Getting frustrated even tho I read this can be normal

[JenniferJS]

Hi Dana - I tend to agree with you about the drinking with food allowing it to slip thru the band more quickly, therefore eating more...but then with a later post....I start to get worried about the stretching...not sure who posted that, but I'll read it again. I guess its a debated subject....I'll just stick to not drinking with meals and forgive myself for the small bit I did do.

I asked Dr. O about drinking with meals and stretching the pouch, he said it has not been proven. That is also what my fill doctor said here in Dallas. If you google it, you will not find anything about it stretching your pouch. It makes sense that it COULD, but there are no medical findings that I know of to date. We just don't need to as we will obviously be able to eat more.

[JenniferJS]

Christy, your support always put a smile on my face

I've been great about not drinking with food today. I've learned that popping an ice cube in my mouth after I've finished with my food REALLY helps. Good luck, girl, and talk soon!

Hey Jennifer

I know how you feel!!!! I have only lost 7 pounds since SURGERY. That includes the liquid diet!!!! I started back to the gym last week and I swear my body just wants to hold on soooo tightly to this weight on me! I weighed 235 on surgery day and 228 on my fill day. GREAT

Hopefully once you get your fill, you will do better. I had mine last Saturday and so far so good on the solids. I get satisfied quickly with food. But get this - Today I actually got MAD at my stomach, I was so hungry and I got so full so quick and I wanted to keep eating! I was mad that I couldn't eat more - how messed up is that?????? lol

Just keep going by your guidelines and stop the drinking with meals, i've done it occasionally too but realized it was letting me eat more and thats not the point of the band - so I stopped. I do drink all the way up till the minute of eating though because I usually swallow a vitamin or some other supplement that has to be taken with food right before I start eating. I wait atleast 45 mins after eating to drink anything.

Good luck and dont give up - you can do this

[mona-camille]

Hi Dana - I tend to agree with you about the drinking with food allowing it to slip thru the band more quickly, therefore eating more...but then with a later post....I start to get worried about the stretching...not sure who posted that, but I'll read it again. I guess its a debated subject....I'll just stick to not drinking with meals and forgive myself for the small bit I did do.

Well really, if you think about it, regardless of the reasons why, it still shouldn't be done. Whether food slips through or you stretch your band, both scenarios are not good for the band. So why risk it?

And it's funny but the only time I PB is on liquid. I think when I gulp by accident or again, if I sip something when my pouch is full. No matter how tiny of a sip it is, I pb it up. So I just don't do it.

And one other thing to keep in mind, the rules can change by person. The OCC does not necessarily tell each person the same thing. That was confirmed for me last week when I met with all of them. So it is best to follow what they told YOU as an individual.

[JenniferJS]

WHEW! Ckiki...thanks! You and the others give me such hope! Yay for restriction!

Jennifer,

I made a post similar to yours my second week of solids, so I know exactly where you are coming from. It's get very frustrating! I am on day 4 of my first fill, and I have lost almost 5 lbs. I had lost faith in the band during those weeks after starting solids, and started to question why I even did this, but all that changed once I got my fill. I know most on here say they don't feel restriction on their first fill or sometimes even second, but I know I am feeling restriction, and it's great. I am loving eating so much less and being satisfied and not being hungry again until 5 or 6 hours later (if even that) So my point is, just hang in there, don't give up!!!

[JenniferJS]

I said I would stick to not drinking with food.

(???)

Well really, if you think about it, regardless of the reasons why, it still shouldn't be done. Whether food slips through or you stretch your band, both scenarios are not good for the band. So why risk it?

[JenniferJS]

Awwww MagnoliaGurl - Thanks!! SO sweet of ya!

I SOOO get ya about the "I told you so's" - I told very few people and did tell more people as time has gone on. I think they are looking at me like "well, uh, why aren't you skinny yet?!" But maybe it's my own insecurities (probably!) - I too had huge expectations about my weight loss but am realizing this will take a good year or more....and I'm becoming okay with that!

Ditto to exercise! Gotta get on that hard core!

Good luck, hun!

Jennifer, I could have wrote your same post myself!! I am 10 days behind you and I have only lost 10 pounds total since my surgery. I have not dropped one single ounce since starting solids.. I realize now that this is why I didn't really want to tell anyone about my surgery, because I know that I had HUGE expectations for my weightloss and I know that all my family and friends would too. So seeing that I've only lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks, I didn't won't to hear the "I told you so's"..

I have really tried to remain positive and not get stuck on comparing myself to everybody else. But it's hard not to look at what everybody else has lost at the same point I am at not be frustrated with myself!! I know that I have got to start exercising if I expect to get some more weight off..

