RLittman

What I found interesting is that my fill feels different every day. I felt tighter the first week of my first fill. Then it felt looser for awhile and then it went back to feeling more restrictive. Right now I feel wide open again, but oddly there are still moments when I feel a little restriction. While I don't want to PB (and I did experience twice after my first fill -yuk), I really need to feel a restriction. My weight though goes up a pound, down a pound but holds steady.

What my doctor told me is that the meniscus, which is the ring of cartliage around the knee, does not heal on its own because it has no blood supply. Once torn it can only be removed or cut away for the knee to be less sore. I found out that squats and stairsteppers are really hard on this area of the knee.

Well I can pretty much eat anything and my hunger is returning. The effects from the 1st fill only lasted about 3 weeks. I am scheduled to have my 2nd fill on October 16th. I also found out today that I need knee surgery because of a torn meniscus. They also found arthritis in the knee. Luckily it is only a 15 minute procedure and I should be able to walk on it that day and be sore for about a week. I never had knee problems until July when I stepped on that eliptical stairmaster. I probably had the problem the whole time and my body was able to handle it. It cropped up when I became more active. My goal for October is 6 pounds. I am hoping and praying for more but we will see. Wish me luck!

What is going on with all of our knees?? I somewhat injured my knee as well after working out for a week on a Stairstepper in July. I did a total of 15 minutes over the course of 5 days). It hasn't returned to normal so I had an MRI last Saturday and will find out the results on Thursday. It is likely a cartlidge tear. I have kept exercising throughout but stopped the walking about 2 weeks ago and moved to light weight training. I lost only 6 pounds last month and have hovered at 201 every since 9/16. I may not have lost pounds but I have definitely lost inches because my clothes are fitting looser. So I must be toning up. I have eaten less, eaten more, exercised, not exercised, returned to liquids only - so I think it is time for my next fill. I cannot eat what I use to but I definitely eat more than right after the procedure. I increased my calories for a few days and gained weight!!! But I still happy with my 29 pound loss! I am down from a size 18W size to a 12W top and 14W pant. Yahoo!

Faybie - What a difference! What a beauty! Keep it up girl! Calories - I never heard anyone talk about the effect my metabolism would have on the number of calories I take in. I will jump up my calories for a few days and see what happens. Digestion- I have noticed that my digestive tract and regularity are finally back to normal almost 2 months post-surgery. If this is what happens after minor surgery I can only imagine what happens after a major operation.

I'm wondering whether to go in for another fill. I have followed the guidelines closely and have only lost 4 pounds since my 1st fill on 9/11 (initially lost 6, but regained 2) I stopped losing about 6 days after the fill. I don' really have much hunger and have felt an occasional PB after eating chicken too quickly, but I am barely hitting 800 calories a day. I had to stop exercise this week because my knee has worsened. I thought with the stop of exercise particulary the light weight training I was doing that I would drop a few pounds. Didn't happen. I am either eating protein shakes with Unjury, chicken or fish and a small amount of vegetables. No breads, no pasta, no rice, and the only sweets are an occasional peach or grapes.

Where do we post it? Sorry, I 'm confused. My update is 29 pounds gone, first fill 9/11. RLittman

Jamie, The difference is amazing! I bet you feel so good just being able to see these initial changes. Can you imagine how terrific you will look and feel in a few more months??? quote=Serendipity4124;306277]Hey guys I just posted these on the before and after pics page and I thought I'd share them with you too! The first is me and my fiance about 2 months pre-op and the second is me today 32 lbs gone for good!! :clap2:

come on board!

I heard today that Dr. Spivak of Houston offers the 2nd year of fills free if you reach a certain percentage of your weight by your first lapband surgery anniversary. The lady was not sure if it was 50% or 80%. Anyone hear of this and can confirm the correct percentage?

Is anybody finding it difficult not to drink liquids while eating? I cannot seem to eat without at least sipping some water. Otherwise I feel an uncomfortable dryness with swallowing. Anybody else experiencing this? I also found my band seemed tighter this week than last even though my fill was on 9/11. I lost 5 pounds last week then stopped; it may be because I really upped my exercise this week with some light weight training.

I can tell that I take each day as it comes. Today I was able to eat beef fajita meat - chewed slowly, but yesterday I PB on chicken which has never happened before. Sometimes I feel the restriction, other times not, but my hunger is definitely less than pre-fill.

The 100's are just like a carrot dangling out there in front of me . . . .it is just beyond my grasp. I think I would be there sooner but I just started weight training and I never lose on the days that I do it or intense exercise. But the workouts are giving my body a new core strength that I have never knonw. About the 100s - you are right behind me and will be there in no time! I really thought I would not be able to eat beef. I started with ground hamburger during the mushy stage and will now eat hamburger patties (just chewed well). When I had those 2 bites of steak, the only other food I ate for dinner was 1/2 cup of mushrooms. I just wasn't that hungry. Yesterday I had a hamburger patty with lettuce and tomato for lunch, a pomegranate drink in the afternoon, and 2 chicken legs with a cup of mashed potatoes and 1/2 cup of green beans for dinner. I was never really hungry during the day. I have found my restriction to be that I can pretty much eat what I want but in a small quantity. It is best for me to eat bulky protein because it fills me up and then I am not hungry for hours and when I am it is not an overwhelming sense of hunger. In other words it is better for me to have a chicken breast than 10 slices of cheese because the latter does not give me a sense of fullness. As compared to just after surgery, then I couldn't drink 1/2 cup of soup without feeling pain from the swelling. That was kinda scary. I much prefer this and it allows me to eat normal food. I still stay away from rice, pasta, and bread because I don't think it is as nutritous as protein and vegetables.

