Jack

Perhaps the protocol has changed, but I was unable to eat even a whole soda cracker at a time during the first 5-6 weeks. My first 'mushie' was a soft boiled egg at 3 weeks post op. I couldn't eat the whole thing. I consider the volume is unusual. I'd call my dr. office TODAY if it were me to at least discuss this with them on the phone. In fact, it took me until day 5 postOp to get to be able to drink a whole cup of tea before it cooled to room temp. But I've got an antique 4cc Band, and had probably considerably different instructions and postOp plan from my physician. Eating so much so soon is unusual.

When I became diabetic I was given the choice of continuing my slow dance with alcohol or keeping my kidneys and eyeballs. It was pretty close there for a while, as I was literally going blind due to diabetic retinopathy as a comorbidity of morbid obesity complicated by other mostly self inflicted over consumption errors. I quit all alcohol cold turkey 22 years ago. I am not a tee-totaller. Due to the Band, my thoughts on food & drink have been revised. Looking back, while I spent nearly 40 years in various enjoyments with beer, wine & spirits, I can't look back and actually identify where any of it did me any real benefit. In one course in nutrition, we were to recreate as closely as possible what our yearly intake of calories might have been. After considerable effort and following a model to make the process seem somewhat of a reliable indicator, we then extrapolated into a "10 year" intake frame. I was astounded to find that my beer/alcohol calories was virtually equal to my food calories for that period. I was also faced with the fact the exact amount I was overweight, equaled in calories that amount....I could have given up either the food or the alcohol portion of my intake, and NOT been carrying that extra fat around. Up til then I had attributed it to the pizza and burgers, etc. So, for me, I haven't had a drop of beer since 1989. Don't miss it. Now. That part took a few years. I do enjoy sparkling mineral water now, but couldn't tolerate the fizz for a couple years postOp. Speaking of which, TOMORROW 12/24 marks the beginning of my SEVEN years POSTOP!! Hooray the Band!!!

I'm starting my 7th year postOp in a few days. So far so good. Still "35# from goal". No more insulin shots after 15 years on the needle; no CPAP after 10 years. My co-morbidities are all but gone. Haven't made it to size 40 pants yet, but 42 & 44 instead of 56-58 day of surgery Don't forget, the Band is : adjustable; repairable; replaceable; removable. And mostly, pretty effective. Some have to revise to something else. Cheers on your journey.

Great question. For me it requires daily discipline and a renewed dedication to my own well being. I had to learn the difference between 'hungry' and 'fear of becoming hungry'. I had to learn to identify the difference between 'hunger' and 'NOT hunger'. I had to ask for help from a greater power. I had to choose between what was (literally) killing me a mouthful at a time, and how to train my Belly Beasts to take directions from my Brain. I had to choose between going blind due to diabetic retinopathy, or change my life style. I had failed at dieting for over 40 years, as everything I did produced a final weight of 373#. While I was able to trim down from that preOp, I remained on insulin injections twice daily. Try controlling your weight doing that. Banded in 2004, I remain "35# from my goal", but no insulin shots after 15 years on the needle and no CPAP after 10 on the nose hose. We all have choices, and have to learn how to walk our own path. Cheers on your journey.

Thanks for posting this sad information. Good luck and cheers on your recovery.

We have to find a way to retrain our 'eye-full' as our upper belly (pouch) isn't going to stand so much food. It pretty much was satisfied with 'appetizers' for most of the first year. Around month 7 postOp, I got a 2 piece fish & chips lunch.....and took home enough for the next 2 meals. Changing our perceptions of food volume takes close attention. I still use smaller dishes as they can be visually full without the old habit of trying to clean my plate and over eat.

It was going on 5th day postOp before I could drink a hot cup of tea entirely before it cooled down. And the first 3-4 days it took nearly all day to drink 12 oz of Water. I too was beginning to panic. Herbal teas helped, and read a bunch here. If each day isn't better and better, call your physician.

usually more liquids/more fiber helps bowel movements....within the immediate postOp period it is pretty typical to have decreased bowel motility. It took a couple weeks for my own to return....and with the decreased stimulus of large food bulk and trailing off the effect of heavy narcotics from surgery, the bowel may need a little extra help.

Appetite is like a small puppy that grows back into the savage Belly Beast that strives to control our Lives!!! It takes considerable effort and daily discipline to regain rational control of our brain over our bodily habits. Study the tricks it plays on you, and begin a dedicated written journal outlining the observations you make. For me the trick was (finally) coming to recognize the difference between "hungry" and "not hungry". Simple minded, but I had slipped into the habit of being fearful of not just being hungry, but alarmed by the process of 'becoming hungry'. Once I could rationally evaluate the process, I became thrilled at the many tools available to alter my own eating behavior.

