BetsyB

I enjoyed it--I also enjoyed her earlier show, Fat Actress. But I'm still not buying the weight she's willing to 'fess up to. I wish she were honest about that. Particularly since her plan is to market weight loss products!

(((Hugs))) I'm sorry you're having difficulty.

I would've joined you. Starting weight be damned I feel REALLY strongly about this--even though I have excellent insurance. Having worked in a county health system in a major metropolitan area really changed my whole world view, I think. I can't tell you how happy I am that all Americans will have care. I simply can't wrap my brain around the opposition--I simply cannot fathom why it would not be a priority for all.

Even unfilled, the band forms a "noose" around the upper portion of the stomach. There is still a pouch. Your stomach capacity remains limited, but your gastric emptying rate is near normal--much like bandster hell. Only, well--you're allowed to eat. My banded friend has had SOME of his restriction "lifted," but has not unfilled completely. This permits him room to up calories for maintenance purposes, but puts the brakes on so that he does not regain what he has lost. Most of us have had great success LOSING weight in our lives--with or without the band. MAINTENANCE is where the recidivism kicks in. My doctor doesn't empty the band for maintaining patients--he fine-tunes it so that people can eat appropriately to maintain. Often, no unfill is necessary--loss just tapers off when the body reaches the right weight. Other times, loss continues beyond what is desirable--or the patient wants a bit more leeway---and a slight unfill is done. I don't know about you, but I regard the band as a tool for weight maintenance even more than as a tool for loss. I do not plan on unfilling unless I have to for health purposes.

Fun is a good thing. Really. We're all in this to learn how to live with not just our bands, but ourselves. I understand the fear of returning to old habits---but let me ask you this: did the band affect how you were able to indulge? I bet you found that you were more mindful---and that your band "enforced" some constraints, as well. And that's just what it's supposed to do! A weekend with some beer---back to the routine on Monday. Good things. The Japanese have a couple of sayings related to 8/10 of a whole. One of them is "hara hachibun." It means, basically, "eat until you're 8/10 full." This is a good one for bandsters--if we stop when we're still comfortable, we don't wind up being bonked over the head with that sudden, accidental, "Whoops, too much!" feeling. The other is about eating properly 8/10 of the time. If we all just did this---made sure that at least 8/10 of the time, we gave our bodies just what they needed and nothing more---we still have room for indulgence and still stay on track, in terms of weight loss.

I measure out my food--and take tiny bites. I don't tend to pause terribly long before bites until I pass the halfway point of my measured food. Then, I really do start to pause after each bite to feel how I feel....it helps me gauge when to stop.

First of all, congrats on your new band! It's not uncommon for a little weight to return when solid food is reintroduced. Some of this is purely mechanical--there is just MORE stuff in your intestine when you hop on the scale. In terms of when you'll see "real loss," it depends. A lot of people focus on healing at first, and do not really restrict (more than the band forces) their intake until they achieve good restriction. Others of us are more stringent about limiting our intake (yes, dieting) right off the bat...and see losses sooner. Either way, you'll lose. It's easy to have buyer's remorse early in the game, when you're starving and the stupid scale tells lies about what you've gained. But with a little time, you'll start seeing the results. It's well worth the wait!

While I'm really glad mine does use fluoroscopy, Drasan, I don't think you need to be overly concerned that your doctor does not use it. A skilled doctor can help you gauge your "tightness" while you're in the office--with or without fluoro. The tricky part comes after--because until you get to know what your body does after a fill, not even the doctor who uses fluoro 100% of the time can predict with certainty whether you'll experience swelling, etc. Even my brilliant doctor with his fluoro can only see what he sees when I'm in his office. What happens later is anyone's guess! I can pretty much guarantee you that your doctor, even if he does not routinely use fluoro, has the ability to do so if a real need arises. If you're otherwise comfortable with him, I wouldn't stress about this.

Unless you changed your eating habits considerably, chances are, the gain isn't "real." That is, you did not gain a pound of body fat. Human body weight fluctuates. Many things influence it--hormones, stress (this, too, is hormonal), hydration status, how much bulk there is in the intestine at weigh-in time....and on and on and on. The scale helps us gauge the changes in our bodies, but really, it just gives a snapshot of one particular moment in time---and that picture can be distorted by factors that are not related to what is really going on, in terms of fat loss. Take a deep breath, keep doing what you're doing, and the scale will cooperate--sometimes! (Other times, it will be putzy, and you'll see stupid, senseless gains. You'll learn to put them in perspective and keep on keeping on.)

