mbprn

Sue, I understand what you feel like, I only told my DH and my 2 best friends. I have always felt like I stuck out :oas the fat girl and I didn't want any attention. I was afraid people would be judging me "Should she be eating that?" or whispering :gossip:"she had wt loss surgery" People who have never struggled with obesity don't understand obesity, just like I have no idea why people suffer with anorexia ( I used to dream about catching that-isn't that awful) Don't get me wrong -I understand from an educated stand point but not from an I've been there stand point. My DH is a naturally thin person (jerk) and has no comprehension about my struggle. He has always been supportive but once when I was having a discussion about wt with him he says "Just eat carrots and celery instead of junk food and then you'll lose wt" :hungry: Oh- is that all it takes,my bad. He has been biting his nails since childhood so I told him it would be the equivalent of me saying "Well if you just quit biting them then you will stop" A lightbulb :lightbulb:kind of went off then. He really is a great guy though and has never made one comment about my expanding waist line. Anyway I have been banded for 7 wks and I have done just fine going out and such. When I was on liquids I would ask for soup and eat the broth. When I was on mushies I would order something like a baked potato or beans. If people asked I said "I just had some minor surgery so I'm on a limited diet for now." I have lost about 24 lbs so people are starting to notice if they ask "have you lost wt" I say YES!!!!!!!!! If they say how I say "I'm eating less and exercising" which is not a lie :lie:so I don't feel bad at all. This is a very private journey to me. My husband inadvertantly :phone:told my inlaws and I was very unhappy:cry . They are all thin people who can eat whatever they want so now of course they keep asking "hows it going with your diet?" and then I got an email from my SIL who said "I heard you're doing great on your diet!!" I just wanted to barf :puke:because now she knows as well. When I see them I know they will be watching what I eat and I didn't want that but such is life. You should do what feels comfortable for you. If you don't tell at first and later you decide to anyone who really cares about you will understand your need for privacy. Not that I have an opinion about this either way...

Ohhh-good ones- I'm pretty sure The food Network is run by a group of skinny sadists that use subliminal adverstising: Must buy Rachel Ray's book, must buy Rachel Ray's magazine, must watch Rachel Ray's 42 shows, must elect Rachel Ray president of the United States, EVOO for vice president...

Bjean-forget shrinks how about revenge?? Reviewing this thread I have come up with the following: Litigation list: Little debbie (that gingham wearing cream filled hussy) Krispy Kreme (I think the glaze is heroin based) McDonalds Taco Bell Stupid doctors who say things like "go on the Pasta diet-you know past da store, past da cookies"(omg that is soo funny dr dumba$$- I'm gonna key your BMW on the way out-I think I'll inscribe PASTA) Any fill personel (md,rn,pa,np) who think fills are for honing their needle in a haystack skills Olive Garden (mmmm garlic bread...) Weight Watchers Phen-fen (although I must admit it seemed brillant-I'm not hungry and I have energy-okay so my heart leaks a little):unlove: Florida Gator fans (hey it's my list and I'm a UT alum):croc: Kentucky Fried chicken People who invented cabbage Soup diet, grapefruit diet, etc... All the school personel who used to line us up and weigh us and call out the result.ARRGH!!! The makers of the line JUST MY SIZE (translated you're too fat for normal clothes) Diet Coke-I think that it's entirely possible that it contains a secret ingredient that makes you want to eat large quantities of hydogenated fats. Feel free to add anyone you deem necessary...

