lizrbit

Right on Ready!!! congratulations on your loss!!!! i bet you feel like a million bucks! Man its good to hear from everybody. on the ten cc vs ten ml note: i wish i knew now. because he was talking about my "medium" sized band, not one of the ten cc ones, and i said "but i thought i had a ten cc band", he went to check, came back and said no, it was a ten milliliter band, also known as a medium sized band??? so now im confused... anyone else have a ten something band ??? its inamed, know that, but does anyone else have a medium band?

hey! I just started the process. Id been researching for around three years, called the centers a few times, but chickened out, thinking, "ill try this other thing first"...and those other things did not work. So i live way north usa, very close to canada in a very remote place. I called a center in Houston, and i took a job here that has me here for three months (the longest i can be away from my business where i live) and i go for my first consultation in two days from now (im very close to houston) I spoke with my General Health care physician about this a couple of times, once just before leaving to do this. Hes very supportive. I just want this done. Ive been steadilly gaining wieght for the last three years, and im currently 330 lbs. Im smoke free for the last two years after 23 years of heavy smoking (yay) and i just want to be able to walk four blocks without gasping for air, or sit crosslegged on the floor. I want to be naked with another human being again without it seeming like a scene from a horror movie. The WLC said to just bring my insurance card and that they would pursue it...and in reading everything ive read, i cant believe its going to be that easy. I also am having some doubt that ill be able to get banded while im here, which would be horribly dissapointing since it took a miracle for me to be here in the first place. Im still optimistic. I hope so strongly that this will work for me.

wow, how neat to read what it was like initially arriving here and just starting the process out. an update: i was banded feb 13, and just recieved my second 'adjustment' yesterday. I flew back into houston, (staying in galveston oh galveston). My surgeon was incredible. I recommend him to anyone. He does my fills himself. Not only were they able to get me in to be banded, but i also was able to heal and get my first fill before i had to fly back to Maine. Im losing slow but steadilly. I have not regretted the decision to get banded, and only wished i would have done it earlier before id let things get so bad...but thats in the past..TODAY..i can not only walk four blocks without gasping for air, but i can (and do) bikeride 8 miles each morning at sunrise! I can sit cross legged on the floor!! i can be naked and not feel *so* much shame. Im workin on it all... i just wanted to put a reflective update, so that if you are new, waiting and reading this, you'll know.

mel i can totally relate to that one! i did just about the same thing. I put eight lbs back on due to allergies and the meds knocking me out. I just had second fill yesterday. I had 1.5cc and he added 1cc. I come back in six weeks to do it again. (i live in maine, but was banded and maintain fills in houston) I hadnt weighed in a while, and was hoping id lost more, but i was only down 4 lbs from last visit. Dr said it was 'great' and that it was common. We talked about the "sweet spot" and he said it really did exist. im hopeful. OH found something else out.... i do NOT have a 10cc band. I have a 10 ML band. (big difference)

HEY!!!! Hi ya wasbub! Im in galveston back at the cottage. Im fixin to get around to go to my dr appointment in Houston to get my second fill! woo! Going back to liquids worked the trick for me. i did two protien shakes during day and at night two cups of raw veggies (spinach leaves, carrots and marinated tofu, ranch dressing) and i dropped the eight lbs. (i hope) I dropped it before i left to come here, and i havent weighed since arriving in texas. ill find out the big news today at the dr office. im a little nervous about it too because i can feel that im swollen. (ovulation!) soooo we will see!~ No allergies since i flew in. Not just 'better'...GONE. nadda, zip, zero (breathes in deepy) lovely! (which is strange isnt it? because i left snow on the ground and came to tropical climate?) weird. k... im gonna go get ready. ill report back when i get back. cross yer fingers for me!

oh! btw..im going for my second fill here in about an hour. im hoping for more restriction. I have NO idea how much i weigh. I havent weighed in a week. I think im ovulating again. Im averaging twice a month now. I "feel" swollen. ill update when i get back this afternoon. i already have 1.5 cc in a ten cc band. we will see how it goes. oh and also..supplements: (im a firm believer, have been since way before band) but now i take daily: flinstones chewable multivitamin calcium chew iron supplement (has made HUGE difference) flax seed oil (two tablespoons into protien shake every morning before bikeride) b12 drops collegen capsule

Teach! did you go to the journeylite support meeting this week? I managed to catch it, and it was fun. they are growing. Its in north houston, and meets once a month roughly. I got the numbers if youd want more info. Everyone looked GREAT! we'd all been banded by different doctors in houston. anyway, lemme know if you want to come to the next one!

but it isnt your business. If it is, get into social work, family law, or gynocology, otherwise you SHOULD probably get your nose out of other peoples homes, and out of other womens wombs.

