Oberhasli

Not one of the "ladies", but I think this is a great thread. I was a bit bummed when I had my fill and only lost 1 pound in 3 weeks (but was happy it wasn't gaining a pound!), but I weighed myself Tuesday and I was down 5 pounds in 8 days. I've been as much as 330, was at 316 on March 31 when I decided to start this quest. My pre-surgery weight was 290 and I'm at 268 7 weeks post-surgery. 22 pounds down is greater than 3 pounds a week average which is FAR more than I ever did pre-band. And, a friend got me a Docker sport shirt for Christmas and I had to return it because it was too big!!!! (No more multiple X's!!!!!) And I went out and cleaned the barn for 45 minutes this morning to get my aerobic exercise (and keep me out of the kitchen!). (And I got another puppy last week so now have 3 dogs, a 5 year old miniature Australian Shepherd that loves to play ball so I have to keep him entertained, a 6 month old Corgi that is a ball of energy and a 2 month old miniature Australian Shepherd that has a micro-bladder and needs to go out every 5 minutes so plenty of exercise for me!) Tom

Jess, I hope the pain has subsided. I've only experienced pain like you describe a few times and it's been because I ate too much. When I got my fill, the doctor had me drink until I felt full. I chucked 4 ounces of water. I didn't feel full (I've since learned it's a different feeling than the all-you-can eat buffet full feeling) but could feel the water in my esophagus. Figured if it's coming back out, I'm full. About 10 minutes after I left the doctor's office I had pain like I haven't experienced before. I was more uncomfortable than right after surgery. (Of course then, I had the morphine pump so didn't feel anything!) Go back to your basics. Eat small bites of softer foods and chew well. I joke that the pain is a bigger incentive not to overeat than the band. I don't want to ever experience what I did after the fill. (And the fill itself wasn't bad. It was the over consumption was the problem.) As others have said, don't rush the fill. You may not be ready. Get comfortable with having the band and practicing the proper eating habits. You'll be fine. As to drugs eroding the band, remember the band is on the OUTSIDE of the stomach. Not that anything you put in your stomach is good for you, but the contents of your stomach don't come in contact with the actual band. (If they do, you have MUCH bigger problems.) Tom

Talked to the doctor's office and they said just stay on Step 2 (mushies/liquid) for a couple of days and slowly add in other foods. I was hurting all over (have rheumatoid arthritis) so went to soak in the jacuzzi tub and fell asleep and went under the water. NOT a good way to wake up. I'm totally drained today and out of energy walking from the bathroom to the sofa. The doctor's office said take it easy, have high-protein foods, and I should be fine. If I continue to have pain with meals (I'm not) or vomiting (again, not an issue), to call before the end of the week and they'll have a doctor remove some of the fill. (My surgeon is out for the rest of the week.) I'm far more worried about the energy level than anything else. I don't feel safe driving for fear I'll just fall asleep and this has never been an issue. Well, back to sipping on my protein shake and another nap. <sigh> Tom

My doctor said two children's chewable is fine. I did find Centrum Liquid, which is made for adults, but it's a bit pricey. I got Equate chewables at Wal-Mart as well as the Centrum Liquid. Ask the pharmacist for a recommendation. Pre-fill, I had no problem with other pills (didn't try vitamins in pill form) so you might be OK with "normal" vitamins too. Even after my fill yesterday, I had no problems with Tylenol or percocet. Since I've got the liquid and chewable vitamins, I've not tried the pills. Tom

Being a man, pain is not an option. <G> The lidocaine was only slightly uncomfortable so I think I'll continue to take any and all drugs they offer. I had 4 ounces of Carnation Instant Breakfast with protein powder and peanut butter earlier this morning. It took an hour to finish it. I had 4 ounces of V8 juice an hour after I finished that and I got it done in 30 minutes. I'm working on a poached egg now. Took two small bites but feel I need to rest. I can't say that I've yet felt full but I've felt pain and that's enough of an incentive not to eat. Energy level is not great but need to muster up the energy to make it to work. Tom

