lisacaron

@@jessiquoi don't give up! Many of us eat for emotional reasons. It doesn't matter if we are sweeties or salties or just volume food lovers. We all here have an unhealthy relationship with our food. We have used it to medicate ourselves for various reasons, and it has become that demon in our lives. You are seeking medical intervention because you have a sickness my friend. Obesity has been termed a disease, and no amount of not buying something or not having it in the house is going to stop you from eating it when you want to. I had been known to get in my car in the middle of the night and drive out for ice cream or chips because the cravings were that bad there was no sleeping it off 7-11 is open 24 hours! Even if I did manage to sleep...let me tell you the next day would be that much worse. Where if I had eaten what I wanted when I wanted it I might have had some self control but after a couple of days of fighting it and myself it won and I could devour the Lay's truck! Your Dr. office needs to work with you in a compassionate way, a way that can reach your soul because that's where this eating comes from. I know many people think that tough love and strong stance is the way to go with us..but remember we are "emotional" eaters. The way to help us is through emotion and understanding. That is not to say by any means to enable us, but to help us to understand our behaviors and why we have them. We know we have them and if we could do this ourselves we would not be here or surgical patients.We need help to unravel all the emotions that are hidden under the bags of ruffels vats of ice cream and chocolate. (those are my demons everyone has different ones even too much broccoli can be bad especially if it's breaded and deep fried like my Aunt used to make.) The place to start is with you my friend. When the demons rear their head ask yourself what that is about? In that moment when your BF left, was it because you were lonely, or felt maybe a sense of freedom that now you were back in control of what and when you would eat something without judgement? That could be scary! You have to trust who...? Yourself? What?! If we can figure out the W's we can reach the W! The Win..or rather the loss!! When something is driving at me and gnawing at me now I go through the who, what, where, why, when, exercise with myself. Then if it comes down to it and there is no other reason for it then because I want to have something. Then I have it no guilt, no pressure and I feel better and I enjoy it and I'm good and I'm done. Oddly enough this stops the "binge" because I allowed myself to enjoy the ice cream bar, or the chips and didn't make myself feel bad about it so once I had my fill it's enough. Yes my friend all of this learning has come post op for me, but for a banded patient until we have that level of restriction in our bands that helps us to eat smaller it takes all this learning up front. If you can do this now...what a GREAT sleever you will be! Don't do it because your doctor is forcing you to, or because you want this surgery now, but do it for YOU. Only for YOU because only you can make be the change you want to see. All my best to you.

I never heard of this before, and oddly enough it's what I have been doing over the last few months. Mostly because of stress and my band being so tight that I just am not hungry and don't even want to eat. Then the stresses will pass and the next day I am hungry and I'll eat again normally, and then go through that I"m just not hungry feeling...and that just amazes me that I am just not hungry, never thought I would feel that way but thank to the band I can say I'm just not hungry.

I agree with you all. I would do it again an I have never regretted having it done. I would have done it earlier, but I wasn't ready for it at that time. Like GW said I think you have to be ready in all ways. Mentally, emotionally, physically all of it. I'm glad I didn't let myself continue down the road I was on and that both my husband and I stopped and took a turn for the betterment of our lives!

Wow I wish they would have glued my incisions instead of stitched I have horrible scars. Looks like I was hit with a shot gun several times even over a year later. Try some ice on the port site it helps with the inside muscle swelling, and will reduce some pain if you have it in any of the other area's. Eating some ice pops is a big help as well to keep hydrated and to help you reduce internal swelling. What helped me with the back/gas pains was lying on a warm heating pad. Do not put it on your incisions but you can put it under your back shoulder and it helps. Good luck! Get up and move but remember to be kind to yourself you have just been through major surgery, so you don't need to do the laundry or make the bed

Good luck to you all! I have faith that you can do this!! It's difficult for sure but in the end it's all worth it! Once my body got used to it, I have to tell you I hadn't felt so good in years and years! Let us know how your all doing after surgery!

I agree with all the posters above, but give your doctors office a call and be sure that you have the directions for your diet correct. See if they have a hand out that gives you some ideas of what you should be eating in those 5 weeks or check with the nutritionist. You need a bit more direction then just stay on liquids for 5 weeks.

