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Rachel412

Gastric Bypass Patients
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Everything posted by Rachel412

  1. When i work hard at it, I see very steady loss. Every couple of days I lose .5 or so. if I'm being lax about what I'm eating, it'll swing up & down a lot.
  2. The truth is OH is very anti-band. The anti-bandsters pretty much ran off all of the pro-bandsters. So while there are certainly valid reasons to be concerned about outcomes, and slips, and erosions, I would take OH with a grain of salt. You're hearing from the vhement ant-banders and the people who have had bad outcomes and not really from those who are happy with their bands.
  3. Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful replies. The practice is part of a hospital program, and they started losing people slowly due to layoffs. The last time I saw my nutritionist we talked about how people were being let go and I said how much I'd hate it if she was let go and she said no, she still had her job. Then she ended up quitting Probably a smart move on her part. Jumping from a sinking ship, etc... the practice has a total of about 4 surgeons, my surgeon is split between practices in 2 cities so he's only in the office one day and in surgery one day at my hospital. The good news is a good a very confusing letter from the practice today. I'm not stupid but I read it 4 times and then asked my husband if he could understand it He really couldn't either. I THINK what it said was they are going to be training programs in other local offices & hospitals to follow their protocols... I guess so maybe I'd be able to switch to a different practice under their general umbrella? I've never read a more confusing letter! I am faithfully tracking all my food and I just need to keep my fingers crossed that on the 18th they'll listen to me, and at the very least check the level in my band. I hadn't realized that taking all the Fluid out to check it may cause the band to shift- very interesting and good to know. Thank you all for being so lovely to me, it really cheered me up!!
  4. Thank you all for reading, really. Thank you! And please don't ever take those muscles out of your profile pic, you have no idea how happy they make me Me too It's possible, there are a lot of options this close to Boston. Yes, I do feel a little lost. My surgeon DID do fills when I started but the PA I had was his surgical PA, who I really liked so I always chose to have her do them. Now that she's gone, he no longer does fills either. I asked when I called the last time if there was ANYONE else besides the current PA who does fills and I was told she's the only one who does them. The first 3 fills felt like they made a difference. Not so much the last two. I wish I could follow her but she moved to Georgia
  5. Rachel412

    Please Help

    In just a couple hours you'll know what's going on, it does sound like a slip though. Good luck!!!
  6. Rachel412

    Dreaming of Food?

    That's really funny!! No food dreams here, but I can totally see why you'e having them.
  7. Rachel412

    There is hope for girls!

    I'm proud of you for having the balls to walk away from a crappy relationship
  8. Rachel412

    So close...yet so far

    Even better- I hope you'll be able to say "I've been banded since xxxx and have lost xx pounds and this is what works for me!"
  9. Rachel412

    Strange Instructions...

    Did you know about this post-op eating plan before you had the surgery? I don't think it sounds soooo strange... different than what I had. but usually you don't have a fill until 6 weeks past surgery at the earliest... I DO think her brusqueness was weird!
  10. Rachel412

    Flintstone Vitamins Complete

    My surgeon's office reccommended 2 of the Flinstones Completes. I've been taking the Centrum chewabes instead... I like the taste.
  11. Rachel412

    Hospital stay vs outpatient

    I stayed overnight, my surgeon has all of his patients do it. Mmmmmm... pain pump. No kids waking up in the middle of the night. A tv I could control myself. It was heaven
  12. Rachel412

    Is drinking with a straw a no no???

    I drink with a straw if I get an iced coffee when I'm out of the house. I haven't noticed any difference my, ahem, air bubbles... but I was also told straws are a no-no by my surgeon.
  13. Rachel412

