WASaBubbleButt

One other thought, you are losing 1.5 pounds weekly, you are right on target. You are not eating too much or too little if you maintain this so don't worry about it.

No, the barium has no problem going through a band. It's the same test as a barium swallow, something you should have had done within a day after your surgery.

Your husband can't force you to eat unless he straps you down and force feeds you. What goes in your mouth is your choice, plain and simple.

One of the things I found after my surgery was regarding lifting/turning patients. You know how when you touch your hand to a hot stove your first reaction is to pull back and stop touching a hot stove? The same can apply to lifting. What if you lift your child and your instinct tells you to stop lifting due to pain? It's a reaction, not something you think about. You realize what happened after it's done and over. I think it's just a pain issue. It wouldn't be a hernia issue like with other abdominal procedures where they cut through muscle, but just a pain issue. You don't want to rip sutures or cause unnecessary pain. Most of all you don't want to drop something you go to pick up such as a child. After a few days you will know what you can tolerate and what you can't. When my friend was banded her baby was 14 months old. She could crawl up a step stool, then crawl up to the couch, then onto Mom's lap. So my friend had her do that when possible. They turned it into a game.

It was horrible getting stung, those little buggars HURT! I was new to AZ and knew nothing about the creepy little things. Left the windows and door open all day because it was so nice out. That night on the bathroom counter there was a little tiny scorpion. I had nothing in sight to squish it with and I didn't want to leave to go get something because it would squiggle away never to be found again so in a panic I flicked it in the drain with my fingers. It nailed me. Being new to the desert I called poison control asking about these stings, would it kill me? She said no, only two species in AZ have poison, the rest just hurt like hell. I thought... no biggie and went on about my evening. Within 20 minutes my tongue was swelling, my entire arm was swelling, and I wasn't feeling well at all. Poison control makes a habit of calling people back to check on them. By this time I had already run into a wall, knocked my forehead on the wall and was passed out on my floor. I woke up to two policemen shining their flashlights in my face asking if I was okay. When poison control didn't get an answer they called the police for a health and welfare check. Of course, I was wearing my huge, white, furry, fluffy robe with big ape slippers on and the ape slippers had painted claws. (They were a Mother's Day gift from some group home patients that picked them out all by themselves) The two policemen helped me up to the couch and asked if I needed an ambulance. I was trying to tell them NO, but with my tongue swollen it was sticking out of my mouth and it came out, "OHHHH!" Long story short they called paramedics anyway. I was so embarrassed. I was dizzy, had a splitting headache, thought I was gonna hurl, I was wearing ape slippers and a furry robe, my tongue was hanging out of my mouth and there wasn't a chance in the world I was going to an ER looking like that. I worked in an ER and ... there was no way. It wasn't going to happen. The paramedics kept telling me to get on the stretcher, they would help. I kept shaking my head back and forth saying "OHHH!" They went to do an EKG and having really blurry vision from just crunching my head in the wall, the headache, the allergic reaction... I couldn't see what they were holding. It was three EKG pads. I thought it was a kotex. They kept telling me they wanted to put it on me and I thought they were out of their ever loving mind! I kept shaking my head saying, "OHHH!" I didn't go to the hospital, I decided I am a nurse I can deal with this on my own, by myself. Of course, by the time I had my hair appt at the fancy hair place I was still not feeling great. Geeez, that was embarrassing.

As long as your hair isn't red and you didn't look like Ronald McDonald.... But if your hair is red, did you at least wear the big floppy shoes and red striped bloomers to match?

