sistasassy

I have not been gaining. Steady loss here. I was too tight for two months and just sort of stalled. This time it was about 26 hours. I am good now. When I am too tight, I take the healthy food I should be eating normal and blend it in the Bullet. I think that is what held off the weight gain. I am almost to the 60 lb mark! I need to hit it soon!

I do a few days of liquids after a fill and a few days of mushies but I have terrible trouble with fills and swelling. I do lose a lot during that time.

I went in for my 6th fill on Wednesday. Only got .5cc. That brought me to almost 6cc in a 10cc band. Anywho, I got home and, after driving an hour, could not swallow my own saliva. Sigh.....I had been down this road once before. I waited until today to see if it would get better and it did not. I promptly called my doc who had me drive the hour back for a .2cc unfill which did wonders. I can now swallow but still have fantastic restriction. I am wondering if this tiny fill means that I have finally found my first sweet spot. Any ideas?

Just for the record, from the other side of the crowd, I have a Magic Bullet and LOVE it! I have had mine for about 7 years and it is so easy to use. I love the fact that I can blend anything, flip it over, throw a drink ring on it, and I am good to go. I also make single serving salsa, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc in it. It is great for just about anything and pops right into the microwave for heating. It is not a must have but it is definitely not a waste.

I have the AP Standard which is the 10cc band. I have had no trouble with it. I am six months out from surgery and have about 4.5ccs of saline in my band. Going in for a small fill tomorrow.

I do not eat potato chips. Too much sodium for me and the chips just don't like to go down well. I do eat tortilla chips loaded with salsa. I try to limit the actual number so as to keep the sodium and the fat down but I eat all the salsa I want. We make our own and omit the salt. I usually have trouble with my band for about the first ten days after a fill. I have to be careful every time. After that, it seems to get looser and I adjust pretty well. I go in tomorrow for a small fill and will be back in the rough zone again.

Mine is also named Gizmo because I love Gizmo and we watched Gremlins the night I was in the hospital.

I would go. I tell everyone but that is not the only reason. There will be plenty of liquids there that you can have, surely. Broths and such. Don't be ashamed of your band. You are doing something healthy. Be proud!

I think that how your body FEELS is important as well. That being said, perhaps your doctor feels your are not getting enough calories. Perhaps he is assuming rather than knowing. I would ask him to clarify.

Yea! :eek: I only have five pounds to go to be overweight! I can't wait to be overweight! My clothes are loose now like crazy and compliments are coming from everywhere. Everyone wants to know all about the band now!

I am such an advocate of the water flushing trick. It helps me su much and my doc does not have a problem with it. Obviously, the preferred method is to not get stuck at all BUT, if it does get stuck, the water trick works.

I use the Water trick and it works for me every time. It kind of seems to flush things back up. Really gross and really unpleasant, but really works. The leaning over thing works for me too if there is no water handy. Just lean over as far as I can and out it comes. Again, gross, but works. The best is the water trick though for me.

I have heard the same kind of comments. "I don't want anything in me that is going to make me only be able to eat a little bit." "How can you stand to have something in there that could cause you all sorts of problems?" "Why don't you just go to the gym?" (I do!) "I would never do that. Isn't that only for really fat people." (My head about exploded on that one!) I now tell everyone. Sometimes I tell people that don't even ask! I am getting skinny and I am getting healthy and I want the world to know! When people say stupid and insensitive things, I just tell them that this was the best choice for me, my body, and my family. I have struggled all my adult life with my weight and now I AM IN CONTROL....um, sort of. Mostly my band is in control and just lets me shoot off my mouth. I am always polite, no matter how rude people are. I just give the appropriate happy little answer and I walk off with my slim sexy hips and my fancy new waistline and I smile. This is not about your mother-in-law or your mom or your dad, or your best friend or your dog. This is about YOU. This is about a thinner, healthier, longer living YOU. Who cares what other people think? Who cares what they say when we are not around? Who cares?! We were all banded because we were not happy with who or what we had become or where we were headed. We need to hold our heads high and not be ashamed! We made a smart decision to be better! Sacrifices always come with great things. Missing out on a little food here or there is a small sacrifice to feel as great as I do now and to look as good. Keep your chin up and be proud of that little round thing inside of you! It is your new best friend and is helping you down the Great Road of Success! (Ok, I admit, I have had caffeine today, which is not the norm for me.....but, I mean every word I typed!)

I, too, have had similar pain after being stuck.....days and days. I think it is normal. Try a heating pad on your chest for a bit off and on for a few days and see if that helps. It seems to help me. But, if you are still concerned, I would definitely have your doctor check it out a little more in depth. You know your body better than anyone and know if something is definitely not right.

