kiz

"Each week I only had a 1.5 lb loss. I have 5.5 cc's in by band now and thought I was "Full" because I finally started feeling restrictions and had an incident over a month ago where I threw up. I really don't feel full after eating my meals and find myself hungry 2-3 hours later." First, congratulations on your weight loss. A 1.5lb to 2lb weight loss/week is great, so you should be very proud of yourself. It sounds to me like you're probably ready for another small fill. You might have lost some fat from around your stomach or you might have had initial restriction from some swelling after your last fill. But, since you're getting hungry within 2-3 hours and you're finding yourself snacking between meals, I bet a small top off will get your right back on track.

There's two additives in the artificially sweetened drinks that concern me a little, but not enough to stop drinking them altogether. Of course, the artificially sweetener and the other is benzoate. Those additives are probably not the greatest things to be putting our bodies, but sometimes nothing else is going to hit the spot.

That's great news about your lunch, Cerrin. It's good you're staying on top of this, and that your doctor knows that you're having some food issues right now. Good luck, and I hope your allergies clear up soon.

I like diet green tea and white tea made by Turkey Hill. Lipton also makes it, and I like it too, but just not as much. I like the flavored waters too. I try to limit these types of drinks as much as possible and stick to plain water, but sometimes, I just want something with some flavor. As it's getting colder, I drink hot green tea and low fat hot chocolate. Another nice pick me up is simply adding a few lemon slices to ice water.

I feel your pain. I know I'd be concerned about losing my restriction too, but the way you're eating now isn't right either. I even reread your first post, and it still didn't stick in my head that this has all been a result of your illness. I'm sorry about missing that. From someone who used to be terribly allergic to poison ivy, my sincere condolences for your poison oak reaction. That must have been some kind of miserable. I spent more than one day in the emergency room for horrible poison ivy reactions, but I haven't had it for over 25 years, so maybe my body finally built up an immunity to it.

At this point, my advice be to go get a small unfill. At minimum, talk to your doctor about the problems you're having. I know you don't want an unfill because you're concerned about losing good restriction, but whether it's your drainage or too big a fill, you're too restricted. Several people have said that .25cc to .5cc was all they needed. My last fill that took me to my sweet spot was only .5cc.

If you eat Greek yogurt, be sure and bulk it up with foods that are on your soft foods' list for added satiety. If you're allowed All Bran cereal (or something similar), put some in. Also, you could add oats or soft fruits or even a bit of peanut butter (or the powder that was recommended) with your fruit (or sugar free preserves) or chocolate flavored protein. A partial scoop of protein powder helps. When I was at your stage, my hunger started coming back too, and my NP gave me a few of these suggestions, and I really found it to be helpful (I eat Greek yogurt a few times a week, so I've become pretty creative). You could use regular yogurt too, but the high protein Greek yogurt is much more filling.

I don't have a medical answer for your question, but I really don't think your cough will hurt your band. Now, if it was just a week or two after surgery while your stitches were still healing, I'd be more concerned. I also had either the flu or a very bad cold a couple of weeks ago that left me with a ridiculously bad and chronic cough. I woke up several times during the night coughing like crazy. Thank goodness it finally passed after almost a week. I didn't notice any difference in my band restriction and still don't. I hope you're feeling better soon.

Welcome to LBT! Sounds like you're getting off to a great start. It's not at all unusual to have some stomach pain for a few weeks. Mine was at my port site. It would come and go, but adult strength liquid Tylenol would zap it. Even several weeks after surgery, I'd have a bit of pain now and then, but nothing that needed medication. Mostly I felt it if I had been sitting for an extended time. My fill have never hurt. I barely feel a pinch. Congratulations on your surgery, and keep up the good work.

