Am I too tight? I need your insights please....

[marieze 5]

O.k., here's the deal. I was banded on 2/13. Could eat a horse right after surgery. Had 1st fill....3cc's in a 10cc band. Could still eat a horse. Second fill comes and I get another 3cc's and couldn't swallow Water. The doc takes one cc out. Now at 5CC's.

Have been TRYING to eat slow and take small bites. This has been VERY hard for me. A real work in progress.

On Saturday I went to Breakfast and was able to eat 2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 4 link sausages. This clearly does not look like restriction to me.

However, yesterday, any time I tried to eat ANYTHING I pb'd. I mean anything! For instance: Breakfast sausage-Yak....scrambled egg...yak..shrimp..yak...prime rib..yak!!! I was however, able to eat some guacamole with tiny pieces of tortilla chip.

So, am I too tight? If so, how did I eat the stuff the day before? I don't know what to do. I'm flustered as to whether it's my habits or too full of fill. What do you think?

Marie

[losingjusme 12]

restriction is a funny thing. i am super tight in the morning and loosen up in the afternoon/evening.

one thing i noticed is you said you PB'd then ate then PB'd. if you PB, the best advice would be to go on liquids for 18-24 hours afterwards. when you PB, your stomach swells and makes things tighter. liquids will help. keep your Protein up though with a good Protein Drink (even milk will work)

good luck.

[VegasGrace 1]

I agree. Restriction isn't constant and is not the same at any given point in the day.

I don't think you are too restricted. But you have to decide. My restriction would have been too much for someone else where it suited me just fine.

Eat 1-2 bites and walk away from the table. After 10 minutes if you are still hungry- eat another 1-2 bites.

I've found, for me, I eat all day long. Seems I get hungry...painfully hungry... if I've not had anything within 3 hrs. I still have restriction eventhough I'm on maintenance.

You are doing great, btw!

[DLW 0]

GraceUtah, I know exactly what you are talking about. I too am painfully hungry every 2 1/2 to 3 hours after eating. I have 7.5cc in a 10cc band. Seems like I should have better restriction? Staying full longer? When I am hungry, I AM HUNGRY. It is not head hunger most of the time either. I can tell the difference between the two for the most part. My head hunger is a craving for something and my hunger, hunger is when my stomach is just aching for the food. I have all kinds of rumbling going on - sometimes to an embarrasment. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe eat every 2 hours? I see the fill doc on the 23rd of April. I'm wondering if I should call and get in sooner? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh, I was banded on Nov. 5th 2007. I've only lost about 20 - 22 pounds. It's a slow go but at least the scales have not gone the wrong way. Thanks, Dianne

[Wheetsin 714]

I swear I answered this...

[Wheetsin 714]

This is why I hate duplicate threads. I'm going to answer your response here, because otherwise I'll just get confused.

You are right about everything. Here's where I'm confused. I remember the nutritionist and surgeon telling me, "we don't want you just eating mushy foods because they go down so easily". You need to focus on solids. I did. Also, they said that the band only works with "solids", so I am really trying to see how much restriction I have after my fill to see if I'm at a good spot.

Eating mushies because you're too tight to eat anything else, and eating mushies as a surrogate for solid foods are completely different situations. When a mushy is all that will go down, then you should not force solid foods or (as you saw) you will just get sick.

It would be easy for me to just have a shake or mushies but that's contrary to what they said.

I can't speak for them, but I'd be 99% sure they meant as a rule -- if you can eat a piece of chicken, or mashed potatoes, go for the chicken. If chicken isn't/can't/shouldn't go down, go for something softer.

Now, at 53 I no longer have periods; do we still just have some days that are tighter? I really want to go make some breakfast as I'm starving from not eating anything yesterday but am very reluctant. I could make Soup, but again, how will my band get the chance to work?

Any Fluid retention could make you tighter, as could probably 20 other variables that people seem to be able to link random tightness with. Something being Soup doesn't mean your band can't work. Trust me, I've PBed on soup. It doesn't have to be one extreme or another, but in this case since you yakked like 5 times yesterday, I would stick with liquids today and possibly mushies tomorrow, depending on how you're feeling. You need to give your body time to rest and get rid of the swelling. Having Protein drinks for a day doesn't mean you're breaking your nutritionist's rules of "don't use Protein Drinks for meals" or whatever. There are almost always exceptions.

but to my original question; do you think I'm too tight? Because yes, I did eat pancakes, sausages etc. the day before.

And as I originally answered, you do not sound like you're too tight to me. Being able to eat a pre-op size breakfast has no trace of "too tight" anywhere on it.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

[VegasGrace 1]

I've not ever experienced what the lapband system claims....eat and feel full longer.