First of all congrats on your weight loss! But I think you may be onto something there about eating too many calories or what might otherwise be bad for us. The other night I had two good sized bites of steak - chewed them to death (and boy did they taste great after all that chicken and fish). But I still lost a pound the next day! In fact I noticed that if I cut my calories too much, I don't lose. If I go over 1000 or so calories then I do lose. I am not sure what this means but it seems to be ringing true for many of us.

Trust me, it is a non-event. A little prick, a little swallow, a little picture, and you are out of there. I have lost 6 pounds since my first fill on 9/11 so I finally feel some momentum again. You will do just fine!!!!

Okay, I think I have figured this restriction thing out. If I eat bulky food like chicken or beef, and chew it well but not to mush, then I feel the restriction and boy is it there. But if I eat eggs or applesauce or cheese, it tends to go right through and I find myself eating much more. It is almost the opposite of what I did after the surgery. Then I ate soft foods to let the stomach heal; now I can eat bulky foods chewed well to fill the stomach up. I think I have the hang of it.

I can't really tell if this fill is working or not. I have some restriction but it is not great. I have lost 3 pounds since my fill on Monday but 2 of it was pounds I had regained beforehand. But it is still 3 pounds down. I really want to feel like I am hitting a wall - the way I felt immediately after surgery -three bites of anything and my stomach screamed - STOP! I find myself stopping more out of fear of what might happened than out of restriction. I don't feel full, but I also don't have much hunger at anytime during the day. Also, I started with chewing 25 times before I swallowed, now I noticed I can chew half that amount and I still don't feel any restriction. I certainly do not have the appetite I did before. So maybe it is working. Anybody else not feeling a strong restriction after their first fill?

Okay, somehow I did not have the heart (or stomach) to return to liquids yesterday although it is what the doctor ordered. So last night I had some smushed avocado, a little ground hamburger, 2 scallops, applesauce, broth, but I never felt any restriction. Today I had 3 small pieces of chicken and 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes for lunch and never felt any restriction. I stopped for fear of hitting the wall. Although I am eating less than I did during the weekend and don't feel hungry. I did lose a pound between yesterday and today so I guess that is good. What I liked about how I felt just after the surgery was this clear signal from my stomach of "whoa, that's enough". When I don't feel that then my head hunger feels it has room to play. I guess time will tell.

I think it is the goal you probably expressed to the doctor when you first saw him - so I guess it is your goal and not theirs. I did hear one of the surgery center coordinators say that the folks who do the fills can reject you if they fill you have not followed the fill instructions. Like one woman who went in for a fill who was not losing weight, and never felt full. Come to find out it was because she was eating a jar of applesauce and chocolate each day which just slid past the band!

I had my fill this morning - 1.6 cc in a 9.75 band. It was a piece of cake and there was just a little pinch when they inserted the needle (a short one). I then had to drink a 1/4 of a Water bottle. It was done and over within 15 minutes. For the next two days I am back to liquids, and then 2 days of soft foods before I can move onto solids. I did not eat Breakfast so I felt hunger pains on the way home. Once home, I finished the water, drank some broth and now I am fine. They expect me back in 4-5 weeks for a 2nd fill. I talked with several other women while I was there. One was getting her 2nd fill only 2 weeks after her first. Another told me it took 2-3 fills before she felt constriction. One woman had lost 88 pounds after being banded a year. Another had lost 34 pounds after being banded a year. For patients of Dr. Spivak: Did anyone tell you that if you lost a certain percentage of your weight by your first anniversary that you get your 2nd year of fills free? If this is the case, do you know what the percentage is? A lady there thought it was either 50% or 80%.

I have my first fill on Monday morning at 9:15. I have received no instructions from Dr. Spivak as to how to prepare for the fill. Can I eat after midnight? Can I have breakfast that morning? If I cannot have solids then can I have any liquids that morning? Help!

In the first few weeks when I ate too much or too fast, Lortab was the only remedy for the pain which would last as much as 12 hours.

Of course you can join Justy. Just jump in whenever you feel like making a comment or asking a question. Welcome and good luck on your new journey!

I promise you a week ago I thought, "I will cancel my September 11 fill because I am doing just fine. In fact I go months like this. . . " Within 48 hours, my swelling must have decreased significantly because my hunger returned and my eating habits change accordingly. I am eating faster, more, and with certain foods, I don't need to chew a million times. So just wait and see how your body heals over the next few weeks.

Andy Liz, I love it. As I am reading your post I am burping like crazy after trying to eat some solid chicken. I thought I chewed well enough but then I started burping like crazy and then suddenly felt nauseous. Sure enough here came a small PB. I guess I have to go a little more slowly with solid food. I can tell you that the first 2 weeks after surgery, I burped night and day. It was just like you explained as if you were displacing the air in your stomach with soft food or liquid. I also found out that I have to drink small sips of Water with my meal otherwise my esophagus feels too dry. I am sure after I have my first fill that will likely change.