kiz

I take adult Centrum (or drug store brand) chewable multi vitamin/multi mineral. There are other chewables on the market, and some people even take children's chewables.

You sound too tight to me too. Once I got my last fill, I was still able to eat almost all foods (from steak to breads), but three 1/2 cup meals plus a healthy snack keep me satisfied all day. That was my expectation with the band. I had decent restriction before, but there was no way those small meals would keep me satisfied, and I was snacking to make up the difference. It just took .5 cc to get me to my sweet spot, so sometimes all you need is just a little adjustment either up or down when you're getting close to having optimal restriction. I hope you're able to get in soon to get your small unfill.

april: Sounds like you're doing great, and with another fill, I bet you'll make your goal of 15 lbs by the holidays. teri: You're really hanging in there giving it your all, so there'll be no looking back wondering what you could have done to to make the band work for you. It might turn out this just wasn't the right surgery for you, sadly enough. Sometimes there's just no way of knowing these things ahead of time. I'm so sorry that you've had so many troubles.

The honest answer is there's no way for us to know for absolutely sure. My guess is, probably not, but I would not eat the crackers again until you're on mushie foods. The danger of moving up the food groups too quickly is that you're stomach will churn to digest your food which may impact how well you heal where your doctor has stitched in your band. Of course, the better you're healed, the safer you are from having a band slip down the line. I was on full liquids for two weeks, and it would really help us understand the process if there were definitive studies on what impact clear liquids, full liquids, or mushies have on the healing process. Probably, like most everything medical, there's conflicting information, and our doctors are using the best judgment (at least I hope they're using their *best* judgment, and that their judgment is *good*). My advice is to follow your doctor's orders though.

I had a pressure fill a few months ago because I had already gone over the max fill level in my Realize band. I wish I had paid closer attention to the amount of pressure he said he took me to with a .5 cc fill, but I believe it was in the 40s (not that the figure means anything to me anyway..lol) and have approximately 11cc in my 9cc band. He said he had a few other patients that had to have that amount of pressure for good restriction. That fill did the trick though...thank goodness...since that was the end of the line for me. I'm sorry to hear you ended up with a overfill and that you're fighting H1N1 on top of it. I either had the flu or a terrible cold a couple of weeks ago, and I know the sinus congestion left me a little tighter, but not so much I felt too restricted. Hopefully, you'll loosen up a little bit once you're feeling better, even if you do end up needing a little unfill too. (I live in the Richmond area too. Who is your doctor? Mine is Brengman.)

How are you feeling today? It's funny, even after a year, I still find that sometimes the exact same meal will seem to keep me full forever, while other times, not so much.

I'm sorry that you're having trouble, but it will get better once you start getting restriction from your fills, which I understand are getting off to a slow start. Although, a lot of doctors like to wait a full six weeks for the first fill. It sounds like you're going to have to be the squeaky wheel to get on the schedule again. I'd be like you and calling first thing Monday morning. The band isn't helping you much until you get to your proper fill level. It will probably take more than one fill, but each one helps. (Or you might be lucky and get great restriction right off the bat. It happens occasionally, but don't get discouraged if it doesn't). I was a little unclear about your diet. How many ounces of Protein are you eating per day vs. drinking? If you're drinking 60 grams of protein via Protein shakes, you're probably taking in too many liquid calories. Once you're healed and off of soft foods, you should be getting the majority of your protein from good solid foods which helps you stay satiated between meals and with fewer calories than the shakes contain (unless you've been directed otherwise by your doctor). Good luck with your call tomorrow.

People swear by the five day pouch test. You can Google it or search for on LBT. From all the positive reviews I've read here, that would be the first thing I would try if I thought I had a stretched pouch.

You definitely sound too tight to me. Unless you get your band checked by a doctor, there's no way to know for sure whether you have a slip or not though. One of the major symptoms is a sudden onset of night time reflux, and keeping a too tight band can lead to a slip. I hope you can find another doctor.

I am so lucky!! My kids are too old to go trick or treating (So I won't be raiding their bags. I've always wondered if my kids were switched at birth because not a one of them are chocolate lovers). I bought fun Halloween candy that is totally unappealing to me...ie - no freaking chocolate! I was so tempted to buy some very cute fun size jack-o-lantern shaped Reese's Cups, but I resisted. Now, I have to stay away from the stores until all the 1/2 off candy is gone. Chocolate and a sale...not sure I can resist the double whammy...eek

Hi Sassy. Welcome to LBT. I've seen a few people say their surgeons keep them on liquids for up to four weeks post-op. I was on mushies starting at two weeks, but I think I could have managed with full liquids if I was allowed to use some of the great Protein shake recipes I've seen on this site. Are you allowed to add bananas, Greek yogurt and various other fruits to your shakes (if you're even drinking them)? There are some recipes that sound pretty filling. Also, I would rely heavily on blended black bean Soup (if you're allowed the consistency that can pass through a straw). I also read a Salsa pumpkin Soup recipe that sounded like it could be whipped up to whatever consistency you're allowed to have by adding more broth. I believe it contained corn, which I would leave out at your stage of healing. There's a whole nutrition and recipe forum here on LBT that might give you some ideas. Good luck, and hang in there!!

That's very encouraging news, abby!! It sounds like you have to ball rolling and that there's a good possibility you're going to be a New Year's Band Baby!! Wishing you the best of luck.

Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss, your new active lifestyle, and your engagement!! Whew, what a year you've had. I'm sure your story will be very inspirational not only to anyone considering WLS, but also to everyone who is on this journey with you. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations Jerry, you big loser! :Yawn: You can really see the difference in your progression pictures. You must be feeling terrific.

kayoyak: If the eggs were stuck, you would probably be in pain and you wouldn't be able to drink liquids easily. Your drinks be coming back up or going down slowly and painfully. Different doctors have different protocols on when you can start mushie foods, and it seems most start us on soft foods at two weeks. A few go a little earlier and some go later, and I always feel it's best to follow your own doctor's orders, especially post-op while your stomach is healing. At least you're pretty close to your two weeks, and I sure wouldn't push it again, especially after the day of worry you've had.

Hi Ariel, and welcome to LBT. A fill or adjustment is when saline is injected into your band through a port that is surgically implanted, usually in your abdomen during your band surgery. The more saline that is injected, the tighter the band, and the more restriction you feel. Usually, when you get your band you don't get your first fill until six weeks after surgery, although a few doctors will do one earlier, and some give a small first fill during surgery. Here's a link to a post that describes the procedure. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f219/what-fill-procedure-like-58243/

I am so sorry the scale didn't match the non scale victories you've experienced. For some reason, we just want validation from that stupid scale that we're losing. Obviously, you're losing fat, or you wouldn't be going down in sizes. It doesn't sound like you've gone too far off your diet that you need to worry. One of the most important things is to watch those carbs pre op. You're so close now, and you've worked your butt off on that liquid diet, so don't be hard on yourself about this temporary set back. Just put that doctor's appointment behind you, and go strong to the finish. Good luck, and come to LBT when you need to let off steam.

Some doctors are more strict about length of time between fills, but it wouldn't hurt to call to see if you can get in earlier (unless you know for a fact you can't). It took me several fills - up to the point that I had around 11cc in a 9cc Realize Band to get optimal restriction. At least once, I went back after two weeks for another fill, when it was clear I didn't have good enough restriction. The doctor did that fill under fluoro just to check things out, and my band was fine, and I just needed a booster. Until you find you have good restriction, my advice would be to religiously measure your meals - if your doctor has a set amount of food you're allowed to eat at a given meal, and if you find you have to add an extra meal because you're hungry, do that, rather than overfilling your pouch. Also, don't get discouraged if you have good restriction and it goes away after a couple of weeks or so. Initially, you may feel like you have good restriction because of swelling and from stomach fat, which as you lose it, causes your band to loosen. I was convinced my band was leaking because I kept losing restriction, when looking back, now I know it was pretty normal to lose it after a period of time until you finally lose that stomach fat. Once you're closing in on your sweet spot, often it takes just a tiny adjustment get you there, or if you overshoot, to get you back.

Noura, check with your surgeon's office to see if there's a support group in your area (being that you're in Chicago, I would think you'd have some options). The support group I attend in VA always has several people that are just there for info, and now the doctors have made it a requirement for all prebandsters to attend at least one meeting.

My kids are teens, so maybe this is a thing of the past but check the tot's dept at a dept store (Target, Walmart, etc) or Babies R Us for a warming plate. Back when my kids were little, you could buy the ones that had a small reservoir under the plate for hot Water. That way, your food should stay warm, but you're not tethered to an electric cord.

My son was away college, but I told him that I was having the lap band surgery, etc. He came home for a visit about six weeks later. After he saw me, he took my husband aside and asked him if I was losing weight. He had fogotten all about my surgery. Boys, you gotta love'em..:thumbdown:..lol But other than telling my kids, I was like you. The only local people I told were my husband, kids, and my hairdresser (she's good at keeping things in the vault..:thumbup:). After a few months, when the weight loss was very noticeable, and friends started commenting on it, I told them about my surgery. I just didn't want any scrutiny at the get go. I think for some, it's a motivator, but for me, not so much. Kristi, I would have also been very upset if someone announced my surgery to a group like that. I think the advice LollyMoe gave you on how to handle it is perfect.

I don't mind you asking at all, but it's a hard question for me to answer. I had my surgery right after my final and third child was born over 15 years ago, and with each pregnancy I put on more weight. It had been a steady incline set in motion after my first pregnancy. My best answer is that I had been gaining weight for five years at that point, and I didn't notice a marked increase of weight gain after my gb surgery, but I continued to gain weight over the years. There's plenty of over weight to obese people in my family, but only my mom and I had to have our gall bladders removed. This is not scientific, but in all honesty, I don't believe losing your gall bladder will in any way affect your weight loss.

My gb surgery was pre banding, but I can answer for the second part. Nope, no extra meds except fiber. Many bandsters need additional fiber, so I don't know if that's due to me not having a gb or just par for the course. Pre-banding, I never had to add fiber suppliments though. I take a regular multivitamin/mineral like most other banders, and after a year, all my bloodwork came back normal. I noticed very little difference in my digestion after the gb surgery except that I was just a tad more sensitive to higher fat foods. That's not an issue now, since I rarely have those high fat foods, and if I do have something, it's such a small amount that it doesn't affect me.

I don't want you to misunderstand, because I might not have been clear, I wasn't suggesting you cut out carbs. Bad carbs...reduce (not eliminate) the intake. Good carbs (veggies/fiber)...increase.