths shut. But you know better. You just be an adult about it and if your colleague can't be, ignore her. Have a cookie next time, and just smile sweetly.

HI Linda, I just had my first fill this morning, and yes, the doctor administered a local anaesthetic first. All needles are unpleasant, and the burning sensation from the numbing is no fun, but it's over in a second. I can see it working fine both ways. There is a bit of feeling around and palpating for the port and I guess if the needle misses there could be some discomfort. But really, the whole thing is over so quickly that if your doctor doesn't think any anaesthetic is necessary I'm sure he's right.