I bet I am not the only one after 2 months, eating around 600 calories per day, no bad foods, am so tight I can barely eat but dreading slight unfill because I feel like I made a bad decision in gettin last fill. Feel like I should have known better. Surely, I'm not the only one. My husband is griping because I was self pay and have been out around 20 grand but thank the Lord, Dr. Curry doesn't charge for unfills but then I feel I'm wasting his time as well.

Wouldn't you all agree this morning I tried to eat 1 cup of oats and could only eat 1/2 cup then at 2pm tried to eat green Beans and after 4 bites said forget it. I haven't lost a pound since my fill. I hate to have the unfill because I feel stupid, but, this not eating and still not losing has got to stop.

I just figured that maybe there were more people going through with these feelings than me and just thought maybe we could support each other in this.

Thanks for listening,

Seasoned bander of 9 months who still makes mistakes,

Sherri

Hmmmm...Yeah, I feel your pain...no pun intended. I think I can top you though by saying I've done this over and over. Fill, unfill, fill, unfill....it's as bad as binging and purging. I basically sabotage myself by eating wrong after a fill then pb'ing and continuing to eat wrong until I am so swollen I cannot even get a bit of water down. Go get a slight unfill and just be careful what you eat. Either that or you can try doing pepto for a few days to see if maybe you just have an irritated band. However, it sounds to me like you are too tight.

Ok, here's the thing....it's counter intuitive...but being overfilled often makes you GAIN or not lose. Why? Because you seek out crap food you CAN eat and have it...thus sabotaging weight loss.

My surgeon has a philosophy on fills:

"I'd rather you be a bit too loose and eat a bit too much chicken than be a bit too tight and eat crap food that will go through"

It is NOT A SIN to get an unfill. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!!!!!!

Get an unfill....it might just kick in some weight loss!!!!!!

Thanks both of you for the advice. I just feel like after 9 months I should know when I need a fill and when I don't but I guess it's just a learning experience. I agree about the junk food. I don't eat hardly any but I grant you a potatoe chip goes down so smooth and you let me eat meat and I'm going to get stuck and is just that simple. Well I am going to go for it and get a slight unfill, I have nothing too loose but a little money but that doesn't matter at this point.

Thanks for your help.

I wouldnt hesitate to have an unfill. I got another fill about four weeks ago despite having decided Iprobably wouldnt have anymore. My weight just hadnt moved in about 2 months. I've never wanted to be tight in any way, shape or form and I couldnt see a reason in the world why I personally would need to be as I've lost all my weight quite well on 1500 to 1800 calories a day until the last little bit before goal. So I was perfectly prepared to find myself too tight (for me) and go back and have it removed, I said to my doc "I just want to try this, I'm not sure its what I want but I really want to lose these last 2 or 3 kgs". That was fine by him and as it turned out, just all of my other fills, it made only a teeny bit of difference, not the huge difference I thought it would.

Dont hesitate. You cannot be nourished and healthy on 600 calories a day. You'll be starving and you'll end up eating crap that will go down.

I just had an unfill, my first ever. Ther eis nothing wrong with going in and saying hey, I am a little too tight. Remember that being too tight can lead to a dialated pouch and even a slip. It's just not worth it, go get an unfill.

My current fill is the first that I have ever kept this long. Sometimes you have to experiment and see what works for you.

Maybe you did need a fill just a smaller one then what you recieved? Maybe it wasn't a mistake to get the fill, maybe you just got a bit more than you needed? ~Mandy

My dear, that is what your doctor is there for. Its quite common. I would simply make an appointment and do it. I just went for 3ccs to 1.5ccs because I couldn't hold down solids. They see this stuff all the time. Julie

Interesting....I've got an appointment for my second fill on May 11, and I've been debating with myself whether I need it or not. I've had a few episodes of being stuck, briefly, two pb's, and one sliming episode. All of these were totally because I was eating too fast and didn't stop at the earliest warning signal....

