DELETE THIS ACCOUNT!

Once you reach your goal weight and stabilize, you should be good for quite awhile without needing any adjustments. Because you're still losing, you will undoubtedly still need one from time to time.

There are many reasons they tell you to stop smoking. The main one being that if you smoke, you're at much greater risk to having an adverse effect to the anesthesia. The chemicals in cigarette smoke adhere to the red blood cells making them far less effective oxygenating the body properly. Also, it makes it harder to recover after surgery and more likely to wake up with a tube down your throat because your body simply can't get the oxygen it needs. After surgery, smoking seriously interferes with the healing process and people who smoke are far more likely to suffer infections, bleeding, and wounds that don't heal properly. The 4 week thing is because WLS is an elective surgery thus they can make whatever rules they want to do it. 4 weeks not smoking allows the body time to rid itself of all trash and toxins, reducing all the smoking related risks. I've known surgeons who actually nicotine test their patients and if they test positive, cancel the surgery. Quitting sucks, I know, I quit smoking 18 months ago. But, you're getting WLS to be healthy, why not actually be healthy and quit smoking too? Best wishes.

I have an awful time the first couple days of my period. My band tightens right up on me and I struggle to eat even softy, mush food. But, like clockwork, by day 3 I'm back to normal and my band is where it should be again.

I still eat Chinese food about once a month. Like others have stated, I stay away from Entrees with fried/breaded meats or veggies. I also stay from fatty appetizers, like crab ragoon, egg rolls, and dumplings. I look for meals with thin sauces rather than thick gravy, too. I've had cashew chicken, beef with broccoli and Kung Pao chicken all since being banded. I just keep it to a cup or less and log the calories as best I can. I've never had a problem.

Wow that's a tough one... I guess my first question would be, is she a close friend? If she is, I almost think you might want to gently and lovingly approach her. She may be completely unaware of it. Sometimes people will get "stomach breath" from not eating enough, but bad breath could be a symptom of something much more serious. Diabetes, gingivitis, ulcers, and many other illnesses can have bad breath as a symptom. For this reason, if it is a close friend, I'd be inclined to tell her. If she's not a close a friend or someone you feel comfortable talking to so candidly, aside from keeping mints in your pocket to offer her, I'm afraid you're a bit stuck. Good luck!

I'm no doctor or a nutritionist, I'm only sharing what I've read from many reliable sources. The reason breakfast is so important is because it does kick your metabolism into gear. They have also found people who eat breakfasts high in both Protein and Fiber are far less hungry throughout the rest of the day. Most recommend eating within 30 minutes after waking for maximum benefit. If you sleep late, then your "breakfast" would be whenever you wake up, regardless of what time the clock says. On the days I don't have to get up with my kids, I am a late sleeper too. I'm also rarely hungry when I wake up and on top of that, my band is super tight in the mornings. For me, I find a Protein shake to be the best breakfast choice. It's high in protein and because it's liquid, it's easy to take in first thing in the morning. I also take my daily fiber chewable every morning as I drink my protein shake. Again, this is just based on what I've read and what works for me. Best wishes!

When people ask you "how much have you lost?" I'd simply respond with a smile and say "enough". Remember, you don't owe anyone any explanations or reasons. I would even go so far as to nicely ask people to stop asking you. The people who love you should understand, those that don't understand don't matter anyway. As far as losing, are you counting calories? The truth is, weight loss boils down to simple math. When you burn more calories than you consume you will lose weight. Some lose fast, some lose slow, but you will lose. If you're not counting calories I would recommend doing so. It's the simplest way to to assure you're not eating too many calories. Best wishes.

I saw this and about died laughing. I think any of us dealing with loose skin can relate!

I found what it is: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bartholin-cyst/DS00667

I agree with the others, call your doc's office and ask, just to be safe.

I give you credit because I cannot use chopsticks. I suck at it. I tried it once at a Thai restaurant and my shrimp ended up flying across the table and landing in my date's lap.

We absolutely LOVE this soup! I'll have to try that with the salsa.

You know, Jim raises an excellent point. I bet your husband will appreciate the CPAP machine. Years ago (MANY years ago) I dated a man who had untreated sleep apnea. Honestly, sleeping with him scared the crap out of me. I remember he'd inhale then...nothing. I swear a full minute or two would go by with him doing this weird little gasping thing before he'd finally sputter and exhale. More than once I shoved him in the arm just to make him breath again. It always really scared me.

Just go into to your doctor, tell them you had the band and are feeling fatigued, and request a blood panel to make sure you're getting the proper nutrients. He'll know what to do from there.

I don't think anyone is trying to perpetuate a myth. We can eat more than 3 bites a meal, but restaurants typically serve gigantic portions. As phdizzle said, they serve 4 cup meals and we only need 1 cup of it. I often order off the children's menu and I still eat maybe half of what they bring me. It does make waiters and waitresses question if something is wrong. They just assume we're going to eat most of what we're brought. When we only eat less than half, they assume it's because we didn't like our meal. I've had this happen many, many times. Especially if I decline to take home the leftovers.

At the beginning, I only told my parents, brother, children, and 2 close friends. Now, everyone knows. I'm very open about it. As far as restaurants that's always kinda funny actually. More than a few times I've had a waitress or waiter say "Oh I'm sorry, did you not like your meal?" because I only eat a quarter of what they bring me. I always just politely assure them my meal was great, I simply had enough. The conversations always ends there.

Typing on a forum won't help you, you need to go directly to the ER.

I love your positive attitude! It will take you far! Don't feel bad about the CPAP and the sleep apnea. Granted there's no guarantees, but a lot of us no longer have a sleep apnea after loosing weight. I had one too before I got the band a year ago. Now, not only do I no longer have sleep apnea, I don't even snore anymore. At all! Best wishes!

((hugs)) I'm so sorry you had to find out the rest of the ugly details, but I'm glad finding out has finally brought you the closure you not only need but deserve. And you're totally right- that piece of sh*t doesn't deserve you. You're a wonderful woman with so much to offer. It takes time but you will heal. I found out my ex was cheating days before giving birth to our son. The trauma of it all actually sent me into labor early, it was horrible. When my son was only 3 weeks old, I left him. I still resent my ex for ruining the birth of my son and leaving me a complete broken wreck with a newborn baby and grade schooler. But... I did heal. It didn't happen over night but I did. The thing I finally realized was I had to forgive him, not for him, but for me. That bitterness and anger was destroying me from the inside out. And him? It didn't even phase him. It only hurt me. Ironically, my ex and I are actually very close friends now days. I will always love him like family, but I haven't romantically loved him in years. I'm very happy in my life, in fact I look back now and realize he did me a favor. He didn't deserve me just like your ex didn't deserve you, and by freeing me, I'm now with a wonderful man who does deserve me and I deserve him. Hang in there, Donna.

If you don't want anyone to know, you could just say you're just getting over a stomach bug and don't want to risk upsetting your stomach now that it's finally calm again. Then no one would question why you're drinking water.

ROFL!!!

I experienced the same thing. I had a really minor cold, too. It wasn't even that bad, but it was just enough post nasal drip and light occassional coughing that my band tightened right up on me.

You shouldn't feel sick after you eat. Is it possible you're over eating? If you're eating more than a cup of food per meal, or eating until you feel stuffed full, the problem could be you're eating too much. I'd have a talk with your doctor about it. Just to be on the safe side.