I need help getting back on track...4 yrs later

Keeping it too tight and vomiting 4-5 per day every single day until it slips....now that's abuse...sadly this happens ALL the time...this can be avoided by being honest with your surgeon in how tight your band is...they really don't know...you have to tell them how much you can eat...and follow the band rules by chewing your food well to avoid vomiting and eat band friendly foods...your surgeon's office should provide you with a list.

does vomiting happen bc the band is too tight? does it occur if you eat too fast or to much?

Vomiting can happen for many reasons, but too tight a band is a factor.

There is a difference between traditional vomitting and 'productive burping' -- also known as 'pb'ing'.

In 3 years, I think that I have only truly vomitted once -- but I have episodes of productive burping a few times a year, it seems.

Productive burping is when we regurgitate food above the band -- too big a bite, eating too quickly, drinking while eating are all reasons that it happens to me.

If it is explainable, and I clearly ate something too quickly or took too  big a bite, then I go back to liquids for a day to let my stomach and esophogus rest.  If I don't then I am much more likely to have it happen again within a day or 2.  So, I have learned to rest and take it easy.

If I were to have this happen and could not explain why it happened, I would call my surgeon and schedule an appointment and probably have a small amount of fluid removed.

There are people (and it seems surgeons as well) who think that a tight band will help them lose weight faster.  In my experience it is actually the opposite.
When my band is tight, I cannot eat lean, solid protein --- so I end up eating soft foods which are typically more calorie dense and I eat more of them.  Those foods slide down easily, and I can eat alot of them.

When my band is properly filled, AND I choose to eat protein first, I can eat a surpsingly small amount of food and stay satisfied for a long period of time.  I have to choose those foods, because with a looser band, if I choose the easy foods, I can eat much more than I need, and I am in constant search of food.

For me, it seems to be a pretty fine line and balance between having my band loose enough to be able to eat healthy foods and being tight enough to get the 'appetite dimming' that the band should provide.

 

hi kath
in reading about bands and fills, how do you know if a band is to tight? or properly filled or too loose? sorry for the questions. i am 9 days away from surgery.

The expectations that my doc set with me were that I would have my band placed with no fluid in it.

I was on a pretty common regimen of 'clear liquids to full liquids to soft/mushy food to regular food' throughout the first 2 weeks -- a few days in each stage of that progression.

I was encouraged to eat small, careful meals that were high in protein and low in sugars.

When I stopped eating sugar, and ate small but frequent meals, I was able to be satisfied even without some fluid in my band -- and lost a few pounds per week.

At about 4 weeks post-op, I started to get fills.  After the fill, I go back to full liquid or mushy food for a day -- and then progress back to regular food.  I am instructed to eat small, careful bites.

The way MY band works, is that a small amount of lean/solid protein and some vegetable, and I am done eating.  I am talking about 2 - 4 ounces of steak or pork chop or moist chicken or fish -- and I cut that into pea-sized bites -- so, I get about 30 bites of food. 

I eat that, and a few spoonfuls of well cooked vegetable, or baked sweet potato, or brown rice --- and I can't eat any more.  Not only do I not want to eat anymore, but I don't want to think about food for several hours.

Now, if my band is too tight, I cannot eat ANY lean protein --- I feel pressure and pain in my chest and sometimes need to burp up the food.

If my band is too loose, I can eat twice that amount and still be looking for more.

Now, I think that some of this is physical, and some is a 'head game' --- I made a game out of 'how little can I eat' instead of 'how much can I eat' when i was first banded.   I did not try to test my band.

I knew that I had to learn to eat less.  In my past, I did not eat because I was hungry most of the time.  I ate because there was food available ---- I did not stop eating because I was satisfied, I stopped because either the food ran out, or because I was STUFFED.

Now, I don't eat to be stuffed anymore.  I have had to learn to stop eating after a reasonable amount and walk away -- put the food away, or box it up or throw it away and distract myself with something else.  What I find is that in 15 or 20 minutes, I am not thininkg about eating again.

