ElfiePoo

I had my first fill (3 cc's) on Wednesday. No problems. My first meal I tried to eat 2 eggs and noticed restriction after one, so I fed the other one to the dog. Then after dinner last night, I did notice that for the first time I was hungry ... stomach growling hungry. So instead of my shake this morning, I had 2 eggs. No restriction. I called the clinic this morning and they set up another appointment. Sadly, because of the holidays, they can't get me in for 2 weeks, but hey...it'll be a good exercise in self-control. The nurse did say that most patients don't get restriction until around 6 cc's. When you get your fill, just take small sips of Water. Take small bites of food and chew thoroughly. I'd also start out with foods that are less likely to give you problems and work up to the others (e.g. meat). I eat 6 small meals a day. Three of them are food. The in-between ones are just Protein shakes to keep my blood sugar levels stable and, since I'm getting my daily protein in the shakes, I don't have to worry about how much I'm getting in my 'food' meals. .

We're all different, but if I drank vinegar, I'd end up with a serious case of heartburn. Been there...done that. I'd try the papaya enzyme tablets. I read where someone got them at Wal-Mart. .

Actually, that is not what I said. I said that you should fire your dictor *if* you are hungry and have no restriction and *if* he is more concerned with sticking to his arbitrary policies and not listening to his patient...who knows their body better than anyone else can. The doctor always knows best? Hmmm...my husband's first wife died of breast cancer because she took that approach. Her doctor wrote in her chart that she was imagining that 'lump' in her breast and was just a post-pregnant woman looking for attention. By the time she learned that the doctor doesn't always 'know' what's best and went to another doctor, the cancer had metastisized to her spine and brain. She died when her sons were only 2 and 3 years old. No, the doctor doesn't always know what's best but too many people put them on pedestals and assume that 'if the doctor said it, then it must be right.' The band is a tool...not a placebo. If you're making good food choices...If you're hungry...If you have no restriction and are able to eat to excess...then there is no reason you should have to wait six weeks for a fill just because that's your doctor's 'policy'. .

Sounds like gas, but I'd call the doc's office. That's what they're there for. :w00t:

When I get to my target weight, my fill will be adjusted to the point where I'm able to eat enough to maintain that weight. That may mean some fill. It may mean no fill although from what I'm reading, those maintaining still have some fill. When you get to 110, you'll still monitor your eating and if you gain 5 pounds, you readjust how/what you're eating or your activity level to drop that 5 pounds. The difference is that the band is still there to access if you are able to eat to excess...and are. .

Before you make that final decision on who your surgeon will be, find out what their policy is on giving fills. Read enough posts on enough forums and you'll find that some doctors have a policy cut in stone and won't deviate from it no matter how hungry you are or whether you can (and still are) eating to excess. Others work with you and will give you a fill if there is no restriction and/or you are hungry and/or still able to eat to excess. There are too many doctors out there who still don't understand what we're dealing with. They seem to think the band is a placebo...stick it in and we should somehow miraculously be able to stick to a diet, lose weight and keep it off. Others tell their patients that they need to go on a 'diet'. I'm not saying a 'diet' is bad and if you want to do the whole Weight Watchers and gym thing, more power to you...but the band was designed to deal with excessive eating so common sense says that if you're used to eating 5000+ calories a day and the band (along with making good food choices) keeps your calories at 1000-2000 a day, you're going to lose weight. Interview several surgeons. I interviewed 6 or 7 before making my choice...and I'm exceedingly happy with that choice. .

Isopure dutch chocolate powder - thinner than most shakes but taste is acceptable. GNC carries it. EAS chocolate powder - thicker than Isopure, but thinner than Slim Fast. Sam's Club carries it and it's a lot cheaper than the Isopure. Just a side note. I bought the Isopure clear Protein drinks because someone said they were like Sobe's or Gatorade. In fact, I bought two cases...and gave them away. I thought they were awful and they dried my mouth out as if I had put a bit of alum on my tongue. .

