kiz

Welcome to LBT, June. :confused: You should be cautious about overeating, but as long as you're not having issues such as pb'ing, sliming, etc and you're keeping your meals close to the level your doctor has recommended, there's little chance that you've stretched your pouch. Most likely, you just haven't reached a level of good restriction, and your food is going through your stoma pretty quickly. Try not to get discouraged, because it may take several fills to get good restriction, or you might get there right away. Each fill should provide a bit more restriction, so that you feel more and longer lasting satiety between meals.

The only advice I can give you is to make mini goals. No more Saturdays on liquids, then the last weekend, then only three more days, etc. It's hard, but just try to stay focused on letting your stomach heal to reduce the possibility of a band slip.

Protein bullets are sold at the Vitamin Shoppe and I believe GNC locally. I bought one, but I didn't end up drinking it.

You need to call your doctor asap. You might have had a band slip. Some slips are worse than others, and because you're constantly vomiting at this point, you need to be seen right away. If for nothing else, you need Fluid taken out of your band until this passes. I hope everything turns out to be fine.

I know some people take a measuring cup when they go out to eat, but I don't do that. You do get familiar with the size of the amount of food you're suppose to eat after a while, and different doctors have different standards for meal size. Yours may be different than mine. Here's a link to some rules of thumb to help you estimate portion size: When You Can't Measure, Estimate Portions Example (Ounces is a measurement of weight, but with a solid like meat, it's fairly close to volume. It's certainly not an exact science. But, by that measurement 4 oz of meat would equal 1/2 cup. I shoot for 3 oz of Protein plus some veggies for my meal). Conversions: 1/2 cup - 4 Fluid ounces - 8 tablespoons - 118 ml

Donna, were you been able to drink between the time you had the chili and three hours later when the chest pains started? If fluids went down fine, then it doesn't sound like it could have been a stuck episode from the chili. Like Cathy, I've never had anything hit me three hours after eating either. It's been bang. You were very smart to get to the hospital.

I wondering if your doctor is an experienced band doctor. I don't know why he would have added more fill when you were having trouble with healthy solid foods you need to be eating in the first place. Don't try to eat anymore food for a couple of days to let your stomach settle down. You may be experiencing some swelling, and it sounded to me like you were tight to begin with. If you can't get liquids down, call your doctor this weekend! Try to drink slow, but get those liquids down so you don't get dehydrated. If by Monday, you can't add back some mushy foods to your diet, call your doctor then. Don't try solid foods until you can get mushies down successfully. Neesh is correct. Don't continue to pb and slime because that puts you at risk for a band slip.

Different doctors have different meal recommendations, but mine leaves a 4 oz pouch above the band, and his goal is for his patients to eat 1/2 measuring cup (or about 120 ml) solid meals three times/day plus a healthy snack and to not get hungry for three hours or more. (This measurement is volume rather than weight). I usually start to feel hungry in four to five hours after a meal, but it took me several fills to get to this this level of restriction. I also agree with Band Groupie in that I don't have off limit foods. I don't want them in my house, only because I don't want that kind of temptation. I would have a small piece of cake at a birthday party, I would split a dessert - which usually means I'll eat a few bites - with my husband when we're out to eat, etc. Knowing that I can still have these sweets under controlled situations makes all the difference to me. I don't like having a long list of "off-limit" foods personally.

Yay..I can't believe I figured out a solution for someone! It's been a year, but I do remember that right around the clear stitch (sort of looks like fishing line) was red and looked irritated. Once I disinfected the area and my little scissors and clipped it, the area healed right away. The nurse said I could clip it myself or stop into their office, and she would clip it. I just gently pressed on the area to get make the stitch poke out a little further and snipped. That little stitch was so darn uncomfortable because it caught on my clothes.

