Elisabethsew

I had fill #2 on Wednesday and am finally feeling some restriction. I have 4.5 cc's in a VG band and would really like to kiss the 3's bye-bye before I go back to the surgeon... that's in 4 weeks so I'll be happy if I can come close.

Yup, it's very normal. As the swelling goes down and the sutures tighten you will have theses symptoms. Take some tylenol and keep active.

Call your MD and go and SEE him to get evaluated. Your symptoms are NOT normal.

Congratulations and I wish you and your family a home filled with love and happiness.

Fair, fat, fertile, forty and female... those are the 5 "F's" that we refer to in the medical profession when it comes to gallbladder disease. Mine departed from my body 4 years ago.

I hear what you're saying and can relate. I simply pulled the underwire out of my current bra and put it on the morning after surgery... no pain at all. Give that a try and see if it works for you.

Happy Anniversary and congratulations on a WONDERFUL weight loss success as well as stopping smoking. I'm only 3 months into being banded and stories like yours are very inspirational. I'm glad you're out of the lurker mode and posting again. I look forward to reading more.

Enjoy a well-deserved weekend off.

Many people use Fitday.com to track their caloric intake. I work full-time and go to school full-time so the answer to your question for me is no, I don't do all the things you mentioned. I don't get in all the water all the time and I don't get in 2 snacks a lot of the time. I got my second fill yesterday and am on a soft diet for today and tomorrow (liquids yesterday). I think I FINALLY have restriction for the FIRST time since having the surgery so now I am not over eating on the required amounts of food. I consider the requirements you listed to be ideal goals and I do try to come as close as possible to meeting them but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't achieve those goals everyday. As you pointed out, life is busy and modifications are inevitable.

It stands for vertical gastrectomy but there is also a VG band (that I have) which stands for vanguard lapband by Inamed. It can get confusing with VG standing for 2 different things.

I don't think there's anything wrong having a shake for a meal but you might not want to do the all liquid "thing." I went in for a second fill yesterday and noticed a diagram on the wall of the exam room. Yellow was unfilled, green was optimal and red was overfilled. I jokingly said to the surgeon, "Take me into the red zone." He replied that people in the red zone GAIN weight because they drink their calories to avoid the pain of solid food. The purpose of the band, he said, is to restrict the amount of healthy food we take in eating a regular diet. The band works best with solids. So, if you have optimal restriction, maybe you just need to plan a week's worth of menus and toss out all the junk food?

Losing motivation is hard to deal with and it always seems to occur with the greatest frequency the closer one gets to goal. Sometimes, what we want the most, getting to goal, is what we fear the most. It's time to start putting yourself first again and set priorities. Focus on the great loss you have achieved and move forward. You already DID it so you KNOW you can take it ALL the way.

Have you tried to swallow the pill? You can't cut the pill or crush it if it's extended release. A "trick" I use is to chew a pretzel until it's pastey and then pop the pill into it just before I swallow. It works everytime!

I hope that theory works with me, Alex. I need half the medication amounts that a "normal" person takes so I sure hope this fill is felt sooner rather than later (or not at all). Your explanation makes a lot of sense. Thank you.

I went in today for a second fill and asked the surgeon why it can take up to 2 weeks for a fill to "kick-in." He told me the real answer is that nobody knows but, based on his experience with doing over 4,000 fills, he speculates the following: As a result of the banding, scar tissue forms. When you add fluid to the band port to decrease the band diameter, the band presses against the scar tissue. It seems to take one to two weeks in SOME people for the scar tissue to stay compressed and THAT is when people start to feel the restriction. For others, restriction is felt right after the fill. It would be interesting to hear the experiences of other surgeons concerning this phenomenon.

Thanks, Kim and Jane! Unfortunately, arthritis does run in my family and my mother has had 2 total knee and 2 total shoulder replacements. I had a bad fall when I was 16 years old landing on my left knee and that's what started my knee problems. The spinal arthritis doesn't give me any pain or problems but I work as an RN and have to do quite a bit of walking so I think the activity keeps the back in check. The orthopedic surgeon told me I was now in "end stage, bone on bone" arthritis in the left knee. Cortisone and hyalgan injections do nothing so I HAVE to lose weight to have the surgery and make the recovery faster. If I have surgery at this weight, the surgeon said the recovery would be very long and I can't be out of work that long. On a positive note, the orthopedist did say that for every pound lost, there is 3 pounds less pressure on weight bearing joints. I think the goal for those of us with physical restrictions is to maintain the function we currently have by doing what we can in terms of exercise that does not produce pain.

My first fill on May 25th did nothing so I'm going back today for fill number two and keeping my fingers crossed that this one FINALLY produces restriction. The first fill was with my surgeon's partner but the one this AM is with the surgeon who did the banding so we'll see what happens. Everyone is doing great... congratulations to you all.

I know what you're referring to, Jack. I wonder if they make them still... AND what the weight max is if they do.

I have to do 2 days of full fluids and 2 days of a soft diet after a fill. I am getting my second one tomorrow. Maybe you could call and advance to a soft diet?

I also have arthritis (spinal and need a total knee replacement). I try to increase the distance I work a little more each week but it's hard some days. The grinding of bone on bone and knee locking making increasing my pace difficult. While others are looking forward to plastic surgery, I'm aiming for a healthy weight to have the total knee replacement. LOL.

Congratulations on the new job!

Go to "USER CP" and edit the info in your profile.

I had a fill 8 weeks post-op and got no restriction. I'm going for the second fill on Wednesday (3 months post-op) and am hoping to feel restriction with that one. While some people do feel restriction with no fills or one fill, most require a few. Hang in there... better days are coming.

Try some slimfast or another prepared drink. Also, tomato soup is filling. If you make it with skim milk, it's a pretty good protein source. Frozen yogurt, sugar-free/fat-free puddings, yogurt and cream soups all work to fill you up as well.

Any pills that are enteric coated or time released or sustained release are NOT crushable. As for me, I take MANY pills a day (heart condition and iron deficiency anemia) and have no problems swallowing them.