salsa1877

You are probably too tight. My doc does them under fluoro as well, but if I say I am too tight...then I am too tight. Your band (for some reason) can tighten up for no reason. Mine always got tighter after 2 weeks. My doc says that any pain is not a good thing. It should not hurt to eat. I was so tight once that I couldn't hardly get down protein drinks but popcorn would go down like I was open as wide as the grand Canyon. My bet is you are too tight. And yep some people wait a life time to hit their spot, but in my opinon...they overshot yours.

My fill nurse gave me a needle with strict instructions that if I got to tight I was to take this needle to an emergency room so that they could get the fill out if needed. The reason she did this is because it was the middle of winter and I live 6 hours from the doctor and across a mountain pass. I don't now why they told you 2 hours afterwards. My doc says 1 hour. I would suggest contacting another doctor as well, if that is possible.

I just posted these Soup recipes somewhere else, but I will post them here too. Do they have you on Protein drinks? Cause you need to be on them right now. For healing purposes you need to be at least at 500-700 calories. You body will shut down and that is why you are not losing weight. In fact weight that you will lose is muscle if you do not have enough protein. You will have to blend/puree these Soups to the consistancy that your doctor allows. So it is important that you get in your protein and soup can be tricky to get that in so my trick is to add "silken tofu" as the cream part of any soup. I don't use a lot of recipes as I just love to mix things up in the kitchen, but here are 3 soups that are a staple for me right after a fill. I wish I had discovered these during my post op. Soup recipes Roasted Tomato with Roasted Garlic This recipe yielded about 1 cup. Ingredients: ½ container of grape tomatoes 4-6 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu 2 TBSP of fresh basil (2-3 tsp of dried basil) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Peal the garlic and wrap in a small piece of aluminum foil. 2. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and spray with PAM, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a 350 degree oven until done. a. Tomatoes will burst and shrivel a bit b. Garlic will be soft and mash easily with a fork c. Tomatoes will probably finish before the garlic 4. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor (or blender) 5. Add the tofu and blend until almost smooth. 6. Heat through and add the finely chopped basil at the end. 7. Simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend. 8. If necessary thin out with FF evaporated milk. Grilled Asparagus Soup Ingredients: ¼ pound or more of asparagus 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) ¼ -1/3 cup of LF shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Either boil grill on BBQ (much better!) the asparagus until just undercooked. a. To grill on BBQ spray with PAM and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in aluminum foil if you do not have a flat grill on BBQ. 2. Sautee garlic, onions and cooked asparagus 3. Place veggies in a food processor (or blender) 4. Add the tofu and blend until smooth. 5. Add FF evaporated milk until correct texture. 6. Heat to desired temperature Sautéed Mushroom and Tuna Soup (This was my way of eating tuna noodle casserole…soup style!) Ingredients: ½ pound or more of mushrooms (any kind will work) 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu or white Beans ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) 1 can of tuna fish Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Sautee mushrooms, garlic and onions until desired texture. 2. Add to food processor or blender. 3. Add 4oz of silken tofu or ½ can of white beans (depending on your taste!) 4. Add drained tuna fish (or any other canned fish) 5. Puree to desired texture. 6. Heat and add FF evaporated milk to thin if needed So as you can see, the base for these soups is pretty much the same. If you don’t like tofu I would assume that white canned beans would work just as well. Experiment with different spices, add a little parmesan cheese, or different veggies. Right now you shouldn’t be worrying as much about calories, but rather about healing. If you would like add meat to any of these it would work just fine. Ground chicken, hamburger, and ground turkey all pulverize very well. You will most likely just have to thin it out with the FF evaporated milk. That one ingredient has changed my way of cooking. Once you graduate to real foods you can have chicken Alfredo for VERY few calories by using this one ingredient. Another soup that has good flavor is to just take some refried beans and beef stock. It has a lot of flavor and a lot of protein to keep you fuller longer. Also take some spaghetti sauce and add some pulverized veggies to it and it makes it better. Adding some pureed white beans also helps it feel like more food.