Nope, with me it's eat what I can eat and as much as I can eat (small portion).

Like today...had a sweetpotato pancake for breakfast. 3 is a serving size but I had 1 w/ sf Syrup. That was at 10am.

At 12:10am, I started getting hot. I got a little hostile, aggravation set it. And I knew I was hungry. Sure enough another 10 minutes I heard and felt my tummy.

Got a sandwich kids meal from a sandwich shop. Whew! Just in time. Was out teaching my daughter to drive a stick...so I know the stress didn't help me any.

I missed church 2 weeks in a row. I went, stayed for an hour but felt so hungry! I left.

Now I'm going to carry crackers w/ me. Hope no one says anything.

[TracyinKS 7]

To feel fuller longer you must fill your pouch with solid protien.... (the act of taking it longer to digest is what keeps you fuller longer)

To the OP....... your meal sounds huge to me, I haven't been able to eat anything pancake like since my second fill......

Restriction IS very fickle.......... TOM, Stress, Time of Day... all affect my level of tightness.......... also I can PB on Soup if I eat it too fast.. so SLOWING down has been a big learning curve......

GOOD LUCK!

[TracyinKS 7]

oh and Grace.. your description of feelig hot and irritated two hours after a meal.. is EXACTLY how I used to feel when I was OFF the low carb wagon.......

I could eat a HUGE amount of high carb/ high sugar food and be flopping around on the floor from hunger 2 hours later..... but if I ate something Protein packed and lower carbs... (eggs, bacon, cheese, etc...) my fullness would last til lunch.

[Sunshine_68 0]

I really do not think you are too tight either. I had to have an unfill last week and it was because I was unable to eat ANYTHING!!! I was on liquids and even throwing them up. Also, at night I was regurgitating and coughing, very miserable. You might just need to monitor how much you are eating and go back to liquids a few days and then mushies. Take your time and it will be alright. If you are too tight, you most definately know it!! Good luck!

[DLW 0]

TracyinKS, I was on the Atkins for 3 1/2 years prior to the lapbanding and lost about 67 pounds. I came to a standstill for about a year. I went off and gained back about 20 pounds before being banded. Thank goodness I didn't go longer huh? Whew! I sure did have a good time I must say having all of the foods that I wouldn't touch while on the Atkins, like summer salads, potatoes, burgers with the bun! Ice cream, mac and cheese, pizza and Pasta. Boy what fun I had for a few months. lol Now that I've been banded I'd really like to be able to enjoy some of those foods, in moderation of course, but I'm realizing too that they are just a quick fix. That is one thing that I did like about the Atkins the not having to go hungry and really not having the HUNGER pains. I think I may try that road again. I'll just remember the chew, chew, chew and slow, slow, slow rules. Soooo important. Not to mention saving on the pain and aggrevation.

[marieze 5]

Thank you to all of you who responded. I feel like such a dork. This is a real learning curve for me. I've been eating with my bad habits for 53 years and it's tough. This is definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I really do want to be successful and pickup something new off the board everyday. Your feedback is very valuable to me.

And Wheetsin, I am so sorry about the double post. I could hear your frustration in your post. Again, sorry about that. I really value what you have to say, so hang in there with me, please!

I'm just confused about what I'm feeling physically and want to do the right thing. Getting used to all the new signals is difficulut considering I have tuned them out more years than some of the posters have been alive!!!!

Marie

[DLW 0]

Hang in there Marie and don't give up on asking the questions. You won't learn unless you do. What may be a good idea is to find a support group in your area. Ask your doctors office about one. They should have some information for you? Hopefully there is one. If not, maybe you could even start one up? Good luck to you, Dianne

[TracyinKS 7]

NEVER feel stupid for asking a question! Thats how we learn!!!! :biggrin:

[KarenH 0]

marieze - I am so glad you posted this thread. I am relatively new to this site - just a couple of months - and tend to read the current posts instead of searching the archived threads for information.

I have had only one fill (banded 1/25) 2cc's a couple of weeks ago and I can easily pb on a deviled egg (thank you Easter!) I am learning what works and doesn't work. I didn't pb until I had a fill. I worry a bit about slippage as I seem to do this several times a week. On Easter it happened a couple of times. I know I was eating too quickly. I am going to pull out the instructions given to me by the nutritionist prior to surgery. I am sure I must be doing something wrong.

It was reassuring to read the posts to your thread. I picked up some insights. It's difficult to know what to expect since we are so new. The more I read, the better informed I am! Thanks. Karen