aubrie

That's so funny. I can ONLY eat dark meat chicken. Breast are dry and definitely out of the question for me now. When I chew it, it wads up in a ball and I can tell before I even swallow it if I'm going to have a problem. The chicken tasting the same coming up as going down is because there is no stomach acid in your pouch. It doesn't hit that until it passes the stoma or pinched portion of your stomach and drops through. Pouch contents is undigested food. I rarely toss up my pouch contents, but boy I can SLIME with the best of them!!! LOL

MMMmmmmmmmm......... Ice cold watermelon....... It's not summer without watermelon. But DANG does it ever make me pee....

the little airline size packets of dry roasted nuts. I hoard them when I travel.... LOL Newman's Own makes a soy crisp. It looks like and kind of tastes like a rice cake, but it has a lot more flavor. They are fat free, high in Protein and taste great. A few of those in a baggie go a long way. They come in plain, BBQ, white cheddar and cinnamon flavor. I like those 1 oz. cheese stix too, but they wouldn't do well in a hot car. My favorite? The mini-size cans of low sodium V-8 juice. They are only 30 calories, nutritious, and thick enough to hold me off until I get home.

Quite a few people say that they experience a band tightening 2 -3 weeks after a fill. It happens about half the time for me. Jodi-620 is right. Stress will affect you as well. All I have to do is cry or get really upset, and I have to skip a meal. Nothing will go down. I start sliming on the first bite. Try not to swallow it when your mouth starts watering. I spit into a napkin (discreetly of course) It's even worse if you swallow wads of the slime. The slime is your body's way of trying to dislodge the offending mass stuck in your stoma. It's trying to ease it through. Our pouch is so small, that all that "help" backs up. I immediately get up and walk around. Sometimes it helps to put my arms up over my head. Spit out the slime and DO NOT drink anything.

Some places call their "mineral water" bottled water and visa versa. That doesn't necessarily mean it's corbonated. As for protein. I would think that pork and beef would be at a premium in china, but depending on the city, I would think that fish would be available. Bean curb and tofu is typically high in protein. You may have to adjust your taste preferences though. How long will you be there? If it's just for a week or two, I wouldn't worry to much, but if it's longer I could see how you would be concerned. I think my major concern would be stomach upset and vomiting. Be sure and have your surgeon discuss taking some Cipro with you to use as a preventative for intestinal bacterial problems. I'd hate for you to get sick there.

Good tip on not having the drink on the table. You'll have to take tiny bites, chew, chew, chew and eat slowly so you don't choke initially. But the liquids and mushies will help you prepare for that. Taking small bites was harder for me than the drink with my meals. I don't like the feel of "sludge" in my mouth. My instinct was to wash it down immediately. But you get used to it. It took about two weeks. For mushies I liked mashed banana, applesauce, quacamole, refried Beans with fat free sour cream and melted cheese, cream of wheat with cinnamon, oatmeal, whipped sweet potatoes, mashed butternut squash, egg drop Soup, baked ricotta cheese with spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese, souffle, flan, Jello set with cottage cheese, poached tilapia in chicken stock and mashed, low calorie pumpkin pie filling, and salmon mousse.

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I went through the very same thing. I couldn't understand my feelings toward him. I prayed and begged for two years for us to be more intimate with eachother. I don't know how many nights I cried into my pillow. I got the band and when I lost a noticable amount, he was practically chasing me around the bedroom. I was FURIOUS. I was still exactly the same person I was before the LapBand. I was angry with him for months. It took me a long time to get over my disgust with his attitude. I thought I would be dancing around and celebrating if he paid attention to me again. I was confused, angry, resentful, distrustful and on top of that I felt guilty for feeling that way. It was a mess. I was hurt to the core, just like you. I kept thinking, how could he have been so cold? We loved eachother, so it didn't make sense to me. It was something I didn't expect. I'm over it now and we're good. REAL good. I feel sexy again and we now have an awesome sex life, but the first few months were a little rocky. Be patient. Ironically, he ended up gaining what I lost. Now I'm seeing it from his perspective. I'm a lot more understanding. It's hard to see my awesome hunk of a husband get paunchy and swollen. It's funny how life eventually puts all into proper perspective for you.

SUPER JOB!! I'm so proud of you!! (a little jealous...but VERY proud.) I hope you do something extra special nice for yourself to celebrate!!

