TracieCat

I am sure I am not the only one dealing with this issue. And it is one that I am working on with my personal psychologist to try and get to a point where I won't feel like I need to do it any longer. What I am substituting is THINGS. No drugs, no drinking, but specific items I shop for. Perfume is the hugest one. I will buy bottle after bottle of it, either in stores, on Ebay, etc. I have an entire two three shelf bathroom cupboard filled with nothing but perfumes, body sprays, perfumed lotions, perfumed oils. In terms of practicality, i will never go through as many bottles as I have in one lifetime. And not only in the bathroom, I have a basket filled with them in our car, maybe ten bottles but still, they are there. The perfume issue was one that started coming up for me maybe 5 or 6 years ago, but has gotten more frequent after my lapband surgery. Amazingly, I have only had a few bottles so far lose potency or change scent to the point where I had to discard them. I definitely do discard them when that occurs. One of my others is nail polish. Holy moley the nail polish. I have a storage bin in my bedroom stuffed full of them and lately the cover keeps popping off it is so full so I am going to have to buy a bigger container. Yipe. And the latest one... earrings and necklaces. I have been going crazy buying them up and this is in addition to the dozens of pairs I already owned previously, and after inheriting a huge upright armoire full of lovely jewelry from an Aunt that passed on. And here is the thing, I actually do enjoy these things and I do use them often, and at this point, I really don't feel comfortable giving them up. I adore my perfumes and hate seeing even one leave this house. But maybe eventually with my therapists help, I can at least curb it somewhat. Right now though, as much as I can see it as a problem if I continue to get worse, I enjoy having these things around me and using them. I did get rid of many perfumes/body lotions/body mists that belonged to my Aunt when I inherited alot of her things (clothing, the jewelry, etc etc). I donated them to our local thrift store. I'd also never get rid of the jewelry that belonged to my Aunt, she was such a huge part of my life and I feel a connection to her when I wear the jewelry that I know she once wore, it means the world to me knowing she wanted me to have them. Many of those in turn also belonged to my Grandmother, and my Aunt inherited them when she passed. Many of these jewelry pieces will eventually get passed down to my own Nieces when they are older. My therapist tells me that it is actually a common thing for WLS patients, when you give up the addiction that is food, something else often takes its place. At least I am not spending vast amounts of money on it, I tend to buy things at discounts, on sale, and so forth. I at least don't go for the expensive choices. I will also mention that my Mother happens to be a hoarder, as was my Aunt. I mentioned the clothing, that is another one. Not that I am buying much these days, not since I acquired my Aunt's clothing. Many I gave away, bag after bag given away of things that were too big for me, but I did keep dozens of pieces, mostly tops and pants and I have so many that they are currently stacked high in piles on my dresser in addition to the ones jammed into my bedroom closet, and I need to buy a large upright cupboard to keep them in. I have bought a few shirts here and there and some summer shorts, even though I definitely did not need them. I was curious what others views on this are and would like to hear from others going through the same issues as well. Happy day to everyone...

well I see I am not alone on this one then. So how many purses in total do you think that you own and did that only start following the banding or were you into it before as well?

Not sure if you have a store near you that would sell them, but lately in addition to the Crystal light, I've also been using this little tiny bottle (about the size of a tic tac container) that you use one squeeze out into a bottle of cold water and it flavors it. No sugar, very handy to just keep in your pocket or purse. I like the peach mango flavor, the lemonade is good too. They come in I saw maybe 5 or 6 flavors. Got mine at Walmart and they come in a name brand or for a little less, the Walmart great value brand. I think you get 25 or so servings in one little bottle.

I can do tortillas or wraps with no issues but no way on untoasted breads. They want to gum up on me and get stuck, but I can eat them fine if toasted first. Very very occasionally I will eat bites of an untoasted whole wheat bread without incident, but that's rare so I normally don't even try.

Ah... Like the sound of that shake! I am one who is still permitted shakes by my surgeon as a way to keep my Protein levels higher. I've never had almond milk but I do use soy milk so I'd likely use it in its place. I will have to give that one a try, thanks.