meh...can anybody hear me??? i ws there too, even GAINED eight lbs and went on liquids for four days and it worked, Ive got it off again and working down! did ya try it?

woah, laurend, i never posted on that site. I never would either. I feel very strongly on the subject. Stop finger pointing. I wish, that people who do not have children, either by choice or by circumstance, would shut up about how people raising thier children are doing it, or not doing it. its not their business. thats what i wish.

hey! thanks for the bday wishes!!! im hoping it comes true too, its a tall order this time. as for salad...when im eating regular solid foods i dont do salad of any kind unless i still have room after the protien, but im technically 'fasting' and my dr said i can have two cups of raw veggies in the evening in addition to the shakes. so i chose spinach leaves instead of lettuce. To me it makes a difference. ive heard people struggle with lettuce and just wanted to avoid it, and so far so great. not even a glimmer of stuck or oops....BUT everyone is different. When i go back to solids i plan on not doing the salads anymore, although, tofu is EXTREMELY high in protien, easilly digestible, and low in carbs. PLUS... i have a GREAT recipie for atkins lasagna where you slice firm tofu longwise a quarter inch in thickness and use IT in place of pasta. Can cube it and make a cheese sauce and have "fake" mac n cheese! can boil it and cook with chicken and cream of chicken soup, some veggies and viola! "mock" chicken and dumplings! i love tofu. My youngest thinks im crazy and wont go near the stuff. he said its "wrong". lol..Hes eaten it alot more than he thinks he has too. It can pass that well sometimes. Texture is a LOT. Sometimes you just need something to take the place of rice or pasta.

I was banded in Houston, and stayed in a lovely cottage in GALVESTON where it was EASY to ride a bicycle every morning on the seawall eight miles DAILY. it was WARM and i loved life. i was on my feet and active each day. I loved it there. Now im back in Northern Maine. Its very cold. Feet of snow on the ground. im NOT happy here, but its where i live for now. Ive promised myself id keep up regular daily excercise. Ive joined a gym. Its near where i work. I plan to go daily. I go back to houston for second fill april 24th. Im mentally jumping in my skin and cant wait to go back. i need your support. I need to hear from someone else who is struggling to keep their activity levels healthy. Does anyone else live in a very cold climate? Please respond? Id like to keep track of the workouts somehow.

if it makes you feel any better, shortly after that last post i got snowed in, then in the middle of that, allergies forced me down. I cant handle th emeds. they knock me out entirely. i think ive been asleep for the last few weeks. I gained EIGHT lbs back, then went on liquid diet again to get ahold of things, and ive dropped five of them so far. Ill blow it tonight though, its my birthday and i have already seen the cake. We are planning to go to ruby tuesdays for dinner. ive cleaned the house? does that count?

hey jill! i was doing *some* light stuff at about a week or so out...but do what your dr says. Walk a LOT, you will LOVE IT. When i get stuck i cant help but walk, its a fight or flight thing, and im all about the flight! walk at least thirty min a day, You can even choose stuff into a 'thirty minute playlist" so you dont have to actually look at a watch, just hit play when you leave the door, and walk till the music runs out! I love ipod.

thank ya! i got a new bike...and a cake (i have a thing for birthday cakes...its sorta semi serious) lol..

RIGHT ON FLUFFY!~ affectionately, and purposefully....those of you deeming to dare to tell me what i can do with my womb and how many children i SHOULD or SHOULDNT have, can kiss my large round doughy world populating bottom. I would like to tell those presuming to do so, the following: " iF I WANT to have fifteen children, i have every right in the universe to have them. if I DONT want to have them, terminating my pregnancy is my business as well. I dont tell you what to do with your uterus. DONT presume to tell me what to do with mine. " thats what i would say to those who think they have some business in my genitals.

I went through that when i was on Phenfen back in 1997. I dropped ninety lbs and was walking around at 120 lb! (for the first time in my life since i was 12). I worked in a small art dept with only men, women were in the extended offices. I was overjoyed to find things that were cute and that fit. in my head, i went younger i think. I became very sorely aware of jealous comments as well as the positive ones. I started wearing LESS clothing (because younger styles have a tendency to be less and to "show off"). I ran every morning and THEN did a hour long cardio routine every morning! I kinda got carried away with it, i know...and even when the bones in my chest were protruding and my husband tried to say something to me about it, i shut it down and wouldnt listen. it wasnt until they took it off the market, and i started gaining wieght back that i saw a picture of me during my initial wieght gain (with the boney chest, upper arms you could wrap a forfinger around) and kind of freaked out. I found a therapist and started working with her. I had to keep her on topic. it was difficult. It was very long. I spent two years with her, twice a week. I think overall she did help, in a way i couldnt have accepted help before. She certainly helped me accept the wieght gain (it all came back plus forty lbs). I would interview therapists before deciding on one. Find one that deals with this specific issue and not turn it into "my mom left me alone too much" stuff. While that might be true, and it might feel good to talk about it has NOTHING to do with making your eyes see what they need to see. Good Luck and Post what happens with you?

