kiz

This hasn't happened to me, but several posters have said that it takes two weeks for their fill to kick in. Maybe that's what has happened to you. Also, once you have a bad pb incident, there's a very good chance that you may have swelling, so it's helpful to go back on liquids for a couple of days to let things settle down. I hope you're feeling better soon.

Anne, do you get your fills under fluoro? Sometimes it's helpful, when your not getting good restriction, for the doctor to see exactly how fast the barium is traveling through your band before he gives you a fill, and then afterward to see if it's enough to slow the food down enough to give you the feeling of satiety.

The swelling was keeping you from eating very much after the surgery. It lasts longer for some than others. It wasn't until about week three or four that I could eat more than 1/2 cup of food. At my four week check up, I talked to the NP about that, and she wanted me to be sure and keep my meals under one cup, and to change my snack from something low cal/low fat to high protein. So, I had three meals/day under one cup each, and a 1/2 half cup snack (tuna, Greek yogurt, etc). Your pouch should hold about 4 oz (volume), but when you don't have good restriction the food can pass through the band quickly. You should talk to your doctor about what s/he wants you to eat and the amount though. Some doctors prefer several smaller meals, for instance.

Hi justjenny, and welcome. I was banded just a couple of days after you. It sounds like you're doing very well. Congratulations on you terrific weight loss! I'm sure you'll find lots of helpful information here. I hope you find some shake recipes that you enjoy.

Hi, trish, and welcome. There's no set amount of fills or fill level to get you to the right restriction. It depends on your doctor, how much saline he puts in each time and your body's reaction to the fill level. My first fill was under fluoro at six weeks (I think it was 4.2 cc). I went in two weeks later for an in office fill, and I think it was around 1.9 cc. Two weeks later, the restriction I was feeling started to wear off again, so I asked for another fill under fluoro. They took an x-ray before they did the fill, and the barium went down in a swoosh, so it was obvious I could use another fill. That one lasted a month, got another, month later got another, and had another one two or three weeks later. This last fill took me to 8.4 cc in a 9 cc band, and it's going strong at almost a month. This seems to be the one that's going to stick for awhile. I have great restriction, but I'm still able to eat all types of foods w/o issues and stay full a good four hours (sometimes less and sometimes more).

Oh my gosh, I could shout it from the rooftops - YES, I would do it again in a heartbeat!! I know some people have problems, and I'm very sorry for that, but I've been very fortunate, and this band has been a miracle tool for me. I was at our lap band support group meeting the other night, and a pre-bander asked the group if anyone had regrets. There were brand new banders to people who long ago reached their goal and had been banded for years. Not a single person regretted getting the band, and I would say everyone felt quite the opposite. I just can't imagine lugging around the 50 lbs I've already lost ever again.

oooh, that was low, tapshoes. But I can't stay mad at you, especially while I'm holding this beeeutiful trophy.

They used to say the early bird gets the worm, tapshoes, but it's just not true. I am the WINNER!

I have the Realize Band (my doctor lets us decide which he implants). I've been very happy with my band, thrilled in fact. I did chose the RB for various reasons (the port, the way the port is anchored, the width of the band, etc). With that being said, I could also make an argument for the Lap Band just as easily (the RB just tipped to be my pick, but it wasn't cut and dry). Both are wonderful tools, and I wouldn't be disappointed with either one. I would want to know why the surgeon didn't follow my wishes though, but you're going to love the band either way.

Darn it, TQUAD, stop muddying up the water with facts. We all live in a fantasy world now. Ebony, I loved your post!!

:thumbup: > :crying:

I'm taking a trip out of the country soon as well, and I talked to the NP about it. She said that I might want to consider having 0.2cc removed, if I feel like I have a lot of restriction. I've had my current fill for a few weeks, and I haven't had any issues with eating solid foods, so I'm not going to have any taken out. By the time I leave in a couple of weeks, if history repeats itself, I'll be even looser. If I start to have problems with foods getting stuck, I'll go in. Like you, my main concern is getting a stomach virus, so I'm going to ask for a prescription stomach med to take with me. We've been to the country previously, so I know the food is safe, and there's good medical care (needed it once :thumbup:), but I'm not sure if they can handle lap bands.

Well, if that's the case, Beth, it's obviously a scam perpetrated by Angels in Waiting and Dr. Phil. :thumbup:

Thanks for writing the recap, TQUAD. I just saw a piece online, and this dollar figure popped out.. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508936,00.html

Good luck with your surgery. Are you spending the night? I had day surgery, and was home by the afternoon. Try not to worry too much. I'm glad you're doing well on the liver-shrink diet. Let us know how you're doing.

