Lap Band "sweet Spot" Frustrations...

[southernrootslbc 0]

I'm over six months out of surgery. I lost a lot of weight right at first, and then progress stagnated. I think I was just never getting tight enough. The method my provider uses for the fills is to sip from a glass of Water and adjust it to where it takes approximately three seconds for the water to pass through the band.

I think my problem is that it takes longer for fluids to pass through than dense foods. A few days after getting my last fill, I was able to eat an entire french dip and serving of chips... but I couldn't drink water quickly. Is anyone else having this problem?

I finally got them to give me a really tight fill this last time. I have to drink fluids very slowly, especially in the morning, but it seems like I'm finally getting the restriction I need on food. Of course now I'm worried I'm too tight. I'm having reflux now during the night. I'm going to try not drinking anything an hour before bedtime and seeing if that helps.

I'm just really wondering if maybe I don't have a "sweet spot." I know it sounds weird, but if I can process solids better than fluids, how will that ever work for me?

Bah!

[Army's girl 4]

Why are you eating French dip & chips at all?!!! No band will work if you don't change your eating habits dear. I understand your concern & how you feel but I'm worried your miss using the band as it's not there for the purpose of continuing to eat poorly. If you change the type of food your eating you may not get reflux or have ANY problems at all. I'm sorry if this sounds aggressive, it's not meant to be but seriously chips?

[southernrootslbc 0]

While I appreciate your feedback, you've missed the point of my post. My surgeon has said that I can eat anything in moderation. I don't make a habit out of eating french dips and chips. I usually eat lean meat and veggies, but I also don't deprive myself of occasional treats. And quite frankly I don't think I should have to justify my diet to you... that's between my surgeon and myself.

My question is if anyone else is having the problem of having a harder time with liquids than with solids. If you have an opinion on that issue, I'd love to hear it. However, if you just cruise posts to judge people on their eating habits, please skip to the next one.

Why are you eating French dip & chips at all?!!! No band will work if you don't change your eating habits dear. I understand your concern & how you feel but I'm worried your miss using the band as it's not there for the purpose of continuing to eat poorly. If you change the type of food your eating you may not get reflux or have ANY problems at all. I'm sorry if this sounds aggressive, it's not meant to be but seriously chips?

[Jachut 487]

I've found at times (my band is ENTIRELY different now since it was unfilled for another surgery, I can eat much more and eat everything, I too seem to have no sweet spot anymore) that I would have trouble with the weirdest foods. Its stuck with me - I approach yogurt or any sort of fruit juice with extreme caution, expecting instant 'stuck' and pain, but I have always been able to eat bread! Soup - very difficult - steak, quite easy. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Although I'm glad after nine months unfilled to be almost full but still able to eat an apple this time round, it also means I just no longer have as good appetite control from my band.

Whilst I agree with you that the occasional treat wont hurt, chips and dip will probably always go down easy - those are slider foods and you will always be able to overeat them. Now, try a steak or some eggs or a piece of toast and judge your restriction from that.

[southernrootslbc 0]

Okay, you've had the issues I'm talking about! The things that everyone else can eat for Breakfast, like yogurt, is really hard for me to get down. Even right after the surgery when they gave me Jell-o, I wouldn't eat it, (still won't) because it was so painful! But solids I can eat without a problem. It makes me worry that I'll never be able to get a fill right, since they base the fill on how quickly liquids go down, not solids. It makes me feel much better to see that you've had so much success, even though you have the same issue. And I'm glad to find someone else who's had the same problem. At least I'm not a total freak!

Oh, and I'm not saying I had chips and dip... of course I wouldn't expect to feel full from that. I had an entire french dip (a roast beef sandwich on a hoagie roll) with a serving of chips. I shouldn't have been able to eat even half the sandwich if my fill were tight enough, ya know? There's no way I should have been able to eat that much so soon after a fill. So that means to me that my fills aren't tight enough, and I think it's because they're basing my fills on how quickly Water goes down, which is freakishly slow for me. See my frustration??

I've found at times (my band is ENTIRELY different now since it was unfilled for another surgery, I can eat much more and eat everything, I too seem to have no sweet spot anymore) that I would have trouble with the weirdest foods. Its stuck with me - I approach yogurt or any sort of fruit juice with extreme caution, expecting instant 'stuck' and pain, but I have always been able to eat bread! Soup - very difficult - steak, quite easy. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Although I'm glad after nine months unfilled to be almost full but still able to eat an apple this time round, it also means I just no longer have as good appetite control from my band.

