kbinaz

I have to go on clear liquids for three days after a fill so I make darn sure I eat before mine!!!

Dear IMB316, I know exactly how you feel and was in the same place very recently! I had surgery on October 26th 2007 and felt like you are feeling until this week, when I had my fourth fill. I know it is hard, and I know you want results now, but I promise you you will get there just be patient. You could need 4,5,or more fills to get the restriction you need. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!!! Some people (the ones that put us in this bad mood, bless their hearts....) feel good restriction before they even get a fill. I honestly never felt any restriction until my last fill which put me at 6.5cc's in a 10cc band. I was feeling the same as you "If I could control my eating I wouldn't have had major surgery!!!" and I even wrote that to the nutritionists at my doctor's office. I was ready to call it quits and then got that fourth fill and I have lost five pounds this week!!! (didn't update my ticker yet...) You may not get there at four fills, but trust me, you will. Please don't be discouraged. You are not far out from surgery and it is going to take time.

I have been pretty satisfied with my doctor and practice in just about every way. I appreciate the one price thing - fills are free for the first year, I have access to the nutritionists and psychologist etc. without extra charges. I like the support groups - statistics show that patients who are active in support groups lose more weight than those who aren't. My doctor made us go through extensive education - pre and post-op classes etc. and that really helped. I felt very well informed when I went in for surgery and knew what to expect from the process. One area where I don't think I was informed enough was the slowness of weight loss with the band as opposed to gastric bypass. I don't think I understood that I might not start losing good amounts of weight for a while after surgery because of needing several fills to get restriction. So I got really down after 2 months and really started second guessing my decision to have the band. That should really be stressed and the positive aspects that go with it should be explained too. (why it is healthier to lose weight slowly) The other thing that is really important is that when I go in for my fills I need to feel supported not shamed. There is one N.P. where I go that makes me feel like a failure when I don't lose enough weight and the whole reason I am there for a fill is because I don't have enough restriction. I don't like not losing any more than she does, so I don't need her making me feel worse! People who resort to major surgery to lose weight have already had lots and lots of failures in their lives. The one place they shouldn't feel like a failure is in the office of a bariatric surgeon!!!

Picture a funnel. If you put a bite of not-well-chewed-chicken over the opening of the funnel it is going to pretty much block anything else from going through and will just stay there. If you put a well chewed piece of chicken over the opening it will slowly start going through. The food does stay there -for a while- but is always slowly going through. (like a stream, not a puddle!) That was not a dumb question and it helped me to think about it to answer you! Thanks

I get free fills for the first year.

Your surgery swelling is going down so you do not have much restriction - remember you haven't had a fill yet so you are pretty much like before surgery. When you have a lot of restriction you have to be more careful how much you drink in one gulp. My doctor did tell me that you should always be able to drink a pretty good sized gulp of water - water is the very thinnest thing to go through your band so if you have trouble getting water down you are too tight. Anyway, eventually you are going to have more restriction so it is good to kind of practice taking smaller sips to get in the habit. Don't stress about it, if you take a big gulp unrestricted, no harm!

I was told I could take a shower the day of surgery if I wanted to. They actually told me it was a good thing to let the warm water fun over my incisions. But ask your doctor just in case. By the way, it felt awesome to take a shower! (No baths til the scabs are gone - it's okay for the incisions to get wet, but not okay to soak them)

The hot tub is fine as soon as all your scabs have healed from surgery. Two months after surgery you can pretty much do anything you did before surgery. My doctor banded a high school kid who won the state title in wrestling a year after having his band - it's pretty resilient!

I wasn't required to lose or do a diet before surgery, either. (I have a pretty low bmi and she doesn't require it for us and from what I have been reading that isn't that uncommon anymore). What does concern me is that you don't need to have any lab work done. I had tons of bloodwork and different tests - including an EKG and chest x-ray. It would scare me to go into surgery not knowing if there were medical problems that should be addressed. It was a pain to have it all done, but it felt good knowing I had a clean bill of health when I was going under anesthesia.

What really kills me is that if you decided you wanted to have your boobs done or get a tummy tuck everyone would be applauding you for making yourself happy and for 'doing whatever it takes to make you feel good about yourself' and those surgeries are pure vanity and only cosmetic.

YES,YES,YES!!! I have been there. It will probably get worse before it gets better, too! Sorry, but I'm being honest. Your swelling from surgery is going down. It is almost as if you didn't have a lapband at all because, technically it isn't doing anything yet. The only restriction you get before a fill is what you get from post-op swelling. So you can pretty much eat what you ate before surgery. There is nothing wrong with you. You just have to wait this out and get that first fill - do you have one scheduled yet? If not, you probably should get it scheduled. We had to wait 4-6 weeks for our first fill. Being hungry does not mean you have a food addiction! Being hungry is a normal part of being human. You will have a much easier time controlling your food addiction when the band is doing what it was designed to do, and it may take 3,4,5 or more fills to get there and it is hard but you have to just wait it out. Hope it helps to know that there are a lot of us out here struggling right along with you!!!! I feel your pain!

Okay, now I know why my doctor told us not to chew gum! That's scary! I hope things continue to go okay and you don't have any problems.

