Poodles

I have eaten those little peeled citrus pieces in a can with no problem. Taste great mixed into a vanilla shake.

I use pudding sometimes too, but have found a bite or two on my meds and it gets small enough to chase down with some tea. Metformin is salty, Benecar is ok, my Cymbalta, I just open the capsule and take. Have had no problems with it. After a fill, I will mix with pudding or yogurt. Have even been known to use sour cream in a pinch...

In August I went for a fill and was filled "blind". They put in 1 cc and then had to remove .4cc's because I was throwing up Water in the office. Since that time I have been living on liquids and mushies. Anything that will go thru the band without pain. I tried to wait out the fill thinking that it would loosen up. I did not want to waste my money/time getting an unfill. Since I could eat something I did not worry. Even posted here asking what to eat. Canceled several fills in between there and here, feeling like a failure, because I had not lost weight. Finally, I decided to go in and face the music, get yelled at, what ever... I went for my fill today. Went to SCOR where they do the fills under floro. They ended up taking out another .4 cc's. Said that I was really tight. My pouch is a little distended, but they said that will go back down. I asked why it was distended and they said that drinking water with that much restriction could stretch it, so I should not feel bad about it. Told me to never wait this long between fills, especially being that restricted. I have lost 4 lbs since August. Guess that is something. I met with the patient counselor and she gave me a ton of advice. Mostly that the band is NOT suppose to hurt. We are meant to eat REAL meat. Not the stuff put thru the blender, and ground meat. My instructions are to be on liquids today, mushies tomorrow, and SOLID foods the next day. Blenders are a no no for me, I need to get a filet mignon and try that in the pm (poor me), and if that hurts I may need to get more removed. I have the medium band, which was tight in the first place. The counselor said I might have needed the big band, so the band itself is tight, and with a little fill I should be fine. Told me not to judge myself based on fill level, because everyone is different. She has been banded several years so she knows what I am going thru. Fill level goal is to not hurt and to not let too much go thru. Eat solid foods (no more spoons) and don't drink during meals (which I haven't been doing anyway). Someone somewhere is going thru the same thing, and being overfilled is a pain in more ways than one. So here is what I have learned: You won't lose eating mushies. The band is not suppose to hurt. Eat only things that you can eat with a fork. You are not a failure if you have to get an unfill. You just have to find the right spot. You must learn how to use this tool. Others can offer advice, but every BODY is different. Hope this helps someone.

Well, I went for my fill today. They ended up taking out .4 cc's. Said that I was really tight. My pouch is a little distended, but they said that will go back down. I asked why it was distended and they said that drinking water with that much restriction could stretch it, so I should not feel bad about it. Told me to never wait this long between fills, especially being that restricted. I have lost 4 lbs since August. Guess that is something. I met with the patient councelor and she gave me a ton of advice. Mostly that the band is NOT suppose to hurt. We are meant to eat REAL meat. Not the stuff put thru the blender. My instructions are to be on liquids today, mushies tomorrow, and SOLID foods the next day. Blenders are a no no for me, I need to get a filet mignon and try that in the pm (poor me), and if that hurts I may need to get more removed. I have the medium band, which was tight in the first place. The counselor said I might have needed the big band, so the band itself is tight, and with a little fill I should be fine. Told me not to judge myself based on fill level, because everyone is different. She has been banded several years so she knows what I am going thru. Fill level goal is to not hurt and to not let too much go thru. Eat solid foods (no more spoons) and don't drink during meals (which I haven't been doing anyway). Going to post some of this in the fill section. Someone somewhere is going thru the same thing, and being overfilled is a pain in more ways than one.

I think they do. Will ask tomorrow for sure...

I just pulled out my Atkins book and read something that might help. It says if you find yourself craving carbs to increase your fat/protein and minimize simple carbs. It also says to keep Snacks in your purse, like nuts to help that draw to the Mickey D's...

To me the SF candy just gets the pump ready for the real stuff. Cold Turkey girls... I mean it. Just eat cold turkey. :love:

It is kinda funny how this topic reached my conversations today. I gave my family an Atkins kit I found online, one to each household. My brother, who has been on Atkins for two months now plans on cheating on Christmas. He has the pie ready to go down. I told him he needs to forget eating the whole pie and go for a little slice if he could do nothing at all. He says that with him it is all or nothing. I have found it to be the same with me. I tried to explain to him that it is a carb addiction and basically put it like this: If a cocaine addict is to be reformed, they must go cold turkey. No one tells them to take a little hit three times a day to survive. With a carb addict it is the same, we need to stay away from the carbs to be reformed, because one hit will turn into a whole pie, just like one hit for the cocaine addict will turn into many. He basically, just said I was crazy. Then I told him about being on Atkins for 3 years with no slips, then one day I was off (my last meal syndrome before the band), now I find it hard to stay on Atkins for more than 3 days. (Primarily because my band will not allow me to eat my favorite Atkins receipes, and partly because carbs have taken over my life again.) The addiction has taken hold. As a female, I have found that the Schwartzbein Principle diet is better for me because of its mix of Vitamins. It has been found that females will go off low carb faster than males (or so her book says) because of a lack of vitamins we need, like B vitamins, E, etc... This lack of vitamins causes a binge cycle for us. So we need to look at both the physical need for some foods as well as the mental. As Jack stated, simple carbs are our crack. We just have to find a way to live without it.

