shortgal

Fills are a process and each person needs their own special amount in the band because out stomachs are all different inside. I have felt a little tight after the last few fills even though that goes away quickly, so I guess it's swelling and I'm glad I'm on liquids for a couple days. Besides the liquids for a couple days help the weight loss and that's what I want! I am also advised to go to soft foods for a couple days after the liquids, in case each fill turns out to be THE ONE! If you have good restriction and you progress too quickly, you can irritate the stoma and start getting food stuck, which irritates your pouch even more.

Haven't heard of a meal card, but I do have a card I can show at an airport. I've read that the hand held wands they use in airports can pick up the metal in our port and then you can show the card. Haven't flown yet since surgery!

Longhorn: You seem to be at a nice restriction. Sounds almost perfect. I just got another fill today and the PA thinks I should be getting close to where I want to be. Depending on this fill, we might start going to .5cc's for future fills. I don't want to end up overfilled and have to start the de-fill mess. Biggest Loser: Are you advised to go to clear or full liquids for a day or two after your fills? My Dr. has us be on full liquids two days and then two days of soft food after a fill. The fill can swell or irritate the stomach/pouch and it can need a couple days to relax. If you eat regular food too fast, you increase the stress on the stomach/pouch and then it rejects the food. The rule many people on the forum have mentioned is once a food gets stuck, you go to liquids for the rest of the day to give your stoma/pouch healing time. You should be at a fill level where you can eat many foods (not necessarily all foods) like where you were when you said you could eat "moderately" and "felt better". If you were at that place maybe you didn't need the next fill when you replaced the .5cc they originally took out. It can be very hard to figure out if we are head hungry or eating because we're bored or distracted. We need to evaluate how long after eating we have a feeling of fullness or satisfaction and how easily we can resist going back for seconds. The signs of "being full" I think are hard for us to recognize because we were always so used to feeling stuffed as a sign that we'd had enough to eat. I know we all want to compare how much we have in our bands and there can be some averages, but everybody has a different stomach inside, so your 3cc's might be perfect for you, while 6cc's might be perfect for me. Some Lucky people never need a fill! Perhaps a small defill would get you to a place where you can eat healthly food in the right portions. After waiting one hour after a meal, if I am hungry I drink a bottle of Water first before I decide if I really "need" something to eat. You need to have the right fill so you can eat solid food that will stay in your pouch, soups and liquids will go through your band and you'll feel hungry again sooner. So a too loose band or too tight band is not good for achieving the weigh loss we desire. I hope you'll talk to your Dr about the problems you're having and ask them to help you with a solution.

Oh No, my repsonse wasn't about stinky pee... just stinky breath!!! LOL

I love the butternut squash soup and still use it when I get a fill and have to be on full liquid type foods. If you think you'd like it, it has carrots and potatoes and is a puree texture. Not a lot of protein, but in the first few weeks you can drink your liquid protein and sometimes we jsut need a new food item for variety. It comes in a box and you just heat it up!

I brush my tongue regularly and did the OP say flossing ONCE a week? should be everyday! There are tonque cleaners you can buy, that are supposedly better than a toothbrush for cleaning. And don't forget regular teeth cleaning at the dentist! As we get older, we are more likely to have pockets around our teeth that hold plaque and bacteria, so dental cleanings are important.

What you ate sounds pretty soft to me. You might want to try the Butternut squash Soup, it comes ready made in a box. I thought it was delicious and it has a very pureed texture. Not much Protein in it tho' so you'd have to get some Liquid Protein in during the day. But sometimes we are just looking for variety. You might want to try in the next few weeks, substituting ground turkey for the ground beef. We make turkey meatloaf.

You will be naked under the gown and I had two gowns as well. They'll drape you with surgical drapes around the area they'll work on after you're sleeping. I had lots of that orange colored betadine on my belly when I woke up. Before I went home, the nurse gave me wet wipes to clean it off, other wise it might stain your clothes.

I am so excited to be losing weight consistently. Unlike many overweight people, I was never able to succesfully lose a lot of weight. The most I ever lost was 30 pounds and it took me ten months and then I regained half of it before I got banded. I am still VERY concerned about keeping the weight off down the road. I'll have to be very vigilant about watching the smallest of weight gains. I called the Dr to move my fill up, I had big time hunger yesterday and feel like the band is not yet helping me as much as it could. 15 pounds for you in five weeks is unbelievable! You are really doing well. What should our next challenge be? Valentine's day to Easter or to April's fool's day?

