Kitt3000

we all know what you rant about. there are so many things we have all endured over the years. don't worry it won't be long after your surgery for that normal size cuff to fit. good luck on your surgery.

Ranting is a great thing. It will help you remember in the weeks leading up to surgery why you are going through with it. It will especially help during the hellacious weeks before when you are on the liquid only diet. You are about to experience one of the most amazing things. You will get to rediscover your body and what it is capable of. Before too long, you will be able to get your blood preassure taken on a normal cuff. It will be amazing.
I highly recommend you check out my blog. The link is below. There is a series of posts on there about how I prepare for my surgery that I think would be very helpful for you. If there is anything else I can do to help or any questions I can answer, please let me know.

Thank you both for putting up with my ranting I will try to keep my head up. I know it's only for a short amount of time and things will start to change hopefully for the better and good luck Ruth1966. Waiting is definitely a pain ????

Your life is about to change for the better in so many ways. All of these things that we endured for so many years are about to be a thing of the past. Stay strong. Wonderful times ahead!

you can rant all you want. That is what we are here for. I completely understand. I have the same problem with the blood pressure cuff but they have to put it around my forearm instead of up on the bicep. I have just finished all my requirements and am waiting to hear from insurance and then it's a go. so hang in there.

So I live in Japan, and it's a beautiful country but every time I step outside of my apartment All I see are beautiful and skinny Japanese girls. It does get depressing at times. But, on to my story.
I had to go to the lady clinic today, and after an hour and a half of waiting for a 5 second chat with the doctor for my refills, she says the nurse will need to check my blood pressure. Not so bad right?? Well that is actually the depressing part of my visits. My blood pressure is fine, but they always have to get the next size up on the arm thing to check my BP. And now that I write this I feel stupid for getting so upset over that but it's a little embarrassing to have this tiny size 0 Japanese girl attempt to take my bp only to try to shove my fat arm into the wrap and then have to go get a bigger size because it's too small.
I'm having my gastric sleeve surgery in December and I'm just ready to start my life over and not get so emotional when something small happens.
Sorry about the rant.

Day 8. Im still here! Ive learned some very valuable lessons through trial and error over the last few days. On monday my doc said I could hit the soft stuff see how I do. I did great. SF pudding. Good. Hard boiled egg chewed reallly well, goood. Cream of wheat Goood. Everything was awesome until I was cooking dinner for my family and it was bowtie Pasta. Out of habit I guess when I went to test the bowtie I popped it in my mouth gave a chew or two to see if they were done and swallowed. I IMMEADIATELY knew what I did was a big ruht roh scooby and I waited. I felt it go down and then get to the band. Now this is where it got tricky. I felt one piece I chewed off I guess pass through the band (Weirdest feeling ever I wont lie) and then the other slip to the band then stop. I just stood frozen I had no idea wtf to do. And then it hurt. So I took a few sips of Water....and then...well you can imagine what happened next.
I was so damn mad at myself all night because I messed up. But a lesson learned is a lesson earned I always say.
I dont own a scale so I have no idea if Ive made any more progress. I do know my jeans dont fit and I no longer have a second chin. Guess Ill have to pick one up.

**EDIT** Pick up a scale. Not an extra chin

love this question..can't wait to see everyones answers

@@Kitt3000 You questions are great! Thanks for posting. My answers as just about everyone's answers are going to be subjective as the band and the way it works is different for everyone. The band becomes almost as much a part of us as our personality does and can vary as much from person to person with some similar traits.
Obviously, if you can't get Water down, you are too tight. 100% if you can't swallow Water or your own saliva get thee to the Dr. ASAP!
If you can get a full cup of water down in one continuous drink- not sipping, are you too loose?No you are not too loose. You should be able to drink normally, you never want to guzzle down water in one continuous gulp and even without the band you would not want to do this. It's not good for your digestion.
If your food goes right past your band with no stopping, but you can eat smaller portions and feel satisfied for two hours, are you too loose? No you are not too loose. This is exactly what the band is supposed to do. You should not have to struggle to have food pass the band. Or feel it squeeze it's way through, if you are too often that could be a sign that your a bit on the tight side.
If your food stays with you for four or more hours, feeling satisfied and not hungry, are you too tight? ​This is a double sided question. So #1 if your food stays with you and is not passing the band to the lower part of your stomach...and/or if you have upset tummy acid reflux or reguritation then YES you are too tight and need to see the Dr. ASAP. If you are satisfied and not hungry for 4 or more hours with no symptoms of food laying in your upper pouch, then your in the right place and our band is working optimally.
If all you can think about is food, are you hungry and obsessed ? Or just obsessed? This is a subjective question that for me has more to do with my state of mind at the time. Sometimes I am truly hungry and I will eat and sometimes I am ravenously hungry and I can eat more then I can at other times. There are also times when I am obsessed...or just looking for that "comfort" of food to soothe my emotions and these are the times you want to learn to distinguish from each other. If you are hungry you should eat, if you are obsessing about food then you need to find something to do that gratifies you without the extra calories. For me that can be reading, writing, meditating listening to music, or even calling a friend to vent.
If you never think of food, but know you have ate very little that day, are you too tight?​ No you are not too tight you are in the sweet spot eating little feeling good and not even thinking about food. It's the unicorn we all want to find.
What is a portion size? Is it 1/4 cup of dense Protein? One slice of deli meat? Portion sizes for the band should be the size of a tennis ball or the palm of your hand. A slice of deli meat is not enough. You want to ensure that you are getting in the correct number of grams of Protein, and that can vary from person to person. You can use tools like cups and grams to measure portion sizes. There are some bariatric plates you can use, to section out meals I love the Precise Portion plates and dinner ware because it's pretty and no one has to know what it is if you don't want them to:)
http://www.preciseportions.com