The band (with food sitting in it) puts enough pressure on my upper stomach for my brain to get the signal that I have eaten.  I am not full, but I am not hungry.

In the old days, I could eat a full meal -- and over eat it ---- and 30 minutes later, if someone had asked me if I was hungry, I would say "I could eat" --- now, with my band, 30 minutes after a meal, not only do I not feel hungry, but if I think about eating, my first thought is 'ummm NO' --- the desire to eat any time is just not there.

When I was new, most of the 'failure'  stories I read started with people talking about how their bands had been tight and they were vomitting alot and ignoring it ---- and when they finally got to the doctor, they had a slipped band (actually the band does not move, but your stomach lining migrates up above the band) and they have to have an un-fill, or they have to have their band removed, or they have long-term reflux issues.

I vowed that I would rather 'diet' and limit my intake with a loose band, than risk having my band be too tight and cause me problems like those.

I also keep in touch with my surgeon (see him at Support group meetings every month or 2) and while I was losing, I saw him about once a month for regular follow up.

Now that I am almost 3 years out and at my goal weight, I just keep on trying to eat high-protein, low-sugar and get regular exercise to maintain my weight.

 thank you for the explanation. it was very detailed. 
it sounds as if u eat pretty much whatever you want (in moderation) with high protein first.
i sure hope i can be as successful as some on this loop have been.

As far as eating whatever I want, in moderation is not completely true for me.

I did not eat bread for probably 2 years post op --- or tortillias.
I imagined that they would gum up my band, so I didn't even try.

I ate baked sweet potato, brown rice and whole grain crackers as my grains.

I also knew that the band would not stop me from eating sweets --- and I cannot eat them moderately.
So, I got back into OA before my surgery.

I made a list of 'trigger foods' and I don't eat those anymore.  So, I have not had a cookie,or cake or icecream or candy or other baked goods for over 3 years now.

I don't even try to eat them because they trigger very strong urges in me and then I am eating them and nothing else.

Hey Nina,

When I am struggling with a few pounds, it seems that it is always because I have let too many processed carbs back into my eating plan.

So, I make a plan and I
1.  clean the pantry/fridge of the crappy carbs
2.  stock up on good quality proteins, fruits and veggies
3.  make some sun-tea out of my favorite orange-spice tea bags
4.  find a few days that are going to be relatively stress-free (relatively, because if I waited for truly stress free days, I would never find them -- LOL)
5.  I schedule my meals --- and I start the day with plenty of water, then a protein-filled breakfast
Water after an hour, a small snack between breakfast and lunch --- a small snack between lunch and dinner, a small snack after dinner if I want it.

Lots of water in between meals and snacks.

I remind myself that no one ever starved to death between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner.
I distract myself with work, or crafts, or the internet, or exercise --- anything to stay away from eating
I remind myself that this is temporary and that after 3 or 4 days I am going to feel better and see some weight loss.

YOU can do this!!!

Thanks everyone! You guys Rock! thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.
All your support is so valuable & i feel armed with support from my "Banded sisters" to move forward this week & shed 3lbs!
To day:
B: 2 waffles w lite syrup
L:1 boiled egg & ! cup carrot raisin salad
D: 2 slices 50 cal whole wheat toast 2 boiled eggs 1tbsp low fat mayo
S: 1 c strawberries 

I would add that, if there are certain foods you love, try to find a lower carb substitute for them. For example - you had waffles for breakfast. Those will digest pretty quickly and lead to s pike and then crash in blood sugar. Lately, to satify my pancake craving, I've been making a paleo pancake recipe that uses eggs, coconut flour, and almond milk. They take a few extra minutes to make, but they're yummy, very low carb and high fiber, and really stick with me! Don't give up everything you love, that's a "diet" and a recipe for disaster. Look for ways to modify your foods to be lower carb!