Whilst I agree with you that the occasional treat wont hurt, chips and dip will probably always go down easy - those are slider foods and you will always be able to overeat them. Now, try a steak or some eggs or a piece of toast and judge your restriction from that.

[xavier 153]

I have intermittently had that too where Fluid went through with much greater difficulty than solids...weird! I never figured it out! That being said, if you can eat a french dip you need a fill! You may have a hard job ahead getting enough fluid but if I could eat a french dip I would still be obese! Of course you shouldnt be eating that but if we could consistently only eat what we are supposed to why would we need weight loss surgery! I would just ask for a cc or a half cc and ask if you can just see how it goes. Get it on a monday so if you really cant get fluids down you can have it removed...just my opinion!

[Rachel412 116]

My surgeon's office says it's not about restriction, it's about feeling satisfied sooner after a meal and being able to go longer between meals. I say this because as much as I wish the band would stop me from eating xyz- mine won't. Kinda bums me out to tell you the truth, But no, no difference between liquids & solids for me.

Also if you are experiencing reflux at night please do not go any tighter.

[Jachut 487]

A french dip must be different to what I'm thinking then - I'm thinking french onion dip and chips,

but I can eat a sandwich - it fills me, but I can eat a whole one. Not a huge huge one that you'd buy at the food court, but something made at home, maybe a bit of ham, some Tomato, lettuce and cucumber on ordinary bread. I still lost weight. There's not much wrong with a sandwhich for a meal if you dont then go snacking and it gets you through to dinner.

But judging restriction by what you can eat is not really how its done, and nor should fills be done based on how fast Fluid goes through. My doc has me drink some Water just to check I'm not totally closed off, but I've never had a fill done under fluoro. Its satiation - that feeling of not being hungry (physically) that is what the band is really meant to do and you should be getting that on less food, regardless of whether you can eat certain things or not. You cant just get tighter and tighter until you're satisfied that you cant eat this or that. Its entirely possible to be overfilled and have the signs - nighttime reflux, etc and STILL be able to eat bread.

I would love if my band could be filled to a certain point and I just simply could not eat more than, say 800 calories a day. I could get really really skinny. But it doesnt work that way. It gives you a certain amount of help and the rest is up to you.

[starsinmyeyes 29]

I have had that same problem off and on with fluids and solids. Right now warm fluids like tea, Soup etc. work best for me. I can't tolerate bread, lettuce, certain fruits and veggies right now. But, last time after a fill I was able to eat a lean steak and was doing great with salads. At my last appointment I got a small unfill, just .5cc. My doctor thought perhaps my band was too full, but I am still having the same issue. I can't figure it out, but I'm still losing weight. I'm just hoping for a time when certain foods no longer get stuck and I still feel satisfied with a small meal and of course I continue healthy weight loss. Well, good luck to all of us trying to find our "balance" or "sweet spot".

[xavier 153]

A french dip here in the states is a roast beef sandwich on a fairly hard bread roll shaped like a submarine. The dip part is a little dish of what is called "au jus" which looks to me like meat broth and you dip the sandwich in there to sog it up otherwise you can barely bite into it! I dont eat meat but if I could eat something like that I'd go for a fill!

A french dip must be different to what I'm thinking then - I'm thinking french onion dip and chips,

but I can eat a sandwich - it fills me, but I can eat a whole one. Not a huge huge one that you'd buy at the food court, but something made at home, maybe a bit of ham, some Tomato, lettuce and cucumber on ordinary bread. I still lost weight. There's not much wrong with a sandwhich for a meal if you dont then go snacking and it gets you through to dinner.

But judging restriction by what you can eat is not really how its done, and nor should fills be done based on how fast Fluid goes through. My doc has me drink some Water just to check I'm not totally closed off, but I've never had a fill done under fluoro. Its satiation - that feeling of not being hungry (physically) that is what the band is really meant to do and you should be getting that on less food, regardless of whether you can eat certain things or not. You cant just get tighter and tighter until you're satisfied that you cant eat this or that. Its entirely possible to be overfilled and have the signs - nighttime reflux, etc and STILL be able to eat bread.

I would love if my band could be filled to a certain point and I just simply could not eat more than, say 800 calories a day. I could get really really skinny. But it doesnt work that way. It gives you a certain amount of help and the rest is up to you.

