faithmd

Edie, I LOVE YOU!!!!

Puddin, how long did it take for all the swelling to go away after your lower body lift? Psssst, I think you're doing the right thing breaking up with A, you are a woman who deserves the best from a man. Not to say that he seems bad, not at all, but he just doesn't seem to want to work for this as much as you do. I know you aren't perfect, you've made mistakes (we all have), but you are doing your best to correct your errors. In addition to conquering your demons, you should have a man befitting of your Phoenix status (a gorgeous bird rising from the ashes and spreading her wings).

JULY, 2007 CHALLENGE Name...............................Starting…....Current…......Goal…..........To Go losingjusme..(Christine).........293.............. 293... ..........276.................17 tann.............(Tammy)...........224............ . 224..............212.................12 Josette.................................322....... .......322..............307.................15 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. .....267..............267..............256........ .........11 FaithMD............................... 312..............310..............299............. ....11 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .....275....... ......275 .............265.................10 juliegeraci..............................232...... ....... 226 Inner_me.....(Chris).............. ..295..............295 Waterlily1072...(Nicole).......... 272..... ........272 Libra..(Angela)....................... 218..............216..............208............. ....8 Lapbandit……...............….... .206……….....206

Have a good time at CP, Brandy. You know how to get ahold of me if you need to, I'm heading up north tonight until Tues. I am keeping my fingers crossed you can get him to talk. You do deserve so much more. You're an amazing lady who has done a great job raising very brilliant kiddos, you should have it all.

Derick, I always sought out the bigger guys. Then again, I am obviously a big girl, and plenty of larger guys prefer little girls. I met my husband on one of the matchmaker sites. It can work, but you do have to do some weeding through the nutcases.

Waters: I LOVE your sign idea! I forget who mentioned heat in here last night, I didn't think it was hot, I think Heather and I were just both very passionate and committed to our thoughts. I responded to her again because I wasn't sure I had made myself totally clear. I truly appreciate all of our thoughts and opinions in this thread. I think we've got a great group of folks here.

Hello KarenG, this is a pretty popular question, I had to stay overnight and was VERY glad I did. Pain control was taken care of and it was much easier to get in and out of my hospital bed than to get out of my bed at home. Here's some links to many threads that ask your question, I hope you can glean some more information from them: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/length-hospital-stay-35934/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/overnight-stay-34522/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/overnight-stay-33353/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/how-long-your-hospital-stay-31338/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/how-long-your-hospital-stay-28889/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/outpatient-1-nights-stay-14085/

Peaches, if you page down to the bottom of this thread, the software now searches for similar threads and provides links. there are a few good ones with great suggeston on them. I wore a loose dress and a NONunderwire bra.

My surgeon told me that he will usually not fill if I am losing well (1-2lbs per week) AND if I'm not starving or feeling that I am working very hard not to eat. I am only a couple of weeks post-op so we'll have to see how I do, but that isn't the first time I've heard of this.

It's amazing how quickly that changes, I've only been banded a little over two weeks and I find myself looking at what people have on their plates and thinking, "How can they eat that much?" I do have moments where I am jealous of the amount of food people are eating. I used to actually like the full/stuffed feeling. But it's only fleeting and the, "Did I really eat that much once?" feeling seems to be there more than anything. Fourth of July was hard, but I was still on full liquids. Though you do what you can to get through. I pureed a small can of baked beans with a fat free hot dog and some tomato juice and catsup and BBQ sauce to make a soup, VOILA! I have sort of a 4th of July meal, but still in liquid form.

Dan: Thanks for the cookbook suggestion. I think I'll order it later today. The recipe sounds AMAZING! Heather: I agree with you completely, just about anything with wasabi is a good food in my book. (Damn, I want sushi!) Laura and Waters: I agree with you guys, I feel that way too and I'm just over two weeks out. I got even more sore around the 12 day mark. I have been sleeping a lot (and I'm not taking any narcotics) and I just can't seem to do much around the house. I have been doing laundry and dishes, but not much more than that. I hope to get back into it next week. Kland: Absolutely! We do need to give ourselves time to heal and mourn.

I find myself doing the same thing. In the next breath I'm kicking myself for feeling that way becase three weeks ago I'd match DH bite for bite. How dare I at over 300lbs criticize how much someone else eats? I think what you describe is a normal part of this process. A moment later I am incredulous to find that I am at times envious of those that can still eat large portions, I kind of miss that stuffed feeling. I'm too scared of stretching my pouch to eat to that level of excess at this point. Am I weird? I don't think so, I think it's all normal.

