honk

I regret not doing in sooner! Personally I saw having surgery as admitting that I was a failure. If other people can eat correctlly their whole lives and be thin how come I could only do it for a year at a time and then give up? Why? Because I was on a "diet" 24/7 365 days a year. I had concerns about the post op pain because I have a lot of pain killer allergies. As it was I stopped perscription Meds before I left the hospital and was on liquid tylenol when I got home. I had pain at the port only when I sat up from laying down and then during the process of standing. Other than that no pain while laying down or standing or walking. Was I lucky sure. Immediately post op the biggest issue I had was that I stayed in the hospital over night and had to get up every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom due to the IV.

While I work in Human Resources in the US I have no knowledge of Irish Labor or Employment Law. In the US we have the HIPPA law which basically says you have the right to control who knows your personal health issues. I do not however know where the line is drawn regarding health issues when someone works in public transpertation. I do know that in the US for example airline pilots must take drug tests. Anyway, I wonder if you can actually keep a major surgery secret from the company doctor. Even though I understand you will be paying for it yourself. It seems like you are really in a catch 22; your current physical condition is affecting your ability to work; but the doctor doesn't support your having a tool that will improve your physical condition. What a tangle! In regards to you're being to young that's stupid. When I turned 30 I started exercising went on a major diet and lost probably 150 pounds. At 38 after months of horrible knee pain I went to a doctor and I weighed 364; I had gained back 200. So now at forty I have finally had weight loss surgery, most difficult decision in my life. I am willing to give my all to loose weight but I want it to stay gone!

Perhaps because I made my shakes with fat free milk they did not bother me that much. For several weeks presurgery I would have a shake for Breakfast, a Protein centered (chicken) lunch, and a shake for dinner. I think the hardest thing is to refocus your brain about eating and food habits. What I want from the band is to help me control portions. While I don't keep Cookies, cakes, brownies in my house I haven't told myself I can never have them again. In the past that has been my problem. Feeling like I could NEVER have a brownie again was very depressing. Having grown up poor another issue is that healthy food is more expensive than junk. This summer a pound of Cherries was four dollar where as Little Debbie's are 1 Dollar. A couple days pre surgery I bought my cherries and did'nt give a damn.

In regards to Peanut Butter there is a product called PB2 which I use in my shakes (post op). I think the only place to buy it is online (some gyms sell it that's where my sister first bought it). They press out most of the oil from the peanut and then grind up the peanuts to a powder. Significantly reduces the calories/fat content and tastes pretty good in a chocolate protein shake.

Okay I am a bit jadded about "visiting family". I grew up in Maine (did't get it's Vacationland title for nothing you know!). It drove me crazy when I was a kid that family thought nothing of using our house as a hotel when they wanted a vacation. So my mother and I became unpaid workers. Vacations cost money because they require a lot of work of the nonvacationing! Okay got that off my chest. I think it's fine that your family wants to visit you. My mother stayed with me a week post op. The important thing is that at the very least any visitors take care of their own needs. Do their own food shopping, laundry, COOKING, keep themselves amused. Two days post op I felt well enough to leave the house for shopping trips (10 min in the store, my mother would drive to another store, and then another then 10 minute walk), and at day four was back to the gym; but I did things at my pace. The first week after going to the gym I did come home and take a nap and Mom would watch TV or read. In week 2-3 hopefully you will be feeling really good and open to short adventures and doing things with family. The one thing that could be a challenge is your post op diet. If you have an instructions packet that shows the diet progression (clears to full liquids, mushies, solids) I would show it to your family so they know exactly what you can eat. They need to know you aren't on a fad diet; you are eating this way because you have had major surgery on your stomach. My mother knew this yet every time we went to the store she would say do you like grapes or apples or whatever; and I would say "Yes, I do like grapes but I can only have clear soup right now." And she would say "Oh I forgot!" It would be very easy for you to eat things not on your diet schedule if they seem healthy enough (like hummus or guac) but which you should'nt be eating if your family is eating it.

Have you met with the doctor's office yet? Many doctors expect that you loose a % of body weight before surgery. Depending on their expectations you may or may not be able to have surgery before the first of the year any way.