I got my first fill today 1 day short of 6 weeks from surgery. The actual fill was uneventful. The port was easily found and the saline inserted. I have a 10 cm band that holds 4 cc. The doctor fills the band and then removes liquid. Because I mentioned that the last few days the only thing keeping me on track was will power as I was very hungry, even after eating, he left 2 cc's in my band. He had me drink water until I was full. After about 4 ounces, I still felt hungry but could feel the water backing up into my esophagus. After about 30 minutes, the pain increased. I went shopping and walked, and walked and walked. The doctor did tell me to go back to liquids for a day. I managed to get 8 ounces of Boost Glucose Control down over the course of 3.5 hours. I felt pretty weak by the time I got home and was still in pain. Dug out the percocet and the medicine they gave me for an upset stomach. I got down about 1 cup of cream of mushroom soup over an hour or so. An hour after that, I got down a bit of protein-enchanced pudding but can feel it in the esophagus. I don't feel full but I do feel pain if I eat. Guess that's incentive enough not to eat! Today was, by far, the worst day I've had since I've left the hospital. And, to add insult to injury, even though my clothes are much looser than they were 3 weeks ago (last time at doctor), I'm only down 1 pound in the three weeks. :angry I'm still doing better than 2 pounds per week on average, which is above their expectation, but I've been very good and was hoping for a bit more. I just need to focus on what I have done and not what I didn't! The doctor did say he might have to take a bit out if I'm too restricted but wanted to give me a couple of days to adapt. I go back in 6 weeks and will likely get another fill unless I can't handle this level of fill and then I go back soner. Good luck to others that are approaching their first fills. I was worried about the pain of the fill itself but the lidacaine injection to numb the area was the most painful and it was only slightly irratating. Tom

I guess you were full of s..t. :guess If it helps, remember that slow, consistent weight loss has a much better long-term success rate than rapid weight loss. On my team of 16 at work, 2 had full gastric bypass. One in February and one 8 years ago. While I too would love to have more pounds dropping off, they're amazed at how well I'm doing physically. They were both off work more than 2 months. While their initial weight loss was more dramatic, the one that had the surgery in February is now losing about 1-2 pounds per week. Most of us are on target and didn't have near the trauma of the full bypass. Tom

Where else can we get so excited about such things as a BM? :omg: As they say, --it happens! Congratulations on the weight loss! Tom

I only lost 1/2 pound this past week but am not unhappy as I'm down 16.5 pounds in 5 weeks since surgery. Like the "other" Tom's doctor, my doctor doesn't expect extreme weight loss with the band. His expectations are about 1 pound per week which is a MUCH healthier way to lose than dropping drastic amounts at one time. I too am diabetic but since surgery have maintained healthy blood sugars without any medicines at all. A couple of the meds I was on for diabetes caused weight gain but they want you to lose weight to control the diabetes. That was one of the reasons I opted for the band. I knew losing weight would help control the diabetes and I could get off, or at least reduce, the number of drugs I have to take. I get filled next Monday. Now, if I could get the doctor's office to get the disability paperwork correct, life would be good. As it is, my employer paid me for hours that have now been denied so my check at the end of the month is going to have those hours removed which means I won't get squat. HAPPY NEW YEAR! At least I don't eat as much so the grocery bill isn't as high. <G> Tom

Jackye, I too was banded on 11/7 and am tentatively scheduled for my first fill on 12/18. I'll weigh again at work tomorrow but was down 16 pounds as of last Monday (1 day less than 4 weeks) so on about the same track as you. Tom

I think it is inevitable that we will ALL have meals/days/weeks, etc. where we make less than ideal food choices. If we were masters of control, would we have had to have the band in the first place? The band doesn't change our psychological make-up, just HELPS us control how much we can eat without being extremely uncomfortable if we overdo it. It won't stop us from putting the piece of cheesecake in our mouth instead of the baked, skinless chicken breast. That has to fall to back on us. One thing they really stressed during the LEARN program was if you refer to this as a diet, you will likely not succeed. This is a lifestyle change. Most diets go for a limited duration and then they're over. That's great if you have 10 pounds to lose. We will all need to modify our lifestyle and can never go back to eating the way we use to if we are to be successful. The other key they stressed is that WHEN you "screw up", and you will, DON'T beat yourself up over it. The standard response is that I ate what I shouldn't, I blew the diet and quickly go back to old habits. If you have a meal that isn't on the "approved" list, chalk it up to a less than ideal choice and get back on track with the next meal. The world won't end! If MOST of your choices are what they should be, you're going to lose weight. Consistent weight loss over an extended period of time is something most of us couldn't do on our own so find a non-food reward for you accomplishments and accept that there will be bumps in the road. Just don't turn the bump into a hill into a mountain. Tom