Congrats on the date, Nume!!

Yep, in post #4, my other post on this thread. Just look six posts up this page from the one you are reading.

I truly hope that no one thinks I am speaking down to them or judging them because they have slipped up. I certainly am not! I am trying to point out the reasons why it is so important to try to get back on that horse and toe the line as long as possible. I would never dare to say that merely being banded would end years of food issues. Lord knows if I could make it to 371, I have had some food issues, and continue to have them. I posted my tough love because it is (as I said) something I have to say to myself every day, if not more often than that. I am by no means perfect. If we screw up, we screw up...Hopefully no harm done. Take the time to evaluate what happened and get back on the path you should be on. My concern is not so much for those who make a mistake once or twice, my concern is that there are so many out there who say, "Oh, it's okay, it went down fine so I guess I can do it." Or those who look at what other's diets are and advance theirs faster than their surgeon or nutritionist reccommended. I do agree that sometimes companies can be really conservative, likely in an attempt to shield themselves from possible litigation. But as you yourself said, the granddaddy of the band in the Western Hemisphere supports three weeks of liquids before moving to solids. My belief is that chewed really well most solids could be considered mushy so I totally understand the jump over mushy to solid. I posted what I did because I truly do not believe that everyone got a good education about WHY they should be sticking to whatever liquid stage their surgeon or nut wanted them to. So often physicians have a tendency to say not to do something, but never explain the how and the why behind it. If you can give me a good reason for something, I'm much more likely to accept it. It somehow makes a tough thing a little more doable if I know that reason for it is important. I am not comparing being banded to being pregnant in any way. However, I am pointing out that we would all do the very best we can for a child, yet we tend to be lax when it comes to our own health. Heather, you make an excellent point when you say perhaps we should have lots of counseling before we have a bariatric surgical procedure. I think we should. You are so right that it is impossible to just say STOP and then do it. If we could say STOP to ourselves, we wouldn't have been fat. But the band requires so much from us, I think (or at least I hope) that we were all fully informed about the changes we were going to have to make after banding. It isn't easy. I knew it was going to be damned hard so when I got closer to being banded I started to practice behaviors that I read about here and other places. I started eating proteins first, I got baby utensils to eat small bites, I stopped drinking with my meals, I tried to get used to chewing, chewing, chewing (the hardest for me to do). I obviously could not have handled decreasing my intake amounts pre-band, but I did the best I could. I researched, researched, researched. Am I tooting my own horn? Am I the poster child for bandsters? NO! I am pointing out that I got to that "place," I came to that magical moment where I just couldn't take it anymore. I decided (as we all did) to have SURGERY to lose weight. What a crushing blow, to admit that I just couldn't do it alone. Well, I could probably lose some, but I knew it wouldn't stay off. I needed this tool, so I learned as much about it as I could, I learned why we do things. I think if you are going to go so far as to have surgery, you should take some accountability and not say, well, I couldn't do it before, so the band will just stop me. How many threads have we all read where someone thinks it's okay to be so tight they PB on just about everything because that's how they are losing weight? That is NOT good. That's not protecting the band, or ourselves. I am only trying to catch us (and myself) and support us being as healthy and proactive in this journey as we possibly can be. I want every single June Bandster to be successful and healthy in their weight loss as they can. And Dammit, why did you have to say SUSHI???????? (WAAAAAAAAA, I want some sushi!!!) Gosh, I love that stuff!

Please keep us updated, Serenity. Glad I was able to help.

