How Tight?

[Barbee 1]

How tight can a band be adjusted. I'm 5 cc and I am gaining weight. I have not changed my eating habits. Because I am still croaking up at the beginning of meals, they are hesitating in increasing my belt. Not sure what to do next.

[SandyM 1,956]

A lot of times the band is too tight and it is easier to eat slider foods and therefore the bandee does just that. If you are vomiting up what you are eatng, ask yourself are you chewing well? Are you taking small enough bites? Are you taking time between each bite to allow what you have eaten to go down? Lastly, are you eating too much? All of these are very important.

[papoose 48]

I am going through the same thing. I was banded 9/2010. The first year I lost 135 lbs. I needed thyroid surgery in 2012 I had an unfill. Started getting my fills back 4 months later and have been having a problem with fills ever since. My fills are done all with flouroscopy. I was getting filled everything was working well and all of a sudden I need another unfill. Took out a little and got a refill in January of this year. I am now feeling tight a lot. Started drinking Protein shakes in the morning because I couldn't eat anything. But I noticed I am not losing anything. I did gain about 50 lbs in the meantime and I am now having a hard time taking it off. Went to Dr. today he won't give me anymore fills because of tightness. He told me my band is showing signs of it is filled to its capacity. I didn't keep up with the amount of cc's I have, but I know it is know way near 10 cc's. I probably have about 5 ccs or less. We discussed having it removed and getting the sleeve. So I am thinking about doing that.

[Barbee 1]

A lot of times the band is too tight and it is easier to eat slider foods and therefore the bandee does just that. If you are vomiting up what you are eatng, ask yourself are you chewing well? Are you taking small enough bites? Are you taking time between each bite to allow what you have eaten to go down? Lastly, are you eating too much? All of these are very important.

What I bring up is mostly phlegm and VERY chewed food. I'm anal about chewing. But eating slow when you are ravenous is hard to do. IF I do manage to eat slow (in front of tv or computer works best so I have something to do while I'm waiting) then I consume too much food. I was told to eat until satisfied... it takes more now to satisfy. I'm actually better off eating fast, and throwing up. I'm now 212 naked.

I do tend to lean toward food that goes down easier, especially in restaurants where I fear having to go upchuck. I have a real hard time with meats, and that's what they want me to eat the most of. Hard boiled egg and bananas.... touch to get down. Cereal, ground beef, and creamed casseroles roll down easily. I can't eat bread unless it's toasted, but I hardly ever eat bread.

[Barbee 1]

I am going through the same thing. I was banded 9/2010. The first year I lost 135 lbs. I needed thyroid surgery in 2012 I had an unfill. Started getting my fills back 4 months later and have been having a problem with fills ever since. My fills are done all with flouroscopy. I was getting filled everything was working well and all of a sudden I need another unfill. Took out a little and got a refill in January of this year. I am now feeling tight a lot. Started drinking Protein shakes in the morning because I couldn't eat anything. But I noticed I am not losing anything. I did gain about 50 lbs in the meantime and I am now having a hard time taking it off. Went to Dr. today he won't give me anymore fills because of tightness. He told me my band is showing signs of it is filled to its capacity. I didn't keep up with the amount of cc's I have, but I know it is know way near 10 cc's. I probably have about 5 ccs or less. We discussed having it removed and getting the sleeve. So I am thinking about doing that.

Good to know I'm not the only one. Thanks papoose. I'd go for the sleeve but i doubt my insurance would cover it since I just turned 70. Walking my mile a day is also getting tougher. But I keep trying. I can do half of it a day...

[Bandista 7,466]

Barbee, would measuring help? Sometimes I eat out of a stainless steel measuring 1/2 cup with a little spoon just to remind my brain of ideal portion size so I can eyeball better (smaller) for other meals. And I try to take an assessment at the time -- am I really hungry or do I just want to chow on something. Also the speed thing, oh my. We live in New England and I have always eaten so fast. Now I really notice that in the people around me, and of course my band speaks up as soon as I start doing it myself. I try to imagine those esophageal squeezes signaling my brain, "I'm full. Stop!"

