ElfiePoo

Fluffy, Your bitterness is overwhelmingly apparent to any who read your posts and if you don't want the advice and help here and you're convinced your band is useless, one has to wonder why you stay. I *ask* because not everyone does know whether they're working their band right and it's not because they're stupid. It's because they might have been misled as to what to expect or look for. .

14cc band. I had my first fill at 4 weeks postop. It took me a year post surgery to figure out what the sweet spot was (not physical restriction) and correct an overfill and get to my sweet spot (cessation of hunger). .

Mattie, I agree with you. I think the ethical thing to do would be for the surgeons to tell the good, the bad and the ugly so that the person can make a more informed decision. Unfortunately, too many are more interested in 'making a buck'. Some just aren't very good at communicating how the band works because they don't really know. Even they think the band works by physically restricting what we eat...which is why some patients are told they should only eat 6 bites or 1/2 cup of food and be 'full' for 4-5 hours. .

Just my .02, but it sounds as if you may need a slight unfill. You should be able to eat your meal in 20-30 minutes. If it takes you longer and you're still getting stuck...yeah probably an unfill. I have 6cc in a 14cc band and am at my sweet spot. I did have 7.5cc but was constantly getting stuck, a sign of too much fill according to my surgeon. Good luck

I thought the same as you and I told my surgeon I wanted all the Fluid out (since it was causing phrenic nerve pain) and we were making plans to do a vertical sleeve. Within 24 hours of all the fluid being taken out, I was ravenously hungry. I was reminded of what I dealt with prior to the band. Apparently, I've had some amount of help from the band since the day of surgery because I didn't notice when that hunger disappeared. A week after the unfill I went back in and they were only able to put 6cc in. Within *minutes* my ravenous hunger disappeared. I'm now a believer. I'm sorry, but I don't believe the band doesn't work for *most* people. I think, perhaps, the correct way of saying it is that the band does not live up to the *expectations* of many people but, yes, there are some it doesn't work for. Why that is, I'm in no position to judge. .

Possibly two reasons. The first being that many of these surgeons don't have a clue how the band works. They're in it for the money. Period. When my surgeon uses the term 'restriction', he means that when the band is working (appetite suppression), I will be content with less. .

No...the band works because it puts pressure on the vagus nerves which tell the stomach to quit producing ghrelin, the hunger hormone. So when we eat, and have reached that sweet spot, what we're getting is appetite suppression that should last about 4 hours or so. You need to change your definition of full from "can't take another bite" to "content and no longer hungry". You may still be *able* to eat the same quantity you could pre-band, but without the driving hunger, you have a greater chance of putting that fork down...and that's what our job is. .

Swirl, The sad truth is that the band does not work for everyone but why do you believe it hasn't worked for you? I think sometimes when people say the band isn't working for them, it's because they are expecting the wrong thing out of the band. I'm not saying that's the case with you, but why do you believe it's not working for you? .

Phrenic nerve pain. Some part of your band is rubbing against your diaphragm which sends a referred pain to your shoulder. Mine has nothing to do with eating and everything to do with the position I'm in...usually reclining but it also does it when I'm sitting in the front passenger seat of the car. I've had it since the day of surgery and no fill. The only solution is to remove it...and that I won't do. .

Happy Saturday...not. It's freakin' snowing again. I am looking out my front window and the snow is coming down so fast and hard that I'm going to qualify it as a blizzard. It's not even the 'right' kind of snow. If it was, I'd be out building Calvin and Hobbes type snowmen. I'm in just that kind of mood. Does anyone else get tired of dealing with weight related stuff. Maybe because I lose weight so slowly. It really gets too be a bit of a drag sometimes when you know you're doing it right and you still only lose 4 pounds in a month. Ok, that was my little whine for awhile. Off to do some Tae Bo. Maybe it will perk me up. .

Leigha: I've just subscribed to your Youtube. Looking forward to more of Sugarbaby. She's my dog 'fix' since my husband doesn't want a dog (never did). .

That has been the hardest part of the journey over the last year. I realized at some point that I literally have to change my lifestyle because it was always centered around food pre-band. Still working on it but it's getting easier. .

One of my favorite places. I'm at my sweet spot (no hunger for 4 hours after a meal) and not overfilled so I can eat pretty much whatever I want...even the biscuits. My son and husband don't like them, so I always tell the waitress to bring just one biscuit because I know what will happen if she sets the basket down. I love their clam chowder, so I'll get a cup of that and eat it first and then just pull some a few vegies and about 3 oz of grilled lobster and shrimp off my husband's plate. Since those platters are enough to feed 3 people, he's hardly starving by sharing with me. .

