ElfiePoo

Bahahahahaha!!! That's the best answer yet. .

Uncomfortable would be an understatement. It's painful enough to make my eyes Water. When I'm stuck, it feels like I have a rock stuck in my chest. It takes all my concentration to just sit and try to relax and allow it to go through. Tensing up does not help the situation. .

ROFL...although there were days when my children were growing up that I wanted to that very thing. Fortunately, they lived through those stages and are now mature, responsible adults on their own. .

Because water helps food 'slide' through...even if you have restriction. The whole point of the band is to fill the upper stomach so that your brain gets the 'full' signal. If you drink with your meals...or right after, the water helps thing out what's in your pouch and it will slide right through. I was told that drinking 30 minutes prior means you'll fill your pouch with water and not be able to eat as much...which doesn't make sense since water (at least for me) slides right through. .

7. Do you have restrictions with taking pills? I.e. is Tylenol still effective, does it digest regularly, etc. I use liquid Tylenol and it works just fine. It's a 'slider'. 8. What about drinking alcohol? Is it OK occassionally? Yes. .

1. Do you FEEL the LAP-BAND® around your stomach? Does it feel tight or uncomfortable? I don't feel the band, but I can feel the port. 10 weeks post op though and I usually forget it's there. 2. I think giving up soda will be really hard. WHY must it be done? I was a carbonation freak. I even drank carbonated Water. I stopped drinking carbonated drinks a couple weeks pre-surgery and never went back. It just wasn't that hard. Why we have to has to do with the gas we get from the carbonation. 3. What is the purpose of the liquid diet pre-surgery? And post? Pre-surgery is usually an insurance requirement. I didn't have one. My doc didn't require one either. However, if you carry a lot of belly fat, a pre-liquid diet will help to shed some of the fat around your liver. If you've ever seen one of these operations (and you can on youtube), they have to life the liver to get the band around your stoma. If your liver is very fatty, this makes it difficult (sometimes impossible) and/or may result in the liver cracking. Yes it heals, but it's something they'd prefer not happen. Post-surgery, I was back on regular foods by the end of the second week. I only had to do the various stages of the diet for 2-3 days at each stage. 4. Did your insurance company cover the procedure? How long did the pre-auth take? Did you have to do psych evals, etc? Yes. Pre-auth only took about a week after they had the psych eval, which was the only thing my insurance required. 5. The port - does it physically bother you? Can you see it initially, after losing, etc? My husband is kinda freaked out about it.... For almost a month after surgery, it looked like a tumor on my belly. Then the swelling began subsiding and the port settled in position. Now 10 weeks post op I can't see it and I can only feel it if I press in a bit just above the port. 6. Does getting a fill hurt? Or does it feel like getting a flu shot / giving blood? They always tell me I'll feel a little prick from the needle. I never do. I just feel a little bit of pressure as they press to push the needle into the port. .

I don't know about 'struggling less'...but it will help with the feeling of 'hunger' once you get your fills. It won't help with the head hunger or make your choices for you.

I posted this once in a thread called "The Magic Wand" in the post op forum, but it never hurts to keep on saying it. People who do not understand what the band is or how it works (and that includes some banders who think that everything will be ok once they get that fill) don't understand that the band is not a magic wand. It's just a tool...just like Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, a gym membership, etc. are all 'tools'. Use the tool properly and you'll lose weight. Don't and you won't. Whichever tool you choose, *it* does not lose the weight...*you* do. Even after you've reached restriction, it is still up to you to *choose* to *work* with the band. You can still eat slider foods...if you choose. You can drink with your meals and 'slide' them right on through so you can still eat to excess...if you choose. You can still make bad food choices and fill up on junk...if you choose. You can still sit on your butt, watching tv all day instead of getting up and moving around...if you choose. The band does not make any of these choices. All it does is to allow you to feel 'full' (satisfied, content, had enough) after a reasonably sized meal...something normal weight people have and take for granted. I'm not even going to attempt a medical explanation, but simply put, when the upper part of the stomach is full, it sends a signal to the brain that says "I'm full...you can stop now." We don't have that. Is it because we've stretched our stomachs and now have to overeat to fill to the upper part? I think it's more than that because two of my aunts were counting calories and watching everything that went in their mouths from the time they were 13 or 14 because they didn't want to be fat like the rest of the women in the family. They struggled with being hungry all the time but they stayed at a normal weight...until their first pregnancy and gave themselves permission to 'eat for two'. Both said it was the first time in their lives that they weren't hungry. That's why even if you 'work at it' (go ahead and smack her :smile2:), you'll always struggle with the hunger and will, most likely, put the weight back on...just as the vast majority of overweight people do. Few are successful at keeping the weight off because they still have to deal with that hunger. .

