Hey 50 & over gang We have a new spot

[IndioGirl55 32]

I just had my first fill. Now I really feel like I'm on my way. I only have a puncture wound 1/2 inch in diameter and a port scar 1 1/2 inch long. Today my doctor told me I was one of only 4 patients in the world who have had this type of LapBand laproscopic surgery ( with only 2 entry points), and just the second one that he had performed.

Could that be true? He was also able to give me my fill today very quickly and without the use of x-ray. I am on fluids the rest of the day, mush tomorrow, and REAL food on SUnday. Yahoo!! I have been on fluids for 4 weeks and mush for just 3 days before my fill. He told me I was not to eat red meat, chicken and bread, yet I have read posts from others who did not have these restrictions.

Mary

I have heard of one person here who had the 2 point entry - could have been you I heard it from but I did read it some where..

You were lucky to get a fill so fast - most docs 6 to 8 weeks for a fill (mine was 8 weeks).

My doc does blind fills too (no fluro)

As to what we can eat - each doc is diff - but no mine never said that I couldn't eat chicken or red meat or bread.. Are you just suppose to eat fish & pork to get your Protein??

meats in general (chicken - pork - red) can be tough for some - if it's dry and if you take a big bite and don't chew.. I can do chicken but needs to be moist and tiny bite and chew - Red meat - I can do hamburger & ground turkey (I know it's not red ) no problem - Steaks - I have found that I can do a costco Filet Mignon with no problem - but have tried rib eye and they are a little too fibrous (sp)... I don't do pork often but its ok to as long as I follow the bite & chew rules.. Bread - I use to love sour dough with butter and garlic - or cheese - or a good submarine sandwich - I can eat sour dough but don't due to the carb issues (I do eat carbs/starches but limited) I don't think I could eat a sandwich on a roll - too much bread... I can eat a sandwich made on regular bread but I buy the lite stuff - I don't eat a lot of sandwiches though..

Also, one day you can eat it and the next day for some reason you can't our bands can be very fickled...

[MaryD 0]

Mary

I have heard of one person here who had the 2 point entry - could have been you I heard it from but I did read it some where..

You were lucky to get a fill so fast - most docs 6 to 8 weeks for a fill (mine was 8 weeks).

My doc does blind fills too (no fluro)

As to what we can eat - each doc is diff - but no mine never said that I couldn't eat chicken or red meat or bread.. Are you just suppose to eat fish & pork to get your Protein??

meats in general (chicken - pork - red) can be tough for some - if it's dry and if you take a big bite and don't chew.. I can do chicken but needs to be moist and tiny bite and chew - Red meat - I can do hamburger & ground turkey (I know it's not red ) no problem - Steaks - I have found that I can do a costco Filet Mignon with no problem - but have tried rib eye and they are a little too fibrous (sp)... I don't do pork often but its ok to as long as I follow the bite & chew rules.. bread - I use to love sour dough with butter and garlic - or cheese - or a good submarine sandwich - I can eat sour dough but don't due to the carb issues (I do eat carbs/starches but limited) I don't think I could eat a sandwich on a roll - too much bread... I can eat a sandwich made on regular bread but I buy the lite stuff - I don't eat a lot of sandwiches though..

Also, one day you can eat it and the next day for some reason you can't our bands can be very fickled...

Thank you so much for your response. Mine may very well be my post that you read about the 2-point banding entry. I have mentioned it on this site a couple of times. It may well be the reason I was able to get my first fill early. I guess when it comes to food I will just have to experiment in order to find out what I can tolerate. Until today's fill I did not feel any restrictions at all. I hope this fill will at least take the edge off my hunger. I get my second fill in two weeks.

[IndioGirl55 32]

Thank you so much for your response. Mine may very well be my post that you read about the 2-point banding entry. I have mentioned it on this site a couple of times. It may well be the reason I was able to get my first fill early. I guess when it comes to food I will just have to experiment in order to find out what I can tolerate. Until today's fill I did not feel any restrictions at all. I hope this fill will at least take the edge off my hunger. I get my second fill in two weeks.

Mary

Yes you will have to experiment we all do - small bites - chew chew and eat slowly and you should be ok..

I don't find that my band takes away my hunger - but I do get full on a small amount of food.

