ElfiePoo

I have the Realize band and there was a card in the packet I took home on the day of my surgery. Basically, these cards are a 'request' to the restaurant which the restaurant does not have to honor. Personally, I tossed my card because there is nothing on the children's menu I would eat. I usually take a small portion from my husband's or son's meal since there is usually way too much food to start with or, if I'm out with someone else, I'll take the leftovers home. Buffets aren't an issue since I don't eat at them anymore. Even the charge for a child's portion is exhorbitant given how little I can eat at a meal these days. .

I'd be surprised if they approved the claim even with the surgeon's approval unless he can supply medical proof that there's a necessity since the standard is that people can return to work within 1-2 weeks as long as their job doesn't involve heavy lifting. You're only a couple days past surgery. You'll be amazed at how well you'll feel in a week as long as you get up and move around now. My observation from reading posts here and in other forums is that there is a longer recuperation period (more fatigue and pain) for those who lay around in bed every day. Force yourself to get up and move around. It helps clear your system of the anesthetics used in surgery and your body will heal faster so you can get off the pain meds sooner...which will also make you feel better. .

I would hand carry the letter to the doctor and make it a point to tell him that he is losing patients because of this woman. At that point, it is within his control to save his business. I would check out this new doctor before actually switching just to make sure you like her...but I think I'd also write a letter to the insurance company or contact someone there. I actually wondered if perhaps there isn't a bit of a kickback arrangement going on between this 'gatekeeper' and the nutritionist and that's why she's making people see her every time. .

Wow...I've never had a burp that big! Don't think I want to either. :biggrin: Mine, when I forget to chew (which usually only happens on the first bite), are tiny little burps that just sort of 'move' things around. After a couple painful moments, problem is solved.

I made the decision to be open about this because I thought it was a good opportunity to educate the public. Too many people (even fat people) think we're fat because we're lazy or stupid or have a character defect. It's a good thing I did decide to be open about it because my mom has a network of friends in New Zealand and they knew within 24 hours after I told her and are wishing me well and giving tremendous support. My mother-in-law is French and so a small town in France is now cheering me on. My husband told a few people at work and now I'm being asked by some of his co-workers if I'd mind talking to their spouse who's expressed interest...and so on. My aunt runs a small newspaper in my hometown and wondered if I'd be interested in doing a series of articles on my 'journey' for the paper. I'm considering it. I don't worry about those who judge me for eating in a manner they deem unacceptable or not losing weight as fast as they think I should be losing. That is their problem. I strongly recommend Camryn Manheim's book, "Wake Up, I'm Fat". I read this book several years ago and it was an epiphany for me. From that day forward I was never ashamed of being fat and the word 'fat' stopped being an insult. I was even able to deal with the obnoxiously rude teenager who, trying to impress her friends, public proclaimed "Boy lady, you sure do have a fat ass." I just turned and calmly told her. "Yes, I am obviously not blind and neither are the people within range of your voice, so we're all aware of that. So one wonders what your purpose is in pointing it out so loudly and publicly." It left her speechless and one of her friends actually apologized for her. .

My surgery was at 8 a.m. and I was home by 2 p.m. My lift restrictions were 5 pounds the first week, 10 pounds by the end of the 2nd week. Then 'normal lifting' ok...until he found out that normal lifting for me was 50-75#. Then he revised it to no more than 15-20 pounds *max* for 4 weeks after surgery.

I wouldn't call this 'throwing up' (aka vomiting). I had to do this once last week when I was too tight. When the Water went down, it seemed to move things around (which were blocking the opening) but the water came right back out just by leaning over slightly. No massive heaving, bile or regurgitation which is typical of vomiting. I told my husband it reminded me of a backed up toilet. I just had to remove the clog and then things went down fine.

Two months post op here and no hair loss.

I'm not a master bander by any means, but I have hit my sweet spot and I can eat rice, bread, pasta, etc...just not in excess. Yesterday's menu looked like this: Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg, 1/2 slice oatmeal bread Lunch: 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich, 1/2 cup clam chowder Dinner: 3 oz roasted chicken, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and about 2 Tbs of rice pilaf. I originally took 1/4 cup but I reached 'full' before I'd even finished half of it. What I find interesting is that my blood sugar didn't drop despite not eating 6 mini meals as I've had to do in the past...and I was perfectly satisfied right up to about an hour before each meal. Then, it wasn't a case of hunger, just the knowledge that I 'would be' ready for dinner by the time I prepared it. Oh and my doc recommends 1 cup of food at each meal with the bulk being Protein and vegies. .

I couldn't agree more! I interviewed several doctors before making my choice and I knew which questions to ask because I read through the postop board and found the areas of concern. My biggest had to do with fills. I wanted a doctor who would see me as a unique individual and work with me...not just follow some arbitrary guideline. As a result, after 3 fills and 8 weeks postop I am at my sweet spot. Pay attention as well to the staff because that's who you'll deal with for the most part. Also, I've found that if a doctor's staff are grumpy and ill-mannered, chances are the doctor is too because it works it's way down through the ranks. .

I was told not to drink 30 minutes prior to eating or 60 minutes after. That's working for me now that I have restriction. .

I hate milk but my doctor said it's good for me and recommended 1 cup per day. So I mix it with my morning Protein shake and half a banana. I wouldn't see that milk is a problem unless you're lactose tolerant. I had cream of tomato soup the other day with my lunch. Yummy. .

