kbinaz

You should be able to eat a cup of solid dense protein and vegetables and feel satisfied for 4-6 hours. Everything should not be getting stuck.

My doctor doesn't numb me and it feels no different than any other injection. The stomach area really isn't that sensitive so it doesn't hurt as much as a blood draw. I was really worried about it but it was not bad at all.

My opinion, and I'm not a doctor, is you are too tight. Food should still be enjoyable and not torture. I PB a few times a week and I hate it. I would not like to live with everything I eat hurting, that would be miserable. I think you need an unfill because what tends to happen is you will start eating only soft stuff and the band doesn't work well when you only eat soft food.

Note to anyone reading this who hasn't chosen a doctor...find a doctor that fills for free for at least the first year! $200 a fill would drive me crazy and make me not want to get them.

Fills take a few minutes. All doctors are different in how often you can get fills. My doctor makes us wait ten days and if we don't feel restriction we can go back in.

Every doctor has different after fill requirements. I am supposed to do clear liquids for 3 days. I haven't made it yet so I do clear liquids for one day, full liquids the second and on the third I do all soft foods like cottage cheese and yogurt. I have a lot of trouble with swelling after a fill so I am very careful when I reintroduce foods.

5 fills, 7.5 cc's total in a 10 cc band. HALLELUJIA!!!! Sweet restriction!!! I thought it was an urban legend but it really does exist!!! I love it!

Gonna get the boobies plumped and lifted. I'm sure they are going to end up being long and lean when all this weight is gone. I already need new bras after 25 pounds lost.

Pills are a huge issue with me. I can only take one at a time and sometimes they hurt and I almost feel like I'm going to PB. Most medications are available in different forms. If I have tablets I try to crush them (they sell crushers at pharmacies) and if they are capsules I just take one at a time and wait a few minutes to take the second one. I do only chewable vitamins.

My big fear is that I'm going to have these skinny little stick legs and arms but my stomach and butt are going to stay huge. I don't want to look like a pinto bean with limbs.

It would not be worth it to me to PB that often, unless your PB's are easier than mine. I hate PBing and would do almost anything to avoid it. You may be too tight and you might want to consider an unfill because you shouldn't pb that often. You didn't say when your last fill was but if it has been five days or less you may have swelling from the fill. Wait til it's been a week since the fill to make sure the swelling has gone down and if the pb'ing doesn't stop, call your doctor.

I know what it feels like to have little or no restriction. The one thing I can tell you is that when you have it, you will have NO DOUBT that you have it. I could no more gulp down a piece of pizza than fly to the moon. You aren't there yet, keep getting fills til you are. It is also possible you don't have quite as much fluid as you think you do so maybe have them remove it and check. I have 7.5 ccs in a 10 cc band and it wasn't until this fill that I felt restriction either and I was getting worried. Hang in there!

The general term PB is used to describe when you take a bite of food that is not chewed enough so gets 'stuck'. Everyone has a little different way of PB'ing but basically it is throwing up - not like throwing up before the band, but more gentle like a baby spitting up. It comes from higher up in the digestive tract. Mine is accompanied by severe discomfort and makes me swear to do whatever necessary to make sure it doesn't happen again. I get floods of saliva pouring out of my mouth so I usually stand over the toilet until the food comes back out. (kind of like a projectile spit up) Sorry for the disgusting description but you asked! Chew your food well!!!

I have WAY less gas problems since surgery than I had before. It just doesn't seem to be an issue. If I eat refried beans, I'm probably gonna have gas. If I don't I probably won't!

