Kari D

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to put some closure to this thread and share my resolve in this situation. Just to recap, I got a fill on Thursday and left the docs office feeling tight. I thought the feeling might go away and that I would try it out for my 48 hour post fill liquid diet. After 48 hours, the band was still too tight. My stomach was becoming increasingly gurgley. I was having difficulty swallowing liquids and even those liquids were feeling stuck. Also, a classic sign of having too tight of a fill, the tightness manifested into reflux. I felt very burpey and uncomfortable. I decided to go see the doctor on call on Sunday. He removed 1 cc and I felt almost immediately relief. I went home and started having liquids without any problems and will now be on another 48 hour liquid diet.
I learned several lessons from the experience. First and foremost is to take the adjustments slow. Basically, I went into the doctor and asked her for 2cc, somewhat against her recommendation. Reminder, I am not the doctor/expert. Also, once you are getting close to your green zone, it doesn't take must to tip you into the right spot. Asking for 2cc's was greedy.
Second, to my credit, I am new at this. Sometimes you have to have a difficult experience to understand the effect of the new device on your body. I had no idea the band could create that sensation, or that it wouldn't go away after awhile. It's all trial and error until you have more experiences that indicate a better gauge. This experience widened my gauge of lap band sensations. I now understand that if the band feels tight when leaving the office, then it probably is too tight and will not go away with time. Ultimately, the band should feel comfortable inside of you.
Third, although the band was too tight and created discomfort for a couple of days, I understand what the band is now intended to do. I barely ate anything for those two days and still never felt hungry. Now, I'm not suggesting this was a healthy experience, but I now have personally felt the power of this device. If adjusted properly, the band will create a sense of satiety for a long time. This felt like a miracle. Now, with the 1cc removed, I feel the satiety without the discomfort. This device works. Stick with it, and get the adjustments you need. It will take time, but once in the green zone, it's amazing!
Thanks everyone. So glad to have found some community to share these experiences with. Even the doctor's don't really understand when you discuss what you're going though. Nothing quite like comrades who can truly empathize.
~Kari

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to put some closure to this thread and share my resolve in this situation. Just to recap, I got a fill on Thursday and left the docs office feeling tight. I thought the feeling might go away and that I would try it out for my 48 hour post fill liquid diet. After 48 hours, the band was still too tight. My stomach was becoming increasingly gurgley. I was having difficulty swallowing liquids and even those liquids were feeling stuck. Also, a classic sign of having too tight of a fill, the tightness manifested into reflux. I felt very burpey and uncomfortable. I decided to go see the doctor on call on Sunday. He removed 1 cc and I felt almost immediately relief. I went home and started having liquids without any problems and will now be on another 48 hour liquid diet.
I learned several lessons from the experience. First and foremost is to take the adjustments slow. Basically, I went into the doctor and asked her for 2cc, somewhat against her recommendation. Reminder, I am not the doctor/expert. Also, once you are getting close to your green zone, it doesn't take must to tip you into the right spot. Asking for 2cc's was greedy.
Second, to my credit, I am new at this. Sometimes you have to have a difficult experience to understand the effect of the new device on your body. I had no idea the band could create that sensation, or that it wouldn't go away after awhile. It's all trial and error until you have more experiences that indicate a better gauge. This experience widened my gauge of lap band sensations. I now understand that if the band feels tight when leaving the office, then it probably is too tight and will not go away with time. Ultimately, the band should feel comfortable inside of you.
Third, although the band was too tight and created discomfort for a couple of days, I understand what the band is now intended to do. I barely ate anything for those two days and still never felt hungry. Now, I'm not suggesting this was a healthy experience, but I now have personally felt the power of this device. If adjusted properly, the band will create a sense of satiety for a long time. This felt like a miracle. Now, with the 1cc removed, I feel the satiety without the discomfort. This device works. Stick with it, and get the adjustments you need. It will take time, but once in the green zone, it's amazing!
Thanks everyone. So glad to have found some community to share these experiences with. Even the doctor's don't really understand when you discuss what you're going though. Nothing quite like comrades who can truly empathize.
~Kari

