Melinco

I took pretty small bites (not pencil eraser size though) when first banded and was getting used to chewing the heck out of my food. Now though, 7 months out, I can take larger bites, but I still chew the heck out of it. It's one of those experimental things. Some people can't handle bigger bites, others can. As far as the amount of time between bites? I think 10 minutes is way too long. Maybe 30 seconds. Once I'm finished chewing and swallowing, I take my next bite. Again, you'll be able to tell what you can and can't handle.

For some people, the shoulder pain caused by the gas can last a few weeks. Try taking the GasX strips to help eliminate the gas. A heating pad on the shoulder helps as well as does walking. If it's real bad, take some liquid Tylenol. As far as the burping, can't really help with that as I didn't experience that. Congrats on the surgery!

When I was going through my infertility treatments (which btw didn't work) I was on a daily pre-natal Vitamin and 1000 mg of folic acid, OTC. This is very typical. You can easily add this to your daily routine, although if you are already taking a multi-vitamin, you may need to only add the extra folic acid. The folic acids tablets are tiny (think the size of a pencil eraser) and very thin. You should not have any problems taking those. Once you become pregnant, your OB will tell you if you should make any adjustments to your vitamin needs, such as adding additional Iron. Good luck and I wish you success!

When I had my first attacks, I thought it was my band, initially. However, the first time it happened I was eating string cheese and yogurt, and wearing an underwire bra, and thought maybe perhaps my bra was just too tight on me, so I went home and changed, and the pain eventually went away. The second time it happened, I had made some Cookies, ate some of them quite quickly, when the pain hit about 10 minutes later. Again, I thought I had been stuck as I didn't chew all that well (or at least I had chewed quickly). However, the third time it happened the pain awoke me at 1 in the morning, at least seven hours after I had eaten dinner. I knew it couldn't be my band. I continued to have pain through the night and into the next morning. Each time that pain would be in my back, the lower part between my shoulder blades. My final attack started hurting in my abdomen area on the right side. I happened to have a follow up appointment with my surgeon for a fill that next Monday (two days later) and after explaining to him what was going on, he did an ultrasound (as he is a gastrointestinal surgeon as well), and he found stones. He removed my gall bladder Thursday of the next week. When I spoke with my younger sister and an aunt who both had their gall bladders removed, they said their attacks felt like heart attacks. So each person's gall bladder pains can present differently. The wisest approach is to either get in touch with your lap band surgeon OR your PCP, and have the appropriate tests done to determine what is going on. And I did come on here and I googled to see what gall bladder attacks felt like, so I could see if I should go to my surgeon or my PCP. Arming yourself with information is never a bad thing, assuming of course you still seek professional medical advice. Just like you did! :confused:

I have used creamy Desitin (that's right, diaper rash ointment) to treat my reddened skin under my lower tummy as well as under my breasts and in the V of my groin that I would get from sweating. It works wonders. Now that I've lost over 70 pounds, I rarely get this any more, but I still have the Desitin on hand just in case.

I blog about my banding as well as my journey through infertility at The Winding Road to Parenthood. On the left side, you'll see a blog roll of other bandsters, which is just a small fraction of the bloggers out there who are bandsters. Click on a few of those, look at their blog roll, and you'll be opened up to an unlimited supply of bloggers. Good luck!

Just remember that you should recalculate your BMR about every 10 pounds or so, as your caloric needs will change as your weight decreases (or even increases). Good luck with it. Let us know what the other nutrionist says.

Have you ever calculated your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR)? Here is a link to do so. You plug in your height, weight and age, and it tells you how many calories you need to take in to maintain your current weight. Then, you need to calculate your caloric needs based off your activity level: Harris Benedict Equation Harris Benedict FormulaTo determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 So, this just deals with your caloric needs. As far as the Protein, that seems to be high to me, but I am not a nutritionist or dietician. It probably would be a good idea to go back to the nutritionist that your surgeon works with and see what s/he says about your nutritional needs. Good luck!

I'm hanging in there. Still losing. Total lost so far is over 70 pounds from highest weight, about 45 pounds from surgery. I'm into 1XL shirts and my size 18W slacks are really baggy in the butt and hips, but fit fine in the waist. I had to have gallbladder surgery on May 28, then was admitted to the hospital on June 17 due to pancreatitis which was caused by sludge/stones in my bile duct that escaped prior to my GB surgery and irritated my pancreas. But now I'm better, exercising again, and am feeling good. I'm trying to decide if I want to go in for a fill or not, but since I'm still losing at my current restriction, I think I may wait a bit until the losses either slow way down or stop all together. I find that as long as I'm exercising 3-4 days a week, I'm losing. If I rely totally on my band to do the work for me, then I don't lose. Which, I guess if I think about it, that's the way it should be, huh?

Dottie, why would you have to have a complete unfill for surgery? I had my gall bladder out and they left my fill in. Even had to have an ERCP (scope to check my bile duct for sludge/stone), and they didn't unfill me. Just curious as to why they thought you needed to be unfilled. Good luck with your surgery next week!

Hi All, It's been a while since I've posted. I started having gall bladder attacks (pretty mild compared to what I've read others having) and ended up having it removed last Thursday. So now I'm recovering from that surgery. Weight wise, I'm doing pretty good. Had a month where I really struggled with my sweet tooth. That's gotten better. I'm really starting to wrap my head around the eating enough to be satisfied, not eating so much I'm feeling full, issue. It's taken a while to get there, but slowly but surely I am. I usually keep my blog up to date if you ever want to check in on me. Hope you all are doing well and had a good Memorial Day weekend.

I found a really cute swimsuit with a skirt at Kmart last week that I use for water aerobics. It has a really flattering breast line, and the skirt still covers my biggish thighs, which have some sag to them as I've lost. I do have to tie the skirt in a knot during the work out as it tends to float up and get in my way.

My surgeon recommends taking Miralax (or the generic version as it is less expensive) every day. It isn't a laxative, but rather a stool softener. He said that by taking it daily, you will keep things moving without any harsh side effects or blow outs.

I went in for another fill yesterday and my surgeon said the exact same thing. It's not how much I can eat at a meal, but am I getting hungry in between meals and how quickly. For me, the last couple of weeks, I've been getting hungry after dinner and snacking, which is not a good thing, thus he was willing to give me another fill. During the day at work, it isn't so bad because I can limit myself to what I have available to eat (such as a fiber bar or some almonds). But at night, anything in the house is fair game. I joined the YMCA last night and am looking forward to tomorrow night when I can go to water aerobics. We've got bible study tonight, otherwise I'd go work out tonight too. I couldn't work out last night because I didn't have any work out clothes that fit (they are all too big) plus I wasn't sure if my swimsuits fit still. I did find one that will fit for a few more weeks, but I'm going to have to buy a new one soon. I like having that problem! :thumbup:

I had to retire my panties because they were granny baggy panties, and just did not look good. Last night hubby and I went shopping and I was looking at the underwear selection. He said I should get some cute ones, so I asked him what he defined as cute. He picked out thongs. So this morning I put a pair on, then put some slacks on. Um, no. While you could barely see the panty line, if I happened to bend over then straighten back up, the pants got stuck in my crack! I don't think so! Needless to say, I changed underwear. I want to know how women wear thong underwear without their slacks or skirts getting caught up in their cracks???? :thumbup:

It could be potassium rather than sodium levels being too low. It might be time for a complete blood work up with your PCP. I hope you can find out what is causing this issue. I'd rather faint in front of lots of people than in front of no one, so in case I hit my head or hurt myself, someone can call in aid. Embarrassing? Yeah, but possibly life saving? Definitely!

Awkward Customer, now that you have 8.5 ccs in your band, your doc will want to take it slow as you approach the green zone. They don't want to fill you too much as that could cause you all kinds of problems, which could lead to them taking out all of your liquid. Also, please keep in mind that once you start losing the weight (and I am confident that you will), not only will you lose the fat on your body, but you'll also lose the fat that is around your stomach, which is what your band rests on. So as that fat gets smaller, your band will loosen, requiring you to go in for another adjustment. Don't get too discouraged. This is one of the things about that lap-band, it's an adjustment filled journey (not just adjusting the band itself but also adjusting our heads and habits to succeed in this new lifestyle). We'll make it! By the way, I too am self-pay. While I want results (and now would be nice) I also don't want to do anything that could mess up my band. So if it takes slow and steady, then that's what I'll do. Hugs to you!

I think not only the influence our parents had on us as kids is hurting us now (clean your plate before you get up from the table) but also the head hunger. How can I possibly be full, I've only eaten (fill in the blank). I'm struggling with that right now. And I can tell too on the scales. How do you convince your head that the 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup or whatever amount you should eat is enough? I keep thinking, I'll just take one more bite, and then I'm like, blah! Luckily, I have never PB'd but I know that if I keep pushing my luck, that will change. I am guilty of bringing home leftovers from a restaurant and then not getting to them before it's time to toss them. I have a couple of containers of chinese food in my fridge right now from last week that I'll have to toss. Luckily, when I cook dinner at home, I enjoy the leftovers and have bought the small bowls from Ziploc that I then freeze the leftovers in and take to work at a later date. It's great! I just wish I could do that with restaurant food, but it tends not to freeze well. Someone once mentioned a band for the head. Perhaps we should all invest a little in the research and development of a head band (Ha!) and we can become rich and famous (well, rich at least). And thin. :thumbup:

