2muchfun

Sounds like they want your liver to shrink as much as possible. You have to have faith your doc knows what he's doing? Or, find another doc?

What does your Dr say? Or your nutritionist? So many questions to be asked it's difficult for anyone here to diagnose why you aren't losing? Are you too tight? Do you chew your food more than before? Small bites? Are you exercising? How many calories are you consuming? Are you eating sugar? Are you consuming calorie laden soft drinks? Fats? Why did you wait 1.5 years to seek advise? See, the questions can be endless. I spent 2 hours with my nutritionist and found out why I wasn't losing the weight I had expected. She really opened my eyes to how I can lose an extra 2-3 lbs a month simply by eliminating or cutting back on some food choices I had made. Unlike GBS we bandsters can cheat on the band so we really must exercise more restraint in what and how we eat. tmf

Braggard ;o)

Smiling, unless you plan on running a 10K race every day or ride a bike 75 miles, 2500 calories will only make you fatter. It depends on how active you are, do you work, is your work physical or do you just sit at a desk? Most of us need about 1800-2200 calories a day to maintain our current weight. Your calorie intake should be below those figures. Lots of physical exercise can manipulate those numbers of course but if you're one who counts calories(I'm not) you should try to reduce your intake to under 1800 if you expect to lose. Idealy for most of bandsters, not counting calories should be a goal.imo For me, counting calories only makes me think about food more. If we moderate our choices of foods to eat, and try to only consume foods that are recommended by our nutritionist, the band is a tool that will help us to not eat as much of those foods as we have in the past. My nutritionist has helped me to choose the foods that seem to fill my band and keep me satiated longer. Most of these foods are lower in fat and more nutritious. Staying away from high fat and high simple carb foods is a must for me. tmf

Support groups may be helpful for some but for me, not ever again. Last one I went to was back in March. I made a comment that I was a little disappointed in my band as I had been plateued since 4 weeks after surgery on 11/28/11. I guess I said the wrong thing as about 4 people ganged up on me. Never again. I'd go with your Drs guidance. He/she should know best. Some folks who have had other types of WLS may feel some kind of misguided competition with bandsters. BTW-I got a fill 3 weeks later that seems to have moved me closer to my green zone and I've lost 11 lbs since. tmf

You're in "bandster hell". Almost all of us go through this. Your band was left loose on purpose as you are in the healing phase of your journey. If you want to lose weight at this point, it's mostly going to be on you and a diet. You should feel this way until you start going in for fills. One fill may help you but most likely it could be several before you find your own green zone. As far as eating solids, my doc gave me permission to eat solids 3 weeks after surgery. But each doc has their own different protocols. What you are feeling is natural and could be around for a while. I don't understand the Water intake problem though? If you can eat yogurt, shakes etc, why can't you drink water? Makes no sense? tmf

My first fill was 1.5 cc and then 4 more at 1 each. I agree with Gayla that 1 cc might be excessive for most but for me it was fine. Just make sure your doc knows you'll be back if .5 or less doesn't work. tmf

Gayla, I think most docs do know what they are doing but it appears you got one that didn't. I have a friend who got LBS and her surgeon put it on wrong and shortly afterwards lost his medical license over his alcoholism. He moved to Florida I hear. She had to have her band removed. There are some bad ones out there that's for sure. And I do agree that surgeons may embelish results or screen the % of results. My only advice for you is to somehow try to find the enthusiasm you once had for the band and try to find those positive thoughts that have been crushed by a bad doctor. Can't blame you for being pissed but the band won't work for you till you can find the silver lining in the crap you've been dealt. tmf

5 stone? Sounds like you should visit your surgeon and request an unfill? Most people who are in the green zone say they can eat pretty much anything in small bites. Some foods may cause them problems and that's mostly breads, rice, dry chicken and beef. But if all you can eat is Soup and potatoes, you need to talk to your doc and see if you need an unfill. tmf

It's hard to help since you haven't filled out your profile? No one knows when you were banded or where you started etc? It may take a half dozen or more fills before you find the green zone. Don't give up and don't panic. tmf

food deprivation! I think I feared this before I could even pull the trigger on whether I would have band surgery. But for me, it wasn't the how much I could eat, but how little my taste buds would be savoring those smaller portions. My mental image of just eating a palm sized portion of a chicken fried steak smothered in country gravy kept me from pulling the trigger for a year. It was the fear of a diminished culinary pleasure that made the decision difficult. But the fear of dying young finally won the day ;o) tmf

$10K is pretty much the norm these days and I think it's important to know you have a local surgeon you can rely on for advice and guidance. Most of these bariatric docs have nutritionists on staff or are available and they can offer invaluable advice if your band doesn't seem to be working. Most likely you will need fills after surgery and traveling to Mexico or India isn't really an option imo. Most all bariatric Docs hold seminars monthly so go to several before you decide. Check out how many surgeries they've performed and how long they've been practiced in your area. tmf

So skiddles, was that like major surgery again? Same amount of anesthisia, pre-op and post-op? Sometimes I feel the same way but then I get something stuck and come to my senses. tmf

