SeattleCindy

Hi Guys, I've posted here before after having my band re-positioned in April I'm not doing so well at this whole band thing anymore and have become really depressed and hopeless. I still have my same cravings and although I don't have a good fill yet im still choosing food that is horrible for me. I think im addicted to sugar and carbs. I cannot say no to them. I try and do okay for a day or 2 and then i get moody and upset and pissed off if someone says don't eat that... I feel like maybe I made the wrong choice with the band. Ive actually gained weight since my last surgery in april and im so sad. I've gained 10 pounds since April and not lost anything since back in November of 2003. I don't know what to do. I want to be able to eat things I like without gaining and yet I feel like i really have to diet and the whole reason i got this band was to help me because I couldn't diet... I guess I thought this would be a little easier than it is... I don't know what to do. My whole attitude about the band has gone downhill and im not sure what to do to get myself back into the mood that I can do this. I still have another 120 pounds to go to reach goal and although i've lost 55 pounds it's taken me a year and a half to get to that. I read about people losing 100 or more pounds in a few months and im so sad.. I feel like this is never going to work for me. Do any of you have any advice. I really need some help here.. I don't know what to do. Thanks in advance Cindy :phanvan

I had my second fill approximately a month ago. I have been really tight with this fill and they bumped me from 1.7 cc's to 2.2 . I can eat Soup but not even a whole can. I try to eat anything with any substance and it gets stuck. I can still get Water and that down but I cannot drink my normal italian soda in the morning cause it just makes that flem bubble that I have to throw up. I need some advice and am wondering if I have the right fill or maybe im a little too tight. I have lost 12 pounds since my last fill but Im worried that since im not even getting close to 1000 calories that is not good. Please let me know advanced bandsters what you think... help Cindy

Thank you. I did try the low carb atkins type diet like you shelly and I did okay on it the first few days but i just couldn't stick with it.. my metabolism must be like yours.. my husband was on it and lost 12 pounds then one day he ate a cheeseburger with the bun and still lost weight the next day i ate the same portion as him with the bun and i gained 4 pounds in one day... ONE DAY.. i was like whoa.... so then i worry even if i lose god once you go off atkins it's all going to come back on that is what scares me and im not sure i could follow it for that long. I have to have sweets sometimes or i cry lol it's just how i am... As far as the birth control pills go that is why im going to get tested, maybe i do have a hormon imbalance and that is why the extra stuff in the pills is making me whacko... does anyone do like Cereal and a piece of toast for Breakfast? Im going to try to schedule another fill this next month when i can afford to get one they are spendy 450 bucks.. out here Cindy

i haven't had any blood work done in awhile not since i stop seeing my doc that did my surgery. I think i have a hormone imbalance or something though. I find myself literally craving something sweet or sugary so much that i have no control over myself. I used to be so good and doing that controlling what i would eat and how much. I haven't had but one fill which they messed up so no i have no fill as of right now but am trying to schedule one next month. Im just depressed, i don't know if it could be because of my hormonal imbalance or what maybe it's my birth control pills but i have never been this bad before. I am newly married and I think my husband is ready to throw me back he's a sweet man but i put him through so much, im so short tempered now and i never used to be that way. I know im an emotional eater but this is ridiculous. I have an apointment with the doc today to discuss my birth control pills and see about the hormonal imbalance. IM just scared that i have sabotoged my band so much and that my eating habits won't change. I will ask her when im there today about the blood work. Does that have something to do with how i am feeling or my weight gain or ?? Thank you so much Cindy

can you email me. I want to talk to you if i could about what foods you are eating. I really think this last fill didn't take.. I know that sounds so weird but ... you've lost 100 pounds so quickly im just wondering what your normal excersize and eating pattern is .. what your eating and how much of a fill you have. WOUld you mind emailing me at cvickers@eaglegrp.net.. Im extremely curious.. Thnks Cindy

