Anyone else for March 11th?

[O2BThinAgain 0]

I don't know what this means? I go on Thursday for my second fill. My first fill really didn't do anything for me. I haven't lost but 2 pounds this past month and have not felt any type of restriction or have had problems with anything. I've had a few bites of bread, just to try it, and it didn't bother me. I mean, I do get full quicker than I used to and I'm not eating anywhere near what I used to. I didn't know you could have air in there. What does air in your band do?

[chica 2]

Well, that was kinda my question. The PA explained that the band is taken out of the box and may have air in it to maintain the shape, so they flush it with saline to force the air out. Some of that saline may stay in the band and show up at fills. They pull out the prior fill to make sure what they put in at prior fills is still there -- less than that might indicate a leak. (Weird that the extra 1.2cc didn't show up at my second one though, but it was the surgeon and not the PA who did the fill. The surgeon doesn't do nearly as many fills...)

My first 2 fills did nothing for me, but I've been focused on my Protein and exercising when I can. I did lots of walking on my trip and I think that helped a great deal in combatting the other sins (alcohol, cheesecake) I committed.

Congratulations on reaching Onederland!! I hope to join you there soon...

[EAbadie 0]

Hey Chica & rest of the gang.... I've had 4 fills now and really have a hard time with dumping/PB :eek:. I know to eat slow and in small bites but it is happening almost all the time now. Any other suggestions?

On the up side, I've started running a mile and walking a mile 6 days a week in the morning. I've also joined a local health club though I haven't gone much. Exercise has been easy...but not eating. Not how I thought it would be.

[bossstar 0]

Hi ... its been awhile since I posted so here is an update.

I am on my 3rd fill (which I had done last week). The first two fills did very little for me. The 3rd one did alot. I went from eating pretty much whatever I wanted to really paying attention to my diet.

All in all, I lost 52 pounds before the 3rd fill. Since then I have have had to pay close attention to my choices and portions. For a while, I felt immune to following the guidelines since I was eating normal foods and still losing weight. I have not been hungry at all. Infact eating is just not as much fun.

I have a question for those of you that have reached a good restriction ... How much can you eat? Use a boneless chicken breast as an example. I just want to make sure I don't have too much restriction.

[chica 2]

Wow, ladies, you are doing fantastically well with your weight loss!! :eek:

I have to admit that I've been struggling along for a bit too. This eating with restriction is becoming a little Pavlovian where sometimes you don't even want to try to eat for fear of the results, even if you're careful about bite size and chewing. Sometimes stuff just doesn't go down well.

The other night, after a day with no problems, I took some Tylenol capsules and a few sips of Water in the middle of the night (because my legs hurt from overdoing it on Wii Fit), and they got stuck! How annoying!

My doc and I have been reluctant to put more fill in, but when all is going well, I know I can still eat too much (however rare those times may be). On the other hand, they think I'm not getting enough Protein, so for the next week or so, I'm trying to get 100+ grams (including 2 shakes a day)to see if it will break the plateau I've been at for the last month. If not, I guess I'll have to go for more fill?

Why is this not easier?

[EAbadie 0]

Bossstar - sounds like your third fill & my fourth yielded the same results. I was also able to eat anthing and had lost 40 or so lbs.! Guess those days are over. I am sitting here burping as I type. Haven't tried a chicken breast yet but struggled through my 10:30 banana at Noon! Attempted lunch but no can do. I'm thinking of asking for a saline release soon. I'm not hungry though. When I see the food, it looks good and appeals to me but it is too much work to try to eat it. I still drink a Protein Drink every morning...but I can't drink it as quickly. I have to take baby sips and that takes such a long time. Do you all think this behavior is normal?

[bossstar 0]

I am struggling to decide whether I am overfilled or just trying to over eat. I keep getting a tight feeling in my chest and while nothing is coming up (PB), I think it would feel better if it would. I have been trying to slow down and reduce the amount of food that I try to eat but I haven't gotten the hang of it yet since I have had the tightness almost everytime I eat something.

I haven't been hungry since the last fill but I just can't believe that I am supposed to eat such a small amount of food. Just to give you an idea, I have only been able to eat a 1/4 of a grilled chicken breast and a couple bites of veggies. Should I be eating less than this?

