want2beme

RE: re: "I know that I am too loose when I can eat a whole bag of popcorn, or 2-3 tacos." Where is your actual sensation of 'hunger' and 'not hunger' during this episode? My "actual" sensation of 'hunger', you ask? Just as it always is/was. If I'm hungry, I want to eat. My question was, "Can you describe your sweet spot for me?"

Hello everybody. I need your help. I am flying to Mexico on Wednesday for my 4th fill experience. As of right now, I do not have much restriction. I am going to try to remember... (my brain hurts)... I think I have 2.6cc in a 4cc band. I have been stuck at my current weight since February. I have relied on 'diet' alone most of the time. (Besides that one salami sandwich incident that left me swollen on on liquids for a week! LOL) So, I know I need a fill. What does PERFECT RESTRICTION feel like? I know that I am too loose when I can eat a whole bag of popcorn, or 2-3 tacos. Yikes! But, I know I'm too tight when I can barely take a sip of Water without it coming back up a few times before it's able to flow through the stoma. Tell me what you can eat and how much when you are filled perfectly. I know everybody is different, but I'm trying to make this my last fill for a while, if I can... I just can't afford to fly to Mexico often. Thank you for your help! ~ Dana Sacramento, CA

I'm so sorry that you are going through so much. I'm glad you found this site, it will support you a lot. First of all, I'm sorry you can't see your daughter! I have a 20 month old and don't know what I would do if I couldn't see him when he's sick. No body knows how to take care of our little ones like we do! But, you know your baby is going to be just fine. What you are going through is tramatic and to add that stress on top can seem unbearable. And I am sorry. Focus on what is important right now. You absolutely CANNOT risk getting sick and throwing up right now. If you do, you could really injur the surgery site and have an even longer recovery. Then, you really wouldn't be there for your baby. You are doing the RIGHT THING by seperating yourself to keep both of you as healthy as possible. You baby will be over his/her sickness before you know it... kids bounce back so fast! As for you, you need to recover from your surgery, and that takes time. Be patient. Make sure you're sipping your Water throughout the day so you won't have the dehydration feeling. You also may want to try some gatorade just to get some electrolytes in your body to plump you up, so to speak. You'll at least have that feeling of being hydrated. When I'm on liquids, I like to make 1/2 gatorade and 1/2 Special K Lemonade Protein Water (cuts the calories, but you get all the good stuff!) ~ Hang in there. You'll be fine. You're going through emotional stress right now and the best thing to do is to rest and visit this site often for support. We've all been there and know how you feel. Keep us posted. I want to see that you are doing better!

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"></TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">AWWWWWWWWWWW MMMMAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You DID burst my bubble! I was told it was non-fat! (the fudge sundae).. maybe it's just the ice cream part that is non-fat. Well, I usually only have one a month anyway. I stay away from fast food as much as possible... but the above are things that I have ordered over the past 9 months. I like to cook, so we usually eat 3 meals a day at home. When I get stuck out shopping or on a play date is when I have to resort to the fast food world. It's okay, it hasn't hurt my weight loss at all. Just a bad habit. I actually keep a bag of beef jerky in my glove box in case I do get hungry in the car. I can eat a piece of that and it does me just fine 'till I get home. I do drive thru the fast food joints just for an iced tea often. </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">I'm glad you posted this. I am curious as well as to what bandsters order when dining out. I couldn't tell somebody else what to eat, but as I think back, I can tell you what I HAVE ordered and been able to eat: TACO BELL: Double Side Pintos and cheese, Add red sauce and sour cream. TACO BELL: I too am able to eat tortilla chips, so I've ordered nachos too. MCDONALDS: This is a hard menu for bandsters. I will order my 20 month old a kid's meal with chicken nuggets and apple slices. I can only eat a few bites of each. MC DONALDS: If I am hungry, on the road with no time to sit and enjoy a meal in a real restaurant, need to get my blood sugar to a normal level, I order a chocolate fudge sundae. I know! I know! Not so good, but it is fat free... just lots of sugar. It curbs the appetite. GAS STATION FOOD: Beef Jerky all the way! And a diet iced tea, Peach Snapple usually. SUSHI: Start with chicken satay. Move onto sashimi ahi or hamachi, whichever looks to have the least amount of stringines to it. Usually both are good choices, along with salmon (but depends on if the sushi chef knows how to butcher or not) ~ And edamame are fun to eat and take a long time to eat. Sake goes down pretty easy too (lol)! DENNY'S/IHOP/PANCAKE CIRCUS: eggs, eggs, eggs. The sausage tends to be too fatty, as well as bacon being a no-no. I order eggs, cheese, cotto, and my favorite... coffee. NICE BREAKFAST: This morning we went to a nice Breakfast spot and I ordered the bagels with lox. I gave the bagel to my son and I ate the lox, spread cream cheese on it and sprinkled the capers and onions on top. Yum!!!!!! Special Occassion Restaurant: I always go for the leanest Protein. Usually the salmon or chicken. Fish is easy for me to eat, so I like that. I order it as it comes and just start with the protein. I usually don't get to the starch or veggie on the plate. Don't take it home, just leave it. WANNA BE BAD? Creme Brulee (don't tell anybody I said that!) haha WHEN IN DOUBT: Starbucks is a great way to curb the appetite when you don't have time to eat or sit down and chew your food for 45 minutes! (who does that?) ~ A tall latte has 6 grams of </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> protein. That's decent, to hold you over until you can get some real food in you.

