Jachut

Lol, it sounds disgusting but I've thought the same thing - I thought I CHEWED that!!! Still, at least what comes back out of MY stomach beats the entire hotdog my son threw up last week. Seriously, it had some bite marks in it and that was it!:bored:

I agree, touching base with your doc again is a good start. And... really.... just get back with the program, whatever routine it is that your doctor has you follow. If you measured and weighed and that helps you, go back to it, restart an exercise program if you're not doing that, all the normal stuff you would ordinarily do to lose weight. Unfortunately, after you've had the band for some years I dont think its AS easy but i still find that the lost weight remains lost for me. I may have to battle for a pound or two these days but I dont regain it. When you're doing all that you should be, then you can really decide if a fill is necessary or not.

I chose a band because that's all they really do here. Sleeves are *starting* to be done, but many bariatric centres dont do them. For what its worth, my band has been entirely problem free, I've lost 100lb, I've never ever had to be unfilled due to issues, I've not had so much as a whisker of heartburn and I was out walking 3kms the day after surgery. I love my band and when it works, it works well. The adjustability of it has also been an advantage to me, I like mine loose as I am tall, active and dont really ahve a slow metabolism. I suspect with a sleeve, I would have an awful lot of trouble avoiding getting TOO thin (is there such a thing, lol) becuase I need about 2000 calories a day to maintain my weight. Which means I must have eaten an helluva lot before. However, it IS a problematic procedure and can cause an awful lot of everyday annoyances and discomforts - or worse and those problems are conveniently ignored as if slips and erosions are all that ever go wrong. I suspect, adjustability aside, if both options were equally available here and something happens to my band in the future - which seems a lLOT more likely than the 1 to 2% figure you find everywhere, I would consider going for a sleeve. I have to be completely honest, with all the issues that have become apparent over the past couple of years, although the official message is all positive, I do feel like I have a ticking time bomb in me. I never ever have issues but every single day I am aware that I might. I would love to have a sleeve that I never thought about in that way again. However, all weight loss surgeries will cause you discomforts and even health issues if you dont work WITH them. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that with a sleeve, just like a band, if you dont follow the post op diet, if you persist in trying to eat large volumes etc then you're in for trouble.

Oh gosh, I dont know how you'd explain a PB. You'd have to say you were sick. I find pbing for me is loud and violent, I couldnt go into a bathroom and the person in the stall next to me not know that I'd just vomited. That's what's so bad about it happening in public, you cant find anywhere private to do it! But you could explain it away as you're feeling sick and take the opportunity to go home and put your feet up. I'm about to finish up a teaching degree and have had to eat in staffrooms with people I dont know. I've had jibes about "oh, eat something, you're skinny, you dont have to diet" because I am SO SO careful to only take really easy foods. I eat a big breakfast over about 2 hours before I leave for the day (hard work but I get it in, fruit, cereal, toast) and then just take a yogurt and some soup. That's enough food to get me through till dinner if I've had the big breakie, but people think I'm dieting when I dont need to. I can actually eat sandwiches and such but I dont take ANYTHING that could possibly get stuck because I just dont know how I'd explain suddenly having to bolt and not being able to come back to the classroom (it generally takes me a long time to get rid of anything stuck). My plan if it ever happens (I only have ONE lot of teachign rounds to go!), is to say I feel sick and go home. Once I'm actually teaching and working with a staff I know I wouldnt make an announcement or anything but I wont hide the information. However it would be very inconvenient to be struck with the need to pb just before lunchtime ended, so I figure I'll always be very careful at work.

That's such fantastic news!!!!

The thing is everyone is fat these days. Taking my own lifestyle into account, I'll use an example. I usually go into my daughter's classroom in the mornings, to help with reading, I enjoy a morning chat with the other mums etc. Out of 24 children in Eliza's class, there are three of us who are 'normal weight'. There's actually nobody who is really obese but everyone else would have BMI's between about 28 and 35. They're just plump, curvy, well rounded, whatever you like to call it. Not unattractive or gross, just "normal" You can call it what you will, its overweight/obese. It is a threat to your health. Just becuase its become "normal" to us so that a true healthy weight actually looks very "skinny" does not change that fact. Good on you for doing something to protect your health before it goes too far and if you're doing this for cosmetic reasons, then GREAT. I did. I hated how I looked, I had no real health problems. It just infuriates me how silicone bags in your chest and fillers in your face is just fine, but my oh my how COULD you do something so drastic as having a lapband *just* to lose 60lb????

