amaretto

A question for the group~ So my last fill was in April, filled to about 5ccs. I have only lost about 10lbs since then, and only 25lbs total, so I have felt like I was maybe just a hair away from the sweet spot, but vomiting pretty often and PBing so I haven't wanted to go any tighter. But over the last 6 weeks or so, I have been eating less and less and as I eat less, it seems like the less I CAN eat. I feel like my band gets tighter, the less I eat. I am eating Protein shakes in the morning, yogurt, a soft lunch and chewing really well, but at times turning to shakes just to quell the evening hunger. I am thinking that I might be too tight, but it's so counter intuitive to me because, #1, I am not losing that much weight and #2, I thought losing weight made you looser anyway. Now for the first time I am having heartburn... something that I have never had a problem with before. Why would my band suddenly just get tighter?? Whatcha'll think??

Can someone please help me mentally put the pieces together? I had a fill about a week ago, and now am feeling pretty good restriction. I have to practically liquefy my food before swallowing to avoid that painful “stuck” feeling, however.. ..it seems that this is causing me to be hungrier, faster. Also, chewing like this allows more then 1 cup to get through. A doctor told me that if you over chew your food, it is counterproductive, and I think that may be what I am experiencing. I am wondering if your body somehow figures out what is happening, and it’s a matter of your stomach shrinking too? At what point does the decreased hunger kick in?

A little reassurance please! Next week I am scheduled for my first fill… however it will be out of state. I am in Salt Lake, and my doctor is in Denver. I have found it is more cost effective to fly out to Denver to get the fill then to get one locally. My doctor has already said that the tends to be a little aggressive on the first fills… which pleases me after reading all the stories of it taking people multitudes of fills to get restriction. I worry that if I come home and realize that I have been overfilled, I won’t have any recourse to have any removed. Yet, if I let my nerves get the best of me, I could make the whole trip in vain. Has anybody else been in a similar situation? How many of you had to get unfilled the first time around?? Thanks all for your sage advice!

I feel fortunate to have gotten such good advice from both of you. Right now, I’m thinking I will proceed with caution… Perhaps renting a car to be sure that I can loiter around at his office plaza for a couple of hours, just to be on the safe side. My returning flight isn’t until 7pm, so hopefully by then I’ll know if all is well or not. And concentrating on the water as it goes down is a good call, something I wouldn’t have thought to do on my own. Much appreciated!

My doctor is also Dr. Kirshenbaum. I am planning on flying out Tuesday morning and returning home later the same day. I haven’t yet figured out how I am going to get to/from the Dr.’s office and the airport. It’s good to hear that he is meticulous with the fills. It is also encouraging to hear that you haven’t encountered a problem having your fills done in this manner. I think I will talk to him about my concerns over being over filled. I know ultimately, I need to trust the process, but it’s still so new and I’m still caught in the learning curve. Thanks for your thoughts!!

Ah, this cracks me up because I am about 3 weeks out and have eaten about 10 starbursts today! I guess whatever doesn't kill us (or send us back to our surgeons) will just make us fatter... p.s, no need to reprimand me, I already know BAD GIRL blah blah blah

Thanks for the responses. It seems a little counter intuitive to me that after the swelling-restriction goes away, then comes the fill-restriction, which somehow allows for greater calorie intake. It must come not from the volume of food eaten but by being able to eat from a higher quality selection. I am definitely looking forward to getting my protein from chicken next week instead of just whey!

I have a question for those of you that are on the Losing Track… Approximately how many calories do you feel you are consuming each day? I am a little baffled about restriction vs. starvation mode. I am only a couple weeks out (090909) and am still feeling restriction, and only taking in about 800 calories a day. I am not losing weight, and I figure it’s because my body must be in starvation mode and conserving fat. Would you say that eventually, the typical scenario is to be able to take in more calories again, and then with the fill, comes a drop in calories and then a weight loss? Or does just not being hungry somehow impact metabolism, and avoid starvation mode? I am also worried about muscle loss vs. just fat loss. Do you feeling like you have been able to adequately retain your muscle mass? Or have you been able to increase muscle mass on such a calorie-restricted diet?

I was banded on 090909, and having a very similar experience. Each day, the pain seems to lessen a little more, and I feel like I can eat a little more. My port site is still sore, but my most intense pain spot isn't an insicion at all, I think it is where the band is on my stomach. It kind of worries me that I feel like I can eat more then the liquids, I can handle food chewed well enough that it seems liquified. The nutritianist said that if I could chew it enough that it would fit through a straw, then it would be ok.. so I am going with that. I don't think I have taken in more then maybe 800 calories total all day, but I feel very full and satisfied... I am just nervous that it has not been totally liquids. Anyone have a similar experience?