RavenClaw779

It is such a relief to read everyone's stories. I had my first fill last week(2.5cc/11cc band) and actually feel less restricted. As a result I've gained 3 pounds and find myself reverting to my old eating habits i.e., grazing on "forbidden" foods. I keep praying for guidence and am coming to the realization that maybe this wasn't the right choice for me - maybe I should've gone for the GB. NTL - I have to deal with the hand I dealt myself, so I'm trying to crack down on my bad behaviors and accept that this is going to take time. And I'll keep reminding myself that this is just a "tool".

We've been roped into a family dinner celebration at a very pricey and intimate restaurant tonight. This will be the first time I've eaten out since the operation and my stomach is already roiling in anticipation. I'd have prefered my first meal out to be somewhere noisy and crowded so that if I need to make a quick trip to the restroom, it won't be so obvious...think I'll have a protein shake before we leave and just pick at an appetizer....

I'd read that it was supposed to be every 6 weeks!?! My surgeon's practice is all about the $$ so my guess is the sooner they get you to the "sweet spot" the sooner they get to move on to another case.

Arrived 10 minutes late for my 10:45am appt and thought they'd have to reschedule - but as usual they're running late and I sit for another half hour - guess it's a good thing my afternoon was free. The nurse took me back and got me on the scale - then the PA came in to do the fill. He was really nice and it was painless - 2.5cc. What was really interesting is that I go back in another two weeks for another fill and apparently every two weeks until... The PA told me the first three fills are "no charge" - Gee for close to 30K they ought to be free! Clear liquids today, so I have a raging "no food" headache, but I found that these "test tubes" of liquid protein (100 cal/0 carb/0 fat/25g protein) while not tasty did do the trick.

Thought of a great way to get my veggies and breakfast out of the way: * 1 cup Low Sodium V8 * 1 pkt Veggie Powder * 2 scoops of Vitamin World Non-Soy Veggie Protein Powder * Horseradish/Worchestershire Sauce to taste Ta Da! "Veggie Mary"! Great idea until I added the Vitamin World product...turned gritty with an awful flavor. I've tried this stuff in various hot and cold applications - supposed to be flavorless - WRONG - it is awful regardless. I'm going to try this again tomorrow using Bariatric Eating's "Pure" and see if it's any better.

Made the Veggie Mary this morning with the Bariatric Eating "Pure" unflavored protein product and added a little garlic and pepper - very good. Even tasted the powder by itself - NO FLAVOR! Will order some today - my quest is over!:thumbup:

I went to Ellis(Schnectady, NY) - a bariatric "Center of Excellence" - I had no issues with the surgeon, but in retrospect, I felt very much like I was just a number and that the ancillary specialists(NUT/Plumonologist/Psych) were just going through the motions to line up the paperwork so they could push me through in the shortest amount of time. In fact my fills are every two weeks - not every 4 -6wks which seems to be the standard. At no time did anyone i.e., PA, Surgeon, Psych suggest a particular procedure - in fact it was entirely up to me. Looking back it does seem odd that not even the surgeon said anything to the effect of, " I've reviewed your history. Let's talk about your options. Given that you have ...I think that this procedure may give you the best outcome...". It was more like, "Wadda ya want? Gastric band? Okay - sign here...".

...and it ain't the fabulous restriction provided by my first fill. Stuck to the clear liquids for 24 hours following my fill and was extremely hungry - in fact when I go too long without eating something real, I get a migraine - so by Thursday morning I was ready to kick some serious a-- ...made it through most of the day on broth and shakes but by that night I was on to mashed potatos and beans. Now it's 2 days since my fill and I am back on regular food, have no restriction and am hungry less than two hours after eating - and I can eat well over a cup with no PB. This is strange as I had PB situations prior to the fill. The PA who did my fill said the band was really, "sucking up" the saline. Call me crazy, but I'm wondering if my band is defective - I shouldn't be feeling LESS restriction than before the fill - Right? I am thankful that my Vanguard fund is bouncing back after the low point in 2008 and my "spring line" for the local artist venue sold out...and I haven't gained any weight...nor have I lost. :tongue_smilie:

