I have been banded for almost 4 months now and havent lost much AT ALL. A few pounds since surgery which was all at the beginning on the all liquid diet.

Im just gonna put myself out there because I am failing and frustrated. Here is my situation. I had my band placed with a small fill in it already and since then I have had one fill. I have no idea how much is in my band because my doctor did not tell me and was stressing that the cc's are not what matters, its the feeling etc. Well, before the fill I really had no restriction. Now, i do but after about 3 or maybe 4 bites of food, I get this feeling like a lump in my throat and it HURTS. I have to drink something to get it to pass.. If i dont drink anything, I either sit in pain and cant eat anymore or I have to throw it up. Its so frustrating. Obviously my drinking while I eat prevents the band from being able to work, but I dont know what I am suppose to do. If I stop eating, I am literally only eating about 3 bites of food, and I dont feel "full", I just feel a pain. Is that what full is suppose to feel like?

If anyone has advice I am so appreciative. And if anyone is reading this thinking Im so dumb and Im just doing it wrong, I really am not sure what I am suppose to do differently. I went into this with so much excitement and Im feeling really deflated. My husband is paying money every month to pay off the loan we got in order for me to get the surgery and I feel so guilty that I am not losing anything.

I have been banded for almost 4 months now and havent lost much AT ALL. A few pounds since surgery which was all at the beginning on the all liquid diet.

Im just gonna put myself out there because I am failing and frustrated. Here is my situation. I had my band placed with a small fill in it already and since then I have had one fill. I have no idea how much is in my band because my doctor did not tell me and was stressing that the cc's are not what matters, its the feeling etc. Well, before the fill I really had no restriction. Now, i do but after about 3 or maybe 4 bites of food, I get this feeling like a lump in my throat and it HURTS. I have to drink something to get it to pass.. If i dont drink anything, I either sit in pain and cant eat anymore or I have to throw it up. Its so frustrating. Obviously my drinking while I eat prevents the band from being able to work, but I dont know what I am suppose to do. If I stop eating, I am literally only eating about 3 bites of food, and I dont feel "full", I just feel a pain. Is that what full is suppose to feel like?

If anyone has advice I am so appreciative. And if anyone is reading this thinking Im so dumb and Im just doing it wrong, I really am not sure what I am suppose to do differently. I went into this with so much excitement and Im feeling really deflated. My husband is paying money every month to pay off the loan we got in order for me to get the surgery and I feel so guilty that I am not losing anything.

Are you chewing well? I mean really chewing your food and taking small bites? If you are, it could be that you need to have a little taken out of your band.

You should be able to eat more, your body probably thinks it's being starved. Also, whenever I have a stuck episode, I walk around a bit. Sometimes just standing will help. Hang in there, give the doc a call and see what he/she says.

I get the same feeling sometimes, it's usually when I'm eating too fast or not chewing my food enough. Not waiting until I'm starving helps me eat slowly and I eat less.

Drinking while eating... now I learned the hard way that eating and drinking at the same time is HORRIBLE. Not because it defeats the purpose of the band but because I ended up feeling HORRIBLE, I get stuck whenever I do this. I know it's really hard to wait 30 mins, but I just remind myself that it's not worth the pain of being stuck. & I also noticed that after a stuck episode I usually get really tight (for about 1-2 days), I'm guessing I get swollen. So if your getting stuck a lot, I'm guessing you get swollen as well and that's why you can't really eat no more than 3 bites. I usually stick to mushies for a while to allow it to heal (instead of making it worse by taking a chance and getting stuck again while already swollen).

I hope my experiences help you out... :w00t: I was banded 12days after you! (if i read correctly lol )

Haven't suffered from this myself, but read another post about this recentely.

If I remember correctly, it was some kind of reflux issue.

The advice given in such a case was to take one or two bites at the beginning of the meal, and then to wait for a while. After that, continue eating slowly.

Hope you manage to work this out.

I have to drink something to get it to pass..

That's what you're doing wrong.

"Getting it to pass" it isn't supposed to have help passing.

Take smaller bites and chew the crap out of every bite.

DO NOT drink with meals.

This takes a little getting used to but you will get there.

Thank you all so much. I am glad to know what I need to change. I have a new look today and I will try my hardest to take smaller bites and chew more!! I really appreciate the help. :wink2:

Yes that pain is familiar to me - I remember it too well! After surgery I found I had the hardest time in trying to take small bites and chew chew chew chew....and when I didn't, I got a pain in my chest and it hurt like heck...usually that meant that I ate too much or it was too large of a bite.

