thinneranniesoon

First, please do not type in all caps, it makes it really hard to read. Second, you received a fill today, you should not be eating food of any sort, liquids are the mode for the day of fills, gives your system a chance to settle down. Bread, cake, chips, all items that should be the furthest from your eating plan. Give your system a chance to settle down and get used to the fill. Start liquids, then mushy, then slowly transition back to solids. Surgery 6/9/09--- as of 12/9/09 down 55 lbs

Yep, those are the bullets, and 2 nutritionists that I have spoken with said they are great for banders. I spoke to the lady that registered me for my endoscopy before surgery and she said she had one a day for the year since she had her surgery. I have seen them at Wal-Mart in their pharmacy department for $1.94 each. They also sell them at the Vitamin Shoppe online.

According to my nutritionist, the bullets are fine for banders, not RNYers. When I was going through pre-op I actually went to the bariatriceating store in Ft. Lauderdale and they were selling the bullets themselves. After they started coming out with more of their own Protein flavors, and items, they quit selling the bullets. I use the bullets, have one daily, and am down 55 lbs in 6 months. I have had 3 fills and one slight unfill and am at 6cc in a 10cc band.

I grew up in North Miami, and the original Mario's was 3 blocks from my high school. It was a constant stream of students back and forth from the school to Mario's and back and everyone was getting slices of pizza and garlic rolls. It was well known that with some teachers if you bring them back at least 2 garlic rolls they would forget that you were late coming back from lunch. I contribute a few of my lbs back then to the wonderful garlic rolls. I refuse to be a slave to the food, I will eat in moderation, and not daily like I used to.

I had them do one almost burnt for me, and I did eat some of the garlic roll. This was the first time I had been to Desalvo's and it was good. We will go there again. For the 2 of us it was $20 and that included Mikes soda and my hot tea.

We do eat out, at least 2 times a week. After surgery went to Ale House alot, which I was able to get french onion soup without the bread. Now I am 6 months out, and 55 lbs down, we went to Desalvo's for Italian last week, I had 1/2 a house salad and 1/2 of the kids chicken parmasean. The kids does not come with pasta so that was not a worry. When at home and I make italian, I do make pasta for my fiance, but I have my sauce over bean sprouts or green beans, mix in some ricotta cheese, top with mozzerella cheese and I am set. It may not get easy, but it will take some getting used to. Saturday night after the youth clubs parade, everyone was going out for pizza, well since we had just had italian the night before, we declined. We instead went to ale house and I had a great chicken salad. I was happy with my choice, and we were able to take it home and relax, instead of being out with a crowd of 30+

Have you tried banana yet? How about getting the protein whey bullets and mixing with crystal lite in water? That way you get your protein and water and it isn't so bad.

]These pictures were taken exactly 1 year apart and I am 6 months post op now. Holiday Parade 2008 Holiday Parade 2009

Sorry, I was only able to get one pic to load first, then I fixed it.

I have never been a big soda drinker, only when having my mixed drinks and that is only once in a while. Last month I was on a cruise and was drinking Key West Coolers, (Passion Fruit Juice, Watermelon Syrup and Cranberry Juice with a splash of Sprite, honestly the Sprite was maybe a shot glass full.) The drinks were good, the fruit juices were very good and I had 1 or 2 a day. I have to admit maybe it was the small amounts that I had of the Sprite, but it didn't hurt. I did manage to lose 3 lbs on the cruise also, which was great.

My oldest is 21 and wasn't very supportive of the surgery. However a month ago I showed up at her work to surprise her, and she was like "OMG" I said what? and her comment was, you have shape, not just round, you have hips and a waist, you really are losing. Found out later from my 19 yo that my 21yo is worried that I will be smaller than her. Well guess what, I am almost there. Oldest is a juniors 15 and I am a juniors 17, not much more to go. I have lost 55 lbs so far in almost 6 months, and only 45 more to go.

I have had 3 fills and one slight unfill at this point, and have only had pain one time, and that DR will never touch me again. He was saying that my port had flipped and was having trouble accessing, when in actuality it had not. Not sure what his problem was. My doc did the unfil 10 days later, and had no trouble at all accessing my port. Said everything looks to be in the same place he put it, and all is well. All fills are done under scope with my doc, and I am thinking about going back for my next fill pretty soon. Food is creeping up, and I am hungry more often.

I had to have a slight unfill in October, and I had to wait 10 days to do that. I did lose 6 lbs in that 10 days, but not something I want to experience again. The only reason for the wait is I am 100 miles from my doc, and the hospital in town has no clue about bariatrics. I was not able to eat, but did well with drinking, so I was doing protein shakes for the 10 days. Now all is well and I have lost another 14 lbs since then.

