A New New Dawn

What a way to start the new year. Congrats to your journey. I am almost 6 mos. out and down 68 lbs. I LOVE the band and what it has helped me accomplish. You sound like you have a great plan for success!

too cute!!! that's wonderful that you do that for the animals.

I am sorry to hear your frustrations as well. It doesn't sound like your doctor is giving you a lot of information to work with. I would strongly recommend you meeting with a nutritionist or dietician that is familiar with lapband surgery and get some ideas on meal plans. I will tell you that potatoes and Pasta don't work well for many of us. I am able to eat almost anything except those things and scrambled eggs. I feel like if you had specific ideas of what you can eat, etc you may feel less frustrated. There are also books on the band and recipe books. If there is a nutritionist you could see through your surgeons office they would have insight into the band. My bariatric center has them on staff and they have given me a lot of great ideas and even on how to eat overall. I am able to eat steak, ground meat (love chili), chicken, ham, etc. I feel like I can pretty much eat anything except starchy foods (incl. doughy bread) and the scrambled eggs. I really don't feel deprived at all. Truly. I hope the New Year brings renewed success w/ the band. You have done a great job so far.

You will know when you get stuck. There are varying levels of "stuck". I had a severe stuck episode once eating a piece of a pork roast that was too dry (don't try that one). I was foaming (literally) at the mouth, in a lot of pain as it wouldn't come up, and felt like I couldn't breathe. That happened one time and it was my fault. I went for a walk and finally it came up. There are times when you get stuck and as others mentioned you will start burping a lot. Sometimes it will come up, other times after a few burps it will pass. There are also times where something may be stuck and you will "slime", gross but reality. Essentially, you will have a lot of saliva coming up. It is best to spit it out (sorry for the details but this will help if it happens). If you don't it adds pressure and pain. Honestly, my stuck moments (ironically) happened worse before I had my fills. Maybe I have just learned how to avoid them better or who knows. My greatest suggestion is to avoid as best as possible. It took me a while to learn that if I felt any discomfort eating to stop right then and there. Initially, I may start to feel slight discomfort (either ate too fast or too big a bite) and it seemed minor so I would have another bite - WRONG. At the first sign of feeling any discomfort, stop eating. Make sure it passes before eating more. Lastly, if you do have a stuck moment, it may be best to stick to liquids or mushies for a day or two as it often irritates/inflames the stoma and trying to eat solid foods again after may cause another episode. If you make sure you don't eat dry meats, eat small pieces, chew, chew, chew and wait between bites it is very likely you may never have a stuck moment. Many people have never had one. The ones I had were my own fault.

Actually, I love making black bean soup. My kids love it too. Their dad is from Guatemala and this is a very traditional soup. I make mine almost identical to yours except I add carrots and cilantro. We sometimes serve it over rice or with (low fat sour cream - a dollop on top). I think I may have to make this now as I haven't for some time.

Sorry, no matter how good it is, I am not slappin anyone's momma lol. Glad you enjoyed it.

Honestly, I think you met him on an off day. My mom had many complications from her surgery and was hospitalized several times (not any fault of dr. rantis as it was her own health issues) and I spoke with him personally on several ocassions. He was very compassionate and concerned, etc. However, I do think medically Dr. Kane (the owner) is more experienced. They had difficulty during one of my mom's surgeries and he called him in as the expert. Lapband is far less invasive but I just remember that he was the "top dog" so to speak. Good choice! I never met him but my mom liked him as well.

Mind if I ask you which doctor? My mom went through Kane Center. She had Dr. Rantis (albeit, she had the bypass, not lapband). It would be hard for you with fills to go to CDH.

Yep, sounds like you may not be getting another fill. If you are able to go 4 hours between meals then you should be good. If you had scrambled eggs, you may want to try over easy (or I prefer over medium). The liquid from the yolks makes them go down for me. I notice I get "full" before a cup of food most meals too. I love that aspect.