Even the post exercise burn they've recorded in other studies following high intensity interval training is hardly hundreds and hundreds of calories. I do not care one jot what studies say about exercise. I know the evidence my body has given me. The studies say I shouldnt do lots of cardio, that I'm wasting my time. Bullsh*t. It works the BEST for my particular body, plus there's also the fact that I enjoy it so I will do it consistently. I know the studies say if you dont kill yourself weight training that you will lose all your muscle. I've also found that to be bullsh*t. I do the very bare minimum, some pushups and dips, and I have really nice tone on my upper body, and running has strengthened my core to the point where I can do stomach tricks that amaze people. I'm also 42, have had 3 enormous babies and can jump on a trampoline whilst simultaneously having a coughing fit and NOT leave a puddle. Core strength anyone? I also know that not only this time but once or twice at other times in my life when I've done exercise consistently (running all times) I can get away with the most heinous eating behaviours and not gain an ounce. Exercise for me DOES make the difference between having to diet to stay at a particular weight and being able to eat whatever the heck I want to. As a female WLS patient, it is not usual to be able to eat 2000 calories a day. I can. I also have not needed to cut out carbs or even cut DOWN on them significantly even if I've eliminated crappy ones. Why is that? I tend to attribute it to the running but perhaps I'm just a freak. But the way my body functions now that its fit, compared to how it was before - entirely different. I am so much more active all around. It depends what exercise you're talking about too - a half hour brisk walk for 250 calories isnt going to make that much difference, but i consider a 10km run in under an hour for an 850 calorie burn not hard at all. I do it almost every day. There's no way THAT doesnt make a difference. However, if you try to lose weight just by exercising, it is not likely to be successful. Diet is the crucial factor, you can never outexercise a bad diet. Exercise isnt the magic pill if you look at it like that.

I've just been running on..... mixed distances, mixed times, just what I felt like doing.

Breakfast for me is quite varied - often about a half cup serve of oatmeal (I dont use packet stuff), good granola, or a high fibre cereal like Allbran (but I prefer the lower GI cereals like granola with nuts and stuff in them). I *sometimes* have a piece of toast with Peanut Butter. This morning I had half an avocado and some macadamia nuts. I get full quickly at breakfast but usually half an hour after my cereal I'll slice up an apple and try to get that down while I do stuff like dry my hair - just to get the fruit in. lunch is often a sandwich - I can eat a sandwich if I use thin sliced wholegrain bread and cut the crusts off - which makes it quite small. I will use fillings like tuna, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and cucumber, or ham and salad vegies. I also like Soup for lunch - usually homemade Soups of lentil/veg varieties. On the weekends we might break out a few gourmet cheeses, some chilli jam and crackers. Very very occasionally I have something naughty like a meat pie (aussie thing). dinner again is way varied - last night we had roast pork - here pork is a lean cut of meat if you buy the right one - baked in the oven with mashed sweet potato, steamed corn and broccoli, tonight I'm using up the leftovers in a casserole, we eat stirfries and a lot of asian style food, I always cook dinner from scratch from fresh ingredients, never rely on packet, convenience foods for dinner and I always try to serve 3 veg with it. I love my slow cooker and am a bit of a gourmet so I go to quite a lot of effort. I like a glass of wine at night, just one and in between meals I might eat some fruit and usually once a day I'll have a cookie or a small bit of chocolate or somethink like that. I drink Water and instant coffee or tea with a dash of milk. I think its usually about 1500 to 1800 calories a day which maintains my weight nicely and I lost well on 1500. I run for 40 minutes to an hour a day.

Interesting - it seems no surgery is all that "successful" for super morbidly obese individuals meaning that you are highly unlikely to get to and maintain a "normal" weight. doesnt mean you cant have a whole lot better life! And similarly, nearly everything works better for lower BMI patients. Puts paid to those who like to bitch and moan about how lower BMI patients shouldnt have surgery. With regard to the death, how sad, but in all fairness, that could happen after you had your tonsils out. Dying as a complication of surgery and dying as a complication of weight loss surgery specifically are two different things. Anyone can get clots, aspirate Fluid into their lungs etc. However, here is where adjustability is a bit of a crock - if your weight loss peters out with a sleeve before you're happy with the result, well you're ever so slightly f...d. If that happens with a band, then theoretically you can tighten it. But that's where I think the problems start to occur. I dont think you CAN just get tighter and tighter. I think way too many people try to get more out of the band than it can actually delivery. Its a surgery for people who are able to make good food choices, werent too disordered and ill to begin with and are able to exercise with dedication (at high levels). For them, it works brilliantly. Its a valid, sensible decision if you can honestly say you're one of those people. I also dont think I had any sort of ghrelin disorder personally, I wasnt inappopriately hungry, I just ate lots coz it felt good and I got into bad habits. It is NOT a good surgery for people who need more help than that and are going to need to be tighter and tighter to control appetites and head hunger.

