aprilmarie

Not only are we "banded" together but some of us are in life...my sister is developmentally disabled! Kind of why I got into the whole field, since a little girl I wanted to help people like Kimberly. Also, there was mention of the rewards being few and far between when working in this field. Well, actually today is one of those few rewards for me. One of my guys is at this moment moving into his very own apartment!! He has done so well with doing his part living in a group setting that I put him on a waiting list 10 months ago for a HUD apartment and today he is moving. He has never had his own apartment and he is 35 years old. This is very exciting for me...and needless to say...for Joe!! Thanks be to God!! April

Hi bandsters! I am so glad to hear that they figured out what the problem was Josie! I have worked with lots and lots of folks that have repeatative illnesses with aspiration pneumonia. Many folks with significant disabilities have problems with their swallow and have to have specific diet textures to avoid this problem. I hope this was caused from PBing and nothing occured with your swallow after you got the band. I hope you are feeling much better! I have to share with you all that I actually think that I have had a bit of a restriction from my fill on Monday. Last night I got to start puree foods and when I ate about a cup of pureed broccoli it hit me. A new feeling, like a stabbing pain where my top incision is clear through to my back. It was a bit painful so I stopped eating and said enough. I wasn't really sure if it was the restriction or just a new pain...it seemed for the first 4-5 weeks eating brought a new a different feeling each time I did it. Today I had a yogurt for breakfast but I didn't get the feeling then when I had lunch about a cup into my pureed tuna tetrazzini I felt it again! HOORAY!!!:dance: I hope this is what I think it is because if it is...I think I may just feel finally full!!! April

Sophie, Thanks so much for the kind words. I am glad to know that there are others out there that understand the work thing for me...you and TM1019 both have been in my shoes...it is helpful with others can relate!!! Isn't it amazing how many of us that work in the human services field have weight issues! lol I hope to talk to my doc about your suggestion though I really do hate to go the medication route. I will wait it out a bit longer and if I am still struggling in the rut I will call. Afrykanvyolet - Thanks so much lady, your words of encouragement were truly helpful! Yoga sound great! I have tried doing some band work but when it comes to placing the band behind my shoulders to to arm work it won't stay because I am such a pear! It just rolls up my shoulders to my neck. I ended up getting so frustrated that I quit it. But yoga, on the other hand, may do the trick...Thanks! And about some fund time for me...actually one of my girlfriends is having her bachelorette party this weekend. I am really looking forward to it as I can't even remember the last time I went out bar hopping. We have a party van reserved so someone will drive us all night and we are staying in a hotel to avoid driving. I would like to have a drink or two any suggestions on that part anyone??? I know beer is out as it is carbonated but I was thinking something mild like vodca and cranberry juice. Let me know if anyone has addressed this. Thanks so much all of you with your "lift me ups", Sugarbear, TM1019, Afrykanvyolet, and Sophie....your a true blessing! April

Thanks so much Mimi! I appreciate the support. I am glad to know that I am not the only one out there!!!! April

Hiya fellow Marchies, I am very happy for so many of you who seem to be doing so well! I don't post very often but I do check almost daily for new posts to help me along my journey as well. Though it is very exciting to see you all loosing I have to admit that I am a bit jealous and depressed about my progress. I continue to struggle with hunger all the time. I know it isn't head hunger, I can definately tell the difference and head hunger happens when I am bored or not busy. I try to stick to low-fat, low-sugur, low carbs and high protien snacks and do very well during the day but when I get home I am so tired of fighting it all day that I start to make poor food choices and eat more than I should. I have been trying to walk 15-20 minutes each day but I am so heavy it causes me alot of discomfort and pain. I have had surgery on my back and right knee and I also have reoccurring plantar faciaitis in my left foot. It sucks so bad! I have to force myself to do it. I have a very stressfull job, I work with people with developmental disabilities. Most all of my clients are high functioning MR and choose to make poor choices that I end up having to do damage control much of the time. I am a case manager so I am their chief advocate and work with their families and the agencies they are affiliated with to help them meet their preferred lifestyles. By the time I get home I am so physically and emotionally exhausted I don't want to do anything but vege in front of the TV. I guess I am just getting depressed. It seems alot to handle sometimes... I've been a single mom for 15 years and now my life is changing so much. My son is not home alot due to his school and church activities and to top his not being around I lost my darling little foster kids last month to adoption. They had disabilities too so they were a challenge but I love them so much, they were with us for over two years. Seems that empty nest is setting in. With all these issues and the slow weightloss, it is just a vicious circle for me right now. I got my first fill yesterday and avoided weighing until that time. I was sooooooo disapointed to find that I had only dropped 1 lb. since my post operative appointment! The nurse said that everything looks fine and that I am on track with my loss overall but it didn't really make me feel any better. I have a 4cc band and they gave me 1cc. I know this is a 25% restriction but I don't really feel any restriction at this point. Then again all I am supposed to have are clear liquids until 4:00 tonight that may be why I am so very hungry right now. After 4:00 I can have full liquids for 24 hours, puree for 24 hours, soft for 24 then slowly try regular foods as I tolerate them. I am hoping that after that I may start to feel the restriction. I am trying not to get my hopes up though. I have read that many of you don't really feel the restriction after the first fill. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here just hoping maybe someone has some suggestions for me...and I am trying to keep my head up and my eyes open. And really trying to avoid yet another rut in my many weight loss journeys. Thanks for all of you! April