A lot of diagrams show the stomach sort of hanging below the band. In the body, it's a more lateral arrangement---sideways instead of up-down. Also, position of organs really changes a LOT depending on position, contents, and so on....I really wouldn't stress. There is a HUGE range of normal. Everyone's insides fit in that space a little differently. As you lose weight, things will change even more. You've heard of visceral fat, right? That's the stuff surrounding our organs. As that is lost, things will shift. (Also, our risks of obesity-related diseases will plummet.)

If he was part of a group, he may have been legally prevented from telling his patients of his impending departure and new location. (Staff are also not allowed to reveal the information.) This is engineered so that the clinic retains the patients (and therefore their money), at least for a period of time before they locate--and follow--the doctor who left. I wouldn't be too upset with the doctor him/herself. S/he very likely would very much have preferred to tell ALL his/her patients where s/he'd be. (The other alternative is that s/he was dismissed with cause--in which case, you might be safer with one of the doctors at the practice you're currently using. You can check the doctor's licensure status at your state's professional registration website.)

I agree with your stance and am very pleased it passed in the House. It's time that our nation re-prioritize.

Human body weight fluctuates. If you're going to weigh daily, you really need to prepare yourself for swings from 1-5 pounds. Quite often, gains are completely unrelated to what we put in our mouths. They do NOT reflect a gain of body fat.

I shuddered, too---until I was hungry, post-op, and realized that ground beef = ground beef, whether pureed or not. Pureed Protein doesn't look appetizing, but it tastes fine. bariatriceating.com has LOTS of good recipes, but I didn't really have much interest in following recipes 3 days postop, so I just usually threw chicken or beef or whatever in the Magic Bullet with whatever seasoning sounded good at the moment.

Your day is almost here! Good luck--you will do wonderfully! I know I haven't regretted the decision to go forward for even a split-second.

I'm glad you're being tested---measuring your sodium will tell the doctor whether you're dehydrated. Dehydration is the number one cause of nausea/vomiting after any procedure. I'm sorry you've had such a rough time. Part of your discomfort is normal post op stuff (which tends to last a couple of weeks for many), but it sounds like yours has been greatly compounded. You will feel better soon---truly. And Hummingbird's right--there's lots of support here.

No need to confess; eating isn't a moral issue. Exercise isn't punishment, either--it's a lovely insurance policy :laugh: Did you have fun?

Your surgeon's insurance person will know exactly what your insurer requires. Will they handle it for you?

I am going to be what seems like unpleasantly blunt with you. Please understand that this bluntness comes from a woman who also has physiological obstacles that make weight loss more difficult than it is for many; I really am saying this with kindness. You state that you don't overeat. You do. You weigh 300 pounds--and that simply is NOT achievable without overeating. Now, your version of overeating may be very, very different from that of someone else---someone whose metabolism is not challenged. However, you are consistently eating more than YOUR body requires, and this has resulted in morbid obesity. Now, if you're like me, the gain came from eating apparently reasonable portions (again, reasonable to someone ELSE'S body!) at reasonable times, such as mealtimes. This really is frustrating, and perplexing. Believe me, I understand how confusing it is to eat what you're told is the right combo of foods in the right amounts---and exercise each day---only to see the scale go up. I truly do empathize. The very good news is that, for me, the band has been perfect. PERFECT. Why? Because in order to cut down my intake to a level where weight loss is possible, I have to go waaaaaaaaaaay down, calorie-wise (and tune out everyone who tells me, "You really need 1200 calories a day!) Without the band, I could do this only for a finite time. Now that I'm approaching good restriction with the band, I can see that I will be able to comfortably (comfortably!!) stick with this intake level until---and after--I reach my goal. It is amazingly freeing---awesome! You will likely find many who suggest, at your weight, that bypass is the route to take. It might be---you will have to assess that for yourself. For me, the band has done exactly what I needed to have done. But I first had to admit that I did, indeed, overeat. I ate less than anyone I know--but I was overeating for my body's needs, and I had to assume responsibility for changing myself. As for the PCOS--that's a tricky one. It can be a chicken-egg situation; while it is a bona fide syndrome that does affect weight, it is not destiny. Furthermore, obesity itself can mimic it---many times, it vanishes along with the excess weight. If it does not in your case, you will be able to find someone to help you manage its symptoms and improve your odds of a healthy, happy pregnancy. Good luck!