Yesterday afternoon I was craving Peanut Butter and chocolate. So when I went into the kitchen, I looked up, saw some corn flakes on the fridge, and decided to make a batch of Cookies (somewhat similar to rice crispy treats). So, I cook the everything, mix it with the corn flakes, and then of course I think I need to eat the part that is stuck to the spooh. Then I think I need to eat the little bit of mixture that's left in the pan. By the way, I ate it fast and I don't think I did that great of a job chewing. I don't touch the finished product because they need to set. I grab my book, go out to our back patio to read for a while, and maybe 5 or 10 minutes later the pain starts. I've only had one other stuck episode, and it is not like others here have described. Mine are felt along my back, just at the bra line, as if my kidneys are on fire. I have a bit of discomfort in my tummy region, but absolutely none in my chest or esophogus region. The pain continued for about two hours before it subsided. Meanwhile, I'm googling gallbladder attack pain, and it is nothing like that, so I know it wasn't my GB. About an hour or so after the pain subsided, I decided I should eat something, but figure it ought to be a shake. So I make a shake last night and drink about half. Then 30-45 minutes later my head starts telling me I should actually eat something (damn head hunger!) so I try a bit of leftover chicken enchilada. That made me start hurting again. Now, today, hopefully after learning my lesson last night after eating, I am sticking to liquids. I've had my coffee, and drank the other half of the shake I made. So my question is this: Should I treat my shake just like food, and not drink my Water for an hour afterwards? Or can I drink my water sooner? Thanks!

Thanks, Lady! It's been almost an hour now so I think I'll go grab my Water. Ugh, the lessons we force ourselves to learn the hard way! I told Hubby last night to be sure to take the Cookies to work with him and let his employees eat them. After being stuck, I didn't even want to touch them - well, I wanted to, but I didn't let myself. Why do we do this to ourselves? We know we shouldn't have whatever it is we want, but then go ahead and have it anyway. I think I would have been okay had I eaten it slowly rather than scarfing it down like a raving mad woman! What's funny is that I am scheduled for a fill this afternoon, which I need, but now I may be a bit swollen so not sure if I'll get it or not. I'm trying to decide if I should tell the doc what happened and face the consequences (possibly no fill) or not mention it at all. I think I'll wait and see what my hunger level is this afternoon as I brought a yogurt to eat for lunch, again, trying to stick to the liquids. For the first time last night, I questioned my decision to get the band. I don't regret getting it, but after the pain I was in yesterday, I was facing "issues," mainly am I going to keep working at this or stop, like I've done in the past, when I've reached a certain level of success. I really need to push myself through this mental barrier (kind of like plateauing is a physical barrier to many) and just keep on keeping on. One thing I have realized is that this band, in order to continue working for me, needs exercise, which I haven't done much in the last month or so. But I am rectifying that situation as I am joining our YMCA which offers water aerobics which I love, and Zumba, which I've been wanting to try for ages. And I know that if I'm spending money on something, I'll use it as I hate wasting money. Gee, I just realized that I am using this post as a therapy session. Thanks for reading, everyone. I'll get my copay in the mail to you soon! :thumbup:

NJ, It seems like, for me, my fills take a while to kick in. I don't necessarily feel increased restriction right away. Perhaps this is the case for you as well. Another thing is that my surgeon has me eating regular food right after a fill, no liquids or mushies. It makes a difference. I weigh myself daily but record my weight weekly. I know that my weight will fluctuate based on my water intake, my sodium intake, whether I've had a BM or not, etc. So I don't worry too much about the day-to-day weight. But come Sunday, that's what I keep my eye on. Easter is over. Empty your house of any leftover candies or bunnies. I do much better when I don't have that stuff around. Congrats on the 5 pounds! Even if it was due to pure will power, it's a loss, and a good one too!

My surgeon's office provided me with a packet that included a template appeal letter. You should ask your surgeon if they have that available.

No need for an attorney to get involved. Just put together all of the facts, name of who you talked with, date, time, what they told you, the forms you completed, the steps you took following the customer service representative's advice, leaving out all the emotional pleas. Just state the facts, you followed the advice you were provided, and ask for reconsideration.

Why don't you go to NAHU - Consumer Information - Find an Agent to find an insurance agent in your area. They will help you determine what your needs are and what you can afford, and what is available in the New York area. I'm an agent in Colorado and all I know is that NY state has the weirdest insurance laws around, so you really want someone who is familiar with New York's insurance regulations. Good luck!

BethfromVA had asked in the WW thread: "I've been thinking of going back, but only for the meetings/support. Certainly we can't eat the way WW suggests due to restriction, but I have thought all along that it's necessary to have some form of support/counseling along with anything else we're doing. THis may be the cheaper route than going to a therapist that deals with eating disorders." If you are looking for a support group that doesn't sell stuff or charge much, you might want to look into Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS). I joined this group back in the early 90's. It doesn't promote any type of program, but it is a support group where you go weekly to weigh in, report your progress, and get/give support to other people who are trying to lose or keep off the pounds (KOPS). I haven't been part of it since the mid 90's. Now, I'm not sure what their thoughts are on WLS, but I can't imagine that they would ban anyone who had WLS. Just a thought if you are looking for a WL support group.