hokiemama

Thank you! Well, I got my first "unfill" yesterday. He took about 2 cc out and put me on Nexium for 2 weeks to help with swelling and irritation due to all of my stuck episodes. I cannot believe how much better I felt instantly. I hadn't realized how uncomfortable I had been. I feel like I can even breath better now. I can get a small fill in 3 weeks but he wants to make sure everything calms down first. I am concerned that I will gain weight, but I will do my best to follow the rules closely.

Well, I think I may be headed for my first "unfill" tomorrow. I had a fill about 3 weeks ago. I'm up to 7.9cc in a 10cc band. I have been getting things stuck almost everyday. At first I thought it was because I hadn't followed the "chewing" rule well enough and that I just needed to slow down and chew better. But once I got stuck on a tropical smoothie, I thought "okay, maybe I'm too tight". I've put it off because I want to have the restriction but I hate the stuck feeling and pbing. It hurts! I swear my band actually feels like it got tighter about two weeks AFTER my fill. Now, I can't get down any meats without it getting stuck. I've gone back to protein shakes, soups, and soft mushy foods....not healthy ones to be honest. So, then I beat myself thinking I just have "head hunger" and should be happily losing weight right now while I can't tolerate foods, but then I feel weak and eat the slidders to have something in my stomach. So I'm not even getting the benefit of losing weight even though my band is very tight?! I guess I will find out what my doctor says tomorrow. Keep posting personal experiences. It's so helpful!

I have 7.9cc in my 10cc band. I did not have any restriction until my second to last fill. It's a huge difference. I actually have to follow the rules of CHEWING and CHEWING now. You will get there. Do not give up.

Thank you so much for sharing and GREAT JOB!! That is a great success and you have accomplished so much in one year. I didn't meet my one year goal, but I am not giving up. I had gotten off track for a few months but have recently gotten back on. You are an inspiration and a reminder that it CAN be done. Don't lose your motivation you are doing awesome!

I am so glad I logged in today! I've been gone for MONTHS! I was banded over a year ago and I had not lost any weight in 4 months then started gaining. I knew what I was doing wrong but haven't cared. I care now! I never want to go back to the "old me". I needed some motivation and came here today. Thank you all for the basics and reminders. I think we all need to hear it from time to time. I too have been doing too many sliders because I still want to eat fast! Today I am feeling like I CAN do it and I went through a lot to get here, so why give up now??? You can do it too! We are worth it. We have to remember NOTHING tastes as good as looking good/feeling good feels!! Let's do it!!

I just had my second fill yesterday, so I am on liquids. Today, I decided to try a smoothie at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe hoping to feel satisfied and have something different. I looked at their menu and decided to go with a smoothie that had the calorie count listed as 210. I thought that would be good calorie-wise and I asked that they make it with Splenda. So, I drink it and it's yummy. I get on the computer to pull up the complete nutrition of what I just drank and OMG!!! The calorie count said 420! Evidently the "One size" they offer is 2 servings AND the sugar count is 92 g of sugar!!!!! 92 grams?! Are you kidding me? With the Splenda I'm sure it cut down on the sugar count, but geez! I'm frustrated now because I wanted to use these 2 days on liquids to get a jump start on losing a few pounds and I thought I was making a good choice, only to find out that I didn't. I would have had a frosty if I didn't care, but I do care and now I'm bummed. Be careful with the smoothies if you are thinking you are making a healthy choice.

My surgeon said to drink as much water and broth as you want during the liquid phase (at least 64oz), with at least 3 protein shakes per day. I asked him if the protein shakes should be measured and only consumer 4 oz at a time. He said "no", drink it all, it will go right through so no need to measure. He does not allow fruit juice on any phase due to calories and sugar.

Goodness! What bad luck. I'm sorry that happened to you. Fortunately they say you can get banded again after you heal. Hang in there! I hope you get well soon.

chips and crackers are best to avoid to promote weight loss. My surgeon wants me to eat almost all Protein and veggies. Starches are to "rarely" have. Anyway, on the mushy phase, for a quick meal, I loved blending canned chicken with fat free chicken/turkey gravy and heat it up. I ate it with instant mashed potatoes (which are fine on the mushy stage). I ate a lot of tuna salad with fat-free mayo and pickle juice (blended). Turkey chili with cheese and plain greek yogurt (my new sour cream!) was very satisfying. My surgeon recommended fish and chicken as the main protein on this phase and not to try beef until solids. Everyone is different though! Good luck!

