5 weeks, 3 fills, NO restriction! Is my band a dud?

[4evrwild 0]

"So there is more to being banded than thinking it is a miracle cure for being overweight. It is a program, just like any other weight loss program. Approaching banding with the idea you can continue eating exactly like you did prior to being banded is setting you up for failure. You need a different mind set. You need to follow the program (liquids/mushy/healthy and small portions). And exercise. How many of you are exercising? I am not doing as good in that area as I should. I've made a decision that starting today I was going to get more active. My yard needs raking. Why hire someone when I could get a good workout doing that? So I raked three bags of leaves. Yippee!! I need to repaint some walls....again, a good workout. And soon it will be lawn mowing, gutter cleaning, window cleaning, etc. (can u tell I live alone?).

I made a committment when I said yes to banding. I am not going to tempt the band and find out if I can stuff myself. I am going to learn to be satisfied with smaller portions of good healthy food. And when I get tempted to try out that delicious chocolate cake at Bennigins, I'll take my Mom, buy it and have one bite and let her eat the rest and feel satisfied! This is working for me!"

Gracie,

Very well said and I truly believe you have hit the nail on the head!!! We have to change our lifestyle and remember the band is only a tool that will work "if" we work with it as we are supposed to! We all will have our bad days from time to time while we are learning to change our bad habits but I say lets just focus on the days we do it right and eventually we will do it naturally.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Okay, I'm going to put an idea out here but before I do, let me first state that I DON'T know if it is a good one and it might actually be a very bad one, so before anyone tries it, have a good hard think about how you would do it. I would also recommend waiting after you read it to see how many long term bandsters tell me it's stupid or even dangerous - and if they do, don't try it!

My idea is this: For those people who have had 2-3 fills and feel that they don't have ANY restriction at all, try cooking up a really big pot of spaghetti bolognaise meat sauce and mix it with some Pasta (eg elbow pasta). Make it a really good one, high grade minced beef and no oil in the cooking. If you use a good recipe, this should be less than 300 cal per cup, so one night's "blow out" on this won't be utterly disastrous.

Take a measuring cup and measure out exactly one cup into a bowl. Sit down and eat it slowly and carefully following bandster rules for chewing. Wait for at least 15 minutes. Go back and get another cup full. Eat that slowly and carefully. Wait 15 minutes. Listen to your body. You might not be full yet, but are you still HUNGRY? If you are, go back and do it a third time. If necessary do it a fourth or more times. Try to find that spot where your body is no longer telling you that it is hungry. I think you'll find that you reach it at about 2-3 cups at most.

I know in pre-banding days, I could EASILY eat 4-5 cups of this at my first sitting and about an hour later could tackle another cup or two for "seconds". After my first fill, however, I would eat one cup and still be hungry and think "I don't have restriction yet!" so I'd eat a second cupful. I felt more satisfied then but still didn't feel FULL like I used to. I stopped at that point, because I COULD control the hunger by then and COULD stop, but I probably could have squeezed in a third cup if I had tried. Pre-banding days and there's no way I could have stopped. If I was trying to diet and NOT eat 4-5 cups, no matter how much I promised myself that I'd be good, I'd go back to the pot and pick at it for the rest of the night till it was all gone I absolutely could not do that after even the first fill and now (after 3), the one cup is my limit.

If you can still easily down 4-5 cups of spag bol & Pasta after 3 fills, then yes, you are probably not feeling any restriction and you might have to wait for several more before you get there. However, I'm betting that you will find that you aren't hungry after only 2 cups and are probably feeling quite full after 3-4 at most. The band IS giving you SOME measure of restriction, even if it isn't as much as you were expecting. You just have to learn to listen to it and not seek that "stuffed full till it hurts and I can't move" sensation. That was BLOODY HARD for me to accept and to give up, because I was ADDICTED to that pain sensation - weird, I know, but I am realising this truth now.

Now I would NOT recommend doing this until AT LEAST 4 weeks after surgery. I know we all get worried that we might "stretch our pouch" but I don't think this can happen in one night of pushing the limits. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking this as slowly and carefully as you can so that you don't do yourself any damage. However, I think it would be a worthwhile experiment to do for just one night because I think it would "prove" to you in your own minds that the band really is doing it's job and that you WILL get to the sweetspot eventually. Ok, it might not be making you satisfied on half a cup yet, but if the first fill gets you down from 5 to 3 cups and the second fill gets you down to 2 cups, etc, at least you know it's doing SOMETHING.

Like I said - it's just an idea and it might be a horrible one, but perhaps worth pondering at least... If the long term bandsters think this is utterly stupid, please say so, coz I really don't know but it makes sense to me.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Fanny Adams

[shortgal 5]

This idea is kind of similar to my saying to learn to "listen" to our band, even before we get restriction.