[Phranp 46]

LOL!!! I thought you said dip and chips too! I guess it's been so long since I have had a "french dip" sandwich that it didn't even cross my mind as I misread your post. Too funny!

As for the easy to eat food, hard to drink ... when I have a problem I have both. I have read that in the morning most people are a bit dehydrated. Since I take a blood pressure med with a diuretic in it, I have big issues with dehydration. When I am well hydrated I can drink and eat properly. When I am dehydrated it can be a vicious cycle of not being able to eat because I have not had enough fluids, but not being able to drink because I am too tight from dehydration. Ughhhh! It can be a hassle to have to focus so much on drinking liquids, but if I don't I can spend days going in circles.

Good luck with this, I hope you find your solution soon.

~Fran

[southernrootslbc 0]

thanks everyone for the replies. fran, perhaps dehydration has something to do with it. very good to look into.

i'm feeling better about things this evening. i didn't have the reflux as bad last night. a nurse once told me that one of the reasons it's so hard to get anything down in the morning is because saliva pools in the pouch overnight and gets too thick for Water to permeate. he suggested drinking hot tea to clear it. i tried that today and did much better with the fluids... i just have to do it throughout the day, instead of just in the morning. maybe those of us with this issue have thicker saliva (which could have something to do with dehydration??) i dunno... i'm just taking stabs in the dark.

i feel like i'm in the perfect spot as far as solids go... can probably eat about 3 ounces in a sitting. i was just worried about the problem with the fluids and the reflux. i'm having a cup of hot tea right before bed to flush out my pouch. i'm thinking that'll solve the reflux problem altogether... fingers crossed.

and no fears... i don't make meals out of chips and dip! and i rarely eat chips at all. even before i had my band chips were never my drug of choice. sweets are my weakness. they just came with the sandwich i ordered, and i was horrified that i could eat the whole sandwich and the chips less than a week after the fill! obviously i shouldn't have eaten all of that... but if i had willpower where food's involved i wouldn't have needed the surgery. also, i tend to crave healthier foods when i have more restriction. i want lean meats and greens when my fill is tighter, so if i'm not getting tight enough it really messes me up!

[slimmap 1]

thanks everyone for the replies. fran, perhaps dehydration has something to do with it. very good to look into.

i'm feeling better about things this evening. i didn't have the reflux as bad last night. a nurse once told me that one of the reasons it's so hard to get anything down in the morning is because saliva pools in the pouch overnight and gets too thick for Water to permeate. he suggested drinking hot tea to clear it. i tried that today and did much better with the fluids... i just have to do it throughout the day, instead of just in the morning. maybe those of us with this issue have thicker saliva (which could have something to do with dehydration??) i dunno... i'm just taking stabs in the dark.

i feel like i'm in the perfect spot as far as solids go... can probably eat about 3 ounces in a sitting. i was just worried about the problem with the fluids and the reflux. i'm having a cup of hot tea right before bed to flush out my pouch. i'm thinking that'll solve the reflux problem altogether... fingers crossed.

and no fears... i don't make meals out of chips and dip! and i rarely eat chips at all. even before i had my band chips were never my drug of choice. sweets are my weakness. they just came with the sandwich i ordered, and i was horrified that i could eat the whole sandwich and the chips less than a week after the fill! obviously i shouldn't have eaten all of that... but if i had willpower where food's involved i wouldn't have needed the surgery. also, i tend to crave healthier foods when i have more restriction. i want lean meats and greens when my fill is tighter, so if i'm not getting tight enough it really messes me up!

[slimmap 1]

I haven't posted in a long while because I got so frustrated with the very issues you discussed. I just gave up and haven't lost any weight in over a year. Although I have already lost 100 lbs, I still have a lot more weight to lose. But there are things that you have said in your posts that remind me of me so much that I had to post to you. First is the reflux thing. I had it so bad at night time that I would cough up acid at night. If that is happening to you, please,please get an unfill. It is a warning sign that you are too tight and all kinds of serious damage can happen if you stay that tight. I really hate to be unfilled but I don't want to die from complications either!

