Leena

Holy cc batman. They're making 14cc bands now? Now I'm really feeling old. But I love my little 4cc band.

Mine was 4 weeks post op. The size of the fill depends upon the size of your band as well. Some bands will max out at 4cc.

Keep in mind you're only 15 days post op. Are you cleared for exercise. I didn't get cleared until I went in for my first fill one month post op. One week post op was still a no-no for me. I was however allowed to walk around the block- the grocery store, etc. The only thing I'd suggest from looking at what you're eating is that you might want to cut out the baby food. Replace it with a low carb Protein shake or plain greek yogurt (i add splenda and cinnamon to mine). Try to get your carbs a bit lower. Also, I'm assuming you haven't had a fill yet? And you're probably starting to get a bit hungry. 3 weeks post op all my swelling had gone down and I had no restriction. I could have eaten anything but held back and stuck to my 1/2 cup of food at a time.

If Water is not going down you're too tight and should get an unfill. When I had a slip my endoscopy showed it (my surgeon actually did my endoscopy himself so he knew what to look for). I also showed some ulceration in my pouch. My only symptom was horrible gerd all the time, even while sitting up. So he did a complete unfill and put me on protonix (the magic pill for me). Who did your upper GI? Did you get a copy of the video/pictures?

Years ago I had ones in a test tube like plastic container. I don't remember which brand but they were fruit punch flavored and had an ok taste when cold, at room temperature I couldn't tolerate them.

If you're vomiting you need to give your stomach a rest. My drs rules have always been 3 days of pure liquids after a fill, 3 days of mushy foods and then back to solids. And anytime vomiting occurs 3 days of liquids. The issue is that vomiting irritates your pouch and inflames tissue-makes you swell. So then everything will be tighter. My band has always been tighter in the morning- which means no solids before noon for me. It's how my body is. Vomiting can lead to a slip- I had a minor slip at one point after I had the flu (probably the only time I've really vomited with the band- that wasn't a PB) And at 2 days after a fill I'd still be on liquids, not small meals.

The new doctor repeated pulled the Fluid in and out to get it all out. He also explained why he fills the way he does. It was just very different from my other doctor. My concern is that well, .4cc is significant when I only have a 4cc band. I know some people have the 10cc band, but mine isn't that large. And .4cc makes a huge difference for me personally. Given that I pay out of pocket for each fill it does matter.

It's been nearly a year since my last fill. And I switched to a new doctor for fills. Anyway my band was missing .4 cc. It was supposed to have 3.1cc in it and only 2.7 came out. So that's kind of odd. I've never had that happen in my 6 years with the band. It could be why I felt like I needed a fill and was loose. Also- the new Dr. does fills so differently. He connects a longer needle to my port, then a long hard plastic tube then a syringe with the saline. And he fine tunes the fill from there, leaving me connected while I swallowed Water to see if it went down. My previous Dr would just give me a shot in my port. So what's the norm these days for fills? Anyway- I'm hoping I don't have a leak in my band or port.

I had my surgery just over 4 years ago and have been having a lot of GERD lately, waking me up at night and interfering with me sleeping flat. I saw a GI doctor, followed up with my lap band surgeon yesterday and it's severe slippage. He removed all of my fill. But my current insurance policy doesn't cover bariatrics. Any advice would be appreciated as I can't afford this surgery out of pocket and I can't afford not to have it. The options are to remove the band and covert to a bypass or try to repair the slip and hope it doesn't happen again. But from what I've read once there's been slippage it's more liekly to occur. Any thoughts, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Leena

Seriously, I don't wish this on anyone. It's a serious issue. Your issue of eating junk food is completely separate and unrelated. I have no idea why you even bothered to reply to this thread. Something you may want to ask yourself.

I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through this. I'm 2 1/2 years post op, have lost just about all of my weight. I wear a 4 in clothes and do have more muscle mass so get away with weighing more. At this point I struggle with getting in enough calories. I take in under 500 a day, most days it's about 300- and I know I burn most of it off through exercise. (I see a trainer 3x a week for an hour). I don't have a tight fill, but do have a fill so I do get full easily. I know my body is probably in starvation mode. Yes, I'm in therapy for it with an eating disorder and anxiety specialist. My questions to you, for those who are years post-op and just maintaining their weight: -how many calories to you consume in a day? -are you still using Protein shakes? -how much of a fill is in your band? -Any thoughts on having the remainder of my fill taken out? thanks- leena

Thank you so much. I called my surgeon; he's calling in a prescription for me and seeing me on Thursday. Apparently it's not all that uncommon. Just as long as I get in my calories and hopefully the meds kick in. I guess I'll know more on Thursday. I haven't been pbing at all. I did actually throw up two weeks ago from it. And since then have avoided solids as they tend to upset my stomach more.

