Miper70

I swear by the warm liquids before you eat. Try it and let us know if it works. I just keep a gallon of green tea (Arizona) in the fridge and warm up a small cup before eating. Works every time.

This is definitely NOT what I wanted to hear AND the only reason I admitted it to begin with (a while ago) was to be honest with everyone AND myself. That certainly DOES NOT mean I am not eating right most of the time...... I do. BUT and this is a BIG but......when you do eat right and exercise and the weight doesn't come off.......people tend to get fed up. I was there....am there....and frustrated as hell. I have a doc who tells me I'm getting full after two bites and people always telling me what I should and should not do. I don't need to be told not to eat junk food. I haven't really eaten junk food in 15 years. So I got a little frustrated and fell off the wagon..... This post was not about not losing at all. I just threw that in there. I needed to know what it feels like to be at optimum level. If I measure out a cup of food and eat it, I'll be looking for more food in an hour. I'm glad you have that kind of willpower if you're not at optimum level, but I don't.

Cutie Kel, You were there the same day as me? How cool is that!!!!!! I go in for barium swallow or upper GI Monday to see if anything is wrong and to prove I am not at optimal level. I hope and pray that this changes things....I can get more fill and get to losing. Have you lost anymore weight?

So that's how it works? Your esophagus reacts like you're tring to swallow something too big?

Today I tried the drinking something warm before eating and it sems to help. How do I let my Doc know that I think he is wrong and I have spasms going on, not full restriction? I know he's going to get on the defensive if I tell him....

I do one shake a day, but I'm thinking I may need to do more than one. Good idea...thanks!

I just don't understand how my body is supposed to react. From everything I've read, you eat a small portion, feel full, quit eating and don't get hungry for hours. This isn't happening for me. I just don't know......

No, I do not have the fills under fluero. He told me today that I had two choices, I could either get a small fill and see if it helps or I could do a barium swallow. I chose to do a small fill. I take alot of responsibility for not losing the weight like I should. I have not been exercising like I should AND eating more junk than i should. My kids and I have done alot of eating out during the summer also (who wants to cook in this Florida heat), so that's coming to a halt. Even with all of this going on, I think I should be losing something. I'm eating WAY less than I used to.

Just to let you know....I slowed down and started taking smaller bites and so far life has been much better. I think I've only had one episode where something felt stuck and it wasn't for very long. I still don't seem to be losing, but I know it will catch up to me one day. Thanks everyone!

I'm not quite sure I understand "exactly" how this works. I'm going to try my best to put into words what I'm asking.... I have had two fills in my 10cm/4cc band.....up to 2cc. After a few bites of most foods, I get the stuck feeling. Sometimes it goes away after a few minutes and sometimes it doesn't and I end up PB'ing. I know alot of this may be because of my chewing habits, but I'm not quite understanding what is happening to me. 1) liquids go down fine morning...noon...and night 2) Am I too tight or not tight enough? If I'm getting the stuck feeling after just a few bites, doesn't that mean the food is going on through and not staying in the "pouch" which is supposed to keep me full for four hours? I have yet to feel full....just get the stuck feeling. 3) I put off my fill that was scheduled for today until I could understand a little more of what's going on. I thought I had this all figured out but..... I also haven't lost any more weight since my fill 4 weeks ago. I just need to figure out what I'm doing wrong or what needs to be done.....not quite sure. I appreciate any and all help!

The website is http://biomediclabs.com/

You guys are going to think I'm selling something here, but I swear I'm not. Let me give you a short version of what has gone on with me. Last year decided to have lipo/tummy tuck/breast lift. I figured if I was going to remain fat at least I could look good fat. One of the things my PS did while doing all of this was lipo under my chin. It has been a nightmare. My platysma muscle spasmed and my skin attached while it was out and had to have 2nd and 3rd surgery on my chin. The scar tissue was awful. I must scar really bad anyway because I ended up with some pretty bad ones under my breasts also. Someone told me about an enzyme treatment called Neprinol so I figured what the hey, I'll give it a try. It supposedly eats away scar tissue including hypertrophic and keloid scars. The scar tissue under my chin is almost gone and my scars from the other surgeries along with lap-band are changing. I can see it and feel it. It's very, very tender and at times hurts, but now that I know it's working, I will continue to use it no matter how bad it feels. It's expensive, but so worth it. I've only been on it a few weeks now. I was going to have to have surgery AGAIN to remove, if possible, some of the scar tissue under my chin and neck area, but now I won't have to. As soon as I can, I will take some pictures and post them. When I went to my PS this past Wednesday for my checkup he could not believe the difference it had made. He went on and on about it.