The other thing is, I know you don't want to hear about it anymore (neither did I) Is your food choices. At first I ate only a little bit of food that is considered a no-no. But that quickly escalated to eating those foods everyday. I am not in a good place right now. Sure I could blame it on all the horrible things that are going on in my life such as, my mom has dementia, my dad is losing his mind, I have high blood pressure and a slipped disc in my back. But there will always be horrible crap in my life and I have to learn to deal with it. I really hoped the lap band would have helped me deal a little more, but again, I have to stop eating that crap. Plain and simple. My husband is helping me out by giving away all the food that shouldn't even be in our house. So I make sure that I am ALWAYS prepared with good choices food where ever I go. Yes it is a pain in the ass when everybody else is ordering the potato skins appetizers and I am eating something like a little chicken breast or sipping on Water. But the way I feel physically the next day is a feeling I want you to experience. It's this great feeling called healthy. I don't get to feel that too often. It's having energy and wanting to take a bite out of life. Anyway, I am getting away from the point of this post. It is to be sure that you are not too tight and to fill up on all those filling foods that stay with us for hours. Thomas' has a multi grain English muffin for 100 calories, a healthy dose of Protein and Fiber too. I stay full on that for a hours. Well I have gone on but hopefully you will get back to me on that acid reflux issue.

Good luck. You can do this

[southernrootslbc 0]

i've not been having acid reflux. i was just having regurgitation in my sleep. i really think that i was just not used to having a fill tight enough, so i was used to being able to drink and go straight to bed. well, now that i'm tight, that Fluid was coming back up into my mouth during the night... that's what i was calling reflux. it wasn't acidic, though.

i didn't have any of it last night. i think the fill is loosening some on its own and i flushed my pouch with hot tea then waited a while before going to bed.

before this last fill my band wasn't really holding anything in my upper pouch. it would pass through a little slower than normal, so i had to slow down and chew pretty well, but i could still take pretty big bites, and i wasn't getting the satiation. because of that, i could pretty much eat or drink right before bed and have no problems. obviously i've gotten a wake-up call! it's good, though. this is the first fill i've had that made me feel like it's working how it ought to. it's just weird for me, because fluids are harder for me than solids, so in order for me to get the fill that i feel is right for me, i have to be too tight by my surgeon's test (able to pass Water in 3 seconds).

and yes, i hear ya loud and clear on the crappy food thing. i think of the band as a tool to help me with my diet. that being said, i believe in moderation in all things. if i completely deny myself treats, i'll end up bingeing. i just take a common sense approach to it, which is what my surgeon recommends. he asks that half of everything we eat to be Protein. then veggies. and then if we have room for it, the junk. that way we're getting the Protein and nutrients we're needing without feeling deprived. unfortunately, sometimes i'm on the run and can't always have the most balanced meals, but i generally try to, and i always make sure i get my protein. the one example meal i gave here was just that... an example. it's not my typical meal. it was just to get the point across that right after a fill, i could eat WAY too much.

I haven't posted in a long while because I got so frustrated with the very issues you discussed. I just gave up and haven't lost any weight in over a year. Although I have already lost 100 lbs, I still have a lot more weight to lose. But there are things that you have said in your posts that remind me of me so much that I had to post to you. First is the reflux thing. I had it so bad at night time that I would cough up acid at night. If that is happening to you, please,please get an unfill. It is a warning sign that you are too tight and all kinds of serious damage can happen if you stay that tight. I really hate to be unfilled but I don't want to die from complications either!

The other thing is, I know you don't want to hear about it anymore (neither did I) Is your food choices. At first I ate only a little bit of food that is considered a no-no. But that quickly escalated to eating those foods everyday. I am not in a good place right now. Sure I could blame it on all the horrible things that are going on in my life such as, my mom has dementia, my dad is losing his mind, I have high blood pressure and a slipped disc in my back. But there will always be horrible crap in my life and I have to learn to deal with it. I really hoped the lap band would have helped me deal a little more, but again, I have to stop eating that crap. Plain and simple. My husband is helping me out by giving away all the food that shouldn't even be in our house. So I make sure that I am ALWAYS prepared with good choices food where ever I go. Yes it is a pain in the ass when everybody else is ordering the potato skins appetizers and I am eating something like a little chicken breast or sipping on Water. But the way I feel physically the next day is a feeling I want you to experience. It's this great feeling called healthy. I don't get to feel that too often. It's having energy and wanting to take a bite out of life. Anyway, I am getting away from the point of this post. It is to be sure that you are not too tight and to fill up on all those filling foods that stay with us for hours. Thomas' has a multi grain English muffin for 100 calories, a healthy dose of protein and Fiber too. I stay full on that for a hours. Well I have gone on but hopefully you will get back to me on that acid reflux issue.

Good luck. You can do this