i'm 5 weeks out, have had 3 fills (6.5cc's in a 10cc band) and i have no restriction, always hungry - no pb-ing...nada. I can eat just about anything - all Proteins including steak. I have not yet tested Pasta, rice or bread but yesterday I went out for thai and ate an entire order of red curry chicken and two spring rolls with no problem and afterwards was still hungry so had a few pieces of sugarfree candy and was STILL hungry!!!

i really wonder if i got a "dud" band...but then I have hope that "maybe" my next fill will put me at restriction.

i really am a bit scared that i'll max out my band and not feel restriction and there goes $17.5K (self-pay) down the drain. Ugh. Does everyone go through this? I keep reading about folks who have restriction at 3 or 4cc's in their 10cc band. I am so jealous!

glad to hear you bare doing great....I wish i could say the same thing. I've been crying at night........no restriction what so ever.

my next fill is may 7th i have a 14cc band and there is 5cc in there now NOT ENOUGH. I hope i get to where you are at

viv

Yes! I take Flintstones chewable Vitamins everyday but I am also on meds which I'll be on forever - I use a pill splitter and cut them in half. I've had no problems with them but always take them first thing in the morning with a big glass of Water. :biggrin:

That's good to hear, I was wondering what it would be like after restriction for vitamins, I just started taking regular vitamins today, I'll save some chewables just in case. I take glucosamine and that's a one even split in half but I didn't have any trouble so far. I'm still waiting on my fish oil, may just stop taking 'em cuz they are huge and in gel form so my dietician wasn't too sure bout what I should do there. I'll ask my Dr. at my 4/30 appt. He likes to wait two weeks in between fills. My forever medication luckily is a tiny lil pill :tongue: Have a great weekend everyone!!

I just want to say to those of you who are in full control of your eating and can't relate to those of us who want the band to help us gain control....

I am an addictions counselor and when you are addicted to something you no longer have WILLPOWER. WILLPOWER is a joke to someone with an addiction. Ask any crack addict if they want to smoke crack and prostitute themselves out for drugs and see what they say!! For alcohol and drug addction, abstinence is key because a thousand will never be enough. With a food addiction abstinence is not an option so it is like telling an alcoholic to have one beer, it doesn't work!

The band to a food addicted person is the tool they need to control their eating because they couldn't on their own. So if people are upset because they do not have restriction, that's why. I agree that some of us need to be a little more patient and not give up too quickly, but their feelings of sadness when their band is not working YET, are valid! Everyone talks about the band being a tool but if the tool is not working yet then it's like living as if you never had it. This means trying to control an addiction and it is not possible for most folks.

I am only 3 wks out and my hunger is back with avengance. However, I have had no fills yet, not until 6 wks out, but I am not giving up or even complaining because I expected to go through bandster hell. I just wanted to shed some light on why people are waititng for restriction. Restriction is what makes the band effective. I do encourage those who are struggling to hang in there and try your hardest to eat healthy. Stay positive and don't let others get you down. Not everyone is the same so not everyone will lose the same way.

In addition, I'm seriously considering going to some OA meetings for support with my food addiction...maybe it will help some others who are having difficulties.

As a part of my process I had to have a phych eval. the councelor told me to start seeing a therapist due to all of the issues I have had with food. At the time I thought to myself "Yea right, I'm not nuts" but after getting banded and seeing that I am not the only one with issues I am going to start!

Thank you Kat for your words of wisdom...

I agree that food IS an addiction, but if the band allows food like ice cream and chips and Cookies to go through easily, then how can the band ( even with restriction) completely control our eating?

I don't remember reading that I or anyone else said they are IN FULL CONTROL of their eating.

Sometimes people are just willing to try hard even though they know they don't have restriction. Even many addicts/alcoholics are willing to try a "dry" period. Sure, they usually replapse, but a TRY is possible, not mandatory. God forbid, someone suggest this?

If the person's mind set is that they CANNOT do this without restriction, then I guess you're right, they won't be able to do it without restriction. BUT, I can tell you that believing that RESTRICTION is the complete savior can be misleading.

Perhaps people misread someone that says they are trying hard NOT to cave in BEFORE perfect restriction becasue they see their own WEAKNESS, not because they see the other person's strength.

As a counselor, do you make suggestions that addicts try behavior modification techniques? Did your Nutritionist or Dr suggest behavior modification techniques? I believe that is the same thing we were suggesting/reminding people of so they could be successful, not because we were trying to condem people.

If you ( or other people) want to wait for perfect restriction be my guest, but I am not willing to wait for that.

The forum is made up of many different people and opinions and the way I suggest someone try something, might not hit home with you but might hit home with someone else.

AND please read ALL my posts in this thread. It was a series of responses. Perhaps some of you are responding to ONE of my posts, but unless you read them as a series it is hard to understand where I was coming from. Thanks!

Hi Lisa, I just wanted to let you know I read your post last week and felt exactly the same.(frustrated) I was at 5 in a 10 cc band... I got another fill on thursday.. and feel it !!!! Im at 7 now and totally can tell what restriction is .. Im having to be very careful now. I love it. so hope all is well and youve gotten another fill good luck... Kathy

Hi Kathy! Congrats!!!! I did get another fill last thursday (now at 6.75cc's in a 10cc band) and I too am at restriction!!!! Yeahhhh!! Isn't it fantastic?!?!?! I pb'd once on friday but have been great since (eating slower, chewing better, etc). How about you?