But I do it a little differently. I eat a weight watchers portion or the serving size the package recommends ( like 3/4 c of cereal). I eat that portion, I stop eating. I wait one hour, then I listen to what my stomach is telling me. Still hungry? Well, it's been one hour so I can drink and I have a bottle of flavored Water. I listen again. Many times, while I feel I could still eat, I also find that I'm satisfied enough to wait until the next meal, if not, than an apple or a 100 calorie snack holds me over.

I know we don't want to "diet", it isn't dieting, it's retraining our head to listen to our stomach. We don't have to wait until perfect restriction to start this. And thinking that restriction is THE answer, will not work for long. If we choose to eat around the restriction, we will be able to.

Some people are just ready to learn to work with the band sooner than others. The others just attack people for suggesting that they try these alternate approaches.

I'm glad, Fanny, that you have already learned to listen to the messages your band is sending you. You know it is working and so do I.

[Fanny Adams 7]

I know what you mean about having to learn to listen to our bodies but it is a complex process and it takes months before it really sinks in. I'm over 4 months out and only just now beginning to get the hang of it. I think that, no matter how much we "know" that it isn't a miracle cure and that it "is only a tool", deep down we are all still secretly hoping for that miracle. We don't really know what the signals feel like and it takes time to learn the subtle sensations.

As an experiment, this idea was just to try to help someone to feel the limits of the band and get some hope that it is working at some level. I definitely don't recommend it as a full time eating plan! But feeling "full" and feeling "not hungry" are different sensations after banding and maybe it could help someone to recognise those new feelings.

[shortgal 5]

Oh, I knew you meant for people to try something to learn to understand their band and not advocating eating spaghetti every day. LOL.

Like you, I am over four months out and the fear of getting stuck or hurting my band kept me on the straight and narrow post op path for a while. Then I got hungry. I just knew I didn't want to gain weight, so I just figured I'd diet like I did before until I got restriction. That's when I learned the same thing you learned (we just learned them in maybe similar but different ways) that the band was working, a bit, and then I knew I had to understand how to make the band and the head work together.

Some days that's easier than others. But when real restriction comes, maybe I won;t be sliming or PB'ing so much because my head is ready and listening.

I have a friend that had GBP and I think she thought it would be a miracle, too. I watched her lose and then re-gain some, so I think I was not hoping and testing my band in case it was a miracle. My friend still has to work at it the whole eating thing and I know I'll have to, too!

This is no easy way out!

[saqueen 1]

Hey Lise,

Gosh, you've been so positive and have been doing so well! I just got my first fill today. It was 1 cc. I have a 10cc band and some was put in at time of surgery so I have a total fill of 3.4cc's at present. I don't feel any different with this first fill at all. Today might not be the best day for me to judge tho. Please keep us posted, and I wish you the best. Just try to do things the way you know you should from now on and hopefully that will get you thru to the time when you finally feel restriction :tt2:

You are doing QUITE WONDERFUL BY THE WAY!!:tt1:

START LOOKING UP THOSE SUNDRESS:thumbup:

[4evrwild 0]

You are doing QUITE WONDERFUL BY THE WAY!!

START LOOKING UP THOSE SUNDRESS:thumbup:

Why thank you very much dahlink!!! I bet I know whose closet I go can shopping for those sundresses too, lol!!!

[loveangelpet 0]

Hi! I'm not much on posting but couldnt help it when i read all these posts. First I wanted to say I was banded Nov 2007. I have to date lost 74lbs. I have had 3 fills giving me 6 cc's in an AP small band. I come here to read up and find out who feels like me..who doesnt. I also want to say.. sometimes i have really bad days and cant eat much..sometimes i can eat very well (junk). But I find myself having to fight my brain more then my stomach and I think some ppl here are feeling what I'm feeling. I too couldnt wait for restriction....and now i have it. sometimes though i can eat more then others. I promise you who dont believe... you will get there. Just relax and take it one day at a time. The band works... and i am sick of ppl on here saying eat this watch calories dont eat that... duh..i had lap band because i'm not very good at that thing DIETING. In my opinion if you just take ur time and dont expect miracles, it will happen... I have a great dr who gives me great advice.. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION, BUT NEVER FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ON A DIET!! ITS BETTER TO EAT GOOD AND LOSE 1LB A WEEK THEN TO STARVE YOURSELF AND LOSE 5LBS A WEEK!! you know i remind myself of that!! Life is to enjoy, and food comes along with that. Just relax, take your' time, and it will come! The point of the band is to get fills so you get restriction. If we could do it alone we would have. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE, MAY GOD BLESS YOU. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF... YOU CAN DO IT!!! p.s. before you type something negative to my comment, wonder how it would make you feel if someone was ugly to you. think before you type, support is a wonderful thing, negative comments hurt feelings, is that who you want to be?