Hi Petra, and welcome to LBT. For the most part, the band will not physically restrict sweets. They go right through. How that band has helped me is two ways...new discipline and sense of fullness between meals. I know I'm supposed to only eat three solid meals and one healthy snack per day. Snacking between meals is not part of my program, so if it's not meal time, I'm not supposed to be eating, and that has helped me stay away from all those sweets that I ate pre band. Secondly, once I got wonderful restriction from my band, and this is the biggest help for me, I'm rarely hungry between meals and therefore not craving snack foods. I was a chronic grazer rather than a big meal eater pre-band. The smaller meals I'm supposed to eat hasn't been a big issue for me. I measure out my 1/2 cup meal and when I'm finished, I'm not at a loss wanting more food. It seems like people who were used to eating huge meals have some trouble with this part of banding. It took some time to get to get to this level of restriction, but once I did, and my sweet tooth cravings are kept at bay because I'm not hungry like I used to be. I feel like a normal person now. Before I became overweight, I wasn't hungry all the time. My husband and kids who are thin aren't hungry all the time. And finally, now, I have that same sensation of satiety. It makes a world of difference. I'm very cautious about letting temptation in my home. I was kidding myself in the past when I bought ice cream, oreos, etc for my family. I had to face the fact that I bought those things for me. My family would eat a little here and there, and I would eat the rest. I know my trigger foods, and I don't bring them home. At a year out, I'm starting to feel more confident that I've kicked some of those "addictions" to the curb, but we're all better off not having those things around. I'd rather go out with my husband for ice cream, than to have a quart in my freezer.

My doctor has said to be sure to not over chew. In essence, don't turn your good solid food into slider food. It never made since to me to chew tiny bits of food to mush either, so I was really glad when he clarified that for me. I'd rather have a little looser band so that I can eat pretty normally. I really don't think if anyone was interested enough in watching me eat, they'd think I was eating any differently than anyone else. I use small plate because my meal portions are small, but I've never used baby utensils. Pre-banding, if I got a bite of tough meat, I could swallow and let my stomach take care of the digestion, but you're not going to get away with that after banding. I would never take a huge bite of steak, for instance, but I'd say I cut off maybe nickel size bites and chew well, but not to a liquidy mush. That question also came up at our lap band support group meetings, so it's one a lot of people wonder about. That surgeon in attendance also said to be to not over chew, because if you do, you're not taking advantage of the band's restriction.

Kelly, I'm so sorry you're in so much pain. Call your doctor. It's Friday, and it might be harder to get a hold of him over the weekend. He knows what meds you're on, and if you had additional work done (ex. hernia repair). Everyone feels pain differently, but you sound like you're experiencing excruciating pain, and that's more than normal.

I have approx 11cc in my 9cc band. So far, I haven't popped..lol My doctor said he has a few patients that needed this amount of fill to reach restriction, so I suppose I'm not alone. The last fill (0.5cc) I got was a couple of months ago, and he measured my band pressure with a gauge and under fluoro. I have great restriction now. Other than stringy foods like celery, I can eat just about anything. I don't pb or have reflux, and I've had one sliming episode since my last fill. I eat three 1/2 cup meals/day plus a healthy snack, and I feel completely satisfied. Hopefully, you hit the sweet spot at your next fill.

Can you tell if one of the inner sutures has poked through your incision? My incisions were glued on the outside, but the inner layers had dissoluble stitches. One poked through and left a little hole until I trimmed it (after calling the doctor).

I take a Centrum (or store brand) chewable multivitamin for adults, liquid B12, Calcium and liquid Vitamin D drops (only in the winter). I just had my annual blood work completed and everything came back normal.

momster, I'm so sorry you haven't gotten good restriction yet, but I wanted to let you know it took several fills for me to finally get to my sweet spot too. I was banded last September and although I did feel new restriction with each fill, it faded away after two to four weeks, and I'd go back in for another adjustment. I have a 9cc band, and my doctor had to take me up to 11cc before I got the perfect level of restriction that hasn't faded away (he did this under fluoro and measured my band pressure, which I believe he only does with the Realize Band). It took ten months and some big fills in the beginning followed by small adjustments to get me to this level. There's very few foods I have problems eating, I eat 1/2 cup meals 3 times/day plus a healthy snack, and best of all, I'm not hungry between meals. Please try to hang in there with your fills. I still have to measure, because, for whatever reason, I could still eat more than 4oz of food even at this level of restriction. I must have an Iron gut..lol But before, I'd dutifully measure my 1/2 cup serving, and be hungry within two hours. Now, I rarely think about food or hunger between meals. I know I started thinking my band was leaking or that I was going to be the one that the band just didn't work for. I hope you have a doctor who is willing to treat you as an individual because had my doctor not trusted my assessment that I wasn't restricted when almost every other patient was by 7 or 8 cc, I'd be thinking the band or I was a failure. Even under fluoro, my band appeared to be restricting the flow of barium to a slow trickle, but my stomach must be very efficient at pumping food through my band. I've never relied on slider foods either, I try to make every meal count. I just needed more restriction than the majority of banders. Sorry I'm rambling on, but I really hope you and your doctor can get this band to work for you the way it's supposed to.