Don't think you want them to happen too much, may cause a slip or something. Just try to avoid them. Chew Chew Chew...

To my FAVORITE man with a beard... Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Seasons Greetings and all the other politically correct ways of saying have a great holiday. :love: ***wonder if Jack will let me sit in his lap???***

Well, guess I am a Grinch too. I survived my get together without being pushed out of the bandster closet. Told everyone I was going on Atkins on the 26th, so maybe with a new fill, I will be set to go down the scale in the new year. Will be glad when it is all said and done too!!!

I have decided to go back to my Lord of the Rings type thinking. Carbs are the "Precious" thing I obsess over, and that will surely kill 'us'. I am Gollum in so many ways when you substitute a cookie for a gold ring. It is something that you must choose to let go of, or jump in the lava after... Yes I know I am weird, but I did really well when I put a sign on my fridge that read: "Adjust with all the strength and will power you possess." Second line read: "My Precious." Think I may need to make a new sign for the new year. I wish everyone renewing strength and power this holiday season. Jesus was born to save us, not to kill us with sugar. :love: Thank you for all of the support. I truly appreciate each and every one of my LBT friends.

Well today I went shopping for my Christmas get together, and I did something out of the ordinary. I actually went looking for healthy things to offer my guests. I now have to offer my family: SF Spiced Cider, Caramel Apples with Sprinkles (Better than pie), A variety of Nuts, Chocolate covered frozen bananas (again better than pudding), A variety of dried fruits, trail mix, and diet sodas. Now, since my family only gets together for desserts, these should be a little helpful. Figure we will let the kids make the apples, so they can put the sprinkles on them. That should be fun. I found Sugar Free English Toffee Syrup to add to my coffee, and have officially jumped back on the low carb band wagon. Figure the stomach bug has helped me figure out some things. That and the fact that everyone else has beat me on the scale... and I have some catching up to do. I actually thought about not coming back to the boards, because I have done so poorly, but really appreciate everyones support. Now, if I can just convince myself to get up off my butt and exercise it will be all the better. Really, kinda kicking myself for not going to get my fill today as planned. But, I don't think I would have remained in the closet if I had. (My family still does not know.) Guess the slow weight loss helps with that. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. And, just for my information can someone post a good day and bad day of food list. Good day being when you can eat, and bad day being when you can not eat. That may help me to see what I need to do. Thanks all!!! Regarding Triggers: Bad days at work, too much sugar, and Mother Nature (TOM) all trigger me.

When I was newly married, I had a miscarraige. When I could not get pregnant again, we tried to adopt but found the cost too high to afford. When we got pregnant with my son, we almost lost him. When we had him we were so happy to see that little face and could not understand how anyone would not want to bring a life into the world. It does not matter to me who raises the child, as long as it is loved and cared for. There are idiots out there that do not need children. Selfish, stupid people have no business holding a life in their hands. Unfortunately, these same selfish, stupid idiots do not think about the others out there that would love that precious baby. Like myself, and my husband. We have since lost another baby, and I cry when I think of the two babies that will be lost to me forever. Babies that I wanted. Now there is no hope for another child in my life besides adoption. Will there be any babies to adopt if people keep killing them???? Overpopulation, abortion, whatever. If your "higher power" deems you worthy to have a baby, to keep or find a home for, you should treasure that gift. This whole thread makes me sad.

Hello All!!! I am baaaaack!!! In my new house now!!! TV/Internet hooked up!!! Yeah!!! I just got over the stomach bug from HELL, could not keep anything down but whey protein shakes. Even the phenegren did not help. My back is killing me too, so I feel your pain. I have not been able to eat much today without pbing, so I am going to stick with shakes the next few days. I was not going to post tonight, because I am doing horrible on my diet. My six months have come and gone, and I am only 27 lbs down. I feel like a total failure. But only have myself and holidays to blame. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now the MONTH for Christmas crap. I am such a lap band loser that I even put off my fill until December 26th so that I would know what to expect over the holidays at parties. (tight in the morning, little lunch, drink warm water, eat soft things at party, etc) Since my sick episode, I thought, well this is the time to get on atkins, but two seconds after I woke up this morning I drank a cappacino and thought "doh". But I have been good the rest of the day, so I will be good this evening and start fresh tomorrow. I just have one more week until my next fill, and then I will need to relearn my band. I would love to be able to eat meat... not ground or blended... real meat... but don't know if that will ever happen again. Will let you guys/gals know how things are going after my fill. Glad to see everyone doing so well. :love: Now off to find Jack...

