claraluz

Michelle, I must have missed this post earlier. Wow, do you look great! It was a great idea for you to have these photos taken along the way. I'm so glad that things are going so well for you now. And it shows! Nancy

Is the skin warm to the touch? Is it tender? Nancy

Oh, and here's another one for me: Write shorter posts. Mine are always like books. Nancy

Hi, Misty, and welcome! I think your anxiety is perfectly normal and a good indication that you have done some serious thinking about this. I got banded for the same reason you are thinking about it. I had lost weight successfully several times, but always gained it back. My surgeon assured me that the band would prevent that from happening and so far, he's been right. When I really got way, way off track for months at a time, I gained five pounds, but that was it. Because the band still kept me from eating as much as I would have and could have pre-band. So when I got my act together again, I hadn't lost much ground at all. I take some large pills and break them in half. I pay no attention to half cup meals or whole cup meals. I let my band tell me when to stop. I probably don't eat much more than a cup at a time, sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on what the food is. And I try to make sure that what I do eat is healthy and nutritious (most of the time). I take Vitamins. As for the psychological part, I can only share my experience. I guess there are times when I miss bingeing, but it's never made me depressed. In fact, I am so much happier and less depressed than I was. I am more social, have made new friends, and have experienced a huge increase in my self-esteem. That by far outweighs any downside. But I have to be honest and say that I also had some psychotherapy to help with this, too. Good luck. Nancy

Babs, if you weren't so far ahead of me in your weight loss journey, I might join you. I actually did visit a plastic surgeon here. The total for what I want would be $10,000. But he said my weight would have to be stable for three months before surgery could be done. Which makes sense to me. So I have a good chunk of weight to lose before I could consider surgery. In the meantime, I'm trying to save my pennies. Knowing myself, I can't really believe that I'm this vain, that I would actually consider surgery. When I was younger, I would have scoffed at such self-centerdness. But I'm 50 and not married and I would like to find someone. And Jack, I appreciate what you say about a man appreciating inner beauty, and for someone who's already married I'm sure that's true, but in my experience, it's hard to get a man to pause long enough to ask one's name if the outer package isn't so nice, let alone get to know the inner me. But if I do have surgery, it won't be because I want to catch a man. It will be because when I see all the sagging in the mirror, I can't recognize myself. There are many reasons for wanting plastic surgery. Some are medical, some are practical, some are aesthetic, and all are very personal. Anyway, Babs, thanks for the tip about the Costa Rica clinic. I'll be looking into that. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. Nancy

If you like spicy food, try this as a side dish: Butternut Squash with Cumin & Corianer 1 Tbs. cumin seeds 2 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. coriander 2 tsp. sugar ( I use Splenda) 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes 1/3 cup olive oil coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper - Heat oven to 400 degrees. - In a medium pan over medium heat, toast the cumin, pepper, and coriander, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine. - Add the cubed squash and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I did not use any). Toss to coat. Transfer the squash to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender and light brown, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. This recipe makes a lot, so adjust as needed. Fruit Compote 2 cups dried fruit ( I use 1 cup prunes and 1 cup apricots usually, but I've also used dates and figs) 2 cups frozen berries, any kind 1 tsp. lemon juice 1-3 Tbs. sugar (again, I use Splenda) - In a medium pot, cover the dried fruit with Water and let soak for at least an hour. - Place on stove and let simmer about 45 minutes. - Add the lemon juice, sugar, and frozen fruit. Mix and heat until the mixture is warm. - Cover and refrigerate. So easy and I love this stuff! It has lots of Vitamins and Fiber. I use it on cottage cheese (much healthier than the pre-made kind since it doesn't have corn syrup). I also use it mixed with plain low-fat yogurt. For a special occasion, you can heat it and serve it over vanilla ice cream, either regular or lowfat.

Yes, every doctor's instructions are different. I did not have to do clear liquides - just liquids. I wouldn't think Protein shakes would be counted as clear liquids. They are too thick for that. Clear liquids are things like apple juice, broth, gatorade, Jello, black coffee, tea. Nancy

Speaking of which, I have to say that I have had periods of feeling weak and even slightly short of breath over the last few weeks. I don't think I am really sick. At first I thought it might be hypoglycemia, but I test my blood glucose and that was not the cause. Now I think it may be that I've gone overboard with the low-glycemic index thing and my body needs more carbs (which are converted into energy more quickly). I had cut out all starches - even the ones that only have a moderately high glycemic index. So I'm going to be experimenting with eating foods that have a slightly higher glycemic index with each meal. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll probably go to the doctor. So I just wanted to post this caution: everything in moderation. That is not one of my strong suits. On the up-side, I just had my hgb A1C ( an indication of average blood glucose over the last three months), blood pressure, and cholesterol tested. I had had problems with all three before going on this diet. They were all perfect. Nancy

