vegasgirl44

After my last post, I decided to get back on LBT and get motivated. Thinking I had bombed over the holidays, I set out to try the 5 day pouch test diet posted on another thread, and stepped on the scale Tuesday morning and low and behold! I had lost 4 lbs in the last week! I have no idea how it happened and I had to step on and off the scale several times before I believed what I saw. So, I have lost about 9 lbs since Thanksgiving and I guess my band is making me feel fuller than I thought. I did start the pouch test diet for 2 days and then I decided to wait until after New Years, so on Monday, I will be starting it again. I'm just so glad that I came back to LBT and found two extremely useful threads with tons of great information and support on it.

The last time I went to get a fill, I said it sure would be nice to weigh naked, and the assistant said, many people do. So, I dropped my drawers and was sitting in my undies when the doc came in.

Laura, I could have written your posting. I had surgery Aug 14 and my 3rd fill is scheduled for the same day. I lost 7 lbs after the 2nd fill and I'm desperately trying to not gain them back. We can do it! Good luck to everyone!

OMG! I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm starting tomorrow myself. I did water and tea all day today to purge myself (just a slider kind of weekend!) and I'm starting my protein day one tomorrow. Thanks BooBooKitty for starting this. I think it's just what I needed. Mnn2501: It's not a diet! It's a weight loss plan...just like what you are doing right now to have caused you to lose 6 lbs over the holidays. A "diet" is just what you eat. We are ALL on a weight loss plan. I hope your weight loss never stalls and you have to worry about what you are doing wrong and figure out how to help yourself. And play nice for Pete's sake!

I'm so glad I found this thread. I've spent the past 2 days going through all the old posts and I'm up to page 17. I've decided to head to the last post and fill in the others later. I had my second fill the day before Thansgiving. I had told my doc that I was so unhappy because I had not lost in WEEKS after my first fill, even though I did lose about 7 lbs in the 8 weeks after the first fill. The loss was all up-front and then stayed the same for weeks after. Then after the 2nd fill, I thought this was it! For about 10 days after, I enjoyed the wonderful feeling of not just fullness, but downright not wanting to even eat! I lost 7 more lbs pronto! Now it's Christmas, and I think I've put back on almost all of those 7 lbs. Afraid to step on the scale. It's sooooo hard to eat chicken and turkey that I just avoid them altogether and end up eating junk food because I know it won't get stuck. I feel like I'm being so noncompliant right now. I know this is a tool, but I just don't want to feel any hunger at all.....ALL the time! I go for my 3rd fill in late January. The office assistant said that by the 3rd fill, patients can't even swallow their own spit. But for how long? After reading through this thread, I've found moments of hope and despair, realizing that it's individual to each person. I know I must swell after the fill, which to me is my sweet spot that doesn't last. Maybe I need a little fill every 2 weeks to keep losing and not gain. If I had read this thread before surgery, I'm wondering if I would have chosen the band over the bypass? I was self-pay so this route was cheaper and I liked that the complication rate was lower, but I really expected more steady results, even though I realize it's a longer process than the bypass. My brother had the bypass last April and has lost 170 and he looks great. I feel like a failure. I feel embarassed and I'm angry that I feel I may have wasted almost $20,000.

I just logged onto this site after months of being away. I went in for my second fill the day before Thanksgiving. I had complained to the doc that I could eat almost anything in unlimited quantities. I had lost 7 lbs from my first fill to my second. After the second fill, I was ecstatic. For about 10 days, I always felt full even if I didn't eat. I thought, great! this is where I want to be all the time. I kept thinking I was on my way now! Well, it's been about 4 weeks since that second fill and I can eat just about like I ate before that fill. What happened???!!! That's the thing I want to know. I couldn't eat but very little that first 10 days, and now I put more food away these last 2 days that I'm afraid to step on the scale. And today is my birthday and my family is taking me out to eat, and I keep thinking I shouldn't even be able to eat! Does the band stretch? I got stuck about 5 times on turkey and chicken after that second fill. I'm thinking I stretched out the band or something? I know I eat too fast and don't take small bites. I'm not very compliant there. I'm just being honest. I live a fast-paced life and I just don't think I can eat slow, especially after all these years of eating like a fat person. I, too, lost the most of my weight on the preop diet. I don't think I have the strength to do the whole protein shake thing again right now. Yuk! I want to know your thoughts about why we don't feel full after fills. My doc's office assistant told me that most people, by the 3rd fill, can't even swallow their own spit! But for how long and why does it happen that I can eat more as time goes on? Why can't I sustain that feeling for a longer period of time? :hurray:

It's people like you I fear the most in this world.

