tym2findme

I was banded in 2008 and have pretty much lost all the weight and then some. To be honest, I have yet to hit the "green zone" or "sweet spot". I'm either too loose or too tight. I got kind of a big un-fill before the holidays so I could enjoy the food more. Then I gained weight. After the holidays I had too much of a fill and was way too tight. I have been having it loosened a tiny bit at a time, hoping to finally get to that just right place. Everybody's different, but you will find your way.

I get it when I try to eat something that doesn't go down well.

I was banded 15 months ago and have had 4 fills. The only time I have actually had "restriction" was after fill # 3 and I couldn't eat much of anything without throwing it up, most of the time. My diet consists of yogurt, Soup and cheese. Once in a great while for no reason in particular, I can eat a piece of meat if I cut it into tiny pieces, but then I'm right back to throwing up everything I eat. Of course, the exception was when I experimented with my biggest weaknesses, buttered popcorn or onion rings, somehow those stayed down just fine! :tongue2: Then I went in for my 4th fill and they told me I should have come in much sooner because I hadn't lost much weight. I guess I just want to know what the majority of people who have lost a lot of weight with the lap band, consider "restriction". Is it basically not being able to eat much of anything? And, if so, why aren't people just saying that? Or, is my experience just an anomaly, and restriction to everybody else is just not being hungry and having a :blink:lot of self control? Thanks!

I started chewing more and that helped, but your post about drinking the water is AMAZING! I started really working at getting that water down and IT DOES make a difference on being able to eat! I don't know how it works or why it makes it easier to keep food down, but it sure does work! Thanks so much for all of your answers

Wow! I can't believe it, but it may have just been a "basics" thing! Since I posted and read the reply about getting back to basics and chewing food, I have been really making an effort to chew and chew, and that seems to have helped. I haven't had a lot of opportunity to really test that, but I made BBQ'd Bratwurst for my husband with the green Beans from my garden that I threw up pre-post, and some rice, and I was able to eat it! Granted, I only ate about 1/4 of a sausage and about 5 big beans cut up, but it went down! We'll see if that does it. If not, I will have to go back for a slight unfill, but seriously, that would be AWFUL because I'm finally losing weight. I'm so grateful for a website like this to be able to speak to others who know what it's like to be the way we looked/felt before, making the decision to do something like this, and then life afterward. - Thanks:rolleyes:

I felt the same way. After the 3rd fill (Fill during surgery +2) I finally got the restriction and started losing weight. Just keep going in for your fills and you will get there. It is frustrating though. My surgery was April 14 and I didn't start losing until August. Hang in there!

Don't worry, it wasn't that bad and it only hurts for a minute. You have already been through the surgery, that's the worst part!

Mine was three, including what he put in at the time of surgery.

Hi Cherry, I KNOW, I felt EXACTLY the same way! I stopped even coming to this site because I was so discouraged. It was depressing to see all of these people who had their surgeries later than I did, losing like crazy! I lost the initial 10, then after surgery I actually gained a couple of pounds. I didn't get any restriction from my first 2 fills. I felt like such a failure! The third fill was the one that did the trick. I had my surgery in April and finally got restriction in August! When I went through the classes, they briefly touched on the fact that it could take a little while to get restriction. I think that they should have focused on that much more. After reading and reading on this site and others, I found out that MOST others experience the same thing to varying degrees. My doctor says that over a period of a year or a little bit more, I will likely have the same weight loss as a gastric bypass patient. It's just that the lap band starts off slower. But, we all end up in the same place! :wub: Good luck!

Yep! That sounds just like mine! I've had two and both times they had trouble with the port.

My first fill is tomorrow, and after months of reading posts on this site, I know not to expect much restriction. But that leads me to the question, how many fills did it take for you to get to Lap Band Heaven?

Newme, I was banded on the same day and am in the same boat. Before the surgery and in the weeks following that I was on liquids, I had lost about 18 lbs. now, I have gained back around 5. AND, my first fill isn't until June18th! I have no restriction at all. I can eat anything and am hungry again within a couple of hours. With all the preparation that I did for the surgery, I wasn't ready for this time between surgery and the first fill. Just using will power and hoping for the best now. Karin

After reading all of your posts, I would advise you to call his office and tell them you want copies of all your medical records by whatever day and time. Tell them you will be at their office at that time and to have the records ready. Any doctor who avoids you and obviously doesn't want to talk to you, is a real problem. No matter what his opinion of the surgery is, he is showing blatant disrespect for you, his patient. After you have the surgery, you will have a lot of follow up with your GP. You need someone who you can talk to and who is understanding and supportive. This guy doesn't sound like he fits the bill. Good luck! Karin

So sorry to hear that Lilnora. But, be glad they found the problem pre-op rather than when you were on the table. Doesn't help much, I know. I was on track for gastric bypass in Feb. of 2007. I had completed 6 months of classes twice a month, ekg, stress test, sleep study, breathing test, and a host of other things. The last test they did was a mammogram, and they found stage 3 breast cancer. I had a mastectomy, chemo and radiation. But, on April 14, I got the lap band! So, it was a delay, but I'm glad. After my body going through the trauma that it did, I decided that gastric bypass would be too much. I'm so glad that things worked out the way they did and I ended up with the band. Much safer and easier. Hang in there! It will happen! Karin

