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I am cooking the entire dinner ... as usual. My brother and his wife are coming and my sis and of course my 2 kids (20 &22 - they still live at home). I did prep work last night and made a dozen red velvet cupcakes w/cream cheese icing. I have not touched even ONE of them. YAY! I made the mac and cheese and dressing today and will put the turkey in the oven in the morning and make the greens and the yams ... and of course the rolls. I am not worried about overeating because I have been under the weather today. Went to work and was sent home. I don't have a cold or anything contagious so cooking is not a problem. I am hoping to feel much better tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to all! ~Fran

I agree ... the products they want to create have pretty much already been done. But it would be nice if they can come up with greater variety for us, so if they put it out there I'll give it a try! ~Fran

LOL Miki, you're right, that gas pain (which for me was in my left shoulder) was straight from the devil! That was the only real pain I had, but if my doc had given me demerol I would have taken it! I took Darvocet religiously -- probably why I didn't feel any pain. Depending on what you're eating, chewing 27 times might be overkill. Stop counting and just pay attention to how mushy the food is before swallowing. You can't spend the months to come counting every bite. And, just so you aren't surprised -- bandster hell is probably in your future too. Read about it on this forum. Forewarned is forearmed, you know? Eventually things WILL get better (barring, of course, unforeseen medical difficulties). Everybody needs to rant every now and again so, have at it! We are here to support you. All the best to you on your journey. ~Fran

WOW! That's fantastic! You went to Dr. Liu, right? I KNEW I liked that man! LOL What a wonderful surprise for you! BTW, thanks again for sharing the info about the focus group. It was interesting. ~Fran

Thanks to all for your posts. Glad to know I am not alone and also to read other points of view. In about 15 minutes we are having our Thanksgiving luncheon here at work. I am hungry ... but I think it is in my head (or maybe my nose cuz I can smell the food ... lol) because my stomach is not growling, in fact I don't feel anything in my stomach. My mouth is watering and I feel like I want to eat something. Wait, I just had the tiniest hunger pang! Wow! Anyway, I definitely want to eat lunch. I think it is important for us to learn to know the difference between head hunger and actual hunger and to act accordingly whenever possible. This is my greatest battle. I will keep working on it. ~Fran

Elcee, do you attribute the lack of the "need to eat kind of hunger" to proper restriction in your band, or do you think you have changed the way you feel/think about food?

I don't know how "great" I'm doing vlp, 75% is not very high when it comes to losing weight. I struggle with exercise and for me, exercise is key. Jacqui, I wish you all the best with your upcoming surgery. Sending you prayers and good thoughts and rainbows and whatever else it takes to pull you through this to a happy ending! You are a phenomenal woman and this thing will NOT keep you down. It will be interesting to know whether there is a noticeable change in your hunger once you are unfilled. Take care.

I read a lot of posts talking about how hungry people are 1-2 hours after a meal. I have read this even from some that say they are at their sweet spot or have restriction. It is easy to understand how frustrated they must be. My experience and my question are a little different. I have been banded for close to 1 ½ years and I have been at my sweet spot since about April 2010. I rarely feel real hunger -- the stomach growling kind. I usually know that I am hungry because I start to lose energy, and have the slightest of hunger pangs. Usually I look at the clock and notice it is lunchtime or dinnertime. When I think about it, being truly hungry was never my problem even before the band. My eating was the result of emotions, ANY EMOTION. Happy, sad, glad, mad, angry, lonely, tired, hurt, and the list goes on and on … as did the numbers on the scale. After I was diagnosed with Atypical Type 2 Diabetes in January 2008 and was put on medication things seemed to level out a bit. More often than not my BG numbers were too low. I lost a few pounds (about 23 lbs), took my meds regularly and I didn’t suffer from “the hungries” as much. Shortly after being banded I was taken off Diabetes meds. I would say that 75% of the time since being at my sweet spot (and much therapy, LOL) I am able to stop myself from using food to quell an emotional ill. I am working toward being at 99% but hey … we all have our flaws. My question is: Are there others of you who, after reaching proper restriction, no longer feel real hunger pangs? Thanks.

Elfie, so glad to hear that you have found the answer for YOU. I will be saying prayers, keeping my fingers crossed, wishing on stars ... and everything else (LOL) that BCBS covers your revision surgery. I have BCBS too -- I'm not that crazy about it, but maybe yours will be better than mine. Good luck to you on your new journey. YAY Elfie!!

I have a question: Is the general tone of your husbands criticism of your weight loss out of character for him? After all the work you have done to become healthier it seems a little meanspirted for your husband to say "You should just gain about 15 pounds, that should fix it". So, I am just asking if it is new behavior for him to be mean (which would possibly indicated his fear of losing you), or if it is characteristic of him to say thoughtless things to you (in which case YOU may be the one that has made a 180 and increased your self esteem to the point that you now really hear what he has always been saying to you). Someone told me a long time ago that when we change ourselves EVERYTHING around us changes. Not everyone will be happy with the new you, and I am so sorry that one of the people is your husband. I truly hope that this works out for what is best for you and your family. Somehow I don't get the impression that you are a person that will allow anyone to torture you be it physically, mentally or emotionally. I wish you the best, whatever you choose to do.