I know that my doc discourages the use of protein drinks unless he says to use them because liquids go right through the band, and solid protein is the best option. But I do like being able to have one once in a while to get back on track. Maybe that's what I better do. At least for a day or two.

Chicken breast is really tough to eat unless it's in chicken salad or something where it's cut up and lubricated with mayo or something. I can eat bread, but I usually go for the crust if it's like in a restaurant, and I don't do it often. I got stuck on melba toast once. Go figure. I can't wait for my second fill which doesn't happen till Nov 19th! I think I'm going to have to go back to basics in order to survive until then. Lord help me!

You are ****MODERATED EDIT due to personal insult

Stace, I haven't been on the board for a few weeks, and tonight I decide to get on and your message is the first thing I see. I was drawn to your post immediately. I can almost completely relate to what you are going through. Except I have had my first fill, where my doctor said he filled me up about 25% full. I was nauseous that first day, and then after a couple of days, I was able to eat almost back to the way I did before the band. I guess I'm doing ok in that I've lost 40 lbs total, but just today, I've had too many calories, and I can eat and eat if I let myself. I'm surviving on 25% band and 75% willpower right now. So, to answer your post, (or not), I don't know how you can tell if the pouch stretches. I think I would be more worried if I was stretching it AFTER being completely filled. I am so curious to hear from some people who have found success with their fills and give me some encouragement as to when I can expect to feel full. When I saw my doc for my first fill, he asked me was I measuring my portions....uh, no. Was I exercising...uh, no. But I'm not snacking. I just want to feel some dang restriction and don't go back to the doc till November 19th. I can't believe you haven't had a fill yet. I know that some of my crazy eating days have been spurred on by hormones, but today, I just went crazy for no reason. I can eat just about everything in large quantities. I think the thing we need to remember is that protein fills us up sooner whether we have been banded or not, so I think we both need to eat pure solid protein first and foremost. I know that after eating chicken breast, I am full very fast. My doctor also recommends HALF cup serviings...not the cup and a half that you mentioned. And that is hard also. I feel for you because I know where you are coming from. I wish you luck and look forward to other responses. Bonnie

I had my first fill last Wed. He numbed the area with a tiny shot of novacaine....did not hurt, and then the big needle. He said he filled my band 25%. I felt nauseous the first day, and on liquids. I feel a little of a tight feeling all around the area, but I can still pretty much eat anything. I have problem with chicken breast. He did get mad at me because I don't measure real well, and I have not been exercising much. He says, "do you want to have success 5 years down the road?" And I'm thinking, if he only knew how fast I still eat. LOL! I just can't seem to slow down, and I have problems not drinking when I eat. But I'm losing steadily, and eating less, I guess, so I can't complain.

Are you kidding me? LOL! My appetite completely returned to normal weeks ago, although I do feel like I fill up faster, and I think that is only due to my stomach having shrunk from all the preop and postop weeks of eating little. Plus chicken is hard to eat. However, I would think that most docs would require 6 weeks postop healing, not for the stitches, but for the inside. The stomach has to have time to heal and form around the band. So yes, I'm flying solo on this....25% restriction from pure band, and 75% from sheer willpower. Trust me...I would love to eat chocolate cake and garlic fries from Red Robin and a multitude of other naughties, but I try to refrain till I start getting fills.

Wow! I would think that many people get hungry 3 hours after a meal. It's just about time for the next meal. That's amazing that you are getting filled so soon after surgery. Did he give you guidelines about what to eat for the next day or so?

I've gotten stuck about 4 times since my surgery. All on chicken breast. I know it's because I need to take smaller bites and chew. It is NOT a good feeling. I go to the sink and hover bent over it as saliva builds in my mouth, just like the other poster said like when you are getting ready to throw up. The food is stuck right in the middle of my esophagus and I keep swallowing (instinctively) to try to make it go down. I have never had it come back up and I do NOT want to vomit it back up. Trust me, after that happens to you and you experience the agony, you don't want to eat that item again. Then it's like childbirth...you forget the pain, and go right back at it another day, hoping it won't happen again. I usually just end up making chicken salad out of it. I haven't even tried bread yet. Cornbread is good to go.

yes, that's the book. it really has a lot of information about the entire journey. great book.