Yep! My back is where I feel full the majority of the time. I don't like the feeling. It isn't very comfortable. Sometimes I feel it in my chest, but I think that's when I overeat. It's hard to get used to and I'm not used to it yet. Some say that if you feel it in your back, you may be eating too fast or not chewing enough. This could be true for me, as I have not had a "stuck" episode yet and have only had one fill. I still eat almost as fast as I did before being banded, although I do try to chew more. It just seems that I swallow it almost automatically and can't stop it from going down. Anyway, this is how it is for me.

They are on my surgeon's "approved" list also. Have you tried the "no sugar added" Carnation instant breakfast? Those are on the good list and taste fine to me. I have had better luck with the pre-mixed shakes. They are more expensive, but I think they taste better. The Myoplex Lite is good and the EAS is good too. (In my opinion). If Wal-mart doesn't have them (they should) Walgreens or CVS carries them.

Salad may not be the best choice for you, just starting on solids. My surgeon stresses to eat HIGH Protein as this biggest part of your meal and to eat it first. I am only allowed 1/2 cup as well. Even before my first fill, 1/2 of chicken salad, tuna salad, etc actually filled me up (for a while). I didn't try lettuce for a while and didn't have problems with it, but my surgeon says save veggies for last and to just eat a small portion of them. Protein has to be the majority to stay full and keep muscle. Solid Proteins should stay in the pouch longer and keep you from being hungry longer than salad will. Also, I'm learning that we can no longer look for feeling full so much. It's more about not being hungry. I can't even say satisfied, because many times I just want to eat more. But you should no longer be hungry after 1/2 cup. You can do it! Good Luck!!

I'm the same way! It's definately psychological. It's so much of a habit for us to just eat and eat for no reason. I LOVE to eat!! I get the pain in my back and it's very uncomfortable. Most of the time I do stop, but I think about it constantly. At night, I usually just have to go to bed to keep from eating. I know I am not hungry and don't need it...I just WANT it. Years of bad habits will not go away over night. I think, if you want to keep eating when you are hurting, you're feeding something else. It's totally true for me anyway. It's a daily battle inside my head that feels very crazy sometimes. I hope that there will be a shift in my mind (and yours too) that we will eventually look at food differently. For now, it's tough and we just have to do the best we can to get through it...one day at a time (like an addict!). Good luck to you!!

I LOVE coffee, but my surgeon said avoid the cream and sugar. I realized it wasn't coffee I loved so much....it was the flavored cream and sugar! So I started trying different substitutes that people recommended. I tried the sugar free hazelnut syrup and splenda. It was yucky to me. It tasted like chemicals. I tried adding sugar-free hot chocolate to the coffee (this wasn't bad with a little milK). I tried a few other combinations that were just disgusting and I almost gave up on coffee....Then, someone gave the suggestion about a Protein drink that tastes like coffee. I got it and I LOVE IT!!! The brand is Click. I bought it on-line. It does have caffeine in it (so drink extra water). I love the vanilla Latte. You mix it up with Water, heat it in the microwave and it is good. I don't have to add cream, sugar, or anything else. AND it has 15 grams of protein!! I also got the Mocha flavor which I didn't like as much - but it was okay. It does have 12 grams of carbs and some surgeons are strict on carbs, so be aware of that. But I have 12 oz. of the Click each morning and it's very satisfying to me. I did wait until my 3rd week post-op to have caffeine.

I went through this and discovered it was from the swelling. It's also your pouch being full (probably). Walking helped with the gas, but if it happens right when you finish consuming something...you are full! It happens even just with having liquid when you are newly banded.

I eat chicken almost daily. I usually pour a couple of cans of cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom/celery) over the boneless/skinless breasts, cover and bake for about 45 mins. Another thing I just tried: I put 4 of the FROZEN chicken breasts in a crock pot. Filled the crockpot 1/2 way with water and poured some marsala wine in. I put a packet of seasoning in that was actually italian herbs for a pork roast. Let it cook all day. It was moist and flavorful. Boil the chicken, chop it up finely, add fat-free mayo and relish for chicken salad. If you tolerate fruit, add a chopped apple and some curry powder to put a twist on the chicken salad.

It's so weird to miss the feeling of the fullness and stretching in the lower belly. I can't count the number of times that I complained that my stomach HURT because I had overeaten so much that I was miserable. Why would I miss that? I agree that it's just habit, comfort, and how things always were. But not anymore. Eating to live instead of living to eat is so challenging for those of us here. I truly love the taste of some foods and just want to taste more of it and keep eating when I'm full. The band is definately helping me with that. Fortunately, I haven't vomited since being banded and I really don't want to. I have had pain in my lower chest (upper stomach) area though from eating too much or too fast. My concern is that this is my pouch stretching too far at this point. I've also had a hiccup at the last bite. I haven't noticed a runny nose (that is an interesting sign). That's one reason I started this topic was also to see if there are signs that others have (soft signs) that I may have missed as a sign for myself. Replies are always appreciated and helpful. Thanks.

