2muchfun

Why have you not gone back for more fills? Fills and aftercare are essential if you're going to succeed? Have you consulted your nutritionist? As long as it's a bariatric nut you could be getting some great advice as to why you're still hungry? And, do you know if this is hunger or head hunger(cravings)? I posted a study a few months ago regarding why some patients fail with the band. The number one reason was patients not following up with their doctors after surgery. 3 CCs is not a lot of saline although some patients find satiety/restriction with just this amount or even less. But, it's not the norm.

Post surgery, most of us had no saline or very little saline injected into our bands so the opening(stoma) is wide open. The period of time between surgery and getting the right adjustment is called Bandster Hell. I think it's because we're so anxious to get our journey on it's way we feel famished all the time. Overwhelming hunger until we get the fill that gives us enough restriction/satiety to not be hungry for several hours. Frustration, hunger, anger, disappointment are all manifested from this period. It doesn't happen to everyone, but I'd say Bandster Hell happens to most?

The silver lining is if you borrowed money from these folks, they won't hit you up for a payback ;op

Is questioning yourself normal? Oh yes! The same question is asked daily. Mostly it's the fear of failure since we all failed so many times with Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and so on. It's also the fear of losing your comforter(food). You should be able to eat anything you want, just not as much. Many of us softened our insecurities with food, lots of it or lots of one type(sugar). I feared losing my blankie too. But, once you wake up from surgery that fear has sailed. Don't expect to lose any weight the first 60 days. Some people lose 40 lbs and some lose nothing. There have been some things you may not have been told about. Once you're banded you have a healing period where you may or may not lose weight. It's not a time to worry about it. After that, you may not lose any or much weight till you get enough fills to give you restriction/satiety.

Is your incision still bandaged? Could just be a stitch or the glue giving way? Never hurts to call your surgeon for advice? If the incision isn't bleeding, red or hot to the touch you're probably fine? Why do these things always happen on a Friday night?LOL Makes you want to wait till Monday to call the office but maybe he's got an email or number for emergencies?

You might want to be more specific? There are a couple of books written on the band and they're over 500 pages long. Just make sure you keep hydrated and follow your doctors orders. Don't try to get away with sneaking solid foods till you're cleared by your surgeon. Your stomach has gone through a lot of trauma and the reason for the liquid diet is so that your pouch, stoma and lower stomach aren't muscled around by eating the wrong foods. You may or may not experience constipation or diarrhea. Pain meds stop my digestive tract so I wasn't able to use the pain meds. Don't sweat losing weight till your band is adjusted properly. I MEAN IT lol You may get hungry in your 2nd -4th week. Don't sweat it, it happens to almost everyone. Also, don't get upset if you can't get all your Protein or calories in during the healing period. Just do what you can. Welcome to the other side and look forward to hearing your progress.

karibensea Maybe I'm being a little pissy here but it would be very considerate if you could at least acknowledge you've read our replies? Just a little click on the like button on one of the posts? Otherwise, people may not take you seriously if you come back for more advice?

I sure don't mean or want to be rude, but I was 4 months into my journey before I finally got the fill that gave me some kind of satiety and I only lost 12 lbs that first 4 months. You're only 3.5 months into this and FYI, stalls and plateaus will come and go. I too suffered from hunger till I got the one fill that gave me some satiety for several hours. And then it took 3 more to find the green zone. I too got stuck but I suffered through the episode instead of spitting up. It took me 9 months before I figured out how to eat right but I still have stuck episodes. Had one at lunch today for about 15 minutes. No reason to feel discouraged or disappointed. Losing 41 lbs in 3.5 months is enviable. If you expected this to be a cake walk, now you know better. Your journey will be marked with stalls, plateaus, gains and hopefully more losses. But, it won't be a cake walk. More like a MMA title fight.

I meant to post this yesterday but are there any Survivor watchers here? Watching Tony(a-hole) wolf down that pizza made me feel like a little alien was in my chest and was about to chew it's way out It was hard to follow but I think he was taking one entire slice and folding it 4 ways and shoving it all in his mouth at once. Maybe I'm over-reacting since I can't do that anymore or I don't think I ever could, but it was disgusting and painful to watch. Is it just me? tmf

I wanted to use Snyder too but I could never get the office to return my calls or emails either. After waiting for 6 weeks I went to Dr Frank Chae. When I got home from Chae's office Snyder's office called. I told her I had already scheduled my surgery with a different doctor and she just said OK and hung up. I hear good things about Snyder but his support staff is lame.jmo

^5 you seem to get it! Summers here so take advantage of the good weather and get outdoors for some great exercise.

I've seen it posted here before on several occasions so it may not be the norm but does happen for some.

What is 'with plication'? See below:

What have you been eating and what did you eat that made you feel like you have restriction?

I think it's called an Oxymoron. It's like large shrimp, or army intelligence. Binging responsibly fits that description. Yeah, I've also found that since being banded just a little booze goes a long way. I recall having a shot of tequila with a corona chaser and felt a little woozy. Realized right then that a few more of those and I'd be worshipping the porcelain throne. And then maybe a quick trip to the ER?? My apologies for so many clichés.

My son used to call it Lobster Lake back when it was called Webster lake. He some problems with his Ws. There's a top notch skateboard park there now so I think we should all bring our skateboards (then someone should call a paramedic)

When I had doubts coming up to surgery, and I'd finally gotten over my fear of losing my comforter(food), I thought about the alternatives: Diabetes, aches and painful joints, stroke, heart attack, never seeing my grandkids graduate from high school or even grade school? I could go on, but the chance of you not being successful with the band or any of the other WLS is under 15%. I had a 100% chance of dying early or stroking out and becoming a enormous burden on my wife and family. Weigh(pun intended) your options and I'm sure you'll make the right decision? tmf

The liver reduction part is crucial for many docs and their patients. If the liver is too large, access to your stomach is limited and the danger of nicking your liver is higher. Never want that to happen. So, as GoWalking said, it sucks, but it's necessary. The post op diet is to allow your stomach to heal and adjust to it's new accoutrement. Also very necessary. And, most people don't struggle too much the first 2 weeks post op but it can be annoying thereafter. tmf

No reason to be nervous. It's a simple process. Just like a pinch from a toddler and it's over. Maybe even less.

How do you feel the band? What does that mean?

have you been back to see your surgeon? This sounds like it could be a dilated pouch or esophagus. Nothing to mess around with.

I had no other choice. It was eat slower or get stuck more often. The pain and discomfort was enough to make me pay attention to how fast and how big I ate You're probably swollen from eating too much, too big and too fast. Go back to liquids for 24 hours and give your esophagus and pouch a chance to heal. Until then the stoma is too small to get a lot of solid food through.

My shortest span was 3 weeks.

You could have stretched the port stitching to your abs. It will probably heal soon. Just don't expose it to being stretched. I have this counter in my office that I've leaned up against dozens of times and caught my port each time. It's a sharp pain but it goes away. You'd think I'd learn but noooooo. Re: being hungry. Yep, you've already read all the comments to newly banded patients and know what to expect and it goes without saying how much it sucks. Just try to eat healthy foods till you get the fill that gives you enough satiety.

I've had them and had no problem but I had to pay very close attention and chew more. I sometimes take spaghetti squash seeds and clean them up, lightly salt them and bake them for an hour at 180 degrees in the oven. About the same as pumpkin seeds.