I prefer the a.m. as well but only because they weigh me and I'm at my lightest in the morning. .

Open sores would not have scabs. As long as there is no infection underneath, you should be fine. Good luck with your fill! .

I use Tylenol DayQuil. .

I have BCBS of Michigan and they pay for fills. .

Well, it says you can have as many low carb Protein shakes as you want, so I'd use the same criteria for the Soups. They allow both clear and cream soups but some cream soups (like potato) are high in carbs. So I'd say 'yes' if the soup is a low carb soup. Personally, I'd keep the soups for meals and do the Protein Shakes in between because they're higher in protein and will satisfy your hunger better. .

I'm posting this here because so many people are asking about it... This is just an excerpt from the recipes. Day 1 & 2: liquids The first two days are all liquids. You can have as many low-carb Protein shakes as you like to satisfy hunger or cravings. In addition drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of Water each day. The purpose of all liquids is to break any snacking, grazing or processed carbohydrate habits. In addition the liquids will work to cleanse your system and prepare you for the following three days. Try to reduce your caffeine intake as well, but do not stop caffeine cold turkey or you will feel sick and frustrated potentially losing the desire to continue with the pouch test. Day 3: Soft Foods The next three days you get to eat as much as you want as often as you want! Ahhh, but there's a catch: it has to be solid protein and you only get 15 minutes each time you sit down to eat. No drinking 30 minutes before or after meals and no drinking with your food. A dry pouch will hold your soft protein longer helping your to feel full and fed longer. Protein Recommendations: canned fish (tuna or salmon)or salmon) mixed with lemon and seasoned with salt and pepper, eggs cooked as desired seasoned with salt and pepper and/or salsa, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy), baked or grilled, and lightly seasoned. This starts your program with "soft" protein. Measure your portion (1 cup volume or 4-6 ounces weight) and eat only until you feel full, not overfull. Remember, no water for 30 minutes before or after you meal, and no fluids with your meal. We are going back to the beginning and fluids will prevent you from feeling the pouch. If you need to add a moist condiment (e.g. mayonnaise) to the canned fish I understand, but keep it to a minimum so the meat is not too moist. One reason we lose the sense of tightness in our pouch is that we eat "slider foods" - foods that are too moist and do not stay in the pouch very long, they slide right through the stoma. Day 4: Firm Protein Protein Recommendations: ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb) cooked dry and lightly seasoned, shellfish, scallops, lobster steamed and seasoned only with lemon, salmon or halibut steaks, grilled and lightly seasoned. By now you should be experiencing that familiar tightness that will reassure you that your pouch is working. Day 5: Solid Protein Protein Recommendations: white meat poultry cooked dry and lightly seasoned, beef steak (if tolerated) grilled or broiled. Remember to chew chew chew. Measure your portion (4-6 ounces) and eat only until you feel your pouch tighten. Remember, only 15 minutes per meal, so you'll have to work fast to chew your food completely. By now you should be out of any carb cycle you were in and perhaps you have lost a pound or two. You will have new confidence in your pouch and your ability to work the tool for your health and emotional well being. .

