March Bandsters: MASTER THREAD

Desdemona · 05-19-2008, 10:32 PM

Amanda and Sheri ---
Your doing GREAT! I tip my hat to you.

Fenton - I'm getting an image of you walking down the street - pants flapping in the wind!

enjoylife · 05-20-2008, 01:11 PM

WARNING – this might get gross and will definitely be long….

Be very careful of what you ask for – you just might get it. My goodness, I just posted for folks to blast me yesterday and already I have been blasted twice. Here’s the real kicker – I wanted restriction – oh boy do I have restriction. I may be too tight. I have no clue how to determine this. Yesterday I got 2ccs added to my band. That makes for a total of 5cc in a 14cc band. My surgeon said, “If this doesn’t do the trick, the next one definitely will.” It must have done the trick because this does not feel like a treat.

Yesterday was horrible. I was hungry – I forgot to eat before I got my fill – actually I forgot that I could not eat for three hours before my fill. After my fill, I tried to sip water on the way home – it was not going down smoothly at all. I called and left a message at the surgeon’s office. I got home and made some cream of chicken soup, but decided to wait until after I cut the grass to eat it. So I cut the grass, took a shower and sat down to savor my soup – WRONG!!!! First of all I stupidly took an orso (sp?) pill (for gall stones). I did not crush it – I bit it into pieces. I also took a pill to keep me from throwing up – but I got that right after surgery so I thought it was tiny enough to not have to bite. Well let’s just say that soup was not going down smoothly. AND it tasted like cream of chicken and pill soup.

I eventually gave up on that – the lump in my throat should have deterred me sooner, but the growl in my stomach kept egging me on. I tried to lie down and get some rest – or at least find a comfortable position. That’s when my five year old bundle of joy decided she needed some Mommy time and came to plop down on my stomach. Well I finally got her in a position (off my belly but still cuddle close) that SHE was comfortable with and was able to nod off. My slumber was abruptly interrupted by a horrible burning sensation in my nose and a retched taste coming from my throat. I immediately got up and called my surgeon at home (Yes I said I called him – no between man answering service. Isn’t he wonderful?). My surgeon asked me questions about coughing and saliva. He then told me to try to sip water and if I didn’t feel better tomorrow (now today) to come in and he would take some of my fill out.

I then walked around and tried to calm my nerves. I got my bed all comfy like and slipped in to finally get some sleep – WRONG AGAIN… Within 4 minutes I was up and heading to the bathroom. I knew it was coming – I could not fight it so I simply prayed that God would make this as gentle on my stomach as possible. I usually throw up from my toes – but this time was much milder. I got foam, bile, and a few retches but no soup. I think those pills were sitting on top of my stoma opening. Afterwards I felt much better and was able to sleep.

Today I am doing better. I have been able to get some water down and I even had black bean bisque for lunch. However, my surgeon’s nurse wants me to go back to clear thin broths for the rest of today and to sleep with an extra pillow so that I get a little assistance from gravity tonight. For once gravity is working in my favor (this does not make up for what it is doing to my breast).

Hopefully the worst is over and my band just needed some time to loosen up. If I am not feeling back to normal by tomorrow I will be making that 2.5 hour drive up there and back. There’s no way I am going through this weekend feeling like crap.

That’s my soap opera… what’s your’s?

trinitydad · 05-20-2008, 02:23 PM

Diva...my heart goes out to you....I made the same mistake and took 2 pills at the sametime(what was I thinking...the "good old days???)Proceed to take a teaspoon of egg salad...within seconds I had the equivalent of wallpaper paste sitting on my chest...I too vomit from my toes but fortunately that didn't happen this time...the pills came up and all was fine with the world...but for those few minutes....HELL ON EARTH!! Down 47 pounds since 3/4/08...Good Luck!

mylah · 05-20-2008, 03:25 PM

Congrats to all you lucky losers.I wish my journey would soon start to get moving.Had my second fill last week,can feel a difference but can still eat more than I should.I have 4.2cc in a 10 cc band.Last night for dinner could eat a full hamburger 6 fries and a patty way to much.I did stay full for 5hours so I guess that is a help.I still have no problems with any foods,never been nauseated or had anything stuck I feel like I' missing out on something.I am doing fine with the exercise and the water only weight is not moving.Can't figure out the ticker thing.

pre-op 285lbs
today 261.6
target 170 lbs
goal 125 lb

angelic_1 · 05-20-2008, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mylah

Congrats to all you lucky losers.I wish my journey would soon start to get moving.Had my second fill last week,can feel a difference but can still eat more than I should.I have 4.2cc in a 10 cc band.Last night for dinner could eat a full hamburger 6 fries and a patty way to much.I did stay full for 5hours so I guess that is a help.I still have no problems with any foods,never been nauseated or had anything stuck I feel like I' missing out on something.I am doing fine with the exercise and the water only weight is not moving.Can't figure out the ticker thing.

pre-op 285lbs
today 261.6
target 170 lbs
goal 125 lb

Mylah,

I would suggest eating smaller amounts more frequently. Instead of eating enough to stay full for 5 hours, eat half the amount and then again in 3-4 hours.
Good luck.

Fenton · 05-20-2008, 07:30 PM

Yikes, Diva! That sounds terrible!

