MargieK

Congratulations! It feels good to feel good, doesn't it? I'm so happy for you.

Margie

I just got my 18 month survey from the OCC last week. I am very happy with my band and the OCC overall. The band is just a tool, I still have to work hard on my emotional eating habits, especially when I'm under stress. I have been a yo-yo dieter all my life, and got lucky getting my band before my weight got way up there yet again. I am absolutely sure I would weigh at least 70 lbs more than I do right now if I had not gotten the band.

I think the band has helped me in three major ways: made me more mindful when I am eating, it helped curb my binges (and I can't eat 2 huge plates of food for dinner anymore), and it gave me hope when I was feeling pretty bad about myself for failing at weight loss one more time. It did not automatically stop my food addictions or help with the emotional eating. I have other help for that and am still working on it. I will probably be working on that the rest of my life.

I would like to be wearing a size 8 in pants, but my size 10s are comfortable now and I could be happy staying here - I am really happy with where I am honestly. My band is not super tight, but I definitely know it is there. I spend a lot on vitamins, but our grocery bill has also gone down quite a bit. My husband used my surgery to change his eating habits and of course he lost all his weight in the first few months. He was the one who encouraged the surgery, and I'm glad he did. Honestly I think it added about 20 years to my life because I don't think I would have had the emotional strength to try to lose a lot of weight one more time.

One thing I have learned from my counselors and coaches is to be realistic in my expectations. The band won't make major food issues go away, but it can be a tool to give you hope and help control some of the bad habits. We have to be willing to change, and that might be the hardest part. I highly recommend the book Four-Day Win by Martha Beck. You can get it for next to nothing on Amazon, and she has all these great ideas for dealing with change and all the crazy things that come with food issues. I reread it every 6 months or so because I keep getting through deeper layers of my stuff with food.

This may have been way more than you were looking for, but I am really happy with my decision - and would highly recommend the OCC to anyone. They know what they are doing, and I think everyone there really cares about us patients.

I would highly recommend Dr. Fitzpatrick in Portland/Eugene Oregon. I haven't seen her in over a year, but she is the one I would see if I need another fill or unfill. Her website is: http://gastricbands.com

I went to the OCC for my first fill under flouro, because I was over-anxious about the whole thing. Now that I know fills are an art more than a science I would only get flouro if I think something is wrong. Not that I wouldn't go back to the OCC, it just takes a lot of travel time for me to fly down there.

You are really smart to think about this beforehand. I budgeted $1000 for fills in the first year and I think I came pretty close to that with all the travel included. I probably would have been at my sweet spot with my first time at Dr. F's, but I wanted her to be very conservative. She knows what she is doing even without the flouro - you just have to be completely honest with her.

Good luck with your surgery. I highly recommend the OCC. They took very good care of me - and I had several health issues to deal with - plus my anxiety over any type of surgery was huge. They were prepared for me and took extra precautions to help me feel better. I think you will be in good hands with them.

So happy you are doing well - on so many levels.

Way to go!

Margie

That's the same amount I got for my first fill at the OCC. I know it's hard to be patient at this point, but it will pay off in the long run if you take it slow and really pay attention to your body. Everyone is different and being too tight is much worse than being loose.

Margie

Prayers and Reiki energy coming from my way. I'm sure your mom will be watching over you now.

Margie

Wow, how exciting. Congratulations on accomplishing such a huge goal. You have been a great role model for me, I got banded a week before you did. What an exciting summer this will be for you.

Margie

If you can get your body fat % measured you could figure out that you are losing fat and gaining muscle. My gym did that as part of a 3 month program and I think I only lost about 6-7 pounds on the scale but they said I lost over 10 lbs of fat based on my body fat. The trainer said that the other benefits of gaining muscle is that my metabolism would now burn more calories every day.

I think I'm in muscle-gaining mode right now, my scale hasn't budged for awhile. I decided to look up whether muscle actually does burn more calories than fat. It does - not much, but it does. Here are some links to articles.

How Many Calories Does Muscle Really Burn?

Metabolism and weight loss: How you burn calories

My husband teases me because I cut my meat into little teeny tiny pieces before I even leave the kitchen counter. And I still try to take the time to chew everything into mush before I swallow. I think this has really helped me eat less too because it makes me slow down my eating. I would not recommend moving forward with more fills if you are having issues now. If you get too tight you might really irritate your pouch and then have to get a complete unfill and start the process all over again.

