I had my 2nd fill on wed... Oct 22... I am having a hard time eating real food... this is the first time i have ever felt any restriction since i was banded on July 18th so im a lil confused about how im feeling... I forgot what it feels like to feel "full"... and when you are "full" with the lapband is it a different feeling then without the band? I cant tell if im "full" or if something is stuck... Yesterday i ate 1/2 cup of lobster bisque and i felt a feeling in my chest but im not sure if one of the lil lobsters was stuck or if that was the "full" feeling... Is it normal this many days out to have a problem with regular food?? I dont wanna call my doctor cuz im ok with liquids and with soups and cottage cheese... but food i have to chew im not ok with... but im not sure if my idea of small bites isnt small enough??? Should i be taking micro bites and going from there??? Sorry for all the questions im just a confused! !! Help!! Thanks!! :tongue:

Hi MyMeshelle,

I was banded on July 2 and I've had 1 fill so far on Sept. 9. I was fine for 4 weeks. Then I started to really feel restriction....after 4 weeks! I was quite suprised it took that long but it did. They only gave me .5cc of a fill but I definitely notice a difference. Now, I have to really be careful not to eat very dry food, eat slower, take small bites, and chew very well. They say to chew to the consistency of apple sauce. I know what you mean about getting that pain in your chest...OUCH! Now that I know what I have to do, if I follow these things, I'm fine. Hope this helps....good luck to you!

Lisa

Meshell,

Two things can cause that but since you were just received a fill I

think that explains it. If the fill is too much for you, you will have a

problem with food. Why? It has no place to go but back up into your

esphag. and of course your food can not be digested there -- no means to process/digest your food.

My guess the doctor did a little over fill. Thus your having harder

time eating the solid foods. The liquid foods will always pass quickly

through the pouch. Never a problem with Fluid consumption.

And, if you over eat -- which you too could be doing...you will get

this feeling. Your pouch can not hold as much food as it did prior to

the fill. And, too if you do not chew well, you will have a problem.

But, I would guess the fill was too much..The doctors kind of have to

guess at this.

Hope your feeling better.

Meshell

P.S. But, your doctor should know about this right away.

I noticed some doctors want you on liquids for a few days then mushies... so thats why i was gonna see how things feel in 1 week... but like i said i had no restricion prior to this fill... i didnt have to eat slow or take small bites... so this might me my error... my hubby was eating pizza and i took a few pieces of meat off his pizza and ate it and i was fine cuz they were small pieces... so im thinking maybe my idea of small bites and chewing well is wrong...Im happy im feeling restriction... ever since my surgery my stomach growls non stop and that has finally gone away... so i dont wanna go backwards if i dont have to... if i was getting sick from all this i would be worried... but i have been ok... i have just felt pressure in my chest and im trying to figure out why... and im confused about the "full" feeling... thanks for any imput... im not overeating... cuz im barely eating right now... and sometimes i get the pressure in my chest from 1 bite of something...

I think you are feeling exactly what you are supposed to be feeling...restriction! After each fill my doctor demands only liquids for 48 hours, then you have to sort of do a mini start over with your eating.... mushies then cautiously moving on. You may not be able to eat the same thing you ate the week before that went down ok.

If you try to ignore that feeling in your chest and continue eating you will find out what it feels like to be stuck, PB and all that stuff.

I had my 2nd fill a week ago and I am finally experiencing some restriction as well. But for me it only happens maybe once every 4 times I eat. I get this pressure building up in my chest and then it becomes like heartburn. If I wait a minute or two it subsides and then I am able to continue to eat more. Only once or twice was I unable or maybe I was unwilling to go on eating. I have not PBed yet, but I am very careful now when I get that feeling. Maybe I have just been lucky so far, don't know.

Does this sound to others like I have the right restriction? I don't know what the proper restriction should be like!!

Meshelle - I think that the lobster is what gave you problems (if it had 'chunks' of lobster in it)....lobster and shrimp are too rubbery for me to eat at all. One of my problem foods :w00t:

While you're trying out this new fill, take bites no bigger than a pencil eraser....especially with problem foods. AND...wait 1-2 minutes between bites. Yep, it could take you 45 minutes to eat a saucer of food!

I think you are feeling good restriction. I would be very careful at this stage to eat very little bites. I had my 4th fill and that was 2 weeks ago. I can still only drink liquids and sometimes that is too much and it comes back up. I am going in for a slight unfill today. Yes I have lost 10lbs since this fill but I think I should be able to eat some solids. I waited because I thought my stomach and the band would adjust. I slime all the time and I can't eat. I liked what someone said that the doctors are just guessing when it comes to the fills-- we are the ones that they rely on to tell them how we feel. Good luck to all of us on this interesting journey.