Hey girlfriend! I went through the same thing... Yes, your stoma swells after a fill. How much? Who knows... but you should be able to get Water down, at least. I wouldn't wait more than 48 hours after your fill to return to the doctor's office for an unfill if you haven't had any water. If you can get down water, then you can hold out a few more days to see if the swelling goes down and then you can gage if your fill is good for you or not. You said you had your fill yesterday? If you can't get water down, you should make an appointment for an unfill. Just a slight unfill could do it. Don't panic though. We all go through it. I even had a fill too tight UNDER FLOUROSCOPY! So, I swelled really bad after my fill and had to return to Mexico 3 days later for an unfill. Talk about stress! I hadn't had water or food in 3 days, about to shrivel up and die and had to get on the airplane to Mexico! haha... glad I can laugh about it now! Good Luck... You'll be fine. Just try to get water down if you can before your unfill. Don't work out, walk too much, or even do household chores right now. Don't use any energy if you don't have to. You are dehydrated and want to do everything you can to keep that water in you. Keep us updated girlfriend! Dana

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">It's now 2:55 AM. I still can't sleep. I think it may be heart burn. It gets worse the longer I lay down. I just took a prilosec and a Tums. (do Tums expire?) I am going to try to lay down again, but now I am paranoid something is wrong with my band. This sucks.</TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

:wink2:<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">It's 1:52 AM and I just had a horrible dream about my band... I went to get a fill and they told me I was too tight. They said I'd have to get an unfill. "But I ate nachos for breakfast!" Then they charged me $365.00. I asked for their director's name and number. Last time they only charged me $100.00 and I got a fill! Anyway, I woke up and my band was bothering me.... ? I felt like I could feel pressure in the area. I've only felt this once before when i really was too tight. I'm not too tight right now though. I am thinking that maybe I irritated my stoma b/c I drank wine today at a BBQ. I usually don't drink that much alcohol. Anyway, it's hard for me to sleep. It's not super painful, but some sharp pains and hard to sleep on my stomach. I feel fine now that I am sitting up. Does Crystal Light bother anybody? It is to harsh on the stoma? I am always so fearful that my band is going to 'go wrong'. I feel my body is going to reject the band. Has this happened to anybody? I keep having these horrible thoughts about my band. Why? Please help me! I'm going crazy! </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I was banded August 2007, lost 66 pounds, 20 to go.

PLEASE HELP~!!!!!! I was banded Aug 2007. I have lost 65 pounds and am feeling great! BUT, I had a small problem. I've had 2 fills and 1 unfill. After losing the last 15 pounds, I am due for another fill. So, I scheduled my fill apt for May 6th, in Mexico. About a week ago, I took a bite of my son's salami sandwich. I haven't had a bite of a sandwich in 8 months~What was I thinking? DUH! I didn't even chew it very well, swallowed it and it got stuck! About 30 minutes later, I was puking. I felt okay after throwing up. Since then, I have had trouble eating solids. I am thinking either my stoma is swollen or my band slipped from vomitting. I'm not sure. The restriction and ability to eat solids vary day to day. And sometimes, meal to meal. Today I had 2 cups of Soup and a cup of mashed potatoes. I am thinking I should stick with liquids and mushies until my appointment on May 6th. I am really scared that my band is slipped. I was a cash patient and don't have any money for another surgery. I REALLY NEED SOME ADVICE!!!!! Thanks.

