hagerteresa

I get the depo-provera shots and have for years. I imagine that is one thing that has kept me heavy and gaining weight over the years. I was due for a shot as soon as I got back home after surgery and went and got it. I have been losing just fine though. Even though the hormones of the pill may typically cause weight gain, I don't think it will be able to counteract the band. I am not an expert though, Teresa

Hello, I have had my band 7 weeks and have done just fine. I had all of the same anxieties before I got my band. I even cried all the way to surgery just because I was so nervous. I had been scheduled for an 8 am surgery time and they finally got me in at about 3 pm, so I had several hours to starve and get more nervous. None of the nurses spoke much english so we didn't know what was going on. All in all, everything went great and yours will too. Donali has mentioned in the past that erosion statistically happens 1-3%. It's supposed to be very low. Best wishes to you, Teresa

I have gotten pretty good with fitday also. I haven't gotten the "purchased' version but seem to do fine with the free one. recipes are a pain in the butt. I initially had to do each ingredient one by and and divide it by the number of portions I thought it made. I then found that if you have a recipe that at least has the nutricianal facts you can just custom do your own nutricianal portion thingy which makes it easier. Also if its something you have more than once the custom thing gets saved and can just be pulled down and reselected for a different day. I noticed that basal, lifestyle and activity excercise thing too. In fact I asked a nurse friend of mine about it today. She said that the basal did in fact just represent the energy it takes to live, pump blood, digest food, etc. Lifestyle I guess is just want it says but it seems I put a lot of my lifestyle type things as activities. Don't entirely get it either, so let me know if someone else does. Teresa

Thanks for emailing me, I was brain dead and just didn't see the pull down thing on the bottom. Congratulations on your success. I am also one of the heavy weight bandster girls and think I am doing just fine. Granted I am only 7 weeks out but down 32 lbs. I started off at 362 lbs, so I have a long road ahead of me. After Donali and Lisa's problems I don't want to mess around. I want it off as fast and smoothly as possible. Your doing great and keep up the good work, Teresa

I'm with you Kathy. All of the doctors who did my tests gave me frownie faces when I told them I smoked but nobody ever said I needed to or had to quit immediately. It would have been way too much at once. I have a love/ hate relationship with smoking as I am sure all smokers do. I love smoking, but hate the cost, the smell and the fact it's unhealthy. I'll keep working on my weight first. Teresa

Hey Kathy, Congratulations on the new grand baby on the way! I wish the mom and baby the very best. Keep us posted. Teresa

Thanks for the idea. I am going to try a few different strategies. I like our local news and always seem to miss the 5 and 6 pm versions. We really don't have very much crime in this part of the state so a lot of its just about things going on locally or politically. I always try to get 8 hours of sleep. I am an absolute zombie the next day if I don't. I'll keep everyone posted;) Teresa P.S. I love my jobs. I have worked for most of my customers for 10-12 years so I have become a part of many of their families. Its good active work.

Good luck to you both and have a great surgery. See you on the otherside of bandland:cool: Teresa

We have all dealt with everything the best anybody could. It happened a long time ago. It was my dad's mom who was killed and every january my dad gets very depressed, but the rest of the family deals with it in their own way. We are all very well adjusted. I think everybody has had certain challenges and sadnesses in their past. Some far worse than mine. I have a wonderful, very tight knit family. My dad is the nomad of all of us and can't seem to live in one place very long. He is a 30 year experienced machinist so he never has a hard time finding work. All in all I am a very happy down to earth person. I live in the cutest town with a population of 911 people, 14 full time police officers and zero crime. I have met the whole town in the past 8 years I have lived here. It is only 5 minutes from the Eugene/ Springfield area which has a pop. of 200,000 so its very convenient for work and school.

Donali, I applied to graduate bandsters and they emailed me a list of criterias I had to meet to join. I knew instantly I wouldn't qualify and don't think Penni will either. There was something about having had the band at least 6 months, had a 50 lb weight loss and a certain number of fills. Maybe you and Penni could colaborate to get a post on that site. T

Best of luck Darcy!!!

Hey Lisa, Thanks for the confidence. I don't think I ever had a real problem during my formative years with regards to sleep unless something was troubling me or I came up with some new great thought. Who knows... I do always go to bed after the 11 pm news and usually have been lying in bed watching tv or reading for a couple of hours before bed. The last few nights I have been on the computer a little later and just get in bed in time for news. I'll try to figure it out and keep trying relaxing techniques. I do drink 1 coffee a day but it is always in the morning. I need that buzz for my work. LOL. I have been a housekeeper for residential customers for 12 years and have also been the assistant inn-keeper for a very upscale bed and Breakfast for the last 7 years. I just graduated from college but will go on and do the master's teaching program. As you can imagine my mind is always racing and creating to do lists. Thanks for all your advice, T

Hi Penni, Teresa here. I believe your are the Penni that is walking with my dear friend Pamie. Glad to hear it worked out for you both. I am like you in regards to the first fill. I am 6 and 1/2 weeks out and don't think I need a fill either. I'm still losing very well and am just going to wait a bit. I'm down 32 lbs. Best wishes, Teresa

Hey all, Well damn, I tried to sleep last night with no pills and a fan on but now I remember why I liked the pills. As soon as my head hits the pillow it goes into thought mode. I think and think and think but no sleep...:think. I finally had to get up and take a half a dose at midnight. Tonight I'll turn to chamomile. Try something new. Teresa

I recall something from an old Weight Watchers meeting (Yep I said the WW word) about how this particular leader said we could count any clear liquid that did not have calories towards our water goal. That included tea and crystal light. She also said it is always best to get as much as possible of pure bonified water. If you drink a lot of tea, I am sure your really probably getting a good quantity of water. I have a terrible time getting all of my water in too but have been working on it a lot. Its getting better and better. It takes me about 3 ish hours to get hungry between meals but I have no fill and am at 6 1/2 weeks post surgery. T

Yeah, selling my horse stunk. She was a good girl but she also went to a good home. They bred her the following year and she had a beautiful foal. I was the luckiest little girl at times. For my 4th birthday my parents took me to a pony farm and I got to pick any pony out of the field I wanted. I think they helped guide me into picking a little 4 month old baby we named applejack. He was so tiny we fit him in the back of a Willies Jeep. Unfortunately he got killed a few years later. It was devastating to me for years. My mom was in the hospital for a week when she had my baby brother and I had to stay at some family friends. Dad was staying at our house taking care of the pets. My pony got very lonely without me there and jumped the fence and got hit by a car. Had to be put to sleep. Childhood had its ups and downs. Life was very hard on my parents. My older brother died of a rare form of cancer when I was 2 and he was 7, and when my most beloved grandmother came for the funeral they accidently drove over an icy cliff. She died. My parents have been affected by these events for life. They divorced when I was about 8 or 9. I was able to live in the same house almost my entire life. From 2 to 21 years old. We lived in the country and always had a farm like atmosphere. I was in FFA and raised pigs. My animal science teacher raised sheep so I would hand raise bummer lambs (orphans) for him every year. I love animals. After my pony died I went about 6 years horseless and then I bought (saved my allowance and he was a whopping $120) another baby colt who I raised and helped train. When he was about 4, I traded him for the mare I later sold. Ends up he made a great polo pony. He was a little too frisky for me and I wanted something I could relax around more. My dad got horses again about the same time I got the colt, so we always had 4-5 horses after that. My dad now lives in New Mexico and only has two horses and I am very horseless right now and have been for many many years. I want another one desperately. My goal is to use my first teaching pay check to get one once I get my masters and a teaching job. One of the main reasons I want to lose weight so I'll be more fit when I can get one. I don't want to have to worry about falling off and being permanently wounded. I was heavy when I used to ride (we still occassionally rent horses to ride too) and my balance was and is poor. I just want to be a better rider. Oops I went on and on. Needless to say, I love horses... I always am thinking/ daydreaming about what I will want when I can get one. LOL. T

When I was 16 I sold my horse to pay a dentist to wire my teeth shut for a year. Well I am not skinny now so you can figure out how that all turned out. I did have it done, did lose over a 100 lbs but of course gained it all back once they were undone. Lame... Life sucked in my school years but I did have a couple of friends I had all those years. After we graduated we kind of all went our seperate ways though. We all live in the same town but almost NEVER talk. Since pre-college school, life has gotten much better. I love my job, love my husband, enjoyed most of my college professors and have had a wonderful adult life with the one exception of my weight. When you explain it Donali it all sounds 100% accurate. The band does make it easier. I just think that you will be a wiser person having had some of the band discipline the last year and a half. I like everyone else is a bit worried for you but also very confident in you. Teresa

My two best friends are skinny. One is my life long friends and ex-stepsister of 14 years, and the other is an extremely skinny gay hair dresser who has been one of my closest friends for 12 years. He had a major surgery gone bad last year and nearly died. He had to lie cut open from groin to chin in a intentional coma-like state for a month last year in the ICU. Went from being a normal 210 lb 6'1" guy to weighing 125 lbs. He still is trying to gain weight back. I don't have anything against skinny people but I have an absolute dislike to mean spirited people. I always thought it was the norm that heavy women don't hang out together. A lot of heavy people I have known in my life go around with a huge chip on their shoulder and a superiorority complex. Sorry no offense to anyone. This is coming from a person who has usually outweighed almost every friend she has had anyway. I have this internal image of myself as graceful and lovely. It is only when I see pictures of myself or my bones ache that I realize I am not that graceful person at all. Since I have always been heavy, my reality is a bit messed up:) T

