ElfiePoo

Nope. Stopped the day after the seminar and haven't had one since. I'm not going to go there either because I know that one sip will have me off and running again. .

Whillow, I eat about 3/4-1 cup of food at each meal. I always start with the Protein and try to get in at least 2 ounces. Then I make sure I eat at least 1/4 cup of vegies. If I still have room, I'll eat 1/4 cup of carbs...no more. I don't worry about whether or not I'm getting enough protein because I drink 3 low carb, low cal Protein shakes each day (one mid-morning, one mid-afternoon and one mid-evening). They give me all my protein grams. I keep the carbs low mainly because I'm a diabetic and I find it easier to control my insulin requirements (which are becoming minimal as time goes on) without the complication of the carbs. Plus, carbs make me crave more carbs unless I keep them to a very minimum. If I eat carbs for lunch (say in the form of a few crackers or half a grilled cheese sandwich), I won't eat them for dinner and vice versa. I never eat carbs for Breakfast. Ok...I do but they are a couple grams here and there. I probably don't eat more than 35-40 carbs per day.

I was a diet pop addict (yep, originally from Ohio and now in Michigan :frown:) before my surgery. I gave it up right after the seminar when we were told it was on the 'no-no' list. I have since asked why and the response was that some people have a problem with the carbonation (creating serious gas pains in the stomach and difficulty burping it out) but more importantly, the sweetness and sodium in the pop triggers cravings and 'head' hunger. They said it was a myth that drinking soda will stretch the pouch and/or hurt the band. Another reason to avoid pop, though, is that the chemicals used to create the carbonation interfere with our bodies ability to absorb Calcium. It is recommended that women avoid carbonation as one of the ways to prevent osteoporosis. As I said, I was a diet pop addict...and I haven't had even one since the seminar and, truth be told, I haven't missed it. I have no doubt, though, that if I drink even one, I'll be back on that merry-go-round of craving the carbonation. Best avoided in my case. .

It absolutely makes no sense to me why some doctors make their patients wait 3 months for a fill...unless they are ignorant of how the band works. Until you get restriction, which you won't get until you get your fills, that band is just a lump of plastic. I had my first fill at 4 weeks post op and then a fill every 2 weeks. At *less* than 3 months I had restriction and I've been losing weight steadily since then. I can't even imagine the waste of time in not getting fills for 3 months. .

...and another day of jonesing to bake cookies. Guess it's the homeless shelter's lucky day again. I'm going to bake my little heart out and then ship the trays of cookies off with my husband, since the college is closed and he also has the day off. That is if I can pull myself away from my dining room table which sits in front of a big picture window overlooking my own personal winter wonderland. The snow is still coming down in big fat flakes and we already have several inches on the ground. Days like this make me truly appreciate living in the country. <big happy smile> .

I am sooo jealous! You can eat corn tortillas and rolls??! Everytime I think, "well maybe today will be different" and do a stupid and try even the tiniest bite, I'm in the bathroom sliming it up. :frown: About all I can manage is the 'diet' bread (you know, sliced half as thick as a regular slice of bread) and it has to be toasted well...or those really dry, thin melba toast rounds. .

I have the Realize band. Just happened to be what my doctor was using this month. He's also used the Lap Band. I've been happy with mine. .

I used to suffer from sinus and upper respiratory problems *constantly*, as did my youngest son. Then, about 15 years ago, I discovered that eucalyptus essential oil kills airborn bacteria. So I bought one of those little potpourri crocks...looks like a crockpot but only holds about 1 cup of Water. I put half a cup of water in it and about 10 drops of eucalyptus oil and the water warms up just enough to give off the aroma but not enough to burn off the oil quickly. I also put some straight oil into a mister bottle (you can get them in the hair care aisle at the supermarket) and when I change the bedsheets, I mist the mattress pad and the pillows. I do this in the morning so by night it just smells fresh. The purpose is to kill dust mites (yep it does that too) but the bonus is that the smell will go through the whole house and kill airborne bacteria. I'll put about 1 Tbs in the rinse water when I wash the sheets to do the same thing (kill dust mites). I can't remember the last time anyone in our home had a sinus or respiratory problem. Oh, and my son and I are both asthmatics and don't have a problem with the aroma from the oil. Since you already have a sinus infection, you might try putting a few drops of the oil in a bowl of warm water (warm enough to give off steam (but don't boil the water!), put a towel over your head and the bowl and breathe in the vapors through your nose...assuming you can. Most places charge an arm and a leg for this stuff, but you can get a 16 oz bottle at Rainbowmeadow.com for about $14. Last time I priced this at a health food store, they wanted $8 for a little 1/2 oz bottle.

