Melissannde

One more thought.. the s/f DaVinci Pancake Syrup flavor is AWESOME in oatmeal.

I don't use instant oatmeal any longer.. the sugars in those are too high, and they don't keep me full very long. What I like now is Steelcut Oatmeal. it's lower glycemic and keeps me full a long time. If you're concerned about it getting stuck, just thin it out a bit with some Water or skim milk (or soy or rice or almond milk.. whatever floats your boat). I flavor mine with 1/2 of a chopped apple or a small container of s/f applesauce. 1 tbspn chopped walnuts, cinnamon & 1 Tbspn of f/f half/half. Then a packet of stevia or splenda if the apple hasn't made it sweet enough. You can certainly add Protein powder if you wish. I've heard some nutritionists recommend adding some eggwhite (2 Tbspns) and microwaving it. The egg white increases the protein and isn't supposed to change the taste. I tried that.. didn't care for it. It wasn't bad.. I just didn't like the change in texture. I make my steelcut oatmeal overnight in my crockpot.. it's super easy and you don't have a bit mess to clean.. only your bowl. Take a bowl that will fit inside your crockpot. Spray with nonstick cooking spray (not required, just makes cleanup a bit easier). Add 1/4 cup steelcut oatmeal. Add 1 cup water. Place bowl with oatmeal/water mix in the crockpot, put lid on, turn on low and walk away for 8 hours. It cooks itself. enjoy!!

the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite. Lap-band weight loss surgery is not about restriction

I like www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate for a food journal. It will also track your weight loss if you want.. and measurements. It's the most complete I've found in 2 years of living the banded life. It does have a smartphone app, not free, but only a small charge 1.99 maybe? Not sure as I still have a stupid phone. For a free phone app, check out the one from fatsecret.com.. it's pretty good I hear from friends who use it. Don't trust the exercise estimates from online sites or from machines (such as treadmills, bikes, ellipticals).. they are highly overly optimistic. Much better to get a HR monitor with a chest strap, which is still not perfect, but closer to what you're really expending. If not sure which one to buy, consumer reports did a quick evaluation of several models of HR Monitors a few months back. The report might still be available online.

sorry bout the double post... darn computer.

Syntrax Nectars. come in various fruit flavors.. I mix with appropriate flavor of crystal lite, 1/2 cup of some kind of fruit & some ice. Syntrax will send you samples for 1.00/flavor. www.si03.com 90 to 100 calories, 23 grams Protein, 0 carbs per scoop. Whey Protein Isolate. My surgeon prefers us to get our protein from "real food", but if we're too tight in the am to eat or we need liquid after a fill, etc. This is the brand he recommends. It can also be mixed into plain yogurt or even eaten straight like a pixie stick. Roadside Lemonade is very good and so is the new flavor Pink Grapefruit. Fuzzy Navel is excellent. I don't think they have a flavor I have disliked. I use 1/2 scoop in some crystal lite or Powerade zero after my weight lifting or bootcamp to help restore the muscles I just got through stressing.

There are also another type of Shirataki noodles that have 0 calories. www.miraclenoodles.com I've made lasagna using zucchini sliced long ways for the noodles. And made pizza using "flatout bread" www.flatout.com

Jachut is on the right track. My bariatric surgeon will allow Nsaids for special circumstance on short term basis.. but we are to take a PPI (proton pump Inhibitor) such as Prevacid while taking the NSAID. However, you don't take them at the exact same time. The timing I was told to use was Nsaid in am and afternoon, then the PPI at bedtime. Check with your bariatric surgeon and explain your situation and see if something like that can't work for you.

It stains the skin. It will wear off. And some of it might actually be benzoin to help the steri-strips stick.

Oh, and Amanda, I don't know how long you were obese, but if it was for an extended period of time, the BMI may not be accurate for you. People who were obese for a while tend to have heavier bones and that skews the BMI tables. And age makes a difference too. And your level of fitness. Having a normal BMI is a worthy goal, but just wanted to share some reasons that it might not be reasonable for all people.

Have you lost weight or inches since your last adjustment (fill or unfill) ? If you have, that may explain the change in appetite dimming. As to how often to get an adjustment.. my surgeon requires a minimum of a month between appointments (well, unless there's a need for an unfill.. that's different). If you don't want to go in for a tiny fill.. you can try adding extra Water..yes, above 8 to 10 glasses. When I'm feeling less tight, I water load before my meals.. 20oz right before I eat seems to help me. You could also try low calorie, high Protein Snacks between your meals. I like the weight watcher's string cheese.. they're only 50 cal & 6grams of protein. Or a small Protein Drink if you like those.. Muscle Milk Light (8.5oz boxes) has 100 cal & 15 grams of protein. Mild exercise, like walking, also seems to curb my appetite a bit. If I do something sweaty.. it tends to increase my appetite.. but that's not all bad as the calorie burn makes up for it a bit. If you do decide to go in for a fill.. see if they will do just a tiny bump in Fluid. As I've gotten close to the same amount of fluid that you have, .2cc's (point 2) is plenty. I had my last .2 about May 26, and I was tight for quite a while. My next appt. is in Sept., and I don't think I'm going to let them adjust me then. But that could change if I miraculously lose a bunch before then. I'm sorta thinking that my next fill will be Nov-Dec-Jan.. sometime in there. Best of luck in figuring out what's right for you!

Not just from me. From my doctor, support group leader, Bariatric Advantage spokesperson.. multiple sources. I've talked to many who've had protein spill into their urine, indicating kidney damage, from overdoing protein. Everyone can do what they choose. I'm not overloading myself.

