BeverlyDiane

A 2008 Butterfly just checking in again. I have stalled on my weight loss. I am not gaining, but not losing either. :!:

I'm here. I went to my dr. yesterday and I had 7.4 in a 10 band. I was having a lot of trouble eating protein and was eating more slider foods. They removed .7 of fluid and I am already doing better. Hope to be at goal by this time next year!

Checking in...need a fill, but going on a cruise on the 19th and afraid of being too tight due to plane ride and on the ship without access to my doctors. So afraid I'll gain on the trip, but more afraid of possible complications if I get a fill now before the trip. Any advice?

This is wonderful news Orea. What exciting possibilities.

I use Ambien and it can be quite scary if not in bed when used. It works within 20 minutes. I once cooked potatoes and peas (a comfort food for me) and found it in the morning with no memory of having cooked it! (This is the 1st meal I had cooked by my mother after coming off chemo for cancer, so it had special memories.) At least I had not eaten any!

Thanks to the pep talk! I've been having some bad days with the band. I made a new commitment to exercise. Due to the economy they are cutting the hours on our civic center pool, closing it on Monday and it will be closed all summer. Water aerobics was one of the exercises I loved doing with a group of friends. Now it's back to the treadmill.

Orea! You go girl! I have not been on here in a while and look what happens. Congratulations on the 100 lbs. I need to stay in touch because my weight loss has completely stopped. I did start exercising again, so maybe I'll break the plateau. Again, congratulations. You deserve this wonderful met goal!

I have a hard time with eggs and any type of bread product. The things I miss the most are sandwiches and pizza. I mourn for them, but I am certainly happier with weight loss and if I have to continue to mourn the loss I will. At my last fill which is always done under fluoro, my PA said my pouch had enlarged a little. Of course I freaked, and she said it was nothing to worry about and on a scale of 1-10 with 10 the largest, it was a 2. I told her I had been PBing still trying to find some protein I could eat besides fish. She said to go on liquids for 2 days and eat really small meals after that ( 1 cup at the most) and she would check it again at the end of the month. Has anyone experienced this yet? What did you do and did it work? Wendy said if it didn't revert she could do a complete unfill for a month or more. This idea scares me to death as I picture uncontrollable eating and weight gain. Help!

I have a hard time with eggs and any type of bread product. The things I miss the most are sandwiches and pizza. I mourn for them, but I am certainly happier with weight loss and if I have to continue to mourn the loss I will. At my last fill which is always done under fluoro, my PA said my pouch had enlarged a little. Of course I freaked, and she said it was nothing to worry about and on a scale of 1-10 with 10 the largest, it was a 2. I told her I had been PBing still trying to find some Protein I could eat besides fish. She said to go on liquids for 2 days and eat really small meals after that ( 1 cup at the most) and she would check it again at the end of the month. Has anyone experienced this yet? What did you do and did it work? Wendy said if it didn't revert she could do a complete unfill for a month or more. This idea scares me to death as I picture uncontrollable eating and weight gain. Help!

That sounds exactly what I need. Thank you. I'll let you know how I am doing.

Congratulations Kimberly on making goal! Way to go girl:thumbup:.

Congratulations Orea on your breaking a barrier. I did okay during the holidays. I didn't lose, but didn't gain and I too picked up the yummy/bad for you chocolate habit during the holidays. Now I crave chocolate (candy) constantly. I had my 4th fill on the 30th and still have not lost any. I have been stuck at this weight for 4 weeks now and it is driving me crazy! The dr did not want me to go on a liquid diet to break the plateau, but I am strongly tempted to do it. It is so hard to eat the solid protein w/o sticking that I would almost rather just drink the protein to get it in. I know...I know, I am too impatient. I need to slow down, take a breath, and focus on the longterm goal. :thumbup: I hope everyone else survived the holidays and are getting closer to their goals. Keep up the good work.

Hi everyone, like Orea I have about 6cc in my 10cc band, after 3 fills. I have good restriction on protein and can barely eat 2 oz at a time, but like everyone else those slider foods go right on down and are so easy to eat and less time consuming. That's what makes them so tempting to me, plus so fear of pbing. Today though I hit the 50lb weight loss marker and that is a great motivator to keep doing things the right way. Also, I put on my winter coat my DH bought me last Christmas and it wrapped twice around me. Yeah, this band thing is working and is worth all the trouble. I feel so much better, can bend and move and walk, and fit into booths again! Hang in there everyone and congratulations on all your milestones!

The first three days are the hardest. After that, you are not physically hungry. But, you still can have the "head" hunger, especially when others are eating in front of you!

Hi butterflies, It has been a while since I posted so I thought I would check in. You all are doing so well. I had my third fill Tuesday and now have almost 6cc in a 10cc band. She said I was open, but when she added the last fill she could tell on the fluroscope that I now had more restriction. I can certainly tell the difference. I tried some soft food tonight and could only eat a few bites. I will try again tomorrow and hope I can get off the liquids. I waited a month before getting this fill as I am still learning (the hard way) to slow down and take small bites when I eat!