...and it ain't the fabulous restriction provided by my first fill. Stuck to the clear liquids for 24 hours following my fill and was extremely hungry - in fact when I go too long without eating something real, I get a migraine - so by Thursday morning I was ready to kick some serious a-- ...made it through most of the day on broth and shakes but by that night I was on to mashed potatos and beans. Now it's 2 days since my fill and I am back on regular food, have no restriction and am hungry less than two hours after eating - and I can eat well over a cup with no PB. This is strange as I had PB situations prior to the fill. The PA who did my fill said the band was really, "sucking up" the saline. Call me crazy, but I'm wondering if my band is defective - I shouldn't be feeling LESS restriction than before the fill - Right? I am thankful that my Vanguard fund is bouncing back after the low point in 2008 and my "spring line" for the local artist venue sold out...and I haven't gained any weight...nor have I lost. :w00t:

I have BCBS PPO - took three day from receipt of docs for approval.

Arrived 10 minutes late for my 10:45am appt and thought they'd have to reschedule - but as usual they're running late and I sit for another half hour - guess it's a good thing my afternoon was free. The nurse took me back and got me on the scale - then the PA came in to do the fill. He was really nice and it was painless - 2.5cc. What was really interesting is that I go back in another two weeks for another fill and apparently every two weeks until... The PA told me the first three fills are "no charge" - Gee for close to 30K they ought to be free! Clear liquids today, so I have a raging "no food" headache, but I found that these "test tubes" of liquid protein (100 cal/0 carb/0 fat/25g protein) while not tasty did do the trick.

*Warning - A totally non-WLS rant posted because it's my blog and I'll post what I want to:tt2: My s-i-l hates to drive at night, so I'll be trucking down to the city to pick up my college age niece. Apparently she has a medical issue which she could've had taken care of at her university health center, but when her mother(my s-i-l) suggested this, my niece had a meltdown and demanded Momma make her an appt at home and fly her in. What a surprise! Momma does what baby wants. She may be 19, but emotionally more like 15...like her group of college friends who hang out together living a "high school but away from home" type of lifestyle. 20-some years ago when I was in college, we were a lot more mature and aware of key world issues. The effect of helicopter parents?! It's scary when my niece tells me she doesn't like kids but wants to teach 'cause she'll get lots of time off. Wow - just who I want educating the future! Back to the "Apple" topic - my niece is now upset because her mother told the doctor about the problem when she made the appt. Apparently, my niece wanted her to just say that it's for a "check up" (& no - this is not a woman issue)! My s-i-l (rightly so) told her that the doctor needs to know the real reason so as not to waste time. S-i-l wonders what her baby is thinking?!! RU kidding? Here's where it "falls from the tree"...my s-i-l is a DM2 who tries to deny it. It took 3 years of warnings of pre-diabetes and then 6 mos after diagnosis to get her on oral meds. She's still not testing and tries to "trick" her labs by fasting for several days prior or eating "healthy" the week before. Of course, the numbers are still bad because she's non-compliant and hasn't educated herself. She calls me post doctor visit to report that the doctor wants her on more "meds" because her "numbers are bad" and she feels he's probably getting paid by the pharmacutical companies to give her more "stuff". So I say - "Could be - what new meds does he want? what were your labs?". She says..wait for it.... "I dunno - I wasn't paying attention!". Excuse me? What is more personal than a visit to your doctor - how can you not pay attention when it's your health?? This then leads to a conversation we've had before of how her health plan works and me telling her again to print me a copy and I'll review it...which she forgets - as usual. I guess I'm not too surprised as this is some one who wishes she were back in high school, doesn't read the paper or watch the news, and threw a fit when her boss told her she was going to have to take some tech classes - started crying and shouting that she "didn't want to learn anything new!" I'm actually fond of my s-i-l as apart from the tendency to gossip she is a very kind and non-judgmental person(wish I could be more like that) - but I often feel like I'm dealing with a child. Not surprising - her mother (my m-i-l) is the same way. No, she doesn't want to go back to high school - instead she's fiercely independent...sort of. She's moderately more aware of what's going on in the world, but so flightly she only grasps half the story. When she doesn't get her own way - or doesn't get buy-in from the "fam" she just goes off and does whatever she wants then let's the rest of us pick up the pieces, the tab...whatever. When it comes to medical issues - see above. She takes whatever scripts the doctor writes but doesn't know why..."I'm not going to take this Liptor anymore - I don't feel any different...". She's still seeing this ancient doc-in-box who treated her mother. She nixed her prior doc because the doctor did an Alzheimer's test on her and was concerned enough to contact my s-i-l. Par for course, my m-i-l wanted my s-i-l to keep it a secret - Right! Her driving skills have always been sub-par and now they're even worse. Sunday night was a classic - when after two glasses of wine she was red-eyed, staggering and slurring but refused to give up her keys or let someone else drive her home and my s-i-l tells me, "She's not drunk - I'd know!"(sorta like, "She doesn't have memory issues - I'd know!") I'm torn between making a confidential call to the DMV before she hurts someone or herself or just stepping back and letting her kids take responsibility. Sigh - good to vent and hope it gives my readers a laugh; I'm sure plenty of you are in the boat.

