I had my surgery on December 7th and had my first fill on January 5th. 4cc's in an 11cc band. The first day I was on liquids and mushie food and I felt some restriction, even if it was only in my mind, but since then... NOTHING. I have read about people getting food "stuck" and not being able to take another bite and on and on, but I have never had that feeling. Once I am full, I do notice that I stay fuller longer than I did pre-band, but I don't have a problem eating ANYTHING. Bread, shrimp, beef, whatever I want. Is it too early for me to be in search of my "sweet spot" and what exactly IS IT?:cursing:

Yep, it is...too early that is. :thumbup:

I was banded on 11/3 and had my first 3 cc fill four weeks postop. Had another 3 cc fill two weeks later. A week after that, because I could still eat anything and as much as I wanted (if I chose) with no sign of restriction, I went back in and they pulled it all out to see if I had a leak.

Nope, no leak. 6 cc's in the band and no restriction. So they put in another 2 cc. Oops...now I could only drink Protein shakes. So a week later they took out 1 cc. Bingo! Restriction! I felt full after eating 1 cup of food and was full for about 4 hours.

On a sad note, that restriction disappeared (after two glorious weeks) yesterday or the day before so apparently I am still not at my sweet spot as I thought. My restriction was just from swelling. The good news is that I was set for another fill appointment this Thursday although I'm guessing they won't be so aggressive this time since I'm obviously getting close.

.

WOW! Questions:

1 - how did they check to see if you had a leak?

2 - at 8cc's when you could only drink shakes, how long did it take you to realize that and how did you know? Did everything you ate come back up? EVERYTHING?

3 - were you measuring to make sure you were only eating one cup of food? How was that broken down in Proteins, fats, carbs?

4 - what caused the swelling that gave you the sense of restriction?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I am trying to get this band figured out...

I ws banded on 9-30-09...I have 8.5 cc's in an 11 cc Realize band. I just got that last fill on Friday. It brought me from 6.5 to 8.5 and boy the difference. I was having my doubts as well. I wasn't loosing all that much, i had no restriction. Doc made me feel better about things tho, he said it was very normal, to keep doing what I am doing, and the weight WILL come off! Sometimes we just need to hear that.

THE WEIGHT WILL COME OFF!!!

You are doing all the right things, dont get down on yourself! Remember, if you got instant restriction, you would be in shock! Things would get stuck all the time, you would be starving and miserable! Think of this time as a learning curve, getting you ready for the big test!

Hold on , be patient, be diligent, it will happen!

Good luck ! Jodi

1 - how did they check to see if you had a leak?

They took all the Fluid out of the band. They knew they put 6 cc's in so they knew that 6 cc's should come back out...and it did.

2 - at 8cc's when you could only drink shakes, how long did it take you to realize that and how did you know? Did everything you ate come back up? EVERYTHING?

My doctor doesn't require 24 hours of liquids after a fill, so I first knew at dinner time. I was being especially careful since I didn't know which foods would give me problems with my new fill so I took a small bite and chewed really well, but I had immediate pain. I ended up drinking a gulp of Water to bring it back up. I thought perhaps I might be swollen so I just stayed on liquids that day and the next...but even by the next day and the day after, whenever I tried to eat anything at all, it got stuck. So I stayed on Protein shakes until after the holidays rather than disturb them.

3 - were you measuring to make sure you were only eating one cup of food? How was that broken down in Proteins, fats, carbs?

I didn't need to. I wasn't able to eat 'foods' at all...not even a bite.

4 - what caused the swelling that gave you the sense of restriction?

Some people get a bit of swelling after a fill. It's just irritation to the stoma. No big deal. It goes down. I never had that until this last time.

7th or 8th fill and 6 years. I think I am in the sweet spot now. So yeah it could take a minute. Its working just as described for me now.

I ws banded on 9-30-09...I have 8.5 cc's in an 11 cc Realize band. I just got that last fill on Friday. It brought me from 6.5 to 8.5 and boy the difference. I was having my doubts as well. I wasn't loosing all that much, i had no restriction. Doc made me feel better about things tho, he said it was very normal, to keep doing what I am doing, and the weight WILL come off! Sometimes we just need to hear that.