Oni, Sometimes there's a delayed reaction with the swelling after a fill. Sometimes we just irritate it with something we've eaten. If you're having a hard time getting things down, assuming you can drink your Water with no problem, then I'd go back to Protein shakes and 'soft' foods (yoghurt, etc.) for a couple days and let it calm down. Then when you go back to eating, take small bites, chew well and eat slowly. Pay attention to the foods that give you trouble. Since my last fill I can't eat chicken anymore unless I cut it up in teeny little pieces (much like you'd do for a toddler) and then chew each one to mush. I've also learned that the chicken has to have something on it to moisten it or it doesn't matter how small or how well I chew. It will get stuck. It's such a hassle that I pretty much avoid chicken these days. .

I was never told not to eat before being filled and most of my fills were in the afternoon. I casually mentioned on one of them that I'd forgotten to eat lunch and almost stopped on the way there and the girl just as casually mentioned, "Oh, it's actually preferred that you don't eat." After a little more discussion, she clarified that it was because if you show up right after eating, you could be holding food in your pouch and when they do the fill, you may seem to be 'too' tight when, in fact, you aren't. So I stuck to Protein shakes before my fills. .

I was the same. Never took any pain meds after surgery and right back to work the day after (should've waited at least one more day though). No gas pains. Occasional soreness for a bit if I overdid it, but otherwise, nada.

Whillow, I don't think it's weird at all. I love to browse through cooking magazines or books and have subscriptions online to food & Wine, Fine Cooking and Cooks Illustrated. Reading the recipes is almost as good as eating them. :redface: I hate the cold so I rarely get out in the winter. Once spring comes, my garden will keep me busy. In the meantime, when I'm not working, I play computer games, get involved in various forums, etc. What I don't do is watch a lot of tv. All the food ads just make me crave the food. I also keep a glass of crystal lite near me at all times. I find that it keeps my taste buds occupied. .

I've been trying to eat something solid for lunch instead of my usual Protein shakes but have a pretty busy schedule and am terrible about planning ahead. Lately my lunch has either been a bit of tuna salad (tuna, just enough lite mayo to moisten it, minced onion, dill) with a few garlic melba toast rounds or a cup of tomato Soup with 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich. I've also had a couple ounces of cheese, again with some garlic melba rounds and some tiny dill pickles. .

I've never been a fan of hummus, but my husband was experimenting and decided to add smoked paprika to one of his batches. It was actually quite yummy! .

I don't think it's a scam. I do think it's an unenlightened surgeon. Unfortunately, some doctors are still in the dark ages when they removed pesky things like the gallbladder without a thought. When they did my ultrasound, they discovered a pearl sized gallstone. However, since I've never had any signs or symptoms of gallbladder problems, my surgeon said it would be foolish to remove the gallbladder. He said it's not uncommon to find gallstones and there's no reason to remove the gallbladder if there are no problems. Remember when removing the tonsils was something all children had done routinely? Now they rarely take them out because they know better. Personally, if you aren't having problems with your gallbladder, I would tell them that you decline their 'elective' surgery and will take your chances. Will you have to have your gallbladder removed down the line? Who knows...but to remove a body part 'just in case' seems a bit extreme. But then that's just me.

Basically, when mine brought up possible bad experiences, my response was "life never goes the way people expect it will, but we deal with it and move on." When she started probing for 'trauma', I pretty much told her that people have been dealing with these issues for thousands of years and it's only in recent decades that we've made a big deal out of them and using them as an excuse to behave as victims. That I don't dwell about the things that have gone wrong with my life. I deal with them and move on. Life is too short to waste time on negativity. My eval lasted for 30 minutes and she said she wished all of her patients had that outlook. I am a clinical psychologist and knew that 'most' will take a tiny incident from your life and blow it out of proportion. The trick is to keep them from even starting down that path. Oh, and she didn't know I was a psychologist so that had no bearing. .

