Hello my fellow bandsters,

I need answers please!! I had my 2nd fill a month ago ( I have 4 cc's ) so far and will have my 3rd fill next week. My problem is that I have gained 5 lbs in the last week and when I eat after the first or 2nd bite it gets stuck ( maybe I'm not chewing enough ) I don't know. COULD my band have slipped or is it that I do need my next fill and need to chew smaller and longer? Oh and I had a floating hiatal hernia and my surgeon fixed it but my band had to go up higher then normal which is better for me she said. I'm really getting depressed about gaining the weight. A weeks ago I was able to eat 2 burgers buns and all. SHOULD I be concerned or do I just need another fill???? Any suggestions or help would be appreciated!! Thanks.

Everyone go back and re-read her post plese. The only thing most are talking about is eating a hamburger. She did not say they were big hambugers. Maybe kids meals. So forget about that and give her your best advice. She I am sure she knows what she was not suppose eat, But things happen and we all lose control.

I do not think you need another fill unless you are feeling hungry beween meals, (not head hunger) but real hunger as you do not think you can wait till the meal. If you are getting hungry before the next mealtime then I think a small fill might be needed.

I think you are retaining some Water. Might want to up your water intank.

Only you know how you feel. I say get one and if you need to go back for a small unfill most Dr, don't charge for the unfill.

think we all need to have out head checked out

I am 2 years out and still have trouble with head hunger and emotional eating.

Cheri

Sorry double post

Thank you the information is very helpful!

Doreenviv, I had the same problem for a while about needing to PB right after I started eating. I think I was doing it just about every day for months, and when I talked to my surgeon about it, he explained it like this.

Your stomach has three strong muscles around it. These muscles are the ones that contract and relax, moving food through your system (and also cause your tummy to "growl" when you're hungry).

For a Bandster, we often don't have a lot in the stomach if we are not snacking between meals. When you sit down to eat a meal, these muscles are eager to go to work and are very stimulated when you smell the food, see the food, and first bite goes in and chewing starts. The stomach anticipates the food about to arrive and the muscles clench up all the way to the opening of the band. So if you eat too fast, with bites that are too large, the food can't go down at all and you'll start sliming and usually end up bringing it back up. My surgeon told me that the first 2 to 5 bites are critical in a meal.

So, what I've done is literally take a pea-sized bite as my first five bites, and take about 30 seconds between those bites with my fork down. I chew until it's disintegrated, and I'm not really swallowing as much as it just disappears. Once my stomach realizes that there's more food coming, it relaxes and I'm able to eat and not PB.

This may not work for everyone, but it took me five months to finally get some answers to this and I have not PB'd since I started doing this except for some scrambled eggs the other morning (which I'm always tight in the morning and usually I don't eat at all). I also found that definitely not drinking during a meal has helped and was also a cause of PBing - I make sure I don't accidentally drink by not even having a drink next to my plate. If I dump a bunch of liquid on top of anything I definitely will be seeing it again!

As for the two hamburgers - I haven't been able to sucessfully eat white soft bread since the day I was banded, but that's just me. With fills, your band opening is about the circumference of your pinky finger - it's not easy to get larger items down it, especially if it swells up.

Good luck, I hope this helps you as it helped me!

I'm glad that you are doing so wonderful and remember you wouldn't have gotten banded if your healthy diets worked for you in the past. BTW the 2 hamburgs were slider size and they were from Whole foods which are very healthy and where most of my meets come from. For your sake I hope you don't ever get anything stuck. So please don't be so quick to judge. The whole point to my question was to find out if maybe my band could have slipped. Thanks for your thoughts though.

I am shocked at what people are eating or trying to eat. Two hamburgers - REALLY? I am 2 1/2 months post op and I can't imagine even thinking about eating those types of foods. The band is only a tool. You must make the right food choices for it to work unless you want the type of restriction that prevents you from eating; via puking and or slimming. Is that really anyway to live? My surgeon has given me a diet plan and I follow it to a T. I eat eggs, protein powders, skim milk,Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, veggies and a little bit of fruit,That's it. As you can see by my ticker it's a very slow process, but I intend to stick with the program for the duration. High protein, Low fat, low carb, tons of plain water, and low calorie. By the way my band is providing me with satiety, not restriction of food that will or will not go down. No PBing or slimming - that's my goal. I guess my surgeon looks at things differently than many, He wants me to eat normally without fear of getting stuck. I choose not to eat burgers, not because I can't, because I could,I'm not that restricted but because it's not a healthy choice for someone trying to loose weight. I'm sure I'll get blasted for not being supportive enough, but I had to get this off my chest!

