Frustrated and Confused

[christinenicole 2]

Hi, I had my surgery in august so I am about 7 months in and have only lost about 35 lbs. I lost 10 of those on the pre-op diet. I am filled at 5.2 I believe. I get sick a lot no matter what I eat. I can eat something and be fine and the next day eat the exact same thing and it gets stuck. Also, when I do get sick because i feel my food is stuck most of what comes up isn't even food its flem. Does that happen to anyone else? I haven't lost much weight in a while no matter how good I eat. I don't know what to do. Hoping everything is ok with band and that it hasn't stopped working. I know Im eating bigger portions then I should. I don't get that same full feeling I did when I first came out of surgery. Does anyone have any advice or have experienced some of the same things?

[terrydumont46 1,954]

a call to your doctor office is in order. everything you have described indicates you are ready for another fill.

[kll724 3,055]

What terrydumont46 said, see your surgeon. This is not normal. Best wishes, Karen

[blondegal_ 1,028]

I'm going to agree with seeing your doctor but disagree with getting a fill. You might be just a little tight and then you don't eat quite right (big bite, fully chew) and you irritate the band. Then you get in an awful cycle of being stuck, being hungry, and then eating too much when it's possible.

Try to beak this cycle - do liquids/mushies over the weekend. Measure out your food, eat mindfully, think about every bite, stop as soon as you feel any discomfort, and then go back to eating when it passes. Or if you've lost interest in the food throw it away. You need to look for a feeling of satiety. Not fullness. A disinterest in continuing eating not a roundness in your tummy so to speak.

Eating with the band is a process. It's very different than the way I used to eat. And not just the amount, the mechanics of it are just different.

Best of luck in your journey.

[2muchfun 8,927]

It took me about 10 months to learn how to eat with the band and another 6 months or so to refine that skill. I still get stuck often though. Learning how much to chew and when to chew and what foods need it more than others is an ongoing process.

Success with the band is a moving target for me and many others who post here. Tara is right too. Satiety is the key here, but it's so elusive and can be a subtle feeling that's so easy to miss. Jack describes it this way: ""Satiety" is a bird song in a forest opening as you sit enjoying the sunrise".

In other words, it's real hard to detect. Signals like burps, yawns, runny nose, hiccups are all signals that you've eaten enough and you're no longer hungry. We all have a tendency to continue eating just as we did before the band.

Your weight loss is still good and if you can recognize that green zone, you can drive down the scale numbers.