hey guys well i went and got my 1st fill yesterday. and ouch she stuck me like 8 different times because she would get it in and then have me roll over to check the position and ofcourse the needle would come out. THis lady was not very good. So finally she says she got it . I felt it pop a little and i knew she was in but then she made me turn to my side again and that is usually when the needle came out. She went ahead and decided to give me my fill of 1.2 cc's cause i wanted to be a little on the conservative after my overfill before my 2nd surgery. So she is pushing hard on the plunger to get the saline to go into my band and keeps commenting on how difficult it is and how much resistance she is getting. Does this seem normal to you? I am worried that maybe she didn't get it into the port at all and that is why she was getting so much resistance. Does anyone know why this would happen. ANy thoughts would help im getting a little nervous. I had a small bowl of Cereal this morning and have not had any problems but i also don't notice any difference from before.. ANy ideas guys? Cindy

It seems like it's been forever since I've had a fill, and because of the problems from my first surgery Im starting to re-evaluate this time to make sure im doing everything right. I know we are supposed to do liquids after a fill for how long? I never did full liquids after my fills before, are we just supposed to eat Soup and things like that. Anyone with advice. I think im going to have them put 1.25 to start with and inch my way up from there since 1.5 was too much last time and was causing me to throw up. Thanks ladies and gents.. I know you guys will help me. Such a nice group of people. Cindy

haaa i wish i had that much restriction. I have none at all. I could eat a regular size resteraunt meal no problem and follow it with some ice cream lol that is why im excited for my fill. I hope it makes me get my act together... have to eat better quality when i won't be able to eat as much. since my 2nd surgery in april to re position my band, i have gained 2 pounds... yukkkk... i want them off and some... :sick

Okay so i haven't posted here in a real long time, before i had problems and before I had a second surgery. I need some advice from all of you and hopefully this will cheer me up. I've been really sad lately about my weight loss. Let me explain my history a little bit. I had surgery with dr oh in washington on 1/28/04. After surgery I think i did pretty well losing 40 pounds in the first couple months and dr oh was very happy with me telling me i was keeping up with his bypass patients. After my monthly meetings with him, i got tired of going in every month and taking time off only for him to ask me the same general questions, so after getting another clean bill of health i quit going to my monthly check ups and figured i would go in if i had any problem. Well i did just fine and was planning my december wedding having lost 70 pounds up until december i was pretty happy with my weight loss but had noticed that i had stalled, mainly my fault for not eating the right foods. After the wedding I started getting bad acid reflux. really bad to the point i would wake up choking on it and couldn't get it out of my throat So i made a doctors appointment and he had me do another egd said something like , sounds like you have a slipped band, so i went in and low and behold my band had slipped. He blamed me the whole time said i must have been eating too much and that i needed to follow his rules. Needless to say he scheduled me for surgery at the beginning of april and he fixed my slipped band,... Now it's may 13th and ofcourse i have no restriction so i've been doing this atkins diet , but i can still eat quite a bit. Im so scared to go get a fill again because even before i was never eating the right things, I could never get a definate answer on what people were eating and my doctor sucks at explaining anything. Also after surgery my doctor came out and told my husband that He hoped the pain from my 2nd surgery would teach me to follow his rules. Needless to say i have refused to see him since and have found myself a very nice new doctor who is more than happy to take care of me. I guess before i go get another fill, I want to know if maybe I am the problem. SOmetimes i think i sabotage myself. I want to get a fill but im scared since i think my fills last time were too tight and that is why my band slipped. so those of you who are successful can you please tell me what you eat on a normal day for each meal and how much? I know everyone is different but i worry too much about trying to count everything and i get so frustrated that i just end up cheating so im trying to make a better game plan for the next time. Thank you sorry for the long drawn out email Sad Cindy 340 / 260

thank you donali, im going to try doing that monitoring it before i even get my fill and start excersizing and see if i can lose on my own for these couple of weeks. You are an inspiration. Im very glad i came on here to post and haven't been yelled at . Except alexandria hehe just kidding... Thank you for helping me to understand. your new friend Cindy

Donali as always you have good advice. You were talking about the basal rate in one of your emails, I went onto fit day and looked under excersize. what is the basal rate what does that mean? does that mean that is how much im supposed to eat? cause for me it was like 2000 calories and that is a lot isn't it.. I want to lose

thank you for all your good advice, i really admire how well you all have done with the band too. I feel okay about myself today, just i feel sometimes i can't say no to sweets, i really feel like my body craves them so much and i have a hard time saying no, I haven't been drinking very much soda, although i did before my 2nd surgery, i do drink a lot of crystal light though but since it's low in carbs and sugar, i thought that would be an okay deal. I love omelettes, i just rarely have time in the morning in the rush to work to get up and make one, and before when i got a fill i could never eat breakfast anyhow. i couldn't eat eggs for that matter, let alone bread or anything of any substance, i really think i was overfilled way too tight. I read these posts and what everyone is filled to and when i was at 1.5 i was still too tight, i can't imagine any less would be good because when i go to get a fill i remember the girl saying i can't unfill you to anything less than 1.5 or you might as well have no fill at all. So im just grrrrrr confused. Like i said though, i am going to get back on track and watch what i eat and track my stuff on fitday and make new friends like all of you. You guys are so supportive while at the same time giving me a nice reality kick in the butt, i need that sometimes so i really appreciate it. Do you feel at each meal do you eat about a cup of food? my doc was under the impression that just like the bypass people we were to eat out of a shot glass. Any ideas on portion size? a cup would be a good amount and not stretch my pouch correct? Thanks guys Cin

so much information that all is helpful, thank you guys very much. My doctor told us to stay away from milk because of the sugar that is in milk, i prefer soy milk anymore anyhow, it has a better flavor and i mix that sugar free syrup like you can get in your coffee in the soy milk and it's like a little milkshare with no sugar it's really good. My doctor really is a moron, he wanted us to follow the bypass rules , no milk, or sugar at all period. I think that's why he blamed me for my band slipping, i still sometimes drink soda, which he insisted that I not do either. I just thought if you can drink it without it hurting how is that bad im getting in some sort of liquid. Im glad i found you two. You girls seem very friendly and very informative, feel free to yell at me when you want when i know i need to be yelled at. I eat sweets sometimes too, i guess what is frustrating to me is that when i go a month or two or say like now where it's been umm 6 months with no weight loss.. argggh that is the hard part... i wouldn't trade the fact that i have lost 70 pounds i just though that after this much time had gone by that i would be losing steadily and not so little. But part of it is my fault, i have to eat right i know. I guess i just never knew what to really eat since my doc was a jerk and never really gave us any of that information. so if i ate this for example would this be bad breakfast: bowl of cereal lunch : half a sandwich dinner, chicken, some veggie snack : sugar free ice cream would that be okay do you think to follow the band rules? my problem is probably with the portion control. do you think if i start out with 1cc that is too much of a fill for my first fill after surgery or should i start a little lower. I really just don't know.. but at 275.00 a pop i want it to be good.

wow donali look at how much you have lost. you guys are so supportive, i used to go over to spotlight health but got tired of being yelled at over there, i really need the support with everything to keep me on track and having such sweet friends like all of you will help me, i hope you don't mind if i write her more often and let you all know how im doing. im going to plan to get a fill here in another 2 weeks. that way i can try to get back on track. i really want to be a loser i want to be a member of the century club too. . sounds like you eat a lot of liquid type stuff still. you drink a lot of tea, what kind is it? do you watch your sugar count? i just get so confused cause so many people do so many different things, i really don't want to feel like i have to diet, that is what is so frustrating. I know this time i will excersize more. Im going to start walking with my husband every day after work. That will help me a lot too i think. Thank you soooo much for helping me feel better

