kiz

I've been banded for a year, and have what I consider perfect restriction. The only foods I always stay away from are stingy veggies (ex. celery, asparagus stalks). I can eat pizza, Pasta, lean steak, bread, popcorn, shrimp to name a few items people often think will be off the menu once they reach good restriction. I only eat 1/2 cup meals, so I'm not eating large amounts of any food. I also don't chew much more than normal, but I am cautious when something doesn't chew up well, (TMI alert, I've slyly - at least I hope - spit out a piece of steak into my napkin on occasion when it doesn't chew up well), and while I take smaller bites than I used to, they're not baby bites. I refer to them as ladylike bites..lol With this level of restriction, I can pretty much eat anything I want, but 1/2 cup meals keep me satisfied for several hours..generally 4+. I also can't put milk on my Cereal. I only tried it once, and it went down very painfully. I eat 1/2 cup dry Khashi w/ Protein & Fiber every day..but dry.

Not for me, I had two days liquids/two days soft foods, but I've seen plenty of people that their doctors tell them to take it easy after a fill, but they didn't have any specific food restrictions. On the other hand, I've read other people say they are on liquids for a full week after a fill.

If we we made perfect food choices 100% of the time, we wouldn't need a band. You had a minor bump after a one month making huge changes in your life (plus your pre-op diet). I also think that adding some extra calories every once in a while shakes up our metabolism. Consider yours shook..lol Honestly, you've been doing great, so forgive yourself the Red Lobster binge.

Elcee's right, you'll get lots of different answers to this question. My doctor leaves a 4 oz pouch above the band, and his goal is for his patients to eat 1/2 cup meals, three times/day, one snack, and to not get hungry between meals. He wants us to measure, and if we start to feel hungry in less than three to four hours, or if we find we're eating much more than 1/2 cup, then it's time for a fill. He doesn't want us to chew our food to death either. We should be eating pretty normally. Also, if after 20 minutes, we haven't finished our meal, we're supposed to stop eating...that's never been a problem for me. I feel like I have perfect restriction for me, and I eat normal foods, at a little slower pace, and in much smaller portions.

I'm sorry you're having the food issue, but sometimes just a tiny unfill makes all the difference. You should be having most meals without discomfort, let alone sliming and pain. It sounds like you're really very close to that point, whereas I was just a bit under before hitting the sweet spot, you're a bit over. Hopefully, tomorrow you'll feel a lot better.

I had the same thing happen to me with a popped stitch through the glue on the incision. Not to worry though, they're self dissolving stitches. If it starts to bug you, be sure and ask the doctor, or whoever you see to clip it for you. Mine got snagged on my clothes, so I had it snipped. I hope the gas pains are subsiding by now. It seems the gas pains are often worse than the surgery itself. Let me know how you're getting along when you get a chance.

I felt restriction along the way after almost every fill, but it was fleeting. It was when I got my last fill at about 10 months that I knew it was the "one". The other fills gave me restriction for a few weeks but then the feeling of satiety after meals started to diminish, but this time it took. It's been a little over two months now, and it feels the restriction feels the same today as it did two months ago. It's also a stronger feeling of staying satisfied between meals then I ever had prior to this past fill.

I'm sorry, I'm not from your area, but you will get plenty of online support on LBT. Most of us have been in the same palce as you or will be soon. I'm glad you were able to get you insurance to work. I was self-pay, but even at that, my band has been worth every single penny. You need to get exact instructions from your doctor as to the amount of time and what you can eat (or drink) on both your pre-op and post-op diets. As you read the boards, you'll see that there are as many different diet recommendations as there are doctors. Carnation sugar free shakes was one of the Protein drinks on my plan (with an added 1/4 cup of powdered skim milk to boost the protein), but I had a few other choices as well. I was also allowed one small "meal", veggies and a fruit. Some doctors are stricter than others, so it's important to follow your own doctor's advice. The first couple days were by far the hardest for me. I think my system needed to adjust to the lack of carbs and calories, but it did get better. I drank a boat load of green tea and Water too. Good luck, and I hope you're able to connect with some other banders in your area.