Also, remember you are in bandster hell....for awhile after surgery until you find your sweet spot you will be hungry between meals and you might not see a steady weight loss. It took me 5 months post op to find my sweet spot and until then I wasn't losing much and I was SOOOOOOOOOO frustrated!

Hang in there ---- this is a journey...you will do fine!

Kim

Yes that pain is familiar to me - I remember it too well! After surgery I found I had the hardest time in trying to take small bites and chew chew chew chew....and when I didn't, I got a pain in my chest and it hurt like heck...usually that meant that I ate too much or it was too large of a bite.

Also, remember you are in bandster hell....for awhile after surgery until you find your sweet spot you will be hungry between meals and you might not see a steady weight loss. It took me 5 months post op to find my sweet spot and until then I wasn't losing much and I was SOOOOOOOOOO frustrated!

Hang in there ---- this is a journey...you will do fine!

Kim

Kim,

Your post was really helpful to me. I too have been struggling. I had my surgery Aug 30, 2010. I lost around 17 lbs in the first 4 weeks....and once I was off the liquid diet, I haven't lost a pound. I actually had gained back 2 lbs. I had my first fill almost 2 weeks ago...and still no loss. It's nice to hear that it can be normal and there is still hope. I'm just ready to start losing again. I am frustrated beyond all belief. :thumbup: But just wanted to say thanks for the help!

I have been banded for almost 4 months now and havent lost much AT ALL. A few pounds since surgery which was all at the beginning on the all liquid diet.

Im just gonna put myself out there because I am failing and frustrated. Here is my situation. I had my band placed with a small fill in it already and since then I have had one fill. I have no idea how much is in my band because my doctor did not tell me and was stressing that the cc's are not what matters, its the feeling etc. Well, before the fill I really had no restriction. Now, i do but after about 3 or maybe 4 bites of food, I get this feeling like a lump in my throat and it HURTS. I have to drink something to get it to pass.. If i dont drink anything, I either sit in pain and cant eat anymore or I have to throw it up. Its so frustrating. Obviously my drinking while I eat prevents the band from being able to work, but I dont know what I am suppose to do. If I stop eating, I am literally only eating about 3 bites of food, and I dont feel "full", I just feel a pain. Is that what full is suppose to feel like?

If anyone has advice I am so appreciative. And if anyone is reading this thinking Im so dumb and Im just doing it wrong, I really am not sure what I am suppose to do differently. I went into this with so much excitement and Im feeling really deflated. My husband is paying money every month to pay off the loan we got in order for me to get the surgery and I feel so guilty that I am not losing anything.

I have this EXACT same issue with the horrible pain in the chest, getting stuck, taking a drink to try and get the food to go down, only being able to eat 2 bites. My abdomen also gets distended. Anyways, thanks for starting this thread. I have to go out to dinner tonite and I'm going to REALLY try and eat like a bird and just chew chew chew.

Also, we both have a goal to reach onederland by Christmas! Good luck! We can do it!

No blame here, so take this as it is given. Most of us have had the same issues, it takes some learning about what works for you.

1. You might not be able to eat the things you have chosen. Some can't do chicken, or beef or something fried.

2. Slow down, also try eating alone. With a recent fill I have found that if I talk I will have a problem of some sort with the meal. It's been over a year but this started with the last fill.

3. If I drink and eat I am done for. I seem to take in to much air and create a bubble in my chest very, very painful.

4. Small bites well chewed.

5. Don't drink at least an hour before eating, might make it a little better.

6. I am tighter in the morings so I do a Protein drink. Since the fill I am also tighter after 6, so dinner has to be by 5 or I can't get more than 2 bites down.

Now this is BIG, at 4 months how are you clothes fitting? I wasn't loosing on the scale but my clothes had gotten to big. Sometimes as the body adjusts to the change the weight might not come off, but relocates moving from the tummy, legs, face or the back. Giving the smaller size pants and a better overall appearance. You aren't doing it wrong, listen to your body. You don't want to be uncomfortable so stop at 2 bites, wait an hour and have a Protein Drink or some yogurt. You may have been given info from the dietian about Snacks or 5 or 6 really small meals until you stomach is done healing.