As other have mentioned many of us CAN lose weight and a lot of it. I have now lost 100 lb four times in my life. This time 80 was prior to surgery and I would like to loose 100 more after surgery and be able to keep if OFF. I know what is the right food to eat but even then I have portion problems. What I want is to be like normal people who can have one cookie and stop. I know that I might be able to do that for a while but eventually I will give in. It will start out as one, then the next time will be 2, then 3, and then half the package. I do not have perfect restriction yet but after two fills things are getting better. There are times that I think about having a snack and I say to myself "Do you really want something" and more than half the time I say no. I think part of it is the band and part is my really thinking about whether I need/want something to eat.

I think at 13 days I would try to schedule your eating so that you have something every couple hours. For example at that point I was on full liquids and then mushies as of day 15. I would have a cup of soup and a couple hours later a protein shake or cottage cheese or ricotta. 100 calories of Protein will sustain you longer than 100 calories of carbs. I agree with a previous poster that the post op diet is meant to allow your body to heal. The more solid the food you eat the more your stomach needs to churn to digest it.

The big question is what nutritional standards your doctor wants you to keep. You mentioned not being allowed to have fat free milk. That can make a huge difference to the flavor. Adding ingrediants like sugar free pudding powder and sugar free syrup can really help as well. There can be a wide range of nurtritional values of Protein powder depending on style and brand. I second the Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard I buy the double chocolate flavor (at Vitamin shoppe). I would compare the stats of the protein your doctor wants you to use to the Optimum Nutrition and see if ON is equal to or better than the doctors. Perhaps you can get the doctor to approve a different brand. My doctor wanted me to do HMR 500; 5, 100 calorie shakes a day. They ended up giving me an alergic reaction and I was not loosing weight. If I am doing an hour of cardio a day and only consuming 500 calories I had BETTER lose weight.

I can kind of relate. My doctor wanted me to do a 500 (!) calorie liquid diet until my surgery and I did'nt have a date either. I said "what if the surgery has to be delayed. I can't do this for months on end". To which he said "Oh course you could. My patients do it all the time". My surgery was delayed another 5 months! I was in my opinion allergic to the shakes and stopped them but still lost weight presurgery. Back to you. I would make sure to have options that you can eat always available. I find that chicken breast is a great snack when I feel hungry. It may not fit based on your carb level but Greek Yoghurt is another high Protein food that presurgery I used as a snack. In my opinion (though I am not a doctor and do not play one on TV) it is better to choose a less damaging snack. Because let's face it if you get the "irrational" hunger (not the I may be hungry or slightly hungry but the I can't think straight I have to eat right now hunger) you are going to eat something. It is better to eat a couple baby carrots than it is half a box of wheat thins. I often have a long time between lunch and dinner largely because I go to the gym in between. Presurgery I would have low fat cheese stick, or greek yohurt (I use spelndra because the fat free is pretty sour), baby carrots, or orange for a pre workout snack.

I agree there is a lot of relativity to be had. I do sometimes get down that others loose faster. I keep reminding myself that a year before even attending the seminar I had started to modify my eating habits (but no enough), and was exercising every day (lost 30 pounds). After the seminar I made even more changes to my diet and lost another 52 before surgery. So the 20 I've lost since the surgery 2 months ago is starting from a different place than someone who did a one week diet prior to surgery.

I think at this moment you are obsessed with food and that is only normal considering you are only eating Soup. That said I would probably start with the Nutritionist first because they may be able to give you food ideas that will help you feel like you are actually eating something. One thing I do after fills when I am back to liquids is adding Mrs Dash non salt spices (no I don't work for them) to soups. Makes a HUGE difference. Did you have to attend group sessions prior to surgery? My doctor has three group sessions with a Psychologist that you have to attend. I did not so much get the why I do things but more the I'm not alone feeling. Since our society is so judgemental about weight I felt like such a failure because I was not thin like other people. Seeing that other people have my problems was a real eye opener for me. While my mother has been overweight my siblings are not so I aways felt different. I would see if you could find a group led by a professional rather than just an informal support group.

Talk to your doctor about food options that will help mitigate the damage of feeling hunger. I have never liked cottage cheese yet during recovery it tasted like the best thing EVER. I was able to buy non/low fat chive and pinapple flavors. Egg beaters are good as well lots of protein no fat.

3 weeks of liquids is harsh. I had 7 days clear liquids, and 7 days full liquids and then could move to mushies which included yoghurt. In regards to full liquids; I really like Pacific brand roasted sweet red pepper and tomato soup. It is "organic" so you might need to look in the "natural/organic" part of the grocery store. I found a great price for it at Costco. Bought a package of 6 for when I have fills. Also I added Mrs Dash spice mix to the soup before heating. Mrs Dash is salt free and adds a lot of flavor to the soup.

