Marimaru

Sounds like reflux to me. Many doctors advise their patients not to eat within a few hours of when they are going to bed, and this is also one of the first things that is usually said to people who complain of reflux.

For whatever reason if someone doesn't eat after a while, they fill up with gas (I found this out when I was supposed to have an ultrasound and was told not to eat after dinner the night before... then the next day it was delayed for 6 hours and the tech said I was all gassy because of it), so maybe since we eat so much less after surgery our body just isn't used to being as empty as it is. I was very gassy after surgery, and for quite a while after that. I think I'm adapting a bit because I'm not as gassy as I was then.

Victoriana, yes we need to drink water in order to flush our systems and stay hydrated, but water doesn't go through the gall bladder, so wouldn't have much of an effect. Hamu~ glad that you are feeling better. That area of my body has been bothering me some, but not to the effect that you describe. Hopefully I can get a diagnosis BEFORE it gets to that point! Was it sudden, or did you have minor symptoms before?

I lost 55 lbs and got stuck for a while. In the time I was stuck (about 7 months), I noticed the skin on my tummy come up a bit. I think there is a decent chance that *most* places will be ok, but that I might still want work on my arms and thighs. I am already planning on having a breast lift.

Sunnyone, In the "Lap Band Support" area, there is a stickied thread called "Slow Losers Unite!". It's the turtle threat :girl_hug:. Come comiserate with us! 46 lbs is great, but I definately understand the desire to lose faster.

Do you have any cats? Or have you been around any cats? Cats carry the stuff but often don't show signs of it.

PLEASE be careful about giving yourself timelimits on goals. No one knows how they are going to lose, or what might get in their way, so it can just create disappointment. Besides, you lost 23lbs very quickly, the body needs time to catch up to that stuff. Remember that the average is 1 to 2 lbs per week, which means that you might lose more than that some weeks and none at all other weeks. Let us know what the nutritionist and the trainer say!

The tattoo on the inner side of my right ankle is the japanese kanji for Eternity. On the other ankle on the outside is this tribal type thing with a gem in it. I want to get another one, and beyond not knowing what to get, I don't know where to get it. I am trying to work on a design for my sisters and I. All three of us have the same initials SJ (last names different now that my sis is married), so I want to design something with SJ in it. I told my mom about it, and she said "If you do that, you have to design something for me that has SJ in it 3 times. My mom is cool.

Amy, when they do the apron removal, and they going to remove any of the fat/skin that is above the belly botton as well? (I'm just curious)

You definately need some carbs. The brain runs on 'em!

Here's a day I'm happy with: Breakfast: One serving of Special K Protein Plus cereal w/ lactaid nonfat milk. First Mid Meal: Protein enriched sugar free pudding. Lunch: Whole wheat wrap with baby spinach, mustard, lean turkey and low fat swiss. Second Mid Meal: South Beach snack bar (peanut butter crisp flavored). Dinner: Vegetarian refried beans with a little salsa and low fat cheese. Third Mid Meal: Liquid Whey protein supplement (I am told to eat six small meals a day and no extra snacks.) Cereal is good, but I'll warn you that I went through a time where I couldn't really eat it. It would go down ok, but slowly, and you know what happens to cereal in milk... Today I had frosted mini wheats... I dipped them in milk!! meat wraps, with like deli meats, and cheeses, or some cream cheese are good. Beef jerky could be a good mini meal/snack. Unfortunately, except for protien bars, there just isn't a lot of grab and go foods for people trying to eat healthy that you don't have to pre-prepare (which I hate).

I answered number 4, because I've been taking hoodia recently, which I started with a new bout of motivation. I'm not big into unhealthy weight loss, but I figured anything that could boost healthy weight loss sounded good. I haven't really been taking it this week (no good reason, just haven't been choking down the pills). Mostly I wanted the 'fat burning' property, more than the appetite suppressant, although, it may not exsist at all.

ok, that's kind of different. If you can't eat good solid food, what you may actually want is a .1cc or .2cc UNfill. If you get stuck every time you try to eat good solid food, it's no wonder you are on protien bars and shakes, those are just easier sometimes (and a much better idea than what I did when I was having that problem, lol). But, what happens when you take a bite of something, it gets stuckish and you wait a while? For me, just as often as not, the first bite or 2 feels that way, but once it moves along, I can enjoy a good meal (first bite syndrom). If that's the case, you may just have to deal with it. Drinking tea or broth before a meal helps sometimes, but other times it seems to just happen anyway...