Yeah, exercise is my problem. I was walking three miles about 5x a week before surgery and haven't gotten back since surgery. I think I can get my head back into it when the weather is better. I was actually enjoying the walking and feeling better because of it. I'm good once I get into a routine, it's starting the walking I have trouble with. I talk myself out of it becasue I say if I can't get out regularly it won't work and the weather prevents the regularity. It's good that you have discovered how exercise helps. I think it's going to be very important to us for maintenance! I do enjoy gardening and I will get into that again in the spring. I'm happy with my weight loss, but what fat person doesn't want to lose quicker? I'm ahead of some and slower than others, but it's ok for me. I was always a slow loser before and this has been the fastest I've ever lost weight. My mantra now is: work on getting it off first, second, work on keeping it off!

LadyBug: Sounds like you have your head back in the game! It's true you don't want to be overtight, then you'll be eating soft, easy to go down food that won't stay in the pouch. It's a fine line with restriction: too tight and good healthy food won't go down and bad food will: too loose we can eat way too much. I am still learning from reading on this forum and I have to get MY head wrapped around that I HAVE to help my band and then my band will help me. I have a feeling I will have to remind myself of that often.

I am curious for those that have low BMI goals ( like 20 to 23 BMI). Have you ever as an adult consistently weighed that amount? Or are you just being wishful? Did your Dr. set your goal weight or you? I am short, so to be a "normal" weight person, I would have to be about 115 to 125. While I once weighed 128 as an adult, I was much younger (18 to 20 years old) more active etc. I just don't know how realistic, it is for me to get to or even maintain a "normal" weight for my height. Now I could see if I was taller and a normal weight was 150, I'd have a better chance of maintaining that weight. I know that many WLS people, lose their weight and then regain some before stabilizing, so if I don't lower my goal weight (which I have now as 140) and I rebound then I could end up at 160, which would still put me 40 pounds overweight! I guess I have to lower my goal weight, so if I do rebound, maybe I could end up at 140-150. I'd love to hear from some old bandsters and how successful they are at maintaining and not rebounding. Even my dr. thinks 150 is a more realistic weight goal. When will they have a "height" band??? I need to be taller!!!

Search the threads and you'll find lots of previous posts about the pysch evaluations. The search bar is in the upper right hand portion of the page. Keep reading through the forum about how the band works and threads about "fills" and food and exercise and you soon learn a lot.

Your Dr. will not be surprised that you can overeat. Please read the thread(posts) about "how the band works" and "How fills work", this will help you to understand. So just go the appt and tell your Dr about your hunger and how long you feel full between meals. Your band must be slowly filled until it fits YOUR stomach. It can take several fills before you reach that spot and in the meantime to avoid gaining back the weight you lost, try leaning on your willpower as much as possible. I am in the same boat. Banded 11/27 and don;t have good restriction yet. I was scheduled next week for my fill, but called the Office today and they will see me tomorrow instead. Obviously my willpower is giving out and I need my band to start working to help me. Don't worry, you're not alone, it's a normal part of the band process.

RNY is short for Roux en Y, which is what most people today would call gastric bypass surgery. There are a few variations of bypass surgery. I don't know how the RNY method might compare to what they previously called stomach stapling. I'm sure it's helpful for a person seeking a second surgery to know exactly what procedure was done by contacting the previous surgeon if possible or getting copies of your medical records for the new surgeon to look at. the lap band is different as no re-routing or cutting has taken place, the band is just put into place. I guess the question is can a bypass pouch be banded? I know banded people can later have bypass, but I dont know about the other way around.

The valentine challenge is labeled for each week, like week 4 was the last one and it's on the November 07 bandster page. tomorrow is the weigh in for week 5, so I'm sure you'll see a new thread labled, Valentine's Day challenge week 5. Hollieberries ( Cindy) starts them, she's very organized! Congratulations on your restriction! 5cc's in one fill?! Wow, I got 2cc's once all the rest have been 1cc, no wonder it's taking me awhile to get there.

You know I wondered about this recently and I couldn't find anything online about it. Have you called and asked a bariatric surgery center? It wouldn't hurt to call.

