Do you have a soft stop?

Hey, you talkin' to ME, woman?????



Now that my band is empty, things are more predictable.  I rarely get stuck these days, which is a good thing.  Before the unfill in May, it was tough.  I'd get stuck, but I'd still be starving and waiting for it to pass so I could keep eating.  Even if I was hurling up slime into a trash bag.  That's how powerful my compulsion to eat is.  

I guess if I had gone on liquids for a few days every time I got stuck, I'd have lost a ton of weight.  But I couldn't.  Too hungry.  It's such an exercise in contradictions.

I also have an involuntary sigh often.  I also have always had a runny nose. 
Both are my soft stops.

 I wonder if a runny nose is one of my soft stops too, but because of my sinus issues I can't tell.

My body is a wonderland.  A wonderland of confusion!!!  

 Yes! everyone will experience different soft stops, I have had all..lol, soft stops can be a burp, hiccup, yawn or sigh, this is the thing many people do not understand, the band will never stop us from eating, it helps us stop, we have to learn to pull back from the table when we are satisfied.

If the band is too tight many do NOT get their soft stop because they cannot eat enough solid food to send a signal to their vagus nerve to tell them they have had enough. 

If you look at the trends in complications most that have had their bands removed reported that they never experienced a soft stop, because they probably were too tight all along.

And if you noticed that those who have lost all their weight with no complications report they can eat mostly all foods because they are not too tight and stop eating when they are satisfied versus those who are too tight and they usually experience a "hard stop" of vomiting.

My band has been bone dry for 7 months and I just noticed the sigh last week.  Obviously, I'm not too tight.

I know the band will not stop me from eating, but it doesn't help me stop eating either.  I'm either hungry or not hungry.  I stop eating when I consciously choose to stop eating, the same as before I got banded.

I intellectually understand satiation and satiety, but I don't know what they feel like.  I know hungry and not hungry.  I know mouth-based satisfaction and the evil nature of head hunger, but not physiological satisfaction.  

As a kid, I was one of those who was forced to clean my plate, whether I liked it or not.  

Little kids always know when they've had enough, when they're satisfied.  But some of us lose touch with the ability to understand what our bodies are signaling to us when we're forced to eat beyond being satisfied.

I remember a standoff with my mother when I was about 5.  She would not let me leave the table untill I finished all my meat.  I sat there for HOURS.  But in the end, she won.  And won.  And won.  And I shut down.  The cycle began.

Do you have any references (studies) on band complications/removal and lack of soft stop due to an overly filled band?  I'm just curious and doing as much literature research as I can to find some insights or ways of getting this band thing working for me.

I have some soft stops, and if I really think about it -- I had them prior to surgery too, it's just that I ate so fast and furious that I never NOTICED them.

For me, the first sign is I look at the food and instead of being really interested in eating it. I think hmmmm, I really could pass on the rest of this. The challenging part it choosing not to eat anymore  for any one of a million reasons like it tastes so good, I deserve it, or I'll die because I have only eaten such a small portion and I feel like I need more to live. So those times I choose to eat a few more bites, I then get a runny nose and feel sinus pressure. I think of that as my second warning.

Man!  I would love a two step signal!!!!

I haven't noticed the sighing bit since last week.  I'm a slow eater anyway, and even slower after the band.  

It just bugs me because the sighing thing, which I've detected twice in a year and a half, is bordering on subliminal!  A little help here, band!

Hey Denise, you know I have had soft stops the whole time, runny noise, hiccups, pressure on chest, etc....BUT I don't always listen!!!! I would want another bite because it tasted so good that I would push the envelope and then I would pay for it.

My band is fickle, I know first thing in the morning how it is going to go, some days I can't eat but a bite or two all day or some days I can eat the whole house (those are few and far between) but I have them.

I am up some from my lowest weight but I feel better and think I look better, I don't look anorexic or like I am going to snap if you hug me to hard, but I am still trudging along with my band. I will be 6 years out next month. I can't believe it, where did the time go!!!

Debbieeeeeeeee!!!

I was just looking at the picture of us from awhile back and am amazed at how fast your hair grows, gaw-giss!

I really wish the band spoke louder to me.  I'm pretty sure I would notice hiccups, chest tightness, etc., but I don't listen 'cause I can't hear it!  Well, figuratively speaking.  I have to be able to drag myself out of the action of eating and rely on cognitive therapy skills and talk myself into stopping.

Hell, I coulda done that by dieting alone.  It's just frustrating.  I don't feel full, I'm not good at gauging satiation, I'm hungry most of the day and I have frequent left shoulder pain.  If the band could do like, I dunno, 3% of the work, I'd be happy enough.

Dang.  My stomach is growling.  

Lemme know if you have any free time over the holidays!  Maybe we can grab LouLou7 and get together for coffee or lunch or a walk or something! (or something = gab fest!!!!)

Hijack Debbie!
I haven't seen you in forever!  You still look amazing!  I love you at this current weight!  I think it is perfect on your!

Just wanted to say HI!