Oh, and try to get in the habit of eating three meals a day with no snacks. Don't drink 1/2 hour before and after meals, don't drink during meals, take very tiny bites, chew each bite to the consistency of applesauce- start doing that now before you physically have to and it will get you ready for when you do have to (when you reach full restriction). And remember - it can take several fills before the band is working optimally so don't stress out too much about how much weight you are losing. Be patient. (This is coming from a very impatient person, I'm learning alongside you!)

I feel bad for you - that you have so little information! I felt like I had information overload before my surgery but now I am glad because it is all stuff I needed to know! You will feel normal again, I promise. Don't forget you had major surgery so be patient and don't expect to feel 100% too quickly. My doctor had me on clear liquids for four days after surgery (surgery day was day 1) then I started on soft proteins (chicken, turkey, cottage cheese, refried beans, low sugar/low fat yogurt,eggs) for one month. This is to give the stomach/band area time to heal. Be very careful in these first few weeks, you don't want to risk band slippage so don't eat anything hard or fibrous. Around week three I felt pretty much like my old self again physically. Then I started getting hungry! That is normal, so don't freak out. You are supposed to feel hunger, it means the swelling is going down and you are healing. If you don't feel hungry, just wait and you eventually will. That is a sign that it is time for your first fill. I am happy to answer any other questions you can think of. I think I covered the ones you asked so far. Stay on this forum and you should be able to get the info you need.

I thought one of the reasons the band worked was because it allowed the food to stay at the point at the top of the stomach where the full signal comes from - I don't know if that is the vagus nerve or what, but that is what I was told. They say obese people don't get that full sensation and I don't remember why- (could have something to do with the largeness of our stomachs not allowing food to ever get to that place where our hunger turns off...) Anyway, sorry to be not such a huge help but I think there is some truth to what you are thinking but I'm not sure it is the vagus nerve. The band is allowing some fullness message to be sent!

Yes! I feel exactly the same as you.My fills were #1- 1.5 cc's #2-1.5cc's #3-1.5cc's and #4-(today)2cc's so I am up to 6.5 cc's now and am on clear liquids so I don't know if I will have any restriction yet. After fill #3 (total of 4.5cc's) I had hardly any restriction. The nurse practitioner who did my fill gave me a nice pep talk as I went in there ready to shoot someone out of frustration. He used the example that the lap band is like an airplane - you are trying to reach cruising altitude and it can take a while to get there but once you do it is pretty smooth sailing. If it takes too long (in your opinion) to reach cruising altitude you do not jump out of the plane! You just keep plugging away and get yourself there. It can take five fills or even more to reach cruising altitude so don't jump out of the plane yet! That kind of made sense to me. I still wish I reached cruising altitude after 3 fills, (or 1 would have been even better!) but I guess what he said made sense! I feel your pain!!!

That's the one I have, but like everyone else I don't have anything to compare it to. It is 10cc's, though, I do know that.

I notice I get really cold when I have to do clear liquids after a fill. What's up with that? I have only lost 15 pounds so I still have plenty of padding left!

I was banded on October 26th and have only lost 15 pounds and I, too, find it discouraging because it seems like everyone else is up to at least 30 pounds at this point. I just had my fourth fill today and am hoping,hoping,hoping that I get some good restriction this time. I am feeling desparate and like such a failure! Know you are not alone!

I am with you, Weightisover! I have the same problem with plantar fasciitis (I have no idea how to spell that). I have a lot of heel pain at the bottoms of my heels, too. It makes exercising really hard. I am hoping that as I lose weight that will go away, thanks for asking the question!

I had the same experience. I just had my fourth fill today and so far have had very little restriction. Be patient, your swelling just went down quickly. Now until your first fill will be tough. I didn't lose any during that period of bandster hell. But it is okay and is totally normal. You have a band but no restriction and you won't for a while. Waiting is tough, but it is going to be worth it in the long run!

I lost twelve pounds in the first five days. They stayed off, but I stopped losing after that. I am three months out from surgery and my weight loss total is at only 15, which my doctor tells me is pretty average. (The band doesn't start working until it is filled sufficiently-yada yada you know that) I was actually hoping my weight loss would continue at that rate! (you probably are too!) but it didn't. You are still swollen from surgery so have a lot of restriction. Your hunger will come back and don't panic...it is essential and means it is time for a fill. They wouldn't even give me my first fill until I felt hungry.

Hi, I want you to know you are not alone, I am struggling, too. I was banded on 10/26/07 and have had three fills and feel very little restriction. I have lost 15 pounds, but not from the band- all lost on the clear liquid diet post-surgery. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, but know I am struggling too. Hang in there and keep doing what they are telling you to do. I have my fourth fill on Monday and am so worried I will have the same trouble this time with little restriction. I want to get there so bad! I know you do too. It is easy to get discouraged when you read on here that people who had surgery at the same time have lost 35-50 pounds! I talked with the nutritionist at my dr's office yesterday and she assured me I am doing fine. This is normal. It will be a struggle until we get to the right restriction. I'm with you!!!

Welcome, hope you continue to do well!!

Hi, I am in Arizona, too! I had surgery on 10/26. Where are you having surgery? Good luck!