kiz

I have approx 11cc in my 9cc band. So far, I haven't popped..lol My doctor said he has a few patients that needed this amount of fill to reach restriction, so I suppose I'm not alone. The last fill (0.5cc) I got was a couple of months ago, and he measured my band pressure with a gauge and under fluoro. I have great restriction now. Other than stringy foods like celery, I can eat just about anything. I don't pb or have reflux, and I've had one sliming episode since my last fill. I eat three 1/2 cup meals/day plus a healthy snack, and I feel completely satisfied. Hopefully, you hit the sweet spot at your next fill.

Can you tell if one of the inner sutures has poked through your incision? My incisions were glued on the outside, but the inner layers had dissoluble stitches. One poked through and left a little hole until I trimmed it (after calling the doctor).

I take a Centrum (or store brand) chewable multivitamin for adults, liquid B12, Calcium and liquid Vitamin D drops (only in the winter). I just had my annual blood work completed and everything came back normal.

momster, I'm so sorry you haven't gotten good restriction yet, but I wanted to let you know it took several fills for me to finally get to my sweet spot too. I was banded last September and although I did feel new restriction with each fill, it faded away after two to four weeks, and I'd go back in for another adjustment. I have a 9cc band, and my doctor had to take me up to 11cc before I got the perfect level of restriction that hasn't faded away (he did this under fluoro and measured my band pressure, which I believe he only does with the Realize Band). It took ten months and some big fills in the beginning followed by small adjustments to get me to this level. There's very few foods I have problems eating, I eat 1/2 cup meals 3 times/day plus a healthy snack, and best of all, I'm not hungry between meals. Please try to hang in there with your fills. I still have to measure, because, for whatever reason, I could still eat more than 4oz of food even at this level of restriction. I must have an Iron gut..lol But before, I'd dutifully measure my 1/2 cup serving, and be hungry within two hours. Now, I rarely think about food or hunger between meals. I know I started thinking my band was leaking or that I was going to be the one that the band just didn't work for. I hope you have a doctor who is willing to treat you as an individual because had my doctor not trusted my assessment that I wasn't restricted when almost every other patient was by 7 or 8 cc, I'd be thinking the band or I was a failure. Even under fluoro, my band appeared to be restricting the flow of barium to a slow trickle, but my stomach must be very efficient at pumping food through my band. I've never relied on slider foods either, I try to make every meal count. I just needed more restriction than the majority of banders. Sorry I'm rambling on, but I really hope you and your doctor can get this band to work for you the way it's supposed to.

It's probably just under your largest incision. I wouldn't press around the area just yet. Give it time to heal a little more so that you don't make the area more tender. The NP in my doctor's office showed me the easiest way to feel it. Mine is on my left side, so she had me lay back, then put my left arm behind my head and lift up my head just a bit (like a mini crunch). I could feel my port pretty easily with my right hand.

I'm glad you decided to delurk and post, kcg. I felt much more informed because of this board too. It's a terrific resource. Good luck with your surgery next week!!

It's very normal. For one thing, you might feel restriction for a short period of time after a fill because of swelling around the stoma. Also, as you're losing weight, you're losing the fat pad that built up around your stomach, so your band naturally loosens. Thirdly, there are people (like me) who need a very full band to have long lasting restriction. It took several fills before I had restriction that lasted more than two to four weeks. My last fill was a small .5cc adjustment and that was almost three months ago. I still have as much restriction today as I did right after that fill. I don't anticipate needing any more fills to get to my goal weight.

I hope your stomach is feeling better soon. I'm really glad to hear that you're getting liquids down fine though. I know a lot of banders have said they take pills with no problems, but I understand why you'd be a little hesitant since you're not exactly feeling the greatest.

That does sound pretty aggressive since you already had 4 cc in your band, but percentage wise you're almost at the same spot I was with my first fill with a 9 cc band (mine was 4.5 cc at 6 weeks). Are you supposed to stay on liquids for two days, then soft foods for two days, followed by solids foods? Your doctor may have told you to stay on liquids longer, while some doctors tell their patients to eat as they feel comfortable. Given the way you feel, I would definitely stay on liquids for at least a couple of days (or longer if that's your doctor's orders) to give the swelling a chance to settle down. Don't move to soft foods if you're having trouble with liquids. If you can't get liquids down, call your doctor for a slight unfill. If after a week, you feel like you can't move on to soft foods, call your doctor. By the end of the second week, you should be able to eat solid foods comfortably, but slower and smaller bites than you did in the past. You shouldn't be routinely pb'ing. It takes some people a couple of weeks for their swelling to subside, but the minute you can't get liquids down, it's important to call your doctor because you can become dehydrated.

I've had my band for a year, I have have great restriction, and I measure most of my meals. When I go out to eat, I eyeball a 1/2 cup serving, and move the rest to the side right off the bat. If not, I could still easily overeat. When I stop at my 1/2 cup portion, I'm fully satisfied and stay that way for 4+ hours. If I waited until I had full signals, I would have eaten too much for my pouch. Drinking plenty of Water between meals is also very important. If your doctor has recommended a certain volume of food for meals, and you can get into the habit of measuring and stopping when you finish your serving (no seconds), you might find that you have good satiety between meals. You have to be able to tolerate good solid Proteins and vegetables for sustained satiety though. If you're reaching for slider foods because you're constantly pb'ing on solid meals, you may need a slight unfill. If you're getting hungry even though you're carefully eating good solid meals, you may need a fill.

