backpacking5

I had a good experience with my sleep study. They gave me something to relax a little and hooked me up, felt like I was in a sci-fi movie with all the wires everywhere. I slept for awhile then she came in and put a CPAP on me and finished out the night. The goopy stuff washed out of my hair easy enough. I do have sleep apnea, and really love my machine, I sleep so good, and feel human in the mornings. It is the first thing I pack when we go overnight somewhere. Took it to the hospital when I had surgery. We even bought a marine battery so we can go camping (in a tent) and it will last for at least 5 days before it needs to be charged. I have anxiety issues with feeling like I can't breathe (I mean really bad) so I kind freak out when I think about trying to sleep without it. I want to be able to go backpacking and into the Boundary Waters canoeing again, kinda hard to do that with a huge battery to carry, so I will be very, very happy when I lose this weight and hopefully correct the sleep apnea. But my CPAP has been a life saver for me and I am greatful for it.

Here's a great article by a leader in Lap Band surgery:
The Lap-band is NOT about Restriction
When talking about the band, some patients talk about restriction. Let's first be clear about one thing: the purpose of the band is not restriction; the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite.
When band professionals talk about restriction we are talking about something totally different than "restricting what a person eats." In fact, many band surgeons avoid talking about restriction so as to not confuse patients. The band works by dimming the appetite, and this provides a conscious control and decision made by the patient, it does not work by "making" a person do something, or keep them from eating too much.
The Lap-band works by suppressing your appetite
As a result, you are less interested in food between meals, making it easier to resist temptation. The analogy is when you are near a vending machine when you are hungry-- what do you do? Probably find yourself with some junk food that is not a part of your plan. But, when you pass a vending machine when you are full, it may not even catch your eye. Having the appetite dimmed makes you less tempted by the many food choices modern living throws at you - -this is what the band does, by suppressing appetite you become less interested in food.
What you should not feel, with the band, is the sensation of being "stuffed."
When you eat Thanksgiving dinner, you can feel stuffed. Contrast that with the sensation two hours after you eat your big meal, at that point your appetite is suppressed. It is the subtle dimming of the appetite that the band should provide. Being stuffed after a large meal is a complicated sensation of the abdominal wall stretching and a lot of gas in the bowel, in addition to feeling a diminution of appetite. You will not, and should not, feel the abdominal wall stretch with the band. You should not feel the "near nausea" and you should not feel bloated.
Key point:
You should NEVER eat until you feel full. It is best to stop eating before you "feel full." If you do eat until you feel full you will most likely be overstuffed. This leads to the universal key to success -- patients who eat a small volume of food (which, if you measure, is consistent) will be successful with the band. If you want to succeed, you need to know how much you are eating, and then stop eating -- it is in your control, but the band will help you -- not by stopping you, but by allowing you to feel satisfied after the small volume.
Early on, most Lap-band patients do have a sense of "restriction"
...particularly after the first fill. When we place the band on a patient the stomach above the band typically will hold one to two ounces (by volume, not by weight). The stomach has a lot of muscle fibers, and the wall of the stomach is fairly thick. When food is consumed, it arrives in the pouch, and meets some resistance, first against the newly adjusted band, and then against the stomach which does not stretch easily. People love this feeling! It is a sense of control over food -- a leash. But it is not permanent. It makes it difficult to eat more, because the top part of the stomach and the band will resist it. If you over eat you will feel uncomfortable.
This is the honeymoon phase, you feel full with less, no appetite, and if you try to eat more it doesn't work. They eat a small amount of food, they feel satisfied, and they are losing weight.
For patients who rely on this sensation, they will find it will take ever increasing volumes of food to obtain this sensation. The initial response is to have their band adjusted so that they can "feel full again." Against a tighter band, the upper stomach stretches a bit (and if they eat fast it stretches more)and they again have the sensation of "feeling full." This becomes a cycle, a tighter band, the stomach stretches more-- and then instead of going back to its original size, the stomach stretches more and more to where it takes more to fill it.
The person who continues to eat until they have this sensation, will find that it takes more and more food to obtain this feeling. Two things happen -- first the stomach stretches to where it accommodates more food, and to stretch it means you have to eat more. The second is that to "feel full" it takes the brain time to register this sensation -- this is not the sensation registered by the hypothalamus, but registered in the conscious cortex. So your stomach can be full, but your brain won't register it for a while, and if you keep eating you can overeat. As a result, the pouch dilates. Similar to a balloon, when you first start to blow up the balloon it takes a bit of force. As you continue to fill the balloon, the wall of the balloon stretches (thins out), it is easier to blow it up -- the same is true with the upper pouch. Early on, before the pouch is stretched, it takes a little bit of food to cause it to stretch, but with chronic over-eating the pouch will accommodate more and more food. The stomach wall is thinner, it is easier to stretch, and to get that sensation it takes more food than at first. Often patients will complain that they "don't feel restriction," and wish to have the band made tighter.
There are two potential results to this: one is the patient will passively stretch the stomach and esophagus and not be eating a small amount of food. These patients simply do not lose the weight that the surgeon expects. The other is that the band will be forced down the stomach, the band will slip, which generally requires operative intervention to reposition it.
For those patients who are rigorous about the volume of food they eat, and do not let the stomach to tell them when to stop eating - they do very well. This is one of the keys of successful patients, only eat a certain portion of food - period. If the band is properly adjusted, the appetite will be dimmed for several hours. Once your brain realizes that a small amount of food keeps you satisfied, then your eyes will adjust to the amount you eat.
