I will cut a person that tries to take away my coffee...... Just saying...lol
In the south we are raised on coffee from the time we can sip from a cup.... my grandpa use to sit me on his lap and we would drink coffee... well i would drink.. What we call here... Coffee milk... 1/4 coffee & 3/4 milk... Those are some of my best memories... i miss him everyday.
And now when my grand kids come over.... they do the same thing... Shhhhh don't tell my son or daughter in law...lol
The band can seem very fickle at times, giving you restriction riddles instead of restriction answers. How can we solve those riddles?
RESTRICTION RIDDLES
Restriction is the holy grail of bandsters, but even when you find it, it may not cooperate with you all day every day. Its fickle nature may allow you to eat one food on Tuesday but not on Wednesday. It may not show up until 2 weeks after a fill, or it may disappear 2 weeks after a fill. You end up puzzling over riddles like delayed restriction, disappearing restriction, and/or variable restriction.
DELAYED RESTRICTION
Although the Fluid injected into the port during a fill travels immediately to the band, it can take several weeks for you to notice an increase in restriction. This may be because you spend a few days after a fill progressing from liquids to purees to soft to solid food, and then you're extra careful when eating: on the alert for more restriction. When we relax this vigilance, careless eating will eventually remind us (again) that we have a band with more fill in it.
Delayed restriction is frustrating, I admit. You get a fill and want instant results. But all you can do is pay close attention to your body's signals as it adjusts to the tighter fit of the band.
It is pointless to try to judge your restriction in the two to three days immediately after a fill, when you're on a liquid or pureed diet, because optimal restriction is experienced when you're eating solid foods.
DISAPPEARING RESTRICTION
At times during my weight loss surgery journey, I have asked myself, "Where the heck did my restriction go? Did thieves sneak in during the night and steal it?" In addition to thieves and elves, the following things can make your restriction seem to disappear overnight:
1. A few days to a week after a fill, the swelling and irritation caused by the fill calms down and the fit of your band feels looser.
2. In the first few weeks after a fill, you re-learn your band eating skills and unconsciously adjust to the new fill level so that you experience fewer negative symptoms.
3. As you lose weight after a fill, the visceral fat around your stomach shrinks, so the fit of your band doesn't feel as tight.
4. The position of your band against your stomach subtly changes due to normal body processes (see below).
5. Your band loses fluid due to evaporation, leakage, or inadvertent removal during a fill.
Please note that in #1 and #3 above, I said that the fit of the band feels looser or tighter. The band itself does not loosen or tighten by itself. Only a fill, unfill, or manufacturing defect can do that. The band is not like a rubber band that stretches out over time and eventually snaps.
WHY IS RESTRICTION SO VARIABLE?
Sooner or later, every bandster discovers that the band is a fickle mistress. In the course of a week, it can feel too loose, too tight, or just right (kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears). The food that worked fine on Monday may get stuck on Tuesday. On Wednesday you can hardly eat at all, and on Thursday you could eat an entire wedding banquet all by yourself. Friday you're back to Square One.
These variations are maddening but fairly normal. The stomach is living tissue that expands and contracts to aid digestion. It's affected by weight loss, the time of day (morning tightness is common), the time of month or fluid retention, medications, illness, dehydration and stress. The pressure of the band against the stomach can cause the stomach wall to thin out, so the band feels looser. And although the band and the stomach are sutured together, the position of the band can shift enough to affect your experience of restriction.
Remember: the #1 factor affecting the amount of food you can eat is what type of food you eat. You will feel more restriction when you eat solid food (like animal protein), less when you eat soft food (even healthy stuff like yogurt and cottage cheese), and virtually none when you drink liquids (even healthy ones like Protein drinks).
I went back and read some of your earlier posts to try to see what you may be experiencing better right now. I really feel that you are struggling w/ the learning how to work with your band. (I don't mean that in a derragatory way, just it is a huge learning process). I notice you posted about having trouble with Breakfast. Have you tried doing the Protein shakes for Breakfast instead of eating? Many of us have "tight bands" in the morning. I can do oatmeal, shakes, or eggs over easy (scrambled eggs get stuck for me). If I am going to try to eat something more than that, I will often start w/ a hot cup of tea or coffee first to help loosen things up a bit. Also, and this is key, if you have had a stuck moment you should really stick to liquids for 24 hours, then soft foods, then back to solids. When food gets stuck it irritates the stoma and causes some swelling so trying to eat solid foods will cause another stuck or uncomfortable moment, from my experience.
I am not telling you this from reading a book but from my own personal challenges of learning how to work with my band. Yes, I did a lot of research, talked to a lot of people, and learned a lot about it by trial and error of what works and doesn't work for me. You are so newly banded and it is frustrating in the early stages until we figure it all out. I have seen many people post that they didn't "get it" until around 6 months.
Perhaps, "starting over" by having a Protein shake for breakfast, then regular food later in the day. Taking tiny bites, chewing very well (20-25x till it's mush), pausing, then next bite, etc. Not only is this a physical journey but it is a huge emotional journey as we have to learn all new habits and change our lifestyle of what we have done for so many years. Please be patient and please work with your doctor and nutritionist to help figure out what will work for you.
This is exactly why I didn't tell that many people about my surgery, and told no one at work. I didn't want to open up myself to hear those kinds of things -- comments like that are not helpful at all! Keep on fighting the good fight!! And, you can always come here if you need support and encouragement!
Best,
Catherine
