BetsyB

Not scolding, just offering the observation that the foods you're choosing are not among those that really would increase satiety. I totally understand the salad--the whole time I was "off" vegetables, the one thing I craved more than anything was salad. I don't think either food will harm you. They chew down to nothing. But on the other hand, they don't really offer any sort of staying power. If you're genuinely hungry, you'd be better off choosing a bit more of the soft Protein you're allowed. Or adding a Protein shake once or twice a day.

I usually have a couple of weeks post-fill when I am very susceptible to swelling if I push solids too fast. And because I'm impatient, I often do push solids. My doctor's rule of thumb is that we MUST be able to tolerate liquids. If not, an unfill is necessary within ..well, hours. But if we can tolerate liquids, then advance to soft foods, we can "take it easy" for a while to see how things shake out. Early on, I had no difficulty. As I teetered on the brink of restriction, I had to be really careful. As I got closer and closer, the time required to adjust after a fill got longer. Now, I have a solid three weeks or so when I have to play it by ear. I find that eating the wrong thing too early really exacerbates swelling, so I don't get a good feel for how the band really is until about 3 weeks out. In your shoes, I'd give it a bit more time. Stick with the soft foods for another week or so. If you think swelling may be the culprit, you might find (like I do) that liquid Benadryl helps. Gradually add regular solids back in, cautiously. If you still have difficulty, yes--I'd consider a tiny unfill. But easing off and taking it slowly has always allowed me to work with the restriction I have---and it has always ultimately resulted in deciding the fill was okay.

Elfie has a good point about how to locate good doctors. (I also would recommend leaving feedback about the one you have.)

It'll be okay. It's family, and they can adapt to your needs. They will be just fine if their visits don't focus on food. Proficiency is a process. And I think you'll find that you can really get a good sense of mastery from tackling things like family visits. If you aren't feeling well, that's a different story; by all means, in that case, let THEM take care of YOU! But if you feel generally well, stick with your plan. Your son and sister can join you for walk or, if you prefer to get into your own routine, occupy themselves for an hour a day. (My family is usually still sleeping when I walk in the morning; when I walk in the evening, they're doing their thing.) Enjoy your family--I hope you have lovely visits and discover how well your new way of living fits into "real life."

We must read and post to a different message board. I see very little nastiness. I see a lot of successful people who are willing to share what has worked for them. I'm sorry you're so unhappy here. There are other really supportive boards. One is below my signature.

I don't feel "full." I feel not hungry, or satisfied. When you have restriction, even one bite too many can push you from not-hungry to real discomfort--so you really learn to listen to your body's cues. I find that I get "full" (new version of full) with a very small volume of food, and stay not-hungry for 3-4 hours. Some days I'm hungrier than others---and some foods have more staying power than others. You just learn to listen to your body

My port had really nagging pain--at 8 months out, I still get twinges. Do call your doctor for peace of mind. But I wouldn't be hugely alarmed.

Cleo's Mom, do you make a distinction between hunger and lack of satiety? I ask, because they are very, very different things for me. My physical hunger is removed by the band. I mean, I do get hungry, but when I am satisfied physically, I consider myself to be no longer hungry--even if my MIND would like to eat more. I also find that my mind doesn't clamor for more very often now--the physical satisfaction really extinguished that for me. Your surgeon sounds like a monster--seriously, if you have not reported him to your state licensing board, I would. It is inexcusable that you were given so much misinformation and were lied to. You have no fill in your band currently. That was the right thing to do when you were stuck and subsequently swollen. But it doesn't sound like it's the right thing now. I understand apprehension about refilling--but do you think that cautiously doing so might not be a good idea? (WIth a different doctor, of course!) It might be that with the correct fill level, and really cautious eating, you'd fare better. What do you eat, routinely? I know you said you journal, and that's great---but how does your typical day break down, in terms of calories/protein/carb/etc? It's not fair, but for some of us, the breakdown is really critical.

It's really common for the first (and sometimes second, or even third) fills to have little discernible effect on satiety. I know it's frustrating, but try to think of yourself as being one step closer to where you want to be. Use the time you are approaching restriction to build good habits that will serve you well when you do have restriction. Choose foods carefully, eat them in appropriate amounts, chew carefully. It's a process--and you're on your way

I could--and I did. Many times. For me, the real obstacle was metabolism shot by crazy diets my mother had me on starting in early elementary school (when I was not overweight). My body gains weight if I take in more than 1100-1200 calories/day. So, to lose (or maintain when I'm at goal), I need 800-900 calories. And many, many times, I ate 800-900 calories to lose weight, and was successful. Only, that's not sustainable, long-term. Very real hunger was a real impediment. For me, the band is a great solution, because it takes that hunger out of the equation.

Yep, I agree with Elcee. I was taken off, but am back on again, albeit at half the dose I used previously. I have a family history of hypertension--even among normal-weight family members. So I keep a close eye on the numbers now.

Yep, you're ready! It really is about doing it for yourself.

It's not an ignorant question, Amber. It is a good one. The band, at first, doesn't really provide much help. It takes a period of time to reach a good level of restriction. That said, once you do achieve that, the band makes it SO much easier to do the things you've had difficulty doing your whole life. Yes, it does "force" some things. But the fact of the matter is that you won't need forcing. Let me give you an example, using me. For many years before the band, I followed Weight Watchers. I was always told I needed to eat more to lose. Guess what? I gained. I tracked my intake and exercise on fitday.com, and discovered that I really don't lose weight unless I eat 800-900 calories a day, and exercise every day, too. I couldn't find support for that kind of regimen from anyone--everyone told me I couldn't meet my nutritional needs, would go into starvation mode, etc. They didn't really look at the evidence I had (showing that I lost in that range and, if careful, really DID meet my nutritional needs). They just flat-out told me to eat more. And I gained. Fast forward to when I grew a spine: I woke up one day and said, "Gastric band!" And made an reservation at my surgeon's seminar. A couple of weeks later I was in his office, with my food journal, and he identified that I was the perfect candidate for the band. It would make it possible to eat the way my body needs to eat in order to lose, and would--and here's the really critical part--remove the always-present gnawing hunger. So I was banded. For the first few months, I just stuck to his recommended eating regimen. Was I hungry? Yes. But I told myself, "This is the last time I will be hungry in the name of weight loss," and powered through. Each fill made me a bit more comfortable, and kept me satisfied a bit longer. Now I have restriction. With hunger removed from the equation (and by that, I don't mean I don't get hungry for meals; I do...I just mean that the ever-present "dieter's hunger" is gone), obsession with food is gone. I am able to make the choices my body needs. I fill up quickly and stay satisfied for long enough that, when the next "feeding time" comes, I am eager to put something into my body that will give it what it needs. Does this mean I never have treats? No, not really. But I don't have them often, and I NEVER EVER EVER EVER feel deprived. The band is a great tool. It does part of the job--it keeps that hunger at bay. The rest of the job is up to us. We can make food choices that bypass the band---but when satisfied by foods that meet our needs, the compulsion to do so really, really diminishes. ETA: Carmen, I'm 48--eek, almost 49--and changes related to aging haven't kept me from being one of the best losers in my doctor's practice. I have the metabolism of a lobotomized tree slug, but have simply decided to use this tool to the best of my ability. And I have been amazed at how well it's worked for me.

It's a process. You have a lifetime of bad habits to correct, and that won't happen overnight. If you make a point of focusing on the habits you wish to adopt, and extend yourself some grace and patience, it will begin to fall into place as you approach restriction. Every day of "practice" takes you closer to well-established, healthy new habits. Will you slip up? Sure. Especially during the early weeks/months, when you don't really have the restriction you need. But it really gets so much easier with time (and adjustment).

I've had a steady loss of around 2.5 pounds/week since banding--restriction or no. I've had a couple of very brief stalls, but in general, I can count on a couple of pounds a week. I have always eaten according to my doctor's regimen, and I exercise routinely. Now I have good restriction, so being compliant food-wise is pretty easy. (Do I want sweets? Eh, most of the time, no. When I do, I can easily persuade myself to skip 'em.) I'd recommend that you journal your eating and exercise at fitday.com so that you can be sure you're meeting--and not exceeding--your body's needs. It may be that you need to pare out those sweets. Or bump up Protein. Or any of a million other things you can do to tweak things to get things moving the way you want them to move. For me, what works is aiming for 80-100 g/protein (usually closer to 80 these days, with restriction), <50 g net carb (from veggie, legume, and fruit sources), 20-30% of calories from heart-healthy fat, and 800-900 calories/day. Your "formula" might be very different; this is how my doctor's recommended regimen shakes out, though, and those of us who are compliant fare far better, in terms of loss, than those who do not.

