WASaBubbleButt

My doc says no. I tried anyway and it hurts like crazy. Verrry painful. I don't want carbonation.

Love your ID name! There are a few places to choose a ticker from. Mine is from 3FatChicks: Weight Loss signature tracker And there is also: Trying To Conceive Ticker

There are different opinions on this. Go with whatever your doc suggests.

Does anyone have the link for the peanutbutter powder you can mix in Protein shakes? Laurend got me hooked (addicted, I tell you!) to chocolate Peanutbutter. I have tons of Matrix Chocolate and I thought if I could add the peanutbutter powder it might help me use up Chocolate so I can start using the stuff she suggests. whey Gourmet. BTW, Da Vinci Peanutbutter S/F syrup is okay but I haven't actually found the best recipe/combo yet. I'm thinking the powder might have a better flavor/texture. I know I saw the link posted somewhere but I can't find it now. Anyone have it? Thanks!

Of course, Wendell. I use your stuff ALL the time! You are the person I learned a lot of my info from.

When you are banded the doc creates a stoma, the part of the stomach the band is covering. The stoma acts as a one way valve and air goes down but it doesn't come up well. The two things folks need to keep in mind is WHAT you are eating such as foods that cause a lot of gas. If you eat Beans, for example, soak them in Water overnight before cooking and that prevents a lot of the gas that people get with beans. The biggest issue is to learn to stop swallowing air. Don't use a straw, sip instead. Be verrrry aware of how much air is in your mouth as you swallow saliva, food, or drinks. This is the biggest key. It's a learned behavior to stop swallowing air.

Sadly, yes. It's very normal. Your port is the first thing to hurt and the last thing to heal. It's sewn into the fascia (connective tissue above a muscle and below a fat pad) and it's really sensitive for some time. I'm 9 months out and I still get port pain every now and again. As long as you don't have any red stripes (like a zebra), draining icky colors, fever, etc., it's probably just normal typical port pain. You may notice that it takes a good couple of months for it to go away completely. Also, since it is tender you'll find yourself messing with it more. Don't do that. Just leave it alone and don't touch or rub it. That just makes it take longer to heal and even more tender.

You have to go through your insurance company as only they know who they contract with. You'll just have to keep calling and insist they give you some names. There is always cash pay for fills in a pinch.

A lot of people have been complaining a LOT lately about belite (sp?). They say that once surgery is booked they are ignored. Phone calls go unreturned, etc. Might want to do a search and see for yourself. I don't really know a lot about them. They are an agency paid by docs to advertise and drum up business for them. They used to work for Dr. Kuri in Mexico and when that contract ended they went to other docs. They get a commission off of each person they recruit for their docs.

Lauren got me hooked on it!

Very true. It's the IDEAL way to cause a slip.

Well guys, a new month is coming up. How is everyone doing? Meeting any goals? Getting closer to THE goal? What's up everyone?

One big lesson for people like us is that we are not looking for a "full" feeling. Fat people eat to be stuffed full to the brim. Thin people eat until they are no longer hungry. See the difference? That's the biggest issue I see in your post. With the band and with some time the obsession with food comes to an end. You just don't care if you are T-Day full or not. You actually prefer not to be that full. Being full while banded is painful, uncomfortable, and you risk barfing and slipping. So it's critical that you realize you aren't looking for full you are looking for satisfied. You are not satisfying head hunger but stomach hunger instead. Also, feeling full feels different banded vs. unbanded. Sometimes I try to remember what feeling full felt like before the band and I no longer remember, hard as I may try. That takes a bit of getting used to as well. You need to be tracking every single bite of food, Water, and drink that goes into your mouth. Use Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, Food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate or FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal. Whichever you prefer. I like thedailyplate the best. It's user friendly. I only use it to track weight and calories burned but I use a spreadsheet for food types, serving size, calories, and Protein. This takes me MAYBE five minutes daily. I've done it since the day of surgery. When you have to track your food you see where your calories are going. How many calories does your doc permit? And how many are you consuming? Are you eating 3 meals daily? What about Snacks? Are you eating solid protein first? Then veggies? Then IF you have room a SMALL amount of carbs? Are you grazing? Eating at night? Is head hunger getting to you? How much are you exercising? I keep calories at 600 daily, I cut out all white carbs. I don't eat in the evenings because at that point it's only head hunger or I"m just plain bored. Keep in mind, when it comes to food issues there are lots of physiological and emotional reasons for over eating. But not exercising is sheer lazy behavior. There is NO excuse for not exercising. Some folks can't run, that's okay. Walk. Some folks are too large to get up and walk so they can do chair exercises. No excuse for not exercising. I hate it, personally I hate running but I do it anyway because it works and it's necessary. I keep telling myself that I love running but the truth is, I hate it. But I have to admit I don't hate it nearly as much as I used to. It's like cleaning the kitchen. Few really enjoy doing it, you do it because you have to. Same holds true with exercise. Also, maybe you aren't at your sweet spot yet. What date was your last fill? Do you feel any restriction compared to unbanded?

