Cocoabean

I have taken to the habit of pausing before each meal to take a second and remind myself to take small bites, eat slowly, and chew-chew-chew. It has really helped me, especially when I get overly hungry and am ready to eat everything in sight. You definitely have to maintain a sense of humor about stuck episodes. This is a little graphic, but funny. One of my funnier slime episodes was when DH and I were camping. I got stuck on a piece of bread--big surprise! Normally when I get stuck, DH leaves me alone to deal with my troubles, because he is very squeamish. But in our little motorhome there are not many places to go to slime in peace. So, I am hanging over the sink, letting it run out of my mouth, as I usually do, waiting for the offending item to decide if it would like to go down or come back up. Well, I had a string of slime running from my mouth to the sink. You know that thick gooey kind that you can't break? It had some air bubbles running along it, slowly sinking down. DH walks by and says, "oh, look how pretty, it looks like a pearl necklace!" Yeah, never bust out laughing with a mouthful of slime! What a mess!

We have to meet up to split a roll some time!! I am in the San Diego are, too! The more people you have, the more variety you can order. :ohmy: What's your favorite Sushi place? We like to go to Todo Sushi (used to be Meiki's) on Caroll Canyon Road off I-15. In La Mesa, Banbu Sushi. Ok, I'll stop, I am making myself hungry. :thumbup:

Hey Bob, I am the queen of embarrassing moments. Illumination, have a fantastic trip!!! And happy birthday! That is quite the treat, enjoy. Everyone, buy stock in kleenex. Ugh! My cold moved up from my chest into my head. Now I feel like my face is going to explode. The stuff coming out of my nose is a nasty shade of yellowish brown, so I have an appointment this afternoon. Top it all off, DH and I are going to New Orleans on Sunday. I have a conference that I must attend. He'll be having fun. :ohmy: So, I am sort of hoping this is bacterial and I get some antibiotics. That should get me feeling better before the conference starts. Then to top it all off, my seat assignments got messed up and I have center seats. Good thing I knocked off those last two pounds over the past few weeks! I'll fit nicely in the seat, but I am sure my seat mates will be soooo happy to have 'Sniffles' sitting next to them. So, as y'all know, I've been checking my blood sugar in the mornings. Monday and Tuesday I didn't walk because my personal trainer, Butters, was camping with the DH and I was doing taxes. (And yes, I do realize I could have gone alone, but didn't :thumbup:). I also wasn't have high protein dinners while they were gone (read cereal). Well, Tuesday morning it was 115. And Wednesday morning it was 116! Yikes! Butters had a lesson yesterday, he is doing great by the way! We took a walk around the parking lot of the Petsmart while we waited for the trainer. I had a high protein dinner last night. This morning my sugar was 97!! Boy, if that isn't motivation to walk and eat right, I don't know what is! A part of me is hoping that the high readings might have been influenced by the cold. I have read that infections can affect sugars. Ok, off to check what else is going on around the boards!!! Have a great Thursday everyone!

I have around 5cc in my band. I've been at this level for over a year now. I have an AP Standard 10cc band. Everyone is different and the main thing is that you are happy with the fill level. If you want a bit more later on, then you can get more. If you are happy for now, stay there for a while.

I have BCBS HMO in California. They required a 6 month supervised diet here. I was able to appeal it with Weight Watchers records through past years and did not have to do it. It still took me several months to get all the testing done, but it was pretty simple. I went to my surgeon's seminar in June or July and had surgery in February. Best wishes!

The OP states a height of 5' 6 1/2" not 5' 6". 5' 6 1/2" at 248 is a BMI of 39.4. At 249 it is 39.6. That is what btrieger was talking about. The OP said there are no co-morbidities. 5'6" at 248 is 40.0. With no other co-morbidities, many insurance companies will not cover a BMI less than 40. The OP needs to shrink a half inch or wear heavy boots and a sweater on the scale. This is not a time to dress light to go see the doctor for fear of a lecture on the evils of being overweight. But I have heard of some surgeons weighing patients wearing a gown.

Hi Britbrit, This site is for all things band. Welcome! I took a week off and went back half-time the second week. I caught a cold around the time I was in the hospital, and was wishing I had taken the second week off, also. If I hadn't caught the cold, that might not have been the case, and one week might have been fine. All insurance companies are different. Mine denied my primary care doctor's referal to see my surgeon becasue I had not done a 6 month supervised diet. I appealed it and won. I gave them years' worth of weight watchers records and personal diary entries. I explained that another attempt would not make a difference. After that, I had no problems with my insurance. Not sure what you'd like to know about what you can expect? Any specific questions? I'd say you can expect a roller coaster of emotions. Times of frustration and joy. Excitement and fear. But, it's all good and a road to a healthier you. Best wishes in your decision.

Eating while not distracted is a definite plus! Being careful helps, for sure, but it does not guarantee no stuck episodes. The smaller the bite the better off you are. Also, I do worse with finger foods. I tend to take a much bigger bite (like with a chicken wing). I am a little over two years out now, and I rarely get stuck. But it does happen sometimes. However, over time, I have found what works best for me to end the episode (bringing it back up). So, they are usually minor occurences now, rather than huge events. To the OP, driving while eating...never a good idea! Poor you! I could not imagine being stuck and sliming while driving! Dang! Use it as a learning experience and move on.

Hi Leigha, Oh my gosh! I was sooooo mortified. I was sitting in the front row of the jury box. I had placed my coffee mug on the railing in front of me. As the defense attorney was walking past us to give closing arguments I reached forward to grab it. Being the klutz that I am I missed it. I ended up knocking it so hard it flew about three feet forward and darn near hit the attorney. Of course, the gallery was full as this was a high profile case in San Diego, so all eyes were on me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and not come out. The attorney was very nice and picked it up for me. I felt bad that I found her client guilty after that, but oh well. The evidence was just too strong. I was very happy that the mug was empty!!

Hi there! Welcome to band land. For me, I chew, swallow, relax for a few seconds, then take the next bite. If I feel ANY discomfort, I stop eating until I know the bite went down. That can stop a lot of problems before they really get going. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

My surgeon has not refused me a fill yet, but we always have a long discussion about how much I am eating, and how my band and I are getting along. He also checks my rate of weight loss and considers that along with my reports of hunger level. We have had to negotiate on the amount of fill, but he always listens to my input. I am the only one who can tell him how hungry I am. 11 pounds in 6 weeks is a great rate of loss. But if I reported that I were constantly hungry to do it, I believe my surgeon would give me a fill. If I reported that I were satisfied with the amount of food I was eating, but wanted to cut down to increase the rate of loss--I think he might say no, as I am very close to goal and should not lose that fast. When I was overfilled, I lost 7 pounds in one week. That was too much for me. I felt really bad! Keep up the good work!!

Alcohol absorption isn't affected by the band. It is still metabolized the same. With gastric bypass, it is different and those patients get drunk faster. I don't consume alcohol near as much as I used to, so I feel it much sooner these days as a result. If you had beer, it could be that the carbonation is what bothered you. When my stomach is tender, I like to do liquids and mushies to just give it a break for a while until it is feeling better. Like others have said, drink lots of fluids!

I did medifast for my pre-op. I already had a good supply from a previous diet attempt. I have to say I don't care for the stuff. It is much too bland. But it did the trick. I lost 8 pounds and the surgeon said my liver was very small, healthy, and pliable. I couldn't ask for more than that! I had to just chug down the shakes. I did like that it had a 'lean and green' meal, though. At least I got to chew every day.

Ok everyone, get this. Some of you may have read my story of jury duty last year and sliming in the jury box. We sent the defendant away for life after a three month trial. Well today we had a unit meeting for work at a local restaurant. The server was the aunt of my defendant!! Wowser! I wonder if she recognized me!

Hey Everyone! Gotta go with Bob and Christie, work DID suck today. Was supposed to get new carpet installed tonight. They did it last night instead. All the dust worked wonders on my already wounded sinuses! Oh woe is me!! But, I did find a silver lining in being sick. I am down another pound! Oh yeah. Got on the scale this morning. 3 more pounds to a normal BMI!!! YIPPEE!!! Have a great night everyone!!

?? Might help me what? I read it, I am sorry the band did not work for you. I hope you find a way for you to be healthy. I have been very successful with my band, I am 3 pounds away for a normal BMI. I was merely expressing that sometimes I still have the desire to overeat. That is not something the band can help me with. Head hunger is a fight that must be fought each day. Best wishes.

Hi MizKelly, Yes, you did say every doc is different. You just said no fluids when stuck with such finality, I thought it was a hard/fast rule of banding. I'd never heard it before. Thanks for the clarification. And of course, doctors' orders rule!

