ParrotheadCathy

Too tight is exactly that, TOO TIGHT. It can ultimately mean that most of the foods you should be eating get stuck so you start eating easy (slider) stuff that doesn't necessarily get you the nutrition you need! RestlessMonkey says she can eat just about anything, but in much smaller amounts than pre-band. There's a couple of things I choose not to eat (soft bread, flour tortillas) because they get stuck often enough to not be worth the trouble and I don't need the carbs anyway. I'm sorry your doctor hasn't made sure you understand this! Basically, you have it right for the most part. The band creates a smaller stomach out of the very first part of your stomach. You should be able to eat somewhere from a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food at a meal (for me, it varies depending on what I eat .... for instance, I can eat more salad than if I ate just Protein and a vegetable). You shouldn't drink during or immediately after a meal so that you don't make the contents of your pouch prematurely empty into the lower part of your stomach. Restriction is what the band is. SATIETY is what it makes you feel. What is satiety? Satisfaction from eating. When you eat the prescribed size meal, you should feel comfortably full (not stuffed to gills) and you shouldn't feel hungry for about 4 hours or so. If you're so tight you can barely eat, then you are too tight. You can be so tight you can't even drink. If you were that tight, you'd call the doctor right away! So just remember that it's really no different if you can't really eat a meal. My doctor sais that a meal should be 3 oz of lean protein, a steamed or raw vegetable and if you are still truly hungry, to eat a single serving of a whole grain carb. At lunch, I am always still hungry, so I eat some whole grain Special K crackers. At dinner, I'm usually good with just the protein and vegetable. For Breakfast, I have been having a Protein shake just because it's convenient but I've gotten completely sick and tired of them, LOL ... and I should be! The last few days, I've been eating a serving of Greek yogurt for breakfast. It's still convenient and that's all I care about in the morning. I don't really want to have to cook a meal for breakfast. And, if you have a long stretch between lunch and dinner, as I do (I get off work at 5:30 and sometimes traffic keeps me from getting home until 7:00 or so), then you should have a small snack of pure protein. LIke a little low fat cottage cheese or a boiled egg. That way, when you are preparing your meal you don't start grazing your way through the kitchen:tt2:.

Not all that gas is IN your tummy. They pump your abdomen full of carbon dioxide to create a little more room in which to work. That has to be absorbed by your body and excreted. Walking as much as possible and a heating pad over your shoulder when it hurts there. Don't put the heating pad over your incisions unless your doc okays that! One friend's doctor recommended that she not sit in a regular chair for the first few days. instead, she was supposed to sit in a rocking chair and rock. Extra movement.

CBarnesL....Re your first post....what to look for in a doctor. An excellent support program. A support group, nutritionist on staff to answer questions as you run into them. Not having to wait long periods of time to get in for a fill. Re your second post ... liquid pre-op diets. NO, not every doctor prescribes a liquid pre-op diet. You will quickly discover that all doctors are different on pre- and post-op diets and even what you have to do after a fill! For example, my pre-op diet was two weeks, two Protein shakes a day and two meals that consisted of 3 oz of lean protein and raw or steamed vegetables. Some docs do all liquid, some do 1 meal a day, some use Optifast. You just have to ask your doctor the details. The OP (original poster) has 2 days of clear liquid pre-op. She may have had a specific diet prior to that as well.

Two days of clear liquid is tough, I know. Have you tried apple juice or white grape juice? They have some sweetness to them and might make your stomach feel a little better.

Chicamam, it's my personal understanding that the first line of treatment for slippage is to unfill the band for a month to see if the problem corrects itself. If not, surgery is the next step. Stick to your eating plan as best you can an hopefully it will improve! Fingers crossed.....

My bites are the size of a nickel.....three of those wouldn't keep my parrot, my pug or my cat alive much less me. My meal consists of about 3 oz of Protein, a vegetable and if I'm still hungry a single serving of whole grain carbs. I'm really liking those new Special K Crackers.... a serving is 17 crackers. Sometimes I make egg salad with low fat mayo and have it on the crackers and have a spinach salad with it! I do have to eat quite slowly or I get stuck repeatedly, especially in the evening. At lunch, I think I could eat anything without a problem. But even I don't wait 3 minutes between bites. I take a bite, chew it really well, swallow and when I know it's "gone down", I take another bite.

I'm sure a fill will help. I ws banded 2/10/09, and my surgeon told me that even after goal, it would be important to come in about every six months to had the Fluid level in my band checked and sometimes "topped off" since very small amounts of fluid can migrate out of the band over time. And, coming here to 'fess up can't hurt either because you can get a lot of support, ideas and esncouragement and that can make all the difference! Keep us posted on your progress.

I responded before but I wanted to add. 1. Your doctor usually approaches your port from an angle. Additionally, the needle (called a Huber needle) is not straight but has a bend in it and that affects the angle it is inserted. 2. 4ccs? heck only a very few people truly experienced any restriction at 4ccs in a 10cc band. I know for sure I didn't! 3. And do you really know what "restriction" feels like? It's not like a tight belt or whatever. What you should really be concerned with is "satiety".....which is the feeling of having eaten enough to no longer feel hungry and it should last for at least 4 hours. Restriction PROVIDES this sensation with less food than it took before you were banded.

More than 80% of all women wear the wrong size bra! They buy what they THINK is the right size. If you are getting closer to goal, you should seriously consider being professionally fitted. Only then will you have a bra that is truly the right size. The feeling of having the absolute right right is amazing! Well worth paying a little extra.