It's funny b/c those things don't bother me as much. I think it comes from living with 5 boys who mainly text and use words like Hey and Yo all the time. I also think there are some people who are native to our language and grammar goes totally out the window in those instances. Trust me having to conjugate verbs and getting the spelling and grammar correct in my Spanish and Italian classes was a killer for me! It never stopped people from understanding what I was trying to say, even if they did chuckle or smile at me like I was a total dope

OMG me too!! I love when we do it at ourselves and people look at us like we are crazy but it's because we know the inside joke! which only makes it that much funnier!!

That is wonderful news! It is awesome to have a partner who is in it with you! My husband and I were banded at the same time, well three days apart and we were able to recover together and we "get" each other when it comes to eating and choices about exercise etc. It would be so much harder if I didn't have him at home on the same page with me...and vs.versa for him I'm sure. Kudos to you and your Mom I wish you all the best!

I love these NSV! They are so important and I needed a chortle for the day! My new word of the day is chortle. It's that kind of word that just puts a smile on your face! I enjoy being able to share all these things with each other, makes my day!

Many insurance companies require that 6 month supervised diet. Which is great for their documentation that surgery is indeed necessary, and it's also a good thing for "us" because we know even if we thought we knew before that surgery is the way to go for us. I have seen some who did not need to be on that 6 month program that second guessed through their approval process if surgery was the right choice or if they should just try to lose weight on their own first. So I get the 6 month diet requirement. I also understand where the doctors are coming from by asking you to lose at least 10% or some % of your body weight prior to surgery. It's for your own good, it's healthier for you to have such an invasive surgery if you are not at such a high BMI, unless you have a surgeon who is an expert at operating on patients with high BMI's. If that is not the case then it's best to either find a doctor who has operated on patients with high BMI's regularly with success or try to be compliant and lose the weight prior to the surgery. In the end..the good thing about the weight you lose prior to surgery is that after surgery you won't be gaining it back again and your that much closer to your goals I know you can do you it! Come back here any time all the time for motivation, accountability inspiration or what ever you need! These forums are full of people that have been and are just where you are, and want to help you and themselves get to where we all want to be! Healthy & Happy!!

@@ladytru84 I find that if I eat something when I am already super hungry the first bite will get stuck mostly because I am so hungry the bite is not band sized it's Lisa sized and no matter how much I chew that bite it's just too large a volume and it gets stuck. I would suggest eating smaller more frequent meals through out the day. In the mornings I am super duper tight and just getting my meds in can be work, then other mornings it's 123 and all down and ready to go. The way I "feel" on a given day can affect how my band is. For example I didn't sleep well last night I had a terrible horrible no good very bad day yesterday...and today I am in a foul mood. So my band is not having anything today. I had a cup of mild tea this morning with my morning meds and it was a slow go. I'll try a shake in a bit, and then in an hour or so when my band and I am feeling more friendly I will have something else more substantial. I know that when I"m fickle so is my band and if I force the food in I'm going to regret it BIG time. I did that last night after my horrible day, I just wanted to go home relax and sit on the couch and eat something I was really hungry but my older step son stopped by for a visit and I couldn't very well eat in front of him and I did not have enough chicken to say hey are you hungry. He's a BIG boy he would laugh at my tiny bits of chicken strips...so I didn't eat I entertained him till I had to eventually throw him out at 9:30 b/c I have to get the pups and myself to bed we are up at 5 AM! I was still hungry and I know better then to eat right before bed...but I ate the chicken and about 5 minutes later it all came back up, and I didn't feel or sleep well the rest of the night..hence today's bad mood and cranky band. So I'll be easy with my band and myself today...and break up my meals to mini mini meals and relax and let my band relax as well. Of course I always advocate talking to your Dr.'s but in the interim while you wait for a call back, try breaking your meals down into mini mini meals through out your day and see if that helps your hunger pains as well as the stuck issues with your band. Let us know how your doing!

@@Jim1967 I totally agree with you here. @@4everyoung is having a serious issue with her band and needs a solid answer on what's going on. That said all the comments about band basics and counting calories are in reference to the regain. Yes it's a diet, it was a diet for me prior to surgery and right after surgery for about 7 months until I was able to reach that correct level and even now I vacillate between right and too tight depending on day, pressure stress life etc. I understand where @@4everyoung is at. She is upset and frustrated and not only wants an answer but needs and deserves one! I wish I could make it better for her, but I can't other then to say get thee to the a doctor and if the one you have can only scratch his head get thee to another until there is something found we can only speculate. Until then it's best to keep to those basics so that she doesn't hurt herself internally, and not worry so much about the regain. We all care what happens here...I think everyone with a band can relate to this post, it's something we all question and worry about I bet. @@4everyoung please let us know how you are doing??

