dawns

that is actually pretty common. You will be feeling much much better once you get that thing out. Good Luck and feel better soon. dawn

WOW! :lb12:

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Hi Shelby, Are you planning to go to Dr. Malley or the OCC? I tried to get the ARNP to do flouro and barrium on me a couple of weeks ago in Dr. Malley office and she wouldn't do it even though it is the same cost as the fill. I will be interested in what they say if that is where you are thinking of going. Dawn

Hi ksk, I would suggest to give it a little bit more time. When I was in the same place you are at right now I kept thinking that I supposed to feel this magic thing with restriction. Now after being way too tight for about 4 months and only losing 5 pounds during that time I thought restriction was only being able to eat small amounts. Well it is about eating small amounts but really it is about being able to eat "smaller" amounts than what you used to eat before being banded. You should be able to eat about the size of a small lean cuisine and be satisfied for about 3-4 hours after. I was only able to take in about 2-3 bites of food at each meal and then I would have to spit in a cup for about an hour after. I had 3.35cc in my 4cc band. It wasn't until I started realizing that this can't be how I was going to live for the rest of my weight loss journey and not losing any weight, and I read a post by a couple of other girls that I started putting two and two together that something was wrong. I called the OCC and talked to Dr. So and he told me that anytime you get over 2.9cc in a 4cc band you are going into the risk zone of being overfilled. Now I am not telling you all of this to scare you and I know that everyone is different. My point is just be careful and don't get into a big rush. Just listen to your body and give the fill some time to work. I had to have a major unfill and I am going back to the OCC in Nov to make sure that my band and pouch are ok and hopefully I haven't done anything to hurt either one. I will probably get another fill while I am there, but I know for sure that from here on out I am taking things a little slower. Hope this helps and good luck to you.

With most SSRI's there is the risk of weight gain but you have your band to help. You might check with your doctor and find out which one has the least amount of risk for weight gain. Good luck and hope you get to feeling better soon. dawn

Carrie, I think you should call the OCC also. I had to call about being too tight and Dr. So said anytime there is pain with eating then something is not right. He told me to go on clear liquids for a day (nothing cold only room temp) and then full liquids for 3-5 days after that. I ended up needing an unfill. Please be careful and take care of yourself. dawn

Dr. Miranda told me 65 grams a day.

Thanks for that. I am an RN also and I hate dealing with people in this profession who act the way she did. It is such a fine line of pretending like we only know so much and not have them think you are telling them what to do when dealing with people like her. She really was on a power trip the minute I mentioned what Dr. So suggested. But I am glad that she did the unfill. So all is good. I am anxious to start eating on Monday to see if anything gets stuck. I am planning on doing soft food Monday and slowly progressing from there. thanks for the support, dawn

Thought I would give you all an update. I went to the doctors office that has been doing my fills and let the PA know what had been going on and what Dr. So had told me. She acted a little put out that I told her that Dr. So suggested that I have fluoro with barium to make sure my pouch looked ok and refused to do it even though it is available with the payment that I gave them. She pretty much said there was no reason to look at the pouch because it was a sure bet that I was swollen. She said that she would be able to see if I had too much fluid in the band when she put the needle in and see how much saline comes out on its own. She used a 2.5cc syringe and it immediately filled the whole syringe. She put 1cc back in and left 1.5 out. She told me to go on liquids for 4 days and to call on Monday if I am still having trouble. I asked her if she thought it should all be removed and she said no because then I would just eat and gain weight. I am really glad I went and that she at least listened to the part about Dr. So suggesting 1cc be removed, however I left feeling like a school girl who had been called to the principles office for doing something wrong! Lesson learned. I just really hope that I haven't stretched my pouch and the swelling goes down and doesn't turn into anything worse from here. I actually think that I have been too tight since about April or May when I had my first fill with this doctors office. I will be going back down to the OCC I think around the first week of December to have everything checked out. Again I am so thankful that you started this thread. I did want to ask though, did they have you do liquids for a while and how long before you started feeling better? I have been so bloated the last couple weeks and I think that goes along with all this other muck of being too tight and not getting much in. dawn

Thanks Sabrina that does help. I called the OCC today and talked with Dr. So and he confirmed my suspensions about being too tight after I told him everything that I have been doing with the food issue. I told him that I had about 3.2cc now and he said that with the 4cc band once you get up past 2.8cc you cross into the risk zone of being too tight. He told me to get to my fill doctor and have a least 1cc removed and stay on full liquids for at least 5 days. I have an appt. tomorrow for an unfill and I am in the process of getting my passport and plane tickets to go back to the OCC for a band check. I am really thankful that this post was originated. Thanks, dawn

