niche

i'm about in the same place as you spydr. i am very tight at 3.3/4cc. so i just had 1/8 of a bagel, 1tsp cream cheese and 1/2 cup of soup for lunch today. so i finally feel like i've gotten a good amt of restriction. i felt so frustrated before this last fill and now, i've lost 3 lbs per week for the last 3 weeks! it is so exciting to know that the band actually works. i guess i was one who needed more restriction than less. i'm almost to onederland! can't wait

first off, you probably don't have good restriction. i was eating nachos too after my first fill. i know, we're not supposed to... but i did. definitely try to stop eating and drinking at the same time. food was my friend too and i get a little sad now b/c i am completely full after 4 or 5 bites. i used to love lingering over a big plate of yummy food and eating and getting that warm and cozy full feeling. now that i actually have restriction, it is not a warm and fuzzy full feeling, it is satisfied then one more bite and i have severe discomfort. so part of giving up that destructive behaviour for me was having a consequence. it is absolutely true that the band is just a tool and you have to work with it, and modify your behaviour. but i've found this easier to do with restriction.

it is totally common. it took me 4 fills before i found a good level of restriction. so take heart. talk to your doctor. at my doc's they will do another fill after 2 weeks if you're feeling hungry, eating too much and not losing. i didn't believe my doctor when she said that at proper restriction, i wouldn't really feel hungry. after my last fill, i've only been hungry 2 times in the last 10 days. it does work, just try to be patient and get another fill as soon as you can.

congratulations! this is going to be great for you! i can say that i wish i had done this at 17. at that time i had just finished losing 60lbs at jenny craig. by the end of freshman year of college, i'd just finished gaining it back. i guess i had to go thru all those times of trying to hold on to the weightloss by myself to get here. but i'm so happy to see someone like you who doesn't have to go thru all of that! so keep reading the site and you'll really get a good idea of what to expect. everyone is different but just having an idea of what to expect is great. when i went to talk to my doc pre-op, she was like, 'you're really educated on this!' it was all b/c of lapband talk.

oh honey, i'm in the exact same boat. i gained 6 lbs after the liquid stage then didn't lose anything for 2 months after. get another fill asap! or at least as soon as your doc thinks it is safe. i really didn't start the 2 lb per week weight loss until 3 weeks ago! i really had to get real restriction before that happened. some people can get the band and it's like a placebo device. they know it is in there and they are able to 'eat like a bandster' with just will power. i'm not one. plus you're pmsing and bloated probably. i have lost 6lbs of water weight in one day before, so you're most likely not gaining weight AT ALL. i felt exactly the same way 1.5 months ago! now i think 'omg, it actually works!' b/c i have 3.3ccs in. feel better! and see your doctor!

actually, the flavored water is ok. it's the carbonation in your dr pepper that works against hydration. like you can't replace seltzer water for water even tho it has no other additives.

i just got an adjustment and i am trying to figure out if it is too tight. i am unable to drink Water (or anything) first thing in the AM. if i do, i have the most awful slimes. if i drink after the treadmill, it's all good. i can practically gulp it down. i had .1 ccs taken out the day after the fill last week b/c i was in terrible pain. but i'm pretty sure that came from not following directions and eating mushrooms the day of the fill and one got stuck over the opening. but now there is no pain with the fill level. but this is definitely the first time i have had to be veeeeery careful with what i eat. so i am asking all you experts out there whether this may be an unhealthy level of fill. thanks guys!

thanks for answering guys. i know that there have been some threads about this issue but i didn't remember seeing anything about NOTHING going down. i'm glad to know that i'm not alone.

i'm doing pretty good. i have lost abt 20 lbs since 11/14/05. that's 5 lbs per month, but it feels very slow. i also thought it would be easier than this. but even when i'm not losing, i'm not gaining. so that's great in itself. i have had a lot of adjustments. and after this last one, i haven't been hungry since last monday! it's crazy i never thought the doctors were telling the truth abt not feeling hungry. so hopefully, my weighloss will continue at a good pace. i'll let you guys know! good luck everyone!!

pretty much the same experience here. i used it for 3 mos. i'd say it worked for about a month. i lost maaaaaybe 10 lbs. then hunger level was back to normal. a total crock if you ask me.

