lisacaron

I can totally relate to what is going on in your life right now. Losing a parent is a difficult thing, and it's effects on our lives are profound. Your a strong woman and CG is right these days when I am upset and frustrated or 101 things at once walking always helps me clear my head. I wish sometimes that I could just go and take a walk when I wanted/needed to. I'd probably never be sitting at my desk

So glad to hear your update. Keep feeling well!!

Perhaps once the weather is nicer we will pull a weekday event together. Don't count it out

You should not be feeling your band at all. That is deep in your abdomen way under the muscle around your stomach at the base of your esophagus. The same applies to the tubing which is under most of the muscle and tissue in your body except where it meets up with the port. So what you are feeling is more then likely your port. (the hard lump like a baby foot) The soreness in the bellybutton could be from the surgery itself especially if you had a hernia repair as well. My surgery was a more traditional style of laproscopic surgery where I have 6 incisions, most very tiny but a rather long one where my port is placed. However...the incision scar is not the actual location of my port though it is in the general vicinity. I have read where others have had their ports missed completely by PA's and Fluid was not put into the band. Definitely have your surgeon check it out for you by pulling a bit of fluid back into the needle before adding more. This is generally what they do at my and my husbands fill appointments. We also will drink a few sips of water after to be sure that the stoma was not blocked by adding fluid and then, we are free to go. That feeling of restrictions or tightness in the band is not always evident and for me it never is on the day of the fill. It can take up to 2 weeks to feel the full effects of a fill. My husband feels it right away after a fill but for me it's usually a few days to a week or two later. You never want to feel that you can't swallow water in the Dr. office or have to spit it out. That is always a sign that your band is way too tight and the stoma is closed off and nothing can pass. That's my experience thus far with fills....

Hi Viacan, Welcome back to the site! You will find lots of helpful, inspirational, motivational and most of all supportive people around here! This site really helps me stay accountable. Just curious, what type of revision did you have to your band?

Amazing! Keep on Rocking your Band!!

No little ones at home these days they are all in their late teens and 20's. In the past I would run out of the office at the end of the day and take that long drive home and think the whole way there what I am going to get these kids and me and the hubby for dinner. By 6:30-7 when I get home from work it's a solid 6 hours since I had last had a meal. (Not good!) So I would get the fastest fast food thing I could think of and go home and "feed" everyone. Even in the early stages of being banded this was still the way things were happening. It took me a bit to get a handle on things, and now I will make sure that I have a snack around 3-4:00 before I leave the office. I make sure it's either a Protein shake or a Protein Bar and that will hold me over until I get home and get dinner cooking. We usually sit down to eat by 7-7:30, and I am feeling good and ready to have a small dinner at that time. Giving myself that snack and buffer I am actually in control and able to go home and make a healthy meal that we can sit down together and eat. IN SILENCE! The only witch in the witching hour is me I guess. I have a rule that they are not allowed to complain or converse while we are eating. It's great because it's teaching them the proper way to eat a meal.To enjoy the presentation, the aroma, the texture, the flavor and not to just chomp and and chat their way through 3 plates of food. Most of the time they choose not to eat with us....and make their plate later....I wonder why that is....

Good Morning!! Hi Terry, When I see my Dr. it's more the time between meals and the hunger factor that determines the fill for me. Volume is pretty well controlled and was never really my issue to begin with. I eat within the 1 cup depending on what the item is for the most part. I was having issues of being hungry again more often and not holding between meals, so I had a small fill again this time. So far all is well. @ Bandista, I have noticed in the cold that my band is a bit tighter then normal. It goes away as I defrost...but while I am out in the cold I can actually feel it get tighter. I don't have the feeling or need to want to eat more...but I am looking for more "homey" and warm feeling foods like Soup which is a slider..so I made some fresh chicken soup with large chunks of vegetables, and whole pieces of chicken to make it a good combo of solid and soft and AWESOME for 9 degree weather I also made a pot of Turkey Chilli, with the same parameters so that it satisfies all needs on these cold days. Brrrr...Hope you are all staying warm!!

