helen098

Had my annual scan last fri No problem at all with the band Just drank the yummy barium real slowly Had my normal diarrhea after ..but that is normal for me since I lost a big chunk of my colon

weight today 213.6 started at 215.8 goal was 211 not sure if i will make it stopped throwing up and gaging use my timer all the time wonder if i need a fill? see the PA on Dec 2 so i will see

well i failed my first challenge. hope i can do better with this one i weigh in on fri so i will post then if it's ok Name, real or screen~ Helen Age~46 Weight on November 1st~215.8 Goal Weight for November 29th~ 211 Exercise Goal for November~ get back to my fri 6 am workouteven though i have a brusied bone in my foot and a bad case of ezama Dietary Goal for November~ more Fiber and no snacking only 3 meals a day Personal Goal for November~ stop looking at how much weight others have lost and feel bad because i don't measure up Date Banded~ Aug 22 ,2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~24 pounds total: 14.5 lb

I am defiantly keeping my appointment this is the last one without a copay (I got 90 days post op care after my surgery) would liked to have gotten a fill but it’s ok I am in this for the long haul Though from now on I have a $50 copay to see the doc or even the PA. I don’t think I want them to take anything out as I am only at 4 ½ cc…before the last fill I was only at 3 ½ cc and I felt almost no restrictions and was hungry all the time Am back on liquids and mushies for a day or so then will try real food I think I am eating small amounts, chewing a lot but I guess I have to eat slower and even less I thought the hardest part would be the actual surgery but compared to this the surgery was a breeze. Am down another ½ a pound down to 215.8 total 14 ½ pounds since being banded Though it would be more and am kind of sad about it…..but will just have to try harder

Since my second fill I can’t seem to figure out what, how, when to eat and have been gagging and throwing up a lot..when I do throw up it’s only a small amount of food but a lot of phlegm comes up I think I am choking and automatically reach for my inhaler but it’s not my lungs just food stuck I think I am eating small meal slowly but I guess it’s not small or slow enough I am supposed to get another fill next week and I don’t know if I will go I am scared to eat…had a small potato last night for dinner it went down ok and stayed down But afterwards I was hungry….stomach hungry not head hungry but didn’t want to eat so late or risk throwing up so I went to bed hungry Feel kind of down not at all happy with all the throwing up last week only lost 1/2 lb and wonder how this week will go? How long till you figure out what, where,when you can eat? I am so tired of ensure, cornation and yogurt

I had my second fill on Oct 17 and by fri when I had real food, i have a lot of restrictions I have already almost vomoted three times as I don't feel full and keep eating then wel it feels like it's al going to come back up. I know this is what I wanted (to be able to only eat alittle not to throw up or gag) but when I first experiencied it I was sad. On sat was out with frinds and they wanted pizza . I figure I will eat ½ a slice enjoy it and be ok. Well no I had breakfast about 3 hours before and apparently it had not digested yet. I took one tiny bite and is was ok , I took a second and felt like I was going to throw up on the table on my friends So I stop eating and wait for it to pass… apparently you could see my discomfort as my friends keep askinging are you ok Now the last thing I want to do is talk while trying not to throw up. I finially manage to say Im fine just went dwn the wrong side…my friends response was to get me a glass of water…which I can't drink … I pretend to and it does finally pass So now I am sitting looking a almost a whole slice and I don't want it at all I kind of pull it apart , pretend to eat some and push most of it under my napkin I felt sad that I could not eat with my friends but at the same time happy that I wasn't hungry Noone there knew about my band so I couldn't say anything …this is the hard part about hiding the band I still am not going to tell anyone else (other than doc only 2 friends know) I spoke to the office this morning and they say it's normal I ate too much too fast They recommend going back to liquids for a day then mushies for at least a day before I try real food again. if not come back and they will take some water out but at 5 ½ cc in a 10 cc band I should not be that tight On the bright side I am not hungry at all I knew this would be hard but mostly concentrated on the mental part And the not eating things I love but know are bad for me not my body's response to all this . I know it will get better in time but it is harder than I thought

I had the second fill this morning one more cc up to a total of 5 ½ cc in a 10 cc band Am feeling kind of down…I was 230 at surgery and 219 a week and a half ago and 222.6 this morning, am have major pms and bloating (period is a day late) was told the surgery may mess it up for a few months. Wonder why this is the anesthia or the actual cutting that messes up your hormones I am eating much less but can’t follow the 1000 calories yet… hope after today I will The PA says i am normal, for most people 2 or 3 fills then the weight comes off easy Just wish it was faster….i know shouldn’t , it may will take a while but in the back on my mind I wonder if I am failing again… I guess a history of failing at diets has messed up my confidence along with my metabalisim Also brusied a bone in my foot this weekend in a lot of pain and forgot my pill crusger at home so I can’t even take any tylenol I know it will get better but just feeling down

