RestlessMonkey

sleep well! And honestly its been so long since I had unprotected sex with a stranger (I was born in 1955 realize) OR had a cookie that I think I get them confused! :thumbup: It was nice disagreeing with you! :thumbup:

One thing though I just thought of.... the nursing text I posted about somewhere on here when my husband forced me to put my refried Beans away...DID discuss peristalsis but did NOT address the band ripping lose. If I implied that I was 100% wrong. If I use that anecdote again I'll be clear...the text covered digestion, did NOT discuss the band. Thanks for calling me on that. I need to make sure I'm very clear. :thumbup:

Cheating on the postop diet CAN rip your sutures though. I think many docs state this in the seminar when most of us are all "band band band" and not oriented to what happens after. I'll do this...I'll say I know it can rip your sutures (if you have them, I don't think realize bands are sewn in) and it IS a major cause of slippage...that's data that I got from google and the reading I did, not my RN stuff. I really honest to God don't mean to be contentious with you; but personally I think saying "you'll probably be ok" is kind of dangerous. Like telling someone who had unprotected sex with a stranger "oh don't worry about it" if you get my drift? I don't mean to be a harbinger of doom and am generally a fairly cheerful "question authority" type...but this isn't something to play around with. We should ALL be able to stick to a post op liquid only diet for a week or two, don't you think? I mean, I was one of the fattest people on here and you don't get that way being in control all the time, you know? If my statement scares people then maybe it should scare them a little. There will still be people who disregard it and do what they want and that's totally fine with me. I don't care, honestly. I just think the info should be reiterated when we are in a position to listen....when we have the band and are looking around thinking Hmmm, what now? We can agree to disagree on this if you're game. I'll try to be a "light" voice of doom LOL because I don't want to petrify anyone but I don't want to pretty it up or lie, either. Cheating post op IS a major cause of slippage. I'm not comfortable being quiet when I see someone at risk. Even if they don't like me, the point is for them to be safe. I'll make sure I put "check with your doc" anytime it's appropriate, too. I TRY to do that because I'm very aware esp as a new RN that I am NOT a doc and don't want to imply I know more than I do...so I'll be more diligent that I put that in there.

I think that a doc should tell them to relax, not you or me who doesn't know the situation...that's the only diff in our viewpoint I think. I guess I'm just a tough love type and you're more kindly LOL who'd a thunk it. Anyway yes odds are people get away with small infractions but when the odds go against you it is miserable. That's all.

yeah, I listened to the lucky people who cheated on their preop diets and didn't have any problems....guess what. I didn't get the band the 1st time cuz I cheated on mine. The "you'll be ok" attitude is great as long as you ARE ok....but if you are that person who isn't, it pretty much sucks. Bottom line, use good sense, follow your docs instructions, and you'll be fine.

Sounds like you have a plan! That's great! I know that I, now, do better if I eat something like steak or chicken breast (dry) because a little will fill me up and last for HOURS whereas I could eat a bucket of yogurt! :smile2: That's the great thing about the band, though; we all get to use it in the way that works for us! Hang in there and keep in touch!

Headhunter.... I'm a happily married fat chick BUT I think I have a crush on you. :smile2:

Thank you! I am very very new nurse; I haven't even passed the credentialing boards yet (NCLEX) BUT! I have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing! So I am one! :smile2: I love it and am grateful every day I got the chance at my age to go back to school and get to do something so awesome for the 2nd half of my life! Do call your doc tomorrow; you probably should stick with one med for a while and let it build up and do it's job...I hope whatever your issue is that it is minor and easily fixed. I'm sure it will be! You caught it very very early before the acid had time to hurt you any!

I wish I knew! :smile2: I know my husband has GERD and it's partly caused by a hernia. He takes Prevacid and as long as he doesn't eat like a boa constrictor late at night, he's good. Maybe you need a proton pump inhibitor like prevacid or nexium? You may have a small hernia, you may have something else, it may be the band! But whatever it is you were very very smart to not just try to live with it because the acid can do damage. The stomach is built to take it, but not our esophagus. If you're still in pain, call your doc tomorrow and have him check you out! Good luck; odds are it's something minor that can be fixed with a medication for a while so don't fret about it! I just thought of this...This may sound odd but have you tried a couple of tums? If you had GERD really bad your esophagus MAY just be irritated; tums can help soothe it. (they make a sugar free one, if you want). But if it is still hurting tomorrow (tums or no) call your doc. Ok?