No worry. Look up "Borigmus". You'll later have intestinal beasts whining and growling too....for a while. Normal sounds.

we all have a bit different restriction as well as sensation of 'satiety'. My own post-op first 6 months until my FIRST fill was a period of learning what 'not hungry' was, as much as 'how much can/should I eat'. Is there an actual 'hunger' that drives you to eat a certain amount, or is this about some kind of nutritional goal of "x-calories" etc? There's a balance between 'how little can I eat' vs 'if I eat TOO little I will be hungry too soon'. It helped me to use an on-line calculator. chicken remains one of my 'difficult' foods, even though I'm nearly 7 years post0p.

Not just the port, I call mine "my Little Angel of the Silicon Fist.....my Symbiant".... Does seem to have a life of its own at times.....although it never goes anywhere without me any more!!!! HAR!!!

Post op I noticed the changes in my own eating, after the 6-week intensive introduction to 'liquids'-mushies etc protocol, was that the sensation had changed....I became more interested in 'how little' I could eat before becoming not hungry. The sensation of being 'full' is a bad trail to follow IMHO. I had spent my life trying to eat until I was "full". I could never do it, as I was always 'hungry' and ready to eatEatEAT despite having just stuffed down another bag-o-burgers. I had to learn the subtle nuance between "hungry" and "not hungry". That was a tremendous boost in my own journey. And learning how to not feel guilty about "not eating it all" etc. I think we can invent our own work out routine if we learn a few basics. About day 4 post op I went thru that "What did I DO" [sound of Homer's One Hand smacking forehead].....but that only lasted a few days.

Things that really helped *ME*: 1) discover the crucial difference between "hungry" and "NOT hungry"; 2) discover the crucial difference between "eating" and "OVER eating"; 3) discover the crucial difference between "satiety" and "sport eating"; 4) discover the crucial difference between "wishing" and "DOING"; Evaluating each day each meal each bite, as to WHY I was moved to stuff my pie hole, led to considerable self-understanding. Yes, I had issues with food, with 'comfort' food, with all the reasons we of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese, chronically stuff more in to mouths, than just physical hunger. Once I recognized a LOT of my own eating related to the fear of becoming hungry, rather than being hungry, it became progressively easier to change my own eating behavior. I had to abandon my closely held concepts that eating/grazing/stuffing myself in a day-long buffet had much to do with actually enjoying a meal. I had to define actual "meal" as a sit-down at-home activity, rather than something I stuffed in my mouth while doing something else. I came to not only recognize but enjoy the different phases of approaching 'hunger'. I came to delight in discovering the sensation of developing an appetite over time, letting it blossom into something other than an excuse to shovel down another bag-o-burgers. Nothing tastes better than non-Morbidly Obese. Each day, each meal, is opportunity to explore and expand understanding of ourselves. Rather than let the Belly Dragons rule our lives, we have the pristine opportunity to develop and train the Rational Mind part of our being. Exercise that and we WILL overcome our bad eating habits. Recognize our over eating habit is NOT 'who we are'. What we do, day in and day out, is what we become. Frustration and helplessness come from not acting on what we know is right. "Hunger" is a habit. We can learn to modify what we do and train 'hunger' to what Normos do: eat when hungry. Then stop. No more 'just another taste'. No more 'just finish this plateful. No more 'don't throw this out'. Yes. You. Can. Do. It. Slow down your eating. Chew everything. If you can't recognize whether you are 'hungry' or not....you AIN'T. Stop eating. Put it away. cheers on your journey

Reminder to Forum Members to please review the LBT Rules and conduct on line activities with care and attention. Disputes between members should be taken off-forum threads. Moderation is a last step for resolving disagreements. If there is a complaint, please do such clearly and concisely in the "report" section. Not everyone has the same experience with the Band. At times there may be considerable frustration and confusion regarding expectation and actual daily experience. We are all attempting to overcome previous struggles with Morbid Obesity. Mutual respect and support will augment our efforts.

