Banded 6 years, here if you need me

[Bel 1]

Hey Heather,

thanks for posting so quick! Congrats on the band, i am so happy for you and really glad you are finding it to be all positive thus far.

You know whats crazy i have had the band for 7 years this year and i didnt know we couldnt have metamucil, do you know why that is? or is it just you cant tolerate it? I have never needed it so i never thought about it.

I am still shocked when i hear peoples stories about what the excess weight can do, its so huge that the risks in surgery increase that drastically when your overweight! All the more reason to make it work for you.

Thanks for sharing, keep us posted

Bel

[HeatherDee 0]

I was told metamucil is out because it swells up in your stomach and could dislodge the band - the benefibre doesn't.

Edited July 29, 2008 by HeatherDee

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Those are all good points. I never thought about taking a Fiber One Bar to a function which would have been way less calories than the birthday cake I ate last night.

I will try the 30 min thing. My friend also says she allows herself two bites of something. I can't do that. If I have two, it's all over. Then I want the entire cake or bag of Cookies or whatever. wish that stuff got stuck and caused me pain.

[HeatherDee 0]

Actually I have a friend who had banding 3 years ago, she told me she survived the first four months by chewing say a piece of steak in her mouth, getting the flavour out and then spitting it out. It's a great way to get some Protein without actually swallowing. I know that sounds gross, but when my husband had steak the other night he cooked a small piece for me and I tried it. It was really nice and satisfied my need. I am not doing it all the time but it just gets you past the "I would love to have some of that" problem.

I guess its not such a good idea if its a really high calorie food.< /p>

[notateechanow 7]

Actually I have a friend who had banding 3 years ago, she told me she survived the first four months by chewing say a piece of steak in her mouth, getting the flavour out and then spitting it out. It's a great way to get some Protein without actually swallowing. I know that sounds gross, but when my husband had steak the other night he cooked a small piece for me and I tried it. It was really nice and satisfied my need. I am not doing it all the time but it just gets you past the "I would love to have some of that" problem.

I guess its not such a good idea if its a really high calorie food.

Don't you have to EAT and SWALLOW food to get the Protein? ???

[dietpeach 0]

Congrats on 6 years of great weight loss success. I myself am still pre-op.

I would like to hear more about your leak, as I understand a leak can be very dangerous. Does that mean there was erosion into the stomach? Also, what can they do to fix the leak? Thanks.

[HeatherDee 0]

Don't you have to EAT and SWALLOW food to get the Protein? ???

I did say "some" protein, but realise I am only in my first week of banding

[Bel 1]

hi snapplegirl!

The leak isnt dangerous, its just a hole in the band or tubing that lets the saline leak and loosens the band. I have had a thicker solution put in which seems to have stopped the problem for now. It is a small hole, if it was larger i would need the tubing replaced because that is where the leak is :-)

From what i know the band eroding is very rare and my doctor has never seen a case. Theband is made to last a lifetime.

I am the same when it comes to having sweets, one bite and im screwed. I buy the chocolate flavour OT's bars by uncle tobies, they are low fat and sugar and taste really good. I have them and they satisfy any craving i would have.

I can't eat any steak anymore, which doesnt really bother me cause i didnt eat it before. The only meat i eat is chicken and occasionally mince. You can get a lot from chewing it to nothing and then spitting out the rest, cause whats left is usually the sinue and it doesnt hold Protein.

Edited July 31, 2008 by Bel

[poppy21 0]

hi there new to this i have had my band for 5 months. how did you no that your port had flipted or moved am in a lot of pain and the port has moved i did some gardening and some lifting

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I have never heard of OT bars.

[Bel 1]

I think OT bars are from an aussie company but you guys would have some sort of similar Cereal bar im sure :-)

I only knew the port flipped when the doctor couldnt get the needle in and i had the adjustment under xray, i didnt get any pain; if you are having pain i would be concerned its something else, should speak to your doctor in my opinion

[Bel 1]

Hi all, just wondering how everyone is going?

[HeatherDee 0]

Hi Bel, going great thanks but looking forward to my first fill next week as I know I am eating too much now - its only been 3 1/2 weeks since my surgery, I am supposed to be on vitamised and not going on to soft until next week, but finding I can tolerate soft foods, good in some ways but not good in others, the weight loss has been good 8.5kg but I know over the last week it has crept up 1/2 kg, so looking forward to Tuesday.

How is everything in your life going?

[STACEY27 0]

I'm 30yrs old and have not completely decided if I will get the band. I want to, I think it would really help me. I have two cousins who have done the bypass but the slice and dice scares me too much. The genetic as well as bad habits passed down weigh heavily in my family and I want to break the cycle. At the same time I'm afraid of the "what if's". What if I regret not being able to have a normal meal with my husband or a special treat.

Did you have any of these type of fears and do you have any regrets?

[HeatherDee 0]

Absolutely Stacey, what you are feeling is very much a part of the decision process. I put the op off twice because I had reservations about it. Thoughts about not being able to ever enjoy my food again, not being able to enjoy a steak etc have all been dispelled since having it done. I have not had my first fill, but I can't wait because I know it will continue to help me to achieve my goal. I have lost 8.5kg and I don't want to see that go back on again, without that fill I am sure it would.

At this stage I would say it has been the best decision I have ever made. I have not had any problems to date and in fact I felt so good after only a couple of days, I could easily have gone back to work.

All of the what if's that I encountered by putting the operation off twice were in my opinion really saying, do I want to lose weight or don't I. The beaut thing about it was the Doctor gave me the out if I wasn't sure. In the end I decided to "just do it" because I have really bad knees and I knew just getting that weight off would take some strain off them. I also knew what the probability of me getting diabetes etc was and someone said to me, how will you feel when you have grandchildren and you can't do anything with them.

I also had real reservations about just going through the op, because I had never had an op in my life, but as I am pretty healthy I am sure that helped me.

Don't feel what you are thinking is out of the norm because it is not, it is very normal.