Jan 08 bandster fill poll

[HeatherO 7]

I am at 8.3 in a Realize band. I hit my sweet spot on the second fill and am just now starting to get a little hungrier two months later. I have a fill 3 scheduled on 7/29 but I am not sure if I'll need it yet. I guess we shall see.

[georgebals 0]

Cograts from Sin City. Banded 1/15/08 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If I had problems that some on this thread do. I would move into my clinic till these issues were resolved. HeatherO with Realize Band #you can register at RealizemySuccess.com, for your own weight loss program, its fun. Elle lost my Super Obese & Morbid handles, never-never to return there. 4th of July turned 55 y/o. I Have lost over #117 pounds. My Doctors Soong & Atkinson are better than Lance Burton. I also want to thank A real long list of Doctors,P.As, nurses & shamen in Nevada, Alaska,Washington, Belize & Mexico. I have not had a fill yet. It's a hard job but I got to do it!!! Losing Large in Vegas & Loving It! Hasta Pronto, George:thumbup:

[CallMeJim 2]

I have 10.2 cc in my 14cc APL band. I think restriction is good, though I do feel tighter in the morning. Last fill was about two months ago. I saw my doc a week or so ago and agreed to hold off for awhile on another fill.

The key seems to be following the rules (imagine that)! The band works great when I do what I'm told, and I'm working on doing better at that. Congrats on getting to six months everyone. Keep up the good work!

[adorkbl 156]

Just wanted to update. My 3rd fill was last week and put me at 5cc's in an AP small (10cc) band. I finally have restriction!! I am very excited. Some things are no problem, and others like lean hamburger meat or salmon don't go down very well. Not sure about the "sweet spot" since I am still figuring things out, but it is nice to have my tool helping me! =)

[CW_Lady 0]

I have 4 1/2 cc in a 10cc band. I may have another 1/2 cc put in at my appointment at the end of the month. My restriction is pretty good (except for high stress times like midterms and final exams...I can munch all day even though I'm not hungry at all...an issue I need to resolve). My weight loss has been slow because of mobility restrictions. Had surgery on my foot to take care of it. Since the stitches came out on July 10th, I've been walking once or twice a day. Also looking at a membership at the Y (I get bored with walking). So I'm hoping to make up for lost time with more exercise.

[RedTulips3 0]

Can't believe it's been 6 months!

As of right now I have 2.9cc in a 4cc band. Everyone speaks of this illustrious "restriction" and they seem to just "love" their band when they have it. I have never had such feelings towards my band (lol), so maybe I do have restriction and I don't realize it and don't love my band enough, or I don't. (I think it's the latter) I just feel tighter in the morning, but I drink a shake. I feel like I am the one controlling the portions because I haven't ever gotten uncomfortably full, even after eating a lot. At night especially, I can eat almost anything

I never drink when I eat, I've never had a PB (not that I want to). I've only gotten stuck a handful of times, but they all passed within 15 min and then I go on to eat a normal sized meal. I haven't had any problems with bread, Pasta, eggs, lettuce etc and other common foods that people have issues getting down. I'm not complaining because I do enjoy being able to eat them, I'm just confused as to if I have restriction or not. I am doing Atkins and I feel like if I didn't I wouldn't have been losing weight.

Just the other night I ate 6 chicken wings, about a cup of low carb Pasta and a 1/3 cup of cauliflower. Yesterday I ate about 2 cups of lettuce, 4 oz of chicken, a piece of low carb bread with hummus, and 1/2 cup of broccoli. And I could have eaten more. (Though this did keep me full all day long, for a good 7-8 hours) Does this sound like a lot to you guys? How much food do you get full on?

I'm not hungry between meals, which is good. But I would say the amount of food I eat now is comparable to the amount I ate when doing atkins pre-band.

Any thoughts?

Edited July 21, 2008 by RedTulips3

[dfwdoodles 0]

I just got filled today to 6.8 in a 10cc band. I had gotten to 7.5, but then my stomach got irritated and I was even vomitting in my sleep, so they took everything out and I had to start over. 7.5 seemed to be my sweet spot. I'll see how 6.8 goes and may move to 7.5 in another month or so

[Chrisann 0]

That sounds like alot of food to me RT. But then again, I am tight all the time now, and eating very small, controlled portions. No breads, pastas, rice, not even more than a few forkful of vegetables.

I would speak to the doctor about that. Mine has a chart that shows restriction levels.

[RedTulips3 0]

Chrisann, do you mean that little card with the yellow, green and red zones? I never got that card, but i have seen a pic of it online.

I find it strange that I can eat so much. I went to the doc 7/3 for a fill. I had lost .2cc from my 2.4 so he gave me .5 to total 2.7. Within the week I was eating the same amount as before so I went back 7/17 for more and he gave me .2cc for a total of 2.9cc.

Still no difference so I went back 7/24 and got .3 more for a total of 3.2cc. But here I am 2 days after my fill and I just ate 2 cups of lettuce 5 oz of tuna, 1 piece low carb bread and 1.5 oz of cheese. This was all consumed within 25 min. And I absolutely do not drink with my meals.

I'm not asking to get stuck and PB, I just find it weird that I can eat so much, even though I got 1 cc added within the last month. I am still losing weight because I follow low carb, but I feel like it's coming from that as opposed to the Portion Control that the band is supposed to give me.

[CallMeJim 2]

That does sound like quite a bit Red. Does it make any difference if you start with dense Protein? My doc prefers that I eat any vegetables separately since they are mostly Water. I find if eating the right kinds of protein first fills me up more quickly.