I haven't eaten actual food for breakfast in about a year. I am tight every morning, so I drink a Protein shake as I sit in traffic on my ride to work. Sometimes I have to take small sips. I have learned that we all become dehydrated to some degree overnight, and if you are not getting a normal amount of Water daily you can definitely be tighter as a result. I drink a cup of herbal tea when I arrive at work and I try to get as much water in as possible so that I can eat lunch. My blood pressure medication contains a diuretic so I have to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated, otherwise along with my band being tight, I also will suffer from foot cramps (like last night... ughhh!). I am happy and satisfied with a Protein Shake for breakfast, but many prefer food. I would say try the warm liquids in the morning as suggested here, and make sure you are hydrated overall. This could do the trick and you will be able to have real food for breakfast in no time. Best of luck to you. ~Fran

So sorry to hear you were so swollen. Sounds painful too. But I have to say, you have THE BEST attitude! I know you will lose the weight before your next fill. All the best to you. ~Fran

Yes, there is a very real possibility that you need to have some of the Fluid taken out of your band. That said, are you getting at least 64 oz of Water daily? This is important especially if your are pbing so often. You may be dehydrated and that can make your band even tighter. I don't like the idea of an unfill either and I don't have a hefty $80 co-pay, so I feel your pain. But I have read again and again on this forum that if you are too tight you won't lose weight. Perhaps you can, make an appointment for a week or two from now and in the interim you can work on that meal plan calendar you mentioned and make sure you stay hydrated, and exercise. If things get better you can cancel your appointment, if things don't get better you can get a small unfill. Just a little food for thought. Hope things get better for you. ~Fran

OMG! Why on earth did they take ALL the Fluid out of your band??? They could have taken .1, .2, .3 etc. No wonder you are in such a state! I don't blame you at all! Can you get back in for a fill before the end of November ... seems a long time to wait. With my last fill I was very tight, but decided to give it a while and let the swelling go down. The swelling went down long ago, but at times I still felt too tight because I couldn't eat. Lo and behold, it turned out that I was dehydrated!! I was barely drinking 32 oz a day! The way I discovered this was, one day I was too tight to get food down and the next day I could eat all of my dinner. I thought about what was different and discovered that I had been drinking Water all day long. Duhhhh, I felt like an idiot, but I was very glad to learn that I needed to put ALL the pieces together to be successful with my band. I know that when you have restriction again you will do great. Hang in there, you will be back on track soon. Good luck to you!

Have you checked the batteries in your scale?

I hope what I have to say will be helpful to you and other pre-ops. I was banded in June 2009. First I would like to say that if you are an emotional eater (i.e., eat compulsively, eat because you are happy, sad, depressed, angry, lonely, tired, etc.), then the fact that you paid good money for the surgery won't really matter. When your emotions control your eating -- YOUR EMOTIONS CONTROL YOUR EATING. BUT, don't lose heart because the lapband can help. I know it has helped me. I am/was definitely a compulsive eater. After years of yo-yo dieting I got to my highest weight of 307 (when I went in the hospital for diabetes BG 917), once my sugar was under control I got down to 294. 294 is what I weighed on surgery day. Some people get the lapband and are pretty much "perfect". By that I mean they follow all diet instructions, exercise, journal, etc. Then there are others (like myself) that are not quite as focused and have stressors (i.e., teen/young adults in the home, stressful job, health problems, etc.) that conjure up old eating habits. So, suffice it to say that my weight loss has been slow. But, the important words here are WEIGHT LOSS. I am consistently losing (with a stall every now and again). I am getting exercise in (though not as much as I should). But the biggest thing is that the way I think about food has changed! I am no longer a slave to food. I credit my band, I really do. I credit my band because, with proper restriction, I have not been able to binge when I am overwhelmed by life. As a result, I am able to get back on balance and eat properly before I have done severe damage. BUT IT GETS BETTER. I have stopped reacting to stress in my life with food about 90% of the time! This is HUGE for me! I credit the band. Last night my kids made me very sad/mad. I was still thinking about it as I drove to work this morning. I had my Protein drink for Breakfast and had the forethought to bring another just in case my band was too tight for me to eat food at lunch (my band gets tighter when I am stressed). By the time lunch time came I was in the tank, on my way to being depressed -- a sure sign that Cookies were in my future. You know what I did instead? I put on my sneakers (I keep a pair at work - no excuses for not exercising while at work LOL) and took a good long walk. When I got back to my office building I sat in the sun (it's a beautiful day here) and tried to decide what I should eat for lunch that was healthy. In the end I went back to the office and drank my Protein Drink ... wasn't in the mood for food. Before the band, I couldn't have done that. The thing is, the band is a tool. You can learn to use to your advantage. Learn everything you can about the band. Be prepared going in ... and you will still be surprised. Know that you lose as fast or as slow as you are willing to work. ALL the power is in your hands, the band is just there to help you do what you really want to do. If you REALLY want to lose weight the band can help. If you don't really want to lose weight, the band won't stand in your way (ice cream and cake go down with ease). There are a few people that have problems with the band, but the vast majority of people have a tool that works. All the best to you on your journey! ~Fran

