How normal is this?

[blahblahblah 4]

Hi all,

I had my 3rd fill on Thursday and I've been struggling with being stuck more often than usual.

I've actually pb'd twice...the first on Soup and the second on chinese veggies and shrimp. (no rice)...these are my second and third time pbing in 9 months...

So...while I don't think I am over filled...I'm wondering if this is normal after a fill...

Thanks all!

Rain

[Shinyhappymommy 2]

I'm not nearly as experienced as you are, but my first reaction is that if you're PBing on Soup that you're overfilled. Especially if it's been nearly a week since your fill. Maybe call your doc?

[losingitforlife 0]

After my 3rd fill, I struggled with thinking I was overfilled too. My Dr. used fluro so the chances were slim that he put in too much fill. I had to retrain my eating habits, AGAIN :huh2: I had my 2nd fill for 7 months and had gotten used to eating a certain amount. Try to go back to the basics. Take a few bites and listen to your body to signal you, if you are full or not. Don't take for granted the portions you have been eating are what will work for you now. I can eat 5-7 bites of tuna and be completely full. That was not the case before this last fill. Good luck and I hope that helps.

[pammie 0]

cyrena, when you say you are completely full, what does that feel like. Is it the same feeling of 'full' that you used to have pre band or is it different?

[juliegeraci 7]

Rain, it is very important to slow down tremendously when you get really tight restriction. I can't really do a lot of vegies since it gets me full really fast. If the PB continues I would have .2 or .3 removed from the band. Were you losing at all with your last fill? What level were you at and where did he take you?

[losingitforlife 0]

Pammie,

No, I have NEVER had the same full feeling after being banded. I wish I would have tried to put it into words when it was first happening because a year later, I'm so used to it that it feels "normal" now. :eek: Here's my attempt...

Pre-band, I would eat until my entire stomach felt "big", "full". Now, I eat a few bites and my nose starts to drip, that is my first "full signal". I usually keep eating :thumbup: Then I take a few more bites and I get a pain under my left shoulder. That is my "last" full signal. If I keep eating, I will feel miserable for hours, or I will PB and then be done eating for the day and have to go back to liquids for 24 hrs. Everyone has different signals and some people don't get a signal but I think if we stop long enough to listen to our bodies we would be surprised at what our bodies are saying and we just don't slow down enough to listen. Remember if you PB, it swells everything up and you need to go back to liquid. Don't eat or drink anything for 6 hours and then slowly start adding warm liquids a tbls at a time and then the next day, mushies, next day solids again. If you don't watch it, you will get into a cycle of PBing and it isn't actually that particular food, it is just that you are swollen and your body can't handle anything yet.

Ok, so getting back to the full feeling. No it isn't the same, sometimes you just have look at the amount of food, 1/2-1 cup and stop. You don't want full anymore, you want satisfied. It is a matter of retraining our minds If I eat 1/2 cup I know that is it. I still put 2-3 cups of food on my plate, I still make 2 baked potatoes to eat. HA I can't eat one but I still think, but what if I can eat more tonight. I'm working on that thought pattern and probably will be for a long time. I've been overweight a lot of years, to think that "thinking" will change in a year is unrealistic Let me know if I can help with anything else, I hope this wasn't to scattered to make sense.

[blahblahblah 4]

Hi ladies,

Thanks for the help so far.

Julie, I feel like I am going very slowly, but I guess I am not. I think I am at aout 7cc's...not sure though...I know he put about 1.5ccs in. I was NOT losing with my last fill. I lost 6 pounds in 3 months. That's not consistent with the type of loser I am. I tend to lose quickly. I can't eat in the morning, but I'm okay with that...

Thanks...

Rain

[MissMom24 2]

For me, I was really tight at first...they said it was swelling. After about 10 days, I felt fine. I also tend to get real tight around TOM. It could be swelling...

[pammie 0]

Hi cyrena. Many thanks for that reply, it is most informative and explains such a lot. If that is the same 'full' feeling that is common to most of the bandsters, then I have been searching for the wrong thing all this time. But, I don't get any of the signs that you and everyone else speaks about. I do have restriction but I think perhaps I need just a little bit more. I think that may make a difference. May I please ask, when you speak of a 'cup' full. How big is that cup? Would it be possible for you to measure how much liquid that cup holds so that I can visualise the amount. I know your recipies, etc. usually require measures in cups, but we tend to work in precise measures. I think you are talking about the effects you have, pb'ing etc after you have 'over' eaten. You see, I can over eat and I dont have any problems. I am more restricted in the mornings but as tea time comes I can eat anything. I am rather scared in case I get another fill and end up unable to eat or drink anything all day, until the night. What do you think? xxx

[losingitforlife 0]

Pammie,

I know it is frustrating when you don't get the signs, I encourage you, if you get another fill, start watching for them, they may show up yet :biggrin: When I talk about a cup, I mean a measuring cup. I ate chili last night and I ate 1 cup/8oz measuring cup. If you can over eat and not have any problems then, your right, you need a fill. I'm also more restricted in the AM, I have a 16 oz Decaf, S/F, Latte that I make at home every day around 9AM. I slowly sip on it, if I take a big drink it hurts like it is "stuck", I usually only get 8 oz down and then it's so cold I throw the rest out. Then by noon or 1:00 PM I'm hungry and I have tuna mixed with mayo on crackers. I can eat 7 bites, literally. It's about 4 crackers. If I use the wrong crackers, I can only eat 3 bites and I'm "stuck"/"full" so I eat whole grain heavy cracker. Then for dinner I eat whatever I made for the family. Tater tot hotdish- I couldn't eat the tater tots, last night was the chili, enchiladas the other night, I ate 1/2 of one - that was made with one 10in tortilla. I hope that helps get some ideas. I'm happy to share more about what I eat if you need some more ideas.

