Pebbagirl

I have just had my fifth fill. I was banded 10 months ago, December 6, 2012 and haven't lost any weight. My history is that I have a great restriction for 1 to 2 weeks after each fill, and then the restriction slowly decreases. I think I am currently up to around five –-ish cc in my band. I am currently on my 8th day post-fill and I have GREAT restriction. It's a challenge to get 800 calories in. My question is: what if I lose restriction after this fill as I have on all the others? My nurse removed all of the saline during the last fill to ensure that there is no leak. Some of the saline did not appear to be there, but she chalked it up to two things: 1. It's virtually impossible to remove every cc of fluid from the band, and 2. She said that perhaps human error could be a factor, that one of the nurses could have done their math incorrectly. If this fill doesn't "take "I don't know what I am going to do. What are everyone's thoughts?

I would like to hire a dietitian to help me create some menus. I am having trouble finding anyone in my area, and my surgeon does not have any recommendations. Please send me names and contact information if you have someone you recommend. TIA!

I am just beginning to lose the weight and want to try to AVOID my skin getting overly loose. I know it will loosen some, but can it be lessened if I start now? What have you found that helps? Hydration? Creams, scrubs, lotions? Wraps? Weight training? Massages? Trying to put together a regimen now and get it started. TIA!

Friends, I need help. No judgments, please; just help. I am 7 months post op, have had 3 or 4 fills, but have only lost about 20 pounds (and that was in the first 2 months, so I have lost no weight in like 5 months!) I do believe my band is working , because I can feel food get stuck if I don't chew we'll enough. And I definitely eat less at each sitting than I used to. But I don't eat like a toddler, which I wish I did. It takes 4-5 slices of pizza or a whole sandwich to fill me up. I think the problem is that I'm still making poor food choices most of the time: junk food, processed food, high sugar, high fat. I get it, get it, get it that the band won't change your habits but I guess I was just hoping and thinking that it would help me eat less of EVERYTHING and that would enable me to lose weight, even if it was more slowly than some people lost.

Thank You all so much! I'm serious! Thanks to each and every one of you. There was at least one gem of help in each post, which is exactly what I was looking for. I feel so encouraged now. I will read about the Pouch test and try it. I will figure out what my absolutes are. I will remember that I am not the Only one who has not lost much weight in the first six months. And I will keep coming back here and keep working on this weight loss journey for as long as it takes. You guys are awesome!

The reason you can't drink water with meals because the water washes the food through the pouch.. If there is no water in there it takes longer for the food to go into your stomach, which causes you to feel full for a longer period of time and eat less. I have been banded for almost 4 months and I still can't comply with the no water during meals rule. I agree. It's very very very hard. Just make it a goal and also take baby steps. Perhaps you could drink only two or three or 4 ounces of water with your meal instead of 10 or 12 or 16 ounces. My weight loss has been slow, not following the rules. But my life has been doable. It's a lifestyle change, so every rule will take some time to perfect. Some people are natural rule followers, and I'm sure those people will have better success faster. And then there are people like me Who are rule breakers and for whom success will take much longer. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just understand why the rule is in place, and work toward achieving it.

My most recent NSV is discovering that I can walk down a flight of stairs with more agility!

I had my second fill on Jan 30th (so about 3+ weeks ago. ). All was fine until a few days ago when I had my first bad stuck episode. Can it take a few weeks to tell whether the fill was too much? Or did I likely do damage and not take things slowly enough after the stuck episode? Today I ate a ham sandwich with no issues. Tonight, I took my bedtime pill and laid down. Within 30 minutes, here came the mucous then coughing, gas and finally retching over the toilet with no PB or vomit. What's the deal???

They can give you a shot of lidocaine if it's really painful to you. The needle really is a tiny prick. Really. It's nothing.

Ladybabie, "PB" stands for "productive burp.". It's when you burp and the undigested food comes back up. It's not violent like throwing up. I haven't had this happen yet.

Thanks everyone for your kind input. After talking to my nurse I'm pretty sure the problem was lying down too soon after a meal and immediately after taking bedtime meds. I'm going to try taking them a couple of hours before bed and see if that helps. It's a learning process!