Thank you so much for your support and yes they were sliders from Whole foods. I think I will continue to get my fill next Tuesday as your right, I do get physically hungry between my lunch and dinner so I try to eat a protien. I take in at least 84 fld ozs of plain Water a day as I love water. I also take a water pill. Again thank you so much for your support and understanding.

Doreen

Everyone go back and re-read her post plese. The only thing most are talking about is eating a hamburger. She did not say they were big hambugers. Maybe kids meals. So forget about that and give her your best advice. She I am sure she knows what she was not suppose eat, But things happen and we all lose control.

I do not think you need another fill unless you are feeling hungry beween meals, (not head hunger) but real hunger as you do not think you can wait till the meal. If you are getting hungry before the next mealtime then I think a small fill might be needed.

I think you are retaining some water. Might want to up your water intank.

Only you know how you feel. I say get one and if you need to go back for a small unfill most Dr, don't charge for the unfill.

think we all need to have out head checked out

I am 2 years out and still have trouble with head hunger and emotional eating.

Cheri

Woodslass, that is GREAT information. It makes sense about the muscles contracting so much b/c they are ready to go to work. I will remember that when i begin to eat each meal. I seem to get a little stuck with the first couple of bites and now it make so much sense. It could be too that I am so hungry at meal times that I do not chew as I should. Hopefully that will change when I get to the green zone. Thank you for the time you took to give us such valuable information.

Doreenviv, I only have 4 cc in my 10 cc band too. The restriction is not there either and I am hungry a lot. I am still losing the one to two pounds weekly but that is strictly due to will power. I am not losing as much as a lot of people on here. I figure that is b/c I started at 208 and never had to do the pre op diet. I hope we both find our sweet spot soon. I have read that 10cc bandsters need 5 to 7 cc to get to the green so we still have a ways to go. Good luck to you and keep your head up. Every pound lost gets us closer to our goal than we were.

Just try to remember, even though it sounds like people are judging...if I said I ate two hamburgers, I would think HAMBURGERS. I would say sliders..this way we know that it is not the amount you are eating when we are trying to help figure out the problem. So many of us..I am 55..have been fighting this weight battle longer than some of you have been alive. I wish I had had the opportunity to do this many years ago.

Now...I personally think, and it is MY opinion that that is still too much carbohydrates. try eating more Protein and solid foods... hamburger meat is almost like a soft food, so it won't keep you full as long. I know I can tell the difference on how long I stay satisfied.

Just try to remember, even though it sounds like people are judging...if I said I ate two hamburgers, I would think HAMBURGERS. I would say sliders..this way we know that it is not the amount you are eating when we are trying to help figure out the problem. So many of us..I am 55..have been fighting this weight battle longer than some of you have been alive. I wish I had had the opportunity to do this many years ago.

Now...I personally think, and it is MY opinion that that is still too much carbohydrates. try eating more Protein and solid foods... hamburger meat is almost like a soft food, so it won't keep you full as long. I know I can tell the difference on how long I stay satisfied.

62 pounds! That's wonderful!! And as for the age, better late than never. Sounds to me like you have a good system going and have met the fabulous "green zone". Hopefully i'll be there soon! Again, congrats!

Thank you for understanding and being supportive it helps to have support rather then ridacule as I delt with that from family for many years before the lapband. I come here for answers and support from others like myself. Why some people feel the need to blast you to get a point across is beyond me. Again thanks for the support!

Woodslass, that is GREAT information. It makes sense about the muscles contracting so much b/c they are ready to go to work. I will remember that when i begin to eat each meal. I seem to get a little stuck with the first couple of bites and now it make so much sense. It could be too that I am so hungry at meal times that I do not chew as I should. Hopefully that will change when I get to the green zone. Thank you for the time you took to give us such valuable information.

