Bandsters who aren't losing or losing slowly

[BJean 16]

faithmd: Finally, voice of reason and sanity here! Thank goodness. I thought I was the lone ranger on this topic. I know you've been here awhile too so you obviously have some knowledge and may even have some experience with the downside of being overly restricted. Thanks for the backup!

[shortgal 5]

People think being tight is the answer. I think one reason is because we are so desperate to succeed, not fail and we want it now. While I long for restriction ( I haven't reached it yet) the answer is not being so tight that solid food doesn't go down.

You will then just eat "slider" food that goes down easily, won't stay in your pouch long enough and you'll be hungry again sooner. Eventually being too tight, IMO, will lead to weight gain.

I believe that instead we must use the time to listen to our bodies and learn the signals our newly banded stomachs give us about being full. We won't have the "old lower belly" fullness we used to have.

I am not opposed to a low calorie liquid day or two to jump start weight loss, but eating that way long term should not be the goal.

My goal is to be able to eat salad, apples, chicken and other Healthy food that will keep me and my pouch satsified.

At two 1/2 months post op, maybe I am still just nieve (sp?) but this is how I see restriction at this time.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

BJean, truer words have not been written.

Keeping yourself so tight you cannot eat is not only silly, it's freaking irresponsible and asking for BIG trouble. Getting a fill to the point that you "VOMIT SALIVA" and then take it down a little notch is setting yourself up for an emergency unfill a couple of days later when you swell and occlude the stoma.

I agree that we should have a big part in deciding the path of our care, but to be so arrogant as to say that we (who are generally NOT bariatric surgeons) know better than our surgeon as to how to fill our band and with how mcuh and when is preposterous. Granted there are suggested fill schedules in the literature from all the band manufacturers, but they are just that, suggestions! Not set in stone fill schedules!

If this could be predicted and filled the same way in everyone, then there'd be no need for fills at all, they'd just make bands in certain sizes.

I'd hope that if my doc wanted to deviate drastically from what I had read in the literature we would have a conversation about why and if his reasoning was sound (which I'd expect it to be, he's the TRAINED BARIATRIC SURGEON), then I cannot imagine thinking he was trying to "pull one over on me" or "cheat me out of fills" I would not presume that I'd "know" more than him and thus fire him for having a different treatment plan than I made up in my own mind because I read some book and a couple of websites...

Excellent post, absolutely perfect!

Getting a fill that is too tight leads to slips and possibly erosion. To encourage this behavior is not great.

I think it is true that we have behavioral issues to deal with and that is the real key in weight loss, not forced starvation.

I'll bet you are a great nurse in real time, Faith!

[Parvathi 2]

Please be careful, ya'll. There can be repercussions if you overfill and stay that way for too long.

I can not begin to tell you how true that statement is. I stayed too tight, for too long. I wanted to hit that goal and I didn't care how I got there. I was within 4kgs of goal when my band slipped.

The road since then has been one heck of an uphill battle. I managed to gain all but 5kgs back of my start weight. I feel miserable about it and just haven't hit a proper restriction since being re-banded.

If you haven't read the book The Lap-Band Solution by Paul O'Brien, get yourself a copy. Have a read about the different fill amounts and how each band will work differently for each person.

And please please don't make the mistake I did and run from these boards when things get tough or you're not losing .. cause I can be certain that had I stuck around, the encouragement here wouldn't have let me pile on the weight like I have.

Good luck!

[VegasGrace 1]

I hate when what I think I said comes across wrong.

For those who are dancing around restriction....your doc can help.

When you go for an adjustment, he can give you a good fill. stop. Then have you sit up and drink Water. If it goes right on thru he can give more. If it doesn't go thru..he can take it down a notch and have you drink more Water.< /p>

There's nothing wrong with that as I think many on here have experienced the water test. And we all know the real test comes the next day or even a week or so later. But your doctor should welcome you to come back for an unfill if your restriction kicks in harder after you leave the office.

If someone is so tight they are choking on their own saliva, get an unfill and quick. I don't recommend excess restriction...not good.

Hope this clears things up.

[bandster_1007 1]

i am losing slowly also, but i think restriction is key. with each of my last 3 fills i felt like i was getting restriction, but each time i got a little tighter. i was hesitant this last time about getting another because i thought i was tight enough but i wasn't.

i'm not going to lie, i like being tight. but i think each person's definition of tight is different. that is why i like to follow my doctor's definition. his is inability to swallow your own saliva, acid reflux, night cough, inability to eat solids, soft food syndrome, etc.

sooo...with that said, i went from being able to eat 2 meatballs and some salad to being able to eat 1 meatball. i think it takes our heads a while to wrap around what real restriction is. i think most of us are scared to death of actually eating that little, but the thing is we can survive on it...as long as we are tracking our Protein and calories.

only you can be your judge as to whether you need a fill or not. you do not want to be too tight, but it may be that you need a little more restriction.

but, you are not alone. i've discovered already, that if i lose my restriction, i am not going to lose, and i'm slowly figuring out where that needs to be. i currently have 7.8 cc's in a 10 cc band, but i will be getting another fill in a month, because i lose restriction after 2 weeks (this one may be a surprise, but that has been typical). and the only way i realize that i lose restriction is by tracking. suddenly i can eat more calories than i could before, and that means i need a fill (assuming i am choosing healthy foods).