highland

I can't feel either. In the beginning I had to question if my surgeon actually put it in!!lol Now I feel restriction, but not the band itself. I wouldn't worry about it. Just focus on your lifestyle change.

TODAY IS MUCH BETTER. I HAVE HAD TO SIP INSTEAD OF GULP, WHICH IS A WHOLE NEW SKILL FOR ME. I'M USE TO DOWNING A 24 OZ BOTTLE OF WATER AT ONCE!!! BAD HABIT TO BREAK, BUT IT SURE MADE GETTING ALL MY WATER IN EASY!!

i LOST ONLY 4 POUNDS IN THE FIRST MONTH POST OP EATING ABOUT 700 CAL A DAY. I WAS SO DISCOURAGED AND THEN ABOUT 8 WEEKS POST OP, WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING, THE WEIGHT STARTED FALLING OFF!!! IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR BODY FINALLY GETS ADJUSTED AND IS WILLING TO LET GO OF THE WEIGHT. I HEAR A LOT ABOUT STARVATION MODE ON THIS FORUM. I BELIEVE I DID THIS TO MY BODY FOR YEARS AND YEARS. MY UNDERSTANDING FROM MY SURGEON AND OTHER SOURCES IS THAT "STARVATION MODE" DOES NOT APPLY TO BANDED PEOPLE. I HOE I CAN EXPLAIN THIS HALF WAY INTELLIGENTLY. HERE GOES. WITH THE POUCH YOUR HYPOTHALAMUS IS STIMULATED WHEN YOU EAT THUS SENDING A MESSAGE TO YOUR BRAIN THAT YOU ARE FULL WITH HAVING EATEN VERY LITTLE. SINCE YOUR BRAIN DOESN'T HAVE EYES IT IS FOOLED INTO THINKING YOU'VE HAD MUCH MORE TO EAT THAN YOU HAVE. THUS YOUR BRAIN DOES NOT BELIEVE YOU ARE STARVING. THIS WEBSITE (http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html) HAS BEEN QUOTED MANY TIMES ON THIS FORUM RELATING TO WHAT RESTRICTION IS. ITS A GREAT RESOURCE - MY SURGEON ACTUALLY MADE A COPY OF MY PRINT OUT TO SHARE WITH HIS PATIENTS. Take it or leave it, but it makes sense to me. Good luck to all on this great life changing journey!!

This is what has helped me - I portion out my meal on a salad plate which include 3 -4 oz chicken or fish and 1/4 cup of two different veggies. I sit down to eat it and that's it. I find that it really does fill me , but I have to say I don't have any of the "signs" of being full. I do the same thing for every meal - portion out what my nutritionist says I SHOULD have and that's my meal - period! Hope this tidbit helps.

I REALLY appreciate all of your responses. I will update to let you know. On the one hand its great to not be grazing all day but honestly I don't want every meal to be painful!!

I had a fill on Thursday afternoon, 2 days ago. I went from 5.5 cc's to 6.5 cc's. I actually thought I already had 6.5, but they informed me otherwise! Here's what I'm feeling. During the 24 hours of liquids I felt pain in the center of my chest whenever I took a drink of water. The water goes down, but I have that annoying pain with each drink. I love water so this has been difficult. I'm use to drinking about 100 ounces each day! The morning after the fill it took me 3 hours to finish my protein shake and another 3 hours to finish a 20 oz bottle of protein water for lunch. I managed to get another 24 ounces of water that evening and a few bites of broth, but it was a chore. Today I had a scrambled egg for breakfast and sipped water and protein water the rest of the day. I have not been hungry at all which is great, however I 'm wanting to know if once the swelling goes down will it get easier to swallow or should I consider an unfill? I have had absolutely no issues until now. Easy post surgery and no issues with PBing, sliming, or stuck episodes. I would appreciate you sharing any similar experiences or advice. Thank you!

Absolutely not unless she is way too tight. This can be corrected very easily with an unfill.

I did and I think it totally prepared me for what was ahead. I started it at one month out and went straight into the two week pre-op. I was like you - just wanted to see if i could really do it, and I could!!

I've NEVER been stuck and I have 6.5cc's in a 10 cc band. I have been banded 4 months.

