In need of a Mentor

[Tanya Strayhorn 2]

I've had my band for almost three years. I'm a 43 year old administrative professional, married, with three children & one grandson. I love to ride motorcycles, boating, reading, music, and chasing after my granson. I've lost 30 lbs, which came off in the two weeks prior to surgery and the first three months post op. I've had two fills. Only two, mainly because my stomach is so sensitive to the restriction, I crave sweets like mad after a fill, and I feel the band is probably tight enough due to the fact that if I eat like I'm supposed to it works fine.

I had the surgery because of escalating arthritis issues, I was 272 lbs @ 5'6" prior to the band, high blood pressure, & severe Gerd. All of which are still issues since I've limited myself to 30 lbs lost!!!

Issues with my band: I resent the fact that I can't eat like the rest of my family. bread, Pasta, rice & chicken are real work to eat, but it seems I work extra hard to be able to eat these. food in the morning is almost impossible. I have a hard time "feeling" full. I can't even really tell in the office after a fill how long cold Water takes to go down. I have to stand or sit in a very particular way or just about anything I eat gets stuck. I'm taking major Probiotics to stave off the massive amounts of gas that build up....I dealt with this issue alone until my Doc finally prescribed the probiotic. Apparently I don't produce enough gastric bacteria due to the amount of acid reflux medication I take....Oh yeah, and the Gerd(acid reflux) is twice as bad as before the surgery.

I know this band should work for me, and I know I don't work with the band. I just need some real support or someone to knock me in the head once in a while so I will eat like I should. Exercise is an issue. The arthritis makes it hard to work out for long, some exercises like Yoga are almost impossible, and the trip to a pool to swim would be expensive on a regular basis, not to mention the gym membership. I know these sound like excuses, but I really do love to exercise and was quite the athlete in high school. Before the arthritis took over I was walking three miles a day at a 13 minute mile...and that was with some arthritis issues already.

If anyone wants to take me on, I would be greatful!

[cheryl2586 3,053]

So what is wrong with going for a walk. If the weather is bad in your area, find a mall and walk. They are excuses for not exercising. We all made excuses our whole life about why we had to wait until Monday to start a new diet, why I can fit in those pants when I lose another ten pounds (that I never lost before) and my closet full of clothes I cant wear, why I have to cheat because I needed it. We all can make any excuse we want too in order to cop out from doing what is right but haven't you been in life jail long enough to want to get out of that prison that has robbed you of your life?

[Tanya Strayhorn 2]

I'm not making excuses about walking...there are some forms of arthritis that are seriously debilitating, and until you've lived it you can't possibly understand it. I do walk. 30 minutes is about as much as I can do at once, at a very slow pace. I'm lucky to make a mile in that amount of time. Some days are better than others, but I do what I can. No malls in my rural area.

Looking for someone to encourage, not put me down.

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@Tanya Strayhorn

Hi Tanya,

OK so you've had a rough road of it, and your feeling a little discouraged. I understand that, I think you will find that there are quite a few people here who will understand where you are coming from.

Let me start by saying that since you are a banded person you are no longer able to eat like everyone else so give yourself a break and stop trying to. Start eating like a banded person again. It's a simple reset to get back to the beginning when you first were banded. Go back to simple eating and eating for yourself and not the family or friends.

When I find myself all twisted up and trust me I get there too, I hit the reset button in my head and take my mind back to why I had this surgery and what were the first steps I took. That always helps me get back on track again. I'll go back to band basics for a few days and work my way into a groove. Preparing my meals and cooking healthy dinners etc.

As for your band, right now I personally think you might be too tight. When the band is tight it's hard to know what's going since your always getting stuck your always working around it your struggling to eat and keep foods down and fighting the Gerd and heartburn etc. It's more difficult to recognize and feel the I'm satisfied signals our body sends us.

Consider meeting with the Dr. and taking out even 1cc of Fluid and seeing how that feels for a couple of weeks, as you being to get your mindset back on the band again.

As for exercise, that is not an easy one when you have debilitating arthritis and you are so far from any where warm and safe to walk or swim to tell you to get up and walk. I know my husband is facing hip replacement surgery later this month, due to such arthritic condition and his mobility is pretty compromised as well and let me tell you mine is NOT but in sympathy for him I think I don't move as much as I should I almost feel guilty going out for walks or going to the gym or even losing more weight since he's not able to keep up. (I have to work on those issues with myself)

I read recently and have started working with my hubby on these youtube videos someone else posted about on here. Give it a try they are pretty cool and I do some of them at my desk while I am at work

Paul Eugene chair aerobics, if you google that you will find his youtube videos.