Thanks for the feedback ya'll!
I just got off the phone with the doc. He did not seemed concerned at all. He said what I was experiencing was normal sensation and actually the restriction I'm feeling is what they're looking for. He said if I'm not happy with the feeling they can always take some out. The challenge is that being new to this, I am not yet keen to the different post fill sensations. So far, I've had a Protein shake and a yogurt and I'm not feeling hungry at all. Who am I!?

Thanks, TMF. That's good advice. I would agree with you that 2cc, especially at this stage in the process, is an aggressive fill. I plan to take extra precaution in regards to reintroducing solid foods. I feel like some of the rules that I've bent need to be followed more closely now that I'm moving into a more restrictive zone. If I still feel this sensation by Monday, I might call my doc for a little unfill.

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to put some closure to this thread and share my resolve in this situation. Just to recap, I got a fill on Thursday and left the docs office feeling tight. I thought the feeling might go away and that I would try it out for my 48 hour post fill liquid diet. After 48 hours, the band was still too tight. My stomach was becoming increasingly gurgley. I was having difficulty swallowing liquids and even those liquids were feeling stuck. Also, a classic sign of having too tight of a fill, the tightness manifested into reflux. I felt very burpey and uncomfortable. I decided to go see the doctor on call on Sunday. He removed 1 cc and I felt almost immediately relief. I went home and started having liquids without any problems and will now be on another 48 hour liquid diet.
I learned several lessons from the experience. First and foremost is to take the adjustments slow. Basically, I went into the doctor and asked her for 2cc, somewhat against her recommendation. Reminder, I am not the doctor/expert. Also, once you are getting close to your green zone, it doesn't take must to tip you into the right spot. Asking for 2cc's was greedy.
Second, to my credit, I am new at this. Sometimes you have to have a difficult experience to understand the effect of the new device on your body. I had no idea the band could create that sensation, or that it wouldn't go away after awhile. It's all trial and error until you have more experiences that indicate a better gauge. This experience widened my gauge of lap band sensations. I now understand that if the band feels tight when leaving the office, then it probably is too tight and will not go away with time. Ultimately, the band should feel comfortable inside of you.
Third, although the band was too tight and created discomfort for a couple of days, I understand what the band is now intended to do. I barely ate anything for those two days and still never felt hungry. Now, I'm not suggesting this was a healthy experience, but I now have personally felt the power of this device. If adjusted properly, the band will create a sense of satiety for a long time. This felt like a miracle. Now, with the 1cc removed, I feel the satiety without the discomfort. This device works. Stick with it, and get the adjustments you need. It will take time, but once in the green zone, it's amazing!
Thanks everyone. So glad to have found some community to share these experiences with. Even the doctor's don't really understand when you discuss what you're going though. Nothing quite like comrades who can truly empathize.
~Kari