If there is one thing I have found out.. Getting too hungry is a recipe for disaster with my band.

Obviously, if you can't get Water down, you are too tight.
If you can get a full cup of water down in one continuous drink- not sipping, are you too loose?
If your food goes right past your band with no stopping, but you can eat smaller portions and feel satisfied for two hours, are you too loose?
If your food stays with you for four or more hours, feeling satisfied and not hungry, are you too tight?
If all you can think about is food, are you hungry and obsessed ? Or just obsessed?
If you never think of food, but know you have ate very little that day, are you too tight?
What is a portion size? Is it 1/4 cup of dense Protein? One slice of deli meat?
Veterans of the band, please weigh in on the topic and feel free to add your questions and comments.

Awesome!!

@@readysetg070113 still here on #6! Sorry about the anxiety and insomnia -- I know that world. These days I try not to worry about what I'll be like the next day as I'm discovering I don't need as much sleep as I thought (or maybe a heavier person requires more sleep? or perhaps it's just the getting older?). Sometimes that actually releases me from worry and I'm able to fall asleep again. Other times I know it's not going to happen and I get up and put in work time. So glad to have this forum.

complications are horrible. I pray that there is a explanation other than a leaking band. I lost a cc of Fluid but the tests were all normal, no leaking band. you are doing so well. keep up the good work even if there is a problem. it is hard. but can be done. hope all goes well.

Sounds over simplistic, but listen to your body. Grab rest and a nap whenever you can. I remember this feeling soooo well. As far as food is concerned, I remember fixing some hot cream of wheat, kind of runny, and thinking it was the best thing I had ever ate! Lol!
It gets better my friend! When you are allowed, a Proteins shake, smoothie, frappe , will help you feel like you too are having a treat, while hubs has ice cream. When you are properly adjusted, you will find you can easily pass up the desserts... You are on your way, it's going to be amazing!

Sounds over simplistic, but listen to your body. Grab rest and a nap whenever you can. I remember this feeling soooo well. As far as food is concerned, I remember fixing some hot cream of wheat, kind of runny, and thinking it was the best thing I had ever ate! Lol!
It gets better my friend! When you are allowed, a Proteins shake, smoothie, frappe , will help you feel like you too are having a treat, while hubs has ice cream. When you are properly adjusted, you will find you can easily pass up the desserts... You are on your way, it's going to be amazing!

Sounds over simplistic, but listen to your body. Grab rest and a nap whenever you can. I remember this feeling soooo well. As far as food is concerned, I remember fixing some hot cream of wheat, kind of runny, and thinking it was the best thing I had ever ate! Lol!
It gets better my friend! When you are allowed, a Proteins shake, smoothie, frappe , will help you feel like you too are having a treat, while hubs has ice cream. When you are properly adjusted, you will find you can easily pass up the desserts... You are on your way, it's going to be amazing!

Surgery went well. Now I start over new! Liquids.....mushies and so on. It was so nice to sleep last night with no heartburn or acid reflux. I didn't have to prop 4 pillows behind my head and back to sleep sitting up. On the road once again.

Do they have any idea what caused the slip? Good luck with the surgery.

