ElfiePoo

Good morning/afternoon ladies & gents! It's supposed to be another sticky day here so at 7 a.m. I shut down all the windows. It already feels noticeably cooler inside than outside. I'm doing moderately well on my eating plan considering I have absolutely no restriction and 'could' eat as much or whatever I wanted...if I wanted...which I don't. It's just nice having a wider variety to choose from, paricularly with all the fruits and vegies coming to the local farm markets. Still not exercising although my days are constant movement involving bending, lifting and stretching as I pack orders for customers and clean around the house. Time for lunch, so have a good day everyone! .

Cool...my area of expertise :wub:. First, do not put anything on your incision until it is healed. That means wait until even the scabs are gone. Second, Vitamin E in capsules...generally measured in IU's...are of no real benefit. The carrier in the capsule is merely glycerin with vitamin E molecules attached and this is what you are rubbing into your skin. The type of Vitamin E used in these capsules is meant to be taken internally. The Vitamin E does not become useable until it goes through the digestion process, at which time the Vitamin E is cleaved off and is now in useable form. So the only benefit you're getting is from the carrier or glycerin. If you want to lessen scarring, you want Rose Hip Seed Oil. Studies have proven that rose hip seed oil rejuvenates skin cells. Some of the women in the study (all had mastectomies) didn't even have to have plastic surgery to deal with the scarring afterward because the rose hip seed oil worked so well. Rainbowmeadow.com has it and it's listed under nutrients. If you really want Vitamin E though, you can also get the right Vitamin E...also listed under nutrients. You might also try a health food store or drugstore. .

I had no special diet preop and two weeks postop I was back on regular food. We only eat dinner together but I just cook a normal protein/vegie/carb healthy meal and take my smaller portions. Since I'm now able to eat Protein again, I just avoid the carbs and eat the protein and vegies. When we go out to eat, my husband let's me order and I just take 1/3 of his meal (or less if the restaurant is particularly generous)...or the components of his meal that I want.

Personally, I'd wait to get a fill until you get back. I'm at 6cc after having been too full for months and know that I'm now able to eat anything I want. However, I've decided to stay at 6cc because we're going on vacation in 2 months and the last thing I want to do is have to look for a bathroom...several times...during meals. Which is what the last few months have been like.

Mimik, You're doing beautifully on the weight loss! From personal experience, you can still feel like you can eat more than the recommended amount. This is where our part of the job comes in. We have to 'choose' to put down the fork even when our belly and eyes say "more". .

Congratulations, Whillow! When we've been wearing 20+, dropping to an 18 is such an accomplishment! .

As Betsy said, postop food plans vary according to physician. By the end of week 2 I was back on solid foods. The biggest problem is that they usually stitch a fold of your stomach over the band to help keep it from slipping. My surgeon did this and explained that it is extremely rare for a band to slip, even with vomiting, when this is done *but* since your stitches are only a week old, if you eat something solid and end up urping it back up because you get stuck, you run the risk of tearing stitches as well. .

Sounds like a scam. My mom had the same thing happen to her and when she tried to contact the company, there was never a 'live' person to talk to and nobody returned her e-mails or phone calls. She ended up treating it as a fraud claim with her credit card company and reporting them to the better business bureau. .

Like around your bicep or a little higher? It's most likely referred pain from some part of your band rubbing against your diaphragm. I had such a pain from the time I came out of surgery (9 months ago) until about a month ago when I hit a loss of 63 pounds. Apparently I'd finally lost enough to allow the band to sag or reposition itself so that it is no longer rubbing against my diaphragm...and no more pain. Most likely, when you eat, you may be pulling the band a bit tighter. As the people here told me...hang in there, it does go away eventually.

And that's just not reasonable. The band was put in for a purpose. Until you reach some sort of restriction, it serves no purpose. .

