Melissannde

I wanted to keep my surgery fairly secret.. in case I wasn't successful, but before asking if he could say.. my oh so Dear Husband told everyone at his work. He works at a rumor factory, so there goes any hope of privacy. Fortunately, I've never had any negative comments to my face. In fact, I usually get compliments and positive remarks. I don't tell every last person I talk to that I had the band, but if I sense that the person is struggling with their weight, I'll share. I'm pretty sure I inspired 2 other people to get banded and another to get a different WLS (Sleeve.. although the person who was sleeved thought I had had RNY).

I wouldn't necessarily have a fill, but I'd seriously consider going in just to talk about how you're doing. The nurse/doctor (whoever you see) may have some advice to help you with your current eating issues. Your call.

* Weigh & measure all meals eaten at home (3oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies). * wait 20 minutes after eating.. if still hungry, I can have another serving veggies.. provided no sauce, cheese, etc. * Only 3 meals a day...unless awake an extended period of time, then may have a 4th meal. * High protein, low cal Snacks only if truly hungry between meals. Drink Water first to see if thirst is masquerading as hunger. * drink 20 oz of water immediately before meals, and nothing during or after meals.. at least for 30 min., preferably for an hour. * exercise 5 or 6 days a week, minimum of 90 minutes. (when I started it was only walking..as I get more in shape, I increase the intensity of the exercise). * As little processed foods as possible. * no rice, no bread, no Pasta, no potatoes, very little corn. * Lean meats (I strive for 90/10.. 85/15 is the highest fat I will buy). Not all ground turkey is lean.. surprise! * Avoid HFCS like the plague (high fructose corn syrup).. read labels, it's in everything! * No fried foods. Oven fried is allowed though. * minimum of 64 oz of water a day. Most days I'm at 80 or above. *journal my food intake *attend support group (online or in person or both) *try to keep trigger foods out of the house, or at least out of sight (have a cabinet for my DS's and DH's treats). There might be more, but this is all I can think of right now.

My first fill was a little "ouchy" because my port area was still tender. Since then they've been no big deal at all.. and I HATE shots. Tell your nurse/doctor how apprehensive you are and they will help you through it.

It also depends on what types of food you choose to eat. If I had continued to eat nachos, fried foods, etc.. I would not have lost as fast, no matter how much fill I had. I changed my eating drastically from unhealthy to lean Protein and low carb veggies and no white carbs. It makes a huge difference. Amount of movement (aka exercise) also is a factor.

I know it's hard, but you really shouldn't progress your diet without talking to someone on your bariatric team (doctor, nurse, dietician, nutritionist). Please call and talk to them about your hunger problem and confess what you've been eating. They may have ideas and suggestions that will keep you satisfied without going beyond what the doctor thinks is appropriate for your stage of healing. It's also possible that they may tell you to go ahead and advance. The slow progression back to regular food is to allow the band to heal in place and reduce the chances of slippage later on. Eating regular food too soon increases peristalsis (the normal wave like movement of the stomach) and makes the healing process more difficult. It's unlikely that you did any major damage, but it would be good to talk to your doctor about it. One other thing: if you had the Scoop of lean body Protein AND the shot of liquid whey grape protein both at lunchtime.. that's too much protein at one time. Our bodies can only use about 20 to 25 grams at one time.. the excess just goes to waste (mainly urine) and is stressful to the kidneys. Healthy kidneys can take some stress....but over time repeatedly doing that can cause damage. If you had the two doses of protein at least an hour or two apart.. that should be fine. Congrats on your weight loss so far. It only gets better!

www.wlsvitagarden.com for lots of bariatric Vitamin information. Be sure and do a search for the Vitafusion gummies, looks like the dosage is half of what we need and missing some necessary stuff. I use Centrum adult chewables for my multi and my doc is fine with that, although he'd prefer that I use Bariatric Advantage. Many of the obese (and formerly obese) are low on D because we don't like to go out in the sun (too hot, don't like to be in public, etc.), so I do take D3. I have my pcp run labs on me yearly.. my surgeon doesn't do lab work on his banded patients. You may or may not want to add some Calcium. If you do take calcium, be sure and take it at least 2 hours away from your Multi.. if your multi has Iron in it. Calcium & Iron interfere with each other's absorption. B Vitamins probably wouldn't hurt, but check with your pcp.

