Humming Bird

Mine is centered about 1-1 1/2 inches below my sternum. It's been a perfect placement for me. It's well below my bra. I am a stomach sleeper and have had zero discomfort with it.

The capacity of the pouch is NOT 1-2 cups.

Of course I'm not a Dr., but here's my 2 cents worth: OMG! At that rate it will take forever to get to the green zone so your band will work properly. In my case, the doc put in 2.7cc during surgery and by my 2nd fill I was at 5.3cc and found my green zone there. I didn't need another fill again for 10 months. I believe that alone was the key to my success. Because I hit the green zone so early in the process I saw success with very little effort on my part. I dropped 100 pounds in the first year. I am one of the few who believe it is all about restriction (proper restriction). I really frrl my success has been 90% band with proper restriction and 10% food choices on my part. The proof is in the pudding. If your doc refuses to bring you to proper restriction, I would seek out a new doc.

I guess I'm on the fence with this one. I do feel the way stateofzen feels when she talks about boob jobs vs. WLS. Morbid Obesity has the word morbid in it for a reason. It's a serious condition. That being said, I don't think it's even close to organ transplant when it comes to needing help with funding. I paid cash for my surgery. I have no health insurance, so I financed it and made payments. This surgery is much less than people pay for a car nowdays. It bothers me sometimes when people want assistance with things, but drive an expansive car and manage to spend money on things like fake fingernails and pedicures on a regular basis. I guess that is why I'm on the fence about the fundraising thing. I would have to know details about the person before I would donate for WLS.

A healthier diet can improve your pocket readings, but Rx meds cause all sorts of problems with the tissues in your mouth as well. If you are taking vits. you could see improvement too. I'm glad to hear your gums are better this time. (I'm a RDH) ps, floss daily

After over 2 years with the band, I have forgotten what it feels like to have the old "full" feeling. I have not eaten a full plate of food in 26 months. I am now able to know when to stop eating without really giving it any thought. I do get hungry when it's time to eat. I eat more than 3 times a day, but very tiny amounts. I think it was very helpful in the beginning, and as I got restriction with fills, to listen to my soft signs. My doc. told me that many bandsters have one hiccup or a sigh when they are getting full. For me, if I wait for the hiccup it's too late and I have taken a couple bites too much. I have several soft signs. One that happens the most is a runny nose or sneeze. It's a learning process, but I now know how to stop eating just before my signal. If I take one or 2 bites too much I have a sneezing fit and have to blow my nose. There are several threads here at LBT where people talk about their soft signs. In my case, during the first few weeks of good restriction, if I ate past the soft sign the food would be in my esophagus. I'm very sensitive to this and it would cause the food to come back up. A couple episodes of throwing up cured me of eating that last bite that would put me over my full line.

I'm sure you will be fine. At this stage you don't have restriction so I don't think you have done damage. Just get back with the program.

sorry.... Back to the OP........ In my first year of being banded I reached my sweet spot on my 2nd fill. My fills were large amounts to start and I had a 2.7cc fill during surgery. My starting BMI was 41.3. I have a 10cc band and my sweet spot was at 5.3cc. If I had it any tighter at that point, I would have not been able to eat anything but fluids. I stayed at that restriction level for a very long time (10 months or so). Today, I'm 26 months post-op and am at 5.7cc. I have great restriction and the band is doing it's job. I really don't think BMI has anything to do with it. It's the size and thickness of the stomach it's self. Maybe a 10cc band would have worked better for you. It is my understanding that the large 14cc band is used on large men and such.... I think if I were in your shoes, I would go get another fill, and another until I reached restriction.

lol....too funny, the same site was the first one that came up for me earlier today when I searched it.

:clap: Now you need to get yourself a 100 lb. REWARD ! What will it be?

It doesn't sound like you are too tight at all to me. The point is so you can't eat much. Drink protein shakes and stick with high protein foods to get it in. I still drink a protein shake now and then. Toss some yogurt, ice, strawberries, high protein powder and ice in the blender ..... yum Have some chili with cheese on it.....yum

So, why then do we have different sized hearts? Kidneys? livers? Of course our stomachs are different.

I am so happy for you! Thanks for sharing. You have done so well. :clap: Keep up the good work and enjoy life!