Cortney, You say you keep gaining weight "no matter what you do", so I wonder what you are doing. Have you ever been to weight watchers? Has anyone ever taught you to count calories and write it down. Has anyone explained how to read a nutrition label on a packaged food? Has anyone shown you how to weigh or measure your food for a "normal" portion. Do you know how many calories you need to cut from your daily intake to lose one pound a week? Are you eating most of your food at home or at school? If at home, have you asked your parents to eliminate the foods that will easily add on pounds and to have healthier food choice in the house, like fruit for Snacks etc. Sometimes for SOME people, a little knowledge can be a very powerful tool to understanding portion control. Changing everything you currently eat to half the portion, can make a big difference. While you investigate if the lap band is right for you, why not try some of the above, if anything it will help you be better prepared after lap band surgery.

Well I just called the Dr's office to move up my next appt. They were very understanding and I'm going in tomorrow! I explained that I was hungry and afraid I was going to eat everything in my kitchen cabinet and undo all my hard work! Wow, don't know why I was so worried about calling. Now I know I can at least get through the rest of the day, relatively well. Of course I am already counting down the time to my Atkins bar at 3:15! And it's two days of full liquids after a fill!

Sometimes our bodies are just like this, with no explanation. Do you know how many calories you are taking in? You will not continue to lose on high Protein, low carb if your calories are too high. A 6 oz steak is more calories than a 4 oz steak, etc. Using mayo with the tuna? Something high in salt? Time of the month?These are the kinds of things that have an impact on a stalled scale.

First four days after surgery were tough from the gas pain. By day five I was much better and one week later feeling pretty good. I had very little to no incision pain. 14 lbs in a couple months is great. A few years ago I lost 30 pounds, it took me 10 months! Try to keep it off before you get banded and you'll be closer to your weight loss goal.

I wore my normal bra home from the hospital and comfortable clothes. It really depends on where your incisions are. I do have one incision close to the band part of the bra, but my incisions never really hurt. Now the gas pains.... they hurt!

1. Did you have a nutritionist? Yes Did you receive a written diet or program? Yes 2. What was your pre-op diet? 2 weeks low calorie, low fat diet 3. What days were you on Clear Liquids? Two days before surgery. (Nothing to eat or dinrk day of surgery).Then clear liquids One week after surgery 4. How long were you on Full Liquids? Did you incorporate any whole foods in this stage, for example, by blending? One week. No blending. 5. When were you on the Puree Diet? Week three, but I stayed on Full liquid instead. I don't like most food pureed. 6. When were you on the Soft Food Diet? Week four. 7. In the soft food diet, were you told which foods to avoid or be careful of? (eg high fiber breads and cereals, raw/fresh veggies, fresh fruits w skins, fried foods, tough meats, nuts & seeds. Were you informed that meat, rice and bread usually not tolerated until after 2-3 months) A list of suggested foods to give us an idea of texture and a list of definite no's 8. Did you deviate from your diet? What was your experience, if so? I stayed on the full liquid one extra week, skipped the pureed and the moved to soft. I added a full liquid a few days earlier because I was lightheaded.

I am truly struggling with hunger today and I am positive it's not just head hunger. I ate Cereal ( Kashi Go Lean) for B'fast, had a bottle of Water in between because I was still hungry and I have been trying to hold off lunch as long as I can. Well at least I know for sure I need more fill! One more week of waiting!

Yes Oprah has said that she was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, she has also said that she is now controlled with her medication and further knowledged that she should be able to lose the weight she gained during the time of not knowing she had the thyroid issue. Weight loss is HARD, she is proof. I just don't know why she is convinced she has an underlying psychological reason why she overeats. I mean with all the resources she has available to her, if she can't find the psychological reason, how on earth would most of the rest of us? she can afford all kinds of counseling, but I know my ins won't cover too many visits with a shrink, so I can figure it out. I think many of us have an physical addiction to bad food, NOT a pyschological addiction. Would you tell a cigarette smoker to have three small cigs a day? Would you tell a drug addict to have three small "hits" a day? Would you tell an alcoholic to have three small drinks a day? NO, because we know it would lead to more. But Dr's continue to tell us addicted to food, to have three small meals a day! You can give up cigs, booze and drugs and live, but you cannot give up food and live. ( Just ask Karen Carpenter). This is why WLS surgery works for MOST overeaters. It doesn't allow us to have more than we should. The people that still have problems controlling food after WLS, I would place in the pyschologically addicted. My two cents on the subject!