Jack

those of us with the old antique "4cc" Band..... yes, that .1cc can make a tremendous difference. Typically I hover between total fill of 1.5~1.6 with forays into the 1.7 or 1.8 range fraught with all the signs of being too tight.<br /><br />And consider the BIG difference in the size of the Os regardless of which size Band you have. How much the fill % is of the total Band volume is only one way of looking at the overall controlling metric.<br /><br />It's hard to lose weight eating unhealthy food that played such a large role in our shuffle to Morbid Obesity in the first place. <br /><br />When I'm "too tight" one of the first issues is being unable to eat dense Proteins, which leads to other eating issues.<br />And "too tight" leads to other symptoms: PB, swallowing...sometimes Water and therefore hydration can be at risk, night reflux symptoms, a variety of burning or vaguely choking sensations, and so forth.<br /><br />Find that sweet spot in LIFE!!!!

I was type 2, BMI 47.5 and had been on HIGH dose insulin shots twice a day for 15 years. I was having all sorts of co-morbidity health catastrophes beginning to hit me. One drastic matter was "diabetic retinopathy". At one point vision in one eye was down to 20/400. That's legally blind. And that's what it finally took for the rational part of my brain to kick into action. 11 months postOp I took my last shot. Yes I have orals to take, but A1c went down down down to around 6.6 for quite some time. I had sleep apnea and had been on CPAP for 10 long breezy years too. Good bye nose hose at 10 months post op. Yes, make sure you coordinate your meds with new blood realities. Along with other changes in my life and special retinal therapy, my vision has returned to 20/25 in the blind eye....so I ~CAN~ see my way to the postOp Bandster Way of Life. And be prepared for something WONDERFUL!!!!!! cheers on your journey....

Little things can make a big difference in how we think we feel. What helped me was to review why I chose to take this route.....after so many decades of being Morbidly Obese I was more fed up with being over fed I was excited to have some new experiences. And looking back the time goes a whole lot faster than you think, when you are looking forward. The old quote "One day at at time" served me very well. Don't give up. Don't give in. You can do this. cheers on your journey

re: 6" subway I have one now & then if circumstances conspire against another choice. Usually it makes at least 2 meals even now 6 1/2+ years postOp. It took about 2 years postOp to get to where I was even interested in giving one a try. As a preOp total bread freak, I just don't care for that much bread, even their own stuff. It'll do if necessary. And Subway in general to me, while the franchise has some great nutritional choices, doesn't appeal much. I have a buddy with severe food allergies, and Subway is his kitchen of choice while on the road. To me, it's rather like a nurses station full of things good for me but that I don't really care for.

There's a jillion possible causes for such a problem. It does seem that many men do report an improvement in many areas of physiological as well as psychological functioning in the course of losing 50 or 100 #. Meds change, hormonal output changes, a world of differences; which causes what improvement remains difficult to scientifically prove.

Cheers for great success on your Lapband journey

I was surprised to learn how often my own previous Stampede to Bingeville was actually because of unrecognized hunger and sometimes even THIRST!!!

Damn.Blonde : great questions!!! I was a bread freak my whole life too. Fortunately my Band changed my affliction. I am no longer obsessed with bread, and often go whole weeks without eating any! I don't miss it, nor Pasta & other such carboindulgent dishes. In all my own fretting and obsessing over such questions about my fixation on food, I had never considered resolution of such anxiety had such an obvious potential resolution. Our tastes change. And once I learned the difference between 'hunger' and 'non-hunger' satisfaction with and enjoyment of my new Bandster life style improved. Cheers on your journey.

FFK: You bring some most eloquent points to the discussion. By succeeding at continuation of our bad eating habits some of us have a perverse notion we continue to be in some kind of control. There are a lot of tools professionals have to help us actually lose a significant portion of our excess. Our new postOp comfort zone must be adjusted along with abnormal eating behavior to achieve our goal. What can we do to help you change your eating behavior?

you got some solid lines and an interesting delivery. cheers on your journey

Another anatomical way to look at this: The 3 layered arteries are basically types of muscles that are stimulated by the sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system. When stimulated, the sympathetic impulse is to contract, which the artery walls do, RAISING blood pressure....especially good for those 'fight or flight' situations where arousal in general is important and we have to outrun the bear. The 2 layer venous system is under the control of the parasympathetic side of the ANS. When stimulated, the parasympathectically innervated muscles RELAX...and BP falls....which if far enough results in the fainting described above. Not generally a really big deal....unless that bear catches up with us.