Getting restriction a few days (or even a couple of weeks) after a fill is quite common.

I think you have to go with your plan....that it depends on how you feel. As you may have deduced from other postings about how long it was before people went back to work or started exercising or whatever, we vary dramatically. I could have done the trip with no problem, but that most definitely isn't so for others.

FailureIsnt....I paid cash for my surgery. It was $15,000. Period. That's it. Everything included -- surgeon, surgery center, anesthesiologist. Anybody who is paying cash (or through financing) for their surgery, should ask up-front for a full disclosure of exactly what they have to pay for and how much.

I don't know anything about this really, but I'd ask if fluoroscopy would show anything. I mean, jumping off into the deep end with surgery right away seems a little drastic to me....

Well, that's 7,000 extra calories in 2 days....the food must have been REALLY, REALLY good and REALLY, REALLY rich. Seriously, a portion of that is Water being held by your body. You had no control over the preparation of any of the food that you ate all weekend. Likely there was more salt that you use at home. Just drink your water as usual, get what exercise you can (maybe free weights or something like that?) and the 2 pounds will be gone in no time. Weight Watchers says you are good if you are within 3 pounds of goal. You did fine! You just have to rein it in and see what happens. I'm predicting the 2 pounds will be gone by Wednesday or Thursday.

It has happened to ALOT of people on here and otherwise. I got gallstones the first time I made a significant weight loss (30 years ago). The surgeon then told me that stone forming can be an inherited tendency but that to form gallstones after a significant weight loss is entirely different and very common.

Keep COMPLETE journal entries for every day. Take that with you to your next appointment. When you get taken back, pull out your journal and tell the person that you need to discuss WHY this is happening when you're eating ONLY what the journal reflects. Increase your exercising to 5 times per week and see if that helps any. Make SURE you are drinking at least 64 oz of Water every day. I drink more than that but at least 64 oz. per day. Take your food journal to the nutritionist appointment too.

PB is not vomiting. A PB is simply a bite or two of chewed food that got stuck and came back up. Vomiting is where the contents of your stomach, including stomach acid and partially digested food are forced back out. BIG DIFFERENCE. You will know "STUCK" when it happens because it hurts and can actually make you panic for a minute or two until you realize you can still breathe. It doesn't go away until the food moves either into your stomach or back out through a PB. Restriction and satiety sort of go hand in hand. Satiety is when you know you don't need any more food. It doesn't mean you can't eat more, just that you know you've had enough. I had to learn the feeling by simply eating the amount of food I was told I should eat and then walking away regardless of whether I felt like I could eat more or not. Within 15 minutes or so, I would realize that I was full and didn't want or need to eat more. Restriction gives you a feeling of satiety sooner than you would have gotten it pre-band. You may actually feel food (for me, particularly cold liquids) pass through your band.

It varies from person to person and on how much was "too much". You had just broth? I couldn't quite decide if you had just broth or if you ate food. Too much liquid simply takes its time passing through the band. No big deal. Solid food must digest and can take hours to break down enough to pass through your band. In the meantime, you will feel uncomfortably stuffed. If you ate so much that it couldn't get into your stomach, it can sit in your esophagus until it can pass into your stomach OR it can come back up as a PB. Frankly, that's the one time I can honestly say I think I'd rather have a PB, LOL.

I walked to the end of the block and back on the day of surgery. I've increased the distance I can walk and shortened the time it takes over the 6 months since my surgery. I can walk 4 miles in under 40 minutes now and I do this 5 times a week unless it's the week the mow the lawn because I have an acre yard and I figure I get plenty of exercise mowing, LOL. On those weeks, I walk 4 days. I never liked going to a gym so I'd rather walk, which is an excellent exercise (especially if you're 58 years old, like me).

My physician's assistant puts the needle into the port, draws out all the fluid (to check how much is really there) and then pushes it back in along with the amount decided upon for the fill. Sounds like a similar process to me.....

I have never had any meetings with a dietician/nutritionist. My surgeon offers a monthly support group which focuses on these sorts of issues in a group situation, where you can trade ideas with other patients. For example, one support group meeting focused on menu planning. Another on hydration that discussed activity levels etc. requiring more hydration than a sedentery lifestyle, etc. I've gained a lot of insight from these group support meetings because the professional staff has a lot of information to share but so do the other patients who attend.

The doc's original post says it was extended to April 1, 2009.....

I'm not a fan of yogurt generally, but the Greek yogurt has come highly recommended to me. It is thicker than regular yogurt and unflavored. You can sweeten it artifically or add a little honey. later you could add fruit or whatever when that's added to your diet. I'm going to buy some this weekend and try having it for breakfast

Erin, are you drinking plain water? How much? Most docs recommend a minimum of 64 oz per day. It's hard at first if you're not into drinking water....but just drink what you can. I find it helps me most to keep a glass of water close at hand all the time. I end up drinking more than enough. And, you'll get a little exercise running back and forth the potty because it will make you pee a lot more than you're used to, LOL.

NurseJess....that's me! It seemed like I got to 70 lost with no problem. But at that loss, I hit a weight that I had stayed at for several years and I'm thinking my body just decided it was familiar so it was a good place to stop. After a month, I am just starting to see a little downward movement on the scale. i'm not saying I've broken through this plateau but I'm very hopeful.