Alexandra

Productive burp. Tina, I'm so glad you were able to get an adjusment and that you're feeling better! :D

Sensy, your doctor will have his own thoughts about how much to fill, but it has nothing to do with whether you're a piggy or not. Every doctor has a personalized approach, and even docs who are pretty aggressive with a fill probably won't be that way on the first fill. And you don't want him to be. Whatever fill you get will be more than you have, and will therefore take some getting used to. You may be hungrier than you thought you'd be at this point, but if you pay attention I'm sure you'll find that you are already eating less than you were pre-band. And that's the whole and only point. Many people do gain a little weight back in the period before a fill, but it's weight that you lost on the liquid diet, not actual weight gain. It's a sort of bounce-back effect and inevitable once you are off liquids and eating solids again. Don't worry about it! Just practice eating slowly and mindfully, so when you have restriction you'll be ahead of the game. So many people are ready to jump right in with mega-restriction right out of the gate. Those are the same people who come back later saying "I can't eat at all! All that goes down is ice cream!" Learning to live with restriction and eat healthfully takes time and we have to allow ourselves that time. As a very wise woman said, this process does not have to be drastic to be effective. Sorry for the lecture--it's not directed at you. But there is no specific amount of fill that's right for everyone, so there's no answer to your question.

Hi Barbarab, welcome to LBT!! :D Another Alexander Abkin patient here. Have you gone to the support group meetings in Florham Park? There's one next Wednesday. Hope to see you there!

The idea grossed me out completely, I never tried it. Seems to me there are plenty of delectable adult choices.

Renee, I guarantee you we ALL have felt that way at one time or another. But you know what's different this time? A little piece of silicone that is STILL inside me, doing its job. No other diet has given me a permanent monitor, something that helps me NOT take that 10th, 15th, 20th bite. Relying on an inner voice is what's failed--but this time the voice has VOLUME and I have to listen. How many times in my life have I wished and prayed for something to make me stop eating when I know I'm full? How many times have I wondered why on earth I'm doing this to myself? Well, that's what the band does. It inserts an actual physical barrier that sends a STOP, YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH message. What I do with that message is up to me. But it is a whole lot harder to ignore than, well, than no message at all (which is what had been the case pre-band). It makes me eat more slowly, giving my rational brain time to catch up and perhaps figure out something else to do. That's what's different, Renee. This is a whole new thing and gives us a power we have never had. Of course it's possible to self-sabotage--I know, I do it all the time--but it's also MUCH easier to stop negative behaviors before much damage has been done. Good luck, and be sure to come back!

Well, I went to Cancun for a vacation once, does that count? DH asked me to marry him there. I have very fond memories of the place.

Tmarie, we all definitely can relate to your feelings. It is really kind of scary to take this big step, with all the previous failures to compare it to. But it is TOTALLY DIFFERENT this time! The thing that concerns me about your post -- other than the limited calories, which I agree are not enough for you -- is that you won't be back to the doctor for fills! The band can't work for you if you don't get it adjusted, and if you never go back to the doctor then you might indeed not lose weight. It's time to think back to when you decided to get banded in the first place. This little band of silicone can't do it ALL by itself, it needs you to get on board. Please come back and talk out your fears here. The great thing is that the band isn't going away and when you're ready, it will be there waiting. Oh, and by the way, what does "get a lettuce on" mean? I've never heard that before!

Once again, proof that the scale lies! Congratulations, Penni!! :D

It is indeed perfectly normal to be able to eat almost normally after surgery but before a fill. Without any saline in your band it exerts only very little restriction on your stomach. This is the time people refer to as "the hardest part" of banding, the time before you feel its effects and you wonder if you did the right thing--or anything at all. Be patient and see how you feel after your first fill. Sometimes it takes several adjustments for the restriction to be correct. At this point, you are just dipping a toe into banded life. You'll feel what you expect to feel later. You're normal!!

Congratulations and welcome to Bandland! I'm sure your mom will come around, especially now that it's a done deal. Good luck!

I've thought of that, actually, since I remember suffering from it when pregnant. When I'm not pregnant my bp is borderline high but I've not been medicated for it. That's definitely one of the things we'll be checking up on tomorrow. Of course, I think my bp varies according to the person measuring it; it's always higher at one doctor's office than the other. :rolleyes

Boredom is my #1 food trigger. You are absolutely not alone. There are lots of distractions in my life at the moment, but even on the odd slow day at work I really have to be alert to that bored munching. The band definitely helps with even that kind of impulse, so there's no reason to think you won't be successful. You just have to be aware of it and figure out your strategies to battle it. Everyone has their own specific behaviors to deal with; they're all a lot easier to face down with the band.