Lets see, got up and had a protein shake. Then had to drive the 85 miles to Ft Lauderdale. Stopped at McDonalds for my boyfriend and daughter to get tea, which I will admit I did also, but then they decided to eat, so I sat and watched. I did not even have one french fry. Back in the truck and on the way. I finished my tea, and was happy that I didn't have food there. At dinner that afternoon I had 1 teaspoon of each item mashed potatoes with cheese, stuffing, corn, peas, and 5 oz of turkey breast. Later while everyone else was having pumpkin or apple pie, I had more turkey breast. I was very proud of myself, did not feel stuffed, did not hurt, and just relaxed. I am almost 6 months out from banding and down 55lbs. This was the first major food holiday since surgery and I think I did quite well. The next one is Christmas and that will be interesting. The family decided to do Christmas Breakfast instead of dinner, so we are getting together at the nieces house for eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, french toast, grits, hash browns. This one is going to be hard, but I will do it. A scrambled egg with cheese, small amount of hash browns, grits and a few slices of bacon will have me satisfied, then we will leave early afternoon for the long trip to Tennessee to visit other family, I should for sure lose on that trip. Hoping to be down another 15 lbs before then though. I did go on a 2 mile bike ride today. If I do that daily that will be a good start.

I so understand this. Tonight my daughter and I went to Sonny's BBQ. I had 3/4 of a grilled chicken breast with a slice of low fat american cheese, that I brought them to use and 1 french fry. I also had 3 corn nuggets. I was able to eat and stop when I first felt full, and did not make myself ill. YAHOO!!!

Sounds too tight. I was the same way last month. Lost 6 lbs in the 10 days I waited to get back to the Dr. Get a slight unfill so that you can keep up the good work.

I was banded 6/9, am going on a 4 night cruise next monday 10/26 and a 7 night cruise on 11/14. Being a travel agent ya go when you can. I plan on bringing my protein with me for breakfast, but will be eating what I can during the day, if something doesn't work, I will try something, if it doesn't work, I will try something else. I am really looking forward to the chilled soups, and my filet mignon.

Ok, so on Oct 2 I had a fill. It was not my surgeon that did it, but one of the fellow's that are employed at the Cleveland Clinic where I had my surgery. WELL... My band was empty upon surgery 6/9 7/27 had my first fill, doc said 4.25cc 8/28 2nd fill, was told 2.5 cc which would now have me at 6.75cc. 10/2 3rd fill, was told not only was my port tilted which is why the fellow could not access it as easy as the last 2 fills, but also said he could only retrieve 4cc no where near 6.75 that I was supposed to have in there, AND he was seriously doubting me on my amount I could eat, the amount in my and, and my weight loss. I really did not like this guy. To date at this point I was down 27 lbs since day of surgery, and it was 16 weeks post op. I was eating 1 - 1 1/2 cups per meal, no problem, and no restriction. 5.5 was put in my band at this point. I asked the fellow what about the rest that was supposed to be in there allready, and he said I must have my numbers incorrect. Or it evaporated. I emailed my surgeon when I got home, that I really did not like what was being told to me, and had many questions. Surgeon responded to my questions, and put my mind at ease. I advised that now I am not able to eat a thing, or at least no more than 3 or 4 tablespoons per sitting, am constantly getting stuck, and can't even drink now. I did give it 9 days, before i finally emailed ysterday and said I need a slight unfill. I went in today, my surgeon stayed on campus so that he could see me. He was able to access the port with no issue, it was not tilted, said it is perfect has not moved. The fellow from 10 days ago was there, and denied saying it was tilted. OK.. I am really not liking him now. Lucky I am long time friends with one of the radiologists and she backed up my story. THEN, when he extracted the fluid, he pulled 6.25 I questioned again, how is that if he only put in 5.5 10 days ago, and said that there was only 4 to begin with. Surgeon stated that obviously the fellow did not pull all out, and that some stays in the tubing, and even in the band, and I prob have .25-.5 in there still now, so there is a possibility that I have had 7 or so in my band for the past 10 days. Which is why I have not been able to eat. He did have me swallow before extracting fluid, and saw that it barely went through at all. Once completely open, I swallowed, and went through perfectly. Doc put back in 5cc, still wide open, 6cc, a lot slower, 5.5 cc we are both happy. SO, I did eat tonight, only because I have been starving for the past 10 days, and we were in town for the adjustment as well as dinner for my nephew's birthday at Outback Steakhouse. I had 2 oz of a great sirloin steak, cut VERY TINY. 1 french fry, 2 peices of the blooming onion with the batter peeled off, and 4 green beans. I stayed away from the bread, and just passed it on. I did order the kids sirloin and my FIL will have the rest for breakfast in the morning. My SIL was saying no wonder you are losing weight, look how much you are NOT eating. I said I am eating as much as prissy *my band* allows me too, without getting sick. I did have my papaya enzymes with me just in case, and did not need it. It is now 5 hours later, and I am still full. I am so happy. OH, and I did manage to lose 6 lbs in the 10 days between the last fill and today. That was awesome. Next adjustment, Nov 30, 4 days after Thanksgiving and 4 weeks before Christmas, but after my 2 upcoming cruises. YAHOOO.

