ibelieve

Hi Everyone, it has been since band was put in, June 2009. My experience has been a bit of a mild ordeal discomforts wise, TY to those who taught me about keeping a cup with lid handy... but I am finally on track. As you can see from my ticker below, I can see the progress to my goal, FINALLY. That looks great. My trick, I did an elimination diet in Fall 2010 and by Christmas re-adding things, I found I was extremely gluten intolerant!!! So, since from Winter 2010, the more gluten I removed from hidden things, the more reactive to it I became... Since last summer, I started my healing with the homemade soups for restoring health, greek yogurt *Fage only for the most part*. The soups... Beef Borscht soup with greek yogurt, handmade with fresh organic ingredients, and handmade chicken breast soup, organic ingredients... I will post the recipes on my profile. I was so sick from diabetes in August and September 2011, due to unnatural sugar craves caused by medications... I got to where I could not even keep yogurt down!!! and my very worried sister-in-law from Moscow insisted on feeding me the aforementioned soups. Things got better in October, some backslide over holiday, not much, I did not make Thanksgiving and Christmas, family and I have decided not to be so excessive, we toss so much food, or I get miserably ill from a bite or two... so, simple times and simple meals resulted in much improved Holiday experience. Believe it or not I eat some bacon (crispy fatty) and two easy over eggs (hardly any whites, or else...) most weekdays for breakfast. It does not always work out, but I found the fat and protein gets me through the day. I hardly eat soup now, but I do control appetite strictly, I use my band to do this, to eat very little. I also will have some Mexican or Thai sometimes, but I stick to the very restricted intake, completely gluten free. I believe that the fats in the egg yolk and bacon, seem to do the trick for my personal biochemistry. My August 2011 A1C was almost 11. In October, it was 6.1 Needless to say, my carbs are very very very restricted, I do not eat any breads or anything but occasional tortilla chips. My personality has changed from quite aspy and bipolar, to merely hyperactive. A big change started after the surgery, and during my pre-op Psychiatric evaluation, the M.D. I met with told me that the carb restrictions due to the band being incompatible with breads and such, might help my moods. The greatest changes were since Gluten free. Not only do I not have persistent diarrhea since 22 years of age, but I have a rather normal personality, and not extremely reactive to sounds, tastes, smells, and people like before. I am sure my system is damaged from the years of wheat and oats, and now they put wheat in everything, I cannot eat anything from packages. I can drink soda again, but it causes a bloat. I do not eat much sugar substitute, and a little sugar is ok, but not recommended by me to myself.

So nice to see you last week NotATeech! You looked marvelous, no matter what you are thinking of your weight. So I think you are getting good nutrition, so maybe the Doctor thought as much too. I think they look at us post surgeries as much for our getting our nutritional needs met, and then the hard part, diet and restriction. I dropped an F bomb when I was weighed in. But they were more interested in getting me on track and back in there regularly, so no one gave me a hard time. <3 ibelieve <3

I am wondering if a sleeve is in my future. I have not been on here for quite some time, and I need to try and get on track. I take Prednisone and other meds that make weight loss difficult. I live with this surreal thing inside of me, that makes me sick if I eat the wrong thing, even mostly innocuous things unrelated to problem weight-guilty food. Just for the crime of being hungry and needing to eat something more than pablum. You did great with your band. That is saying alot for your candidacy to convert to sleeve. I wanted a sleeve out of the Gate, but it was not part of the repertoire in the states in 2009 and everyone was going to Mexico for theirs on their own dime then. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Hello everyone. I still believe. I am hoping to get on track. I have not done anything like - oh, gain weight to above pre-surgery, but it fluctuates between almost 40 lbs down and almost to Surgery, largely due to medications that I cannot do without, primarily Prednisone for life-threatening asthma this time of year for the past 3 years. Dr R is not a hand-holder, as Paige put it in the past, and I can deal with that, knowing this going in. He is churning out these bands and bypasses to help people, for whom there are no options. Due to medications, and having Polycystic Ovaries, all along I have wondered if or when I should convert to sleeve. I see Dr R this month, for a fill, since it is obviously needed. ps - I need to start going to Support Group again soon. Very Soon.