I had surgery on a Friday and had to go to court on Monday. Then on Wednesday I had my 4 hour post-op class required by my doctor. The court date was a bit uncomfortable - I think more because I had to wear real clothes and all my slacks were tight due to post-surgery swelling. The Wednesday class (4 hours) was fine because I was with a bunch of other people who had just had surgery and wore loose fitting sweats. You can pretty much do whatever you feel you want to do, within reason, of course - no marathons or weight lifting. I was told I could drive 24 hours after my last dose of pain meds and I stopped taking them and switched to a non prescription pain reliever on Sunday.They DO want you up and walking so whatever you feel you can do you should. Just remember you will be swollen so not all your clothes will fit and you will be sore, but it is a manageable soreness, not acute pain. My experience was that I could do my normal routine but tired a bit sooner and needed to wear loose clothes. Give yourself the first two days to really just be home and veg. out. After that you'll feel like doing something.

Quilter girl, you probably won't get 3cc's for your next fill because you are getting to the point where most people with the 10cc band start feeling restriction and you need to take care because .5 ccs at this point can put you over the edge. I have had five fills for a total of 7.5 cc's and if they had me at 9cc's (which is where you'd be if they gave you 3) I would be miserable. I think I am at the perfect level of restriction and would not want to be any tighter. Please be careful and maybe start going up 1 cc at a time now. Wouldn't want you to have to get an unfill!

Sorry, Elketta, but I totally disagree with your doctor. That is just not the case. First of all, to say all that anyone ever needs is 3 fills is crazy because it totally depends on how much each of the fills is. My first 3 fills were 1.5 cc's each and trust me, that was not enough to give me any restriction whatsoever. I suppose if each of the fills had been 2.5 cc's I would have done fine with only 3 fills. But the point is that every lap band patient is different anatomically so there is absolutely no way you can determine how many fills is right for everyone. That is the beauty of the band and that is why it is adjustable... because everyone is different. My doctor says that needing a fill should never give anyone a feeling of failure. If you need a fill, get a fill. Take the help that the band is designed to offer.People who only need two fills are not better or stronger than people who need five fills. Every person is different because every stomach is different. We all go into surgery with different BMI's and different anatomy's. The whole purpose of the band is to give you restriction and I did not feel ANY restriction whatsoever until my 4th fill. It was not a psychological problem, it was that I didn't have restriction. As soon as I had my 5th fill, I knew I was finally, after 4 months, where I needed to be. I am thrilled that some people get that restriction after no fills or one or two fills, but I just wasn't one of them. I lost absolutely no weight until after my 4th fill. I am happy with my restriction after fill #6 but as soon as I feel the restriction leaving I will get fill #7.

Did you even need another fill? If so, 13 days is not too soon. My doctor allows them every 10 days if you don't feel enough restriction. If you didn't need a fill and they wanted to get you in, I would be concerned. It doesn't really sound like you are too tight. I have a lot of those symptoms just after a fill because I am tighter from swelling. You need to start eating solid dense protein and see if you can get that down. Take really small bites, chew until the food is mush, wait a few seconds before taking the next bite and see what happens. The only way you can really tell if there is a problem is to eat real food (not soup) and since your fill was Monday you should be eating real food. If solid food gives you trouble, call the doctor. (if he's still out of town they have to have someone available to help you - like a nurse practitioner) Also, make sure the standing up thing isn't just a mental thing (I'm not calling you crazy, but sometimes we get these notions in our head that have no physical reason...I am as guilty of it as the next person...) try sitting down while you eat the food because if you really do have to stand you are probably too tight!!!

It is impossible for a doctor to know how much is 'just enough' and how much is 'too much' for each patient because it varies so much. It is ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry and small fills allow you to avoid being too tight so I always lean toward smaller fills more often. That is why I chose a doctor who gave me free fills for a year and why I tell anyone considering surgery to count that cost! I really don't think your doctor is trying to make more money off of you, I think he is trying to be careful. And especially since you were at good restriction once already the fills are going to be smaller now. You just need a slight tweak because you were losing weight and your stomach size changed. I didn't have any fluid in my band at all for the first month, had fills of 1.5ccs, 1.5ccs, 1.5ccs, 2ccs and 1 cc so it took me two months to get to where you were post surgery. I think he is doing a good job, I'm just sorry you have to pay each time, that would drive me nuts!

