snowbird

I don't believe we are all mentally screwed up in some way, so that our weight is merely a manifestation of some other mental/emotional problem. After watching my two children, one of whom has always had a weight problem since preschool and the other who never has, I believe it is physiological. I think the mental trauma comes as a result of obesity rather than it being a root cause. i rather resent people telling me I obviously have mental or emotional issues that make me overeat.

Take some anti-nausea meds with you. Not a bad idea for going to Mexico for anyone.

Go down the main page to "Age Specific Support Groups" and click on the "Teens" section. You will find other people your age that are going through or have gone through the same stuff you are experiencing.

My doctor says no Protein shakes too. The reason he gives is that as the shakes are liquid, they will flow through the stoma and you will be hungry before it is time to eat again. However, I do occasionally have a Protein shake for lunch when I know I am not getting enough protein. I don't have a big problem with hunger, so it doesn't usually bother me to wait until dinner to eat again when I have had a shake for lunch. If you drink the shake slowly I don't see a problem.

I don't measure my food. If you are concerned about it, pour a half cup of Water into a bowl to get an idea of how much that is. Generally with my band, the band itself keeps me to a half cup or less with a meal, so I don't have to worry much about serving sizes.

Okay, so here I am, a newby in the section, getting ready to tell all you old timers what to do. But now we have a section that is just for Washington bandsters, yet we still continue to post on the one single thread. You guys are on page 76 of the thread, for heaven's sake. Why don't we start some new issue-specific threads rather than making one huge thread??? Much easier to find what and who you want. I'll go back to my winter home of Arizona now. Chris from Blaine/Gig Harbor

You've been banded less than a month and lost 9 lb, and you are bitching? Come on girl, get a grip. Dial back the drama, and read all the threads about GAINING weight prior to the first fill. You are doing fine. Get a grip. Exactly how much weight did you expect to lose in a month's time? I can pat you on the back and say "there, there" but I think it's more appropriate to advise you to use your head instead of your emotions and realize this is a commitment for the rest of your life and instant gratification isn't the name of the game. Chill! PS I lost 10 lb in the first month after surgery. I think, and I thought at the time, I was doing fine. My weight fluctuates up and down 3 to 5 pounds every month, but still it eventually goes down in the end. Don't look for an excuse to quit, give up, throw in the towel, because you don't have one.

When the scale starts going down and the bad food choices start coming up, you lose the desire to overeat. Before I was banded I was feeling bad that I would never enjoy food again. That just isn't true; what is true is that I don't enjoy overeating. Welcome to banded life!

We live in Blaine, Washington in the summer, Arizona in the winter. My daughter lives near Tacoma. She, my husband and I are all Mexico bandsters. I know there are fill doctors around Vancouver, plus there is a clinic for fills in Arlington, WA. We had very good experiences in Mexico.

When you aren't eating solids, you don't retain much Water. when you go back on solids, you start retaining more stuff (including water) in your system. So one way of looking at it is that it wasn't entirely fat that you lost on the liquid diet. By the way, .5 pounds is the difference between my weight before and after I go to the bathroom. In other words, it isn't a significant amount, and not an indicator of real weight gain. Since we're on the subject, don't be surprised if you gain a few pounds before you get your first fill. You have no restriction yet from your band, so it really isn't working for you yet. Be patient; you didn't gain your extra weight in a couple months, and you aren't going to lose it in that time either.

I get a lot of yeast infections in skin folds that can turn into raw sores. I dust the area with Lotrimin powder (the stuff for athlete's foot) and that seems to help.

Rachel, do you have other health problems so you are foreseeing a lengthy recovery time? Otherwise, 3 or 4 weeks is probably more than you will need. That said, you just need to tell them you are having surgery of a personal nature, and let them make up in their heads what it is about; if you don't want to say exactly what the surgery is for, that's okay. If they are nosy enough to ask after you say that, just restate the "personal" part.

It's "productive burping" where a person with a band regurgitates food out of the stomach pouch. Generally it isn't as severe as vomiting because the food has not mixed with the stomach acids yet. It happens if the band is too tight or if the bandster has not chewed enough, taken bites that are too large, or has eaten too much.

About once a month I go shopping in my closet, pull out everything that can go to Goodwill, and try on the stuff I haven't worn for a while . . . a LONG while. This morning I came out in my wedding dress--that shocked my husband!

