Alexandra

Hi Caroline, The last few days I've been eating without a thought as to self-control. Here's what I ate today, eating until I absolutely did not want any more: Breakfast: one-half of a small omelet with cheese and broccoli two cups coffee Lunch: 15 or so cubes of salami, ham, and cheese (leftovers from a Thanksgiving appetizer platter) a bunch of olives one clementine (like a tangerine) Snack: small dish of premium ice cream dinner (at a Mexican restaurant): tortilla chips and salsa a serving of catfish poppers (appetizer-size meal) handful of french fries (stolen from daughter) It's amazing to me that even when I feel like I'm eating out of control this is all I have really eaten today. These meals are a faction of the size I would have consumed pre-band, and on a normal day when I'm drinking like I should be I'd eat even less. The great thing is that I eat until I'm full and that's just a whole lot sooner than it used to be.

Misty, I just want to commiserate with you on the comments of mothers. When I told my mother I was pregnant, she too thought I wouldn't survive childbirth. (I was about 310 at the time of conception.) I'll never forget the look on her face when I first shared my exciting news. She was honestly scared for my survival.

Thanks, Bethanie! This will be my first banded Thanksgiving, and I'm really looking forward to it. I have even more to be thankful for this year than usual! Happy turkey day, everyone!! :D :eek: :mad:

Jimmy, I sure hope you just forgot to use a smiley and didn't mean that comment the way it sounded! Misty, that is indeed a tough situation, but I definitely don't recommend divorce as a solution. I hope your husband (or you?) can find something with benefits soon. Reading about other people's band journeys is particularly hard when one seems to be up against a dead end. But circumstances can change quickly, and here's hoping that they do for you!!

The fact that the group is self-funded does mean that, to some extent, they can set their own rules about what's covered. The good news is that they can also bend their own rules the same way. I think your friend's best bet is to find someone within the organization who can help her make her case to the right people. She may have to be willing to "go public" if need be, unfortunately. Wish her luck for us!!

Hi Misty, Wendy's right, lots of banded people don't take supplements at all if they're eating a normal amount of food. The band makes me eat less than I was eating before surgery, but not the sort of two-ounces-at-a-time meals you hear about RNY patients eating. That said, I do take Vitamins, and always have. I don't know where I got the idea that I should, but I know they can't hurt. I was told today I should add a Calcium supplement, which I might do. But that's not because of the band, it's because of my age and general aversion to milk. Good luck with everything, and keep us posted!

Hi Christine! I found out even before attending the Morristown seminar that my insurance would not cover banding, but I went ahead anyway. After all was said and done it took almost a year from my seminar until surgery, but obviously it wouldn't have taken anywhere near as long had I not had the insurance problems I had. You should be able to get a quick, straight answer from the doctor's office about whether your insurance will cover the band. It's not something that comes up at the seminar--it can't with something like 500 people in attendance--but certainly at your first appointment you'll get the info you need. Dr. Abkin & Bertha's office is incredibly busy, but if you're having band surgery the wait isn't as long. There are fewer of us and the surgery is done outpatient there, so scheduling it is not a big deal. Once I had my insurance approval my surgery date was 6 weeks later. Good luck!!

Hey Jennifer -- hi there! I'm glad to hear you're doing well! You're exactly right about the post-fill learning curve; it's just like learning to eat again post-surgery. Take it easy! The restriction level can change suddenly, so every time you eat start out really slowly. With regard to your shoulder pain, I doubt it has anything to do with gas at this point. It's probably just referred pain due to a nerve being affected by your band, tube, or port. If it gets worse definitely mention it to your doctor, but I'll bet it's nothing to worry about. Congratulations on your terrific progress!!

Hi Lucky, We're glad you came out of lurkdom! I'm sure you'll get lots of responses to this question. My doctor just recommended not eating Breakfast on the day of the fill, although liquids would be OK. As for afterwards he said to stick to liquids for a day and mushy food the next day. I think that's about what you'll be feeling like doing anyway. It's really a pretty weird sensation! Have a wonderful holiday, and remember, even with no fill your band can make itself known if you eat too fast. So take care and chew well. Gobble gobble, slowly!!

Congratulations, Heather!! It looks like you'll be one of those lucky people who heal quickly. And you'll have something to be thankful for next week indeed! Take care of yourself, though. It's really easy to overdo if you're feeling better, especially with young children around. Try not to lift Grace for at least two or three weeks--I know it will be hard but you don't want to pop any stitches. Welcome to Bandlandia!!! :D :eek:

Michelle, please send your boyfriend all our best wishes and good healthy vibes. I hope this trial is successfully concluded soon, for both of you. {hugs} And you are so right about a "binge" being a different animal than it was before! Yesterday I was having a bad day--big work issues, cramps--and sorta thought that the Girl Scout cookies could help. They did, actually, and I really enjoyed them! Then it was dinner time and I still felt really hungry. So I took too much of everything. The funny part of that is that what I thought was "too much" of everything was still only about half what I would have had pre-band. And I still had to stop about halfway through! This band is amazing.

Good luck to all you fillsters!! Wendy, be sure to get to the hospital early for your fill. Out-patient registration is crowded but beyond that the most time-consuming thing for me was just finding my way to the correct room. That alone took about 15 minutes! Thanksgiving will be interesting this year, won't it? I'm still struggling with not nibbling before and after preparing a meal, so this will be a real test for me. Luckily I have other people coming to help cook so maybe I'll be able to occupy myself in some other way. Hell, just getting the toys off the floor will take a couple of hours.

