So embarassed.....

Ok.....I am so beyond ashamed. I am 7 years post-op from my lap band.  Before my surgery I weighed 317 pounds. I now weigh 280 pounds, and I have Type II Diabetes. While I make no excuses for eating my way out of this surgery, I have dealt with a lot of trauma since 2007. My son was killed in the war in Afghanistan....he was only 21 years old.  

Now, I know I have to control this diabetes or I will die. My problem is that I cannot eat the amount of food I need to do this. Cannot eat six times a day and not throw up because of my band. I just need some suggestions, ideas, or real solutions to  my problem. if anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,

Rhonda

PS; if you need to be mean....I can take it....but i hope you won't. My emotions are fragile enough. :)

If anyone is mean to you Rhonda, I will seriously find them and shoot them!  ( OK, not seriously, but figuratively).  I am so very sorry to hear about your son.  As a mother myself, I can't even begin to imagine what you have been through.  I am so very deeply sorry that this happened.

On the weight loss issue, I do not have a lap band so I might not be the best at advising you, but with the amount of weight that you have to lose I just wanted to gently ask if getting a different WLS is at all an option for you? I say this with all gentelness and hope that you will make any decision you make work for you.  Best of luck and huge hugs to you.

Oh.....you are so kind and funny! :> Thank you...Alan LOVED being a soldier. I forgot to mention that I have Fibromyalgia, and in spite of my pain from that, I still do water aerobics. I have thought about going back and getting Gastric bypass...maybe when I get a better job with better insurance coverage i will consider it. Love your response.....thank you so much! hugs back at you!

Rhonda

Rhonda just wondering if u had Fibromyalgia prior to getting the band???

how much are you trying to eat in one sitting? what exactly are you trying to eat? if you're eating six times a day, you're probably not needing 4 oz in one sitting. i certainly can't do that much in one sitting and eat six times a day. i get sick when i try.

my example of a typical menu is:

breakfast: oatmeal, 8 oz of milk

snack: protein shake

lunch: salad with grilled chicken/tuna

snack: 1/2 a cup of yogurt

dinner: 2 oz of whatever protein i'm eating and an oz of the veggie

snack: (usually not necessary but sometimes it's just a hot chocolate with marshmellow fluff or a fat free choc pudding cup)

as you can see it's not a lot of food, but it's spread out over a the day and eaten in tiny bits. have you tried sitting down with your nutritionist? do you have a nutritionist? that helped me a lot. she was able to help me avoid foods that would make me sick and foods that would pass through the band too easily, empty calories. etc.

I'm supposed to eat three meals and two snacks a day. But since I can't eat three full meals a day without barfing, I broke them down to six small meals a day, and even that is too much for me. My acid reflux is back with a vengence. Here is my basic list for stuff i generally eat in a day:

Breakfast:

Coffee

1/2 english muffin w nutella on it.

Snack:

6 oz. Protein shake or one protein bar 

lunch:

bowl of soup or a salad with grilled chicken on it

dinner:

salad, soup, a piece of grilled salmon

The only fruit i can keep down is a 1/2 of a banana.

Can't eat tuna, bread, shrimp, rice, turkey bacon,.

My bad habits food wise: 

baked potatoes

chips

avocado

cookies

red wine

tequila

chocolate

Okay......I'm being honest, and this is hard!  I only have one soda a day....but today i haven't had one! Yay!

Haven't had any tequila since September!

Love my guacamole, but eat it with baked tortilla chips.

having a really bad issue with chocolate and cookies.....but I'm working on it!

And.....I wake up in the middle of the night starving.....not good, but....last night, i didn't eat anything...I drank some green tea and went back to bed.. 

i absolutely love your suggestions and help....THANK YOU....

Rhonda

Rhonda -

As hard as it is -- you might need to 'suck it up' and go see your doctor.

I don't eat 6 times a day -- but I also don't throw up.

