windycitywids

Good luck, hopefully it hasn't turned.

Eat now while you get the chance. Friday I went to the surgeon's office to ask about some pain I was having and before you knew it I had had a fill. I only ate yogurt that morning and I was soooooooooooo freaking hungry for two days. I'm still only on mushies today. I can't wait until tomorrow when i can have solids.

OK, I'm stupid but what exactly does DH stand for? Anyway I would never even consider doing anything like that to my body without my husband there. He is my biggest fan and advocate and he is smart. Of course I would set ground rules first because he carries on about the stupidest things sometimes and we would have discussed what I wanted done way ahead of time. But it is a personal choice and I hope all goes well for you.

You aren't rambling so don't worry. I am glad you are going to see a Psychiatrist as a GP isn't equipped enough for all of the different med options out there. My sister found out in her mid-forties that she is Bi-Polar and she is doing well now on meds. Just know that you are never alone with this disease and don't ever feel or let anyone else make you feel inferior. Taking meds for mental illness is like taking meds for high blood pressure, it's to help a medical condition. Good luck to you

Gyps, Let me start by saying the Heat Miser rules! I would call your surgeon immediately as you may have has a slippage. Follow up is essential for your health with the band. Good Luck.

After getting my band 7/28/10 I had a series of surgeries(appendectomy and gallbladder removal) within a 4 month period of time which totally derailed my motivation and stalled my progress and was wondering if anyone else has had this happen. I talked to 3 of my surgeons and they all said that there was no literature to connect them but they did say the gallbladder issue can happen with rapid weight loss, but I had only lost a very minimal amount of weight at the time and I couldn't find anything conclusive on the web. It was more than a coincidence and I know it. I had developed a superficial infection at my port incision (underwire of bra caught the scab) site 3 wks post-op which I'm sure started it all off. What's your experience? C

This is also an interesting topic for me because I have no interest in food either. I eat but find no enjoyment in it any longer so I don't really care what I eat anymore. I can't eat a lot of fruits or veggies anymore and I love them too. I find that I can eat so little of the good foods that I stick with ground meats, chili, shepherds pie etc. I made really great turkey burgers on the fourth but could only eat 2 small bites and one bite of baked beans. I can't do breads or rice or whole wheat pasta either. I hate protein shakes even though I do have some great tasting recipes. For me it's about the toothsomeness (think that slight crispness of a perfectly grilled hamburger bun) and textures I think, so things get a little boring at times.

Chobani all the way! I love the blueberry myself. Greek yogurt is the bomb more protein than regular.

Let me start by saying outstanding job on the weight loss. You are doing really well! Is there a YMCA near you? I have been taking Water aerobics classes and I love them. I live in Tucson so I understand hot. A YMCA membership is very reasonable and you would have access to a wide variety of classes. I need the lowest impact possible as I have nerve damage in my feet and traditional exercise can be quite painful so a friend suggested the water classes. I take a combination of deep water(no impact) and high intensity shallow (very little impact). They combine cardio and toning and you can burn 700 calories an hour in a deep class. Good luck to you

After getting my band 7/28/10 I had a series of surgeries(appendectomy and gallbladder removal) within a 4 month period of time which totally derailed my motivation and stalled my progress and was wondering if anyone else has had this happen. I talked to 3 of my surgeons and they all said that there was no literature to connect them but they did say the gallbladder issue can happen with rapid weight loss, but I had only lost a very minimal amount of weight at the time and I couldn't find anything conclusive on the web. It was more than a coincidence and I know it. I had developed a superficial infection at my port incision (underwire of bra caught the scab) site 3 wks post-op which I'm sure started it all off. What's your experience? C

BE CAREFUL OF UNDERWIRES! I ripped my incision site and got a superficial infection from it which I believe led to subsequent surgeries. When I switched to a soft one it made all the difference in the world.

Try onestopplus.com I have gotten really cute suits for my waterclasses for like under 30 bucks.