I would give it a rest and not do anything else until morning. You probably have some swelling going on may need to let it all rest until tomorrow. I would then start with liquids, then to mushies, and then back to normal. If you still have trouble in a couple of days, call your doc.

Some doctors wait to give you your first fill until 6 0r even 8 weeks. It depends on the doc. Also, if you are losing and have good restriction, he/she may opt to wait a bit longer as well. It all really depends on you and your doctor. You will find that everyone is going to be different. I have learned in this to never be surprised by anything. I never surprised if I get a fill and never surprised if I don't. I know that is not much help but it is best to be very very flexible when it comes to your band. Nothing seems to ever happen when you think it will and always seems to happen when you don't think it will.

That is a hard one. You and your husband should decide this one. Talk about it, pray about it, then decide. My husband recently lost his job to economic cutbacks as well. We have started doing contract work for people such as painting, wallpapering, etc. He is receiving unemployment so that helps out too. At this point, we are actually making more money than we were before he lost his job. God provides!

There are people who abuse themselves and their band and that is why they have trouble. You must follow the rules. BUT, there are those who have trouble that is beyond their control. They may do everything right and still end up in the band failure category through no fault of their own. Sometimes things just go wrong and our body decides it does not want to play well with the band. Those people cannot be blamed for the need to revise. We cannot ever become so narrow minded that we begin to assume everyone does something wrong that has to have their band removed. Complications DO happen. That is why they are called complications.

I agree with being a bit nervous about having a doctor band me that does not believe banding is the best option for you. I would consult my PCP and even get some input from any other doctors you have as well. Mine all agreed that the lapband was the best option for me. Any surgery runs the risk of complications. Some are higher and some are lower. You could have a surgery with a 1% complication rate and you could fall into that 1% OR you could have a surgery that has a 40% complication rate and never have a problem. Again, as many have stated, I believe you need to do what is right for YOU. I have been banded for six months now and am over my 50% mark and nearing my 60% mark. Some have been banded this long and are still at their 10% mark and having issues. Again, it depends on each person. You may not like the band. Your band may not like you. You may have trouble with fills or other more severe complications as listed above. You may not want to pay for fills or be at the doctor each month for a fill or not like the needle that goes with each fill. OR, the opposite could be true of all these and your weight could fall off and you could be just fine. An additional note, the number of complications are going up because more people are being banded. Ultimately, YOU decide what is best for YOU. I love my band, that does not mean I don't ever have issues. I just got a fill and am trying to wade through the post-fill problems that I have each month. My stomach is very sensitive to fills. HOWEVER, I am losing weight and continue to do so and, AT THIS POINT IN MY JOURNEY, I would not trade my band in for anything.

8cc in a 10cc band at six months doesn't allow for very much growing room....well, but I guess that you will only need small fills down the road.

I have had problems similar to that. It sounds to my like you have developed a bit of inflammation for some reason. I would try to take it easy and lean towards liquids for a few days and see if that helps. If not, you may want to check with your doctor. My body is super sensitive to fills and to anything that gets even remotely stuck.

Not low at all. I have the same size band you do. I only had 2cc at my first fill and ended up in the ER that night so swollen that I could not even swallow my own saliva. Trust me, you want a conservative doctor. You don't want to be miserable right off the bat. Give it time and you will come along just fine.

Rice and dry chicken are bad for me as well as standard bread. I can also not eat french fries or chips. I can eat any veggie or fruit in any form or fashion with no trouble at all. I had one good pizza experience and one bad. I don't do pasta because I tend not to chew it well. Since I have not learned my lesson on that one yet I have grounded myself from it. :thumbup: Again, like they said above, it is all going to vary person to person. You will really just have to wait and find out on some of it as you go along. Trial and error sort of thing.

I agree with the two previous posters. You want to keep that full feeling as long as possible. I have noticed that I lose more weight when I do not drink with my food. It takes some getting used to because we have drank with our meals all our lives but it works once you get the hang of it. If I am out to eat, I usually only order Water (which I don't usually drink) and/or decaf coffee (which I sometimes need to get my band loosened up - mine can be very fickle at times). The only thing I flat avoid is soda. I NEVER order one for me. I have had a small sip of my husband's or my son's but never more than just a tiny one. I made the mistake of taking a drink of one while I was eating once and thought I would die. I seriously thought my pouch would burst and I would die right there. I have never had such horrible pain with the band except that one time. I think it was a combination of the carbonation from the drink (regular gulp - not a sip) and the fact that I was nearing full in my pouch. HUGE mistake that I will never make again. I will still have a tiny sip of soda here or there but only on an empty pouch and never a full gulp.

Sounds like gas pains or your gall bladder.