Take *small* sips of Water. If you can't get it down, then call your doctor right away. Dehydration can kill you. If you can keep the water down with small sips, I'd give it a bit. You may just have temporary swelling from the fill. .

The honest truth is that every doctor's postop requirements will be different...just as their preop diet requirements were. My surgeon had no preop diet other than the day before surgery. By two weeks postop he had me back on regular foods. Based on that I doubt you've done any harm. Right now, I'd just try to make good food choices (McDonald's wouldn't be considered a good one :redface:), make sure you drink your liquids and try to start creating good habits along the guidelines you'll have to follow when you start getting fills and restriction. Make good food choices. Drink your Water. Try to avoid snacking on junk food. Contrary to some opinions, there is nothing wrong with a mid-meal healthy snack. I eat 3 main meals and then between my meals (and mid-evening) I have 3 more small 'meals'. Usually these are just a low carb, low cal Protein shakes, but sometimes, in the evening, if I really am wanting to chew on something, I'll eat 2 oz of cheese with a couple melba toast rounds. Basically, my mini-meals are protein boosters. They keep my blood sugar stable and keep me from being hungry and/or craving. .

or in another state, etc...please keep in mind that just getting the band put in will not give you restriction and until you get restriction, it will be as if you were not banded. Yes, there are rare instances of people losing weight without getting their band filled, but this is *extremely* rare. Yes, there are rare instances of people getting minimal fills and only 1 or 2 and having restriction and/or losing weight, but again, this is very rare. From reading this forum, it takes most of us *several* fills (which will depend on how aggressive your fills are) before we reach restriction. I had 6 or 7 aggressive fills over a 2 month period (at 4 weeks postop and then every 2 weeks) before I reached restriction. I mention this because I've seen a number of posts from people who get their surgery outside the country and then are unable to get all the fills they need because they can't afford to fly back as often as needed. If this is the case, then make arrangements for your fills somewhere closer, but do make arrangements. Otherwise you're going to be one of those unhappy people who just can't understand why they've only lost 25 pounds 6 months after surgery...or worse, gained back everything they've lost and blame it on the band. It won't be the band that is at fault.

I'd guess the ever increasing rate of obesity in the U.S. is part of the answer...but also I think the weight requirement was more of an insurance requirement. Doctors tend not to be as strict. If I could have had this surgery when I was 180 pounds (back when I was 25)...and gaining every year at a steady rate...I would've done it and gladly paid for it myself even though I only needed to lose about 60 pounds at that point. .

Glad it worked out, Jax. Kudos for being proactive. .

The inside joke in the industry is that anyone in the field of psychology or psychiatry is a loony toon themself and that's why they went into the field to begin with...to understand their own problems. Now, that's not true of me. I went into clinical psychology in order to understand my whacko family. :thumbup: .

Oh darn...I said my other post would be my last and here I went again. Well slap duct tape on my fingers and kick my soap box back into the closet. :thumbup: .

ROFL...probably not. Actually, what I've found most interesting about this thread is how people look at this whole process. Not one person responded to my query as to whether they would bring KFC into their home *knowing* it was their partner's weakness and *knowing* that their partner was on a very low fat diet because of heart disease and a high risk of heart attack. I'm assuming they wouldn't because they care about their partner and want them around for a good long time. Based on many of the posts here, it seems many don't see this same connection between our obesity and our life span. Instead, it's something less and expecting our partner to support our new healthy lifestyle in order to prolong our life is seen as an unreasonably demanding 'whim'. Make no mistake...our lives are shortened by decades because of obesity and the health complications that arise from it. Let's not make it less than it is.

Yep, I can relate totally. To be honest, I was not totally honest with the shrink. I knew exactly where they were going with some of their questions and deliberately lied because I knew I'd be flagged even though my honest answers *should not* have been a cause for concern since some of the events/feelings/etc. were more than 30 years ago. I do know that if this psych eval comes back in a negative way, you can get a second evaluation and dump the first one. Although if insurance is paying for it, you may have to pay for the second one. I did. /.