leatha_g

I love the MetRx Protein bars. I think they have 23g of protein and they actually taste good. With restriction, they may even be too large for you. I also like the Detour and UTurn protein bars, again, lots of protein. I don't have the other nutritional information. But I use them as a meal replacement and early on, they were all I could eat for breakfast. It's a great way to get lots of protein in and not have to stop to mix a shake.

I guess my biggest suggestion would be to read, read, read as many posts here as you can regarding the experience. There are many posts which include problem foods, such as scrambled eggs. It helps to arm yourself with knowledge and hopefully, through other's experience you can at least avoid a few mishaps. Scrambled eggs is very misleading - often a bandsters worst nightmare due to the rubbery texture and the 'settling' in the band. Some have found that mixing cottage cheese helps to soften it up some. Sorry you had to find out the hard way! But, yea, PBing isn't something you want to do often. Good luck!

Campbells Soup at Hand is very 'handy'. Chai Tea Latte w high protein milk or Carb Countdown - very good, very soothing. Carnation Instant Breakfast is awesome!

So it was perforated. Thank you for hunting that up.

There was one lady in Detroit, MI several years ago, who died because she failed to seek medical care due to a severe slippage. She was a local counsel woman or politician of some sort and didn't want anyone to know she'd had WLS. Her slippage was so bad that her stomach was prolapsed and strangulated inside the band. There was another case just like this with a lady in Washington state (this person's problems went on much longer than the first). This was posted on Smartbandsters some time back. Other deaths I recall included a man who had a heart attack on the OR table - no fault of the band itself. I am not aware of any others, but of course, we don't have all the current data. Still, the odds are so much less than the bypass.

Racism is a very touchy topic. Sort of like religion. I suspect many are just keeping their distance, so as not to get involved in something that could get out of hand?

Crash is an awesome movie. Very powerful food for thought.

I see colors. They are a fact of life. It is my opinion that our creator created many different races for a reason. I'm not sure what that is, but as I go through life, I'm deciding it might be part of His plan for learning tolerance and acceptance. I think this applies to all races, religions, etc, however. I happen to be a caucasian person, born in Texas, raised in central and western Texas. I have since moved to a larger, more ethnically diverse city and I have since traveled throughout the US and seen and got to know far more cultures and diversities. These are things I would never have been exposed to in smalltown west Texas. I have also seen the difference in educational opportunites, socio-economic levels, values etc of the different regions in the places I've visited. I can attest to the fact that certain regions are far more developed and motivated and integrated in their daily living. Others remain unmotivated, uneducated and therefore fall into (often by choice, sometimes by fate) stereotypical roles. Attitudes and behaviors are either perpetuated or changed. This has to do with values, determination and motivation, no matter one's race. I see racisim all over and not just towards one race. I see many blacks who are gracious, beautiful, regal people who love God and who have risen against what they may have began with or what someone else may have told them they could never have. I also see many who spew hatred and racism amongst themselves and toward other races as an extremely unbecoming habit. Unfortunately, this gets passed down from generation to generation and certainly doesn't help in the melding process anymore than racism which might have been held against them or their ancestors. This is a tragedy, because truly, it has become reverse racism. Thankfully, it's not everywhere. I love my black friends and I have been taught so many beautiful lessons by them and how grace can overcome adversity and they give me hope and make me a better person. I can honestly say I was raised in a racist family. I grew up thinking I would never allow such ignorance in my own home. My children never knew there was a difference in other races, except that God made us a different color and yes, we did have different cultural values. My kids never even knew the 'N' word and they were never taught hatred toward different sexual preferences either. These things they learned about and questioned because they encountered them outside the home as they grew up. They have since made their own moral decisions on how they will react to these things. Bottom line with me. I value a person by his integrity and his behavior. No matter the color of his skin or the country of his heritage. If he wears his pants down around his ankles (and whites do this too), I'm not going to be very impressed by him. If he uses vulgar and hateful language in public, without regard to those around him. I'm not going to be very impressed. If he appears to have no self-respect or respect for others. I probably won't have much respect for him. I may pity him and I have learned to try to understand from where his anger and self loathing may come. I may stop for one second and ask God to bless him, but in the end, it is his responsibility to better himself, not mine, whether he's black, brown, purple or white.

In nearly 3.5 years, I can still count the times I've PB'd on both hands. It is not a pleasant experience, nor is it healthy for your band or esophagus. The goal is to NOT PB, not the reverse.

Way to go girl! God IS good!! All the time!

Hey Dawn!! Good to see you! You may need to have a slight unfill, don't you think? You really shouldn't be throwing up that regularly. You may have some issues with esophageal agitation/esophagitis, just due to the damage from throwing up so often. Some folks have had luck with backing off the fill for awhile, letting the band rest and coming back to fill again slowly. Have you had a barium swallow recently? Keep us posted on how you're doing!! Long time no see!

