November 2010 Bandsters - post op

[MsJeannetteA 0]

Yeah...actually I HAVE.... "to the suspicious.....EVERYONE is suspicious".....haha....

Sorry that's a bit strange. You could've hit goal or been close to your goal by now.

[antetz 1]

ooops nov 8 2010

[DebWS 1]

I have been really enjoying "Love the New Me"'s posts. Thank you for sharing so much of what you have learned with us. I thought it was time for another update from me. I was banded in early November, 2010, and spent a lot of time 'stuck' after a 30 lb weight loss. I suspected that the fact that I was getting no exercise, due to a very bad knee, had a lot to do with this situation, and I believe I was correct.

On February 16th, I had a total knee replacement (right knee). It hurt for weeks, recovery was tough, but now I am nearing the end of my Physical Therapy sessions and starting to take up the exercise opportunities I have. I have lost an additional 8 lbs. since surgery and expect this to increase as I'm able to walk, stationary bike, do Water aerobics (first time this week) and so on.

I completely agree with the reality that you have to change your eating habits and let go of the behaviors that drove them. This is an evolving process for me: realizing that, as I walk into the kitchen at 9 PM, I'm really NOT hungry and therefore don't need to be there...finding things that are crunchy to satisfy me, that aren't chips and dip. It all takes practice, and time. But it does happen.

My husband and I have found that when we go out, it really does work for us to get an appetizer, a salad, and an entree (and maybe a dessert) and share them. I have a few bites, he eats the rest. It works (and saves money, too). When I was thinking about having this surgery I could never believe that such a plan would satisfy me. That a serving of Protein the size of a deck of cards would satisfy me. But it's true, and it does. It takes time.

But oh, is it worth it!

Best wishes to all,

Deb WS

[ape087 1]

Well fellow band mates it's been a year and a half and I feel like a lap band failure. I got to my lowest of 252 last year and it seems that a combination of stress and poor choices have bumped me back up to 268. I know t his is my fault, and I have let myself get this way again. I feel like Im starting my journey over again to discover the new me. I need to get out and exercise more and to just CHILL OUT! I think that the stress I create has done me in as well. Im working more on intuitive eating, along with binge eating, and am working on that. Wish me luck friends, as I'm going to need it.

[LowPSI 0]

hello fellow nov 2011 bandmates. Well its been 15 months now since I got my band and up to date i have only lost 15lbs. I know its depressing for me! I do walk for 1hr 4 times a week. I do eat healty from time to time. I need to find a new eating pattern. Any good suggestions? But i guess the beers that i drink every weekend is killing me. I dont lose nor gain weight. Im still stuck to 338 from 352.

There are only two possibilities that I can see: either they gave you a placebo band or you haven't been following-up with your doctor. Unless you consume large quantities of beer, that is not the problem. (I enjoy an occasional beer also and drink diet soda daily.) if the band were properly adjusted, you would have to work pretty hard to only lose one pound per month. Eating healthy is not a requirement of the band, since it is designed to control the amount of food you consume.

Please, if you haven't seen your doc in a while, do the Catholic thing and go confess your sins to him. Do your penance and move on. It's never too late for backsliders! LOL. Seriously, don't let this opportunity pass you by. You are likely having to live with eating limitations anyway, so you might as well get adjusted and get it over with.

P.S. Miller 64 isn't too bad and only 64 calories.

[♥LovetheNewMe♥ 1,216]

Deb, Thank you for your kind words, I was so glad to see you post again, I often wonder what happened to a lot of our old group becuase they have fallen off or are just not active on the site. I guess I am one of those computer nerds who likes to blog and this site has helped me to stay focused and all though I have not met anyone in person I consider I have a met a lot of people I consider friends and who have been tremendiously encouraging and have helped me reamin dedicated and focuse on my goals. I am so happy you had your knee surgery and are on the mend, I can tell you from my experience the exercise and begin active is really key to long term success. Good luck to you, I hope you are successful as you begin to move forward again. Cyber Hugs Diane

[♥LovetheNewMe♥ 1,216]

Many thanks for your detailed responses Diane (I love it) Did have a one more question for you as it seems its a hurdle I will need to overcome and prepare for. But what do you mean specifically...in terms of the emotional side of eating?

I know eating is emotional...but it appears you had some major emotional withdrawls...from not being able to eat the foods you used to? Am I assuming this correctly? Feel free to elaborate...about the emotional "battle" that one may have to face after they get this surgery. Hope you understand my desire to know this....as I want to gleam from people who have ALOT OF EXPERIENCE with this TOOL in the body......

I love learning from well seasoned vets to anticipate as much as I can so I can adjust my mindset as much as possible pre-surgery. Hope you understand....this surgery is getting closer and I'm getting a little nervous.