I'll take that California kind of cold!! Its 12 degrees going down to 3 brrrrr

Wonderful post Cheryl! I have learned to be mindful. Ever so much more then looking both ways before I cross the street! I have learned to be mindful of the things I put in my mouth. Mindful of the things I am even thinking about allowing myself to consume whether they be liquids or solids. I have learned to mindful of the things that cause me anxiety and stress and what their affects on my body truly are. I am mindful of the way I view myself. Not only my reflection in the mirror but the attitude I project toward my self and in my day and to those around me. When I am not mindful, buddy and buster (my band and plication) like to let me know it. Sometimes they are vocal with their discomfort and displeasure of my absent mindedness, sometimes they can be totally embarrassing if I am not focused on their needs and I will need to find the nearest receptacle to help set them to rights, and at the worst times they are woefully painful when it is clear that I am blatantly ignoring their subtle hints and signs and it can leave me feeling worse then being punched in the gut. There are many things that can take me out of my body and even drive me out of my mind!!! My band reminds me that right here in this moment is where I belong. Enjoying the texture, aroma and flavor of the bite, or the sip and not plowing my way through life onto the next thing. My band helps to keep me mindful and present in my life, even when I am not eating or drinking the lessons are not lost on me, and if they are....a reminder could be just a forkful away.

Count me in! Looking forward to it!

Just cause I have to out him...the hubby who is ALWAYS hot now that he's losing wears thermal socks! He won't say he's cold, but you know he is!!! It really is because we are losing our insulation. Not a bad thing at all though my natural heater is on the fritz you just can't count on that darn menopause to help you out when you want it to!

Hi Carriecat, If you are sleeved, your in the wrong forum and your profile also says you had the lapband so your getting conflicting info...the band and sleeve are very different. Oops just posted as you did carriecat Good luck and I hope it all works out well!!

I would like this three times if I could! This weather is just making my bones hurt and my muscles tired, I kind of wish I had stayed home under the covers today!

Stress is a big one for me. Fill or no fill, when I am stressed out my band tightens up big time. It can happen to me out of the blue for what seems to another like nothing at all. A great example is yesterday my husband and I were just sitting down after a stressful morning to have some lunch. We started eating and all was well, then the phone rang. We both looked at each other, it was his son. Nothing traumatic, but when the kids call it's usually never to just say Hi it's always "something". So as the conversation progressed, both my band and my husbands when cinch. Not that we could feel that but we should know better by now, it happens often enough between calls from our kids and our parents! So wouldn't you know that very next bite...we both looked at each other with that same "oh shit" face, cause we knew the other was stuck. Thank goodness we chew well and eat slowly, the food passed and we were both relived. The rest of our lunch went to the trash, and we watched a movie while the snow kept falling and piling higher and higher and thought I hope no one calls during dinner or it's gonna be a liquid one!

Sounds like a great plan! I have a list of places near Penn and MSG I can send you all when I am back at the office Wed. If you like some location options.

Now how cool would it be if instead of Botox we could have that extra fat that always likes to linger in places like our inner thighs and aprons injected into those facial wrinkles after we reach our goal! I had no wrinkles before losing weight and I am 42. People always think I am younger, and today after losing about 50 pounds I see wrinkles and I know more might be evident by time I am done but today I feel younger then my years and can put some extra zip into living. Carrying around that toddler on my back (50 extra pounds) was defiantly slowing me down and cramping my style a bit. Sausage casings only look good on hotdog buns in commercials

Here here I second that statement!!!! Happy birthday to you!!!

OMG! Yes, sadly it's a bit part of the banded life to an extent. I will tell you this though when I drink Protein shakes or have Protein Bars they cause WAY more gas then is normal. The reason for me is because they are made from whey protein and that is made from dairy which can cause a bit of lactose intolerance. I spoke with my doctor and she advised taking Lactaid tablet they have them in chewable tabs before and/or after having one of those protein products and that has stopped those bursts of gas!

