catcalico

I actually had a good weekend - I was able to eat smaller portions of real food -shrimp, veggies, chicken, etc. The band is funny though, I never know what to expect. Don't get discouraged about the weight loss or lack thereof. I didn't lose anything for 3 months between January and March (I didn't gain any either), but since I was exercising, my clothers were fitting looser. I know I wasn't losing because I was eating more, but didn't get a fill because I think I liked eating more. In retrospect, this was a good thing because it gave me time to re-evaluate my bad habits in order to move forward. BTW - my biggest downfall was eating at night. That one has been a heck a roadblock to get past, but I am doing better with that now! I also needed a fill but waited months to get it! I will see how this week goes and then think about what to do with my August 25th appointment.

kplant - Its funny that you post this now because I am going through something similar. I got a fill on July 21st and made a follow-up appointment for August 25th. The first few days were OK - I was even thinking that the fill wasn't enough - when I started really feeling the restriction. On one hand it is great - I have also lost 12 pounds - but on the other hand - the amount of solid food I can tolerate is minuscule. I am getting all my fluids so I am not dehydrated, but I am not getting very much solid food. I think I am too tight, but I think that surviving off protein shakes for 2 1/2 more weeks is no big deal. Plus did I say that I like losing the weight? What usually happens is that when I lose a bunch of weight is that the band loosens up and the restriction goes down, so half of me just wants to wait and see if that happens and the other half would like to have a bit more solid food. Hmmmm...

The longer you do this, the easier it gets. Before my last fill, I could eat anything as long as I had the time to eat it. Half of a sandwich or a bowl of refried beans would take me 45 minutes to an hour to finish. I know if the food tastes good, I am going to eat it even if it takes 3 hours! I started limiting myself to 30 minutes and to throw away the rest of the food so I wouldn't think about how good it was. I really hated throwing away food, so now I just make smaller portions and don't think twice about it. I just got another fill and honestly, now there is no room to over-induldge even if I had the time. I am truly full with the limited portions. It took me a year and a half to get here, but there was a lot of learning in that year and a half!

I am definitely tighter in the morning and looser at night. I usually have a cup of milk and a big glass of water in the morning. I get hungrier around 11:00 and then have lunch. I am good until around 5:00 and then I get really hungry. This is not good because I am looser and can eat a lot more. I have lost between 75 and 80 pounds in 18 months and have not even come close to gaining any weight back, but my weight loss has really slowed. I really want to lose the rest of the weight so I am going to get a fill tomorrow and just accept the fact that I am going to be pretty tight in the morning. I have 5.5 in my 10 band and I am hoping 6 will be the magic number. I just need more restriction at night!

For me, anything cold has to go down very slow. A big swallow of anything cold and it comes back up. Warm liquids are not a problem. I have been banded for 11 months now and I think I am at my sweet spot. I have found that there is not a food I can't eat, so long as I take it nice and slow. Early on, I thought there were some foods that I couldn't tolerate (like salad), but it just turned out that I was eating them too fast. Now I eat whatever I want, I just eat it really slowly. Until I got this all figured out I wasn't losing weight consistently, but for the last few months, it has been steady at about 8 lbs per month.

I have been banded since December 2007 - I had a colonoscopy last month. No problems at all. I used the Fleet phosphosoda as my "clean out". You have to drink three 10 oz glasses of water with the lemon-ginger flavored stuff every 30 minutes. Just remember to drink lots of water after the "clean out" since it is pretty easy to become dehydrated. The colonscopy shouldn't be something to be concerned about ; )

I was banded in December 2007. I had a LOUD stomach for the longest time. It wasn't until I was filled past 4.5 cc's (10cc band) that the rumbling went away.

I had that too. I would be at work and it would be embarassing! I had a fill a few weeks ago - I am now at 5cc in a 10cc band and finally feeling some restriction (yeah!). After this last fill, the rumbling pretty much stopped. So give it a little time and it may go away.

I have UHC - I never saw anything on their website before I was approved. It took about 2-3 weeks, but they did approve me and paid for everything (except the deductable) without any problems.

Before being banded, my family and I went to Disney World - my husband and I each gained 8 pounds. We had the food plan and it was just way too much food that was really good. It took 2 weeks to take off all the weight we gained. So if you went to Disney World and didn't gain weight, I am impressed! I am going to get my third fill next week, I still don't have much restriction and have only been losing about a pound a week lately. I'm not complaining, though!

I wonder about that, too. I have had 2 fills and if I eat too fast, I get that stuck feeling, but aside from that, there is not a food I can't eat. I am going back to the Doctor in 2 weeks and wonder if I should get another fill. Does godd restriction mean not being able to eat things like bread?

I have been doing WW as well. I have been doing the Flex Plan, but I think I might switch over to Core next week. I didn't tell anyone I was banded but I wonder how many of us are in WW! I hope to get my 10% keychain this week!

I have been banded for about 3 months and that happens to me from time to time. I asked my Doctor and he said that is not uncommon. The port is sewn into the abdominal muscle and when you twist it can sometimes pinch and pull, but eventually it will stop hurting. I don't think it is anything to be too concerned about!