Slow waaayy down between bites. Take a bite, then get up, walk around, and wait 5 minutes before the next bite. If you have been pbing a lot, try going on liquids for 24 hours to let your stomach rest and any swelling go down. How much was your fill?

Don't forget to slump. If you are shorter your BMI will be higher.

Many insurance companies accept a BMI 35 or over with co-morbidities. For mine, the co-morbidities were gastric reflux, hypertension, and congenital joint problems made worse by extra weight. Before you start binging, talk to your insurance company and find out exactly what they are going to require. My hypertension was not severe-155/85, or something like that. I wouldn't have put any of my co-morbidities into the life-threatening range.

They used to make wallpaper paste out of flour and Water . . . just look at the word "pasta" which means paste in Italian. It turns to a sticky glommy goo in your stomach and is very effective in stopping up your stoma. Try spaghetti squash or rice instead.

I lost 65 pounds on Atkins a couple of years ago, then ran into a guy I used to work with. He hugged me and said, "You look just the same as when I last saw you (several years earlier). Just about broke my heart. I replied, "well, I guess that's the best you can hope for at my age!" but I have to admit it ticked me off. So don't worry about it. You will have the last laugh when your diet-pill friend gains her weight back and you don't!

I guess my question would be, is the band something THEY want or something you want them to do? How diligently are they following up on insurance requirements? Is it taking a long time because their insurance is slow, or because they are not doing everything they can to move the process along? As you know, banding isn't the final solution to obesity; it is what you do with the band (barring complications) that makes it a success or a failure. Will they get fills when they need them? Will they just drink milkshakes and complain they aren't losing weight? Will they get that junk food out of the house? My husband and I paid for our daughter to be banded. I approached her with the idea, but made sure she pursued it on her own and found her own surgeon, talked to her PCP, scheduled flights, etc. It was her project, not ours once we said we would provide the funds. Are your parents willing to take ownership of the process to be banded and to live life as bandsters? Also, have you been present while they were talking to their insurance company? If there is a good chance they will be approved within the next 4 months, I would wait, as that shouldn't make a big difference in their future health. However, if they are enthusiastic and committed to the process and it doesn't look like their insurance will come through for them, I would consider helping them.

I have a little different attitude from you: I'll try almost anything to see my reaction to it. I guess you have to hit me over the head before I learn anything. I was wondering about pancakes myself this morning. I bet if you put enough syrup and butter on them they would slide on through! Have you had a fill yet? PBing isn't usually a problem until after at least one fill.

I can't eat bread. If I get thin crust pizza I can usually eat a couple bites, but I'm asking for trouble. This morning I had half a two-egg omelet (split one with DH) with sausage, mozzarella, yellow peppers and onions. For lunch I had one taco. For dinner I am having grilled salmon and oven roasted vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, winter squash, and onions). Yesterday I had a chile relleno (my favorite post-band Mexican food) and oatmeal for Breakfast. If you eat very slowly you can get down a lot of different foods. You will not be chugging down a burger or pizza, most likely, but for me, once a food has caused me pain and suffering I don't have a big interest in it anymore. Besides, if I wanted to be able to eat everything I ate before, I would be nuts. I had surgery to stop doing that. When I dine out with non bandsters I usually order Soup just to avoid potential problems. Hope this helps.

pbing isn't pleasurable, but it isn't something to be afraid of. Actually, if you get something really stuck it is pleasurable, because it usually stops the pain. I hate puking, but pbing isn't the forceful unpleasant event of vomiting. While you should avoid pbing by eating correctly, and if it is frequent you are either being really bad and/or stupid or you need an unfill. Chronic pbing can lead to slippage, but we all, or at least most of us, have the experience a few times at least.

rickysgirl, It MIGHT be helpful if you provided the surgeon's name. However, there are a lot of people who get their surgery in the US who come home with infections. They are not always the fault of the doctor, and they certainly aren't the fault of a country.

Hi, Yellowrose. I live out west of Surprise. There are a whole lot of Arizona bandsters. I was banded in October, along with my husband. I eat Peanut Butter and cinnamon just fine. What I can't eat is soft breads. We drink Minute Maid or Tropicana sugar free orange or lemonade. Sometimes you can find sugar free fruit punch also. Tea is fine, plus coffee. When we dine out we usually order Water only, since you can't drink with your meal anyway. Ask any questions you have. There are a lot of very helpful and informed people here.