vangirl

My experience with fills is that I feel restriction for the first couple of days after the fill and then it wears off a bit. Then it's changeable depending on my cycle or whatever else is going on in the environment. However, after my third one (I have 3.8ccs in a 4cc band) I'm now very tight six weeks after the fact. As many people say, the band is fickle. Personally I'd wait for at least a month or two to see how things generally are, as it's hard to get an accurate guage after only a week or so (unless of course it is too tight). Of course, I've heard the opposite from other people, so it really is an individual thing.

Hi Robby! Sounds like you're doing great! And congrats on the jeans fitting. Many people are extra swollen after the surgery (I was), and so imagine how well you're going to fit into them once you heal from the incisions! If you're feeling dizzy, you might be dehydrated and/or suffering from low blood sugar. I HIGHLY recommend gatorade for both purposes. For the first week, I could barely drink any amount of liquid (even water), so gatorade was really helpful. I mixed a bit of benefibre into it and even warmed it up, and the results were yummy. You're going to be so glad you did this. It is a lifestyle change for sure. And OMG the Food Network! It's definitely a hunger-inducing stimulus! Especially the cake-making shows and the various challenges and competitions they've got going on. I don't envy you! -Vangirl

Since my third fill, my restriction has waxed and waned, with some days being tighter than others. But for the most part I can eat when I take things slowly, chew well, etc.. However, this past weekend, I've been going out a lot, and I've noticed a pattern where I eat a couple of bitefuls and it can take a long time for those first few bites to go down. Once they go down, I'm ok to eat the rest of my meal, though I have to take my time. Yesterday, my family treated me to a birthday lunch at a nice waterfront restaurant downtown, and I was so tight that my initial bites of food did NOT go down and remained stuck in the pouch for the entire duration of lunch! I finally had to go to the bathroom and vomit it out because the saliva kept excreting down and the whole contents of the pouch kept rising like a stopped drain that has water being fed continuously into it (I use the clogged drain analogy to describe how the band works to other people). It was rather embarrassing to have to do that in a fancy restaurant (and unfortunately I was not alone in the bathroom, so I'm sure I was heard). At least I know this is finally working (six months later!) but man is it socially awkward! I dread going out to eat with people who don't know I'm banded because I don't know how to explain myself when all I can eat initally are a few bites of food and I'm staring at my plate for the next 15 minutes while everyone chomps down their lunch.

Hi Louise, As you can see from my numbers, my journey has been slow as well, and about the same rate as yours. I definitely understand the frustration, especially when I see others' weight loss rates being twice as fast. But stress does cause the body to hold on to weight, and of course there is the steroids, both of which are valid explanations for the slower rate of weight loss. I'd say, as long as the scale keeps going down, albeit slowly, that is a good thing. I too have had to resign to a slower rate of weight loss, but at least that means it's safer and less likely to go back up. There is another thread on the board about the need to stop obsessing over everything and just live your life, and for me that made a big difference in my thinking and stress levels. -Vangirl

I too have had the odd pains and aches around my port and the site of the band. It's due to scar tissue formation, and this is actually a good thing, because it means that the port is less likely to flip if there is scar tissue.

I'd be happy with 5 or 6 days out of the week with good restriction. This weekend, it went right out the window, and I ate a corresponding amount of food, which really through me off, and led to feeling pretty awful afterward. I think that emotionally, it was a huge let-down and also anxiety-provoking, because I've been struggling for so long with slow weight loss and little-to-no restriction since being banded, that to lose it after just one week really hit me hard. It also scares me when I'm able to eat the amount that I can when I don't have the restriction. I don't want to constantly sabotage my progress (especially with already being on a slow path of losing), and yet it seems like I am. Sorry if it sounds like I'm going off on a tangent, but hopefully today I will see some restriction return. I already feel tight, and I've only had coffee this morning.

I found it through some other link. The site is http://www.5daypouchtest.com/. I hope this is something that actually works.

I am thinking of doing this pouch test myself, in the hopes that it might help me get my restriction back. Has anyone else done this? Does it work?

Well the honeymoon period after my 3rd restriction is over, and as of yesterday, I'm back to where I was before that fill. This is incredibly frustrating. I was so happy the first week after my 3rd fill, my restriction was perfect and I had no hunger. Now I'm ravenous and back to almost 100% willpower. I just don't get it. I know that others on here have talked about restriction changing from time to time. All I know is that now that I've experienced what it means to reach optimal restriction or sweet spot, I want that back! Because after all, that's what I did this for, right? So I'm wondering, how long should I wait this out until I get a new fill?

I'm actually a bit paranoid now because I just got back from there last week, and I now have come down with something. I don't know if it's a cold or flu yet, it's too early to tell. In any case, I'm staying at home until it's over, which I hope will be soon. On a related note, I notice that since getting sick today, I'm ravenous! I've been doing really well with the new fill, with barely any hunger at times, and today I'm back to using willpower again. What's up with that?! I would have thought it would be the opposite when getting sick.

That IS cool! I'd love to do that myself, but in about 50-60lbs. Actually, what I really want to do some day is belly dancing. Once the belly is a lot smaller

I doubt you have stretched your pouch. There have been a number of times where I felt like I overate (or overdrank, while on the liquid diet), and was afraid I'd stretched my pouch. However, I have since met a band patient who actually did have a stretched pouch, and my understanding is that pouch-stretching is something that happens gradually, over a period of chronically overeating and not following the rules, not because of isolated times here and there. If in doubt, call your doctor.

I had wanted to wait at least a week or two before posting again, but I can't help it. I am amazed at the restriction I have with this new fill. I am full on so much less food and am barely hungry. I actually forget to eat! I have to force myself to eat, otherwise I'd end up eating too little. I'm astounded actually how much difference having the right amount of restriction can make. If I were eating this little amount of food without the band (and adequate restriction) to help me, I'd be starving, sick, and miserable. But I actually feel quite energized and normal (except for when I go too many hours without calories and my blood sugar gets a little low). I finally get what people are raving about, and I'm happy I've finally experienced it for myself, albeit five months post-band (April 26 will be my five month bandiversary). I can handle minor variations from day to day, but I sincerely hope that overall this level of restriction sticks. -vangirl

OMG, I am going through the same thing! I actually just posted about this topic on the other board. I can see the numbers, my clothes feel different, and even my body feels different, and yet I don't see it in the mirror. It's crazy. And boo to the skin all hanging there! What's up with that?! I wasn't expecting to see that. Ugh.! I hope I'll see you at the Lions Gate meeting as well! -vangirl

This topic indirectly came up in a different thread, but I wanted to post it separately as a new topic. Like most of OCC patients, I have been staying away from carbonated beverages, and haven't really missed it all that much. Hardly ever, actually. But a couple of nights ago, I was out at a concert with a friend, and we went to a bar afterward, and all they had was beer or hard liquor (which I wasn't interested in). I'm not a huge beer-drinker, but I do like it from time to time and Friday night I rather wished I could have had some. I'm actually looking forward to drinking beer again, but I know I've been burping more since the surgery, and I'd hate to do anything embarrassing at a social event. I was wondering what other people's experiences were, after drinking carbonated beverages. Is there any difference post-band, once those six months are up?