Jay, I've not met you yet, but I hope you will not give up on you. I too was eating slider foods (as they are called apparently) to slow down my weight loss, due to my age, and suddenly find as the weight fell off, my age began to show. Slowing it up initially actually helped my skin elasticity. I have been told a bounce mini-trampoline can help the skin shape up, along with the joints. So I might get one for that reason alone if no other. If you need to look inward, take a look at any reason why you would not want to lose. I found I am no longer invisible to the living world, of which I was not a part for around one decade of my life. Being in the light, where people take note of you, can be very uncomfortable, to say the least. I am trying to find the joy in it. I am fortunate to be around so many warm and loving friends, and their physical presence, hugging and kissing me, and loving me for the individual I am, has been healing for me, and they are only being normal loving people. I rejected normal and loving for so many years and retreated into myself. So that I would not have to explain what I was doing to myself, by giving up and letting my appetite control me. Are you seeing a counselor? Are you comfortable with that route? I have to say that 7 year of it, lead me to where I am now, to the point I could, with healthy mind and hopeful heart, reach out to get the band my PCP really wanted for me since 2003. and which I rejected all of these years. I was afraid to die on the table, when I was really afraid to let go of a living death and a prison. Take Care Jay, and anyone else ready to give up. And you might want to consider, if the band is not working, after a reasonable time, then a bypass, or sleeve, could be the way to a new life.:thumbup:

:thumbdown: Hi everyone. I wanted to stop by and share, since there are probably newbies, as well as experienced bandsters who can use some encouragement in their Journey. My last fill, in mid-September, found my sweet spot. The first weeks were pretty rough, and I was sick once, or twice, a week. I absolutely cannot eat any leftovers. Phyllis (Faulkner dietitian) told me this is because refrigeration dries the food out. While I have avoided everything bandsters say are troublesome, since I absolutely do not want to lose my band by eating all wrong, there were adjustments to be made. So, once I got a handle on what to avoid, and found the amount of food I could eat, and not overdo it, the weight just started to fly off. When I walk down the street, fat cells are dropping off me onto the sidewalk!!! :thumbup: I have 7+ cc now in 14 cc Allergan, and since surgery, on June 4th, I have dropped from 278 to 252. Much of it in the past 6 weeks! So 3 fills got me to this point and I am working it. People are noticing. Men are noticing me again, mainly they are looking twice when they see my face. I have had to start telling my girlfriends, as they want to know my secret. Initially I tell them how I have not had carbs (Pasta Bread etc) since May - and they wonder how I have the willpower, a they do not, and I cannot hold back, and I let them know I have some help. Everyone knows an obese person or two who could benefit from our stories. I hope all goes well for all of you, and me too, as we continue on our journey to normalcy!!!:thumbup:

wow TinyWishes, sorry you are struggling still... and I know what you mean, I am wondering if I should cancel the next fill appt. since I am quite restricted at this time, or if I should work it some more. I am thinking I should delay it until I need, better a little under filled, cuz a little overfill would mean some or even all unfilled and start again. But then I think, if I get even more restriction, and figure out diet to work it, will I still have a dietitian based on the BWH issue with keeping their dietitians around. I really hope they get that one under control ASAP. Raise their pay, whatever, keep the dietitians there, and available for us.

Boston Lady, it does not feel so good the first days... so use the pump and get through it. Was it not fun excellent and exciting to wake up with a band in???!!!???

Good Luck Boston Lady!

Hi Everyone, I hope those going into, or coming out of their surgery and recovery phases, are all doing well, and those continuing on in their journey are all healthy and happy still. I had my 3rd fill last Tuesday morning, and wow, I got restriction. wow. It is good, I figured it out when it did not go well on Friday at lunch after I let myself get too hungry, on an already bad tense day. (***GROSSNESS ALERT*** It really is PB and Slime! Their is no stomach acid, just a lot of gunk from the mucous membranes whose job it is to start the food on it's way into the stomach. So, well well chewed food and saliva). Anyhow, wow. yuck. I think the food, and maybe eating too fast. too much. ? It was mindless eating, thoughts a million miles from what I was doing, eating, so warning, do not take your mind off safe healthy band-aware eating, just sayin' ya know, I share so people can know. phew. yuck, sorry :frown: I have dropped 9 lbs since Tuesday ~ so on Dr R scale, that is 5. :biggrin: 1. now am learning that if I eat too little, it is better than figuring out too late I ate too much. It is not taking much at all. Does that stop so you need another fill? (I am going to milk this one, I need results ~ now).

