Rachel412

Meh. You can see in my sig that my doctor's practice is pretty aggressive about fills. I know every practice is different but I really don't think that getting more than 1 cc at a time is a cause for disaster. The truth is that nobody knows what a "good" level will be or how your body will react to each fill.

It's really hard to get back on track once you've fallen off the side of the road. the best thing I can do is wake up in the morning and start over, track every single bite, and remind myself that it's gonna take a few days for all that sugar I've been eating to get out of my system. Good luck!

If people's bands were called a failure, they're probably not hanging around here any longer. Try a different website that has forums for various types of surgery, not just the band. I'm not sure how your band is a failure if you're eating so little exercising so much, and not losing any weight. Doesn't sound like the band is the problem, since the whole point of the band is to "help" you eat less in a given day. You're certainly not eating much!

If people's bands were called a failure, they're probably not hanging around here any longer. Try a different website that has forums for various types of surgery, not just the band. I'm not sure how your band is a failure if you're eating so little exercising so much, and not losing any weight. Doesn't sound like the band is the problem, since the whole point of the band is to "help" you eat less in a given day. You're certainly not eating much!

I try to keep my diet fairy low carb (between 50 and 100g per day) and I've found some packaged foods I really like that help me with this. Here they are... I figured we've all got something in our back pocket that we rely on, and we should share it with eachother! Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds and Cinnamon Roasted Almonds- these are sweet but not too sweet, low in carbs and nuts are always a Protein packed good choice for people doing low carb diets. Just The cheese White Cheddar Snacks- It's true, it's just cheese. It's baked into crispy, salty little rounds and it's great for when you're craving chips or other salty snacks. Very crunchy, very yummy, the packs I have are 1g carbs, 5g protein. Joseph's Flax & Oat lavash breads- these are thin but still feel bread-y (not gluey or like crackers). They're a good size (you use 1/2 of a lavash as a serving- the whole lavash is bigger than the size of a piece of paper) and only 7g of carbs (3g Fiber, so 4g net carbs) each, with 5g of protein. Joseph's also makes a wrap bread with similar nutritional stats but I like the lavash better. sugar-free syrups- I have tried both Torani and DaVinco flavors and like Torani better, but both are good for sweetening up or mixing up your Protein drinks and greek yogurts without adding any sugar. PB2 powdered Peanut Butter- I know this one sounds weird, but I used to put real peanut butter in my smoothies until I got some of this. Fewer calories and carbs than regular peanut butter because there's no sugar added. Still adds that yummy peanut butter taste, and also adds protein. They say you can mix it with any liquid to make it into regular penut butter but I haven't tried that yet

I try to be pretty upbeat about the band... I do my best to lend support to others if I can, and to cheerlead for people whenever possible. But lately my band journey has gotten harder and I need to vent- maybe it'll help me feel better. I've been banded almost 6 months, and have had 5 fills. My 3rd fill, which got me up to 6.75cc, was good and I felt like the band was doing what I wanted it to (keeping me satisfied 4-5 hours, helping me to eat smaller portions). I felt like I was "almost there"-- you know, close to the fabled green zone. I went back 2 weeks later to get another fill, and found out the the surgical P.A. who had done all of my fills left the practice, so the full-time office PA would be doing them. Fine. I watched her when she did it. She put in the new .5cc's but she didn't pull out what was in my band first to measure it, which the other PA always did. I found it odd. So anyway. Things go well a couple weeks, I notice I'm really not feeling like I'm in a good place like I was before so I call for another fill. I find out I have to book like 3 weeks from when I call (one less PA=a lot fewer open appointments). When I go in in August, I'm busy (my kids are with me and I had to wait 45 minutes before they called me back) but I don't recall her checking the total Fluid this time either. I'd noticed she didn't do it the first time and so it was on my mind this time. So I'm now up to 7.75cc's and the PA tells me that if I want to have any more fills i have to see the nutritionist first because I have "so much" in my band. I find out that my nutritionist (who I LOVED) also left the practice, and I'll need to see the other woman, who I've seen at support groups and in the office but I've never met. But I walk out thinking, ok, that's fine, this fill will hopefully put me back at a good place and I'll just go in October for my 6 month check up and see where I'm at. Well... 7.75 didn't feel a damn bit different. In fact I'd say it felt looser. I am now going 2, 2.5 meals after a measured out meal and experiencing hunger. I'm worrying that I have a leak, or that she's missing my port when she fills me or something ,since she hasn't been checking what's in the band. I just feel like something's not adding up here. I called the office last week to see if I could get in for a fill and this nutritionist meeting i have to have. The woman at the front desk tells me the soonest i could get in is AFTER my 6 month check up (10/18). I get frustrated and tell her that I think I have a leak, the PA hasn't checked how much is in my band, etc. So the receptionist puts me into the PA's voicemail. I explain it all to her. The PA calls me back and she's on the defensive. She says she ALWAYS checks how much is in the band before she fills. Well... she can say that if she wants but I know she's lying because I watched her the first time and she didn't check it. She then starts going over what my expectations of the band are. Fine, I make sure she knows I'm not expecting a magic cure, I'm just expecting a little help. She says to me "why is it that in July you said you were going 3 hours after a meal before feeling hunger but in August, now that you have MORE fluid in your band, you're saying it's only 2, 2.5 hours?" Well if I knew the answer to that I probably wouldn't have called, would I? She says that we can schedule an endoscopy if I really "want it". When I decline she asks me why not and I say my insurance is bad and I don't want to pay for tests if I don't know I really need them. She then says that she wants me to meet with the nutritionist, her, and a surgeon on my 6 month check up and if the doctor and nutritionist say I need it she'll "gladly" do my fill, but until that day I need to track every bite so they can see what I'm eating. I'm just frustrated. I feel like the band DID start to help me, then it stopped. yes, I have more fluid in it now (maybe?) yet I barely know it's there. I can feel it if I swallow a big mouthful of Water or something I didn't chew well but I've never been stuck, never slimed, none of those things. And I think of those as good things but the truth is I also feel like there's either something wrong with it (leak? maybe the latch opened? I don't know!) or if not, then I need more fills than your average bear to get to the green zone. beyond all that... I hit 60 pounds lost and asked my husband to take new progress pics for me. And I think they're horrible. I look like a fat person with extra saggy skin. I have been feeling down already and I was so looking forward to a nice set of pics to make me feel accomplished... they just made me feel worse. I may be in a size 18 instead of a 24, but I look just as bad. OK. Bless you if you read all this. Any BTDT or kind words would be much appreciated.

