ElfiePoo

My surgeon didn't have a problem with caffeine as long as we don't have a problem with it. Caffeine can cause crashes for hypoglycemics and even diabetics so I avoid it and always have. He didn't have a problem with carbonation after 30 days (and said it's a myth that carbonated beverages will stretch the pouch) and only gave the warning that some of his banded patients find carbonated drinks painful. I don't and as someone who can't have grain, fruits or starches...the Faygo carbonated grapefruit water was my treat. .

Some doctors give the same postop diet to all their WLS patients...which doesn't make sense. bypass and sleeve patients need that longer adjustment time to solid foods because their internal organs have been sliced into and need time to heal. The organs of band patients have not been compromised in the same manner so there's no reason for such a restrictive diet...and leads to feelings of failure for most people when they can't stick to it because they don't have the same restriction as the bypass and sleeve patients. Many of us are back on solid foods by 2 weeks because we only had to do each stage for 2-3 days. I would let your doctor know if you're having trouble. Most likely they'll give you the go ahead to move to the next stage. .

If that doesn't work, you might try decreasing your Protein and increasing your fat. I lost quite a bit of weight doing Atkins which is moderate protein (30%) and high fat (60%). I kept my carbs around 30-45 and they only came from green vegies. Whatever you do, stick with it for a month and keep track in something like fitday.com and that still doesn't work, then you can tweak it. However, you said you were only 3-1/2 weeks postop so I wouldn't worry about not losing weight at this point. You're still healing...and the best thing you can do is stop comparing yourself to other people. .

My pre-surgery said to remove all jewelry, don't use any hair products and clean any nail polish off fingers. If yours doesn't require removal of jewelry, even the belly button piercing should be fine as long as your doctor isn't doing the incision there. All of my laparascopic incisions are just below the rib cage. .

Denise, We may be related. Your family's shenanigans sound so like the dysfunctional behavior of my family. When my grandmother died 2 years ago, it was a circus. .

Again...depends on a number of things. Wendy's is one of my favorite places to eat when I'm out during dinner time...or the Greek place. At Wendy's I'll get a single with cheese, hold the bun and a side salad. At the greek place I get the greek salad, hold the pita bread. .

I know I will be satisfied with not losing 100% of my excess weight because I know that in order to get to my 'ideal' weight, it will involve a rigorous exercise program and I'm not interested in spending several hours every day in a gym. Absolutely not interested. If I can get my diabetes under control (which I have) and get my weight down to where I can comfortably do the activities I enjoy...then that's my goal. Not a number on someone's chart or scale. .

You should do whatever you will do long-term. If you have a metabolic disorder (e.g. diabetes, hypoglycemia), low carb would be the best bet for a number of reasons. Dr. Bernstein's "Diabetes Solution" is a good resource. If you go low carb (<60gm per day), you can eat a diet that is higher in fat. Studies show that a low carb, high fat diet results in better lipid profiles and more weight loss than a low carb, low fat diet. Another good resource is Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat". Basically, on this type of diet you get protein and 'green' vegies - no grains, starches or fruit. Some people do well just by making good choices and eating less. Some choose to exercise a few hours each day, 7 days a week, allowing them to eat far more calories. Some just count calories. Some do Weight Watchers. Even while all the 'experts' are arguing about which diet is best, they all say that the best diet is the one you can stick with. .

Some people do fine with just the band. The band works by putting pressure on the vagus nerves which tell the stomach to quit producing ghrelin (the hunger hormone). Some people get enough pressure just with the band. Others need varying amounts of fill. So if you aren't hungry, then leave it where it is so you can eat the foods you need to without getting stuck. Too many people make the mistake of looking for physical restriction and end up overfilled and unable to eat the 'good for you' foods. Which is not to say that you won't have problems on some days since the band tightens and loosens on its own. .

The best thing you can do is record what you're eating in something like fitday.com. You may find that you're eating too many calories or too many carbs...and you can't just go by what the charts say are acceptable calories for your age, height and weight because your metabolism has a lot to do with how many calories you actually need and that's not something the charts even deal with. Once you know how many calories you're really eating, then you can tweak from there until you're losing but remember...you have to be consistent. If you have 2-3 good weeks and then one week where you fall apart and blow it...or 4 good days out of the week and 3 bad days...you'll like not lose any weight because it's all balancing out. Success takes consistent commitment. .

^^This^^...and is something that happens with bypass patients as a result of rerouting around their upper intestines. It's not something that happens with banders.

Tell the naysayers that if they have nothing positive to say to keep it to themselves. This isn't a bypass so you aren't going to lose weight as quickly. You'll feel hunger until your band is at the right restriction. In the meantime, just try to make good food choices. Eliminating things that have an immediate impact on the body's insulin (which may increase the hunger) may help - grains, starches, fruits. Focus on Protein and low carb vegies. At some point, the band will start working too. .

You might check out a book called The Great Cholesterol Con: The Truth About What Really Causes Heart Disease and How to Avoid It (9781844543601): Dr. Malcolm Kendrick. You can see a review of it here. The person reviewing it pulls a few highlights from the book which should've been titled "The Great Cholesterol Scare". After reading the book, I'm a bit horrified at how much of the 'science' behind our medical community's beliefs is not based on 'science' but badly skewed small group studies. Anyway, just one more bit of knowledge in the arsenal of people who take charge of their own health rather than turning it over to whatever their doctor believes. .

