So here it goes. I want to show the whole picture. so please be patient and read whole story. I had my band put in in aug 07. I have been able to eat pretty much anything until my latest fill about 8 weeks ago. After the fill I could eat approx 4-6 oz or 1-2 slices of pizza. However it seems that as the weeks go by I am becoming more restricted. No I can get down2-4 oz or 1/2 to 1 slice of pizza. I have been pbing alot lately ( I think) I get the pain, slime, it doesn't naturly come up so I sometimes will have to force it up. However, I only get 30 min for lunch and this seems to be when I have a problem. for dinner, if I take 1-1 1//2 hours I do fine. I can also get 4-6 oz down. So my question is am I just right and just eating to fast, or am I to tight? Since I've been eating like I was before the band, I don't know if how much I'm eating is what I'm supposed to be or not enough. I hope this make sense and gives a whole picture.

Thanks for the help

I had the same problem a few months back, was worried that my band was getting tighter. Then spoke with my doctor and he said that I was just getting complacent about my eating. Meaning I wasn't being careful about how I ate. Too big bites, too fast, too much. So when I got home I paid better attention to the size of my bites and how much I chewed my food, and now no more problems. Well other than getting a fill a few weeks ago and being to tight, but that is on another thread. Try paying more attention to how you are eating. Good Luck

But see, when I am tight and then take the time for "small bites, chew chew chew, eat slowly" then it can take up to an hour or more for me to finish even a very small meal. It is not often I have that luxury of time! So then I would resort to liquids and mushies and crap that goes down easy.

Yeah, I can make a tight band work....but it sure is more difficult....and adding reflux/GERD symptoms on top of that!? It was time for an unfill. I'll go back in 2-3 months and try again but in teeny-tiny increments of 0.1cc.

JennR,

Since you mention this happens mostly at lunch, if you're like me, you're eating too quickly or the bites are too large or both. Like some of the others mentioned, soup does work - I used to add some Protein powder (chicken flavored or unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury.) Soup does get old fast if you are relying on it for very long though. Now I just keep soup and Protein Powder at work for times when I don't want to go out.

If you are bringing food from home, you might run your meat through your blender and make a chicken, beef, ham salad, etc. by adding a little mayo, pickle or whatever you like. If you do better with it already cut up for you by the blender, that might be an indication that your bites were too big or you weren't chewing well enough. If that doesn't seem to help, you may need a partial unfill.

I had some problems similar to Terri. I didn't think I was too tight because I could eat everything as long as I chewed well. My problem was severe reflux for about three months, during which time I did not lose even one pound. Even though I convinced my doctor that I wasn't too tight because I could eat anything, he unfilled me for five weeks. The reflux was gone as soon as I left his office. After five weeks, I was refilled to half where I was before the problem. I do have good restriction with this fill level. This may have nothing to do with your situation, but I mention it as something to watch for.

Terri

If you haven't lost any weight at all, call and make an appt with him and talk about your concerns. About 3 months ago I thought I was doing badly. I read posts on here that from people that got banded the same time I did and had lost alot more weight. I told him my concerns and he pointed out that I was loosing 5 1/2 pounds a month. I do feel some days that I am going nowhere but I've lost almost 50 pounds. I've gone from a size 26-22 almost a 20. That's better than nothing. Over the last few days I started making sure I took smaller bites and chewed the heck out of my food and I havn't pb or vomited in 2 days. Hang in there and ask questions.

JennR - you and I are nearly in the exact same situation. I was banded in March 2007 and have only lost 62 pounds and gone down 2 sizes in 14 months. I knew I wouldn't drop weight like the gastric bypass patients, but I did expect to have good restriction and lose weight steadily. I am almost on fill number 8 and I can still eat just about anything.

Terri - you seem to really have a handle on the fills and what your body is telling you. I had my second fill today, no real restriction with the first fill - they added 1.3 cc's and even the tiniest sip of water hurt significantly and came back up partially and eventually went down but with lots of noise. After about 20 minutes, I decided they needed to take some out, now I only feel very modest restriction. Should I have waited it out or was the pain a sign it was too tight? thanks!

To TamiSCool:

I hope you are feeling better and take note to what some of what the more experience banded people have done. I know how much we all just want to love this weight, but I just can't image living with vomiting and PBs. Please remember the band is there to help us feel satiated - not to keep us from being able to eat.

Regurgitation, not losing weight, and making poor food choices are all signed that your band is too tight.

I know how hard this is! I am struggling on the opposite side. I have been keeping the band pretty much unfilled out of fear. I try to listen to when I am satisfied and do all the things I never did right before. It is really tempting to have the band physically do a bit more for me, but it does help me mentally to know it is there.

Good luck!

All the lunch ideas are great, I will try them thanx. I find the only time I mainly got stuck was lunchtime, think not chewing enough, eating in a hurry and stress caused the pb.

My problem - I had my 3rd fill a month or so ago... In the a.m., I can eat almost nothing; by noon, I can eat a little, and at dinner, after the first few bites, I have to wait a few minutes and burp a couple of times... Then I can eat virtually any and everything... I haven't lost a single pound since the fill... I need to lose another 25-30 lbs... I have only lost 15 after being banded a year ago... Any ideas, please...

Maybe I should clarify a few things. I used pizza as an example because most slices are cut the same. I don't weigh my food so the oz are a guess. I maybe eat pizza once a month. The crust kills me, I normally eat just the toppings. A typical day for me is

Breakfast: (PLEASE NOT I DO NOT DRINK WITH MEAL ABOUT 1 HR APART)

1cup 2% milk and 2 oz cheese normaly colby jack or milk and

2oz Peanut Butter.

Lunch:

1 bowl Soup or 2 pieces of sushi or 2-3 small bonless chicken pieces

Dinner:

1/2 crabcake or 3-4 beefy nachos, or 2-4 oz venison

This amount does not make me pb, it's if I eat over this amount in under an hour.

I love sushi . . . but I can't eat the sticky rice at all. I have found the sushi that I like and can ingest without being miserable is a cream cheese roll with smoked salmon, veggies wrapped in seaweed with not a spec of rice attached.

Just curious, do you eat the rice with your sushi?