Hi Eva, I'm Karin! I am now 12 days post-op and feeling good. It is getting hard to stay on the stage II diet because I still have to cook for my husband. I finally caved and had a few bites of chicken. I chewed it really well and it was fine. I was full too! I have been steadily losing about 1/2 pound per day! I have my post-op appointment on Tuesday, so hopefully the dietician will upgrade me to mushy foods. How did your appointment go? Did you get a surgery date? Is your husband going to do it too? God Bless! Karin

Suga- I am 8 days post-op and boy was my journey a leap of faith! I started the process to have gastric bypass over a year ago. While undergoing the tests, they found breast cancer. A year, chemo and radiation later, I finally got the lap band. (Decided that bypass would be a little bit much for my body to take). I was apprehensive because I didn't know if God wanted me to have the surgery, or if he was trying to tell me not to by the cancer diagnosis. Well, one morning last month I was doing my bible study and it asked me to think of something that was weighing heavily on my mind, that I wanted God to communicate with me about. Of course, the lap band popped into my mind right away. Then, that very second, the phone rang. It was the Dr.'s office telling me that they had just received approval for my surgery! No kidding! Now if that isn't direct communication from God, I don't know what is! Everything went fine. I was afraid that they would find cancer when they went in because I was having some pain in the area, but praise God, they didn't. The pain receeds rapidly from the incisions. The liquid diet is easier because you aren't hungry. BUT, My husband has been very spoiled for 25 years, and so I had to go back to cooking dinner (although not as often) for him. That is awful. He even made himself eggs and toast on Sunday morning 5 minutes before I would have been gone anyway to go to church. Smelling good food is hard. The big pay off is weighing myself every morning. The weight is falling off at about 1/2 lb. per day. Yippee!

I can't believe it! I just went to the store and got some Zicam. Hopefully that will make it go away. Wow...it's finally happening.

Hi Paula! Nice to meet you! Congratulations on the surgery! Karin

Hi Marisa! It sounds like you have your hands full in New Jersey! It sounds like your husband will be a good support though. I live in Meredith, NH. My banding is scheduled for April 14th. I am 45 and my kids are grown and gone, but my husband will be available to help. I've been fighting breast cancer for the past year, so I'm not anticipating this surgery being any worse that ones I've had before (I hope). I lost about 14 lbs but have gained a few back. I went into eating auto-pilot as soon as I got my surgery date. I need to get back to dieting. My Daughter is home from college this week, so I've been bad. She will be gone on Monday so the plan is to rededicate myself then. Plus, there's the liquid diet that I'll need to start in a couple of weeks. That should help! :wink2: Nice to meet you! Karin

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you!

That's pretty funny! What nurse did you get? Clair? I love her, she's got a great personality and a sense of humor. That always puts me at ease. You sure have lost alot of weight! I have been losing ground of that front. I think it's psychological. I'm on the home stretch so I'm going for every food imaginable that I love. But, I figure that the liquid diet will take it right off. Two weeks till I start that. They called me day before yesterday and changed my surgery date from April 21st to the 14th! That's the first time they have moved me up rather than back when they have had to change one of my appointments. I like that! :wink2:

Is there anyone out there who does sip a small bit of wine with dinner? I am a cook and wine with the meal is like Peanut Butter & jelly. It just goes together. I think that is the thing I am having the hardest time imagining. That seems to be the thing that stands out to me as not feeling "normal" when out with friends. Will just a tiny bit cause the food to slide right through and not make you feel full? :biggrin:

This sure is going to be interesting! Are you glad you did it?

I was on Blue Shield of CA and had to do the six months of classes and a ton of tests.

I started about a year and a half ago, trying to get weight loss surgery. I was going to do the gastric bypass. My insurance company required 6 months of classes and LOTS of tests. So, I plugged away at it. I had a stress test, EKG, sleep study, psych eval, breathing test and more. The last test was a mammogram, then I would have completed all of my requirements. Unfortunately, they found stage 3 breast cancer. I wasn't shocked, my Mom and my Sister both had it. So, I had to give up my weight loss dream and focus on fighting cancer. I had a mastectomy, 8 months of chemo and 33 radiation treatments. My prognosis isn't great, I had 7 positive lymph nodes. Strange as it seems, in order to do the reconstruction on my breast, they need to use the abdominal area for tissue and muscle. But, they have to shrink my abdomen to do it! So, I'm back to weight loss surgery! God works in mysterious ways! My husband and I moved from California to NH in the middle of my treatment. I stayed with Blue Shield on COBRA. But, found out I had to start all over on the requirements. Thankfully, there were far fewer. I have finally finished all of that, and was given a surgery date of 4/21. I haven't gotten insurance approval yet. Hopefully there won't be any problems. I am looking forward to losing weight and looking & feeling "normal" again. I hope that I will get some time to enjoy it. I'm going to be a Grandmother in May. I'm so excited.