I hope J&J takes over the market. While both products are quality products, J&J is a much better company, a more stable company, they have a rep of standing behind their products, and they are more customer friendly. Allergan/Inamed has the morality of a stray alley cat.

Each product has a food label. If you scroll towards the bottom of each product page there is a link that says something like, "Nutrition information" or something like that. Click on that link and it will provide food labels.

Are we feeling a bit different pain today vs. yesterday?????? ARE WE?

I just ordered some myself a few minutes ago so I have the link handy: Bell Plantation: 4 Pack PB2 ($3.99 each)

I sent myself an email as a reminder of what to send.

Lauren... I just ordered the dry Peanutbutter stuff. I'll send you some of that if you want to try it.

YES! OMG thank you! I have been making myself crazy doing searches trying to find this stuff. Have you tried it? Do you like it?

BTW, Matrix is coming out with a Chocolate/Peanut butter too. Does anyone have the link to that peanutbutter powder stuff? I KNOW I saw it here but I can't remember which part of the forum and I've tried several searches but I can't find it because I don't know the name of it.

Wheetsin... This stuff is kind of expensive so I wouldn't buy it until you know you like it. I think it's GREAT! I like the texture the most. I ordered the Choco/peanutbutter and the dreamy creamy milk chocolate. I won't be getting it until about a week from Monday but if you want me to send you some samples I'd be happy to. I can send you the two flavors above, Chocolate Matrix, Chocolate nectar, and Vanilla Nectar. Just let me know.

Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore! has tons of food products. Some are bandster friendly and some are not. I would click on the left hand column where there is an icon for low carb products. Or, click on "brand" and check out "Kitchen something or another" and "Da Vinci". Those are products I buy often. Bariatric Eating - Protein, Vitamins, Gastric Bypass & Lap Band Info, Post-op recipes, and Help is soooo expensive, the service is crappy, shipping is slow, they screw up orders, they are always out of everything and that holds up your order... I just don't like them. I like netrition and AllStarHealth.com - Vitamins and Nutritional supplements at Discounted Prices the best. Bodybuilders.com - The Largest Bodybuilders Site Online. For Bodybuilders, By Bodybuilders. is another great site but Netrition seems to have the better prices because their shipping is a flat rate regardless of how many products you buy, it's either $5 or $6.

Can anyone suggest a good Vanilla Whey Protein? Most that I have tried are FRENCH Vanilla (gahhhh). EAS is a great brand, has anyone tried their Vanilla? They don't have small containers, only 5# and I don't buy those anymore unless I know I'm going to like it.

What the heck are you talking about? Since there is one doc with an idiot for a psych then that makes all Mexican docs bad? I know an idiot bariatric surgeon in the US so does that mean all US surgeons are idiots and dangerous? Most docs in Mexico use the Inamed or J&J band. Inamed most certainly is FDA approved and the J&J band... if it isn't yet it will be soon. They most certainly can be filled in Las Vegas at FillCentersUSA. I have a list of Vegas docs that will see Mexican banded patients.