My doctor told me that eating too soon can potentially band slippage. Your band is stiched to your stomach and the process of your stomach churning can cause the stiches to become loose. I know that the post-op diet varies greatly from doctor to doctor, but that it is important to follow your doctor's orders. When I talked to my lap-band doc about the wide variety he told me it is because of the techniques used by the doctor. Here are some hearty Soup recipes. You will need to thin/puree them to your doctor's thickness requirements, but they will fill you up longer. So it is important that you get in your Protein and soup can be tricky to get that in so my trick is to add "silken tofu" as the cream part of any soup. I don't use a lot of recipes as I just love to mix things up in the kitchen, but here are 3 Soups that are a staple for me right after a fill. I wish I had discovered these during my post op. Soup recipes Roasted Tomato with Roasted Garlic This recipe yielded about 1 cup. Ingredients: ½ container of grape tomatoes 4-6 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu 2 TBSP of fresh basil (2-3 tsp of dried basil) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Peal the garlic and wrap in a small piece of aluminum foil. 2. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and spray with PAM, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a 350 degree oven until done. a. Tomatoes will burst and shrivel a bit b. Garlic will be soft and mash easily with a fork c. Tomatoes will probably finish before the garlic 4. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor (or blender) 5. Add the tofu and blend until almost smooth. 6. Heat through and add the finely chopped basil at the end. 7. Simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend. 8. If necessary thin out with FF evaporated milk. Grilled Asparagus Soup Ingredients: ¼ pound or more of asparagus 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) ¼ -1/3 cup of LF shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Either boil grill on BBQ (much better!) the asparagus until just undercooked. a. To grill on BBQ spray with PAM and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in aluminum foil if you do not have a flat grill on BBQ. 2. Sautee garlic, onions and cooked asparagus 3. Place veggies in a food processor (or blender) 4. Add the tofu and blend until smooth. 5. Add FF evaporated milk until correct texture. 6. Heat to desired temperature Sautéed Mushroom and Tuna Soup (This was my way of eating tuna noodle casserole…soup style!) Ingredients: ½ pound or more of mushrooms (any kind will work) 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu or white Beans ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) 1 can of tuna fish Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Sautee mushrooms, garlic and onions until desired texture. 2. Add to food processor or blender. 3. Add 4oz of silken tofu or ½ can of white beans (depending on your taste!) 4. Add drained tuna fish (or any other canned fish) 5. Puree to desired texture. 6. Heat and add FF evaporated milk to thin if needed So as you can see, the base for these soups is pretty much the same. If you don’t like tofu I would assume that white canned beans would work just as well. Experiment with different spices, add a little parmesan cheese, or different veggies. Right now you shouldn’t be worrying as much about calories, but rather about healing. If you would like add meat to any of these it would work just fine. Ground chicken, hamburger, and ground turkey all pulverize very well. You will most likely just have to thin it out with the FF evaporated milk. That one ingredient has changed my way of cooking. Once you graduate to real foods you can have chicken Alfredo for VERY few calories by using this one ingredient. Another soup that has good flavor is to just take some refried beans and beef stock. It has a lot of flavor and a lot of protein to keep you fuller longer. Also take some spaghetti sauce and add some pulverized veggies to it and it makes it better. Adding some pureed white beans also helps it feel like more food. Hope some of these help get you back on track!

I am assuming it is probably reflux and that you are too tight. There have been several cases on here lately of that happening. I suggest contacting your doctor to see if they suggest a partial unfill. I know that no one likes to get even the slightest unfill, but this is something that can cause problems if your band is too tight.

I heard early on that when your bowels are really full it can cause band tightness. Glad to hear you are calling your doc. This isn't right!

I am here...just kind of a frumpy day. I don't want to post here but if you read my blog you will see! I did run 4 miles and walked 1. Well I need to shower and then head off to bed. Thank you Janet for taking a stand with teens. They need it and we certainly appreciate as teachers. It makes our job much easier!

I have to agree with IndioGirl. You just have to get rid of the cheetos. If they are not in the house...you can't eat them. You are much less likely to buy them if you have a craving than you are to walk out to your kitchen and grab them out of your cupboard. If you say your kids want them...find something different for them to eat. THey don't need them either.

I did have a fill, but then had an unfill. Had another fill, followed by an unfill. Do you see a pattern??? I think I probably could have done it without a fill. Don't get one unless you need one. I am completely unfilled right now and struggle to maintain weight...I keep losing! I have A LOT of restriction with just the band. I have pb'd twice while totally unfilled. Keep your chin up and don't feel like you are doing anything wrong. My goal is to NEVER have another fill. I hate the feeling of being too tight.

Personally...I would tell them. I think they would be hurt to know that you didn't share this with them. I would never dream of not telling my brother. He has to be prepared if anything does (God forbid) go wrong. He has no living parents, and I am his only sibling. Before I had my lap-band surgery he made me promise that I would make this work. He told me that I was not only having surgery that was going to be life threatening to me, but that I was taking his life with me as well. I think I have made him proud. He just told me the same thing yesterday. You had better make sure this surgery is worth it, cause you know it isn't just you! I do think we have to think about our families, and I would think that they would want you to tell them. If your child was having surgery wouldn't you want to know? Just my opinion!

That is fantastic news. Just that in itself is adding years to your life! The weight will come off, but you are going to find that the NSV's (non scale victories) are sometimes more important than the stupid number on the scale!

Wow...I kind of wish that I was staying in the hospital. Though I will probably be glad to be at home after it is all done. A six hour surgery as out patient makes me a little nervous. Though the doctor didn't seem like it was a big deal. She does almost ALL of her surgeries as out patient surgeries. I think my surgery will start at 6:30 am. DH works during that time and we can't afford to have him take it off so I think I will be driving myself to the hospital. Then he will be there when I get out of surgery. I still have a ways to go...we will figure it out later!

When I first started I weighed every morning and then averaged them together for the week. Now that I am in maintenance I find myself weighing WAAAAAYYYY too much. However, only my Saturday morning weights count. My weight fluctuates pretty consistantly throughout the week. I am lowest on Sundays and then gain weight until Tuesday and then it starts coming off again. Don't know what that is about cause I usually get MORE exercise on Sunday (12 mile runs) and eat less...go figure! The scale is as fickle as the band! Take it from me...try not to get obsessed. I know...easier said than done!