Ugh, raw carrots. If something is actually STUCK in the stoma for me, I'll keep sliming and pbing until it is free. This has only happened to me once or twice, however it can be a long drawn out affair. More often, what I'll find is a bite doesnt go down well, it feels stuck and comes right back up. Things dont actually get truly lodged very often. However after a stuck episode, I can feel tender, and not be able to eat properly for quite a while. Usually I recover in about 10 minutes, but once or twice I've felt it prudent to put myself on liquids for 24 hours. It can cause a lot of inflammation and irritation. If its truly still STUCK, I'd say you'd be sliming and vomiting still. But you know your body.

Not a veg'n, but NOT a believer in mega Protein at all. We need some but in no way do I believe we need what many doctors are saying - 50 or 60 grams a day is AMPLE for most women. I eat a lot of Beans, lentils, chick peas because I like them and they're so very very healthy for you. I dont eat a lot of meat. But there's protein in EVERYTHING, even a potato has a couple of grams of protein. I dont think you really need to do anything special to get enough and if your diet is focussed more on pulses, beans, vegetables, then I personally think you'd have one of the healthiest diets on this entire board. I wouldnt worry and I wouldnt really expect a nutritionist to be all that knowledgeable either. Anyone can hang up a shingle and call themselves a nutritionist and we've had one particular one on this board who was spreading WRONG information around - like basically physioligically indisputably WRONG. I think you can make your own sensible decisions about your diet.

I started out embarrassed to wear form fitting gear, I ran in track pants and similar. But honestly, when you do a race, you see ALL shapes and sizes, some seriously huge people get out there and do it and nobody looks twice at anyone else. So, I found that eventually I got the courage to go for comfort and for me that means proper running tights. Any psuedo exercise wear - like active gear you buy from places like Target, track pants and capris and such just fall down, they flap about and move but a good pair of runniing tights are supportive and breathable and very comfortable. I will wear any old Tshirt if I have to but I do like tops with shelf bras in them, and i swear by the Berlei sports bra, but everyone is different there, because we all have different sizes and shapes and need for support. I always wear a light top to a race, I've got a few technical fabric long sleeve tops, which are expensive, but they're so light to take off and tie round your waist. I never run in sweat tops or anythign heavy like that. For the really really cold weather I have a couple of thermal fleeces. Again, light and formfitting. In winter, I always wear gloves too - my hands get freezing!

Oh boy, why cant we just live and let live? Both sides have biased information. Neither surgery is perfect. Visiting the sleeve forum, its obvious there ARE after surgery discomforts and problems. All this talk of night coughing and heartburn and reliance on antacids doesnt sound like any ideal surgery to me, no more than than pbing and getting stuck do. And its just plain freaking wrong that the band is only emptied out a bit when there's complicatins. Crap it is. You can let Fluid out of it to maintain your weight and stop losing, you can let fluid out of it to fuel extra exercise goals, you can let fluid out of it when you've been sick and need to nourish yourself more. That's a stupid stupid argument and its just not correct. Adjustability of the band is a big advantage - and probably the ONLY advantage of this surgery over others. I agree entirely that invasive is invasive, surgery is life changing no matter what and bands change bodies like anything else does. We now have a lapband forum and we have a sleeve forum. Both procedures are always going to be discussed on both. I like visiting the sleeve forum because I'm interested, I can see the benefits of the surgery and there's people I like to stay in touch with. But I dont get over there and push that I have a band, I dont diss the choice that everyone on that board has made and I am so freaking SICK of the rudeness and condescension with which bandsters are being treated on this board. Spread the information, please. Everyone needs the fulls story and I for one am not arguing that the band is perfect. But Steve and Headhunter in particular, how about a bit of respect instead of bullying?. Your opinions are just that - your OPINIONS. Not everyone wants to be forced to accept them. Lets not forget either that when a lot of us were banded, sleeves werent an option. We're not all dickheads that did no research and dont deserve to be treated as such. I'm really happy that something possibly "better" has come along! We always knew it would. But why the obsession to bash everyone with it?

