Sunshine79

I couldn't give up my ranch so I buy the Hidden Valley packets and mix it with 1/2 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup FF sour cream.

I've had my band for 7 months and had my first major PBing episode a couple months ago while eating Spanakopita at a Greek Festival. It took me more than an hour to get everything up and required several trips to a porta potty so all in all it was not a very pleasant experience. Anyway, I figured I just ate too much or too fast and didn't think anything of it until the other night when I was at a Christmas party and had maybe 2 bites of a spinach ball and next thing you know, I'm back in the bathroom. I don't really have a problem with broccoli or anything else (other than bread of course and occasionally eggs and meat) so I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this?

I got my first one in my armpit in 2000 and since then have had it 3 times (once more in the armpit and twice in the groin). The first time, before I knew what it was, it started seeping and oozing and left a 1 inch scar on my armpit (I know it's very gross) but ever since then I just have my dermo prescribe me Bactroban cream when it starts developing and that usually makes it go away. It is a form of acne, just a very painful and sometimes dibilitating form. Hope this helps...

I've eaten scrambled eggs several times without a problem. However, a couple of weeks ago, I was at a restaurant and had a bacon and cheese omelet. What a mistake! What made it especially unpleasant was that it happened at a small, crowded restaurant with only 1 bathroom for everyone to use so when the bathroom was occupied, I ended up having to run outside to the parking lot and throw up in some bushes. I went home soon after but I still spent the next 2 hours PBing what couldn't have been more than 5-6 bites. Not fun... So my suggestion would be to evaluate the type of eggs you're eating. If it's something thick, stay away, but something like scrambled or maybe over easy might work better. Also, eggs get rubbery when reheated so try to avoid that too.

I'm so annoyed with my doc. I was banded 4 months ago and other than the initial 13 lbs I lost doing the liquid diet, I've barely lost anything since. With my first 2 fills, I lost nothing. At my last fill, I did start to feel a little restriction and I did lose 5 lbs the first week (mainly because I did Soup for a couple days to jump start things) and then a total of 1 lb in the 3 remaining weeks. So when I went in this morning for my 4th fill, he didn't want to fill me because I'd lost 6 lbs and he thought that was good progress. I practically had to beg him just to get 1/2 CC added. I've never had a PB so I know I'm definitely not too tight and I still do get hungry so I think I'd be safe adding a little more. It's just frustrating because my co-worker got this done 2 years ago, was the same size and age as me now, and she lost 70 lbs in the first 6 months. Of course, she went to my doctor's partner who is apparently much more aggressive with fills. I know it's a marathon and not a sprint but 6 lbs in 4 months is extremely slow progress. Pre-band, I could lose 6 lbs in a week just by cutting out carbs. Anyone else experience this with their doctor?

Yeah it sounds like you might be a little tight but since it's only been a week you could probably wait a few days and see how it adjusts. After my last fill, I'm now at 8cc's in a 12cc Realize band and I think I've finally found my sweet spot. I've lost 4 lbs in 5 days and I'm not hungry between meals. I can still eat most foods without any problem, just in small quantities at a time. Maybe that last .5 cc was all it took for me.

I would try Dr. Crooms or Sieloff at TMH. If those 2 don't work, you could try Dr. Schwartz at Capital Regional.

Yeah, believe me - I raised hell! I was so mad and it still took 3 extra weeks to get in. How hard is it to find 10 minutes in a day? My co-worker that got it done with the same doc said just to keep on them and if it's too loose, try to get back in ASAP so I think that's what I'll try to do, rather than wait until my next appt on August 4.

