Losing_It_In_Texas

Hello again!! I just thought of this. My understanding and what I have read about the lap band is that it only will hold 3-4 oz. of food at a time and is about the size of an egg. That must be one big-ass egg. Doesn't that sound contradictory to yall? Besides, I personally was told to eat a cup of food per meal and from what I read in this forum, thats approximately what y'all are eating as well. I'm sorry to be splitting hairs here, but I always forget to ask these types of questions when I'm with my doctor. Just wondering what y'all think. Mary

These topics were posted in the fill section, but it doesn't seem like many people post there and I would greatly appreciate any help answering these questions. Does it seem unusual to already have 7.6cc's in a 10cc band after 2 fills? #1. My doc is pretty aggressive, or at least he said my fills have been aggressive. I had my first fill 1 month after surgery and he put in 5.6cc, then I went today after 3 weeks of starving and he put in another 1cc. he said my 10cc band had a "prime" in it at surgery of 1cc, so that would make a total of 7.6cc. Will the fills be incrementally smaller from now on? I'm concerned that I only technically have room for 2.4cc before I'm totally filled. has anyone else experienced an aggressive fill dr like mine? Please help!! #2. I just posted a similar question regarding fill levels, and I'm just curious about people who were banded around the same time as me...9-22.08. Do you have restriction yet? At what volume did you first fill restriction and how long did it last between fills? Thank you in advance. __________________

Thanks so much Jack! Thats a very good and reasonable explanation.

Jazie - The apricots I buy are Sun-Maid Mediterranean Apricots...they come in a red zip-top foil pouch and they are just the inside of the fruit, no peel. I bought mine at HEB but I bet they have them at Wal Mart, or other major grocers also. Someone posted that they had a hard time getting them down, but I cut mine into 4 tiny pieces and eat them that way. Good luck to you!

I just posted a similar question regarding fill levels, and I'm just curious about people who were banded around the same time as me...9-22.08. Do you have restriction yet? At what volume did you first fill restriction and how long did it last between fills? Thank you in advance.

Hi Becky - its hard to tell about restriction yet since its only day 2...tomorrow should tell me more. Really, the only restriction (or what I thought was restriction) was after my first fill, but only lasted 2 weeks. I sure hope my restriction will last longer with this fill. I do know that every sip I take gurgles after it goes down...i hope thats not a bad sign. Thank you for your response and good luck to you!

Julie - after my first fill I felt pretty good restriction for the first 2 weeks then BAM, i was all of the sudden starving on week 3 and eating what I feel like was more than I should have been able to and I was hungry between meals. Its only been 1 day since this fill and I'm not sure what I'm feeling....I'm really hungry but still on liquids so I guess thats to bbe expected. I'll see how tomorrow goes with mushies. Thanks for your response!

My BMI is around 34 or 35 now....it just seems like my doc is filling my really fast...not timewise necessarily, but amountwise. I'm really having to use willpower to lose weight right now...but I know its early days. Thanks for the responses!!

How is your restriction level, and how much are you eating per meal?

There actually might be a thread in the Food & Nutrition forum...have you checked there? Looks like the replies you have gotten are pretty much what I ate during that phase. I too couldn't handle the blenderized foods...sounded nasty to me and I made it thru that phase without using my blender once. Someone on here also told me a recipe for "noodleless lasagna".....its simply fat free ricotta cheese topped with spaghetti sauce of your choice and some low fat mozzarella cheese on top, then bake till bubbly. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I had that one night, it was the first time I felt satisfied since my surgery. best of luck to you!

LOL....I hear ya!! i was the exact same way for the first 2 weeks after surgery until the scales stopped moving and I was PISSED OFF.....AT EVERY ONE!!:eek: My husband took the scales and hid them and he only brings them out on Monday mornings for my official weigh in then he takes them away. This has worked out so much better for me and will probably be better for you too. Now I can actually see the weight loss. I guess I was expecting to see weight loss everyday...lol.

I paid $15,000 in Austin and get unlimited free fills for one year, then they are $50 each after a year.

I didn't do anything blended....I just couldn't stand the thought of pureed food, but I did mush up the beans in Campbells Bean & bacon soup and had that. I love bean soup anyway, so it was sort of like "real" food to me. Best of luck to you!

The Benefiber I used was a box of individual packets that you mix in with drinks. It was completely tasteless so that it didn't alter the flavor of what you mixed it in.....just didn't help me so I stopped using it.