I did too, for 15 years, and still sort of do. Makes it all the more irritating since I have an idea why it's being done. ABSOLUTELY!! Asking questions is NEVER a bad thing.

Angela, I'm so sorry you're having this problem. My doctor is like yours, reluctant to share the actual amount of fill since it is a meaningless number for most purposes. He does keep track of MY fill in MY chart, but there's no reason for me to know it unless I'll be somewhere getting a fill with someone who doesn't have access to my chart. Highly unlikely. Take it really slowly and be careful. I know that a new fill can definitely result in unusual feelings even when everything is normal. You've been through a lot and so has your band, so it is a good idea to keep a very close eye on it. Good luck!!

shhhh.....vasectomy....the perfect birth control

Denise beat me to answering the question about what a blog is. But you've led me to one of my personal pet peeves. [rant] "Blog" is a shortened form of the words "web log," meaning web-based journal. The derivation is never explained anymore, so if you don't happen to know it you're left in the dark. Journalists are so focused on writing tight these days that they can't remember they're supposed to be enlightening us. Sure, words like blog become part of the language, but even in today's high-speed world it doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of work to understand the current jargon, making it harder than ever for the general public to educate itself. Sometimes I hate the media. [/rant]

Thinking of you and your sister and her family, Chantal. Fingers crossed for a healthy outcome for everyone. {{{hugs}}}

Happy birthday to you, too, Crystal!! (Soon we'll be able to call you Crystal Light-er!!) Have a great one! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Donali, my soulsister and fellow child of the 60s... Hippo birdie, two ewes; hippo birdie two ewes; hippo birdie two ewes; HIPPO BIRDIE, TWO EWES!! (Anyone remember Sandra Boynton?) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DONALI BABE!!! :D :D

I agree, Marie, but totally understand. This comes up every so often and people have to gauge their comfort level. I just googled "Alexandra lap-band" and one of the first things that came up was my signature from Spotlight Health signature. Including my weight! That gave me a turn, I must admit. But I can't possibly imagine what nefarious purposes someone could put that to, so I'm dealing with it.

I've thought about this a lot, since I post elsewhere and it's come up before. I understand why people might be discomfited by Google's ability to scan individual posts, and I do sort of wish it wouldn't do that. But by the same token, Google is scanning so many other boards in the same way that the overwhelming weight of indexed posts buries any concerns I might have about mine being accessible. When I was first searching for info on banding, some of the best sources I found were message boards. People should know that nothing posted publicly on the web is ever private, and we should be careful to conceal enough information to keep us as anonymous as we want to be.

Alex explained why the edit button disappeared after a while, and I'm glad he was able to change it. There's no reason for us here not to be able to edit our posts indefinitely; it's not like anyone later on will care. But Penni, to answer your question, moderators were always able to edit posts indefinitely. That's why the button never disappeared for you. (And why I once inadvertently "edited" a post when I meant to quote from it.) Gotta watch those buttons!

Things may have changed since I was banded in August of '03. At that time they were just using a marked-up version of the bypass diet, with rough time frames written in. Mushies were OK to start at day 4-6, for example. See how that goes and move on after another week or so. Do they have something printed specifically for bandsters yet? I don't actually remember the specifics, but do recall trying to eat some black bean Soup right about the end of week 1. I couldn't actually do it, so I waited another week before trying anything so thick. Dr. Abkin at that time agreed that whenever we try anything new the important thing is to listen to our bodies. Any pain or discomfort means we're not ready for it.

Michele's right, Bobby. Though I well know the temptation of sticking with a too-tight fill in the hope that it will accelerate weight loss, that's really not the case. However, if you're at all like me, you'll find that the fill will loosen after a loss of 10 pounds or so. Can you live with it long enough to see if that will happen? I don't know how difficult it is for you to get to your fill doctor. If it's not too big a hassle or expense, you might very well want to get a tiny adjustment. We are not meant to live on liquids.

Congratulations, Kimber-lilly! Smaller clothes are the bomb. I've shrunken out of all my coats, so last night I went looking for sales to see what I could get. I tried on a great Lands End parka which I think was a women's XL (not a 1X, just a plain old XL) and though it looked small it fit perfectly!! Well, except for the too-short arms, which I'm well used to. That's part of the mental disconnect--not being able to judge by sight; this coat really looked small to me before I put it on. After lots of shopping and trying things on, I ended up with two new coats, both from the men's department. But they're both a regular L! I almost went for an M but it wouldn't quite zip around my butt though it fit well everywhere else. DH said that next fall we'd come back for the M. I think that was the first Medium ANYTHING I've worn since, well, ever.