Margie

I've never been much of a breakfast eater, and now with the band I have no desire to eat in the morning. I would say if you are not ravenous by lunchtime then you are giving your body enough with the coffee and cream. I find that the EAS protein drink (the low-carb variety, 110 cals w/17 grams protein) works perfectly for me. I walk my dogs every morning for 20-30 minutes and this gives me enough energy for that. They are about $1.25 each, but since I work at home I figure I'm not spending that on coffee so I might as well spend it on something that works for me. Chocolate has the same effect on me that caffeine does.

Margie

Congratulations! That is great to get to the point where you aren't watching the scale anymore. I hope to be there in a few more months.

Margie

I would say this is what restriction feels like, but if you are really worried you can always call the OCC. They are really good at answering questions.

I can always tell when my pouch has emptied out because I get a big burp. I used to get a lot of burps right after I ate, but that doesn't happen as much now (5 months after good restriction). I always think of the band like a stopped up sink (can't remember where I read that). Once the water goes down you'll hear some gurgles from the air that was trapped underneat the water.

It's really weird getting used to what the band feels like. I get a tightness in my chest when I've eaten too much food at once. You'll also have a learning process as you find out how your band is. I didn't feel restriction until after my 2nd fill, but you might be one of the lucky ones with immediate restriction.

Margie

I drive 5 hours to get my fill and I pay for a hotel room, but it's still less expensive for me than going back to the OCC. I think my doctor charged $195 for the first time, then $170 after that. I needed only 2 fills with her, I could have probably done just one if I had been willing to be more aggressive on the first fill with her. I did go back to the OCC for my first fill just to make sure everything is ok. You might want to explore options that are within a day's drive from your home, or maybe even close to family members so you could combine that with a visit. I think it is really worth it to have a very good fill doctor. If have someone who knows what they are doing, you should only have to go once a month or so for the first few times. Getting fills is an art, not a science, so it can be really hard to get to just the right restriction.

When we decided to invest in this surgery, we also made sure we had enough to cover 3 fills (with travel expenses). You have to think of it as part of the expense - because if you don't have the right restriction the band doesn't work. But... if you are too tight you run the risk of inflaming your pouch and then having to get a complete unfill and starting the process all over again. I am not a patient person, but I made myself be patient during the fill process because I thought it would be worth it in the long run. I am happy that I did that - and extremely happy with the results of the band now that it's been about 4 months since I got to my sweet spot. If only the band would remove chocolate cravings .

Margie

OK, so can I ask you this - I had my surgery 3/18, have recovered 99% except that it feels like the port 'pokes' me whenever I bend over and I am having a hard time tying my shoes!! I swear the *blippin* thing is stabbing me in the rib cage. Is this feeling going to go away, or is it something I have to learn to live with??

I was asking Dr. M. about doing ab workouts after the surgery and he told me that there is scar tissue that will be hard at first, but then it will soften up over time. I also had sharp pains about the first month after surgery, but now I hardly ever feel it all. Just some dull pain when I lift something the wrong way.

Margie

The one thing that really works for me is to have veggies or fruit with every meal. I keep bags of frozen stuff because I can't eat that much at one time. My husband is not that much of a veggie eater, but I'm not much of a meat eater so I always think about what veggies I want before I think about the protein. Being on the band has been hard because I used to use a lot of veggies to help fill me up. I also bought the vitafusion gummies on Angie's recommendation and one of those a day helps things out too.

And if I ever have a really bad problem, I use this tea called smooth move (they have a chocolate flavor). Just make sure you are near a bathroom the first time you drink it. It usually works overnight, but you never know how your body will react.

Hi,

I have the same size band and you can see my fill levels from my stats below. I had restriction on my 2nd fill and now I'm at my sweet spot 2 weeks out of the month and I'm trying to decide if I want to get a little bit more. My weight loss has stalled but it's because I went crazy with chocolate for awhile and I've been a little lazy about following the band rules. Did you really mean to say that you are drinking your protein? That's probably not helping if you are doing that. My fill dr. said to always start every meal with solid protein because it is the most difficult to digest.

I'm getting back on track by measuring and logging all my food for awhile. I don't like doing this, but it is really enlightening to see just how the calories add up during the day.

I try not to beat up on myself too much, if I didn't have an eating problem then I wouldn't need the band. So I just try to do my best and keep correcting my course along the way. Restriction helps us make better eating decisions, but we can still eat way too many calories if we don't change our habits.

I hope you can find what works for you, I know how frustrating it can be to feel stuck.

I would also recommend:

hard-boiled eggs

cottage cheese with some frozen fruit addded (I prefer blueberries)

string cheese and sliced lunchmeat with whole-grain crackers

apple or pear and peanut butter (take a knife to slice the fruit)

carrot chips or slice cucumber and hummus or low-fat cheese dip

Since I've been banded my best breakfasts are protein and veggies. If I start the day with carbs then I seem to be hungry all day. You might want to experiment with different meals and see how long it takes to get hungry again.