you are all so sweet, i appreciate all the help. Well right now i have no restriction so i keep fluctuating. Im trying to stick to this atkins diet but find it hard with no restriction, i am a total candy junky, i can't stay away from chocolate if it's in front of me. I know how that ice cream deal goes, for months that is what i lived off of becauase i couldn't get anything to go down. Let me explain i went in and had a fill done once to 2.2 cc's. I felt fine for 2 months and was losing a little bit at a time. i mean it wasn't a drastic lot but it was something and that was good enough for me. But ofcourse i started out the morning not being able to eat until almost 11 am because i was so tight in the morning.. Well then one day i took one bite too much of some of my lunch and threw up.. Then from that day on it seemed like i would throw up all the time. I finally went in and had them take me down to 1.5 because one day i got up and couldn't even drink Water,, i went the whole day without anything and was in tears, my husband was so upset with me because he was like god you should be able to eat more than that. needless to say my energy was down i was tired all the time so my husband had started to think i wasn't interested in him anymore because for newlyweds we really didn't have much of a bed life, i couldn't i was just exhausted by the time i got home. Im only 29 years old. did i feel like something in me had changed ? no i didn't .. i felt fine and then bam. i was walking and doing curves yes.. my band was fine in the beginning and like i said i was doing well i thought losing the most weight at the beginning obviously but then i've been stalled since november that is a long long time... and very frustrating. i really want to get on this weight loss kick again, i get so jelous reading about people who have lost 100 pounds in 10 months.. wow i wish that was me... i guess i thought we would be skinny by now and not have to deal with so much. I haven't had any other problems with my band no, other than the slipped band, it wasn't anything i could feel the only way i knew something was wrong was because of the acid reflux i would get in the middle of the night and i was like whoa,, im not supposed to get that because of my band, then i knew i had a problem. i am relieved to have it fixed but scared to mess with it again because of the 2nd surgery. Im lucky my insurance pays 80 percent but still everytime getting billed for a couple grand is no way to start off my marriage. Thank you for telling me what you eat. I need ideas like that. I can never think of anything to really have, my doctor strictly told us to stay away from milk so ... i have been trying to not do that... whether or not it's true i don't know since he was the jerk doctor... how much are you losing a month now? Cindy

hi there, no i would not eat to the point it hurt in fact i noticed i was able to eat a little more and yes i did throw up quite a bit but not the violent type throwing up that my doctor says i would have to do to make my lap-band slip, that is what is so frustrating. I was fine with my fill and then one day it was just like bam i couldn't barely eat anything and when i did it it was like i had no clue when to stop i didn't have a pain, i would just all of a sudden be running for the bathroom. It was not very fun. My new doc doesn't do the fills, i go to a place in another city that does them under fluro. Im just scared because of the previous , it was so sudden. I was filled to 1.5 and still i couldn't not throw up. that is so little compared to everyone else, maybe i didn't need as much or something. Can you tell me since you have been pretty successful what a normal meal day is like for you. Do you get hungry during the day? what do you drink besides Water? i can't drink water all day i need something with some flavor, is crystal light okay? i really want to get back on track, i haven't lost much since november of last year and i feel like this isn't working for me. im so frustrated i've thought about having the bypass surgery because my band is such a pain. Please help Cindy

Hi there, Thank you for responding. An italian soda well the one i get has non fat half and half some kind of sparking soda and sugar free flavoring in it.. I usually get a small in the morning since i can't eat in the morning. Holds me over till lunch but haven't been able to do that lately. I know it's a no no but sometimes you have to eat or drink something when your hungry. it takes my hunger pains away. When you say chew slowly i have been taking tiny bites and chewing for awhile. But how much food should we really be eating at each sitting. I mean is 4 chicken nuggets good or should we be eating less or more? Last night i was able to eat 4 chicken nuggets from mcdonalds but it took me almost 20 minutes.. Is that okay and normal? Thanks Cindy 340/263/hoping 240 or less before my wedding arrrgggghhh

I know since we are eating less our body is breaking down less food but it is normal to only go the bathroom every couple of days. Should I be eating more high Fiber or something? Im just wondering if this is normal. 340/260