My surgeon suggested RNY, but didn't try to talk me into it. I was scared of it, I had heard too many bad results (yes, I know RNY works well for many, but it just wasn't for me). I did not want to have dumping .. I had similar reactions before WLS from eating the wrong foods and know how miserable it makes you feel. I'm post-menopausal. RNY is not always recommended for women who are post-menopausal and have a family hx of osteopenia/osteoporosis (me). I have some other medical issues that would make malabsorption not advisable. All I needed was help to control my appetite. The band does that most of the time.. hehe.. I am a member of the Bariatric Bad Girls Club.. I don't follow the "rules" 100% of the time.. but I do work at it pretty hard. Thanks for the compliments. Ideally, I still need to loose about 20 more lbs.. which some of which probably needs PS to get off. I'm still on the fence about that.

Hope this unfill does the trick.

you were lucky to get liquid lortab. I got given darvocet which was totally inadequate.

Sounds like you're back on track. Good Job!

Not everyone has trouble with chicken. It's usually dry chicken, like grilled chicken breast, that is an issue. You might do well with chicken salad. Bumblebee makes little chicken salad packs to go that are easy. You said you don't like tuna.. fair enough. Do you like smoked salmon? If so, chicken of the sea makes smoked salmon in a pouch. I take that and mix with either reduced fat cream cheese or ww cream cheese and spread on Wasa "crisp & light" crackers. I make spaghetti sauce with lean ground turkey or lean ground beef and eat it over shredded zucchini instead of Pasta. That should be easy enough to portion out the night before and have ready to "grab & go". Make meatloaf in muffin tins. When I do that, one meatloaf muffin is about 3 or 4oz.. which is perfect bandster size. Add a veggie of your choice.. there's lunch. Taco Soup is a favorite at my house.. and while it's called "soup", you can make it as thick as a stew.. so it "sticks to your ribs" longer. And I can eat dry meat.. IF I use a food lube of some kind. I know the conventional wisdom is "eat Protein first".. well, I eat 1 or 2 bites of protein to 1 bite of veggie. That helps lubricate things. Also a small amount of some kind of gravy, sauce, ketchup, will also help food go down and isn't going to be enough to throw most people out of weight loss. And I mean a small amount.. not 1/2 cup ::grin:: Hope some of these ideas help.

I had one after my DaVinci hyst, but it was in my spine. I think I would've loved having a pain pump for my band. My post-op pain medication was not sufficient for my needs.

That site is geared towards body builders, not for weight loss. I stand by the 20 to 25grams per meal. We all do what works for us individually.

Now that you give the amounts you are eating, that gives me a little more information. I too would be hungry in an hour or two on 1/4 cup of eggs & sausage or 1/2 cup of chili. My surgeon says up to 1 cup of food per meal for bandsters or 3oz lean Protein and 1/2 cup of low carb veggies.. which usually measure out to just about a cup. If your bariatric team says to only eat 1/2 cup of food per meal..and you've been satisfied on that during the school year when you're busier, maybe it is time for a fill. Or maybe it's time to find something to keep you busier between meal times? Hard to say if the snacking is due to real hunger or boredom from this side of the computer monitor. Check out Alex's post on how to determine if you're in the green zone, it may help you decide. My advice is to still go in and talk to your doctor or nurse. I don't always get a fill on my visits, but I keep the appointments anyway. I find it helps keep me on track. I also take in my food journal (about a weeks worth or so) so they can go over my choices with me and help me tweak as needed. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/132729-finding-the-green-zone/

Hi Wheeler, I can't tell from your post if you had a time of liquids, then soft/mushies, then back to regular food after your unfill. I think you probably did since this is not your first fill.. but if you didn't, you might try going to liquids for a day, then slowly advancing to see if that helps. I have found for me, that as I get more in my band, 1cc fills are way too much. .2cc's was all I got at my last fill and afterwards I was quite tight for a while. If you do choose to get an unfill, see if they will take only .2 or .3 out.. that will leave you with .2 and might do the trick for you. Alex just posted on how to determine if you're in the "green zone" and from looking at a chart on that post, it kinda sounds like you may be in the "red zone" which indicates the need for a slight unfill. Take a look and see what you think. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/132729-finding-the-green-zone/

23 grams of protein is just about right. If you take in more than about 20 to 25 grams at a time, it just goes to waste and over time will stress the kidneys. Check with your doctor or nutritionist to verify.

I take Adult Chewable Centrum, calcium citrate (caltrate isn't absorbed as well in reduced acid.. which with our smaller upper stomachs, we have less acid), D3 (many obese & formerly obese are Vit. D deficient), Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM, B12 (sublinguals), B100 (for energy). Andrea at http://www.wlsvitagarden.com has good info on Vitamins for bariatric patients.

Ibuprofen is a NSAID (non steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug) and those are prohibited by many bariatric surgeons, but not all. Please check with YOUR surgeon before taking any thing like Ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, Motrin, Aspirin, etc. Tylenol is generally considered safer to use with bands. To reduce internal swelling, you can try sipping on warm tea or coffee (decaf if your surgeon is against caffeine).

Look at Supreme Protein Carb Conscious bars. They have a great taste to me, I don't have one in front of me to give the stats, but you can go to netrition.com and see the info. Make sure you're looking at the SNACK SIZE.. I get the majority of my protein from real food, but I do like something sweet right before bed. I cut one of these bars in half and have it for my bedtime snack. Keeps me full till morning and satisfies my desire for something sweet.