The main question is that its been less than 10 years since you were banded. I don't even remember the other questions because i don't think they were band related. ~Fran

Thanks so much! I just signed up and will be there on the 17th! A day off from work AND $150 for my Vegas trip Thanksgiving weekend. YAY!!! ~Fran

Something I find very interesting about eating during the holidays is that no one asks my sister (5'6" down to 119 lbs today from 124 lbs 6 months ago -- she's always been thin) why she's hardly eating or why she's not eating at all. But me ... me they ask "Don't you want more? Are you sure you have enough?" I guess people don't want you to change. Too bad for them cuz I'm no longer satisfied with being the "fatty" of the family! Since my mom went into a convalescent home 5 years ago I have been the designated chef for TG and Xmas. I never enjoyed cooking but took on the job for the sake of the kids. I found that cooking all that food made me not enjoy eating it as much, which is good. Now that I have the band it's even better. Today I learned that I can also forgo sweets!!! It's a miracle! Tomorrow is my daughter's b-day so I made two dozen oversized cupcakes. 12 red velvet with homemade cream cheese icing and 12 double chocolate with cream cheese chocolate chip filling with homemade buttercream chocolate chip icing. She will be sharing them with her friends when they come by tomorrow evening. I haven't eaten even ONE. By the time I was done the very smell of something sweet gave me a headache!! Uuuggggghhhhh! Did I lick my fingers while baking? At first, yes. But I kept thinking about the empty calories and stopped. So I just washed off the cake beaters -- the days of licking them clean are long gone. Do I think I will have a cupcake tomorrow? yes, probably. But, unlike my behavior in the past, I will probably eat half of the cupcake (after I eat my dinner, of course) and save the rest for the next day. For me this is a victory because in the past I would have eaten at least THREE cupcakes by now. For me, the best thing is not the weight loss ... it's that I am changing the way I think/feel about food. It's been a long road to get here, and I think I still have a ways to go, but I am really happy with how far I have come. I don't think I would be where I am without the band. Because of the band, I am not the least bit concerned that I will overeat for the holidays. It's a great feeling! ~Fran

So glad to hear everything has worked out for you! As for your 6 month diet, you should not have to start again as long as you have your documentation. It should be about whether or not you have been on a 6 month supervised diet not whether you have been on their 6 month diet. That said, when I was choosing a doc on my plan (BC/BS, uggghhh) one of the covered providers was Cedars Sinai and they have their own "special" program. So after seeing 3 docs that turned out not to be on my insurance (long story), I had already started my 6 months with my therapist and I was not about to start again with Cedars; so I went to a different doc. Everything will work out fine for you, the best is yet to come! ~F

Okay, I'm sold! I will buy one after Christmas! YAY! My kids are going to go CRAZY because this will be for ME!! They have their own stuff and they don't SHARE! (They are 20 and 22 so ...). Anyway I am excited and will start doing my research immediately. I want all the "bells and whistles"! It will be nice to have a "toy" of my own.

It's interesting that you should say that it is a controlled substance. When my doc prescribed Nuvigil he told me that it was NOT addictive, but, after doing a little research I read again and again that is IS addictive. I really don't like taking Nuvigil for that reason. I did not even know about how it effects the heart. But, at this time I need it, at least until I can figure out why I am so exhausted. sleeping at work is NOT acceptable. Thanks for the info. My co-pay is also $20.

I too am on Nuvigil and, as you said Bayareanan, it does some good but has not solved the problem. I have been tired and not feeling well all week. Also, today I forgot to take it before leaving for work and didn't have any in my purse so I am crazy tired and grumpy too. Ugghhh! Hope you get to the bottom of your problem soon Spoiltmom.

Don't you hate when that happens?!?!? I think I will put a piece of plastic under the scale the next time I weigh. I like the results you're getting. (It will be a while since I no longer have a scale at home -- I was much to obsessed).:wub: Hang in there, you're on the mend!

As much as I hate the idea of the apron, I have to agree with you Elfiepoo ... I hate the after effects of anesthesia and the sad but true fact is that at my age I am NEVER going to wear a bikini. I can live with that. I have been satisfied with a slow but steady weight loss because I see my stomach getting smaller but my skin isn't going anywhere! LOL I hate that look but ... oh well, what can I do. I would only have surgery to remove the apron if I kept getting an infection. If I were younger I'm sure I would think quite differently.