It's probably just under your largest incision. I wouldn't press around the area just yet. Give it time to heal a little more so that you don't make the area more tender. The NP in my doctor's office showed me the easiest way to feel it. Mine is on my left side, so she had me lay back, then put my left arm behind my head and lift up my head just a bit (like a mini crunch). I could feel my port pretty easily with my right hand.

I'm glad you decided to delurk and post, kcg. I felt much more informed because of this board too. It's a terrific resource. Good luck with your surgery next week!!

It's very normal. For one thing, you might feel restriction for a short period of time after a fill because of swelling around the stoma. Also, as you're losing weight, you're losing the fat pad that built up around your stomach, so your band naturally loosens. Thirdly, there are people (like me) who need a very full band to have long lasting restriction. It took several fills before I had restriction that lasted more than two to four weeks. My last fill was a small .5cc adjustment and that was almost three months ago. I still have as much restriction today as I did right after that fill. I don't anticipate needing any more fills to get to my goal weight.

I hope your stomach is feeling better soon. I'm really glad to hear that you're getting liquids down fine though. I know a lot of banders have said they take pills with no problems, but I understand why you'd be a little hesitant since you're not exactly feeling the greatest.

That does sound pretty aggressive since you already had 4 cc in your band, but percentage wise you're almost at the same spot I was with my first fill with a 9 cc band (mine was 4.5 cc at 6 weeks). Are you supposed to stay on liquids for two days, then soft foods for two days, followed by solids foods? Your doctor may have told you to stay on liquids longer, while some doctors tell their patients to eat as they feel comfortable. Given the way you feel, I would definitely stay on liquids for at least a couple of days (or longer if that's your doctor's orders) to give the swelling a chance to settle down. Don't move to soft foods if you're having trouble with liquids. If you can't get liquids down, call your doctor for a slight unfill. If after a week, you feel like you can't move on to soft foods, call your doctor. By the end of the second week, you should be able to eat solid foods comfortably, but slower and smaller bites than you did in the past. You shouldn't be routinely pb'ing. It takes some people a couple of weeks for their swelling to subside, but the minute you can't get liquids down, it's important to call your doctor because you can become dehydrated.

I've had my band for a year, I have have great restriction, and I measure most of my meals. When I go out to eat, I eyeball a 1/2 cup serving, and move the rest to the side right off the bat. If not, I could still easily overeat. When I stop at my 1/2 cup portion, I'm fully satisfied and stay that way for 4+ hours. If I waited until I had full signals, I would have eaten too much for my pouch. Drinking plenty of Water between meals is also very important. If your doctor has recommended a certain volume of food for meals, and you can get into the habit of measuring and stopping when you finish your serving (no seconds), you might find that you have good satiety between meals. You have to be able to tolerate good solid Proteins and vegetables for sustained satiety though. If you're reaching for slider foods because you're constantly pb'ing on solid meals, you may need a slight unfill. If you're getting hungry even though you're carefully eating good solid meals, you may need a fill.

Dr. Brengman is my doctor, and he's been great. I saw more of him prior to my surgery than afterward, but that was my choice. I really like his NP, and she does a great job with fills too. At minimum, Dr. B wanted me to see him at 4 weeks post op and at six months. I could schedule my monthly to six weeks appts with him or the NP. Every time I scheduled an appointment, they would ask me who I wanted to see. I'm self pay, so I don't know if it's different if you have insurance. I have a low profile port, and his NP never had any problems with my fills...never more than one stick. Actually, all my fills have been quick, easy and one stick. I could also request my fills under fluoro, and because toward the end of my first year, I was still not quite at my sweet spot, the NP ordered a pressure fill for me that Dr. B did under fluoro (they said they only do these with patients with the Realize Band and they measure the actual band pressure). I've always found his staff to be friendly and very professional. I was also impressed to find out that the staff and doctors had all done the two week pre-op diet. (O-2bthin, your first fill will be under fluoro in the Pain Clinic at St. Mary's (terrible name, but the fill didn't hurt a bit). There was a woman who did mine, and I didn't even ask who she was. I'm not sure if she was a doctor or a NP.)

Wow, Linda, that's quite an inspirational introduction! You've made so many positive changes in your life, and I'm so impressed by the company you work for. What a difference between your before and after picture too. Congratulations on all you've achieved, and I wish you continued success!!

Absolutely, you're over filled. You're in danger of a band slip if you don't get some saline removed.