Some describe a "soft stop." Where before a sense of fullness occurs, there is a signal from your body -- this can be a runny nose, a sigh, or a subtle ache in the left shoulder. Patients who find this "soft stop," do very well with the band.
The other advantage of eating small portions is it becomes a lifestyle change
--you will have the ability to gauge the amount of food you can comfortably eat, knowing it will keep you satisfied for several hours.
You can always -- always, always, always, -- eat more food, because, contrary to what we believed for a long time-- food passes by the band within a minute and then into your stomach. But the key to successful patients is not how much they can eat, but how little they can eat to suppress hunger.
The band goes around your stomach, not around your brain, or your lips
This simple concept, of eating a specific volume of food -- eating it slowly, and then walking away, is the key to successful eating habits of patients. This means that the band works with effort from you -- not by it doing everything for you. You have to make the decision to eat a small volume of food, and let the band work with you.
The sensation that we would want the band to produce is the "soft stop." The soft stop is when you eat a small portion of food and walk away. Sometimes this is difficult, like most things, practice makes perfect. To set yourself up for success -- we recommend you use smaller plates, along with smaller utensils. If you go out to eat, ask for the to-go bag immediately, and remove the excess food from your plate. You can physically always eat more food, but the advantage about practicing small portions and walking away, is ultimately your eyes will get use to what the stomach is telling it, and it will be much easier to eat smaller portions as time goes on.
It isn't uncommon for patients to want an adjustment because they say they can eat more
The first question we ask is, "Why are you eating more?" The typical answer is, "Because I can." The typical response, "Just because you can does not mean you should." Since the band's job is not to restrict the amount of food you eat, do not leave that to chance -- that is your job. Part of personal accountability is to account for, to measure, to know how much you are eating at a time. The band is empowering; if you eat an appropriate amount and make appropriate food choices, you will be satisfied for several hours. This results in either weight loss, or weight maintenance (if you are at your goal). The purpose of the band is to assist you to lose weight -- and this occurs only with active participation by you: you chose what to eat, you choose how much to eat, and you practice walking away after eating that amount. The band is a tool to allow you to eat less and have your appetite dimmed resulting in weight loss, or maintenance. It is a tool to help you adopt a healthy lifestyle -- you still have the choices to make, but the band allows you to be satisfied with those choices.
"If I could eat less and walk away, what would I need this band for?" -- a common question we are asked. Without the band, if you eat a small amount of food and walk away your appetite would rise within a couple of hours -- you would find yourself hungry and wanting more food, possibly leading to unwanted snacking. You would also find, if you willed yourself to withstand the hunger, that your weight loss gradually decreases. The band fools your brain into thinking you ate more.
Think of it another way -- the hypothalamus does not have eyes -- it doesn't know how much you ate, it doesn't know if there is a lot of food around and you are not eating it, or if there is a band on your stomach. The hypothalamus reacts very simply to the stimulation provided by the upper part of your stomach. Stretch that thermostat, it thinks you are eating a lot -- do that consistently over time, and it behaves as if you are eating a lot all the time and will allow your body to release fat stores and not cause your body to go into a metabolic slow-down. Conversely -- if you go on a diet, without the band --and that part of the stomach is not stretched, your hypothalamus thinks you are in a famine -- it doesn't know that there is a lot of food around you.
The purpose of banding is weight loss. Patients who are successful do not "feel tight," or "feel restricted." Instead, successful patients report that they rarely have an issue with the band, they do not "feel restriction." Successful patients come for adjustments when they notice that their appetite is returning between meals -- patients who are not successful rely upon the band to tell them when to stop eating.
The band, in successful patients, is empowering. While, on occasions, the band is "fickle" the proper way for the band to work is for it to allow you to eat less and not be moved by an appetite.
There is another group of Lap-band patients who do not like any sensation of restriction
--a group we call volume eaters. They want to eat a lot, when they want to eat, and they do not like the sensation of a "hard stop." Nor does this group want to eat a small volume and walk away and allow their appetite to be suppressed. One patient even asked for pills for nausea, because she could not eat "a quart of chili." Yes, this person thought a quart was a normal serving size -- not a cup, a quart! Sometimes these patients come in for an adjustment, then come back thinking that the band is too tight, because when they overeat they become acutely uncomfortable, or feel as if they are "obstructed." Often these patients will come in for a fill, then an unfill, then another fill.
It does take a bit of work to change a person's perspective about the volume of food they eat. For some there is a feeling of deprivation, a period of mourning, but ultimately the band can become a tool to overcome this sensation, and allow the patient to eat. Remember, if you want to be a 125 pound person, you have to eat like one. The band allows your body to re-set the thermostat to the amount of food that it takes to keep you satisfied between meals.
To be more specific - food does not stay in the pouch above the band for a long period of time. Typically it travels through this area fairly quickly, usually less than a couple of minutes. The effect of the band is NOT to have food stay above the stomach in that small pouch - the effect of the band is on your appetite after a small amount of food stimulates that. Does this mean you can eat more -- yes, you can. That is always in your control.
So the first lesson -- Eat a specific, and small, portion of food, and walk away
If you can measure it -- you can manage it.
original text: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

