May 2007 Banders

[PineNut 0]

THursday is the day for me too! I can't wait for a fill. I have had a hard weekend, not good choices on my behalf. I have at least cleared a bigger swath (and the cobweb my DH saw!!) to the elliptical beast in my bedroom (a gift to me after I bought out the club membership I wasn't using!). I really like it, but the churning has been too much since I have pulled my side a couple times. I figure after the fill I will be good to go. Just finished my JITB Asian Chix salad and am full for the next hour or so. I get hungry a couple hours after eating. I know that 2 weeks ago I couldn't eat the whole salad, but no problem now........Fill fill fill......I am doing really well on the Water. I tried a soda yesterday with lunch and it was a mistake. Not painful, but really not worth the stress of thinking I was doing something bad for the band. No more. GOod thing I didn't see Randy's Coke inthe garage last weekend or it may have been worse! That always causes a giant burp, and nowadays I don't want to chance anything more than just air coming up!

[jsrico 1]

TAT1TOO

Congrats on your success!!! 25 pounds in less than a month!!! That is great....here I am at 5 weeks and have lost 22! You are doing great! Keep up the good work!

Sandra

Highest weight 255

Surgery weight 242

Current weight 220

goal 175

[twinmommy 0]

Okay I was fine until I could eat solids. Now I can eat a whole fast food bean burrito in one sitting. Forget the one cup serving the nutritionist was talking about. I eat then about two hours later my stomach is growling bad. My doc says only to eat three meals a day, not to snack because that will stretch your band. I am thinking this is not going to work for me. Please tell me I will be in love again with the band after my fill.................

[jobyone1 0]

Okay I was fine until I could eat solids. Now I can eat a whole fast food bean burrito in one sitting. Forget the one cup serving the nutritionist was talking about. I eat then about two hours later my stomach is growling bad. My doc says only to eat three meals a day, not to snack because that will stretch your band. I am thinking this is not going to work for me. Please tell me I will be in love again with the band after my fill.................

I have the same problem! Other than the gas and needing to chew, I can eat a lot! I still get hungry the same! Anyone had a fill and feeling more full????

[ljuht115 0]

I am in the same boat being hungry and not making great decisions for myself. I get my fill Friday morning and hope I feel like I did the first 4 weeks when I would eat and get stuffed fast. These last 3-5 days have been true bandster hell. I am afraid that I will not get the resriction again and also worry since I can eat more am I harming anything even without a fill. I can't finish a whole plate but can definitely eat twice as much as before (I have stayed off sugar, caffeine and the white food groups though)

HELP - Please tell me/us that the restriction is real and will come back! I haven't weighed myself in 2 days cause I am afraid at what it might say.

=-( Frustrated in Seattle...

[michelle lowrey 0]

You do get some restriction depending on how aggressive your Doc or tech is. In houston at True Results they are pretty aggressive with the fills so all should do good who gets fills there. I had lunch at 11am today and was just starting to get hungry again around 3:30 or 4. Had dinner about 7pm and still feel pretty full on 2-3 bites of salad, 2 ounces of chicken, 3 bites of potatoes. I'll be good til morning. I still have a problem getting the signal of full or satisfied. About an hour to 1 1/2 hours after i eat I feel fuller then while eating. Anyway Good Luck to all who are getting their fills. Please be careful of what you eat afterwards Everything will still go down good, but causes problems once it gets in your new pouch.

[Wenjea 1]

I'm back from vacation and ate on three pounds . . . . had my first fill on Monday, 2.2cc and the three pounds were gone by Tuesday morning.

So for all of you who are in banster hell, the first fill will make a difference. I have to be on liquid for two days and then the same progression as before. Soft then normal.

I got a pin stick with the novacane and then didn't feel the needle at all but I do have a small bruise where they put in the fill needle. I could feel the pressure of the saline in the tube and filling the band. My doc says that he determines how much to put in by the back pressure, what ever that means. I had to drink three dixie cups of Water before leaving and by the 2nd one I was feeling full and by the third I was feeling nauseous from being to full but no pain at all. Since yesterday I havn't been eating more then shakes, vitamns, and water. I feel full all the time. My doc said not to eat more then 2 oz at a time and to measure it for a few weeks till I get used to the portion size.

Hopefully I will start to lose now! I am still sitting at 38 pounds lost but have been gaining and losing the same three pounds for the last 2 weeks. before I was filled I could eat anything so I hope this will work now.

[Manatee 4]

Back from my first fill! 3.8 cc in a VG band. I don't know if there's really a lot of restriction, will know in a few days.

I don't do needles well, so I couldn't watch Doc put it in. Strangest sensation was when he pulled the needle back out. I'm sure you all know this though.

He said that he can "feel" the restriction in the way the saline is going in, and I guess he knows what he's doing because he hit it almost dead on the first time. 4 cc stopped the Water cold, 3.6 let it through no problem, and the 3.8 he settled on was what he first eyeballed it at. Dude's good. :confused:

[crabcake 0]

:confused: Just wanted to check in about my own fill experience. I got my first fill 2 weeks ago today. I had pretty good restriction at the time and talked to the nurse about it and we decided on .5 cc's. That was too much for me. I've pb'd several times since then (oh yuck!) and it hasn't mattered what I was eating (well, except for the ice cream! :hungry:) or how well I chewed or how slow I ate. So of course I started leaning towards the soft foods again.

Last night I had a major pb episode and this a.m. I called the doctors office (my next appointment wasn't for another 2 weeks and I didn't think I could wait that long) and was told to come in this afternoon. They took out .25 cc's. I ate a hamburger patty this p.m. right afterwards and all was well. I'm hoping I have the right restriction now.

I just wanted to warn y'all not to be too aggressive w/ your first fills. I know you're anxious for this to work, but the flip side is you'll start pb'ing a lot and then will resort to the soft foods which tend to be high in sugars (e.g., ice cream, MY personal food drug of choice!) and of course, calories, which just defeats the purpose of the band in the first place!

Good luck to you all w/ your first fills.

[NimbleBean 2]

I had my first fill yesterday and was on liquids last night, puree today and soft food for dinner tonight. Well I have just come back from my favorite restaurant! I didn't have any of the shared appetizer or any salad. I ordered salmon because this restaurant cooks it beautifully-never overdone, always nice and moist. Came with vegetables - string Beans, carrots, onions, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Had less than 1/4 of it and that was it. The pain in my chest began. Really thought that this was going to be my first experience with PBing. Went to the bathroom and just wanted to take off my shirt and bra. Everything just felt so tight! Just kept telling myself to breath and then the sliming started. That went on for just a couple of minutes, I burped twice and felt a bit better. I never did PB. Went back to the table (2 friends at dinner know about the surgery, the other two do not) and still wasn't feeling very comfortable. But it did pass after about 10 minutes.

Boy was that a lesson. Now of course, I'm home, hungry and I know that the leftovers are in the fridge. Part of me wants to throw it out. The practical part of me says this entree cost $30. Eat it tomorrow!

I hope I continue to have this much restriction, but more importantly, I hope that I am a fast learner and don't have to go through that ever again!

[crabcake 0]

I hope I continue to have this much restriction, but more importantly, I hope that I am a fast learner and don't have to go through that ever again!

Do you really want to be that restricted? Why do you think you had this episode? Do you think maybe you didn't chew well enough? Or was it what you ate?

This is how I started out a couple of weeks ago w/ my first pb. Then they just gradually got worse. I don't want to be that restricted. I'd rather be able to eat and then get a full feeling sooner. I definitely don't want to have this kind of pain at every meal!

[Wenjea 1]

I tried a few bites of hamburger pattie w/cheese and a spoon of baked Beans and it went down fine. I did feel a little preasure for a few minutes but then I was fine. I like tne band being in control because I don't trust myself to eat right yet.

[Twinfish 0]

I was banded 5/26 in Mexico. i have lost 24 lbs. I have joined 24hrs in Dallas and have gone 4xs the last week. i am very excited about my new life.

Wendy

[NimbleBean 2]

In retrospect, I think I ate too fast. I also think I ate a piece of artichoke heart. Even on the hearts, some of the outer leaves can be tough. So that probably didn't help.

I think my current restriction is good. I just need to adjust my portion size way down, eat much, much, much more slowly and watch the kinds of food I take in especially in the days just after a fill.

I don't want this pain at every meal either. But this was my mistake, not a problem with the band. I am re-learning how to eat and just forgot the lessons I've learned.

You may be too restricted if you are in pain after every meal. Are you eating too fast perhaps? Or the wrong kind of food (although I've read somewhere here on LBT that some folks can eat something today that won't work tomorrow). Are you doing any better since the slight unfill? I hope so. Keep me posted.

Margaret

[crabcake 0]

You may be too restricted if you are in pain after every meal. Are you eating too fast perhaps? Or the wrong kind of food (although I've read somewhere here on LBT that some folks can eat something today that won't work tomorrow). Are you doing any better since the slight unfill? I hope so. Keep me posted.

Margaret

I think I was over filled. I just had the unfill this afternoon, but so far, so good. The first meal I had after my first fill was horrible. I truly felt like I'd swallowed a golf ball. Not so now. I hope it remains this way. I thought at first I'd eaten too fast, but even eating slowly was painful. I do need to work on the speed thing, 'cause I've been a fast eater since college days. But I'd like to work with the band and that just wasn't happening. Like you say, it's a learning process!