B2010

Sherri,

I HAVE had over 9CC in my 11cc band and I was miserable. I am now back to around 8cc. I think it really just depends on how YOU feel. I think if your body was causing issues you would certainly know it. I tend to really swell a lot whenever I get fills and it takes at least 3-4 weeks for me to feel back to normal

I think as long as you ease into it you'd be ok. The doctor I went to was over aggressive in his filling, so I found a new one. I do think how tight he had it when it was over 9cc that it was causing me problems and I only had it like that for about 5 days.

just listen to your body.

I would also recommend that if you're not losing weight the way you want, that you take another look at what it is you're eating.

Even with the band at over 9cc the only weight I lost was water weight because my restriction was so tight I couldn't hydrate my body.

increase protein although that's the last thing you want to do with the band, you really have to make yourself get enough protein.

I ALWAYS stop losing weight if I don't get enough protein and not enough water.

protein protein protein....can't stress that enough. I think it's the biggest weight loss "miracle" most people that are fat.....have low intake of protein. myself included.

Even with my calorie restriction with the band, if I don't have enough protein I completely stop losing weight and start gaining.

yea there is definitely a learning curve. I myself have the band but experienced the major mental change that occurred when I realized what got me fat in the first place.

that is.....the way I ate

Now with having the band, I really recognize these traits in watching other people also.

Taking huge bites, eating soooo fast, gulping drinks down.

The band just doesn't allow you to do that and not feel terrible.

The biggest physical change I experienced was no longer able to have that feeling of being "full"

It's a weird sensation, you have pain with too much food before you could ever possibly get to point of painful fullness that I used to experience

with my eating binges.

honestly, I've been too tight before. I also have the 11cc band and tend to swell a lot after a fill.

However I've had the band for over a year now and I honestly would not want something that was not as adjustable as this band is.

I had a major issue with an over aggressive fill doctor here in Alaska, and he basically overfilled me, then closed for christmas.

I found another provider that was able to help me and remove 3 cc taking me back down to 6cc. It was such a relief to me to know that in emergency situations

that I am able to remove all restriction so that my body can heal correctly.

After having been so tight as to not be able to get water down, my weight issue took second saddle to the more serious issue of having an overfill.

I'm glad I had the 11cc band and that it gave me enough flexibility.

Oh I can so relate to that. My dad was one of those, "eat everything on your plate!" guys... "don't waste food" so what I do, I eat off little plates. Grab what I think I'm gonna eat and that way, I eat all my food.

absolutely the prep has been the biggest adjustment. I also went to the thrift store and bought some very 1 cup size glass bowls and I primarily eat all of my food by having measured it in this fashion. Unless it's later at night I usually always have to make sure I'm not overeating. it's way too painful

The pain i feel is a great deterrent to staying low on the amount of foods I'm taking in

after you have your first feeling of having something stuck you aren't going to want white bread. it feels terrible when it's stuck

yep totally normal!!! It will pass. Just try to drink slower and smaller sips. I'm sure you're swollen a lot at this point too. I usually get this feeling right after a fill and it passes within 1-2 weeks after the swelling goes down.

http://www.gofundme.com/

here's a website you can maybe set up something for her online and ask for small donations on her behalf. if you get the word out around your town etc....and get a lot of smaller donations maybe it can really help.

She's lucky to have such a loving daughter in her life.

Best of luck for you and don't give up!

everything noted regarding very hard meats, rice, breads, pasta etc....I can't get down.

I've found when I'm feeling very very tight and need some protein imitation crab meat seems to go down fairly easily.

I agree, haven't been able to eat anything essentially "white" very easily with the band. Also, I'd concentrate more on ensuring you are getting adequate protein and veggies in before worrying about pastas and such.