hey btw... i stepped on the scale this morning and im five lbs lighter! Remember i said i had gained 8 and was kind of out of control, so i went back on liquid diet to regain a sense of 'reboot and restart' to get my stomach back to accepting smaller amounts of food and being grateful for it???? that was THREE DAYS AGO. FIVE LBS!!! I dont plan to stay on this for too much longer. I just wanted to drop the eight i JUST put on (and just about as quickly). so heres what ive been doing: maybe it will help any of you who get stuck and need a push, if it helps: breakfast: three oz of zero carb isopure strawberry mix , 12 oz cold water, handfull of pecans and one banana in blender= breakfast shake a little later, a cup of earl grey with one teaspoon honey lunch: one and a half cup of any purreed soup. (i like the box soups from cambells) later afternoon when im starving: three oz of zerocarb isopure with 12 oz cold water= get me through this time shake dinner, while everyone else in the family eats: A bowl of a cup and a half of spinach leaves, one cup of cubed extra firm tofu sauteed in olive oil and marinated in balsamic vinegar, a loose handful of grape tomatoes, a pinch of shredded carrots, a pinch of cheese, a quarter cup of ranch dressing and a few pecans chopped on the top! = a livable dinner during the fast that equals no more than two cups of food total. eat half, walk away, clean the bathroom or something, then eat the other half in twenty minutes. IF YOU SURVIVED THE DAY (and all the protien will make it easy) then you can have ONE cup of (premeasured) tapioca! woo! i like rewards and i understand food rewards. i know its not perfect, but its been working for me and i dont feel like ive been starving. I still take my multivitamins and supplements. I plan on eating a real meal tonight though, as well as a piece of birthday cake, cause i turn 39 today.

Hi Guys, Thought id check in. After reading up a bit it seems like we are definitely in the same boat. Ive had a time of it... When i got home (maine) it started snowing and stayed snowing until just a few days ago. I was a good girl initially, even went to the gym DAILY for the first two and a half weeks,...then FLUID RETENTION kicked in, at the same time my allergies got the best of me and started taking benadryl (which knocks me out). I had TWO cycles since ive gotten home in late March. I think i might be encroaching a third. I dont know whats up with that. I will be asking dr about it when i see him next week. anyway...i gained 8 lbs back. I am back on liquids to see if i can get my stomach used to not so much food anymore, and get it to a good place. I get on the plane in two days to fly out to houston for my second fill! im hoping its an agressive one and will put me back on the right track. The good news is the snow is MELTING (sixty degrees today) and today is the first day ive not had ANY allergy meds of any kind! Tres, Id call my dr if that were me. I hope it loosens on its own and you dont have to get unfilled, but id definitely call in a day or two if it hasnt gotten better. Please post what happens?

carlene, i hope you get better soon. I used to have an aunt who lived in mineola.

anyone in maine been banded yet? i think they were just starting to do the proceedure when i left to have it down in Houston. Anyone here?

i love tea. i totally replaced morning coffee with tea altogether! I use honey to sweeten, but i think i might change to splenda or stevia soon.

allergies! just wanted to add... Ive been literally down for last few weeks and on benadryl for severe allergies. Ive kept track of my food, and while i knew id been eating more than i should, i didnt think it was too bad, but i havent been back to the gym since the ninth of this month, and ive gained 8 lbs back! i went back on liquids for today, likely tomorrow too. Hopefully i can get things back to a "start" position and go forward from there. I gain wieght very quickly. i did this before the band too.

Denise, i know what you mean. SOmetimes i come so hungry to the plate i literally have to make myself stop, and remember. My surgoen held out his pinky and looked at me and said, "NO bites bigger than the NAIL on this finger right?" and i said 'um..yep." and making myself sstick to that is very hard when im hungry. I bought the babyfood spoons, and even though my boys make fun of me, it really does help make the bites smaller and force you to slow down. ALso, another thing ive learned to make myself do is cut up things very small BEFORE i let myself take a bite. It stretches the time it takes to eat a thing longer. EVEN with all that, i totally agree....its hard to remember to take tiny bites.

i Love the thread where we put what we eat...what we really eat...daily. I first heard of fitday through HERE, then a week later my nutritionalist said i had to get an account with them (its free) so i hit my account and as acurately as i can, put what i eat, exactly what i eat, as well as my workouts and notes right there, then publish it so my nutritionalist back in Houston can see it online! I live in Maine. this works out pretty well and its fairly easy to keep up. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Lizrbit