Guess who is now the poster girl for their works fitness center...that's right, this girl!! Funny how things change

Marine battery -- great tip! We live in a very rural area and are prone to power outages. 13 days a while back -- that was something. An ice storm. Like you I get so freaked out if I think I'm not going to be able to sleep and breathe properly overnight -- guess that's the definition of apnea! I'll be getting on the marine battery purchase ASAP.
Good luck with your weight loss journey, and your SLEEP! Best wishes.....

My nutritionist actually gave me samples of all of the unjury powders, and they were just ok. I found them to be a little pricey and I ultimately ended up using a cheapo brand that I get at Walmart or shoprite.
I use Body Fortress and love their chocolate, chocolate Peanut Butter and Cookies and Cream flavors.
I do, however, use the Unjury chicken powder. I usually dissolve it in about 6 ounces of hot Water to their max temp and then top it off with a bit of hotter Water to bring the temp up.
I'm also very excited to try their cheese sauce when the season rolls around.
~David.

HA! I am too lazy to type all that...it was copy and paste! So.....just for you Moscato drinkers.
"There are around 780 calories per bottle of Moscato wine."

No Moscato??

I was able to get a fill yesterday. Yay! My port isn't flipped but it is tipped so they have to go in at an odd angle. Hope it stays where it is at and doesn't move more.

I am honing back today to get an X-ray to see if my port has flipped. I have had my band for three weeks and couldn't get a fill because the surgeon couldn't get the needle in. Can't believe I'm having problems three weeks into this.

I am honing back today to get an X-ray to see if my port has flipped. I have had my band for three weeks and couldn't get a fill because the surgeon couldn't get the needle in. Can't believe I'm having problems three weeks into this.

sure i have had (things i use to do come back and me be able to again) and alot of things i merely took for granted....but what this surgery gave me back again, was me.......i now walk alittle taller (hard when you are only 5'1 haha)...walk with alittle more confidence, no longer looking down/being ashamed..it gave me hope..will and a WANT to live again..........never going back

Yes, the leg crossing is HUGE! I was so excited when I realized I could cross my legs!
Because I started off as a 46W, being able to wear blue jeans at all was a huge milestone for me. I got my first pair when I got down to a 26W. That was the first pair of jeans I'd worn in literally 20 years.
Ok here's a funny one: It used to be if I dropped something while driving, I had to get out of the car and get it from the floor. My stomach was so big it actually touched the steering wheel even when the seat was all the way back. Heck I couldn't even fit into some cars at all. But now, I can very easily just bend over and get whatever I dropped off the floor while still strapped into my seat.

I started my LB journey because of the pain my body was going through, just trying to keep up with basic daily activities. Since being banded I have done very little exercising, due to said pain. The years of carrying around 100+ extra pounds has left me with bone on bone knee joints. Yes, taking off 100 lbs has help, but the damage was done. My weight also was beginning to stall b/c of my slow metabolism, I needed to start exercising.
10 days ago, I had a Lt total knee replacement ( Rt is scheduled for Sept 11) and I am so excited by just what I can now do with my physical therapist. 4hrs after surgery they expected me to just stand up and then sit in a chair. I was able to walk down to nurses station and back ( I had farthest room from ns). Yesterday
PT had me doing stair climbing, say what???? lol 10 days later I'm ready to get rid of my cane.
Hoping for the same results on the right knee (xray said that was my worse knee)
I am so excited about my new future! Thanks to the LBS for getting me there!
Weight goal here I come, one step at a time.