This could have been a fluke. Anyone going to the border should understand it does take time to get back through and honestly, there's no way of gauging...only estimation. Give the guy a break. I'd much rather ride in the shuttle with other patients, in the security of an OCC employee then just winging it on my own. But that's my own comfort level. I really didn't care how long it took as long as we got back to the airport in time to catch my flight. We had to be at border crossing around 5am when I took the shuttle and it was a mad house, but it comes with the territory.

the amount of food i'm able to consume changes throughout the course of the month and day. When i'm about to have my cycle, I can eat much more than usual. During the morning I generally can not eat anything but liquid. I am able to eat much more at night for dinner.

yea I remember my first episode, and it's definitely enough to make you stop and take notice of how and what you're eating.

the worst feeling!!!! I feel more prone to vomiting since I've gotten the fill. i don't know if this has anything to do with

the band....but it seems like it.

Question,

Just got another (I asked for a small fill) but not exactly sure how much was put in. When I left - it just "felt" tight

So I took a 3 day liquid diet after my fill just to make sure things were ok.

I'm wondering how long should it take (on average) to have water go through your port? I just measured - and I drank about 3/4 of a cup of water at 10:45am and now at 11:35am I

feel like I can take another drink - although things are still gurgling around so I know all of the water has not passed.

I used to (before my last fill) drink something, have a slight delay - and then it would go right through.

Just wondering now if I'm too tight or if this is normal for a 4th fill.....

I found that after I wasn't drinking carbonated drinks that when i do I can only stand them in small amounts. Not so much because of the burping but I guess you feel the pain that carbonation has on your body. So I do crave them sometimes and I will have a drink here and there of others but for the most part I just stay away from it.

my biggest savior was sugar free popsicles. I dont know why it felt like it filled me up more than liquids. Also a lot of people drank the fiber that dissolves in water without any taste. i used that it helped too. you have to make sure you are staying on your water. I also drank lots of crystal light.....so I guess the aspartame in that was ok for me. I know it's really hard - hang in there. I'd even through in a few boiled eggs for the extra protein and little calories. if you're hungry it's either water or protein.

funny thing I just had crab meat the other day, and it was pretty easy to digest. i've found eating chicken and any other real meat product for that matter has been very difficult for me since having the band.

there is NO possible way I could consume 2500 calories a day unless I was eating high fat slider foods that were calorie heavy.

- Join a gym.

- Search for the weights

- 2500kcals eat one day of good food, and a minimum of 180g protein

- The heart is in addition to the

Sometimes if he was alive hard day at work I may be a sandwich penutbutter (whole-wheat bread) 30 minutes before the weights. -> Unless you do heavy work hard day at work is not a reason to eat. However, there is nothing wrong if you are a sandwich of lead consolidation of the amount of daily calories or you replace it with a jolt in the protocol specified above.

Wow, that's silly - you just invested thousands of dollars, emotions, work, your time and your jeopardizing your life/fat free future - for what - a stupid kids cheeseburger. When I was banded we had the chicken lady, she accidentally ate some chicken and slipped her band. You won’t often see me get tough or super mean - but this is as silly as I've seen for while.

Wake up - give yourself a good ass kicking since we can't do it for you - get over the food craving crap and get on board with your band and work it before you ruin it.

Call the clinic too please.

amen sister! couldn't have said it better myself. I think I was on this forum straight all day every day for 21 days because I COULDN'T do it alone. But really reading people posts, knowing they were going through the same thing as I had just went through definitely helped me. Trust me it was a WAY MORE A HEAD ISSUE THAN A FOOD ISSUE!!!

I'm not saying things were perfect, I ate mushy foods a few days before I should have, but I was eating the hell out of popsicles and anything that had some substance for the days before I could have solids.

Do your body a favor and know this isn't forever and stay committed to the process!

I have had more than 8cc in my lap band but it was way too tight, so i had all but 7 removed and that's where i've stayed

I have 8cc's in my 11cc band. Does anyone have more than 8 in their band? My weightless has stopped but I'm reading 8cc's is normally the most one can go. Anyone have more than 8cc's??

Thx

callmecrazy,

just wondering why were you set on the gastric sleeve? I'm in Anchorage and went to TJ with Dr. Ortiz for the lapband myself. There is a local doctor here in Anchorage that will do fills on Mexico patients and he's also been excellent with me about questions I have about the band and fills etc....

