edistogirl2602

The whole purpose of the band is to allow you to eat a very small meal and to keep you full for approximately 5 hours. This should eliminate the need for Snacks due to hunger if your meals are spaced about that far apart. As for blood sugar issues, I had them before the band but now that I eat significantly less, I don't have the problem anymore (unless I have an unfortunate encounter with some ice cream). I also find that I am not usually hungry for a snack, I just think I am. I also stop losing weight if I get in the habit of snacking regularly. I try to keep it to once in a while when I'm having a late dinner.

I'm not sure what is going on with you, but I can offer some helpful tips. When you eat and you have good restriction, you have to chew, chew, chew and don't swallow until your food is mushy. The times that I PB are ususally because I swallowed a bite of food before it was small enough. I know for me I have to really pay attention when I am eating, because if I'm not that is the time that I usually swallow too soon. It's is also normal to be able to eat about 1 cup of food (give or take a little and depending on what you are eating) at a sitting. I have never really gotten "full" on just a few bites. I also struggle daily with my head hunger even after almost 3 years being banded. But to answer your question, yes you can PB even when you don't have good restriction. The biggest cause for me is usually not chewing enough.

I used to take Zoloft and had the same problem. I was snapping my 100mg pill into 2 pieces because it was too big to get down. I asked my friend who is a pharmacist and she said it is very irritating to the stomach and since I was breaking them in half it was probably making the irritation worse. Who knew??

Maybe I can help. I am a registered dietitian that has a lap band and works with a surgeon that does lap bands. I instruct all his patients on the diet stages before surgery. All surgeons do give different advice and advance the diet stages at different rates. Even the doc I work with advances too fast sometimes. I always tell my patients that if you move up a stage in consistancy and it doesn't go well, just go back to the previous stage. I usually recommend liquids for a week or two just because of post op swelling. But everybody is different and some can progress faster than others. I was on liquids for 3 weeks before I started mushies. As for the saline already being in your band. That is not supposed to happen until approximately 6-8 weeks post op. I hope that helps. Hang in there.

My BM's are just as frequent as they were before banding, but they are definitely harder to get out sometimes. Kind of like little pellets. I wouldn't call it constipation in my case.

Mine is in the middle about 2 inches below my bra. My doc told me he put it there because there is less chance of it flipping when you lose a large amount of weight. So far no problems. I can feel mine too if I'm laying on my stomach, but it doesn't hurt.

When I get a fill, my doc wants me not eat 4 hours before. Clear liquids are okay. And after it's liquids for the rest of the day.

You guys will get a good laugh out of this. I am a Registered Dietitian. I work 20 hours a week in a hospital. I also invest in real estate with my husband. We have several rental properties that I manage. People always want me to give them a diet when they find out what I do. I usually tell them that I can't even manage my own diet!!

My doc said only Tylenol. Said NSAIDS were a stomach irritant and didn't want to do anything to irritate it or the band. I can only take the liquid because of the amount of fill. I used to take Zoloft and had to crush it up because it got stuck a few time and hurt soo bad. I have since weaned off of it.

I had my third fill in April and finally had really good restriction. I also had good weight loss. Now I have started noticing that I can physically eat more food at one sitting. Is this normal after some weight loss? I don't really get hungry all that often, but I still have the voices in my head that tell me I am hungry. I guess my question is .... Is it normal to be able to eat more after some weight loss, even with an adequate fill?

I love your babies! I have a 9 month old boxer mix (girl) named Scout that I adopted from the animal shelter. She looks mostly like a boxer but her nose isn't as squished up. She is a trip. She rips her bed apart just like yours do. Good luck with your band. You are on the right track.

I had my surgery done by Dr. Ponce in Dalton. I have no complaints and like him and his staff very much. I am a 4 hour drive away. Well worth the trip.

I had surgery with Dr. Ponce in September and although my weight loss has been slow, I have been very pleased. I feel like I have made some really good changes and that the weight will never come back. I loved Dr. Ponce and his staff. They are very friendly and knowledgable and are very easy to get in touch with if you need something. Good luck. You're gonna be so glad you did this.

