Hi all!

I had talked with several of you who said you were interested in keeping in touch since we were being banded the same week... so I set up a thread for the week of Nov. 17-21. I am being banded by Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver on Nov. 19th. I had a phone consult with him yesterday and everything is a go!

Im starting to get all nervous/excited...

Do any of you have to go on pre-op diets? If so what does yours consist of?

Thanks for the info. Right now I am on liquids since I had a fill yesterday. I think this one might be some help. I am only doing liquids, not much of them, and not starving, so that is a good sign. I appreciate the information on what you eat and it gives me a good starting point. Thanks again and good luck with your weightloss.

Hi everyone. haven't been on in awhile and have a name change from allthingsarepossible. That name was way too long. anyway, I had another fill on Wednesday and I am very, very tight. I am mainly on liquids, but can't get my meds down. They go down, dissolve, and come back up. I have 7.5 in a 9 realize band. Any suggestions for getting my meds down and keeping them down. I want the restriction, but I am learning an entirely new way to eat. I can really only eat about 3-4 ozs. of anything. If I take an extra bite, up it comes. I am concerned that I am not eating enough. How do you bandsters with good restriction get everything in during the day? Are you having protein shakes? I appreciate any suggestions, comments, help and I hope everyone is having great success with their band. I haven't seen Heather Vasq or Beth from VA or Gentylwind on here for awhile. Where are you guys?

Hi everyone. haven't been on in awhile and have a name change from allthingsarepossible. That name was way too long. anyway, I had another fill on Wednesday and I am very, very tight. I am mainly on liquids, but can't get my meds down. They go down, dissolve, and come back up. I have 7.5 in a 9 realize band. Any suggestions for getting my meds down and keeping them down. I want the restriction, but I am learning an entirely new way to eat. I can really only eat about 3-4 ozs. of anything. If I take an extra bite, up it comes. I am concerned that I am not eating enough. How do you bandsters with good restriction get everything in during the day? Are you having protein shakes? I appreciate any suggestions, comments, help and I hope everyone is having great success with their band. I haven't seen Heather Vasq or Beth from VA or Gentylwind on here for awhile. Where are you guys?

Glammaw (love the new name!) - it sounds like you might be a little too tight. Can you get your meds in powder or liquid form? If not, you may have to contact your doctor and see if you can crush them before taking them.

I'm on my third fill, have good restriction, and am losing at a good rate, so I'm okay. I've found that certain days and certain weather conditions make a difference for me. I haven't had to resort to protien shakes yet, but if I was tighter I would...

Are you having any trouble with mushies or just solids? If you can't get mushies down, you are probably too tight - maybe just a small adjustment will do the trick for you.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing...don't wait too long to call your doc if you really can't eat much - malnutrition is NOT a recommended method of losing weight!

Thanks, Ebony Rose! Someday I want my granddaughters to think of me as Glammaw. It will happen....as far as this latest fill, I can keep down mushies, but there aren't a lot with protein in them. Most of the mushies I come up with are slider foods. I am having trouble with the solid proteins. And, since such a small amount fills me up, I am probably not getting enough calories in. I am going to use the daily plate to track it. Congratulations on your weightloss. I had my surgery on 11/21, so we are close. I wanted to hit this spot, but I guess i didn't do enough planning with my meds. Just wondered how everyone else got everything in. Are you at your sweet spot?

Thanks, Ebony Rose! Someday I want my granddaughters to think of me as Glammaw. It will happen....as far as this latest fill, I can keep down mushies, but there aren't a lot with Protein in them. Most of the mushies I come up with are slider foods. I am having trouble with the solid Proteins. And, since such a small amount fills me up, I am probably not getting enough calories in. I am going to use the daily plate to track it. Congratulations on your weightloss. I had my surgery on 11/21, so we are close. I wanted to hit this spot, but I guess i didn't do enough planning with my meds. Just wondered how everyone else got everything in. Are you at your sweet spot?

I think I'm at my sweet spot - I'm not having a lot of trouble eating, and things stay down well, plus I'm losing weight at a good rate. Mushies are tough to get adequate protein with - try tuna fish, other shredded meats (chicken, but not ham - too fatty and salty), or you could make your own. Ground turkey or chicken might also be okay if you cook it with broth (not gravy LOL).

Using Daily Plate to track your intake is a good idea - if your calories are TOO low, your body will go into starvation mode and you'll hang on to everything. It makes losing so difficult...if you are doing okay otherwise, consider boosting your protein intake with clear Protein drinks - Isopure has a pretty good one, available at GNC. I used them when I was first banded, and will go back to them for a day or two after a fill.

If you cannot get in enough calories, you should definately talk to your doctor - I know you may not want to give up the feeling of restriction, but if you cannot get in enough calories, you'll end up sabotaging your potential weight loss and your health. Don't do that for a short term weight loss - this is for the long haul - but then, you know that already!

Hang in there - and give your doc's office a call! Tell them your symptoms and see what they say...

Thanks for the info. I haven't tried Isopure yet, but there is a GNC near me. I will work it out. It just takes time to adjust to a new fill. I'm sure you feel the same way. And, I work 10 hour days, so that doesn't help. I stay with my granddaughters another day for 12 hours, so the weekends are always packed. Little or no time for me. since I can't get my meds down, I am going through headaches from withdrawal from Cymbalta...3 days now. I will sit down and figure out what i can eat and what i can't this weekend and have a plan. I have worked so hard for this, I don't want to let it go now. But, I also don't want to be too tight. It sure is a fine line to walk, huh? Thanks for all the helpful advice. I appreciate it.

Hi GLammaw- We are so happy you are back. I just got a fill to 8CC in a 10CC band, and was wondering if I was getting enough food. He said if I eat my Protein first the size of an egg 3 times a day and 1 Protein Drink with the vita-band Vitamins and 2 calcuims that is perfect. I resort to low fat sour cream between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon with my protein when I'm real tight. I find that my allergies tighten my band as well as the weather.

Call your doctor if you are concerned.

Thanks for the advice, 2-Lose. Your weightloss is incredible. You should be so proud. I will call my dr. if i can't figure everything out over the weekend. I just have a learning curve right now. I, too, have horrible allergies, so maybe that isn't helping with the tightness. This Ohio Valley is really tough if you have breathing problems. Right now it is storming with 70 MPH winds. I just wanna go home and get in the bed, but I can't. I asked for this, right?! By Monday, I will be all better....or I'll have less fill! Keep up the good work....it's working for you!

Goodness...I haven't logged on here in so long! Going to try to remedy that now. Life's just been crazy! Will try to catch up on past posts. Hope everyone is doing well!

Guess I didn't respond after seeing the surgeon. He took out 1 cc and everything is much better. He said I was definitely too tight. He will only do .5 cc fills from now on for me. We were hoping this would be my sweet spot, but I don't think it is. I go back July 15 and I will get .5cc and hopefully that will do it. It is much better like it is than when I threw up everything I ate. The weightloss was good, but life was terrible. I never want to go through that again. Now I can eat small amounts and can drink whatever I want. I still find myself testing my band though. I know I can't eat bread yet still I try. Everyone is noticing the difference in my weight now. Although most say I can really see it in your face. Have I lost all of my weight in my face?

My dh went to the dr. today and he has lost 22 pounds, with no surgery. Not having the junk around has helped him too!:cursing: