shellyj.

thanks leatha, luckily the dr i have now in the area, i am very confident in and comfortable with. he def. thinks tighter is better but appreciates the slow approach i have taken with my refills. (his pocket probably REALLY appreciates it!) its nice knowing i have a band dr on each side of the country now! over all i AM doing WONDERFULLY! i cant wait to post my wedding pics! jacqui! i can only hope its weight i wont regain! i know better than to think its not possible! i definitally know i cant lose anymore being this tight. i am already slipping into eating a little *junk* to open me up so i can eat a piece of protien. i am not comfortable with this much restriction as i feel i am only a few PB's or a couple cans of Soup away from a forced unfill.

aaaaaack!!!! well i hope it doesnt tighten up that bad. i was very careful in that i wouldnt even TRY to eat till dinner time because i could *tell* i was so tight. my original band dr is in TN thats the ONLY reason i did not get an unfill before i left. i called to make sure they would still see me if i needed and emergency unfill. since they would i waited it out. if there isnt a band dr somewhere in the area and you do start to get tighter before you leave then you might consider an unfill before you go. once i had to get an emergency unfill in the ER (no band dr's around) those dumbasses put gloves on me and i assisted in the unfill. i was so tight that i didnt care i just wanted relief! NEVER AGAIN will i trust my band to IDOITS. they could have easily punctured the tubing!

hey there bandman, i am to tight as well and am scheduling an unfill tommorrow AM. the reason.... in the AM it hurts to drink. the pain goes away after the first hour but STILL i know i am to tight. i havent been able to eat ANYTHING (but 2 protien shakes) till 5-6 pm and then i can have solids (slowly) if you are having pain the whole time and it doesnt ease up i would DEFINTALLY ask for a small unfill. you shouldnt be in pain from the band (CERTANLY not with liquids) and you should be able to eat 2 solid meals a day. let us know what you do and how your feeling. to me i would rather be to LOOSE that to tight ANY DAY!!! i have been so tight that i had to spit my own saliva cause even that wouldnt go down.

sometimes fills 'kick in' or get tighter AFTER THE FACT...sometimes 2-3 weeks later. my last fill tightened up on me 2 weeks AFTER i got it. i have *worked* with it but i am scheduling an unfill ASAP! just a little one! good luck. i would go on soups, shakes and mushies while your out of town to prevent any more PB's then when you get home, test the waters with real food again!

ahhhhhh gross!!!! i have done that at a nice restaurant! i was eating, got a bite stuck, getting ready to hurry to the bathroom hiccupped and pb'd ALL over the floor. AWFUL!!!! we left a huge tip and LEFT!!! its good that you were at a table of friends..you'll get teased but thats what friends are for! thanks for a good laugh this morning!

thanks everyone. i like to see where everyone else is with there restriction. keep it coming!

when i first met soon to be DH i had good restriction. about 7 months later i went 1 year without ANY restriction. during that year my burps became AMPLIFIED. i tried to cover it up and excuse myself but there really wasnt much i could do. i would tell calvin that 'its my band' he of course thought it was me being comfortable with him and letting it fly....TO THE TUNE OF A 10 YR OLD! he even started burping louder, his way of showing me that he *knows* i can control it then he would laugh and say 'its my band' *shakes head* he has RNY!!!... lol...so now that i am restricted again i cant burp to save my life and i TOTALLY am giving him hell about teasing me for my uncontrollable burps... now that i am tighter, i AM rumbly in the tummy (like i should have to run to the bathroom) all day but so far i havent *noticed* anything more than usual actually coming out gas wise. i HAVE had problems with constipation like you wouldnt believe but i am 100% positive thats from ATKINS and sugar free CANDY. 2 things i will NEVER touch again!

i let my band make those decisions daily. somedays bread is A-OK! somedays i know not to try it. one day a bite of pork feels like its strangling me the next time i have them i can have 2-3 ozs no problem. i have gotten stuck on all kinds of things at one time or another. you will know when you are tight or loose based on your drinking. basically if liquids sit in your pouch for more than 1-2 seconds then BE CAREFUL when its time to eat. if you can drink a whole 16 oz cup of something within 10 minutes before eating just follow basic bandster rules for eating. the above only applies when i have restriction. if i were even .2 cc looser i could eat ANYTHING on any day at any time...as long as i was careful.

i have noticed a change in restriction when flying BUT i also was developing a chest cold at the time. the last 2 times i flew i had no real change. i think it depends also on your swelling. do you swell when you sit for a long time? cause flying is a lot of sitting. does flying make you uneasy? stress makes you tighter. are you traveling for a stressful reason- work, death, etc. the band is so fickle that its fickle with its fickleness! you just never know so be careful!

nickname, several years ago when j.lo came out and p.diddy my friends and i were making fun of it and all made up names. k-woo, j-gill, shelly-j i go strictly by michelle but most of my old friends from the BC still call me 'shellyj'! they are nuts. i just visited them while in TN.

defintally restriction! it sounds like your pouch was full when you went for what was left of the chicken. thats why you FELT it. if you had not chewed well enough then you would have had continued intense pressure (golf ball), drooling, hiccups or PB. also fills seem to tighten up a few weeks after you get one. iam MUCH tighter now a month after my last fill than i was the first day to two weeks. hope this helps!

1. how long have you been banded? 2 years 9 months 2. rate your level of restriction: E. Sweet Spot!!! (perfect restriction) although sometimes i seem Too Tight (need/want a unfill) 3. how long after you wake do you drink your first liquids, are they hot or cold: i can take a sip or two of room temp. Water when i first wake but wait to make sure it goes down. 4. how long after you wake do you eat your first food, is it solid or mushy? 1 hour after i wake i drink a slimfast shake. if it is mushy, when is your first dense protien solid? somedays i can have a solid lunch 3-4 hours after breakfast but somedays i am having a shake for lunch too. 5. does your restriction change throughout the day? i am a combo of both right now. c. pretty tight most of the day- small liquid/mushy breakfast and lunch, loosen up for a small solid dinner d. tight all day, if you dont make sure you are constantly drinking you will get tighter, have to REALLY work at getting food down. loosen up slightly with a careful mostly mushy dinner 6. how often do you PB? since most recent fill 1 month ago have pb'd 4-5 times 7. is it mostly Slime/Saliva or is it the offending food or liquid that comes up? mostly SLIME, sometimes the food. 8. why are you PB'ing? d. i chewed good but the texture didnt agree thanks again. i look forward to seeing where everyones at.

oops double posted

after a series of being overfilled and unfilled 7-8 months i went unfilled for 6 LONG months to give my tummy and me a rest! well now since feb. i have been slowly having my band refilled. things have been VERY slow. i am afraid of getting overfilled and having to get unfilled and starting over AGAIN- so we have been going in TINY amounts. yesterday when i went in for another .1 cc fill but ended up with .3 (dr tried to give me .4) i drank 20 oz of Water before i let them take the fill needle out and i was ok, it went down. i am after this fill, more puzzled than ever about fill amounts. i used to require a lot more fill to have restriction. the current fill that i have NOW is more than what sealed me off COMPLETELY the last time. my dr had no explanation. i had Soup and yogurt yesterday, and today soup broth and then 1/2 cup of the noodles. they DID sit in my pouch and i DID feel full!!!! most importantly they went DOWN!! my hunger is already diminishing and it feels good to FEEL my band again!!!! i feel like a newbie! its been so long...i have missed it! ya'll wish me luck as i move to solids. it might take me a few days, i am slowly gonna test the waters!

sounds like you are doing great babs, i am trying to go by my size too. my fill amount has varied so much from where i started! i was originally at 1 whole cc more than i am now. i dont know. i am glad to have restriction again though. i have been planning the wedding and been busy with that. so are you happy with the PS results?

YAY!!!!!!! i would have suggested a call to your PCP. no matter how you slice 6 days and no bm is not good! but now we dont have to worry! YOU DID IT!

ahhhh tortellini's they are a prob for me too. i think the way they are folded makes them cook slower. i have been able to eat all Pasta but those. i have never been a night eater. i AM a night drinker. keep a cup by the bed. luckily i am able to drink and have it go down at night too so far. sip sip. hows your planning going?

the xl microfibers fit me GREAT! most comfy panty around! i wear a 16/18 they fit me when i was a 20 too. lets just say they ssssstrettttttcccchhhh

im on my period so mines not so flashy either! some victorias secret cream microfiber panties BUT dont get excited their not sexy, they ARE 'period panties' mind you! bra, lilac delta burke 42 D!!!! no wonder its to BIG!!! im just a c. lmao i musta been feeling proud the day i bought this bra! that or it was really cheap *shakes head* its my 'period bra' not tight AT ALL! i get SO crampy i cant have any extra pressure!

tell your mom to keep getting fills UNTIL she is satisfied with the amount of restriction she has! it can take several or it can take 1 or 2. you just never know! i had to have several.

confessions of a chocoholic.... my name is michelle and i am a chocoholic. i bought 3 bags of robin eggs (YUM) and put them in mini eggs and in little carrot bags and put them in a basket on the counter. 80% of them were eaten by ME! i bought 4 easter bunnies (medium ones = to 2 candy bars) and i ate 2 before easter. i bought all that 1 week before easter and ate it all before easter! i gave the 2 remaining bunnies to calvins parents, they dont know how lucky they are to have GOTTEN those bunnies! i could have eaten them TOO!! at the end of sunday night we through ALL remaining 'junk food' out. thats the only way for me to stop is get rid of the food! i told calvin its probably not gonna be a good idea to make 'kids' easter basket ahead of time! amazingly in the past 30 days i lost 1/2 lb!!! its where i have kept my gym routine but added in walking 2 miles all through STEEP hills 4 nights a week!

AWESOME!!!!! your cute as can be megan! you look GREAT!

you guys should try the riblets! they are good too. similar texture to boca burgers and great flavor too

i have never liked TOO much restriction, i want to be able to eat noodles, bread, STEAK!! we'll see. i dont see steak anywear in my future because its hard to break down. idealy i want to feel pretty confident that when i sit down to eat i wont end up in the bathroom or feeling like i am choking, eyes watering and drooling! and idealy i will get full from roughly 1 cup of food. its a little looser than some but it gives me more variety. whats a torta? i DO have a dr here in WA so i can see him whenever! i am going to nashville soon me and my bridesmaids are going to gatlinburg for the weekend! i bought a crapload of bath and body stuff at their 70% off sale in jan. so we are gonna do girl stuff and drink and have a GREAT TIME! we'll also go hiking. i know where to good waterfalls are! no wild plans though! i never was much for bars when i was single so its not something i will miss. the planning for the wedding is going good! i booked the dance floor and the chairs this week and went today to get one of the bridesmaids dresses. the only thing left is the cake and the flowers. we are going to hawaii for the honeymoon!