It has to do with textures and tightness of your particular band. Also, how quickly you try to eat and the bite size associated. I have found that textures such as lobster, scallops, some fish if overcooked can be a real obstacle. Lobster was a big no-no for me. I think I got 2 bites and knew right away that was my last. That rubbery texture just doesn't 'give' going down. Shrimp is the same type of texure, but generally, I've had no problem. Probably due to the size of bites and proper chewing. With good restriction, I had a real problem with fresh pineapple as well. Again, the fibrous texture. You just cannot chew it til it's a liquid. Canned was fine. Scrambled eggs are one food that will surprise you. You 'think' because they're sort of soft, they should be the optimum food. I'm here to tell you they 'settle' in the band, due to their texture and the funnel is stopped up before you know it. Many bandsters simply give up on scrambled eggs, or learn to add cottage cheese or something to make the texture more suitable for the band. I learned to smash them with a fork - like I would for my babies, and even then, small, small, bites and wait and see. ' English peas was one of my first stop signs as well. The skin on such things will sometimes stop you in your tracks. Bread and rice definitely swell and can make your life miserable. I can eat them both today, with caution, but with full restriction, I learned to avoid them at all cost. Plus, they are what caused me to need the band in the first place. The band will take you on a journey. Things early on will be one way, then, as you move through different restrictions, etc, they will change. 3 yrs out, I can eat most anything I want and far more than I should. Never think this band will cause you NEVER to be able to eat any one thing ever again. It's just not true. But, the whole point is to learn to avoid those foods and the volumes which got us here in the beginning. You'll do fine..

You will do fine and it will be so freeing for you! Awesome work! Have a ball at the park!

38dd/38dd.. :grouphug:

Hijack! How is Cynthia doing? Last I heard, she had a small slip and she had gotten married. Great gal!

Banded 3 yrs and just over 4 months. Rebanded due to slippage at about one year out. Currently have questionable esophageal issues, but still banded and I still have enough restriction to help me to maintain my 75lb loss. Would I do it again? Yes, probably.

That is really a sad testimony. I had my car stolen in Corpus Christi as well and was told the same thing; that if it made it to the border, I'd never see it again. Thankfully, we walked outside just after it had been stolen, and I remembered the license plate, so a cop was sitting at a convenience store and saw it go past. Eventually, the guy driving stopped the van and jumped out, so we recovered it, so we were lucky. You were closer, I'm sure it's gone for you. It's too bad our world is getting more and more like this instead of better.

Seems like you should report this nurse and your experience to someone there and let them know that if you'd had a choice, you'd have gone somewhere else as opposed to the nursing care you recieved. This may be of importance to them and may help others who come after you avoid the same treatment. Maybe they need to inservice their staff on proper care and treatment of their patients. Glad you're doing okay otherwise! Welcome!

I eat out regularly and have since early on. You adjust yourself. I eat off the appetizer menu alot. I eat Soups. Crabcakes are fun to compare from one restaurant to another. chicken Marsala is also fun to compare. There is no real reason you can't eat out. It's the choices you make that could be your downfall. Often, I ask for a box and have another meal or two to take home. No problem. It's the choices that will make you or break you. Desserts are tempting, especially if everyone else is partaking. Cocktails is another temptation. I travel for work and order room service and eat out pretty much constantly and I've been able to maintain a 75lb loss. I often mess up, but I take myself home and boil eggs and live on Protein a few days to repair the damage and turn up the volume on exercise. Leatha Banded 3.5 yrs

Not sure where ethics fall in here, but I would suggest you speak with someone like Jessie Ahroni (Yahoo Smartbandsters) about anyone she knows who has done this. I recall someone trying this early on. I would really love some sort of inflatable pump with this thing. I think that would be great and may be a possibility someday. Until that happens, I think Inamed has some sort of rules regarding a certified person doing adjustments on the band, so you're doing your own adjustments may make any mfr warranty null and void. Just my thoughts...

PB is productive burp. Short for regurgitation, only minus the stomach acid, as the food never really makes it to the lower stomach. NSV - non-scale victory.

Funny.. these people seem like real bait and switch type of operation. Lots of promises up front with no follow up and rather shady treatment of their patients after they've received their money. Scary..

I always take my pills with bites of food. Wait between each one and take another. Also, just so you know (and I know you've heard it) but once you have the dreaded PB, returning back to try to eat again is not a good idea. The irritation to the esophagus will cause your esophagus to swell and the rule of thumb is, once you've PB's you're on liquids for the next 24 hours (at least) in order to let the esophagus heal without creating a vicious cycle (pb, eat, pb again = esophagitis). YIKES. I hope you're feeling better now.

This is a GOOD thing. lol. Now maybe you'll lose interest and find something else more fun to do? I understand... :confused:

I had one from birth. The doc apparently snipped my cord a bit short. I wore a quarter over my bellybutton early in my life. Once, 18 months after the birth of my first child, it became infected and hurt quite a lot inside. I took antibiotics and it cleared up. Never any other issues, but my doc did repair it while we did my second banding surgery. He did it laporoscopically and the area was super bruised and rather painful. Moreso than the lapband site. I guess it's fixed. Still looks the same from the outside to me.. lol. Good luck!