summerset

I kind of feel the urge to rant about what your surgeon gave you as an answer but I won't. Instead of this I'm recommending looking up Dr. Weiner's videos, e. g. these: http://drmatthewweiner.com/weight-loss-surgery-patients-eat-your-vegetables-first/ http://drmatthewweiner.com/how-to-prevent-your-stomach-from-stretching-after-weight-loss-surgery/

This. I had severe problems as well and converting to MGB was the best decision ever. The recent gastroscopy showed that the lower esophagus seems to be well again - first time in years!! Seems like I also have (again) a little hernia - though I personally don't think this has to do with the lap-band. Truckloads of people are running around with (undiagnosed) hernia who don't even know they have one.

I'm kind of surprised that only about 30% are diagnosed(?) with an ED. I personally think everyone who needs WLS has severe problems with eating/food - if one wants to call that an eating disorder or not doesn't matter in the end.

And don't be surprised about the portion size when it comes to leafy greens and raw vegetables.

It's quite normal that you are able to eat bigger portions with time. I don't know how big these portions you're describing really are (e. g. just how big are these chicken things?). In general I have the impression that many patients don't seem to be prepared when it comes to growing portions. Is that something a lot of surgeons/nutritionists/etc. simply don't talk about? As long as your weight is moving down you're not "messing up".

Using a good blender (high speed one, if you have access to it) seems to make all the difference when it comes to smoothies.

LOL, they sure do.

Ah ok, I remember having to wear this thing all the time and the feeling of it being wet after showering on the skin was just *ew* somehow. I also had a skin reaction if I wore it in a place that was obviously the wrong one (not wrong according to the instructions but my skin didn't like some of the suggested places).

I take my vitamins and then forget about them, too. No patch(es? How many?) on the skin for 24 h. However, if you don't mind having a patch on the skin all the time... why not.

Since when are you using the patches? How big are they? (Just curious. I wore a med patch for some time because of shoulder pain and I was glad to get rid of it so I'm not getting the hype about the patches.)

I think "self-care" is exactly on point. It makes me sad (and sometimes mad) that WLS patients seem to look at themselves as "not a success" if they don't reach what is considered a normal BMI.

Sounds like this WLS diet worked pretty good for a while. In the same place she used to be in earlier days when the diet she was on stopped working because the rewards weren't rolling in as fast as they did in the beginning (i. e. slower weight loss, stalls) and everything just seemed too hard and maybe even pointless. And you already seem to know this because you wrote: Indeed. What I did back in the days was reading what I could find about "normal eating". If you have access to counseling (and not only to these guys and dolls who'll tell you that their waiting list is at least about 1 year long) you might benefit from it. Are you? Or do you secretly wish for nothing more than getting a F*CKING break from all of this? (I can completely understand this wish.) It seems like you already went at least partly down that rabbit hole. --- I sometimes think WLS boards do more harm than good for some people. The comparing never seems to stop.

WLS is still your best chance to get rid of the weight and keep the weight off. However, in the end WLS is like any other medical/surgical therapy: there is no 100% success rate.

"Slider foods" are an individual thing. It seems like not even the definition of what a "slider food" actually is, is the same for different people. Sometimes it seems that people call a food a slider food if it's high in calories and/or high in carbs. Sometimes a slider is defined as a food that enables you to eat quite a few calories while not eating much volume. Others define a slider food as something they can eat a rather high volume of and/or has a relatively high calorie content. Others define two or all of the above as "sliders" and I'm sure there are still more definitions around. In the end you need to test if a certain food is a "slider" for you or not.

I strongly recommend books about "normal eating". To name three authors: Karen Koenig, Geneen Roth, Evelyn Tribole.

True. However, maybe this is why alcohol becomes so attractive. I can't remember talking about addiction transfer either, however, as a reflux conversion patient I didn't have to attend any pre-op program and back in time nobody seemed to be too concerned about addiction transfer.

Same taboo as regain or food struggles. People don't talk about it because they're ashamed and judgment levels are high.

Depends on the point of view. IMO it's "taste". Regarding recipes: what are your personal taste preferences?

That other countries have different standards doesn't mean that these standards are worse than the US ones or that they're harming the patients with their protocols.

Hehe, we're allowed to eat bread. I have to look if I can find that sheet with the peri-operative eating instructions. After four weeks people we're allowed to try the first (albeit soft) bread. IIRC it was something like untoasted toast bread (*yuck*). Of course there are patients who have dietary restrictions because they simply can't stomach something. A lot of people seem to be able to eat crisp bread but have problems with rolls or sour dough bread etc.. We are also allowed to eat potatoes etc. (mashed potatoes or potato soup are part of the soft food stage).

I don't think one can eliminate head hunger. Actually it's a pretty normal thing to have. You can only learn to deal with it.

I was really scared of pulmonary embolism!! I've seen my fair share of post-op PEs over the years.

Hmmmmmmm, red lentil pasta.... 🤤. Also looks quite pretty.

I personally think it's the luck of the draw but that's just my opinion. This "true hunger" feeling, this gnawing in the stomach area... it was practically gone after the lap band and it's still gone after two years of MGB.

Take a look at this. 20 years. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30293134