Doreenviv, I only have 4 cc in my 10 cc band too. The restriction is not there either and I am hungry a lot. I am still losing the one to two pounds weekly but that is strictly due to will power. I am not losing as much as a lot of people on here. I figure that is b/c I started at 208 and never had to do the pre op diet. I hope we both find our sweet spot soon. I have read that 10cc bandsters need 5 to 7 cc to get to the green so we still have a ways to go. Good luck to you and keep your head up. Every pound lost gets us closer to our goal than we were.

Thank you I will use more detail next time! My bad! I am also 55 and have been fighting the weight ever sence I gave up smoking 20 years ago and put on 100 pounds. I was told that if you can tolerate it you can eat it but I do want to make it quit clear that I do not eat like this all the time. I mostly eat chicken, tuna and turkey. I guess if you read my post I was looking for advice as to if this could be the sign of a slipped band or the need of a fill. As you can tell I have only received advice on eating those dame hamburgs and not if I could be facing a slipped band. HOWEVER I do appreciate all the advice from everyone and yes even the blasters. Just a reminder to all, before you blast anyone next time for their post please, think about the first time you slipped but picked yourself back up and be more supportive and encouraging. Thanks.

Just try to remember, even though it sounds like people are judging...if I said I ate two hamburgers, I would think HAMBURGERS. I would say sliders..this way we know that it is not the amount you are eating when we are trying to help figure out the problem. So many of us..I am 55..have been fighting this weight battle longer than some of you have been alive. I wish I had had the opportunity to do this many years ago.

Now...I personally think, and it is MY opinion that that is still too much carbohydrates. try eating more Protein and solid foods... hamburger meat is almost like a soft food, so it won't keep you full as long. I know I can tell the difference on how long I stay satisfied.

Hi

I was attracted to your question because I was also feeling a little low and a lot confused. So, probably figured out by now that I dont have any advice to offer re: if you need a fill, etc. I just understand what you are feeling.

Im still not sure about what I should eat and how I should feel before, after or during meals. I was banded on 5/24/11 and have only lost 19 pounds, no make that 16 since I gained 3 pounds since last Thursday. I didnt think I would be able to eat some of the foods that eat. I mean, one of the reasons I did so much research and took almost a year to decide to get banded was because EVERYONE said that bread would get stuck. But even with this huge con, the pros won.So I said goodbye to bread... It was a long goodbye, I gained oh, about 10 pounds saying goodbye to my favorite food but I was ready to move forward.

So, Imagine my confusion when I discovered I can eat bread with noooo problem. That's confusing! I cant eat salmon ( and I know how to cook it)....that's confusing. What I can tolerate and what I cant is very confusing.

So what do I do now? I start anew. I had my 3rd fill, my Dr said something that made a lot of sense once I took some time to think. and Im going to really think about it ( and he is just great, the whole team is excellent) You see Ive been on so many diets that I think I know how many calories or how much fuel,, etc Im consuming. But what I 'Ill do is eyeball calories one day, do a little Atkins or South Beach perspective the next ( oh, this doesnt have any carbs! ) and the next day , maybe read a label and say " mmmm, let see this is how many points?" See where Im coming from? I didnt even tell him this. I left the office confused and decided to check in and try to figure this out.

What he said was something like' What are you getting your calories from? Since that varied, my smart behind was at a loss for a quick answer. But his smart behind knew and he said something like 'an Ace and a King is blackjack no matter what color the cards are, that fine for blackjack but it doesnt mean a thing if you are playing poker." I've got to give it to him. I didnt even tell him and he hit the nail on the head!

So dont beat yourself up about eating 2 burgers at a cook out. At least you remember what you ate. I cant remember all I ate at our cook out...I think I counted carbs when I ate chicken, burger, brats and then calories when I ate salad and coleslaw then carbs again when they brought out the Patrone. But the point is Im starting anew. I know I can do this and Ive got a great team! Im sure you do too, so talk it out with your team.

Good luck to you, you will do fine

I meant to say don't beat yourself up, NM found the 'edit button"

Thank you Elle, I too was banded in May of this year, on the 4th to be exact. I will be going for my 3rd fill this Tuesday and I will talk to my Dr. Thank you again!