3 months on liquids/mushies would drive anyone totally crazy! Each doctor clearly has their own course of treatment and it's important to follow your doctor's recommendations. I guess I was fortunate as I was not placed on a pre-op liquid diet (I had lost ~30 pounds in the 7 months preceeding surgery), only had to eat light the day before surgery with no dairy product for dinner the evening before, had nothing the day of surgery, jello the next morning and then onto a mushie diet for 2 weeks, then a week of soft food and since 3 weeks post surgery, I've been on normal foods. I do eat much smaller quantities and am careful to chew well, but I've had no complications from the food. Now, my weight loss hasn't been as dramatic as some (16 pounds in 4 weeks) but I also don't feel deprived or have the urge to eat things I'm not suppose to. I'd MUCH rather have a slower, consistent weight loss and be able to actually lose what I need to, even if it takes much longer, to not have the feeling that I'm missing something because of my diet. I'm scheduled for my first fill at 6 weeks post banding (12/18) which is a few weeks sooner than he normally does it (usually the first fill is around 8 weeks) but since I've had no problems tolerating any foods, the surgeon feels it is the right time. I tend to agree as I do find that the same amount of food is not filling me up as well as it did a week ago. I've been pretty strong to resist the temptation to eat more as the one time I did go out with friends, I either ate too much or too fast and the pain in the chest was uncomfortable. Not intolerable but enough to remind me to slow down and eat less. I did eat 1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie yesterday at work, coincidentially brought in by someone that had the full gastric bypass in February. (She said she loves to bake but if she keeps them around the house, she'll eat them so she bakes and then brings them in for all of us to get fat on. <G>) (To give a reference, she's lost 92 pounds since surgery 9 months ago. That's just over 10 pounds a month and that's with the bypass. Her primary care doctor and surgeon are thrilled with her weight loss, as is she. Thought it kind of put into perspective our own accomplishments, especially considering the band is FAR less radical than the bypass.) Tom

Hmmm. I think we should adopt this in this country. 4 stones overweight sounds so much better than 60 pounds. After all, 4 is less than 60. (Kind of like the old joke: which is heavier, a ton of metal or a ton of feathers.) Tom

Jill, makes sense. One of the reasons people quitting smoking often gain weight is they have to replace having the cigarette in the mouth with something else. Often the replacement has calories. I find chewing sugar-free gum or using sugar-free hard candies tend to help my between meal urges. Since going back to work, it's MUCH harder for me. I have a desk job and it's so easy to snack while sitting there. I just pop a piece of gum and chew away until my next scheduled feeding. Be careful, though, with the sugar-free candies. Most use sugar alcohols and even in people without a band can cause a "cleansing" experience. (Hey, maybe that's a solution for those who don't feel they are going as regular as they should. Eat a bag of sugar-free hard candy and you'll be like the Energizer bunny... you'll go and go and go. <G>) Tom

