ShrinkyDink

I was in the same boat, went from too loose to way too tight. I thought I could nurse it along with liquids and as I lost a little it would loosen up. I lost 8 pounds in a week, but it got worse instead of better and when I finally gave in and went back, the barium swallow showed the liquid just barely dripping through the band and my upper pouch starting to look dilated. They took out half my Fluid for 2 weeks and after that the second barium showed all was well. Most of that weight came back which upset me greatly but she said it wasn't true loss in the first place, it was starvation basicly and my body was grabbing it back. I was very lucky no damage was done and I sure learned my lesson about being too tight!

I for sure sympathize with anybody who has a weight problem whether they have 5 or 500 pounds to lose, I hope my point came across right that Oprah is out of line comparing her 40 pound journey to somebody else's 100 pound journey. Which of us hasn't had a friend with 10 pounds to lose complain to us about how fat they are while we sit there on the verge of tears with our extra 100 or more? Even though the 10 pounds is a real problem to that person, it's insensitive. Kind of like complaining that we can't afford caviar to somebody who can't afford bread. Oh I am so enjoying watching Ruby! I can't even imagine the courage it would take to find the determination to start when you are at the point where you can't even walk half a block. I have so much respect for her strength. I love that she can be whiny and annoying cause aren't we all sometimes? It's real, not sanitized for TV to make her look like a saint and like what she's doing is easy. Go Ruby!

I think what upset me about Oprah's big confession was that she is talking about being 40 pounds overweight as if it's this humongous shame and failure. She's chubby, yet she's talking like she's morbidly obese, which makes those of us who are (at least speaking for myself) feel even worse about ourselves. I rememeber being 40 pounds overweight, I hated it, I felt fat etc etc but I didn't equate my problem with those who had 100 to lose. And at my largest with 130 to lose, I didn't equate my problem with those who have 250 to lose. I know it's all relative but whining and complaining about what I have to lose to somebody who has twice as much to lose is insensitive and hurtful. Discuss how you feel about it? Sure! Talk about what you're doing about it? Sure! Just don't make us feel like walruses by talking about 40 pounds like it's the end of the world. Stepping off my soapbox now, thank you :tongue2:

Hehehe this made me giggle Seriously though, I'm an RN and not the least big squemish and I wouldn't even consider doing a self fill. Besides the risk of infection or injury, the risk of damaging the port or tubing is huge. Nicking that tubing would be a very expensive mistake. If I were traveling to a place where an emergency unfill by a professional wasn't an option, I'd have all my Fluid removed before the trip to be safe. I'd rather gain a few pounds and spend a few weeks building my fill back up after I got back than risk doing this on myself.

Definitely call your doctor, if it's too tight there's a big risk of pouch prolapse if you nurse it along. Even a tiny bit of fluid can make all the difference in having good restriction and risking problems from having it too tight. Liquids should go down easily without backing up at all, and yogurt is practically liquid so even the thick kind should go through pretty quickly.

I'd say you ought to talk to your doctor and he might want to do a barium swallow to see if your band is too tight. Nursing along a band that is too tight can lead to pouch prolapse or stretching as I learned the hard way. I dealt with sliming and difficultly getting solids down for about a week thinking it would settle down with time but it didn't and when they did the barium swallow my band was so tight the fluid was barely dripping through, and the upper pouch was starting to look dilated. Thankfully mine was caught before any real damage was done but I had to have most of my fluid removed for 2 weeks to allow it to all relax and heal, and now I'm in the process of slowly building up the restriction again. Better safe than sorry :tongue2:

Awesome work everybody! I join you guys who are on plateaus, I've been losing and gaining the same two pounds forever now. I'm 233 this week, same as last week. blah.

Last week: 235 This week: 233 I'm off the up escalator and on my way down again!

Ham! Salt! I had ham yesterday too, maybe that's part of my 2 pound gain hehe!

Congrats girls! I admire you for doing so well over Christmas. I didn't join you though, it's been a rough week for me eating-wise. I had to have half my fill removed 2 weeks ago cause I was way way too tight and I really thought that after 4 months I would have improved my habits enough to handle having no restriction for 2 weeks but I apparantly haven't. After having it removed I was up 4 pounds in a day and a half, but I was dehydrated so I wasn't worried by that. I managed to lose 2 of those pounds over the next week, but now those 2 pounds are back and I'm really bummed. I didn't stuff myself, but I just didn't have the will power to leave the candy alone and all that good stuff we're having with hubby and the kids home has been too much of a temptation. It's almost involuntary, like something in my body is saying 'eat it all now while you can'. I'll go in on monday to start building up my fill again little by little so I'm likely in for another month at least of having to go on willpower alone and I'm not feeling very confident. Add to that a Vegas trip with my coworkers in mid-January and I'm in for it. Last week: 233 This week: 235

Woot for the driver's license! I know I'm still nowhere near the ficticious weight on mine *blush* but... I can now walk up the stairs at a quick pace without breathing heavy!

