Hi everyone! I am new to the forum. I was banded about 4 years ago. I lost a lot of weight too fast when it happened, got sick and ended up in the hospital. I also moved shortly after and had no contact with a doctor about my band. So I basically forgot about it for the following years, and eventually gained the weight back when I got pregnant. After having my baby I have been spending the last year trying very hard to lose weight "naturally" with not too much success. So I finally found a Dr. here in this state that will do my fills. Apparently my band already had about 5cc in it and the Dr filled me up to 8cc. For all the years my band was 5cc I did have s very small amount of restriction but basically only when I didn't eat something for a long period of time and then tried to eat, or if I wasn't drinking water with the meal. (Just to give you an idea of what my band was doing all those years). Though I never lost weight from it. Now after this fill to 8cc, I left the office with a ton of restriction, the first few days just a sip of water would make me feel full, but soon after it feels the restriction has lessened again. My problem is I just don't know how to tell. I still don't fully understand the band, and I am not sure how I should be eating. I don't have insurance right now to cover speaking to a doctor and I am getting the fills by paying with cash, which I can barely afford. So any experience you guys have might help me understand how to know my band. My surgeon never really explained things that well to me so my questions are. IS it possible my stomach stretched, or my band slipped, and how would I know. I do have restriction but not as much as I think I should have so I am wondering what that means. Also how do you know you need a fill, does the band empty out in your stomach? I thought I remember when I got the surgery that the doctor told me to eat several small meals a day so that is what I am doing now, but I can't help but wonder if that is why I have great restriction in the morning and like none at night? Do most people here do small meals or 3 big meals? What is the typical amount of calories everyone eats a day? When I try to eat like anywhere from 800 to 1400 I feel hungry and soon enough I over eat because my body feels very hungry. I typically feel pretty satisfied with about 1600-1800 calories a day, is that too much? I also still breastfeed but I am a stay at home mom so my outside activity isn't very high. Also one last question I have. I am leaving soon to be out of state for 2 months. I got my fill about a month ago, and as I said right now I do have restriction though it doesn't feel perfect for me. Should I get another fill before I leave? I am just worried about 1 month into my stay, not feeling any restriction? And especially during the holidays this will be a problem. So I am just wondering how does the band work, can it become less restrictive in that amount of time?
Thanks for any help.