And gross, too!

nycm00 · 05-21-2008, 12:02 PM

Diva, my surgeon's office says 2 days of thin liquids (cream soups and bisques are not thin enough by their standards), then 2 days of soft mushies...yogurt, cream soups, runny eggs. Alos, they don't let you leave the office until you have drank a whole glass of water. Since you have such a long drive to the office, you may want to keep this in mind next time.

Christine

Each time you get a fill, you really have to be kind to your stomach. It really is hard to tell how much you'll be abe to tolerate until you try. I hope you are feeling better soon, and don't need a un-fill.

lynnt1215 · 05-21-2008, 05:37 PM

I had my first fill almost 2 weeks ago, 4cc in 14cc band, and after the first few days, liquid and mushies, i felt some restriction, now not as much today
scheduled for another fill 6/5. guess I'll wait until then to see how I am doing.
Different foods go down easier than others. but usual eating too fast and too big a bite without enough chewing cause issues.
Fills are as different for each of us, as are the diet restrictions our doctors give us.

HarleyGirl · 05-21-2008, 06:01 PM

Went in for my second adjustment today....2cc's in the 10cc band now....will see if I feel a difference. The first fill didn't do much.

I was up 2 pounds......BLECH.

I know I need to ratchet up the exercise.......that's the plan now!

I had a dream last night and I woke up crying....all I can remember is saying, "I'm so tired of being fat..." It made me sad......

I know I'm headed in the right direction, so it's a matter of staying on course.....sigh.

sharona · 05-21-2008, 07:06 PM

I have 5cc in my 10 cc band and feel some restriction but still can eat two scrambled eggs for breakfast without a problem. I felt a lot of restriction for the first 3 days then less. I am scheduled for another fill in 3 weeks so Ill see where I am at that point. I don't want to be over restricted. I haven't lost anything :( this is so discouraging. I hate be obsessive with the scale. It ruins my day. I've lost 23 lbs since pre op...not outstanding...

nycm00 · 05-21-2008, 08:18 PM

I have decided I am going for my fill on Friday. I can still eat too much at one time if I allow myself. I felt great for the first week after my fill, but this week has been a battle for me. So I'll go for that fill scheduled for Friday and I just KNOW this will be it for me for a while.

Hugs to all those struggling with that dang scale! I have been pretty good about weighing once a week, but sometimes the scale calls to me and I just have to take a peek. It's usually a dissappointment.

Christine

Fenton · 05-21-2008, 09:37 PM

Awww... We seem to have a lot of blue shamrocks!

I'm sorry you guys aren't nailing the progress at the rate you were hoping, but give it time! We're still only a couple of months out; the band is a tool, not a magic cure. We have to understand it, and listen to it, and eventually it will give us what we all need. We didn't get this fat overnight, and we're not going to get skinny overnight.

I think all of us who've thought long and hard about the band understand that it's a tool that will help us make adjustments that we'll be managing for the rest of our lives. And it's simple: weight loss = calories eaten minus the calories we burn. The band WILL eventually help us control our intake, but in the meantime, willpower is still key - reliance on one's self, one's desire to be all that we can be, that's what has to come first in our minds when we're thinking of what we're going to eat next.

And if you're having difficulty controlling your intake, then think about ways to increase how much you're burning. Actually START to exercise - hard if you can, or gently and gradually if you're just starting out.

Another thing worth doing is to consult your food diary, and see how you're doing in terms of your nutrition. Are you getting enough protein? What's your calorie intake like - is it REALLY as low as you're letting yourself believe?

At the end of the day, it's a simple impossibility to have a band with restriction, to obey the guidelines for eating with a band, to do a moderate amount of exercise, and then to NOT lose weight.

Hang in there, you'll get there in the end... You'll get restriction, you'll control your intake, you'll lose weight.

Just hang in there!

HarleyGirl · 05-21-2008, 10:11 PM

Thanks....AGAIN....for the pep talk, Fenton!

I know my problem is the exercise component......I've enlisted the help of my best girlfriend and we're going to start hitting it. My daughter it out of school on Friday and we'll be able to do things together. She wants to start....gasp....RUNNING.....so she'll be a great motivator for me as well.

I'm feeling better tonight.....it's a marathon, not a sprint....so I'm in for the long haul....I WILL be that band success story.

lynnt1215 · 05-22-2008, 05:33 AM

I have found that having an exercise buddy is a great help. We get each other out there for our walk at least 4-5 times a week and have decided to join the YMCA. meeting with a fitness instructor in the next week for insight on the proper routine.. I am so excited.. need to work on the flapping arms and sagging tummy and butt....
Luckily still losing at a pace of about 2# per week, but I can see that I have to work on the body.....
We all have to remember this is a tool for us, just as Fenton said. WE still have to do the work and change our eating habits.. and I find the food journal is my best friend, well at least a friend!!!!

enjoylife · 05-22-2008, 06:53 AM

I can't eat anything. Is this what retriction feels like? Yesterday I had a protein shake for breakfast, a chicken thigh for lunch (it took me 45 minutes to eat it) another thigh for dinner - I also tried some shrimp and basil - I must have been full because that crap was sitting in my throat trying to kill me. A few hours after that came back up (yeah I said that) I ate some peanut butter six crackers. I'm gonna starve to death. Oh, I was rear ended yesterday - hard - should I be concerned about my band? I guess that's a question for my surgeon...