Me too! Thanks for the share!

@@WheelCrazy What did your doctor say when you saw him? I am really curious as this very thing happened to me last night. I wasn't stuck on anything, I think I ate too soon before going to sleep and ended up waking up with that reflux that you described where I felt like it was going to burst out my nose. Nothing did but it wasn't a great feeling, and nothing I have experienced before.

@@klk18 my best advice to you on insurance is to keep on top of them and your doctors offices. If you are submitting the forms yourself call the insurance company directly their number is on the back of your card. Remember that these people work for you. You pay your premiums and you have questions and would like some feedback. Same for the Dr. if they are sending over test or paper work on your behalf keep on top of them and get confirmation that the information was sent over don't just take their word for it. Often I find that Doctors will tell you it's being done and that just means it moved from my desk to the next persons desk where it could be done today, next week or next month. The squeaky wheel gets the grease hon so start squealing!!!

@@4everyoung you got some pretty spot on advice above. These are long time successful banded patients. I would question, and keep on questioning until you get an answer. Not just your doctors my friend but question yourself as well. Put yourself on the witness stand and as @@☠carolinagirl☠ said just because you can eat something doesn't mean you should. Our bands no matter how tight we make them aren't going to stop our minds, and that is probably the most powerful thing on the planet. Only you can make the choices of what to eat when to eat etc. Our minds can and often do dictate our behavior and how our body reacts to stimuli including food. Explore every option open to you, ask another doctor about the state of your band not because you don't trust your own doctor but because 4 eyes and 2 minds are better then one and someone might see something that your doc doesn't. The band won't take away your "hunger" and I could eat 2 steaks a whole bucket of southern fried chicken and lord knows what else..but you know what it would probably take me a week or more to do it. That is because I have good restriction in my band and I couldn't cram that much food down no matter how much I wanted to it would come right back up. Trust me I have tried it, when out eating a delicious meal I think oh I just want that one more bite even though I know I have had enough..and then that one more bite...makes what was so good I couldn't get enough dreadful as I pushed it too far with one bite and made myself sick. I will give you this pearl of wisdom that my Nutritionist gave once and has stuck with me. It should take you 20 minutes to eat a meal. No more and no less. If you are eating for less than 20 minutes you are eating too fast and not practicing good band eating mechanics. (cutting thing small and chew chew chewing putting your fork and knife, spoon down between bites allowing food to pass the band.) If you are taking LONGER then 20 minutes to eat then you are eating into your next meal. So if your eating Breakfast for 30 minutes you have just eaten part of your lunch as well. Now that is food for thought @@KarenWB don't be discouraged there are MANY people who have had GREAT success with the band, and what one person's experience is does not mean that will be yours in any way. We all have our own journey and every WLS has it's good bad and ugly stories. My advice to you is to do your due diligence. Research, read, speak to your Dr. your friends and family (if applicable) and read the many many posts good and bad on this site and decide what's right for YOU. Only you would know that answer. Your doctor can guide you based on your medical history but YOU live in that body, and only you can make this decision. Don't give up!

What GW said is very true. This is not an easy journey you have to work it. The band or any other WLS tool is not going to change your thinking or eating habits. You have to do that. You want to be compliant in band eating mechanics so you don't hurt yourself. Go back to the basics and try a "reset" in mind and eating. Add some cardio and resistance training you can do this!!!

OK so I am an anomaly like my Lizzie tells me. I love ME. I'm not a narcissist, or have a narcissistic tendency. I just enjoy my life. If you pop by my house on the weekend you will find me in my grubbiest clothes sneakers or flip flops hair in a tussle and no make up on. If I run into you in the super market after work or the drug store you might very well find the same thing. I love to get dressed up and put on my make up and I used to always have these long nails but recently just decided that I like them kind of short it's easier for me to type without hitting all the extra keys and take care of the puppies and lift weights! I have gained and lost along the years, but I have to say that my motivation was never my confidence. When I got married for the first time I was 17 years old, I was 8 months pregnant and wore my mothers wedding gown which was a size 5! yep belly and all it fit me that's how tiny I was. Fast forward to 2 years ago at the largest I have ever been and the most weight I have ever carried and I married the love of my life TWICE! We had two wedding ceremonies and I wore two totally different gowns, and had them both aired live so everyone could watch and enjoy! (I didn't invite a soul to join us at the event itself, I was the happiest bride you can ever imagine!) When we got home I had a huge brunch for all the family and friends who made my day by not attending my ceremonies!! I wore this tiny little Marilyn Monroe number, and you know what Large Lisa rocked it, and my hubby looked awesome too! Confidence has nothing to with size, it has to do with state of mind. If you let someone tell you that you are fat and ugly and you give them the power to make you feel badly about who you are then you have a problem with YOU. I don't know anyone I have never met another human being who is not totally amazing! If you believe you are then honey you are! What I think, is what you think. What people around you think and say are what you think and say they are your reflections and people will reflect back to you what you put out there. So put YOU out there and be who and how you want to be. Red hair, Purple, Green Fat skinny freckles, what ever! You can be an anomaly just like me you just gotta like yourself!