I had often told myself during my journey that even if I were to ever possibly hit goal I would never post a success story. Maybe I was being modest or perhaps just really hard on myself or…just not able to forgive myself for ever letting my weight get out of control as it had. I guess a lot of it no matter how you sum it up is really just embarrassment.
Well I had a change of heart. That change of heart came because I can remember so vividly the feeling of the hopelessness and despair. At times I felt I was knocking on deaths door and that there was nothing I could do about it. So I am writing this tonight in hopes that if I can help just one person even if only one tiny bit then it is my responsibility to do so. I believe in paying it forward and giving back. If it wasn’t for the people before me that helped me then where would I be? It would be irresponsible for me not to do the same. You are not alone and there are people out there, really good decent people who can help you but YOU have to want it and at some point you need to swallow your pride and ask for the help. Help will not come to you. YOU have to seek it out.
I have told my story several times and you can read it on my profile. I lost 170lbs doing Atkins between 2003 and 2004. I went from 393 to 220 and felt great…and then I got sloppy and let my guard down and weight started packing on. I went from 220 to 488 in 8 years’ time.
At 488lbs doing day to day activities was quite a chore. My knees were taking a beating carrying so much weight on a 5’6 inch frame. I developed arthritis and serious sleep apnea. Walking from the parking lot to my office was a real task and that was even with the use of an elevator. I had to sit out in the car and have my Wife do the grocery shopping because I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes on my feet. I had to sit and fold laundry sitting in a chair. This list could go on and on about the limited mobility. My amazing Wife stood by me and encouraged me to make a change but we both knew until I was ready to commit to change it would not happen. I am not sure how many other women out there would have put up with what she did. My weight affected us both physically and mentally. I did not feel like much of husband at times and I am sure there were plenty of times she felt more like a caregiver than a wife at times although she never said so or complained.
Something had to give and it finally did and in September 2011 with my wife at my side I attended a local seminar for WLS. We listened to the Doctor discuss all the surgical options available at the time and being new and somewhat naïve we decided Lapband was the way to go. It was reversible and probably the least invasive of all procedures. I signed up for a one on one consult with the Surgeon that night. October 2011 I met with the Doctor and told him I ready to make a life change. He told me he wanted to see me lose 24lbs and work on shrinking the liver. Insurance required me to do a 6 month monitored diet so instead of losing 24lbs preop I lost 38lbs. My Surgeon was impressed and after completing all the preop requirements I finally got a surgery date of April 16, 2012. I weighed in on surgery morning at 450lbs on the button.
So there I was April 17th and getting discharged from the hospital and all that went through my mind is why the hell did I do this? There was no way it would work and I will be known as the fat guy who couldn’t lose weight with WLS.
As much as you research and prepare for this new life it seems at some point you say OK well I had the surgery why is the weight not coming off?? This is so frustrating!!! Well apparently I had never heard of bandster hell. Bandster hell is that time from when you have the surgery to the time you actually get the necessary fills to get the need restriction to control your portions. Some very few people are lucky they have the surgery and automatically get that restriction. Not me, it took me 6 months. 6 months of frustration.
Probably one of the most difficult pieces for me to learn was patience. Lack of patience made this road even longer. I stepped on the scale almost daily these last 2.5 years waiting on a large drop in numbers that never happened. How on earth could you possibly see a large drop if you’re stepping on the scale daily? Do yourself a favor and don’t do it. To this day I still step on it daily but now it is about accountability not so much weight loss.
Always look for other measures to success. We call them Non Scale Victories or NSV’s. Losing weight is not just about numbers. For a while I was buying new clothes every other month because I was shrinking so fast. I went from a size 62 waist to a 34. I went from squeezing into theater seats to have padded space on each side.
I could go on and on here rambling about all sorts of stuff weight and band related. If you’ve read this far then thank you and thank you to those who helped me get here. I would like to especially thanks @@Alex Brecher without him I wouldn’t have a home here and I perhaps would’ve remained lost.
If anyone has any questions or comments or just need someone to talk to don't hesitate to message me regardless how personal you think your question may be.
My name is Jim and I am junk food addict. I have lost 300lbs and the lapband saved my life. 2yrs and 8 months 488 to 188.
Peace!!

Came across these two shots and had to post them. Like I said in my title, there are just no words...except that this is the result of being banded, not bypass or sleeved. Not that there's anything wrong with those surgeries. Whatever works for you is my motto. But for those morbidly obese and not sure they can go with a band, this just shows that it can be done.