Welcome to LBT. I know it can be frustrating when you're not getting good lasting restriction, but your doctor is conservative with fills, and from some studies, that's a good thing as far as having less likelihood of band complications. Can you ask for a fill under fluoro to see the rate of restriction BEFORE your fill? If your doctor sees that your barium swallow is going straight through, maybe he'd be willing to give you a little more saline the next time. Sooner or later, though, he will get you to good restriction, so try not to get too discouraged (easier said than done, I know). Plus, a 28 lb loss since October is so much better than the alternative. I know I would have ended up gaining weight over the holidays had I not had my band.

Hi Suzanne, and welcome to LBT. Happy 50th, in advance!! The bread thing is so individual (actually, it's that way with all the questionable foods). I'm at almost max fill in my band, and I can eat bread when I want it. I mostly stay away from doughy white rolls, because I don't want to take up space with non-nourishing food, but I can definitely still eat it, if I want to. I have no trouble with whole wheat bread either. I do take it slow, and take small bites and chew well, but that really works for me, because it stretches out my meal. Many people do have problems with bread, and unfortunately, it's one of those things you don't know ahead of time. I definitely can't take a big bite of bread and expect it to sit comfortably in my pouch.

If you wear glasses and want them in recovery, bring a hard case, so they don't get crushed. I wore roomy sweats and a t-shirt in, and put them back on to leave (day surgery for me). I also wore slip-on shoes. I left rings and watch at home. Since I was only there for the day and didn't have far to travel, I didn't need anything else.

That's a good question, losingjusme. I think the older sister, Mandi, knew the best they could do was a tie, giving the black team the vote, and she was so concerned that her sister would be kicked out, she fell on the sword for her. I didn't watch the show from the beginning, so I could be wrong, but it seems the black team would have kept the old black team members (Mandi & Aubry) and gone for an original blue team member's ouster. (nevermind..I just read Saundra's post ahead of mine, and see that I'm off base) As far as Jillian, if she would have flipped out on me like that, we would have come to blows. Did the woman swallow a lemon or something? I've never seen someone with such a sour expression all the time. Bob, on the other hand, would cause me to hurl with all of his boo hooing. I don't need a hand-holder, but I won't accept being talked down to either, and that's the attitude I see from Jillian.

They can due a dye test under fluoro to determine where the leak is coming from. I hope they can get you in right away, because I know, I'd be freaking out.

Hi Lisa, and welcome to LBT. My doctor doesn't prefer one band over the other, and let me make the choice. I've been very pleased my Realize Band, and I'm sure I would have been just as happy with a Lap Band. A few tipping points for me was the port design, the way it's anchored, and I liked the info I read about the band itself. Hopefully, your surgeon's office will have the bands available for you to compare, if s/he uses both. That helped me a lot too. A new RB is available now, but I'm not sure how many doctors are using it yet. It's the Realize C. I hope you're able to get a lot of your questions answered when you go to your seminar. Good luck!

Sorry to hear that, Tad. From everything I've read, if there's a leak, it's almost always at the port, which can be replaced w/o too much trouble. It can be the band, but it's unusual. Have they located the leak yet?

Be very very careful not to irritate the band further. Since you could swallow at the office, this could be swelling. I don't have far to drive to get back to my doctor's office, so I would go back in and get a tiny bit removed. You're four hours away, and that has to be a difficult trip. Given that, I would give it one day, as long as you are able to get your Water down, even if in tiny sips. By tomorrow, if you're still having this problem, I would go back. I'm really sorry you're going through this, especially given the distance between you and your doctor. If you completely close up, get back there ASAP. I would also call the doctor's office and ask for their advice. I also wanted to add that my second to last fill, my doctor thought it was a pretty big fill, because I'm getting close to the max. He wanted me to stay on liquids for three days and soft foods for three days, to give things time to settle down (my doctor usually says two days each). If you have a similar procedure, you might want to add an extra day to each. If we can't add back solid Protein after two weeks, we're instructed to come in for a slight unfill.

Many will play, but only ONE will win. ONE = ME = THE WINNER

I remember my Weight Watcher's years, and the ugly truth that you can't run from the sad fact that the calories in do catch up, and sometimes not until several days after the pig fest. I think next week some of those lucky losers on the black team will pay the price on the scales, or maybe it'll just rev up their metabolism, and they'll continue to dominate.