THE WEIGHT WILL COME OFF!!!

You are doing all the right things, dont get down on yourself! Remember, if you got instant restriction, you would be in shock! Things would get stuck all the time, you would be starving and miserable! Think of this time as a learning curve, getting you ready for the big test!

Hold on , be patient, be diligent, it will happen!

Good luck ! Jodi

THANK YOU JODI! Can you explain the difference you feel from 6.5cc's to 8.5cc's?

1 - how did they check to see if you had a leak?

They took all the Fluid out of the band. They knew they put 6 cc's in so they knew that 6 cc's should come back out...and it did.

2 - at 8cc's when you could only drink shakes, how long did it take you to realize that and how did you know? Did everything you ate come back up? EVERYTHING?

My doctor doesn't require 24 hours of liquids after a fill, so I first knew at dinner time. I was being especially careful since I didn't know which foods would give me problems with my new fill so I took a small bite and chewed really well, but I had immediate pain. I ended up drinking a gulp of Water to bring it back up. I thought perhaps I might be swollen so I just stayed on liquids that day and the next...but even by the next day and the day after, whenever I tried to eat anything at all, it got stuck. So I stayed on Protein shakes until after the holidays rather than disturb them.

3 - were you measuring to make sure you were only eating one cup of food? How was that broken down in Proteins, fats, carbs?

I didn't need to. I wasn't able to eat 'foods' at all...not even a bite.

4 - what caused the swelling that gave you the sense of restriction?

Some people get a bit of swelling after a fill. It's just irritation to the stoma. No big deal. It goes down. I never had that until this last time.

Thank you for sharing your info. I always ask a lot of questions and I figure there is nobody to better get answers from than someone who has already done what I am trying to do.

THANK YOU JODI! Can you explain the difference you feel from 6.5cc's to 8.5cc's?

__________________

I think the difference is that my band is working. It is doing what we have all saw it do for other pople. I eat a small amount and am full, I am satisfied for around 3 or 4 hours. I am loosing weight like crazy, at least for now, I am sure it will slow down soon....thats OK though. I know the band will still keep me in check, and keep me loosing that 1 to 2 lbs a week. I literally cant eat more than I should. As long I am eating the right things, ie. no sliders.

I get stuck now if I eat too fast, too big of bites, or do not chew enough. I am really not hungry till about 10 a.m., at that time I eat a pack of oatmeal, or 2 boiled eggs. At lunch, I eat a Lean Cuisine or a Grilled chicken salad, maybe half of it, so like half of an 8 inch plate. For dinner I do high Protein Beans or chicken or pork, with a side. Nothing really any different than my family, just less of it. I do not snack at nite, never after 7 p.m. If I do need an after dinner snack, I have an orange, or a low fat yogurt.

Oh and lots and lots of Water all day! I drink roughly 100 ozs a day. It really helps!

Hope this helps! I know you can do it!

Jodi

THANK YOU JODI! Can you explain the difference you feel from 6.5cc's to 8.5cc's?

__________________

I think the difference is that my band is working. It is doing what we have all saw it do for other pople. I eat a small amount and am full, I am satisfied for around 3 or 4 hours. I am loosing weight like crazy, at least for now, I am sure it will slow down soon....thats OK though. I know the band will still keep me in check, and keep me loosing that 1 to 2 lbs a week. I literally cant eat more than I should. As long I am eating the right things, ie. no sliders.

I get stuck now if I eat too fast, too big of bites, or do not chew enough. I am really not hungry till about 10 a.m., at that time I eat a pack of oatmeal, or 2 boiled eggs. At lunch, I eat a Lean Cuisine or a Grilled chicken salad, maybe half of it, so like half of an 8 inch plate. For dinner I do high Protein Beans or chicken or pork, with a side. Nothing really any different than my family, just less of it. I do not snack at nite, never after 7 p.m. If I do need an after dinner snack, I have an orange, or a low fat yogurt.

Oh and lots and lots of Water all day! I drink roughly 100 ozs a day. It really helps!

Hope this helps! I know you can do it!

Jodi

*exhaling* I feel so much better now... THANKS EVERYONE for responding. My time is coming!