mariecarmen

Drink. When my head is hissing that evil whisper in my ear,"eeeeeeeat something," I grab a glass of ice Water or Crystal Light and, most importantly--GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!! Back away from the refrigerator, Lady, and no one gets hurt.

. . . and then, Dr. Freud, this woman burst into the bathroom stall and VOMITED on me!

You know you're banded when one package of prepared chicken breasts becomes 12 dinners--one for now and 11 for the freezer.

There are so many different facets of the question you ask. The reason you became fat, why you stayed fat, why you struggled against yourself to lose weight. These were things I had to consider before deciding on surgery. The lapband does not magically make your relationship with your family better, improve your marriage or advance your career. Whatever niggly little psychological things that have been part of your life will still be there when they wheel you out of the recovery room. Diets didn't work for me long-term because I sabotaged myself. It worked for me to remain fat, it gave me excuses and it was where my head was most comfortable. Food was anesthesia and probably my best friend. It's taken me close to 50 years and a lot of in-depth contemplation to be able to say that. Why the lapband now? Again, 50 years of being fat and full of excuses was enough. I was tired of how my life was going and ready to make permanent changes. For me, my life started improving the day I decided to persue the lapband, before I lost even one pound. It starts in your head, your attitude, the reawakening or discovering of dreams and goals. The realization that this armour of protection, this fat body, is not needed. I am now living, rather than existing.

BJean: on the wall in my surgeon's office is the poster that says Get into the LAP-BAND Green Zone. To the far left is the yellow zone (sub-optimal weight loss). If you're in the yellow zone, you're hungry, can eat big meals and are looking for food. You need a fill. In the middle is the green zone (optimal weight loss). You have early and prolonged satiety, small meals satisfy and you have satisfactory weight loss or maintenance. You're okay with your present band fill. At the far right is the red zone. You have difficulty swallowing, experience reflux/heartburn, have a night cough, regurgitation and poor eating behavior. Your band is over-filled. The NP gave me this on a card (called it the satiety gauge) to carry around so I can tell when I need a fill. It's by the LAP-BAND system and has code #HM0339 on it, if you want to ask your doc for a copy. The NP did my fill. I learned more from her during that fill than all the previous consultations with all the different people I'd spoken to. I now make my appointments with her exclusively.

I'd postpone the fill if it was me, but not so you can eat to your heart's content. After my fill I found I needed to be really attuned to my body and ease my way into the new restriction over a few days. The added stress of holiday preparation and company would have been a lot for me to handle in addition to the new restriction. And, as mentioned, the office will be closed for the long weekend. The thought of sitting in an ER or urgent care center on a holiday would be enough for me to wait a few days for the fill. Just my 2 cents, opinion worth price charged.

The NP at my surgeon's office said I can have a fill every week if I want. She gave me 1cc to start and upped my diet phase. Gave me the Satiety Gauge and an appointment for 2 weeks. Here's the criteria for needing another fill (1/4 or 1/2 cc only after the initial 1cc): Hungry less than 4 hours after a meal or shake Desiring and being able to eat large amounts of food She also said if I spent a worrisome amount of time thinking about, craving, seeking food, I should give her a call to discuss whether a fill is needed.

My largest size was a 24 in September. I can currently wear size 18 jeans comfortably. My smallest adult size was a 14; I remember thinking I was so fat then. I'm shooting or a mini-goal of 14 and then I'll reassess. My sister, the optimist, is saving her 8/10s for me. Hey, you never know!

My husband had a fundoplication in 1980 and revision surgery 3 years ago. He has to watch his portions, chew food really well and avoid anything 'gummy,' like cheesy mashed potatoes or soft bread. Sound familiar?

Had 3 sliming incidents since my first fill 2 weeks ago. Each time I swear I'll be more careful chewing and NEVER put myself in that situation again. What got stuck? Veal, chicken and the worst was a piece of pork the size of my fingernail. Company chatting in the kitchen and I'm hanging over the toilet trying to vomit. Ah, the gracious hostess for sure. At least I got weighed today and I'm 9 whole lbs down since the fill!!! The NP said stay away from beef, pork and hotdogs (they can get stuck--no $hit!)

I've been trying to be consistent in logging my food intake daily. I notice when I put in an envelope of artificial sweetner it computes 14 calories and 4 carbs/packet. The Splenda bag says 0 calories/0 carbs. If I come across this discrepancy on other foods, which do I go by--the FitDay values or the food label values?

Tape will keep it from slipping off during surgery or transfers. Just an added protection from loss.

Where upstate are you, what county?

I'll be there with my husband. Went to Mauri's support group last night, last one in the Goshen location. She said it's formal and will be drinks and cocktails only--no sit-down meal. And dancing. Can't remember the name of the group she mentioned. Seems reasonable. Will you be there?

I saw it when it first opened and loved it. I recommend you rent the Wizard of Oz before going to review the story, although most of us probably have the entire movie memorized. Wonderful music.

Take a deep breath and a step back. Put 4 weeks of your strict diet in perspective. It took how many years to get to your present overweight state? How much longer do you think you'll live? Time goes by in the blink of an eye; faster the older you get. One day very soon you'll look back at your few weeks of liquids and be glad you followed your doctor's instructions. I know it's terribly frustrating at the moment, but soon . . . very, very soon you'll be eating solids and watching your scale go down. We all understand your frustration. Keep coming here and venting. And keep up the good work!

