kiz

I agree with the others that you should go ahead and call your doctor. Some keep their patients on a strict schedule, and others are more flexible about scheduling fills as the patient feels their necessary. I had one within two weeks of the other (I think between fill two and three). Generally, I waited a month between fills, but I had my last one that gave me great restriction that hasn't diminished much in August.

Without a doubt, you need a slight unfill. The band isn't designed to put us on a liquid/mushy diet. I'm sure you'll feel much better once you can start eating a more varied (and solid) diet again.

I eat high fiber cereal every morning. My favorite is Khashi Go Lean (fiber and protein), followed by Fiber One, and All Bran. I eat them dry, because if I have milk on my cereal, I want a lot (not just soggy..yuck..lol), and the one time I tried it, I was in serious pain until it went down. I do often mix bran cereal in Greek yogurt.

April, you may have to measure your meals, and use your personal willpower to stop eating. By the time I finish my small meal, I'm no longer hungry and that happens fairly quickly (so it's not as if I'm depriving myself physically), but I'm also far from stuffed. If your doctor hasn't given you a set amount to eat, I would suggest you ask, since it sounds like you're body's reaction is similar to mine, in that you can overeat before you get those soft (or hard) signals to stop. If you continue to overeat, in all likelihood, you'll end up with a stretched pouch and a band slip. If, after eating the size meals you should be eating, you still have reflux, you need a slight unfill. Reflux is VERY unhealthy and can lead to serious health problems. After I eat a 1/2 cup solid meal, I have satiety for 4+ hours. Just because you can eat large meals, doesn't mean you should or that your band is not too tight. I haven't tested my band to that extent, but I'm pretty sure that I could eat a six inch sub with only very small stop signals or possibly minor discomfort, but only at the point of overeating. Now, if April is talking about a 12 inch sub, all bets are off. I imagine I'd be hacking up my left lung if I ate that much. I have fantastic restriction (~11 cc in 9 cc band), and 1/2 cup meals keep me satisfied for several hours. My body doesn't give those clear stop signals when I stop at 1/2 cup. I stop because I'm very conscientious about the possibility stretching of my pouch, and because that's my doctor's rule. Two weeks ago, my husband and I "split" an 8 inch meatball sub. I ate three inches of it, and he ate the rest. I had no clear physical signal to stop. I'm over a year out from surgery, and don't have clear stops *unless* I overeat, which I rarely do. If I relied on a runny nose, hiccup, etc, I'd be routinely eating too much for my personal requirements. If I stopped at the first sensation of fullness, I'd be undereating and soon hungry again. One thing that's a proven with the band...our bodies are unique and it's important to understand and work with the band in a way that best suits our individual needs.

I can eat them both with no problem, but I find spinach and other dark leafy greens are both healthier and tastier. Even before banding, I never cared for a salad base made from iceberg lettuce. For me, iceberg is just a way to transport salad dressing from the plate to my mouth, but I would eat it if I liked it. I always try to get the most band for my buck taste and nutrition wise. Here are nutrition breakdowns of iceberg, spinach and arugula: (spinach) Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Spinach, raw (iceberg) Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Lettuce, iceberg (includes crisphead types), raw (arugula) Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Arugula, raw

I eat a spinach salad almost daily. I always add a bit of red onion and tomato, other salad style veggies, and top it off with a two to three ounces of a Protein (ex. boiled egg, tuna, leftover chicken breast, etc). I haven't eaten iceberg lettuce in ages. When I get a salad at a restaurant that's iceberg lettuce, I eat the other veggies and leave the lettuce behind. I tend to think the lettuce is a semi slider food, and I don't want it sitting in my pouch before I have my entrée, just in case it doesn't go down quickly. I try to make the most of my nutrition choices since my eating is restricted to small servings. Here's a very east salad dressing recipe I love. I've modified it for single salads. (I also add a tablespoon of flaxseed meal to my salad). 1 tsp olive oil 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 1 tsp lemon juice 1 packet of Stevia or 1 tsp of sugar Pepper and other spices to taste

I had one year of fills included in my self pay contract. I didn't get the exact price, but the approximate cost of an in office fill will be $170. If I have a fill under fluoro, it will be in the neighborhood of $700. Most of that goes to the hospital for the use of the xray equipment. That's not even as much as insurance is billed, although, I'm sure that most insurances will only pay a fraction of the cost.