I received 4 CC's first fill; second fill was 2 more. I did not have restriction after the first fill. I went back for the second fill at 3 weeks which is the earliest my doctor's office allows. At lunch today was my first day of solids since second fill and it seems like I have more restriction than I did but will see how dinner goes.

To be truthful I think you need to mind your own business. They are adults and know what they should be doing. Unless they are your spouse or child; you really don't have any "status" in how they do or do not handle their health issues. I do involve myself with my mother's medical treatment because she is elderly and sometimes forgets to address issues with her doctor. I need to remind her of things. Someone who is in full control of their faculties does not need someone else lecturing them. People don't successfully make changes based on external sources; they need to internalize the need for change.

Must be a southern thing.

At fourteen days I was able to have ricotta cheese, cottage cheese (non/low fat chive and pineapple), greek yoghurt with fruit but blendered, scrambled eggs. This period is about healing not about can you eat something. Yes the post surgery diet sucks but it's four weeks. It took us a long time to get where we are and it will take you a couple weeks to recover from surgery.

$33,407 for the band itself Outrageous! My hospital tried to bill like 3,000 and the insurnance agreed price was 1,700. That is what the hospital paid. If you have the choice I would never use that hospital again. Last year I had a mini stroke and was admitted to Mass General (Boston); and was in ICU for 3 days and a regular room for 4 days. Including all my tests (MRI, Multiple Cat Scans), all the drugs etc they billed my insurance like $60,000. I would see if there is a state office to which you can complain regarding pricing. I think they are pulling something shady.

Not sure what to do this year about candy. I live in a very rural neighborhood with only like 8 kids. First two years I bought a box of full size candy bars from Costco. I don't want to be that old witch on the corner! Last year NOBODY came. ZIP. Returned my unopened box to Costco. Last Easter I had a bag of Snickers on the counter that sat there for 3 months. I wanted to toss them figuring they were stale. My mother said "You are not throwing those away." She brought them to her church's fellowship hour. Not sure if they were stale or not!

I would insist on an XRAY or ultrasound. This isn't the 1800's there are ways to see inside the Human Body without surgery.

I just went to the FDA.gov site and there is nothing listed about a Realize Band recall.

I don't want to sound mean spirited. The following statements are setting off all kinds of alarms: "I am depressed all the time now and medicate for that." "In my honest opinion, the tool makes me twice as hungry as I ever got before it. It is almost like it was placed on a hunger pain button." These are emotional; mental health issues. Not band issues. Yes, I understand you are frustrated and feel the band is not helping you. The other issue is that you mentioned having given up. Again, not the band but your decision. You also mentioned having a fill cancelled and then not rescheduling the meeting. Not much a doctor can do for you if you won't show up to the appointment. Perhaps if you had a complete unfil and started the fill process over again you might have a different result. I am not completely unsympathetic to your situation. I understand wanted to vent; but venting is'nt going to get you anywhere. You need to make a plan and work on this issue. You have had problems and feel you gave the band a shot and it did'nt live up to expectations. If your car had a flat tire would you refuse to fix the tire and then complain that your car did'nt handle correctly when you drove it? Of course not.

I'm sorry but there is a problem here. My hospital billed about $18,000, which of course the insurance had negociated rates for so they did not pay anywhere near that much to the hospital. I think you need an itemized bill where they tell you every single thing they claimed to have given or done for you. There are companies that specialize in looking at bills and fighting the hospital on charges. If once you get the itemized bill you can't negociate on your own find one of those companies and fight this. FYI had my surgery done at a major Boston, MA area hospital so I live in a expensive area and the cost of living is pretty high. Based on that I don't see how ANY hospital can try to bill that kind off money even in Midtown Manhattan or LA.

I can totally relate. Presurgery I had been dieting and exercising daily for about 22 months; and had lost 80 pounds. I lost about 20 within the first 2-3 weeks and now have plateaud. I had no restriction after first fill 4CC's and had a second yesterday adding 2 more. I am trying to religiously follow the diet the doctor perscribed; and measure out my protein with a scale etc. I am eating a lot less now and am not loosing weight. Prior to surgery I was eating more and loosing 1-2 pounds a week. So kind of frustrating. yes I know everyone plateaus and that muscle weighs more than fat; but it would be nice for the scale to move.