Oh and as NWgirl said, perhaps not more calories. Focusing on the right types of calories from the right types of foods would be a better choice. I focus on protein first and my I intake if that is currently between 80 - 100 grams, but directly following surgery my order was for at least 64. After proteins, I try keeping veggies as my other food source, along with occasional whole grains (more so now that I am farther along).

I know the waiting is a difficult thing. With my insurance, I had to do the 6 month wait and had all if the usual pre testing done and had to show I could follow a pre surgical eating plan, which amounted to showing some type of weight loss, and happily I did lose about 35 - 40 lbs before surgery. Just use the time to maybe read in bariatric nutrition to prepare yourself for the lifestyle you'll be living later. Not sure about your surgeon but the milk was definitely someting I had to give up. Small amounts in cooking are ok for me but otherwise not. Too much natural sugar content. I now use soy milk in its place, less sugar per serving. But even that I didn't start till I was about a year out. Soup I only have if it has larger chunks and I can avoid the broth. I do eat whole wheat Pasta only occasionally and I didn't start that till over 6 months or so out. I am surprised they want you to up those calories, did they say that would be after surgery as well? I currently eat between 1000 to 1200 - 1300 depending on if I work out that day. Wishing you well and hope the time pases quickly for you. If you ever need an ear, feel free to shoot me a message.

I recently had to have an Esophagram done again to check my band and to be sure I had no hernia, etc. (I had been having some port site pain & swelling). I hadn't had one since I first had my surgery in September of 2010. Forgot how awful that barium tasted, especially the part where they had me lay on my side and take continual giant swallows of the stuff. Ugh. I felt so nauseated after the test. Everything turned out fine with my test results & they think my swelling is likely just fat shifting around, And the pain may have been a pulled muscle from exercising, thankfully that subsided.

Hurrah, happy congrats to you!

I just had to post here again, since my last post, I have cooked the Quinoa several times and it is already a favorite with us here at home. it is amazingly good, seems to take on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with and I love the little "pop" texture of the seeds. Favorite thing I did with it so far was to cook it in chicken broth, then tossed it with some fresh crisp steamed pea pods and a few spices. I think I will be cooking it often, great sub for rice or Pasta. (I like spaghetti squash as a sub too)

Congrats on your success, you have done fantastic!

I will usually average around 900 to 1100 in calories for the day. My surgeon recommends I try to get around 80 or 90 grams in protein a day and I've been doing well with that most days. I also stick to under 100 carbs a day and I usually average 20 or less in fat grams for the day. And I drink tons of liquid a day either plain water or sugar free lemonade or sugar free iced tea, and hot teas... I don't measure my water intake but I know it is quite alot, I should start keeping track of just how much in total.

I am on a Bipap and was told to bring mine to the hospital since I would be requiring an overnight stay and I used it in my room that night...

Yep, my Doc said that I should let drinks like that go flat before I drink them if I am really craving them but I really don't anymore. Just once in awhile I really miss a big old glass of fizzy ginger ale, that was my favorite drink before I was banded. But I am happy with lots of water, lemonade, iced tea, and other non carbonated things. I was curious last summer if I would still like the Coke. I did still like it taste wise, but totally not worth the pain after.

The last time I ever even attempted to drink something carbonated was last summer, took three sips of my husbands Diet Coke. Less than five or ten minutes later I had pain for about a half hour in my upper chest and neck area, I knew it was from the air bubbles it created. NEVER again. That was the first carbonation I had since my surgery and was my last.

I am one of the lucky ones that rarely experiences true physical hunger. I also only have a very small fill in my band as it is all I can physically tolerate (stuck issues with higher fill level). Because of that lower fill, I also dont feel a huge sense of fullness when I eat, so I constantly have to police myself. Most of the time I am pretty good at this. I do drink quite a bit during the day too, Water, crystal light, lemonade, etc. And my Protein level is on the high side so I am sure that helps with hunger. I do experience issues with head hunger but that has nothing to do with my band itself and has more to do with my brain and my reaction to stress.

I tell anyone and everyone exactly how I lost my weight and I have since I first had it planned. I have only had one person made a rude comment to me and I was quick on my feet to make a remark back to him afterward. He suggested I was lucky I didnt DIE after having the surgery. I told him, NO, I WOULD BE DEAD if I hadn't and that was that and shut him up. I had one or two people express some concern for me before my surgery but no one tried to talk me out of it and everyone is always so excited for me when they see me or when I talk about. Maybe because my own excitement comes through so much when I do discuss the issue.