Blessings,

Chris

Chris, I am more than willing to share any part of my journey that will be helpful to any person seeking to be successful with lapband, But first I want to say, there comes a time when you sit in the shadows and watch from the sidelines and there is a time when you dress and get in the game. I am not sure why you are waiting, financial or medical but you can't experience what you don't live. First and foremost I want to say that I do not regret any part of my surgery except I wish I had done it sooner.

In my opinion any obese patient can identify with the emotional side of eating, to put it bluntly, "we" use food to comfort us and to cope, we eat when were sad, we eat when were happy, we eat when were mad or upset. So pretty much we eat all the time. So in answer to your question, it you truly use the lapband as the tool it was intended than you are going to have to unlearn all your eating behaviors. Think about it, if you new how to eat you would not need lap band. To be success you have to plan your meals and follow the rules. And when I say follow the rules I mean follow the rules, not some of the time but 100% of the time. This is not easy by no means. I actually grieved the loss of food, I went through a period of time when I didn't care if I ate or not. I missed, pizza, bread, sandwiches. Food is very social, everyone wants to feed you. So to make a long story short, you need to understand why you eat what you eat and you have to have goals and you have to be committed enough to stay focused to work these goals. The surgery alone will not get you to where you want to be, it will help you lose a few pounds but if you do not follow the rules and use the band as a tool it was designed you will continue on the same rollecoaster that you have been on for years. I did not have surgery so I could fail, I had surgery to succeed. So, i think maybe you have sat on the bench long enough, it is time to get up and dressed and get in the game. Life is way to short to have to continue to sit our the game. But do remember, you have to want this, I mean really want it with everything you have because if you don't want it and own it, it is near impossible to be success. Good luck to you!

[marketingdude 79]

Chris, I am more than willing to share any part of my journey that will be helpful to any person seeking to be successful with lapband, But first I want to say, there comes a time when you sit in the shadows and watch from the sidelines and there is a time when you dress and get in the game. I am not sure why you are waiting, financial or medical but you can't experience what you don't live. First and foremost I want to say that I do not regret any part of my surgery except I wish I had done it sooner.

In my opinion any obese patient can identify with the emotional side of eating, to put it bluntly, "we" use food to comfort us and to cope, we eat when were sad, we eat when were happy, we eat when were mad or upset. So pretty much we eat all the time. So in answer to your question, it you truly use the lapband as the tool it was intended than you are going to have to unlearn all your eating behaviors. Think about it, if you new how to eat you would not need lap band. To be success you have to plan your meals and follow the rules. And when I say follow the rules I mean follow the rules, not some of the time but 100% of the time. This is not easy by no means. I actually grieved the loss of food, I went through a period of time when I didn't care if I ate or not. I missed, pizza, bread, sandwiches. Food is very social, everyone wants to feed you. So to make a long story short, you need to understand why you eat what you eat and you have to have goals and you have to be committed enough to stay focused to work these goals. The surgery alone will not get you to where you want to be, it will help you lose a few pounds but if you do not follow the rules and use the band as a tool it was designed you will continue on the same rollecoaster that you have been on for years. I did not have surgery so I could fail, I had surgery to succeed. So, i think maybe you have sat on the bench long enough, it is time to get up and dressed and get in the game. Life is way to short to have to continue to sit our the game. But do remember, you have to want this, I mean really want it with everything you have because if you don't want it and own it, it is near impossible to be success. Good luck to you!

Thanks again for you post. Actually....I've been away from the forum for 1.5 years. and MsJeanneta "Perfecta" was nice enough to say I was "strange" for waiting this long. Actually....it wasn't until around the last 6 months (I've found my password and done alot more research on my own outside asking personal questions to my brother).

P.S. I'm actually gettting surgery within 2 months with Dr. Kuri...

[DebWS 1]

I wanted to chime in again.

First, I don't think anyone on this board needs to be - should be - in the position of judging anyone else. I think people come to their own decisions in their own time. It might not be our time, but it's their life. So I wish MarketingDude well and hope that your decisions serve you well, now and over the long term.

Second, I want to say how strongly I resonate with Diane's (LovetheNewMe) posts, particularly about the emotional adjustments that have to be made. The band is a tool. It reminds me when I'm not chewing, when I'm eating too quickly, when I'm not paying attention. Paying attention is key: what does my body ask of me, now? What can I do to serve it, and serve me, well? Those are questions of mindfulness, and it takes time to learn how to listen, and how to respond.

I think that is what Diane's talking about, and what this surgery is about, as well. If anyone is looking for a 'magic bullet,' this isn't it!

My two cents,

Deb WS

[marketingdude 79]

It reminds me when I'm not chewing, when I'm eating too quickly, when I'm not paying attention. Paying attention is key: what does my body ask of me, now? What can I do to serve it, and serve me, well? Those are questions of mindfulness, and it takes time to learn how to listen, and how to respond.

