Cocoabean

I wonder if part of the chew, chew, chew doesn't go back to gastric bypass patients. The new pouch created during that procedure doesn't grind food, thus it must be completely masticated to continue on it's way through the digestive process. However, I have swallowed half chewed items and lived to regret it. But I also don't chew my food to liquid. It is a fine art, and one that you will master with time. I have also had experiences when I swallowed something not fully chewed and thought I was done for, only to find it was fine. My surgeon doesn't have an issue with my having some liquids with food. I have also not noticed a difference in my satiety levels if I sip some liquids or not with meals. But I don't drink massive amounts, just a few sips to moisten my mouth. My surgeon does have an issue with drinking liquids with calories rather than eating the calories. Your surgeon may very well have different insrtructions and your mileage may vary. I confess that I have a little bit of milk with my dinner. It is a habit I can't seem to break, and my surgeon knows about it. We agreed to disagree. It is the only calorie containing liquid I consume, and about 8 oz a day. I can live with that. My surgeon doesn't even want me using Protein shakes. He wants all my calories to come in solid form. Except after fills, which at this point, happen rarely. You will find what works for you. This is what works for me. Denise

Interesting, Teacher07, thanks for the info.

I think you are your band are going to get along very well!! Denise

as long as your levels are monitored and controlled, you should have no issues.

Yes, especially if I drink Water in an attempt to get rid of the offending item. It goes down, and then just comes up again. Sort of a reverse of gravity. There is no heaving or retching involved. Just an urp! And out it comes. Denise

Hi Jennifer! I hope it helps! It's taken nearly two years of practice and I don't know how many stuck episodes to reach this point :thumbup: Funny for me, my mind has had to catch up with my stomach! My brain still thinks I don't have a band. I still feel as hungry as I did before the band. Ok, that isn't exactly it. My hunger still feels the same. When I am hungry, I feel like I can eat the same amount. I have to make an effort to not put the same amount of food on my plate. You mentioned a salad plate. That is a very good idea. I use a smaller plate whenever I can. It just limits the amount I can grab. Even thought intellectually I know I won't be able to eat the bigger quantity, if there is room on the plate, I want to fill it up. It is getting easier to not do so. But it takes a loooong time to retrain the brain. When I complained about this at a fill, my surgeon said, "well, it took you 43 years to learn to eat the way you have been, what makes you think you will learn these new habits over night?" Dang, was he ever right. But, I have done two cruises with my band. I have not felt deprived on either one. Sure, I had to be more selective on what I chose because there was not as much room, but that really isn't a bad thing. Denise

Hi Spaz, Something else to add to your practice, and maybe you do, but just didn't put it here. Take the bite, CHEW IT COMPLETELY and SWALLOW IT, then talk. Be sure you have fully chewed the item and swallowed it. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten myself into trouble by being in a hurry to say something. Momma said it is rude to talk with my mouth full, so I chew quickly and not thoroughly, swallow it to say something and, DANG-IT-ALL!!!! STUCK! It takes some getting used to, that is a fact! Denise

Hamburger was one of my worst ever stuck foods! It went on for over 5 hours! I spoke with my surgeon the next day. He said that even though it is ground it is very hard on the band due to the fact that it can have a lot of gristle in it and we don't get that chewed enough. I am still very cautious when I eat burger. It scares the tar out of me. I really like your idea of letting gravity help you! Denise

Oh! Bagels and I had a nasty break-up!! I can't eat chicken breast meat any longer either. But as it was aversion therapy, I don't really miss them much :thumbup: But I DO keep trying to eat sticky rice, like in sushi, sometimes its good...sometimes it isn't! Should probably stick with sashimi. But as my hubby says, "You can be taught, but you'll never learn!" I am down close to 80% of my excess weight (taken from my all time high). My surgeon said I could expect about 60-80% for my case. So, I am very happy with my results. Now, if I'd just put my mind into these last few lbs. I'd show him and make it 100% of my excess! HA! That would teach him! :tt1: Denise

Hi Poppyred, 5 lbs in one month is a great loss! Don't downplay it. 1-2 lbs a week is wonderful. During my active losing phase, I averaged less than a lb. per week, but I got most of the weight off! As to the sweet spot. Even if Barble is losing at good rate, she might still want a fill if she thinks she can get better restriction. She may be white knuckling through each day and getting the weight off totally with willpower. With the band that is not necessary. She can fine tune it. My comment on the $200k insurance. That is what her insurance was BILLED. Not the amount that changed hands perhaps. But the poster was speaking to what was BILLED and to her lifetime max. Her benefits might max out because of what the hospital billed her insurance. Even if they only paid $5k. That sucks. I got a copy of my bill, it was $43,000. My copay was $100. Self-pay would have been much less than $43k. It is something to be aware of. Many insurances have a lifetime cap.