I was wondering about this too. I noticed recently that I am having quite a bit of hair breakage when I brush my hair out and am going to start taking Biotin as well to see if it helps any.

I am online quite often if you ever need someone to talk to Angel, feel free to send me a PM and I can even set you up with my personal email address. I admit to still struggling myself from time to time and I can relate. I am from Pennsylvania and had my surgery in September of 2010. My weight loss stats are in my signature below. As to a few of your questions... I currently eat between 900 to 1200 calories a day, depending how much activity I might be getting in. On days when I know I am hitting the gym, I do allow myself a bit more, at least most of the time. I currently eat between 80 to 90 grams of Protein a day, some of that in the form of whey Protein shakes, which my surgeon has me use to supplement my daily food intake to keep my protein higher. When I was first banded however, I was to take in 64 grams a day as a target. It was only after about a year out that he had me up that amount to further my weight loss and keep myself satiated. I eat more than a half cup of food at a meal, I usually will average about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of a vegetable and usually a protein the size of a deck of cards such as a chicken breast or piece of fish. I also love canned tuna in Water and I will eat a small can for a meal along with a small serving of vegetables, sometimes something alongside such as 1/8th to 1/4th cup of cooked quinoa or whole wheat couscous or brown rice. I can eat just about anything everyone else does, just in smaller amounts, I do try avoiding white potatoes, white bread, white flour, white sugar, as much as possible, but have been known to indulge in a half a small baked potato from time to time, not often however. For Breakfast I usually have steel cut oats or old fashioned oatmeal, sometimes Kashi Go lean Cereal 1/2 or 3/4 cup with Silk soy milk, or whole wheat cream of wheat cooked or sometimes a couple of eggs or a few egg whites and a half of a 100 calorie everything bagel thin and will sometimes add a couple of slices of turkey bacon with it or a couple of turkey sausages. I do adore salads though too, especially a mixed green salad with grilled chicken breast strips and fat free balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I had hip replacement surgery in January and my hip was extremely bad and my healing process has been kind of slow compared to some others and have just recently the last month or so really amping up some exercising, I am currently getting in about three times a week at the Gym, going to start up with my Wii Fit again on some of the days when I dont end up there. I still have to be careful with my hip so am currently utllizing the upper body Ergometer (recumbent hand bike), the treadmill, NuStep stepper and I am doing a bit of weight training. I like scrambled egg whites, fat free refried Beans, all kinds of baked fish, any type of chicken, ground venison, ground turkey burgers or turkey meatloaf, chili, stews, spaghetti squash made with homemade meat sauce, just about any vegetable, eggplant lasagna, wraps using a half of a whole wheat tortilla and protein and fat free cheese, chicken salad, etc. I will send you a myfitnesspal request too...

I dont remember any true physical withdrawals from anything, other than just mentally, which I still sometimes have troubles with. There are times when I miss being able to indulge in a giant meal the way I used to, but most of the time I am fine with what I am permitted to have now. I do suffer from head hunger from time to time which is an ongoing fight for me, it usually strikes for me during times of stress.

I am still interested in adding more Lapband Talk friends if anyone would like to send me a request... TracieCat Will send to everyone above that i havent already added....

Congrats to you, that is something to be so proud of, way to go!!

I am not a drinker as a rule but will occasionally have a glass of Merlot or Blush wine or a mixed drink such as grape vodka/diet cranberry juice.

I am 5' 10" and my first goal I am reaching for is 200 at this point. If I reach that, I will be extremely happy and if I never get any lower, it will be enough considering how high I had gotten at one point.

I had fairly high cholesterol and high blood pressure before my surgery and was on medications for both of those. In just about three or four months after surgery, my numbers had improved so much that I was able to get off of those completely and my numbers have remained good ever since. I still do have sleep apnea unfortunately but the severity of it has decreased. When I was first tested, I averaged 70 episodes per hour, during my last test it was down to about 15-17 which I was excited about. Hoping that will improve even further on down the road for me.