the best me

Yup, which is why I hesitate on fills. If I can make it work with the restrictoin I do have, then I will. Finding the balance between wroking a fill and using your band to it's potential is a toughie. Right now I'm so tired of losing the same 2-3 pounds it's maddeneing. Yesterday I was 193.0. Today? 195.2. What's up with that?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good for you sunshine! Tell us about yourself. What part of this big ole globe do you live on? Who is your doc? How much weight do you want to lose? How'd you find us? Anyhow, welcome to LBT!!!

Roll Call! Here! WITH an NSV thread, thank you!

I know, and what am I, chopped liver? She said she only had one good reply from Jachut, and I replied!! Ooooh, I didn't have a GOOD reply. humph. oh well.

Gosh Megan, that's a tough one and I'm in the beginning stages of facing the same thing. I feel like it's getting time for just a tad more restricition...but if I work the fill I have, I'm ususally ok. I just have to be in the "I'm on a diet" zone in my head in order to stay away from the poor foods. To fill or not? Too tight sucks. My restriction is okay if I eat properly. Could be better, but isn't bad. Plus, I feel like I'm getting more life out of my band by doing the head work and keeping the fill count lower for as long as possible. It's a balance. You want to use your band, but if you can make it another 2 months without a fill, and still lose 10 or so pounds...okay, 5? wer'e turtles, ya know...then save the fill for later. Dang. Tough one. Let me know what you decide!

Okay, not a guy either, just wanted to say hey and welcome! The guys will show up soon...don't worry. You are terribly out-numbered here, just give them a sec...congrats on your band!

Yes. You are not full into banded eating at this point if you are not eating hard protiens first, then veggies/fruits, then carbs if needed. Yes, you will stay fuller for longer when you are eating bandster meals. Here's my opinion about Snacks. Yes, healthy snacking can turn into unhealthy snacking. Yes, it could just be head hunger you are fighting. BUT, the hungrier you let yourself get, the more likely you are going to eat too fast, take too big a bite, or do something to get stuck or even PB, and is not healthy for your band. I also think that starving is not good for your metabolism, and thats what I'm fighting with. My metabolism is shot and I keep having to sneak around it to lose. It's a real crap shoot. As for counting calories, I don't. However, it's a good idea to count for a few days to get an idea of what you are putting in your mouth. That info helps you to make better eating choices, so yes, count, but no, don't count all the time. And go to www.room42.com to get your calorie, fat, carb, protien requirements for weight loss so you will know what you are shooting for. I usually eat a scrambled egg w/ cheese for Breakfast. sometimes I'll even start with and 8oz glass of milk and add a 1/2 slice of whole wheat toast. I'm fine until lunch and have whatever, a sandwich, large salad, some chicken, leftovers, whatever. By 4pm I need something. It's just too far to go until 6-7pm when we eat dinner. My 2yo can't do it. He needs a snack. I need one, too. I can occasionally avoid it my making a half pot of coffee, but then I'm drinking cream/sugar, so wouldn't it be better to eat some veggies? Or grilled chicken breast? 2-3 ounces maybe? Anyhow. I snack once a day in the afternoons. I find I eat a much more sensible dinner that way. No liquids during meals...doc is right on there. No arguing about that one. No fill...if you are losing, you shouldn't need one. There is nothing worse than being too tight. But if you are struggling, by all means, get one! It's what your band is for. Give it 3 weeks and call to schedule that fill if it's not going well. It sounds as if you have pretty good restriction now but that will change and it will be a whole new world when you move to solids. I don't think anyone should get a fill before 6 weeks anyway. And no way should you get one if you don't even know what it's like to chew and swallow moist grilled chicken breast. I'd eat mushies all the time if I let myself...guacamole, refried Beans, eggs, etc. but you really need to do the solid protiens first to get a feel for how your band is working for you. Good luck!!!

I have started feeling something funny around my port. I assumed it was scar tissue. I have always...since about 4 weeks out...been able to feel my port round and hard and smooth under my skin. I think the stuff that's hard around it (but not all the way around) is just scar tissue. As you lose weight, too, it will change.