So some of you ladies know me, from my posts and some have met me in person. I have always been out there and larger then life in more ways then one! I have a big mouth, a sharp wit a comedic sense of timing lots of opinions, observations, and constructive criticism and I am not afraid to use and share them all. I don't think I have ever been good at hiding because of this...I have never been able to just "blend in" with the crowd. Strangers come up and talk to me even when I am sending out the **ck off vibe. Since WLS I really try not to bite the heads off of people too often they tend to get stuck. (OK only kidding I'm not a cannibal but just getting me in that kind of mood really can cinch that band which only makes my mood worse) Talk about judging a book by it's cover! Most people encounter my awesome hubby and they think Uh oh don't piss that guy off he might pound you into the ground! Big or small he's still got the arms and shoulders of Popeye and his voice is deep and he has a bit of a growl. Little do they know that he's the most gentle person and they really should be asking him for directions and help because this little blond green eyed chick just might have to make you cry! There are days when I wish I could hide, and I want to hide and honestly sometimes I do. I'll lock myself up in my bedroom and just turn off the world for a little bit. I love doing all the things I do, and I love being with people and I don't care much about how I look or they look, I'm not the house inspector I don't care about your job or car or any of that BS. I just enjoy life, I have seen and been a part of too much tragedy in life I learned at a young age that you have to just suck it up for all it's worth every second and every chance you get. I have my days don't get me wrong, but when I need to disconnect I do. Sometimes it's more difficult then others, and when I don't the universe comes along and does it for me. You know like getting rear ended and getting sick and being forced to just take it easy even if I want to do a million things You ladies all are looking amazing and I hope you are feeling as amazing about yourselves. Because it's not just about your look it's about who you are! With all your good advice and stuff that you share here you are nothing short of that so get out there and enjoy!!!!

The band is not a quick fix. Some bandsters are lucky and just the placement of the band works for them they never need a fill they stick to band sized portions and they drop their weight quickly. The average bandster does not fall into this category. It takes time for us to get to know and live with our band. It takes some time for our bands to become adjusted properly to provide that sense of satiety from meal to meal in proper proportion. Sometimes we might not feel hungry between meals and go for 4 hours between but when we do eat our volume of food is too large and/or we want and have second helpings if we start with the small portion. Lets face it if we were good at eating the proper portions at the right times we would not have needed the surgery. For the average bandster it will take a year or two to lose the desired amount of weight. Now don't let that discourage you because the longer it takes to lose the weight the better it is for your body, and the better the chance that you will keep it off and not gain it back. Be compliant with your band and the guidelines the doctors give you. They tell you now to cut small bites and chew chew chew and you probably can eat just the way you used to...but as you move forward and your fills increase you will see why practicing all these things NOW is going to be necessary later and you will be glad that you have the eating mechanics down pat. Give it time and enjoy being banded The weight will come off and what's more it will be the right kind of weight that you lose. The fat and not the muscle, muscle we want to keep it's what makes us lean.