Stages of Banding, by Jessie Ahroni, RN, PhD. Discovering the Band Wondering if this is for me Investigation Doing serious research Joining a support group Getting hopeful Finding a doctor Shock at the price Deciding to do it Making the arrangements Wondering if you made the right decision Getting nervous Going ahead with it Waking up and wondering what the hell you did to yourself. Post-op discomfort Month of liquids- not being able to strictly adhere Wondering if you've been scammed again Seeing a little success Getting your first fill Changing your eating habits Seeing more success Getting second fill Really losing Seriously changing your eating habits Being totally euphoric about your weight loss Changing your thinking about eating Wanting to tell every fat person you meet about the band Realizing you really can't eat Worrying about nutrition Learning to eat healthy and wise Finding other ways to meet your emotional needs Realizing it takes a long time to lose 100lbs Trudging along My clothes are too big Buying new clothes Oops, I bought too much too soon...now these are too big Buying more clothes Getting near goal Enjoying all the compliments Feeling successful Getting aggressive Not taking crap from anybody Realizing you can be assertive without steam rolling everybody Finding balance Wondering what comes next There are other stages and everybody does not go through them in the same order or even go through all the stages. Some people might have stages to add....and there is some looping back and forth. But these are common stages that Bandsters go through.

52 grams of Protein in one drink is too much. 20 to 25 grams at one time is all our bodies can handle, after that it just goes to waste (urine mainly) and stresses our kidneys. Normal kidneys can handle an insult (too much protein) a few times, but over time repeatedly insulting the kidneys will cause damage. Of course, this is your choice. Just giving you the information. Do what you want with it. I know I told you this on another thread and you said your medical team was ok with it.. but as I understood your reply, they're ok with 1 scoop of the protein. Do they know you are doubling it? I understand your frustration.. I seem to be bouncing around at about the same weight too, down a little, then back up again. Then working to get back down again. argh, but I'm not dealing with no hunger. I almost wish I was. Regarding the muscle tone, are you doing any type of weight lifting? That might help.

I didn't like the support group my doctor offered at first. It met at night, It's an hour's drive, I didn't like the facilitator/leader, there were loud-mouths there that wouldn't let me speak.. etc. etc. So for the first few months I didn't go, I used email support groups. This site is ok, but I really prefer SmartBandsters at yahoo groups. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters, and some others on yahoo (do a search on the groups site, you'll find more). The reason I prefer the smartBandsters group is that one of the moderators is a nurse who works in bariatrics and has been banded herself for 12 years. Nothing like having someone who's very experienced sharing with those who are learning the way of the band. ::grin:: I do go to the in person support group now.. but mainly because it gives me an opportunity to go shopping in another town before the group meeting.. haha. I'd say give your local group a try..if it's not a good fit, try some other venues. But do get support.. and from multiple sources. And if some group isn't a good fit, give them a retry after a while, sometimes things improve. My group did.. the loud-mouths have quieted down.

The only thing I have to add is I didn't use Protein powders pre-op or post-op. I get my protein from real food. I do use them a little bit now, but only as a restorative for my muscles after my extreme workouts, but if I wanted I could use skim milk instead of a protein mix and get about the same effect. IMO is there is little need for liquid Proteins... but everyone is different.

If you can get fluids down, stay on liquids today and call your doctor tomorrow. If it gets to the point where you can't get liquids down, call your doctor today.. yes, even on a holiday. If they should need to "go after" the gum, most likely they will be able to do it endoscopically.. which means light sedation (not asleep) and a tube down the throat. I don't know if papaya enzyme (chewable only please) would help with gum, but it might possibly be worth a try. Hope you feel better soon.

52 grams of protein at one time MIGHT be too much for an individual. Please double check this with your nut., doc. or dietician. We are told that our bodies can only handle 20 to 25 grams of protein at a time and taking in a lot more at a time is stressful on the kidneys. If your medical team says it's ok for you.. great. Just wanted to share what we were told at last support group.

You might consider doing a revision to the VSG either at the same time as band removal or at a later date. I've heard of more than one person with continuous pain from the band. Please check over at ObesityHelp.com in the lap-band forum, you should find some kindred souls there. I'm so sorry you're having issues. Glad you'll be getting some relief soon.

First of all, stop eating more food for a while. If you're stuck, you don't need to keep adding more. You can (and should) sip on Water, tea, and other very low calorie fluids, but no more solids for the time being. Call your doctor's office and let them know what's going on. Yes, I know it's the weekend and a holiday.. stuff happens. They will appreciate being told now rather than at 2am when you can't stand the feeling anymore. Consider getting some papaya enzyme chewable tablets. Sip water and wait for things to get better. The blockage will either ease, or the water will cause it to back up and you might be able to regurgitate it back up. Or, it will get to the point where you'll need to meet your surgeon somewhere for an emergency unfill. That's why I suggest calling now. Hope you feel better soon.