No one wants to wait. It seems like an interminable period of time when you're at the beginning. It's JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE WAITING. After you jump through insurance hoops (that, incidentally, help ensure your operative safety and postop sucess), you then wait, wait, wait for appropriate restriction. This is NOT a quick fix. It simply isn't. Try to use the wait to become very, very well-educated about the procedure and the lifestyle changes it will require of you. Adopt some of those lifestyle changes so that you'll really be in a good place after surgery. Use time time to your advantage. Really, the wait isn't there to antagonize you. It's there because three-six months is a reasonable period of time to spend REALLY digging into the reality of what will be done to your body, and how that will change your life. Every second is worth it. ETA: Do you have reason to believe you won't be approved by your insurance? I ask, because lots of times people seem to think that their insurance companies can kind of arbitrarily say, "no," when, in fact, if you meet the criteria spelled out in your insurance policy, you will be approved. If you haven't already, grab a copy of your policy and read its requirements for bariatric surgery; when I did this, it really, really eased my mind.

I empathize completely--when we lived in Houston, allergy season (and by "season," I mean much of the year!) was agonizing. Ask your doctor about guaifenesin--plain Mucinex or Robitussin. (Banded, Robitussin's easier; it's liquid or gelcap instead of pressed tablet). For me, it really loosens secretions so that they don't gag/choke me.

From my first doctor visit to the OR, it was just a bit more than 5 months; it likely would have been less, but the holidays interfered. Still, the time went quickly, and it was WELL worth the wait!

Why didn't you do it sooner? I'm not asking this to be snarky--I'm asking it so that you pause to think for a moment. We all struggled with weight long enough to determine that this was the change we wanted to make. But few of us arrived at the decision without struggle over a period of time. Just because it was time for us--and the right choice for us--doesn't mean others have reached that stage in their journeys. And it doesn't mean it's the right answer for them. Some are simply not aware that they are viable candidates for weight loss surgery. Others don't have the resources--either insurance or money or credit. Others don't believe in surgically altering their bodies. Others view obesity as a moral issue, and believe they are unworthy of this positive change because they lack the will to make the change themselves, some fear the stigma against bariatric surgery....the list of whys goes on and on and on. Thank goodness we're not appointed to be ambassadors for banding! While we can all share our positive experiences, each and every obese individual has the right to make his or her own decisions---just as we did. I am happy to share, with others, what works for me---and am glad that someone already banded did that for me when I was already considering the procedure. But I would never presume to be "ebandgelical" (ETA: LOVE this word!) unless directly asked.

When you say your calories "should" be at 1000-1200, where did the number come from? I'm not asking snarkily--I'm asking because I'm about a month further out than you, eat around 800 calories/day (1000 on a BIG day), and have gotten nothing resembling concern from my doctor. My nutrient intake is good, I'm losing well, and there just doesn't seem to be the need to shake things up at this point. Does your doctor/ nutritionist want you to aim for that? If so, I wonder if you're pushing now to achieve something that will be much more comfortable for you a little farther down the road. My stomach capacity has gradually increased, even as restriction has increased---I can "hold" a bit more, but stay fuller longer. The former was really a function of time. If you really want to bump up your calorie intake--the best way to get more calories is to increase serving sizes of Protein and grain and add a little heart-healthy fat. You may find, though, that you have to work up to this--don't be discouraged! Please don't switch your lean choices for full-fat choices, though--you don't want to pay for it with blood vessel damage down the road.

There's a trick to using it in hot foods. You have to add the Protein to the already-hot food in a very specific way, or "temper" it--or it will clump. This goes for flavored protein powders, too---say, if you want to make a warm chocolate Protein Drink. First, you add a bit of tepid Water to the powder--just enough to make a paste. Stir into that paste---and let it sit while you prepare your hot stuff. When the food you're adding is warm, but not yet very hot, slowly add an ounce or two to the protein stirring vigorously as you do this. Adding the warm to the protein starts getting it "used" to heat. Then, you can add the hot liquid or food--again stirring as you add. I use it in soups and broths, chili, Greek yogurt (with a little good-quality vanilla and Splenda)---on a day when I haven't gotten quite enough protein, I pretty much dump it in whatever I'm having to bolster my protein for the day.