I do somehow have some restriction, because I definitely cannot eat as much as I used to and I am getting full faster. I'm beginning to think that maybe my body is in starvation mode and is holding on to everything I am eating. I put my food intake into my spark people account and some days I am only getting 800 calories a day.

I guess the biggest place we differ is that I have somehow managed to not drink while I eat. What I do is to just not keep the things that I like to drink in the house, that way I'm not tempted. I do agree with you that this makes it harder to get all your water in for the day, but that's just life. Some days I am too busy to walk around with a water bottle in my hand. And just for the record, Dr. Martinez, Dr. Miranda and my local fill doctor all told me that drinking while eating will help the food slide through the pouch easier, but it will not stretch your band, so go figure!!

Anyway, thanks for posting this thread Jenn and I hope for both our sakes that this - dare I say it - tool will start working soon so I don't feel like this was all in vain!!

PS: Your picture is beautiful!! You are a really beautiful girl!!

[JenniferJS]

Hi Barb

I get ya when you say a "good" fill. Altho I have big expectations for my first fill, I understand it may be my 2nd that will 'do the trick.'

I am fitting MUCH better in clothes...so I guess I'm doing some things right!

Thanks for the reply!

Hang in there, we have all gone thru the dreaded "Bandster Hell"!

It is that time between surgery and your first GOOD fill.

I say GOOD fill because it took 3 fills for me to even know what restriction felt like. I was banded 6-6-08 and did not get restriction until late August.

Then my body went into a platue!!! But all and all, the band is such a help. It will keep you from binging. I have only lost 40 pounds, but someone who got banded with me has lost OVER 100 so far.

Listen to your body and keep doing what you are doing, you might have lost a ton of inches, how do your clothes feel?

Keep up the good work and I hope you get a good fill on the 3rd.

[JenniferJS]

Thanks, BrandNewDawn...

I plan to hang in there! I appreciate you sharing your experience with Dr. Romero...isn't that so weird that so many are told (or hear) different things!?

Thanks again!!

Keep up the good work.

When I went for my first fill after being banded, one of the first things Dr. Romero asked was if I had been eating and drinking at the same time because my pouch was "a little bit stretched." I could see what he was talking about on the flouroscope. I had been eating and drinking together some times but by no means had I been doing it every time and still he noticed a difference. Needless to say, I no longer drink and eat at the same time regardless of what the research says, I saw what he was talking about with my own two eyes. To me, it is just not worth taking the chance of ruining my band.

I usually wait 45 mintues to 1 hour to eat after meals but sometimes I need to wait longer than that because it is uncomfortable (painful) to drink. I do not know if there is still food in the upper pouch and the liquid is backing up behind it but that is what it feels like.

I had no restriction by the end of the 6 week period between surgery and my first fill. I could eat just as I had before surgery. Hang in there, you have to get some restriction going before you can really begin to see how the band will work for you.

Good luck

Dawn

[BandDiva]

I don't know Mona, it was explanied to me that you will eat more as the food washes through the band so it defeats the purpse because you will eat more. Not trying to "start anything" here. That is just what I was told and I researched online before my surgery. It is true, you won't find anything about stretching your pouch. Like I said, they say they expect it COULD. Which makes sense, so why should we test it? I struggled with liquids at meals at the begining, I don't think people should live in fear about stretching their band. Even if this could happen, I would expect it would take MANY MANY times of doing it. I doubt a few times at the begining of adusting wit your new life would hurt a person.

I think ,Mona, we have the same opinion over all, "don't drink with your food." The only point I was trying to get across, is it has not been proven to stretch, and folks at the begining of this journey struggle with this, I think it is a normal struggle to get through.

[FindingMeAgain]

I was told you can drink right on up to your meal...and then not for 45 mins AFTER you eat or 1 hour from your first bite. You are washing the food right through the band. This can stretch the band too, so be careful. Dr Ortiz is very thorough when he explains MANY people don't lose anything between the 21 day diet and their first fill. There is nothing in your band to act as a tool and it is just a healing phase. Don't get discouraged!

I lost 18 pounds right away, and then only 5 more from week 3 to week 8 while I waited for my fill.

[ckiki]

Dr. So just told me on Friday to not drink 5 minutes prior to eating and wait only 30 minutes after. I was surprised to hear that, but he said we are told an hour to start off, so we can get used to it, but he said 30 is fine. I still go an hour, unless I am really thirsty, then 45 min, but I just can't bring myself to do only 30 min.

[mona-camille]

Dr. So just told me on Friday to not drink 5 minutes prior to eating and wait only 30 minutes after. I was surprised to hear that, but he said we are told an hour to start off, so we can get used to it, but he said 30 is fine. I still go an hour, unless I am really thirsty, then 45 min, but I just can't bring myself to do only 30 min.