Before surgery, I didn't eat that many sweet things. I've been a diabetic for over 4 years so sugar hasn't been part of my diet. I made a couple other higher-protein "sweet" food and thought I'd share with you. The first one, I made something YEARS ago when I was on Weight Watchers. Take a small packet of sugar free gelatin and dissolve in 3/4 cup of HOT water. Once dissolved, add 3-4 ice cubes (or a small handful). In a separate dish, take 8 oz (1/2 small container) of fat free (or low-fat) small curd cottage cheese and 1/2 of "regular" can of fruit (either sugar free or in its own juice). Mix together and pour the jello over it and mix well. Add 1/2 container of sugar free (or fat free) coolwhip, mix and let set. The coolwhip is not on my "allowed" list but has very few calories so in moderation, shouldn't be a problem. I use orange gelatin and pineapple, I've used strawberry gelatin with fruit cocktail. You can use any combination you want. Limit yourself to 1/2 cup and you end up with about 1/4 cup of cottage cheese (7 grams protein) and 1/8 cup of fruit. Jello is a "free" food so that doesn't count and a 2 tablespoon serving of sugar free coolwhip only has 20 calories. I found that Jello now makes a cheesecake flavored sugar-free pudding. It's *NOT* like a "real" cheesecake but it's still not bad. I took a prepared graham cracker crust (I'm lazy-could have made one and used Splenda instead of sugar so it would be better for me but that's WAY too much work <G>). I mixed 1.5 cups of fat-free skim milk with the pudding packet, 1 scoop of the whey protein and 1 scoop of non-fat dry milk to give it a protein boost. My "cheat" was 1/2 container of sugar-free coolwhip added too. (Had to do something with the 1/2 used container from the above recipe <G>.) Once mixed well, pour into the graham cracker shell and topped with frozen mixed berries. The crust does have 5 grahams of sugar per serving (1/8 is a serving), and of course, the coolwhip adds a bit too, but compared to having a "real" cheesecake, this is MUCH better for you. Enjoy and remember, a serving is NOT the entire dish or entire pie. (A friend asked me when I was cooking why I didn't cook up a bunch at once and then reheat it. If I only fix one serving, it's a LOT more effort to get the second serving, even if my mind wants it. If it was already prepared, it would be WAY too easy to get up and get the second (or third) serving. If it's not prepared, it's just as easy to say I'm done. I *DO* understand the temptation issue. I've been good about not having more than one peanutbutter cookie a day, haven't had more than one serving of the cottage cheese/jello/fruit a day and not more than one piece of pie a day. And I don't have more than one of them a day.) Tom

I went back to work Monday (12/4) from my surgery 11/7. It's been so cold that I wore sweaters to work Monday and Tuesday. Today I just wore slacks and a sport shirt. Several people that didn't know I had surgery said it looked like I had lost a lot of weight and wanted to know how I was doing it. It was a real morale booster and gave me the strength to not eat the Reese's Cup that was left on my desk for something I did before I left for surgery. (Our company is BIG on giving food rewards. My manager knew I was diabetic so I usually got peanuts or some other non-sugar food but my supervisor at the time was new and either didn't know or, since she didn't like me, did it intentionally.) I did weigh myself at work 5 days before surgery and then again on Monday so I had a same-scale to same-scale reference and I'm down 16 pounds in 4 weeks. I'm thrilled with that! But more so that my clothes are getting very loose and people are noticing. And I have more mobility which is the prime reason that I did this. Add in that I haven't taken any of my diabetes medicine since a few days before surgery (although was given insulin in the hospital) and my blood sugars are right where they need to be, and this was definitely worth doing!!!!! Tom

Jill, I did a small salad about 3 weeks post-banding and had no problem. I've been fortunate thus far that nothing has caused any problems. I did overeat one night and had some discomfort but that's been the extent. The dietician suggested keeping it small as it has little nutritional value. Don't fill up on lettuce and not get your protein! Tom

Betsyjane, I bought a 4-pack at Kroger (Ohio) tonight. It was around $6.50 for 4 so a bit pricey. RiteAid had the powder Muscle Milk Light. I live in a SMALL town too. (The RiteAid had a GNC section so you might check at GNCs.) Tom

Betsyjane, the miniature goats caught my attention! We've bred and shown Nigerian Dwarves for many, many years. Since my separation, the NDs stayed with my future ex but I have Oberhasli dairy goats. My biggest adjustment is getting use to fat-free milk when I'm use to drinking fresh goat's milk that exceeds 6% butterfat. SOOOO sweet unlike the chalk-water they try to pass off as the milk I'm now drinking. And I've long admired miniature donkeys but haven't justified one yet. I do have a miniature Australian Shepherd except he ate his Wheaties and he's now a "maxi mini". <G> And just after surgery, I got a Corgi puppy just to get me on my toes. Tom

In keeping with our need or additional exercise too, how about a "walk in the park?" :heh: Tom

For those with a sweet tooth that need a fix, I made peanut butter cookies yesterday. They were quite simple and, in moderation, perfectly legal once you're off the liquid phase of the post-surgery diet. Take 1 cup of peanut butter (I'd use smooth until you're off mushies), 1 cup of Splenda and 1 egg. Mix well and drop by spoonfuls (if you make 16 cookies, each cookie will be equal to 1 tablespoon of peanut butter) on to a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, flatten in a criss-cross pattern with a fork dipped in Splenda and bake for 8-10 mintues at 350. (They taste better cool than they do hot.) Peanut butter is high in protein so as long as you use moderately (it's also high in fat), it should be fine. Each cookie would have about 4 grams of protein from the peanut butter and a bit less than .5 gram from the egg. It's about 100 calories so not a low calorie food but would make a nice between meal high-protein snack with 4 ounces of skim milk. The toughest part is limiting to one cookie per day! (I did cheat and had 2.5 yesterday. I tried one warm. When I was putting them away, one broke so I HAD to heat the half that didn't go in the baggie. I then had one as my mid-afternoon snack.) Not as good as a big "real" cookie but certainly scratched an itch for something sweet. Tom

