2muchfun

Sounds like a barium swallow test is in order to see how much restriction your band is giving you. That and more fills is about all he can do I would think? The fact that you had good restriction for 4.5 years but did not lose more weight is odd? Why was that? Were you cheating the band? And are you cheating the band now? I assume you know what I'm asking and I don't mean to sound judgemental but some of what you are saying doesn't add up? Usually it doesn't matter but did your doc say how many CCs are in your band and what size band do you have? tmf

Weight lost the first 6 weeks is mostly water loss. But all the drugs and fluids they pump into you during surgery can increase your weight. Also, liquids can contain calories, sodium, carbohydrates that make you retain fluids.

Renee doesn't realize she hijacked your thread. Renee, you should start your own topic so more people will respond and see it? tmf

It's usually not up to you to decide how big your fill is? The doc makes that decision. It can take upt to 6 fills before the band works it's magic. And you really should not be eating 2 sandwiches. Spend some time with your nutritionist. tmf

My incision is now an inch or more below my port. As your girth decreases, your skin sags lower.

Why do you puke?

Good advice Grasshopper! This is the "Wax on, Wax off" stage of your journey. tmf

" Only 10 lbs? Have you ever lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks before? You answered your own question with the fill comment. You will not feel full(and that's not the goal, satiety is the goal) until you get enough fills to give you adequate restriction. And you may always be able to guzzle Water. "Until there's restriction it's just another diet"....B-52

I use cat litter or dog food bags as an analogy. Just think about carrying those 50 lbs up and down stairs, around a walking path or just going to the store?

Starting weight, current weight, pics?

Nothing hurt too much for me except Bandster Hell for 4 months

Very normal. I lost 12 lbs the first 2 weeks and nothing for the next 3.5 months. It will happen, be patient.

Oh goodie, get ready for the hazing just kidding

I've discovered stuffed red peppers. Low fat hamburger, brown rice, italian seasonings, diced tomatoes, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, onions, garlic. Roasted for 40 minutes and then serve with one of your favorite marinaras sprinkled with a little more parmesan cheese. Everything but the flour crust. About 300-400 calories and the marinara helps to keep it from getting stuck. tmf

We see posts like yours occasionally. And it's disheartening to know that there are some doctors out there who don't understand how this is supposed to work and they're still performing surgeries. Change docs or make an appointment with your current doc and give him an ultimatum? Many people fear doctors, I know I once did. You may have to demand he do a barium swallow type fill so you get closer to the right restriction. You might have to be aggressive? If that's not you, find another doc who will give you fills. tmf

PB=Productive Burp: The act of regurgitating food backed up into our esophogus. Just short of a full blown vomit/throwing up attack. Much more gentle to the pouch but still not a recommended act to do often. tmf

DRaven: "Unfortunately same wasn't right. LOL" DOH! Good post!

You are not taking small bites, chewing enough and taking enough time between bites, imo. Once you have a stuck episode your band area can swell causing the opening to shrink and make it difficult to pass food through it. You might need to go to liquids or Soups for a few days to let the inflammation die down? Other ways your stoma(band opening) may be smaller is TOM, meds, too much sodium, stress and illness. This makes the opening smaller which makes it easier to get stuck. Do not make yourself throw up or you could cause your band to slip. And how many CCs in your band doesn't matter since each of us have different anatomies. tmf

Depends on what you do for a living and how active you are at home?

You're wasting time and energy worrying about something that probably won't happen unless you abuse your pouch with too much food most of the time. And you would feel a lot of discomfort for that to happen. Most of us experience the occasional stuck episode with blockage, sliming and discomfort. That doesn't mean we've stretched our pouches. If the episode is severe you can do as B-52 suggests and go on liquids for a few days so the pouch gets a rest. If your pouch were to be dilated you would be able to eat a larger amount of food without eating properly. As you lose weight, fat around your stomach can disappear giving your stoma a larger opening. Also, as we get a tighter fitting band, our pouches become more efficient at massaging food through the stoma. Your stomach/pouch are muscles and can become stronger as they are pressed to push food through your pouch. How much Fluid in your band is irrelevent to how efficient it should or can be. For some, it's 1 CC and others it's 14 CCs. It depends so much on your personal anatomy, band placement and environment. Stop worrying. It's just a waste of energy. tmf

Aint it great to not carry around those 40 lbs on a bike ride? We have cats and buy the 20 lb bags of litter. I pick one of those up and think to myself, I've lost(fat) the equivalent of 2.5 of these. You can relate if you have dogs and buy the 20 lb dog bags? Going to be 70 degrees here by Friday and I'm looking forward to more long bike rides.

Your port and pouch have very little to do with each other? Your port is probably stitched to the muscle on the outside of your rib cage and your pouch/stomach is inside your rib cage. tmf

I use polar H6 chest strap with my Iphone cyclemeter app. The app is maybe $4 and the strap is $60.

No, I didn't understand this comment? I think that you may be exercising and muscle may be replacing fat? You may never lose large amounts of weight due to the fact you're not that overweight to begin with. If you weighed 350 lbs you might lose 40 lbs the first month.

One more thing. Look at your band just like it's a ring on your finger? The same events I mentioned can cause just a little swelling in your hands, as well as your stomach lining. tmf