If I have eaten to fast, didn't chew well enough, have something stuck or have eaten to much, my mouth will begin to water a lot. YOu naturally produce more mucus to ease the offending food down. You swallow it without really knowing how much. After a while it backs up. I just lean over the toilet and a big wad of slime and mucus just kind of slides out. It's rarely mixed with food. It's not vomit. I'm a year and a half out and have only "vomited" twice. BIG difference. If it feels like your mouth is watering, stop eating. It's a signal that you're doing something your band doesn't like. Trust me. Follow the signals. If you continue you'll PB. That's where the food in your pouch comes up. There's no stomach acid in your pouch so it's not partially digested yet. It's not sour or horrible like vomit. Vomit comes from the lower stomach and is partially digested already. The acid is sour and it's disgusting. It's sometimes uncomfortable to actually vomit because the partially digested food is violently shoved through your tiny little stoma and then the pouch. It can be painful. If you're newly banded, avoid vomiting at all cost. If you get the flu, call your doctor right away so he can give you something to stop it.

I have Aetna and my fills are covered. If you switched insurance, the fills may not be covered, but if you had a medical problem with your band, it would be an emergency surgery, so I'm sure they would cover that. You may want to check the policy for pre-existing condition first though. Some have that a pre-existing is not covered for a year or so after your policy takes effect. they're all different so read the fine print.

Even if they are both totally equal in performance and effectiveness, the point is he lied to her. She was "sold" something she didn't get. That's deceptive trade practice. I would think think that there would be several levels of illegality with this one. My question is: do you have copies of any of the documentation you discussed? Did he provide you with any printed materials? Sounds to me like he has some explaining to do.

It's almost as if this surgeon has contempt for his patients. It is very insensitive and negative. I couldn't go to a surgeon for help knowing he felt like this about me. horrid. Just really rubbed me the wrong way.

I feel your pain. My husband gained almost exactly what I lost so far. It's so frustrating. Now I'm ready to kayak, dance, hike and enjoy life, and he's to big to enjoy it with me. Sometimes I just want to scream. He's an EXTREMELY attractive man. Even big, he's good looking in the face. But It's hard to be attracted to man boobs, a dimpled butt and a tummy keg. I often wonder why he gained just as I was losing. I know it's age, (I'll be 50 in 4 weeks and he's 51) but in his case it's also stress. Know this, I worry even more. I fear for his health. He REFUSES to go to the doctor. He eats my healthy meals, but adds a bag of chips, a trip to Sonic for a banana split or a pile of cheese and crackers. So.... what do we do with a stubborn man that we adore?

Be careful. You could also lose muscle mass with the restriction of calories and protein. Muscle mass is what helps you burn calories, so you're kind of sabotaging your efforts if you do. Protein powder can be added to soups, stews, quiche, casseroles, etc. Try some recipes with it added.

There must be some truth to it because my surgeon asks me about the color of my pee when I go for checkups. I told him it's medium yellow in the morning, but after my 2 - 3 bottles of water in the morning, it's very pale to completely clear in the afternoon. He said that was how he wanted me to be, and that I was good on my water. I get 64 oz. or pure water a day, and then drink tea, coffe, sometimes juice, etc. on top of that. I can now tell when I'm dehydrated. I get a mild head ache, my pee is dark, my skin looks rough, I get a terrible taste in my mouth and my rings fall off.

Remember..... We are talking about people with food addictions here. For many, this addiction is more than they bargained for. Many will never get past that psychologically. They won't put in the effort and hard work required to be successful. That 50% weight loss is probably including a lot of those who couldn't cut the mustard and gave up. The committment lessened. For those who have the determination, and self discipline, it works beautifully. So you can't compare apples and oranges. I'm past the 50% mark, and I even had to have my band completely unfilled for two gallbladders surgeries and start all over again. It set me back several months. I didn't give up. I'm not where I would like to be at this point, but I'm well past the 50% mark. It depends on YOU. I'm a person, with quirks, strengths and weaknesses. I'm not a statistic. Neither are you. You make your band experience what it is.

In my experience going to support groups, talking to friends and co-workers who have had WLS and reading this board, I have come to the conclusion that almost ALL doctors push the bypass. I think it's less time, effort and after care on thier part, they get the quick results they want, and I'll bet they make a little more money doing it. My surgeon suggested the bypass. I told him, not only "no", but HELL NO. (My personal choice and decision.) I stuck to my guns and was stubborn about it. He did my band and has actually been very pleasantly surprised with my success. He's very good and prudent about my fills, and is now doing more bands. Ultimately, it's your body and the choice is YOURS. Mine was a philosophical and ethical decision I made for myself. I had my reasons, and am now a year and a half out, still VERY happy with my decision. My best friend however has had a tough time with her band and is trying to decide whether to switch to bypass during her upcoming gallbladder surgery. She's agonizing over it. Her first surgeon was a quack out of Houston, and really botched her band. Her new surgeon has worked with her for two years to try and fix the mess he made. She's still having trouble, but it was SURGEON mistake, not band mistake in her case. She doesn't blame the band. He filled her to much to fast and caused erosion. She will lose her band regardless, but she's still undecided. It's a big choice. Be COMPLETELY certain of your choice, because with a bypass you can't change your mind and undo it once it's done. You're stuck with the choice. I didn't like those odds.