You all are my support group, so bear with me if I 'open up' here every so often. Ever since Thanksgiving, I have been having a serious problem with sweets which, unfortunately, are not the least bit impacted by restriction. I haven't been binging on them, but I have been eating them more than I usually do...and enough to stall my weight loss despite the fact that I'm eating a fraction of the calories I used to. Unfortunately, these 'sweet' calories lead me to more carb cravings which led to OD'ing on carbs at the theater the other day. I've been asking myself what led to this path and I realized that it all started two days before Thanksgiving when a woman ran a stop sign and my 17 year old son plowed headlong into the side of her car. Fortunately, despite the fact that he was only 10 feet from the intersection when she entered it, he was only doing 30 mph so he wasn't hurt but we spent the next week rearranging schedules in order to get everyone where they needed to be. Then on the evening before Thanksgiving Day, my 86 year old father-in-law passed away after a two year battle with leukemia. We still didn't have our car back from the shop but we live a 1/4 mile walk across the field from the in-laws so we were able to get there and back over the next week without problems. Just as life started returning to some sort of routine, on Christmas Eve morning I was hit head on by a drunk driver. Again, thankfully no injuries but same car, different driver. This time the car was totalled. So we spent Christmas week looking for a new car and New Year's Eve signing papers...and looking at another 5 years of car payments when this one was almost paid off. It didn't help that somewhere in there I started my menstrual cycle for the first time in 18 years and was dealing with the usual PMS cravings which only compounded the problem. I think perhaps the sweets were a way of dealing with the stress that I haven't been acknowledging. Eating sweets acts a bit like a sedative on me. My blood sugar goes up and I get a bit brain foggy...less alert...caring less about what is going on around me. I'm not a zombie. I still function, but at a slower speed which means I also don't accomplish as much during the day. The only way I can rid myself of these cravings is to get the carbs out of my system and the only way to do that is to avoid all carbs except those found in low carb green vegies (broccoli, spinach, etc.). So it is a new day and with a renewed frame of mind, I've recommitted myself to working with Hilda (my band). Now, since I definitely am craving carbs and I'm still an hour away from lunch, I think I'll go clean the snow off my car, even though I'm not going anywhere today, and shovel the small walk from the drive to the door. If I can't shut off the cravings, I can freeze 'em out! .

I posted some excerpts on the pouch test and the web link here.

At 9 cc's you most likely do have restriction. The fact that you're getting stuck is another indication that you most likely have restriction. You're most likely able to eat to excess and not feel full because you're breaking one of the cardinal rules of the band. No drinking with meals. Not for 30 minutes before, not during and not for an hour afterward. By drinking with your meal, you're 'sliding' your food right through your band and basically negating what the band does. The band only works when we follow the rules: Do not drink anything 30 minutes before, during or 60 minutes after your meal. Start with your Protein. Then your vegies. If you still have room, then your carbs if you choose to have them. Take small bites. Chew thoroughly (to mush). Put your fork down between bites and wait for 30 seconds or so before taking the next bite. This allows time to see whether we're going to have problems with that bite. If you do, STOP and wait. Adding another bite will just compound the problem.

I drink a low carb/low cal Protein shake in between meals and about 2.5 hours after my last meal. .

My daily schedule doesn't change at all. .

Another thread got me to thinking last night about how people view the band. Their posts seem to indicate (but I could be wrong) that they believe the band does the work...not the person. Just insert and voila! instant willpower and self-control. I have to admit that as much as I researched this band and went into this with eyes wide open, there was still a small part of me that must have looked at this in the same way. I kept waiting for restriction figuring that once I had *it*, all my problems were over and I was on the highway to skinnyville. A little over a week ago I reached restriction and, over the past week, any delusions I may have had about the band doing the work? Well, they're gone. The band is just a tool. If I don't take small bites and chew slowly, I will get stuck. It tells me when I'm 'full' and if I'm stupid enough to take another bite, it will remind me with pain that I'm 'full'. Someone else may choose Jenny Craig as a tool. The meal is already measured and weighed and when they get to the end of that meal, it is their 'reminder' that they are done. Either of us can keep on eating because (yes I was deliberately testing the limits of my band) if I drink Water with my meal, chew well and slowly and take small bites, well I can wash that meal right on through my band and keep eating...if I choose. I already know that Cookies don't care if you have restriction or even if you're so tight you can't eat anything but Protein shakes. I can eat sweets nonstop...if I choose. I can graze all day...if I choose. In other words...the band is just a tool...just like Jenny Craig, WW, a fitness membership or anything else that we find useful in our battle with our weight. Each of us has to find the right tool, but it's still up to us to find the self-control, motivation and will power to use that tool...or tools...properly. As we all know, the band does not work for everyone. You have to want it to work. Kind of reminds me of those diet ads on tv that say if you take this little pill 3 times a day you can lose 5 pounds in a week. Then scrolling across the screen in smaller print it says "when combined with a 1000 calorie diet and exercise". The band should come with that same warning, only in BIG print. "Get a band and you can lose this excess weight...*IF* you follow all of the rules." In other words, use the tool properly or it's just a useless piece of plastic. .