Oh, Puerto Rico is my favorite place in the world! I want to hear all about it. Nancy

Oh, Betty, I'm so sorry. The flu is awful. But I wish you and everyone here good health, love, happiness, and prosperity in the New Year. Nancy

Well, I'm repeating here, but you do look a lot younger and happier. Congratulations! Rebeccalee, I look older, but thinner now, too. I still say fat is a great wrinkle treatment. Nancy

My perennial New Year's goals have always been to lose weight and to save more money for emergencies and retirement. Those are still goals, but I'm thrilled that I made significant progress on them in 2004. My new goals are to take and pass a higher credentialing exam for my profession and to take the GRE and go back for a second master's degree. Nancy

Several thoughts: 1) The most important is that the band is not designed to work without a fill, so once the post-op swelling in your stomach goes down, you are essentially the same as you were pre-op, anatomically speaking. Some people are lucky and never need a fill, but most do. If you feel little or no restriction, you probably should get a fill whenever your doctor will let you. 2) By banded standards, you are a "lightweight," meaning you never had as much to lose in the first place as most of us did. Therefore, you should not expect to lose weight at the same rate as heavier people do. 3) 1000 calories is an awfully low level to start off with. If that is what your doctor or nutritionist told you to do, then follow their advice, but such a low calorie level can wreak havoc with your metabolism making it harder to lose weight and much easier to re-gain. My personal belief is that we get the band in order to allow the band to tell us when to stop eating. Diets probably never worked for you before. There's no reason to believe they will now. With the band, we need to be mindful of what we eat in order to ensure that we are getting good nutrition, but we shouldn't be counting calories, in my opinion. No point in having surgery just so we can continue counting calories, which never worked for us before. You've obviously got a great attitude and are wanting to do all the right things. This will help you a lot. But as Marie said, relax. You'll get there. You just won't get there overnight. Nancy

I personally would not lie to customs, since that can buy you more trouble than you want, but that's just me. Nancy

Kelly, I can't believe that your doctor doesn't have at least another doctor that he has trained to do unfills in emergencies. The nurse in my surgeon's office does it plus he has an internist who works with him to do fills and unfills. I really hope you start feeling better soon. Surely your doctor has SOMEONE covering for him for emergencies? I've never heard of a doctor who didn't. Nancy

God, what can I say except that I'm sorry this had to happen. I hope Patty's pain is under control now. To be honest, when I look back on my days as a caregiver (for my mom), I think I was angry almost every day. Not at her, of course, but at the incompetent jerks who supposedly were supposed to know how to care for her. I just pray that there are no more fiascos like this for Patty. Nancy

Yes, as I said before I am not (yet) diabetic, but I am close and have to eat as though I were in order to maintain normal blood sugars (my Hgb A1C is also 5). But my doctor did not demand that I be on Clear Liquids - just liquids. I drank vegetable juice, Protein drinks, yogurt smoothies (thin), etc. I do not know what instructions your doctor has given you about the liquid phase. And I think your doctor would be the one to talk to about your concerns about hypoglycemia. Nancy

I get hungry, but only if I haven't eaten for a long while. And my hunger is satisfied with very little food. Do I still want to eat anyway? Sure, but that's a whole different subject. Nancy

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and good thoughts. I just got an e-mail from him this morning and they have been totally unaffected by the disaster. I'm so relieved. In my head I knew that the area of the country in which they were vacationing was unaffected, but my heart needed to hear from them. Thanks again. Nancy