Okay, for those of us banded late in the month and struggling through our full liquid and mushy stages, I'm going to post my tough love speech. I remind myself of this everyday. It is NOT easy to stick with this diet, especially when so many other seem to be moving faster through tthe stage than I am. But I do remind myself that moving slowly MAKES SENSE and my surgeon's group has had NO SLIPS (other than one that was totally the bandster's fault-eating things he shouldn't a few days out). Ready? I am a person who wants data to back up most things a health care provider is doing to/for me. The Allergan website (the folks who MAKE the LapBand) says this about food stages: Post-Surgery Nutrition After surgery, you will need a new nutrition plan. Your surgeon and/or dietitian can help you learn about and get used to the changes in lifestyle and eating habits you need to make. It is very important to follow the eating and drinking instructions beginning immediately after the operation. In the first few weeks after your surgery, you will be on a liquid diet since only thin liquids will be tolerated by your stomach at that time. As you heal, you will gradually progress to pureed foods (three to four weeks post-op) and then soft foods (five weeks post-op). Finally, you will be able to eat solid foods. Granted perhaps there is new research that says prolonged periods on liquid diets are not necessary and the Allergan site just hasn't been updated yet. I would wonder what a surgeon who advances quickly's complication rate is and more specifically what their SLIP rates are. Are they advancing people faster because of the AP band and the selling point that it's less likely to slip because of it's width? Is there a study they can show you to support the shorter move to soft foods? Has surgical technique changed and is there a way now to access the back of the stomach (not previously accessed because of it's proximity to the spinal nerves) and suture the band (I haven't heard of it)? The reason for the liquid diet is because the band gets "seated" on the stomach and held in place by scar tissue that forms during the weeks we are taking in liquids. The stomach is a muscle, and that muscle has to churn and undulate to digest and move food through. Liquid requires little stomach movement to process. When we start to chew something, that lets our digestive system know that food is coming down, fluids begin to be secreted to aid in digestion and the stomach starts moving in preparation to start the breakdown of food. The band is held in place on the front of the stomach by sutures in the stomach where it is pulled up and over the top of the band, then sutured to itself. There is nothing holding the back in place, the surgeon tunnels behind the stomach to pull the band around and then scar tissue forms to hold it. That scar tissue can't form properly or as well if the stomach is churning and moving to digest. Kind of like pulling a paper cut on a knuckle apart every time you bend your finger, it takes forever to heal. At least that's what the band folks have said for years that is how it all happens. Perhaps someone somewhere has done a new study and what we've always believed is actually not right. It's possible. Do you see now why I'm hesitant to eat early? Of course, if someene can show me concrete good data (not just a study with a sample of a few patients) that the longer liquid stage is not necessary, then I'll be happy to change my thought process. I look at it this way, if I were pregnant and my doc told me I had to be on liquids to keep my baby healthy, I cannot imagine being desperate enough to put my unborn child's health at risk. I'd be on that liquid diet PAST the date the doc told me to just to be on the safe side, wouldn't you? Why won't we protect OUR OWN health with just as much vigor? Why do we risk our own health when we know that being in liquids is for a finite period of time (two weeks, four weeks, six weeks, whatever)? Why on earth are we "cheating" and risking our bands? Just because something goes down okay doesn't mean it isn't setting us up for damage later. Damage we do now freshly banded may not show up until a year or two down the line. Maybe we have a bad episode of vomiting and because we just couldn't wait to chew, we didn't get good adhesion of scar tissue early on, it may slip. Really think about it, folks. If it were to protect an unborn life, we'd do anything. This band is the key to our new lives.

ooooo belts, I can't wait to wear belts again. Congrats on all the GREAT NSV's!

Campbell's Soup at Hand is a good product (avoid the ones with tiny Pasta pieces, though), Creamy chicken, Cream of Broccoli, Creamy Tomato, Classic Tomato, Blended Vegetable Medley, Vegetable Beef, Clam Chowder, Creamy Potato are just a few of the options. Very few chunks. Imagine brand soups are also good as are the Gold Label boxed Campbell's soups.

Never heard of that. I have only recently been banded (just over 2wks ago) but I've not had problems that I've noticed. Hopefully a more experienced Bandster can speak to this.

