DaChanginQueen

Sounds like you are dehydrated also...you said you felt fine 2-3 wks after and then started feeling bad..Are you sure you stayed hydrated enough in the beginning? Being dehydrated even a little bit can make you feel like major crap. Try pushing the water as much as possible till you get to see your Dr and see if you feel a little better.. I would hate to see you go through getting the band removed before making sure your are properly hydrated. If you are extremely dedhydrated you may even need to be hospitalized with IV fluids till you feel better. Good luck to you with whatever you choose!

I was banded 5/6/09 and have had 4 fills...My Dr is very agressive with fills and I am up to 11.4 cc's in a 14 cc band. I know how you feel but I just think some people can tolerate more restriction. I see posts all the time where people have just a few cc's and and have great restriction or have to go for unfills...My experience has been different. Up until my 3rd fill, which brought me up to 10 cc's, I hardly noticed anything. I was beginning to wonder if I was the one person that this band would not work for! At 10 cc's I got good restriction (meaning it slowed me down in that I had to really chew my food well, but never kept me to the 1c or less quantity) and that lasted for 3 wks and then disappeared almost overnite. I went back this past Tuesday (9/15) and got filled to 11.4 cc's. Again I feel restiction now and I am finally noticing that I am satisfied with less food. I think that you are like me and just can tolerate more restriction than most..but be assured that the closer you get to YOU'RE sweet spot the less of a fill you will need to make all the difference. I know sometimes feeling those negative symptoms makes you feel that the band is actually there but the reality is you are getting good restriction if you are losing 1-2lbs a week, which you are. Also you should feel satisfied for 3-4hrs after a meal. You have lost 29lbs in 15wks, that is an average of 1.93lbs per wk. You are right on track! I just wanted to encourage you to be patient for just a bit longer..You WILL get to good restriction and now that you are at 75% capacity, it should only take the slightest of fills to make a difference.

Hi, I would highly recommend Dr Tiffany Jessee. She has offices in Largo where I go and also in Tampa. Here is a link to her website. Lap Band Surgery Florida | Bariatric Surgeon | Dr. Tiffany Jessee Check it out and see what you think...I think she is the best!

I have the APL 14cc band. I had surgery 5/6/09...had my first fill of 6.6 cc's on 6/16/09 with no noticable restriction. Had my second fill on 7/20/09 up to 8.4..had a bit of restriction for a week or two...Then I had my 3rd fill 8/10/09 with a total of 10cc's and I think now I will have some results. I was on liquids yesterday and feeling full ...started mushies today and definately have to chew and eat alot slower..got full on 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and even got a bit stuck on the first bite. I'm very glad my Dr is so agressive with fills...getting to proper restriction quicker makes more sense then getting frustrated and losing motivation.

When you get close to you're 'sweet spot' even the slightest adjustment can make a big difference. You may only need a fraction of a cc unfill to correct the problem and that should not affect you're weight loss. Good luck!

I have the APL 14cc band...I recently got my 1st fill and now have 6.6cc's...I was expecting to have serious restriction but I do not...I can still eat more than the recommended 1/2 to 1 cup of food...the only way I know SOMETHING has changed is that I had my 1st "stuck" episode because I did not chew well enough. It lasts about a min or 2 and then passes..I expect the tighter I get ..if I don't chew enough it will have to come up but at this point it does pass. It does seem that I stay full longer but I would love to get to the point that less than a cup of food satisfies.

Try the Nectar by Syntrax...they have alot of flavors and you can order samples to see which you prefer...alot of them are more like juice than the milky type shake. They mix completely with just a stir so no blender needed..The lemonade one is so good I could not tell I was drinking protein!

RestlessMonkey, Thee best explanation I've heard yet!

I have the APLarge (14cc) band. My first and only fill so far I have 6.6cc's...I don't notice alot of restriction but I have noticed that if I don't chew well, some things get stuck for like a minute and then it passes.

From surgery day till my 1st post-op appt I lost 13lbs..from then until my 1st Fill appt (4 wks later) I lost another 8lbs...so 21lbs from surgery till 1st fill. (about 7 wks).

Great idea!!!

Anytime anything out of the norm happens..especially this drastic..it's definately time to get checked out by you're Dr. The longer you wait the worse the outcome usually. Good luck and keep us posted!

APS is AP standard and holds 10cc APL is AP large and holds 14cc.

I was banded 5/6/09 with a 14cc band. My Dr is very aggessive with fills and routinely fills halfway the first fill...so that means I will be getting 7cc! She said that only about 1% of people come back to have some unfilled. She believes that waiting months to getting to good restriction is not nessessary and actually discourages people. I dunno we'll see how it works out.

If you are on full liquids you should be able to have protein shakes...getting enough protein is important. During my full liquid stage my Dr definately wanted me drinking my protein shakes and taking chewable vitamins.

Just found this thread...My date is 5/6/09!!!!

There are alot of bariatric vitamins online...I called and requested samples of several of them. I liked bariatric fusion www.bariatricfusion.com and bariatric advantage vita-band www.bariatricadvantage.com and there are lots of others. Those are the ones I liked the best. Just google bariatric vitamins and call some of the companys or email them and they will send you samples. I think anything chewable or mixable would be just fine.

I'm going shopping later today for everything I will need for the liquid and mushie stage of post-op diet. My surgery is Wednesday 5/6!! I need ideas of what to get. Any and all ideas appreciated. Thanx!! ~Joanie

Raelita, I will and good luck to you on Tuesday..I'm nervous too but more excited right now...talk to me on Wednesday morning and I may say something different..lol

Hello wannabe, How exciting to find someone having surgery at the same time. I have all the things you have on hand. I made my own broth and froze it in little containers. I think I have every flavor of CL they make..lol I've heard the Pro Performance proteins are good. I bought EAS choc and vanilla and doctor them up. They are good and inexpensive. Good luck to you also on Tuesday Let's compare notes afterward.

Carmen, Thanx for the ideas...I have GOT to try the cheesecake one..OMG!

Thanx for responding! I don't know why I didn't think of yogurt...must be the lack of carbs of late..lol I dreaded the pre-op diet also..however I was allowed a small piece of grilled chicken/fish (the size of a deck of cards) and a green veggie. This was the only thing that made it tolerable. From what I've read if you restrict the carbs you will get the liver shinkage the Drs want. If you absolutely must cheat...and there's no stopping you...make it a protein cheat..lol (disclaimer: Of course NO cheating is ideal...but we are only human) Best of luck to you!

Thanx for the ideas...I only have to be on clear liquids the first day and then full liquids for 2 wks. Seems every Dr is different..that's so weird. I know I will feel better in 2wks but I still wanna pick up as much as I can now..at least things that are not parishable. I've thought of beans and such that I can easily mush but I guess there's just not much to choose from in the early days...lol BTW Happy Anniversary! The day b4 5/5 is my B-day...I get to have a B-day protein shake...YIPPEE!! lol

I have a BMI of 63 and I am getting Lap-band. I've read about lots of LARGE people losing 100+ lbs and even a few over 200+. I think the lap-band is what you make it. It's a tool and there is no reason you can't lose all the weight you want with it. Don't let him discourage you...if you are motivated to stick to the band rules there is no limit to you're success.

Just a thought, I need knee surgery also and my Dr told me that any surgery after the lap-band requires it to be deflated for the surgery...so assuming you have had a fill before surgery time...it would probably have to be taken out.