LOL HeidiB... That's a tough crowd you got there :thumbup:

Well, apparently I freaked out over some rapid weight loss, and resultant crinkly skin features... following surgery, and I am guilty as heck - as I have been deliberately loading high calorie low density "foods" into my twice filled banded stomach. First step is acknowledging this is what I am doing. Next step is getting back on the bandwagon and riding this to its necessary conclusion. With each fill the restriction is increasing, to the point I am not sure I can actually find a meat I can consume. It is 99.9% chicken drenched/doused/prepared with liquidy "gravy" stuff. I finally got over my fear of veggies, and I now eat carrots, broccoli, and squash, cooked/steamed to very soft texture. I did quit eating oatmeal at Breakfast (or any time) and am sticking with carb free eggs in the morning. I have not been eating chicken salad, or tuna, or potato salad. I do eat some fish, but only when I can get the freshest catch of the day... I am not going to say what I was able to consume to the conclusion of all else, and take in enough calories to stop losing, but believe me when I say, it is an evil kind of food that shows up around Christmas and is found in abundance in Resort/Vacation towns and regions. I am off it now, FWIW So, did anyone else out there freak out like this when they saw the wrinkly neck and chin, and crinkly eyes and mouth area? Does this go away? How do we get these areas to be more elastic, or does this require cosmetic procedures? Here I though I was aging extremely well, when it was fat deposits plumping things up all along. The good news though, is I am actually still shrinking, and am down to a 1X just about - I have a few pounds to go before I can pull it off, but I have the clothes waiting. I cannot wear any of the pre-surgery clothes, they hang like sacks and the pants fall off. As far as I can tell though, the plastic surgeon can suck all this fat out of my bum and fill in the wrinkles, cuz I am not going down without a fight!!!

I was pretty much busted by a friend at a social event... I could not eat the lobstah, and most of the rest. I had just been filled the week before so very restricted and having issues until the swelling went down. She said "oh, those food restrictions... that sounds JUST like the stomach surgery my daughter wanted me to have" WHA??? I played it off like a cosmetic surgery pro... "never heard of such a thing, I have ulcers..." yup, I now know that I can, and will, like a pro, where necessary! This is not the sort of lifestyle change and medical procedure that can go unnoticed. The weight loss, following a mysterious short hospitalization is fairly obvious to even the most casual observer. After a freakout over wrinkles on the neck, jawline and face popping out, I have decided to just do it, let it happen, and then let the cosmetic practitioners do their magic after all is said and done. And I plan to lie with my pants on fire about it if anyone asks

:biggrin: Hi Everyone!!! I got my first fill last Tuesday from Dr. R. He put in 4 cc, and let me know I have the 14 cc band. He said that the first fill is always going to be a greater amount, and subsequent fills are going to measure much less... I also saw Sari prior to see Dr. R. The biggest difference now... peanut butter does not go down the same and feels like it stays in my throat for the longest time... I am keeping portions as prescribed by Sari - but peanut butter was a big source of protein for me... oh well. I hope to make it to Tuesday's group at BWH, and hope to see everyone else there. Regards. :wink2:

WASA, Thank You for straightening out my mistake about Dr. Ortiz and that he does not do sleeves!

Agnes, I wish you all the best!!! :thumbup: You deserve a long and happy life with your Husband and Family, and the children you will have. :thumbup:

Becky1963... wow I forgot about the phlegm part... the first days I only tried to get it out once or twice a day... that hurt, my lungs felt like mud was in there! I did have an asthma attack while I was under general during the surgery!!! I came to getting a nebulizer treatment, and the OR team telling me "Hey there, you did it!!!"

:biggrin: I have to disagree completely with the folks here who think 55 or so lbs. overweight is no big deal. When I was still only 55 lbs overweight, after a lifetime of struggle, it was harsh enough reality to deal with, and then getting into my 30's when the weight piled on to my 5'1" frame, that was devastating. Look at my signature information... I started in my teens 15-20 lbs overweight. In my 20's that went up to 40, and then 60 lbs overweight, and then later, I became what is now referred to medically, as SUPER OBESE. If I had this option back then, it would have saved me so many dark, lonely, introverted, limited, marginalized and depressing years that were to come. People treat you like shit when you are 20 lbs over weight, and it gets worse from there - much worse. The psychological abuse from our culture is severely damaging. Not being able to do the things you would like to do because you are this overweight severely limits your life. The traumas from obesity pile up. I am sure there must be many studies out that show that being very heavy when you are young, often leads to morbid obesity and even super obesity, particular in those such as myself, who have PCOS, and hypothyroidism, and asthma, and are often treated with prednisone for other medical conditions. I developed diabetes in 2005, and my PCP tried to get me this surgery in 2003 but insurance definitely would not cover it, and he was finally able to talk me into it last October, after I had reached some illumination that I needed to drastically alter my life. Had I been able to pay for this surgery in 2003, I would have definitely had a better life this past 6 years. It has been emotional, mental, and physical hell. No one should be expected to live like this! If I had had this option when I was still just 55 lbs over weight, so many years of NOT living, so much time absolutely lost for me, just gone, with nothing to account for my life in these intervening years, I might have had a chance for some happiness, rather than extreme sadness for so many dark and shadow filled years. No one should be condemned to waste their life because of a disease they are only now able to treat with great success. 55 lbs of excess weight is TOO MUCH no matter how you look at it. I always told my family, when I became morbidly obese, "well, I wish that I was still only 15 lbs overweight again, even though you condemned me for it and made me ashamed over it, so I bet you would really like it now, if I was 15 lbs overweight!!!" life was harsh enough in a family of slender people. It got much harder to live in a world where women are only valued if they are youthful, beautiful, and slim. No one deserves that. No one. Medicine has given us help. Use it to change and improve your life, because getting heavier is the last thing anyone should be condemned to. They help people with deteriorating diseases, if they can. So why not let people get treated while they are still easily treated, rather than condemn them to the treacherous deterioration of this devastating metabolic disorder

Oh, and they told me my liver was very large as well, a combination of LARGE as well as FATTY... I wonder what it would have been like had I not been strictly dieting since January!!! Did I mention yet, how GREAT I feel now, only a little over two weeks post-surgery??? When you feel like road kill after the surgery it is hard to imagine it goes away - imagine my surprise when, on day 4 of my band life, I suddenly felt incredibly well! I am so pumped that I have a band finally, it is really helping me plan my lifestyle changes so I can take advantage of this incredible gift from modern surgical medicine!

Firstly, I want to congratulate all of my fellow June 2009 bandsters. I do, however, have to say I am shocked at my fellow bandsters being treated as outpatient's following your surgery! My surgery was done by Dr. Malcolm Robinson at Brigham and Women's hospital, and they kept me overnight, and did not let me leave until I was all set, at about 8 pm the following night! When I left, I had been dressed a while, and visiting with my roommate, and a shift change had taken place while I was waiting for my ride. They checked me out right there in the Surgery patient ward, and the nurses and assistant's I had not met yet, were surprised I was a patient!!! They thought I was a visitor haha! Because I looked good for someone who just had major surgery. I felt HORRIBLE the first day, of the surgery, and that night, the second time I got up to pee, I felt better UP, and they let me take a stroll, but bed rest is definitely called for, though I felt better up, and stayed up by the following morning - I sat and walked all the next day... Definitely, inpatient after surgery all the way, with the IV meds, and nursing care made it so much better. The surgeons, residents, fellows and students all came in over the nearly 2 days I was inpatient, to check on me, and look over my incisions, which the nurses and assistant's also did. When I was checked out, my surgery specialist RN instructed me to go to the ER if my temperature reached 101... it never got over 98-99. At home, the bed was not comfy, and the featherbed I bought did not work out, as my bed was too high and I was so stiff and sore to get out of it... all because I hurt all over, and my abdomen was so swollen. And so I rested, BUT, I went out and walked around the stores the day after I got out of the hospital, and then I went home and rested. My incisions NEVER bled at all. All of the suturing was done inside, and done well. I worked for surgeons for 4 years, and these look like they were opened and closed by a plastic surgeon, and will be invisible in a couple of years, if not much sooner (parts of them nearly are already!!! (not that I will EVER be in a bikini or midriff exposed, but at least I will not have to explain any big scars to anyone I get uh, "close to") My surgery was on a Thursday, and by Sunday evening, I was feeling much better and began to decrease my pain medication. I slept the next two days through, and then I went back to work on that following Wednesday, using pain med in the a.m. and before I left (basically before I start moving around to deal). I did not drive until a week and two days after my surgery, though I did ride in car, with pillow between my swollen upper abdomen and the shoulder belt. I think port pain was alleviated mostly by the IV med. I pushed the button when it got to me, and before I got out of bed for anything. I feel bad for those of us, who, for whatever reason, did not get to stay that night of the surgery in a post-surgery ward where they can provide the specialized care and treatment required. I do not have any port pain, I think it is a week since I had any pain med. It seems there should be national standards insurance companies are required to follow, as home is NOT a great place to take care of yourself immediately following this surgery. I hope you all feel better soon! I am SO GLAD< so Blessed, to have such a great surgeon that my PCP selected for me. I wish the same for everyone else. I really do! :biggrin:

You REALLY have to work for it. The band is a tool to enable you to control your appetite vis a vis, you cannot overeat. (Well, I guess you can, but really, why would you even want to do something like that, especially if your family has gone into debt to help you). However, you will still be able to take in dense carbs, and high fat high calorie things, which you can easily fit into your banded stomach in such a way, that you are defeating the purpose. So, from what I have learned, you fill up on lean Proteins at the beginning of each meal, and then fulfill the remainder of your nutritional requirements after that. I wish I had heard of of the band back when I only had 50 lbs to lose. I've only been banded since Jun 4, and I intend to go low Glycemic Index, and Low Carb. right now I am on smooth foods and chopped Protein until July 3. I am still not able to overeat, and I am NOT cheating. I went to the mall, avoiding the food court, and only had a ginger peach iced tea. I came home and ate 2 oz of plain deli turkey, as prescribed, with a little bit of simple potato salad(potatoes with mayo only, about 1/3 cup) with it to keep everything moist, and chew chew chew it totally... and I am definitely NOT starving. Of course many temptations went through my mind today/tonight, but its not overwhelming... I use my reasoning, "hey stomach-brain, you are not empty, so stop obsessing, chill out m'kay?" I did prepare myself,during the wait for my surgery. I taught myself to get by on restricted Fluid diet, I lost 20 lbs, until my metabolism shut down, and I started eating again, and gained 15 back. I taught myself to chew my food into basically nothing before I swallowed it, and I studied the prescribed diet phases, and allowed foods intently until I had it nearly memorized. After I was banded, I did not get hungry, crazy hungry, until the last half of the last week of the two week Protein shake diet. My first food was a single poached egg. That was awesome, I have to say. My first fill is in mid-July, and I have a vacation starting the first week of July, so right now, I am planning for that, and carefully considering my food choices, and restaurant eating (seafood, on Cape Cod) since that will be the first week I can move on to solid foods. Looking forward to that. Get your band, work closely with a dietician if at all possible, and if you cannot do so for whatever reason, ask Dr. Ortiz for as much assistance with that as possible. And come here to lapbandtalk often. I have to say, this site has been an incredible resource. Your experience will be unique to you, but your surgeon is one of the best, I have heard (he is on my list of top surgeons in Mexico if I decide to convert to a sleeve after I am as close to goal as I can get with the band). Good Luck, and come back and send me a note and tell me how you are doing! :biggrin:

yeah... I am banded 1 week and 3 days now... and I hope I do not forget this at some point, and order a soda!!! Or pick one out of the cooler at the checkout in the stores... and start drinking it without another thought! So I am trying to train my mind and when I go to the store, I have a running commentary going in my mind... "no soda pop, m'kay? m'kay? m'kay?"

I know how you feel, so I told ONLY my colleague who is my good friend, at work (because he is pre-med) my immediate family, Mom, Dad, Brothers and Sister. My Dad was staying with me, and broke the rules of my household, which is, MY business is MY business, and does not leave my house. So out of spite, seemingly, he told every neighbor he could about my plans... anyway, he left not long after... I started to figure out what he did, when one of the neighbors mentioned "you look like you are losing weight".. I had dropped about 20 lbs for required pre-op weight loss. So I let it pass, but my radar was up... Then I had my surgery week before last. The day after they let me out of the hospital (I got home late the night before) the neighbor who mentioned weightloss' sister was yelling across her yard at me, "how are you feeling, how did it go???" etc... I was playing it off... whatever, not sure what you are asking... and my brother starts motioning to me, "she is asking about your, uh"... as he motions at my stomach. I wanted to kick him in the ass for being so stupid, as he tells me, "Dad must have told them".... I was like *F* that, it is NONE of their *F*n business, they are not entitled to know jack____ about me and my personal life. Anyway, my father's rather evil passive aggression is still apparently affecting my life, long after he is gone. I am an extremely private person... and I do not appreciate nosy neighbors at all.