I had this problem the three times before when I lost a ton of weight on diet pills and chemo. Everyone said how great I looked (so I imagine I look real bad now) but inside I felt like I was cheating a fraud a failure inside ….so far I have lost 11 pounds (still eating too much but have another fill on oct 17) and while it was been hard (the pain and gas after the surgery) the Protein drinks and the mushy baby like food…it still has been easier than before much less hungry not always thinking about food. I did talk about this with the psychiatrist and he told me I wasn’t cheating it was a tool and while I Agreed mental I still feel quilty (catholic and my dad’s mom was jewish so I know all about quilt) When I am eating my small meals around people who don’t know about the band I feel like a fake Last week we had the yummiest Cookies and I didn’t have one Was very proud of myself till someone (everyone knows I am on a diet again but will surprise them when I make it this time) mentioned what great will power I had and felt sad like I was cheating Wonder if this feeling will ever go away..in the past it never did and every time someone complemented me I felt like a fake

I tried some bananas and pears in the mushy food stage The bananas were pretty gross the pears not so bad..but kind of expensive The stage two has two little packages for $3.50 in my supermarket …but I could get 6 adult size cups of apple sauce for around $3 37 years or so ago when my little brother was a baby I remember eating some red fruit That tasted real good (at least back then) I wonder what it was? Baby food is on my list of soft foods from nyu

Queens New York Banded aug 22

i don;t mean the band will make my relationship with food normal I know the bands not in my head I mean after months/years of normal eating with the band,will i become normal and not think about food every minute of the day

my first challenge.....hoe exciting but my weigh in day is fri so i will modify Name, real or screen~ Helen Age~ 46 Weight on October 1st~ 220.4 Goal Weight for October 29th~ 212 Exercise Goal for October~ go back to my fri moring 6am gym workouts Dietary Goal for October~ more Fiber Personal Goal for October~ stop comparing my results to others and concentrate on the journey Date Banded~ aug 22 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 10

I was only banded on aug 22 first fill sep 21 and I am so fighting the mental hunger (I call it head hunger) as opposed to stomach hunger I walk past a store and smell food then I want to eat, its late afternoon and I am tired Someone at work is eating French fries or popcorn and it smells so good I want some Not hungry really but all I can think about is food Does this get better? Was I wrong to think that eventually with the band you will just eat small healthy meals (a treat once in a blue moon) and not think about food all the time . I just want to have a normal relationship with food in the future….i hope this is possible.

I had surgery on aug 22 and my first fill sep21 Mine hurt like hell when he filled the band…did not get any numbing cream so I guess it was my own fault also felt sore for a few days (pa said this was normal) i figure a minute or two of pain is worth it for my new body I got 3 ½ cc and had 1 in the band so I have 4 ½ with a band that goes up to 10 (wonder why they are different sizes? Do guys get bigger bands or bigger people) Two days liquids 2 days mushies and real food yesterday Was real hungry last night and don’t know if it was head hunger or stomach hunger Though I didn’t have much restrictions but gulped down my lunch yesterday as it I was busy and forgot about the band …boy did that hurt like hell Trying to keep the 1000 calories but still hard go back on oct 17 for another fill The surgeon said if I was hungry to come back sooner but I think I will wait a few days and see what my new normal

I see my oncologist next month and we will do a pet or cat scan depending on my dam insurance. I wonder if anyone did a scan with the band? I can’t drink the gallon of barium unless I go three hours before, and was wonder how is works. I assume the center has experiencied patients with the band but want to get some real life ideas.

I had my surgery on aug 22 and till my first file (yesterday afternoon) I could eat and drink like before I tried very hard not to and to only eat 1000calories but I was starving At my follow up the pa said this was TOTAL NORMAL, for nyu anyway, the time between your surgery and the first fill is to 1. Recover (we cut in to you ) and 2. Learn how to eat the new way (chew till it’s liquid) small bites and small portions He said we don’t expect you to lose any weight as you have no restrictions I knew most of this mentally and from this site but it would have been nice if they told me Personally it seems like them spend so much time on stuff I know or is common sense and not enough on the things I need. I some to this site and see people losing 20 pounds during the pre surgery diet and another 10 before the first file and I feel like I am doing something wrong Everything you are feeling is normal Take this time to practice your eating and before you know it you will start having the fills and the weight loss we so desperately want Good luck and hang in there

