There seems to be such negativity towards people who are having a hard time sticking with an eating program once they are banded. Yet everyone says that the band is only a tool and we have to still deal with our food issues. It seems to me that none of us would have taken the extreme step of having surgery and a foreign object placed in our bodies if we didn't have a pretty big problem with food to begin with. So, why are people who are eating over the band or having a hard time sticking to the plan being treated with such impatients? Frankly, I'd love to have a forum here to talk about food issues (our relationship to food, our feelings about not being able to eat, our struggles with sticking to the rules) without being put down. Isn't that disapproving voice part of what drives us to destructive behavior?

I was banded 5 weeks ago, have had no fill yet and since the third week past surgery have been pretty much eating like I did before banding. I feel scared and weak but I'm afraid to talk about in any forum for fear I'll just be told to "stop it" or "what do you expect if you don't follow your dr. instructions?" or get no support beyond being told that once I'm filled it will be different. The emotional issues around eating (whether the reasons I eat are just physiological or not) are half the battle for me, and I'd like to think I can discuss them without judgement.

Is anyone out there feeling the same way, or am I just sounding like I'm a whiner or rationalizing behavior?

I'm still wondering if they look to see if your band has slipped or if they can tell you that everything is OK when you go for your fill. And if they don't do it routinely if I tell them that I've eaten a lot, can they do anything to find out if I've done damage?

I'm still wondering if they look to see if your band has slipped or if they can tell you that everything is OK when you go for your fill. And if they don't do it routinely if I tell them that I've eaten a lot, can they do anything to find out if I've done damage?

**IF** they do a fill under fluoro they can tell if it has slipped or if your pouch is enlarged. Without fluoro, no, they cannot tell. But a fluoro will not show if adhesions have formed appropriately or if you will have problems in the future. That's just something you'll have to wait and see.

We ALL have food issues and emotional issues regarding food. That's why we need a band. The key is not to fear someone telling you to stop eating band-unfriendly foods, the key is to get back on track and follow the diet. IOW, we all get it, we have all been there or will be there. It's hard, it's just something you have to do for your own health. You might not want to hear that you aren't doing yourself any favors, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. We could sit here and pat your head and tell you all is well but that isn't very honest.

I've never been good at diplomacy, it's just not my thing. While I do farrrr better in real time than I do on line I am still blunt and honest. Now, I can tell you all is well and not to worry, but do you honestly prefer that over being honest with you?

Get back on track, follow the post op diet. If you are losing weight don't go for a fill. Wait until you stop losing weight. Give your band more time to heal and set into place. If you don't lose weight then get a fill but ONLY under fluoro, especially for a first fill.

Good luck to you!

Sorry totally off topic but Bubblebutt your Bushisms fricken crack me up.

Lor-

One other thing. I was put on mushies before I left the hospital. I was put on regular food 2 weeks out from surgery.

I've been eating regular food since then. Not the same amounts as before, and I really didn't start with raw stuff right away, but I've been eating table food since pretty early on. Dr. said it was okay. The first two weeks were about setting the band and not allowing the stomach to digest/work at moving the food through but after that it was on.

Now really, I do eat differently in that I keep the Protein up and the carbs and fat down as much as possible.

So is the issue what you were eating or the amount of what you were eating?

:confused:

OH Juli

oh juli- i have been eating smaller amounts than i had been for sure but they are normal portions (as opposed to the 'supersize me' portions i had been eating). when i do overeat, it's things like (don't judge me) ice cream and yogurt. i'm definitely not losing and may be gaining weight but i'm not eating until i'm busting or anything. at this point, i'm back on mushies and white knuckling it until june 4th (my first fill) hoping to get some restriction then.

Lor

Are you supposed to be on mushies right now? When are you allowed solids?

Know that the first 6 weeks after banding are pretty miserable and white knuckling it seems to be the way through it for most. I'm grateful for my nutty doc who had me eating real food pretty quickly. However during my mushy stage I blended all sorts of wacked stuff.

Regardless, the up side is that this is only temporary and soon you'll have some help from the band. It's nice to have it superimposed over unhealthy behaviors. Sometimes we need that boost from the band to give us pause long enough to get our hands around the mental stuff.

Rambling..........

I have struggled with this issue since banding - how supportive should one be when someone is definitely doing something to jeopardize their band? How do you tell them to stop it or they may do harm? Each doctor is different and their pre and post op diets are different. That's why it is important to find a doctor you trust and then trust what they say. You report to them not to members on the board.

If newly banded people can't follow the rules at the beginning, how in the world can they follow them 4 months down the road? or 6? or 8? We must learn to follow the rules early and get them reinforced.

I try to be honest with people that ask for help. If you don't want to hear the truth then don't ask. Post something like " I know I did wrong, so don't yell at me", etc. Otherwise the reader assumes you want some support by telling you went wrong. Not reinforcing the bad behavior.

I have read threads in the year I've been here that gave sympathy to someone who threw up after every meal and then ate more, who ate a whole gallon of ice cream and said they would try to do better tomorrow, who PBs on purpose so they could eat more, who went out drinking night after night, who ate solid food 3 days after getting banded, etc.

I guess what I'm saying is support will be given if you post it in a way that solicits responses from others. It just might not be in the form you had hoped for.

Good luck on your journeys. Mine is fun, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding.

Although I now spend much of my time loitering in the R&R area of this site I spent large amounts of my time in the lap band related sections when I was undergoing the process of being banded last September. I learned much more here than I did through the clinic that did the surgery. The general site of LBT is really informative and very supportive. All any member need do is ask for information/help/support and it is always given.:)R&R is a whole nuther thang. It's fer folks who feel like wrassling.:confused:

You are SO right here!!! I'm not post-op yet, so perhaps my surgeon will explain this to me on Friday, BUT I didn't know the extent of the damage I could do if I didn't follow the post-op diet! Thanks for explaining it...I will be even more vigilant because you educated me.

Your surgery should have been yesterday. Soooooo???? How are you? What's going on? Any tummy writing?

WB

Thank you for this post. I bookmarked it.