She should be out by now, without a doubt. I have been thinking of you today, Melissa!!! Can't wait for a report...hurry!!!!

If you are tight, which you probably are at day 3 post-op, and you eat too fast, you might get a pain in your chest...at the very least, an uncomfortable feeling. Some describe it as a golf ball stuck in your chest. This means you need to eat slower and take smaller bites. Wait longer in between bites. This is your band telling you to take it easy. Just know that it won't be this way for long. It will slowly get easier and easier to eat normally, although you will always need to slow down, take smaller bites, and chew lots and lots. For post-op, if you get any sensation in your chest, smaller bites and slow down. If it doesn't improve, back to liquids for another day or two. Take it easy, listen to your body, and go ahead and drink that protien drink. You need your liquids and protien. As long as ou aren't too hungry, wait on the applesauce until it's more comfortable. Does that help? If not, ask again?

Wow Holly! I can't imagine what all you have been through these last weeks! I noticed you weren't signing in on the Fall Challenge but I just saw you there and I'm so glad you are okay! There are a few of you displaced. Paula is near Lake Charles and got hit pretty good but the house is there and she's supposed to be back...still waiting on her to check back in. Welcome home. Thanks for letting us know!

I second! Well stated, VQ. There have been a few times I have wanted to post a link to this thread and had to go digging. As turtles, our activity is a bit more sporadic and we go a week or two or more! with not much to report. I'd love to see this Stickied! Going now to add another NSV to my list...

Interesting...I am metabolically resistant, this much I know!! I'd be willing to do something a bit similar...I can't stand pork rinds...but cream cheese, avocados, macadamia nuts, deviled eggs, chicken salad...I could eat that in a day. So you say it breaks a plateau, right? Man, that's alot of fat. I'll let you know if I try it. Another thought, yes, cream cheese would be fine during the mushy phase (check with your doc, though) but remember, it's more important to get your calories in during the mushy phase using whatever foods you can, than to be concerned about following a diet meant for weight loss. Mushies are for healing! Make sure your main concern is healing and not weight loss during the healing phase. Any weight you lose post-op is just a bonus!

calico, I wasn't vomiting but I was THAT swollen for short periods of time. I did eat a Gas-X and laid down, then had to get up to spit it out and PB'd it. It wouldn't/couldn't go down! I didn't start getting on the mend until I had IV fluids. Now that you have that hydration, give your stoma a rest and start sipping again when you can. I would be very careful though. If you are bringing back up every sip of Water, you have a problem. Re-read johnnyreno's post about IV anti-inflammatories and/or steroids or some medication that isn't oral to make your swelling go down a bit. Take it easy. 6 months later, my little 2 week nightmare seems like a dream, and you will get past it, too. But don't forget johnny's wife who had to have her band removed after 4 days. Don't let it get out of hand, okay? Are you feeling okay? Let us know!

Well done! You look fab and happy!!! Good for you!!!

Well done Lynn!!! I have lost 22 1/2 inches, I think (it's on my sig) and it's been a few months, almost, since I have measured. Don't it feel grand?!!! Pre-op people...take front/side/back before shots and take your measurements. I promise, you will want them later!!!

Good. Go liquid, then slowly add your mushies and be sure to try some meat before you go back. If you give your band a rest, make sure the swelling is down, and still have trouble with meat, an unfill is in order. You should be able to get your hard protiens in, and not rely on a soft diet. It's not eating the Bandster way! Good for you. Keep us posted!

Here, here! Cheers!!!

Yep, I'd do it again. No regrets. It's hard to reommend it to someone else. If I felt like they had good support and knew everything ahead of time and they were prepared and well-researched? Yes. Why are you having heart burn? Oh, and welcome to LBT!!!!

