November Bandsters!

[Vikki 2]

I had my first fill two weeks ago and couldn't get anything down for about a week but I already feel like I can eat anything again? When you get a fill and the first feeling of constriction you get........how long does that typically last. I thought I wouldn't need another fill for 6 months. What have you guys felt with each fill of the time between feeling like you did before the fill.

[L8BloomR 1]

I met Karen aka L8BloomR...she is awesome!!!! Just as sweet, caring and intelligent as she sounds via posts and telephone! It is so great to meet my online lapband friends...so far I have met three fellow bandsters!!! ALL wonderful!

Karen...still have not finished my lunch from yesterday!

And Angela.... you are beautiful!! I so enjoyed meeting you and seeing you "in action": you give such great advice and have so much knowledge. It was wonderful to find out where that comes from... the "inner you" (as opposed to "Inner Me"... Hi, Chris!) You are terrific!!

Eat that lunch----it is good for you!! :hungry:

Karen

[L8BloomR 1]

I had my first fill two weeks ago and couldn't get anything down for about a week but I already feel like I can eat anything again? When you get a fill and the first feeling of constriction you get........how long does that typically last. I thought I wouldn't need another fill for 6 months. What have you guys felt with each fill of the time between feeling like you did before the fill.

Vikki, what size band do you have? I have a 10cc band, so my first fill really didn't do anything for me. If you have a larger band, maybe you need another fill, but even if you have the 4cc band, some people keep restriction longer than others. I would give it a couple more weeks and then get another fill if you still feel the same way. Good luck!

Karen

[L8BloomR 1]

Just stopping by to say hello. I'm finding this banding experience interesting. Of course, I'm still on liquids (full) and not experiencing the hunger that you are. Also, because of my weight - I'm in the 300's - and age, I know that I'll probably lose a lot up front, before it starts to taper down some. I just wanted to say that you are all doing very good! I'm glad that you are sharing the good and the bad. It helps.

Oh, and I wanted to talk about plateaus. I just attended a health living workshop yesterday. One of the presenters (the RN) had the bypass several years ago. One important thing she mentioned was that plateaus are natural. They are our bodies way of adjusting to all of the changes that are taking place. She said that when you are plateauing the worst thing you could do, is to drop your eating below what is healthy (that's if you were eating the correct amount to begin with). Because you can inadvertently end up prolonging your plateau that way. Her suggestion was to try something different. Switch up your exercise plan...take it the next level...alternate the foods that you were eating. She also suggested that you look for alternative changes in your body (the NSV's...nonscale victories...that we've discussed) to get you through this period.

Finally, if your plateau is lasting for longer then, I think it's 3 weeks, AND you've tried some of the above steps, you should consult your surgeon/nutritionist for direction.

Almost forgot...I've lost 10 lbs!

Chris, thank you for such great advice on plauteaus!! I needed that reminder!! I am going to save this and try to re-read it often... so I appreciate you sharing it.

Congrats on your 10-pound loss, so soon!! And especially thanks for continuing to post here with us Nov. Bandsters... we need you!!

Karen

[Vikki 2]

I have a 10cc band and I only got 2.3cc fill. I had a bad experience because I threw up right before they inserted the saline so I think I really irritated everything. I was having a hard time getting things down for a week and it might not have been so much that I was really tight but that I was irritated inside. Now that is all healed I can eat food again. I will wait a couple of weeks. I just have a long way to go to get a fill so I will be patient and wait. I notice that when I take my prozac about three hrs later I feel starved. I think I am going to have to change my medication because the last thing I need is something else making me hungry. That is why I got this in the first place to help not feel so darn hundry all the time. Patients is not something I am good at. I wish the weight could just go off quicker but I have to be smart and kick up the exercise. Move and move and move. I have a desk job so I have been trying to walk the stairs a couple times a day to get moving..................:faint: I am trying to not be discouraged even though I gained a pound today

[L8BloomR 1]

Vikki, I got 2cc in my 10cc band... and it didn't make one bit of difference in how much I could eat or how hungry I was getting... so I do understand what you are feeling. I do think it is better to go slow with the fills, and to train ourselves to control our hunger through small meals, chewing and eating healthier, before we use restriction-only as our weight loss tool. I also have a desk job and it makes it hard to get in enough exercise, but climbing stairs is a great start!! I have to wait until March to get my next fill, so I know how scary it is that we are doing this without much help from our bands, but we can do this....we have already lost weight, and we will continue to with the help and support of those around us and this board. Hang in there.... in a year from now you will look back on these difficult "learning days" and see how useful they were!

Good luck, Karen

[Oberhasli 1]

I am trying to not be discouraged even though I gained a pound today

Vikki, 800 years ago when I was on Weight Watchers, they "prohibited" us from weighing ourselves except at the weekly weigh-in sessions. Your weight is going to flucate some based on what you're eating and, more importantly, what you're eliminating. You may just be full of sh**. <G>

Try weighing yourself less frequently. And use the same scale as every scale is different, some by several pounds. I don't own a scale so I weigh myself every Monday at work on my break. It gives a bit better picture of what I'm actually doing. One week I did gain 2 pounds but the next I was down 7. Weight loss is an average. If you're losing a pound or so per week, you're making healthy progress towards your goal. If you lose more than 3 pounds per week, you're body is going to have a much harder time adapting to the "new" you and things will sag more and you have a much greater chance of regaining the weight.

Tom

[Vikki 2]

That is true. I guess it really has only been not even two month since I got the band but for me it seems sooooo much longer because we have to deal with it a day at a time. I have to remember to drink more Water to help feel full and try to work out as much as I can. I guess I have to stop feeling sorry for myself that I have let myself get this big and stop looking at the past and concentrate on the future. I will be back into a regular size.............I will!!!!!!! I will get out of the plus size cloths from the store and be able to go to the womens mediums again. I will!!! Thanks for the encouragement!! It is so nice to know I am not the only one. This board is a great support system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!:sleep :sleep :sleep

[Oberhasli 1]

That is true. I guess it really has only been not even two month since I got the band but for me it seems sooooo much longer because we have to deal with it a day at a time. I have to remember to drink more Water to help feel full and try to work out as much as I can. I guess I have to stop feeling sorry for myself that I have let myself get this big and stop looking at the past and concentrate on the future. I will be back into a regular size.............I will!!!!!!! I will get out of the plus size cloths from the store and be able to go to the womens mediums again. I will!!! Thanks for the encouragement!! It is so nice to know I am not the only one. This board is a great support system!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!:sleep :sleep :sleep

Remember that water (or for that matter, most liquids) weighs about 8 pounds for a gallon. If you're drinking as you should, you're consuming at least 4 pounds of water a day. If you've not gotten rid of that at the time you weigh, that's an extra 4 pounds that really isn't you.

Tom

[katalin.e. 0]

I got 2cc in my 10cc band... and it didn't make one bit of difference in how much I could eat or how hungry I was getting

I got 3 cc in my 10cc band... There is no restriction... same with me: makes no difference.

[L8BloomR 1]

I got 3 cc in my 10cc band... There is no restriction... same with me: makes no difference.

My surgeon says that she usually takes the 10cc band up to 6-8cc for the final fill. Did yours give you any indication of how much fill you will have by the time you are done?

Karen

[katalin.e. 0]

Hi Karen,

Yes she did ...

My fill doctor also summoned around 8 cc for the final fill.

[kjojojr 0]

Hey maybe there is something to this 40+ thing because this is true for me too - i have not been successful with the band in losing weight and while I too eat - (and always need to diary my food to keep it 1200 or much less) nothing nothing nothing seems to work.. So now i'm doing metabolic tests and again trying fills, eating even less etc etc. i keep 'giving up' but something always makes me keep going but it's been 14 months post surgery and i'm still as fat as when i started. It is definitely harder to lose weight as you get older - we are proof of that - just don't have the answer to what to do

Hi Marys, I feel my weight loss is stalled too. I've lost only 12 to 14 lbs since nov 10 06. But i haven't exercised so thats my next phase i guess.

It's hard to loss over 40 I believe that. All I know is we cant give up, the band works we just have to figure out our own personal system.

[AngelaT 2]

And Angela.... you are beautiful!! I so enjoyed meeting you and seeing you "in action": you give such great advice and have so much knowledge. It was wonderful to find out where that comes from... the "inner you" (as opposed to "Inner Me"... Hi, Chris!) You are terrific!!

Eat that lunch----it is good for you!! :hungry:

Karen

Oh...blush...:embarassed: And yes, I did eat the rest of my lunch today for Breakfast and then lunch!

[kjojojr 0]

I have a 4 cc band. After my first fill, I was very comfortable, no problems at all except that I know a lot of the time, I was keeping myself from eating, not the band. But since my last fill I have had problems. My surgeon had told me that everyone is different. Some people will never have to have a fill and some will have to have the band full. There is no way to know expect by trial and error.

I feel fairly confident that I am just too full and that it's not something else since it all started after my last fill. I have no pain and discomfort except when I try to eat (and once in a while when I drink). For the most part, I haven't been able to eat anything more than a couple tiny bites. There have been a few times that I was able to eat more, probably 1/4 of a cup (estimate) but it has been hard and it took me a couple hours to do so. For the most part however, I have done well with Protein Shakes and Water. Yesterday for instance, I ate a couple tiny bites of sugar free pudding and then I had pain. I stopped but later in the day I was able to drink a Protein Shake.< /p>

I am hoping that he will remove half of the last fill to leave my band with 1.5 cc. I am not certain what he will do but whatever it is, it has to beat the pain I have been feeling. I have to say though, it certainly is a huge change for me to have no desire whatsoever to put anything in my mouth!

I will post an update as soon as possible! Thanks everyone for your concern.

That's a terrible feeling to get food stuck. I was at a convention for 3 days. We were in Reno, Nv. The last 2 days i had to hurry to the public restroom about 6 times to get food unstuck. That was terrible to go through. I asked the doc why all of a sudden i had such restriction he said sometimes right before a menstrual cycle it will tighten. Strange but true. Anyway the point was, I know what a pain it is too.