2muchfun

Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1iqMmA1chQ

I can't feel my band but this question has come up before and some bandsters say they think they can feel it. I'm programmed now to eat like it's there and I only eat small and chew big. tmf

Normal. Weight fluctuations happen during this phase. Most of the weight we lose shortly after surgery and even before on the pre op diet is just excess Water. It will take 4-6 weeks to wring out much of this type of excess weight. So, during this phase sodium, TOM, allergies, stress all can make you hold back fluids. Once you get some fills and can work on finding the green zone and satiety, you'll start to see the fat disappear along with inches. tmf

Lots of soda pop can dilate your pouch. Not good for you.

As long as there's no information regarding personal names, addresses and/or email addresses? What's the worry?

I had none.

Me too. I sometimes have a love/hate relationship but that's just because sometimes our stomach lining swells and makes eating a little more challenging. One thing that most newbies don't hear often is, some people cannot give up their addiction to food and it's so much easier to blame the band than take responsibility for their own failure to follow the rules and eat healthy sensible foods. There's probably not a day that doesn't go by that someone isn't crying for help here on this site, due to their lack of willpower to stop eating chocolate or ice cream or you name your favorite fattening food? Or, their inability to eat small bites and chew properly? And it's so much easier to eat slider foods like milk shakes, chips, soda pop, cake, lasagna, fried foods. Many of these folks find reasons to hate the band simply because they cannot give up the foods they love. There are those who have other issues as well. Reflux, vomiting the band from it's original location(slip), band failure just to name a few of the other complications that can piss off anyone who spent $10K for surgery.

And I agree with you on the anesthesia. I don't react well to that stuff. I think for me, the anesthesia was the worst part of the surgery. I didn't really have much pain afterwards as many people post here on this forum but I felt like I was traumatized for a week after surgery due to the massive amounts of anesthesia, pain meds, fluids, anti-biotics and oxygen. tmf

I don't recall vacillating back and forth before surgery simply because I knew the WLS was my only option to get healthy again. I knew for a fact that dieting wouldn't work so this was my only option. Be sure you've closed all other doors before you open this one and walk through. tmf

Are you saying you were too tight? Did you get a fill that was too tight or did you just fail to eat properly(like a bandster)?

Most of us have fickle bands. Sometimes I get stuck every meal for a few days and then I'm OK for a few weeks. Consuming too much sodium can cause your stomach lining to swell too. Also, I've had a few stomach bugs over the last year and that will cause blood to flow to your stomach causing the lining to swell and that makes the stoma smaller. Getting stuck also irritates the lining and causes more swelling. Just eat slider foods for a day or two so that you aren't irritating your stoma/band area. Then, sometimes for no visible or knowable reason, my band will tighten. Go figger. tmf

90% of the weight you're losing right now is your body shedding excess fluids so no harm in that.

Juice flows right through the band so you won't get the satiety you get from solid food. imo

No restriction has very little to do with slippage. Most all of us felt no restriction for many fills. I felt no restriction at all till my 3rd fill and many more here will vouch that it took more than that for them. Many newbies believe as you do about band slippage but that's not how it works. It usually takes months and months of vomitting, overeating, reflux and/or poor band placement before a band would slip and that's only in a very small percentage of patients. I can't answer your cramping/pain in the side question but i seriously doubt it's a sign you've slipped. How much are you eating before the pain begins and what are you eating? BTW-Your stomach isn't on your side.

Let me throw in my 2 cents. I am an expert, only with my own body. You should try to be an expert with your own body. As said before, everyone finds their own way. Listen to your body and pay very close attention to what your band is telling you. Over the last 4 decades I've been on many diets and I've narrowed down the foods and food groups that help me lose weight. I know the ones that hold me back. Having this plastic ring wrapped around my stomach has changed some of those dynamics but I'm listening and I think I get it now. You'll get it too in time. If you've dieted before and lost weight you should know what works best for you. I loved the information my current nutritionist gave me. I had a different nut a couple years ago and she insisted on arguing with me over foods I should eat. She wanted me to eat foods I didn't like. Well, that's not gonna work! Unrealistic goals and diets won't work if you don't like them or can abide by them. Good luck. BTW-I was on Atkins no carb diet for years and it always worked for me in the short term. But it's not a diet one can live with for long, imo. I did find ways to modify the diet so it worked for me, similar to the South Beach Diet. tmf

Search through youtube for lapband fills and you can see one being given.

The FDA is a U.S. Government Agency and has no jurisdiction over Mexico, Canada, Europe. And please provide your documentation that "these are proving to be more difficult to adjust"? You should also divulge the fact that you work for Kuri?? tmf

I went to a Xmas party in 2010 and sat down with all the other staff in the meeting room. I must have bent over and my chocolate chip cookie fell off. I sat down and ate my xmas meal but couldn't find my cookie. I accused several of my fellow employees of stealing my cookie(all in fun). Someone said look under your chair. So I got up, turned around and bent over and looked under the chair. Everyone laughed because the cookie must have fell on my chair and I sat on it and it was now stuck to my butt. I turned around and it fell off my butt onto the chair with a loud plop. This was my straw that broke the camel back moment to get banded. tmf

Oddly enough, eggs seem to be one of those foods the band likes to hate. Relearning how to eat is one of the most difficult stages of your journey and unfortunately, many a bandster finds this area to be the one area that kills their weight loss because they just can't adjust to eating so small, chewing so big and doing it all so slowly. Distraction can be your worst enemy at this stage. Watching TV or talking to a family member while eating can take your focus away long enough to swallow that one bite that wasn't chewed enough and cause a stuck episode. It took me 10 months of being banded before I figured this "eating like a bandster" stage out. And I'm still working on it 17 months out. tmf

Ask your fill doctor or your PCP for a referral to a nutritionist. They're trained for this kind of question. I had to pay out of pocket for 6 visits and each visit was only $40. It's more than worth it! Try to make sure the nut is very familiar with bariatric surgery? tmf

I try to find a sauce to help it slide down. Marinara, salsa, low calorie afredo sauce, buffalo sauce etc.

I wouldn't worry as long as it works. There may be a higher incidence of failure with the 4 CC band but if you have one that is working don't rock the boat. There are thousands of them out there that still work just fine.

Don't mess with success.

Are you on a PC, IPAD, Iphone, Galaxy, Apple product? They're all different!

Give it time, it should pass. I also heard that some people drink a carbonated beverage and the fizz makes them spit up(PB) the blocked food sometimes? Good luck, it always takes me 30-60 minutes to pass blocked food through the band. tmf