Last week: 231 This week: 233 I'm disappointed but not surprised. I had some fill taken out last friday afternoon cause it was too tight and I put on 4 pounds in a day and a half even staying with my eating plan so I think I was somewhat dehydrated. Dropped 2 of those pounds over the course of the week though so I still consider it a successful week.

Another big week here! I didn't post last week so here's the last 2 weeks for me: November 28: 238 December 5: 236 December 12: 231 I'm a pound away from hitting the 50 mark!

Woot! Don't you love to see those sizes getting smaller!

I saw Roheryn's NSV post and thought it would be fun for us to keep a running thread of our NSVs, to me they are more exciting than the scale moving! I didn't want to hijack her thread so here's a place for you to post if you want to join, here's a couple I've had lately: 1. Couple weeks ago I realized as I was walking that my arms were swinging freely, not brushing my hips! 2. I shrunk out of my size 24 jeans a while back but my size 22 jeans were also getting way too big so I went in last week to buy 20s, and they were also too big! Same brand same style too, I was so excited, I'm in size 18s for the first time in years! 3. In waiting rooms I used to always search for a bench or an armless chair and have a mini-panic if there weren't any cause I knew I could squeeze in but would be very uncomfortable and have that 'all eyes are on me' feeling. Today I was waiting for my mom in an appointment and realized I was sitting comfortably in a regular sized armed chair, I had sat down in the first chair without even thinking about it or looking around to find one I would fit in.

That is an awesome milestone, congrats! Can't wait to get there and do the 'not obese anymore' dance with you!

I was up and down this week but came out even with no gain or loss and I'm happy with that. I've not made the best choices this week with the kids home and cooking the Thanksgiving meal for 17 people, but I allowed myself that and now it's back to the plan. Hoping to hit 200 by my birthday in late February, off I go!

I did pretty well. I cooked everything just as fattening as always, I figured it was a special meal, no need to give up things we have once a year. Difference was I only took a few bites of each thing. I still took in more calories than I should have, but it was probably a third of what I would have eaten before so I consider it a victory. It was really nice to enjoy the meal without the food coma wasn't it! I've kind of let my plan slide a little this week with the kids home and the holiday and all and had a couple of ups and downs on the scale but came out with no gain or loss overall so I consider that a victory also.

I get this feeling often when I've let myself get too hungry, I do like laurigee said and eat smaller amounts more often and it doesn't happen near as much. It's a very odd feeling to be full and hungry at the same time huh!

It's very hard before your first fill, the band isn't really doing anything for you yet so it's all willpower. Don't beat yourself up, just do the best you can and it will be easier after you get some restriction!

Yes that makes sense, and even though she said she could add it back in I will probably do without it. That was a horrible feeling when I couldn't even keep water down, I was in a near panic and I don't want to go back there. I'd rather deal with being a bit too loose than be that tight again.

A word of warning, I tried this and it did help, but one day I got a bit of dried apricot stuck for several hours. Don't forget to chew the daylights outta those tough little boogers!

If it's just a stuck feeling from one bite too many walking usually does it for me. If not I let that little bit extra come up and then I'm fine. I've only been truly stuck (more than a couple minutes) twice. One time (stuck dried apricot) nothing worked until I drank pineapple juice which worked beautifully. Then a couple days ago I had a stuck episode (undercooked cauliflower) that swelled my stoma shut and I couldn't even get water through for the rest of the day and overnight, so don't wait too long before you call your doctor, you might need a slight adjustment. I've also heard that the chewable papaya enzyme tablets worksbut I haven't tried it yet.

I'm right there with you. I still have the pain and fatigue but it does seem to be somewhat better after some weight loss. I'm not sleeping any better and the brain fog still comes and goes, but I have high hopes that the lessened stress on my body will help the fibro. I'm certain the fibro is the reason for my slow-ish weight loss, it's pretty hard for me to exercise without a lot of pain. I was doing well when I could swim every day but now that it's too cold for the pool I'm not getting nearly enough exercise.

I just had this happen, I got a small adjustment last Thursday and it was fine until Sunday afternoon. When my food came up I gave it a couple hours rest and tried water which came up. Rested again and tried a protein shake which came up. Rested again and tried broth which came up. I gave up and went to bed thinking it would resolve overnight but the next morning the couple ounces of water I drank came right up. I called my doctor and they took a tiny bit of fill out and I've been fine since. They said likely something I ate irritated my stoma and it was swollen too much for anything to pass. After another week if I'm still doing well and feel like I need it they said I can get that little bit of fill put back in but so far I seem to be at the right restriction without it. It happened to me once before but it resolved itself after about 5 hours and a day on liquids seemed to be enough to heal it without any adjustment. Don't wait too long to call your doctor, you can get dehydrated very fast and risk your band slipping or your pouch stretching if you continue with it too tight.