Yeah, it's hard for me, too. It's no fun to go out to eat anymore. One of the reasons I love going out is for the iced tea, especially at Red Robin...it's great there! That with a bowl of chicken tortilla soup. Yummy! I mean, it's like I have to do either one or the other. Eat or drink iced tea. Boohoo!

Me too....the last time I lost a ton of weight, I went from DD to C, so I think I looked good. HOWEVER, if they start hanging, as I'm sure they will since I'm heading into my 50s in a coupla years here, I will most certainly be getting it done if I can afford it. Right along with a tummy tuck! My boobs are my girls! It's all I got! I'm single...I need something to haul the guys in! LOL!

I work in psych and can't tell you how many times I see a patient come in who's here for abuse/dependence of alcohol and/or drugs, and guess what!?? They've had gastric surgery in general. Because many people who have addictions of ANY kind are more prone to substituting one thing for another....you miss food, you start smoking, drinking, gambling, etc.... I know that is one reason for sure. Another thing I read is in a book called Losing Weight with the Adj Gastric Band, (I think that's the name...excellent book), and in there, it states about 6 qualities in a person that have indicated success with the band. Offhand, I can't name them all, but being female is one, having overcome some tragedy in life such as divorce or death of a loved one and surviving is two, etc...From what I can remember, many qualities of the typical driven, OCD woman...well, that puts it harshly and I certainly don't mean that, but it described me to a T. So, I'm running with it. But check out the book. It's excellent!

DON'T DO IT! About 10 days out, I lifted a 35 lb cat litter off the Target shelf, didn't feel anything immediately, but the following day or so, I felt like I had had surgery all over again! It took me a WEEK extra to recover from that. The doc said I had probably pulled those muscles where the port is sewn into. We really don't realize how much we use our abdominal muscles. We take them for granted, big time! Be careful!

Have you seen the recent blog attributed to Bill Cosby? I'd vote for HIM if that was his platform. Jack, you are so right about Cosby! I like him because he just puts it out there like it really is and suggests the way things should be. I haven't read the blog, (although I will) but I remember visiting my mother several months back and her reading a speech he did and thinking now THAT was something I could sink my teeth into. I'm really liking this thread....learning a lot, actually.

For me, I might just go in the booth and spin around and tap my finger on screen and leave. I'm with you on this one. There are things about both of them that I don't like, so it's down to which of two evils do I go with? There are also points that I agree with on many of these posts. I'm not going to pinpoint parties, but there are people out there who DO want to feed on the American "tit," per se, and don't want to work. But I believe in a woman's right to choose. If it was a MAN'S choice we were talking about here?.....well...there wouldn't even BE an issue! I like the fact that Palin is radical, and I believe in God, but to believe in Creationism and abortion doesn't fit with my values. And honestly, I'm afraid OF Obama and FOR Obama. I don't think I like the people he hangs around with. And there are a lot of whackos out there...white supremists who would love to take him out. But then, with McCain, unless he's got age longevity like Reagan, we might just have a woman for President. Then what in heck would all those stout Republicans do? And just for the record, I'm a Democrat. But I will vote with the person who I believe closest resembles my values. Hard job!

Peg, you know, I don't think I've slimed yet, but I've gotten stuck a few times, and it's all been on chicken, and once on brisket. I get that feeling that it's not going down and then my esophagus and throat are in a battle to see where it's gonna go. I have to stand over the sink and lean over and I keep swallowing out of natural reflex to try to make it go down and some mild saliva comes up till the piece finally goes down. I don't think I've experienced a true slime or PB yet. I'm afraid, because the stuck feeling is bad enough to me!

I would say I don't all excited thinking about them, to be quite honest with you. My BRAIN may anticipate it at first, but then I start thinking...and I think I crave sweets more. I think it all has to do with needing more flavor and breads just don't cut it. I think about a really flavorful cup of Soup...now THAT I like. Right now, I'm thinking about a Coke....a real one, and I sure could down one of those. So, I think you may have something there about the carbs and breads. They are just fillers and that is one thing we really don't want right now. We have been conditioned to want them, but flavor is much more appealing right now, even with little restriction.

Yes, you will. Just wait another week or so and you should be ok. One thing that helped me transition to my side was shoving a nice big body pillow under my belly....it kind of holds everything up and keeps it from stretching.