Edited March 18, 2014 by lisacaron

[2muchfun 8,927]

When I see posts like yours, and unfortunately your post is common, I'd like to come to your house and watch what you eat, how you eat, how much you chew and how much you're eating.

It sounds like you're band is too tight but then some other comments contradict this notion? "Bread, Pasta, rice & chicken are real work to eat, but it seems I work extra hard to be able to eat these" These are typically difficult for most banders. chicken is for me and some breads too.

GERD can be exacerbated by having a band too tight. Seems like a small unfill could resolve several problems.

First, have you seen your bariatric doctor or nutritionist? This is paramount to talk to both. Be prepared to be brutally honest with each. Anything less and you won't find success.

Do you feel the satiety signals that many of us feel? After a cup or so of food do you, hiccup, yawn, sigh, burp or feel like your meal is no longer appealing? These are subtle signs that you have eaten enough and can walk away from the table? Unfortunately, it seems that about 34% of banders never feel or see these signals and continue to eat past them.

It sounds like you're feeling something as you aren't gaining weight right? A small unfill can dim those signals so it's a gamble to unfill but imo, it's necessary.

But, I'm just another grunt on a weight loss forum and your physician and nutritionist are pros. Talk to them.

My knees are shot too and 1/4 mile is about my limit so cycling is my exercise outlet and it works very well.

tmf

Edited March 18, 2014 by 2muchfun

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there, so sorry about your arthritic issues. I hear you on the yoga, etc. I'd like so much to be able to take yoga again but my wrists are too compromised to support many of those poses. And ankles. Fortunately the kind of arthritis I have is made better by movement so I do feel better once I loosen up and get going. But I'm so sick of being in pain, especially at this time of year. And I'm nearly 40 down but still in pain -- hoping that when I really get the weight all off I will see a drop. But inflammation is inflammation. Speaking of which, when I read about the bread, Pasta, etc., I wondered if you might have a sensitivity to wheat. It is so common now, and it's usually the people who really love the stuff, the stuff they shouldn't have. GERD is a symptom, for sure. My husband finally went off wheat totally and what a difference that has made. He can't have even a crumb brushed into the salad by mistake without having serious repercussions, and over the years we have read up quite a bit on this issue that is effecting so many people now. Wheat today is not what it once was -- it has been genetically altered and more and more people cannot tolerate things they had no problem with before. Like TMF, I'm just another grunt on here (so true!), but who knows, maybe it's worth going off all wheat for a month and seeing how you feel. Best wishes to you!

[Puppypaws57 137]

Just wanted to give you a hug! {{{{HUGS}}}}

[bootsie40 6]

You guys are great! Amazing what a little accountability has done for me in one day! Very few people know I have a band, & in just confiding in all of you I see what I need to change & why.

It never occurred to me that my band might be too tight. My nutritionist keeps suggesting I should be getting filled every few months till I reach my sweet spot, and that I will start feeling satisfied once I get to that sweet spot. I had a nervous stomach for about three months after surgery. The least little stress & I was vomiting my toes up. It took me a full month post surgery to make a full day at work. And that was only after my doc prescribed lorazepam to calm my nerves. It got easier to deal with the sick stomach. I learned what didn't irritate the stomach & I went with it.

my first fill was 6 months post-op. I should have known then it might be too tight, because the nervous stomach started again & the sweet cravings started. again, I learned to deal. Again, it got better. My second fill was 1 year post-op...no problems except sweet cravings again & more food getting stuck. Today...No lorazepam & the sweet craving s are under control. I chew the death out of my food, & I certainly don't drink with food, it would get stuck for sure. I tend to graze from early afternoon till just after dinner and I eat "easy" food for the most part.

I actually started the day with the determination to use my band the way it's supposed to be used, and the reminders about the signs of getting full & thinking about someone watching my eating habits really helped get me through the day. I realized that the thought of eating certain foods strikes a little fear in me of it getting stuck. I think I gravitate toward the easy foods without thinking & I've gotten in the habit of eating slower for longer periods of time because in the beginning I had too to get all of the small amounts of food my doc said I should be eating. My limit of food in a sitting is actually lower than I thought...less than a cup...closer to a half cup.

Ok...day one of reset: eat real food, eat slowly, but limit the time period for eating and don't eat outside those times, watch for signs of getting full & STOP! & confide in a buddy that will hold me accountable & know what those accountability measures are. I even kept a date to walk with a neighbor-friend and managed a full 45 minutes because it's one of the good days! I confided in her too. She's a nurse & promised to kick my butt in person once in a while if I need it! Lol!

[bootsie40 6]

Sorry, this is Tanya, the author of the original thread. Apparently the iPad app & regular computer registration doesn't pull together...