I am ROFLMAO...although at first I thought you said you were giving the 'dog' a second glance and I thought 'poor doggie'! LOL. My doc is apparently unusual, but it may be because he has the band and has personal experience with it, but he lets his patients determine when they need a fill or unfill and it's based on whether or not they're hungry and/or whether they're still able to eat to excess. Perhaps you could call your doc and schedule your fill sooner?

Call 'em up and ask them to take out the Fluid to *be sure* you have 8cc's. That's one heck of a lot of fluid for a first fill...for any fill...and to not have any type of restriction? Sounds strange. I have the Realize band and at 6 cc's I could eat to excess if I wanted although did have difficulty with french bread and similar 'european style' breads. At 8 cc's I couldn't eat solid foods (oh, except for Cookies ) so they took out 1 cc. Now at 7 cc's I think I'm at my sweet spot. Definitely feel full after my meal and I'm 'content' for about 4 hours. I had one scrambled egg and 1/2 piece of toasted oatmeal bread for Breakfast and 1/2 cup of clam chowder and 1/2 of a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. Now, four hours later, I'm ready for a meal, but I'm going to put it off for another hour or so by having a cup of sugar free hot chocolate. I can't remember when I've eaten so little and felt so satisfied!

Calories in/Calories out. It takes a specific amount of calories to maintain a specific amount of weight at a specific amount of energy expended. You're now 25 lbs lighter so in order to start losing again, you need to either decrease your calories and/or increase your energy expended from what it was previously. If you've been maintaining for 5 weeks then you are eating and expending exactly what your body needs to maintain that weight. This is all assuming that you don't have a metabolic disorder (e.g. thyroid) or other medical conditions that would prevent weight loss. .

LOL...nah, I hope you do well on it but after being able to eat only liquids for 5 days due to a too tight band, I think I'm going to just enjoy eating. Normally I start my day with a Protein shake on week days, but this morning I had a scrambled egg and half a piece of toasted homemade oatmeal bread. You know life has changed when you consider this a meal fit for kings. :biggrin: .

Nope, it's there.

Sounds like you're too tight. How big is your band and how many cc's are in it? Perhaps you've had restriction for quite awhile but missed the cues? :biggrin: .

Looks like I'll end the year in my sweet spot and now hopefully kick some serious scale! I've been doing pretty good at losing despite having the ability (up until last Wednesday) to eat however much I wanted but it's nice to finally have 'Hilda' there as backup when the 'ol self-control takes a nose dive. It helps too that all the adult children and their families have gone back to their own homes, so mealtimes will return to our much simpler fare. .

I had my first 3 cc fill on 12/1/09 and my second 3 cc fill on 12/15/09. They did a third fill of 2 cc on 12/23/09. Since then I've been able to eat the odd cookie and Soups, even oven roasted carrots...but no Protein of any sort. eggs cooked in any fashion, chicken or meat...even pureed...it all got stuck. Definitely no bread, not even toasted and no salads. So I've pretty much stuck (no pun intended) to liquids up until today when they removed 1 cc at my request. Afterwards, for lunch, I ate 1/4 of a grilled Jarlsberg cheese sandwich and 1/2 cup of homemade clam chowder and it all went down without pain, I felt full and content and stayed that way for the next 4 hours or so. My stomach is just now beginning to grumble, but I think since it's so late, I'm just going to shut it up with a Protein shake and call it quits. I'm stoked! .

Awww...sorry to hear you have to wait another week, but you know, I was looking at your sig line and can tell you'll manage just fine. You're progress is awesome! .

Dunno...my doctor doesn't have any restrictions. If I can eat it, I can have it. Just use common sense. Just as preop and postop diets vary by doctor so does the diet following a fill. .

You know I'd gone to several seminars with various surgeons (while I was interviewing them) and all, with the exception of the one I chose, stated that the band did not have as high of a success rate as the bypass. Not surprisingly, they were pushing hard for the bypass. Since I know a number of people who've had bypasses...and who are still rather fat and no longer losing weight...I asked them what criteria they used to determine 'success'. Apparently a 'success' is when a person loses at least 50% of their excess weight...and a bypass patient will typically lose at least that just by virtue of malabsorption and just in the first year. The doctor I finally chose was extremely neutral and unbiased in putting forth all options (bypass, sleeve and band) and said that there were pros and cons to all of them and our needs would determine which we should choose. He also passed out copies of research data that showed that while bypass patients appeared to be more successful initially, it all leveled out by the end of the 2nd year...and by the 7-8th year, band patients had actually lost more of their excess weight than bypass patients. I think this may be due to attitude. I've heard many bypass patients state that they chose the bypass because they knew they didn't have the self-control to curb their eating and needed the malabsorption. Many will admit that they don't change their eating/lifestyles at all. If true, then while they may lose 2/3 of their excess weight through malabsorption, at some point, they level off and even their doctors will tell them that they'll still have to take off the last 1/3rd the old fashioned way. Obviously this is not true of everyone that gets a bypass but visit one of the many bypass forums and it's a pretty prevalent attitude. And, by the way, I'm not making a judgment...just an observation. .

I've had 3 fills and one unfill in the last 4 weeks. The first was 3 cc...nothing. The second was 3 cc...just a bit of trouble with french bread. Third fill (see signature line) was 2 cc. At that point I couldn't eat most solids without getting stuck. They took 1 cc out today and I'm pretty sure I'm at my sweet spot. I'm fortunate that I don't have a doctor that makes his patients wait months between fills...but then he has a band also and has first hand experience with it as well as 'book' knowledge. Will this be my last fill? Who knows, but I am at the point where I have restriction and can eat 'normally' but not to excess.