Dr. Brengman is my doctor, and he's been great. I saw more of him prior to my surgery than afterward, but that was my choice. I really like his NP, and she does a great job with fills too. At minimum, Dr. B wanted me to see him at 4 weeks post op and at six months. I could schedule my monthly to six weeks appts with him or the NP. Every time I scheduled an appointment, they would ask me who I wanted to see. I'm self pay, so I don't know if it's different if you have insurance. I have a low profile port, and his NP never had any problems with my fills...never more than one stick. Actually, all my fills have been quick, easy and one stick. I could also request my fills under fluoro, and because toward the end of my first year, I was still not quite at my sweet spot, the NP ordered a pressure fill for me that Dr. B did under fluoro (they said they only do these with patients with the Realize Band and they measure the actual band pressure). I've always found his staff to be friendly and very professional. I was also impressed to find out that the staff and doctors had all done the two week pre-op diet. (O-2bthin, your first fill will be under fluoro in the Pain Clinic at St. Mary's (terrible name, but the fill didn't hurt a bit). There was a woman who did mine, and I didn't even ask who she was. I'm not sure if she was a doctor or a NP.)

Wow, Linda, that's quite an inspirational introduction! You've made so many positive changes in your life, and I'm so impressed by the company you work for. What a difference between your before and after picture too. Congratulations on all you've achieved, and I wish you continued success!!

240 ml is one cup. (Here's a basic online conversion calculator I like - >:: World Wide Metric ::<)

cborg is right about bandster hell right now. After your first fill you may have varying degrees of restriction from none to too much. Hopefully, you'll get somewhere in the middle, but a lot depends on how much restriction your doctor wants you to have right away, and to how your body reacts to a fill. You may have swelling the first few days up to a couple of weeks. Some doctors like to proceed cautiously, while others will be a little more aggressive in their fills. So, don't get discouraged if you don't feel restriction right away, and be sure to let your doctor know how much your eating and how quickly you're getting hungry between meals.

If you're having trouble with solid protein then your band is too tight. I've read over and over people having trouble with solids, and then falling back to soft foods which don't give lasting satiety and are often high in calories. Then a vicious cycle evolves where there's soft food, quick hunger, soft food, followed by weight gain. That might not be the answer, but after reading your post, that's the first thing I would consider.

bc, that's the PITS. I have a raging cold now (although, I don't think it's worse because of my band, but the wet cough has kicked in, so we'll see), and a cold is no comparison to the flu. I've only had the flu once in my life, and that was enough to make me a believer in the flu shot. I have read several instances where with the H1N1 flu people have experienced vomiting, which makes me even more worried about this particular strain of flu with the band. I wonder if your surgeon could call in something for you for the nausea. I hope you're over the worst of it now and are feeling better very soon!!

Well, I can answer for myself. I was a grazer, so although my meals weren't huge, I ate throughout the day, so I didn't really give myself an opportunity to be ravenously hungry. Now that I have great restriction with my band, hunger doesn't consume my day. With the discipline of three meals plus one healthy snack a day, and the hunger control the band provides, my munching habit is under control. Now, I only get true hunger after approx four hours or more after a meal. Before good restriction, and with trying to stay with the band meal plan, fighting true hunger was a battle, that's for sure. It does get better.

You don't say how long ago you had the unfill, but maybe it's time for another fill. If you're not feeling restriction, and two weeks have passed since your unfill I'd make an appointment for a fill for sure. You may only need .5cc or 1cc to get you to your sweet spot. Often times a small amount makes a big difference when you get close to your sweet spot. I only needed an extra .5cc at my last fill in August to get me from okay restriction to great restriction. I'm glad you're going to start taking time for yourself, you deserve it.

Think of your stomach as an hour glass and the center as the banded area (stoma). The sand in an hour glass should flow through at a slow and steady pace, but if a chunk of sand gets stuck in the middle, it has to either work its way through or come back up. The food you eat should flow in a similar manner. With good restriction your food should not be getting stuck. The flow of food should be reduced to give you a feeling of satiety. The nerves that send your brain the signal that you're full is at the top of your stomach, so that nerve has to be simulated.

My self pay fee included everything except the psych eval. I chose to pay that out of pocket, because I didn't want to have it on my insurance record. The surgeon's office gave me a list of psychologists to chose from, and their fees varied by several hundred dollars. One only charged $100, and if I remember right, some of the others charged as much as $500. Needless to say, I went with the $100 doctor.

I'm so glad they worked for you! When they work, they're worth their weight in gold. What relief.

GM and MP, I'm glad you found the article useful.

I've heard that some doctors don't like to tell their patients how much saline they've put in, because they don't want them to obsess over the numbers, but I've never heard of a doctor that didn't keep track himself.

tpntx, as a mother of two sons, your post brought a lump to my throat. Obviously, you love your mother and are very concerned for her health. I think the best thing you could do is to gather information to present to her, if she's the type of person that would accept it in the loving manner that it was given. You might want to find out who does gastric banding in her area, dates and times for the seminars (surgeon's info session), etc just for her to consider. Or, you might just want to approach the subject cautiosly, and let her know that you'd be glad to do some research for her, if she's interested. I know I had to let the idea of surgery peculate in my head for six months or longer before I took the plunge to go to a seminar. Once I attended, I was excited about the idea, but it totally had to be my decision. I'm very close to my kids, and I know I would not take offense to their concerns for my health, but only you know how your mom may feel about it. Be ready to take her rejection to the idea without getting upset.

It seems most doctors aim to put it on the left side, just as you described, and that's where mine is too, but some prefer the right. Doctors also take into account past surgeries, scar tissue, and the shape & size of your stomach. I asked my surgeon prior to surgery where he would place my port, and he took a look at my abdomen, and said he would go left, a couple of inches below my rib cage (that's where the incision scar is located, and the port is below that). I've read some women have woke up to find their port right on their bra line..ouch.