I need help!! Why do I suddenly feel minimal restriction?

I had my lap band surgery 3/26/10. I lost some weight prior to surgery (during the six month period) and have lost a total of about 75 lbs so far. I am doing good. I have had a few fills. The last fill was a few months ago, but it felt tight so I haven't had another one. I have been trying to get used to it. Anyway, I read the Bandwagon book by Jean McMillan and realized that I might have been eating wrong cause I was having lots of 'hard' stops...sliming, throwing up some times, etc. So, anyway, for the past week, I have been taking much smaller bites and started measuring my lunch portions for work. So far, so good, right? Now, I feel like I can eat and not feel stuffed and weird which is good but it feels so different from before that I'm afraid that I have had a band slippage. Also, it seems that I can eat more than I could before. I'm not sure what the hell is going on with me. I'm not having any pain or anything.

I may be paranoid LOL.....anyway, can somehow sift through this rambling post and help a sister out please!

Thanks for any input
Toni

Sounds to me like you are measuring and eating like you are suppossed to so you aren't getting hard stops etc.

ARE you eating more? Or do you just "feel" like you can. Mentally. KWIM?

I know when I was having PB issues, sliming, etc... I felt like I couldn't eat anything unless it was a slider. So going from that, to being able to eat premeasured well chewed foods might mentally be throwing you off.

Have you lost weight during the last week?

EDITED to add: Oh... and from what I have heard and read... you would KNOW if you had slippage. Not being able to keep saliva down, severe restriction, pain, etc.

Thank you. That helps a lot.

I had the same PB stuff and I didn't realize I was leaning towards 'slider' foods until I read that book. Then I realized what I was doing and have been working on it. I have lost a pound so far this week, but you know how the scale is. One day it's 169 lbs then it's 172 then other times it's 173 and now it's back down to 170. And that last measurement I took after I ate dinner. It just feels like something is different on the inside but that might be because I'm not irritating my stoma with too big of bites. I mean I was chewing the hell out of food but now I realize my bites were too big. In that book, it recommends bites as small as a pencil eraser and I'm doing about that.

Good to know that I'm probably being paranoid. I'm gonna keep eating the way that I'm eating and watch myself. As long as I keep losing, then I'm fine. I cancelled my last fill (before the holidays) because I felt like I was still adjusting to this fill and I'm still losing.

Thanks again for the help. I feel so much better.

It could be that you were experiencing swelling from the irritation of all the sliming, pb'ing etc... and now that you are being more cautious the irritation/swelling has gone down. 

Bravo to you on the eraser sized bites. I need to find a copy of that book it sounds like. Never heard of it. Bandwagon?

I think you are right about that. I was throwing up almost once a week and thought that was normal or that my band was too tight. I really think it was taking too big bites and portion size. Anyway, the book is very, very helpful....wish I would have had it at the beginning of my journey but still helpful even 10 months into this thing.

It's called, "Bandwagon," by Jean McMillan. I purchased it on amazon.com for like $20. It's 500 plus pages. I highly recommend it.

Thanks. I will check it out!!

Sounds to me like you are now doing it right! Slips usually result in being so tight you can't eat! If you have lost weight, you may need another fill.

Kate

You mentioned that you felt "so tight" were you too tight? If you were too tight too long, and not able to eat solid food, you may have stretched your pouch.   Pouch dilation occurs from trying to eat on a too tight band too long and it is caused from DAILY PBING. The first symptoms are sudden LACK of restriction accompanied by some night time reflux. Or it could mean that you';ve lost some weight and your band has loosened up. You need to visit your surgeon and have them check your band.. 

Toni we are in the exact same boat! My weight loss has stopped pretty much for about 3 months. I had my surgery MArch 1. I throw up about once a week, I never know which food, or what causes it. I am hungry alot etc. I got a fill Tuesday and so far not much has changed. Where did you get that book?

I ordered it from Amazon.com. I hope it helps you. It is helping me a lot although from that other post I'm wondering if I stretched my pouch like she said. I'm not sure. I'm probably gonna see my surgeon in the next few weeks just to make sure cause I'm so paranoid that I screwed something up. I mean now that I am eating like the book recommends, I feel better. And I am feeling restriction. At first, I didn't, but it could have been perceptional since I had been getting sick so often. ya know? So, anyway, this past week, I started feeling restriction again not PB type restriction but regular restriction. I ate half of a sandwich and could tell that I had enough and stopped eating. So, like I said, I think I panicked at first cause it felt like I had no restriction when I really did.

I have to say I'm so grateful for these forums. I don't want to call my surgeon/physician's assistant every time I have a question and they haven't had the surgery so they don't really know what it feels like to be in it. If that makes sense....

thanks for the input guys...I feel better!!!!!