I was banded on 11/12, and had my first fill Saturday, December 29. I have a 9.75 Inamed band, and she put in 1.3 cc's of Fluid. She did the fill under flouroscopy with a little lidocaine right before she inserted the needle. It didn't hurt at all during the fill, but it did start stinging quite a bit later on. The port site is sore to the touch now, but not so much that I can't stand it. I have a lot of restriction, and fluctuate between being able to eat fairly well and not being able to eat much of anything without extreme discomfort (okay, I'll even go so far as to say pain). I am using this Special K Protein Water mix (10 grams of protein) and Light Muscle Milk (20 g of protein) to supplement, and drinking quite a bit of hot tea throughout the day. Also, I had 4 oz of cottage cheese, which added another 11 g's of protein. All in all I think it's going okay. Not sure what to expect in the way of how long it will be before I can do a little better with solid foods, but I don't feel desperate, so I think it's going good.

The one thing that really bothers me is that although I lost 9 pounds initially right after surgery (that was all within the first week, and was due to serious vomiting), I haven't lost any more weight, and even now it's not coming off. I'm walking a minimum of 2 miles a day, and drinking plenty of fluids. Is it possible that drinking so many fluids might be keeping me from losing the weight? Does that happen to some people? I'll give it another month or so before I try changing anything, but I'll admit it, I'm getting a little frustrated. I'm following the dr's instructions to the letter (other than the fact that I still can't eat as much as she recommends) and not losing. She said I ought to be losing 1 1/2 to 2 pounds a week. I couldn't stand to have any more liquid in the band right now, or I wouldn't be able to eat at all, so it's not for lack of a good fill. Any suggestions?

Kristine

wow you and i got banded the same day -- and are going through the same things somewhat.

at first my dr said i wasnt eating enough - i had to up my calorie intake with healthy calories and guess what -- although i was eating a bit more, i lost weight.

i started eating too much and foods would get stuck all the time so really be carefull with how much and what you eat.

i too got very frustrated with the little amount of weight that i lost .. i just got my 2nd fill (but had an unfill so this is like my frst fill) on dec 28 and its too tight -- i have a 3cc nad with 1.2 cc in it now. weird it would be too tight...

My band holds 4cc's, and I think 1.3 will prove to be about right for the first fill. It's really tight at this point, but by the end of the month, when she told me I'd likely need my next fill, it will surely loosen up a bit. As luck would have it, after writing this yesterday, I got up this morning and discovered I've lost another 2 pounds. So, if this continues I will be thrilled. I am not really able to eat much of anything, but I keep trying. Yesterday all I was able to get down was 4 oz of cottage cheese. Today, I was determined to eat some solid food, and I found these little 4 oz. tuna steaks at the grocery with 34 g's of Protein. It took me over an hour to eat it, and I had to drink hot tea with it, just to get it down (I know I'm not supposed to be drinking with meals, but that's literally the only way I can get anything to go down right now), so now I have in half my protein for the day, and even if I have to drink a muscle milk tonight, I feel comfortable that I'll be able to get in 60 g's of protein today. My goal for this week is to be able to eat all my protein and to get to the point where I can also eat some vegetables with it. I never imagined it would be this hard just to eat such a tiny amount. My fill doc told me I ought to be aiming for 1200 calories a day, but right now I'm doing well to get down 600 a day, including the protein Water and muscle milk. Funny thing is, I don't really feel that hungry, because I'm constantly drinking tea or water or something, just to manage getting in all the liquids for the day. This is a lot of work!

You must have gotten your first fill really early. I tried to talk my fill doc into it, but she wouldn't budge. I guess it's for the best, though. It's the long run that counts now, isn't it?

Kristine

Texas

Make sure you aren't taking in too many liquid calories. Solid protein is better for you. I was too tight and when I got some take out the hunger reappeared. That is the only downside.

are you able to get down any solid foods ? I know you said tuna but that's a soft prtoien . You sound like you might be a little tight ?

I too had a hard time getting in enough calories at first. You really should be trying to get in more solid Proteins rather than the liquids, that will help you stay full longer. If you have a snack , make sure it has Protein in it .

try to keep your liquids to Water if you can . If you are unable to keep solids down you might need an unfill ?

HTH

Mindy

Yesterday all I could manage was cottage cheese, and today I was able to eat the tuna fillet, and may try some cooked carrots for dinner. I'm drinking a lot of hot tea (about 48 ounces a day - 0 calories), and have been supplementing the lack of Protein with protein Water (30 cals), and if needed, I drink a muscle milk (140 cals, 20 grams protein). But, I only do that to make sure I'm at least meeting the protein goal for the day. The hot tea seems to help loosen the band, but still I can't even think about eating anything before noon. I'm not feeling hungry, though. All this drinking all day long is preventing my appetite from kicking in. I may need to get a little taken out, but I figured I would wait another week or so to see if it's just a little inflamed from the whole first fill thing. The liquid calories I'm consuming aren't much. Generally less than 75 cals a day (well, that was the usual before the fill), unless I have to drink the extra protein, which is every day for now. My daily totals right now are under 500 cals a day for solids + liquids, but I'm going to shoot for more like 1000 cals a day by month's end. My fill doc seemed to be stressing that the daily protein and the water are the most important things, so since I'm getting that, shouldn't it be okay for now? I can stand this for now, even though it's not the best, so probably won't head in for an unfill. Doesn't it generally get less tight after a while?

Kristine

Texas

I am getting my first fill tomorrow.....I, too lost 10 lbs the first 2 weeks, then only 1 lb since then. I am looking forward to the fill. I can tell I have restriction, but not as much as the first week. Here's hoping I can't hold much after the fill! I would be pretty depressed about the band right now and my lack of weight loss if not for these wonderful folks who have gone before - and had the same issues. Thanks, y'all!

Good luck, TXbandit. I was on liquids for the first day after my fill, and then mushies for the second day. The second day I was able to eat pretty well, but the third day it kicked in quite a bit more. I've noticed today that a lot more Water weight is starting to come off, so I think this week I'll definitely have some pretty good weight loss. I sure would like to hear how it goes for you. Post back, will you?

Kristine

Texas