Just checking in. I'm five weeks post op today. I'll try to avoid the "only" word and just say I've lost 10 pounds since surgery; mostly in the first three weeks. I can now eat normal food - and alot more than I should - so thankfully my first fill is tomorrow. I'm trying to be honest with myself - the decision to have the procedure, the rapid process thru pre-surgery and the ensuing excitement helped me lose 30 pounds prior to the big day. I feel like I'm drifting back to old(bad) eating habits and realize that I need to work with a therapist to get around what's driving me to eat. Why would I rather eat McDonald's which I know is bad on so many levels, than a healthy meal? Why do I continue to eat snacks rather than meals? Why do I start the day with good intentions and by late afternoon blow them out the door? One good thing about the band is that despite only losing 10 lbs in five weeks, I have not re-gained. Now there's a ringing endorsement for my success!:cool:

How did everything go? RU OK?

I still wear my 3x sweatpants but my husband is threatening to burn them - he's sez I either look like I've got a "package" in my pants or I've getting to bust a move - as in "Can't Touch This"!:cool:

How awful is it to absolutely loath a fellow bandster? I really enjoy reading everyone's comments and get a lot of useful info, but there's one community member whose self-satisified, Holier-than-Thou, preachy lectures make me want to scream. That vague school-marmish tone directed at fellow bandsters who've slipped on dietary rules. That "maybe you should question why you have the band" finger wag. What -because you slipped you should get your butt to the doctor and have him take it out because you're just not committed enough?! Everytime I read this bandster's comments I cringe - esp for the person who originally put the question out there looking for positive support and not a smarmy lecture. Even my husband read few of this bandster's posts and had to laugh - his comment is apt - "Get Over Yourself!"!:thumbup:

Made the Veggie Mary this morning with the Bariatric Eating "Pure" unflavored protein product and added a little garlic and pepper - very good. Even tasted the powder by itself - NO FLAVOR! Will order some today - my quest is over!:thumbup:

How awful is it to absolutely loath a fellow bandster? I really enjoy reading everyone's comments and get a lot of useful info, but there's one community member whose self-satisified, Holier-than-Thou, preachy lectures make me want to scream. That vague school-marmish tone directed at fellow bandsters who've slipped on dietary rules. That "maybe you should question why you have the band" finger wag. What -because you slipped you should get your butt to the doctor and have him take it out because you're just not committed enough?! Everytime I read this bandster's comments I cringe - esp for the person who originally put the question out there looking for positive support and not a smarmy lecture. Even my husband read few of this bandster's posts and had to laugh - his comment is apt - "Get Over Yourself!"!:thumbup:

Thank God we have Betsy - she has all the answers.

You've got me groping myself at my desk:scared2: Mine feels like it angles up a bit. It's not painful when I push on it and I can do crunches. That said, I nailed myself with the washer door several times and could feel it will giving the dog a tub bath. Now that it's healed, it's not painful. First fill is tomorrow - I'll let you know what it feels like afterward!

I have the Realize and I can't see it - feel it, yes!

Great story! New panties were my first purchase, but I guess I didn't get rid of all the too big pairs. Worked from home yesterday and put on a pair of my saggy baggies - worked okay while at my desk, but I'm afraid when I took the dogs to the park for a walk, my fellow walkers were getting an eye full of me digging and pulling my 'wears up. No easy to do with to large dogs in tow!

It took a couple of weeks before clothes felt okay - esp the underwire. Even now, five weeks out, if I've eaten too much, that's the first thing off. If you're not too busty, try a camisole under a tee-shirt with a jacket or sweater over it.

