themis

You'll feel everything in your chest pretty much. Sometimes you will feel things and hear things from your chest all the way down to your tummy! When my dr. gives me a fill, he'll show me the barium drink sitting on top of the band and ask me if I feel full. I explained what I felt, in my chest and he said that was it, that's what being full feels like. You will also feel tightness there when you are too tight or swollen, usually in the morning. The pouch is on the top part of your stomach, but the belly you have and where you 'used' to feel full, is not the pouch being full. You'll learn as you go what it feels like. Ask your Doc to show you with the flouro and the barium when you get your fill to give you an idea of what you should feel.

You can ask, but I doubt it. You need time to heal. That's the whole purpose for waiting so long. You don't want to risk any problems with the band. I know you are anxious to lose weight, but just be patient. This is a time to heal! Don't expect your first fill to be the miracle you've been waiting for either. Use this time to eat right and by that I mean the 'chew, chew, chew' and work on portion size, per bite, not so much plate portion. Later all this will click... and you'll wish you would've been doing it all along. Sip, sip, sip also important. I didn't realize why until my second fill. Just a few things to remember. This is a process and many (actually most) do not feel immediate restriction with the first fill. If you have problems with tightness, try drinking warm or at least room temperature water or liquids and see if that is easier for you. I had that problem with my second fill. A feeling of 'full' is not in your stomach so much any more, you'll feel tightness in your chest. Learn to recognize this early on. DO NOT CHEAT on your 'after fill diet', this is also healing time. Sometimes you may lose around a 1/2 a cc from your first fill, don't panic. It doesn't always happen, but it did with me. It doesn't mean a leak, just sometimes happens with a new band. If you get stuck and end up PB'ing, try doing a 3 day 'remedial' diet, 1 day liquids, 1 day mushies, 1 day soft foods. PBing can make you swollen and this will help to give time for the swelling to go down without aggravating it further. I thought the fill process was pretty cool and interesting with the flouro. I don't watch the needle though. =]

Well, I have asthma and every time some one sick starts coughing around me when they're sick, I end up getting sick and end up with bronchitis etc. I have coughing attacks and a persistent cough that lasts around 3 months.. and 3 months of dr. visits. Lucky me.. I'm getting sick now.. Anyway, when you cough really hard you tighten your stomach muscles. You don't do this on a normal basis, so it's just like exercising basically, you get sore. Be more concerned if you get pains on your sides. That's when you have inflammation. If you have a persistent cough for more than 10 days, go to the doctor. Musinex DM is what my dr. usually gives me to start with, you can get it over the counter. Coughing can easily give you an ear infection or bronchitis.. so don't let it go.

That is exactly right! I felt the same way when I saw it! Instead of looking at it negatively, read SR's response. This is exactly how you should look at it!:tongue_smilie:

Your doctor didn't refer you to another clinic that does lapband? You might want to check the internet for some one. I'm sure Houston has several physicians. If you're coming to SA anytime soon, I can refer you to mine. He's awesome. True Results has a clinic in Houston, their website is: www.trueresultshouston.com Hopefully another member can refer you to some one in the Houston area. Look under the 'mentors' forum, you might find some one there.

First of all, it's very different now. If you're anything like me, you cheated with the rules, of chew, chew, chew.. and really small bites. You did it when you thought of it, but it's almost always the first bite that gets you. Get into the habit now! The more fills you get, the more this will make complete sense and become a necessity. Sometimes you might lose a little of the saline due to air pockets etc on your first fill, I lost .5 cc's. If you have a larger band, you might take longer to feel the restriction. But it hasn't been that long since you got the fill. Call your doctor and discuss it. Didn't you have to follow a 'fill diet'? I know each doctor is different, but most have a reduced plan similar to the after surgery diet, but with fewer days on each stage. You mentioned eating a regular Christmas dinner just a couple of days later. If you have a 'fill diet' be sure you stick to it. Again, each fill is different and what you did on the first fill you may not be able to do on the second fill. So be sure to develop good eating habits and follow the plan and rules. Pizza is a tough food to eat. You might be able to eat it one day and not the next. I'd stick to thin crust. You might also invest in a toddler's silverware set. This will help you with bite control. Taking your time to eat and chew really well will also help fill you up. You have to concentrate on eating. Sometimes we eat while being distracted, talking, TV etc... so you aren't paying attention. Then you get stuck. I had a hard time adjusting after my second fill, so learn from my mistakes.:tongue_smilie:

