I'm Mad as Heck...!

[OverBeingFat 0]

Until this fill, I was still feeling hungry all the time but that didn't mean things didn't come up. If she takes too big a bite, or doesn't chew well enough, it will get stuck.

I heard a theory that the doctors like to fill people very slowly to give them a chance to get use to how you have to chew/eat. Could be she's filled enough to start feeling the effects of not chewing well enough but not restricted yet. Trust me, until this last fill (my fourth), that was me exactly. I was still hungry ALL. THE. TIME.

I've never had a fill under floro. However, I did have to get another doctor, who this time purposely filled the band so tight, I couldn't swallow Water, then backed a little out. That was on Friday and so far so good. Hopefully this will work for your daughter as well. Be insistant, it's her band and her/your money.

[MaryBnSC 0]

I had my fill appointment in NC with the Fill Center USA doctor. The appointment went very well. He spent a lot of time talking and listening. He talked about what foods to eat, but focused more on the types of foods that most people have problems with (such as bread, red meat, white meat chicken, which was a surprise to me) versus what was best for my diet. He also discussed quantity. Asked questions like "can you eat a whole hamburger (yes)? Are you wanting to eat the fries, etc (no)? How much Protein are you getting a day (apparently, not enough)? Are you drinking a Protein Drink or taking a Protein supplement daily (no)? I felt like I was really 'heard'. He never made an attempt to badmouth any of the other Drs or facilities, only seemed interested in my situation. Anyway, the fill went well. He adjusted it until I could comfortably drink Water (took it to where it was uncomfortable, then backed off a bit). Ended up adding another 2 cc's. That was 3 days ago and I feel great. Went out to dinner with friends last night and definitely notice the difference!

There is a chance I could have gotten the same 2 cc fill at my regular Dr and had the same results (whenever it is they will actually call and schedule me an appointment - still waiting). But what became clear to me - and I will address this with my regular Dr the next time I see them - is some of these 'centers of excellence' are so concerned about keeping that title, they forget that we are all individuals. As someone else put it, they tend to have an 'assembly line' one-size-fits-all mentality. Maybe they just need someone to politely remind them that we are individuals.

I'm down 8 lbs from the morning before the fill, so I'm excited and re-energized again!

Mary

[Mimilou2004 13]

Mary, I am so happy for your 8 pound loss, and a little jealous!!! Money well spent at FCUSA, in my opinion. I am here to tell you that at your practice it would be $2000 and 4 more fills to get that same 2 cc fill. I believe you are correct in that they are so assembly line to make sure they maintain their statistics to keep their Center of Excellence designation. BAH!!!

I gave up waiting and constantly called Misty to schedule until I finally got an appt.

Mimi

[Totallytater 1]

MaryBN, are you going to see Dr. Ahigian? He is great! He gives a good fill. Good luck to you

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Nicely put.....my daughter goes Wednesday too to her doc but he will be out of town so she has to see the NP. They are going to take it all out and see whats there and then put it back....all under floro. I feel so bad and we have had soo many arguments about it because I'm frustrated too becuase of the $$ I'm paying.......$733.52 per month.....she said she feels worse than she did before she had the surgery done. Today I watched her eat one of those frozen beef and bean burritos which arent huge but not small either. She probably could have ate more but didn't have time. We then ran a couple errands, maybe 1 1/2 hrs., and she was starving again. That doesn't seem right to me and if they arent always doing the fills under floro then how do they know they havent missed her port on some of these fills or something? One more thing.....eventhough she is not at her sweet spot, occasionally she has terrible pain in her chest and then sometimes it will come up. We think maybe it was just what she ate,not that she is overfilled. Doc says he's concerned because thats both ends of the spectrum.....puking and no restriction. What do you guys think? I'm thinking its what she ate. This last time it was scrammbled eggs with some cheapo so-called american cheese that wouldn't melt. It was like plastic. (We are all trying to watch our $$). It was terribly painful then came up. Is it normal to hurt like that with some foods?

