Too tight? Too loose?

[AshevilleEddie 14]

Ok, I had my second fill three weeks ago tomorrow. I'm at 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band. Whenever I drink I can pretty much chug as much as I want. When I eat certain soft/mushy-type foods I can eat more than I think I should be able to before I get full. But when I try to eat solids, most things tend to get somewhat stuck after about 5 or 6 bites. meats are the worst, and I'm not talking dry, tough meats either. Even hamburger, fish and moist, tender cuts of chicken are difficult too. The odd thing is that it doesn't happen all the time, but it's enough to be troubling. Even resorting to mushies as much as I have been, I'm still eating a fraction of what I did pre-band (averaging between 1,000 and 1,200 calories or less) and have only lost 4 pounds in the last six weeks. I have days that I think "Wow, I really need another fill" and then there are days that make me feel like I need to go in for an unfill. I do have a fill apointment set for 7/26, but I'm not sure what I need to do when I get there! Any ideas??

[blj5362 0]

Sorry I can't give you any advice I am the same way. I am anxious to see what other people think about it.

[CARIE 0]

I Got My First Fill On Monday And I'm Still Pretty Hungry, But I Cannot Eat meat Either. chicken salad And tuna Is Fine But Nothing Else.

[AshevilleEddie 14]

I made something at lunch that I thought should have been a no-brainer - tuna and fat-free cream cheese - but it got stuck and I almost PBed on it. Then last night I decided to go mushies (because of the near-PB) and made some pimiento and cheese. Over the course of the night I ate the whole f***ing thing!! Part of it was stress eating, but part of it was real hunger. I bumped up my next fill to Monday morning. I still don't know if it's the right thing to do, but I'll have a chance to sit down and talk to the doc first...

[GC53 0]

I am pretty much the same as this. Had a big fill a couple of weeks ago - lost about 5/6 lbs since - but can drink whatever I want, but trying to eat anything really is a no-no. Tried a little chicken last night and was in agony, bent over PBing and feeling really sick. So had a smoothie instead.

I seem to be sticking to smoothies, Soups and shakes - which I am happy to do as long as I lose the weight.

Funnily I can eat bread as long as I chew and chew, vegetables or salad is fine, fruit seems to be OK but eggs forget it, rice no-way. Yoghurts are OK too.

[barbie2007 0]

I can eat most things as long as I chew really well. My advice would be to talk to your doctor. Be totally honest with him/her and then take their advice. GOOD LUCL!!

[juliegeraci 7]

YOu sound like a typical bandster with a finacky band. I too have the same results as you. I am losing at the same pace as you as well. The only way I would gauge it is if you can eat more than 1/4 cup of food at a time. If you can then you definitely need a fill. It sounds like you are, however at the right place. Because one way to measure is solid Protein. You sound just like me. I can eat about 5-8 bites of solid protein but not much else.

[maryrose 2]

Oh my Gosh Ms. Dad,

I came to this site specifically with this ? in mind! I have Appt. for a fill tomorrow, but I really am not 100% sure.

I felt really good restriction up til about 2 weeks ago. I can almost pinpoint the meal? Has this ever happened to you? Not thinking, I got through a lot of my mean and then said to myself "what the heck"...I should not have been able to eat that without seriously being ready to PB. I have had a hard time giving up the bingeing thingy and getting myself too full, but this has not happened for a while.

I do get that feeling of restriction also from too much "hard Protein" and actually did PB a little bit last night from a lil pig out, I can't for the life of me remember now what I ate...lol.

Oh well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow. I'm going to ask for just the smallest amout. I want to be back where I was a few weeks ago.

I don't think I have lost more than maybe 2 or 3 pounds in the last month.

Good luck Ms Dad!

[Danno 0]

Eddie, I read about your problem, If you can eat without throwing up, stay right where it is, it will take time to lose weight, the 1st 6 weeks or so is Water, it takes 2 months to go through that, you were only banded in May, you should give it 6 months, usually you do not want a fill for some time after the surgery to let the band heal and not cause slipping. I lost most of the weight the 2 weeks before banding, then it was slow for a while, but it came off gradually, rememberm everybody is different, what works for some does not for others, you have tolearn what your body can do, so give it some time, I started at 265, and down to 219 almost 2 years now, its a learning experience, if you have questions you can e-mail me for help

Danno

[AshevilleEddie 14]

Well, over the weekend I was able to eat pretty much ANYTHING! And was actually hungry enough to. I had called the dr's office last Friday to see what I should do. Since I was so frustrated they went ahead and bumped my appointment to Monday. So I went in and explained to my doc what was going on and he thought I needed another fill. Sooo, I decided (note, I decided) that I wanted to be a little over-restricted, enough to tell. So I get my fill, I can tell the Water I'm drinking is moving down very slowly, but I don't think anything about it. By the time I made my next appointment and got out to the car I knew it was way too much. I very quickly went back in and told the receptionist what was going on. Well, in about two minutes flat (about the time it took that Water to come back up ) the nurse had me back on the table and was yelling down the hall for the doc! He did a slight unfill and all was well again. I am still much tighter than I've ever been, but I'm getting my fluids and Protein shakes down just fine. I can't really eat solids until lunchtime and I am still able to eat more in the evening. But I asked my doc about that and he said that it's a phenomenon he's had lots of patients report to him. He said as long as I can get some calories in by 10 or 11 in the morning to get my metabolism moving, that's fine. And liquid calories count so I can drink my Protein shake first thing instead of waiting until closer to bedtime like I've been doing. But cold shakes don't go down very easily that early, so just figured out that I can heat my low-carb milk before I add my Protein powder and have "hot cocoa" for breakfast! Kills two birds with one stone. The hot liquid relaxes my esophagus so I can get my Protein in early, plus it's still somewhat relaxed at lunch time so I'm able to eat solids much more easily! I think I'm pretty close to my sweet spot as I've actually lost 4 lbs as of this morning!! :biggrin1:

Sorry for the long post, but I didn't want to leave anything out!

[judyb 0]

If you are doing ANY productive burping, see your Dr. before you have another fill. I was having the same problem, and was too tight. I thought it was my fault, maybe taking too big a bite, or eating too fast, but my band had slipped, and I had to have surgery to have it repositioned.

[lor 0]

I am having the same issue and I was actually coming on to find out how you know you've slipped. Can you tell?

Currently, I am Pbing sometimes on almost anything, especially animal Proteins, then other times can eat large amnts of almost anything. If I'm having a run on PBing I get so damn hungry that I eat loads of yogurt and ice cream. I've actually gained weight!

I have to go to TJ everytime I need to fill or have it looked at so I'm resistant.

I am having a hard time understanding how this all works if sometimes I'm tight and sometimes I can eat anything.

Any clues?

[Yvetth 0]

How exactly did you know it slipped? I've been having lots of burping after I eat, was that the only sign you had?

Has anybody else had burping and the band has not slipped? I am 4 week out since banded adn I still have some pain were the portal is, has anyone else had this? I have an appt next week so I will as my Dr. but I am just wondering?

[judyb 0]

I was also sometimes able to eat almost anything, but more often, had problems keeping things down. I didn't have a clue my band had slipped until my flouroscopy. If you're not losing 1 to 2 lbs a week, my Dr. said there could be a problem. I had stopped losing, and had "put up" with this for a few months, before I went in to be checked. He un-filled me for a couple of weeks to see if the band would re-position on it's own, but it didn't. The second surgery was much more complicated, due to all of the scar tissue, but it was the right thing to do. My advice to anyone who is "productive burping" is go immediately to your Dr. It may save you from a repeat performance!