You really look great Tammy! I had the same idea though a little different. I actually had hair down to my bottom and cut it all off Saturday. After cutting 4 inches of dead damaged hair off 10 inches came off for "Locks of Love", which made me feel good also. My friend Cindy has been my hairdresser for years, she had to call her hubby and her mom to tell them that after all these years she was actually cutting all my hair off! It was quite the scene, kind of like a beauty shop scene in Steel Magnoilias! Close friends in a small town beauty shop on a Saturday afternoon. I had just went in for a trim and when I told Cindy what I wanted to do she was shocked but went right at it before I changed my mind. For so many years I have had extremely long hair and now it is shoulder length. I have always thought of my long hair as a distraction to my weight, I thought people would see how really long it is and not notice my size as much. It has been a real "security blanket" for me for years and years. Now it is gone and I feel somewhat liberated. I am really surprised that I never even cried. It just seemed to be something that needed to be done. I really do like it, it is so much shorter though that it is a bit hard to get used to. I don't have to move it out of the way to sit on the toilet, I don't get it caught in my armpits at night if I roll over, and I don't have to squeeze a quarter of the bottle of shampoo out when I wash my hair! LOL I don't really like that I have to curl and style it in the mornings, I am so used to just washing and putting a barrett in and going. Just seems like I am more comfortable making changes in my appearence now that I know that I won't need to try to "hide" my body. I mean really, who was I fooling, long hair doesn't cover a big butt! lol I will try to get a picture of my new do and put it on my avatar so ya'll can see the difference too. Thanks for listening to my celebration! April

Ok fellow banster's I must have missed something somewhere...what the heck is PBing????? April

Hi Marchies, Been a while since I have posted but I have been checking in on ya! Glad to see so many are doing so well and words of encouragement for those with challenges. I think I am doing OK, no nausea or vomiting at all but every time I eat it is a different experience. I have noticed that I absolutely must have eaten like a pig before, it has been so hard to eat slowly and take tiny bites. Besides, since I haven't had a fill yet I am ravenous most of the time. I have found that if I eat too fast or take too big of bites it is almost like an air pocket gets caught in my esophogus and the food will start to crawl back out. My mouth will start to water and I think I may erp! I haven't erped but came really close once, I didn't have pain just waves of the feeling that the food was trying to crawl back up my neck and out. So...I have learned the trick to deal with that. I am concerned that I have not lost any more weight, I am a a stand still and I am so hungry. I have been trying to eat a small amount more often through out the day of sugar free and low carb items but it really doesn't seem to help much. Banster Hell for sure! Any suggestions here? I got to start regular foods yesterday and had some salad...finally!! I was good but for some reason I wasn't hungry at the time and only had a few bites. I did let myself go at Easter dinner last weekend and ate a cresent roll...OMG it tasted wonderful but did I feel like crap afterward. It seemed to swell in my pouch and felt like a stone stuck there for hours. Guess that was the white bread pasting up and clogging things! It will be a long time before I have white bread again! I also came down with a bad bladder infection last week. Oh my that was painful...I am so used to drinking a lot with my meals and trying to make that change has been hard. I assume I got the infection from not drinking enough water so I have been trying to always have a bottle with me wherever I go. I go for my first fill on 4-23 and am looking forward to figuring out if that will help my hunger. Oh BTW I bought some of that whey protien drink and it tastes awful! I got the fruit punch but there were no directions as to how to drink in on the package. Any ideas???? Thanks a bunch for everyone's never ending support...your blessing many lives!! April

It works best if you use thin pizza and let it soak a little bit in beef broth first. Not too bad actually though I could have eaten more than 1/2 cup! lol

Thanks for the support ladies! No one here really understands what I am going through and my mom is the worst! When she is around she watches me like a hawk and asks a thousand questions about my diet. She calls me several times a day with an inquisition. Are you getting all the protien you need, are you pureeing everything arent' you, no more than a cup of food at a time April....UGGG! I know she means well but you would think she paid for this surgery! I am almost sorry that I let her in on this whole life changing experience but she has been so unhappy with my weight for so long and wanted me to get this surgery so bad I couldn't exclude her in my journey. She is all of 110 lbs., she simply never has and never will understand what it is like to be a food addict. Also, I don't particularly "mesh" with many of my co-workers, I have just never been one to be "clicky" and unfortunatly to be accepted here you need to be that way. I work with all women, the thin ones don't show very little interest in what I am doing and the chubby ones are very critical of what I am doing. I just don't discuss much about my choice to do the lap band with them. Our RN is very supportive and a good person to talk to so I at least have that outlet if I need one. I am a single mom of an outstanding 18 year old son who is very supportive but I don't want to really "vent" to him too much. He is a Senior this year and really busy also he has his own weight issues he struggles through. We try to do healthy activities together to support each other but I am just not comfortable talking or crying about what I am going through with him. I don't want him to think that I am loosing it. I am glad I have found this site, just this little bit of venting seems to have helped me out a some...Thanks! As for protien I am drinking HMR protien shakes but they are not as easy to put together while I am at work when I am hungry. Besides I am sick of them, I was on a diet using them for several months prior to deciding to do the band. They are a great source of protien so I have been forceing them down. Any other protien ideas? Something quick and easy? As for the eating addiction, it is a life long problem of mine. I am already on an antidepressent and have been for several years. With out it I would be a real mess. It has really helped with my emotional eating. I don't know maybe I need something more to help me through all of this. Thanks again for all the support...you are all so appreciated!

I am sooo hungry all the time! I need more ideas of low carb and sugar free snacks to eat frequently I am getting tired of pudding, popsickles, low fat yogurt, jello and Mott's fruit cups. I am dying for a damn cheeseburger!!! LOL I am having a terrible time with my cravings, the emotional eating thing is totally haunting me! Does the craving thing ever subside so dealing with the emotional eating can be managed better? I know my doc specified that the band will be a "tool" to help me to loose this weight but I was so hoping that the cravings and constant desire to emotionally eat would subside if I were feeling full. Man, do I need a fill! LOL Thanks everyone!

Hi again, just wanted to see what others have to say about carbonated beverages. I understand that I am unable to have them as they could stretch out my pouch but will I never be able to have them again??? I am suffering in "bandster hell" plus I can't have soda? "Inhumane!"I am not a coffee drinker but a Coke Zero drinker and am addicted. The Chrysal Light just isn't doing it. If there is a light at the end of the tunnell I think I could hold out, will I be able to have a pop again ever?? Thanks all and keep up the good work.

Hi Joe! I found that hard candy helped. Also jello - no fruit of course! April

Ok, now I don't feel quite so worried. I appreciate all the advise, especially from you Kat, I will try to avoid eating so much at once, that makes good sense. Bandster Hell really sucks! lol I wonder why my pre-op and post-op diet is so much less restrictive than many of you? I had to try to loose 1lb before surgery only (wow I can sh$% that out! lol, - lost 3lbs) and was only on clear liquids the 24 hours before surgery. Then afterward, clear liquids three days, regular liquids two days and now puree until my fill. Dr. Nigro at Weightloss Surgical Center in Overland Park Kansas is my doc. I feel badly for so many of you having to go through so much before the surgery, even psych testing? Is that for insurance purposes? My insurance wouldn't pay a dime so I had to finance my band. I started the process 1-26-07 and had surgery 3-13-07 and some of you have had to wait forever! I consider myself blessed, I don't know if I could have waited that long! Also, I am not good at the computer thing, how did you all put the "loss meter" thing on your posts? Very cool! Peace and blessings to all... April