Everyone has a different level of what is acceptable. Even Stevia has 'issues': "Stevia is controversial, however. The United States' FDA has not approved it as a food additive because of toxicity concerns. Xylitol and other sugar alcohols are non-toxic, but can only be consumed with careful restriction of quantity because of their laxative effects when the body's daily threshold has been reached." So pick your poison...none of us are getting out alive anyway. I no longer use the powdered splenda (in little packets or in bulk) ever since I found out that the powder is mainly maltodextrin and other fillers and, as a diabetic, the maltodextrin is a problem for me since it causes blood sugar spikes. Now I order sucralose tablets and just crush them when I want a sweetener although these days that's rather rare. .

Good luck...I hope it works out! .

Fills My fills were over and done in less than 30 seconds and it didn't hurt any more than accidentally stabbing myself with a pin when quilting. It's nothing like getting an injection of an antibiotic. Band Slippage Band slippage is rare. Most surgeons now tuck a fold of stomach over the band (sort of like an elastic waistband) to hold the band in place. The people most at risk for band slippage are those who get their bands so tight that they are getting stuck and throwing up the offending item on a frequent (several times daily) basis. Not being able to have carbonated beverages It is a myth that drinking carbonated beverages will expand your pouch and recommendations vary by surgeon. Some say 'never'. Others, like mine, had no restrictions after the first month. Whether or not you can tolerate them...well, that's something you'll have to find out. I like the Faygo carbonated pink grapefruit Water and I drank it several times a week. Only once did I have a problem and that was because I took a big gulp. I 'oversploded' as my son used to say. So your chugging days are most likely over. Not being able to eat certain foods I had this problem when I was overfilled. When my surgeon heard I couldn't eat certain foods and had at least one stuck episode a day despite following the rules (small bites, chew well, no drinking with meals), he said I was too tight. That was when I learned I was not looking for physical restriction but cessation of hunger. He took almost 3cc's out. Bingo. Now I could eat anything I wanted as long as I followed the rules. food getting stuck Well there's no guarantee this won't happen even if you do follow the rules and your band isn't overfilled since the band can tighten and loosen on its own. However, if you start your meal with a hot drink, that seems to help loosen the band. I would always take a small bite, chew well and then wait to see what happened. Sometimes it would go down hard...meaning it didn't get stuck but I knew if I continued, I likely would. You learn to listen to your band. Excess Skin Can't help you there. It is what it is but you can cover excess skin up with clothing. Nothing covers up the fat. *#1 THING* FAILING Failing is never even trying. So you get the band and you find it's not the right method for you. At least you tried...and you'll never know unless you try. You listed some good reason to at least try. Focus on them instead of the fears. .

I've just started taking magnesium for my insulin resistance and was warned that it may have a laxative effective. We'll see. Beets - I always hated beets too until my husband's mom fixed them. My mom always heated them up and put butter on them. My husband's mom takes a can of sliced beets and drains them, then throws them in a bowl with 2 cloves of chopped garlic and wine vinegar and olive oil (slightly more vinegar than oil), salt and pepper. Love 'em. They don't love me.

Denise, Wow...when you said Hospice, I just assumed (from the way her daughters were treating her) that she still had months to live! Don't know who talked her into a trust with a non-family member in charge, but somebody should probably go give them a pat on the head and a 'well done'! Sounds like it will be a lot less stressful than if a family member had to deal with all of it. My condolences on the loss of your mil. .

It varies with the individual. Some people have to stay under 20...some under 40. That's the critical carbohydrate level Atkins talks about; however, you should be good if you stay under 30-35gm Some people don't have to count calories when they keep their carbs under 30 or so. 15 years ago I didn't...now I do. You'll just have to find what works for you.

I love beets but I can't have them (diabetic) because they're too high in natural sugars. There are 19gm of carbs in 1 cup of cooked beets and 16 of them are sugar. But yeah...even when I made a beet salad (cold sliced beets with a garlic vinagrette), it had the same effect. .

You recognize that you are a carb addict so wouldn't adding simple carbs back in be counterproductive? If your goal is to remain in ketosis, then you'll need to avoid simple carbs as well as grains, starches and fruit. You can, however, eat 'green' vegies. So salads with full fat dressings, meat/poultry/fish/eggs cooked however you'd like and any number of vegies - broccoli, green Beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts...think 'green'. That will keep you in ketosis. If you know you're addicted to carbs, the best thing you can do is keep it simple and clean. .

I forget where I read it, but the general recommendation seems to be 1gm per kilo of ideal weight if you're average bone structure. If you're large boned, you can add 6gm and if you're small boned, subtract 6 grams. My ideal weight is about 140 lbs and I'm small boned so that puts me at about 57gm. Since excess Protein can have a glucogenic effect on the body and act like carbs, I do monitor my protein pretty closely and stay at about 60gm per day. .

Does anyone know anything about magnesium and/or the dangers of taking too much? One of the things the Diabetes Solution (DS) talks about is that most adults are magnesium deficient...not only because we don't eat enough foods high in magnesium, but because the magnesium content of the foods is entirely dependent on the nutrients in the soil. Studies over the last 10 years show that the nutrient quality of the soil has been steadily declining as a result of corporate farming practices. Anyway, Dr. Bernstein says that they believe one of the causes of insulin resistance is low levels of magnesium and that insulin resistance will cause magnesium levels to drop even lower so it's sort of a vicious cycle. Several places recommend 900mg of magnesium daily (300mg 3x a day)but no mention of whether excess magnesium is potentially a problem. If anyone knows, would love some information on this.

A lot of people think the doctor's scale is more accurate when the reality is that it is not (usually). Take one scale, no matter what the quality, and use it as often as they do in a doctor's office and never recalibrate it (which most don't) and you have one inaccurate scale. I wouldn't worry about which one is "correct". All things being equal (and assuming neither your scale or your doctors is completely out of whack), you both may have different starting weights, but the amount you've lost will be the same. .