My doctor doesn't order post-op blood work until one year after surgery, or earlier, if a patient seems to be having problems. I had my one year labs done in September and everything came back normal. I asked at my next appointment just what was tested, and it was a list a mile long. I'm sorry I don't remember all the tests though. but it seemed very thorough. As you know, we don't have malabsorption issues from our surgery, but we are eating small meals, so I think it's very important to take a multi vitamin/mineral and Calcium. I also added B12 after a few months, when I started feeling tired. I add a Vitamin D suppliment during the winter months.

"She will only see me agian if I only eat 1 time a day between 12 and 5 pm and I can ONLY have frest fruit and veggies and NOTHING else." What?? I can't even imagine how unhealthy that would be for you. If you can change doctors, do it, like yesterday. I'm sorry you're not getting more support and better care from your doctor.

I got a great tip on LBT about handling a craving that you just can't make yourself turn down. Destroy it. Run water on it, smash it, throw it away, etc. My friend gave us a really mouthwatering cake. It was chocolate. That's my big trigger item. My husband left on a business trip, the kids were in school and coupled with after school activities, weren't going to be around to share in the bounty. Also, they don't fall under chocolate's spell. Knowing I was going to pick it at all day if I didn't do something drastic, I took the leftover cake and threw it in our outside garbage toter. Sane me could have frozen it, and had it again over the weekend when everyone would be back, but I knew they'd never miss it, and I wouldn't stop thinking about it. However, most of us have had our moments of weakness, and you're still very early in the process. I would move on, and not fret about it, and honestly, of all the things you could have "splurged" on, an omelet and hash browns are not that bad of choices, especially the omelet. I hate to make too bold of statements of fact, but I'm going to have to here. There's no way you harmed your band. You ate slowly, it doesn't sound like you have strong restriction yet since you're going in for another fill, and omelets & hash browns aren't exactly the most solid of foods. You're doing great, so don't let this misstep get you down!! Congratulations on the 46 pounds lost to date!!

My doctor's goal was satiety for 3+ hours after eating a solid meal 1/2 cup meal. A sample meal to test would be 3 oz chicken and 1 oz broccoli (measured to a total of 1/2 cup). Different doctors have different recommendations though. Some want you to eat more often, and others want you to have bigger meals.

Once you're getting close to good restriction, it takes very small adjustments to keep it. That's after you've lost the fat pad around your stomach, and when swelling isn't giving you temporary restriction. My last fill in August was only .5 cc, and in all likelihood, at some point, I'll need a little top off because your band does lose a bit of Fluid over time. I would think maybe in the .25 cc range. Right now, I wouldn't consider another fill. I can still eat just about all foods (even the not so band friendly foods), I stay satisfied for 4+ hours on 1/2 cup solid meals (three/day plus a healthy snack), and I have no symptoms of reflux, pb'ing, sliming, etc. The only reason I'd go back for a little top off is if I start getting hungry within two hours after a meal. I'm losing slowly now, but I'm fine with that, because I know I'm eating healthy, I'm working out several days/week, and sometimes the body just hangs on to the pounds for some reason. I'm losing inches still, because my clothes are getting loser, and I'm tightening my belt. As long as I'm staying satisfied between my doctor prescribed meals, I'm happy.

I had to have my band filled beyond the stated max for long lasting good restriction. My doctor did the fill under fluoro and measured my band pressure, and I was still within a normal range, albeit, on the high side of normal. I've had great restriction for several months now.

Body shapers. You could see them clearly under some of their clothes. Rudy's really showed up from when they shot him from the back. That Antoine really gained some serious muscle in his arms. He looked fantastic, and his proposal was sweet. I loved the moms' reactions. I think most of the contestants were very attractive, although Rebecca's hair detracted from her looks, and her she looked like she was about to pop out of her too short dress. Sean's a cutie, but needed to comb his hair, and Julio looked great, but I'd rather see him without the facial hair. Tracey looked severe in her face, and needs to put back on a few pounds. Liz looked very nice, and she has great legs. I thought Danny looked really fabulous, and once his weight stabilizes with a few pounds put back on, I think he will have had the best transformation. He looked so much younger, ever bit a handsome 40 yr old, rather than an out of shape, sad 50+ year old. Amanda got on my last nerve with her constant America's Choice refrain, but she looked very pretty, and I was happy for her when she said she felt beautiful.

I share belief in that theory with you, Jachut. I carry the majority of me weight in my hips and thighs, not that I didn't have weight to lose around my middle, but body shape wise, I'm a pear. I even had this conversation awhile ago with a friend who was banded around the same time as I was and had approx the same amount of weight to lose. She is more an apple shape, and she got good restriction a few cc less than me with the same size band. I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but it makes sense to me that body shape would play a role.

Elfiepoo, I asked about the empty lower stomach deal in one of my pre-op classes. It sounded like a bit of torture..lol The nurse told me that there's a nerve at the top of the stomach (couldn't it be at the bottom?) that sends a signal to your brain that you've had enough to eat. With good restriction, food should be held long enough in the small 4 ounce pouch to signal the brain that we've had enough to eat. At least that's what I was told. Greg, it sounds to me like you could still use another adjustment. I think twice, but maybe only once, I got a fill within two weeks, because it was quite clear to me that I wasn't getting good enough restriction and was hungry soon after eating. It wouldn't hurt to schedule, and then cancel if you start to feel like your getting better hunger control.

I would wait a little while before you try something else, but make it a clear liquid, and make sure you only take small sips (although, you might have already decided to do that). I would say you're too tight. Even though there is often times swelling after a fill, you should be able to hold down liquids. You may feel tightness the first day or two with liquids, but it shouldn't come back up with foaming, sliming, and vomiting. I'm glad that you've already decided to go back to the doctor for a tiny unfill. The worse thing to do is to wait too long and then need a complete unfill and to aggravate your band to no end trying to keep a fill that is clearly too much.

I'm not in the medical field, but I honestly think a low carb, high Protein, low fat pre-op, diet would be just as liver friendly as the all liquid diets. Best of luck to you on your surgery, and I'm glad you were able to get it scheduled so that you won't have a conflict with tax season.

I would call as well. I also popped a stitch, but I didn't have any oozing, just a little irritation until I clipped it.

What Elfiepoo said. Also, if you're thinking you might have a slip because you're getting hungry between meals, that's not an indication that you're having band problems, especially since you've only had one fill. Having very little restriction at this stage is typical. My doctor does gives his first fill under fluoro to check that everything is working well, but not with any expectation of finding a problem.

Michelle, I'm in agreement with the others that it should be perfectly fine to drink decaf tea.

Don't feel like you failed...You most definitely did not! Some have bigger stomachs, some carry more fat around the stomach, etc. There's many reasons why one person feels restriction faster than another, but none of it is due to failure. I also think some people are more sensitive to banding than others, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're more sensitive based on your reaction today to your fill. Anyway, that's my layman's answer.

I would suspect your doctor has had good results from his patients on this diet, or he wouldn't recommend it. I'd stick to his meal plan. I think the overall reduction of carbs with the percentage increase in Protein in the pre-op diet regardless as to whether the protein we're getting is in liquid or solid form is the most important factor in readying our livers for this surgery. What are you're other meals? My pre-op diet was similar to yours, with one mini-meal and two sf Protein shake meals. I think I was allowed unlimited (within reason) vegetables (not corn, potatoes, beans), one small fruit, 2 slices of LF whole wheat bread, and 4 oz lean meat. My doctor said my liver looked great. I know, because as I was coming to, I asked..lol

One way would be to go to the post you need to edit, and click on the exclamation point in the red diamond on the far left of the post box - Report Post - (it's below your screen name). You can send a message to the mods asking for an edit that way.