Jodi_620

Me too...I served myself a small spoonfull of everything and a very tiny sliver of pumpkin pie. And let the band do the rest. I was able to taste everything but couldn't clean my plate. The only thing I skipped was the bread and the crust of the pie. No gain here either.

How about a Protein based dip like Bean dip or buffalo chicken dip...lots of protein and yummy! Serve with crackers and/or veggie sticks but of course you would just eat the dip alone. Here are some recipes for mushie versions of both my suggestions: Bean Dip 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 cup sour cream 2 (16 ounce) cans refried Beans 1/2 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix 5 drops hot pepper sauce 2 tablespoons dried parsley 1/4 cup chopped green onions 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Monterey Jack cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream. Mix in the refried beans, taco seasoning, hot pepper sauce, parsley, green onions, 1/2 the Cheddar cheese and 1/2 the Monterey Jack cheese. Transfer the mixture to an 8x12 inch baking dish. Top with remaining Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned. Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup Ranch dressing 3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot® 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces 1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers or club crackers Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly.

1) how long after the surgery did you have to wait to take a shower/bath? I could shower the next day. No bathing for two weeks. 2) how common is hair loss? i'm planning on donating my long hair to locks of love, and i'm trying to decide if i should do that before surgery. It seems fairly common. It typically happens about three months after surgery. If you make sure that you are taking good quality Vitamins every day and getting the proper amount of Protein you may not have hair loss at all. Although even if they get proper nutrition some people still lose hair due to shock from the surgery. Either way the hair loss typically starts three months out and should resolve itself within three months as long as you are getting proper nutrition.

My surgeon does fluoro with his fills every so often to make sure that the band is still in place. With fluoro you do have to swallow a tiny amount of barium but it isn't as involved as the barium swallow/upper GI test done pre-op.

Anything that does not require chewing (it needs to be the consistency of baby food). Creamed Soups, apple sauce, pureed foods. I also blended non-mushies like chili, canned chicken, refried Beans, meatballs, oatmeal... Some canned chicken mixed with Tostitos spinach dip sort of a mushie chicken salad is a suggestion I found on this site and I ate that often as well as blended chili which is pretty filling.

It often takes several fills to get to your "sweet spot". The average is four fills for some it takes more and some less. It took five for me.

Good to hear you are doing better! I was overfilled on my last fill, I felt fine when I left the office but that night I got tighter. I couldn't get anything down and by the next morning I could barely swallow my own saliva. I had to wait until the afternoon to get my slight unfill. So I understand how miserable you felt.

Sounds like you are eating around your band. (eating soft foods because they are easy). You should take bites about the size of the fingernail on your index finger and chew well. Use baby utensils if you think it will help. Salads with lean meat are a great choice, canned chili is a great protein, prepared chicken or fish. I pre-cook chicken, fish etc. so that I have protein for lunch just heat and eat. Tuna is another good choice. But soups are more for the mushies stage. Chicken salad is good too.

Stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It is a form a insulin resistance and cuases us to have abnormal levels of certain hormones especially excess testosterone. It causes issues with fertility as well as ovarian cysts, hair thinning, acne, excess facial and body hair, skin tags, dark skin patches, excess weight and high insulin levels.

I am not done losing yet but at 39 years old, I started out with a BMI just over 40 and in six months have lost around 75% of my excess weight.

I am not supposed to eat 4 hourse before a fill. Then two days liquid/two days mushies.

I have PCOS and the surgery had almost immediate effect on my condition. I was taking Metformin for around six years. It helped for a while but lately it just wasn't helping and I was going months without a cycle. I stopped taking my meds after surgery because I couldn't get the pills down but in less than two weeks my TOM came and I have been regular ever since without medication. I was recently tested and there is no sign of PCOS.

You likely had some delayed swelling from the fill. The squeezing of the fill can cause the stomach tissues to swell which will make you tighter. Probably why the tea went down--hot drinks sometimes help reduce the swelling a bit. I am surprised at the reaction of the hospital though.

I am sure he/she just booked you for a three hour window to allow you all the time you may need. Some people want to talk and discuss their issues and others (like me) don't have much to talk about. Some patients in my office see the psych regularly to help them through dealing with their weight issues. Mine booked me for two hours but I was only actually there for around 30 minutes.