First, you're taking huge chances with eating solids so early. There are very specific reasons why you shouldn't be eating these foods so early. Your band is sutured into place around your stomach and vomiting can lead to those sutures tearing away.
Salmon has 4 times as much oil in the flesh as halibut. Halibut is a very dry fish and can get stuck in our stomas just like dry chicken or port. It takes months to learn how to eat like a Bandster. That's why doctors don't want you eating solids so soon. You're just not ready at this point. I know I wasn't and I see people post here all the time who are 6 months out with similar problems. Eat small, eat very slow and chew your food to an applesauce consistency.
Sorry for the tough love. You'll get this eventually but don't damage the surgery your good surgeon has done.

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to put some closure to this thread and share my resolve in this situation. Just to recap, I got a fill on Thursday and left the docs office feeling tight. I thought the feeling might go away and that I would try it out for my 48 hour post fill liquid diet. After 48 hours, the band was still too tight. My stomach was becoming increasingly gurgley. I was having difficulty swallowing liquids and even those liquids were feeling stuck. Also, a classic sign of having too tight of a fill, the tightness manifested into reflux. I felt very burpey and uncomfortable. I decided to go see the doctor on call on Sunday. He removed 1 cc and I felt almost immediately relief. I went home and started having liquids without any problems and will now be on another 48 hour liquid diet.
I learned several lessons from the experience. First and foremost is to take the adjustments slow. Basically, I went into the doctor and asked her for 2cc, somewhat against her recommendation. Reminder, I am not the doctor/expert. Also, once you are getting close to your green zone, it doesn't take must to tip you into the right spot. Asking for 2cc's was greedy.
Second, to my credit, I am new at this. Sometimes you have to have a difficult experience to understand the effect of the new device on your body. I had no idea the band could create that sensation, or that it wouldn't go away after awhile. It's all trial and error until you have more experiences that indicate a better gauge. This experience widened my gauge of lap band sensations. I now understand that if the band feels tight when leaving the office, then it probably is too tight and will not go away with time. Ultimately, the band should feel comfortable inside of you.
Third, although the band was too tight and created discomfort for a couple of days, I understand what the band is now intended to do. I barely ate anything for those two days and still never felt hungry. Now, I'm not suggesting this was a healthy experience, but I now have personally felt the power of this device. If adjusted properly, the band will create a sense of satiety for a long time. This felt like a miracle. Now, with the 1cc removed, I feel the satiety without the discomfort. This device works. Stick with it, and get the adjustments you need. It will take time, but once in the green zone, it's amazing!
Thanks everyone. So glad to have found some community to share these experiences with. Even the doctor's don't really understand when you discuss what you're going though. Nothing quite like comrades who can truly empathize.
~Kari

I experienced this when I got the fill that put me in the green zone. I decided to wait it out a bit and what I figured out was that my band was not too tight. The problem was ME. I was trying to drink too much too fast. It was at that point that I learned NOT to gulp and realized that it was time to put everything I had learned about taking small bites and chewing everything to mush into practice. Once I figured that out, it's been smooth sailing. As long as I don't gulp liquids or eat too fast, I can tolerate most anything. I can even eat raw veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, etc. and I hear a lot of people that say they can't eat those things unless they're cooked to mush. I chew them until they're mush!lol

This looks absolutely brilliant. I must try!!

Hey Bandista,
I looked at the content from both of those links. Excellent information. My take away was powerful, especially considering I'm going in for my fifth adjustment today. It made me reconsider why we get adjustments. The doctor in the videos explained that we don't get adjustments for restriction, we get them for hunger suppression. He said many people come in looking for an adjustment because the restriction of a freshly adjusted band helps determine how much food to eat. On the contrary, we should not be using the band for restriction, but to tide us over between meals. This helped me for my appointment today and to be able to explain to my surgeon what my needs are. Truthfully, I'm fine when it comes to the "restrictive" aspect of the band, but I'm not being held between meals. This makes so much sense and leads me to believe I was correct in knowing I'm ready for another adjustment and have not yet reached my "green zone". Thanks again for the resources.

