WASaBubbleButt

OMZ! I just love the breed, I sincerely do. They are so full of personality, they aren't ususally extra bright or if they are, it doesn't show. They are sweet, they don't shed, they don't make me sneeze, they are fantastic little creatures. My favorite breed. Over the last 30 years I've had Freddie, Elspar, Gwendolyn (a male), and now I only have Alex. She's a gem. My little baby. That does not include all the other dogs I've had, but those were my Shih Tzus. Best little dogs!

I've always hated Walmart. Can't stand the place. The last time I was there I couldn't sleep and they were the only thing open and I went there for something to do at 3AM. Other than that, I don't go there. They suck.

Thanks for posting this. I knew it worked but wasn't exactly sure of why. It does amazing things with stuck chicken. Thanks again for posting this!

Dr. Alberto Aceves Mexicali, Mexico

You said that this isn't the first time your creatinine has gone up a bit. Did that happen before or after the allergic reaction?

It probably won't have to be for long! Many people after losing weight have no problems with sleep apnea anymore. So the more you lose the less you need it!

Great timing, eh? Insomnia sucks but AMBIEN rocks! I don't know what happened but a few years ago I started having insomnia. No clue why. I go through periods where I just battle it and stay tired. Then I get sick of it and get an Rx. I have noticed that since I lost weight I don't need as much sleep. I guess I don't wear myself out carrying around all the extra weight, not sure. But could that be part of it?

Fills fills fills... SOO important! If we could do this without restriction, we would have. But we are a population that needs the restriction to lose weight. You have to do your part, you MUST get appropriate restriction. When that is good then you need to do the band basics such as eating the right foods and eating them in the right order if that is what you need to keep you satisfied. That means Protein first, then veggies, then carbs. You need to do all the right things to make your tool work better. That includes attitude. You just have to have the right attitude, the attitude that YOU can do this and the band will help you reach your own goals. It isn't going to do it for you. I think another important aspect for you is identifying when you are actually hungry vs. when you want to eat. Those two concepts are not the same. Head hunger vs. stomach hunger. You write that you think about food and then get hungry. Is that really true? Do you think about food and then you FEEL hungry or do you think about food and then want to eat it? I can talk myself into an entire bag of Fritos without much effort, doesn't mean I am hungry. It means I want to eat a bag of Fritos. See the difference? I didn't, not for a long time. I'd see those Fritos calling my name and I still have to stop and think, am I hungry or do I just want to cram food in my face? It's prevented the need for many useless trips to the grocery store to feed a craving vs. actual hunger. Bottom line, get down to basics. Start with the fill, go from there. You can do this. This is hard but it really is the kind of hard WE can do.

John... The thing about traditional diet and exercise is that it is just too hard. We can't do it. Either we can't seem to stick to it or we can't keep the pounds off once they are gone. With WLS... while it IS hard the thing is that it is the kind of hard WE can do. Big difference. Good luck to you!!!

I can imagine you are pretty frightened right now. How soon can you go to the specialist? Is your blood pressure still under control? So many questions. Seriously, I do know how frightened you must be. Honestly, my heart does go out to you.

Okay, I admit I'm anal retentive and I used to check up on other band manufacturers post op diets! HA! Research and post op diets are my big thing in the bariatric community. At one point I was comparing the diets to the stats but I quit doing it when I realized that many band makers are justifying their band over another and their stats are not always accurate. But for the time being, it's the best we have in the areas of studies and such. As I wrote, I didn't even respond to that post. Tact isn't my area of expertise and the only thing I had to offer was something against what her doc was suggesting so I didn't respond for that very reason. But it DOES make me feel like my head is popping when I read something like that. I want the whole freak'en world to experience "thin" again without slips, erosion, or other complications. So while I try to tone down that feeling a bit, it still comes out. That's why I didn't respond to the post.

Many many moons ago I went out to start my car and it was dead. Had it towed to Goodyear and they said it was the battery. Replaced the battery, got the car home, the next day I went out to start it and it was dead. Had the car towed to Goodyear and they said it was the alternator. Had that replaced, got the car home, next day went out to start it and it was dead. I called Goodyear and they suggested I have it towed in and they would fix it. I was not happy, I explained they would be having it towed in. They did, they said it was a bunch of belts and such. They fixed those, got the car home and the next day it was dead. I was very angry! Took the car to someone else and it turns out the whole problem was a $0.10 bolt that holds the stand the battery sits in to the car. Each time I would go to start the car the engine shakes a bit, loosens that bolt, the connections were lost and THAT was the problem. This was about 20 years ago. So I had a $350 or so bill with Goodyear on my Goodyear credit card and all that time it was a 10 cent bolt. I called Goodyear and told them what was going on. They suggested that I return all the parts they installed and they would refund my credit my credit card. I asked if they would be returning my original parts and they said of course not, they were gone. ??? Long story short... I threw a fit. For three years I would continue to fight this. My credit was trashed because I refused to pay the bill and I didn't care, I was not paying them $350 for putting unneeded parts in my car and never actually fixing the problem. I kept climbing the food chain of Goodyear. I kept getting nowhere. Finally I asked for the CEO of Goodyear, keep in mind this was three years of fighting. I got to his secretary and then my climb came to a dead stop. She informed me that he doesn't "speak to people" like me. Huh? I'm a customer with a three year long battle. Goodyear admits they put unneeded parts in my car, my credit is trashed, and he doesn't speak to people like me? Do I have a disease or something? Then I was really angry. I called the library in the city where the CEO lives and asked them to look up in the city directory his home address and phone number. Not sure if you can still do that but in those days you could. They gave me the info I was looking for. I called the CEOs wife and apologized profusely for bothering her but I was at my wits end and I was hoping she could help. I told her my story and as the graceful and classy lady she was, she listened. When I was done she explained that her husband would never tolerate such behavior and if he knew, he would not be happy. Apparently he had a theory about customer service and it had to do with a stool with three legs. There are three components to customer service and if you remove one of those components, the stool falls over and it doesn't work. She suggested I write her husband a letter, tell him what I told her, refer to the stool with three legs, and ask for assistance. She further suggested I send the letter to their home and she would see to it that he read my letter. I did. I sent a 3 page letter explaining what happened. I mentioned the stool concept. I explained that if I had to pay the $350 it would not be to Goodyear, instead I would get 20 of my female friends and each Saturday we would stand in front of various Goodyear stores warning potential customers of what Goodyear does to female customers. I would spend that $350 in small ads in various newspapers throughout the country (personals section) explaining what Goodyear does to female customers. I would tell the world of my experiences. I also promised him that if he fixed my problem I would never bother he or another Goodyear employee again and I would never step foot in another Goodyear store. I would never hassle, harass, or pester them again. I sent this letter to his wife at their home address. Shortly after I received a hand written letter from the CEO of Goodyear. He apologized for hand writing the letter and explained that he does not know how to type and he no longer has a secretary. He looked into my situation and realized everything I was saying was true. He explained his stool concept with three legs in detail and explained how Goodyear failed me. He explained that he has credited my account in full, he has fixed everything with the credit bureau, and he was enclosing a personal check for $50 to pay for dinner for me and a friend to Celebrate the end of a frustrating experience. He could not have been more kind. I've kept my promise to him, I have never stepped foot in a Goodyear store again. When a friend needed tires I stood outside the door and talked to her from there. People looked at me funny, but I have kept up my end of the bargain.