Angela, I certainly did NOT mean my reply to be a scolding but to encourage you to set realistic expectations. I think 7 pounds in 4 weeks is GREAT! (As I've said, my surgeon only expects 1 pound per week.) Focus on that instead of the 4 you've gained back. You've got other challenges that are complicating the situation. If you beat yourself up, it's going to be that much more difficult. Think back of pre-band and how many times you lost 7 pounds in a month. Reward yourself (mentally, not with food!) for that. As you get your other health issues managed, you'll be able to do more exercise. That will help greatly with the weight loss. (Trust me, I know. I have rheumatoid arthritis and had to go off my medicine a month before surgery as the medicine works by supressing my immune system and they didn't want my immune system supressed with the surgery. I JUST took my first post-surgery dose on Monday and it takes 2-3 weeks to build up in my system to be effective. My activity level is not near what it was pre-surgery as it hurts.) You have to do what you can do and enjoy the successes, however small they may seem. Tom

Angela, I guess it depends on whether you're the type of person with a glass half-empty or half-full on how you view your current weight. You're looking at it that you're up 4 pounds from your previous weight. I see it that you're down 7 pounds from your pre-surgery weight which was less than 4 weeks ago. That's nearly 2 pounds a week! (How many weeks pre-surgery did you lose at that rate?) I think you're goal of 2-4 pounds in a week is a bit lofty and might do more to damage your morale than give you motiviation. Set REALISTIC goals and acheive those. If you find more modest goals are easily acheived, raise the bar and set higher goals. Why not set a goal of 1 pound for the week? If you lose 2-4, you're be much prouder of yourself then if you set the "2-4" goal and lose only 1 pound. The weight "game" is a mental one. We all have to change our outlook and the first step is to feel good about our accomplishments. Pat yourself on the back feels SO much better than beating yourself up. Tom

Reading through the posts of those that are getting discouraged, remember that band is NOT a magic wand. It is a tool to help YOU get where you want to be. The fact that you have a band is not going to change old habits. (It may, though, make those old habits VERY uncomfortable!) Before they would even discuss bariatric surgery with me, I had to complete a 12 week supervised weight management program. (Wasn't allowed to call it a diet.) They wanted to make sure that I had the ability to follow a structured program as we've all found out, we need to be able to do so post-band. The program I went through is the LEARN program. It was presented as a revolutionary new program. (Basically it said to eat less of the right kind of foods and exercise more. Not so sure how revolutionary that is, but it's sound information.) The one underlying theme throughout the program was that you will NOT be 100% successful. You will stumble. You'll make less than ideal food choices. The important thing, though, is that you don't let slight indiscretions spiral out of control to the point you go back to your old habits. If you have a bad day, you have a bad day. You still have 6 other days that week. If you consume 3500 calories in a week less than your body needs, you'll lose a pound. One pound a week is far more than most of us were doing before we got the band or, we probably wouldn't have gotten it. I didn't think I had lost a lot much when I went for my first follow-up visit but the surgeon and the dietician were elated. You're NOT going to have the same weight loss as if you had the full bypass surgery. You haven't lost the ability to absorb the food, just have a smaller storage vat. If you have a bad day, dust yourself off and face tomorrow with a new outlook. Just don't let one bad day turn into a whole bad week, a bad week turn into a bad month, etc. :clap2: Tom

I don't own a scale so my easy answer is that I haven't weighed myself recently. The other answer I use is that each scale is different so I'm not really sure but I feel much better and my clothes are getting looser. I did tell one person that I'm not overly fond of that it would appear I lost about what they gained and it shut them up. <G> It's a natural question. Just look at the number of posts here that focus on the weight loss. I remember when my wife was pregnant years ago, she got tired of "when are you due?" She began answering with "whenever the baby decides to come" and people stopped asking. Tom