Here is info will come in handy when thinking about fills/adjustments. Great information. I have seen this information before and it is really good.

How to Tell When You Are Perfectly Adjusted

You are losing 1-2 pounds per week.

If you are not losing 1-2 pounds per week:

A. You may need an eating adjustment

1. Are you eating 60 grams of Protein a day

2. Are you eating 25 grams of Fiber

3. Are you avoiding all liquid calories

a. Soup can be sign of “soft calorie syndrome”

b. Alcohol contains a lot of calories – 7 calories per gram

(1) It’s also a stomach irritant

c. fruit juice is just sugar Water

4. Are you making healthy food choices from a wide variety of

foods?

a. Are you avoiding soft foods

b. You can’t just eat what’s easy

c. cheese is glorified fat

5. Are you drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day between meals

6. Are you eating too much junk

a. chips, chocolate, nuts, ice cream, Cookies and other highly

processed junk foods are too calorically dense to be regular parts of a

healthy diet. But don’t avoid them completely to the point where you

feel deprived.

b. Stay out of fast food places

7. Are you getting in two servings of Calcium daily

8. Do you always eat the protein first

9. Then the vegetables or fruits

a. Five servings a day

b. Potatoes are NOT a vegetable

10. Is your portion size appropriate?

a. meat or fish

(1) 3 ounces – the size of a deck of cards

b. Vegetables

(1) ½ cup – the size of your fist

c. Starch

(1) If you eat the protein and the vegetables first you don’t need

much

(2) Avoid: rice, potatoes, Pasta

11. You might try avoiding artificial sweeteners

a. Some people think that artificial sweeteners stimulate the

appetite

b. They are HUNDREDS of times sweeter than sugar

c. They teach you to like things too sweet

d. There is no evidence that people who use them are any thinner

than people who don’t

12. Avoid most diet foods

a. Real food usually tastes better

b. Real food is more satisfying than low calorie substitutes

c. When you are only eating a tiny bit the caloric savings is not

that great

(1) Use a teaspoon of real butter instead of a tablespoon of diet

margarine

(2) The body has no way to break down artificial fats

a. They may go into permanent storage

b. Some people think liposuction is the only way to remove

hydrolyzed fats from the body

B. You may need a behavior adjustment

1. Are you eating only when you are hungry?

a. If you’re not sure drink 8 ounces of water and wait.

2. Are you eating three meals a day?

a. With maybe 1 or 2 small Snacks

3. Are you sitting down to eat?

4. Are you eating consciously?

a. No distractions, turn off the TV, put the book or newspaper

away, pay attention to your food and your companions

5. Are you eating slowly?

a. Put the fork down between bites

b. Take 20 to 30 minutes to finish a meal

c. Taking longer might cause the pouch to begin emptying

6. Are you taking small bites?

a. Tiny spoon, chopsticks, cocktail fork

7. Are you chewing well?

8. Are you drinking with your meals or too soon after your meals?

a. Practice water loading between meals

b. You won’t be thirsty if you are well hydrated before the meal

9. Are you stopping at the first sign of fullness?

a. Sometimes it’s a whisper: not hungry, had enough

b. Hard stop versus soft stop

10. Do not eat between meals. Stop grazing.

11. Do not eat when you are not hungry

C. You may need an activity adjustment

1. Are you getting in 30 minutes of physical activity at least 3

times a week?

a. Over and above what you would do in the usual course of your day

b. Could you make it 4 or 5 times a week?

c. Could you make it 45 or 60 minutes?

2. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to increase your

physical activity?

a. Taking the stairs instead of the elevators or escalators

b. Walking on the escalators instead of riding

c. Parking your car further away from the entrance

d. Getting out of the car instead of using the drive through

e. Getting off the bus one stop before your destination

f. Washing you car by hand instead of the car wash

g. Playing with your kids

D. You may need an attitude adjustment

1. Are you committed to your weight loss journey?

2. Are you totally honest with yourself about how much you are

eating and exercising?

a. Log your food and activity on ww.fitday.com for 3 days

3. Are you using food inappropriately to deal with emotional

issues?

a. Have you identified what the emotions are that drive your

eating?

b. Can you think of more appropriate ways to deal with those

emotions?

c. Are you willing to seek help from a qualified counselor?

4. Are you attending and participating in support group meetings?

5. Have you drummed up some support from your family and friends?

6. Have you dealt with saboteurs realistically?

7. Do you have realistic expectations about the weight loss

journey?

8. Are you still obsessing about food, weight, dieting, eating?

a. Obsessive – compulsive thoughts

(1) Obsess about something else

b. Perfectionism

(1) All or none, black and white thinking

c. Patience with the pace of healthy weight loss

9. Are you acknowledging your successes with non-food rewards?

10. Have you learned how to take a compliment?

11. Are you giving up diet mentality?

a. Stop weighing yourself several times a day or every day

b. Stop dieting

c. Stop depriving yourself

d. Stop defining food as “good” and “bad”

e. Stop rewarding and punishing yourself with food

12. How do you feel about all the changes taking place?

E. You may need a band adjustment

1. You feel like you are making healthy food choices in appropriate

portion sizes but getting hungry between meals?

2. You can still eat white bread, fibrous vegetables and large

portions.

3. You are having to struggle to lose

4. You are gaining weight in spite of eating right, exercising and

having a good mind set.

F. You may need your band loosened

1. There are times when you can’t get fluids down

2. You are vomiting too much

a. How much is too much?

