mrsto

Decaf actually has a little bit of caffeine, but it's a fraction of what's in regular. As sensitive as I've become to caffeine, my guess is that I'll be on 100% decaf in the next couple of years.

In the aftercare classes, the subject of coffee usually comes up. They don't recommend it. It's not just the band, but it's the ulcers it can cause in the pouch. I understand the concern about ulcers from acid, but the band erosion doesn't make sense to me, either. There's no sense in me asking again, because I'll get the same answer. They don't support it, apparently from issues they've seen. But I also have to wonder if this is more of an issue for people who mainline it all day long. That would NOT be me. I'm trying to follow their rules as best as I can. But this ONE isn't going to stick.

LOL I totally get it!!

I too can no longer drink full caffeinated coffee. I'm now doing a little bit of 1/2 caf 1/2 decaf, but find the decaf ratio is increasing over the caffeinated. I found a coffee online that is reduced acid. It's marketed toward people with reflux and ulcers. I do find that I have a problem with the acid, but that started even before surgery. I ordered a couple of samples, before committing to a whole pound. I'll see how that goes, but I really don't want (can't) give it up completely.

LOL! I'm scared of the coffee you drink! I've become quite the wimp in my older age. All I can tolerate now, is a very small cup of 1/2 caf 1/2 decaf. But it's religion!! Makes a huge difference in how I feel.

I've never heard of that, either. The hospital called me & said that they'd need my full copay upfront. I paid them the $3,000, and now that the claim has been processed, I will be getting about $1,100 back (yay). Yeah, I would call for clarification. Sounds weird, but maybe they want you to come in so they can discuss how you'll cover the portion that insurance doesn't pay?

I was so sick of the canned condensed cream soups, so I got some of the homemade ones from the market. They were certainly made with 100% real cream, and very thick. I diluted them with some Water or milk, strained out the solids, and had a little less than a cupful. I was DESPERATE for something that didn't make me gag, and this was the bandaid that helped me get through.

When I get hungry (true hunger), the stomach pangs/growling is downright painful. I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this? If so, is it something that's more intense in the early stages after surgery, or is just the way it is with the smaller stomach? The nurse at my doctor's office said that they do hear this from plication patients, but it won't kill me. Well.....I'm glad to hear that it won't kill me, but DAMN.....you would think that I'd just walked across the desert & hadn't eaten in months It's woken me up from a sound sleep, but I started eating a little bit of Greek yogurt in the evening, which seems to quiet it down. UNbelievable!

Thanks.... Today is three weeks since surgery, and I think the solution is to not let myself get that ravenous. Yesterday we went out to lunch, and I was (trying) to eat a piece of grilled trout. I ate about 2/3 of one half, and it wasn't feeling good. About 45 minutes later, on came the deep painful hunger pang. I think that I just need to eat more food, but I learned yesterday that I'm not ready for that particular protein choice. I'm not so concerned about feeling hunger, but I am concerned about painful hunger. It's certainly not head hunger, but I'll figure out how to deal with it. I hope it's temporary, and not my stitched up stomach rebelling

Thanks.... I'm not sure what the hunger pangs are about, but if it doesn't subside in the next month or so, I will check in with my doctor. It's very different than normal hunger before surgery. Hunger pangs are uncomfortable, but this is downright painful. Maybe because I'm eating such tiny portions at a time? I'll see how it plays our as I heal, and start eating more foods.

I had emailed my doctor when I was in your boat. I'd gotten to the point where I was so completely grossed out by the liquids, and didn't think I could take it another minute. I asked him if the liquid period was specifically for healing, or if it was about what we may or may not be able to tolerate. This was his response... "It's all a healing issue. The original period of liquids was four weeks. Some programs still use it. We cut ours down to ten days of liquids. There are lots of things that can go wrong with an operation. And many of those things are triggered by patients jumping ahead of the schedule believing that its ok. I can't tell you how many patients have jumped ahead and had problems. Please stick with the liquids until Thursday then you can advance to mushy foods. You only have to do this once" Hang in there.....you are SO close!

All SO well said.....

My doctor's protocol doesn't allow for "slab" meat until 12 months. It tends to be one of the more difficult things to eat, and in the support groups, I've heard many say that they just don't bother with it anymore; too much work. I'm one who LOVES a good steak; ribeye, filet.... I can't imagine not having it, but I'm sure when I do, I won't have it all the time. And when I eat it, I'll be SO careful to follow the rules. To be quite honest, even though his protocol is 12 months for steak, I think I'll probably have it sooner. I did really well with my first serving of ground turkey, and will have some ground beef tonight. I can't imagine that it will take a year for steak, but I'll see how it goes with the rest of the diet progression. I do love the meat!!