My band is at an adjustment level where I can eat most anything (in small bites, carefully and thoughtfully) and not throw up.

If you can't do that -- your band may be too tight.

Remember, as we gain weight on the outside, we gain on the inside (just like when I lost on the outside, I lost on the inside) so, that band may be too tight for your bigger stomach -- since the weight came on gradually, you may not have noticed it to the point where you needed to address it ---

Here is what I would do if I were you.

I would go back to 'Bandster eating' -- to me, that means eating 2-4 ounces of protein and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of veggie per meal with little or no grain/carbs.

Breakfast would be a 6-ounce Greek Yogurt (or a scrambled egg with some veggies, but I don't like eggs)

Snack - a small piece of String Cheese or some fruit

Lunch -- 3 oz of tuna mixed with some mayo and veggies -- and 1/4 of a cucumber sliced up and maybe 1/2 ounce of Wheat Thins

Snack -- piece of cheese or fruit

Dinner - 2-4 ounces of protein cut into little (pea-sized) bites --- chewed carefully, and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of baked sweet potato or other veggie

Snack - pudding cup or 1/2 a Luna Bar cut into little pieces

Now -- if you cannot keep that type of food down without throwing up -- your band is probably too tight.

If that amount of food (over several days of monitoring) does not keep you satisfied, your band may be too loose.

A few behavioral changes that may be helpful

1.  wait 30-45-60 minutes after eating and then have 16-24 ounces of water

2.  make a list of 'things to do besides eat' -- if it is not eating time, do something on that list until it IS time to eat

3.  be nice to yourself --- you are an imperfect human who is deserving of love and respect, especially from yourself.  Take some deep breaths and give thanks for being alive.  Where there is life, there is always HOPE!!!!

Kath

Kath,

"Remember, as we gain weight on the outside, we gain on the inside (just like when I lost on the outside, I lost on the inside) so, that band may be too tight for your bigger stomach -- since the weight came on gradually, you may not have noticed it to the point where you needed to address it ---"

VERY good point!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our anatomy does change quite abit!

Prek3

u know what? i never thought about my band being too tight, i just thought I was being a pig and eating too fast!  thank you for your suggestions. I remember not having to take my blood pressure medicine 2 weeks after my surgery, and how happy I was. i remember crying when I slipped in a pair of size 12 jeans, after wearing a size 28-32 for YEARS! i'm a long way from home weight wise......but I'm going to find my way back....failure is not an option.

Thank you so much for caring....

Rhonda

((Rhonda)))

No shame here, just support and love!!!! My heart goes out to you! I can't even imagine how this must feel. I am 5 years out.

 I would suggest seeing a counselor who deals with Eating Disorders ( see one who use to be a weigh****cher leader and would binge on the weekends), she has not had WLS, and has lost her weight many years back. It will address all that has happened and what your current issues are.

Then get back to  basics! Here are some " tools" to allow your "tool" to work.... 

Protein first!  NO procesed CARBS!!!! Check back with your dr. office, go for a refresher course, there is a certain amount of carbs they will suggest so you can gtools" et back  to losing.

No liquids with your foods!

Get back to support   group meetings (no matter your WLS, many fall off the wagon, because it's about our "head", and surgery doesn't address that.)

See your doctors nutritionist

Journal your foods if you bite it, you write it!

Plan out your meals

Weigh and measure everything (I still do this, keeps me honest, besides portions have a way of growing when we stop measuring) 

If you have fruit you should try to accompany it with a solid protein , the protein will neutralize your taste buds so you do not cave into cravings.The gylcemic index in certain fruits can really mess you up.

EXERCISE! Its great therapy. I am an avid walker  , and I sooooo need it as my stress relief.to poor eating habits.

NO ALCHOHOL, it leaves us sooo uninhibited and many resort to food

And post to Jean M.s daily food post!

Take baby steps, and be kind to yourself

Prayers,

prek3