Hey Lisa, I have had that golf ball feeling too. The first time was a few days after surgery on V8. I really just couldn't believe that was a sensation that we were supposed to want to achieve. I get what Donali says though about getting to a point prior to the golf ball feeling and that being comfortable and the optimal stage. Thank you for your personal description of the experience, I want to really know what to be cautious about when I finally do get a fill. I love those pre-baked chickens from the store. I started making really smooth chicken pate' when I first could have soft smooth food and have "craved" chicken almost ever since. Funny... Must just be something about missing Protein. Kind of get bored with it every so often. We'll get one and eat what we want of it the first day and then I debone and deskin it and use it in other recipes for days. Is your wounds leaking slowing down any? Teresa P.S. You should give me a call sometime. It would be fun to chat. T

I don't know Donali. I had horrible eating habits before the band. I have never binged but I did believe a serving was more than now too. I would eat 2-3 peices of pizza. I haven't had pizza yet since getting the band but would now be able to happily stick to one slice. Its the fact that we CAN still have the things we like and keep it in small portions that is nice about the band. But in general, I NEVER drank a gallon of water EVERY DAY pre-band, I ALWAYS drank with meals. Double fisted even! A soda at one side of my plate and a glass of water on the other. I NEVER ate breakfast and could eat a house at lunch. I now always eat something for breakfast and only want to eat a small shack at lunch. Donali, I didn't mean to be offensive or sound righteous or anything. You do have a tough road ahead and I feel for you a lot. Like most people, I finally feel like I have some hope with the band. I just think that you will be successful because you have changed many of your habits. Won't your tummy have shrunk during all of this??? I know it is scary for you. I would be scared too. Sorry, Teresa

Hey all, During the last month I probably have PB'ed on an average of once a week or every 7 to 10 days. Since I am also still losing and eating between 1200 and 1600 calories a day it would seem to me that I still have some restriction even without a fill. A person wouldn't PB if they had no restriction would they? I definitely try to avoid it as much as possible. Every once in awhile I have a brain fart and try to eat the first few bites too fast. It seems more likely to happen if it is something fairly solid like steak, chicken etc. I think the frequency will definitely decrease as I get more experienced. Thanks for the info, Teresa

Donali, Can't you just go thru life pretending you STILL have the band? Honestly I don't know what you mean when you have described your 'letting the band control how much you eat'. Maybe its just because I haven't had a fill yet, but honestly I am still losing great and don't feel I need one yet. At meal time I'll usually dish up my plate with reasonable quantities and thats the end of it. I don't eat no more or no less. Other times I'll eat directly out of a container with too much in it and I still am able to easily put it away when I have had my allowed amount. Don't get me wrong, I love food; but for some odd reason I just find it easier to quit eating once my hunger pains have diminished. I have gotten a good full feeling on several occassions but not all the time. I don't know if it was exactly what Lisa described her newest feeling to be like though. I have been meaning to ask you about this for awhile. Donali you have always sounded very educated and strong to me. I know post band it will feel different but keep the faith. You have learned a lot the last year and a half. Use the persuasive power of your mind too. You most definitely CAN continue to lose weight and meet your goal. I don't think it will be as hard as it was before you had the band. You have totally changed your behavior pattern. I have done so myself. If I would have done all the things I am doing now before the band, I am sure I would have probably succeeded. By the way, I totally got over the soda withdrawl. What do THEY put in that stuff? McDonalds must have found the same magic addiction seasoning:) Best wishes to you, Teresa 5/8/04 Dr. Lopez 362/330/?

Hey Lisa, Have you spent the afternoon figuring out this restriction thingy:) Sounds like the chicken won at lunch... I haven't had a fill yet and will be challenged figuring it all out when I get one. You keep up the good work and keep healing. Teresa

Are you on the mushy phase? If so, have you tried protein drinks, thin mashed potatoes, applesauce, puddings etc. There really is a lot out there you can have if you get imaginative. I am only 6 weeks post op and have decided I don't need a fill yet. I still get hungry between meals but its usually really close to when I plan to eat anyway and I haven't plateau'ed yet. Best of luck, Teresa

Hi There from Oregon. I was banded 5/8/04 and have lost 32 lbs. Its been pretty easy after the liquid diet. Just take everything slow and cautiously. You'll do great. Teresa