We went to have lunch at Golden Corral...btw they charged me off of the senior citizen menu for the buffet...

I had my 2nd fill one week ago today. I have felt a difference, not really what I anticipated as "restriction" based on the accounts that I have read. But--I could tell when I drank my Water that things were moving a little slower than I had been accustomed since the first fill and before the first fill. However, since that second fill, last wednesday, I have had no internal indication that I had eaten enough at any meal. I was even SUPER STOOPID on the weekend, and gave in to a whole Totino's pizza from my oven((600 calories)) Bad, I know, and I punished myself by walking fast on my treadmill until the treadmill said that i had burned 400 calories.((PHEW!!)) OK, here is the thing now, today, I fixed myself a plate with a salad with egg and turkey + lf dressing, and a chicken strip. This is my typical lunch. I scrape most of the bread off of the chicken, and I have about 2-3 ounces of meat. (the manager is a buddy of mine and let me weigh it on their food scales so that i could have idea for sizing my portions) So i sit down to eat. Most of the chicken goes down. I steal a fried okra piece from DH. I eat some bites of salad(5-6 small bites) then I try a little piece of what is left of the chicken, and BAM! Like a ton of bricks, my band was saying "WHOOOOOOOOOOAA!!!" So I stopped. I thought maybe this was the dreaded PB thing about to happen, and I braced myself. No slime, no pressure, just the ole "HELLO" there is a band here sensation. So I stop, in the meantime, i am trying to decide whether this was restriction that I just encounted, and I nibble on a roll((bread does not give me any problems, it actually tends to stay put a little longer and keep me from being hungry...I know--bad food---I limit the stuff)) The bread stayed put and did not cause me any pain. The deal was, it got my attention very effectively, and while i probably could have eaten more, I found that I was MORE than content with the amount of food i had consumed. I was even able to push away the sugarfree desert i had picked up.

So, ladies and gentlemen, is this what restriction is? Or is restriction something more pronounced??:nervous

Nope, you found it. Hello restriction!!!!

I would suggest that probably what you felt was your band telling you to slooooow down. Sounds like you may have been eating at the old pace and it "pinched" you back.

Congrats...that "whoa I can't eat anymore" is what the band is about!

Thanks, Moonie,

I am so pleased. I hope this is not something that comes and goes. I could use this kind of "pinch" at every meal!

I think I may have lost some weight since my fill, but it is THAT time of the month, so I can't really tell. I sure hope this means I have arrived at the foot of the mountain that i am about to climb...

HELLLLOOOOO??

bumping for more opinions...hopefully...someone, anyone...?

Sounds like restriction to me, and sounds like we're in just about the same spot. I had my 2nd fill on the 28th. I didn't feel too much before that, but I could feel applesauce & bananas (no idea why those 2 things only) "hanging out" or something.

Anyway, I've had 2 PBs since my 2nd fill and I'm 99% sure it's due to getting too secure with my eating habits after not having any problems after my 1st fill. I think both times I either didn't chew well enough, or swallowed too much at once (I'm fairly sure swallowing too much at once brought on my most recent PB). I spent all that time re-training myself how to eat, then I think I got a little too "safe" with what I could do & how, and I think now I just need to re-learn, again.

I don't feel like I have any phsyical limitation to how much I can eat. I usually make myself stop after a healthy amount, but in terms of a mechanical device making me stop - definitely don't feel like I'm there yet. I certainly CAN eat more than I do, I just don't feel the need to -- the hunger goes away. But on the rare occasion that my hunger doesn't go away, I've had no problems eating more than a bandster portion (in which is case I'm still eating much much less than I'd eat pre-op).

What I DO feel is the food "catching" sometimes. I think it happens when the food gathers in the pouch before going on down. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, and it doesn't correlate with any particular foods that I can feel. This "feeling" kind of feels like belly cramps, on either side of my bellybutton. I'm not sure why it hurts there. 99% of the time it goes away in a few minutes, gradually lightening up, followed by LOTS of throaty gurling and maybe some hiccups, and I can resume eating my meal like normal and won't have any more problems at all.

