Jim1967

3.93 here. Won't be long before we hit 4 bucks.

I haven't written in a while so.....What or who is an experienced Bandster? At nearly 6 months post op apparently, not I even though I have dropped 81lbs. Being an experienced Bandster is not all about weight loss.... This morning on the way to the Office I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a sausage, egg and cheese wake up wrap and a large decaf coffee. I don't drink with my meal but I wanted to have it for when I got into the office. Well without thinking much about it I proceeded to head to work on the freeway and ate my wrap. Not paying attention I ate it too quickly. Stuck episode on the freeway in traffic is not fun by any means. I ended up pulling over to the side of the road and got out and paced back in forth for about 15 minutes until it passed. With my last fill I am definitely in my sweet spot. I can eat almost anything if I do it correctly. Correctly seems to be a problem still. I am eating the right things for the most part but I am still eating too quickly and not chewing enough. I have spent my entire life eating junk food and binging at times and just shoving it in. I never thought learning to eat properly with the band would be this difficult. I have had probably about 7 or 8 stuck episodes since being banded in April. One episode led to (and sorry for the tmi) vomiting. So a couple of things are going to happen here. I am either going to get this straight and follow proper band rules or I am going to cause a slip. Next week I have another support meeting and I am going to sign up and re-take the hungry head class again. That class focus on binge eating and eating habits. I don't think I need the hungry head class as far as binging but I think being around people and talking about experiences will help me keep focus. My next Doc appointment follow up is 9/25. I am not getting a fill. I am still getting the needed "restriction" from the fill last week. In my opinion and I have said it before the word "restriction" sucks when it comes to band talk/terminology. It's not about restricting at all it's all about appetite suppression and satiety. I got that going on right now, no question about it. Now if I can only learn how to eat properly. I also know my band is tighter in the morning. From now on protein shakes only in the morning even if I am running late. ***

Could be gas. Does your Doc have you on Pepcid or anything similar? My Doc wanted me to take pepcid once a day regardless of whether or not I had gas or acid reflux. He wanted me on it the first 3 months of post op. Like Patty said if it keeps up definitely call the Doc. Best to be safe.

Don't feel sad and guilty. Today is a new day. Be strong and stick with the plan laid out by the Doctor. You're at a stage now where you are healing so it's important to let that happen. Try and plan your activities around the various diet stages. I know its easier said then done but your health is worth it. If it were me I would passed on going out to dinner. Flip side to that is you need to give a reason why and if you don't want people to know then you have a problem. Considering it is your Sister I would assume she knows you are banded. I am betting she would have understood your situation with a little explanation. Stick with it though. It is worth it!! Good Luck!!

Has it gotten better as the day goes on? I know some people and I am one of them notice that their band seems to be tighter in the morning. I usually only do a protein shake in the morning because I am so tight. It keeps me full for a good 5 hours until I have a small lunch around 1-1:30. As the day goes on it loosens up.

wow, way too soon to be eating solid food. Your stomach needs time to heal which is why you were provided the dietary guidelines.

What Honk said!! I didn't start getting real restriction until my 4th fill but everyone is different.

Thank you and the feeling is mutual :-)

OK then...

I still have a long road ahead. I'll check out your program if you don't mind sharing.

Chances are that first amount of weight you lost was probably mostly Water weight. Most and I know we are all different, tend to lose quickly the first week or two. When I started I was given a 5% weight loss goal by my surgeon. He wanted me to lose 24 pounds and I had 6 months to do it. Given my size I was starting at I hit the goal in a month and I am betting a good 15 or more was water weight. Again we are all different though. Stick with it and the scale will come along. Remember our bodies need to adjust as we lose also and sometimes they go into survival mode and don't want to give up its fat stores. Good Luck!!

Awesome Virginia!! Small successes certainly add up. Funny thing my wife said to me in the grocery store the other day. I used to struggle walking the store and keeping up with her now she is the one who tries to keep pace with me. My back and legs no longer ache. Just the simple walking of the grocery store is so liberating. So I definitely know how you feel.

Was it dry at all? I had a similar issue with chicken and I have found if it is too dry it will not go down. Did you have gravy with it last night or just the beef?

Wow congratulations. You are truly inspiring. I hope to join you in the 200+ loss club soon.

Also they may have pushed a little too hard with the needle to make sure it was fully into the port. That could be causing you some aggravation. I had that happen to me on my 2nd fill. Yesterday was my 5th fill I really felt the needle for some reason. Usually the pinch doesn't bother me but it sure did yesterday and I have high pain tolerance.

Have someone take the scale away from you. I struggle with the scale all the time and my wife at times takes it away from me. LOL. I know mentally I am not doing myself any favors...and neither are you.

Awesome!! I am down 77 post-op. Things have been slowing down a bit as of late. I seem to lose right after a fill and then the scale doesn't move for two weeks. I have to admit I have not been exercising as much as I should be and I step on the scale way to often.

Never give up, never surrender. Too much at stake and already invested so much. Feeling too good to slide down a rat hole with bad eating.

I went in for a fill this morning. I am now 9cc in an 11cc band. I hoping this is it for me in the way of adjustments. I am getting a little concerned as I have so much in the band already that I worry about maxing it out. A few people along with the Doctor told me not to let this concern me. Still plenty of room in the band and I could only be one small adjustment away from the ever elusive sweet spot. Adjustment I got today could be it but who knows. How do I really know for sure though? I seem to come out of a fill appointment feeling good. I hardly get hungry and when I do it's about 5 to 6 hours after my last meal. My appetite is so diminished. I am really starting to believe I am in the zone but my brain is waiting for some kind of magical light bulb to go off in my head. Scale will drop 10lbs or so in the first week after my fill then I sit idle for the next two until my next adjustment appointment. I can eat any kind of food that I want or have tried I should say. I am yet to attempt a hamburger or sub roll. I haven't had an actual hamburger since March but I am not missing it. For the last week or so I was really looking forward to this appointment so I could see the Nutritionist only to find out one called out sick and the other was on Vacation. Needless to say, I was disappointed. After talking with my Wife and Mis73 it is determined that I am not taking in enough Calories and most likely putting my body into survival/starvation mode. My last 8 day average is 898 calories per day. I am going to work on increasing to at least 1200 a day with a goal of 1300. My next appointment at the center is 9/25. My appointments are typically three weeks apart. We'll see how it goes. I lost 11lbs during this past three week window.

How much do you avoid caffeine? I really like diet snapple but I know it has caffeine. They say caffeine can lead to band erosion.

Adding liquid of any form during a stuck episode will make it worse at least in my experience. For me up and walking around and waiting on it to pass is the only thing I can do.

Thanks Missy. I am due to go back to the Clinic on Sept 4th. I'll bring them all my journals and reiterate my opinion and let them weigh in on it (see what I did there ) Maybe my expectations and lack of patience is what's bring me down. Doesn't help that I step on the scale so much. As for the fills you're right I don't want to have bigger problems by lack of patience and over-filling. At the same time I am nervous that I have very little room left on this band for adjustments.