I find it VERY helpful to reinforce my own meal size by using downsized dishes. I can 'fill them up' and 'fill myself up' visually using a saucer or the smallest little cereal bowel, rather than my econo-sized extra deep/wide Morbidly Obese Survival Plates....my favorite cup-handled soup bowl can hold less than 3/4 cup of soup, while my old one was good for 1 1/2 cups. And somehow at times that visual clue simply helps when I might otherwise attempt to eat past mere satiety. Old habits dwindle slowly even now. And bad NEW habits are so easily based on not-quite-yet-extinguished bad OLD habits....

re: "I have unresolved food issues and without addressing them, I will never be successful." now that you've vented, what are you going to do? Each day now that I have 'mostly' resolved my own 'food issues' is a blessing that is not consumed with living to eat. I've grown away from the habit and comfort of mere swallowing rather than doing something more fun, more satisfying, more demanding of my time and attention. Yes, we do sometimes need additional help to get on the path. Hope you can find the time to seek a local live therapist who can assist in your recovery. Cheers in your journey.

Call your doctor for a check up. Please report back to us what he found and what he told you to do.

Yes, my own Band, my own Little Angel of the Silicon Fist, my Symbiant....is .....FICKLE!!!! There. Now some days just aren't like the day before, despite "hunky dory" and "A-OK", etc for days/weeks/months on end. No issues, no effort, no concerns.....predictable, non intrusive....just like 'normo life' with 'normo eating'..... Then....kaBLAMMO!!! Nearly as psychotic as a red headed ex-spouse....and uncertainty with no clear cause.....then.... like a distant splash in an autumn pond.........serenity returns and all becomes calm again.............

lunch today with an old friend who ate way more than I did. And she is about a size 6 5'4". I took 3/4 of my sandwich and the vast bulk of my 'pan baked potato chips' home with me. Made 2 more meals with it and still have some left. Some 'good eating habits' really ARE beginning to take root in my daily habits....at long last!!!

Welcome to the Forum. I read a few on new recipe considerations, and 'how to eat' but that was long ago and I've lost track of the title. They did expand my knowledge base. My pre-surgery diet was to lose 25# and relied on a sort of modified Atkins approach. I became fond of balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing...it's far more complex than what I had previously thought. My life improved tremendously due to the Band. Cheers on your journey.

I for one would start with the 'slight unfill' plan here. In fact, it happened to me, and after lots of misery and extensive imaging, etc, I was relieved by a tiny unfill. Actually I didn't quite have reflux but all the other issues such as PBs, gagging, difficult to drink/eat/get comfortable, etc. Your band surgeon needs to know about this NOW!.

well stated Dave_NW I second your comments.

re: "Either I can eat everything or I can eat nothing!!!!!!!!!!! Lose....gain.......lose....gain!!!!!! I'm in so much pain right now after throwing up because I must have taken too big of a bite of something." such is the struggle many of us of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese. In a perfect world, perhaps none of that would happen. We somehow would have been blessed with the capacity to have known in our early years that decades of over eating, over indulgence, and over enjoying over eating year in and year out would make us Morbidly Obese. Yet, here ~I~ am....having done all that most of my life in spite of over 30 years of really Really REALLY trying to not 'over eat' anything. Yet all somehow conspired to make my journey more unpleasant. On my way to the Omars BigBoy Clothing and Tent Emporium, I'd stop for yet another bag-o-burgers. Life hasn't been easy or especially pleasant in so many ways, for any Bandster I've known. Best of luck in your remedial efforts. I remain "40# from goal".....and I sometimes have episodes of PBs and slime and "why is THIS happening". Yet I'm in size 42/44 pants instead of 56/58. I no longer inject insulin twice daily after 15 years. I no longer am confined by CPAP after 10 years. I no longer have the dreaded panic/anxiety disorder constricting my life as it did preOp. My blender knows the drill. It fed me well for several years....but I no longer need it. And so forth. Yes, we all get frustrated. cheers on your journey.

Just my personal view on this OP: Every now & then, such an inquiry surfaces regarding self fills. Open discussion, as far as I can tell, is not at issue. After due consideration, in the notion that Bandsters at large are consenting adults capable of making rational decisions, this thread is left open as long as no forum rules are violated, and pending reconsideration if necessary. I too understand the frustration leading to consideration of self fills. In no way would I choose to do such to myself. 1) The potential for self injury, infection, or damage to the hardware is considerable, IMHO. 2) The potential for GIANT liability for those individuals doing such in the circumstances mentioned above, could well lead to litigation and drastic financial ramifications. Part of the cost of having the properly certified Fill Center or your own surgeon's office perform such procedure, is they have insurance should such prove necessary. If the cost of initial surgery is considerably, ask what the complications of septic abdomen might include.