snowbird

We have a house about 15 miles west of Surprise. I'm going down to check on my mom, who is in assisted living in Surprise. DH is staying up here in Washington, so I will be by myself. Where are you staying?

ejm, Don't lump all "Mexican doctors" into an unsavory pile. I've had plenty of unpleasant experiences with "American doctors." There are good and bad doctors in both countries.

In Washington you are lucky to have a clinic that will do fills on Mexican patients. If I were paying for this surgery without insurance, I know what I would do--oh, wait--I already did it. Truthfully, my insurance reimbursed me for my Mexican surgery. They would have paid in the US too, but I chose the more experienced surgeon. However, I knew that half the year I lived within driving distance of Tijuana and could return there for aftercare. My daughter, however, had her surgery in Mexico and gets fills in western Washington at a reasonable rate close to home. When you are talking about $10,000 or more in price difference, that will pay for a whole lotta trips back to Mexico. I know I can get into see a doctor at my Mexican clinic at a moment's notice (I have gone there with no appointment, and know this is true) and can get a fill whenever I need it for $100.

Isn't it funny how your weight loss makes you see other people differently? I look in the mirror and I just look like me, but then I can look at someone else and realize that person, who I always thought was thin, is actually bigger than I am. My NSV: I went to get a haircut at a new hairdresser last week. I told her I usually colored my hair, but I was giving it a rest because I had lost weight and my hair was fragile. She asked me why I lost weight, and I told her the band. She burst out, "You had surgery? But you're just a little bit of a thing!" Now there's a phrase I have NEVER heard applied to me before!

Depends on what point you are talking about. My surgeon recommends Atkins induction phase for pre surgery weight loss if you have three weeks or more before your surgery. The induction phase limits you to 20 g of carbs per day, which is very, very low.

want, you're getting close to your goal! The weight loss really slacks off as you get closer, doesn't it? I'm hoping to hit goal by our one-year mark. That's only 7 lb in 3 months, so you would think it would be a piece of cake (mmmmmm . . . cake) but the way I have been going for the past few months, it won't be. The good news is that I've found I can maintain my weight easily, but losing is another story. Evenings are my biggest problem, too: I just want to keep eating, even when I finish dinner and I'm full. Hope the fill really has taken care of that for you. We get so critical of ourselves when we see where we have to go in the future, but sometimes I think we deserve to look back and see how far we've come. We've done well, and we can finish this trip!

Think of a narrow necked bottle, like a ketchup bottle. You can drop m & m's through it fairly quickly, but something that is going to stick together and gum up in the neck, like scrambled eggs, is going to form a blockage. No matter how much you chew scrambled eggs, the pieces still stick together and form a plug. Yogurt, if it's thick, can do that too, although it is a thick liquid and if you are taking small spoonfuls, it shouldn't cause a problem. I'm making this up as I go, but that's why I think some foods that we don't expect to have problems with get stuck. Also, time of day has a lot to do with it. Many of us are just tighter in the morning, so morning foods seem to give us more problems than stuff we eat for dinner. Does that make sense?

My personal opinion: this is more for just fun, and less for advice/problem solving. Or we're redundant. Or both.

I can just lean over the toilet with my hand on my stomach and usually the mucus will come up. Not pleasant, but a good deterrent for eating more slowly and carefully. If I continue to have problems with the next meal, I switch to liquids for a meal or two, which usually takes care of the problem.

Remember, you will get to eat yummy stuff again! We went out yesterday for Italian, and I am finishing up meal #3 from the dish I ordered. There is always at least one styrofoam container in our fridge containing leftovers.

Welcome, slim! Looks like your post slipped through the cracks yesterday and no one answered you. Sometimes that happens, since there is so much going on at this board every day and a post can get buried. congratulations on sticking with your pre op diet. It does give you a feeling of empowerment, like you are finally taking control of your life, doesn't it?

Hey, I'm back in AZ 8/23-8/30 or something like that. Maybe we can have our own bandster bitch luncheon. Wasa, you DIDN"T eat 3 hams and 15 chickens??? Whatever am I going to do with the 3 buffaloes I just took out of the freezer???!! Ohhhh noooooo!

I mixed the Protein shake mix in my blender with strawberries, or blueberries, or even coffee for a nice mochaccino type shake. Much tastier than the powder right out of the carton. I would also add a couple of spoonfuls of instant mashed potatoes to beef or chicken broth for a more satisfying Soup. There are also some tasty boxed Soups. I remember a Carribbean black bean bisque that was one of my favorites. Don't worry too much about quantities at this point, as long as you sip slowly. Just get some nourishment in.