Yep.. I remember those days! Hang in there, try the GasX strips and walking.. we're not talking about a 5 mile marathon or anything, but rather than lying down and feeling miserable... walk around.. (and feel miserable! LOL!) Seriously though... it will go away, but be sure to keep GasX (or whatever anti-gas meds you choose that works) handy. I take a couple of strips and keep them in my purse, even after fills, or depending on what you ate or if you drank to much, too quickly... you may need them on occasion. Don't feel like you are immune from the sipping or chew, chew, chew syndrome... while you're waiting for your 'restriction' to arrive at the right spot you may feel like you can gulp water etc. Don't. Practice now, because you're developing good habits for when you need them.

I can personally vouch for Mindy! She's awesome! She's helped me since the very beginning! I don't know what I'd do without her! She's completely honest and will tell you when you're messing up and support you when you need her. I have nothing but great things to say about her! Love ya Mindy!:tounge_smile:

Don't feel bad, most of us do it... part of the learning process. Wait until you feel more restriction. You'll learn why you are supposed to 'sip' your drinks. Take small bites and chew more thoroughly than you ever have! Don't forget after PB'ing... go back to the liquid phase for a day or two and follow the same 'fill' eating plan... just in case you are swollen from the PB.

Well, I'm assuming your cheating concern is the kit-kat... my concern is that a kit-kat is not a soft food. Be very careful about cheating with foods after surgery that your system may not be ready for.. this not only applies now, but in the future when you get fills. I just got my second fill and learned why you are to sip your water, for which I never had an issue with drinking water until this fill. Can you imagine if I didn't chew correctly? Much less have foods that I shouldn't eat? You're still swollen and just like with fills, need time to adjust to foods. If you're missing a kit-kat, try grinding it up, I'm sure after going through all the trouble you won't find it as appetizing or eat as much... it's best though if you find an alternative food. You may also want to try a delay. When you want a candy, don't give in on the same day you want it... tell yourself to wait a couple of days and try something else instead. I think Jiffy makes a sugar free peanut butter, eat a spoon of that instead. You'll find that later you'll want something else. I know when I get fills I always want a steak or something I can't have yet... by the time I can have a steak, I don't want it anymore. Try some Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat or applesauce.. sugar free ice pops, puddings etc while you're on soft foods. I hope this helps and gives you some options.

I can drink before, but not during and try to wait up to 1 hour after, but at least 30-35 minutes... basically try to wait as long as you can.

Sorry to hear about all your issues. I stand corrected. Unfilled bands apparently do have restriction. Everyone posting on the forum should be taken seriously. Since I guess I'm still a newbie... I'll stop posting, since I'm being irrational.

I don't have a problem with people posting negative experiences on the forum... What I have a problem with is some one who comes on the forum and posts for the first time with this thread. It justs doesn't have credibility. Look how many posts you have, obviously your opinion would be more credible... the only posts this person has on the forum is for this thread. They mentioned reading this forum during their problem period looking for foods that they won't throw up. Obviously they knew about it. Not to mention the lack of facts surrounding what happened. People want to know the facts of why things happened. I personally don't understand why some one would be banded for so many years without a fill and have all of these issues. If it's true, that doctor must be horrible and they should be suing the doctor for not reacting sooner. I realize the band isn't for everyone, but there are better ways of informing everyone of your disappointment/problems without joining the forum just to post this thread. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but there are better ways to get your point across than the way they did... that's all. There's no restrticiton when you don't have a fill, so if some one is throwing up, there's a problem. If the doctor isn't doing anything... that's a bigger problem. The thread should probably have been "beware of using this doctor" ************