help- restriction question

I had my surgery on June 4th. I have not had any restriction until my last fill last week. I already am at 7cc. My doc thought if this didn't work I might have a leak in my band or some erosion. Thank god it did- and I do feel restriction for the first time. My question is how do I know if its the "sweet spot" - how will I know I'm getting the best restriction I can??? My doc cancelled my next appt (for next week) since I finally have restriction. So I am not scheduled for another fill until I call and think I need one. I'm just so happy to have some- and I finally found out what getting stuck means.......ouch!! So should I just go with this for now???? thanks for any help!!!

I would give it a couple weeks and see how you feel. With good restriction you should be able to eat much less, somewhere around the 1/4 cup serving and feel satisfied for 3-4 hours and begin losing 1-2 pounds per week steadily. If this happens, you are at your sweet spot.

Donna

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Banded 4/17/09
Dr. Alberto Aceves, Mexicali

10cc band filled to 3.40 cc (band holds 4cc fill)

96 pounds lost to date

I was told that when I reached the green zone, I would comfortably be able to go 4 or 5 hours between meals. I was never told to eat only a certain amount of food. What I was told was to eat 3 oz of protein, a serving of vegetables and a serving of whole grain carbs (a serving is 15 grams of carbs). When I was still working toward the green zone, I was told that if I got hungry in less than 3 hours to snack on PROTEIN ONLY....a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese or some low fat cottage cheese (all around 70 calories).

Now, at 5.8ccs, I am in the green zone and have been there for a while. Having lost 80 pounds already, I now lose consistently at the rate of about a pound a week.

Don't compare your 7ccs to my 5.8ccs ... we are all different. My best friend is at 6.8ccs and hasn't made up her mind if she's really "there" or not.

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Cathy
Conyers, Georgia

Parrotthead is SOOO right about not comparing your 7 CC w/how much she has in her band. I got a fill yesterday.. 1/2 CC, which put me at 3.5 CC in a 10CC band. This was my 4th fill. I was banded on May 19th. I had good restriction after my 3rd fill, so much so that when I went in last month, he didn't give me a fill. So.... I got a 1/2 CC fill yesterday... I am TOO tight.. actually had to pull over on the side of the florida turnpike this morning to throw up after having 2 drinks of my protein shake so I made a big cup of hot tea at work and even that wasn't going down well... I felt it in my chest and I was gurgling like crazy... SOOOO... I talk to his nurse and after being in the OR all day and then 3 hrs of support group meetings tonight, him and his nurse are meeting me at their office about 8:45 tonight to take out a little... I have lost about 60 lbs so far including my pre-op diet, 48 lbs of which is post op... so everyone is different in how much it takes to get restriction... just give it a few days... your stomach has to heal again after the fill... good luck!!

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I was told meals should be 3-4 of protien, 2-3 veggie and 1-2 grain for a total of 8 0z a meal. is this wrong..
i have 4cc in a 10cc band, my first fill, i feel the same restriction i did right after surgery - i can eat 6-8 oz of food.

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5cc in a 10cc band.
Banded 10/13/09
My "Oh yeah" moment when I *saw* the changes 2/12/2010

Instructions on how much to eat varies from surgeon to surgeon. Ask yours how much you should be eating. Cathy is right though about comparing how much fill you have with others. Everyone is different and there are different sized bands in use as well.

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Banded 4/17/09
Dr. Alberto Aceves, Mexicali

10cc band filled to 3.40 cc (band holds 4cc fill)

96 pounds lost to date

I also only have about 3ml in a 10ml band . My last fill was .3ml and I ended up go back and having .25ml of that out as I was too tight. Optimum fill levels differ vastly from person to person. I also think there is a difference with different types of band. A lot of people with the Realize band seem to have higher fill levels than those with the LAP-BAND®.

I have also been told to eat protein + veg + a carb. I do not measure my food I eyeball it. I don't use a small plate as that makes me look different to everyone else but typically my food only covers half of the plate.

I think the best measurement of restriction is not feeling full but being able to go approx 4 hrs between meals without feeling hungry. Even this will differ from day to day as it is perfectly natural to have hungry days and some not so hungry days.

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Banded 2 June 2009.