In fact I have a poll going on the at the near or at goal thread asking if they found that their bands decreased their hunger - I just started it so only like 5 votes

I think that pple think that their bands are going to stop their hunger issues 100% where as for me - it hasn't - it helps me feel full faster and I am eating healthy - but I still want to eat even when I am physically full or when I an not necessarily full but have eaten and am bored.

This is the reason for my poll - I want to know from pple who have been banded awhile if it took away their hunger...

[Lizalee 1]

I think that pple think that their bands are going to stop their hunger issues 100% where as for me - it hasn't - it helps me feel full faster and I am eating healthy - but I still want to eat even when I am physically full or when I an not necessarily full but have eaten and am bored.

quote]

Indio,

You are right on. While I do not have adequate restriction yet (and can't get another fill appointment sooner than Oct 6 - Dr. all booked up) I can tell that these last few weeks I want to eat more, and eat more than I need to be full. I want to eat even when I am not empty-feeling hungry. It's more a need to feel overfull...before I will stop. I had been better at using good ol' willpower and distraction in previous months, but for some reason lately It's been getting to me more and I've been giving in more often...even though I am very committed to loosing more weight AND upset when the scale doesn't go down! (which it hasn't all week!)

I've been trying to eat things like cucumbers and cherry tomatos...because they fill me up and have very few calories, and that has helped somewhat. But I worry about stretching out my pouch with the volume - cuz I eat a whole big cucumber (burpless) and a dozen little cherry tomatoes from the garden at one sitting.

I'm also trying to increase activity and keep busy in order to stay away from the food. One problem I have is that I have a daughter at home still, and feel I need to have things in the house for my husband and her. Especially now with school starting - need things for lunches. Otherwise they are complaining that there's nothing to eat around here! Generally, I do very good at keeping away from eating their 'goodies' myself but it does become more difficult over time.

So I focus on staying mentally focused and watch everything I eat utill my next fill, and hopefully I'll get more restriction yet. At this point, I can still eat anything and everything, and don't necessarily have to chew all that well either- so I know that I need another fill. But I doubt the restriction will ever be enough to take away that desire for comfort foods - especially those that slide right through.

I'd be interested to know how the long-timers who answer your poll deal with head hunger -- does it a EVER go away? Somehow I think not... I think that we just have to remain very focused and obessed with our weight, daily intake, exercise.

On the other hand, I can't imagine eating the amounts of foods I ate in the past!! Gosh, I could snarf down a dozen Cookies while baking, or a huge bowl of ice cream without even thinking twice in the past. I could eat a whole sub sandwich, or two hamburgers w/ Buns, or several plates of food at a buffet, etc. Now, I wouldn't even be able to do that! So, that's something to celebrate! My perspective has changed a lot. I find myself rating foods - I read the labels, and see how much Protein, fat and calories, and think to myself - does it taste good enough to warrant wasting precious calories on it? Is it going to help me get enough Protein in? Usually the answer is no--and then I choose something else. That's something I was NEVER able to do in the past.:lovechoc:

[Great2BThin 5]

One word...........

60!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jbflorida 1]

Congrats--keep going! Isn't it a great feeling knowing that you WILL get to your goal? I bet people are noticing your accomplishment.

I am 3 away from 60. So far, I have lost 26% of myself--but I GAINED so much more!!!

[peaches9 3]

Fantastic, congrats on the 60# mark. That is a wonderful feeling, but not as good as you are going to feel hitting that 70# er which is right around the corner for you!!!

I am nibbling on 1'2 can of tuna mixed with 1/4 c of Hummus right now (my breakfast) I am trying to do something different & it tastes pretty good... instead of the mayo which has more fat.

ALso, I wanted to mention for those "NIGHT TIME" eaters out there. I've been freezing cubed Mango and Green Grapes, measuring out 1 cup and eating them in front of the T.V. its sweet, and takes a LONG time to nibble thru...

Also, A small spinach salad with a Sweet tasting LF dressing like Poppy Seed. Has been great at night, deals with my crunching and sweet addiction at the same time.

[JoannMarie 0]

Wow! The Saturday morning crowd is doing great! Liza, you may have slowed down, but look at your ticker. 114 pounds in 4 1/2 months is incredible. It seems to me you are much more aware of what you are doing, what and how you are eating, reading labels and making good choices to deal with your hunger. I have concerns that I will simply get bored after a few months, and the "newness" will wear off, leading me to stray. Hearing from you helps me understand that does happen, be prepared for it, and follow your lead in planning ahead and dealing with those issues. Thank you for sharing.

You are all an inspiration to me. I can't wait to join you!

[cherieinnv 3]

Great suggestion Peaches! I am definitely having trouble at night. My plan to spend my evenings at the gym isn't working--I haven't gone in 2 weeks--but I am going today. I may even cancel cable TV, since I often use Sopranos reruns as an excuse.

I am lucky that I rarely feel real hunger, but head hunger persists, so I try to eat scheduled healthy foods so I am less tempted. I still eat too much, but compared to how I used to eat? It's not even close. I fear I've stretched my pouch but since my first fill I am content with one serving of whatever Protein I am eating, and very few carbs. When I go out to eat, I know I can eat less than half of what I may have eaten in the past or I will be in pain.

I still think the band is a great tool. When I am motivated and work out and eat correctly, I lose weight. When I get depressed or tired and want to eat, I can't get out of control. The weight is coming off slowly, but I am going to push hard to get past the 50 lb mark, which I have been dancing to and from for weeks.

Good weekend to all!

[DANDY75 0]

Hi all,

I haven't been online all summer and need your help. I just got back from a trip back east for my sister wedding and I haven't lost a lb. in several weeks. The only good news is I didn't gain either. I have had 3 fills and think I'm at my sweet spot. Some things are easier to eat then others, meats I find hard to go down, it actually hurts sometimes and takes awhile to go down. Maybe I'm eating to fast and not chewing enough, I also catch myself having a sip of tea when I eat(bad), I started doing that when I was back in NJ. Also, is it normal to be able to eat more than 4oz at a time, depending on what I eat sometimes I can eat a lot more then just 4oz.

Now that I'm back home I have been trying to get back on track, it's not easy especially since we got back my husband has been laid off and under foot all the time, I love having him around, but he is messing up my routine.

I guess what I need is a few words of encouragement. Thank you all for letting me vent.

[lynnt1215 1]

Lynn---Wow! Now that IS what I call a fickled band!! I was just saying on another thread that I see so much difference between days on what I can and can't eat or how I feel on the band but you have me beat. I remember you saying that it seems strange after so long being banded. Did you notice if it started happening at a certain fill level? I'm wondering if that's it.

All the issues began a few weeks after my last fill, 8/8/08.. and today was terrible. everything I ate was tough to get down.. even liquid. I was back where i was when i was just getting accustomed to how eating too much felt. I am set to go back to DR on 9/19, so not aure if a fill will happen then. Also, i have only lost 5-6 pounds since the last fill

[bochs 0]

Hi to everyone on the 50's thread tonight. I have had computer problems and wasnt able to post. I also can eat a whole cucumber at and a Protein at one sitting. The other night I had half cup pork and beef roast, half cup mashed potatoes (no gravy) half cup of cauliflower with a little cheese at one dinner setting with no problem. I hope I am not overeating. I am being very consious of what I am eating and I never overeat anymore at all.

Beckyo:thumbup:

[pj_txlady 0]

I had my first fill Aug. 26th. I have a total of 5cc's. I had restriction the first 3 days after fill, since then I am starving. I'm not doing too well and so afraid I'm going to gain back what I have lost. My next fill is Sept. 23rd. " Help " !! :thumbup:

[BLUEZBANDIT 0]

Three days out from Lapband surgery and I am still very sore. Have been on a liquid diet consisting of Soup, apple juice, milk, and Water. Its important to remain hydrated but when your stomach is so swollen its difficult to get too much water in. Have been suffering gas pains and copping it in the left shoulder. Luckily I was already aware that this would be the case or I would have thought I was having a heart attack. Yesterday I walked for about 30 minutes around Salamanca Markets in Hobart, Tasmania. Will try to do more today although I have to go into work and supervise my husband in moving the furniture so that the cleaners can come in and do the floors over the school holidays.

[caelyn 0]

I had my first fill Aug. 26th. I have a total of 5cc's. I had restriction the first 3 days after fill, since then I am starving. I'm not doing too well and so afraid I'm going to gain back what I have lost. My next fill is Sept. 23rd. " Help " !! :thumbup:

I'm having my lap band surgery the 29th of this month and I've been reading this board "forever":drool:. I wonder about the restriction issue that so many people have. Does everybody have problems feeling full?? I know the band is just a "tool" but I am hoping it will help with my appitite. :thumbup: