niki

It's natural you feel more restriction if you recently had a new fill, but that sort of sensation you mention seems more that you ate too fast, a too big bite and didn't chew quite well before you swallowed it. With time and patience you'll get to learn the difference. Always remember to chew and chew and chew some more, take your time. Your brain takes something like 20 minutes to get the message from your stomach that you're «satisfied» (not full).

That's wonderful, Jacqui! I bet you already make a wonderful couple but when he looses a bit of that fat you'll probably look even better. And it will surely do wonders for his health, too. You've always been a source of inspiration for us all and your DH is certainly getting inspired everytime he looks at you, you'll be great coach! :thumbup::biggrin: niki

yep, same here. Lots of restriction in the morning and at lunch time everything is great, easy to manage correct food choices and all that, but during pm all hell breaks loose and it's terrible. Lots of effort and will power to avoid eating all those wrong things I used to love so much... That's why proteins are quite important at pm, they'll help you feel «full» and give you that satisfaction feeling our brain needs to understand that we're ok. niki

I've had 9 fills during these past 3 yrs I've been banded. My doc tells me it's impossible to strech one's pouch and not having clear symptoms (discomfort, reflux, blockage, chest pain, etc) that something is wrong. It is important to make correct food choices, try not overeating, take your time (the band doesn't like to be stressed out), remember to chew very very well. Don't worry too much if you're not loosing at the same rate as other bandsters. Each individual as its own pace and each one of us reacts differently to a new fill. niki

My doc told me I should try to loose some weight before the surgery but he didn't mentioned why and I (stupid me) did not ask why, therefore I did not do much effort with that pre-op diet... only later on when reading and researching here at LBT I understood why they sometimes request we do that pre-op diet. It makes all sense so if you're told to do it, just stick to it and TRY doing it! Your doc knows best. niki

I think there's a period of a few months after any type of surgery that you can't donate blood. I was blood donor before being banded and after the surgery I've already donated a few times, no problem at all.

Yeap, it's amazing the things we learn from ours and other people's experience. That's it, just give your stomach and aesophagus some rest for a couple of days, and the best thing for that is to stay on liquid+mushies, don't eat solid food for 48hrs. And most of all, don't drink wine when you have a PB episode or throw up, or slime - the wine (or any other alcohol beverage) will only irritate your stomach even more. niki

There's so much we have to learn once we're banded. Seems like we're learning basic stuff all over again, and chewing well is one of them, just like eating with a small fork, or using a small plate, a much smaller portion, not to drink while we eat, etc. And fighting head hunger is also a big problem. I read somewhere that our brain takes somewhat between 20 to 30 minutes to understand the message from our stomach saying that we're satisfied and we don't need any more food. - Gosh, even after these 2 yrs I've been banded, all these little tricks still ask for a big effort from my side! niki

Het Tdosal, I know exactly how you feel. I've been banded for 2 years and I'm still very far from my goal, even though I'm doing a big effort in keeping up with my diet, making correct food choices, exercising (4 days at the gym + 2 days with long walks). You shouldn't compare to other bandsters - it's quite frustrating to see that so many people loose very fast even without making an effort (I'm happy for them but very sad that the same thing doesn't happen to me...). I've had 8 fills and still did not reach that dreamed «sweet spot», and i'm going for my 9th fill early next week, so I'm still hoping something will happen. I once read that with the band loosing weight would be a 50/50 thing. I know I'm doing my part, but I don't think my band is doing its share, so I guess this means I still have to do a bigger and better effort to make it work. I hope I'll get there, I came a long way and this band is like my «last resort» against the extra weight, I've got too much at stake here and I'm not ready to quit. Keeping a daily diary with your food intake is a good option. hang in there, niki

If you're having problems with PB'ing I don't think you should be getting a new fill. Are you still loosing? the only reason for getting a fill is if you're not loosing anymore and feeling you're not having any restriction. Have you called your doctor and told him about those PB'ing episodes once a day? niki

Who says you can't drink with your band??? The only problem with drinking is that it has too many calories and you should cut your calories intake, but it's the same if you're just on a plain diet anyway, isn't it? I drink every now and then: red wine, champagne, beer, ... - but I try to do it only when I go out with friends (my friends don't know I'm banded) or at family special dates (birthdays, marriages ), etc. I try not to make a habit out of it and I try to stick to the rule: «One small drink only». Just like solid food, it's all in the quantity. I still eat many things I used to, but now I try to stay with small portions, instead of those HUGE portions I used to gobble down... niki

I try to stay under 1000. If i go above that, it means I'm having a bad day and trouble in controlling head hunger... niki

I had my band with a BMI of 35 and I wish I'd done it some ten years ago. Most «normal» people won't understand your reasons and they totally ignore what being obese is, so why bother telling them about it? I only told very few people - and even those I sometimes regret I did because they sometimes comment «Hummm, seems you're not loosing that much weight...»:rolleyes2: Read a lot, research a lot, a band is not a miracle, it demands quite some effort from us, but once you've made your decision of getting banded don't let anyone interfere with that. best of luck, niki

I currently have 9cc on my 10cc band and I think my restriction is gone... Had 8 fills and my last one was 3 months ago. Unfortunately restriction never lasted more than a month, it soon goes away. How frustrating... niki

very interesting post. It's curious how this works differently for so many of us. I wish i would be eating just 1 cup and feeling satisfied... Seems that you need to go to your surgeon next time and forget about that stupid assistant of his, that woman is nuts. You're doing fine and you seem to be on the right track. keep up the good job, niki

Yep, that's curious. I almost didn't burp and now I burp (big loooong ones...). wonder why this happens... :eek: niki

Water not going down is definitely a symptom that one needs an unfill. Fills can indeed be very tricky and vary a lot from person to another. hope you'll feel better soon, niki

After each fill my doc always tell me I should stay on liquid diet and then mushies for a week or so to allow my stomach to calm down (stomachs don't like to be messed with). I've had 9 fills till now - my doc is very conservative with fills (he does 0,5cc each time...) which can be quite frustratiing... niki

You definitely don't want to have food in your pouch when going for a fill. Try learning from your doc what he recommends (or from someone else at the office). But it is good to be well hydrated so drink lots of fluid the 24 hrs. before. all the best, miki

Try not going to bed right after you eat, allowing a 2 hrs. period should give you time enough for your pouch to be empty by the time you lay down. A cup of warm tea before going to bed might help, too (it «washes out» your pouch).

I remember my doc once told me it's not that easy to make your pouch stretch, it just doesn't happen that easily (I was asking him that because I sometimes overeat or eat more than just 1 cup of food as I suppose I should and I was afraid there could be some problem with my pouch...) niki

You should call your doctor and tell him how you're feeling so that he can give you some advice. Also, you should go back to the liquid stage for at least 24hrs in order to allow your stomach to settle down. hope you'll feel better soon. niki

I don't think it will hurt your band or your port if you try it for a little bit. If it feels uncomfortable, than you know it for sure.:eek: There are some positions which you'll soon find out they can be quite painful, for me it's bending over the bath tub to scrub it, or over the sink counter - arghhhh!:tongue: niki

I think most bandsters do feel tighter in the morning than in the evening. For me, the evening period is just awful - all hell seems to break loose and I have to do a great effort to keep myself in control. Recently read somewhere that drinking some ice cold water before dinner would help to make the band tighter (the opposite - drinking some warm tea or similar in the morning, also helps to «loosen up» a bit). I think the reason why we feel the band tighter in the morning has to do with body fluids and the way they «settle» in while we're horizontal during the night period. niki

I try going to the gym 4 or 5 times a week. If that's not possible, I try taking long walks instead of using the car or the bus to go to work. niki