Camembert is like brie - its a mild soft cheese. In greek cuisine, its often served crumbed and fried - talk about fattening? leeks exotic? Wow, they're an ordinary boring veg here. Try this, delicious! Zucchini and Leek Soup (zucchini are courgettes, green ones). Slice and wash 2 leeks, leave them wet Chop a couple of slices of lean bacon, put some olive oil in a heavy based pot, and fry leeks and bacon, then pop the lid on, turn the heat down a bit and let the leeks sweat for 20 minutes or so, so they're nice and soft. Now chop up about 3 green zucchini into rough slices, leaving skin on, and peel a small potato (potatoes give soup body) - you'd only get the tiniest bit of potato in each serve. Add enough chicken stock to cover (I like to make stock/broth with Vegeta if you have that on your shelves). Simmer till all the veges are really nice and soft, then blend up the soup with a stick blender. Stir in some cream (or evaporated milk if you're doing low fat). Enjoy! A wonderful way to get your greens in and REALLY tasty.

That's wonderful. Its really nice when you occasionally get a glimpse of yourself as other see you, rather than agonising over tiny details. Its a big shock to realise you're NORMAL and ATTRACTIVE!!

Almonds tend to stick a bit for me, but I can eat them, just a couple at a time. Other nuts go down fine, and i actually eat a LOT of nuts. I often eat nuts for breakfast! I love cashews, and macadamias particularly, and i like walnuts too. I eat a lot of them becuase they are fattening yes, but they really are a superfood, the healthy fats in them do great things for your cardiovascular system, and I find my skin, nails and hair stay really healthy when I have lots of nuts in my diet. I'm maintaining now, and I do run a lot, I find it hard to inagine I could eat as many nuts as I do and actually lose weight!

I've drunk "egg flips" my entire life and never ever got sick. I think as long as the eggs are fresh, the risk is low. But I have a legendary cast Iron gullet, so perhas I'm just lucky!

I'd imagine its a bit like a lapband - restricted space doesnt matter so much if you pig out on slider foods. I've found that I still occasionally have a big pig out - I wouldnt call myself a binge eater, but I did like to settle in with a lot of something. Well, I cant eat a family bag of chips anymore - those give me heartburn. A lot of Cookies go down well but my faves were always shortbread type ones, those stick, 2 or 3 is plenty for me. We had an apple pie after dinner last night at the request of number 2 son, who hates our no dessert habit, and I had a bite and was done. Cant handle much pastry, certainly cant go out and eat 3 or 4 custard tarts like I used to do. Cant eat muffins, donuts without pain, those were real problem foods for me. But - whole box of chocolates? Easy. Ice cream (which I NEVER cared for and now like a lot more)? Easy. I've sneakily changed what I like to binge on in order to get round the fact that I cant binge. Or the other thing I find myself doing is picking ALL day. I find for me, the urge to overeat like that comes very seldom, its not a daily problem for me, I can guarantee it one day per month and other than that its once in a blue moon. So you know, I go with it. It doesnt seem to harm my weight, it just makes me feel bloated and disgusted for a day, which if I cared that much, I woudlnt do it in the first place now, would I? I dont bother trying to work out the reasons for it as it happens so seldom its not really a problem. But if its something you find the urge to do on a daily basis, hmmm, I'd be afraid that WLS might be only half the answer.

I've kept the same restriction I had, I havent altered my band. Well, I lie a bit actually, I've had a small fill, just to top off as restriction waned after about 18 months (you do lose some Fluid over time). What happened was that I never had tight restriction to lose, didnt need it, didnt want it. I was happy to exercise lots and eat very normally, but with portion control. So moderate restriction suited me fine. Over time, the weight loss got slower and slower and eventually just petered out at around 10kgs past my original goal. My original goal was "generous", it was at the top of my healthy weight range and I knew I'd never stop there, I just set it to shut everyone up who kept saying "you must be realistic". Had I wanted to stop there, I wouldnt have continued to have one or two more small fills. But I just kind of finished losing at around 69kgs (about 150lb give or take). I have not had to unfill, this restriction now serves me well for maintenance. You simply cant go back to "normal". I know of people who have unfilled a bit to stop losing, that's fine, if you have tight restriction you'd probably need to do that. I know of one person who unfilled completely -she's unusual. Most of us still require restriction to maintain and most of us will even require a tiny top up fill every now and then. So I eat pretty much what I ate to lose to maintain - again I did a normal diet WITH carbs such as bread and Pasta, so not too difficult. And I've continued with my running and these days probably MORE than I was running during the faster more steady part of my weight loss (as I got fitter, I did more and more). That's what it takes for me to maintain weight for life, moderate portions, not too many treats and a good 40 minutes to an hour of daily cardio. I eat about 1800 calories a day so I certianly dont feel deprived or too hard done by. But if I had no restriction, my natural appetite drives me to eat more like 2,500 or so, which over time would make me fat again. Even though that's what all the charts say I *should* be able to eat given my height and activity levels.