NM... are you a diabetic? Or is this something that happened out of the blue??? I mean, is this from diabetes or is something else going on?

I don't think anyone is getting all high and mighty by any stretch. Personally I didn't even respond to the post. My thinking is that if that is what her doc wants to do, she should follow her doc's advice. That doesn't mean it doesn't worry me regarding what she will endure when she attempts to eat with a swollen stoma and what will happen to her pouch long term. It concerns me a great deal. But if that is what her doc wants her to do, so be it. I haven't been back to that thread since I originally read it so maybe someone else has posted otherwise but the only thing old timers have been suggesting is that people refrain from telling newbies it's just peachy to ignore their docs instructions and you know what? I think that is something most of us will stand behind. And Alexandra, it's not a matter of what LBT folks think is standard, what about Inamed? What about the other band manufacturers? They are the ones that came up with these post op instructions due to years of research, trial, and error. I don't believe you are suggesting that everyone disregard what the band manufacturers have to say, are you? If that makes us high and mighty I'll risk falling off my horse. With all due respect that was an unfair post. Quoting me and chastising us about what is posted, I didn't even respond.

My doctor said never to poop the runny kind. Always the "other" kind. So I hold it in until it firms up a bit. Two - three weeks... that usually does it for me. But we are each on this journey and we are all unique and individual people so you have to find your own way to pooh.

This probably isn't directed at me but I'll answer anyway. I always do. HA! I hated running to the mailbox before banding, I hate running today. I started walking, then powerwalking, then powerwalking/running, now it's running. It took a LONG time to get up to running any distance. Each day you push yourself just a little harder and before you know it you are running 7 miles. I was banded last December, I bought my treadmill in January.

My love for losing weight! Studies show that doing cardio for 20 minutes three times a day is actually more beneficial than doing cardio for 1 hour a day. Just think, 20 minutes is nothing, that's a few TV commercials. When you see the difference on the scale and how fast it moves with exercise you suddenly find motivation you never knew existed! Don't get me wrong, I hate running, just hate it. But I LOVE what it does to my scales. I'm pretty sure my scale appreciates my efforts too! HA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am positive that I feel my head POPPING!! Oh please, let there be a misunderstanding somewhere.

Only 48 left, eh? HA! On OH they have state boards and when I used to post there I remember seeing someone trying to GIVE hers away. She wasn't even selling them, she was offering them for free. She couldn't give the stuff away.

Does anyone poop? Has anyone ever experienced that?

I'm guessing due to the excess calories. juice really isn't great when it comes to Vitamins, etc. But it's loaded with calories and sugar. So my guess is that they don't want you drinking calories. But when I'm stuck, I'll drink anything if it will help get me unstuck.

I buy those 6oz cans that come in a six pack. I never keep it in the frig, cold liquids during a time like that make food come out my mouth like a shooting star.

You say you live in AZ... live anywhere near the Phoenix area? If so, you might join us for our monthly lunches. Get a bit of a kick start, meet other banded people, have folks that ARE banded and experienced bandsters that you can call and ask questions, advice, suggestions, and thoughts. Get really involved with other banded folks, get to know a bunch. Eat solid Proteins before you eat crap foods so you don't have room for crap. Cut out all white carbs. Nobody likes it, but sometimes you have to do it. Determine if you are sucking in bad carbs that cause you to want more carbs. Get serious and get it done. If you want to join us for lunch and meet other banded people PM me and I'll add you to our list.

I think it's just something we all go through. You deal with it. Find other things to do vs. eating. With restriction you don't have many choices, you can't binge on burgers and fries. So you are kinda forced to find something else to do. It's something you'll go through and when you do you might even want your band removed. Just keep reminding yourself that you will get through it. Lots of people THINK they want it removed but when you get used to it you love the weight loss more than you miss food.

That hasn't been true for me at all. When you are stuck you don't guzzle the juice, you sip on it. For things like chicken it works for me in about 5 minutes. With Papaya enzyme, that does nothing at all for me.