Ask to see the doctor instead of the PA next time. When you go in, have a log of (a) what you eat, and when, and ( how long you are satisfied after eating. Looking at a band fluoroscopically does give information about its tightness. However, your band has plenty of "room" for more fill, and chances are, you'd tolerate a conservative fill nicely. If you are making wise food choices, and are getting hungry too soon after eating, then YOUR experience needs to be taken into account when making decisions about fill. It's not just whether you're losing weight, or the band looks adjusted. It's how it feels, too.

Thank you! I think I misunderstood. I was thinking you were already on the PREOP preop diet; you're referring to the sort of supervised pre-op period. My doctor had a specific requirement for loss during mine, but it was much longer than your 3-4 weeks. I bet you don't have anything to worry about. Do your best, and when you get to the liquid stage, pay attention to those rules the best you can. (If you get a choice of Proteins, I strongly recommend the Inspire and PURE Protein powders from bariatriceating.com. If you order now, they'll come in plenty of time for your preop liquids.)

The first few days can be rough; your body, however, will start to draw on the glycogen stores in your liver, which will stabilize your blood sugar and help relieve those symptoms. It's weird, but it gets better with time. It takes a while for the body to pull on those reserves.

The band is not for everyone. But by and large, those who fail fail the band, not vice versa. That doesn't mean the responsibility lies completely in their lap. Really, many surgeons do not do a good job identifying patients for whom the band is a good alternative. I feel very fortunate that my doctor really did consider my specific needs/issues with weight loss before recommending the band (and discouraging bypass). He listened, and he guided me in the right direction. He also provided excellent patient education, including followup classes at 3-month intervals postoperatively. I wish everyone could have that kind of experience; I think there would be lots more happy bandsters. Because by and large, the failures don't come from complication. They come from misaligned expectations and poor preparation and follow-through.

My doctor is also in the "take it easy" camp. Now that I have pretty good restriction, I stick with FULL liquids (including protein shakes) after a fill for a day or so. Early in the game, I had no problem with soft foods.

You also kind of have to adopt the mindset that deviating from the plan simply isn't an option. You have guidelines, and have to simply commit to following them. I'm not minimizing the difficulty; I know it's hard. But you can do it!

I'd like to add that your concern that the amount of Fluid you have in your band will not "last" (with fills) until you've lost all the weight you want to lose is likely unfounded. You will reach a level of good restriction. It may fluctuate a little, as you lose weight (the size of the fat pad on the stomach itself can decrease), but there's a good chance that you will require very little adjustment once you achieve restriction. So, you'll be able to continue to lose--and then, to maintain--without worrying about running out of "room" for fills. I agree--a stuck episode every now and then isn't a good gauge of whether you need a fill. Broccoli gives me trouble, too; I use broccoli slaw now. (It's made from the stems; the fuzzy crowns are like Velcro in my stomach, and clog me up every time!)

Emotional lability is really common postoperatively-- no matter what the surgery. Anesthesia and meds wreak havoc on the body and mind. Add in to that a restricted diet, grief for our old "friend," food, and you do have the recipe for teariness. As you start feeling better physically, the mood swings will taper off. It also gets better as you're able to advance your diet.

You're not banded yet; do you mean you're concerned about a gain before your last preop appointment? My surgeon would have cancelled my surgery if I'd gained 10 pounds; my insurance required a 3-month supervision, and my surgeon required that during that period, I lose 6 pounds. If I hadn't done so, the 3-month clock would have been restarted, no ifs, ands, or buts. I don't know what your surgeon requires, but a quick phone call to his office will ease your mind.

My addition: Keep your expectations aligned with what is realistic. You didn't gain weight overnight, and you will not lose it overnight. I'd also suggestthat anyone just beginning the journey focus on finding a surgeon who provides excellent patient education and aftercare--and MAKE USE OF IT. If you don't follow through with adjustments, nutrition education, and so on, then you are shortchanging yourself. Remember, the band is just a tool; it does NOT DO THE WORK. That's in your hands. That means that you have to make appropriate food choices, eat in appropriate amounts, and exercise routinely. FOREVER.