JennaVictoria

OMG! :thumbup: I am 14 months out and I have not had steak, of any kind, since before surgery! I will have a few bites of the occasional ground beef or ground turkey but NOT steak. This was one thing that had been stressed to me in pre-op education - that for many bandsters, they cannot eat steak or white meat chicken or stringy veggies or soft/white bread/bagels any longer. Ever. If I tried to eat any of those things - I would be vomiting for days! They just won't go down. What did your surgeon or nurse practitioner tell you preop? I have to say, though I was a huge steak eater before the band and now -- I don't even miss it. Personally (your mileage may vary) I would see if they have a fish entree you can eat.

For those times (like the last month!) that my band is super tight, soup is a lifesaver! That is usually all I can get down at meal time. I try to make my own (I puree butternut squash, or spaghetti squash and blend with a little low sodium veggie broth) for example to cut down on the fat/salt content. What I also do, is add shredded lowfat cheese into the serving bowl. This adds some Protein. I tried adding vanilla Protein powder to cheddar cheese soup once - and it was nauseating! Note to self: try to locate nonflavored protein powder, lol! The organic aisle at the supermarket sometimes has higher quality Soups with less salt. For me, my band is tight so I cannot handle any "bits" in the soup (e.g. veggie chunks or potato chunks or meat chunks) so I keep my food processor handy. By the way, most restaurants, when asked nicely, will agree to puree any soup they have on the menu. I have done this - Outback Steakhouse is one - and it works out great. Their potato soup, pureed in the kitchen special order -- is yummy!

Yes, you CAN get tighter over time. I suspect my recent tightness is due to heat wave weather outside/dehydration. Like an earlier poster, I could write the book "Adventures in Banding" lol. I am SUPER sensitive to fills. I normally get .1 cc at a time. I am 14 months post op (70 lbs. down) and in my 10 cc band only have 3.5 ccs. after many fills/unfills/refills - usually within 3 days of one another. I had a slight fill about 3 weeks ago - .1 - at first thought "no restriction felt" but last week boy, am I tight! Usually can eat oatmeal for Breakfast - not any more! Even the nonfat lattes make gurgling noises on the way down. I am stuck with Soup for lunch (tomato, butternut squash) nothing with "bits" in it. I try to throw in a Protein shake from time to time - and sometimes can eat 1/2 of an avocado, mashed or hummus for dinner. Howver -- chocolate chip Cookies dipped in milk, and Pringles, go down just fine :thumbup: Hang in there! For the last six months, I have had no weight loss or gain. That is with exercising with personal trainer 3x a week. I know for me, I need to (1) exercise more (2) stay away from trigger foods that DO go down and (3) pray harder.

Yes, I agree that this sucks! Here we take this drastic step to lose weight -- and then we get on the scale post-surgery and its like WTF???? However, I wanted to send you some thoughts from my 4-week post-surgery perspective. Today is my 1-month bandiversary! I lost 14.5 lbs. on the pre-surgical diet (2 weeks). That gives you some idea of how bad my eating was prior to that 2-week stint! That liquid diet cleaned me out and got me on the straight and narrow! Well, post surgery the first week I felt so sick that I was really upset -- I was very pissed at myself that I had done this WLS (buyers remorse, big time). I could barely get Water or juice down. Felt like something big was in my esophagus. I had lots of upper left shoulder pain. I even told my DH, "I should have never done this!" Day 8, I started to feel much better. I concentrated on sips, sips, sips of fluids 24/7. Even then, though, I did not really drink sugary things -- mostly salt free broth, sugar free green tea, sugar free Jello ice pops etc. and the obligatory 2 Protein shakes a day (blecch). I was then moved to mushies (a few days early) by the doctor -- around 7 days. They told me to walk, walk, walk, to get rid of the shoulder pain. And it did help! I have a small house, and there I was walking from one end to the other turning and going back again... They also said if I had a rocking chair (believe it or not) to sit in it for a few days, gently rocking. Something about the backward-forward motion helps dissipate the pain. Tolerated mushies very well (tuna, hummus, refried Beans, egg whites, etc.) Advanced to regular foods 20 days post op (eleven days ago). Kept to the plan that dr. recommended for after first fill -- 3 meals a day, no Snacks. About 1 cup at a meal, mostly (if not all) protein. Chew, chew, chew, eat slow. Put fork down between bites! I stayed TOTALLY away from mashed potatoes, rice, bread, oatmeal, any type of full carb type foods. Really no veggies/fruits to speak of -- kept to fish, lofat cheeses, ground turkey, fat free greek yogurt, vegetarian Meal Replacement products from Whole Foods/Trader Joes etc. mainly protein only with liquid Vitamins.. And lots of water! Water metabolizes fat! I was not hungry until last Wednesday -- when wham! I was starving 24/7. It was really really tough to stick to my plan but as I heard that the first 3-4 months are the "golden" days of WLS when the most weight loss can occur, then slows down, I wanted to give it 200% these first few months. I totally ignored the hunger and got busy doing something else. Still keeping to my 3 small meals no snacks. I was able to lose 10 lbs. additional - but 1 week ago the scale stalled, big time. It had not moved in a week -- very aggravating! The last 7 days I spent cursing the scale! But yesterday I upped my water intake 100% (from 4 glasses to 8 glasses) plus got on the elliptical for 20 minutes last night. When I got up this morning -- woo hoo the scale finally moved and I dropped another 1.5 lbs. for a total of 26 lbs. since pre-surgical diet. So my suggestions are: 1. Walk (or rock) to get rid of shoulder pain 2. Do some type of movement/exercise every day min. 20-30 mins. 3. Try to limit your foods to protein - stay away from the carbs 4. Water, water, water and then drink more water besides! The scale will move, don't worry!

