emjay

Farmgirl - congrats on your sweet spot. I got mine my fourth fill about 10 days ago and WOW - what a difference! It really slowed down my eating and the amount of food I can consume. I have had a couple of sliming episodes from eating too fast since then, but no Pb'g so that's good. It feels like this restriction is what I was waiting for. The lbs are melting off this past week and I'm thinking the Labor Day goal may be attainable at this point. Anybody who isn't there yet - keep the faith! It really does work!

I happened to go into a GNC store yesterday to pick up some Stevia in packets. The guy working at the store asked if he could help. I asked him where the Stevia was in the store and he brought me over to the section. He then proceeded to ask me if I was using it for weight loss and then began to show me some meal-replacement powders they were offering for sale. He was really pleasant about it, but after I checked out I couldn't help but think, geez, you wouldn't have said that if I weren't fat to begin with. I probably should have pointed out to him that his comment might rub some people the wrong way, but since I'm not the "in your face" type, I brushed it off. Still a little extra training might have helped this young man not put off customers by his comments.

Just wondering if some of you fellow bandsters had any trouble adjusting to the small amount of food you're able to eat? I got a fill Saturday and feel I'm at a really good restriction. It's just my eyes are bigger than my stomach at this point. I mean, I just came back from lunch and a Lean Cuisine and 2 crackers absolutely stuffed me! Not to mention I had to reheat the entree' twice since it takes me 1/2 hour to eat it. I'm having to adjust my mindset a bit on the amount of food that satisfies me. Anybody else have this problem?

Hi All - I've had my fourth fill on Saturday and I finally understand decent restriction. It really slowed my eating down and how much I can eat varies depending on the type of food, but I can only eat about 1/2 as much as I could with my third fill. My throat "gurgles" alot, but it's a minor distraction. Please don't get discouraged everyone, you just may not be at a good enough restriction. Yesterday, I had a 2 1/4 oz mini-quiche and nothing else to eat until about 7 hours later. I can't say I was stuffed when I finished eating it, but satisfied. It was only about 5 hours later I started to get a little hungry. This is so much better than after my third fill. Keep your chin up ladies and gents, next year will be amazing for us!

I also make little quiches in cupcake pans. I use whatever I have on hand and it's a great way to get rid of eggs that are close to the due date. The variations are endless, but here is one I make often: 1 lb. bulk sausage (prefer Bob Evans) 3/4 pkg. of turkey pepperoni (I don't like to measure) Minced onion Garlic pepper broth, if needed (I usually add about 1/2 cup so make sure I have enough liquid for the minced onions, usually use chicken broth) 1 dozen eggs 1+ Tbsp. chives 1/2 tsp paprika Approx. 4 cups of shredded assorted cheeses (swiss, mozzarella, co-jack, mexican, parmesan) sometimes I use cottage cheese in place of a cup to lessen the fat content, or low-fat cream cheese) 1 can Cresent rolls (8 servings) Brown sausage with minced onion and garlic pepper and broth if needed. Add pepperoni about 1/2 way through browning. Drain and set aside. Unroll Crescent rolls, do not split. Press any seams together and roll out or press with fingers to thin. Spray cupcake pan with Pam cooking spray. Cut into 24 pcs and place into the bottom of each well in cupcake pan. In separate bowl, lightly beat 12 eggs with a fork. Add chives, paprika and assorted cheeses. Mixture should be thick, slightly paste like. May be more runny if using cottage cheese. Fill each cupcake well with approx. 1 Tbsp of the meat mixture until all wells are full. Then fill each cupcake well with the egg/cheese mixture until all is used. Bake at 350 degree for about 20-25 minutes or until slightly brown on top. Let cool about 15 minutes in pan and before taking out and placing on wire rack to completely cool. These can be put into freezer bags and then you just nuke them about about 1 1/2 minutes to re-heat. Makes 24 mini-quiches. p.s. You can do many variations, i.e. cubed chicken with mexican cheeses/japapeno peppers/hot sauce with a side of salsa, use hamburger, turkey, crab meat, shrimp. It's really a great basic recipe. My husband grabs a couple for breakfast each morning too so they don't last that long, but for a quick breakfast, it's too easy.

The morning of...showered and left to be at the surgical center by 7:30 am. Not really any pre-op stuff the day of except nothing to eat or drink after midnight. Of course I had the 2 week liquid diet before. Surgery took about 35-45 minutes and we were back on the road home by 10:30 am and home by 11:45 am. I took a pillow with me in the morning to put over my stomach for the way home and I would suggest that to anybody. Also drank a little juice on the way home. Once we got home, I walked a little bit around the house and went to sleep for a couple of hours. I remember feeling pretty darn good considering the 5 incisions made. No discomfort at all the first day. On the second day...oh mother! I developed gas pains in my upper chest and left shoulder. General soreness at my incision sites and the port site was the most tender. I have to say the incisions never really bothered me that much, but the gas pains in my shoulder lasted about 4-5 weeks! My heating pad and I got to best buddies for a long time. That and walking around and moving my arms around alot. My appetite started to return in the second week and I was still on liquids. I would say the absolutely hardest part for me was a whole month of liquid dieting. Looking back, I can't believe I did it! I guess when you want something that bad, you'll do what you have to do! Best of luck to all the newbies. I look at the last few months as an experience. For all the good and the bad, the outcome of being healthier and happier and feeling like I fit in will be my reward.