How did you deal with the emotional/head/obsessive eating? I was a grazer, and two things made a huge difference for me. 1. I don't have a ravenous appetite since I got to my sweet spot. Once my hunger issues were under control, I found that I no longer had those urges to pig out on crap food. 2. I also don't keep my trigger foods around the house. After a year, I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable that I wouldn't imbibe, but my family doesn't need that junk either, so I buy healthier Snacks and they're just as happy with that. I feel pretty guilty that I used to have the truly bad snacks around, since they really could care less about them. Thankfully, my kids are slim, athletic, and healthy eaters and never developed my bad eating habits. What did you say to yourself when visions of cupcakes floated into your consciousness? I say, maybe this weekend, maybe over the holiday, maybe tomorrow, etc. For me, this is my new life, which may include a cupcake or cookie on occasion, but *never* on a routine basis ever again. I am so glad to have those things out of my system. Who is having a hard time with the band/lifestyle changes and what are you doing to change your thinking or behaviors in order to make it work? I absolutely LOVE my band with all my heart! Other then eating smaller portions, feeling healthy, losing weight, etc, etc, etc the impact on my life has been very minimal (at least in any negative way). Is there anyone here who regrets having it done? I guess my last answer covers this one. If you are a survivor of abuse (like me) and put on weight as a protective shell, how did you feel when your body was vulnerable and exposed after weight loss? How did you deal with it? I am truly sorry about your your past abuse. How does losing the weight (or having the band) affect your relationships with others? I don't really notice any affect other than when I've seen friends I haven't seen in a while, and they're like what the heck (in a good way). I've had all positive responses. My husband and I have been together since we were teens and I was taut (lol). He pretty much kept his physique, while I grew. He has been great throughout, but becoming fit again has been a wonderful journey together. One of the things I regretted most about getting out of shape were all the activities that I felt like I had become a spectator. I just didn't have the energy. I have always loved the outdoors...hiking, boating, sking,.., and now, I can participate again. I LOVE it. In so many ways, I feel like were teens together again..in all the right ways. Would you do it again if you could? Without a doubt!! I was self-pay, and it has been worth every penny. I would never suggest surgery to strangers, but when I see someone in the shape I was in or worse, it's hard not to tell them there's hope. Who here has gained weight back and why? I reached a plateau and gained back five pounds over the summer before I got good restriction, but I didn't throw in the towel. I knew I could get back on the bandwagon with another fill, and more exercise effort. Do you tell people you had surgery? I ask because so many people consider it "cheating" even though we know it is hard work. (I have considered not telling anyone BUT I have a big mouth and probably can't keep it shut even if I try). It was a need to know basis with me at first. I had read enough and I also knew my body, to know that I was not going to be one of those people who loses all their weight in nine months. I thought it would make it feel slower if people were asking me how it was going, etc. As the weight started to drop, and people started to notice (took about three months), then I told them about my surgery. The only person who said anything the least bit negative was my mother-in-law who said if she would have known ahead of time, she would have told me not to it (that's her being worried about any of us having surgery, being ill, etc, not out of spite). Good luck!!

Since your BMI is borderline, and the second office is so close, I'd stop by their office to make sure you're being heard about the 3 month diet dilemma. There's no use considering them if you might lose your insurance coverage with their diet requirement. Since you'd rather not do the 3-6 month diet (can't blame you), 1) maybe they would make an exception for you or 2) you may find out they actually submit your starting weight for insurance. Good luck!

So, what were the results? lol But no, I didn't have to have a pregnancy test because I had a hysterectomy.

I was also told to take a multi vit/mineral and calcium. I take chewable centrum for adults (or pharmacy brand) and chewable calcium. I also take a liquid B12 and I add vit D drops in the winter. All my blood work came back normal after a year, so it's working.

It's no biggie. I had to wear a hospital gown. They stick little tabs (electrodes?) on your chest, arms and legs. Well, my memory is pretty falty..lol..but I think that's what was done. Then you just pretty much lay there as the doctor runs some tests. You don't feel anything.

Have you seen the movie Juno? If not, you'd love the scene with the ultrasound tech and the step mom. I never think of the right thing to say when someone is rude like that, but the step mom let the woman giving the ultrasound have it when she made a disrespectful comment to Juno. Just try to shake the negativity off. Easy to say, and hard to do, but that woman isn't worth two minutes of your day. I feel very sorry for her daughter.

I mostly drink decaf, so it wasn't something I paid a lot of attention to, but I know it was brought up several times in support group that we should limit caffeine to no more than two cups per day, but I don't remember a time frame from after surgery. From my WW days, caffeine can be a diuretic, so it makes sense not to drink it after weight loss surgery when we could be prone to dehydration. Also, for some people (at least according to the WW I attended), caffeine causes you to feel hungry. I drink regular coffee on occasion, and I don't find that it makes any difference to my hunger though.