Guys -I watched Oprah today (it was a repeat) about a woman Oprah inteviewed 17 yrs ago-she weighed 550lbs at the time. This was a follow-up after her Gastric by-pass. She lost over 300lbs. Anyhoo-my point (and I do have one) is she talked about her eating demons. She said her earliest memories of overeating started at 6. She too was a drive thru junkie (note to self call Alan Dershowitz for consult on suing all fast food places-esp. Krispy Kreme;the hot doughnuts sign is like a beacon calling to me-wait what was I talking about) oh yeah-Don't you guys think there must be something other than psychological/will power issues here? For this many people to have such similiar issues-I'm not say saying I didn't earn my fat girl briefs with snickers and big macs but I believe the jury (pun intended) is still out on all the reasons why. Paulina Porishkova (thin super model) was interviewed. They asked her how she stayed so thin-she said "I know people don't want to hear this but I eat cheeseburgers and fries. Fried chicken-I'm just naturally thin (2nd note to self get big picture of Paulina to throw darts at) (Whining like my 3yr old) Why do we do this and end up shopping in Lane Bryant and she's on the cover of sports illustrated??? Sorry about the temper tantrum. I'm potty training one of my little ones and she is my passive aggresive one. Heres senario: Me-"Emma you need to go potty like a big girl" Emma-"Can I have a popsicle?" Me-"No, you need to go potty" Emma"Can I paint a castle now mama?" Me-now speaking thru clenched teeth "No, either go potty or time out" Emma -now peeing on carpet "Why do cows eat grass?" I hope now you understand my insanity. But I think there is something there (I don't mean on my carpet) to the missing link idea of obesity...

Mia, I'm curious how a needle designed to access a port can't put a hole in something else. The needles we use are "L" shaped with a beveled edge so that when you hit the port you push in and check for blood return. I guess the equivalent in this would be pulling back saline but how in the world that could happen without a sharp somewhere is beyond me. Maybe there's new technology out there I haven't seen.(We don't see alot of lap bands in Pediatrics) Is anyone familiar with the tubing/port system with the band?? Jeannine-I keep a deck in my purse for just such an occasion!! 'I know you're going to wash your hands right? Don't make me get my cards out' (she says in her nicest nursey voice) and by nursey I mean *itchy.

BJean, I didn't mean to sound lecturey (I don't know if that's a word) I just didn't want you to go off of it because of something stupid I said. Me, I'm doing well. It's a daily journey. I kind of foolishly thought once I got the band it would be easy. i.e. I just wouldn't be hungry. Ha!! I was very hungry during liquid phase. Much better when I switched to mushies. I just graduated to soft solids and all of the rest seems like a bad dream (kinda like labor pains- once the baby's here you forget) Well my baby is the 20lbs I've lost in the last 5 wks. I haven't had a fill yet and I have some restriction. The best part for me is looking at a huge plate of food and knowing not only can't I eat it, but that I don't want to. Don't get me wrong I still get hungry I've just surrounded myself with things that I can grab quickly when I'm tempted to eat something not so great. I've got low carb tortillas, sliced meat, sugar-free candy and Cookies, sf pudding etc. But if I'm just dying for a piece of cake I have it and then I'm done with it. I REFUSE to obsess about food anymore. So far it's working. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Best of Luck.

I am convinced that your average (and I mean weight wise and intelligence wise) person will never get "it" I love coming here because you guys do get it. :confused: I've been analyzing the whys (genetic, environmental, social) I love food soooo much and I'm sure,in part,like someone said above we are literally eating our feelings. :hungry: I was talking to my thin friend about a neighborhood girl (age 8) who plays with her kids and always wants to eat when she's at Laurie's house. Ms. Laurie-that Soup sure does look good, Ms. Laurie I'm so hungry. She was kind of ranting about what's wrong with her and I said:That little girl is me. Whoa. Epiphany. :faint: I explained that the hunger is always there-I could almost hear the puzzled look over the phone. Why? I don't know I told her but I fight it everyday. She got kinda quiet for a minute and then changed the subject.:phone: I posted this before but I like it so here goes: Everybody has issues of some kind, it's just that fat people wear theirs on the outside where everyone can see them and judge them for it. (paraphrasing Oprah)

Leener, I'm so glad to hear you're doing better. I've been thinking about you. You know if when you switch to solids and your symptoms flare then back off and listen to your body. Mmmm, more Protein shakes...On a happy note my house smells like Thanksgiving-I found a recipe for pumpkin muffins made with almond flour so low carb, and the smell... BJean, Don't feel like you have to wean yourself off of flonase unless you're having recurrent sinus infections. It's a great product ((as she glances over at her Flonase clock and pen from the pharmacy rep)) It has really helped me sleep better and my allergies are much worse when I don't use it. Talk to your doctor about it.