I think my own "Bandster Hell" was the sudden realization I had to train my own brain to recognize the insane drive to always feel "full" regardless of what or how much I ate. That 'full' sense is the biggest mistake of my entire eating career. "Full" is an illusion that 1) never lasts very long; 2) only occurs after eating WAY more than needed; 3) was a non-physiological sensation that replaced the Normo sense of "satiety". My advise is to actively and intensely seek out what the cues are in recognizing the difference between "hunger" and "not hunger"; forget this 'full' nonsense as it is the wrong trail IMHO. Yes, measure your intake. Get smaller dishes just for YOU. Train yourself to eat ONLY the amount your meal plan allows. Keep track of what you eat daily. Measure yourself and take photos for your own journal. Focus on your goal, not on how hard the trail may seem to be. Overeating in the attempt to feel 'full' every moment of every day is/was the very heart of my own Morbid Obesity. One of the unexpected pleasures of postOp life, is discovering the wonderful sensations that arrive with becoming aware of different stages of 'becoming hungry'. My own habit was to avoid any hint of being hungry, and the only way to do such was to 'stay full'....which we can not do without dire consequences. Make your choice....you can either change your eating behavior and achieve your weight goal, or you can continue old bad habits that did not serve ANY of us well. Every day every meal we have opportunity to change our behavior. The Bandster Hell would have us believe a magic switch will shut off all our bad eating habits of a lifetime. We have to train our brain to be in charge of our belly.

The most likely answer is that you won't be wanting to eat those things very much any way. And we do go through phases even after "solid food". Mostly those are crap items that really are horrid nutritionally, and led to most of us being long term members of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese. Emotionally we all fear giving up what we perceive as comforts of what we are used to doing. I can eat all/any of those things....but far more often just am not interested. Pasta used to be one of my main staples. Now spaghetti once every month or 2; maybe a bit of pasta salad now & then. It really isn't that appealing a food group once you examine your own palette. And our tastes DO change. pizza, that all time favorite I would eat 3 times a day preOp, now maybe A piece a few times a month. That's plenty. chips? Mostly another compulsive eating and binge item. Couldn't really care less for them now, but might have a few with some Beans & rice at a Mexican restaurant....if I can find some good chips. Never buy them by the bag or have them at home. No sense of loss. chocolate is a fantasy I've never really cared for anyway. Yes I can eat it, and do, maybe 1 or 2 times a month. And not much at that. Gave up brownies etc as they are universally too sweet for me. If you are like other Bandsters, you are going to be too busy being active in your new life to waste much time on Bad Old Eating Habits. I've learned to appreciate salads, Soups, and small portions of hard Protein far in preference. Cheers on your journey

I only had lido on my first 2 fills when I was most nervous. It's really unnecessary for most Bandsters. One stick for the fill is far more comfy than 2 sticks, even after the numbing I've had discomfort. Don't know why, but without a numbing shot, the adjustment needle never is a problem. My older brother gets that same kind of reaction just from having a blood draw....hypovolemic shock they called his situation. He has actually passed out from just seeing a needle. Speaking of "allergic reaction", twice I myself developed a horrid local rash the size & shape of the band aide they put over the port after the fill. I told them about it and no longer get a band aid. It's some weird deal associated only with their tape, never has happened before or with other kinds of commercial band aides.

There are 2 types of Bandster: those who have been stuck, and those who haven't.....yet. The "PB" slime portion may last a few minutes to a few hours, depending on a lot of variables. Papaya does help break down Protein, but I don't think it will help with carbs. My own "first stuck episode" was with triscuits. I thought I was going to die....but a secretary at my Drs office had been banded just a month before me, and helped nurse me through on the phone with good advise. I still can not tolerate triscuits, long a favorite in preBand years. Most often, due to my own 'operator induced eating error' is where getting stuck has occurred. Careful review of others describing this experience leads to a wide range of foods but a fairly short list of eating errors. As part of the educational experience every Bandster needs to learn, I will leave that list to individual research. One point I'd like to make: regardless of postBand time, overeating remains possible whatever name we give it. We Members of the Tribe of Overeaters must train ourselves in whatever discipline it takes to change that behavior. cheers to all in our continuing journey

The biggest problems I have with hard Protein, is the dried/stringy kinds of meat. Also, I have to be VERY careful re-heating in microwave, as a nice piece of steak or chicken (for example) rapidly becomes too altered in some fundamental way, that I can not eat it without PBing, even with cautious tiny nibbles. I don't know what the physical change is, yet it does happen to me. Dry dense protein doesn't work well for me. And I don't eat meat with a lot of lubricating dressings, most of them are far too sweet besides being not actually a food but rather a condiment. Molasses/corn syrup based BBQ sauce tends to make me puke, I was on insulin shots for far too long to enjoy any of that kind of high-carb sugar bomb. Mainly, my desire to eat much in the way of Pasta, pizza etc is pretty much nearly absent. I might eat A piece of pizza once a month, throwing away most of the crust. I can and do eat breads in general....but typically only 1 piece a few times a week. Rice usually isn't a problem if steamed, but again the micro version leads to distress. I can enjoy such as a pasta salad, maybe 3 oz at a time, a few times a month. One continuing issue, that works mostly to my advantage, is to not get TOO hungry in a way that makes me break into eating too rapidly. I can predict a PB episode if I eat too fast. Period. And it is a pure delight to be comfortably satisfied with around 1 cup intake per meal.