I'm on another forum where the majority of people have had the bypass. After reading their posts for months, I became even more convinced that the band was the better option. Far too many of these people show their current weight to be 10-15 pounds below their goal weight. They're struggling to maintain a healthy weight. Two of the women are below 100 pounds and having serious health problems. Many of these people have a poorer quality of life because they seem to get sick more often and have a number of new health issues. I know two women, personally, who died as a result of this surgery. Not the surgery itself, but all the problems that came later. I don't know what the connection is, but quite a number are having difficult with their teeth and have thousands of dollars of dental work needing to be done or have had done. Someone just posted a link to a site that talks about impairment of neurological function as a result of the bypass. Memory loss, problem solving, etc. There are worse things than being fat. Another option is the gastric sleeve. Far more invasive than the band, but not any more than the bypass, but unlike the bypass, your internal plumbing is still hooked up the way it was designed to be...your stomach is just smaller. It's a better option than the bypass. .

8 cc's? Hmmm...have you tried eating or drinking yet? I'd think with 8cc's you'd be *really* restricted. Did they try to pull any of the saline out to see if they actually got it in the band? After my fill yesterday, the doc pulled back on the syringe to make sure there was actually saline in the band. Sort of a double check. .

Interesting...how does throwing up cause you to lose saline in your band? I've never heard of that before. .

I had my first fill at 4 weeks (yesterday) and they put 3 cc's in. I'm scheduled for another one in a month, but she said I can come in sooner if I'm 'hungry'. Hungry...I don't know what that is. I've never been hungry a day in my life. After I clarified that with her, she said to schedule sooner if I find I'm able to eat more than I should *and* am eating more than I should.

Same here. I had a fill yesterday (only first fill and 3 cc's) but have no problem drinking water, and according to the doc, the water should go down smoothly. This morning I made eggs...decided to do something completely different since I normally do a shake for breakfast...and out of habit I made two scrambled eggs. I made it through one and ended up feeding the second one to the dog. Ok...I *could* have still eaten it, but I have a definite full sensation sitting in my pouch. Not painful pressure like when I don't chew well, but comfortably full. So I stopped. Go band! .

Letting the slime come up is not the same as throwing up. I had a fill yesterday and this happened to me with a Protein shake. When you throw up, your whole stomach convulses in order to push that food out of the stomach and back up the esophagus. When I slimed, the food never made it through the band. It was like it got stuck and then just sat there at the entry to my esophagus. All I had to do was open my mouth and lean over. No stress on the tummy at all.

Well I had my first fill today, 3 cc in a 12 cc band and have to say I don't feel any different. Then again, I only get liquids for the next 24 hours so the test will be when I start eating solids again. After getting the fill, however, it's hard to understand how the medical personnel could possibly miss the fact that they didn't get the saline into the port (as one poster said). My doc pressed on the port until he had the little center nub between two fingers and then had to push down hard enough on the needle to get it through the plastic or whatever this thing is made out of. You'd definitely know if you missed it. I have an appointment for a month but with instructions to call if I get hungry and am having difficulty controlling my eating at any point up to then and get the fill sooner. .

Forget the fax. Find out who the paperwork needs to go to and send it registered mail so they have to sign for it. Then if they ignore it, turn them in to the state insurance board. If you've met your deductible for the year and were planning on getting it done this year so you won't have any more out of pocket, I'd be tempted to threaten them with the state board since it appears they're deliberately delaying your surgery to save money. Remember...the squeaky wheel gets the attention. .

I'd tell the doc that 'his goal' is not your goal. Your goal is to control your portions and whatever you lose is what it is. Unfortunately you have one of those doctors who doesn't understand that 1-2 pounds per week is reasonable for someone with 20 pounds to lose. It's not for someone who has 100 pounds to lose. We've been eating a significant amount of calories to maintain that 100 extra pounds. Even cutting back to 1200 calories will result in more than 1-2 pounds per week. Eventually, as we get closer to our goal weight, we'll stop losing as quickly. .

Good luck with yours as well. They numbed you eh? Mine just said, "a little pinch" and off he went. Fortunately for him it was just a little pinch. :tongue2: .