Earliest memories of food obsession: 1. Eating white bread with sugar poured on top-I would run outside (careful of course not to spill the sugar) to the side of my house and stuff this gourmet snack in my mouth as fast as I could. Age 6 2. When pringles first came out they had a sample package for 10 cents-I would paw through the couch or whatever and ride my bike about 2 miles to the store to get this little container of pringles. I remember having fantasies about dimes and chips and how many chips I could buy with a whole dollar...Age 8 3.Begging my mom to buy me a candy bar for dessert and hiding behind chairs or in my room to eat it right when we got home. Ages 6 and up. 4.Babysitting for people and literally rumaging through their cabinets to find food and then being worried I ate too much and they would know. Teenager. I am sooo proud of us for facing this demon. It is so wonderful to not feel alone. Thanks Guys...

You know I always hate to do the "I'm a nurse thing" because I'm always worried they'll think I'm being a smarty pants or something but jeez what a jerk. No, you're not overreacting-pain hurts nurses too. Add an "amen sister" to what joliesmom said. When a pt tells you I'm a hard stick or this is where they usually get it you listen unless you're a narcisstic dumbass. (whoa where did that come from) I only do peds and alot of chronic kids with ports-everyone has a sweet spot so to speak and 99% of the time the parent can tell you exactly where it is. Not to mention with most central line ports you can see and feel them (unlike my port which is buried under a lovely cushion)

I would take a deep breath and call them again in the morning and tell them you are concerned and that this is your second call. Esophagitis just means your esophagus is irritated and needs some rest. Maybe an unfill and some good anti-reflux meds will do the trick. And a little more cowbell of course...

Leener, I don't have any experience yet with a fill but is the mucus (forgive me here) post nasal or coming up from your stomach? I've read several entries about sliming (where it comes up)but have yet to have that lovely side effect. If it is post nasal I'm wondering if you could have a sinus infection that is very stubborn. Were you having this increased mucus production when you visited your doctor? I've had some stubborn sinus infections and had to switch antibiotics a few times until I got the right one. (I should tell you that I work alot in infectious disease so I am exposed to alot more nasty stuff as well) The nasal steroid sprays are good with inflammation but do lower your resistance to sinus infections.

My car too, has been a repository for food wrappers for about 20 yrs now. Do you guys remember the movie Alien-the part where the beast comes out of that guy's stomach-at times I've been convinced that one lives in me and needs creme horns and double cheeseburgers to survive. I hope my band is suffocating him!!!!!!:alien Since we're bearing our souls one of my lowest points I was at Sam's club and they were giving out samples of cake (mmmm cake) and I just had to have more so instead of knocking over the sample lady and running with the cake- I bought an entire 1/2 sheet cake which I think feeds 400 or so and took it home and told my husband it was 75% off. Really, really sad.:think

I made noodless lasagna and It was surprizingly delicious. Bottom layer lowfat ground beef, onions, peppers, minced garlic-all sauteed with olive oil-add 1 tsp of italian seasoning mix with 1 15 oz can no sugar added tomato sauce. Cheese layer-160z ricotta cheese,1/2 parmesean,1 egg, 8oz mozz.,salt,pepper,more italian seasoning-spread over meat layer top with 8oz more mozz. cheese and bake until golden(about 35 min) let stand for 10 min and it cuts just like the real stuff. I served pasta on the side for the little ones and some steamed veggies. yum.

I am trying not to drink with meals, if it's spicy I take a sip here and there. I haven't seen anyone else mention water loading-my doc advises to drink as much water as you can tolerate about 20 minutes before you eat to help you eat less.I don't know-I've tried it but I don't see any difference.