I'm going through carb withdrawal today and as a result have these rather odd thoughts. Has anyone seen the movie 'Christmas Story' where the kid sticks his tongue to the flag pole and starts screaming "Stuck...stuck..."? Well everytime I get 'stuck' that visual pops into my head only it's me yelling "stuck...stuck...?" Ok...off to start dinner. .

I like that...listening for the whisper. I was trying to explain to someone what it felt like when I was 'full' but it was hard to explain. All I know is that I 'just know' when it's time to put the fork down. I felt content and satisfied. The couple times I ignored that 'whisper', the next bite just sat there and I was uncomfortable for a good 10 minutes. .

After restriction, just about every time you 'forget' and take too big of a bite or forget to chew well. Sometimes it just happens because your band is temporarily too tight. Mine is tight in the mornings so I start with a hot cup of tea when I first get up and I pretty much stick to a Protein shake with milk and a banana in it. Most times I've found if I take a small bite and chew it to mush, then wait, I can tell if I'm going to have further problems with it and I just pass on the rest.

I won't even try a bagel. I make homemade french bread and I thought I was going to die. You can't chew it enough or take small enough bites for that one to go down. .

This is just an excerpt from the website. There's lots more info and recipes. Day 1 & 2: liquids The first two days are all liquids. You can have as many low-carb Protein shakes as you like to satisfy hunger or cravings. In addition drink at least six 8-ounce glasses of Water each day. The purpose of all liquids is to break any snacking, grazing or processed carbohydrate habits. In addition the liquids will work to cleanse your system and prepare you for the following three days. Try to reduce your caffeine intake as well, but do not stop caffeine cold turkey or you will feel sick and frustrated potentially losing the desire to continue with the pouch test. Day 3: Soft Foods The next three days you get to eat as much as you want as often as you want! Ahhh, but there's a catch: it has to be solid protein and you only get 15 minutes each time you sit down to eat. No drinking 30 minutes before or after meals and no drinking with your food. A dry pouch will hold your soft protein longer helping your to feel full and fed longer. Protein Recommendations: canned fish (tuna or salmon)or salmon) mixed with lemon and seasoned with salt and pepper, eggs cooked as desired seasoned with salt and pepper and/or salsa, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy), baked or grilled, and lightly seasoned. This starts your program with "soft" protein. Measure your portion (1 cup volume or 4-6 ounces weight) and eat only until you feel full, not overfull. Remember, no water for 30 minutes before or after you meal, and no fluids with your meal. We are going back to the beginning and fluids will prevent you from feeling the pouch. If you need to add a moist condiment (e.g. mayonnaise) to the canned fish I understand, but keep it to a minimum so the meat is not too moist. One reason we lose the sense of tightness in our pouch is that we eat "slider foods" - foods that are too moist and do not stay in the pouch very long, they slide right through the stoma. Day 4: Firm Protein Protein Recommendations: ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb) cooked dry and lightly seasoned, shellfish, scallops, lobster steamed and seasoned only with lemon, salmon or halibut steaks, grilled and lightly seasoned. By now you should be experiencing that familiar tightness that will reassure you that your pouch is working. Day 5: Solid Protein Protein Recommendations: white meat poultry cooked dry and lightly seasoned, beef steak (if tolerated) grilled or broiled. Remember to chew chew chew. Measure your portion (4-6 ounces) and eat only until you feel your pouch tighten. Remember, only 15 minutes per meal, so you'll have to work fast to chew your food completely. By now you should be out of any carb cycle you were in and perhaps you have lost a pound or two. You will have new confidence in your pouch and your ability to work the tool for your health and emotional well being.