I have had one fill with Richardson Surgery Center and one with Maese. Both were done quite well, no issues either way. Just wanted to save some money. But now I have decided to go back to the Fill Center. I have had horrible problems since my last fill. Have tried to "wait it out" with no luck. Since I am unsure if I am too tight, or not tight enough, thought it would be better to get it done under flouro the whole time. With Maese, he put the fill in (1cc) when I started throwing up Water, he took out some of the fill (.4 cc) and then I could swallow water. He did the flouro after each stick, but want to be under the whole time like the fill center does to see if I can get things straight. *** just FYI: I think I am too tight because, I can only eat mushies, but think I am too loose because I can eat a lot of mushies. Crazy I know.

Anyone have their port hurt if they over drink/over eat? I have noticed that if I eat alot if my band does not hurt, my port will. Yes, the PORT on my belly will hurt. Do you think the saline gets squished down?

I have an over the counter drug question for bandsters, and a question regarding who to ask for RX's. What medicine can you take for nausea with the band? I usually take Alka Selzer (it works best for me), but don't know if I can use it with the band. For nausea medicine RX's, who should you call? My PCP says to call band doctor, surgeon acts like they should not be writing scripts this far out from surgery. Have not asked fill doctor. If I just want phengren for emergency use who do I ask? Is there a generally acceptable list of OTC products that bandsters can use? I know every BODY is different and has different requirements, but does the BAND itself cause issues with OTC things? Had a horrible weekend from a Gumbo (w/o rice) dish, and need to stock up the medicine cabinet to avoid future nightmares.

I left the rice out. So that was not it. I think the spices kicked my gut inside out. Will avoid it from now on. I will ask for a list of OTC products from my doctor. Maybe that can help us all.

I went out of town for a few days and ended up sick. My phenegren is no where to be found. I have been heaving and am terribly sore. Did not eat anything today and could barely tolerate chewable tums. Drank my sons anti nausea medicine (OTC) and that helps for a bit, but not totally. What do you do when you get sick? I used to take Alka Selzer, but don't know if that is ok with the band. Oh BTW... Gumbo hates me.

Well Honey, the band will punish you if you eat when you are not hungry. You will HURT horribly and PB (search for that). If you like pain, you may do it more than once, but I doubt you will. No one gets that golf ball feeling on purpose... unless they are an idiot.

As I am a closet bandster, even from my family, I plan on making a plate and eating slowly. I will stick to mushie type stuff (potatoes/stuffing/salads/etc) so I don't get stuck, and will not hit the pies/cakes at all. Then, I will get back on track the next day. I have been banded for almost 6 months now, and no one knows.

Ok Guys and Gals, I am wondering if I should get a fill. Around that time of the month I am shut off totally. Four days after the three day fast I start. (Good way to prepare for things.) On top of that I am shut in the mornings, but have found that I can eat a lot at night. This is what I have had today. Lots of crap I know, but it will give you a good idea of what is going on. Breakfast 24 oz SF Coffee Lunch: 2 bites chicken salad, 1 deviled egg, 1/2 cup guacamole, cup chips (est.), one bite birthday cake. Snack: lettuce and a little more guacamole Dinner: Speghetti with hamburger meat, 1 cup. Snack: Slice ButterKase cheese Drink water, coffee, Diet Nestea throughout the day. Have not been losing weight lately, and I see most of my Junebies have had more than 2 fills, so I just wonder if it is time for me to get another one.

I have discovered the Deli counter at Kroger. Have found that some things work and some don't and thought I would share what I have figured out with my band, and hope others will post their experiences as well. Things that work: Havarti Havarti with Dill Havarti with Jalepeno ButterKase Munster Boars Head Liverworst, Bologna Thin sliced turkey/ham/beef Brie (But don't like it) Blue cheese Things that don't work: Chedder Provalone (Worst Pain Ever) "Fancy" Bologna with Pistachios (Don't exactly know why this didn't work.) Want to try more things, but scared to do so, so if you have anything that works well let me know! I like strong flavors so bring it on!

Well, I have found that if I still keep eating the band will punish me for it... so that is how I handle it. If I am stupid enough to eat when I am not hungry, I deserve what I get.