That's the best thing for her. I walked like crazy my after noon in the hospital after surgery and never slowed down when I got home!! I truely believe that's why my recovery was soooo fast. I wasn't very sore at all and I just had one day of the gas pains people talk about.. She's going to do great!! I also was not one bit nervous about the surgery - just excited up til the moment the mask went on!

Please take a look at the following link - I think it will help you to understand what fills are suppose to do. Good luck! http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

Congratulations Trish! I will get the results on my first A1C since surgery on Tuesday. I am really excited to see as my last was 8.1 taking 300 units of insulin daily!!!! With my VERY low carb diet I have cut my insulin to about 90 units a day!! Doc isn't sure I'll ever turn it completely around - but a girl can dream can't she? My big NSV this weekend is that I shopped til I dropped Saturday and Sunday and did not step foot in the plus size section. Not everything fit, however I managed to put a pretty good dent in my pocketbook!! So happy!

MLR, I was also banded in June and my weight loss was sooo slow in the beginning. I only lost 4 pounds the first month post-op! Then, without any changes in what I was doing, the weight began coming off! It was so exciting! This month I came to a dramatic standstill and lost noting until I did as the above poster and did liquids only for 3 days. Weighed this morning and was down almost 2 lbs. Hopefully this will jump start my weight loss!! Good luck to you!!

* to not feel like an embarressment to my family and friends I know the feeling.

What did he say?

My husband is my biggest cheerleader :Dancing_O_o: and support, however he eats all kinds of bread, cereal, rice, potatoes, and pasta. I am not eating any of those things as I am a serious diabetic and on the road to majorly reducing my insulin intake. I think of the temptation as good practice for the "real" world where temptation is all around us. Try to think of the junk food in the house as a mind challenge rather than a sabotage. I also think you should do your own grocery shopping. I do the grocery shopping and never buy the above mentioned carbs, but somehow they appear in every cabinet of the kitchen! I guess we have a carb fairy living with us!!! Keep your chin up, take control of YOUR eating, and love your dh and kids!

I find the process totally painless! I enjoy chatting with my surgeon and his nurse while he's doing my fill.

Thank you! I am self pay and have wondered if my insurance would pay if I, God forbid, needed surgery to fix something.

I coat the tilapia fillets in honey mustard dressing and then roll in bread crumbs. Bake at 400 for about 15 min. Yum!

I also have vertigo. I usually have terrible bouts of it about once a year that totally incapacitate me! That is until I have the epley maneuver successfully done on me. If you haven't tried this maneuver -google it and try it, or go to a physical therapist to have it performed. It really works! I have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

I make my wraps with Bibb lettuce. They are great and almost carb free.

I have those same guidelines. The only way I can have carbs is thru veggies and dairy. I'm allowed half a serving of fruit a day. I'm happy because it has really helped lower my insulin needs.

Try laying a piece of foil in the pan. No washing needed!!

After my first visit to the surgeon's office I headed straight for Bed, Bath and Beyond where I proceeded to drag every scale off the display and weigh on each one. There must have been 25 or 30 of them!!! I weighed and weighed and weighed again to find one that not only weighed the same as my surgeon's, but weighed the same each and every time I stepped on it! Yes, I have crazy OCD's!!! BUT... I always know exactly what I will weigh at my appointments much to my surgeons dismay. He's trying behavior mod with me to get me to weigh just once a month. Never have and never will HA! I don't recommend my obsession with the scale to anyone! LOL Oh and I use a digital.

It concerns me that you can't comfortably eat solids. I've had three fills and am at 7cc's in a 10 cc band. I can eat anything comfortably. I have never thrown up, slimed, or PBed! I do have to work at making smart choices everyday, but I would hate to think that I couldn't eat a normal meal. By this I mean Protein bar or Protein shake in the morning, tuna salad or chicken at lunch, and grilled chicken or fish, salad, and veggie for dinner.Sometimes I wonder why I don't have any problems with the throwing up everyone talks about. I might be the weird one!!lol I would let your doctor know exactly what you're eating and how hard it is to eat healthy solid Proteins. Good Luck! Also - I don't think the number of fills is as significant as the amount of fill you have. Some doctors can be very aggressive with their fills and also might give a fill at the time of surgery.