That was a fabulous post. I only wish I had read it before my first PB. I unfortunately did take a sip of a drink to try to flush the food down. Big mistake. Huge! I ended up in the bathroom really quickly. I also tried to eat something else once after I got stuck and that was a mistake too. PB'd even more. Yuck. I am definitely living and learning, but I love my band.

I had outpatient surgery too. I had my surgery about 1pm and left by 5:30pm. I did stay in a hotel with my mom and best friend for the weekend. It was great having them help me out. Good luck with yours.

I was banded in Dalton, Georgia by Dr. Ponce. The cost was $13,700 which includes fill for the first year (but I still have to pay for the floro). It was an outpatient surgery and I stayed overnight in a hotel close to the hospital. I had a wonderful experience and love Dr. Ponce and his staff.

The same thing happened to me today too. It was awful. I finally managed to get the food out, but I learned the hard way what happens when you take a drink. Don't do it. I hope you feel better soon.

Mine is a sternal port. It's about an inch below the band on my bra and right smack dab in the middle. I was suprised when they told me it would be there as I thought it would be down and to one side. But they told me they put them near the sternum because people were trying to access their own ports (yikes!) and also there is less chance that it will flip or move with weight loss. I can kind of feel it when I lay on my stomach sometimes, but it doesn't hurt.

I thought the same thing Delarla. About having some restriction with just the band and no fill. But after my liquid and mushy phase, before I got my first fill, I could eat exactly like I could pre-band. I now have a 2cc fill and can still pretty much eat whatever and however much I want. I occasionally get a stuck feeling if I eat to big a bite of bread, but I thought I wasn't even supposed to get bread down. It is very frustrating because I am losing and gaining the same 10 pounds since being banded on 9/24. I am going for another fill on Monday and hopefully I will have good restriction then. I am also wondering what it is supposed to feel like and how you are supposed to know when you are full. Haven't felt that yet.

Hey there Bright, I had to go away for my surgery (about a 4 hour drive) so I had my mom and best friend go with me and my husband stayed home with the kids. Mine are 6 and 9. I told them that it wasn't healthy for me to be so overweight and that the doctor was going to do a procedure on my tummy to help me eat less. I had the procedure done outpatient so I didn't stay in the hopsital. I had my surgery on a Friday and was home Sunday. They have seen my incisions scars and ask me how my tummy feels. It has been about 2 months and they hardly remember what happened. They just know that I am trying to eat and be healthier. Hope this is helpful.

My first fill was 2 weeks ago and it was 2 cc's and I have hardly any restriction. Only a little bit in the morning. I can still eat bread and steak. I am going for another fill in about 2 weeks. My doc won't do them closer than 4 weeks apart. I guess it just goes to show how different everyone is.

I am trying to find out why an adjustment wouldn't kick in for a week or so. I had and adjustment a week ago tomorrow and am beginning to feel more restriction today than any other day last week. Why does it take a few days sometimes? Anyone else have this happen to them? I'm also slightly discouraged because I have only lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks. I guess it's better than gaining 10!

I was quite proud of my burping abilities pre banding. During my first week post op, not a burp came out. It made me very sad. Would I never burp again? Then the swelling went down and (can I get a glory) they came back! Proud to say I'm burping and farting as well as I was before my band.

Well, last night we had some friends over and my husband cooked steak on the grill. The first question the nurse asked me when I went to get my fill was if I could eat bread and steak. The answer to both was yes. I tried the steak last night and had absolutely no trouble getting it down. I ate way more than 1 cup and never felt any discomfort. I am assuming from this that I don't have good restriction. (I also ate a baked potato).

I got my first fill last Monday. It was 2cc's which according to my doc is about half way full. My question is how do you know if you have "good" restriction. I am trying to eat about 1 cup of food per meal, but feel like I could easily eat more. I don't get hungry in between meals. I don't feel any discomfort or fullness or anything when I eat. It pretty much feels the same as before. If I continue to lose 1-2 pounds a week even without good restriction, should I get another fill? I am thinking I should feel physically full when I eat. Is this right? Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.