*Warning - A totally non-WLS rant posted because it's my blog and I'll post what I want to:tt2: My s-i-l hates to drive at night, so I'll be trucking down to the city to pick up my college age niece. Apparently she has a medical issue which she could've had taken care of at her university health center, but when her mother(my s-i-l) suggested this, my niece had a meltdown and demanded Momma make her an appt at home and fly her in. What a surprise! Momma does what baby wants. She may be 19, but emotionally more like 15...like her group of college friends who hang out together living a "high school but away from home" type of lifestyle. 20-some years ago when I was in college, we were a lot more mature and aware of key world issues. The effect of helicopter parents?! It's scary when my niece tells me she doesn't like kids but wants to teach 'cause she'll get lots of time off. Wow - just who I want educating the future! Back to the "Apple" topic - my niece is now upset because her mother told the doctor about the problem when she made the appt. Apparently, my niece wanted her to just say that it's for a "check up" (& no - this is not a woman issue)! My s-i-l (rightly so) told her that the doctor needs to know the real reason so as not to waste time. S-i-l wonders what her baby is thinking?!! RU kidding? Here's where it "falls from the tree"...my s-i-l is a DM2 who tries to deny it. It took 3 years of warnings of pre-diabetes and then 6 mos after diagnosis to get her on oral meds. She's still not testing and tries to "trick" her labs by fasting for several days prior or eating "healthy" the week before. Of course, the numbers are still bad because she's non-compliant and hasn't educated herself. She calls me post doctor visit to report that the doctor wants her on more "meds" because her "numbers are bad" and she feels he's probably getting paid by the pharmacutical companies to give her more "stuff". So I say - "Could be - what new meds does he want? what were your labs?". She says..wait for it.... "I dunno - I wasn't paying attention!". Excuse me? What is more personal than a visit to your doctor - how can you not pay attention when it's your health?? This then leads to a conversation we've had before of how her health plan works and me telling her again to print me a copy and I'll review it...which she forgets - as usual. I guess I'm not too surprised as this is some one who wishes she were back in high school, doesn't read the paper or watch the news, and threw a fit when her boss told her she was going to have to take some tech classes - started crying and shouting that she "didn't want to learn anything new!" I'm actually fond of my s-i-l as apart from the tendency to gossip she is a very kind and non-judgmental person(wish I could be more like that) - but I often feel like I'm dealing with a child. Not surprising - her mother (my m-i-l) is the same way. No, she doesn't want to go back to high school - instead she's fiercely independent...sort of. She's moderately more aware of what's going on in the world, but so flightly she only grasps half the story. When she doesn't get her own way - or doesn't get buy-in from the "fam" she just goes off and does whatever she wants then let's the rest of us pick up the pieces, the tab...whatever. When it comes to medical issues - see above. She takes whatever scripts the doctor writes but doesn't know why..."I'm not going to take this Liptor anymore - I don't feel any different...". She's still seeing this ancient doc-in-box who treated her mother. She nixed her prior doc because the doctor did an Alzheimer's test on her and was concerned enough to contact my s-i-l. Par for course, my m-i-l wanted my s-i-l to keep it a secret - Right! Her driving skills have always been sub-par and now they're even worse. Sunday night was a classic - when after two glasses of wine she was red-eyed, staggering and slurring but refused to give up her keys or let someone else drive her home and my s-i-l tells me, "She's not drunk - I'd know!"(sorta like, "She doesn't have memory issues - I'd know!") I'm torn between making a confidential call to the DMV before she hurts someone or herself or just stepping back and letting her kids take responsibility. Sigh - good to vent and hope it gives my readers a laugh; I'm sure plenty of you are in the boat.

Went shopping with the s-i-l on Saturday and no comments about my weight etc. Victory! Except for a question about whether or not I can eat asparagus as I was invited to a "cook out" at her house on Sunday... What a surprise to arrive at my s-i-l's on Sunday to find a variable crowd of people there including my hardly ever seen b-i-l and his wife. Gee - on Saturday is was just me, s-i-l, and my three nieces. Kinda felt like I was being paraded out like a trick pony! Even more interesting - not a word from anyone re; the surgery/weight loss - but you should've heard the tongues wagging whenever I left the room and seen them checking out my plate! I managed a well-chewed half of a burger, a teaspoon each of beans and pasta salad and two asparagus spears. Hey - whatever as long as the endless comments stop. I have no doubt the phone lines are burning up today and it was par for the course to hear my b-i-l comment as they were leaving, "Jill looks like the same fat-ass as ever!" Sweet - good times!:thumbup: