Katy517

I was banded in April of this year with a 14 cc Allergan band, I'm on my 4th adjustment now and am at 10.8 cc. My first fill was to 6.5 cc. This is definitely the closest I've come yet to the sweet spot so many here talk about.

The 'restriction' that some report right after surgery is mostly due to the surgery itself and not so much the band since most surgeons don't fill the band with any saline at all during the surgery itself. The first fill (adjustment of the band) will typically take place approximately six weeks after surgery once you are fully healed. At about week #5 post-op I felt like I could have eaten just about anything at any time. I was so hungry it was crazy. I got my first fill and didn't really have restriction, but it did help to curb my appetite somewhat and made it easier to follow my doc's diet plan (high Protein, very low carb and no slider foods). I've now had four adjustments and with each one get greater restriction. For me, the band without any fills is very much like my pre-op state of no band at all. A side note, my own surgeon required a six week all liquid diet post-op. From reading here it is a very strict diet compared to others. All surgeons though have a post-op diet plan and my opinion is that is to increase the likelihood that their patients will be successful during that period in which the band has little bearing on appetite. Stay patient and good luck to one and all.

Don't think there's any revision tracking as the sheet is set to allow editing without login. Basically any anonymous user could click on the link and make changes. My record was mucked up yesterday too and I was fortunately able to rebuild it from my weight loss ticker history. Good luck.

I am very sorry to hear that you have to deal with this and wish you strength in fighting the cancer.

After my last fill (4th) I was just miserable with everything getting stuck. Went in for a slight (.2 cc) unfill and it was night and day different. It was a scary few days for me not being able to keep anything down at all. Even water came back up if I drank too much or a little too fast. Not a comfortable feeling at all and for me not something I could live with.

I was banded on 4/15/10, since then I have lost 66 pounds (83 pounds total since pre-op nutritional counseling stage). Congrats everybody - there are some awesome results being posted in this thread.

I had no co-morbidities or other health issues and also had to stay overnight. It's the standard for my surgeon.

I have had a 14 cc Allergan lap band since 4/15/10. There was no fluid added at the time of surgery. I received my first fill on 5/26/10 and it was 6.5 cc. I am now at 10.8 cc and do have restriction.

I just went through this situation as I was apparently overfilled during my last adjustment. I couldn't keep any foods down at all and even water seemed to get lodged in my chest cavity. It was painful. I kept thinking things would settle down, but after 9 days finally went in for another adjustment and was unfilled .2 cc. What a difference. Will now be on liquids for two days and hopefully all will be right with my band.

It works. I had the same fears that the small amounts of food wouldn't provide sufficient nutrition and that I would be weak as a result. For me, following the dietary guidelines and filling up first on healthy proteins has been a key ingredient of my success so far. Good luck.

I find that if I don't chew completely enough or try to eat the wrong foods too fast - like meats that are either too well done or too rare - can cause major problems especially after a recent adjustment. Chest pains included. How are you doing with Water and other liquids? Are they going down OK? How much time has passed since the last fill? I see many recommendations here regarding slight unfills to alleviate such problems so wouldn't rule that out. Good luck.

Congratulations! That's an achievement that you should be very proud of.

At 10 days post-op I was feeling ravenous for some solid food. My post-op diet directive was six full weeks of full liquids only (I gave in and ate real food at 39 days) and all I could think of was chewing. I had some post-op complications and they had cleared up for the most part at about the 10 day mark so not feeling weak and sick made me all that much hungrier.

You can click on your user name and then on 'find more posts by Dave_NW' to get a quick listing of all your recent posts.

I am confident that things will be different for you now that you've had an adjustment and the band will be working with you now. Just keep in mind how well you've done on your own while waiting for your band to be the tool it is intended to be. Hang in there and stay motivated. You've come this far and gotten through two surgeries. This is the easy part compared to what you've already gone through. Good luck and let me know if you ever need to talk about all this. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Would definitely be interesting to know the outcome, but doubt we'll get an update. Shrinkerbell hasn't logged on here since 8/26/09 and this was the last post made.

Not sure why the band plus exercise along with a nutritious diet wouldn't be resulting in weight loss over the long run. How long have you been at this plateau? How long since your last adjustment? Do you have restriction? What do you eat and drink on a typical day? What does your doctor say? So far, whenever I complain of hitting a plateau my doc recommends an adjustment.

Everybody and everybody's band experience is different so it's hard to say what is normal. I know though that I didn't have restriction after my first fill (or my second for that matter) and had to rely a lot on myself and just making good food choices during that period prior to my band really making a difference. Exercise and activity helped a great deal to keep my mind focussed and not give in to overeating. Have you contacted your doctor to see if you can get your 2nd fill any sooner? I got mine approximately three weeks after the first. Good luck.

Blended low-cal yogurt was allowed post-op for me and I found that to be the most satisfying thing that I was permitted to have. Other options on my post-op all liquid diet were diluted clear sugar-free juices, skim milk, pureed soups, broths, sugar-free puddings and sugar-free popcicles.

I made it to my OneDerland goal ahead of schedule in the original Christmas challenge http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/anyone-interested-christmas-challenge-117098/. Am now setting a new Christmas goal of 190 for this one. Good luck to all.

I can really empathize. My surgery was in April 2010 and I also had complications from a really bad hematoma at the port incision. My port stuck out a whole lot too and caused a lot of pain. I was complaining to the surgeon within two days of surgery. My hematoma finally healed up though while the pain did not. Turns out that the point at which my port was attached was rubbing on a nerve and that was causing the pain. In my experience it wasn't hard to get the insurance company to approve a port revision, but it was difficult to convince my surgeon that it was needed. I think he finally got sick of hearing me complain so much and gave in. After four months I had surgery to relocate the original port. It still sticks out, I still feel it and it's sometimes uncomfortable, but nothing like the pain that I had before. I was able to get two adjustments though between the original surgery and the revision so continued to lose weight and the band was working to provide restriction. I wish you the best.

My port has been noticeable since I had the surgery. It was even more so prior to a port revision to relocate it. It definitely becomes more noticeable as I lose additional weight. Something that I've just learned to live with. The low profile port was not an option for me per my surgeon.

Mid-left under my lowest rib.

I typically eat my last meal prior to 8:00 pm and then have a cup of hot herbal tea just before bed time.

I think that I miss beer more than any particular food. Sigh...