I eat 6 small meals per day...one about every 3 hours. For 1 of the meals I eat normally, just not over 1 cup of food total and it's mostly Protein and vegies and only about a teaspoon (dinnerwear not measuring spoon) of carbs. At some point I may do 3 food meals but the other 3 'in between' meals will always be Protein shakes just to keep the blood sugar level. .

I didn't care for the Isopure Protein Drinks. I bought two cases and ended up giving them away because whatever is in them dries out my mouth...kind of like alum does. For an extra special smoothie treat, I make a banana split smoothie. 1 cup milk, 1 scoop EAS Dutch chocolate Protein Powder, 1/2 banana, 1 Tbs Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate syrup, 2 Tbs crushed pineapple in juice, 1-2 frozen strawberries. Toss it all in a blender and voila. .

There's an upside to losing more slowly...you just might get to keep your gallbladder. My doc said it's a very common occurence for WLS patients to end up having their gall bladder removed because they lose too fast and somehow this stresses the gall bladder.

It depends on the doctor. I think most are using the guidelines from the Lap Band and Realize Band companies. Others are modifying them. My doc has a band and my diet was a revised. I was on each phase for approx. 3 days and I was back on solid foods at the beginning of week 3 with a cautionary note to chew well, take small bites and pay attention to which foods go down hard...and avoid them. .

My doc said the total amount of food at a meal, at this point while I still have no restriction, should be about 1 cup. After fills, that will become less. I would strongly advise not visit fast food places and to make your own meals at home. You'll get more in the way of nutrients per calorie than you will with fast food. Meals should be Protein and vegies (cook well at this point or some will go down *hard*) with just a bit of carbs (I usually only take one dinner sized spoonful of the carbs)...all equaling about 1 cup. I put a 1 cup measuring cup on my plate and eye it. At first I had to remove some of the food, but I'm getting better.

It sounds as if your NUT sees the band as a placebo and she's suggesting that they may need to dangle that in front of you at a later date. As someone already said, BALONEY. If I reach 'capacity' in my band, according to my doc, and I'm still hungry, then I will need to look seriously at what I'm doing since that would shut me down to an opening about the size of an m&m. My .02...I wouldn't allow the Nut or the doc to control my fills. *I* know what I'm feeling and *I* know whether or not I need a fill because it is my body. Fortunately, I have a doctor who has a band and knows all this and has put the control in my hands. .

No you aren't a loser but something more is going on than just not exercising because you can lose weight without exercising. You say you aren't 'eating like crazy' but it's possible to make the wrong food choices while still restricting your eating. My doc and nut said that I should be eating about 1 cup of food per meal...and one cup of food is not equal to another cup. The calories, carbs, fats and nutrients in one cup of grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and a bit of rice would be significantly lower (and better) than 1 cup breaded fried chicken, corn and mashed potatoes w/gravy. If I have to 'exercise' (and I'm thinking exercise as in working out just to work out and lose weight) to lose weight, I'm going to be fat the rest of my life because I hate to exercise and I know it is not a lifestyle change that I can keep up for 'life'. From experience though, I know that I don't have to exercise to lose weight, I just need to have a more active lifestyle. After I lost 70 pounds (and I've kept it off by the way), I started working in my own warehouse. For 4-5 hours per day I'm walking, lifting (5-25# lifts), squatting, bending, etc...but for a purpose. As I continue to lose weight, the plan is to take up some of the activities I've done in the past and enjoyed so much (cross country skiing, backpacking, etc.) because these things I will be interested in doing for a lifetime. I expect I'll get 'exercise' just from working around my house and yard. Washing walls is an incredible workout...and the satisfaction factor is enormous. :tongue2: .

I'm 4 weeks post op and noticed this evening (Tuesday) that my port has begun to feel a bit sore. I'm thinking it may have something to do with it rubbing against scar tissue since the incision is at the bottom lip of the port and that's where it's sore. I'll ask the doc when I go in for a fill on Wednesday. .