2muchfun

Just an FYI. This podcast is rather long, 69 minutes, but the drinking part consumes only about 5 minutes. Dr Dixon seems to corroborate my own journey and personal findings. It's good to hear from a professional that I'm somewhat normal(band wise of course).

Listening to this John Dixon podcast now but getting sleepy and will finish in the morning. This is a must hear for anyone who has had any WLS and definitely a must hear for anyone considering having surgery. There looks to be several other very interesting topics that I will be hearing? tmf

Drinking and eating with the band has been discussed here often. Dr. O'Brien from Australia also believes it's OK to drink and eat. I sometimes drink when eating. Tonight I had some leftover chicken and it was a little dry, so I sipped some Water with my meal. Many people have been successful not drinking so they don't want to rock the boat and continue to not drink and I understand this. I lean that way myself. I seldom drink and eat simultaneously. I reserve it for eating out or eating dry foods. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCE8pGJHG4 Dr. O'Brien

You are doing great, much better than most.

How much have you lost so far? Some might say that with a calorie count so low you've driven your body to hibernation or, metabolic shutdown. I'm not one who completely buys into that theory but I think it can slow your metabolism down marginally. But, for a guy as big as you are, you have to be careful not to burn so many calories that your body breaks down muscle to fuel your activities? You can't be getting enough Protein with just 843 calories. Upping your protein with shakes or more meat, Beans, eggs etc would increase your caloric intake and help build muscle. Exercising as much as you do causes small tears in the muscle fibers which makes muscles rebuild themselves. Without an adequate supply of protein, you're just pissing in the wind. You may be burning fat but also burning muscle and you aren't rebuilding new muscle tissue with so little protein intake. I think most of the guys are consuming 1600-1800 calories if they're active at all. You could and should speak to a nutritionist if you continue this extraordinary path to weight loss. Not many of us burn that many calories a day on such a low caloric intake. tmf

I had the same pains for about 3 months and have read where many others experience it too. You won't start losing weight till your band is adjusted so you're in the green zone. Hiccups, burps and gas are normal.

Sliders are foods that go right through the band and give no satiety signals. Like ice cream, chocolate, chips, casseroles, etc.

She must have a reason for the small fill? Stuck episodes? Sliming? Past history of reflux? Are you consuming a lot of carbs and what kind? What does a typical days meal look like?

If you could go to a PC and fill in your profile it would be much easier to advise you? We don't know if you're male, female, weight, age etc? Are you sure on your figures? 4000 calories a day seems a little over the top? I have to bike 30 miles to burn 2000 calories and every day would pretty much kill me.

I agree with the above but until you find a new Dr, a very good Dr, and or a good bariatric nutritionist, this is going to be tough. You can do it, but visiting with a bariatric professional can give you the confidence you obviously need?

I agree with Pink, but you should ask for a fluoroscopic fill. That's where they do a barium swallow and watch where it goes and how much restriction your band is giving you? And I understand. I was banded November 2011 and didn't get to the green zone till June 2012. So you're a month behind where I was in band months. I was very frustrated too but my 6th fill did it for me. Talk to your Dr and not a nurse or anyone lower in the pecking order.

FYI-Yes, you're in the right place. This forum pops up in all 4 surgery forums. But I'm of no use as I have no experience and haven't seen an issue like yours before. Re-post again in a few days if you don't get any helpful replies?

So, are they going to do another fluoroscopy before they start filling again?