Why in the world would you let someone do that for 90 minutes straight? Why didn't you walk out and find someone a little more experienced? I've had fills with and without fluoro and I've never been stuck more than twice and it never took longer than 5 minutes for the part with the needle. We chat and discuss things but the needle part has never been more than 5 minutes tops. I'd suggest you get a "good" fill under fluoro by someone who has a clue. You might be overfilled or you might have other issues going on. But to eat cookies and ice cream... you are right. You won't lose weight. Even when the good foods are all but impossible there are alternatives. My first five months of banding was a horror, but it was due to a medical reason and not the band directly. I had the same exact problems as you but I was forced to pick foods I could get down such as protein shakes, V8 Juice, etc. The cookies and ice cream are clearly not doing the trick for you so you need to get the problem diagnosed and treated. It might be anything from an overfill to stress. For veggies try this: Gift Baskets, Dried Fruits, Nuts Do a search for veggie chips. For crunchy protein an option is: Netrition's Kitchen Table Bakers Prices For liquid meal replacements: matrix 5.0 list of all sizes and flavors. Find all matrix 5.0 products at AllStarHealth.com I've been where you are, I swear I have been. I wanted my band removed, ask anyone here that's been here a few months. Turns out my problem wasn't because of the band but it was made severe because of the band and once it was fixed I can now eat regular foods. But I went through exactly what you are now. That means you find foods that are still healthy but something you can manage. When we are challenged with band issues there is still a choice between low cal foods and high cal. That's where it is up to you. You can have a protein shake or a bowl of ice cream. Veggie chips or cookies. Parmesan cheese crackers or saltines.

Heh... this reminded me of something that happened several years ago. I went to one of those places in Scottsdale, AZ where they give you champagne to sip while doing your hair. I had always wanted to go to one of those places to see what it was like. Well, a few days before my appt I was stung by a scorpion. Most scorpions are not poisonous but some are. When I was stung I discovered I was allergic to their stings. That was an embarrassing story too, but a different story. I was soooo sick after being stung. By the day of my appt at least my tongue wasn't swollen anymore and I didn't speak like a freak. But I was still fairly ill. I go to my hair appt, I'm wearing a cute little sun dress (it was my skinnier days) and I'm sipping champagne while my hair is drying. Not sure if it was the heat from the dryer mixed with champagne or what was happening but I thought I was gonna hurl. I stood up to find a bathroom and the next thing I knew Mrs. Speigel (from Speigel catalogs) was patting my face asking if I was okay. I was laying on the floor, spread eagle, my cute little sun dress up to my neck, and I was out cold. I fainted. How embarrassing. However, Mrs. Speigel turned out to be a verrrry sweet lady! Very motherly.

I can see that!!!! 22lbs gone FOREVER! Never to come back! Congrats, it's not easy without a fill for most!!!!!

Awwww, you make the experienced bandsters proud!!

I completely and totally agree with you on what foaming is. I think you described it beautifully. I would have been much more graphic so it's probably good that you explained it. I had to restrain myself on the "sliming" bit. Graphic isn't always better, at least that's what people tell me time and time again. Then they repeat it for a 3rd time. You'd think they are trying to make a point or something. If you ask docs what causes foaming they will tell you that when saliva and snot (post nasal drip) mix you'll PB foam. Ask ANY banded person and they will explain it as above. I think docs need to be banded for just a month so they understand our challenges and understand foaming. Heh...

It depends on the surgeon and his skill level. Just go to someone who has done tons and tons of them and it should be okay. What kind of surgery did you have on your intestines? The cause could be a bit of an issue, potentially.

The nurse may have been following standard orders so do whatever your doc said. Congrats on being banded!!!

Personally I love it when I'm losing inches. I'll take anything I can get. As long as you are losing inches you are making progress. I know for me one week I'll lose inches and the next week I lose pounds. Sounds to me that things are working well!

Darr.... I think you might be missing the problem. Telling her to just quit drinking while she is eating is like telling anyone else to just stop eating and lose weight. That's why she is here, it is all a bit much right now and that is why she is looking for solutions. We all have a compulsion to overeat. For some folks the band manages the problem most of the time, for others they have additional challenges. It's all doable, we just need to come up with suggestions to help the more problematic challenges. Rubyjade.... When you are drinking so you can eat more, are you doing the emotional eating thing? Are you angry? Upset? Depressed? Bored? What's going on when you want to binge? Are you physically hungry? Sometimes when any of us wait to eat until we are starving we tend to want to pack it in. When was your last fill? Your last fluoro? One problem with drinking with meals it is can cause a dilated pouch and other esophageal problems. Please consider getting it checked out. It isn't wise to let it go on and your eating behaviors can easily cause this problem.