I have heard some good things about the program in Syosset, LIJ Hospital.

Hi Sandi, we share the same surgery date!! I can feel your frustration. I have not seen the scale move in about 6 days and I feel like kicking it to the curb! :scared2: But, let me make 2 suggestions that both of us need to get real commited to, real fast: Water and EXERCISE. Starting yesterday, I carry a large aluminum water bottle with me and I sip, sip, sip all day and refill it 3 x. The funny thing -- I must be dehydrated because I don't have to run for the ladies room like I did before surgery if I drank a lot of H20. Water will help metabolize fat. It is very important so I will say it again. Water helps metabolize fat. So please if you think you are drinking a lot of water, think again and drink more! This also helps with the between meal cravings. Even if you are sitting in your living room, start moving! There are some great DVDs like Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds -- you literally stand in front of the TV and walk in place. She has 1, 2 and 3 mile videos. She makes it fun and you see results. I go to the gym, I just started going 3x a week on the treadmill for 30 mins. (until Dr. gives me clearance for weight training and elliptical). Yeah, I know, exercise suxs! But these first few months post surgery are our "golden months" when the weight loss will be accellerated and I want to make the most of them. As far as eating, I recommend greek yogurt. It has 13 grams of Protein in each container. I also eat fish - lots of it -- not the canned/prepacked variety but cooking up in microwave and eating flounder, salmon, cod etc. with some Mrs. Dash sprinkled on top. I stay away from red meat (even hamburger) and basically fill my pouch with protein (I don't eat much carb or fruit/veggies). Other good sources can be found in your "whole foods" type stores. There are vegetarian products (meat replacement) which offer gobs of protein and no fat. I eat a textured vegetable protein Breakfast sausage (no meat at all) which is like 80 cals and zero fat and 11grams of protein. I also recommend checking out the vegetarian protein sources at our local foodstore. Mine are in the refrigerated section near the produce aisle. They have things like cheese slices, zero fat, more protein and not made dairy but vegetarian stuff. Feel free to email me thru the site if you want a bandster partner! jenna

No, I think the surgical team takes out the tube well before you wake up in recovery. If it concerns you, then when you speak with the anesthesiologist prior to surgery, tell him/her the idea of the tube freaks you out and to make sure you don't come out from being under with the tube being in. I told my anesth. that I had woken up cold after prior surgeries. That honey arranged for me to have 2 warmed blankets on top of me when I awoke -- that's the first thing I recalled, being snug and warm!!

How the mighty have fallen, I was pretty cocky the first 3 weeks after surgery. NO hunger, barely ate bare minimum of food. Very restricted. And felt great. Did not want food, period! I thought, wow, this is the life! Suddenly this past Wednesday -- whammo -- that orange hungry monster from WW started to beat my butt! I am on solid foods, and decided to get 5 boneless wings from KFC for lunch, and then followed that with 2 tacos hard shell of course. KFC and Taco Bell share a building near my work. I ate slowly, chewed really well, and it all went down easily :scared2: Yikes! This was my first journey to a fast food place since pre-surgery diet started 4/8/o9. How quickly I backslided into greasy fatty foods! To be honest, though, I have had loose bowels ever since. My tummy did not like the fat, I guess! That was a learning lesson for me. I have to go by my PLAN, not how I FEEL. So, it is back to lowfat, nonfat Protein sources for me! I am still only eating my 3 small (1 cup) meals a day, but I feel hunger for sure. I am just ignoring it.

As I am just shy of 4 weeks post op, my signal is definately that sharp pain in my left shoulder! My friend who is a nurse calls it a radient or referring pain -- that the pain is not actually in the shoulder, but is a trigger point for discomfort in your stomach/abdomen area. That makes sense, as the fullness in my pouch presses on something -- sending the pain to my shoulder. I am sticking to my 3 meals of Protein a day -- not too hungry between meals but by mealtime I am starving.