If the tight fill was causing it (and that didn't seem tight, to me, nor is .75 cc's slight! LOL Unless you have the older style band that only holds 4ccs in which case that was very tight....but I need to remember we are all different; I'm just wondering if maybe your band didn't cause it, but am not a doc) then as soon as the tightness is relieved the reflux should subside. In other words, it should go away pretty darned quickly. If it doesn't, something else is wrong and you need to call your surgeon back.

if you want the fruity foo foo teas you can buy them powdered and sugar free! :smile2: We southern people do not take iced tea lightly! LOL I make mine with 2 scoops of lipton loose leaf. People love it (or pretend they do) but no fruit. That's just, um, sacrilege LOL

Good luck! It took a while but I finally realized Pat was really helping, so if you find one you like, hang in there with him/her for a bit to see if it will do you some good. I think going to Pat was one of the smartest things I've done for myself in a while!

I agree! I wasn't told this by my doc but by my RN husband (husband and Rn for 25 years now!LOL) He dug out one of MY nursing school books and read me the passage to PROVE it to me so I would put the dratted can of refried Beans I was carrying around DOWN and not eat them! LOL I think docs sometimes underestimate our intelligence or maybe conversely overestimate it...they think we KNOW why we shouldn't eat. And they tell us "don't eat ahead of your post op diet or it will hurt your band/healing" and we kind of gloss over that part.

Congrats and good luck! Don't hesitate to get help if you find you need it this time (quitting so you'll have a healthy happy baby is a great motivator!) I'm sure you'll kick butt! :smile2:

I wanted a "behavioral" therapist because, from my introductory psych course (pre req for nursing school) I learned that behaviorists try to modify your behavior, and are usually quite successful. While the "why" may matter and can be explored, the actual bad behavior is the focus. I liked that because I have combed through my psyche and my past ad nauseum for "why" I overate. Not to beat that horse, but the behaviorist helped me a lot. I think if I'd found her when I was about 50 pounds over I wouldn't have needed the band, but what I learned with her (both the why and behavior mods) are helping me be successful with the band. Behavioral may not be for you...but I googled "therapists who treat eating disorders and accept Tricare in San Antonio" and lo and behold a list popped up! LOL People often say "ask your PCP" but mine hadn't a clue. I went through the list, found several I liked, and clicked on the phone with "Pat" whom I used for just under a year. You might try a similar search? We think of eating disorders as usually meaning anorexia, or maybe bulimia, but obesity is an eating disorder too. Good luck!

I have to say really discuss it with your surgeon and the psychologist. I still stand by the fact that being "stopped" depends on WHAT you eat. Deserts? you can really chow down on those. Cookies? ditto. chips? YES. I know someone said she couldn't but that's rare. I personally can't eat a lot of pizza but many can....especially thin. It really hinges on WHAT you are eating. If you get so restricted that you can't overeat ANYTHING then often you are so tight you can't even get Water or your own saliva down. I am not saying the band isn't great, or that anyone who "binged" would "fail" at it. I'm saying we all overeat in different ways for different reasons. Grazers, for example, don't do as well with the band because you can kind of graze your way all day through a bunch of calories, keeping a slow trickle of food going through a restricted band. It's not a panacea, or a cure all. It's a wonder, but it doesn't work for everyone. PLEASE you bingers, give yourselves the very best chance you can to be successful. Talk to a psychologist and your surgeon...see if you have "head" issues that need to be addressed first (again with the caveat that we are all different...some may need additional intervention, others not) but give yourself every chance on earth to beat your disease. Don't just cross your fingers and think "oh well this HAS to work". It doesn't have to work. It may not. It may. Find out. Good luck to each and every one of you!

PLEASE don't cheat! It isn't worth it. I learned the hard way after cheating on my preop (and not getting the band placed the 1st time!) Post op it is imperative that you let yourself heal. If you eat anything much that needs to be chewed (aside from jello) it causes peristalsis and your stomach churns and moves. You don't feel it, but it happens. This action can rip loose your sutures. Cheating on the post op diet is a major cause of band slippage. Worse, you may loosen a suture but not know you did and have a slip down the road (or erosion) and think "why me" The post op diet is short in the vast scheme of things. Man up and get through it. You'll be proud of yourself, AND...you'll set yourself up for a good band experience. You can do it!

