RedDirtRN

Start at a lower dose than you normally would. Like alcohol you will absorb more if you are bypass. I made that mistake and got super sick and fainted. Mortifying!!!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to touch base. I have hit the plateau that everyone else was talking about. I am at 85 pounds down. So close to 199 i can taste it but cant seem to get there. My success has inspired a very good friend to also get a band! Hope everyone is well. Any advice for the plateau? I considered a fill but due to bad heartburn after moving (was told due to change in barometric pressure?) i actually had a .25 cc pulled! Guess this is a sign that I need to get serious about a work out plan. Ugh!

Happy Anniversary to all of yall!!!! I can not believe it has been a year. Last year at this time I was choking down nasty shakes for my pre surgery diet. Oh it was so worth it! My lifehas and is changing so much! I am dating more and hiking more and just loving life more in general. I am down almost 70 pound and have at least another 50 more to go. I hope you are all loving life and the new you as much as me!

If doc doesn't remove they will slowly loosen on the ends. If they start to peel up just clip the ends so it doesn't get caught on things. They stay on about a week or so on average.

Yup ditch the bun! That's what I do. I get like a mushroom burger. So it is meat cheese and mushrooms! Very yummy! NO food rewards! I buy a piece of clothing since I am running out of ones that fit!

I took the opposite approach. I really thought it over. I know the discouragement I felt when I would see someone who lost a lot of weight and the response when asked about it was "oh I just eat less and excerise!". I would feel sad wondering why I just couldn't do that. Well I didn't want to inflict that feeling in others who struggle. So when I am asked I tell them I have a band! It usually leads to questions and an opportunity to explain what it is and then people see it isn't the easy way out. And most over weight people have considered it themselves. So most of my friends and family know. I am 60 pounds down with mainly just a change in eating habits. I start with a personal trainer tomorrow to start working on toning.

Had surgery in Texas. Moved to Denver. Texas doc took out a very small amount of fluid because of new altitude. So post about atmosphere is correct. Same applies when you fly. I do international rescues and am pretty limited when I eat on the plane. It is at about 8000ft pressurized in the cabin. And on the issue of cold vs heat for swelling. Both are correct. You should ice an injury for 24-48 hours in 20 min intervals. Then you use heat after that time. The cold vasoconstricts and limts or reduces the initial swelling and the heat vasodilates the area to promote healing and "clean out" the initial swelling. This mainly applies though to things like ankles etc. Ice can help with sore throats etc to help with swelling related issues. Plus it is a good way to get fluids. But as far as the band the amount of tissue it would need to affect to reach the band itself is impossible. Your stomach way is actually very thick. Hope that helps.

I think i need tomstart the challenges. My wt loss has really slowed... But it is still there. Banded 9-22 and down 54 pounds. I moved to Denver and boy they werent lying about altitude affecting the band. Can totally tell a difference. (it is tighter). To bad I fly for a living now. Anyways sounds like everyone is doing good and still nice to know I am "on track". Anyone else already seeing change that makes you want to start saving for plastic surgery?? I am there! Oh and other yea moment...last pair of "skinny jeans" in my closet now fit! Day before surgery they wouldnt go past my big ol thighs! Yea!

Wow I am so sorry to hear that! I have not had any problems like that. I got my first fill a month after surgery. Obviously eating right and working out help but if I could rely on that alone I would not have needed the surgery so I don't quiet understand the docs that make you wait so long for a fill. My surgeon (who also is a lap band pt himself!) has a great set up where we can come in as often as needed for a fill or deflate. All visits are covered for the first year. After that it is about $200 a visit. But after a year hopefully you are at the green zone. They have no set amount for a fill because everyone is different. I have gotten as little as 0.3 cc! They have you drink some barium and look at the flow and then I would hang out and have to drink water. I was able to give them feedback on how the band felt and such. If it turned out to be to tight I would get adjusted either right then or could come back in a few days. Fortunately I only had to do this once. Now the bad part is that I have moved to Denver so I lost my 1 year of free fills etc. But I am in my green zone so I am not to worried about it at this time. Not sure how you can fix your situation but for anyone else starting their journey I would strongly recommend making sure that fills are included for a period of time not just a number of fills. Everyone is different and it is hard to gage the need otherwise. But @pugs you seem to be doing great! Keep it up!!!

I hadnt been on in a while so I thought I would catch up on how everyone was doing! My life has been crazy busy lately so getting on here knowing that my weight loss is par with everyone elses is a relief! Just reading over the last few post I can say that I have noticed that I can pretty much eat whatever... if I CHEW! I have really had to pay attention to that and I am positive the few PB's I have had were from not chewing good. But do to my work I am use to having to inhale my food and eat on the run... or at least standing up. Anyways. Glad to see everyone is doing well!

Now see I would love to say the Rangers will win this but after yesterdays game I would be the one asking for a lashing! But noone counted us in last year and who ended up in the World Series???? We will see whoever in the World Series- watch out! Go Rangers! But to the question. I say that I am just watching what I eat and portion control.

Take more pain meds! Half anT3 is like spitting. Just the tylenol alone dosage wise is less than a regulat strength over the counter tylenol. I am sure your doc prescibed 1-2 every 4 hours or 6 hours. I would take the 2 every how many hours you can... No sense in being a marter- they give us pain meds for a reason! And all the other things folks mentioned too. Hope it gets better!

Name, real or screen~ Jennifer Age~ 34 Weight on October 1st~ 279.6 Goal Weight for October 29th~ 260 Exercise Goal for October~ currently can only walk but will go on vacation and plan to do some hiking.... Maybe a 14nr??? :-) Goal for October~ make good food choices Personal Goal for October~ not to gain weight on vacation Date Banded~ Sept 22, 2011 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 21.4 lbs

When I was in the office and they took my fluid out the nurse did the barium swallow again. She showed me the images and I worried about just fluid stretching my pouch. The fluid should run easily through the opening. Of coarse you cant guzzle but if you are drinking normal drinks (my staff says its ok and they reccomend a straw) then there should be no problem. She also told me that their office takes us up to 4 cc on our first fill- of coarse I already had 3.5 so if I wouldnt have had issues it actually would have been a small fill. Hope that helps!

Wow lots of Australia folks! Very cool!!!

Great.... I am crossing my fingers I don't have to deal with this!