She says that she doesn't want to do nothing else but sit around and think about this band all the time. she wants it to do its job while she gets on with other things in her life. She is very private about having the surgery and didn't tell any friends or family.

One thing I am going to suggest is changing her diet a bit. Those frozen burritos are complete garbage. They are loaded with fat, sodium, carbs, and calories. A better bet would be overly steamed veggies chewed well. Instead of eggs with fake cheese (eggs are very hard for many bandsters) if it is the AM what about a Protein shake? I'm assuming this was Breakfast? It's normal to be tighter in the AMs.

If she eats carbs in the AMs she is going to be hungry all day. Save the carbs for evening. Stick to Protein earlier in the day. Have her count her WHITE carbs, not veggie carbs but WHITE carbs. Limit those to 20gms daily. Unlimited veggie carbs. No flour or sugar AT ALL.

This is all about a lifestyle change, not eating the same bad foods in smaller quantities. I fully understand you are trying to save money, that's more than reasonable. But buying overly processed foods that have more fat grams than nutrition is not the way to go.

Steamed veggies... buy a microwavable steamer bag. Cut up yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, caulaflower, veggies other than potatoes, corn, peas, and carrots. Steam them, drain, add soy sauce and sesame oil if she likes Chinese flavors. Very little reason why she couldn't eat this. The veggies can be steamed to a mush if need be. She's getting Vitamins, Fiber... basic nutrition. No more than a dollar per serving.

Does she like Mexican?

Buy a bag of pinto Beans, 1# is less than a dollar and makes a ton of food. Wash, soak overnight in Water. Put in crock pot for 8 hours or so. Drain 90% of liquid, mash. Add spices to taste such as salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, and a bit of EVOO, not garbage oil, quality oil. Just a teaspoon or two.

Now you have refried Beans without the lard and garbage from the store and cheaper than canned.

Get some tostadas. Watch brands, don't get the cheap ones because it's loaded with carbs and calories. A bag of quality tostadas is about $3.00 and has 20 servings or so. Put refried beans on tostada, a bit of real cheese, place in oven to melt cheese and heat beans.

Top with your own pico de gullo and add taco sauce.

Pico de gullo (my way and I'm not Mexican so this might not be REAL PDG. Heh...)

Tomatillo (med)

Tomato (lg, verrrrrry firm)

Serrono (sp?) if she likes heat, if not other type of pepper

Onion (small)

Cilantro (I like a lot, add to taste)

Salt

Lime juice to keep it fresh so it will last a few days

Dice Tomatillo, tomato, onion, pepper. Chop cilantro, add salt to taste. It will make the tomatos drain, keep the juice or not, your choice. Sprinkle lime juice on top of the whole thing. It will last about 4 days as will the beans.

You have a meal that is loaded with protein, tastes good, has GOOD carbs, Fiber, and nutrition. No way is that going to be more than a dollar a meal.

Do the same thing as above but instead of a tostada just make it in a small bowl. Use the PDG on top of salads, in Soups, be creative and put it in anything you want. It's great!

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Lentil Soup... Lentils are a complete protein chain unlike pinto beans so you don't need cheese (complete protein chain).

A bag of lentils is about a dollar and makes a TON of food. A bag is 1#, use 1/2 bag. Wash and soak in Water for 8 hours or over night. Get a large crock pot, add lentils, dice onions, broccoli, cauliflower, celery (diced small... strings!), zucchini, yellow squash.. just clean out the produce drawer of your frig and add anything you want except potatoes, carrots, peas, or corn. They are starchy and high in unnecessary carbs). Add chicken broth, spices such as salt, pepper, garlic, crushed rosemary, whatever you like. Cook in crock pot all day. You have a hearty Soup, loaded with good carbs, low cal, high fiber, excellent nutrition and for about $0.50/serving.

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Twice baked Zucchini or Yellow Squash

Use either or both. Slice in half the long way, scoop out the middle like you would a twice baked potato. Bake shells to desired tenderness if you want or do it all and bake at the end.

Dice onion, celery, bacon bits, chicken bits, be creative. Put anything you want in there. I use onion, celery, and Canadian Bacon. Just clean out your frig when you do this. Leftovers, anything you want. Use a small bit of EVOO and cook the mixture you come up with. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the zucchini or yellow squash, add mixture to hollowed out shells (don't hollow them out too much), overstuff them with whatever concoction you make. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese or romano cheese. Try to stay away from the oily type cheese. Bake to desired tenderness. Since she should only be able to eat one you have a meal for certainly less than a dollar.

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In your grocery store you should have a section for bagged beans. Don't buy canned, they are expensive and processed. Buy a bag of every bean they have and play around with them. Make Soups, stews, invent your own recipes. These recipes do not take a long time to prepare. Washing and soaking... 3 minutes. Dicing veggies and adding to a crock pot.. 20 minutes at best.

Never add salt to beans until after they are cooked, they'll be tough if you do. Add it after they are cooked.

If she doesn't like veggies and healthier foods tell her tough. You don't care, that's what she gets. Make her eat it anyway. She's not a little child, she needs to learn to like these foods and with eating them daily she will learn to like them and she'll begin to crave them.

When you are thinking about food and cost... get down to basics. We don't need ANYTHING with flour or sugar, that is what got us fat. We didn't get fat from eating broccoli we got fat from eating processed foods loaded with bad carbs and sodium. Taking them out of the diet gets us thin. Fresh veggies are not expensive, fresh fruit is expensive. But our quantities are limited with good restriction so it's not expensive. Beans, wild rice, fresh veggies... this can be cheaper than the processed, lacking in nutrition, hard to eat stuff she's consuming now.

Remember, this is not a diet of eating crap but less of it. This is a lifestyle change. She can do it or not, it's her choice. But if she wants to lose weight she's going to have to overhaul her diet. Don't even buy the crap foods, nobody needs them. You can have healthy meals that are less expensive than the stuff she's eating now. Money just isn't a reason not to eat well.

How many hours a day is she exercising? She should be working up to an hour a day. If she's not then get on her about this. Make her do it. You paid for this surgery you have some rights here to make sure she is trying. The band isn't going to do it for her, it's a tool she she can change the way she moves her body, the foods she eats, and the way she thinks about food. It sounds to me like she's eating the same foods she probably was before surgery but less of it. That's not how this works.

Is she posting here? What is her ID? We all need to work with her and get this kid going in the right direction.

[JoannMarie 0]

WASaBubbleButt - great post and thanks for those recipes. I totally agree with you that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. We have to rethink everything we have ever known about nutrition and exercise.

In reading these posts from mom, I have been wondering why the daughter does not post and ask these questions. I realize mom pays the bills and empathize with her need to know, but I would feel much more hopeful for ultimate success if the daughter was showing a little more interest. There may be a very good reason why not, but mom can't do it all for her - she has to take ownership of her life and learn for herself what has to be done in order to be successful. Mom can be a great support person and help with the shopping and cooking process, but daughter has to make the changes. It is not easy, but it is the ONLY way. It does get easier - little by little - and it is doable.

Thanks for helping me in my journey, too.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

WASaBubbleButt - great post and thanks for those recipes. I totally agree with you that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. We have to rethink everything we have ever known about nutrition and exercise.

In reading these posts from mom, I have been wondering why the daughter does not post and ask these questions. I realize mom pays the bills and empathize with her need to know, but I would feel much more hopeful for ultimate success if the daughter was showing a little more interest. There may be a very good reason why not, but mom can't do it all for her - she has to take ownership of her life and learn for herself what has to be done in order to be successful. Mom can be a great support person and help with the shopping and cooking process, but daughter has to make the changes. It is not easy, but it is the ONLY way. It does get easier - little by little - and it is doable.