I am able to eat a bit more than I think I should be able to eat sometimes, but I rarely find myself "stuffed" or even full after a meal, because I'm starting to learn what "satisfied" feels like.

Taking all this into consideration, along with the fact that I AM still losing weight at this point as long as I drink all my Water and exercise at least 4 times a week, I feel that a fill at this point in my journey would be counter-productive, so I think I'll wait....

THANK YOU for this post. It helped me to finally decide what is right for me at this time.

I'm in the same boat. With the exception of alot of weight loss. That's part of my problem. I don't want to get an unfill because I've lost a ton of weight. I am about 16lbs to goal. But I am puking up most everything I eat. So im going today for a slight unfill. I will let you know how it goes. Good luck. I hope you find your sweet spot. And you are never alone in what your going thru. I can tell you at least one other person on this site has been there and done that too. Good luck again.

Donna

I was banded 3/21/07. Lost 24 lbs by 5/3/07, when I had my first fill of 1cc. The only difference I feel after the fill is that some foods get momentarily "stuck"---pain in chest for a few seconds and then the feeling of relief as the food passes through...but it takes a lot to give me that "full" feeling. The feeling of being stuffed---Thanksgiving Day full---is what I crave ! I'm having another fill in 2 days and I hope to feel full with just a small amount of food...is that realistic???

I just have to say, be very careful about being too tight. I procrastinated in getting an unfill and eventually ended up with a slip. PBing alot increases the chance of a slip. If you think you need an unfill, get an unfill. Don't feel guilty, feel like a failure or feel like you are wasting your surgeon's time! It is in your best interest to have the proper amount of fill.

I was banded 3/21/07. Lost 24 lbs by 5/3/07, when I had my first fill of 1cc. The only difference I feel after the fill is that some foods get momentarily "stuck"---pain in chest for a few seconds and then the feeling of relief as the food passes through...but it takes a lot to give me that "full" feeling. The feeling of being stuffed---Thanksgiving Day full---is what I crave ! I'm having another fill in 2 days and I hope to feel full with just a small amount of food...is that realistic???

I might be wrong, but I think if you eat to that point of being full --Thanksgiving Day full-- That you are putting yourself dangerously at risk of some serious complications. You could slip, stretch your pouch, or cause yourself esophageal problems, etc. Unless you don't CARE whether you keep your band long-term....

It is possible to feel satisfied, even full on a small amount of full, but I don't think it's wise to push your band to it's limits...

Thank each of you for your thoughts, ideas, and help. Jack I could probably use another 10, I always LOVE reading your posts. I got the .3 and its a good thing I did. I can eat now and still getting stuck some so I probably needed a little more out but can't imagine if I hadn't of got that out. I am taking it easy, eating right, trying to exercise and following the bandstger rules. Started losing again but very slow. Breaking this 200 mark into the 100's feels almost like a curse to me. It seems almost impossible but I know in time I'll get there.

Again, Thank you all.

I was banded 3/21/07. Lost 24 lbs by 5/3/07, when I had my first fill of 1cc. The only difference I feel after the fill is that some foods get momentarily "stuck"---pain in chest for a few seconds and then the feeling of relief as the food passes through...but it takes a lot to give me that "full" feeling. The feeling of being stuffed---Thanksgiving Day full---is what I crave ! I'm having another fill in 2 days and I hope to feel full with just a small amount of food...is that realistic???

Nope.

Being stuffed like a Tday turkey is not really the feeling we are looking for. Remember, the hardest part of banding is relearning old stuff. We USED to want to be stuffed full. Today we are looking for satisfied. Every 2nd or 3rd bite stop and think, are you still hungry or are you satisfied? You are thinking "fat" and that is what got us fat to begin with.

Being T-day turkey stuffed full is what causes slips and pouch/esophagus stretching. You really aren't looking for stuffed full, you are looking for "not hungry" ... that is a much safer bet.

It's sooo hard for us to wrap our brain around the concept of food being for survival. We eat to live, not live to eat. You simply don't need to be T-day stuffed, you need to be not hungry.