mjsafari

DH update (Toni thanks for worrying!) - a little better today. He decided to try Taco Bueno refried beans last night and was able to eat them with very little burning. He drank some water this morning and had some more beans without burning, so HOPEFULLY he is on the road to recovery. He was so happy to have "real" food, you would have thought the beans with sour cream was a 3 course meal from a 5 star restaurant! He is down to 259, so that is 89lbs total.

I am not sure - he said the nurse tried the 2nd time but couldn't get anymore out, so she got the doc. He got out a bigger syringe and pulled really hard and was finally able to get more out. They said the band does different things with the fluid in everyone. Very strange. I am back down this morning, so no need to change the ticker! I like the rule of not changing :-)~

I think I finally have what I would call restriction. If I eat too big a bite - which I tend to do the first couple of bites - it hurts like the dickens and I have to put the fork down. After the pain is past I am able to eat small bites and CHEW some more until I feel full. It is never very much 1/2-3/4 of cup of food. While I was at my convention there was a lot of good food, but I definitely could NOT over eat. Shrimp was slow going down, and I could only get a couple bites of hamburger in. I sipped water so I could eat just one more bite of the best mashed potatoes I have ever had - Peruvian purple! I gained a pound while I was gone (i am not changing the ticker!) - I am sure it was the Midwest airlines Chocolate Chip cookie! I did have a couple of small dessert items also, but with all the food that was there I felt really good that I couldn't over eat. Before I would have sat down with nothing but potatoes on my plate and then gone back for more. This time I left food behind every single time. Now for the horror story - my husband is having ALOT of trouble. He thinks it was triggered by painfully stuck food over a week ago followed by severe sliming and PBing. A day after that, he couldn't get anything down without sliming and PBing, even water burned. He had trouble all weekend, so the nurse called him in Carfate on Sunday. He went in to have fluid removed (he had 3ccs from surgery) on Monday. The nurse was able to get less than 1cc out. This did not provide any relief though, he couldn't get water in without it burning. He went back in and the doc took another 1.6cc out, then had him do a barium swallow. The barium took 5 minutes to go through. The doc was worried it wasn't going to go through at all, but he has a little tiny hole with severe esophageal swelling. He is able to get some water and Gatorade in along with some pudding and mashed potatoes, but he is still in pain. They said he would just have to baby it along for now, so he continues to take the Carfate and his Prilosec, and sips a little bite every 15 minutes. He is not a happy camper right now and the pain is so bad sometimes, he told the doc he would consider having the band taken out! Hopefully he can hang on, the doc is watching him very closely.

there is a thread with instructions - I can't get it to paste. Search: How to get a ticker in your signature It is in Community Center/LBT Forum Suggestions/How to

Wow Stef - I would be happy if your in progess was my after! You are doing great :-)

Hi all from Sunny Florida (hotel has free computer and internet in room) - Gaylord Palms. It is a beautiful place. Just wanted to say GOOD JOB everyone! We are getting there! I really feel my restriction working, even when my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I have left food on the plate at every meal - very big deal for me. What a difference 50lbs makes, I could buckle my seat belt on the plane, I am not tired from walking between meetings, and I am NOT sweating like a pig! I will post a before picture when I get back home. Should we start a picture thread for our group, so we don't clutter up this one?

Dreno - You can do this - it is worth it! The pre-op diet is NOT your forever diet. I had 4 weeks off, but I could have gone back in a week. I flew to Orlando today on Midwest and was proud to show my co-worker/friend that I could buckle the seat belt! I never asked for extensions before, I just hid the belt and buckle under my belly/shirt when they came by to check. I don't have to worry about that now!

look in the produce department - with the bananas.

Picture - Big & Rich, 2 Foot Fred, and Cowboy Troy. You may have heard the song - Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy or their new #1 Lost in the Moment, but if you don't listen to country, you may not of! :-) That is all I listen too now, but I also like good old Rock and Roll - Stones, Aerosmith, Van Halen. I am off to Orlando for a business meeting, so I will see how flying goes with the band. I should be able to buckle the seatbelt now without an extension! Talk to you all on Wednesday! Have a great week.

this is what I went to the fair for. A friend at work DH is a DJ, so he had meet and greet passes. He was nice enough to give up his for me. I had already bought my front row center stage ticket, so this was an added bonus worth posting my first pic for!

Stef - THANKS! I am happy also. Deep Fried Twinkie - dipped in funnel cake batter and stuck in the deep fryer long enough for that to cook. The sponge of the Twinkie kind of absorbs the funnel cake batter and the creamy inside gets all gooey. It is VERY sweet - I had 2 bites a couple of years ago way before the band and couldn't eat anymore, so after my fill, it didn't even sound good anymore. I have not actually PBd or slimed yet - but I definitely have the stuck feeling if I eat too large a bite! It hurts!

I think I finally have good restriction, at least for now. I am 2 days out from my 3rd fill. I am only able to eat small amounts at one time, I have to take VERY small bites and have to sip any fluids. This is good! I hope it stays. I finally broke my plateau! Going to the state fair in 95 degree weather, the day after a fill is what did it! :-) I didn't eat any "fair food", all I had was one big lemonade. I was planning on a bite of a fried Twinkie, but I felt full most of the day, so I didn't even want that. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

My husband can get stuck on anything also. He usually stops eating if he gets stuck bad enough to PB. If he waits and it moves on down, he can then usually finish what he is eating - VERY SLOWLY. I really think the trick is the old rules - small bites and eat slowly. He has been sliming and PBing from the beginning, so he didn't have any time to adjust. I notice when food goes down okay he has followed the rules. My husband had severe acid reflux pre-op and had been taking prilosec for years. He had an upper GI last year that showed pre-Barrett's. He has a follow-up GI next Friday, so I will be interested to see what the doc says. He has had NO reflux since surgery and doesn't take his Prilosec anymore. I really think that is the cause of his issues.

we can make Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday work - we will find someone to keep the kids!

First Bite Syndrome - I really think that is a big reason my husband continues to lose. Once he gets stuck, he doesn't go back and eat more. A stuck for him means sliming and PBing almost every time. In the evening with enough coffee, he can usually get a full meal in even if the first bite feels a little stuck. I don't think I could stand that, but he seems to accept it and keep going.

Suzzie - I definitely get that way and I am tired of it. It forces me to eat when I don't want to and I don't always make good choices. I get a headache, sweaty and very shaky if I go too long without eating. At certain times of the month it is worse than others, so I always related it to hormones versus diabetes or hypoglycemia. I think I have to keep my carbs at the level just above spilling ketones - between 40-60g for me. I know I feel worse and more sluggish when I have too many carbs also.

Janine - my fill went just fine. He put back 1.25cc, the water went down fine - just paused a little bit. I had the inside of baked potato for dinner, ate very slow, and it went down fine. I hope to have good restriction this time, because I don't see him for a month. Thanks for asking! You are great at catching up with everyone! Husband update - try not to hate him, I have to try very hard cause I live with him :-) He is down to 263 from 348, so 85lbs in 3 months! He will easily hit 100lbs by 4 months without one fill and no exercise. The trade off though is that he has all the issues with band, first bite syndrome, can't eat without something hot first, sliming (even without eating), and PBs. He loves it and is learning to work with it though, he wouldn't change a thing.

back from my 3rd fill today. I was down 7lbs since last fill, but 6 of those were from the 4 days I was too tight after the last fill, so I only lost 1lbs in 10 day! I did not make my goal of 50lbs at my two month, but the doc was happy with my weight loss. He put in 1.25ccs, so we will see how that goes. He was going to put in 1.5, but felt some resistance so he stopped. I hope it gives me enough, not to be hungry, especially since I don't see him for a month this time. I am hungry every 3 hours no matter what I eat! It is very frustrating. Total fills in 10cc AP band: 4cc, 3cc, -1cc, 1.25cc = 7.25

I am scheduled for a fill on Wednesday - I can't wait. I am so mad I couldn't tough out my last fill and had to have some out. Now I am back to hungry all the time and able to eat more than I want to. I have tried really hard to eat small, but it is tough not having restriction. Stef - I admire your dedication to exercise. I have yet to get going, but we are talking about joining the local community center. I think a lot of us are in bandster hell right now. I would love some more help from my band, but I know I just need to be patient - easier said than done. We can do this!

If you don't see or talk to your family everyday, don't feel pressured to tell them. You are only in the hospital over night and are almost back to normal in a few days. When the weight starts to come off or they notice how you eat, just say you have made the decision to eat healthy and lose weight and that you would appreciate their support. I really wish I hadn't told my family - my sister who had bypass 25 years ago, started right out saying it won't work. My Mom of course chimed right in with her, since she is older and had bypass, she must know everything. Never mind that I am nurse and made this decision after a year of research. Well they both had to shut-up after my husband lost 75lbs in a little over 2 months, but I am sure they are just waiting for me to fail. Sorry not planning on it. Wal-mart - yes everything does get around there! My husband is a CSM, he tried everything not to tell, but personnel wouldn't let him have his FMLA without specifics. He did NOT tell any of his managers, but someone came up to him the other day and said, I heard you had surgery on your stomach and proceeded to tell him all about the people they knew who had the band or bypass. With his weight loss it is hard to deny that he had something done, so he didn't say anything at all. If you know in your heart this is the right decision, then it is no one else's business. Tell them or don't, just don't worry about what they have to say. I have had to say this to a couple of people: Would you question surgery if it could cure an alcoholic or drug addict? Easy way out: Major surgery, general anesthesia, diet and exercise for the rest of my life - ya' that sounds easy.

Okay so we go to Chili's last night for dinner. I look over the menu and decide to get boneless buffalo wings. Now I know they have breading and I was having a creamy bleu cheese dressing, but I was only going to eat half. I was actually pretty proud of myself because I chose not to order a dinner, just the wings. As my husband said if you don't need it, don't order it. So I followed the rules - ate slow, chewed well, put my fork down and was full on half. Good for me - I thought. I brought the other half for lunch today - again full on 4 wings. So then I got the bright idea to go check the nutrition on my very yummy wings. OMG - if it would help I would throw them all up! Over 1000 calories, 85 grams of fat and 50 carbs! I can't tell how much of that is in the dressing because they don't list it separately, but that doesn't really matter because I had some dressing by itself!:eek: Well lesson learned I guess or just accepted. I am counting this as my TOM binge (even though that was over last Friday) and will try to make better choices. I am NOT getting on the scale until I see my surgeon for another fill next Wednesday. It has not moved in several day! I am mad that I had to get an unfill and confused about how much I should have put back in. I am tired of being hungry. Enough ranting, this to shall pass I hope!

I can tell you from my husband's experience, he has to drink hot liquid before he can eat anything. He was banded in May and has not had any fills, he has been sliming since about 2 weeks out. He will fix coffee or tea before he eats or orders it when we are eating out. After the hot liquid he can usually get food down, he has been able to eat meat, but it has to be very moist.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f93/june-2007-bandsters-33199/index162.html Be sure and join us on the June 2007 board. Everyone is having very different levels of success.

does your surgeon have a nutritionist that you could talk to? They may be able to suggest a change that would help. I have had success without exercise, but it is quickly becoming apparent that won't last. If you aren't exercising, that may be something to consider. I would suggest reviewing your sodium intake, you want to keep that low so the water you are drinking will flush through your system versus being retained. Maybe replace the soup with a protein, so you are getting at least 45-60grams per day. Some one had posted once that you need to get in at least 1000 cals or your body will go in to starvation mode and stop your weight loss. Keep looking around, I am sure there are more suggestions on here. Good Luck!

April - What are you liquids? If they aren't low cal, low carb, you may want to consider a change. My husband and I used SlimFast low carb protein drinks with success pre-op. For snacks between protein, we had egg drop soup or just chicken broth, and SF/FF Popsicles. We also did not have any carbonated soda - even sugar/calorie free. We drank mostly water, but had iced tea with Splenda or Stevia sometimes. Hope this helps! Good Luck