Sounds like you are a tad too tight. Start by going back to liquids for a few days. If you PB (productive burp...bring your food back up) that causes swelling around your band and the next time you eat, you PB again, more swelling...you get the picture. Give your band a rest with liquids for at least 24 hours, more if you can stand it, then slowly add back your mushies, then soft foods. If you do fine, try well-chewed and well-lubed (some kind of sauce) meat and see how it goes. You may adjust fine, just take it very slow and as you lose weight, your band will loosen a bit and you will prgressively improve. If this sounds like a plan, go for it. If you think there is no way meat will work, go ahead and call your doc and schedule a small unfill. My first fill was 2cc and I could drink fine, but even mushies got stuck. Forget meats! So I had .4cc taken out and have been fine since. Even that tiny amount can make a big difference. Since it's been a month like this...maybe better go ahead and call for an unfill. Until then, keep your diet liquid or at least very soft. Avoid those PB's at all costs!!! Good luck! Let us know how it goes, okay?

lucartwlucy, Noone has been able to find out the truth about this story. We don't know if it's true or not? I hope it isn't true, but that means someone is being very bad for some reason?

Congrats LaTonsha! You are doing great! Just wait until you get filled properly...what a difference it will make! And (a week later?) welcome to LBT!!!

Yippee! Congrats on your band and safe (and easy? for the doc, anyway!) surgery. Welcome to bandland!!

Okay, I always love it when folks ask for a kick in the butt! But I don't think you need one, really. You need some gentle encouragement! What a year- or more!- it's been! First off, unless you have been seriously abusing your band, you are fine and all you need is a fill. Do you have any problem symptoms that cause concern? You have maintained your weight loss...think how much you would have GAINED going through all that! And that's the beauty of the band. When you are ready, it's waiting right there for you! Please don't be discouraged about seeing the doc. Buck up and go. Gotta face the music one of these days! Your assignment for this week (by Friday) is to check with your new insurance to see if fills are covered. That's it. Don't do anything else (unless the spirit moves) but that. How's that? Chop! Chop! Make that call!!! and (((((HUGS))))) for all you have been through.

Aw, wheetsin, don't worry about the dreaded PB (productive burp). It is a sort of "right of passage" for bandsters, however. My first PB was 5 days post-op and it was Jello. Yeah, jello. I was suffering from a bad case of the post-op stoma swelling (some folks get it worse than others...I got it) that eventually took me to the hospital for IV fluids. I felt terrible, dehydrated, yuck. Anyhow, I chowed a piece of jello from the side of the bowl...the thick stuff, you know? and I just swallowed it, not even thinking. Well, it got stuck. I knew all about PB's from my research so I knew what was happening but the pain was a little surprising, it hurt! Then I stood at the sink thinking, "this is it, this is the PB theyv'e been talking about. It's really happening, dear God, make it go down!!!!!!!!" then the surprise happened. I wasn't expecting the wave of nausea to go down my face like it did, then Urp. It's not vomit like you think. It's slime-y saliva and mine was pink and sweet from the jello. The relief was instant. I have PB'd a few times since then but if you are careful, chew well, eat slowly, take small bites, it really is manageable. Yes, there are a few very careful bandsters who have managed to avoid it altogether, but for the most part, you have at least one. That's usually enough to do ya. And it does have to do with your fill level, too. When I'm tight, I'm lots more likely to get careless and PB something. But it's also a sign of just too tight altogether. If you PB every meal, you are too tight. Plus, when you do PB, you should go to liquids for 24 hours to give your stoma a rest, otherwise it goes round and round...PB causes swelling, eat, still swollen, another PB, more swollen...so you have to go to liquids to rest and reduce any swelling the PB caused. It doesn't seem to be the same throw-up issue RNY folks have when they have overstuffed their pouch, although one time I did take one too many bites of chicken salad and THAT bite came back. So maybe it is similar? I don't know much about the RNY issues. Don't panic though. PB's are pretty avoidable and if it really is a blood curdler for you, you'll do well because you will be so careful. Tell hubby we are proud of him for being a good supporter. Your BMI should be all the ammo you need. Proceed, you have until they wheel you into the operating room to back out so even if you haven't made the commitment yet, you'll be glad you went ahead and moved forward if you opt for the Lap Band. Good luck!