DrWatkins

I've had patients that were way too tight when they were on their menstrual cycle. For that I would advise against having surgery while on your cycle.
If the band gets much tighter on your cycle it suggest that you're retaining Fluid and maybe a diuretic (pill that makes you pee) would be indicated while you are on your cycle.
Also, salt intake can affect band tightness. Some patients are really tight the next day when they have a high salt meal.
Also, if your thyroid has never been checked it may be a good idea to check it. Thyroid problems can cause Fluid retention among other things.
hope that helps

Opinions differ about how gastric banding actually works.
My opinion is based on the fact that stretching the stomach wall shuts down the appetite hormones. When your stomach size is reduced from a football to a golf ball you are going to get stomach wall stretch and appetite hormone diminution on much fewer calories.
Also, the food takes a while to empty through the restriction so the full feeling lasts longer. Some patients will forget to eat dinner because they are still full from lunch.
We know about some of the appetite hormones floating around but we know that there are many more and that the way the stomach and the brain communicate is very complicated. The drive to eat is a very powerful biological drive. If the brain thinks for an instant that you're trying to starve yourself it will take drastic measures.
The small stomach pouch above the band fools the brain into thinking you've just eaten a Thanksgiving meal.
In some patients the appetite suppression is very powerful and some patients say they are never hungry after band surgery. Some patients deal with lots of "head hunger" which is a complex process and not easy to deal with sometimes.
As you lose weight, the stomach tissue inside the band loses weight and that is why you need additional fills as you lose your weight. At your goal weight, the stomach tissue thickness stabilizes and the need for fills diminishes quite a bit.
I read a lot of posts where patients do not have their bands perfectly adjusted.
Here's my version:
Perfectly adjusted - full on small meals, not hungry between meals, easy to lose 1-2 pounds per week, amorous feelings toward your surgeon and staff, send them a Christmas card that will bring tears to your eyes
Too loose - hungry, can eat large amounts of food, hard to lose weight, feels just like you are on a diet.
Too tight - everything wants to come back up including liquids, hurts to eat or drink, bad heartburn especially at night (when you lay down), the only thing that wants to go down is Cheetos and ice cream (bad stuff)
I think if you don't fit the "perfectly adjusted" description you should call your band surgeon to make it perfect with an adjustment.
Also keep in mind that each patient's band journey is very individual.
Hope that helps
brad

Opinions differ about how gastric banding actually works.
My opinion is based on the fact that stretching the stomach wall shuts down the appetite hormones. When your stomach size is reduced from a football to a golf ball you are going to get stomach wall stretch and appetite hormone diminution on much fewer calories.
Also, the food takes a while to empty through the restriction so the full feeling lasts longer. Some patients will forget to eat dinner because they are still full from lunch.
We know about some of the appetite hormones floating around but we know that there are many more and that the way the stomach and the brain communicate is very complicated. The drive to eat is a very powerful biological drive. If the brain thinks for an instant that you're trying to starve yourself it will take drastic measures.
The small stomach pouch above the band fools the brain into thinking you've just eaten a Thanksgiving meal.
In some patients the appetite suppression is very powerful and some patients say they are never hungry after band surgery. Some patients deal with lots of "head hunger" which is a complex process and not easy to deal with sometimes.
As you lose weight, the stomach tissue inside the band loses weight and that is why you need additional fills as you lose your weight. At your goal weight, the stomach tissue thickness stabilizes and the need for fills diminishes quite a bit.
I read a lot of posts where patients do not have their bands perfectly adjusted.
Here's my version:
Perfectly adjusted - full on small meals, not hungry between meals, easy to lose 1-2 pounds per week, amorous feelings toward your surgeon and staff, send them a Christmas card that will bring tears to your eyes
Too loose - hungry, can eat large amounts of food, hard to lose weight, feels just like you are on a diet.
Too tight - everything wants to come back up including liquids, hurts to eat or drink, bad heartburn especially at night (when you lay down), the only thing that wants to go down is Cheetos and ice cream (bad stuff)
I think if you don't fit the "perfectly adjusted" description you should call your band surgeon to make it perfect with an adjustment.
Also keep in mind that each patient's band journey is very individual.
Hope that helps
brad

Opinions differ about how gastric banding actually works.
My opinion is based on the fact that stretching the stomach wall shuts down the appetite hormones. When your stomach size is reduced from a football to a golf ball you are going to get stomach wall stretch and appetite hormone diminution on much fewer calories.
Also, the food takes a while to empty through the restriction so the full feeling lasts longer. Some patients will forget to eat dinner because they are still full from lunch.
We know about some of the appetite hormones floating around but we know that there are many more and that the way the stomach and the brain communicate is very complicated. The drive to eat is a very powerful biological drive. If the brain thinks for an instant that you're trying to starve yourself it will take drastic measures.
The small stomach pouch above the band fools the brain into thinking you've just eaten a Thanksgiving meal.
In some patients the appetite suppression is very powerful and some patients say they are never hungry after band surgery. Some patients deal with lots of "head hunger" which is a complex process and not easy to deal with sometimes.
As you lose weight, the stomach tissue inside the band loses weight and that is why you need additional fills as you lose your weight. At your goal weight, the stomach tissue thickness stabilizes and the need for fills diminishes quite a bit.
I read a lot of posts where patients do not have their bands perfectly adjusted.
Here's my version:
Perfectly adjusted - full on small meals, not hungry between meals, easy to lose 1-2 pounds per week, amorous feelings toward your surgeon and staff, send them a Christmas card that will bring tears to your eyes
Too loose - hungry, can eat large amounts of food, hard to lose weight, feels just like you are on a diet.
Too tight - everything wants to come back up including liquids, hurts to eat or drink, bad heartburn especially at night (when you lay down), the only thing that wants to go down is Cheetos and ice cream (bad stuff)
I think if you don't fit the "perfectly adjusted" description you should call your band surgeon to make it perfect with an adjustment.
Also keep in mind that each patient's band journey is very individual.
Hope that helps
brad

NM Sunshine,
Thanks for the book recommendation.
Another sign that you're band is perfectly adjusted is using seven exclamation points and the words, "LOVE IT" in your posts.
brad