2muchfun

Deli turkey. Most Soups. Click on the link below and I think what you want is on page 26? Also, didn't your doctor give you some kind of manual or guideline? http://www.peachtreebariatrics.com/docs/Gastric-Band-Patient-Manual.pdf

Not gaining weight is more of a success than your failure to follow through. You've done so much better than some others who bailed. Alex, our moderator, posted the link below. This is a string of videos from one of the most renowned bariatric surgeons today, Paul O'Brien. I highly recommend you watch each one, especially the four 9 minute videos. This will re-acquaint you with how the band works and includes some of the newer insights with banding. http://www.lapbandta...n/#entry1960883

John, that's a story we sometimes see here but your honesty is so refreshing. Here's a quote I read on another forum and thought you might get something from it: "In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old b***h layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"

It's when you eat too fast and put too much food or food not chewed well enough into your pouch and it backs up into your esophogus. It feels like a golfball under your sternum and can be very uncomfortable. It usually passes in 30-45 minutes unless it's a large piece of meat or something that just can't go through your stoma.

Sure is.

It is normal. If you're still taking pain medication, oxycodone can slow your GI tract to a complete stop so you might want to stop the pain meds if you take them? tmf

I have stuck episodes often. Don't panic, it happens. Don't try to throw up or you can cause a slip. Most stuck episodes last 30-50 minutes for me. I don't try to drink anything as that only exacerbates the problem for me. I get a lot of pressure right under my sternum. Like a soft golfball. I can feel when it passes and I take sip of Water to make sure all is OK. I'll usually stop eating and drink cold liquids to help to reduce any swelling. I'll also eat slider foods for the next 12 hours to make sure I didn't do any damage. Good luck. tmf

You'll be in "bandster hell" until you get the fill that gives you enough restriction for the band to work it's magic. That may be 1 fill or 6. No one knows. Till then, like our esteemed forum member B-52 says, "Until there's restriction...It's just another diet" And yes, nearly all of us have gone through what you're going through. It sucks and I don't recall any nutritionist or doctor or seminar warning me that it would take me 4 months before I got a fill that took the edge off. tmf

Learning to eat small, chew big very slowly is one of the biggest challenges of being banded. You need to chew more and take smaller bites. You have what we call restriction. Pay attention to your hunger now. It's also a challenge to learn if it's truly hunger or is it a craving? Once you start to feel restriction you should start to feel satiated much sooner. Pay attention to the stop signals, like hiccups, runny nose and disinterested in eating. tmf

This is a common question but how many CCs in someone's band is irrelevent. We all have different anatomys, different surgeons, different shaped stomachs, different stomach lining thickness. We have people here who have no fills and no CCs and some with 14 CCs and over a dozen fills. For the record, I have no idea how many CCs are in my band. I don't think my doc even tracks it. I'm probably unique though. tmf

It can take up to 6 fills before you feel any restriction. It took me till my 3rd fill to feel the slightest bit of restriction.

Nope!

It's normal!

Yeah, hard boiled or scrambled eggs can be a problem for many of us.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but Daisy? Have you really lost 154 lbs in less than 1 year???? OMG!! You're my new heroine!! tmf

If you've been reading this forum for a while you should know you won't be losing fat till you start an exercise program and shrink your calorie intake to about 1000 calories a day. And you won't lose every day or even every week. Our bodies just don't work that way. Right now your body is adjusting to the large amount of fluids pumped into it from surgery and your new dietary programs. Don't sweat it till you get a fill that gives you some restriction. Almost every new bandster has experienced what you're experiencing. tmf

Leigh, your profile states you haven't even had surgery yet??

Lean hamburger and my band seem to like each other. I do a little meatloaf here and there, stuffed red bell peppers with rice and hamburger. Deli turkey, steak sometimes. Pretty much everything I ate before I can eat now. Reheating fish and chicken is a problem so I try to keep those meats close to 6 ozs or so.

It's no big deal. Like having your little sister pinch you.

I have to partially agree with Pebbagirl. If you eat and use Fluid to wash your food down you will lose the opportunity for the band to work it's magic. The fact is, each bite stays in your pouch just one minute. Some doctors allow their patients to sip during meals but they must wait 1 minute afer swallowing to allow the food to pass through the stoma. It's my opinion that it's good for you to learn to not use fluids as a tool during meals. The obese and newly banded can have little to no will power or control over some of our old habits. I also believe most docs have not jumped on the "sip while eating" wagon simply because many of us have so little self control that we would abuse this privilege. I learned how to eat with the band the old way. No drinking while eating. Now, it doesn't bother me that I don't drink with meals even though I have the self control to have a glass of Water beside my plate. Follow your doctor's rules and once you become a lapband ninja warrior in the green zone maybe then you can experiment with sipping? Until then, learning to live and eat with the band is going to be one of the biggest challenges you will face since being banded. tmf

Scrapmom, I know what you mean about being just a number. I dumped my first surgeon because I felt as if I were on an assembly line. Going from one room to the next, one nurse or insurance coordinator to the next. It was like, hurry up, we've got 15 people backed up behind you. I love my current surgeon. Very down to earth and practical. You need to feel comfortable with your doctors. tmf

BTW-You only need to start one topic for everyone to see.

" I don't know how to post or to how to write to you guys and ask questions" Just like you did in this topic. Or, just reply. Using a PC is much better than using an IPAD app imo. tmf

I didn't have any restriction until my 3rd fill and still not nearly enough. Fill #4 was my magic fill and fill #6 got me to the green zone.