Alien, How do you like wordpress and do you have the free version? What do you think of it. I've been looking for a blogging program for non-weight related stuff I do. Feel free to e-mail me at melody@dmci.net. Thanks! Melody

I used to do the evening snack thing, but to be honest, it never resolved the issue. After I finished my sugar free Jello, I just wanted another and another. It had nothing to do with hunger and everything to do with bad habits. I find the only thing that helps is to keep my hands busy. So I needlepoint, quilt or scrapbook while watching tv in the evenings. It's working so far. .

My doctor recommends 3 oz of Protein, 1/2 cup vegies and 1/4 cup starch (although the starch is optional) for lunch and dinner. For Breakfast, I do bacon and eggs. My calories come in around 1200 a day. I always weigh and measure. .

My doctor's advice is "eat what you can eat". To go gently while discovering how the new fill changes things. Until I was to the point of getting overfilled, I could eat normally right after a fill. .

Change your expectations? You lost 14 pounds in one week. Fantastic...wonderful...but accept that this was a 'gift'. It's possible after such a loss that you won't see another one for a few weeks. Maybe you will...but don't *expect* it. .

I think this is something we need to keep saying over and over because the message is getting lost or misunderstood. Too many doctor's still talk about 'restriction' as only being able to eat 1/2 cup of food and being satisfied for 4 hours without emphasizing they aren't talking about physical restriction. Too many banders believe they're looking for the band to make them put the fork down and aren't listening at all to whether or not they're hungry. The band's job is to take away the abnormal hunger. Without the hunger driving us, we have a better chance of eating less at meals and not eating 24/7. .

Some people are back on solids within days of surgery so I doubt you've screwed up your band, but you really need to get your head around the idea that the band *does not* take the place of self-control and willpower. All it does, when you get to your sweet spot, is remove the hunger. It will not keep you from eating just because you want to or tell you when to stop eating. By the way, it is the vertical sleeve that is more like the stomach stapling. The only real difference is that now they remove the unused part of the stomach. .

Like Melissande, that was what I was taught to do...eat my portions and push myself away from the table. If I can stay 'full' (defined as not hungry) for about 4 hours then I'm at my sweet spot. If not, I need a fill. I'm at my sweet spot. I eat my portion of 3 oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of vegies and I'm good for 4 hours. For dinner, I'll often add 1/4 cup of starch (rice, potatoes or beans). If I ate whatever I could and until I was full (defined as not able to stuff another thing in my mouth), I'd also eat myself out of house and home. .

It's a learning process. The band takes away the hunger but it does not change our old bad habits. I struggle daily with wanting to eat just to eat. I'm not hungry any more, but I'm so used to eating constantly (due to the constant hunger prior to the band) that I feel a little 'lost' when I'm not eating. In some ways I feel like I've lost my best companion and it's a daily struggle to change these old habits. Some days are better than others. Keep working at it. Don't give up. If you fall, pick yourself right back up and begin again. Don't wait for 'tomorrow'. .

I eat 1100-1300. .

Down a pound this morning. It's amazing how fast we put on the weight just by raising calories a bit, but how slow it comes off even when eating 1000 calories less than our current weight needs to maintain. My mom's brother died on Tuesday of a heart attack. Not too unexpected since they were talking about doing heart surgery. I have to wonder where his brain was though that he drove to Florida (and was on his way back) knowing he has heart and circulation problems which wouldn't be improved with hours of sitting. When he got out of the car at a gas station in Georgia, he just keeled over and couldn't be revived. Since he wanted to be cremated, they decided it would be easier to just cremate him there and then bring him home and they'll have 'calling hours' at the house. So now I'm debating whether I need to drive 5 hours given the fact that we weren't close...don't think I've spoken to him or his wife in the last year or so...and my mom doesn't have much use for her family so it's not like she needs any consoling. I'm sure that sounds cold, but I'm a practical person. I've always said, if they don't come around when they're alive, they should stay away with their fake sympathy when the person dies. So...decisions decisions...drive 5 hours (risky for me because I've had 2 episodes of fallling asleep at the wheel) and put up with the drama queens in the family who will now use this as an excuse to wail and moan about how they're going to miss their beloved brother (who they've been trashing for most of his life)...or go to dinner tonight with my husband. The latter 'sounds' romantic but it's a dinner and lecture on 'energy and photosynthesis'. I'm thinking of hiding an iPod in my bra and running an earphone out the shirt collar. My husband says that would be ok...as long as I don't forget and start singing along. I'm feeling a bit grumpy at all of this. Must be time to go do some Tae bo. .

Elcee: You're killling me here...budgie smugglers? ROFLMAO! Re: food problems...I think a lot of the problems with food allergies and sensitivities has to do with our immune systems struggling to deal with the chemicals they're inundated with on a daily basis. Not just from food, but from the air we breath, the Water we drink, the clothes we wear, etc. Counselor: Yes, it is very surprising how gluten is buried in just about everything. I went to buy some taco seasoning (usually I make my own but...) and it has gluten in it. Seasonings with gluten?? Ugh. .