    So close...yet so far

    The only way you're going to prove anything to your doctor is to DO IT. Do exactly what your'e supposed to and make the tests prove that you're doing what you should. Now that I've said that...please please take a step back and take a very hard look at why you're wanting to be banded. You say you're 100% committed to lifestyle changes, but you didn't take your thyroid meds for the 2 weeks right before your blood tests. You knew you were almost through all of the hoops, and you failed the tests because of something that you chose not to do, even though you KNEW you were about to have surgery. That worries me. the fact that you lost your toe in January of 2010, yet you still didn't get serious about your insulin until last week. Clearly I only know what you've told us, but your pcp knows your medical history, and I would be concerned if he didn't raise a red flag. The band may help you feel satisfied after smaller meals... or it may not. It's not going to change what foods you eat, and it might not even change the amounts of food you eat. You have to do that all yourself, and for some of us it's a daily fight. I am 6 months out from surgery and I haven't had an easy day yet- but based on my weight loss, I sure consider myself a success. It's ALL in the choices I make and the days I choose to put my foot down and not take that one bite that leads to one more bite that leads to a handful that leads to a bowl that leads to the whole box. KWIM? I guess the long story short is- I think most band patients find that the band requires a large amount of self control. You just need to make sure you take a good hard honest look at yourself and see if you'll be able to have success, or if this is going to be one more thing you decide to be lax about. Please know that I am saying this all out of respect and care, NOT out of meanness. I worry that people just don't know going into this that it might not be the miracle cure they're expecting.
  14. I *can* eat just as much as I want- the surgery hasn't (yet anyway) made it so I can't eat a large amount. I have to make a conscious choice to limit my food quantities. It's easier on some days than others My food today: Breakfast- 1 Protein shake made with 8 oz. skim milk, 4 ice cubes, 1 scoop of protein powder, 2 tablespoons of powdered Peanut Butter 1 cup hot coffee w/ skim milk & 1 Splenda Lunch- chicken salad on 1/2 a low carb lavash bread- 4 oz. chicken breast, 1.5 tbsp low fat mayo, 1/2 a stalk of celery 1 oz. Emerald cinnamon roast almonds 1 cup hot chai w/ skim milk & splenda in the afternoon I made myself an iced coffee, also with splenda & skim milk Dinner- I made a skillet tamale pie from a cookbook. It was ground beef, diced tomatoes, black Beans, corn, and cheese with corn bread on top. Can't say how much food it was... maybe a cup? Maybe more? I measured out my portion by how the recipe cut it up (one serving = 1/8 of "pie"). Anyway. With all of that I've hit 85g of protein for the day and 75 grams of carbs. I log my food every day on myfitnesspal,com and I still have 185 calories "left" so I might have a Weight Watchers ice cream bar- they have one that tastes like a frozen Snickers and I looooove it! I know that was pretty ramble-y... hope it helps.
  15. I'm not gonna lie- it's hard. Harder at some times than others. The cravings will subside if you can manage to keep your sugar intake really low for, like, a solid week... but they still come back. My favorite "good" snack when I want sweets is Emerald roasted almonds, in cinnamon and in cocoa. They're sweet and crunchy, high in Protein, low in carbs. They have some artificial sweetener in them, for sure, but it doesn't bother me. And the protein in them helps me to feel satisfied when I eat them, instead of grabbing a handful of jelly Beans and then looking for something else to eat, and then something else... This is what they look like. 1 ounce is about 24 almonds... 150 calories, 5g protein, 3g of net carbs, 3g of Fiber.
  16. Rachel412

    Major tests?

    Your insurance might not require all these tests, but your surgeon might. I didn't have to get an endoscopy but I can see why some people might, to check the esophagus. Colonoscopy, well... I don't know why that would be required. I had to do an EKG, an upper GI, and I can't remember the name of the other test... but it was an ultrasound. They were all required by my surgeon to make sure I was healthy before they did the surgery.
  17. Rachel412

    TALKING ABOUT SEX

    I'd ask for someone to pass the popcorn, but...
  18. The first thing I did when I woke up from surgery was go in the bathroom and put on my bra I'd suggest a non-underwire if you have one, just for comfort's sake, but otherwise I didn't have any problem with a bra.
  19. Wow, I'd say it's 50/50 or even more mental/less band (but that's just the way I'm feeling lately!)
  20. Rachel412

    Big Boobies!!!

    Not that this will make you happy but... it's different for everyone I'm Dolly Parton-ing right now too. A minimizer bra is my current BFF. I've gone down 2 band sizes but no cup sizes.
  21. 1. How much weight did you loose in the first week? >> I'm not really loosing that much ( just under 2 KG/7 days) 6 or 7 pounds I think... 2. What are some good meals to eat in the 2nd week. I was on full liquids so I enjoyed savory soups in the blender the most. 3. Do you snack between meals? If so, what? Roasted almonds. 12 is a half a serving and it helps me not feel hungry. 4. Do you smoke? if so, how much? no 5. What is best juice to drink? None. Unless you do your own juiciing, I'd say juice is just "empty" calories. 6. Can you eat rice in the 2nd week? ( I live in japan, this is a rice country.....so hard to not eat rice) I'd say no. 7. How long after your surgery did you get a fill? 6 weeks 8. What is your present fill? ( mines is 4cc...is this too less?:...i'm 75KG/ 28yrs/5'4) 7.75 ccs 9. Did/do you pas a lot of gas? yep. It calmed down a month or two after surgery but it's still more than before. 10. How soon after can you really see a difference? Personally, I noticed a small difference around 35 pounds. ETA: your starting weight is much lower than most of the people on this board, so I don't know that our feedback is going to translate well to your circumstance...
  22. It's not like these people go into surgery planning to never get fills. If they'er losing weight just by dieting once they get the band... they still already got the band, kwim? I'm not being snarky, I'm just saying, it's not like people go "oh I learned I didn't really need fills after all and I could do it all by myself so I decided to get the band back out." Some people get a great benefit just by having the band placed, and some people get to a full fill level and don't ever feel a difference. It's too bad we don't all have the textbook response to having a band placed and having a couple of fills. If we did, this board would be a lot quieter
  23. Rachel412

    Confused about protein.

    I won't tell you that your hunger pains will stop entirely, but I know that protein will help you keep that "full" feeling longer. When we eat carbs our bodies burn it quickly for fuel, but protein is more of a slow burn. ETA: just read this: "Your body burns twice as many calories by digesting Proteins than it does when digesting carbs."
  24. Rachel412

    Confused about protein.

    Yeah, i agree, it's confusing. We are told to eat high protein diets because yes, protein aids with weight loss, and it helps your body to lose fat, not muscle as you lose weight. My doctor recommends 60-80g of protein per day... and my understanding is that you shouldn't have more than 30g at one time, because your body can't process more protein than that and your kidneys will have to do extra work to filter it out, so you could be hurting yourself. So just like everything else in food and diet land... everyone has a different opinion on what works!
  25. I'm so sorry Amber No advice here, just support.

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