What WLS Expo on the 11th? Is it in Springfield? I would like to go to a support group meeting, but I cannot remember when they are in Springfield. Can anyone help me out with a date for the next one? I was given the info for the St. Roberts one since it is closer to where I live, but I prefer attending one in Springfield. I have had two fills and am scheduled for a third on Tuesday morning. I hope it doesn't make me too tight cause I have read that is pretty miserable. Hope to meet some of you at a meeting if I ever find out when they are held.

Hi, I have had two fills and have 4.3cc in my 10cc band. I have a lot of restriction and have trouble eating anything unless it is soft or a full liquid. I pb's on scrambled eggs and refried Beans. I tried tuna salad, but was only able to eat 1 tbl before the hurting in the chest started. I was to get a 3rd fill in two weeks, but I think they need to check this one out first. I am tired of not being able to eat. My body thinks it is starving and I am not even losing any weight after the initial 6 lbs between the 1st and 2nd fill. I'm looking for that "sweet spot." Orea, I hope your dh does well with his interview.

Hi, I had my second fill yesterday and had lost 6 lbs in the two weeks between my 1st and 2nd. :rolleyes2: I was so surprised. I am going to have to purchase a new scales, any suggestions. My scales had only shown a 2 lb lost and they are not digital. I was weighed at 9 am by my exercise therapist and again at 10:30 by the PA who does the fills under floroscope. They both had digital type scales and both showed the same weight. On my 1st fill she put 3 cc in my 10cc band and I did have restriction, yesterday she put in 1.3cc. I hope I am able to eat later today as I can start soft food. I think I am going to be like Indio and not require a lot of fills as I PB'd and slimed with the 1st one. We are all so different, it is amazing to me how each is affected differently by fills and food.

I have the same problem with severe pain in my chest between my breast if I eat too fast, too big a bite, or too much. I had my 2nd fill yesterday and am on liquids for 24 hrs. I do not think I will schedule another for at least 4 wks. I lost 6 lbs between the 1st and 2nd fill and I want to be able to eat enough to keep me healthy. But I agree, the pain is intense when you do not eat properly.

Yes, I have my second fill on Tuesday, the 23rd. I was banded on July 28th, one day before you. My dr is pretty liberal from what I have read on here. I went home on FULL liquids and was on regular food at 7 wks after surgery. After my first fill, I was on full liquids for 24 hrs, then whatever I could tolerate. I have slimed and pb'd also. Mine is because I ate too fast and too big a bite. I still haven't retrained myself, because I did it today eating an egg sandwich for lunch. Yuck!

On another thread, it was discussed about the full feeling. Several of us banded in July stated that we do not feel full so much as feeling like we have swallowed something huge and cannot swallow another bite as we could PB. Have any of you experienced this? I thought maybe with my 2nd fill on Tuesday I might starting feeling full and not stuck, but maybe not? :crying:

That's the feeling I have. It's not a full feeling, but more of a stuck feeling and if I eat another bite I might PB. I go for my 2nd fill on Tuesday. I do have some restriction so my next fill may be it for a while. At times though, I can eat more than a cup of food. Not the meat of course, but the veggies and carbs. My dr only wants 3 meals a day and one snack. I would prefer the the six, which means I would probably abuse it by eating more than a cup! :wink2: I hope all are doing well and survived all the bad weather.

Hi all, I went for my first fill yesterday. I was so nervous, but it was truly amazing and I was fascinated. The room was redecorated and had brand new equipment. They do all their fills under fluroscopy so I was told to hop on the table that looked like one they would use in radiology, hard, sterile, with only a pillow. She explained I had the standard band and she would put in 3cc in my 10cc band. She said the average was around 4 fills before hitting the sweet spot, but that everyone was different. She said for me to make an appt. for two weeks out to get my second one. Then she numbed the site, put in the needle, and the table starting moving until I was in a standing position. It was a very weird sensation, but absolutely no pain. After inserting the fluid, I had to drink some vile liquid to make sure all was flowing as it should. They then told me to step forward off the table, put on a bandaid, and showed me a picture of my pouch, stomach, and lap band. All was fine and as it should be. The only thing I'll ask for next time is more than a bandaid as I bleed a little more than normal and it leaked onto my top. I am so glad I got this lap band, it has saved my life. Best wishes to all. PS When they say to stick to liquids after the fill I would advise paying heed. I had not eaten that morning before the fill and had to stay in the city for a dental appt., so by the evening I was starving as I was never in the right vicinity to get me a smoothie w/o milk. After I arrived home, I grabbed something from the fridge that I had leftover forgetting about my recent fill. I slimed big time before it came up. Yuck!

I have been starving. I do not have my first fill until the 10th and today has been a really bad day. Some days I am able to handle it, but today was not one of them. I am trying to stick to proteins when I want something extra as that seems to satisfy me the most. With restriction from the fill do you continue to get this hungry? I feel so discouraged today.