Lana ~ I can't find a fill doc here. I am going back to Mexico AGAIN May 5th for my 4th fill. Crazy. Dr. Machado told me, personally, that she'd charge $1200 for consult and the $350 per fill, with NO FLOURO!!!! I'm freakin'.

Do whatever u have to do to get banded. It could save your life.

The guy that made the comment about my 'rubberband' makes a remark about a co-worker he doesn't like, "She needs to go on the rubberband diet!"

I was wondering about that!? My doctor's 'strict' diet suggests 3 small meals per day, mostly Protein. Well, I do better with 4-5 small portions per day. Even if one is a string cheese. My restriction has been so whacked that I am relying a lot on diet alone. I haven't started excercising yet, but I don't sit on my butt either. (I'm a waitress, restaurant manager and a cook, oh yeah, and a single mom of a 17 month old boy)... I am going to join a gym next week though. I am feeling small enough to enjoy a work out now. I am hoping I will lose weight when I start excercising. I have been stuck at 60 pounds for about 6 weeks now. So proud of you for doing it on your own too!!!!!

I had beans and rice for breakfast, string cheese for snack and lots of coffee... that's it so far and it's 2;37pm. Gotta work at 3;45, so probably cook a piece of 6 oz chicken b4 I go... and eat ahi at work. oh, and more coffee.

That is a good one! Somebody asked me if my port was on the outside of my body! Like a colostomy bag! haha!!!! Hey, by the way, you look great! You've been so successful. Can I ask you how your restriction levels have been throughout your weight loss??? Thx.

OK, people have to be going through what I'm going through... the remarks, questions, comments by others sometimes has me bent over laughing so hard I want to pee my pants. Please share with the group something weird, funny or obsurd people have said to you about your band! Want2beme: I told a co-worker about my band. Everytime I eat something in front of him he says, "Better be careful! Your rubberband is gonna break!"

:confused2:I just want to complain for a minute, if that's ok with ya'll... My restriction is sooo messed up right now! What the heck is wrong with me? Sometimes I can't take more than 3 bites of something, and sometimes I can sit here and eat 3 fudge brownies! What is going on? Tonight I was able to eat 4 oz. of lobster, a cup of rice and a small articoke. That's a lot of food. One minute I am ready to schedule a fill and the next minute I'm telling my self I'm at the perfect fill level! ?????? Please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off"></TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I must tell you, I was not in two of my best friend's weddings b/c of my weight. Do you know how many times I've heard (from each of them), "I really wanted you in my wedding! We just had too many of my husbands relatives taking over! If I could do it again, you'd be in it!" barf :drool:

OK! POST YOUR RESULTS! Want2BeMe: Start 181, Goal 171, Present 176 "Didn't make it! Whaa!"

I do not work for Dr. Lopez or any other doctor. btw. I met with several bariatric docs here in California prior to my surgery as well. I chose Dr. Lopez based on the information I gathered. I didn't want this thread to become a bitch sess, but it looks like that's what it's turned into. Sorry about the content on this thread. If anybody wants info on this doc, I'll tell you, just email me privately. Thx.

Well, I guess you know better than me if you are in that hospital every week. Why do you work with them if you don't respect them and trash them on this website?

I am actually doing pretty good now. After my unfill, I thought I wasn't tight enough. I think I can eat more than most people at their sweet spot (which means I'm not there), but I have been really good about my diet in general. In fact, I've lost some weight over the past 4 weeks, about 5 pounds. I'm happy with that. This band is really tempermental at first, but I'm finding out that as you lose more weight, the easier it becomes. Don't know why, but it does. *for me!*

My last fill (unfill!) was... about 4-5 weeks ago. Believe it or not I had a delayed reaction and have pretty good restriction now! I am happy with where I'm at. I made a personal goal I wouldn't get a fill till I lose 15 pounds! haha

Geez... maybe you need a small unfill. We shouldn't be miserable, that's for sure. There is a sweet spot out there somewhere. I haven't found it yet, but when you do, let me know! haha