Agree with what was already said - I had a lot of trouble with low blood sugar before banding and haven't had problems since. I think it is because I am eating so healthy and the reason I am eating so healthy is because the band has allowed me to stay satisfied between meals. I am not as prone to loading up on empty simple carbs, which I am pretty sure are what cause problems with blood sugar. Anyway, it was a concern of mine before surgery,too,and it hasn't been an issue.

My doctor allows fills every ten days if you don't feel restriction. She is usually rather conservative so if she allows it I am sure it is safe!

As mentioned above, your doctor will probably have a pre-determined amount he plans on putting in for your first fill. There are guidelines given by the manufacturer's of the bands and doctors either follow them exactly or tweak them a little based on experience - from what I've heard, the manufacturers are really conservative. My doctor is not as conservative as the manufacturer but more conservative than some other doctors so there is some leeway and it depends a lot on your doctor. The point, though, is to slowly fill your band - because everyone reacts differently and needs different amounts it is wisest to give a small fill, wait a week or so to see how the patient does,then if necessary give another small fill until the patient has the restriction needed to lose weight. If they just immediately started by giving everyone 3 ccs there would be people who were miserable at that level of fill and others that wouldn't feel a thing. I needed to get up to 7.5 ccs in my 10 cc band before I even knew what restriction felt like. Find out from your doctor how often he will let you get fills. Then plan on getting them that often for a while. It takes many people 4-6 fills to reach their sweet spot so the wisest thing is to just make several appointments in advance and cancel them if you don't need them. My doctor allows fills every ten days if you need them. Some doctors make you wait a month. The point is to try to get to your sweet spot as soon as you can to get the band doing what it is meant to do...

I also have the small AP band. I could have eaten two cadillac's on buns up until my 4th fill. (1.5,1.5,1.5,2 ccs) After the 4th one I could still eat one cadillac (no bun!). Finally had my 5th fill, for a total of 7.5 cc's and have blessed restriction, hallelujia!!!! Now I can't even eat a whole chicken breast. I have lost about 5 pounds in 2 weeks which is amazing for me, I am a really slow loser. So hang in there and get your fills as often as your doctor will allow you to and keep at it until you get the right restriction - believe me it does happen (I seriously thought it wasn't going to) Also, the tightness and gurgling you feel after this fill are what you are looking for with restriction... but I often had restriction for a few days after a fill because of swelling, would get all excited, then it would go away. So I repeat,keep getting the fills you need and get the full advantage of the band. Good luck!

It is pretty much physically impossible for me to binge. That said, I could definitely wait an hour or so after eating and squish something in just because I want to. I am not nearly as tempted to do that because I just don't feel hungry between meals and because I see such great results when I stick to 3 meals a day. Before the band I always felt somewhat hungry, if not right after eating, soon after. The band has given me the tool I need to not always be looking for the next bite of food. Hope this makes sense! The other thing - once I lose a pound it's gone and there is not much chance of it coming back. That makes it easier too. Every other time I lost weight I was stressing, knowing that the first weekend I slacked off on the diet, or if I missed the gym one day I'd start going back up again. The band really solves a lot of those issues.

I think you have valid concerns, and it might be wise to look elsewhere. But I do urge you to be careful about trying to find an 'easy' program or doctor. The issues with appointments and long drives are valid concerns. Some of the medical/pre-op hoops they are making you jump through are necessary and I would question the credentials of any doctor that didn't look very closely at those issues. The education with nutritionists etc. are also very important and while it seems like they take up an awful lot of time I am convinced that doctors who require these things have better results. When I read postings on this sight from people who were not even instructed on what to eat when after surgery or who don't even have basic knowledge of how the band and fills work, I wonder about the skill of their doctors. So you should definitely look for an 'easier' doctor as far as you schedule goes. Just don't look for an 'easy' doctor in those other areas.