He doesn't know for sure but I think I know. I had my band put in May 2013. Great weight loss, absolutely no issues, very rarely did I get stuck. Until April 2014!!! I had one very bad stuck episode which caused me to thrown up all night to the point that it was acid coming up. Ever since this episode I've had problems. Getting stuck easily, can't eat some of the food I normally can eat, but mostly constant heartburn and terrible acid reflux. I even had all the saline taken out in July 2014, but that still didn't do it. So here I am 7 months later finally getting this taken care of. I waited too long to tell my Dr. what was going on.

I decided to get the band to lose 45-50 pounds. I did not want that to turn into 75, then 100, then 150lbs. I stopped while I was ahead.
There is a lot of heart problems, high blood pressures, even diabetes in my family....
So my recommendation to you is to go for it. I've lost 30 lbs very quickly in the past and put it back on even quicker!!!! Yes the band was pretty drastic for me my I am sure it will be my life saver in the future:)

You are not going to influence other individual's opinions; so don't allow yourself to be "irked" about it. It's just a waste of your time and energy.
There have been spirited discussions on this forum in the past with some members feeling that they could "not relate" to forum participants who began their weight loss journey weighing "only 200 something pounds", and actually referred to people weighing in the 200-250 pound range as "skinny", when the member had begun their journey at over 300 pounds.
I assured her that anyone who was "5 ft something" and weighed 200 plus pounds was definitely not "skinny", and that the individual's reasons and needs to loose weight were different for everyone. No one should be judged about the WLS surgery based on their size; there are too many mitigating reasons which are not common knowledge to judge others.
I don't judge others, and expect the same courtesy in return...

I heard many of the same things. My weight is well proportioned. When I'd tell people how much I weighed, many would be shocked.
I'd say, so I should continue to gain until I am in full blown diabetes and heart disease? I don't deserve treatment because I just barely qualify? You don't walk on my knees, hips, and feet every day.
If I only had one blocked artery in my heart, rather than four, do I not deserve to have it treated? Or do I have the heart attack? My appendix was only a little infected, so I should have waited until it burst? Our society is still biased.
I thank them for their concern and say that surgery might not have been the right decision for them, but after all my research, with my medical history, and on the advice of my primary care doctor and my surgeon, whom I trust and respect, I have decided to proceed. (Using the medical team's name usually shuts them up, as they are not doctors!)
Now, 4.5 years and 75 lbs later most people agree that I made the right decision for me. It might not be right for everyone. I don't tell anyone that they should run out and get surgery. If asked about my experience I gladly talk about it, but I don't encourage anyone to have surgery. I tell them to research and make the most informed decision they can.
I had to learn to shut those conversations down in a polite way. It's sort of a debate-team type of thing. But it really isn't open for discussion. When you say it in a matter of fact way that I have done my research, my doctors agree, and it is the right decision for me, maybe not for you, but thank you--then change the subject...there really is no reply for it.

Boy oh boy, I know this one -- the whole taking up of time and space, being "too big" in a way. So, when we were bigger we were taking up less of that kind of space -- offing ourselves? And the getting too personal, feeling judged. I find myself worrying over offending two different people this week. As I come further into my own this will be inevitable, I suppose. If I stand up for myself or elect what I want instead of meeting others' needs first, then there will be times when things don't line up. Yikes, disappointing some one? Well, I disappointed myself for years instead -- no more. And no tamping down those feelings with food so there they are, front and present.
It's great that you were able to really tune in and notice that you weren't getting a stop signal -- and that you chose healthy food to eat. As for the Wham Bam Thank You Mam, maybe the doctor felt like he got too personal and he pulled back for some reason of his own -- thoughts of Italy might have swept him away for a moment and he felt uncomfortable. The last two times I saw my Bariatric surgeon I found myself to be quite effusive -- I'm so excited, and being in that setting is a reminder of how far I've come. I think I blow them all away a bit, that I am an unusual person anyway, artist type, etc. Shy but then spurts of Not Shy. I look forward to being in situations where people are not comparing me to what I was like before, seeing me as a size change, etc. I want to be taken as I am.
Your posts are wonderful -- yes, lucky us for being on the sidelines.

Good morning! I work for a Bariatric Surgeon with over 25 years experience of successful weight loss surgeries and I sent him your question. Ara Keshishian, MD wants to provide you guys with more resources to learn about your procedures and lifestyle post-procedure. Here is his reply:

“I do not recommend this, since there is no scientific evidence that placing the patient on a liquid diet for any period of time, does anything to distorted anatomy after the band. In general Protein shakes are good food replacement- substitute, as long as the carb to Protein ration is better than 1:3 (a Protein shake with 5 g CHO:20g protein is better than 10 g of CHO with 40grams of protein)”

If you have any other questions you'd like answered, please let me know and I'll send them to him!