When I've PBed since my 2nd fill it has started off with this feeling, but quickly progressed to my "PB Pain" -- which for me is centered in my spine between my shoulderblades (which is also where I feel brain freeze) and in my waist, right where I might put my hands if I was standing in an impatient pose. That's why I think the "1st stage" pain is the food accumulating in the pouch -- because it makes sense that the food can either get through or not, and when it does I gurgle and when it doesn't I PB it back up. At the same time I HOPE it's not just the food accumuilating in the pouch, because that's what is supposed to happen, and I don't really like the tought of getting "the right level" of restriction and feeling this every time I eat. Who knows, and the challenges of describing these foreign feelings to others certainly doesn't help get a lot of input on what's going on. :second:

Thanks Wheetsin,

I was hoping you would respond. You always know how to find the right words to describe the inner-goings-on of the body.

I sure hope this is restriction, I can lose weight this way!!

I dont think restriction feels like most people anticipate it will and therefore we dont always recognise it.

To me, eating feels entirely normal, its just that I get full sooner. I can eat more when I'm super hungry and cant really force myself to eat if I'm really not hungry. But getting full feels just like it always did, it just happens sooner.

thanks for the input!

defintally restriction! it sounds like your pouch was full when you went for what was left of the chicken. thats why you FELT it. if you had not chewed well enough then you would have had continued intense pressure (golf ball), drooling, hiccups or PB.

also fills seem to tighten up a few weeks after you get one. iam MUCH tighter now a month after my last fill than i was the first day to two weeks.

hope this helps!

I think restriction is ever evolving and can be as individual as we are. When I was first banded, I felt kind of "full all the time". Once I got a couple of months out, I got hungry sometimes but after I ate a reasonable meal the band just made me feel satisfied. I wouldn't say it reigned me in or anything, just full and satisfied. With my most recent fill, I am getting more restriction. Sometimes, I can feel the first couple bites go down. It's not painful, nor do I bring it up. I can just feel it going down. Once in a while during my meal, I feel it going down, too. I see it as a sign that I'm eating too fast or not chewing well enough. I haven't PB'd or anything, it's just there reminding me to play by it's rules.

It sounds to me like you have restriction. If it was letting you know that it was there, it was restricting your food in some way, shape or form.

I have had no fills yet. But I get pretty full at a cup of food. Is this common? Sounds like you have got great restriction. I know if I eat to fast it really hurts. But I have not puked. Do most people only puke after they have had a fill?

Yep, that's it! However, it IS ever evolving! Depends on time of month or day, foods, etc..

Shawn

If you're having your period right now you're probably feeling more restriction than you will once it's over - at least that's what I keep reading here on LBT. I had my one and (I can only hope) ONLY PB while on my period. I know, dream on.

I haven't had a fill yet and the reason I haven't, is because I'm afraid I'll PB over and over until I can get it into my head I HAVE TO TAKE SMALLER BITES! I HAVE TO WAIT BETWEEN BITES. I'm working on it but it's slow going.

Keep us posted about your restriction. I'm particularly keen to know how it's going as I have my first fill scheduled for this Monday - but I may chicken out and cancel.

thanks so much for ALL of your input!! I am really excited and hope this restriction sticks around to play for a little while. I will follow all of the advice you all have offerred. I will keep any changes posted on this thread for those who are interested.

Thanks for mentioning the part about my monthly...i did not even think of how that would effect my restriction. I will keep all these things in mind.

and by the way, i felt no restriction at all with my first. I could eat whole side of beef with no problem. First fill was 1.3 and now i have 1.8cc.

That is restricition, for me, if I eat any more I will be in pain - even if it is just one more bite. I have now learned that is my "stop sign."

mini-me

What size band do you have? I'm trying to figure out what the average first fill is for the 10 cm band. I get my first fill next Thursday and am praying he is aggressive. I have already gained back 5 lbs.