I had dinner 2 1/2 hours ago and went to bed. It was cereal. Now my body has woken me with stuck symptoms (heavy mucous production and tight chest). I'm surprised it would take cereal that long to present as stuck. Is it perhaps just reflux, since I've been lying down? Is it maybe a combination? Is it important to stay upright for a few hours after meals to allow gravity to help the band? I ate a ham sandwich for lunch on some pretty dense bread with no problem. So why would soggy cereal be an issue?

I've had a few times when things were slow to go down, but I have been officially stuck since dinner last night (so 18 hours now). Its not miserable, but it is very uncomfortable. Trouble is, I'm with a client in rural Montana for 3 more days and getting an unfill isn't really an option unless I'm dying. It definitely feels less uncomfortable than it did last night and even early this morning. Does that mean the food is perhaps pushing through? Also, what are the odds that it will eventually push through on its own if I don't eat, but stay on liquids? I have taken a couple of papaya enzyme. Should I take more? I'm really hoping this goes away on its own. By the way, it's spaghetti squash I'm stuck on. Please share your experiences. I'm "stuck" in more ways than one.

Yes! I was banded 12/6/12 and had that same thing for a few weeks after surgery. Mine was on my left side, just below my rib cage (my port is on the right side.). I don't think very many people get that pain. Nobody on Here had a response when I asked about it and my nurse didn't have much to say either. It finally subsided.

Yes! I was banded 12/6/12 and had that same thing for a few weeks after surgery. Mine was on my left side, just below my rib cage (my port is on the right side.). I don't think very many people get that pain. Nobody on Here had a response when I asked about it and my nurse didn't have much to say either. It finally subsided.

YES! I SO felt that way for nearly 2 months. Now I'm 2.5 months out, have had two fills, and can definitely tell a difference. I know it's frustrating, but hang in there. It will become "real" for you soon.

So is there a difference between sliming and just lots of mucous production? I've had the thing where mucous keep coming and I have to spit into a cup constantly. But I've never had anything that looked like a jellyfish in the toilet!

My doc says diet carbonated drinks are fine. Everyone who works in their office is also a patient. Some people have issues with it (tightness/reflux feeling) but most don't. He also says there are no food restrictions except what each person individually finds are their problem foods. And he says DO eat bread at each meal, somewhere between a few bites and a whole slice bc it'll help with satiety.

I'm having a stuck episode now. It has been going on for a couple of hours now. Generally, my experience has been severe salivating (I can fill a Dixie cup!), copius burping, and chest pain/reflux feeling. Usually a sip or two of water helps, bit if not, papaya enzyme does the trick. I stocked up on those right after surgery! During two of my five episodes, I have suddenly felt nauseous then retched without throwing up. Then the episode was over. Once it was so bad I ha sweat pouring off my head.

What's the tastiest lowfat cheese? Both sliced and grated.

Donna, check out www.shrinkyourself.com. It's an awesome plan and will teach you all about why you eat emotionally and how to stop. It's a paid program. Kind of like an online course you do for 12 weeks. I learned so much from it.

Wendy's chili is a great mushy. Tasty, easy, high in protein and not loaded with fat. Or make your own. Also, yummy soups. I got some chicken enchilada soup from Whole Foods that was delish. Also, Chili's had an amazing chicken enchilada soup.

I lost like 11 pounds the week after surgery because I had zero interest in food. Then, when on mushies, I gained most of it back. (No doubt, most of what I had lost was water weight.). I continued to gain for the first 4 weeks after surgery (back to nearly my surgery weight). I didn't worry about it because I realized my insides were swollen and my eating was weird. Ok i take that back i was PISSED! Very fruatrated and had that "why did i spend $12,500" feeling. But then, that 5th week after surgery, I started losing. I'm now about 10 weeks post surgery and the scale is moving. Ive had two fills. It's slow right now -- about 1/2 to 1 pound a week -- but it's moving. I'm also losing inches, learning a lot, improving my habits, and have dropped from a 24 to a 20 that I can take off without unbuttoning! This isn't like bypass surgery where we are going to see huge losses at the beginning. Just be patient and celebrate each victory, however small.

My nurse advised me to request an oncology nurse to do the unfill since they work with ports all day long.

20 pounds in 8 week