I was just responding to a thread where Protein was mentioned. I'm going to copy/paste this here, see the last paragraph: The best quality of protein (not talking flavor but protein quality) on the market today are Matrix 5.0, unjury, and Isopure. Flavor is completely individual and unique to the person drinking the stuff. They are also the best for protein/calorie ratios. The absolute worst quality of protein on the market today are the super expensive products, the bullets, shots, and shooters such as New whey. If it comes in a plastic test tube, don't waste your money. On a scale from 1-100 on protein quality Matrix and Unjury are 100, Isopure is 80 (still quite sufficient) and New Whey is 4 out of 100. I can't think of New Whey's competitor but theirs comes in a large plastic test tube and it rates 6 out of 100. You'd literally have to drink 15 New Whey test tubes daily to get your actual 60gms of protein in. Quality of protein is not the same from company to company. New Whey and those in the plastic test tubes are made of collagen. That's the lowest of the low on protein scales. It's made from cow gristle, cow/horse hair, and hooves. It's just a very poor quality of protein. The cheaper products (per serving) happen to be the best. BTW, whey protein raw materials cost just tripled for protein product manufacturers so buy up your protein products now before the cost goes up.

Yep, I completely agree about Slimfast. That's some seriously unfriendly bandster stuff. There is enough sugar in there to cause mega blood sugar spikes and while you might be satisfied for an hour or so, within 1-2 hours you'll be starving. The best quality of Protein (not talking flavor but protein quality) on the market today are Matrix 5.0, unjury, and Isopure. They are also the best for protein/calorie ratios. The absolute worst quality of protein on the market today are the super expensive products, the bullets, shots, and shooters such as New whey. If it comes in a plastic test tube, don't waste your money. On a scale from 1-100 on protein quality Matrix and Unjury are 100, Isopure is 80 (still quite sufficient) and New Whey is 4 out of 100. You'd literally have to drink 15 of them daily to get your 60gms of protein in. New Whey and those in the plastic test tubes are made of collagen. That's the lowest of the low on protein scales. It's made from cow gristle, cow/horse hair, and hooves. It's just a very poor quality of protein. The cheaper products (per serving) happen to be the best. BTW, whey protein raw materials cost just tripled for protein product manufacturers so buy up your protein products now before the cost goes up.

Anyone up for an exercise challenge in August? Any suggestions? Anyone think an hour a day is reasonable? It would be a total of 1800 minutes for the month. What do you think?

Once again... what Marimaru wrote. She's on the money. It was originally supposed to be in effect for last January. Now it's been changed to Jan 08 before you will need a passport to fly in or go by ship. Driving is a driver license.

Congrats to you!!!! This *really* is the beginning of a new life. You'll see, with each passing day you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Congrats again!

Not a good idea. You risk future slips and an enlarged pouch if you do that. If you push your band down by putting weight in your pouch before adhesions have a chance to properly form your band will heal too low in your stomach and you'll never have a small enough pouch to lose weight. Then there is the idea of breaking the adhesions that are forming, the band not setting.......and the list goes on.

Wow! That's fantastic! You'll be skinny in no time! Do you find that if you exercise it gives you incentive to not eat? It does for me, I don't want to eat all the calories I just burned. What do you do to take your mind off what you are doing? I watch movies, talk on the phone (if I can), listen to music.. mostly I watch movies and sitcoms from the 70s. I need to find something that I can use for my treadmill. Some sort of a bag or something that I can put my cell phone, headphones, remote control, etc. so they are within easy reach. Heh... maybe something like what old people have on their walkers! I think your goals are great! Just think of the difference in us within 60 days, it will be amazing! BTW, your ticker says 360 hours, not minutes. If you start subtracting minutes from your ticker you're never going to get to your goal. That puppy is going to move SLOWLY. You'll be doing this: :whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo:

Have you decided on an exercise goal yet? What is it? Having a ticker gives you incentive to go out and bust your hiney. It's embarrassing to see it not move and realize everyone else sees it too. It makes a big difference for me. I like to stay a couple of days ahead. I've already completed exercise for tomorrow. Something that works for me, might work for others. When I want to eat something that is less than great bandster food... I have a mental image of that food and a thin person. Then I decide which I want more. I ALWAYS want the thin person more. I would love to see a challenge of some sort with other bandster months. An average weight loss or something. See if we can't kick their butts. I'll bet we could!

Yeah, that was one thing I did not know about pre-banding. It was a big surprise! It's gross when it happens but it's usually over with reasonable soon. Just watch what you eat and how you eat it and it shouldn't be a problem. Foaming, anyone know what that is?

It's sliming, think of sliming as causing slimming. See above.