I've heard from 2 different surgeons that even when Tricare does start approving lap-band more than likely a lot of the doctors won't accept it because they pay so little. I hope this is not true.

Whew...thank you guys. I had always heard about first bite syndrome, but never really knew what it was. I thought it was being scared to take a bite after being stuck or PBing. I had a thought this morning when I was taking my morning meds. I think this problem I'm having has ALOT to do with my chewing because first thing in the morning I take 3 pretty good size capsules and they don't get stuck. Wouldn't that mean that I'm not too tight, just not quite up to par on my eating habits?

But I have yet to feel full. I wish I knew what this is supposed to feel like. I so appreciate your help. That's the reason I didn't get a fill today...I knew I didn't to practice better eating habits like chewing better.

But from my understanding, it's supposed to stay in the pouch and slowly go through and that's what keeps us full for hours. This is not what's happening to me.

I don't like to go into hyper, but to keep my numbers very suppressed....almost hyper. I feel so much better that way. My Doctor goes by free t3 and free t4 not TSH. I'm not saying he doesn't check it, but he keeps me in the top 3rd of the scale for t3 and t4 and that optimizes how I feel. If he keeps me there, it usually suppresses my TSH to almost hyper.

That's not always true. Most family Doctors don't know squat about thyroid disease. It took me 3 different Endocrinologists and my persistence, to figure out I had a problem. Deep in my heart, I knew I did, but kept being told my numbers looked good. WRONG!!! A very good place to start and really, really educating yourself is http://www.healthboards.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=122 Another factor I know to be true is that most Doctors under medicate thyroid patients because they're scared of throwing them into hyperthyroidism, but most patients feel better when very close to hyper.

I think everyone believes that, but it just isn't so. I take a combo of Armour Thyroid and Synthroid which my Dr. let me concoct..bless his sweet soul and have bben stable for years now. My levels are borderline hyper ( I feel better here), and I still have problems losing weight. I remember when i was finally diagnosed (same problem as lildarlin) I cried becuase i thought to myself...finally...I will be able to lose weight. Not!!!! They took me off of my meds for 6 weeks in order to do a scan and I actually gained 35 MORE lbs. in those 6 weeks. This is the first time I have actually lost more than 10 lbs. and kept it off in a long, long time. I love this band!

Be sure and have Free T3 done also. TSH T3 T4 Free T3 Free T4 Antibodies (TPOAb & TgAb)

It took me finally ordering less food to change that bad habit. I would do the same thing...bring it home and want to eat it almost the minute we would walk in the door. Now I order just enough to fill me up and I don't bring it home. Now if I could just control that at home I would be set. If there's something I really, really like, it's hard for me not to "want", not necesarily eat, larger amounts. If I eat something that's really, really good, my first instinct is to want more. I need to teach myself that one helping is enough...not to go back and have more an hour later. It doen't happen as often as it used to, but it does still happen every now and then.

and....mine are LOUD!!! I get so scared I'm going to do it in public one day. They come from nowhere...you don't even feel them about to start, then all of a sudden...WHAM! I usually do it about 4-5 times really hard, then they stop. This is also my sign to Stop.

I'm finally getting the hang of that. At first, I was having problems eating...it hurt, no matter what it was. I wasn't taking small enough bites or chewing well enough I guess. Now that I've gotten the hang of smaller bites, I'm starting to feel the fullness coming on. It starts to get tight and I start to hiccup, then I know it's time to stop. I've also completely lost my appetite. I have to make myself eat. It's not that I don't think about food because I do, but when I sit down to eat, I'm just not hungry. I NEVER thought I would hear myself say that.

I tried pork roast last night and was able to get it down, so at least I have that and fish I can eat. I was starting to get scared that I couldn't eat any kind of meats.

Well, I wasn't banded in Jax, but live here and get my fills from Dr. Chappano at St. Vincents. I have now lost 20 lbs. and am excited about being banded again. Susan, I wrote you a few days ago to see how you were doing. I went in last Tuesday for my 2nd fill and WOW is all I can say...it's like night and day. I lost 6 lbs. the first two days. I love this band.