[pammie 0]

Cyrena, once again you have been fabulous. Thank you so very much. That makes so much sense. I can eat MUCH more than that and do not feel full nor have any signs. If I eat too fast or do not chew properly then it gets stuck and is very painful with the associated slime but I am NEVER sick or pb. I have an 8 ounce cup of coffee in the morning and like you have to sip it really slowly or it feels like I have swallowed a rock - and I spend the morning warming it up in the microwave. By lunch time I can eat. I can eat a big sandwhich and again, as long as its not fast I can eat it and still get no signs or feelings of being full. Many times the first bite or two gets stuck but as soon as the blockage has cleared then I can eat fine. At teatime I can eat a meal almost as big as preband. I am going to book a fill. Maybe another ml will make the difference. I really hope so. Thank you for the cup measure too. That is very helpful to have a visual of what I should be aiming for. Yes please some more ideas about what you can/do eat in a day would be great. What is a tatertot? How long would it take you to eat 8 oz of food? Do you count calories or just eat what you like within reason relying instead on Portion Control? Poor you. I must be driving you mad now. I really do appreciate your time and effort. Thank you Cyrena xxx

[Cerrin 3]

I would love the answers too. I am having a hard time judging when I am satisfied.

It is worse when I start off REALLY hungry.

[Jennie1976 1]

I don't know about other people, but for about three weeks after a fill, I PB a lot. Then, it hurts like heck if I eat too much as the food slips through the band (which I can feel when it happens). I had my last fill on March 5th. About two weeks ago, I noticed that I had all but stopped PBing. Yay!

Hope that answers your questions!

[losingitforlife 0]

Please keep asking questions, I'm so grateful to have the people around me that answered these questions when I had them :biggrin: :w00t: A tater tot is a shredded potato that is like a little ball I have never counted calories, I have been able to rely totally on Portion Control. My BIGGEST issue and one that I have battled is Ice Cream, I eat too much of it but apparently it is not totally out of control since I have been able to lose and maintain my weight and still eat it

When I am eating, I need to take a bite, put my fork/spoon down and swallow. Then pick up the fork, take a bite, set it down. It is funny how many people follow my lead even when they don't know I'm banded. We have been taught our whole lives to slow down when we eat, well this time it's for real. If I eat quickly, I get stuck So to eat my cup of chili took me about 20 min. I could have eaten more but I was satisfied and I would have been pushing it to keep going. Now I'm not talking about white knuckling it, I'm just saying, yes I could have gotten up, put more in my bowl, eaten more, but then I would have felt miserable all night with pain. When I get pain from overeating it is usually in my port area, like the food hits my big stomach and PRESSES on my port. Strange feeling.

I have found my "safe" food, you know the one you eat every time you go out with friends because you know you won't PB on it, is Nachos. I ordered 1/2 taco salad after church and ate 1/2 of it with no problems. I have started having the cafe make me a small plate of nachos when I go there because I know I won't PB. We live in a small town and only have one cafe that deep fat fries everything. UGH Not much I can eat there, but nachos is my safe food. Baked potatoes is my other safe food. I will eat a baked potato with butter on it almost every night that I can't come up with something else. Last summer I started managing a bed and Breakfast which meant I had to cook for guests most every day. Being newly banded I was freaked out, but I would make the guests, spinach and strawberry salad and then steak and baked potatoes and asparagus. I could eat a little salad, 3-4 bites, 4 or 5 asparagus and then a baked potato. That is more than I could eat now, since my last fill, but that is what I lived on all summer long and lost the majority of my weight. Some people can't eat a baked potato at all and I can no longer eat the skin (used to be my favorite part), but that is too starchy for some peoples bands.

Let's see what else have I been eating??? I can eat a few bites of steak if it is really tender and I chew well, I can eat an egg as long as it is late evening (I only eat one).

I will keep adding to my list as I think of foods I can eat and how much. I guess the biggest thing is having a fill that makes it so you can feel satisfied on a little amt of food.

Oh, and for Cerrin, don't start off really hungry. HA Easier said than done I know, but your head tells your body, keep eating, I'm still hungry, I can't get rid of the shakes with out more food. But in reality it is your blood sugar level dropping and trying to level out. Your blood sugar isn't raised instantly when we put food in our mouth, it take a little while, if you are always in HUNGRY mode your body will always think it needs more food than it does.

Hope all this helps :laugh:

[Cerrin 3]

Yeah it is hard for me to go to lunch on time sometimes. So by the time I can go I am way too hungry. So now I have a jar of Peanut Butter on my desk. when I get hungry I have a spoon full. Not the best choice but better then some others. lol

it keeps me from being too hungry.