Drasan: GREAT JOB at being brave and posting even though you are feeling ashamed. You took a step in the right direction by asking for support and advice. You have not given up or you wouldn't be in the forum. You CAN do this! As everyone identified, the band is a tool to help. It won't make your food choices for you. It won't "make" you exercise. It's there to help. I am newly banded in November and I still have the daily struggle of wanting to eat junk. I WANT to eat fast food like everyday. I'm physically not even very hungry. It's my habit and my pleasure to eat yummy stuff. It's much more a mental/emotional need than physical. If you are eating high Protein and not drinking any Fluid for an hour after your meal and you are PHYSICALLY hungry, then you may still need more fills. But you have to do an HONEST test on yourself and make sure it's physical hunger and not just the WANT to taste or chew or continue old habits. That is my hardest thing. We are all "bad dieters" which is why we became overweight and had the surgery. But the lapband is not an automatic fix. There are things you can to do make it work wonders for you...but there are plenty of things you can do to make it do absolutely nothing for you. The reality is...it's not the band deciding whether to help you or ignore you...it's YOU deciding to let the band help you or choosing to ignore the band that is there to help. Don't give up. You CAN do this. You deserve to be happy and healthy. Love yourself and treat yourself right. Good luck!

Kalipso: I think you just gave me an epiphany! It IS a mental thing. I have to tell myself that I'm satisfied/full and move on to the next task. It is so psychological to think you have to eat a huge portion to feel satisfaction. PHYSICALLY, after 4 oz. our pouches are full and we should need no more food for that meal. I've always been used to the physical sign of my stomach being very very full to signal me to stop eating (which is way too late). So I need to not even worry about trying to feel satisfied from my chest or back feeling full. I need to concentrate on being mentally satisfied and I may do a little better. Sounds like common sense...but I wasn't looking at it like that until I read your post. Thanks.

SO TRUE, Fran. I read a post recently that being full shouldn't be a PHYSICAL feeling. It is much more emotional. I am an emotional eater and a lot of the time just ate as a habit or to have something to do. Those are the things to learn about and work on. Most of us have had or still have a love/hate relationship with food. It's a lot to work through.

For me, it would be knowing that feeling full, does not happen in the stomach area anymore. I started a topic about this today because it's interesting that we have to learn new ways to know when to stop eating, after being banded. I wasn't told that the full feeling would be in my chest. It makes sense, but I found myself asking random people if that meant you were full. The answer was "yes". The other thing that may have been helpful for me was NOT to get banded right before Thanksgiving. I thought it was a good idea to have the surgery right before the holidays so that I would lose during that time for once. Looking back, I think that put extra stress on myself that didn't have to be there. It's hard enough to learn and stick to the rules during "normal" times, much less during the most food abundant time of the year. I don't regret it at all, but it did make it harder.

I am curious as to how other people know when they are full. I think it's an important topic for newer bandsters to be aware of. I personally have learned that I feel it in my BACK in between my shoulder blades a lot of the time. It's uncomfortable there when I have eaten too much or too fast. Sometimes I feel a fullness in my chest. It can be hard to take deep breaths if I'm too full in my chest. Is this the case with other people? It is very hard to get used to feeling full "up high" in the body and not in the lower stomach. I think that is the one thing that I didn't realize at first (although it does make sense, since the food stops in the pouch). I do with this feeling would happen while I'm eating instead of a few minutes afterwards. I think that's one reason we are supposed to take 30 mins to eat the 4oz. but I eat much faster than that....still working on it!

According to my surgeon: If you are eating 4 oz meals of high protein, NOT DRINKING for 15 mins before and 60 mins after eating and you get hungry before 3-4 hours.....it's time for a fill!

Duh! I have not been journaling! Oh, I'm going to start today! Thank your for your broth/potatoe idea! That does sound like a good warm treat! Quick too! I had to journal for my first 2 weeks to make sure I got my Protein and liquid in. After that, I stopped. I really need to so that I can keep a closer eye on my nutrition. I have just focused on the scale but I need to remember the protein and Vitamins so I don't have hair loss or other deficiency side effects! You are doing awesdome girl! I enjoy your comments.