Margie

Gorgeous! I bet you feel great too. I know a year ago at this time I was in total despair about my weight. I got banded in Sept. and now I have a new lease on life. I am absolutely certain I added at least 20 years to my lifespan.

Way to go Debbie!

I didn't have any restriction after my first fill, but I haven't had much put in with the 2nd & 3rd fills to get good restriction. It's definitely an art, not a science, and personally I think it has a lot to do with what your body is doing on the day you get your fill. I always scheduled my fills for right after my period because I usually gain 2 lbs of water weight the week before. It sounded logical that I would get a tighter fill if I was less bloated. But now after several months I realize that my band is tighter two weeks after my period and fairly loose the two weeks before. Go figure. My weight loss has stalled, but I am losing inches pretty good. I haven't decided if I'd rather be a little too tight 2 weeks out of the month, and then have good restriction right before my period (when my appetite is a bit out of control). But if I do get another fill it will definitely be during pms week.

I'd also recommend waiting 2 weeks after you get a fill unless you feel really, really open. A fill could feel different after 2 weeks. And... I also think once we get to a good fill level it does just take small amounts to make a big difference in restriction. There is a fine-tuning process and sometimes it really does take time to get it right.

Margie

Hi Debbie,

Did you try playing around with the setting for the RT editor (or whatever it is). Didn't you turn that off/on a few weeks ago? Just a shot in the dark.

I was able to add some text to my signature just now.

Margie

I used the time to figure out what protein drinks I liked and to practice chewing and eating my protein first. I made up my own diet based on what I needed to lose. I wish I would have tried more cream soups because I really got tired of sweet stuff during the liquid diet post-op. Boy did I get a wakeup call when I started being mindful about chewing. I was in the habit of inhaling my food.

Margie

I thought I was going to have a really hard time giving up my diet coke, but I realized that I was mainly drinking it to fill me up when I was hungry and to give me a caffeine boost. Poweraid zero has been my replacement drink. It might help to figure out why you want to have that and then find a replacement. For example, if you like the sweetness, you could try getting some flavored splenda packets or Torani syrup and adding those to different beverages until you find something that satisfies you. What I think has really helped all my cravings is taking my vitamins every day and making sure I get enough sleep at night. I take a sublingual b-12 tab every morning and I think that helps too. And whenever I need a caffeine pick me up in the afternoon I get some exercise - go figure.

Margie

Hi,

One gallon is 64 oz right? I usually drink that in a day. Restriction can really make a difference, it took me about a month to figure out how to adjust and still drink enough water. I can't drink a lot of very cold water, it tightens up my band. What I do is fill up 2 33 oz bottles every night and then drink from them during the day. I mostly work at home, but I took a couple of water bottles to my client's yesterday and just made myself take a 10 minute break to drink 12 oz. I can't chug water like I did before, and I probably drink most of my water in the mornings and at night after dinner.

It's a little weird if you are used to drinking whatever you want whenever you want, but the band is all about making new habits. I have to decide if I want to drink or eat, I usually can't do both. If I drink too much before I eat then I'm not hungry. And I don't drink anything for about an hour after I eat (I wait for the big burp that tells me my pouch is empty)

It just takes some time. I'd also recommend you move conservatively on the fills. Give yourself at least a month before your next fill to see if you get too tight. I've only had restriction for 2 1/2 months, but I have noticed my band tightens up in the 2 weeks after my period.

Margie

Scrambled eggs worked for me on the first day. Dr. Miranda suggested it to me when I asked her. I agree about being careful, you just never know what kind of restriction you will have - and the weird thing is that it can change from day to day.

Enjoy your first meal

Margie

My secret is Aidells Chicken Meatballs, they are very moist and aren't rubbery out of the microwave like turkey meatballs can be. My favorite is teriyaki and pineapple. http://www.aidells.com/sausages/descriptions/details.cfm

They are 130 cal/ 11 grams protein for 3 meatballs, I can usually eat 4 and have room for a 1/2 cup of veggies. I can buy huge bags at Costco for $12, I don't know if they are available at all grocery stores.

Definitely consider making your own protein shots. I'd also recommend checking out the recipes at unjury.com. Another thing I've tried is using a high protein cream of broccoli soup as a gravy when my chicken or turkey looks a little dry. I got the soup mix on sale when I ordered my liquid vitamins at bariactricchoice.com

There is a blog called theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

that is written by a woman who had bypass. She has a lot of great high protein recipes and ideas for getting a lot of nutrition into small amounts of food.

Hope this helps.

Margie