I love ALL of those things, and more! It's phenomenal to catch sight of yourself in a mirror and realize your butt isn't sticking out like a caboose anymore. I LOVE MY BAND!!!

Everything Sue says is true, of course. Every type of weight-loss surgery can be rendered ineffective by negative behaviors. Yet the band won't by itself lose its effectiveness the way the RNY can over time. It will still be there, waiting patiently for an adjustment or whatever, if I fall off the wagon for a while. THAT'S what I love about my band. It won't abandon me even if I abandon it for a time.

Ahh, what the band makes possible. Yesterday I had occasion to attend a Breakfast meeting held at one of our justly famous New Jersey diners. Since I rise at 6:15 and the meeting didn't start until 9:00, I had breakfast at home. Later, surrounded by huge plates of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and hash browns, I was able to pass on breakfast without any hesitation. Not because I was intentionally trying to avoind it, but because I truly did not want it. Before banding, the fact that I wasn't hungry (which I would have been, anyway) would not have stopped me from ordering and enjoying a second breakfast. Now, both the knowledge that I couldn't eat any more AND the actual fact of not being hungry changed the entire meeting for me. I was engaged in the meeting and not concentrating on what I wasn't eating and everyone else was. What a revelation.

It really is, but this time, WE HAVE HELP!! The physical consequences of eating more than my little tummy can hold are a pretty good reminder of the simple principle we are all trying to internalize. The new ease with which I can say "none for me, thanks" is simply wonderful. Of course, it's not easy all the time and it's much harder in the evening. But dinner makes itself felt in my body for so much longer than it used to that even at night it's getting easier to pass on the munchies. Have I said it yet? I LOVE MY BAND!!!

It really is cool, Bright, and happening more and more without my even thinking about it. It's amazing! As are your NUMBERS!! Holy cow, girl, you're doing GREAT!!

Hi Mary, I definitely think it's possible for restriction to change even many days or weeks after a fill. I don't have the foggiest idea why that is, but I know that even now, weeks after my fill on October 16 I can be very surprised by the amount of restriction I'm experiencing. Some of this may be, and I'm just theorizing here, due to a lessening of caution as we start to believe there is little or no restriction. I know that when I'm not thinking it's very easy for me to take a bite that's too big or swallow too quickly. Just yesterday I spent more than two hours regretting part of an Egg McMuffin (the egg part only) that I was eating in my car on the way to work. It was a very negative experience, PBing and sliming and all, and while it seems to me that I was being careful and the same thing wouldn't have bothered me the day before, something tells me that's not quite the whole story. When you start to feel its presence after not having much of a barrier, the band can assert itself pretty abruptly. From what you describe it doesn't sound like you had anything serious happen, but it is definitely a clue that you need to take TINY bites and WAIT 30 seconds or so between them. That waiting is my biggest hurdle, but I'm working on it.

Hi Lulu, As I'm sure you've heard, the first few weeks are for healing. There are so many different regimens among doctors and none of them are wrong. Many doctors allow some solid food at the point you're at. So I don't think small amounts of regular food at almost two weeks out are going to hurt you, but you do want to take it very slowly. Remember, the whole point is to keep your stomach from moving around during this time, and that means very soft or liquidy foods that don't require any help to move through. Try to stick mostly to liquids and soft stuff at least until you really feel completely normal, or as long as your doctor told you to. Take care of yourself!!

Hey lady, CONGRATULATIONS!! That's one of those non-scale victories (NSVs) we love! Now, where are you actually going to wear those leather pants to, hmmm? Just a few weeks ago I posted about my first NSV, which were a couple of pairs of jeans that have not fit me since before my first pregnancy six years ago. Well, now both of these jeans are TOO BIG! I've had to replace them with new ones two sizes smaller. Cool!! So let me remind everyone to keep checking your closets--you don't want to discover that outfit you've been saving for a special occasion is now hanging off you. There's gold in them thar closets!

I've heard lots of great arguments on both sides of this issue, and it just boils down to what you're comfortable with. I don't have one and don't feel the need. I just guess I figure if I'm in that sort of condition the possible complications my band might cause are the least of my concerns. I wouldn't be against a wallet card or something like that, but a bracelet just isn't practical. I don't even wear a watch.

Congratulations, Lea!! I know about the jungle-gym thing, indeed. For weeks afterward my daughter was asking me if she could jump on my tummy yet. Here's wishing you a quick and easy recovery. Welcome to Bandlandia!!

I was required to have a pre-op visit with a nutrionist, which was pretty much a waste of time since she was primarily concerned with RNY patients. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. There's no post-op nutritionist program at all. But I like the idea of monthly visits or so, if only because it would be nice to share the specifics of what we're eating (and how it's being tolerated) with a qualified professional.

A resounding welcome, Momoffive!! You've come to the right place for personal experiences with the band. We're happy to share and help if we can. Don't be afraid to ask anything!!

Barb, I want to commend you on your attitude! This could be an immensely frustrating time for many but you seem to be handling it with aplomb. Good for you!! You're a terrific example of how to ride out the pre-fill stage. We look forward to hearing about a great, successful fill on December 2!!