HeatherO

I have to agree completely. I might have 4 hours in between but after being banded for such a long time, I eat when I am hungry. Sometime 3, 4 or 5 times a day. I still lose weight but don't stay hungry this way.

Ooops, I missed your last post so disregard my previous post. It seems like you have bypassed your sweet spot completely and went from way too loose to way too tight. You can easily gain on Soups and ice-cream . . . liquid calories defeat the purpose of the band. You should be able to eat normal foods without too much pain as long as you are chewing properly and eating slow enough. It sounds like you will need a small unfill in order to get back to your sweet spot. Sometimes .10 or .25 cc's of an unfill is enough to put you back to being reasonably comfortable again.

Just hang in there, you will notice all the difference in the world once you get some decent restriction.

I agree with everyone else. Both group therapy and individual therapy might be helpful, especially if they are done together. This isn't a healthy lifestyle choice and if it continues indefinitely he may risk his band later.

I used Slimfast Optima for a while when I was really tight in the morning so I could get something in. When I told my fill nurse what I was doing, she said that it is the wrong approach to banding to lose weight by drinking Protein shakes or shakes in general to lose weight. I asked her why . . . she said that you lose the benefit of the band by taking in liquid calories. You won't get the feeling of fullness or satiety that is really what helps you to lose weight with the band. With appropriate restriction, Proteins first and healthy foods keep you full and satisfied. I still use them if I am too tight, I need to take something in and I am always really tight in the morning and loose at night so it works for me. I am never hungry until well after lunch time with normal restriction. You can lose weight on Medifast . . . but that feel quite a bit like dieting again. All you need is some restriction and to choose healthy foods . . . then diets can be a thing of the past.

One other thing, when you are hungry post banding, you are HUNGRYYY, at least it is that way for me. I have to be careful sometimes in that when I finally have the urge to eat, I can sometimes eat too fast because I am overly hungry. Instead of hunger creeping up on me, it is just there in full force.

With good restriction I am good for 4 hours or maybe a little more. You will probably not have that at first. You may want to build in a small band friendly snack at that time that fits your diet plan.

It is good to take it easy in the morning as well. Start with liquids and work your way up slowly. Once you get sick you can have a little stomach swelling that may cause you to get sick again on something that usually doesn't give you a problem.

I had one day 3 and it was awfulll.

Thanks :0). With any luck the baby will be uninhibited and flash us the answer to the question. I also plan on drinking a big old glass of orange juice right before. I also noticed from your blog that you called him "Tigger" until you knew he was a boy, lol. Somehow Tigger doesn't have a very feminine ring to it. :thumbup:

I really wish there was an objective study out there that shows the long term effects of having different post-op diet regimens in the early stages of banding. Inamed and Johnson & Johnson have performed studies but they have conservative post-op diet plans that give patients plenty of time on the liquid phases to allow adequate healing/scarring to take place to truly set the band. Manufacturers have gotten their bands approved for placement in the US, individuals doctors don't have small trials showing how they compete with each other based on differences of opinion . . . only their records will show if they are successful or not. It is true that there are doctors out there that give you a few days at different stages and progress you as quickly as you want to go . . . if your doctor happens to be one of these, then I would caution you to find out how many bands the doctor has placed, how long the doctor has been placing bands, where they trained and what is the long-term success rate of their banded patients. Compare that with the statistics from the manufacturers studies to see if they are up to par (but don't forget that a small number of patients that have not been banded for very long is no comparison to the manufacturers studies). Band manufacturers have come up with standardized post operative plans for a reason based on research approved by the FDA in the US that goes through strenuous testing in clinical trials. As in any profession there are both good doctors and bad doctors as we see all too frequently in the news. For my own health and future, I took a more conservative approach that fit the manufacturer guidelines, and would have done so even if my doctor suggested that I don't have to follow them. A doctor will never fault you for taking a more conservative approach if you are meeting your basic dietary needs, but to be more aggressive is to be non-compliant. Why would I do this . . . because I am the one who has to live with this band and hope it helps me to overcome obesity. I want to succeed, and I want everyone else out there to succeed with banding because I understand why we got banded in the first place. I have no problem at all giving a little extra time to not so pleasant food options if I know that I could take off this weight and keep it off. I wouldn't want an overly aggressive doctor to risk the band that I have in my body . . . because I am the one who must live in this body. We can argue all day about differences between the doctors plans, manufacturers plans, who is uppity or not about wanting to follow one plan or another. However, in the end . . . we still all want to be successful with the band and we are really not so much different from each other.