It can take a while for a fill to really "settle in". How did you appointment go?

1. Has anyone used Clomid? yep! 2. Does it come in a generic form? It does, the generic name is Clomiphene. 3. What drugs/pills did you use? We used clomid We also did a variety of other fertility treatments including IUI, injectible follicule stimulating meds, and acupuncture. In the end none of it worked for us, both of my girls were conceived without any interventions. 4. Any advice? Losing weight is the BEST thing you can to to kick-start ovulation if you have PCOS.

With no fill your band probably isn't doing much for you right now. Follow your surgeon's instructions for snacks and I hope your stay in bandster hell is short and easy!

Mmmmmmm!

I have a Realize band and we don't get a card like that, but I can't imagine using it anyway. When I go to a restaurant I order an appetizer, or I just order an entree and have the remainder boxed up so I can eat it again the next day. As is almost always brought up here, the foods on the kids' menu are usually not band friendly anyway.

Fabulous!!

thanks everyone I think I'll just keep plugging away as I was before, but I'll try to add some more fruit into my diet. I have to go back for a check-in in a month so we'll see where I'm at then.

My old nutritionist suggested nuts as a good snack in moderation. She said my meals should be 4 oz. Protein, up to a cup of veggies, then up to 1/2 cup of whole grains if I still had room and felt hungry. Which I thought was pretty reasonable! I have been trying to follow this "new" diet but not doing that well. In fact I feel like it's causing me to have more cravings and willpower issues than I was having before. I am eating much more fruit, but the sugar in that fruit seems to send me into a carb-craving tizzy! My "new" nutritionist has been at the practice for 5 years. They told me last week that the "new" nut's patients have historically always done better than my old nutritionist's patients.

That's a good question, I'm not really sure what the time frame was. I did my pre-op blood tests in plenty of time to do my 2 weeks on the antibiotics and it didn't have any effect on my surgery date.

I have heard of doctors charging this, but honestly, I would be wary of it. I'd do a lot of research about the 2 practices available to you. And remember, a lot of times post-op care is MORE important than pre-op so make sure you choose the practice that will truly be there for you in the long run!

Is there a way to turn off the notifications I get when someone adds me to their friends list? I really don't need to get an email, and a notification on the site, when this happens... I've dug around a bit to see if I can turn the notifications off but I haven't figured it out yet. Thanks! ETA: I think I've figured it out

Have you gotten a breakdown of exactly what that $1000 fee is FOR? And $2-300 for Optifast... I would be ok with that if it was optional, but I wouldn't be to thrilled about being FORCED to go on one specific brand of pre-op diet.

It's really NOT a big deal, don't let Dr. Google scare you I tested positive for h. pylori, and I did the 2 weeks of antibiotics. The hardest part was remembering to take them so often, but I didn't have any horrible side effects. I'd say just try to eat a lot of yogurt. My re-test was clear and that was the end of it. I hope it'll be easy for you too!

The first part tells you not to diet and the second part completely contradicts the first part. Are these two separate articles by different authors?

Oh and have you ever taken a big gulp of something and had a piece of ice go down your throat? And it sorta gets stuck and hurts like hell until it melts? That's the pain!

It's not really throwing up like you've done in the past, it's like a burp that pops the food back out into your mouth. It's not pleasant but it's not the heaving, puking you think of when you think about "throwing up".

Honestly if I were you I'd get the band removed. I'm sorry It really just doesn't agree with some people's anatomy.

Congrats, I hope your last 50 are easy!!

You should be so proud of yourself!!