I've had the same thing happen to me with the Realize Band. I think part of the issue is it's a low pressure band, which makes it more difficult to draw out all the saline (at least that's what I was told) by a nurse. I was convinced I had a leak, because I didn't get good restriction until my fill amount was well over 9cc (I have the 9cc band), coupled with the inability for the doctor to retrieve all the Fluid he had given me. My last two fills were under fluoro, and during the first of those two, it was obvious that my band was giving my restriction, but I just needed more to reach an ideal level of satiety. My last fill was called a pressure fill under fluoro. The doctor hooked a gauge up to the the fill needle to measure the pressure of my band. It was high, but not off the chart, and he said he had a few other patients who needed that level to get good restriction. My last fill was .5cc, and although I stopped counting, and that was probably about 11cc total in my 9cc band. That was the fill that did the trick. I have amazing restriction. I can still eat just about any type of food, no pb'ing, reflux, etc, but with 1/2 cup meals I stay satisfied 4+ hours. I rarely feel hungry in between meals, and when I do, a drink takes care of it. That's what I was counting on with the band.

Hi Nancy, and welcome. A Tums should be fine, I even use them as a calcium supplement in a pinch. When were you banded? It sounds like it was recent. Be sure to check the instructions you received from your doctor, because we all get different rules. I hope you're feeling better soon.

Almost anyone who has significant weight to lose and has started a new diet loses several pounds the first week of a diet. You've been doing this for several months, so it's not surprising you didn't get that initial exciting loss. Don't feel disheartened. Good luck here on out.

I wonder how you ended up with a swollen lip. Once, I was having surgery and the nurse said I fought them putting in the breathing tube (whatever that meant). It sounds like you put up a fight, but the breathing tube got the last punch. Other than icing it, I don't anything else to do, except wait for it to go down. It must be pretty annoying to deal with. I hope you ended up getting some sleep. I anticipated being awake the first night, but I ended up sleeping like crazy, only waking up once (laying on my port side at that). I got up and walked a little because I was worried about forming blood clots (I'm a worrier, as you know..lol), but went right back to sleep.

Congratulations, Traveldadddy!! My band has been a modern miracle for me too, so I share your enthusiasm.

So sorry to hear you had such a bad episode. I know it had to be painful. It's very unlikely you did any permanent damage just one time of being stuck. Sam's advice on how to handle the swelling is what I would do too. Also, if you don't have it, buy some papaya enzyme (chewable pills). Papaya naturally breaks down Protein, and when I've had a hard time with a particularly tough piece of chicken it worked wonders. Although, I've very rarely had any problems with meat, after the chicken incident, I have those papaya pills with me all the time, and I've used them a few times when a meat I've eaten felt tight going down. Mine came from Trader Joe's, but I think you can find them at Vitamin shops, and maybe even Walmart or online. They're inexpensive, and if they work for you (if you ever get stuck on meat again), they're worth every penny and more. I hope you feel better soon.

Welcome to LBT, Katie, and congratulations on your surgery. You're probably experiencing those symptoms due to the swelling from your surgery. It should ease up fairly quickly. After a couple of days I moved from the prescription meds to liquid Tylenol for adults. If you feel like you can tolerate going off the stronger pain medication, maybe you would tolerate the liquid Tylenol better.

I'm thrilled to hear everything went so well, and that you're home. The first thing I asked my doctor when he came to check on me, under my groggy hazy state was how my liver looked. I was really worried about an organ I never gave a thought about before. lol Hopefully, the Citrucel will help with the constipation. I have to keep an eye on my Fiber intake since we eat such small amounts. I think walking, even if just around the house, helped me the first few days. I'm glad you have it arranged to home school over the next couple of weeks. Climbing lots of stairs, carrying heavy books, and especially having to sit at a desk for several hours would be hard on you for the first few days. Keep us up to date on how you're recovering as you have time, and get a good night's rest.