I too had issues with scheduling my first fill. It was supposed to be June 15, 1 month after surgery. But on June 14 the surgeon's office called to say they couldn't do it my scheduled day because the surgeon was going on vacation and didn't like to schedule fills in case something went wrong while he was gone. Shouldn't they have figured that out when they scheduled me? I asked them if I could see his partner if something went wrong and was told "no, we don't like to do that" and then they tried to reschedule me for July 13. I told them that it was absolutely unacceptable to have to wait 2 months post-surgery when I was only supposed to wait 1. By that point, I could eat pretty much anything and everything and had no restriction at all and I wasn't losing any weight. So they finally were able to fit me in for this past Tuesday. At my weigh-in Tuesday, I was at the same 13 lb weight loss from after my post-op diet so that was kind of disappointing but at least I didn't gain. Hopefully now that I've had a fill, I'll start moving down the scale again. I still don't feel much restriction so I might try to go back again next week. My doc does fills under fluroscopy and he put 5 cc in a 11 cc Realize band. He numbed my stomach so I couldn't feel the saline going in (other than pressure) but that lidocaine shot stung like hell and I have a pretty substantial bruise there now. I wonder if it will be like that every time?

So I thought this was a relevant topic given the upcoming holiday weekend. I'm going to a cookout Friday night and not sure what to eat. I'm still on the soft food phase but at my last appointment was told I could start real food in about 10 days (which would be this Sunday). Do I push it and try to eat meat 2 days early or just stick to soft foods? So far, all I can think of is deviled eggs, baked beans and potato salad.

I am down 17 lbs in a little over 2 weeks. My doc said I could start solids 10 days from my last appointment which is today. I had a little grilled chicken and it seemed to go down just fine. So far no problems with any food. Of course, I don't have any restriction yet but I'll get my first fill in 2 weeks.

I don't know if any of you have tried the new Jello Pudding Mousses. They're sugar free and I normally don't like very much but today I added a drop of peppermint extract and mixed in and it was very good. I felt like I was eating a decadent dessert but it was only 60 calories. Of course I try to stick to yogurt since that has nutritional value but it's a good light treat if you need one.

You'll hear a lot on this board about head hunger, which is what MissBS, is referring to. I know that my first couple days, post-band, I couldn't even watch TV because every time I saw a commercial for food I wanted it. Now fast forward a couple weeks, 10 feet away from my office kitchen which has donuts, muffins and bagels left over from a morning meeting, and I don't feel a thing. And they've been there all day and I've walked by them countless times and it didn't even register that that would be something I would have wanted until a co-worker asked me if I wanted the last donut. It does get better. You get used to it. And I'm not just speaking from my limited band experience. I did low-carb for a year and with my sweet tooth, it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do but it just became second-nature after some time passed. At least with the band, you can still eat most of the foods you like, just in moderation.

I can understand that - potatoes do go down real smooth. I've only had them once since I moved into soft foods and that was because I was out for a birthday dinner and couldn't find anything else on the menu that was soft enough to eat. I'm eating a lot of yogurt too but by dinner, I feel like I need something hardier. Last night I made creamed spinach using milk, garlic and shredded parmesan. It was really good! And today I got chicken salad from the grocery store and ate about 4 oz. of that. It's probably not the best choice out there but we're kind of limited in options right now and I'm still barely hitting 800 calories a day so I'm not terribly worried about it.

I don't know what the problem with soups would be! Most have very few carbs and are pretty much a must-have during the liquid phase. You could have creamed spinach, mashed cauliflower (almost as good as mashed potatos), chicken or tuna salad, etc.

You're definitely not alone! My doc didn't put me on any pre-op diet so in the 2 months between my initial consultation and surgery day, I gained about 13 lbs eating pop tarts, cheez-its, hamburgers, pizza - all the things I didn't think I'd ever be able to have again. The good news is that in my first post-op appointment 6 days after surgery, I had lost 13 lbs from the liquid diet so I ended up losing everything I'd gained. Of course had I not binged for 6 weeks, I would be 13 lbs closer to my goal weight by now. But whatever - you live and you learn.