So with my unfill taking me to 6cc's in my 12cc Realize band, I'm now able to eat anything I want and I don't feel any restriction. I'm ok with that though because I've come to terms with the fact that, at least for me, the band's job will not be to help me lose weight so much as it will keep me from going completely overboard and pigging out the way I did pre-band. Instead of fish for dinner last night, I realized I had a pack of wings in the fridge that had to be cooked. So I did buffalo wings for dinner. Yeah...I was so knocked out that I could even eat them that I over did it. I think I ate 7 or 8 wings. I don't feel too bad though because I managed to keep my carbs for the day below 30gm and prior to the wings my calories were only sitting at about 700. Oh and Bob...I'm not coming back to Farmville. It wasn't until a week after I gave up Mafia that I realized the stupid game had been stressing me out. Well, it's a very cool morning here. I actually had to close the windows, turn off the fans and put on long pants! So I think I'll clean house and then if I still have the energy will whip up a baby quilt for one of my husband's co-workers. Have a good one y'all! Melody

I'd take it as a complement. Melody

Trace, I drink EAS whey Protein powder (1 scoop) made with almond milk (to control the carbs) and it's 27 gm of protein and only 160 calories. That's not a lot of calories at all...but then I don't see them as 'supplements'. I use them as a meal or mid-meal snack replacement. I think a lot depends on whether that satisfies the person's 'hunger'. I start my morning with a protein shake because I find that anything else and I'm belly growling hungry within an hour or so. Also, I've never been much of a breakfast eater but recognize that I need to put some time of protein in just to keep my blood sugar stable.

I was banded last November and I was back at work the day after my surgery. I never felt like I had surgery. We're the lucky ones. You say your problem has always been 'grazing'. I'm sorry to say that the band will not solve your grazing problem. Even when you're at your sweet spot, you'll still be able to graze...and sadly, the band also doesn't seem to help at all with eating sweets. Apparently they break down enough in chewing that they slide on through...even when you have too much of a fill. Keep in mind that until you do reach some sort of restriction, it's just a piece of plastic. Even after you reach restriction, you'll still have to 'choose' to put down the fork, 'choose' not to graze, and 'choose' to eat the right foods. Melody

Unfortunately there are a lot of 'bariatric' doctors out there who have little real understanding of how the band works. I would tell your doctor that you did not just go through all of this to have a useless piece of plastic in your stomach and that you would like your fill schedule advanced...but then that's just me. I have a 12 cc band and was told that real restriction would not come until I was between 7-8cc. At 1 month post op, they put in several cc's and then 1 cc every 2 weeks or something similar. At 1 1/2 months postop I was up to 7 cc's. Every person will react differently to fills. Some people here find that they have 1-2 weeks of restriction after even a minimal fill due to swelling. I never did...which is why we decided to do fills more often. Ok, all that said...even after you get to your sweet spot, you will still have to do everything you're doing now. The only difference will be that the band is there to put the brakes on if you have a 'weak' moment...and even then, it will be possible to eat the wrong things and get around the band.

You can do it, Wendy. I know it's frustratingly busy work they're putting you through but it will all be worth it.

Before you decide to get the band, I would highly recommend taking a serious look at your eating habits. The band will only tell you when you're full. It won't make you put down your fork. It won't keep you from grazing. It won't keep you from making bad choices. If you have never had any success at losing weight...losing, not keeping it off...rethink the band. My doctor told me I was the perfect candidate for the band because I had a past history of losing weight successfully. My best effort was to lose 70 pounds and, although I've kept it off for 8 years, keeping it off was not why I was a good candidate. It was because I stayed on a diet and lost weight. That same resolve...the ability to make good food choices and put down the fork...are still needed with the band. If you have never been able to do that, then the band may not be right for you. Let's face it...if you're willing to eat until you're ready to throw up pre-band, you can still do that after the band. Yes, that point will come sooner *but* you'll still be able to eat enough to stop losing weight...and possibly gain back any you've lost...and you'll still be able to eat all the wrong foods. I did tons of reading, questioning and more reading prior to getting the band but it still took nine months of living with the band to get rid of some misconceptions. The band does not magically make me put down my fork. I just get the mental feeling of 'full' even when my belly doesn't feel full. Can I continue to eat? Depends on the food, but yeah...usually I can. It's still up to me to take control and put down the fork. The band doesn't magically allow only good food to go down. In fact, sweets seem to magically slide through while vegies can be a bear...particularly if you have too much of a fill. My mind is sliding into a vegie state which tells me it's time for my midmorning snack (watermelon, yummy) to keep the blood sugar stable so I'll leave it at that.