Hey Leigha, I think you really need to up your caloric intake. It seems as if you are not getting enough to sustain yourself, and you might be going into starvation mode. Try 1200 calories a day with the exercise plan and see how you do. And remember, the closer you are to goal, the tougher it becomes...grrr!!! You are doing fantastic!

Hey SBeth! Welcome to lapbandtalk! This is the place to be for loads of support. Lots of great people here. Sit and stay a while.

Nice, Elfie!! I have plenty of hobbies. I just need to have you come over clean out my crap (I mean craft) room! There is yarn from knitting and crochet, scrapbooking stuff, beading supplies, computer stuff, books, and goodness knows what else, along with my purse collection on that little room!

Hey Erika, I can still do rolls, well sometimes. At least I can do the smaller rolls. The larger rolls I do have to bite and let fall apart. What a mess, but still yummy. Another option is nigiri sushi. You can take smaller bites of that. As to last supper syndrome...It is hard not to fall into it, but in reality, you will be able to eat most of your favorites again. Just in smaller doses. If you have a long time between being notified of your surgery date and begining your pre-op diet, you can put on a lot of weight that you will just need to take off. I didn't get much of a chance to fall into the trap. I found out I was approved around the third week of Jan. On Feb 1, I started my pre-op. I think it worked in my favor. Best wishes everyone!

Oh my goodness! TAXES suck!! I just had 4 hours of my life sucked out of me doing ours and my MIL's. Too many changes this year! DANG! DH and Butters went camping to leave me to it. I hate it when DH stands over me screaming, "I won't pay!" So I send him off. Usually it takes me an hour and a half and I am done with both. Sheesh. Ok, whew! Oh Oh Oh!! I knocked off another lb!!! woohoo! So my goal is to weight what Bobs female dog Seven weighs! His male, B-dubs already has me beat! How fun is that!!! I haven't met very many dogs who weigh more than me before! I saw what was either a Scottish Deerhound of an Irish Wolfhound the other day. Or is it a ScottishWolfhound or and Irish Deerhound? Anyway, it was a huge beasty and so cute! Body way bigger than the animal expected it should be. Just killer. Where is my dog! He has become the best trainer ever! HB! Wow, that snow looks so pretty! I haven't the first clue how to drive in it, though! Elfie, love the poochie! She's a peach. Oh, and next time you are in the mood to clean, head my way, ok? I have a room that really needs the help of a great cleaner/organizer. Bob, maybe one of your dogs will sit on the cat. Liz: Well done with the sweet treat. You were able to enjoy it and still not go over your total allowance for the day. That is awesome, not being bad! Yay! that is the way we should use our bands, oooh yeah!!!!

Y'all are doing great!!! Keep up the good work! Yay!!!

Hey Bob, love your dogs. If you were to ask Butters all dogs are big, the rest are just squeak toys! :-) Illumination: Love Brewski!! He's awesome. I had a dog that dug up all my bulbs. He also ate all my rose bushes. Right down to the dirt! Dang, that HAD to hurt! Leigha, Jace is gorgeous, looks ready to ROCK! Humming Bird, Marley and Me was a great movie. After the movie came out, everywhere Butters went we heard, look there's Marley! Betsy! love Truman, he is ready to GO! I gotta tell ya though. There is a labrador rescue group here, it is where we got Butters. They had a yellow boy who was a special needs case, his name is Truman. I always had a picture of that Truman in my head when you would talk of yours, but realized it was not the same Truman. Nice to see the real one. The Truman here had hip issues. They got those fixed and he did find a forever home. We met him a few times at the dog park, before Butters started having his aggression issues. He was such a sweetie. Update So, I got on the scale last night, and I am down a wee bit more! Woohoo!!! :thumbup: My personal trainer is paying off! Too bad he and the DH are going camping. Maybe I'll have to walk by myself (yeah, that will happen!). Still feeling cruddy, so guess I am entitled to a couple of days off. DH goes camping when I plan to do our taxes, because otherwise he just stands there yelling at me that he won't pay! Yeah, lemme just fix that! NOT. So, I send him on his merry way. I get a couple of days free with the house to myself. I'll do the taxes this evening. Then I have tomorrow after work free, free, free!!! :thumbup: Ok, I owe, I owe, so back to work I go!!!

Wow! That is great! My surgeon took me off my BP meds when I had my surgery. I haven't looked back since. Now my normal is about 110/70! Wahoo!!!!