Most Bandsters don't seem to have much issue with "too full" their first fill. Discuss with your doctor for his advise. He might do a smaller fill than usual under such circumstance.

re: "How have you dealt with loved ones and birthdays or other celebrations that were historically centered around food?" Notice a subtle shift.....social events even centered around food, NO LONGER require we Members of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese (MOTMOs) have to continue to OVER eat at such gatherings! If you can not rely on your own changed eating behavior to avoid cake-catastrophe, consider a finely sliced pluot or a small cup of diced Kiwis instead. Delicious, healthy and a new symbol of respect for yourself. Or a small dish of low fat yogurt with fresh OR frozen blueberries! There are times where we are still vulnerable to Old Habits....and there are times when we can find New ways to eat without returning to our Old Dragons of Despair. Cheers on your birthday!

My port is marked by a small lump which has always been palpable, but more so as I dropped weight. I have never been able to palpate my own Band though. Having a palpable port is an advantage for ease of access in servicing the fill level. I don't know anyone who has demonstrated the actual band being palpable externally.

great post about 'do you always feel fat'? For me, the very first hint that wasn't true, was suddenly discovering I no longer was the fattest person in any room I came into. The second clue, was no longer having to shop stores that have only XXXX+ sizes. Then I noticed a whole series of little NSV observations, that helped convince that ~*something*~ good was happening. Now 6 1/2 years postOp, the answer for me is 'NO.....I don't always feel fat.' And I find myself eating more like Normos do all the time. food and eating/overeating is no longer the most important thing in my life. and re: "I am in a place where i can;t keep food down, not sure if my band area is inflamed or something else. Possibly mental.....i don't feel hungry and i have no cravings but i need to get some nutrition," It does sound like you have irritated something. There are tons of clinical symptoms that need to be answered before leaping to any professional conclusion. You should find some local live face-to-face support group or actual clinic that services Bands. I went thru being too tight several different times, without being emotionally competent enough to admit THAT was my problem. Your solution awaits taking action now. Please keep us advised of what you find.

Don't worry too soon about the Protein and total calorie intake; your appetite and ability to nibble/sip will return soon enough. Re: 'tightness of Band' my own 4cc band was so tight I didn't need a fill until 6 MONTHS post op.....and those months were the period I lost the most weight along with learning the most about my old eating habits. The early phase of liquids introduced to me a whole new world of actually appreciating as well as learning to *like* Soup as a choice. One of the early weight losses not often recognized, is not just 'Water weight' but also the contents of the colon. Depending on the individual, 5-15# of old fecal material can be eliminated. As we repopulate our lower digestive track with mushies and gradually more normal solids we can re-gain a few pounds without realizing the transient nature of that part of our scale reading. food textures is important to many. No Bandster has ever died from thinking they were too hungry though. After 15 years on insulin shots twice a day, learning how to moderate then finally leave off my insulin WITH THE HELP and blessing of my internist, recognizing what was and what wasn't 'hunger' became ever more easy to discern. As my elevated blood sugar/insulin levels normalized, my panic attacks and anxiety disorder dwindled too. 10 years on CPAP and sleep apnea.....a blessing to no longer suffer that within 10 months postBand. Be sure to photograph/tape measure for your journal. Save some article of clothing to use for show-and-tell later as you will not believe how much your body changes.

I neither cared for nor could tolerate sparkling Water, for several years postOp. The past several years though I do enjoy a can now & then of lemon flavor 'LaCroix'. Never with food. I did quite a study on the sparkling waters available years ago. It is a totally delightful hobby. Appolinaris and Ramos were 2 of my favorites, now very difficult to find. And beware, they mfgs can hardly stand to not put some kind of sweetener in an otherwise magnificent product. Resist all such non sense! Drink non-sparkling if you must.

I too have found each day I have to make certain decisions based on the results of what I eat. I have come to love soup, and 'bland' isn't a problem. Cheese does add lots of calories unless using the non-fat style. And we do not have to continue making the 'either/or' choices of healthy vs non healthy foods simply because our old favorites tend to take over our common sense. I can eat a few chips without having an entire bag any more. I'm not drawn to chips very often these days. My old nemesis pasta and bread is also thankfully gone. Cheers on your journey.

Good luck on your new choice! A bad experience like your previous surgery would give me pause too. Glad you found a good team to support your new effort.