Cocoabean

Have you spoken with your doctor about revising to another procedure? Your body may be better suited for bypass or sleeve. Learn all you can about them before making any decisions. It can often be done during one operation, keeping costs down.

So, I've been getting stuck quite a bit lately. I have an Upper GI scheduled for next week and am probably going to have a tiny bit of fill removed after that. I urped my lunch yesterday. When I got home from work I found a newly invented "Lap Band Assistive Device" from my DH. See attached photo! It is labeled "DJ Lap Band Assist Device" ---DJ is me. What a goof he is!

Welcome to being banded! congratulations.

If something feels wrong, call your surgeon. Especially if you cannot get water down.

Some people feel tighter after flying. Some not. I feel tighter just from the stress of travel, no matter the mode. I take Protein Shake mix powder with me on airplanes.The liquid can be a problem with TSA rules. I bring an empty Water bottle through security then fill it up at a fountain after. Much cheaper than buying a bottle after. I also take Protein Bars, as often times airport food is so-so for band diets. I've been through the full body scan with no problem. Remember to stay well hydrated. A bit of dehydration can make a band feel tighter. Alcohol..I have it from time to time. Remember, it might reduce your resolve to eat right. I often get stuck if I am a bit tipsy because I forget to chew well and take small bites. Also take calories into consideration. You are newly banded, so follow your post-op rules.

I think a lot of folks wear Spanx and the like. I don't think 8 weeks post would be any problem. If it makes you feel better about yourself, do it!

Chewing slowly will happen after you've gotten stuck a time or two. Aversion therapy truly works! Taking a few sips while you eat isn't going to hurt anything. The thing you don't want to happen is putting so much liquid into your pouch that you aid your stomach in emulsifying the food so that it empties quickly. However, with a band, the food empties pretty fast anyway, as our pouches grind. My surgeon doesn't have a problem with me having a bit of liquid with a meal. He did say that I might not have room for it, and once I got to good restriction was he ever right! If I drink with a meal now, it is likely to cause me to get stuck and urp. So, even if I have a glass of something sitting there, I tend to avoid it due to the countless times that I have taken a drink only to immediately regret the decision. About 10 minutes after a meal I can tell that my pouch has cleared and I can safely sip something without tragic consequence.

Allergan's AP Standard (APS) band is their 10CC band. The AP Large (APL) is 14CC. I believe they are the only two bands that Allergan manufactures these days. Some of their 4CC bands are still being placed in countries other than the US.

My surgeon orders them with food. Tis lovely to dunk a sandwich in the stuff and chew it! Oh yeah...major YUM!!! NOT! But he can see exactly what my pouch and restriction are doing, and if there is any reflux going on.

Conversing while eating is a rough one! We get in a hurry to make a point, swallow, and UGH! It is very important to finish cewing before speaking.

My take on it, I'd postpone. Only because if you end up too tight (rare for a first fill, but can happen) you'll need to get it addressed right away. It's only a few days. Why risk it if you absolutely cannot miss work? I postponed my first fill for a month due to a cruise. I could have had it before, but would have only had about a week and a half before we left for it to settle in. I didn't want to be out of the country in the middle of the ocean with a band problem.

Glad you are getting your band checked. Is it from post nasal drip? Allergies can make bands feel tighter. If it isn't from your sinuses, it could be from reflux from your stomach, that can cause a cough.

Negative reinforcement is an amazing teacher. If you don't slow down, chew well, and take small bites, you band will tell you that you MUST. After a few stuck episodes, the pain will make it clear to you that you just cannot eat like you used to. In days past, I was always the first one done eating, now I am the last. I don't even think about my pace these days. It just is. If you insist on eating fast or taking huge bites you will be getting stuck every meal after your band is tightened up significantly.

What elcee said. You are on liquids now because your surgeon doesn't want your stomach to grind on food. Your band is stitched into place and those stitches need time to heal without your stomach trying to grind up food for digestion. Liquids go right through, making it easing on your healing stomach. Meaning you don't get any satisfaction feeling from what you are consuming. But you really do what the band to heal properly into place. Protein shakes are not forever. My surgeon doesn't want me drinking them. He wants me eating my calories. Get yourself healed up, then you'll be able to eat real foods in smaller quantities.

There is no answer to the age old question of why do I not lose faster. For me, I didn't exercise much and I ate about 1500-1700 calories a day, or thereabout. I rarely tracked food. Even if you could say I eat 1000 calories per day, I exercise off 700 per day, and I've had all my blood work checked and my metabolism is normal, we still could not guarantee you would lose 2-3 pounds per week. Our bodies just don't work that way. Personally, I think you are doing just fine, keep up the good work. There are plenty of us slow losers on here. Don't compare yourself to others. Just do your thing and get to where you want to go.