The positives are obvious, you get to keep your stomach, quick recovery and 50%+ excess fat weight loss if you follow the rules. The negatives depend on what you're comparing it to? Other WLS techniques or staying obese? Let's assume other WLS techniques: The band has a higher failure rate than other WLS but not by a lot. About 15% probably won't succeed with the band. Mostly it's due to the inability for many to change their eating habits and fail to make the necessary lifestyle changes of eating healthier foods, eating smaller bites and eating much slower and smaller. The band is different from other WLS in that it's not a restrictive tool. Once your band is adjusted properly we look for satiety signals. These satiety signals can be ambiguous and very subtle. We call them soft stop signals. This is where and when it's time to stop eating. Some folks really struggle with these signals. Eating demons that tell us to eat chips, dips, cake, ice cream, fast food are muted for many of us, but for others, they still exist. Banding does not reduce the size of your stomach, the lower 95% is still there. So, if you choose to continue eating, the only thing that can stop you is you. In the past, it was believed that we filled our pouch with a small amount of food and this is why we felt full or satisfied with less food. This is not true. If you eat like a Bandster, food passes the band(stoma) and falls into the lower stomach. It's the massaging of the esophagus and pressure on the vagus nerve that is believed(theoretically) to help us feel satisfied with less food. Some folks can't help themselves and eat past this stop signal. It's not a tool that "Makes" you eat less. It's a tool that can help you eat less. So, if you're a grazer, a binger or a closet midnight snacker, the band may work for you but will require a lot of patience and will power. On the other hand, you might be one of the lucky ones who find the band a very easy and safe way to lose a lot of excess body fat? It's been like that mostly for me.

What does your Dr say could be the problem? Hard to advise you if you can't keep solids down? That's an issue you need to address if you want to succeed?

I assume you were given instructions on what to consume the next 48 hours? Most of us were told to drink liquids for 24-48 hours. After my first few fills I was allowed to also consume slider foods like tomato Soups. Without knowing what led to the fill I doubt you'll experience any difficulties?

The first thing you need to do is to figure out if your band is adjusted properly? Going in for a consult and fill should be your first step? What does a typical days menu look like for you? If you're inconsistent with your eating habits and food selections you can easily feel like you have no restriction some days and too much on others?

Soft food for me were refried beans, deli turkey meats, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, well cooked vegetables, soups, ground beef, pasta, soft casseroles and soft canned fruits.

One last word of advice. shakes are a slider food and won't stay with you long. Having a shake for dinner is an invitation to late night snacking. If you must drink shakes, make sure you have some other high Protein options like deli meats, hard boiled eggs, and high protein leftovers for a late night small meal if you need it.

Why are you only eating 900 calories? Eat more each meal if you feel hungry? No need to not be satisfied? But if you're satisfied with just 900 calories, go with it. Net calories aren't an important factor imo. This is why we were banded. Our bodies will turn on it's reserves(fat) if we don't feed it enough. Just be sure to feed yourself enough Protein so your body doesn't burn muscle for fuel. Keep the protein up around 70-100 if you're exercising as you say.

Thanks for the Speedo image Jack Gonna have to peruse some Scarlett Johansen pics to get that out of my mind

The test is simple: If you can go 4 hours(give or take 1 hr) without being hungry, you're in the green zone and no fill is necessary. If you feel hungry in 1-3 hours, you may need a fill. Depriving yourself those extra hours isn't necessary. At least for me, that's why I failed on diets. I'm not much for feeling deprived and hungry. Feeling hungry isn't what I would call painful, like a sprained ankle or child birth, but the discomfort causes us to eventually make poor choices nutritionally. So, you just need to look inward for the answer. We all were banded so we didn't have to feel hungry and deprived. If you're denying yourself food when you're truly hungry, you're on a diet and we all know how well diets worked? tmf

Nothing abnormal about your behavior. If you could change your behavior without the band why would you even need it? This is why we all had WLS.

Your request is like asking everyone which rock band was the best in the last 3 decades? Or, which breed of dog is the best? Everyone has a different palate so we all have different takes on so many different shakes. My opinion, none of them. I've limited my intake of shakes to mostly the first two weeks after surgery, since then not much. Lately I'm gagging down premier and muscle milk pro 50 on days that I'm fasting.

Size of band or amount of fills have little to do with restriction or satiety. We all have different anatomies, different sized stomachs, stomach lining, esophagus and peristaltic functions. It took me 3 fills to begin to feel any kind of satiety and 6 total to reach the green zone. I have no idea how many CCs are in my band. Most of us took more than one fill to feel any kind of satiety or restriction btw.