I went to what has been coined as an "aggressive" fill doctor. My fills have all been under floura and he has consistently given me "larger" than average amounts. I say this, but I've still had 3 fills and one slight unfill since I've had surgery in March 2010.

I think you probably jumped the gun with this particular doctor. I think that you probably should have taken their word for it and not assumed they were trying to rip you off. My fills in Alaska under floura are $400 a piece so $200 is pretty reasonable.

You have to have multiple fills because otherwise you won't find a restriction that you will be satisfied with. It's not a rush thing, and trust me I've been overfilled before and it was about the worst 5 days of my life physically. I've never felt so weak and dehydrated....so really it sounds like they are willing to work with you but also to take things relatively slow.

I had full restriction after 3 fills and a slight unfill and am currently around 7cc in my 11cc band. The weight's been slow coming off but it's still coming and I still have restriction.

You have to be patient and that is one thing the band will force you to do. Be patient when you eat, be patient about finding restriction, and be patient most importantly about losing the weight. Stay the course and you will see that this thing does work. And although we all wanted an overnight miracle cure - the band isn't it - but it's an awesome tool that WILL help you achieve your goals.

Hi Stacv,

I was NOT overweight growing up and through my 20's it's when I hit 30 that the weight really started coming on. I was also a very emotional eater and yes the band makes this close to impossible. Of course you can always turn to slider foods and things like that, but for me It's taken away my ability to emotionally overeat. you just can't physically do it any longer.

And once you try (because you undoubtedly will at some point) you get sick and throw up which makes it really not that satisfying anymore.

The weirdest experience I've had with having the band is actually "missing" the ability to overeat. Never thought I would actually miss being able to overeat but I have. It's the weirdest thing. It really hit me within the first month or two of having the band. The emotional changes are more noticeable at that point then the physical.

The band is a tool that forces your physical and re-directs your mental.

I started reading after the band and this has actually helped a lot. It give me an outlet to go to when I can no longer turn to food for comfort.

And as far as the pre-op weight. I really really screwed up with my pre-op diet. I was 200 lbs when I decided to have surgery and that's the weight I put on my application. Well after I signed up I went on a mad eating frenzy and gained 15 lbs. Well 10 days before surgery I buckled down and lost 10 of the lbs that I had gained. When I weighed in at the OCC I was 205. Dr. Miranda did ask how I had gained weight and I was just honest with her. I told her I got up to 215 and had lost 10lbs and she was satisfied with that.

Of course losing the weight is important, but I was nervous during that time and I felt so much change was upon me that it was close to impossible to resist my temptations. If you're really that concerned about them turning you away just send Dr. Miranda a note and let her know how much your're struggling.

Don't stress it too much though - they understand why we're getting the band in the first place is because we have a hard time controlling our food intake.

I waited for tax returns to come in and saved for the rest. Things were tight for a few months after surgery but the amount of money I've saved on food is astounding.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It has reiterated what I already knew. I need to start moving and journaling on my food! My son starts school next week and I will have more time available to get to the gym and really make a committed effort to making something happen!

I have started tracking my food on sparkpeople.com and it really helps to see what's going in. I can also see when I'm not getting enough protein which is a tough area for me.

Thanks again,

Debbie

seriously, when I have plateaued is was ALL about my water intake. I've never been a big water drinker but I've really started guzzling it down and my weight now has been coming off consistently without any real effort otherwise. Yes, exercise is great but my biggest issue before the band was seriously just overeating. I also have an 11 cc band and am at about 8cc's myself. I felt good restriction for a few months around the 5-6cc mark...but then began plateauing again.

I have not consistently watched my water intake vs. my weight loss and the weeks where I know my water intake is low I don't lose much if not at all. But when I'm consistent about it drinking multiple bottles of water a day, I'll end up losing like 2-3 lbs a week.

Also, since being banded, I haven't eaten any real processed white sugar food. bread, tortillas, rice etc.... It just won't go down for me and I hate the feeling of having one bite of something and being totally stuffed so I just avoid it all together.