I'm there 7/12-19. I haven't had a fill since February, it was dh who needed one. I'm not going to lose the last 7 pounds unless I stop going to Johnny Carino's Italian Grill like I did today though. Yum!Actually, I ate about 1/4 of the meal, so I wasn't that bad. Looks like I have dinner and tomorrow's meals all mapped out for me. Yippee for leftovers! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I love this. If you had told me six months ago i would be in size 6 shorts this summer, I would have said you were dreaming. I also love this section of the board. Do I have permission here to NOT be helpful, understanding and earnest? Not that I want to be rude or bitchy, just a little looser. And that's looser, not "loser."

Secondarily, protein will curb your hunger, while carbs will fuel it. If you eat adequate protein you will find it easier to avoid binge eating and severe hunger pangs.

The problem isn't about the band wearing out. If you are too tight you run several risks: severe reflux resulting in damaged esophagus, ulcers, and band slippage, not to mention poor nutrition. Too tight is not good. Don't be led astray by phenomenal weight loss; you are risking some significant health problems, and often the weight loss slows down anyway because you are unable to eat the proper Protein solids. Better to lose weight slowly and stay healthy. By the way, I had acid reflux for years before being banded, and now have a condition called Barrett's esophagus, which means the cells in my esophagus have mutated to try to protect themselves from the constant exposure to stomach acid. The condition can be precancerous, and I have to go in for an upper g.i. endoscopy periodically to make sure I have not developed esophageal cancer. This is not something you want to fool with!

I'm retired, so i just got up. Did you get my email? I think I finally qualify for the dammed close to it group! Yippee!

Maybe you are denying yourself too much. I went to a potluck last night; I had Italian sausage, potato salad, fruit salad, some other bean salad, and homemade strawberry pie for dessert. The secret is the serving size--about a tablespoon of each, except for the sausage. My doctor said I can eat any solid foods, but should be eating no more than 1/3 of what I was eating pre surgery. The band didn't stop me from eating; it just stopped me from overeating.

I have never seen where someone has had to go to the ER for a stuck piece of food. Yes, the food gets stuck sometimes when you don't chew enough; that's how the band works, in part, by making you eat slower and chew well. The food passes on its own. If you are having acid reflux issues, most likely you are too tight and need to have Fluid withdrawn from your band. I had serious reflux issues prior to surgery, and they have greatly improved since my band. I am starting to think there are an awful lot of people who go into this surgery without doing and research or making much of an effort to understand how it works. They either ignore dietary instructions, don't get enough fills, or are filled to tight because it makes them lose weight fast even though it also makes them unable to keep down the solid foods they are supposed to be eating. Rarely, someone who follows all instructions to the letter still has some difficulty or complication. I would guess that is true of all surgery, bariatric or otherwise. My husband, my daughter and I are all banded; my daughter's boyfriend and his mother are banded. We are all quite satisfied with our experiences.

There's a difference between eating what you are not supposed to in the three weeks post op, and eating what you are not supposed to after you return to solid foods but before you have good restriction. The second is temporarily harmful to your weight loss efforts, but the first is harmful to your health and the ultimate success of your band. Please don't be confused between the rants concerning people eating chicken nuggets three days post op and the ones concerning those bandsters four weeks out who are not making good food choices. When we rant about the liquid diet cheaters, we are desperately concerned about their health and the health of other newbies who might read what they say and think it is okay to cheat that soon after surgery.

Merg, have you thought about another fill? If the first one doesn't work, get another. My husband was banded in October and has had four fills. It really wasn't until the latest one that I have noticed his food intake has really gone down drastically. Before that he was eating less, but now his band is making him really sit up and take notice that he is eating too fast or too much. You've probably seen how we keep saying the band is a tool and doesn't do it all for you. I still know I have to watch what I eat, while the band will then do its job and take care of how much I eat. If I don't make the right food choice first, the band has nothing to work with. I still want to eat constantly regardless of hunger, but I won't buy the irresistable foods and sometimes I even consciously snack on something I know won't go down easily so the band can do its thing and stop me from eating anything else. So I think you might want to look at two things: another fill, and some self-examination of what your poor eating habits are and then some thought about what you can do about it. Leave the emotion and self-recrimination at the door, because the purpose here isn't to beat yourself up over it; it's to determine what you need to do to change your habits. Do you shop for food when you are hungry? make sure you eat first and are very full, and then you won't be so tempted. Do you crave ice cream and Cookies? Buy a single scoop ice cream cone, eat it and get on with your life, rather than a couple half-gallons that will call your name until they are gone. As someone once said, "Know thyself." Figure out where you are going wrong, then brainstorm ways to change the behavior.