Because every doctor has a different protocol for the surgery, you will get MANY varied responses. Mine goes like this..... Pre-op diet was a low fat, 1200 calories a day for two weeks. The last two days prior to surgery was full liquids. After surgery, I was on full liquids for two weeks, then transitioned to mushy/soft/smooth foods. Now, 10 days after mushy, I'm adding ground turkey, ground beef, chicken and thinly sliced deli meats. In 10 more days I'll add another layer of food & so on. Too much to type, but it's a progression of adding things back slowly. As far as exercise, before I actually had my surgery, my doctor recommended (recommends to all patients) to start walking 20 minutes per day. He says.....walk 10 minutes out, then 10 minutes back. For him, that is a realistic starting point, given that most of us haven't been doing much of anything. Right now, I'm walking between 30-40 minutes, which is fine.......for today. I'm with you on the pictures. I don't post my photos here because I like the anonymity of this site. This surgery was a very personal/private choice, and the internet is a very open & vast venue. But my pictures on Facebook, and my business website, are old; about 7 years old......before I'd gained ALL of my weight back. I cannot bring myself to post who I allowed myself to become...AGAIN, but have every intention of posting new pictures once some of the weight comes off. So I totally get you on this! Good luck! PS: 2muchfun above is right about the best place to post. You will get more responses that address your questions, if it's in a forum that you either start, or is the same subject matter as your concerns. When I first came on here, I had no idea where, what, how.... But you'll figure it out soon enough

This site is like a slice of life. Even though we've never met face to face, we find those whom we gravitate to, and those we are repelled by. Yes, there certainly are those who respond as if they were the all mighty authority, but when posting in an open forum, you have to take the good with the not so good. Pick & choose what feels good to you, and walk away from the rest. If you have a question that you feel might bring on a collective attack, then the safest bet would be to send a private message to a few that you feel comfortable with. Someone else made a post this past week, and within the post flat out said "don't come at me on this, because I will come back". I did want to respond to that post, but the defense was already up, so I walked away. This is a place I come to communicate with others who share a common thread. I'm not here to assert my anger in the world, and do not have the need for people see things my way. If someone gets something positive from one of my posts, great! If not, then they can read down the page and hopefully find something of value in the next response. We cannot control how people respond, or what they say on this site, no more than we can control what people say or do in our immediate lives. If you find a few people who rub you the wrong way, scroll past them to the ones who you value.

YES - please let us know.

I haven't had a full blown panic attack since being banded, but I have had some racing heart episodes. Especially when waking up in the morning. I'm going to keep an eye on it for a few more days, because last night I transitioned from mushy/soft food to ground turkey; thus starting myself back on good old animal Protein (yeah!). Interestingly, this morning I didn't have the same racing that I've had over the past weeks since surgery. I don't know if there is a correlation, but generally I'm not one who does well on a vegetarian type of diet. My body requires some sort of meat protein, whether it be fish, chicken, beef, etc. So I'm thinking that possibly the racing has been a blood sugar issue. I don't really know, but I will watch over the next few days, as this type of protein is added back. My other thought on the panic attacks, is that possibly there is a lot of underlying fear with this life change. It's huge! I don't know......just throwing out some ideas. I have a lot of underlying fear with this, especially when I read some of the posts on this site. I'm happy on one hand, then freaked out that this thing might bite me in the ass at a later date. It's a lot to take on, physically and emotionally. Now....with ALL that being said, I think you should call your doctor. Whatever the collective "our" experiences are, everyone has individual issues; health and otherwise. It's best that your doctor rule out anything more serious. And I hope for your sake that the panic attacks don't continue. I know how HORRIBLE and out of control they feel. The worst!

I love the Premier Protein Shakes. I keep two cases of the chocolate around at all times :-)

Fabulous!!! Good job

NEVER MIND... I just read ALL the way through the post. I don't always get 75-100, but I'm usually at 65-70. Some days I'm at 85, but that's not typical. I better start pouring on the unflavored Protein powder to everything I can I have very fine hair, and cannot afford to lose any!!

How many grams of protein do you find keeps you from "shedding"?

On my post-op diet progression, ground turkey and beef (if tolerated) are allowed three weeks out. However, a slab of any type of meat isn't allowed for 12 months. They do this to avoid the exact problem you just had. Unless the bite of meat is tiny, and chewed into a pulverized pudding, it can be a huge issue. I understand how frustrated you are, and I feel terrible just thinking about how that must have been for you. But this experience by NO means makes you a failure. You learned a valuable lesson on a limitation of the band. It doesn't mean that it won't work for you. But if steak, pork chops, etc. is something that you don't want to give up (for the time being), then you will make the choice based on what you can and can't live with. As balbuquerque so eloquently put it, you are not a failure. You were courageous enough to try it, which doesn't guarantee that it was the right thing for you long term. But it's probably best not to make any major decisions about the band, until you're far enough past this unfortunate episode.

I have gone through it yet, but my understanding is that it does stop, and your hair will fill back in. But a couple of things to keep in your arsenal, is biotin and Biosil. These two things could slow the loss down, and for some, prevent it.

I think that all the preparing; therapy, classes, etc. gives us the tools for the hard times. But I do not believe that most of us lost the emotional attachment to food prior to surgery. And knowing something logically in your head, is OH SO DIFFERENT than living it. All the preparedness doesn't fix our relationship with food. It's getting through each day, finding ways to get through the times when we just want to shove it in with both hands. Some days are smooth sailing, and others are a very bumpy ride. I don't know that I will ever resolve my emotional attachment to food. But what I CAN do, is find alternatives to deal with it. I may not win every single time, but it's what happens most of the time that matters.

That is FANTASTIC! Good for you! I can't WAIT to regain some stamina.