Why should you feel hoodwinked? I'd be happy that you were doing so well for so long. You got a head-start by having a little fill put in at the time of surgery. I know I came out of surgery with 3cc's in mine and I didn't go through much of the bandster hell that I hear others complaining about. I was grateful that I had some help from the get-go.

200 lbs in 2 years. Yes, definitely worth it. It is Dedication, Determination & Desire. It's getting up every day and trying. It's never giving up .. not to say there might not be a moment of weakness or some bad choices here and there.. but string more good choices together than bad.. and that will equal success.

You may want to question your doctor or nutritionist on that one. It's usually recommended to have something within 1 or 2 hours of getting up. This helps kick start your metabolism. Most doctors do not study nutrition in medical school, so I'm not one of those who slavishly follow a doc's food rules if they don't make logical sense to me. To the OP and the 1/2 cup question. When I was banded 2 years ago my surgeon told us 3oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies. Well, I was SMO and didn't think 3oz was enough.. so I did 4oz of protein and 1/2 cup veggies until I lost about my first 100. I'm now on 3oz & 1/2 cup. He's recently changed the protocol to 1 cup of food.. huh?? ok.. so the other day I took my 3oz and chopped it up and it fit into a 1/2 cup measure just about perfectly. So, 3oz of protein and 1/2 veggie is 1 cup of food. I could probably lose weight well on only 1/2 cup food total, but I don't think I'd have the energy to do the awesome, sweat drenching, muscle building workouts I love on that small amount. Everyone is different.. Viva La Difference!! My theory is, many bariatric surgeons started by doing the RNY (bypass) and know those rules by heart.. how to refeed the rny patient after surgery (the long slow progress from liquids to mushies to solids) and the standard 1/2 cup food per meal. Instead of relearning how band patients are different.. they just impose the same refeeding progression and 1/2 cup rule on the bandsters. This is just something I read someone else postulate one day.. and it made sense to me.

If you want to tackle this issue (and you may not at this time and that's fine), either move your portions to your bread plate and only eat what will fit on it. Or ask for a to-go box from the beginning and put away half of your meal before you start. I know another bandster who eats about half of her food and then puts TONS of pepper or hot sauce on the rest to make it inedible. Good Luck.

Disneymom, You might find some others with similar symptoms over at ObesityHelp.com in the lapband forum. Please post there too and see if you get some responses. I wish I could offer more help than that. I also agree with Sistersue, while seeing the psychologist probably wouldn't hurt anything, I think seeing the surgeon first would be the best idea.

I know a lot of people do use smaller utensils and bread plates, but I never have. I do use luncheon size plates rather than dinner plates, but regular forks & spoons. I want to be able to be as "normal" as possible to fit into the real world. If you find it's helpful for you.. great!! but it's not strictly necessary. I can take tiny bites from a regular spoon.

For the first bite syndrome, try a cup of hot tea or coffee just before your meal. You don't have to wait 30 minutes before eating after having the tea. The warmth should allow the band to relax just a tad and maybe the sliming will stop or at least slow down. Try smaller bites and chew, chew, chew. If none of these strategies work, call your surgeon and go in for evaluation. You might be just a tad too tight. I've had one .2cc unfill that made a world of difference. As to how much by weight should a bandster eat, my doctor gave me the guidelines of 3 oz Protein and 1/2 cup veggies. I weigh out my food every single day at home. I do not skip doing this. Now my doctor is telling band patients, 1 cup of food. Well, the other day I weighed out my protein and then cut it up and measured it.. 3oz was 1/2 cup. Perfect with my 1/2 cup veggies, I'm at 1 cup. You might also want to read Dr. Simpson's article: It's not about restriction. I know you weren't asking about restriction, but about fullness, but I think his article will have some insights for you. http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

If you want to talk to some long term vets.. try joining http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters Jessie Ahroni who is one of the moderators of that group has had her band way more than 6 years. Also Cynthia on the DFWBandsters list : http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DFWBandsters is a long term bandster. Bette B. who posts some on ObesityHelp.com has had hers 5 or 6 years. But be careful with OH, there's lots of negativity going on there recently. All 3 that I mentioned are doing well with their bands and are successful. Like previously mentioned, most of those who've been banded a long time and are doing well are out living healthy, happy lives and rarely come to the forums any longer.

My nutritionist doesn't want us to eat much corn at all.. as it is fairly high in sugar. And besides, almost all corn in the US is GM (genetically modified).

Lap-band is not about restriction: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html