Betsyjane

Wow are you losing weight!!!! Woo hoo! If you're coming up FM2100, go through Crsoby and Huffman to FM1960 and turn left. Go over the lake (Lake Houston) and it's on the left. Can somebody else think of what the landmarks are getting to La Villa? We'll be there at 5:30.

I have never had a fill by Spivak himself. Joy at the Surgicenter does them, and she's great! The first time, she said that the numbing shot hurts more than the fill, so I didn't have it, and it was fine. It feels like a shot and once the needle is in, I don't feel it. I also didn't have restriction until my third fill....and if you don't., be sure to go back for more! My third fill is a dream......

Are you hungry? Do you need a fill? Are you drinking liquid calories instead of solids? Frankly, your weight loss has been really good...Could be your body is just trying to adjust..... How do you think you're doing with the bandster lifestyle?

Just the barium swallow and fluoroscope during the fill should catch it. I am happy to say that after 3 days of liquids, everything is back to normal. I'm now pretty well convinced that being so tight in the mornings, I probably had liquid just sitting in the pouch waiting to go down. It put the fear of God in me though. Now I'm finding that if I think I've had a few mouthfuls too many, I automatically return to liquids for the next meal in case I stretched the pouch. I'm sure it's overkill, but it's happening naturally. I'm also sipping liquids slowly if I'm really restricted in the mornings..

You guys will get a kick out of this. This weekend I drove my Mom to her best friend's birthday party in another state. Mom is 90. I was getting tired on the drive up, so I put my ipod shuffle on...It's all my upbeat workout music. Mom wanted to hear what it sounded like, so she put it on and was surprised that I had a lap band song on there. What? A lap band song? Mom doesn't hear well. So she started singing it in that overly loud off key way that we all sing when we have headphones on.... it was Donna Summers...."Lap band. Lap band for loooove. Yes it's my lap band lap band toniiiiight....." __________________

You guys will get a kick out of this. This weekend I drove my Mom to her best friend's birthday party in another state. Mom is 90. I was getting tired on the drive up, so I put my ipod shuffle on...It's all my upbeat workout music. Mom wanted to hear what it sounded like, so she put it on and was surprised that I had a lap band song on there. What? A lap band song? Mom doesn't hear well. So she started singing it in that overly loud off key way that we all sing when we have headphones on.... it was Donna Summers...."Lap band. Lap band for loooove. Yes it's my lap band lap band toniiiiight....."<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Well, after my pouch dilation...which I am now convinced was due to having a bit too much restriction in the mornings, and food and liquids just sitting there waiting to go down.....I can definitely say that going on liquids for a few days set everything straight. I feel great. Meals are the quantity they should be. It put the fear of God in me, though. It's a funny thing. Now, when I eat what I think is a bite or 2 too much, I go to liquids for the next meal in case I stretched to pouch. It's overkill, I'm sure, but it's just happening naturally. Sort of like eating high calorie food and then automatically knowing I have to go to the gym and work it off. (That last part isn't happening yet, but I'm working on it.) I survived the birthday party with catered food, and felt comfortable. And lost a pound in those 4 days. The other benefit to the stretched pouch thing is that since whatzername told me that after around 8 months, you being to not even think much about eating because it's lost its interest and "I've developed new hobbies". She was telling me that this concentration on all things bandster kind of fades and becomes much more natural. I believe it. I get little glimpses of it. I'm looking for those times now. And finally, the bandsters at goal weight who eat around 600 calories a day? Although I eat many more calories than that, hearing that helped me to think differently about calories and I think my calorie intake has gone down a little as a result. All in all, having had a pouch dilation was probably just what I needed.....

That's great on the recovery, Barbara! I'm back from KC. What a hoot. 85 people at a 90 year old's birthday party, all ages, but quite a few were school mates from my mother's high school! A bunch of healthy bright 90 year olds, looking like a Dove Pro-Age ad! What great fun. And my mother was the surprise guest, attending the 90th birthday party of her best friend of 80 years. They don't make better memories than that. You guys will get a kick out of this. I was getting tired on the drive up, so I put my ipod shuffle on...It's all my upbeat workout music. Mom wanted to hear what it sounded like, so she put it on and was surprised that I had a lap band song on there. What? A lap band song. So she started singing it in that overly loud off key way that we all sing when we have headphones on.... in was Donna Summers...."Lap band. Lap band for loooove. Yes it's my lap band lap band toniiiiight....."

Well, after my pouch dilation...which I am now convinced was due to having a bit too much restriction, and food and liquids just sitting there waiting to go down.....I can definitely say that going on liquids for a few days set everything straight. I feel great. Meals are the quantity they should be. It put the fear of God in me, though. It's a funny thing. Now, when I eat what I think is a bite or 2 too much, I go to liquids for the next meal in case I stretched to pouch. It's overkill, I'm sure, but it's just happening naturally. Sort of like eating high calorie food and then automatically knowing I have to go to the gym and work it off. (That last part isn't happening yet, but I'm working on it.) I survived an all weekend out of state birthday party with catered food, and felt comfortable. And lost a pound in those 4 days. The other benefit to the stretched pouch thing is that an expereinced bandster told me that after around 8 months, you being to not even think much about eating because it's lost its interest and "I've developed new hobbies". She was telling me that this concentration on all things bandster kind of fades and becomes much more natural. I believe it. I get little glimpses of it. And finally, the bandsters at goal weight who told me they only eat around 600 calories a day....Although I eat many more calories than that, hearing that helped me to think differently about calories and I think my calorie intake has gone down a little as a result. All in all, having had a pouch dilation was probably just what I needed.....

kjojojr: You do sound too tight. If it's just inflammation, it'll be gone by now. The only thing I know about getting anything down atoo tight band is to drink your liquids HOT. Let us know what they say.....

