gingerbug

The nurse told me that I dont feel my restriction because I had stretched my pouch. I had been doing things that I was not supposed to do like drink a little pop, drinking a bit with my meals. It started out slow then one day I realized I was hungry all the time and could eat so much. Iwent in for a fill and found out what was going on and I was put on a liquid diet for a week so my pouch could go back down to the size of an egg (it was twice its size). So, in my case, even with restriction, I was able to stretch out my pouch. If oyu are concerned, you may want to ask your doc to check it under flouro. All I can talk about is my experience and what I was told by my 'people'.

Well, as it was explained to me, even though my restriction was good my pouch was stretched making it possible for me to eat so much more that I should have been able to and making me me so hungry. I am under strict orders to measure and weight my food from now on and to stick with it 100% of the time. I did liquids for a week and I portion out every.single.thing. Guess what? I have my restriction back and it ROCKS. I am in no position to give anyone advice BUT if I were to make a suggestion, give yourself a few days of liquids to get back in the saddle then be a nazi about measuring your food.

Oh, how I remember the day I got that same news!! Hooray!!

Wow, Susan, you look amazing!! I am excited for you!

I did not have a problem choosing healthy foods, I had a problem eating massive quantities of these foods. We all know a calorie is a calorie and if you are getting too many calories you get fat even if those calories come from chicken breasts instead of cheetos. That being said, even though I actually like healthy foods, my inability to reign in my appetite resulted in emotional eating. I felt like shit cause I could not lose weight and when I tried to limit my calories I was hungry and miserable. The lap band takes away the hunger, making me feel more in control and less likely to make bad choices. Now, if I want a milky way bar I get one but I dont get one because I want to feel better, I have one to treat myself a couple of times a month. I feel normal now, whatever that is. I feel how I always wanted to feel when I was wanting to change my lifestyle but couldn't. I hope this all makes sense!

None of the nasty stuff I have to deal with even ccome close to comparing to the nasty stuff I had to deal with when Iweighted 295 pounds. I will take the chronic constipation, the weird burping, and the sudden need to find something to spit in over the embarrassment I felt 105 pounds ago.

I had the two week liquid diet pre-op and it sucked. I hated it but I did it anyway. After a few days the hunger subsided into a mind numbing fog. Sure, my pets stayed far far away from me and my kids made sure all their fingers were accounted for when i was around but I got through it. The first few days are terrible then you get used to it.

Firsst fill was four weeks post op and from then you have towait at least two weeks. The rule is, if you are super hungry or gaining weight come in 2-4 weeks. They do flouro (sp?) each and every time both before and after they do a fill to make sure you dont get an overfill and to make sure you are not stretching your pouch. So, it is my opinion that my doc is aggressive with fills yet careful at the same time with the monitoring of each fill under flouro.

Wow Loveislovely, you are doing an amazing job!!:thumbup::thumbup:

Looks good, going to try this next week!

Just checking in! I made my original goal as of this morning and I bumped it back ten more pounds. I figure at this point the band has got me pretty far and I want to go further. I have excellent restriction as long as I am extremely careful about measuring my food and following the rules to a 'T'. I am meeting with a trainer tomorrow to learn about free weights and to design a circuit training type of workout to really build up muscle tone. I look a bit flabby and that has to GO! LOL. I figure I will take it in 10 pound increments. Lose the next ten then see where I want to go from there. A personal best would be 160 (I am 5'11") but I am not going to beat myself up over it, kwim? So that is what is up with me! How are y'all??

I was told 4-6 ounces and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. How do you measure?

It does seem to take time sometimes. It is like our bodies are refusing to cooperate. We KNOW that it has been deprived of enough calories to lose a pound and yet it refuses to budge. The thing is, it will give in and the scale will move down. Hang in there and keep on following the rules. Restriction is a mysterious thing that must be approached slowly. It sucks, sometimes, it really does. It is also totally worth the wait.

I changed my goal by adding 10 more pounds to lose. I am 1 pound from my original goal and 11 pounds from my new goal.

WOW, what a great day!! What an inspiration!

What a difference a year makes, right? I catch my reflection in a window sometimes and I am shocked by what I see. When I look in the mirror I dont see it but when I catch myslef by surprise, well, it is a surprise. My favorite is when I am folding clothes and I see a pair of my (size 12) jeans and I think 'whose are these? These cant be mine, they are too small! They must have shrunk'. I love my band, it was the best decision I ever made for myself.

Well, it did when I ate too much and that is the rason my pouched stretched. I dont think the pouch itself hurt from being stretched just the amount of food I was packing in.

I did not claim my pouch was permanently stretched. It is already back to the size it is supposed to be.

I just found out it is cigna, not aetna. I also read up that they have increased coverage for bariatric surgeries so I am somewhat reliefed to see that but I cannot speak with the insurance company until it kicks in on the 1st. My letter from HR also stated that they did not take anthing away, as far as coverage, but added to our plan. I also think, but I need to call to check, that my doc will bill me as though we were in plan, even if they are out of my plan with the insurance company. I have a ton of calls to make starting the first.

I got the lap-band cause I wanted to be skinny and I wanted to enjpy all the things that go along with it.

6 days ago I had a stretched pouch because I was n ot following the rules (small slip up). I went on a liquid diet for 6 days and when I went in today, it was back where it should be. I got my restriction back, too, without needing a fill. If you are worried that you stretched it and your doc wont check with fluoro/x ray, maybe you could do few days on a liquid diet?

Oh, I know. I go still for the saki and two bites of sushi. Not the rolls or the rice, just the fish. I can eat about 2-4 pieces of sushi, depending on their size.

It means no longer being invisible.

I am usually a rule follower but I slipped and started to 'eat around the band' too much. Then I started to get too hungry and would eat more. The stomach stretches, whether there is a lapband around the stomach or not. I would drink that stuff that illuminates under xray and they watch the liquid go down. It illuminates on the screen the pouch and then they print our pictures for reference. My doc office does this before and after every fill. Also, I went in for a check today and my 6 days of liquids did shrink my pouch down so I can eat today. I have to weigh my food and no more than 4-6 ounces at a time. I am so close to goal, I can totally stay on track now.

I walk right on by the Plus size section of ugly clothes on my way to the size 12/14 misses clothes. I look like a normal person I am no longer invisible, people actually look at me now. I have the energy to make it through my day I am less of a ranting bitch, my emotions are more stable Sex is much more fun I actually recognize myself in the mirror