Pick a good, reputable surgeon and your Mexico experience can be a great experience. Many people do go alone, but the cost of the surgery for me included a hotel room throughout my stay that a friend or family member can stay in, even while I spent the night at the clinic. There are definitely horror stories out there, such as Cosmos's story. Do your homework and it can be a better experience than any you may have in a US medical facility.

This has turned into a very interesting thread. I was thinking about various people's comparisons of obesity with alcoholism. At the risk of offending those who have problems I have no personal experience with, it seems that both obesity and alcoholism/drug addiction have similarities in how they must be overcome. There's the physical addiction. Are the obese physically addicted? I'm not sure about that. But an alcoholic/d.a. often gets past the physical addiction, sometimes for years, but returns to the drug of choice anyway, because the body has been changed but the mind hasn't. The desire for the drug remains even when the physical addiction is gone. So that is where will and self-knowledge comes into play. I want to smoke/drink/eat, even though I don't need to, but I will myself not to? The will gets its strength from understanding the whys and hows of the desire, and can be either fueled or thwarted by emotion: I am unhappy and deserve the pleasure of the drug, or I am happy being strong enough to say no and want to continue that behavior. I'm rambling. But we are complicated creatures, aren't we? I guess it all comes down to the old free will question: does every one of us have the tools and strengths to determine our own destiny, or are we merely the result of physiology and environment, determined at birth to be whatever we are? Sometimes I think it's the latter, but I want to believe the former. Thanks for making me think harder than I usually do! It's good exercise.

flowers, I am like you. I never ate large meals (or at least I didn't think they were way out of line, although now I could never eat that much at once.) I was, and am, a snacker. My husband was the huge meal eater. Strangely enough, I am more successful so far with the band than he is. I still snack, but I will not buy the high calorie stuff and bring it home. Sometimes I just have to have ice cream, so I go out and get a one scoop ice cream cone. But a half gallon in the freezer? No. If I really have the munchies and find myself continuously snacking, I eat something not entirely band friendly that will make me uncomfortable--not to the point of puking, but just of feeling slightly ill. Such foods are rice cakes, peanuts, high Fiber Cereal, lunch meat, whatever works to stop the senseless snacking. What I'm trying to say is what you have seen here time and time again: the band is a tool, not an instant cure. You need to have some understanding of how the band works and how you react to it, and to think and figure out a way to make it work for you. Eating less at meals certainly helps: my three meals probably total about 750-800 calories a day. I eat another 400 calories a day in Snacks. It's useless for people to say "you aren't supposed to snack with a band." We all know that we aren't supposed to snack with OR without a band, and generally we would lose weight if we didn't snack. I can't do that. Call me weak, call me lazy, call me noncompliant with band rules, but I don't seem to be able to do that. Yet I am successful with my band. By the way, the sleeve sounds like a good alternative to me. I haven't had any problems with my band and I don't like the idea of radical surgery, but the band doesn't work for some people. It's a hard decision, but you will have to evaluate both surgeries and decide what will be best for you. I wish you success in whatever you decide.

jachut, I think we're soul mates. When I first read the title of this thread my mental response was, "Bitchy and opinionated." I know it, and sometimes I apologize for it, and sometimes I don't. I agree with your opening argument. And some people are always going to be hurt; it's just the way they are. I saw a post on here a few days ago that said the poster didn't want surgery that physically stopped him/her from eating, but wanted surgery that stopped the desire to eat. I almost wrote back that he/she was looking for brain surgery, not bariatric surgery, apparently. The band stops you from eating 16 oz of steak. It doesn't stop you from eating a three scoop hot fudge sundae. I know that. So I don't buy ice cream. It isn't rocket science. The band doesn't stop me from buying ice cream; I stop myself. It's a basic understanding of the band's strengths and my weaknesses that make it work. When I screw up, it's my fault, not the band's. The "miracle" of the band is that it gives me a better chance to start over again the next day and do it right. By the way, I just saw a news article about the impending death of the semi-colon, so it is my crusade to use at least two of them in every post from now on. Save the semi-colon! ;;;;;;;;;!