Weight 222.5 (sad but still down 7.5 pounds) was told the weight gain/lack of weigh loss is normal Turns out I had 1 cc in my band and they added 3 ½ so I have a total of 4 ½ and my band hold 10 cc The actual access the port was much more painful then acceding the medi port I had in my check for chemo. So numbing meds as I am a tough new Yorker cancer survivor (just in general I think when they hear you have had cancer that you are very strong and don’t need any minor stuff like numbing cream ect) After had to drink a cup of Water to be sure I didn’t throw up Went down fine and stayed down. I was hungry before the fill but after not at all My stomach was growling later in the evening but I was not hungry at all Had ½ an ensure (by the time I had dinner it was after 9pm and I didn’t want to have too much food in my stomach) but I was good didn’t wake up in the middle of the night starving like I have been On liquids for 2 days then mushies for 2 then normal food Feeling real psyched for this let the weight loss begin

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I am new to all this and don’t mean to offend anyone(Just a newbie so don’t hate me) but it seemd when some one admits to slipping up or being scared of the new life we all hope to have someday that they get a lot of negative response. I don’t mean when some one has a problem that appears to need immediate medical attention and is asking us Because ther are too scared to call the doc or if the doc tells you to do something and they are totally ignoring the doc and asking those posters may need a kick in the pants but we also need to be understanding of our brothers and sisters fighing this battle against food. Maybe it’s just me but some of the response seem kind of harsh. I mean where people admit to slipping up during the post op diet ….or eating a little piece of food or wishing they could eat at a party or something. If we were all perfect then none of us would have needed the band or this group I am looking for a place where I can come and find real world experience (not instead of my doc but to suplement it) Little tips and ideas they others have come up with and are willing to share and hopefully eventuially down the road I can share with the new guys . to know what am experiencing is normal I am looking to get support when all of this seems to be too much and to have others to celeberate with my achievements (small and large) I may need a kick in the pants sometimes or to be told my pity party is going on way too long but thats ok as needed , I think we all have people in our life who love to tell us how to live and eat and I personaly don’t want/need any more. didn’t think this was that kind of place mabye I have no right to ask these questions. But in the short time I have been here I have read a lot of posts that made me sad. Mabye the problem is with email I can’t read the persons intented tone? Am I in the right place? What are others looking for in this support group?

I am only at the beginning and have a lone way to go but I wonder what you are looking forward to most My list is To shop in a normal store (not to have to go in the back behind the ties or the “specialty” store- yuck) To cross my legs comfortably To sit in the middle seat on the subway without getting the horrified look from the others

[i was having second/third /two hundred and five thought till the drugs knocked me out (I posted my surgery day story on the thread ) and even a few days after I was thinking what the hell did I do to myself It is real scary to change your life….i wil not lie the pre op died is hard, it does hurt a little after surgery (but they give you drugs and it’s not an unbearable pain definitely less that a root cannal Now before my first fill I am still hungry and fighing to eat 1000 calories but I know it will get better You read some of the stories here where people have lost over 100 pounds in a year and I think wow Lets be honest we are all here because we couldn’t lose weight on our own..it doesn’t matter any more We have this cool tool and if we want we can change our lives…I will be 47 this year and thinks are not going as planed I know the weight lose won’t fix everything but if I can just fix the weight well mabye I will feel better about myself and who know’s I told none except two friends so i understand not having any family support it would be real nice but if we don't have it it's ok we can do it on our own with a little help from this group Scared is normal ..courage is have the surgery and changing your life If I can do it so can you

Can you eat the day of your fill? I am going for my first fill next week and have an appointment in the late afternoon and wonder what I should/could eat and drink I have a call to the pa but he left for the day and wonder what you guys did?

since my colon cancer in 2006 i ate very little sugar free foods as i figured why chance it when i went to nyu they told me that For people that have had any kind of cancer it is not advisable for them to eat any artificial sweeteners at all, they would not let me do the fast 20 program nyu has due to the cancerI asked my oncologist and he agreed no artificial sweeteners of any kind ever as the studies show once you have cancer you have a higher risk of getting another cancer and it seems like they don’t know about the artificial sweeteners. My onc says it is not worth the risk

Walk and chew gum The gas pains are worst than a colon resection Once you start to eat soft foods they go away

yuck 14 out of 15 yes good thing i got the band...wonder if i take it again in a few months will i pass?