Restriction

Yes, I seem to have it this morning.  Nothing appealed except warm, thin cereal.  My tummy is tight and irritated. Thanks for the compliments, but to be perfectly honest, I'm one of the lucky ones that has some natural restriction from just having a band in there.  There are at least some of us who didn't find ourselves in Bandster Hell (hungry and no fill yet) for a long time.  Pat says Dr. S. has a patient who didn't need a fill for 8 months! I also think I was carrying a lot of water weight when I went into surgery because I was a soda pop addict.  You absolutely cannot drink soda, even diet, with a band, or at least most of us can't.  (I accidentally took a little sip of punch made with Perrier and fruit juice at a Christmas party and yowie!  Carbonation HURTS!)  When I gave up soda and most simple carbs (I still use a little sugar in my coffee), I dropped a lot of water weight and swelling, especially in my legs.  For the most part, most of the water has stayed gone.  I pick up 2 or 3 lbs during TOM, but that's it. So, I am not the band weight loss goddess! I hope to come next week to the meeting.  No guarantees.  I have a kid program at school that morning, so it depends on how fast I can leave work that night. Edie

Edie, nothing better than some restriction!  Did Pat not give you a fill at all?  I had great restriction with just the band but they insisted that I get 6cc for my first fill.  That was of course TOO much so they had to take out 2cc in order to get me able to swallow water!  I think each patient is a learning process for them since we are all so different.  The more weight you lose the more you're going to need the fills.  The fat between your stomach and the band will disappear WOOHOO!  Pat's been extra busy this week, I am waiting to hear back from her to schedule my and Floyd's upper GIs that need to be redone.

I got 4 cc's this time; I didn't get anything last time.  I can really feel the 4 cc's, too.  I think that's just about right for now.  She told me that she wasn't going to give me 6, which is what she normally gives for the first fill because she was afraid I'd be too tight.  She emailed me and asked how I was doing with the 4 cc's and told me to call her if it wasn't right and she'd unfill me a bit.  I think you were the guinea pig on this!

You may be right about the guinea pig part.  Floyd got 4ccs on his first fill and when I went a few months later and she gave me 6ccs I asked her WTF was I getting 6ccs and she told me that Dr. Schweitzer and she had just come back from a Band Conference and that the new methodology was to give 6cc for the first fill in a VG band.  Well, I went THREE days of not being able to eat anything and what I tried to eat HURT and I had to vomit and had reflux every night.  Water barely went down, but liquids is all I could manage.  On day THREE she agreed to give me an unfill.  As soon as she drew out the 2ccs I felt 100 percent better.  NOW a year+ post op, according to the first upper GI which the film turned out terrible; I am "very tight" according to Pat *****ad the radiology report, but I am not losing right now and I feel like I am eating more than I have in a while.  So, I have to have the UGI done again.  I am very concerned that I have dilated my pouch, which is correctable by doing an unfill and liquids.  Somewhat, if I am, I blame Schweitzer's office for not doing periodic upper GIs or doing fills under fluoro (they say it is too expensive) to watch my band.  We'll see.  I'll keep you posted for sure. 

How frustrating this must be!  I am nervous about the possibility of doing this (stretching the pouch) and am being extra careful on paying attention to what I'm feeling.  You may just be plateaued because your body is rebelling because of the brief pregnancy and doesn't want to let go of more weight right now.  It'll get over that eventually, but the able to eat more thing sounds scary.

Well I asked a friend of mine who had dinner with us if she thought I ate too much (she had RNY) and she said no.  I told her I should have been full after the oyster stew and she reminded me that it goes RIGHT through the band.  Well the UGI took five minutes for the liquid to go through my band.  Other than that I had a cluster of snow crab legs and a couple of oysters and then a small potato.  I should have skipped the stew for sure based on it being liquid calories.  You know I thought that the pregnancy part contributed the lack of loss too and it could have something to do with it.  We'll see what the second upper GI shows, but something has to give. 

Wishing you all the best Heather.  Edie could be right about the m/c and not being able to lose weight.    Keep us posted on how the second UGI goes. How was Floyd's?

I'll be setting up the second UGI today I think.  The NP called for my info so she can start the paperwork and I will get a call to schedule. Floyd's films were "terrible" as well and has to be redone, but the report said he has plenty of room for fills, which he desperately needs.  He's eating like a friggin horse and of course when I say anything about it he gets aggrevated.  I just hate seeing him sabotage himself.  Yesterday during the game he ate constantly.  His belly is so big and round he looks pregnant!

Wow Heather that's a bummer that both films came out sucky, did they say why?  Man I would be pissed and would demand someone different to do it next time.   I hope Floyd starts taking care of himself soon it is very important. Especially when men get really big on the belly area that is like havign a ticking time bomb for a heart attack clogged arteries and such to happen.  Gino has gained so much weight I think he thinks he is having this baby instead of me.  He craves a lot and endulges a whole lot too.  He had a consult for GBMC and when he saw that DVR was leaving he decided he wanted to cancel the consult so he can go to see him at St. Agnes hospital but then the other day we went to dinner for his birthday and he saw I was only able to eat 1/4 of the food I ordered and he was like man I don't think I can do this surgery. I told him look you take 9 pills a day you have high cholesteron high blood sugar, high blood pressure, gout, etc and etc and now I am having another baby I can not afford to lose you early in life.  If you are not willing to go through it you better be doing something soon to lose 120 pounds.  I am not planning to be a wodow early in life with small kids.   So lets see what happens with that.   Good luck with everythign and let me know how the second UGI turns out.   Hugs,