Question...are your BMI's close? Also, there can be a lot of calories in full liquids and you might not lose right now. I can't tell you what I lost or didn't lose during my liquid/mushie days because I didnt have a scale. How many calories are you eating? Even then...now is when you worry about HEALING...not weight loss. It will come. Be careful with the exercising...you dont want to overdo it and hurt yourself. Like I said earlier...now is the time for healing.

You mentioned that you are compeletly unfilled...are you sure they took it all out. I know that sounds awful, but I went in for a partial unfill and then had to go in for a complete unfill a few weeks later and lo and behold...there was more in there than was supposed to be! In fact it looked like the fill nurse had actually given me a little fill when she was supposed to take it out. Have you gone on liquids for a couple days to see if you are just swollen. I know that even unfilled I have pb'd a couple times because I just take too big of bites. There are days when I could swallow a steak whole and other days when I feel like hardly anything will go down. Hopefully the upper GI will tell if something is wrong. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I ordered mine from unjury.com It isn't bad. Not too expensive either. They have a bunch of flavors as well as unflavored.

Yep...your body is adjusting. I didn't have a scale when I was on liquids/mushies but I suspect that most of my 18 pound weightloss was from the liquid stage. Your body has to catch up. Your body is a very complex system and if it shocked by dropping a bunch of weight quickly, it has to come back to reality. The weight will come off. I am very thankful that my scale addicition didn't start until after I got my first fill. You are not eating enough calories to gain weight, but your body isn't going to just let go of the fat without some resistance. Give it some time to recouperate. Patience...I know...it isn't my strong suit either!

Phyl - Congrats on the "downsizing"! It doesn't matter the size...as long as it is going down! I think I forgot to post this but I ran 10 straight miles on Sunday. Did a total of 12 miles, but ran the first 10.

Here is an abstact from one of the journals I read on this. I am chemist/chemistry teacher and have access to several journals. Just didn't want anyone to think that I was spewing stuff out of my rear! It happens a lot on here! "The vagus nerve plays a central role in satiety and short-term regulation of food intake and research suggests a relationship between VNS and weight loss. The underlying mechanisms of this relationship are unknown. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether acute cervical VNS might temporarily alter food cravings. Thirty-three participants were recruited for three groups; depression VNS, depression non-VNS, and healthy controls. Participants viewed 22 computerized images of foods twice in one session and completed ratings for food cravings after each image. The VNS participants’ devices were turned on for one viewing of an image and off for the other (randomized order). Participants were blind to VNS condition (on versus off). Acute VNS device activation was associated with a significant change in cravings-ratings for sweet foods. A significant proportion of variability in VNS-related changes in cravings was accounted for by patients’ clinical VNS device settings, acute level of depression, and body mass. Further studies are warranted addressing how acute or chronic VNS might modify eating behavior and weight."

OMG I am glad to hear that you are alright. I am a chemist (and a teacher) so and they call me the safety Nazi so I am glad to hear that you were wearing your safety gear. A bruised ego is better than a bruised body. The ego doesn't usually require stiches, hospitalization, or a casket! Thanks for the kind words. I have to say, you have really made me push myself. I have seen how much you have done and if you can't tell from this post...I am a bit competative! The waterproof mp3 is better for you and your craziness in the triathalon. I really do think I am going to do the endurance duathalon next year at the Pacific Crest Events (this is where I am running the half-marathon) I just don't know if I can do the swimming! Fish poop really gets to me! Wish me luck in kicking their hiney!

My doc will fit anyone in for an unfill...maybe yours will too. I would just call them and tell that you HAVE to be seen...or just show up. I doubt they would turn you away. Sure fire way to get some taken out quickly is to tell them you are struggling with liquids.

Some people have a lot of restriction just from the band (I do) but not everyone. It depends on the angle of placement, the size of the band, and your anatomy. It also depends on how much the band presses on the nerve that sends the hunger/fullness impulses to your brain. If your band is pressing on that, you wont' feel much hunger. If it doesn't press on it, you will feel just as hungry as before surgery. If you don't need a fill...don't get one. Being too tight is WAAAAAAY worse than being hungry. I can use discipline if I am hungry...there is nothing I can do if I am too tight.

I actually have had the opposite effect. This is the first time that I have gone longer than 9 months without a kidney stone for the last 6 or 7 years. I usually got them every 6-9 months (I have had them at least 10 times), but so far...knock on wood...I haven't had them. Make sure you get it analyzed and find out what kind of stone it is. I get both the oxalic acid and the Calcium stones so diet change was not an option for me. I hope you are feeling better because I know how painful those dang things are.

Well from personal experience...I have lost 100 pounds with the lap-band. There are good PS out there! I was lucky enough to find one in back a$$wards Central Oregon. But heck yeah...stand your ground. Don't take crap from any of them. Remind him that you are paying his salary!

One last chance to get these pictures to post here!