Funny you mention this. As I mentioned in my checkup post, I too got some differing advice than I had when I was originally banded. I was also told that they don't necessarily say the same thing to everyone. A lot of the information s very personalized and it does change over time for each person. So, I guess it kind of depends on who you speak to and when.

A great example is that they say you can have carbonated beverages after 6 months. Well, I asked Dr. Miranda why they say that when the US doctors say never again. She said they prefer us to never drink carbonation ever again but knows that most people will do it anyway so they say 6 months to at least give out bodies time to propery heal and adjust to band life. But, I asked for the truth, not just what she thought I wanted to hear, so there you have it. And I am quite sure someone will come on here and say the exact opposite of what I just said. So, it IS hard. I think the best advice is to really understand that the information we get can, and often is, more personalized than general.

[SandraMinnesota]

I would like to know

1. The rationale for not drinking one hour after a meal. If the food is nicely sitting in your "big" stomach, say 10 min after you ate, doesn't the water just plop on top of it there? What diff could that make?

2. The rationale for not drinking 20 min before a meal. When you drink water on an empty stomach, doesn't it just pass right through the band into the stomach? Then isn't it just sitting in there when you eat, and food goes into your stomach from your pouch? What diff could that make?

I do understand why you should not drink while eating. I get that. But no one has EVER answered #1 or #2 for me. I have a medical curiosity. And to have that answered will make me comply with a full understanding.

Sandra

[mona-camille]

I would like to know

1. The rationale for not drinking one hour after a meal. If the food is nicely sitting in your "big" stomach, say 10 min after you ate, doesn't the water just plop on top of it there? What diff could that make?

2. The rationale for not drinking 20 min before a meal. When you drink water on an empty stomach, doesn't it just pass right through the band into the stomach? Then isn't it just sitting in there when you eat, and food goes into your stomach from your pouch? What diff could that make?

I do understand why you should not drink while eating. I get that. But no one has EVER answered #1 or #2 for me. I have a medical curiosity. And to have that answered will make me comply with a full understanding.

Sandra

I don't think your food is in your big stomach that soon after eating. That is why you can wash it all into the big stomach by drinking too soon. Also, water sitting on top of your food in the pouch will do just that. Sit on top of it until it goes down, little by little. I believe the way it works is the food in the pouch empty's into the big stomach slowly, thereby keeping you full longer. And you can drink before a meal for exactly why you said, it runs right through. I think they wat you to stop a little before eating is because some fluid can loosen up the band a bit and make the opening bigger so food goes through easier instead of sitting in the top part like it should. I know that if I drink something cold, it tightens me right up but if I drink something warm, it loosens me up.

But, you might not want to listen to me, since someone will be posting right after me telling me that I am wrong.

[FindingMeAgain]

I would like to know

1. The rationale for not drinking one hour after a meal. If the food is nicely sitting in your "big" stomach, say 10 min after you ate, doesn't the water just plop on top of it there? What diff could that make?

2. The rationale for not drinking 20 min before a meal. When you drink water on an empty stomach, doesn't it just pass right through the band into the stomach? Then isn't it just sitting in there when you eat, and food goes into your stomach from your pouch? What diff could that make?

I do understand why you should not drink while eating. I get that. But no one has EVER answered #1 or #2 for me. I have a medical curiosity. And to have that answered will make me comply with a full understanding.

Sandra

Sandra the way I was explained is the food starts to pass through the band and goes to the larger part of your stomach...the longer this process takes the fuller you will feel longer. When you drink anything it is actually absorbed by the food in your stomach and it makes it more mushy or even watery which passes it quicker.

They also told me the 20 mins before is only for the first 3 months. Then it is up to 5 mins.

[GirlBarb]

There is one part of drinking while eating that hasn't been addressed: If you drink, you dilute the stomache acids that aid in proper digestion of your foods.

[BandDiva]

There is one part of drinking while eating that hasn't been addressed: If you drink, you dilute the stomache acids that aid in proper digestion of your foods.

Very good point! It is not healthy to drink with meals even if you ARENT banded.

[tootsie_lou]

I really appreciate your kind words. I am getting my fill this coming MONDAY! 3/2/09 I'm excited, scared, etc. So we are getting are fill the SAME DAY! However, I'm getting mine here in West Palm Beach, Florida (where I live). I cannot really afford to go back to the OCC like I'd love to! Good for you, tho! Awesome! You must tell me all about your first fill experience, ok??

Hey Jennifer!

So you went for your first fill-- how is it going?

(Your picture looks just like my college room mate, way back when. You didn't go to Ferris State in MI, did you? )

I hope all is well--Diana

[robbynnoel]

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Jennifer))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

)))

I want to hear how things are going after the fill too!

