Im going for my 4th fill today and Im very frustrated because I dont ever feek any different after them. When I do my drink test after should the water go down smooth or sit in my chest for a second? I dont understand how I should feel. as of now I can drink a cup of water in seconds. Should I still be able to do that with restriction?

Same here. I had a fill yesterday (only first fill and 3 cc's) but have no problem drinking water, and according to the doc, the water should go down smoothly.

This morning I made eggs...decided to do something completely different since I normally do a shake for breakfast...and out of habit I made two scrambled eggs. I made it through one and ended up feeding the second one to the dog. Ok...I *could* have still eaten it, but I have a definite full sensation sitting in my pouch. Not painful pressure like when I don't chew well, but comfortably full. So I stopped. Go band!

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I needed a lot of adjustments before I finally got good restriction. Once the fills got to be enough to start making a marked difference, when I swallowed water to test the fill level, the doctor or NP would want me to feel it in my chest just for a second before going down. Once, during that water check, I could feel that it was stuck and I let out a tiny burp..sort of embarrasing..lol. The NP backed out a little saline, and it went down fine, but I felt a slight hesitation first. Even now, I don't have a lot of sensation with my band restriction, so I routinely measure my food. If I ate until I felt a full signal, I would be overeating.

see thats what makes me upset about this whole band thing. If I have to stop myself from over eating I would have never forked out $15000 to get the band. I would have dieted.

I think I'm a little unusual that I'm so band tolerant. However, what stops me from overeating is that when I eat 1/2 cup solid meals, I'm fully satisfied for 4+ hours. Believe me, it's nothing like dieting, because I'm not constantly starving.

I'm really very happy that my band doesn't give me the kind of restriction some others have. I don't have a list of foods I can't eat, I don't have the occasional (some say as often as once a week) PB or sliming incidents, etc.

Also, another thing I love about the band is that it's a flexible device. If I had a bit more fill, I would be in the more restrictive camp. So, the things that keep me measuring (not always with a measuring cup, but by eyeballing, using rules of thumb, and eating foods that I'm already very familiar with) rather than having the band give me a stop are: I must have a iron gut (lol), also, while my band is overfilled, my internal anatomy is smaller than average, so I needed a lot of fill to reach good restriction, and finally, even if you have those two factors, the band is adjustable, so you just would need more fill to get a stronger full signal, I just don't want that because this is what is working for me.

I think I've read some of your other posts, and really, I think you might be letting yourself get too worried. I know I did when I was afraid I wasn't going to get good restriction, even when my doctor assured me he would make sure I got it. He was right, I was wrong, and as usual, I worried for nothing. I absolutely LOVE my band. I can't express strongly enough what a change it's made in my life.

Thanks kiz. You are right I am a nervous reck LOL I just think in the back of my mind ,nothings worked why should this be any different. Ya know.I just need to feel this thing really working before I can believe it. My will power always failes about 3 months into a diet and well that time is coming so I need these fills to kick in.

Marmar, the truth is that I am really at my sweet spot and have been for a few weeks. And, yes, I can eat more than I need to. Believe me, I've tested it. But, the other side of the coin is that I can eat the prescribed amount of food and do so comfortably AND keep that full feeling for 4 or 5 and sometimes 6 hours. And that is the goal. To eat a meal of about 3 oz of lean protein, a vegetable and a single serving of whole grain carb -- and feel full and keep that full feeling for at least 4 hours.

If you're not at your sweet spot, eat the prescribed meal and if you get hungry sooner than 4 hours, eat a small snack of protein -- a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese, a little deli turkey. About 70 calories.

Just because you CAN eat more, doesn't mean you SHOULD. After all, eating all you can instead of all you should put you in the surgeon's office in the first place. That goes back to "head hunger" and no weight loss surgery can eliminate that.