You should have had no problem drinking immediately after a fill. I would immediately call your doctor. If he does not tell you to come in for an immediate unfill, I'd go to the ER. You only have to go 3 days without Water before you die. Even if you're drinking enough to keep you from dying, you may not be drinking enough to stop damage to your organs. Call your doctor.

I'm the opposite. I was always surprised when I looked in a mirror or saw a picture of myself because I never had a mental image of myself as fat. It's actually nice to look in a mirror and see a thinner me that comes closer to matching my mental image. I can relate, however, to cooking too much food or taking too much. For example, making a whole sandwich when experience has taught me that I'll only be able to eat half. Took me 15 years to learn how to cook normally for my family and my husband's versus cooking 5x the amount of food needed (which would be all eaten by the way) for my parents and siblings. Hopefully, it won't take that long to learn to take only what I really can eat.

FACEBOOK people... I am so sorry if I inadvertently deleted you, but I was a bit overzealous in removing 'friends' when I quit playing Mafia Wars. I had over 1300 people I had to remove and may have removed some of you. If I did and you want to re-friend me, you can find me either with my FB name - Melody Parker Upham - or my e-mail: melody@dmci.net

Thank you ladies. HB, I think you're right. I passed my 'sweet spot' somewhere along the way and I just need to go back and find it. I went into the doctor's yesterday morning and found I was at 8cc (couldn't remember where we left it last time). After talking to the nurse, I made the decision to take it down to 6cc and, if necessary, work slowly up from that point. The difference this time is that I know the sweet spot is that place where you can still eat 'most' foods (understanding that some days the band is just tighter than other days) 'most' of the time and have control over the quantity. Being able to eat the 'good for you' foods is just as important as the restriction. My son and I went out to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and I had their appetizer crab cake with a side of green beans. It came with a baked potato but I only ate about 1/4 cup of potato. I was in heaven! Green beans! No doubt I could probably have eaten that whole giant baked potato *but* I recognized that I was full and stopped. That has to be the big bonus for me since surgery. I can now recognize when I'm full *before* I've eaten enough for 3 people. I did not get stuck or slime even once. For dinner I had a piece of fish with steamed broccoli sprinkled with just a tiny bit of parmesan cheese. Broccoli was always a big nono for me. Stuck every time. Not this time. The last 9 months have not been a total loss. I'm still down 30+ pounds. I've learned what true 'full' feels like. I've learned to take small bites, chew well and eat slowly and it's become a habit so that I really don't have to think about it anymore. Most importantly I've learned that *I* am still the one who has to put the fork down because there will always be foods that will slide through and let me overeat...and *I* am the one who still has to make the good food choices because the band allows some of the worst food choices to slide right through. I have to say that I am feeling motivated and positive this morning after yesterday's complete lack of sliming, PB'ing or 'oversploding' (as opposed to vomiting). I started my morning with my usual protein shake which I'm now making with unsweetened almond milk (as opposed to the higher carb cow's milk) and am planning on a salad with a couple ounces of protein in it for lunch. My between meal snacks today are going to be watermelon just because it's that time of year and I'm craving the fresh fruits. Since we're going to disneyworld in 2 months and will be eating out all the time, and I don't want to have to deal with PBing or sliming, I've decided to stay at 6cc until after I come back...and then make a decision as to whether or not I need another fill. I'm not going to be in a hurry this time.

Not a thing. They only dealt with my belly area and the doc and nurses were considerate enough to pull a sheet over my lower half before lifting my gown to prep my belly and in after care.

I had my first fill 30 days after surgery and then a fill every 2 weeks. I was at 8cc within 90 days after surgery, but over the last 8 1/2 months, I've gone in a couple times to get some taken out. I know my clinic charges $250 to the insurance company but if you don't have insurance, they don't charge more than $100...which I think is a crock since the tech spends all of 5 minutes with me.

I wouldn't call this bulimia, although it is a very bad habit to get into. Bulimia is a mental disorder that generally involves binging and purging. It just sounds like you've decided that you are going to eat that piece of bread because it tastes good and you've found a way to deal with the fact that your body no longer is able to process it. You either need to get an unfill to the point where you can eat bread (even if it means that you can now eat in quantity again)...or start teaching yourself some new behaviors. .

Bob, it's hit and miss for me on meat...mostly miss. Salads..fuggitaboudit. Geez...I'm drooling just thinking about a salad. ;-p .