Thanks for the butt kicking everyone, I know I shouldn't have eaten that evening, HOWEVER, I really had not eaten in 10 days, and I was told to cut it up as small as possible, if I had an issue I would have stop eating, I could have ordered soup, but the option was cream of potatoe, I stuck with the protein enriched sirloin. For the first time in a while that little bit I had stayed down, and I was satisfied for the remainder of the night. My pouch is a happy pouch. It really sucks living 100 miles away from the doc. On a good note, I am friends for many years with the girl in radiology, she will NEVER call this fellow down to work on me again, its my surgeon or no one.

I was banded 18 weeks ago, and understand your frustration. I have turned to online support groups because 8 weeks after surgery I moved 100 miles away from my doctor. There are no support groups in my new area, I have checked. I have had 3 fills and one small unfill at this point, and have reached restriction for now. I do not measure most of the time, however I do use coffee plates to eat on, so I know my meals are smaller. Get your protein in, eat it, drink it, whatever you have to do. If you can't get out and exercise formally, then park the farthest you can from work and the stores. It is 1/8 mile walk to the mailbox, and another 1/8 back, I walk that a couple times a day, not alot, but something. If ya need to talk, pm me.

We still eat out alot, but I am losing, so I must be making right choices. I usually do a protein shake for breakfast, then have chicken, or chili, or shepards pie for lunch. Then dinner is either chicken or steak, or spagetti, or something like that. Today I am having my shepards pie for lunch, which is 1 lb 93/7 ground beef, 1 can of diced potatoes and a packet of country gravy. I then add a small can of vegi's when it is almost done. It is a skillet recipe that is pretty quick to make, and I put it away in 1/2 cup and 1 cup containers for when I want it. Dinner tonight I will be making boneless chicken breasts as well as boneless pork chops on the george foreman grill. This way I will have plenty of foods to last the rest of the week and possibly the weekend if I don't want to cook. I have the approval of the dietician to eat a small amount of the dreamfields pasta so I may make a macaroni and cheese with it today, haven't decided yet. Last night dinner was spagetti, I cooked 1 cup of the dreamfields elbows for myself, and then as soon as it was finished, I put 1/2 of it in a container in the fridge, and still only ate 1/2 of what I kept out for myself. So I basically had 1/4 cup of pasta with the very meaty sauce, and I was happy. Supposedly 1 cup is a full serving. For lunch yesterday we went to Beef O'Brady's where I ordered the kid's chicken wrap with no wrap. My side was cole slaw. The wrap is basically grilled chicken and cheese, it was really good. I ate all of that and 2 bites of the slaw, and I was finished.

Maybe it is 3rd adjustment syndrome. I have the tablets and keep forgetting about them. I will use them tomorrow if necessary. I am really not wanting to go get an unfill, so I will put it off for a week if I can, to see if things loosen up a bit. It has been one week so far since my fill. My meals are down to about 3 or 4 tablespoons every couple of hours, but i can drink my Protein shakes.

Truthfully, I am 5'4, if I was 175 I would not have the band. I am now at 221, with a highest of 255, and I have had my band for 4 months now. I tried to lose it on my own, and put it right back on. But I would not spend 15k, to have this surgery to lose 35 or 40 lbs. This is major surgery, and if you do not have the support system at home, that would not make it any easier.

I am going through this right now. I had a fill last friday, was on liquids until Tuesday, now I can eat, but VERY LITTLE, but everything feels like it is getting stuck. I ate 1 ounce of chicken breast that was chopped up tiny tonight and i was done. I just tried to eat a little more, and same thing. I think I may need an unfill a little bit, but not sure, and it is 100 miles to go in order to get it, one way. It doesn't help that I am going on a cruise in 2 weeks, and another one 2 weeks after that, So not sure if I should try to wait another week to see if it loosens, or just make the drive. The old heartburn is starting to come back also.

Do you think it would offend anyone if I brought my chopper with me to dinner? I can not seem to cut my meat up small enough, so I use my chopper for every meal now. It is small and will fit in my bag, I use it at restaurants now, and am curious about the ship. I actually own 2 of them, one I keep in the vehicle and one at home, so that if we decide while we are out, to grab dinner, I will have it. It is the small Hamilton Beach chopper, battery operated. Thinking now that I have had this 3rd fill and I am really noticing restriction more than ever, I really need to keep small. THANKS.