This is so true! I am still grieving after almost a year.

I just had this problem and I asked the folks here about it and I got so many great responses. I for one never feel satisfied and ( I'm at 9cc in a realize band) so I would keep eating and then was so bloated and painy. I was overeating at least 2x what I should've been and my weight loss was stalled. I've lost 5 lbs this week and cut my portions by half. I'm still not satisfied but I'm not hungry either. It's a fine line to walk but I didn't have weight loss surgery for the fun of it I did it for my health and it's my built in will power now. I hate the band when I want to emotion eat but I'm glad it's there or I'd be back to pigging out. Remember we get by with a little help from our friends!

PROTEIN and proper nutrition. I had the same problem but I had to increase my protein intake and it has finally leveled out. One of the great problems I have is that I can't eat enough of the good foods, like whole grains and fruits and veggies but I take vitamins every day and I eat protein bars too. V-8 is delicious and good for u and since it's a liquid goes down easy. Milk and yogurt and cheese are good ways to add to that important protein goal and Greek yogurt has even more protein than regular yogurt. Good Luck

Hi All, I was wondering if you might not want to share what your "full" feelings are and how you know when to stop eating? I can eat my portions but literally my stomach is still growling and I inevitably end up eating more. I have a realize band and am about at 9cc's currently. Any help would be wonderous!

Ok, I think it is pretty much the same for all of us. I was in a bit of pain for the last couple of days and it just dawned on me today that I WAS OVEREATING! You'd think that after 11 months I would know when I was full. I do now though. Thanks to all of you for sharing. This is a looong journey and it helps when others along the way stop and say hi! It is easy to feel alone and discouraged. I was hoping to be a lot further toward my goal weight but joining this site has really been a Godsend and I think things will be smoother for me now. You all rock!

Yep, I have to say I drink coffee every day with FF French Vanilla Creamer. I won't give that up, well maybe someday but the coffee stays. My doc is fine with coffee, soda in moderation and even some alcohol again, in moderation. Singingpeaches you are a genius! I have been advised to mix my Protein in with my morning coffee and I can soooo do that recipe. Just brilliant!

Hi elcee, Of course it's not deepest darkest Africa! Much to cold in the UK to be deepest darkest Africa. If anything I believe that the UK is more advanced in banding than we are in the States at the moment. So I'm not worried about the quality of care I will receive just the differences in care. I did use the internet and I too found that site but I was wondering if I could get some info on fills over there from one who's been thru/going thru them. I had read a post from someone in the UK doing their first fill and wanted it x-ray guided or something like that so it got me wondering because I've never heard of it before. Here, some physicians wont even fill you if you've been done by someone else so I am doing some prep work. One needs to be prepared you know. My doc said she would want to unfill me because I may experience some difficulty at a higher elevation and they don't want me to have a crisis mid-air. I suffer from Anxiety disorder and she wants to make sure I'm comfortable. She didn't say I had to but it may be worthwhile for my peace of mind. Thanks for the help though. I'd appreciate all that can be given.

If you feel like you're cheating with just Tomato soup - you shouldn't because as the others have said what a great choice for cheating! Take it easy on yourself as this is a huge learning process and you will have many hurdles to pass in the future. Take care!

It should be under your breasts around where your sternum is. You should have an incision site there.

Hi all, I am new to this site but I was banded nearly a year ago and have lost only about 30lbs so far. I had several complications along the way including post-op infection of incision site (superficial) appendicitis, had lap appy middle of August 2010 and GallBladder surgery (lap choly) in Sept of 2010. As of about February of this year I finally have about a 9 restriction wise and am not doing so well I guess I'm only losing about 5 lbs every 2 months or so. My BMI is about 39 down from 44 and that's a good thing. I am going to be tested to see if I am a match so I can give my Mom a kidney. My sister talked with the transplant surgeon who said I need to be down to 35 so now I feel like a total loser. Any words of encouragement out there?