Thanks for helping me in my journey, too.

I've wondered the same thing. It *seems* like Mom's heart is in this more than the daughter. Just hearing what she is eating is making me think her entire diet needs to be overhauled.

But I considered the relationship Mom and daughter have so I responded according to how things are instead of perhaps how it should be.

If the daughter isn't going to put 100% effort into this, I'd be giving the daughter jobs to earn money to pay Mom back for the band.

[JoannMarie 0]

It's always a tough call. My heart goes out to both of them.

[Pegsinthewoods 8]

WASaBubbleButt - great post! I love easy recipes. I have changed my life style, now I have to contend with changing my family's. :thumbup: DH has lost a few pounds, the kids don't need to lose but I still want them to approach life healthier. Again, thanks for the recipes.

[Praying Patty 0]

Oh, honey, I'm with you!!! It's great to read what you have written. I too feel that I should have done something else, like getting a gastric bypass instead of this lap band. I know those people REALLY lose weight. I had a choice but chose the band. Well, I've lost weight, but for about a month now I am really, really hungry. I bing and don't feel bad! Just a little tummy ache. So, I think...hey, aren't I supposed to throw up or something? I have had no fill at all! I got my band Jan 6 and since I did lose, then the PA said I could continue like this until my next visit which is this week (March 30). I am ashamed to step on the scale and see 5 lbs. more or something horrible like that. I am mad, too, because I feel I can still binge. But I guess I should rant and rave that I want a FILL!!!!! Don't want to stay in the 190s forever.

Praying Patty

[OverBeingFat 0]

Yes, definitely go have it filled up. I kept thinking the same thing. Isn't this suppose to cut me off after a certain point?

Having this last fill has really made a huge difference (again this was fill 4). Don't get me wrong, I'm still hungry most of the time. I really have to work at just eating twice a day.

Another thing the doctor recommended was to quit trying to see how much I could put in before the band cut me off and really start trying to eat to the point where I was no longer hungry (as opposed to eating until I was full). Again, pre-4th fill, I kept thinking, "Well Sherlock, if I could swing that, I wouldn't need a damn band." But again, this last fill has helped.

Put your foot down (I had to). Instead of having them fill a little at a time, see if you can get your doctor to fill until you can't swallow, then back a little Fluid out.

Good luck!!!!

[channareeves 0]

I'm 52 years old, and it feels like I'm not bouncing back much at all. I'll be a week since banding, tomorrow, and plan to return to work in 5 more days. I'm a nurse, though in management, so most of day I can sit. Any older banders in here that can tell me if return is still a good idea? I'm trying to go without pain meds, but every evening it just gets intense, and I HAVE to have something...Tylenol helps for an hour or 2, but the Lortab gets me through the night. My doc doesn't want me driving til I've not used any Lortab or phenergan for 24 hours. What are the chances I can still get back to work on time? I could stay home longer, just wondering if that would be good or bad for me.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I'm 52 years old, and it feels like I'm not bouncing back much at all. I'll be a week since banding, tomorrow, and plan to return to work in 5 more days. I'm a nurse, though in management, so most of day I can sit. Any older banders in here that can tell me if return is still a good idea? I'm trying to go without pain meds, but every evening it just gets intense, and I HAVE to have something...Tylenol helps for an hour or 2, but the Lortab gets me through the night. My doc doesn't want me driving til I've not used any Lortab or phenergan for 24 hours. What are the chances I can still get back to work on time? I could stay home longer, just wondering if that would be good or bad for me.

Do you have to lift or roll?

[channareeves 0]

Do you have to lift or roll?

Occasionally, but not routinely.

[rcruz 0]

WAS, pico de gallo your way sounds great I have never made it with tomatillo though I might try it seriously. I am married to a mexican so my meals contains Beans all the time. AND yes never salt your beans until they are done! Good one there. And your post was GREAT thanks!