[enjoythetime 1,457]

I agree with the above statement, it sounds to me like your band is too tight, which if that is the case will make you gain weight or hault your weightloss.

[Barbee 1]

Interesting. But how can the band being too tight cause you to gain weight. Please explain.

As for eating from a small cup.... if I did that I'd be starving in 1 hr. Tried that. They told me they want our hunger to be satisfied... thus the band which is supposed to make you full sooner and last longer.

Hubby and I stopped cooking. I think we make too much of a production out of supper. Thinking it has to be magnificant every night. We went out and bought diet dinners. He got the Healthy Choice because he can eat more cals than I can. I got Lean Cuisine. I was hungry after one hour. I nibbled on a few tic tacs and ignored it and drank some liquids. I held it off for 3 hrs than had a Skinny cow ice cream and went to bed.

My scale is goofy or else my Fluid retention flucuates. I was 212 a few days ago and now am 208. I think working out at the new health club is helping enormously but we babysit 3 days a week so can only get there twice a week. We may try evenings but by then I'm exhausted from chasing a 3 yr old all day. I walk the track and can do 5 or 6 laps. (9 is a mile). Then I go on the bikes for 15 min. I hope to increase as time goes by, we just started. Winter is Buffalo is always a good way to gain weight... you can't go out anywhere.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Barbee

[kimk1999 450]

I'm at 5.8 cc in a 10cc band. Yes that's a concrete number but I think the 'tightness' also varies by patient. I've read that some people have up to 8 or 9 cc's in their 10cc band. For you to still be gaining weight - do you keep track of every single bite that you eat and sip that you drink (including ice cream and/or alcohol)? Are you doing any nibbling with the 3 year olds Snacks? Taste testing the temperatures? That will add up. Do you have a mfp account that we can look at your diary entries? What does your calories count look like? How's your Protein intake? Do you eat protein first? If you're getting stuck with everything you're eating and chewing it really well then yes, I'd say you're too tight. Are you taking small bites to begin with? My fiancé cuts up my meat as if I was a 3 year old - actually maybe even smaller than that lol. I try my best to take the proper portion and eat it slowly one bite at a time. Could you be eating too few calories to where your metabolism has slowed to a crawl? I know if I don't eat enough protein I'll be super hungry really quickly. I know if I eat too little the scale will slow down too or make me gain. If all else fails - have you had your thyroid tested recently? Could your gain be due to a hormonal issue?

Edited March 19, 2014 by kimk1999

[Barbee 1]

I'm at 5.8 cc in a 10cc band. Yes that's a concrete number but I think the 'tightness' also varies by patient. I've read that some people have up to 8 or 9 cc's in their 10cc band. For you to still be gaining weight - do you keep track of every single bite that you eat and sip that you drink (including ice cream and/or alcohol)? Are you doing any nibbling with the 3 year olds Snacks? Taste testing the temperatures? That will add up. Do you have a mfp account that we can look at your diary entries? What does your calories count look like? How's your Protein intake? Do you eat Protein first? If you're getting stuck with everything you're eating and chewing it really well then yes, I'd say you're too tight. Are you taking small bites to begin with? My fiancé cuts up my meat as if I was a 3 year old - actually maybe even smaller than that lol. I try my best to take the proper portion and eat it slowly one bite at a time. Could you be eating too few calories to where your metabolism has slowed to a crawl? I know if I don't eat enough protein I'll be super hungry really quickly. I know if I eat too little the scale will slow down too or make me gain. If all else fails - have you had your thyroid tested recently? Could your gain be due to a hormonal issue?

Excellent analysis of hte problem. I went on line and took the low thyroid test and I have like 9 out of 10 symtoms.... losing hair, dry skin so bad that it turns white if I don't lotion up daily, I don't tolerate heat or cold, I had a very hard time conceiving my 3 babies, and the house temp is 70 and my feet are freezing!!! I'm tired with no energy. But whenever I have my thyroid tested with blood tests it comes up low normal. It's at the very bottom of the normal scale. I haven't had it tested in a while though.