Welcome to the banded side of life! The tightness that you are feeling physically is more then likely the muscle tissue healing from where your incisions are and where your port is attached. You should not be feeling your band physically at all. You may feel a sense of tightness when you are drinking and that is totally normal. Taking small sips from a medicine dose type cup is the way to go. You don't want to take large sips or gulp anything right after surgery. Even though you are now off Clear Liquids if those are working for you please keep them going so you are sure to get your liquids in. You don't want to dehydrate. Warm decaf tea is a great way to help soothe and relax the esophagus and stoma to allow Protein shakes to pass through more smoothly. To get extra fluids in and help with internal swelling frozen sugar free ice pops are great! If your doctor has advised that you can move to pureed foods then you may do so. My doctor had advised me to be on 1-2 weeks of liquids and then 1-2 weeks of pureed foods and then 1-2 weeks of soft foods like eggs etc. then moving on to more solid foods as tolerated in the first few weeks after surgery. Above all follow your doctors advice.

I have been bringing in my left overs from dinner the night before for my lunch the next day. There are so many in my house when I cook I make enough for the troops but since it's not McDonalds there are always left overs which of course it is beneath them to eat especially since it's healthy! I will cook up everything from baked chicken cutlets, to baked chicken, home made chicken soup which I love sans the noodles and the chicken melts in your mouth. Pork chops that are cut super thin and baked with some crushed garlic, oregano, rosemary, in fat free broth. Meatballs or Neck bones that were cooked in Marinara sauce. Chicken cooked in Vodka Sauce. All good and yummy things!!! If I am stuck at the office with no lunch to bring, I am very luck I have an excellent employer and we have a full service Sodexo cafe. I will usually get a grilled chicken breast with sauteed onions and peppers for lunch. They will slice and dice the chicken up for me and it's always soft and tender. I'll add a small salad to the side if it's a "hungry" day. Usually chicken does me good. Some days they have meals ready that are healthy and I actually will eat. They have a fresh Sushi bar and chef a few times a week (I'm not so into it, but we are spoiled here) If all else fails there is a deli portion as well for some turkey breast, chicken salad etc. I try to stay away from that all together because the salt content is just too high for me.

I'm in!!!! It would take 181.4 pennies to equal one pound. I think I just found a new way to save.....hmmm....could be a nice way to reward myself as I shed those pounds....

Great post! Thank you for sharing all that information with us. I used to attend a local WW meeting before being banded actually long before even thinking of WLS and I made lots of friends there some who where at "goal" and had that free seat at WW. After getting to know them well, they were never really "overweight" to begin with. They were maybe 10 or 20 pounds over their goal weights as defined by WW. Then there were those of us who had so much weight lose that 20 pounds over weight seemed like a joke. There were people there like the leader who would tell us how she gained and lost her 80 pounds time after time till she finally reached the day where she was able to keep it off for now going on 20 years. That was amazing and seemed so unreachable to me no matter how hard I tracked and tried to lose it. Being that the center is in my local neighborhood, I have run into a few of the members who used to attend the meetings who were largely successful in losing significant amounts of weight while I was attending losing upward of 100 pounds. So I was taken back when I ran into them a few months ago and found that they had gained back nearly half the weight they'd lost or more. They would tell me how life circumstances got in the way, houses, babies new jobs etc. Of course I do not judge them, I know how hard it is to lose weight! Today as banded person, I know that things are going to happen in life, and now I have my little life preserver in there to help me. When they tell me I look great and like I've lost a lot of weight I don't lie. I tell them I had WLS, and I tell them it's not easy it's not just a quick fix, it takes 100% commitment, food tracking and all of that, but I know that with this band I won't gain back the weight I have lost plus some. I know it's gone and this time it's gone for good!