I felt the same way you were. I was drinking with meals and eating more than i should . But after this my 2nd fill. I have found I can't do that anymore. Once you get a good fill that is right for you . Once you try to drink with your meals it will make you want to pb so you learn not to do it so you can have a little bit of food and keep it. If you know what i mean. I was pbing a lot cause i was eating way too fast which is a hard habit to break. I did a lot of it and then would get frustrated because i couldn't eat Protein so i'd have a blizzard instead for dinner. But now that I have a good fill. You learn that when your hungry you make better food choice and you can get a real sense before you even take a bite of something on whether or not it is going to work. Everyday is still different, but you learn to look for food that will stay in your tummy and keep you full and you will know not to drink with it because when you do... There comes that feeling and pain in your chest.. Just my opinion since that is what i have experienced.. Good luck:D

I am going through the same thing. I just got my second fill and im at 2.2 cc's. I can't eat much Protein anymore it gets stuck and hurts so i pb to get rid of it. I have no problem with mac and cheese though but couldn't eat top ramen. It's still different every day. One day i can eat the next day i can't. I think it's just our bodies adjusting to everything and sometimes our body tells us we don't need to be eating and others I still feel the need to eat whatever is in front of me. It's definately weird but such a treat from how things used to be. Great weight loss by the way. Your doing amazing. Im down 80 pounds since february but you've got me beat if you keep up this rate... Way to go... Cindy

hi guys noticed there were a bunch of bandsters from tacoma and the seattle area. I just had my fill at the new clinic in puyallup and let me say dr opp was wonderful. He did my fill under fluro which was 200.00 and for the barium to make sure he gave me a great fill it was another 75.00 still cheaper than tacoma radiology. I felt much better and the doctor was very thorough making sure i was going to be okay for my long weekend in yakima. I feel great. After not losing anything for the last month since my fill on friday I have lost 6 pounds. I love my band. I cannot wait to get to goal weight. Anyhow, I wanted to say hi to all the tacoma people. Cindy:p

I have been eating more than 3 meals a day because i spread them out over the day and eat smaller amounts. I know we are not supposed to do this but is it really bad to do? For Breakfast I had a hard boiled egg. For lunch today I had a few chicken strips with ranch. Then after about 3 hours I just had another hard boiled egg and will have dinner later on. Plus i try to get my sugar free pudding in at night. I am still not meeting my calorie requirements for the day although my Protein is great. Any ideas anyone on what your doing to keep yourself full during the day? Maybe I just need a 2nd fill.

I have been trying to get in as much Protein as I've been told. I do drink my Protein shake in the morning which has 20 grams and then I've been trying to do the chicken salad or some type like that. I keep getting yelled at that im still in this mushy food phase but I really have a hard time eating chicken lately. I don't like fish so that's not an option. I post on the other board and they tell me im stuck in the mushy food phase and I need to eat more solid protein, but it truly makes me pb within a few minutes of eating it, even if i chew well. I've been doing chilli for lunch but they say that is too liquidy (not a word) as well. Help people I am eating things that i know will stay down like mashed potatoes and Soups and chilli. I am not losing any weight at all and it's very frustrating. Is anyone else experiencing this. please don't yell at me. I am trying to eat healthy but I cannot seem to get chicken and things like that to stay down. Any ideas ? thanks Cindy

Davinci's makes grea sugar free syrups. I bought them at safeway but you can get them at albertsons and other places or you can go online and do a search under askjeeves.com and type in davinci's sugar free syrups and they have a whole list of sugar free syrups like mint , caramel, amaretto, all kinds. I use them in the Protein powder, soy milk and other things to add flavor it makes you really feel like your not missing anything Cindy

I bought some soy milk at safeway it was flavored vanilla and had lots of Protein but then I just added a dribble of caramel sugar free syrup to it in the blender with some ice and it makes a delicious Protein Drink in the morning or a snack loaded with protein. They have so many sugar free syrups now you can do just about anything with them. They add a lot of flavor to your protein if your looking for a change.. Cindy