What a BUMMER!! Lets just hope the port is positioned in a funny way, father than it being flipped. I had a little difficulty finding my port, and the nurse just looked at the X-ray taken after the placement and was able to pinpoint exactly how it was positioned; however, that was AFTER being pushed really hard on the wrong spot.... I have a HUGE, painful black and blue. I'm hoping for some good news from your doc when you go see him next. Stay POSITIVE!

Oh my goodness Pastor O thank you for the offer, we are Christian people and my brother's wife works at a massive Baptist church in Nashville and has many people praying but if you would like to add him to your prayers that would be great as we've done the same in my church as well and I've got a prayer chain going on Facebook so the power of prayer is going strong right now with our Faith in God. He has been in remission and God allowed that so we have faith in God's loving hands again but God has a plan that none of us can control. Thank you so much.
Donna

I was banded 8-6 and had this thought a lot for the first week especially. I still have moments of panic like what was I thinking? However I have enjoyed watching the scale go down. I am a nurse practitioner and have sent numerous people to the surgeons to have this procedure. I can now empathise with my patients and could be good support when they have those 'uhoh' moments. Hang in there and get online when you have those times. This website is great.

???I was the same way .. I was scared that I would fail again but my husband supports me and said you can do it . So this me telling you , YOU CAN DO It

Today has been the first time I am really questioning 'have I done the right thing by getting my lap band?'. I don't know if it is hormones, the weather or if all the excitement of preparing and going through surgery is done and it has finally hit me and the little voice in my head is saying what were you thinking?. I am scared I can't do this and will fail 'again' at another attempt to lose the weight. I will work through this, it's one of 'those' days and I needed to tell someone who understands what I'm going through. Thanks for always being there.

Well I'm happy to say my weight today was 221 making my total weight loss pre band and post banding a total of 200 pounds gone! I got the high five from everyone in the doctors office. I lost 176 pre band and 24 pounds since banding on July 24th! I feel fine since banding! Also found out they used a 10cc band because of my lower weight! Those words and me were never in the same sentence together!! OMG huge first for me. If someone had told me 3 years ago that I'd lose 200 pound I would have rolled on the floor laughing than they'd had to call 911 to get me up! All I can say is God is good, and who says life can't be fantastic at 58! Blessings to one and all!

I agree with the post above and the great thing about this forum is we have been there and understand. I'm only 2 months banded and I still have that worry despite my loss and NSV. I'm so afraid I will fail at this but I stay within my dietary guidelines and try and exercise 4-6 a week. When I have the o crap moments I log on here and just read and read ... We are here for you I am here for you. It's a new journey which is very scary ... But I believe will be worth it.

All that you wrote in your post is normal, and I can write that I also had that same post op discussion with myself.
The weight loss journey with your band does require your participation with diet, lifestyle compliance, and understanding that your band is only a very useful and self empowering tool for weight loss.
You will be successful if you are motivated and committed to change your relationship with food and your lifestyle to eat to live and not live to eat.
Fear of failure is common, but if you chose to follow the instructions you were given by your surgeon, you will be successful. As you travel this journey there will be "NSV's" along the way that will affirm your progress and strengthen your resolve for success.
This forum has many members who have been successful and will be supportive of your efforts to succeed. Believe in yourself...you can and will do this...if YOU want to!
Best wishes for a successful journey...

I went to our local library and check out some low carb cook books. I am trying to adhear to the same kind of diet...low carb, high Protein.
One that I tried recently is a chicken satay recipe... here it is.
3 whole boneless chicken breasts, skin removed
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
pinch of chili powder
Preheat oven to 325. Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch chunks and arrange them on the skewers evenly. Rest the skewers on a baking sheet covered with foil. In a nonstick skillet roast peanuts over medium heat until fragrant. let them cook a little and chop them coarse.
Put the nuts in a bowl with remaining ingredients, stir well and pour over chicken skewers. Bake 10 minutes and serve.
Protein: 10.6G Fat: 3G Carb: .5G
This recipe came from a book called "The Low-Carb Cookbook" by Fran McCullough. I like this book a lot! She talks a lot about how to stock your pantry and lots of other hints and medical type information...stuff for maintaining a low carb diet and why it is so beneficial.