Natural substances still cause harm when they cause smoke to get in your lungs... and with the natural stuff, you work on even HOLDING the smoke in there! They also give you the munchies which might be a definite problem with a band. And...when you need to work hard at exercising to round out this new healthy you, how much lung capacity and motivation will you have?

Been there. done the same thing. Above all, don't kick yourself. Just practice living like a bandster as much as possible. You'll get there..... A fill is a wonderful thing.

I just got a post from Poodles who says that if the band is too tight, even water can back up and stretch the pouch. I wonder if my morning shake when I felt restricted was contributing. I know I was drinking and not sipping. Who knows.

Thanks for the advice. I wonder...I have had lots of morning restriction so I only have a protein drink for breakfast. I wonder if I was drinking it too fast.....

Doing fine. I just wonder since I was restricted to liquids until noon or 2PM, if I might have been forcing solid lunches that backed up in the band... Who knows. Dr. says no slippage. I just know it put the fear of God in me and I'm stopping when I feel the slightest fullness, so I guess that's a good thing. Sounds like you are becoming a mature bandster! And you have your first sports injury, so you are officially an athlete. I'll be back for the Monday night La Villa fest. I'd like Mom to stay longer in KC, but at 90, her world has shrunk, and she wants to get back to her own home.

Woo hoo! Welcome back band baby! 25 pounds down and needin' a fill. You're doing great.

It was interesting talking with that cute little woman who is usually there when you get a fill....our cheerleader whose name escapes me. She said that after you get through 8-11 months with the band, you actually stop thinking about what you are going to eat. It just comes naturally to never be hungry and to be uninterested in food. She said she eats very little, and correctly, naturally now, and if she splurges, she just naturally knows that she will go to the gym to work it off. She said beginners (me) sweat over everything and then there's this change where it's just there....everything is in place. She said she seems to have "replaced food with other habits." I don't know for what percentage of people that is true, but it sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Woo hoo! 4.5!!!!!! conghrats! any words of wisdom? I contacted Spivak's for him to look at the xray. I'll let you know what he has to say. I think I'd rather talk with him about it that the 3 superstars who lost their weight on 600 calories a day and few fills. I know...that was tacky. I'm really tickled for them....and for you! Great loss!

Just FYI... I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about pouch dilation. Looks like the most common cause is a band that is too tight so the food backs up in the pouch before going through. I am going to ask for a little less fill. I think this "perfect" restriction I love may be a tad too much..... It also looks like the most common cure is to go on liquids for awhile. And it looks like dilation is a bigger problem to deal with if it goes on for a long time, causing chronic irritations or contributing to slippage over time. There are also 2 kinds..."pouch" dilation and esophageal dilation. I had the former. I'm encouraged reading about so many other people who were fixed by going on liquids. I would love to find a way to determine that it's starting and fade to liquids.....but my only symptom is that I wasn't as full and thought I might need a little fill. I think when I get back from KC, I'm going to ask for a slight unfill.

Yeah, Marni. I'm not sure I have the answers on why it stretched. Just trying to figure it out from the food changes I had made. The fill person also said I might have had too much restriction so I was eating OK, but it was backingup into the pouch for too long before it went down. Who knows. Anyway, it put the fear of God in me and I'm going to tighten up my act.

I didn't have to do a pre op diet, but I know I would have failed at it. Shoot, if I could diet successfully, I wouldn't have needed the band!

I thought I needed a fill because I was not feeling full. During the barium swallow, we saw that the pouch had increased in size.

I appreciate your comments Barbara. You've been at this longer, and I need info. The pouch didn't instantly go back. It went back because I went to liquids so it had time to return to normal size. I think I must have been using sliders for the wrong reason then. I never had a problem sliding things down my esophagus. In retrospect, I think I was using them so I didn't have to chew as much. I think I need to stay "pure" for awhile so I can get the habit ingrained better. I'm just guessing, because I didn't think I was overeating, but I did do some changes of diet so something in there might be the culprit, and sliders was a change for me. I figure even if they turn out not to have been the problem, I probably don't need calories sliding on through, so I'm going to mostly skip them. The only other change I can think of is that maybe I missed the calories of my Protein shake, so I overate at meals and didn't realize it? I'm going to weigh everything for awhile. My only other guess is that I might have had too much of a fill, and that can cause stretching, waiting for food to go down. I didn't see any difference in the placement of the band itself, but I don't have a trained eye. I'll ask Spivak to look at the x-ray. Thanks for the idea.

I went to get the surgicenter phone number on Spivak's site, and it's gone. interesting. I called and had no problem getting an appt for a fill at the surgicenter, and they just told me to come in anytime, so I think they're feeling the loss of fill patients. Anyway I asked around about what Speigel and Spivak were doing, and they said that Speigel has this theory now that most people should lose their weight within the first year instead of 2 years, so he's wanting to do the fills himslef and be, I guess, more aggressive.... Didn't get any spivak info..... Who knows.

I dilated my pouch and was terrified. Went on liquids for 3 days, and it's back to normal size. And I'm scared enough that I'm back to eating less. It just kind of snuck up on me...... In retrospect, 1. I had been having protein shakes and decided to only eat solid meals....and started eating a bit more to compensate, I guess. 2. I had also started eating "sliders" (a bit of gravy or applesauce, etc.) to help get the food down. Also a no no for me. I need to do my shake in the morning if I'm too restricted, and solid, difficult food that needs to be chewed until liquified, the rest of the day.