Thank you for the update! I find I have a huge learning curve after every fill.

Xavier!! Haven't seen you in donkey's years!! Judych, I don't believe 3cc on a first fill was too much as a general rule, that doesn't mean that it wasn't too much for you. Everyone reacts to fills differently. Some can only handle tiny bits at a time. If memory serves, I had 3cc on my first fill, along with 2cc at surgery. I was fine with that. I did go over on my third (I think it was third) fill. We are going back 4 years now, my memory is somewhat fuzzy. Needing an unfill is not a sign of failure or defeat, it is just a fact of life in bandland. Chances are you'll be able to get it put back in after a while. I am actually planning a slight unfill at the moment. I got a fill in September. In February it tightened up very tight for about 6 weeks. I got very sick in April and I am tight again, but not as tight. I am scheduling an Upper GI then a visit with my surgeon soon after that. I'll probably have just a teensy bit taken out to allow me to make better choices. I feel I am leaning too hard on sliders and I don't like that.

Judy, you might have had some fill in your band at the time surgery. I had 2cc in my 10cc band. When I had my unfill, my surgeon and I discussed how much to remove. It should not take you an hour to eat, and eating solids should not be painful. I have a hard time eating steak, I have to cut it very small and chew like crazy. I get bored eating it before I get full, but it isn't painful. As elcee said, reheated meats can be difficult to get down, the texture is just off. Also, fish is known to be a sticky food for many of us. My restriction level changes throughout the day and from day to day. I can eat best around lunch time, so that is my biggest meal in general. But I never know from day to day how much I will be able to consume. I call it my fickle, freaken, foofing band. That said, what you describe, is too tight in my opinion.

You can't avoid social eating forever, though. food is such a huge part of our culture. We have to find a way to deal with it, or we'll never see our family and friends. For me, reaching the green zone helped tremendously in controlling the urge to grab the not so good choices at gatherings. In restaurants, I have control over what I choose. At family gatherings, I began to no longer hang out by the table. Proper fill level has allowed me to say no to Desserts, or to just have a taste, rather than the entire slice.

Thank you for the update, very glad you are feeling better! Awesome that your surgeon was able to meet you and you didn't have to count on an ER doc to do an unfill. yay! We have a doc come to my work a couple times a month to do physicals, he is an ER doc by trade. I stopped in to say hi to the nurse when he was there one day. He'd never met a bad patient. He was fascinated, felt my port, asked a bunch of questions...decided he'd call a bariatric surgeon if a band patient ever came to his ER needing an unfill.

What all the conflicting information tells me is that there really is no true right and wrong. That said, what your surgeon tells you is what he or she has found to work best with the methods use by him or her. You should always stick to what rules were given to you by your surgeon. That said. After 4+ years, what my surgeon said vs. what I think my surgeon said vs. what I read here vs. what I wish my surgeon said have pretty much blurred into one big glob of information. Many things I do remember, but not all. But it is important for you to follow the guidelines given to YOU. I went to one of my surgeon's info seminars with a friend a month or so ago. He said, whatever I am doing, keep doing it, because it is working well.so I took that to mean my interpretation of his rules is right for me But I do see him yearly and check in with him.

Hi there! For me, I was back on solids pretty quickly. At my one week post-op I was able to go on mushies then to solids as tolerated. I was one of my surgeon's first band patients, so I am not certain he knew what to do with me. But it all worked out for me!

At that point you are not really eating meals. Just enough to take away the hunger. Soft foods go through pretty quickly, so yes, you'll feel hungry pretty rapidly. Before I started on solids, I was almost always hungry.

One thing to consider with a band and no insurance is after-care. With a band, you have to have fills or the band does you no good. Many surgeons offer fills for a period of time in their fees, but after that, you are on your own. Fills can cost a few hundred dollars per. My surgeon wants me to have an Upper GI each year. That would be another cost. Bands are not a set-it and forget-it procedure like bypass is. Should you have a complication down the road and need the band removed, such as erosion, it is another full surgery. If your band should slip, treatment starts conservatively, but can end up back in the operating room. If all goes well, banding is cheaper than bypass. I've seen amounts around 10K in the states for a band, I don't know what after is included in that price. Bypass would be substantially more as the procedure takes quite a bit more time to complete. There are many self-pay people here who are extremely happy with their choice. But be sure you can afford the aftercare. If you cannot have fills, then it isn't worth it. And empty band is like an empty gas tank...it just sits there going nowhere fast.