Normal every day begins with a little Water and my medication. When I get to work, I sip on a Protein Shake (made with either milk or an Atkins shake and 1 scoop of Unjury) for about an hour. I try to drink water (only room temp seems to go down the best) until lunch. Lunchtime usually consists of a Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice or if I have some made, a little Breakfast quiche (cupcake size) and a little cottage cheese. In the afternoon, I really try and concentrate on drinking water, and if I get hungry, I throw some home-made trail mix into a 3 1/2 oz of greek yogurt and eat that. For dinner, I usually eat the Protein of whatever hubby made, just much smaller portions. I may also have a little pc of cheese. In the evening, if my stomach is grumbling, I'll have a SF popsicle or SF fudgesicle or a handful of my trail mix or a SF pudding. Any you know.....WATER!

One suggestion is to preview any solids with a warm bowl of a brothy soup - something like french onion soup or a few sips of coffee or hot tea. It should help open up a bit and perhaps your solid food would go down easier. Just a thought. Also, I notice that very cold drinks will give me much more trouble than room temp liquids. So don't drink anything too cold before you try and eat solid food. Good luck and as I'm sure you've heard a 1000 times - small small bites and chew chew chew.

I'm not sure where you get your 3 minutes from. I'm assuming it is from your physician. Eating too fast can cause you to physically stop and take a rest, but I don't subscribe to any time period between bites. The more fill I have, the slower I have to eat overall. I let my body tell me when it's okay to take another bite. I've never had to wait 3 minutes unless I feel like I've eaten too fast and need to wait until the food goes down.

My physician currently offers 3 different packages. The most convenient is the one including the 2 years of free fills, appointment with surgeon or nurse, unfills during office hours, pouch dilitations and port revisions included (facility/anesethesia extra), and $100 USD charge for emergency afterhours unfills.

No bags - a couple of steri-strips holding the incision sites together. It really was a piece of cake IMO. I could have done away with the gas pains, but they are only a memory at this point. The recovery time seemed minimal and I felt like, for such a life-changing surgery, it really was anti-climatic.

My doc's office likes to be conservative and I'm happy with that. I think I'm finally at my sweet spot (just had my fourth fill Saturday), but I guess I'll give it a couple of weeks to be sure. The nurse did take all the Fluid out this time to see exactly how much was in the band, which was totally different than what I thought was in there. But it's nice to know how much restriction is in there. For people newly banded, myself included, it is really hard to wait to get to that sweet spot because we all want to be "off and running" to our weight loss goal. But you know, this is not a race to the finish and it shouldn't be...it's a lifelong marathon and hopefully for most of us, the solution to years of agony and pain. I try to keep telling myself that when the scale isn't moving as fast as I want. So, if you're one of those people that have to rely on willpower until you get to the magic fill number, I applaud you because it's a difficult journey until that point. Just try to keep focused on the goal. Slow and steady is more likely the best and probably the least likely to cause you problems in the long run.

You hit the nail on the head. Jealousy. Maybe she took comfort in the fact that you were also overweight. Ignorance is another factor. The person I work with made a similar comment and I just looked at her like she had a third ear. I mean really. Some don't understand because they can't relate. Others take comfort in knowing that your faults are visible and they can commiserate with you being in the same boat as them. I applaud your efforts to make a positive change in your life. Don't let her even get to you. Her opinion shouldn't even matter to you. If you really want to shut her up, lose the weight and they tell her you would be happy to give her some of your "fat" clothes. That will get a reaction!

I like the Unjury protein powder. I have found that using a "Bullet" type blender to mix is the best. The chocolate tastes really good. I drink one every day for breakfast. I've tried several and none came close to the Unjury. The best bet to find it is on their website though. I can find it at the area Kroger stores but that is a regional chain. Best of luck. Protein powders tend to be kind of like coffee...everybody has their favorite. It really is a personal preference.

They might have said you're full of sh*t. But hey, seriously, you are an inspiration to us all. Congrats on a successful WLS and even more congrats for keeping it off and staying focused. You have seemed to manage the struggle quite well. :crying:

IMO - if you are still not at your sweet spot and suffer from being hungry every couple of hours, then maybe 4 SMALL meals a day are better than 3. I just say this because if you feel like you are going to sabotage yourself and eat junk food it's probably better to address the hunger issue until you get to an appropriate fill level. My doc doesn't have a problem with an afternoon nutritious snack if it keeps you from eating too fast, eating too much, or generally suffering until your next meal. Aim for high protein foods, keep drinking your fluids, and space out your meals if hunger is an issue until you get to a level that it is not a problem anymore.