Yup and it's very common in people that have lost a lot of weight quickly or have been overweight for a while. I know my pain was really bad when I ate something rich, steak, potatoes, creamy stuff and it would last for hours. By the time I had it removed, the surgeon said I had like 20 pebble-sized stones in there. I just got banded a couple weeks ago but at least the gallbladder is one thing I won't have to worry about. Good luck on your surgery! I had a really good experience - relatively painless and easy. I was back at work in like 2 days, no problem, so hopefully yours will go well too.

Have you had your gall bladder out? That's exactly the feeling I had when I had gall stones before I had to have it removed a couple years ago.

I was banded a week and a half ago and got super-hungry by day 3 so I cheated a little on my clear liquids and added dilluted tomato soup to my diet. I had my post-op check-up last Wednesday (day 6) and my doc said I could move on to mushies/soft foods and after 10 days (which would be this Saturday), real food. So that's less than 3 weeks between surgery and real food. A lot of people on here are told not to eat real food or even soft food for months. I think it really just depends on how you're tolerating it. Just be careful not to overeat and listen to your body and you'll probably be fine. You could consult your doctor though, just to give you piece of mind. That's what they're there for, after all.

Well it might just be because of the post-surgical swelling, I can't say for sure. But it seems like I can feel the tightness of the band and it feels tighter the more I eat. Last night I made myself some boxed mashed potatoes for dinner and ate less than a cup and surprisingly was not hungry again all night. That would have never happened before surgery. I would have been starving about an hour later. So it's doing something. I don't know how long it will last but I'll take what I can get before my first fill in 4 weeks. Anyway, thanks for your well wishes and I wish you the best in making your decision and starting your weight loss journey.

Thanks! I will say that so far I've been pretty happy with the band. I've only had it for a week and I've lost 13 lbs. My recovery was a breeze and now that I've moved past the liquid phase, I'm less hungry all the time and it doesn't take much to fill me up (even without restriction). I still have a long way to go but I definitely don't regret my decision to have WLS, just a little regret over the method I chose.

Yeah I just found out about the sleeve a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately my insurance company does not yet cover it(just bypass and band) and since I'd already been approved for the band and given a surgery date, I just went with it and was banded last Thursday. To be honest, had they covered the sleeve, I would have gone with that. Especially when I read about getting stuck and PBs and sliming and erosion and slippage. There are just fewer complications with VSG and there are almost no food restrictions, you just can't eat much. Maybe I jumped the gun and should have waited until it was approved, I don't know. But the good thing is that if I do have complications in the future, I can always revise to the sleeve and it will probably be covered by then.

Yeah I would never get bypass (sleeve maybe) because of what I've seen my dad go through. He had it 10 years ago and has had a lot of complications. He has pernicious anemia and will have to get B12 injections monthly for the rest of his life. He also stretched his stomach out within 2 or 3 years and can eat much more than he used to and that (unlike the band) is not reversible and is very common among bypassers. Also, I used to work with a woman who had recently gotten it done and she had some SERIOUS digestive issues, meaning that she couldn't always make it to work without pooping in her pants. Disgusting, I know, but that's what she told me on more than one occasion. I would never willingly subject myself to that kind of humiliation. For some it may be the best or only option but I think I chose correctly.

Ccolvin, my doctor said it was fine to eat multiple times a day until I've had a fill because right now there's no real restriction (at least not in my band) so soup and mushies may fill me up fast but they don't really satiate the stomach for long and the hunger will come back pretty quickly. I just try to eat 1 thing (yogurt, applesauce, popsicle, jello) every 3 hours or so or whenever I get hungry and that seems to work.

I had mine last week and I was ravenously hungry on day 2 and 3 of the liquid diet. Then miraculously, I stopped getting as hungry (maybe my stomach shrank?) until yesterday when I moved on to mushies. Now the hunger's back but I try to curb it with protein. Even just drinking a glass of skim milk helps. My band's not filled at all and won't be until June 16 so hopefully I can make it through.