Look into GNC's Nitro Tech. All flavors taste like melted ice cream.

I struggled with this exact question. I know (now) what hunger feels like. Before banding I don't think I had felt hunger since the 1970's. And, through my own foolishness and old habits, know what too full (oh, my Lord, don't let me throw up and displace my band) feels like. I also know what didn't-chew-well-enough feels like (a hot golfball pressure in my mid-chest accompanied by copious amounts of slimy expectoration and praying for the chunk to either come up or go through, but please, let this feeling go away). You only need that once to drive the chewing lesson home, believe me. Satiety feels like this to me and this is how I figured it out. I only eat real food for dinner. I prepare my meals in small containers ahead of time because of my work schedule. I came home from work one evening, heated up 2 containers of different mushies and served myself 1/4 cup of low-fat herbed cottage cheese. I calmly sat at the table and slowly took small spoonfuls of food and put the spoon down. I concentrated on how I felt after each swallow. After finishing one container, I still had about 1/2 the cottage cheese and a little less than 1/2 the other mushy still on the plate. But my feeling inside had changed. My head told me, okay that's enough for now. Put the spoon down and walk away. I have to admit, it didn't sit well with me to see food on my plate and stop eating. But I knew I wasn't hungry anymore, I felt satisfied and comfortable. My head started jousting with my common sense--don't waste food, you can eat it--try just one more--you'll be starving later. Know what? I threw the rest out and was fine the rest of the evening with my sipping drinks. The point I'm making is to go slowly and listen to your body and mind. Full is no longer an I'm-going-to-explode feeling, it's I-don't-need-to-eat-anymore. Very subtle. Give yourself time to recognize it. Any other opinions and thoughts? MC

When I first started eating, about 3 weeks ago, it was between 300-500 calories. 300 calories was the 3 shakes with a little extra from actual food. But I had a terrible time started 2 weeks after the surgery with hunger and making poor food choices (I love salty stuff and think I'm holding a lot of water). Even then, I was eating around 1000 calories. So I ended up gaining 5 lbs in the two weeks till my first fill. We shall see what happens. As long as I'm comfortable and have the energy I need (and I do), I'll stick with his directions.

My doctor wants me to stay between 500-800 calories/day and under 15 carbs. Since my fill and no sensation of hunger, this has not been a problem so far.

I made that Frappacino recipe posted above. WOW, better than cheesecake for me. Yummmmmm. According to Fitday.com it's 110 calories, 22 carbs and 4 gms protein. A little high on carbs, but as an occasional treat it really can't be beat.

I can't comment on the bariatric group but I can on Brookhaven Hospital. While visiting my mother in Smith Point several years ago I had a very intense kidney stone attack. My mother had just moved there and no one knew where the nearest hospital was. My husband and sister got me in the car and we followed the blue H signs on the LIE. I was on the maternity ward, where I notice several hospitals place their bariatric patients. The Brookhaven staff was efficient, kind and thorough. I spent 3 days there and everyone (doctors, nurses, techs, volunteers) couldn't have been kinder or more compassionate. I wrote the administration a glowing letter once I got back home. Best of luck. I hope you have a similar experience.

I was banded on 9/20 and about 2 weeks later, was able to eat anything in any quantity. I was relying on willpower and discipline. Let's face it, if willpower and discipline were my strong suits, I wouldn't have needed the band in the first place. Needless to say (or confess), I was UP 5 lbs at yesterday's first fill. Very discouraged indeed. The NP sat and explained everything in detail, answered all my questions. Even (at my urging) filled and unfilled a sample lapband to show me exactly what the band looks like inside me. I'm a visual learner and this helped me enormously. It's not as dramatic as I'd imagined. 4 cc band now has 1 cc fill. If I'm still getting hungry less than 4 hours after a shake or meal in a week, I can go in for a .25 or .5 cc additional fill. I can repeat the fills each week till I'm in the Green Zone of satiety. That was another little lesson that helped me understand how I should be feeling with too-little, optimal or too-tight restriction. Post fill instructions: 2 days shakes only, 2 days of 2 shakes and one puree meal, 2 more days 2 shakes and one mushie meal, than onto solids and evaluation of hunger and restriction. She also gave me a goal weight of 162! Says that's my healthy, less than 28 BMI weight. She said if I have a lower number in mind, that's up to me, but 162 will satisfy the doctor's health requirements for me. Seems like a bit much.

I feel a little foolish asking, but what does MILF mean? If it's inappropriate for a public forum, PM me. My curiosity is killing me.

I did great on my pre-band diet and good since the surgery. My last visit I was upgraded to mushies and find I am now constantly hungry. It starts about 2 hours after my morning shake. My stomach is growling and I start thinking about and looking for something to eat. Even high Protein Snacks (cottage cheese, yogurt) aren't holding me very long. One afternoon I had no snack with me and succumed to trying a bite of a donut that was in the office. I discovered that I can not only tolerate eating (yes, I have to chew well) but the QUANTITY doesn't seem to be an issue. I've gained back about 4 lbs according to my home scale. It's that same little-bit-of-crazy hunger that used to herald the coming of my periods. Experienced bandster, HELP! What's going on? Is this normal? I don't seem to have any restriction and think I've reached the end of my own discipline and willpower. Is this just a bump in the road? I'm not due for my first fill until this coming Monday.