Hi

I was attracted to your question because I was also feeling a little low and a lot confused. So, probably figured out by now that I dont have any advice to offer re: if you need a fill, etc. I just understand what you are feeling.

Im still not sure about what I should eat and how I should feel before, after or during meals. I was banded on 5/24/11 and have only lost 19 pounds, no make that 16 since I gained 3 pounds since last Thursday. I didnt think I would be able to eat some of the foods that eat. I mean, one of the reasons I did so much research and took almost a year to decide to get banded was because EVERYONE said that bread would get stuck. But even with this huge con, the pros won.So I said goodbye to bread... It was a long goodbye, I gained oh, about 10 pounds saying goodbye to my favorite food but I was ready to move forward.

So, Imagine my confusion when I discovered I can eat bread with noooo problem. That's confusing! I cant eat salmon ( and I know how to cook it)....that's confusing. What I can tolerate and what I cant is very confusing.

So what do I do now? I start anew. I had my 3rd fill, my Dr said something that made a lot of sense once I took some time to think. and Im going to really think about it ( and he is just great, the whole team is excellent) You see Ive been on so many diets that I think I know how many calories or how much fuel,, etc Im consuming. But what I 'Ill do is eyeball calories one day, do a little Atkins or South Beach perspective the next ( oh, this doesnt have any carbs! ) and the next day , maybe read a label and say " mmmm, let see this is how many points?" See where Im coming from? I didnt even tell him this. I left the office confused and decided to check in and try to figure this out.

What he said was something like' What are you getting your calories from? Since that varied, my smart behind was at a loss for a quick answer. But his smart behind knew and he said something like 'an Ace and a King is blackjack no matter what color the cards are, that fine for blackjack but it doesnt mean a thing if you are playing poker." I've got to give it to him. I didnt even tell him and he hit the nail on the head!

So dont beat yourself up about eating 2 burgers at a cook out. At least you remember what you ate. I cant remember all I ate at our cook out...I think I counted carbs when I ate chicken, burger, brats and then calories when I ate salad and coleslaw then carbs again when they brought out the Patrone. But the point is Im starting anew. I know I can do this and Ive got a great team! Im sure you do too, so talk it out with your team.

Good luck to you, you will do fine

2 burgers- well not a great idea but this IS a learning process and she is just being very honest. My trigger food was pizza and here's how it went:

1st fill- no problem eating pizza

2nd fill-actually had 2 slices one night with no problem (other than feeling like a failure)

3rd fill- eat 1 slice of pizza on the boardwalk-got SO very sick-vomiting, sliming. OMG-I even thre up on the boardwalk-I was with my friend who didn't know about my surgery.

4th fill- got a slice on vacation took 1/2 teaspoon size and was sick the entire next day.

Tonight the family ordered pizza and I got a salad-I could only eat 1/3 of the salad and had NO pizza.

I simply can not eat doughy-type bread items.

My point is that it took me 4 fills not to be able to eat pizza at all. I won't even attempt to eat it anymore. You'll feel that way about burgers with the proper fill. My eating habits have dramatically changed since this last fill-sometimes my head wants to food, but my body threatens me with getting stuck or PBing and I don't want that!

Doreenviv ....The banded life and what some can tolerate and can not tolerate is nothing but a learning process. You didn't get to 200+ pounds overnight and you can't expect to loose it that fast either. Everyones journey is different, everyones triggers are different and everyones relationship with food is different. For me personally it was bread. I had my surgery just about a year ago .. I got stuck / PBing on bread many many many times before I just decided to remove it from my diet. Now why after 20 attempts at bread making me miserable & sick I thoughtg for 1 minute the 21st might be succesful I don't know but you bet I tried. Probebly another dozen times before I just decided it wasn't worth it. Not one of us is perfect, my choices arn't perfect, I don't follow the rules perfectly I strive for 5 good days out of 7 right now and thats after a year. Even now after a year and a fill of 7+ cc's I could eat 2 slider size hamburgers .. just now I do it without the bread. Takes a very long time to change old habits .. keep plugging away. Don't beat yourself up over imperfect choices or days .. aknowledge you had it and move on, you can't let it throw you or the next thing you know your emotional eating and you have ruined 2 days, 3 days maybe 4 ... a week..