LOL, I just had a similar experience. My husband is Turkish and his family is both here in the US and in Turkey. We went to Turkey to visit about a month ago and visited his brother's house for dinner one night. His brothers wife was so shocked that I look so different (no-one knows about the band or even realized that I had lost so much weight) she actually brought out the scale, in the living room in front of both of his brothers, his other brothers wife, children and we had a weigh-a-thon. I could not help but blush down to my toes. I would never weigh myself in front of anybody, let alone extended family. So in my head I am thinking "are you out of your mind???" all that came out of my mouth was "uhhh . . . ok." I would have completely refused had I not lost the weight. So we all did it and I found out that I wasn't even the heaviest woman there . . . and no one is heavy at all in the family so i was rather surprised, lol. Anyway, that would have been really rude here . . . but it wasn't there, it was all in good fun and no big deal. In some cultures, invasive questions are the norm but there is no ill intent, we are just conservative here in some ways. His family has always been really close and accepting of me no matter what . . . really I feel rather spoiled when I am with them, lol. Is it rude to ask about weight in chinese culture or just the norm?

I was just browsing through everyones weight tickers . . . and all I can say is that we have done awesome as a group. What a difference almost a year has made!!! WOW0X7, your pictures are amazing. If only you could have seen those pictures as you were contemplating surgery, lol. Banding works and it is the best thing I ever did for myself. I never would have believed I would be where I am today weight-wise. Even after banding I wasn't quite convinced, but now I have no doubts. I love my band and the new lease on life it has given me!!!

Restriction will hit you like a ton of bricks once you get close to your sweet spot - but until then you may not feel much of anything. At 6.8 cc's I felt nothing. At 8.3 I was right at my perfect sweet spot. You may just have a little further to go until you feel right.

All restrictions were raised for me on anything by the 4th week out . . . and that is about where you are now. It sounds like it shouldn't be a problem as long as you are up for it and are cautious about pressure to incision sites.

I agree completely with coltonwade/Mindy. It seems unusual and risky to be experimenting with things like a chicken leg this early on . . . and getting sick at two weeks out when you are still in the early stages of healing just makes me feel stronger that it is way too early. Getting sick just shows that your stomach is not ready for chicken in that form. It is important after getting stuck that you go on liquids for a couple of days. This helps to relieve any swelling that might cause you to become sick again in the near future. Chicken is one of those fickle foods that many of us just can't tolerate well at all on occasion . . . even if we are far out into our banding journey. Most of my episodes of pb'ing were on chicken.

I always experience more stuck/pb episodes after a fill because I get used to what I can eat . . . and then have to relearn with each fill because it is a little different. If you eat too fast, or too much, you can have relatively little restriction but still get stuck and pb. It is even possible that you need another fill but just have to get back to the slow eating and "chew to goo" practices.

I get a pain in my chest as well if I overeat and it takes some time to subside. Drinking too soon can make it worse as well (I am already full and the drinking just adds a little additional pressure until it subsides). I know in my case it is definitely related to eating. You may be having the same exact issue and it is not uncommon at all for bandsters. It is good that you called your doctor just in case and will follow-up, but you are probably just fine.

I would give your nutritionists office a call to see what they suggest. They should also have given you some kind of generalized nutritional guidelines in your paperwork as well. Most of us move on to full liquids at this stage such as cream soups without chunks, but not quite on to mushies yet.

In another week or two she will feel so much better. Tell her just to hang in there a little while longer.

My doctor only said wait until you feel up to it, just be gentle. I think we waited about a week or so.

I drink out of a straw quite a bit. It wasnt good in the beginning of banding when trapped gas was uncomfortable. Now it is no big deal for non-carbonated beverages. I think some people are more sensitive to straws then others. As long as your doctor hasn't forbidden it, your body will tell you if it is OK or not.

I only took off a Friday and a Monday (surgery was on Friday). This worked fine but I was really tired on Tuesday and Wednesday. Aftercare is just like a normal doctors visit if you don't have to travel too far. Many clinics can also schedule some evening/weekend hours depending on who is doing the banding. It really doesn't require much time at all if you schedule it well.

Definitely call your doctor as soon as possible. You might want to try an antacid in the mean time and go back to liquids. It might be something minor, but you never want to risk that it is something more serious. Any significant pain should be reported to your doctor immediately.

Soups and salads work well. Soups go down easily and you can eat them OK as long as they arent too chunky. A salad with chicken or something on it works good because there is usually not a ton of chicken on it and you can pick out the Proteins and eat some of the salad without looking like you aren't eating anything. Pasta, potatoes and breads can put you in an uncomfortable situation and should be avoided in public unless you know you can tolerate them. They fill your pouch fast, don't go anywhere quickly and can give you 10-20 minutes of pb hell if you are not careful (not easy to explain if people don't know you are banded and you spent half of your meal in the restroom). I really love a good steak but I just can't eat very much of it. I always order Water - because I can't really drink it very much and people don't notice it. I drink before the meal, but never during or after.