I sometimes wonder if it would be easier or harder for me if I had been normal size at any time during my formative teen years, on forward. These are of course only my personal feelings, but on occasion I think about how many of you mention that you were 120lbs in HS or 115 when you married, etc. and you just can't stand the way you look now and how much you've changed. I find myself thinking you have no idea...I have NEVER been a normal weight since I was 9 years old. That is a terrible way to think, I know. Is your struggle easier than mine? No! But I'm being honest. I think to myself that at least you've experienced life at a normal weight. At least you've had the experience of going into a store and having someone come right over and help you. You've had occasion to not worry about which way to walk through a crowd or through a restaurant so that you don't bump against someone or have to squeeze through. You've ridden public transportation and not had someone look at you in disgust when they had to squeeze next to you in a seat. You've not had someone look at you with disdain because you are sweating after running to catch a bus or a cab. You've probably flown without worrying that someone will have to move out of their seat to let you out to the restroom (I won't go on a plane, I am afraid of not fitting in the bathroom). Some of you have joined the mile high club, I can't fathom that. You've had the experience of shopping at a regular store for clothes or shoes or swimsuits, maybe you were able to get your wedding dress off the rack. You've stood up in weddings, I haven't. I think sometimes it is because some brides worry about the appearance of their pictures, some don't want a fat bridesmaid in them. Some don't want to limit which dresses they choose for their maids to something available in plus-size. Some don't want a fat girl in a strapless dress. You've had sex and been on top without worrying that you'll crush a guy's pelvis. You've had sex and not been mortified when your stomach rolls smacked against each other and made that horrible sound. You've not had some man make a comment about how huge your thighs are when he starts to "go down there" (that ruins ANY chance for having a good time, let me tell you). Maybe you have been lucky enough not to have your heart broken after you fall in love with a gay man because that's the only man who will give you attention and affection. I cannot remember being thin. I have been smaller than I am now, so I still have the issues with running into someone I knew years ago when I was merely obese, not super morbidly obese. I put on almost 100lbs since I've met my DH nearly 9 years ago. My 20th HS reunion is coming up and I still think about how much I've gained since HS. I see the Slimfast commercials where someone wants to lose thirty or fifty pounds for their reunion and I laugh. I was a 22 in HS, I probably weighed in the low 200's. I'm in the 300's now. I was near 400 about eight months ago. So I do still have some of the issues that those who were at one time thin struggle with, too. I am sure it's hard on folks who married thin and then have gained a lot of weight over the years. I know that there are spouses out there (men and women) who make comments about how their mates have let themselves go, and that's painful. I'm fortunate my DH has not said one word about my weight gain. But my previous love did. He told me about how his previous long-time love had gained from 130-280 over the course of their relationship and then he said he didn't want me to gain an ounce (I was about 250 then). When we split he said he was grossed out by my gain (about 20lbs) and disappointed that I wasn't still going to the gym like I was at the beginning of our relationship. He was 400lbs himself! Now I certainly have not sat back and been a wallflower. I am a very in-your-face type of person, I have the ability to be an extrovert, or be somewhat introverted. I never did let my weight stop me from doing much. I used to dive, I loved coasters (until I did get too large to fit), I travel. I am one of those life of the party types. I can go to a gathering not knowing a soul and walk out with two or three lunch dates and a few new friends. I guess that's a good thing, hopefully as I lose weight and get closer to whatever "normal" will be for me, I will not change. I do not want to become a different person. I do worry about that, though. One of my friends here said in one of her posts that her DH knew her thin, didn't like her fat, and is now treating her like shit because she's losing the weight he wanted her to! That he knew who she was at all stages and that she hasn't changed. For those who like her met their mates at a normal weight, I think the transition *might* be a little easier, unless a situation like hers arises. But how are my DH and I going to handle it when my exterior begins to transform into someone he's never met? He's certainly larger than he was 15 years ago, but there are pictures, I'd recognize him at 165lbs like I recognize him at 235lbs. There are no pictures of me at a normal weight, I will be a different appearing person. I don't want that change to affect me/us in a negative fashion. I work with a woman who is 112lbs and is doing Weight Watchers to lose 2lbs. She is devastated that she can't get back to 110lbs. She has 3 children. I am sure her struggle is a real one to her, I would never poo poo her difficulty. But it is NOT the same as mine. No one's struggles are the same as the next person. I don't think you can categorize what anyone goes through.

Totally normal. Glad your appt went well!

I was just banded two weeks ago, I have the AP band which is supposed to provide some degree of restriction from the getgo. I have the opposite problem, I get restriction in the late evening. I noticed it about five days ago, a marble feeling about 2 inches below my Adam's apple. Asking other long term banded folks they've said that's what their restriction felt like. It comes and goes, but I've had it for about three nights out of the last five. Sipping hot fluids eases it a bit. I am normally a night shift girl, but am sort of living on the day shift right now. But I guess my body is so adjusted to nights that I'm getting restriction then. It's weird...

She's been posting the the July 07 bandsters thread a little bit. Here's a permalink to her first post-op post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f94/lucky-sevens-july-07-bandsters-35160/index73.html#post508227

CONGRATS!!!!!! The pre-op is tough, the post-op is tough. Just remember that you are doing this for your health. Keep focused and keep something calorie free to sip on nearby. It will seem like ages before you can have real food again, and many folks get desperate and want something to chew. Crunching ice can help, sugar free popsicles can help. You CAN do this! Remember, it's only about two months total (before real food again, depending on your doc's post-op diet instructions), two months out of your life, you can make it!