There is another thread about the pre-op diet and Last Meal Syndrome. I wish someone had told me how "normally" I would still be able to eat after I found my sweet spot. I still eat many of my favorite foods. When I eat out, no one would watch me eating and think, "Wow, she must have had WLS, look at what/how she is eating." I have a good friend who is of average weight. She and I often eat similar things in similar portion sizes. Denise

If you are eating buddies, this could be a factor, also. But, you can assure him that you will still be able to go out. You will have to make different selections, or perhaps share Entrees with him. You can still enjoy cocktails at the lake. Alcohol contains calories with no nutritional value, thus you want to limit the intake, but it has no detrimental effect on the band. If you drink carbonated beverages, that may have to change. Fear of change itself can be huge. My hubby was not really supportive of the idea at first. Especially when I considered gastric bypass. That was just too scary for him, and the radical diet change was such that he could not/would not consider it. As he adjusted to the idea of the band, it became easier for him to deal with. I could not have done this if he had not supported it. He came to all the seminars and pre-op support groups with me, and also to many of my pre-op appointments with my surgeon. My surgeon actually requires this. I thought it was a great idea. He could ask questions and not just rely on me for information. He knew the answers were not slanted to my point of view. He was able to make his own informed decision. Now he is 100% supportive of me. Denise

Best wishes for tomorrow! Post when you can about how it went. We look forward to watching you be a loser! And you know, if the food police try to give you a ticket, you say, "isn't it great that I can have this and exercise moderation with my band? I love it!" Like Catherine (you look fantastic in those pics, by the way, Catherine!) I lost less than a pound a week, but I am getting there, and I feel great. Denise

That is a great one!! My DH will burp me when I am on the verge of a stuck episode! Denise

That is the gas they use to fill your abdomen during the surgery. It will dissipate with time. Walking helps a lot. Keep moving! In another week, you should be feeling MUCH better!! Denise

Yeah, right. "You're gonna do WHAT, with THAT?" Then I blink and see it is a really tiny thing. No, really, after the numbing stuff, which stings a tiny bit, I just feel a bit of pressure and a slight pop when the huber needle goes into the port and then all done! Drink some Water to be sure it isn't too tight and I am out the door. Denise

The principal divulged your personal medical information! This is a HUGE deal! At the very least, I'd have a conversation with him/her (I'll use the male pronoun). It was not his place to tell, nor his right. Would he have announced if you were having a colonoscopy? I think not. His heart may have been in the right place, or maybe not. It doesn't matter. Perhaps he was trying to explain your absence. It doesn't matter. All that should have been said is that "Shadst8 will be out for 2 weeks." As to the email. I would ask him to send it. Along with an apology, and stating that he should not have said anything about your condition and upcoming surgery during the staff meeting. He should request that the staff please respect your privacy as to your medical condition and not ask you questions about it. You have a right to be outraged! Denise

I have flown several times with no issue. I believe the port has a bit of metal on the back side of it. Should be simple enough to explain if the detector is set that sensitive. The detectors pick up metals is areas of the body, so if you are wearing bracelets, lift your arms going through, this will spread out the metal, making it less likely that you will cause a need for secondary search. I did a 3 month stint on jury duty after being banded, this was a comon solution when I set off the detectors at the courthouse. I always wear a heavy sterling silver bracelet. I would remove my watch but not the bracelet, so the guards would have me lift my arms. It worked every time. The band will not expand in flight as there is no air inside of it. It is all saline, so no worries there! I have never felt any changes. Denise

Some say the hiccups are their full signal. I get them from time to time. Just a few. I never did the sneeze thing, but have read of others who do. I burp like crazy, too. My DH has learned to cheer me on, as it means that I am not stuck. A good sign! But not very lady like! Denise

OOOHHH, -that- explains it! I drank a more than I have since being banded on New Year's Day. My band was tight for a few days after. I was wondering what was going on. Thanks! Denise

Did you try to eat something? The saliva sounds like a stuck episode. What did the doctor tell you today? Are the liquids helping? I hope you get to feeling better. 5 days post-op, I was not at my best. Give yourself some time to heal. Denise

Now -that- is thinking outside the box! I love it! I will say, though, sometimes when I have consumed liquids while eating, it can be very uncomfortable. The food will be going down just fine, then take a drink of liquid and it sort of upsets the apple cart and gurgles and I can feel it sort of come up a little, then go back down. Very strange. So, if I do drink with food, it is very small sips, just to moisten things. I haven't found that it makes a difference in when I get hungry again, your mileage may vary, and as always, do what YOUR surgeon/nutritionist tells you. Denise

I ate a stupid little grape tomato last night and was miserable for an hour and a half and can barely get liquids down now! Wore a hole in my carpet doing laps up and down the hall, my napkin didn't catch all the PB that surprised me, the pain, the pressure, the stupid faces trying to make it stop. Rough way to find out that the skin was just a bit too tough for me to chew thoroughly. Stupid me, started pondering getting a fill, that is a sure-fire trigger for a stuck-event for me -- being so close to goal. Yeah, easy way out my Aunt Fanny! The easy way out is giving up on oneself and gaining weight until diabetes or heart disease takes its toll and we are in the grave.

You might be able to eat rib eye again. I can still eat beef. Yummy! BUT, I can guaruuunteeeee, you won't be eating the 14 oz. in one sitting, or maybe even 4 sittings. We had filet the other evening. My hubby prepared two of them, probably 6-8 oz each. He polished off his. I ate about a quarter of mine. Put the rest away. I made a 3 egg omlette the next morning, we shared the remainder of my steak. He had half of it, I had another quarter and about 1/3 of the omlette. So, I got to enjoy filet twice instead of once! How lucky am I? Baked potato, I LOVE! But, I find I just don't have room for it. If we make it, I grab a little bit of hubby's and I am good. I still get the taste, but I am full. I don't feel deprived a bit, I am satisfied. That is the biggest change the band has brought me. It allows me the moderation that I could never achieve in previous diet attempts because I always WANTED more. I listen to my body and I stop eating when I am satisfied..ok, that takes practice, don't wait until the band is screaming at you to stop, listen for the whisper of satiety. Best wishes! Denise

My surgeon doesn't have an issue with me drinking a little bit with my meals. He does take issue with me drinking liquids with calories in them, period. He wants me to eat my calories, not drink them. He doesn't even want me using Protein shakes now that I am well past the post-op healing phase. Denise