Hi Lola,
I was banded 10 days before you on June 19th. I too have had 4 fills and am going in for a fifth tomorrow. So far, I'm at 8cc on a 14cc band. I completely understand what you're going through. About a week ago, I was feeling as though I was getting close to the green zone. The signs indicated that I needed to eat slowly, small portions, and was not feeling hungry in between meals. A few days ago that started to change and this indicates to me that I will be ready for another cc or two at my next fill appointment. Suddenly, I'm able to eat a bit larger portions, and am not feeling full between meals. I have also been dying to know "what does green feel like?!" I know that I'm getting closer to this place, but have to believe my intuition that I'm not fully there yet. I start to think that it'll never work and somehow I'll be the one that slips through the cracks. But, I know how dramatic I can be when things don't go my way. I keep reminding myself that the beginning is going to be a shit show. Let's keep in mind that we are both so early in this process. Don't lose hope!

Thanks for the feedback ya'll!
I just got off the phone with the doc. He did not seemed concerned at all. He said what I was experiencing was normal sensation and actually the restriction I'm feeling is what they're looking for. He said if I'm not happy with the feeling they can always take some out. The challenge is that being new to this, I am not yet keen to the different post fill sensations. So far, I've had a Protein shake and a yogurt and I'm not feeling hungry at all. Who am I!?

Thanks for the feedback ya'll!
I just got off the phone with the doc. He did not seemed concerned at all. He said what I was experiencing was normal sensation and actually the restriction I'm feeling is what they're looking for. He said if I'm not happy with the feeling they can always take some out. The challenge is that being new to this, I am not yet keen to the different post fill sensations. So far, I've had a Protein shake and a yogurt and I'm not feeling hungry at all. Who am I!?

Thanks, TMF. That's good advice. I would agree with you that 2cc, especially at this stage in the process, is an aggressive fill. I plan to take extra precaution in regards to reintroducing solid foods. I feel like some of the rules that I've bent need to be followed more closely now that I'm moving into a more restrictive zone. If I still feel this sensation by Monday, I might call my doc for a little unfill.

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Kari , congratulations ! I have a 14 cc band as well. My last two fills were .25 each. I crept into my green zone. I am now at 7.5 in my 14 Cc band after four fills and I am convinced this is the green for me.I did notice a difference in restriction pretty much right away. The way it manifests with me is if my first bites are not chewed enough then I get stuck. This has been a hard lesson for me. Especially when I'm hungry, my first bite of anything is usually fast and big. I have learned that it needs to be slow and chewed well.
None of which answers your question. What I will say, is that 2 cc at this stage seems like a big jump. Maybe you do have too much Fluid in your band. It's hard to say because everybody is different. The first few days after the fill is always a big unknown. I'm surely no expert, as I'm only seven months out myself. But I do know that now that I am experiencing my green zone, I am very wary of getting too tight. It is all now dependent upon me following my eating rules.
Good luck, and I'm also curious how this turns out for you! We are all so different. Thank goodness it's adjustable!

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!

Thanks, TMF. That's good advice. I would agree with you that 2cc, especially at this stage in the process, is an aggressive fill. I plan to take extra precaution in regards to reintroducing solid foods. I feel like some of the rules that I've bent need to be followed more closely now that I'm moving into a more restrictive zone. If I still feel this sensation by Monday, I might call my doc for a little unfill.

I've had about 10 adjustments over the last 3 years. I've never felt anything from liquids or Soups as far as restriction goes. Satiety, yes I have felt satiety.
It's perfectly normal for the stoma area to swell after an aggressive fill like 2 CCs. Most of my fills I felt more restriction a few days later and this last fill I felt a lot of restriction about 7-10 days after. I've read where many people really don't feel the extra restriction for a couple of weeks post fill.
You might want to be very careful once you convert to eating more solid foods and make sure you eat very small, very slow and chew food to an applesauce consistency. Getting stuck with such a tight band as you have can only bring on more swelling and then you may not be able to even swallow Water. That could lead to a trip to the ER.

Oh! By the way...I broke 300! Yay!