As far as I know my port is still in the same spot it has always been, but my doctor did tell me that it sometimes shifts a little as you lose weight.

Personally, I think you should be eating pretty easily. A little slower, a little more chewing, a little smaller bites, but not so significant you feel like you stand out. I think you can stretch your pouch by packing it over an extended period of time. I'm pretty sure that's something I could do because I don't tend to get any reaction to my food (tightness or other telltale signs unless I eat about a cup of good solid food). My doctor wants me to eat 1/2 cup meals (he left me with a 4 oz pouch), which I do. I measure my meals at home, and at that, I stay full 4 to 5 hours and sometimes longer. If you were to ever stretch your pouch, I've read that unless you really packed it, just getting back on track by measuring your meals and not overeating will allow it to shrink back to it's proper size. I don't know if there's any science behind that, but it sounds reasonable to me. I'm not going to test it though. lol

Some docs numb the area and some don't. Mine doesn't, and I've never had any pain. In fact, I can barely feel it. I'm sure part or most of the reason is my port area is numb. Whether I've had my fill done by a NP or the doctor, it's only taken one quick stick. The amount of your fill varies from doc to doc too. Some put a small fill in during surgery, so you might not get as much if you already have some. My first fill was 4.5cc in a 9cc band.

Love the positive attitude!! Good luck, and I hope everything goes smoothly. I was excited for my band date too.

You can never go wrong with clean underwear. lol I had blood drawn, an EKG, chest xray (I'm sure there's another name for it, but I don't know what it is), weight, bp, temp. I think that was about it.

Hi Ashley. Welcome to LBT. I'm sorry you haven't been as successful as you hoped you would be, but congrats on the 60lb weight loss. I don't understand why your doctor doesn't want to give you more fill if you still don't have good restriction. It sounds like you have the large 14 cc band, is that correct? I have the 9cc Realize Band, and I ended up needing 11cc (or somewhere in that neighborhood) to finally get great long lasting restriction. My doctor did my final fill under fluoro and measured the band pressure to be sure he wasn't overdoing it. I believe he only measures pressure with the Realize Band though. I'm sure it has something to do with it being a low pressure band, but I don't know that for a fact. Regardless, whether you have a 9cc, 10cc, 11cc, or 14cc band, with 8.5cc you have room for fill. Some of the fill stays in the tubing, so it's not all in the band anyway. It might be helpful if you write down exactly what you're eating, how much, and how soon you're getting hungry again (if you're not doing it already), and go to your doctor armed with that info. Good luck.

As others have said, you won't get enough Protein with only milk. I was supposed to boost my Protein shakes with a 1/4 cup of skim dry milk powder. Another idea to boost the protein is Greek yogurt added to you shake. I would also try to add at least a small scoop of protein powder and adjust it as you can tolerate it (that is, if you can tolerate it). Isopure is a fruit flavored Protein Drink that has 40 grams of protein/20 oz. However, you should run these ideas by your surgeon or NUT. We don't want to lead you down the wrong path, and have you end up getting sick. They may even have alternatives for you.

That's a good point. Did the allergies start right after you got off the steroids? I had a really bad cold last week with a lot of drainage, and while I could still eat, I could definitely tell I was tighter. I'm sure a hot drink would help, if that's the case.

If something gets stuck, you'll know it. You'll have pain, mucus (slime), burping, pb (productive burp where the food comes back up in pretty much the same condition it went down). Since you swallowed your gum yesterday, I'm sure it went through, or you wouldn't be able to take liquids. A lot of bandsters say no gum because of the possibility of swallowing it. As you get more restricted, you might not get so lucky if you accidentally swallow it. That being said, I do sometimes chew gum, but I only chew it for a short time. I don't think my doctor ever mentioned gum, and I'm really not sure how dangerous it is if it's accidentally swallowed. But just keep in mind that things you get away with now, when you have little restriction, will become more difficult as you get fills. I had intermittent port pain for probably a month, and on rare occasions for maybe three months especially if I had been sitting for long periods of time.