I LOVE this thread! Thanks for starting it. We need the positive inspiration sometimes. I've been banded for over 2 years and maintaining for a long time, but will give the list that comes to mind with things I love about being at a normal BMI. - I no longer have to accept the fact that I will just have to live with being a "big gal" or "the fat chick" - I can get up in my husband's 4x4 truck without all the extra effort and the feeling like my big ol boobs are hitting my chin or cutting off my airway. - I can wear my beautiful wedding rings and could fit in my wedding dress. (I want to be buried in my wedding dress when I die) - I can cross my legs with ease and comfort. - I can walk up stairs or a hill without feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack. - I can wear cute clothes. - No more shopping in the fat old lady section/store. - People treat me better (sad, but true) - I can fit in the seats at the movies and even have extra room on each side. - I feel better when having sex. - I fit so much better behind the wheel when driving. - I have tons of space between me and the table when sitting in a booth. - No more snoring when I sleep. - I can get in a comfy position better to sleep. - I no longer avoid social situations. Oh my gosh! I could go on forever! I love my band!

My noises have gotten much better with time. The first 18 months were pretty bad, but now things are quiet most of the time.

On a normal day I eat more than 3 times a day. It's normal for me to eat 4-6 times. In my mind, none of them are "meals". The word "meal" drives me crazy. I have not had a meal in over 2 years! I can only eat such a small amount at a time I can not wrap my mind around the word "meal". If I only ate 3 times a day I would get under the weight I want to be. I already have so much loose skin I think I would just look older if I dropped too much more weight. It's a personal choice for me. I have never counted calories since the band was placed.

Of course talk to your docs about this. I am not a Dr., but can give you my 2 cents worth. I have fibro and CFS and have had great success with the band. I do not take any Rx meds. The one problem I see is that NSAIDS help the fibro when it flares up and they say to stay away from NSAIDS with the band. The reason for this is that they can cause ulcers if they sit in the pouch. I don't take them often, but when I need to, I take a double dose of Jr. strength liquid ibuprophen. When things get really bad and I need something stronger I disolve Aleve in a bit of Water and take that. (it burns all the way down, but kicks the pain without sitting in the pouch) Over the past few years I came to the conclusion that lowering the stress in my life makes the fibro symptoms much better. Sometimes it is not easy to do, but I try to live by it.

Did they remove all the Fluid at your last fill to measure the total amount ? I have heard a few people over the last couple years say the port was missed so the fluid never went in. 12cc? Do you have realize or another brand? As far as I know, lap-band only makes 10cc & 14cc bands. I reached my sweet spot/green zone with my 2nd fill. They had put some in at surgery and then 2 fills. I was VERY tight at 5.3cc , in a 10cc band for a year. After that only very tiny fills are required about every 10-12 months with me.

It sure does not sound very normal to me. I have never even had a tiny purple spot after a fill, and I bruise easy.

I have been banded over 2 years now. The first year I lost 100 pounds! I did this with zero calorie counting, zero tracking of anything, and zero exercise. I love my band and I love how easy the pounds fell off. I don't "diet". I would get banded again in a heartbeat. I have not had any major complications, and if I ever do, I would beg to have another band if it came to that. I have been on just about every diet known to man and this is what has worked for me. I continue to maintain a normal BMI with the band. This is the first time I have dropped a large amount of weight and kept it off. I think the band is magic! I honestly can not relate to people who say you have to work hard with the band.

Hot liquids is the wrong thing to use for swelling.

In general I keep my restriction level pretty tight. Fills can cause some swelling and if I eat solid food right after a fill it can make the situation worse causing me to stay away from real food even longer. The key for me to be able to eat sooner after a fill is to eat/drink ice cold things right after the fill. I'm talking slush or milkshake type things. I then take it easy the rest of that day with liquid or semi-mushie stuff.

I don't drink while I eat, ever. I'm with honk on this one with the drinking up until I take my first bite of food. I'm also the same as MollyRN and the others with not being able to drink during or after a meal. If it's a rule or not doesn't really matter, I just have to do things the way it works for me. I do like my band restriction fairly tight to keep my weight in check. It really isn't a hardship after being banded for over 2 yrs., it's just a way of life. I have plenty of time to drink between meals.

So, how did the seminar go? Did they ask you many questions? I think it would be really hard to speak about some things because the band is so different with each of us.