NJGirl32

I am in the same boat as Xavier- I can only eat small amounts but I am okay with that for now. This morning I was hungry and my daughter made bacon and eggs. I had maybe 2 slices of bacon and could only eat 1 spoonful of eggs.

It seems that some days I can eat a small meal and other days I can only eat a spoonful. I definitely need to putthe fork down between bites and give the food a chance to settle before attempting another bite. I had 1 week where it seems that everything I ate just didn't settle right in my stomache and I could feel the slime starting. I found that when this begins if I walk around the house it helps the food to work it's way down.

It's certainly a big learning process!

My advice-small bites, chew, chew, chew, put the fork down and stick to 1 type of food. My new favorite thingto do is share a meal at a restuarant and maybe order Soup beforehand.

WOW!! Now that IS quite an accomplishment!!!!!! Congrats! I hope you treated yourself to something special - you deserve it!

What great news!! You should feel so proud of this amazing accomplishment!! Under 200 is my next goal - I have 12 pounds to go and hopefully by the end of October I'll be there! 4ccs in my 10 band is good for me-I can't imagine needing a fill for a while since I can't eat much. I went to the doctor's this week-my family doctor-and the nurse put the scale weight in the 150 spot (she had to move it to 200) but I thought-wow-she thinks I weigh under 200! It's all good!

Truthfully, you will feel hungry until you have the right amount of fills. IT took me 3 months to reach this "green zone" and to where I felt the band was doing it's part. Each fill helped a little though. Be patient and in the meantime practice eating small portions. Make sure you are getting the correct amount of Protein in each day because that helps with hunger. Also drink water-lots of it! Good luck to you!

What does a slip feel like? How would you know if you had a slipped band what are the symptoms?

OMG!!! Congrats!! I don't know how you do it, especially with 4 yr. old triplets! You'll be one busy Momma!!

Enjoy this time, the weight will come off next year-just try not to overindulge and you'll have less to lose.

God Bless you and your family!!

Thanks everyone for your replies! It hurt enough that I wentto my family doctor and she said no vital organs are on the left side. She thinks it just may be a pulled muscle.

Cindy-that was sucj a nice tribute to your dad. We never forget our dads do we?

The port is where the incision is right? This is higher than any of my incisions. I also have lots soreness in my left shoulder, but I figure that's unrelated to my left side. I didn't know whether to call my family doctor or wait until I see my surgeon on Thursday. I heard of flipped ports and band slippage, but I can still eat (not a lot though)so I don't think it's that-it could be just old age! lol

For the last 4 days I have had pain in my upper left side (right under my left boob-maybe in the ribcage). It hurts and thankfully my husband has a pain killer for me when it gets too bad. I can't imagine what it is. I know once we get the band we tend to think everything is band related!! At first I thought it was gas pains, but it hasn't gone away. Did anyone else experience this?

What a great success!! Congrats to you!! You reaffirm my belief that nothing is impossible and it's never too late to dream big (or small in your case)!!

Mimi gave good advice- don't push solids at this point. Stick to Soups and mushies and Protein shakes. You aren't 'clogged' because if you were stuck believe me you would DEFINITELY know it! Take small bites of food and chew it until it's like baby food. You are probably swollen too.

If you can't eat solids after a few days call your doctor. My last fill was tight and still is-I can eat solids, but in very liited amounts and it takes me a while to finish.

Good luck!

I honestly don't think you have a leak. They use special needles that help to avoidbthat very thing. You have lost a good bit of weight and the fat pad under your band may have diminished and thereby the band simply is not tight. Sounds like you are due for a fill! Good luck to you!

I'd also have to disagree with the oster that said it's 80% you and 20% the band. I would say that might be true prior to feeling restriction, but once you feel restriction the band REALLY kicks in! I couldn't overeat even if I wanted to and there's no way I can eat Pasta or bread and that didn't happen until my 4th fill! Hang in there-your almost there!

Well said, Rachel. Too bad they can't figure out how to put the band around our brains instead of our stomachs!

SO true!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry, you probably gained some muscle. Muscle does weigh more than fat. You may be loosing inches and that's great! I know how you feel. When I workout I usually don't loose weight, but I do loose inches and that can be very frustrating at times, when you don't see the scale go down. Just keep working out.

I recently found out that muscle actually doesn't weigh more than fat! A pound of muscle and a pound of fat is a pound no matter how you look at it. However, muscle takes up less space (volume) than fat/ So a 180 pound woman with muscle would actually look a lot thinner than a 180 pound woman with fat-does that make sense?

As far as the scale being a disappointment you can't always go by the scale. After my vacation it said I gained 4 pounds- no way did I gain that much-2 days later it said I lost 4 pounds.

Bobbie-you haven't failed until you stop trying and it looks like you are ready to roll up your sleeves and conquer the hunger monster head on!

This time you may want to think seriously about setting up some sessions with a therapist to really gain some insights to the root of your addiction.

Set up an appointment for a fill too! I know for me that when I am filled properly I simply can't eat a lot of food. Keep all of your fill appointments. Take small steps and before you know it you'll be losing and gaining confidence and feeling good about yourself! Read the quotes below my ticker. Keep positive!!

Wishing you strength and a healthy journey!

I did fly and was a little panicky the entire time-not about flying but about eating anything that would caude me to PB. Geeze I can't imagine being in the bathroom puking in a plane. So I didn't risk it. We stayed in New Orleans for 2 nights before our cruise-that 2nd day I was SO sick. I hear the band can sometimes tighten.

Vacation is really a time to unwind and enjoy life-not a time to test the band. I actually thought it may have slipped due to how sick I was-but it passed. We have to remember that our spouses are onvaction too-and should be a little considerate about not ruining their vacation either with constant trips to the bathroom and worrying!

On a side note I did get a full body scan and got called to the side for a private search-it had to be the band!

Wow!!! What a difference! You have a cute little shape!

I just came back from a cruise 9/2 and I would advise to NOT get a fill prior to your trip. I had a fill a few days before I left. Prior to that fill I really had very little restriction. That fill was a tight one and I had no problem flying (thank goodness) but I worried about it. I got really sick the day of the cruise-I had a constant feeling of needing to throw up. I sat at the dinner table barely able to eat anything and by the end of the meal I had to excuse myself and I barely made it back to my stateroom in time. I was eyeing out room service trays laying outside people's rooms just in case I couldn't make it. The rest of the cruise went fine and I was able to eat the lobster for elegant dining night-but if I had to do it again I wouldn't have gotten the fill.

Why even risk it? This is your anniversary and a time to have good memories of it-not memories of worrying about puking and getting stuck,

Enjoy your trip!!

Nope, I do not think eating afte the fill is the cause. I do think you aren't yet in the green zone. Hang in there-you'll get there!! Some docs only put in .5ccs each time-which is a slow process. Once you are in the green zone you won't want food after the fill!

Good luck to you!

Stretchy pants are a must! Yoou will be sore and have stitches so some yoga pants for the first 2 weeks. I tried dress pants for work 5 days later and it wasn't comfortable. I was so glad I brough my MP3 player-I was on morphin and couldn't focus on TV-the music helped me relax and sleep.

Buy some SF pops to suck on for the first few days.

Good Luck!!

I don't think the bandster police will issue a ticket! lol But creamy Soups are sometimes loaded with calories so be careful. I get New England Cleam Chowder from Progress0 (light) and I think it's 299 calories for the entire can-and so yummy! I chicken wing is barely worth a mention! lol

Good Luck!! Sounds like you are doing a great job!

Oh that sounds yummy! Good for you -rocking the band!! You go girl! Now I'm in the mood for eggplant! lol

You have officially entered "Bandster Hell" and this is a very difficult stage because you are hungry, sometimes very hungry and you start to wonder why you even went through with surgery. You wonder if you are goingto be one of the few who don't lose weight even with the band!

This was my experience-my weight was almost at a standstill and I was just so glad that I didn't tell anyone about the surgery because they would be wondering why I wasn't losing weight!

It took me 4 fills to feel a difference and it was a dramatic difference!! I can only eat small amounts of food and the weight has starting to come off again!

My advice is to use this time to learn Portion Control, getting use to taking Vitamins and drinking Water, doing some sort of exercise-consider lapband bootcamp. Each fill you get will help get you closer to the "green zone" and you'll know it when you reach it.

Good luck you can do it!!!

If I am being honest I would have to say I don't enjoy it as much, but still to some degree! Now I have o be careful of what I order and worry how it might go down. food is now a deliberate choice I make instead of mindless eating-which is good. I am so intuned with my body-I can feel the food go down and when it goes into my stomache. I can tell when I lose weight even if it's only a pound. The lapband has taken some of the joy out of eating-but I am grateful for that.

Depending on the restuarant I think you have quite a few options-other than Soup. Soup would be a great starter because it helps open things up, but you could have crab cakes, crab imperial, quiche, mashed potatoes, or order an appetizer as a main course. During my mushy stage I could easily eat soft food without a problem-not sure what week you are on but fish is a good option-especially if it is in a sauce (so it goes down easy). Really, there are more options than you may realize. Stick to small bites and stay away from the bread basket. If anyone should ask why you aren't eating much simply say I want to fit in my dress for the wedding! Most importantly just have fun!!