Well, there are a couple of things here. First, you shouldn't be looking to feel "full". The band should help us be satiated for hours between meals but it isn't meant to give you a full feeling. You can overeat w/ the band, if not careful. The guidelines I was given is no more than 1 cup of food per meal, being 3-4 ounces of Protein, 1/2 cup veggies, 1/4 starch. I am guessing you are in a "mushy" phase. You will likely feel hungry during this phase (bandster h-ll) but make sure to get protein in each meal. Drink (sip) liquids throughout day, as able and follow any instructions (menu plan) your doctor provided. Good luck! It does get better and when you start seeing results, it makes it all worth while.

Now you can put that in your profile and be proud of our upcoming surgery date!

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!!! Congratulations!!! I remember that call fondly. I was at work and stepped out of a meeting. I wanted to yell it to everyone but refrained. lol.

I have had 3 fills and feel like I am in "the zone". I am able to tolerate white meat pretty well. I do tend to put some type of sauce with it just because it is a little drier than dark meat. Also, sometimes as we get fills we feel like certain foods are no longer tolerated. While this may be true for some, often we just need to modify our method of consuming it. For example, before my fills, I could take larger bites, eat quicker, etc. I felt like I was overfilled after a few fills and realized, I wasn't really eating as small of bites as I was instructed and needed to rest more between bites. We have to be more strict and diligent in following the guidelines as we reach more restriction. I have found that no matter how diligent or careful I am, I do not tolerate scrambled eggs or doughy bread though. I can eat over easy eggs no problem, but not scrambled. Go figure. Everyone is different and we all figure it out along the way. I have known others that say they cannot eat asparagus (which I LOVE) and I have had no problem w/ cutting it in small bites and eating. It's good that it sounds like you can still tolerate most foods.

That may be a valid option but you should discuss that with your doctor. Hang in there. It really does get better. I am almost 6 mos. out and 65 lbs down and loving it!!!

Honestly, I think you need to leave the ratios as they are and continue to use less dressing. Or some dressings you can add some lemon juice and that may help add volume w/out calories.

It sounds like you may want to call your doctor to get their advice on your cough. I would suggest counting calories and measuring food so you aren't overdoing it. You will likely not have much restriction after your first fill either (it typically takes a few or more since they do it gradually). In the meanwhile, it's up to you to monitor what you are eating to make good choices. If you have junk in the house, get it out so you don't eat it. Have healthy snacks planned and make sure to get in your protein to help keep you full. It gets better.

Just don't give up and follow up w/ the doctor and insurance to make sure they have everything they need and it has been submitted. There is no harm in calling the insurance to check the status too for piece of mind.

You are going through an emotional withdrawal of sorts from food too. If it was that easy for us to follow a diet and stick to it, we wouldn't have sought out the band to begin with. This is a lifelong tool to help you from the years of yoyo dieting that most of us have done. I was very emotional after surgery and missing my relationship with food. It does get easier and it does get better. I don't regret one second of it. You cannot undo it so try to focus your energies on what you need to do, getting active, etc. I believe you will be here this time next year saying it was the best decision you ever made.

Also, my doctor has 2 nutritionists on staff that I meet with for every follow up appt. They really want to ensure success and knowledge.

What area are you in? I am in the suburbs too and my doctor was amazing. He NEVER rushes me and is happy to answer all my questions. If he has that attitude now, his bedside manner going forward when you need support the most may not be the best. I would seriously recommend seeking another bariatric center. Mine is through Central DuPage and has been amazing.

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!! So happy for you!

For starters, I was told that my meals should not exceed 1 cup of food total. Are you sure it is 1 cup of veggies your dr. recommended? Mine was 3-4 ounces of protein, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 cup starch if still hungry. I wait about 30 sec. between bites (putting my fork down). Also, the chewing they told me to chew about 20-25x per bite. I am able to finish most of my meal w/ the exception of the starch, which isn't really the nutrient rich item anyway.

For starters, (lol) his name is Alex Brecher, not Belcher. Go to the search bar on top right, put in his name then click on "forum" and from the drop down select "member" then hit the magnifying glass to search. After that it should pull him up. Click on his profile and there is an option on top right to "send me a message".

send him a pm.

Many people do not begin to lose until 4-6 weeks out after the healing has progressed and the water retention is down. It will catch up!