Sometimes I have good restriction. Sometimes it's not so good.

Sometimes I can hardly drink a thick drink and other times I can eat a slice of bread. I just never know if I can eat or not. I am learning that I really have to sneak up on my food and eat slowly and that is the hardest thing to do. Any tips on how to remember to slow it down? This is the biggest reason for my BP's.

I am not losing weight but for the first time in a long time I am not yo yoing up and down, dieting and binging, and driving myself nuts.

My plan (now that I'm 6 1/2 mos into this and only 4lbs down from my original pre op weight) is to diet the old fashioned way and lose the 25lbs that I'd done this to lose, and hope that at least after all the hard work of crash dieting, I'll not be able to easily gain it back.

What do you all think?

Sounds like a plan to me.

Are you exercising enough? When you said you were going to try to diet, what does that mean? Aren't you making healthy choices now?

How is it going mercedes?

I feel your pain. I am over four months in myself and have only lost 2 pounds from my pre-surgery weight. even had the same dieting idea. i can't really exercise. i joke and call myself a cripple, but it's not really that funny. i wont go into details and bore you with that, but it really stinks.

i too feel like my restriction is werid and that i must still need even more. i don't know, i am just guessing. anyway, i am not trying to hijack your thread with my issues, but if you find any answers or just want to blow up, feel free to PM me. I was starting to think I was the only one this happened to. good luck. let us know how it goes.

Hi Princess,

The truth about me is that if I were good at being disciplined and making good food choices I would never have had this surgery. I do make some good and some bad choices. One HUGE problem I have right now is that my husband and I opened a MaggieMoos Ice Cream store and I am the cake decorator. I am surrounded by "bad" choices 6 hrs a day! It's sooo hard!

One thing I can say, is that if I did not have the band and was put in the MaggieMoos situation, I would have gained a good 20 lbs by now. I havent. I have maintained very well considering. If I'd had the correct restriction at 6 weeks out, I really think I would have lost a good 15 to 20.....but that isn't what happened. When I say "diet" I mean crash diet, like Physicians Weight Loss or the like. I did one like that 2 1/2 years ago for 6 weeks strictly and 4 more weeks after that pretty strict and I lost 18 lbs. I have decided that I'm okay with myself if I could just get down to 145. I'm 28 lbs away from that. I really think that if I crash diet and lose that 28lbs, I will be able to maintain because of the band. That alone will make it all worth it.

Lil Angel, Maybe we can help eachother! Let's make a pact or something : )

Hi mercadies,

I had another fill today, I was had a 1cc fill and then today they found .8 inside of my band. So, I was filled to 1.6cc. I hope this is it. I was able to eat some dark meat chicken tonight but not much. I have to really buckle down to drop some weight. I wanted to hit 230 by March 10 that is a whapping 25lb's. I gained 15lb from my first fill. So, Im changing my workouts to 4or 5 am. and work real hard on my eatiing habits and see if it changes anything.

mercedes,

did I miss what your current fill was? i am curious considering your situation with seemlingly inconsistent results with restriction.

have you talked to your md about this??? i know for me, my stomach is much tighter in the am, so i know, i can't rush or eat big in am, plan for this. but as the day progresses, i can eat more... see if you need some kind of adjustment. talk to md.

My current fill is 2.2.

Sometimes I have restriction and sometimes I don't.

My band is just very tempermental.

Hi, I had surgery 11.18.05 and first fill on 1.14.06 (I think 2.3cc) I had a lot of stuck issues the first few weeks and they have tapered off now (although occassionally this still happens). I usually hang with the stuck feeling and threw it up once as I hate throwing up (even tho the stuck is worse). ANYWAY< i started lower bmi and have only lost 8lbs since fill and am now seeing the scale go up 2lbs. The last few days have definitely been eating more and while it is my period week - i don't want to wait until i gain 5 of the 8 back. Is it fill time? I have always been able to eat just about all foods, bread, rice, pasta as long as i chew to liquid and go slow. I just can't figure this band out yet so any advice/suggestions are welcome. thanks

I got my band on 11/18/05 also. I really struggled not to gain weight after my first fill. When I went to get my 2nd fill, my doctor said everything was just "running straight through." She put in some more and I have wonderful restriction now. Having restriction makes it a whole lot easier to eat healthy and the weight is coming off much easier.

hello - thanks for reply - boy, we do have alot in common. I have a call into my doctor (Ortiz/Martinez) to discuss but i think a fill is needed.

Just to go back to the origional question. Restriction is funny - not funny ha ha, funny curious. I was banded in June and have 3 ccs. Mornings I have alot of restriction. Most lunch times I can eat without having to stop and let things pass but most evenings I have real restriction. Some foods I can eat one day and not the other. Some days, if I am really lucky, I can have a little crusty italian bread. Some days a cookie hurts and other days it doesn't. The only thing I see consistancy with is that the longer between the times i eat, the more restriction I feel.

This is the first thread I've read that I can really relate to. I was banded on 2/4/06 and I haven't lost any weight. I go for my first fill on 3/9/06 and I'm hoping to finally feel some restriction. I feel like I've already failed with the band because it seems like most people start losing immediately. I'm embarrassed to go see the doctor. I can just imagine what he'll think!!

I didn't feel any restriction until i reached 3 ccs which i reached on my second fill. It seems like alot of doctors go very slowly with the fills so don't lose hope. I am sure that there are lots of people out there who are losing slowly to begin with. I was lucky (I can say that now) because my doctor required 6 weeks of liquids after surgery so that is where i lost most of my weight.

I don't know how you stayed on liquids for 6 weeks without feeling any restriction. You must have been starving. I had a hard time on mushy foods. I'm hoping that my doctor will understand how frustrated I am and add atleast 2 ccs like I see you had on your first fill. I know I need to make healthier food choices. I hope that gets easier with a little restriction.

Hi Angie,

When you are first banded most of us have varying degrees of swelling from the surgery and that is what restriction is in the beginning. You are by no means a failure as your job right now is to just heal and take care of yourself and follow the diet as closely as possible! The doctor will be thrilled with you! You will get a different kind of restriction after your fill so try to relax! good luck