Tina and Cathy, maybe we could go even one step further and have a weight loss- lap band - RN group. I think it's amazing how many nurses (me included)don't know how to take care of ourselves. I often wonder how much that plays into becoming one in the first place-it's always been easier for me to take care of everyone else. I realized recently that I am a terrible role model for my daughters in this respect. (sorry about my Fruedian slip showing) :drama: What area of nursing are y'all in? I have always done pediatrics. Until last year I worked at Children's hospital. I don't do well with grown-ups.

Just my luck I'd eat one in my sleep and have a pb in the morning. Ewwww.

I have the creeps...I'm afraid to go to sleep, afraid to use the potty, and of course cleaning is out of the question. You know I've never seen a spider in a salon maybe I should go get a pedicure...

Susan-I felt like I was going off to prison the week before my surgery-I kept thinking-oh, I need to go to Olive Garden, no wait chinese, oh look I just passed an Arby's (which my 3yr old calls Barbie's) My husband even asked me what I wanted for my last meal!! I'm starting to feel better-I was really craving icecream tonight and but I could only eat about 4/5 bites and not only was I satisfied, but I couldn't eat anymore. I lurked on this site for a while before I joined and I noticed that not everyone's journey is the same-some people swear by small portions low calorie, some by low carb, and many,like someone above stated, just ate what they wanted and but only ate a fraction of what they used to. I'm not sure which catagory I'm in yet but probably a little of all which I have read can be useful in keeping your metabolism in check but we'll see. Hopeworks-I recommend you just read around in every forum here until you just can't stand us anymore-I learned more from that than from my doctor. When I was on the liquid phase and hungry I would come here and look at the before and after pictures for inspiration,especially while my family was eating. Good luck.

Rebekah, I glad to hear she's a little better-a night in your own bed can do wonders! Just curious-did he give an explanation about why there is a Fluid collection there? You said yellow-was it clear or cloudy? Did he put her on antibiotics? I understand your reservations about more surgery. (WARNING-I AM ABOUT TO STEP ON A VERY HIGH SOAPBOX-But I promise this comes from years of experience) I often hear from patients that their doctor is very nice and they don't want to bother him. I then point out that this is his job-I'm not saying that some don't go above and beyond but if I had a nickel for every time some one asked me a question about their care or asked me to explain what they just heard right after the doctor walked out of the room I'd be lounging on the beach in Jamaica right now.(ahh warm sun,blue Water,drink with umbrella- wait where was I-oh yeah soap box ) They always say "Well,he seemed busy,or I didn't want to bother him" This is what he does, why he went to school and most importantly why he gets paid the big bucks-When he took on your mom as a case he took responsibility for her care for better or worse. You would not go to a resturant and not ask the waitress for your food and still pay- that's why you're there. You wouldn't go to a mechanic and if he only fixed part of your car say well he was so polite or he seemed busy so I hate to bother him. (I promise I almost done-very cathartic though!!) It's not my intention to imply he's not competent or that he doesn't care but part of medicine is opinion (hopefully very educated)but it's still an opinion. I guess if she were my mom I wouldn't hesitate to get a second opinion if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable about her progress. And last but not least-Your mom is very lucky to have such a great daughter who is there for her through all this-I have a 15yr old who is contantly rolling her eyes at me so I'm hoping one day we can have conversations that don't end with "you just don't understand" Best wishes-keep us updated.

Yes-it helps alot. I feel your pain about exercise trauma. I've had a bad knee since I was 14 (like a bazillion yrs ago)and need it replaced soon. I can't believe your family doesn't see losing 95 lbs as a huge sucess. That is amazing!!! My husband the engineer always says, it's not half-full, it's not half empty- it's twice as big as it needs to be. (Wait-did he call me fat?) I'll be back in a second...

Stephanie- congratulations on your weight loss -you're doing great. I posted on this thread for encouragement and it's great to see other's doing well. Health1st-I am so totally there with you. I can tell the band is really making me more aware of how much I am eating and made me also realize how much food I actually consumed pre-band. I am not/was not looking for a magic carpet nor do I want to be a pilot or mechanic-I am a registered nurse and a heavy person for most of my life. I know (as most overweight person) about every diet, I know carb counts, high fat, low fat, I've eaten cabbage and grapefruit, I've taken phen-fen, I have read extensive medical studies on thyroid conditions, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, cushings disease, diabetes, fibromyalgia etc, etc... I can even build a pyramid out of different types of food. None of these worked for me and evidently many others because we wouldn't all be banded if it were just a matter of will power and listening to a doctor or nutritionist. All of this is a process and not a single event.I researched this surgery for a year before I committed to it. As I stated above I know the band is a tool-I don't think anyone on this thread stated they expected miracles-they really just wanted some kind words from those who have been there. I'm still very early in this process and dealing with alot of emotions I hadn't thought were there (naive me).To hear that I'm not alone in these feelings is priceless to me. Tiredoldman-just curious -when you were first banded did you go through any grieving? Did you ever have times when you didn't loose as expected and felt down? I see that you were banded 4 years ago-are you at goal yet? Would you do it again? Thanks for all of your input.

Brenda-A "pb" is a productive burp-I've never experienced one but from what I gather it's when you don't tolerate some kind of food (either because of not chewing or your pouch doesn't like it) and when you burp the actual food comes with it. A golf ball is the feeling like you've swallowed a golf ball-I've only had this a couple of times-once with meds and once with food-I think it's caused by muscle spasm, swelling (my doc calls this "pouchitis") or gas. Whatever the cause there are several different remedies to help-most people recommend warms sips of something. Check on the main site and there is a thread with all the definitions of these acronyms and many other good tidbits. I've only lost 15lbs since surgery so as you can read from my above post I've been discouraged as well. I also realize I'm mourning my love of food (cue violins please) and I had hoped that this would be offset by bigger wt losses but no such luck. (i've told this story before but it's very illustrative of my feelings): I was crying one day feeling very frustrated while I was cooking dinner for all the kids-I desperately wanted to eat spagetti (mmmm) I should point out at this point that my husband is an engineer who has never had a wt problem-but anyway he was attempting to comfort me (notice the word attempt) I told him that I felt like an alcoholic bartender while I was cooking and he looked at me and said "But I thought this is what you wanted" Nooooooooooooooo-I don't want to be hungry-I want to be skinny.Uh I meant to say healthy, yeah healthy. No really I want to be able to shop something other than the "Beautiful Woman" section. Plus size? Plus what? Hi Brenda-nice to meet another mom of many!

Susan I can really relate. I've geen banded for 3 wks. I am still fighting the head hunger vs real hunger thing. Even though I haven't had a fill yet I have noticed some things-I, too, am a sweetaholic. I lovvve cake and icing (sad to say once I bought an entire birthday cake when it was no one's birthday-at least at my house) Now though I am starting to realize how much I was actually eating. I look at a whole plate of food or burger and fries and I realize there is no way I could eat that now. Don't get me wrong I still want to-this was a huge epiphany for me. My stomach is full but I still want to keep stuffing things in my mouth (I guess this explains the whole why I'm fat thing) So I really have to sit there and have a conversation with myself and say "your stomach is full-you are trying to feed something else" I have one comment about willpower-God help me I love Dr Phil (now his weight loss books didn't work for me -probably because I didn't follow the program but I digress...)I like what he has to day about will power: Don't rely on willpower -- it simply doesn't work. Willpower is driven by emotions, which can be fickle. Emotions landed you into a weight problem, but they won't get you out of it. Instead, program yourself for success and stick to the program. For me the band is my "tool"(I'm sick of that word by the way) to help me stick with the program. It's the help I need. As an aside -I also heard someone say that everybody has issues of some kind-but fat people wear theirs on the outside where everyone can see them and judge them.

Thanks for the support...I think I'm so afraid of this not working-like every other diet i've been on. I am hoping it will give me the little push I need. okay not really an push more like a kick with a steel toed boot (kicking and screaming) I am looking forward to changing my life. Baby steps I guess.