Sadie - I too took your post and copied it to a document so I can read it anytime I need to get my head screwed on straight. food seems to be the 1 constant in my life no matter what, and so I have treated it like a friend. I need to get my head around why I eat even though I'm not hungry, even though I feel my life is pretty damn good. Because I'm smart enough to know it's not worth it, it's just physically and mentally making the change. If there were only a magic potion...

You will probably get a few more rude comments before your journey is over and then maybe after. As my mother-in-law says, he's probably "lost his filter"...something she says her husband did along time ago (when inappropriate comments are made). It never ceases to amaze me how some people feel they can ask you anything when they've noticed you've lost weight. To me, "how much have you lost" and if you decide to let them know you had surgery, "Oh, you took the easy way out", or "You could have just ate the way you are now and lost the weight", are such asinine comments to make and totally inappropriate. They automatically want to know every little detail and feel they can comment on how you were in the past. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but when people that hardly know you feel they can pass judgment, you deserve the right to correct them if it makes you feel better. Myself, the look that they are totally clueless usually does it...

Seems the sweet spot and can an elusive little creature for some of us. I felt like I was at my sweet spot a few weeks ago when 3 weeks after a fill - bam - good restriction and losing weight consistently. However, it only lasted a few more weeks and then I was able to eat more and was hungry after about 3 hours. I would like to think the sweet spot is where you don't feel like you are on a "diet" - we've been there, done that. But are making good food choices overall and our restriction allows us to only eat smaller portions. I don't want to be so tight that I have trouble with certain foods, Pb, or slime, and so having to keep a closer watch on what I eat may have to be the compromise.

From my understanding, gastric bypass patients have a degree of malabsorption due to the rerouting of the digestive tract. That loss of nutrients can contribute to the amount of hair loss. With the band, there is no malabsorption, however, you are eating less and you your body did go thru the stress of surgery (as posted above), so it's possible to lose some hair, but it should begin to grow back. I do know hair tends to have a life cycle all it's own and does go thru periods where the loss seems greater than normal. Luckily, it's only temporary. I take 5000mg of Biotin everyday along with a Multivitamin & Calcium supplement and have had no issues. Eat a well-balanced diet as much as you can should also help.

1. Those weird noises in my stomach, especially after drinking alot of water. Sounds like a drain. Not to mention the gurgling in my throat in the morning. 2. How my tastes changed. I no longer gravitate toward ice cream, or sweets. 3. How much of a non-issue the band is...I have had no problems with any type of food, no Pbing, sliming, etc. I'm very pleased!

For me, it was the only surgical option I would even consider. I was able to lose weight when I set my mind to it but never able to keep it off. The mere thought of having weight loss surgery seemed drastic to me, but the lap band was the only procedure I was even willing to consider for myself. It truly is a personal decision. I needed a bit of help and it seemed like the right answer. I don't regret getting the band for 1 minute, but it's only been 3 months, so I'm just trying to make good choices to keep from developing any complications or adverse effects. You can research all the different types or surgery and there are risks to each and every one. You have to pick which one is right for you, knowing your lifestyle, your medical conditions (if any), the type of food choices you may have to make, the amount of weight you have to lose, and your goals along with what complications/adverse effects that may arise among other things. I think it is important to not let anyone "talk you into" a specific type of surgery. You really have to figure it out for yourself. :wub:

Originally Posted by kaninag I cant believe Sept 7th is right around the corner...I'll be 27....oh my Im getting old! Honey - you're just a tot!

I am curious why your physician gave you another fill when you were losing 2 lbs a week after your second fill? You mentioned that you had good restriction and you seemed to be losing the amount of weight that is suggested, but I'm not sure why your doc increased your fill level with the great results you were having. I was scheduled on 06/27 for my fourth fill and met with my surgeon. We went over my progress and my food choices and he was pleased with my weight loss of about 2 lbs/week so he recommended no fill. I was glad because I too was going on vacation and did not have any pb'ing or sliming issues as of yet. When I do what I'm supposed to do - my weight continued to decline. If I were in your situation, and your concerned about having the same issues as before, I would suggest to the doc to only do a small fill. It may help keep the scale moving in the right direction but avoid all the negative side effects that can happen. Best of luck to you!

I was banded around the same time as you were and noticed that just within the last week my band is tighter. I was scheduled for my 4th fill last Saturday and the doctor decided not to do a fill since I was losing at least 2 lbs a week and felt decent restriction. I do not even attempt to try to eat Breakfast since I'm tight in the mornings, and I gurgle every morning or if I eat too fast. More so when my band is tight. I've seen that many bandsters have days when they are tight and then it gets better. You may want to go back to liquids, especially warm liquids such as broth, Soup, tea, coffee, and give cottage cheese and yogurt a try and see what happens. If after a few days things don't improve, call your doctor's office for a slight unfill and see if that does the trick. Good Luck! p.s. your weight loss is amazing!