[clgloria4ever 0]

I know exactly how you all feel. I had my surgery on 12/31/07 and was feeling exactly like you. I had 5 fills with-in 8 weeks and still had no restriction. I kept going back to my Dr like 2X a week for a fill and saying how I feel like I have no band only scars. She made me promise to stay and drink 2 cups of Water after my fill and the proceeded to fill me to the point were by the time I got to the waiting room I was choking on my own salive! I went back to the room where she was waiting and she said I knew you were coming right back - now do you believe you have a band. She then took some fill out (RELIEF) and since then about 2 months have passed and I have had amazing restriction - I have 8.5 in a 10 band. So hang in there - you should not have to use will power - once you are at the proper restriction. Sometimes I wish I could eat a slice of pizza but I am glad I can't.

So you really think It is working. I was banded 12/31/2007 with a 10 cc band. I have 7 cc in, 4 fills so far, and I have actually gained 6 pounds over the last 4 weeks. I am SO frustated and scared that I wasted my money. I am scheduled for a fill 04/24/2008. Were you able to eat whatever you wanted and did you get full?? I can and I'm not getting full.

[chica 2]

I'm not 100% sure I want to join this post -- mostly because there seems to be a lot of negativity, as others have said. Usually, when I come across a negative post, I walk away quietly. I need the positivity.

On the other hand, some of what some people have perceived as hostile or negative probably wasn't meant that way. Relax, people! We're all in this together, and we should try to remember that we need to support each other in our efforts. :eek:

Lise, back to your postings... glad to hear you're finally getting some restriction after this 4th fill. :tt1: I love your blog and check it at least once a week. You and your DH are so cute in the video interview! I'm one week behind you and have similar results so far.

I've just had my first fill, and since I'm on liquids (2 days) and then mushies (2 days), I don't think I'll know if I have any restriction until I get back to soft foods. That's why I wonder how some people here feel like their band isn't working for them right after a fill. :sad: liquids slip right through the band (unless you're overfilled), and mushies kinda do too.

I'm not into calorie counting, carb counting, etc., I'm simply trying to focus on what I was told: Protein first, then veggies, and if you have room, fruit and maybe a little GOOD carbs. So far, that's all I've done (besides some walking), and that's how I hope to continue. And if I eat some pizza along the way, that's ok too (but I haven't done it yet).

Fanny, I don't mean to attack your Pasta test for restriction, but I do want to repeat what my doctor told me about Pasta (because I happen to love the stuff myself!). Try to avoid meals of pasta (maybe just a little on the side) because even if you chew, chew, chew it, it becomes quite Gummy in your stomach, and therefore, you run the risk of getting a big, gloopy mess stuck and you may very well PB. On my mushy stage, I made this great pasta dish and had it blenderized. I had to add LOTS of liquid to make it the right consistency, but it sure opened my eyes about exactly what they said about the gumminess of pasta! :cursing: So, I guess what I'm saying is, maybe using a "hard" Protein (chicken, meat, fish) and eating until you're sure you're content would be a safer choice.

One last thing... many of you on this post are March '08 bandsters. If you haven't already, come join us on the Master Thread under Support Groups. It's a great way to see how everyone who's within the (relatively) same timeframe is doing. Commiserating, supporting, finding humor in our journeys...

[Fanny Adams 7]

Fair enough comment - and the test would probably work just as well using just the meat sauce. However, one of the reasons I thought of that dish is bacause it would show up any restriction if it was there, due to the nature of Pasta. Like I said, I'm not claiming it was a GOOD idea but sometimes we need to feel these things for ourselves to really believe them.

[LiseSeattle 0]

Thanks, Chica! The husband and I are quite a pair... :tt1:

Lise, back to your postings... glad to hear you're finally getting some restriction after this 4th fill. I love your blog and check it at least once a week. You and your DH are so cute in the video interview! I'm one week behind you and have similar results so far.

[LiseSeattle 0]

Well everyone - I got that 4th fill and boy oh boy am I in restriction land! I actually PB'd once yesterday while eating too quickly! Was fine after I started eating slower but let me just say that restriction is AMAZING! I can only eat about a golf-ball size of Protein at a time before I know I must stop or else. Band is definitely not a dud!

[Fanny Adams 7]

Yay for you - and now that you can actually feel it there, be careful not to push the limits further. It's no fun and really not good for you to be in a position where you PB all the time.

I personally found that I had to re-learn the bandster rules all over again. When I first had the op, I tried all those rules about pencil eraser sized portions, chewing for at least 30 seconds, etc, but slowly got slack on them because I wasn't getting the pain inhibitor/reminder when I made a mistake. After my third fill, all of a sudden those rules weren't just academic anymore - they really meant something!!

Good luck, have a great journey into bandland and don't forget - eat tiny bites, eat slowly and CHEW, CHEW, CHEW!!

[4evrwild 0]

Thanks, Chica! The husband and I are quite a pair... :cry_smile:

Hooray for Lise, finally she got her restriction, see patience really does pay!! lol. I'd be interested in knowing if you have been taking vitiamins all along, can you still swallow them with this restriction or do you have to go back to chewables? Just curious what I may run into down the road when I finally feel restriction :crying:. Keep us posted!