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I don't mean to scare you but the color of your urine does not sound good. Can you call your surgeon? Do they have an after hours number? It could be nothing, but if you still have it i would check to be sure. It's the pinkish color that worry's me. ~~~Stephanie

Stephanie - you are in the most difficult part of the journey. The only way I can describe that part (for me), was a roller coaster ride, unlike any other. But I have to tell you.....now 11 weeks out, and back to most foods, it totally changes. No, the weight doesn't fall off (yeah, I wish it would, too), but it's coming off consistently, and now I look back on the last 11 weeks, and I'm 26 pounds lighter. Would this have happened without the band? NO - it wouldn't have! When the negative ego rears its ugly face, try & remove yourself from it; listen to its unreasonable voice, but stay neutral. You can't really stop it from talking to you.....it's been with you forEVER. The "real you" knows what's best for Stephanie, and that is the voice that needs to intervene between all "head conversations". I refer to these as "the committee". The real you is the one in control. I love the analogy of the baseball game! Hold on to that..... THAT Stephanie is the captain of the ship. You can and you WILL do this!! It was a good decision, and I believe that you will know that clearly in the weeks to come :-)

Congratualtions on being banded. Use a heating pad for the gas pains, it does help. The gas pains lasted about 3-4 days with me. Good luck with your new journey.

Even though I am not there yet, I understand what you are saying. Hang in there, you got this!

Texflea, congrats on being banded. It sounds just like gas pains. Each day you should feel better. It took me a least a week or more to stop having the back pain, so what you're going through is normal. Use your pain meds as needed, but as Stept04 said, if your pain becomes worse, call your doctor. Best of luck. In no time the pain will be just a memory.

My NUT (love calling her that) said that my weight loss would look like stair steps on a chart. From what you have described this is happening to you as well. I eat between 600-800 calories a day and exercise about four times a week (elliptical, mowing grass, cleaning house, walking etc). You may need to experiment by eating a few more calories to give you extra energy to be able to workout more. I found that changing (not necessarily making it harder, just changing) my exercise routine helped when I felt stuck. Our bodies are very adapt at wanting to store energy and by changing your exercise routine you can jump start your weight loss. Drinking more water will help, as well. Good luck!

Congratulations on making this choice and props to you on taking action now! Here's some unasked-for advice. Not knowing how BCBS responds typically, but knowing how my insurance resisted, I strongly recommend keeping a journal of each interaction pertaining to this surgery, with insurance, with Drs, nutritionists, etc. if you use a computer a lot, use it. I kept an electronic journal in Microsoft Word. I logged the date, and just wrote brief broken sentences that cut to the chase, like, "09/12/12. Phone call w/insurance rep, Bianca L. (936-999-9999). Requested list of criteria required to get insurance approval. She will email it to me by 2 pm." "10/04/12. Met surgeon, Dr B, on 1st appt. Was set up with monthly appts with Nut Counselor for 6 months." "03/17/13. Pre-op appt with Dr B. Scheduled surgery 4/17." Keep track of what BCBS requires yourself. Don't rely on them or the surgeon's staff. Do they require months of nutritional counseling? If so, how many? Do they require a psychological evaluation? Do they require a 6-month log of what you ate every day? Will they want to see your Dr's records showing what your weight has been over the past 3 years? And, don't take for granted that your PCP (primary care physician) and surgeon are shaking hands smoothly on everything. If you call and verify the PCP provided the necessary records, and confirm the surgeon's staff received it, things will go easier and quicker. And, if your insurance requires several months of counseling, don't despair. I learned a lot in those appts and the time allowed me to really make peace with this permanent lifestyle change. By the time they wheeled me into the OR, I was so happy, as soon as my gurney crossed the OR threshold, I raised my fist in the air and pulled it down fast yelling out, "YES!" I worked hard to arrive at THAT moment and I marked the success with a mini-celebration. I was soooo ready! We are all here on this site to exchange ideas, questions, and reassurances. If you haven't yet, fill out your profile. Post a before picture. Take your measurements the night before surgery. There will be times your weight loss will stall, but the inches will continue to melt away. Good luck on your journey!

I'm sorry but going to a couple of parties and carrying things to help out shouldn't cause your incisions to break open and "leak" at almost 4 weeks out. This sounds like a low grade infection that's been there all along. Taking it easy wouldn't make a difference. There shouldn't be any leaking of anything, normally. Keep an eye on your temp, if it goes up, get medical attention, ok? Best of luck to you!

If you can do a liquid diet with hunger in your stomach, think how nice it will be to do it post op without the hunger? I am 6 days post op and we had a bbq last night, I enjoyed waching my family eat good while I hade a small bowl of delicious tomato soup. Life is good!

Wow.. this is awesome! Post some recent pics! You are stopping aren't you? Do you want to lose anymore?