Wow, I have been questioning if I have been too tight since my last fill. Now I am really questioning it just reading this post. I had a fill of 1.3 knew I was too tight went back to the doc had an unfill of .3, thought I was too loose went back hoping for only a .1 fill but she put .2 back in and I have wondered all along if it was too much. I can't eat anything but a protein shake in the mornings then lunch is only about 3 bites and then I have to spit and stop eating then I have a snack later in the afternoon. For dinner I can usually get a protein in but I can't get any veggies or fruit or carbs in. So I have some kind of snack in the evening which is usually something easy to eat. But I usually have to spit almost every night with dinner also. There is no way in hell I could eat a whole lean cuisine meal. I did loose 10 pounds in the beginning of this whole fill/unfill/fill but that was in the very beginning and I have been struggling with the same 3 pounds up and down now for the last 5 weeks. As I write and read this I am pretty much convinced that I am too tight but would love some feedback. Also I think it was Sabrina who said she can eat 3 meals now and really losing -- are you satisfied and not hungry in between the three meals? The other thing I have noticed the last couple of days is that I am sooo hungry. Thanks for the input (but I think I know what most of you will say). dawn

Congrates!! =D>

Heidi, It is so good to see you back! You and I were banded only 2 days apart and I always felt a little connected to you for that reason. I am sorry that you are going through the divorce stuff, that is a really rough thing to go through. (Been there done that). It is really hard to focus on just yourself when you have all these other emotions going on, but now is the perfect time to focus on YOU. You have a whole new life and world to look forward to. Keep you head up and do what you can for yourself and the rest will come. Take care and welcome back! dawn

Sorry can't help you but if it were me I would definately be talking to Dr.Ortiz also. Good luck! dawn

What kind of nursing do you do? I am a nurse and I work in public health so I was back to work by the end of the week and did just fine. However, I would have taken more time off if I was still in hospital nursing. Good luck! dawn

Thanks girls. You are both so inspiring! dawn

TOO FUNNY! Happy Birthday dawn

That is awesome! Congrats to you! dawn

Wanted to share my NSV. I have been a little discouraged since I have been struggling with the same 3 pounds for about the last 3 weeks. My daughters and I decided we would go to Kansas City and go shopping one day just for the heck of it (that's a big deal for us since it is 2 hours away). I had decided that I wasn't going to buy anything because I was sure that I would not fit into a smaller size, but I went into one of my favorite stores and tried on size 16 pants and size 14/16 tops and everything fit and looked really nice. One of the things that I ended up buying was a really cute skirt. I haven't worn a skirt in forever, let alone a size 16. Then it took me a week and half to get up the courage to wear it to work. When I finally did everyone kept saying how nice I looked. I think that one of the hardest things for me during this whole process has been getting comfortable with my smaller body and wearing fitted clothes and not covering it up with baggy clothes like I used to. It has been a year now since I was banded and I think back to this time last year when I was newly banded and 50 pounds heavier. I never would have lost that 50 pounds had I not gotten the band. I love my band. We fight occasionally but usually my band wins! Thanks for letting me share dawn

Mine is ice cream also. LOVE IT! dawn

It has been a year for me and sometimes I still have port pain. But it has never been as high as a 7-8 on pain scale. If it were me I would call the doc. take care, dawn

Congrats Shelby. How exciting. Good luck with the race, dawn

I also had a weekend of wanting nothing but sweet stuff, especially chocolate sweet stuff. UGH! I don't want to get on the scale in the morning either, but the longer I ignore it the more I will regret it in the long run. I have been doing the whole up and down thing with the same 3 stinking pounds and it is very easy to let myself get frustrated with that. It is nice to be able to confess and not be judged for our occasional weaknesses. Tomorrow is a new day and and the start of a new week! dawn

I started out seeing one fill person who was a PA. He said that with all my fills combined I had a total of 4.5cc in my 4cc band. I switched and started going to a lapband surgeon, (the same one Shelby goes to), the first time I had a fill with him he removed all the fluid and I really only 3.1cc. I questioned him on the difference and he said that it is really easy to miscalculate the amount of fluid being put in the band. Just another point of view. dawn