I was banded June 11th, I've had one fill. Going for my second fill Monday. Here's my question:

I have heard some people with the lap-band say that they can't overeat. That if they eat more than their pouch can hold, they will throw it up. Is that true for you? What consequences do you experience if you accidentally overeat?

At this point I can eat what I feel like is way too much food. Everything, even the stuff that shouldn't, is going down easy. I've never PBed or slimed or anything like that. I am trying to keep it under control. And I'm successful half of the time. But for instance, tonight for supper I had about 9 inches of a subway sandwich and 3 Cookies. I was so mad at myself for letting myself eat that much. But I am hoping and praying there will come a day when if I screw up and overdo it, there will be PB, Slime, vomiting, etc to help me stay on the right path.

I don't know if anyone else has already said this, but if I eat too much I get a really bad pain in my shoulder, then a headache. It either lasts until whatever I'm eating makes its way through my band, or I will PB. No fun either way.

hI,

got my 1st fill in june at 4cc's. Could still probably eat anything I wanted but little restriction. Got my 2nd filll last wk at 1 cc's. Total 5 cc's. Now I feel i definately can't eat that much with that 1 cc. Boy do I get full fast. 2 days ago my first slime or vomit happened and *I don't want to go thru that again. Not fun. I got banded on 4/20 and am down 28 lbs. and feel real good. I definately learned my lesson and So far I think yu are doing great. Keep up the good work.

I PB'd and slimed a few times during the past week -- I was still on liquids at the time, and misjudging small container as well as not noticing the difference between that tightness in my throat from having too much versus the similarly-felt ache from just having the surgery a week ago.

I felt like hell. It was one of the least dignified and humiliating experiences of recent memory. But I'm getting the hang of it, I think. I'm sure I'll have others along the way.

But what I'm mostly concerned about is the six-inch sub. Plus the Cookies. The cookies shouldn't even be on your plate, I'd wager, but the sub? I could see the non-bread portions of the six-inch sub, maybe spread over two meals, but the bread itself isn't doing you that much good: too many calories for too little nutritive value.

You have a limited budget -- physically, if nothing else -- and you need to spend it wisely. Even switching from hoagie roll to a low-carb/high-Fiber tortilla would probably be better. Switching to a lettuce wrap would be better yet (if you can manage lettuce -- this is a way I've enjoyed sandwiches in the past). Thin-sliced discs of apple? There are a variety of better choices that should be able to substitute in some measure for what the sub loaf provided, and perhaps excel in ways that loaf cannot.

You have to remember that the band only helps through your efforts and good choices. I'd be concerned that if what you described is your typical pattern, that it will lead toward recklessness that'll derail you.

I know for my own part that this is the sort of behavior largely responsible for getting me where I was when I started pre-op. So just because you *can* have a sub and 3 cookies doesn't mean you should, restriction or no. I know that can be difficult -- I'd love to have a rather slab-o-meat and gnaw on that for an hour right now. But even if it were fat-free, and despite all the wonderful Protein it'd provide me right when I need it to heal, it would still be a bad choice, right? Dividing it among many, appropriately-sized and -spaced meals -- good choice.

Do you keep a food diary or somesuch to keep track of what your food intake is providing you? Do you have the support of a nutritionist or other qualified person to help guide your food choices post-op, and to who you can feel accountable to? I know a lot of people don't -- I do, and I have to say it's helped to have someone scold me (gently) in between praising the parts I've done well, and of whom I could ask questions about how I should approach certain foods (preparation ideas, suitability, problems noted by other patients, what I medically need at this stage, etc).

Don't take this as criticism -- it's more concern. I've heard of and seen a lot of folks crowing over being able to revert to the same eating habits that led to their weight gain in the first place ("I just managed to eat a whole cheeseburger with PBing!", "I just ate an entire Hershey's bar without dumping!"), and in the same breath complain that they gained back some of the pounds they fought very hard to lose. This post (and a few others) raised warning flags.

Good luck with the fills. I'm expecting my first at the end of the month, if they decide I need one.

Plain and simple, it's FREAKIN uncomfortable!!! Don't do it.

Yes!!! I get that pain in my left shoulder. I wondered if anyone else got that. I try not to overeat as I don't like that pain or uncomfortable feeling you get.

I don't know if anyone else has already said this, but if I eat too much I get a really bad pain in my shoulder, then a headache. It either lasts until whatever I'm eating makes its way through my band, or I will PB. No fun either way.