Hugs.

[JenniferJS]

Hi Diana! I have lived in FL my whole life

So first fill down! Where do I start...guess I'll just ramble about like always.

Fill itself, totally easy, painless, quick! (Oh and super cute fill doc! Is that a requirement for bariatric surgeons? It must be. I swear!)

I'm having some trouble with solids (well the good for you solids - junk goes down easy!) Not that I eat junk often but sometimes its tempting to have chips because they just go right down, no problems! I wasn't even a chip eater before lap band...weird! I cooked on a weekend and packed my lunch - tender meat and a veg each day. I can only eat maybe 1/2 cup of food (still not measuring!) Most meat is just to difficult and gets stuck (which is kinda did before my first fill anyway, so not that new). Now I know why people look for alternate protein sources! Now it makes total sense! Oh, I love fish - its always tender and tasty but I've learned this is one food I DO NOT NEED TO CHEW THOROUGHLY - it just gets too dry after so much chewing. It seems to stay more moist with regular chewing (still super small bites of course).

Veggies seem to go down okay (MINUS ASPARAGUS! It WAS a fav). Veggies just take SO much chewing!

I have been getting belly aches ALOT! Not anywhere near my pouch or port. They are very low (almost could be menstrual cramps but they are def not). That is so strange to me. I'm regular (thanks to BENEFIBER!). White wine will cause a belly ache every time so I've switched to red only and have it just on occasion.

So far I've PB'd twice (once before fill with pork chops that I wolfed down - DUH ME!) and then after fill with the asparagus. UCK!!!!!!! GROSS!!! This has made me SOOO TIMID about food. Which is good (don't even wanna bother with most stuff cuz I hurt just looking at certain stuff like bread, cake, meat..etc.) I do spit alot cuz things get lodged for a few minutes. I attribute that to not chewing good enough and not enough time between bites. There is such a learning curve with this band! I understand that restriction means getting full faster. Restriction is not PBing and sliming/spitting.

Maybe a pound weight loss But I'm not disappointed...I know where I'm lacking (exercise!)

So, I told you I would ramble!

Thanks for checking in on me!!

Hugs!

Jennifer

Hey Jennifer!

So you went for your first fill-- how is it going?

(Your picture looks just like my college room mate, way back when. You didn't go to Ferris State in MI, did you? )

I hope all is well--Diana

[JenniferJS]

SUPER BIG HUGS BACK TO YOU, ROBBYN! Read my post above for the details

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Jennifer))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

)))

I want to hear how things are going after the fill too!

Hugs.

[tootsie_lou]

Hey Jenn--

I hear you on so many levels. Apparently I used to (pre-lapband) wolf my food down in three bites or something. After the post-op liquid phase I had a devil of a time getting the hang of eating slow. I thought I couldn't eat anything because it all would get stuck. I was always the first one done eating before, and still now, I sometimes rush--and then I pay for it. At one point I actually got mad (at the food-haha)! Figured it was time to sit down and reread some post-fill info and get with it already. I've been doing OK since then. I hope you do well with your new fill. Sometime would you mind sharing your local fill doctor's info? I've been to St Pete and really love the lady there, but the trip is sort of a killer (my second fill I did it by myself--ugh). So glad you did well. Hopefully now your weight loss will really start to take off (gees, no pun intended there--haha)

Diana

[nazish]

I was totally on top of things in the beginning, and at first I wasn’t losing a lot of weight and then I realized I was taking in a ton of salt –and I was retaining water – a lot of those broth and soups we eat are really salty – once I got into the low salt and I added B-6 into my diet I started dropping more weight. (And I had to drink more water) I wasn't getting enough since we have to drink little sips through the day at first. You most likely are losing our bodies do a lot of weird things when we change so drastically and you’ll find that you have times when you don’t lose for a long period – then you drop 10 pounds quickly.

I’m really focused on watching what I eat and also when I started eating solids I was really on top of measuring my food and teaching myself what amount was appropriate.

Good luck – it’ll work for you – this is the hardest part!

Lisa, ru taking b6 pills or liquid????

plsss let me know

what vitamins pills are allowed with this band..

usually they are very big size !!!

thanks

[eobunny]

Hugs to you.

How did you find out you were allergic to the anesthesia?

I have been reading the boards to prepare for my surgery. I have a question for you, prior to opting for the band, I lost over 80 lbs BUT in July I lost my motivation (due to a dozen reasons) and the weight flew back on VERY VERY VERY quickly. I gained 50 lbs. Ironically enough, I was then eligible for lap band.

So my question is, how stable was your weight prior to the surgery? Did you struggle to keep your weight balanced? In the past, the first few weeks of a diet did you lose quickly or slow and steady?