Joiful, from that small example you gave, it sounds like you are eating too much soup and perhaps to many carbs. My surgeon said to avoid sliders like soup, shakes, applesauce etc. Sliders go through the band fairly quickly and so it doesn't keep you full. Try a solid Protein like chicken or fish with some fiberous veggies. You may have to work at chewing and getting it down but you'll find that you will fill up faster and you'll stay full longer. Try eating less carbs to keep the head hunger at bay. When you add the carbs in the bread, the Peanut Butter and the jelly it is a little higher than I would want. Plus if you are having a potato, Pasta or cream based soup with that you are in carb overload. That will spike your blood sugar levels and get the cravings for sweets and breads going. You don't really need special recipes just make good food choices. For lunch and dinner have a lean solid protein a serving of veggies and then if needed a little fruit. Have eggs or oatmeal for Breakfast with a little fruit. Eat only whole grain bread but avoid having it too often, watch your starches like potato, pasta, corn and rice. And avoid sugar.

***NAME***********START WGHT.*****CURRENT WGHT.********GOAL**********LBS. LOST *** **************************:tt1: ***********:biggrin:**********:tt1:* 1000words..........237............229............220............8 1dayatime..........259............250............239............9 aJoneen............213............210............199............3 alliemorris73......229............229............199............0 Ariel..............193............193............183............0 Barb12590..........207............199............187............8 Bea1129............198.5..........196.5..........183............2 Brandy.............208............203............198............5 CQQlgirl...........188............186............170............2 crzytchr...........265............258............250............7 JasonR.............366............366............351............0 Jodi_620...........174............166............159............8 KikiVal315.........229............223.5..........215..........5.5 Kirsty39...........237............234............217............3 laurigee...........170............162............158............8 Leslie2Lose........215............214............199............1 LilMissDiva........244............244............225............0 lindar172 .........257.8..........250.6..........240..........7.2 LisaB..............189............182............170............7 mamanmidwife.......275............268............255............7 MegMegs13..........266............260............250............6 mominlv13..........282.4..........274.6..........270..........7.8 noosagirl..........138............138............124............0 Renee74............198............195............185............3 renewedhope........162............161............150............1 SailorChristy......251.5..........248............230..........3.5 southernmissy......209............203............195............6

I agree Nanook...as a matter of fact there are inconsistencies within an individual. My restriction level and food tolerances can change from day-to-day.

It will get better. Although your diet seems a bit more restrictive than usual, most of us go through bandster hell and with a fill or two things will be so much better. I think it will also help a little when you can add some variety to your diet. It is a difficult period but in the end it will be worth it!

Yes it is common. The evaluation is pretty much there to make sure you do not have any psychological issues that would make you a poor candidate for surgery. Food addiction is common for us bandsters as is emotional eating neither would keep us from getting the band.

Not necessarily. Right after banding before I had any fills I could get stuck fairly easily but I did not have enough restriction to lose weight. I agree that there is some head hunger there (craving sweets) but if this was simply head hunger then she might be able to eat between meals cheat with sweets and graze all day but if the band is working the way it should then she shouldn't be able to sit down and comfortably eat a large amount of food in one sitting.

First, and much more important than drinking...just because you can eat this early it doesn't mean you should. Many people think that if it goes down OK then there is no problem eating too soon. You need to give the internal sutures time to heal and eating too early can easily set you up for slippage either now or down the road. There will be no signs or symptoms until it is too late. As for drinking. The rule for me during post-op was no drinking 60 minutes before until 60 minutes after. When I got on solids it was 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. Now that I am at restriction I can drink up until the meal then I can't drink until 30 minutes after. The reason for the rule is to avoid washing the food out of the pouch too soon. Drinking during the meal will wash it out and allow you to eat more than you should and drinking too soon after will wash the food out and you won't stay satisfied as long. Until you get a fill or two you will be hungry, you need to practice willpower until then.

It is near your largest incision, my incision is just above my belly button and the port is about two inches above and two inches to the right of the incision.

There is no reason why your visit with the doctor should be humiliating, they deal with people that have weight issues all the time. They will weigh you and discuss the surgery and your options. As far as insurance covering it. If their guidlines say you must be a 40 BMI then there is a good chance that a 37 will not qualify. Most insurance companies that do cover bariatric surgery require a BMI of 40+ or a BMI of 35-40 with weigh related health conditions. Do you have any health issues that could qualify you?

IMO your diet is way to strict. Is this how you are supposed to eat forever? While most of us are to be on a Protein based diet, we need some veggies, fruit dairy and some whole grains once in a while. Have you had any fills yet?

You'll feel a little better when you are on more solid food. Your first fill will at the very least help a little. It may take a few fills before you reach good restriction though.