All's well that ends well and your new avatar looks great! Nancy

Leigh, I guess the answers to your question about eating "normal" (by which I guess you mean high fat) food is complex. What one can and cannot eat does vary from person to person. When you are banded, some foods just don't go down the way they did before. They get stuck in the narrow part of the stomach created by the band and cause pain - a great deal of pain sometimes - as well as profuse salivation and then they usually come back up. This is called a PB or productive burp. Some people can't eat salad. Some have problems with meat. But almost everyone, I think, has problems with bread, fries, etc. I can't eat any of that stuff - not because it is unhealthy and will slow down my weight loss, but because it will get stuck and make me miserable. So at the moment, I am eating a hamburger without a bun, no fries. This is a treat for me. On the other hand, some high fat foods go down super easy. Ice cream, chocolate (well, sometimes it causes me a problem), chips, popcorn, etc. I can tell you that when I first got banded, I paid no attention to the bandster rules (eat Protein first, then veggies, then whatever you have room for). I lost weight anyway. I ate chocolate, etc. But after losing about 50 pounds, the weight loss totally stopped. Despite being banded, there was no way that I was ever going to be thin, get healthy, or look good eating that kind of a diet. I've found that I have to "eat only healthy food now" in order to meet my goals. And I have to exercise if I want to continue to lose. That's just the way it is and I don't mind because I feel better, get compliments almost every day, have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and lower blood glucose. I have insulin resistance and take glucophage,but my doctor did not require me to be on a protein-only diet, so that was no problem. I would advise you to think carefully about whether this is what you want. It does mean a total lifestyle change and there's just no getting around it. The band will make it easier for you to eat smaller portions and will make it impossible for you to eat some foods, but that's all it will do. If you are like most (all?) of us, you will probably still need to exert control over what you eat. Good luck. Nancy

My brother is on vacation in Goa, India. That's all I know. I don't know what hotel he was supposed to be at. He's not due back for another 9 days. From what I understand Goa was not really affected by the disastrous Tsunami. But then he said something about going on a river trip. And meeting friends somewhere else. I just would feel so much better if I knew for sure that he was safe. He's my best friend. I'm just posting this as a way to relieve some of my anxiety. Nancy

This is minor league I guess and not really my family, but: My sister's MIL is nuts. She is over 40 and is living with her 18 year-old boyfriend. Her daughter (my sister's step-daughter) got pregnant. The MIL couldn't stand that her daughter was getting so much attention, so she got pregnant, too. And guess what they're going to name the baby? That's right: Abcde. You heard me. "Absidee" Spelled Abcde. Nancy

Greg, you're hilarious! Penni, so glad you had such a wonderful Christmas. I feel robbed. I gained two pounds, yes, but I didn't have any of the fun the rest of you were having. No fudge, no candy, no nothing. Maybe a few too many nuts. I was at 179, but this morning the scale said 181 and this morning is what counts. Oh, well. Nancy

Mark, As you can see, you've hit a nerve. I'm going to try not to repeat what others have said, but I agree with almost all of it. What I want to say to you is that the pain and worry you feel for your son came through in what you wrote. I didn't hear you say that you're ashamed of him. I know you love him and are afraid for him. And you're right. He is killing himself. But he is killing himself very, very slowly. He has time to figure out how to manage his weight. I am 50 and have been morbidly obese for most of my adult life. I didn't start having any health problems at all until last year - high cholseterol and borderline diabetes - but both have responded well to the appropriate treatment including diet and exercise and weight loss. So your son has time. A lot of time. Your son may not let you know it (he may be passively opposing you as a way to resist your pressure to lose weight), but he does not forget for one second of the day that he is morbidly obese. And he wants to be thin. You think he doesn't want it enough? You have no idea. There are so many little things that he cannot physically do. Like bend over. Squat to pick something up. Get out of bed easily. Sit in any chair he wants to. Fasten a seatbelt. Drive without the wheel rubbing against him. Fit in a booth at a restaurant. Pass someone in a corridor. Run to catch the bus. Walk across the room without getting short of breath. Fit in. Be a hunk. Have his pick of girls. You think he doesn't want to be thin? You are probably right when you say there is a genetic component to his obesity. You and your wife are overweight. You are harming your health just as much as he is harming his. Being even mildly overweight increases your risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. You know this, but so far you haven't been able to change. You and your son have exactly the same disease. He's just got a worse case of it. And I challenge you and your wife both to lose your excess weight and keep it off for five years. If you manage to do that you will be among only 5% of people who can. If you can't manage to do that, then I guess you know it's not just because you don't want it. Statistically speaking, it is very unlikely that any amount of diet and exercise will help your son in the long run. He may lose weight, but if he is like the rest of us, he will regain it and more very quickly. Diet and exercise can sometimes help those with less weight to lose, but for the morbidly obese, surgery is the recommended treatment by the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the Lung Heart and Blood Institute of the NIH and many others. My parents are dead now. I know that my weight probably worried them sick. And I know they probably ached for me because of the shame and depression and lonliness I suffered because of my obesity. I always loved and respected them so much for not ever saying one word to me about it. They knew I knew I was fat. They knew I knew they knew I was fat. They knew I knew how to eat better and exercise more. And I guess they knew that if they nagged me about it, that would be just one more reason to feel angry and resentful and to calm myself with food. They were so wise, so wise. I'm sorry they never got to see me thin. But I guess wherever they are now, they know. My heart goes out to you and to your family. I know you are hurting. I pray that all of you will come to the answer that is right for you. Nancy