Last time I went to the weight loss clinic they did an xray of me swallowing the chalky stuff. They said it was fine. They then sent me to a nutritionalist who told me to go back on the South Beach. I've been on Atkins and South Beach for 8 yrs now and I'm sick of it. I get sick just looking at eggs in the morning. How long can a human stay on a diet?? I cannot stay on it but I do try to eat protein with every meal because it satisfies. The Lean Cuisine meal had little protein. So it didn't keep me long. I'm thinking I just have to get used to being hungry. I ended up getting up at 2 a.m. and eating a banana. I had heartburn so bad and I think it was from not eating and taking my pills.

I have not kept a journal. We eat out a lot because we travel. We have family in just about every state in the US. I try to pick healthy things though. Today we took Lily to Wendy's for lunch. I ordered the chicken wrap. I left the wrap and just ate the chicken and I could feel it getting clogged so I stopped, wrapped it up and finished it at home where I could upchuck if I had to. The chicken was tender but thick.

For Breakfast I eat soft because I can't tolerate much at all. I take 3 graham crackers and put thick natural Peanut Butter on them... makes a sandwich and a half. I dip it in coffee to soften it. That's all I eat until 12 or 1.

Then I will eat Soup, or a Protein shake or egg salad on whole wheat crackers. I can't tolerate bread at all.

For supper... that's where I think I overeat. It's like I'm so hungry from not eating enough during he day that I'm familished. I make family meals... meatloaf, potatoes and veggies and eat all but the potatoes (sometiimes do take a bit.) Yes, I sometimes taste Lily's Cookies. I buy her those tiny tiny ones... tidbits. I'll eat about 4. Before bed I eat a Skinny Cow icecream, but I smear the natural Peanut Butter on top so I get the protein to keep me til morning. If we eat out I like to order Chicken Souvaki or a salad with chicken on top. We have a great Soup and salad bar place we like. Sometimes I crave pizza. We go to pizza Hut and get the thin crispy crust and i eat one piece. I do not imbibe in alcohol except 1 glass of wine on New Years Eve. I drink Decaf coffee in the a.m. with cremora (no sweetener), Decaf tea in the afternoon, Another coffee an hour after dinner, and Water the rest of the time.

Have I been getting exercise? Not since my foot surgery in Sept. I can walk now and we just joined a gym.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Barbee

[kimk1999 450]

Thyroid - yeah definitely go and get your bloodwork done. In addition to the TSH, T4 and T3 (If I remember correctly), you should ask your doctor to check your Vit D levels. My family has a history of thyroid issues (mom is hypothyroidism - can't lose weight, her sister has hyperthyroidism - can't gain weight); my sister's daughter was born without a thyroid (or it wasn't functioning). I can check off almost all the symptoms too but my bloodwork has always been within the 'normal' range. I understand your frustration there too. For the Vit D levels - get that checked. If your Vit D levels are low, you will be sluggish and tired. That's a different story, but might help you feel better / have more energy to get to the gym.

"Diet" - well this is supposed to be our new lifestyle (eye roll). So far I'm feeling better on this South Beach / Atkins / Paleo blend of a diet I'm doing. I've mostly tried being gluten free and my stomach has thanked me. I have eggs every morning, but I'm a boring no thinking type of person lol. Are you just flat out tired and no suggestions will help? I really like doing the 'egg muffin tin' recipes. There's lots of different recipes if you google. Make one batch at the beginning of the week and you're set for a while. I really like the eggs, cheese and ham recipes. There's eggs, spinach and feta, or eggs, tomatoes, and cheese; etc. Also, what about yogurt with some fruit? I like the chobani greek versions.