i do get that feeling and my breath catches. it is a feeling of fear. i guess it's whatever the weight was doing for me that feels weird to let go of. even though i haven't lost that much weight, recently guys that i have known for years on an acquaintance basis have been hitting on me. some of them don't even recognize me as the same person even tho i recognize them. i walked into a party and this guy that i have met at leat 5 times was like, 'oh my god, who are you? you're gorgeous!' i'm looking at him like he grew a second head. i mean, 'who am i?!' the same person you met 5 times before. not that i don't like the attention, but i guess i was used to being kind of invisible. and now i'm not

i'm going! see you there )

i am one of dr ren's patients and i know that they do take other surgeons' patients some times. check out http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu for her contact info.

man, why doesn't someone have a scanner! but i guess i don't have to buy now that i have the page #

i know that my doctor has a cpap machine in the operating room. so if you have an apnea episode during the surgery they can address it. just talk to your doc about it. apnea is one of the biggest co-morbidities bandsters have, so many have travelled this road before you. good luck!

i just had a chicken thigh and a dinner roll. i can eat bread but NO rice. and chew chew chew

i am definitely one of the struggling newbies. i am 3 months in and have just started losing weight. i had no restriction until about last week but it was so difficult to know that i had this really expensive surgery and still no loss. but the scale moved last month and i hope that having restriction will move me down the weightloss road. my other issue is social drinking. in nyc, it seems that there is no other social outlet for a 20something than drinking. if i want to see a friend, it's always, 'let's meet for a drink.' then i drink 3,4,5 drinks and then have the drunk hunger then eat something stupid, like 2 slices of pizza in the cab. so basically, i need to grow up and stop acting like i'm still in college. though i'm finding that easier said than done.

a friend of mine was in the FDA trial for the fobi pouch. she has the opening to her pouch banded with a non-adjustable ring and a mesh around her pouch as well. it has worked very well for her and she has lost all of her excess weight. the purpose of the ring is that your esophagus doesn't dilate and the pouch never gets bigger.

i had a nice little pb myself at the office today. some improperly chewed cabbage did me in. luckily, everyone here knows about the surgery so they don't think i'm bulimic. i feel really lucky that i don't have to hide!

girl, don't think of giving up rice-a-roni. you just go ahead and try it with some restriction. you will thank god you can give it up! rice hurts me so bad i don't even try it anymore. i had some indian food last night and just ate the beans & spinach. a few grains of rice got mixed up in it even tho it was in one of those compartmentalized trays. oooh weeeee that was painful. i agree with dee: RICE IS EVIL! and i used to love it...

you go gurl! 43 lbs. gone for good! that's great

no one can judge your committment level from the outside but don't think that the act of having the surgery is going to independently kickstart your committment. i thought that and am dealing with the consequences. it's good that the band doesn't have a honemoon period like the rny. i have my little friend as long as my body will have her. so luckily, i can change my life now. but you will set yourself up for disappointment if the band is not just a part of a total life change. the band will not save you. you have to save yourself.

i guess i'm toward the turtle side of us november bandsters. i've only lost 13 lbs and 10 of that was in january. i only lost 3 lbs in november and december. i'm so jealous of you rabbits!

the bingeing does not always stop you from being a surgical candidate but it is something that the docs are interested in. i can tell you that the surgery does not really keep you from wanting to binge. in the first few weeks/months after the surgery, i was able to eat pretty much whatever i wanted because i only recently got anything near restriction. plus i drink a lot socially, and the band helps 0% with that. so that was very difficult for me. i didn't have any will power and i didn't lose any weight between november and january. and it was really distressing. so basically what i'm saying is that the weightloss is part your body part your head. if you binge with soda, the band isn't going to help with that. so the band might not be the best answer for you. rny might be a better choice b/c the dumping will make you think twice before you go for the fizzy sweet stuff. so even though the doctor will probably consider you a candidate, you should think about how you eat very seriously before committing to the band.

i'm doing 45 mins of high cardio 5x per week. i want to do more resistance training but it hasn't become part of the routine yet. i also like those denise austin tapes. i know some of you might not be able to stand her peppy cheerleader persona, but i love it. she is hilarious! and i love it when she looks deep into the camera and says, 'don't you feel fit, and stronger!' anyway, i highly recommend her pilates & yoga tapes for those a few months out of surgery.