About a week after my surgery, I was sooooo depressed and was acting like a total bitch to my DH. I'm not a big cryer (thanks to Lexapro), but there were several nights that I just cried my eyes out and was convinced that I should have never had the surgery. Granted I was still in some physical pain at that point and that was at least part of the problem. But I remembered my surgeon and nutritionist had warned me that I might go thru that, so that helped. Also, I had met a lady in the waiting room before my post-op appt that said she was very emotional immediately following her surgery but hers lasted about 6 weeks, mine was only about a week. IMHO, it is normal, or at least not abnormal to feel that way...don't lose faith. About your appetite - mine was exactly the same. The first week or so I had no appetite at all and I thought...cool, this is working. Then shortly after that it came back with a vengeance and it seemed like all I saw were commercials for food and I was practically drooling over them. It was luckily about that time that my doctor moved me to mushies and I could have FF refried Beans and very thin mashed potaotes....I thought I was in heaven and they really satisfied me. It really does go by quicker than you realize right now. In a couple of weeks you'll stabilize and you won't be obsessed with food so much...hang in there:thumbup:. All in all, everything you have posted I went thru myself but it has all leveled out now and I'm thrilled that I have had this done for myself and you will be too...just give it a little time, and it'll be okay....I promise!! Happy lap band journey to you!!

I tried Benefiber at first too, but all it did was give me gas. The apricots worked better than anything else I've tried...hope they help you as well!!

I was bloated for about 2 weeks, so don't give up hope just yet....mine went away very gradually. My stomach is still being the slowest to show weight loss, but the bloating will begin to go down for you soon I think. Good luck to you!

AWESOME!!! I'm so glad they worked as well for you as they do for me. I saw a post where someone suggested prunes as well....I, personally, cannot stomach prunes which was what my primary care doctor suggested. So when my surgeon suggested apricots I thought yippee....I can handle that. Good luck on your lap band journey!

I was banded on 9-22, so I am definitley no expert but the first few days after surgery I too had diarreah (sp?), but then I became severly constipated which has only just begun to right itself. I wouldn't worry too much about loose stools as long as you are staying hydrated...don't wanna get dehydrated. I got my ticker from The Ticker Factory but you can do a web search for weight loss tickers and there are lots of other websites for them as well. Best of luck with your new band!!

It doesn't give me gas, but it could be different for you...hopefully not though. Hope it helps!

1. Not being able to cross my legs 2. Not being able to cut my own toenails 3. Not going anywhere with my very outgoing husband because I'm ashamed of my weight 4. being paranoid of eating in public....."look at the fat lady eating all that food" 5. Wearing the same 5 or 6 outfits because thats all that fits anymore 6. Shopping at Lane Bryant.....even though I do like their clothes

I have loved reading all of the stories. It seems there is one main theme here.....no matter what the reason was that we were overweight, we have ALL chosen to take our lives back and to no longer be victims to our demons, whatever they were. AND, we are longer victims of obesity and that is what matters most!! Great job everyone...keep up the good work.:biggrin:

Hello everyone....I am relatively new to this forum. I was banded on September 22, 2008 in Austin, TX by Dr. Mark Sherrod with Southwest Bariatric Surgeons. I began posting shortly after my surgery under Post-Operation Q & A because I didn't know this particular sub-group existed....my bad. Not to bore y'all with the details, but just so you will know where I am on my journey. I had my first fill on 10-20, 5.6cc in I believe a 10cc band. Still losing weight fairly well, but am beginning to experience hunger between meals...after probably 3-4 hours. Can't decide when/if to get another fill before Thanksgiving. What do y'all think??

Like everyone reminded me when I was having trouble getting answers out of my surgeons office....he was paid to perform the surgery (either by you or your insurance) and part of that payment is follow-up care. I ended up calling my patient advocate and complained to her that I wasn't getting questions answered in a timely manner and that seemed to change things quite a bit. BE PERSISTENT!!! IT IS YOUR RIGHT AS A PATIENT!! You will find lots of good, practical advice on here but your Dr. should have the final say since he knows your case personally, or should anyway. Best of luck and congratulations on your new band!!

That makes good sense....is is doing what it is supposed to. Tonight was only 3 oz, and I'm stuffed....I had 4 oz of meatballs on my plate but couldn't eat the last one. That is so foreign to me and thats what I guess I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around....not eating EVERY thing on my plate...even a much smaller plate. But I freakin' love my band!!! Thaks so much for the responses.