I love my band, too. I think it is a wonder, a miracle. It gives ME control, finally. I don't have to grit my teeth and hold onto that diet mentality. I am just.... me. I eat less, is all. I don't have to avoid any food (except carbonation, which i guess strictly speaking isn't a food) I was your age when I had my surgery. I recovered very fast, little pain, have done well. I wouldn't give up my band for anything

I hear you! I was in nursing school and told everyone...they were all very nice and supportive but it became increasingly odd to NOT lose! :blushing: I just trusted in the process and the band, though (and my last semester I frankly couldn't have cared less. Stress was my name, trying to get through it was my game. If anyone had time to wonder if I'd lost, they weren't going to pass! LOL) But I totally get your point. I really did think about dieting but it really freaks me out. Lots of people are very successful however dieting while they wait for that restriction. The band really works so if dieting just fails you, don't think you've failed. Get your fills as soon as your doc will provide them (I could schedule mine every 4 weeks but he just did not believe in putting too much in each time, although i could have agitated for more and probably gotten it. But I trusted him and here I am restricted and able to eat ANY food. Any. I just don't eat too much of it, which is what he said "we" were aiming for!) Anyway good luck, hang in there. It's a wonderful tool, you did the right thing for yourself!

Smoking can really have a huge impact on how well you do during surgery and afterward for recovery. When we smoke we tend to forget about the carbon monoxide, for example. The last thing you want under anesthesia is for them to have problems keeping you oxygenated. It is staggering how deleterious smoking is, and how not smoking for even a short time can make a huge difference. Smoking also impairs healing. Sorry about that! I used to smoke, 3-4 packs a day! (back when I smoked it was just starting to become, uh, politically incorrect? It was still legal everywhere when I started in 1980) Quitting was really hard for me (I would lie in bed at night and cry I wanted to smoke so badly, and I was so mad I'd ever even started!) but I made it. Eventually you get to where you don't want one at all. I used the patch when I quit in 1995 . Nowadays I think I'd use the patch and chantix in a combo. Quitting smoking is WAY easier than dieting. For example in an office no one ever says "Its Joan's birthday, let's all go out and smoke!" LOL And you can be done with it; we always have to eat. So gather up your courage, get all the help you can, and go for it.

I didn't, but we're all different. My doc believes in slow fills (not aggressive!) and I didn't finally get restriction until March of this year (banded 8/08) . Long story short I needed an unfill and finally 5/7 hit the sweet spot. THAT is when I started losing. Until then, no. HOWEVER....if you want, you CAN diet and lose. Some are in a hurry or for whatever reason don't want to wait for restriction. That is perfectly ok...for them! I learned diets=food obsession for me, and I wanted freedom from thinking about food all the time. So I didn't "diet". I just let it happen for me. That's the beauty of the band, though. We all get to use it the best way for us.

I had surgery fri am, back in nursing school the next tues afternoon (but it was just sitting, no physical stuff). I felt fantastic! I bombed an easy math test though (and I am not a math-phobe...it was simple stuff..and I wasn't "On" anything stronger than tylenol and water) Teacher later quizzed me and I worked all the answers out in my head! She said It was probably just too soon after my surgery. So a caveat...you may think you're doing well and aren't (like drunk people often think they're funnier than they are, unless you're drinking too LOL) I would've preferred having a full week off, but I didn't have the option.

Jachut...I hear you! I don't really WANT surgery and don't mind not "having" to wear closed-heel shoes. I have more birkenstocks than a person should have. I remember the last time we went to Disney World and I outran/outwalked/outlasted everyone with me in my Birkenstocks and they in their fancy sneakers. :blushing: I really would make a great heathen. LOL I truly thought I had plantar fasciitis but that will teach me to self diagnose. I read books, I read online, I read journals (researching for my husband) and couldn't figure out why the things that helped him didn't help me. I too thought heel spurs was just another way of saying plantar fasciitis (easier to spell) but it isn't always. Often, but not always. My dad too had heel spurs and none of the plantar stuff (rolling foot on a can, sleeping in a splint etc) ever helped him either. I guess being heathens runs in families! :confused:

Thanks Deb...I wish mine were caused by plantar fasciitis but it isn't. In fact that's what I thought I had (husband has it) I'm unique, in a bad way! LOL In fact...having to wear the closed heel shoes they required for nursing school is what probably caused my condition to become so darned bad. I've been told to go barefooted as much as possible (so NOT plantar! LOL) which I do...and did. I worked in a casual office for years and usually wore my birkenstock clogs or sandals so I never had any trouble at all. So thanks for your tips; mine really is a bone spur (saw it on the x-ray) and it is aggravating my achilles tendon and my plantar fascia both. I probably will need it removed at some point but for now, as long as I don't bounce on it or wear shoes with heels (all the new balance and custom shoes I got are gone!) I'm good.

I too have a 14 cc band and right now have 7 cc's and am golden. I hit "the sweet spot" finally at 6.5 cc's and lost almost 30 pounds in the 5 weeks between that fill and the one to 7 cc's The last week I found I could eat more and doc said it was because I'd lost so much so fast! Band had loosened (less fat around my stomach) YAY So 7 will hold me for a while...but I've got LOTS of adjustment room left! :blushing: