kathousefl

I have not been on the boards for a while, but I thought I would check in today and wave hello.

So...my summer starts tomorrow as I fly down to Florida for a week in the sun. I need to get away as the BF and I had a bad breakup and I need the support of my family. I plan on resting and doing some laps in a pool with warm Water for a change instead of the cold Water at the Y. We also have a family cruise coming up next month which I'm looking forward to. I got another fill a few weeks ago and this one seems to have worked. I'm still able to eat anything I want but the hunger is satiated better than it has been for a while. I was up to 135 lbs. and not happy about it. I'm back down to around 125 again and feeling better along with having my clothes fit better as well.

Sorry you and Ken have had such a siege with your health. I do hope you are both on the mend now. Maybe we can even look to do a summer get together for our support group. I do get messages every now and then asking when the next one will be.

Hope all my BP friends are doing well and am looking forward to hearing about your summer adventures.

Liz

I am sorry about the BF :-(. Where in Florida are you visiting?

@@kathousefl - Just wanted to let you know that the restriction definitely set in about a week after I posted this. I guess that's why doctors make you wait a month between fills! Now I get it. Though I don't understand WHY it takes so long for a fill to register... maybe the liquid takes a while to settle? Who knows.

In that time, I've lost another 13 pounds I'm excited! I think I need a little more fill to be completely green but this is a fantastic start. I'm starting to feel better already. It's nothing short of a miracle being able to feel full on so much less food. I have more energy now and I WANT to move. My pants that were tight before are hanging off my hips a little and my shirts don't feel as snug on my tummy.

Why my general doctors didn't recommend WLS before is beyond me. I am so, so glad I did this.

That is great @needtorecover. I am happy you are feeling better and starting to see the results.

Thanks for the reply - and sorry for the delay in response! Ever since recovery no, I hadn't been following a diet or writing down what I ate... I guess I sort of missed feeling like I could pig out (how messed up is that?) so I kind of went nuts with my over-eating. Counterproductive, I know.

I had my first fill (2 cc) on Monday and while "feeling restriction" is wording it strongly, it's definitely slowing me down a little. I can't eat fast (that's a good thing) and I fill up faster on less, but only marginally so. For Breakfast I had a bowl of oatmeal, one whole egg plus one egg white, and a banana and felt satisfied for 3 hours (that's really good for me - pre-band me would get a donut and a coffee after 1.5 hours) and just ate half a Jimmy Johns sandwich and feel pretty full. I could eat more of it but I would be uncomfortable so I stopped.

Remarkably I lost a pound between recovery and my first fill. I think it's because I can't eat fast so even though I'm eating as much as I want (and certainly more than I should), I eventually just stop because my stomach registers "full" before I can finish my first helping and start in on my second.

It's really gotten me thinking though... like about how I approach a meal. Why couldn't I slow down before? I know it's scientifically proven that if you eat slowly you'll consume fewer calories even if you eat as much as you want. I used to try to make myself slow down before... I'm the kind of person who immediately shoves in a mouthful of food the moment I swallow. And the mouthfuls are large, of course. I did that with a bowl of rice last night and after 3 swallows I could feel a very unpleasant pressure in my lower chest so I slowed down.

On the one hand I'm angry with myself for needing negative reinforcement to slow down when I eat. On the other hand I need to be kind to myself because I developed poor eating habits when I was young and I've had problems with food most of my life, so of course it'll be hard to make myself eat slowly.

I'm definitely not "green" yet but this is definitely a good start. Thank God for this surgery. I don't think I would ever be able to lose weight without it. It's giving me hope for a healthier future.

It does take a while for the fills to kick in. I am glad the first one is slowing you down. Eating slow is important. I think everyone looks at their post diet surgery differently. For me, I completely changed my mind set and eating habits. I stopped eating processed carbs for a long time. Actually, I didn't eat any fruit for a long time either. Now I eat some fruit and processed carbs, but it is few and far between.

I don't look at the band as negative reinforcement. I see the band and weight loss as the opposite. I completely understand where you are coming from regarding that thought process though. You should be proud of yourself for taking this monumental step in the right direction. Hope is such a great motivator :-).

Hi @@needtorecover - I just saw your post. You will get through this. Are you writing down what you eat? Are you sticking to a particular diet? When is your first fill scheduled?

The band has been a great tool for me. I used the surgery as a restart button for my way of eating and thinking about food. It hasn't been easy, but the band has made it so much less challenging.

Thanks, Julie. I am glad I am not alone :-).

Congrats @Djmohr. When I started shopping for pants, which I had not worn in decades, I thought I would be ecstatic if I could fit into a 10. I am now wearing a size four. I realize pants today are not the same as they were when I was in my 20s, but I never wore anything smaller than a nine back in the day.

Ironically, I have also discovered that I am petite. Who knew?

@@Mommyfrid I agree with @@gowalking that you should go see your surgeon. The follow up visits for me, even if my weight is static have been important. That being said, remember the band can help with physical restriction, but ultimately it is up to the person to conquer the food demons. There are lots of support groups out there that can help you cope with any food addiction or head hunger issues, if you have them.

So, I realize that saline is Fluid and shifts around, but lately my lapband seems to be a bit fickle in what food it digests smoothly and what it does not. Does anybody else have those issues?

That happens to me every once in a while. If it happens two days in a row, there may be some swelling, so sticking to a day of liquids or soft foods would help.

My doctor explain once that because the saline in the band is Fluid, tightness can be Fluid also,

Good luck!

@@katy -Most restaurants have grilled chicken, beef or fish in my area. So, not eating bread, potatoes, Pasta or rice has not really been a problem for me. As you can imagine, I eat a lot of salads.

On a side note, before I had the surgery, I was a vegetarian. Switching to a diet eating animal Protein was a big change for me.

And, yes, I do take the leftovers home. Often times I have lunch for two days, which is a good money saver :-D.

I decided to tell people to make sure that nobody would tempt me and they would be ready for me to start eating different. Most of them keep telling me how I will never eat like "regular" people again, how they cant even take me out to restaurants anymore.... tons of horror stories....its just been so stressful and I wish I didnt tell them

Katy - I am sorry people have been negative. Some of the people I told were that way, quite a few people have made negative comments, and they don't know. You know what is best for you though, so ignore them all :-).

For the record, I do go to restaurants. Chain places are great for me because they are now including calories on light menus. I still avoid most processed carbs (bread, rice, pasta) and I have no problems eating out.

For a long time, I avoided all complex carbs and sugar, which included alcohol. I am not a big drinker, so it was not a big deal for me not to have any. Technically you can have anything you want :-). Being mindful of the calories is important though, especially if you like to snack while drinking or like to drink a bottle of wine instead of a glass.

I may have been overly cautious, but during my pre-surgery seminars, one of the nurses made a big deal about the fact that many people don't lose weight because they drink their calories. She told a story about a patient who was upset that she was not losing weight, but she refused to give up her multiple sugary coffees.

I found little ways to reward myself, but I am now way more conscious about ingredients, Protein levels and carb levels than I ever was.

Thank you Kathousefl for responding as well as your well wishes. How often did you get a fill? I understand it is primarily based on how we feel individually in terms of weight loss as well as hunger levels in between meals, but I just wanted to have an idea.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

That is an interesting question. My surgeon was/is really big on follow up. I saw him once a month for the first year and then once every two months after that. I was getting fills at the beginning pretty regularly, but I honestly do not recall how much and how often. I went for a while without getting any, but recently had a two small fills. It really does fluctuate by person You don't want to be too tight though.

For me, having regular follow up appointments, with or without fills, was very important.

Thank you both for responding. I truly appreciate it. I will continue to do what I am doing and just be patient. Any suggestions for a Protein bar that actually is high in protein/low sugar that doesn't taste like I am eating chalk?

Hi there fellow Floridian,

Congratulations on getting banded. I agree with the other posters that being patient is a good thing.

Everyone loses weight at different speeds. For me, I decided to change all of my eating habits drastically when I was banded. I followed my doctor's food suggestions very strictly. I found that eating real food (mostly Protein and veggies) was the key, along with writing down everything I put in my mouth :-).

I am one of those people who does weigh every day, but some people get discouraged since weight loss is not instant, so focusing on weekly goals is probably more realistic.

Good luck!

Hi Katy - I didn't tell many people about the surgery before I had it because I knew people had a negative view of WLS. I still keep it to myself because people (even those I consider friends) often think they know better than me and my doctors :-). I have not regretted the surgery at all. I used the lapband as a reboot for my eating practices.

I did not have pain after at all. The day of the surgery was actually the most difficult - nerves, pain, fear. I think having second thoughts is natural. You need to do what is best for you and not other people.

Where do you live, Sharpie?

I live in North Florida about 45 minutes North of Gainesville, Go Gators...

I cannot believe you got flurries. That is pretty cool. I am in the Tampa area, and there was frost on my car yesterday morning.

Where do you live, Sharpie?

I had Lapband surgery 1/20/2009 at 265 pds and it's been a journey of ups & downs on the scale & emotionally also.

I lost close to 50 pds thru the years but put it all back on. I kinda was thinking I failed this journey & that my Lapband wasn't the answer after all

Well 2015 was the worst year in my life, my sister died then my mother in law died too, so I found my self eating to console myself. So my weight went up even more.

Well I stopped that in August 2015, I started weight watchers online. I just didn't want to be in a meeting couldn't handle that commitment at that time.

I hadn't been to my Lapband Doctor since March 2014 & I was afraid to go.

Well I received an appmt card from him in November 2015 stating he had made me an appmt for Jan 2016 so I had to go.

So I went today very scared that he would be upset & know that I failed the Lapband but that didn't happen what I realized by talking to him that life happens & I didn't fail as I was 218pds today which is still 47 pds less than when I had the surgery 2009 & when I was in his office in 2014 I was 233 pds so I was losing.

So you see it's never to late to get back on track

I just wanted to congratulate you on getting back on track. How is that going?

Banded 1/21 and don't get filled for about 4 more weeks. What can I expect that first time? Do you normally go on all liquid? Any nausea?

Congratulations on the surgery. Each doctor does things differently. My doctor suggests liquids after the fill. I have not experienced any nausea.

I did want to respond to your other question about gas though. I get it a lot and sometimes it is pretty severe. It seems my diet, which consists of mostly veggies, still triggers my IBS.

Good luck! It is great that you are excited and thinking ahead.

Where about in florida are you? Im near Tampa.

Hi Deborah - Me, too. If you want to chat, send me a message :-).

Thanks for sharing!

Seems like many of us veterans are still working hard with our programs... DAILY! And accepting that we may not be a predetermined weight that a dr or ourselves have picked.

I do appreciate how the OP mentioned the beginning of her WLS

I believe we all need to remember where we were when we started and consider how our health has majorly improved....

We just are not perfect. Human beings are perfectly imperfect (ok ...quoting my therapist)

Gotta say... I am happier and way healthier than years ago...

I remain thankful for WLS ... Truly changed my life.

Sometimes it seems like a daily focus for me. I just got a small fill because I need to get back on track, and I am hoping that will help. On the one hand, I do not like to see the scale go up, but on the other hand, I am so much better off today than I was before lap band :-).

Hi, I'm 43 years old. I live in Florida I've had my lap band quite a while, but have fallen so far off the wagon. I lost about 50 lbs, but can't get past that, plus gained a little of that back. I know it's my own fault. I've not been following the diet and am still eating far too much food. I just always feel hungry. It's probably time to go back to the dr to get a fill. I've just been too ashamed to go since I haven't really lost any weight since the last time I was there. I still need to lose about 80 lbs to get to where I want to be.

Hi there!

I am in Florida, too :-). Going back to the doctor is a definite first step. My doctor is pretty regimented about follow up appointments, and I know that helped me a lot. Good luck!

Hi Ginger - I am sorry to see you are frustrated. Ironically I just had a sticking problem from something I eat all of the time. I think in my case it was not the food, but the speed in which I ate it.

Have you maintained a 69 pound weight loss for five years? What types of foods are you eating now? Are you going back for a fill soon?

I think everyone is very different in his or her approaches to losing and maintaining. For me, I stay away from processed carbs most of the time because eating those types of foods is what caused me to gain weight and over eat.

So, just a random question ... besides trying to eat dinner earlier, does anyone have a good suggestion to avoid acid reflux at night?