Hi Lisa, I just wanted to let you know I read your post last week and felt exactly the same.(frustrated) I was at 5 in a 10 cc band... I got another fill on thursday.. and feel it !!!! Im at 7 now and totally can tell what restriction is .. Im having to be very careful now. I love it. so hope all is well and youve gotten another fill good luck... Kathy

"you shouldn't eat on an empty stomach"

Huh? Did I miss something there? :confused2:

I think that people can be addicted to food, to feeding behavior, to satisfaction and to many other things that surround and accompany food.

Being hungry is NOT an emergency. I think that people need to understand that. Not eating when hungry is NOT a disaster.

To say that people with food addictions cannot succeed without restriction, I think is not true. If you say you CANNOT do something, then you have already written the ending to your story.

Addicted people are not incapable of making an attempt or an effort? They will have to do just that. I fear very much for those who have made no effort to deal with their relationship to food. What if the band doesn't work? What if they lose their band? What good is a band if it doesn't change anything in someone's life other than restrict their eating? It may not be permanent, after all.

The unexamined life and all that . . .

I also have a 14 band and only just started feeling restrictions after my last fill.

Shortgal,

I'm sorry you took offence to my post or even misunderstood what I was saying. All I was attepting to convey is that if one of is not perfect everyday it's not because we are not trying. My post also suggested that bansters try their best to eat healthy and not to give up. I never said that a banster can not succeed without restriction, I was just saying that restriction was the tool that we all talk about, otherwise we would all continue to be on low-carb diets without a band. Of course we should all try our best to follow banster rules until we get to a proper restriction level but if we mess up it's because we are battling an addiction and it is too be expected. I also suggested that people who are struggling to attend support meetings to help with over-eating so they can deal with their food issues.

I too stated that we are all different and different things will work for different people. I don't think we are saying anything different from one another and my post was not directed to you particularly. I just wanted people to be aware that food/overeating is an addiction and for those of us who truely suffer from it struggle with being in control. I was not advocating for people to not try while they were not restricted. I wanted to encourage them to hang in there and not beat themselves up for not being perfect. This is a process that is not going to happen overnight.

I meant no disrespect to anyone nor do I mean any now, things on these boards are always gettting blown out of proportion. I would never say anything to offen anyone but I am entitled to an opinion like everyone else here. We are all in this together. Lets support each other through banster hell instead of against. My post was an attept to educate, not to offend. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings.

Hastings,

I like what you said about hunger not being an emergency. I know for me it always was. It's like I thought if I don't eat something I will die and the truth is No I won't. food was always a way of relieving anxiety so it did feel like an emergency at times. I hate the feeling of being hungry but your right it's not an emergency, I will be able to eat once again. I don't live in a third world country where food is limited. This really helped me! Thanks! THis will definitely be something I tell myself the next time I am hungry and want to run to the fridge before my scheduled meal time.

Kat225, No offense taken. I guess I felt the need to explain my position becasue I was described as "cold" and the person alluded that I felt superior to others because I choose to use some willpower during the time between banding and a good restriction level, so I was a bit defensive.

I apologize to you that I felt I had to defend myself against your post.

I have said many times, that I understand "bandsters hell" and there have been days when i struggled, too. I tried to suggest that it is possible to control our choices, even if we can't always control the quantity and similar phrases. I mean we have all dieted before, so isn't it possible to try dieting one more time until we get that long awaited restriction, that we all crave and know we need. That was the message I was trying to get out there. That sitting around waiting for restriction was not helpful to our cause.

Your opinion might differ from mine, although I don't think it does very much and I agree that people have a right to their opinion.

I took offense to the words "cold" and "negative" ( not used by you) going around the thread simply becasue some of us choose to try hard to stay on track. I do not feel that makes me superior, perhaps just further in the journey.

If the other person got that from my response then I guess she wasn't ready to accept the message.

Actually you have echoed words I have said for many years. We don't tell an alcoholic to have three small drinks a day, we don't tell a drug addict to have three small hits a day or a smoker to have three small cigs a day, but we are told to just have three small meals a day.

Well, you can live without cigs, drinks and drugs but you cannot survive without food, so where does that leave us?

Thanks for the response, Kat! I appreciate it.

Hastings,

I like what you said about hunger not being an emergency. I know for me it always was. It's like I thought if I don't eat something I will die and the truth is No I won't. food was always a way of relieving anxiety so it did feel like an emergency at times. I hate the feeling of being hungry but your right it's not an emergency, I will be able to eat once again. I don't live in a third world country where food is limited. This really helped me! Thanks! THis will definitely be something I tell myself the next time I am hungry and want to run to the fridge before my scheduled meal time.

I love that line by Hastings! And it will stick in my mind, too. First usually what we feel is not really hunger, but boredom, loneliness, happiness, sadness etc. but even real hunger is not an emergency. It's not like I have to go hunting all day and track and kill some beast before I can eat!

Great Line!