MTBiker

I was banded in November 2008. I got down to within 15lbs of goal, which was a stretch goal to begin with. I am ok with where I am now, which is still at my most restricted level. Once we reach this point, does the band stay this restricted foreever? I still have a lot of trouble with certain foods, which come back up on me, such as foods that are sour, too spicy, fresh fruit, lettuce along with anything warm. I just wonder if at this point I should ask for the restriction to be reduced, and try to maintain weight, or are we expected to stay at this fill level?

I know what you mean! In my case, I had replaced my original wedding ring, and as I downsized, I tried to make it fit by wrapping wire around the base, and then that didn't cut it anymore. So I started wearing my High School ring. Eventually, even then became big! Now I bought a new cheap ring for a wedding band that is a smaller size than my high school ring was. Go figure.

I agree with you about it not being easy. I didn't realize I would have as much trouble with getting stuck and losing the food I just got down. But it is great to be getting into decent shape.

I started at 2x shirts (mens) and size 44 pants. I am now in L shirts, which I always thought would be my end state, and 36 pants. Now I'm wondering if I could get into Mediums at some point! I just finally dropped into the "overweight" BMI range. I'd really have to be a scrawny guy to get down to "normal" ! The band rules.

I am in a very similar situation. I just crossed over from being obese to just being overweight. I would have to be a small skinny man to ever achieve "normal"! But I have the same pockets of flab and loose skin that you describe. I don't know if it ever will go away, I still have 17 lbs to lose to hit my goal. I too had thought that being young (though I'm in my forties) would mean my skin would snap taught like a rubber band, but that was just wishful thinking. But hey - we look good in clothes now!

Today is my first ONEderful day, seeing the scale start with a 1! This last fill has been difficult, I have days when I can't eat much at all, it seems as if the stomach gets irritated, then nothing you try will work until it gets calmed down again. I can't drink more than about 3 swallows of liquid without feeling stuck. I end up PBing 3-4 time per week. Like most of you, I gave up pop long ago, but now my stomach seems to be rejecting Gatorade G2 or Powerade Zero, anything fruity or sweet seems to cause trouble. That means I'll be down to just drinking plain water all the time. Not very appealing. I have another fill appt tomorrow, I may see if I should have a drop or two removed instead of added. I don't think I could take any more being added.

Thanks for the tips on the grapefruit juice and Special K water. I've never come close to the 64 oz of water that the 105 lb dietician claims is mandatory for the human species, but I try to get at least 32 in.

I had my 5th fill almost 3 weeks ago, and I think I have finally hit what some have called a sweet spot. (6.8cc on a 10cc band). I am definitely limited to around a cup of food at a meal. For lunch today I had the broth of an 8-oz cup of soup, and one ham/cheesse rollup, and I felt full. Of course these days I question whether I am full, or stuck, or not done, or what. If I get too hungry before eating, I seem to have more trouble with the meal than if I had a recent snack. Since this last fill, I have had more days with a PB than days without, so if this is a sweet spot, its not all pleasantville. If I am very very careful I can keep the food down. Sometimes it gets stuck and I try to keep it down, and then hiccups start, and if I bear with it, it will ease up in 1-2 hours. It is generally much more of a relief just to bring the food back up. Even with not keeping much food down, the weight has been reluctant to come off, but I think that's because my body now thinks it is starving and is protecting itself. But I am down overall about 9 lbs in that 3 weeks. So that part is good. I will keep with it, and see what I feel like by the 15th when I'm due for another fill again. Right now it seems like I'd pass on that! I hope the rest of your are hitting your stride and starting to reap the benefits of this tool.

I get stuck 2 to 3 times per week, and I am trying to determine what causes that, when other times, I can eat like a horse! For me, I tend to get stuck on chicken and eggs. I also think that engaging in conversation during dinner can also cause me to get stuck. I would like to hear from you all about what food or circumstances cause you to get stuck. Maybe we can learn from one another and modify our behaviors accordingly.

I can't imagine being hungry enough to eat a fish pie, but that's just me.....

I have had the same issues that many of you have reported, getting stuck and requiring a PB for no apparent reason. Chicken seems to be a common culprit for me, as are scrambled eggs for some reason. My wife also thinks that it happens more often when we have a family dinner and I am engaged in conversation. Perhaps I am not chewing enough or eating slowly. I hope that is it, because that is something I can learn to manage myself. At the same time, my doctor thinks (and I agree) that I am not restricted enough yet, because I can still eat a good sized meal when I don't get stuck. So I will get another fill next week. I'm also going to try to track what I am eating when I do get stuck to look for more patterns. I think I'll make a general post to ask for feedback on what makes people stuck.

Stownsent - I am curious about where you are in this process. It sounds like the band has done well for you, since you have lost 111 pounds, yet you say you don't feel any restriction. Are you saying it used to provide restriction and now it doesn't, or are you saying you lost the 111 pounds without much help from the band? Do you still have a ways to go beyond the 111?