I'm a little over 2 years out from surgery and am happy with my results. My issue lately, as in the last 3 weeks has been upset stomachs, more like really bad heartburn that wakes me up in the middle of the night. Tums have been my best friend lately. I'm not eating anything different than I was 3 weeks ago. Any ideas? I'm putting a call into my surgeon this morning as interuptions in my sleep really get to me. And I'm starting to eat a whole lot less to avoid the upset stomachs. But then I have no energy. I do feel a whole lot tighter than I was even although I haven't had a recent fill.

I'm 2 years out, my weight has been stable since May. I'm ready to find a plastic surgeon. I'm thinking lower body lift or mons lift and tummy tuck. I'm debating the inner thighs and am willing to hold off on those for a while. My insurance isn't going to cover any of it, which really sucks. But it's something I want to do for me. So which docotrs should I consult? Any recommendations? Thanks- Leena

I have a 4cc band at the moment have 3.1cc in it. So far it's worked wonders. It needs a slight adjustment right now probably just another .1 in. I've had very few fills in 2 years and they've all been rather small. I went from now until May without a sweet spot, so I'm trying to find it again. I miss my sweet spot.

Very interesting point Felicia. I kinda have to laugh because I've been dating more lately and every woman I've dated has been a BBW. Yeah I know I think I have a thing for them. I have literally been smaller than each and every one of them. Maybe I'm not as attracted to skinny girls. Right now I'm 194, have made it to the ones, YAY! And still I could care less if I loose another pound. I'm a freakin size 12. Yeah me a 12. Still trying to pinch myself awake on that one. I've taken up running, swimming and most recently karate. And thanks cheri, I don't think I'm one of the biggest loosers here. I technically still have a lot to go. Thanks though. I'm the worst at accepting compliments and have been on the receiving end a lot lately. -Leena

Just thought I'd update you. Dating in the last few months has gone very well. I'm met some amazing accepting women who aren't at all, even remotely freaked out by my ever changing weight. I have also become so comfortable in my skin, and I think that has a lot to do with it as well. I'm confident in who I am as a person, and that seems to be all I really needed. This morning I was 203 on the scale and can honestly say I'm very happy with that number. I'm so excited to see a 199 or less and I know once I reach that point I'll be dancing around my kitchen in utter happiness. It's amazing how loosing weight can change so many things in ones life. Thanks all, Leena

I'm 7 months out and have lost 58% of my excess weight since surgery to total 118 pounds post-op. I didn't include the pre-op loss of 17 pounds. I'm down a total of 135 pounds in all and still have 85 to go. I have been working out a whole whole lot and really watching what I eat. I've also become a vegetarian in the last 4-5 months, still have cheese and eggs though. Hang in there, it will come off. -Leena

I like the lo carb EAS shakes, 110 calories, 17g of protien and I think 3 or 4 of fiber. These are the only ones i can even remotely tolerate.

I'm more concerned about all the loose skin that's going to be hanging around. My arms already look like sagging boobs.

Here are my progress photos, from 350 to 240.

Hi Chris, I'm in NJ too. In the beginning you will get hungry as the swelling goes down. Most of the initial restriction is swelling, very little has to do with the band size, even if you have a 4cc. Most likely your band is empty. I didn't have anything put in my band at the time of surgery, it wasn't filled unitl 5 weeks post-op. You can look up "bandster hell" as that's what that time period is considered to be. Getting to the full liquid and then mushie stage is going to help a lot with the hunger you're experiencing. Just hang in there until Thursday. -Leena

I think we should take into account % body fat as well as it makes a huge difference as well as bone structure. I have a small bone structure and my % body fat is about 33% right now. Now if I reach 8-10 % body fat at any weight I will most likely get an unfill and be very happy. I think body fat plays a very important role, maybe even more so than BMI in how healthy someone is. That being said to answer questions of how I lost so quickly: In Aug 07 I started my pre-op diet at 350 pounds, but Sept 07 I was 333 and had surgery. 4 weeks post-op I started working out, 20 minutes a day and now I'm up to a few hours a day. I mainly do cardio, but have recently (in the last 4 weeks) added some strength training. The less I weigh the more I work out and the more energy I have to dedicate to my workouts. I have a room dedicated to working out in my home and I moved my recumbant bike to the living room so I get in additional workouts while watching TV. Yes I am a bit obsessive about working out. I figured I payed so much for surgery that this is going to work. And I'm going to make it work. I watch every little thing that goes into my mouth, literally every thing. I switched to soy milk as I became lactose intollerant. I can't/don't eat bread, rice, Pasta, candy, Cookies. I allow myself one slice of pizza a month from a medium thin crust pizza from Domminos. But on that day I add an extra hour to my workout. I drink lots of Water and 2-3 cups of tea a day. On a day I try to get in about 600-800 calories and as much protien as possible. I also quit eating meat, due to the fact that I get sick of chewing it and then it looses its taste. I eat boco burgers, tofu, smartdogs and egg whites for protien. Since being banded I haven't had a whole egg, only whites. And I'm very satisfied eating this way. The only craving I get is for hot tea, probably because it's winter here.

I started in the Super Obese category and now am just Severely Obese. Oh 100 pounds is nothing, try having over 200 to loose.