[RedTulips3 0]

Jim, why do you have to eat your vegetables? Your doc thinks it pushes the food through because it's Water?

In general I start with the dense Protein. The other night, all I ate for dinner was chicken thighs. I was able to eat 2 chicken thighs, I would guess around 5-6 oz. I was definitely not hungry after that, but I could have eaten more without a problem of being too full. I don't ever have that "I don't think I should take another bite, because if I do..." feeling. I'm not wishing being stuck though

Is it possible to chew your food too thoroughly that it goes right through the band? Including dense Proteins like turkey, chicken etc? I do chew my food extremely well, and I mean really well. Maybe that's why I rarely get stuck?

Edited July 27, 2008 by RedTulips3

[CallMeJim 2]

I have two docs that share the practice and they are a great team (ASBS Center of Excellence). They joke around and go back and forth a bit on the best way to eat. They both say we need to focus on the dense Protein (no sauces, gravies, etc.) first but she is fine with a meal that also includes veggies, bread/pasta/rice, etc. He says just EAT meat and forget all that other stuff to make the band work best. Yes-- he says veggies are mostly Water and so will detract somewhat from band performance. I think he knows meat only is not practical and is really just making a point, but he has suggested that I have the veggies later as a snack. He wants to maximize the amount of time food remains in the pouch. I have to admit, when I follow his advice I do get full faster and stay full longer. But-- I have to have the variety or I'd get so sick of meat I wouldn't be able to face it. So-- sometimes my meals are Protein only, but usually I'll mix it up a bit. Regardless- the "slider foods" concept is very real and will definitely negatively affect band performance.

I too can always stuff more in but I am trying to learn to stop at the first (or second or third) sign of reasonable fullness. I will usually burp or hiccup as a sign that I am getting there. I guess that's my "soft stop." Does anything like that happen to you? Doc is adamant about Portion Control to avoid stretching the pouch. He says to eat again in an hour if I am still hungry (usually turns out I am not).

I have had the same question re. chewing and I think that is probably exactly why you don't have problems. You are much better than I at chewing! I figure if the goal is to make the food stay in the pouch for a long period of time then maybe it would be better to swallow big chunks without chewing (haha) rather than "liquify" it first by chewing it to death. Don't do it!!! I haven't actually tried that intentionally, but I have eaten too fast and failed to chew properly. Ouch Ouch Ouch! Pure misery.

[RedTulips3 0]

Jim, why do you have to eat your vegetables?

I just reread my post and realized that I made a typo. I wasn't asking why you have to eat vegetables, but you understood that's not what I meant. I had a small chuckle with that.

Anyway, I understand the eat Protein only, and I do that frequently because I count carbs, but I enjoy eating my turkey in a salad. Lettuce is pretty boring by itself an hour after eating my Protein, but I understand the approach.

In regards to not eating too much in order not to stretch the pouch, I don't feel like my consuming larger quantities is stretching the pouch. I assume it means the food is just going through the band because I don't have enough restriction. Maybe I'm wrong. But people do get unfills to be more open in order to eat a larger quantity of food, so wouldn't that just be the same as me? Would a flouro reveal that? My doc doesn't use flouro.

What do most people consider slider foods? Is it just anything that goes through the band easily? I have become very attuned to signals my body gives me. I can tell when I'm hungry and when I'm not. I know a certain portion can keep me satisfied for a while, but I can physically eat more. Maybe that's my soft stops and maybe I naturally listen or don't listen to them. But I've never gotten to a point where I was like "woah, I just ate WAY too much".

I want to try chewing less, but I'm afraid I'll get stuck. Maybe I have to find a balance between big bites and pureed mush. A few times, in my haste because I was so hungry, I didn't chew as well and I got stuck. A lot of people say that the first few bites especially need to be chewed well to sort of "warm up" the pouch. That makes a lot of sense to me.

In addition to that, if you swallow a not well chewed piece of food it sits there on top of the band without being able to pass at all and everything you eat thereafter will "pile" up on top of that piece and put pressure on it causing a lot of discomfort.

[CallMeJim 2]

Mom always told me to eat my vegetables...

You're doing a great job regardless. You've been doing Atkins for a long time-- way beyond where most people (like me) can't take it anymore and gain all their weight back, so I'll bet the band is helping. I'd say keep chewing.

I think you're absolutely right- if the band is not filled to the point of good restriction, food will indeed go right on through. Maybe you need more fill. I understand our bands will hold a fair amount more than their advertised capacity and as you lose weight the fat pad on your stomach gets smaller and you need to fill to compensate (at least that's the way I read it). Doc says that occurs about every 30 pounds of weight loss. I've read about other people who had just a tiny fill and it made a big difference.

I do think flouro is helpful. All of my fills are under flouro and the doc will watch as I drink barium and tweak the adjustment based on what he is seeing.

I think slider foods are things that, for whatever reason, will slide through the band. If I eat a dry piece of meat I can easily get stuck. If I drown the same piece in some sort of gravy or sauce it goes down easily. I want to find a happy medium-- edible without pain yet stays in the pouch for a good long while. I need to chew more like you do. It's weird too-- snack foods like Cookies and chips, though dry, cause me no problem. Perhaps it's the fat content. "Healthy" type crackers can get stuck if I'm not careful.

[Chrisann 0]

I am going to see the doctor tomorrow, I don't think I need a fill but I have been avoiding the scale, so I guess it all depends on what I lost.