I have had the same questions. What is the difference between getting STUCK and getting FULL? I get stuck fairly often. Sometimes it will pass, sometimes I need to bring it back up (which is surprisingly easy to do). I agree that feeling full like we used to after two pieces of lasagna and garlic bread is not a feeling we'll be having any more. We have to learn to recognize a new feeling where we've eaten enough and better stop. My problem is that I usually recognize that with a mouthful of food that still has to go down! Its all just a learning curve I guess, and until you get some serious restriction, you can't relate. I also find that I get hungry again quicker than I used to. I'm not one to go hungry, so I find a suitable snack to tide me over. I know that starving will never work for me long term, so I don't even bother.

My first 3 fills seemed difficult for the doc, he was poking around many many times trying to find the spot - I'm talking about 20-30 times! I'm glad he numbs me up first! But this last one, he found it it just a few pokes. So perhaps like me, your fills will get easier over time. There's always issues to deal with, just have to take it in stride and move on. There's no alternative. We aren't going back to the way we were!

Every single one of us is in this situation because our bodies are optimized for the storage of fat, and the self protection against starvation. So when we starve ourselves, our bodies go into protection mode, and won't burn anything off. This lasts until we stabilize, or really force the issue by excessive exercise. To me, these plateaus are the time it takes our body to accept the current state of food intake, and then it will relax and let some weight be burned off. I have had the same experiences of eating badly for a day, or having a couple of drinks, and then next couple of days some weight loss occurs. I have heard many times that if we eat too low of an amount, like 1000 calories, then then weight loss is difficult. I wish there was an answer to why our bodies are so tuned for storage, but for now our only recourse is to adjust the intake of calories and output of energy, and the band is a great tool for that.

My doc (also surgeon) said that most people hit a sweet spot around 6-7cc. I am at 6.25 now, and feel decent restriction. But everyone is different, and if you've hit a sweet spot sooner, then good for you, you'll save on office visits! The doctor can only go by what you tell him, and what the scale tells him anyway, so you're the best judge of what you really need. Good for you for remaining in charge of your progress.

After my fourth fill, I finally feel some significant restriction, and can get stuck if I am not very careful. Morning seems to be much worse for me. I was trying to eat scrambled eggs this morning, and could get less than one down, but it stayed. I usually try to sip a bit of Water when I eat too, which seems to help. I know we're not supposed to drink with meals, but a few sips seems to keep things moving. Now the big issue is trying to get 80 grams of Protein in per day. I'm going to concentrate on that issue more than anything else for a while and see how I do. This 4th fill has finally led to some weight loss, I was pretty flat line since surgery recovery, so I'm very glad to see some progress. I go back in 2 weeks for another fill, and I will take it, just to see how much this can be pushed. Also, my doctor always tells me to have liquids for the first day after a fill, and then to proceed from there. I think that's good advice for everyone after a fill, and the schedule of 'proceding from there' would be dependent on how your body adjusts to the fill.

I hadn't heard that about the 4th fill being the magic number. I hope its true, because I've been flat line since surgery on Nov 4th as well. Let's hope we both start seeing some progress!

sorry to hear that you've had such a hard time with this. I frequently get food stuck when eating - especially chicken - but tortilla chips go down great for me. I haven't had enough restriction yet, so my weight isn't coming off so well, but I'm hoping after today's fill that starts to pick up. I hope your body learns to adapt. One thing that bothered me was the no drinking rule. I found that that caused me to get stuck more often, so now I will sip a bit of water during a meal to keep things moving. Good luck.

I just had my fourth fill today. I have a 10cc band, and am now at 6.25cc. I think my dr takes this whole thing too slowly, and sometimes I wish I had the slam dunk approach that Kerimezz77's doctor uses. My dr today said that most people hit a sweet spot in the 6-7cc range. I sure hope so, because I've been pretty flat line since recovering from surgery. I've got another 50lbs to go, and I need this band to start earning its keep!

My second fill got me up to 4.5cc out of the 10cc the band can hold. I was told to be on liquids for a day, and to proceed from there. I did stay on liquids, though I had chili for lunch the next day (isn't that a liquid?). But for dinner my wife had made beef in a crock pot, corn, and perogies. Even though I was chewing pretty well, I got stuck big time, and had only gotten through maybe 5 bites total. Took almost an hour to go way, including some PBing. So now I know what restriction feels like, and how careful you have to be. After 48 hours, I had lunch at a Japanese steakhouse, and ate very very carefully, staying away for the most part from the fried rice. I did fine, and got full on a lot less food than I would have eaten before the band. So good luck to you all as you move onto your 2nd and future fills, that's where it starts to kick in and become the tool we've been looking for.

Mine is barely right of center (my right, not your right) and 5" below the sternum and 5" above my belly button.

I'm not an expert, but I don't think starving will get you anywhere in the long run. From my own experience, starving just leads to overeating, and also lowers your metabolism. My suggestion would be to find foods that fill you up that aren't too bad for you, and that have some Protein in them. I like the Kashi Chewy bars for Snacks. Sure they have 290 calories, but they have Fiber and protein too, and it stops me from eating something worse. This time period where we are getting our first and second fills is tough, since it is common to have little weight loss now. We have to push through this phase until the band starts really working for us. Good luck to you.

Good for you! Finding long lost smaller clothes in the closet, and then being able to fit into them....that's a great victory. I got new shirts for Christmas because the old XXLs were swimming on me. Now I'm comfortably in XLs, its hard to imagine fitting in a Large.