2muchfun

I've spoke here many times of how I lost 12 lbs the first month and then didn't lose any more weight until fill #4, 4 months after surgery. I'm on fill #6 now and I'm in the green zone. No reason to panic or be discouraged. it will come as soon as you feel some restriction. My favorite quote for newbies and folks in bandster hell: "It's just another diet till you get restriction" tmf

What kind of food is stuck? Overeating shouldn't cause you to be stuck. Not chewing adequately, large bites, dry chicken, beef are all foods that can get stuck for a while. tmf

I ate when I was in bandster hell. The band kept me from eating as much as before and I concentrated on healthy foods. I didn't gain or lose but I didn't suffer either. tmf

Be sure to check out support groups in your area while at the seminar. You can meet people in person who have gone through this and those that are just starting. tmf

Honk, LOL, I would go to target to pick up some veggies and stop off at the taco bell(inside the store) and eat 2 tacos before going home to make dinner. tmf

FYI-You can cheat the band and eat around it. It's not a foolproof tool. Ask your friends why they failed and ask them to be honest. It could be many reasons such as reflux, gerd, band too tight? We have many people who post here who have lost very little but I haven't seen any who have doubled? The only way that can happen is if she never got a fill or the fill didn't produce restriction and she continued with their bad eating habits. If you are an addictive person and feel you can't stop yourself from eating an entire cake in an evening, you should reconsider as you may not be ready for this? Don't mean to be cruel, just blunt. If you are not ready to be healthy, consider weight watchers? tmf

It's too much to expect as well as nearly impossible. You have to use 3500 calories more than you consume to lose 1 lb. If you burn 2000 calories a day and consume 1300 calories a day you have burned or used 700 more than you took in. 700 X 30 days= 21000 calories burned in a month. 21000/3500= 6 lbs lost. Of course if you consume fewer calories and exercise more those figures can change but not by much. The weight we all lost in the first 6 weeks is mostly Water retained by our bodies. It's still less weight and it's still a good thing. tmf

Byrd, if you have restriction you would know it so maybe not? If you still feel like you need a fill then you don't have enough restriction? For example, I know I don't need one as it's hard enough just eating an apple, tuna fish, deli turkey, salad, most any meat. tmf

Everyone is different. How much do you exercise? How hard do you exercise? What do you eat? Are you eating around your band? If you have no restriction the band isn't doing much for you I assume? tmf

Someone else once said, "It's just a diet until you have restriction". Then it's still somewhat of a diet. You just need to eat nutritious foods after restriction to lose weight. You may have to be aggressive with your doc if this fill did nothing. Call them and tell them you need another. 9 months is too long for only 30 lbs. tmf

I had my 6th fill 10 days ago. I started feeling restriction with fill 4 but 5 and 6 really did it for me. I'm only out about 6 months from surgery. Many of us have to tweak the band a little. In fact, I may have to untweak mine by .2 ccs if I can't find the foods that won't get stuck. tmf

I've never understood the 30 minutes before you eat rule? Why? The Water passes through immediately and should cause no problem right? Regarding the sipping during eating, I think we all have so much time to lose so much weight that experimenting with just sipping may help some people who get stuck easily. If it results in all food being passed through the stoma and no satiety I wouldn't continue the practice. I did read somewhere that the esophogus massages the food into our stomach and of course the pouch would be doing the same. There's some indications that these palpatations are condusive to sending a message to the brain that the stomach is satisfied. One would think that for those people we all know of who are "naturally" thin, they may need fewer palpatations to reach that satiety level than most bandsters. tmf

My recovery was easy and no problems. A fill is when the Dr injects your port with a saline solution to add Fluid to your band causing it to squeeze your stomach. Go to youtube.com and search for lapband fils. There is a gaggle of videos on fills, surgeries etc. tmf

Skyvic is right. I forgot about stretching the pouch. So often I get the first 3 bites stuck for a few minutes and I remember thinking this one time that I'd just take a big swig of Water to wash it down. Ouch and ewww! Pain and a mess on the floor before I could make it to the sink. Won't do that again. tmf

My doc says not to eat a big lunch before coming in and eat about 3-4 hours before my appt. So far, so good. tmf

Running scared, That made no sense. If you are allowed to drink then as you say, the sensation isn't triggered? I don't get it? Or, your surgeon says that in 45 seconds the food has moved far enough that liquids won't defeat the purpose?

Read Jean McMillans article on the right side of this page under "Recent magazine articles". Here it is: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/how-to-eat-like-a-bandster-r58 You may need to find those foods that are nutritious and satisfying. It can take some time, sometimes months to sort this out. tmf

Could be worse, could be that we can't eat pizza anymore

As you read the many different stories on this forum you will grow to understand that most all have a different experience. So much depends on your weight, age, insurance, family support etc. For me, I knew people who had gastric bypass surgery. I didn't want that much of my body taken away and I was on the low BMI with co-morbids so I decided on the band. I first went to 3 different seminars put on by different doctors. I selected one of the doctors but was unhappy with their communication skills and went with another doctor. It took me nearly a year to get insurance to cover surgery and that's a completely different and very long story. I had to go on a 6 month supervised nutritionist assisted program. I visited with a shrink once. I was required to go to a class where they teach you how to live, eat and survive on the band. Wish I had taken it after surgery though. I didn't have to go on any diet before surgery except liquids the day before. Like all bandsters I was put on a liquid diet after surgery and then pureed foods and then soft foods for the first 30 days after surgery. I've had 6 fills and now feel restriction and weight loss. tmf

"Diets don't work"!!! Just responding to your comment about relatives pressure to do it the old fashioned way. Actually, I dieted quite successfully for about 25 years but I was younger, more athletic and much more active. My knees went about 10 years ago and I started this online company so I sit at a computer 50 hours a week. Gained about 70 lbs and could not diet myself back into health. So for me, diets did work and probably do work for many people but there comes a time when some of us need an extra tool to battle our obsession and I think I've found mine. I read where about 95% of people who go on a diet fail within 2-3 years. That's a very ominous statistic. tmf

Maeg, you're going to need to be more specific. There are 500 page books written on this subject so there's a lot to know and learn. My advice is to lurk around for a few weeks and watch for subjects that interest you. I had my surgery 11/28/11 and I wish I would have paid closer attention to what was going on here on this forum. I highly recommend you read a lot of what Jean McMillan has to offer. Look on the right side of this page under "recent magazien articles". Click on the "View All" button and you can search the archaives. Jean wrote a book about this and she is very knowledgable. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. tmf

OK, I get it now. Apples, eggplant(ick). Never thought of those choices. Live and learn. tmf

Hey, no worries. I was in bandster hell for 4 months and everybody heard about it from me. I whined and was so discouraged. I'm sure stuff like this was posted on this site but I was looking for quick answers to a problem that had no other answer. BTW- Once I got restriction(Late March) I lost 19 lbs and counting. So, be patient. tmf

You need to be thinking of nutrious food options. chips may fill you up but they're a wet blanket if you plan on losing weight. tmf

I just read this again for the 3rd time: "It's just a diet till there's restriction". Until you get that fill that helps you find satiety, you must diet or you won't lose weight. tmf