Very powerful insights into ones mindset you need to have with your new tool. Nice post Deb....helps out alot to see what you have to think about "regularly" with the band inside you.

[Donnamfred 0]

Hello all,

I know I have not posted on here for a LONG TIME, but here is an update. I HAVE BEEN STUCK!! I have not been able to lose anymore weight since August 2011. I am really getting upset, and I am finding myself eatting out of bordom, and just being depressed because I have not been able to get under 250. I did get from a size 26-28 down to a size 16, but every time I get below 250 I find myself rightback at 250 within a week or two. I have done everything the doctor tells me to do. The past few months though I have totally fallen off. Not doing my work outs, eatting Ice cream in the evening. UGH, I so want to get back on track, and start lossing weight again. I am being told I have been stuck for this long because I lost so much weight so fast, but I think it is time to start lossing again. Any advice? Thanks!!

Donna

[JaGo 16]

Im a computer nerd too and hadnt been to our group site in a while. I was pleasantly surprised to see it so active again. I used to get email notices whem somoene would post but maybe I need to redo settings.

Brief update, like others, I had a setback and a visit to the ER in April due to final habitual severe stuck episode. All the Fluid had to be removed for 6 wks. Since then I have had 2 fills and taking it slow. Aft seeing the xray of what a swollen stoma looks like, its a lasting reminder to eat right and make proper food choices. It also didnt help that I had just had several side teeth extracted, so my ability to chew finely is gone. Must be extra careful.

I have plateaued, binged, ate emotionally, gained and lost wt, been depressed and at times felt like giving up. I fought back and mentally, am now on the mend and back on the right track. Coming back to this sight and my group is a boost.

Must not forget that this is a DAILY journey!

[DebWS 1]

I wanted to lift up the problem of emotional eating for all of us. About ten days ago, my husband and I returned home from taking our younger daughter to college - in New Orleans. I won't spend time here talking about what it is like to leave your child in a city where a Hurricane is about to strike, and driving away (far away)...but suffice it to say, it's huge.

In the short time we've been home, I've realized that many of the emotional triggers that would have me sneaking in the kitchen at odd hours in years past, to snarf chips or a cookie, are gone. I adore my child...but we have had a stormy relationship for the last several years. And now that she is out of the house, I'm very aware of how much emotional eating can be a trigger response to conflict or stress.

I'm realizing, too, that those grapes and pears look pretty tasty -- more so than the chips or pretzels. And that being ready to eat is much more tied to what's going on in your stomach than what is going on in your head.

Does this resonate for anyone?

Best to all,

DebWS

[♥LovetheNewMe♥ 1,216]

Hey Deb, Good to see you posting. I do identify with what you are saying, these day it is easy to make healthy choices. I enjoy healthy food and no longer have the cravings for snack foods. I spurge occasionally and allow myself a treat but it is always small and I plan my treats and count them in my total daily intake of calories. I know understand how thin people stay slim. They watch what they eat, if the do splurge they make up for it. I have to laugh sometimes, when I think I have had a bad day and eaten to much, that usually can be translated into, Diane at 1200 calories and didn't reach her Protein intake. Hope your doing well with your joruney.

Best To you, Diane

[mamaj 2]

Hello Nov. 2010 fellow bandsters,

I am struggling with my band and posting here, in case anyone has gone through a similar experience. I would welcome your help and suggestions/advice. Got my band 23 months ago now, Nov, 2010 and lost weight to goal within 6 months but struggled with frequent "issues". Kept getting unfills until a band slip in July 2011. All saline out and seemed to get better, but never got back to feeling the food pass through my band. Finally, in January of this year, had such major problems (couldn't get anything down besides liquids) so revision surgery was in order. Had band re-positioned and sutured in place, plus a hiatal hernia found and repaired. Did ok for a month or two, then started having frequent pain and discomfort even with a tiny bit of saline in my band, so all saline taken out in May 2012. Since then, nearly constant burping, reflux (especially bad at night), frequent stabbing pain between shoulder blades, general discomfort practically all the time. Upper GI (barium swallow) showed a bit of pouch dilation, some esophagus narrowing, but a properly positioned and fully open band. However, still suffering lots of discomfort all the time. Have kept at my goal weight, but am miserable from lack of sleep and nearly constant pain or discomfort. Tested for H. Pylori which came back positive, so did the antibiotic treatment, and suspected an ulcer, but no significant improvement after the medications were done. Family doctor has me on prescription meds for GERD, but it doesn't help much. Surgeon wants to try another surgical "repair". I know you aren't doctors, but I am hoping someone can relate and offer assistance. What finally solved the problems if you experienced something similar? Is it possible that a third surgery in less than two years will actually fix this or should I be pushing for band removal? Thank you in advance for any help.