I tried to look it up online - which chicken wrap are you doing? The fried chicken one is pretty high in calories, but skipping the shell is a good idea. The shell gets stuck for me. I can't do the fried chicken a the breading gets stuck for me. Did you have all the Condiments with it too? If it was the grilled chicken could it have been too dry? When I go to Chick-fil-a and get the grilled nuggets, I add some BBQ Sauce to make sure it goes down. I'll also bite the already small nuggets at least into 3 so that I'm only chewing a small amount. I'd worry about the graham crackers, at least for me, having those carbs will make me hungry again. It's weird. I used to think that carbs helped to fill me up, but they just make me hungry really quickly.

I'd suggest to go ahead an sign up for myfitnesspal. It's free. Many of us use it for logging our intake and exercise. If you have a fitbit you can sync that too. There's also a phone app to log while you're on the go. You might want to keep a watch on how much Peanut Butter you're eating. Yes it's good for you and good Protein, but it tends to be high in sugar, carbs and fat. That would make me want to eat more. Also, if you don't stay on top of the hunger and you're playing catch up at the end of the day, you might take in a lot more to feed the hungry monster than if you would have snacked more often. I like to have an afternoon snack of either yogurt or beef Jerky quite often. I eat out a lot too. There's a number of other threads on here devoted to eating out options.

Alcohol is one of my weaknesses and a big source of my empty calories. I log those calories/carbs too.

Also, are you able to see another doctor / surgeon to get a second professional opinion?

I'm not a doctor or any sort of expert. Just giving you my opinion / thoughts to try to help you out.

[Barbee 1]

I just had my regular blood work up and they have me an Rx of 50,000 units of Vitamin D for a month, then I'm to get it over the counter at 2000 a week. My D is very very low. The Graham's have thickly spread Peanut Butter which keeps me non hungry tor 4 hrs. And it goes down and at the same time allows me my morning coffee. I use the healthiest natural there is. I also used mixed nuts as my Snacks.

As for the eggs. I did Atkins for 18 months straight with scrambled eggs every day. (I don't care for runny or fried eggs). The scrambled eggs have to be very very soft... so I can't order them in any restaurant they don't know how to make really soft, yet safe, scrambled eggs. but I'm so sick of it after eating it so much. If the eggs are cooked too much, they get stuck. I cannot eat hard boiled eggs, they get stuck, but I can eat egg salad.

I appreciate your help tremendously. I have just lost the doctor that did my band and I hardly ever see him, I see the nurse practitioners. last time I saw the doc he yelled at me and had me in tears because I did not lose any weight.

I also haven't been going... I've been cancelling my appt. when I know I've gained. I'm embarrassed. It's also $40 co pay each time and some months when I have other appts. (Eye doc, skin doc, foot doc)... I can't afford it. I will call and ask for the tyroid blood test again. I had it before my surgery and not since. Just lost my reg. doctor after 20 yrs. Have to find a new one at age 70. Ugh. Thank you for taking the time to helpl.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Barbee

[kimk1999 450]

Glad to hear you've gotten the Vit D checked out. I take a daily 2000IU pill. I don't notice when I take it, but definitely noticed when I miss it.

I wish I had a $40 copay. My current insurance sucks. I have to pay the first $1500 every year out of my own pocket. Then from the bills of $1500 tillI I reach $4000 out of pocket, I pay 20% of the bill. After I pass paying $4000 for the year, then Insurance will finally cover everything else. It's ridiculous how much I pay every paycheck to my employer to cover insurance and I get this measly coverage. I think my surgeon charges $250 for a visit, so I'll be pissed if I don't get a fill when I'm expecting one.

For the doc - there's a lot of local groups on this site. Have you gone on there for your state to see who else others recommend? A doc that yells at you, has you in tears is not a good doctor and won't really facilitate a healthy doc / patient relationship.

Regarding Breakfast - the eggs vs. grams & PB... did you lose when you ate the eggs? Did it last decently long vs. calorie intake? If you're desperate for trying to get the weight off again, get the doc satisfied for a fill, maybe deal with eggs for a while longer. Check out the other recipes, options, etc.