This is the 2nd similar post today where people have lost a lot of weight the first two weeks and are disappointed? You need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb. Do the math. If you consume 1500 calories a day and use 2000 calories through various activities like exercising, walking, sitting etc. You will burn 3500 calories more(1 wk) than you take in = 1 lb/wk lost. So, you really need to ramp up the exercising and take in fewer calories to lose more than 1 lb. Jean and Lizzy are right, you might want to lower your expectatons to 4-8 lbs/mo. And you haven't even hit bandster hell yet? Let's hope you're one of the lucky ones and get to skip BH. tmf

It's a love/hate relationship these first 6 months. Keep reading because I thought I knew it all but I didn't. I'd still do this again but I'd lower my expectations.

Banded 11/28/11 and only started to feel some restriction with the 4th and especially the 5th fill. Going in next week for fill 6. I know where you are. I was there and still am to a point. I have about 10 ccs in a 14 cc band. My band is very tight now. Don't sit around waiting for a fill if you feel like you're not benefiting from the band. Some docs have to be pushed. I've heard of some docs who won't allow fills for over 6 weeks between. Don't be intimidated by your Doc. Be aggressive and insist on a 1 cc fill. tmf

I'm sorry but I can't be as kind as the others. Do the math? You must burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb. Even if you take in only 1000 calories of food a day, and use up about 2000 calories through sitting, exercising, walking, thinking, you will only lose 2 lbs per week*. 10 of the 14 lbs you've lost are probably just Water weight. 14 lbs is terrific, it's sensational, something to be overjoyed about. jmo *1000 X 7 = 7000 calories/wk input -2000 X 7 = 14000 used calories = 7000 more calories burned or approximately 2 lbs. tmf

Went online a few days ago and ordered your book and cookbook. I've been whining for a month now because I've had 5 fills and know I need at least one more. 15?? Egads, just shoot me now! I certainly hope that my journey soon finds that green zone because I'm not seeing the signals till I've eaten more than I believe I should eat. Oh, I seem to get the stuck signal early on if I eat too rapidly(and that's a huge learning curve for guys), eat larger bites than my stoma can handle or don't chew properly. 2-3 bites the wrong way can be painful. But 5-10 minutes goes by and I'm still hungry so I can eat quite a bit. Will more fills reduce the amount I can eat or will it just make eating more painful? It concerns me? tmf

I'm with the byrd. I'm at about 10 ccs and needing one more fill(6th). I keep hoping the next fill will be the green one but it hasn't happened. After monitoring this site for a while now, I think some of us respond to the band differently and may never have that feeling like Fab Sasha. Sad, but it's still working for me, only not as well as or how I thought it would be. tmf

LOL...Stumbled upon this string and couldn't help myself. Bayougirl, I had to check out the 36ff's. I guess I fall into the same category as the OCLady friends. And thanks to Bayougirl for posting all those pictures. Most banders don't do that and I so want to see how well others are doing with the band. It's inspirational. But, I checked out my own boobs and I'm only down about 23 lbs but I think they're smaller. But that's a good thing right? tmf

I too was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and went on a synthroid to correct my numbers. Both my family practitioner and my surgeon were OK with me getting the surgery. Of course, after the meds my numbers came down to 3.4 but this was 2 years before I applied to have surgery. What you have could be treatable and can possibly be lowered rather quickly with the right meds. I'd talk to your surgeon and family Dr.

Well, first, talk to your surgeon. But you're giving up after 5 days? What kind of sick are you talking about?

5 fills for me and never felt any restriction until fill 3. I still need at least one more fill. I started feeling stuck with most any kind of food with fill 3. Most of it is due to still taking too large a bite and not chewing fully. I've had to slow down, take much smaller bites and chew, chew, chew. Most of my stuck episodes feel like my pouch is trying to work food through my stomach and it's not real painful. Mostly it feels uncomfortable and I know I have to sit back and wait about 10 minutes for the food to pass before I can take another bite. I too started eating less after fill 2 but I've only lost 22 lbs. I still get very hungry between meals so it's still a struggle to not eat and that's something I hadn't planned on. My experience so far is not the textbook examples we say and heard prior to surgery. Still, I'm glad I did it. tmf

There is no difinitive answer to your question. We all have different responses to fills. I'm on fill 5 and I feel some restriction but I know I need at least one more. I'm 5 months out and I'm eating less so I'm slowly losing but it's not what I had expected. I've seen where some bandsters need no fills and have restriction from the start or some bandsters feel full quicker and it lasts longer. Others have difficulty with the first few bites and then can eat quite a bit. Seems like that ideal place where we can eat a cup of well chewed food and feel totally satiated for hours is very elusive and for some of us, unattainable. Keep watching this forum and you will see similar stories every day. Good luck.

I like bunnies, I'm due for fill #6. Not enough restriction so far. The lapband is helping but not doing what I had hoped it would do. I haven't given up and still think it can help me lose but so far it's not what I had hoped for. tmf