spoiltmom

This is the first time I've been on in a few days. I'm lost.

Congratulations!!! My friend had one done. She said the first 3 days were horrible but after that things improved every day. She said she definitely does not regret having it done and would do it again if needed. She said the results are awesome!!

I'm newly banded. I've had my band for a little over 3 months now. I got my first fill in September. That brought me to 4 cc's total and I had great restriction from that for 2 whole weeks. During those 2 weeks I got full on a cup of food 3 times a day. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't having cravings and I was loosing weight. Then after 2 weeks my restriction left and I started being able to eat a more normal amount of food and I was hungry again. Then in October the doc said well it sounds like we're close to your perfect fill level so he added 1 more CC for a total of 5. Still nothing changed I was hungry all the time. Last Tuesday I got my 3rd fill that brought me to 5.5 cc's. My weight is not budging and I'm hungry all the time. My surgeon said it's b/c I'm not getting enough Protein. So Monday I said to heck with it and I went back on Weight Watchers. I get 25 points a day for my weight. On Monday I had 25 points and 76 grams of protein. Yesterday I was even more hungry. I ate a total of 30 points and 92 grams of protein. Today I woke up STARVING. I've been starved all day. I had my coffee like normal and a low point Breakfast and I was still starving so I had a 100 calorie bag of popcorn and still hungry. I waited an hour and was starving so I gave up and just ate some high calorie leftovers. I'm discouraged. I know I'm over my points for the day. The added protein doesn't seem to be helping. I'm scared that my restriction may not come back but it will won't it? Why did I have such great restriction for a couple of weeks and now none? I'm beginning to feel like I'm on another pointless diet. My health insurance paid for my band in full but I'm starting to think I should have paid cash and got the sleeve instead. Do you guys have any advice or words of wisdom? I know I've already lost a little over 30 pounds and that's great but I'm still on high blood pressure meds and I'm still battling my sleep apnea and knee pains. I'd like to get my loss going again. On a side note: The last diet I committed to was Weight Watchers. I followed their points guidelines and I got down to 174. But I was starving all the time and gained it back. Right now I can't get under 194.

Wow!! My cousin's doc is the same way. He does huge first fills. Just be careful and once you start eating again taking it really slowly!

I agree. Also if you have some before and after pics print those out and post them on your refrigerator also.

Band Groupie explained it very well. Constant Reflux causes damage to the esophagus and over time that can cause changes to the cells in the esophagus. My older brother is not banded but he's had horrible reflux for years now. He now has Barrett's Esophagus. He has to watch his diet closely, he takes prescription acid meds daily and he has to have an endoscopy once a year.

It's approximately 1250 calories a day. For me I'm actually physically hungry. Taking a look at my menus over the last few days though I noticed I was hungriest Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday. Tuesday we had Purple Hull Peas for supper and I had them again for lunch on Wednesday. On Monday all 3 meals were more solid foods that all had to be chewed really well. Could that have made a big difference?

So is that not really normal? I mean should my restriction have come back by now?

Yep. He pulls back and measures at every single fill.

Congratulations!!! That's great news!

Good luck!! I hope they cover it for you. From what I've read the sleeve sounds like it will be a great option for you.

Do you have a copy of the eval? If not I'd get one and see what it says. As for the 5%, I'm not sure about that. You're doc is right though your BMI is borderline so I wouldn't lose too much if I were you.

Good Luck! I can't wait to hear how it goes:)

I worry about the same thing. Is it possible to get our bands full and still not have restriction? Does anyone know?

I must admit I'm a bit jealous also:) That is just AWESOME results!

Congratulations!!

Wow! congrats Angela! I've had to go back to Weight Watchers. I'm not losing and I'm fighting back and forth with the same 5 pounds:( I have very little restriction and my surgeon doesn't want to see me again for 3 MONTHS! Sometimes I wish I would have done the sleeve instead:(

What is your BMI? It's more about your BMI than your weight alone. My insurance does allow high cholesterol as a co morbidity but I have normal cholesterol.

Okay ladies I'm back. I've lost all the weight I'm going to lose without putting in maximum effort. When I got my first fill at 4 cc's I could get by on 12 points a day. Now I'm at 5.5 cc's and sadly I don't have much restriction at all. I can easily eat 35 points in a day with no problems. I got my last fill a week ago and my surgeon for some crazy reason would like me to wait 3 months for my next one. So here I am. I have to get recommitted to WW or I'm not going to lose anymore.

When was last your fill? How much is in your band?

Wow! How often does your doc do fills?

I got my third fill on Tuesday. I'm not as restricted as I was with my first fill but I do get full on small amounts of food so I'm good with it for now.

I'm not sure yet. For supper last night I only had a 4 oz pork chop and nothing else. It filled me up. This morning when I woke up I wasnt' hungry so I'm hopeful now:) Maybe my restriction is back again.

I just looked at your ticker. You're doing awesome girl! Congrats!

My first fill put me at 4 CC's. I had GREAT restriction for 2 weeks then it slowly started to fade. So I got another CC added for a total of 5. After 3 weeks I felt the same with no restriction so I got another 1/2 CC this past Tuesday. I still don't really feel restriction. Will it always be like this or once you get a certain amount of weight/fat off will your restriction be more consistent? Right now I'm discouraged. I really don't have restriction and I'm hungry all the time but I also have problems swallowing certain foods so I'm hungry, with little to no restriction and limited food choices. It's aggravating me right now and I'm feeling really down about it. My surgeon keeps telling me to fill up on Protein but that's hard when the only protein you can eat is pork that's freshly cooked and ground meats. That gets old after a while.