@@shantra you want to be in the best of health, and if your not the goal is to get there. That's why your going through all these tests to have WLS. If you have not gone for the sleep study yet, schedule one. There are ways to treat your sleep apnea that will help tremendously. It's not just about snoring, it's about getting that restful restorative sleep and enough oxygen to your body while you are sleeping. If you are not breathing which I suspect is what's happening when you sleep that can be dangerous. My husband had this issue, long before we even thought about WLS he was falling alseep all the time we could not watch a Movie or a ball game with out him nodding off. I sent him for a sleep study, the snoring never bothered me I could probably sleep through a nuclear war, but he was not right. In the study they found that he was getting less then an hour of actual sleep and waking up hundreds of times through out the night. They gave him a CPAP that was regulated pressure and monitored and what a huge change that made for him. As for the cardiac stuff, don't worry the condition that you have your doc is right it will help when improve when you loose the weight. Even in the pre-op liquid diet you will lose some weight and you will be amazed at how much better your feel. I also have/had some cardiac issues prior to surgery. I had an attack at a very young age due to rapid blood loss, I have a heart murmurer, high blood pressure and all that not so fun stuff prior to surgery. I go for a stress test every year, and it's not bad and since losing weight and being more active I am shocked as is my doctor at how much more fit I am in both a cardiac sense and a physical sense. Losing the weight was the best thing I could have done for my heart and my life. I even ran/walked/ran a 5K in June and I never thought I would be able to do that! Good luck to you, take it all in stride get healthy!! These are the first steps to a new you! Work with your doctors follow their advice and you will do great!

My friend DETOX is not a myth. When you change your diet and eliminate things like artificial by products and processed foods and meats nd other things your body is VERY much going through a detox. A person who is clearing their system from something as simple as sugar can experience the symptoms of a person detoxing from heroine. We are not naturalpaths, that are anti- scientific we are just educated on what our bodies are going through as we make changes to our diet. Our bodies adapt to the changes in our environment and that includes the things we choose to pollute it with. It's not that our bodies are full of toxins it's just that they are used to a certain intake of the drug we call food and overeating it. During the pre-op diet you are cleansing, and removing these items from your diet and your system, and your liver is shrinking as the fat that is in it and around it is finally able to metabolize and be released. Now this is scientific fact for you. If you are adding fatty foods, sugary foods, in your diet your liver is being drowned and destroyed by them. An obese person can have cirrhosis of the liver even if they never had a drink in their life time just from the over consumption of food and being obese. Do a bit of research before you think that the symptoms of detox are only a myth made up by people looking for an excuse for how they are feeling. What they are feeling is real and has science to back it up.

@@NoDramaLlama I just wanted to comment on your experience with the band. I'm sorry that this happened to you, and your right in the case of scar tissue you did not fail your band. The band did not fail you, it just didn't work for you in the way it was intended. This happens to people who have hip replacements and knee replacements sometimes our body builds up scar tissue and the implants don't function the way they are intended. It's an unfortunate thing for sure and painful and traumatic and so much more I can imagine. That said though it's not fair to bash the band or the patient. Most of the time gastric banding doesn't' work for the patient because they are not compliant with the the necessary follow up care. They are either not educated enough or their doctors don't offer or require follow up care after the surgery. Every person who considers WLS no matter what the surgery modality is needs to educated themselves and interview their doctors and hospitals and get a very clear and comfortable sense of what to expect from them before, during and most importantly after surgery. Bypass and sleeve patients can walk away only to have issues with regain and malabsorbtion of nutrients, bone loss and other affects down the road and they have long since been seen by their surgeon. No WLS is a set it and forget it. That is the biggest misconception I see in the WLS community today from patients and doctors alike. I need as much follow up care from my bariatric surgeon as I do from my cardiologist. My cardio doctor runs his tests and sees me regularly. Not because I have had a heart attack or have other heart problems, but to be sure that I never have a heart problem and that from a cardiac standpoint I am taking care of myself. Just like my dentist does, and my dermatologist and my hair dresser who makes sure my grey's are covered and my blond is just the right shade and falls just as it should. I can't say enough about follow up care for WLS patients!! Dr.'s out there...we need it, you should make it a requirement!!!

The thing about low blood sugar and the symptoms that you get from it is something to look out for. Yes you are on a liquid diet and your going to be for some time even after surgery. The key to avoiding those low blood sugar dips is to be consistent and keep yourself on a time schedule. When I went through pre-op and then post op diet I had a schedule and I kept to it. So after the first couple of days my body was used to the fact that I was going to have a shake at 9am and then drink some Water by 10 and by 11 I would be giving it something sustaining again either a shake or SF/FF pudding or Greek yogurt and in between I would be hydrating. So my tummy was always having something in it and when I need to "bite" something I would have a piece of sugar free gum to get that chewing feeling in. You can do this and once you have your surgery you will be able to modify the schedule according to what your WLS dictates. If your not hungry you won't eat. If your feeling hungry or blood sugar is low you will and it will be just enough and those issues will regulate and not be something to focus on anymore. Good luck, You can do this!