Restless, I had a similar thing with heel spurs on the backs of my heels (they're more common underneath) - I had them both removed when I was 18. Tight achilles were part of the problem, but i ahve some sort of congenital defect there and unfortunatly I think my kids have it too as they are developing some bad food problems and heel pain - DH also had surgery for compartment syndrome in his anterior lower legs, a highly unusual problem in a non athlete, so I guess they could be lucky enough to inherit that too. the surgery fixed mine, however it wasnt till I was in my mid 30's I started having heel pain again - I thought it was another spur, but it wasnt, they never got to the bottom of what it was but in the end it was an acupuncturist who cleared it up and the way the pain gradually moved from the outer hollow at the back of my heel to the medial border of my foot makes me suspect it was plantar fasciitis. However, I never ever ever wear closed shoes if I can help it! I can wear sneakers fine and boots, but any sort of court shoe, dress shoe, ugh, I loathe them and I dont wear them - my shoes are always sling backs or mules. My heels have been sensitive and just dont feel good with pressure on them ever since the surgery more than 20 years ago - and now I also have a compulsive habit of collecting funky birkenstocks, lol. As to the asthma, I agree, if it came on with increasing weight it will probably go away. But if you are born asthmatic like my son, losing weight can help you manage it but it wont cure it. Plenty of normal weight otherwise healthy people have life threatening asthma. Same as how weight loss wont fix high blood pressure or cholesterol if they're not caused by weight gain. Some people just have a body chemistry that makes the susceptible to these conditions and they need medication to cure it. DH has lost 70lb and is no longer overweight but he's still on blood pressure medication - his blood pressure did not change at all with weight loss.

Hernias dont get better on their own. Its also worrying just how many people who have awful band problems ALSO have hernias. Not sure if its a chicken or an egg thing.

I personally wouldnt touch this with a 40 foot pole. I dont know lots about Mexico, here in Australia, its Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia where this sort of thing is offered. of course you hear horror stories, but I dont personally believe that these countries offer substandard care. But I do worry about "cosmetic surgery holidays". I feel surgeons who get involved in this sort of thing are more likely to be less than scrupulous, interested in making a quick buck and aware of the fact that if their patients experience problems they will be far away in another country perhaps without the financial resources to follow up. I simply would never have a surgery with a surgeon who wasnt easily accessible to me in my every day life - lap band, cosmetic or otherwise. Nothing could convince me to do so (especially not coz someone put a poorly disguised ad on a forum).

Is this a problem that only developed with the sleeve? Or have you suffered from it for longer..... my 12 year old is terribly snotty and always has been and he vomits spontaneously in his sleep. Its truly awful but he has so much mucous and when he gets a cold or something and there's even more he will just spew in the middle of the night without even waking up. Very dangerous and very disgusting .... he sleeps on the top bunk and usually manages to get the wall and it runs down eeeeeeeeeeeeeew. We have to pull the entire bed out (weighs a ton). He has no food allergies - this seems to be a problem in my family, I wasnt sooo bad but could never ever breathe through my nose, my middle sister was nicknamed "candles" for the rivers of green snot that hung out of her nose till she had her adenoids removed and my mother is having awful trouble with post nasal drip at night now in her 60's. Ewan is getting an adnoid and tonsilectomy in about 2 weeks time - cant come soon enough. He has sleep apnoea too. I feel for you, I've had a flu for the past week and I have a cough that starts to tickle the minute I lie down at night and its driving me NUTS. I havent had a full night's sleep for a week and not surprisingly, I havent been well enough to run and have been eating crap to try to get energy coz I'm so tired. I find it very very hard to stick to healthy habits during the day when I dont get enough sleep. I'm heading out for a run right now even though there's NOTHING I would rather do less!

Lol, that is exactly what I'd do. In my experience, people who do the whole "I'm sorry but I had to tell them in this situation" thing are only making an excuse for the fact that they enjoyed spreading the gossip immensely. If she were so worried, she could have told you so and encouraged YOU to tell them. She wanted to tell them and she did, mother or not. Two wrongs dont make a right but I would be exceedingly tempted to do the same thing back.