Congratulations!! That's one heck of a milestone. It must seem surreal to hit that 100 lb mark in less than a year. Here's to your continued success. :scared2:

Welcome to LBT, nadsltd. It's pretty natural to be nervous about surgery and the adjustments to your lifestyle that you're undertaking, but it'll be absolutely worth it. I feel better now, than I've felt for years. I have so much more stamina, I feel so much better in my clothes, and I'm wearing sizes I haven't seen for years to name just few things. However, all that is second to all the health benefits of taking this weight off, and the confidence that this time, for once, it's going to stay off. Good luck with your surgery!

That's very good news, Effielin. I was worried many times that my band had a leak because I didn't feel the kind of restriction other people were talking about. My doctor kept assuring me that I didn't have a leak, and he'd get me to where I needed to be, but I still worried (lol). I have a 9cc band, and I had to end up getting more than 9cc of saline to finally get me to my sweet spot.

Sometimes, it's hard (understatement) to stay motivated when the scale is not cooperating. I was wondering, though, since you said you're relying a lot on willpower, if you're keeping up with your fills. If you're not losing, you're feeling hungry, and you find your portions are getting bigger, you might need a little adjustment. Other than that, I know the head hunger kicks in for me big time, when I'm in a battle with the scale. If the willpower is to fight head hunger, that's a bigger battle. When the scale isn't moving, the head hunger is just that much more tempting. The one thing that helps me defeat head hunger is drinking something unusual during those times. A skinny vanilla latte, for instance. I try to treat myself that way, and that seems to help.

A-WENZ...Great motivational thread. I love hearing about the small and not so small victories everyone is sharing. I just found an old favorite belt in my closet that I hadn't worn in ages. It matched what I was going to wear beautifully, so knowing that I'd lost a fair amount of weight since I last wore it, I hoped it would finally fit again. Much to my surprise, I had to put in the last hole, except this time, rather than in the last hole to make it bigger, it was the last hole to make it smaller, and at that, it was still loose. Was I ever happily surprised.

Welcome to LBT, aminorharmony and anewbear. :scared2: It's great that your doctor explained the reason behind the liquid diet, anb. Knowing that it serves a very important purpose to our long term health, and that it's not just a devilish diet plan to torture the newly banded, helps a bunch. amh, I think a call back to your doctor's office is in order. You should have exact instructions on how much you should be drinking daily. If after a week on Clear liquids, you feel like you are starving, you could also ask if would let you move on to thicker liquids. They might not, but it's worth asking. I don't know why only three incisions. I think five is the norm, but I've heard as high as seven, and as few as one. Hunger during post-op is no indication that this won't work for you. It's perfectly normal, and chances are you just don't have as much swelling as some, so the liquid isn't staying in your pouch very long. You may feel so hungry you could gnaw on the sole of your shoe, but not having too much swelling is a good thing.

You had some very aggressive fills very fast, that's for sure. If you're able to get all your liquids down, you could try seeing how it goes, but you shouldn't be moving on to soft foods when you can barely get down a drink. Some banders have problems with eggs too, so that might not be your best bet for a soft food at the moment. When you feel comfortable moving on to a soft food, something like yogurt might be a better bet. Mimilou brought up a good point, with this being Friday, if you're still having trouble with liquids, you should call the office this morning. Better to go in when they can get you in and out quickly, rather than the weekend when it might be an emergency call to the doctor.

It's a simple couple minute procedure to pull saline out. I went from just okay restriction to perfect restriction with a .5cc saline fill, and this was after numerous fills (I lost count). Your doctor isn't going to want you to harm your band and yourself. Since you're eating carefully, yet are still sliming and in pain after 1/2 cup of food, you need to have a little backed out. I think my doctor told us that if we're having issues like that for a week after a fill to come back into his office to have some fill removed. That was never my problem though, mine was the opposite.

Especially, since you're having problems this early on, I wouldn't hesitate to ask for a little unfill. I really think it's better to be a little looser, and you have plenty of time to get additional fills if you find you need them.