[EAbadie 0]

Bossstar!...I was overfilled. Tuesday night I was so miserable I was in tears. Although I wasn't very hungry, I literally could not eat but a few morsels of vegetables at lunch earlier that day. I knew I had to call the Dr. but the next day I had to attend a prepaid seminar for work and I absolutely could not miss it. At lunch on Wednesday, I tried to eat a little Soup and half of a small baked potatoe. You guessed it...I could not do it. The little bit I did eat came back up later. I called the Dr.'s office and they were able to fit me in right before they were about to close on my way home. I saw the nurse practioner who was able to take out 2 ccs. (I had been given 3 ccs on the Friday before) so she left in 1 cc. I was relaying all I had been through to the NP and she said it was no big cause for alarm. She said they have to unfill about 2-3 people per day and so it is common. Well I tell you, it was no fun for me!

I asked her if I could eat later that day or if I should just be careful and stick to liquids. She said that I should be able to eat normally which sounded good to me cause I was feeling hungry. I had not had any substantial food in 5 days! We went out to eat later that night and thank goodness I was back to normal. I actually ate my food and enjoyed it. I didn't eat a full plate but I did eat a good bit. So maybe you are overfilled too!

What I have learned from all of this is to listen to your body. If something feels wrong, it probably is. Call your Dr. and see....it can't hurt.

The only "good" thing that came from all of this is that when I got on the scale at the Dr.'s, I found out I had lost FIVE more pounds! That's 5 pounds in 5 days. I'll probable put some of that back since I am eating again. But I feel so much better. Let me know what happens with you.

[bossstar 0]

EAbadie ... I am happy to hear that you are feeling better. I already have my appointment set for tomorrow morning .. that will be a week since the fill. They added 3ccs to me too so I am curious to how much they will take out. I don't want to lose all my restriction because I didn't feel much restriction before this fill.

By the way, our weight loss is almost identical. Ofcouse I have much further to go.

[bossstar 0]

Well I am currently 1cc lighter and feel much much better. I am back to eating good portions with no pain. My Fluid intake is also back to normal.

[EAbadie 0]

Glad to hear you are better, Bossstar. You are right...our weight loss is very similar as is our surgery dates. And then it turns out we were both overfilled by 2ccs! I'm just glad we're both through it now. I did have a PB the next day at lunch but dinner went fine.

I have to say that I am concerned that I tend to PB/slime about every 2 days or so and I'm worried about the harmful effects it's doing on my band. I have improved on taking slow, small bites and it almost never happens when I do that but sometimes it still does. I think I've figured out a pattern. My lunch hour at work starts at Noon. I find I'm really not that hungry now at that time so when I go eat, it tends to come up. On the weekends, I eat only when I am hungry and I don't have such a hard time. I'm going to try eating at 1:00 to see if that helps.

Anyway, Bosstar -- keep up the good work. Did you find out if you lost anymore weight when you went to get unfilled?

[bossstar 0]

I lost about 6 pounds in 7 days. The weight loss was great but not enough to endure the discomfort that happened everytime I put something in my mouth.

I am back to normal. I eat the size portions that I am supposed to. I haven't really gotten hungry which means that I don't snack and will lose weight at a healthy pace.

[bossstar 0]

I have officially lost 100 pounds!!!

[EAbadie 0]

Wow Bossstar! :crying: That is really great! A big congratulations to you. You should be very proud. How are you doing it? Can you give us any tips or advice? I have been stuck at 60 lbs. Anything you can share would be greatly appreciated. Again, WAY TO GO Bossstar!!! :smile2:

[bossstar 0]

I don't really have any advice because I have been pretty much eating whatever I want in smaller portions. Since I can't eat much, I have stayed away from fast food burgers and fries. I haven't had a soda the entire time.

The only thing that I noticed was that I lost more weight when I drank a lot of Water and ate something for Breakfast. I don't know if it boosted my metabolism but it really seemed to help.

The only weird thing is that I don't see the weight lost on myself. Every once in a while I will put on some pants and it blows my mind how big I was 6 months ago.

By the way, you look like your doing good. My PA said that guys lose weight much faster than girls and of course the last 50 is the hardest to drop.