3. Do you have frequent reflux or heartburn at night?

a. Do not lie flat or bend over soon after eating

b. Do not eat late at night or just before bedtime

c. Rinse your pouch with a glass or water an hour before bedtime

d. Certain foods or drinks are more likely to cause reflux:

(1) Rich, spicy, fatty and fried foods

(2) Chocolate

(3) Caffeine

(4) Alcohol

(5) Some fruits and vegetables

a. Oranges, lemons, tomatoes, peppers

(6) Peppermint

a. Baking soda toothpaste

(7) Carbonated drinks

e. Eat slowly and do not eat big meals

f. If you smoke, quit smoking

g. Reduce stress

h. Exercise promotes digestion

i. Raise the head of your bed

j. Wear loose fitting clothing around your waist

k. Stress increases reflux

l. Take estrogen containing medications in the morning

m. Avoid aspirin, Aleve and ibuprofen at bedtime

(1) Tylenol is OK

n. Take an antacid (Pepcid complete) before retiring

o. Try other over-the-counter heartburn medications

p. See your health care provider

4. See your health care provider immediately (or call 911) if

a. You have a squeezing, tightness or heaviness in your chest,

especially if the discomfort spreads to your shoulder, arm or jaw or is

accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, irregular or fast

heartbeat or nausea. These could be symptoms of a heart attack.

b. If your symptoms are triggered by exercise.

c. If your pain localizes to your right side, especially if you

also have nausea or fever

d. If you throw up vomit that looks like black sand or coffee

grounds. Or if your stool is black, deep red or looks like it has tar

in it. These are symptoms of bleeding and need immediate attention.

(Note: Pepto-Bismol or other medications with bismuth will turn your

stool black. Iron supplements can also make the stool tarry.)

e. If your pain is severe

hi this is markie i had my first fill on oct 27 2207 had a reallly had time at first but feel much better now it hard for me because i work 7 7 at night and since coming off sick leave my life has been upside down

Do you remain on liquids prior to the fill?

Do you remain on liquids prior to the fill?

Dr. Neal requires me to be on liquids for 8 hours before a fill, and for 2 days after a fill, in order for the post-fill swelling to reduce.

Has anyone heard of another type of liquid other than saline used for a fill. I saw something about it a while back and it decreases the time you have to have fills.

It's called Omnipaque. Here is a link to the manufacturer and the previous thread:

Omnipaque (iohexol)

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f13/omnipaque-what-44159/

i was banded 071507 have had good results but lately am having burning pain in port area. has anyone else had this problem?

Some people get this type of port pain. Just to be sure it's not something bad, you will want to talk to your doctor about this.

i was banded 6-5-2006 in Denver have not lost very much weight . I have a small band was told that the 10cc were used for men, I feel very little restriction . I just had my third fill oct24. they always have a hard time finding the port. Did you have the same problem before the band slipped

Getting a proper fill level is always a combination of skill and luck in my experience. You have only had three fills so far, and many people require that and more fills to obtain proper restriction. My doctor does all fills under a fluoroscope to verify the fill level. One advantage of having fills under fluoroscope is that the port is easily identified under fluoroscope. Is fluoroscope a possibility for you? You may want to ask your doctor if it is available.

I have my appt coming up on 11/8 does everyone automatically get a fill after 6 wks? what does the Doctor consider when or often to give the patient a fill?

When Inamed (Allergan now) issued the guidelines that most surgeons use, they recommended the initial fill be done at 6 weeks. Doctors use different guidelines to determine fills.

Hi and thanks for all he good information you out out there. I have an appointment for a fill tomorrow, my second. I'm feeling discouraged because I have't lost anything since the inital phase after my surgery. I expected so much more. I think I will ask my doctor to be agressive with the fill. Anybody have this problem of not losing weight after one fill?

enruffol

after 2 fills and 4 1/2 months later I had only lost 9 lbs, I was so disappointed but after the 3rd fill, whew, I couldn't eat much at all, It has been a year now and I have lost 50lbs, I could stand to lose 10 or 15 more at the most, but when that fill is really tight, I can't keep hardly anything down but soup, so I am in no hurry for another fill.

Anniemay

coqqlgirl,

I would not go there full thats for sure, if it were me I would have only liquids but I know your stomach can't have anything in it when you go maybe water.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I hope you weren't too uncomfortable after the thris fill. Did it loosen up afterwards? I don't want the quality of my life to go down. It would be a drag throwing up every time I try to eat something.

Hi and thanks for all he good information you out out there. I have an appointment for a fill tomorrow, my second. I'm feeling discouraged because I have't lost anything since the inital phase after my surgery. I expected so much more. I think I will ask my doctor to be agressive with the fill. Anybody have this problem of not losing weight after one fill?

I gained weight until fill number 4.

enruffol..........I am ok now most of the time, I still can't eat bread unless it is very thin, I have trouble with salad sometimes and spaghetti. When they give me trouble and hurt,

I just go throw it up, its my only relief otherwise I would be uncomfortable about an hour. But to lose weight it had to be this way. Anniemay

I have a question you guys. I have a very tight fill right now and I am trying to get more then just soups down but having difficulty. I am really having a lot of gas that is very painful. I chew gas x all day long to try to prevent it but it isn't helping very much. I never had gas like this before. I am not using a straw anymore to drink liquids. Have you guys come across this issue and what did you do to prevent the extra gas bubble in your stomach. I had a ultrasound done last night because I am having pains such as gallbladder stones and the lady told me I had a lot of gas in me. Thank goodness there was no sight of any stones. Any advice would be sooo grateful!!!

Vikki........my problem is mainly throwing up and not so much gas, but my Dr. told me to take Prilosec, I prefer Pepsid AC, however, are you drinking enough water?

Anniemay