Nah. Once you heal up, you'll be good to go!!

Gatormel08, You know.... I think back over my life, and at age 21 I wasn't that into it either. I remember being concerned because I felt like ......."What the hell? What is the big deal about. It's not all that...." It wasn't until years later that I actually started to enjoy it. No offense to the fellas out there, but at age 21, they really didn't have a clue as to what to do to please a woman. It was mostly about them and learning what they liked. Wierd, kinky crap doesn't necessarily mean "good" either. Ya know what I mean? When I was 21 I had a very brief affair with a 31 year old man. WORLD of difference. It was an eye opener. My first husband was fair. A bit better. I didn't really get into it, and want it passionately until I was 31 myself. My current husband is an "artist". We are perfectly in tune with eachother, because he took the long lingering time to figure it out!!! We've been married 20 years now, and I want him as much today as I did when we first got together. There is something to be said for maturity, chemistry and experience..... Not to mention being totally IN LOVE with your partner. I've had ups and downs with my level of desire over the years. Everything from my weight issues, depression, and medication side effects. Please have those things checked as well. You never know, it could be treatable. If not, then be patient. I'm not sure if I answered your question, but some food for thought.

My husband seems to like my "wobbly bits". It bothers me, but he gets so turned on, I seem to forget about it after a while. We've been in love for a very long time, so it's not quite your situation, but once you find just the right person, it won't matter so much anymore. He's gained weight and aged right along with me, so "we're even". I don't see his flaws, he still makes me horny, so I doubt he sees mine.

When I was bigger, I had to take medication for bladder control. I took Detrol or something similar. I did for years. The OB/GYN told me that the weight definitely puts pressure on the bladder and that the condition would probably improve after I lost weight. He was correct. I am no longer on medication and have only had a very few "accidents", which I have noticed is only when I've drunk alcohol. So YES it gets better. It is so nice to pitch some of the meds you used to take once you've shed a significant amount of weight. I don't take celebrex or anti-depressants anymore either. I don't get injections in my knees and I have cut the doses of thyroid and blood pressure meds in half. It's amazing.

My arms swing to and fro like the mud flaps on a pick-up.... disgusting. I can handle the belly flab and the upper thigh jiggle, but I can't handle the arms. I can cover the other areas, but in south Texas it gets to damn hot to wear sleeves. My face started sagging overnight as well. It's quite shocking to look in the mirror and look so much older. Nicer...... but older. It didn't happen gradually for me to "get used" to the idea. Exercise has helped a little. I still have about 38 pounds to go, so I won't do anything until a year past my reaching goal. My surgeon told me that your skin will continue to firm up for a year afterward, and to wait until then, so you can see what you're left with. At almost age 50, I doubt it will improve much.

Hello.... My name is Aubrie and I'm a foodaholic. LOL. My surgeon told me I'm an addict. A food addict because I can't stop snacking!!!! I do great all day long, until I get home from work. In the morning, at lunch and all afternoon I follow all the bandster rules. I eat what I'm supposed to, in the amount allowed, I drink my Water, I chew, chew, chew. I even exercise 2 or 3 days a week. But when I get home, I go through a metamorphosis!!! I'm immediately looking for cheese, nuts, chips, cheese nips or something to hold me over until dinner. It's horrible. I can't seem to stop. I've tried and tried. I'm not gaining any weight at all, but I also haven't lost a thing in 5 months. Sucks. I'm so pissed at myself.

I eat salad all the time, and beleive me, I put EVERYTHING it them. Cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes, olives, avocado and mushrooms. I don't seem to have a problem with them. I get stuck and slime mostly on meat and protein foods. but I have discovered that some fruit will get stuck. Strawberries are the worst. I have to chew them like crazy. The only veggie I have to be more careful with is asparagus. If it's stringy, forget it. It never ceases to amaze me how fickle our bands are.

Odd sizes are juniors Even sizes are misses over size 18 is women's petites are for those under 5 foot 4.