Before and right after my surgery I told anyone who would listen, then I got to the point where I felt it was all I talked about, and so I quit talking about it. There are people in my life who don't know, not because I chose not to tell them, just that it hasn't come up (it's also kind of a nice way to test how 'normal' you think things are going).

My story is actually similar to Telly's. I found Dr. Rumbaut on the first google search I did for a doctor and jumped at it. I was lucky, but I still kick myself for it just because it was a big chance. I can't say I would have chosen anyone else if I had done my research right, but for the sake of being smart, I wish I had, lol.

jboy, I can understand your defensiveness just finding out that your doctor may have treated someone so badly, but instead of taking it from the standpoint of "You are probably lying, and I'm going to investigate it", you might get a better response from "wow, if that's the case, that's really horrible, I might look into that". It really just rubs the wrong way for you to imply that she's just making it up and that you are going to 'investigate' her story. I dunno..

My doctor told me to drink a cup of coffee if I got a headache, so caffiene is in for me. Diet soda is 'as tolerated'. I don't drink regular soda, but I've had a sip of my fiance's every now and then and it's just grody!

Well, you shouldn't be eating foods that are too soft on a normal basis. Like a medium sized chicken breast would probably be better than something crock potted and falling off the bone because it's so soft. Mushies really shouldn't be restricted all that much, but solids should. I can eat a good sized bandster meal with chicken, veggies, maybe mashed potatoes, and not feel guilty about the amount, while still feeling satisfied. If I try and eat something like a chicken nugget, most days I can only get down a couple before feeling stuck and icky. I guess first I would try and make heathier more solid choices, and see how much you can eat then. If you can eat more than you think you should, then yes get the fill. If you get a fill, it will probably be even hard to eat things like chicken nuggets, which might be a good thing.

For me, I have to count my calories and exersize to lose weight. If I'm not doing those things, I maintain. I haven't gained since having my band put in, if I'm not losing, I'm maintaining. It sounds like I have to diet hard, but it's alot easier to eat 1300 calories a day when you aren't STARVING (or you've already blown past it by noon). So I make good choices when I eat, make sure I don't take in liquid calories other than maybe some milk every now and then, and it's really easy to keep my calories where I want them to be.

sleepyjean, it's recommended to do this so that your stomach can calm down, and if it's swollen or inflamed from the PB, the swelling will go down. That said, I don't really do it. I've had very few really bad PB's, where I did liquids, but usually not. Of course, if I go back and try to eat something and there's still a problem (ie; I PB'd because I ate too fast/didn't chew enough, not because I ate something that just wouldn't work), I'll switch to liquids for at least that meal.

You do NOT sound like a baby to me. I remember how bad I felt, and I only had an issue on one side. It's really just a horrible horrible feeling. *hugs*

Someone mentioned ringworm, I hadn't thought of that. I still think you should see your doctor, but ringworm can be treated for any cream that is used for atheletes foot, it's basically the same thing. I use lotramin when I get it.

Texture is a large part of it. And I know there are a bunch of people who have issues with ground beef too, so the meatloaf may have been part of it..

I think you should slap your doctor and listen to your nutritionist. Unfortunately for lots of people, weight loss isn't the simple equation it should be. Calories in/calories out is fine, but if you don't really know how many calories your body burns, you can't know how many to take in, right? I have no idea how many calories my body burns, but I know I don't lose weight if I eat more than 1300 a day on average. There are metabolism tests that can be done to tell you what your BMR is, but basically I would say to find the most calories you can eat to lose weight, so that you have room to wiggle if you get stuck. If you are eating 400 a day, what do you do when the scale stops moving?

I'm kind of inbetween I think. On my way up weight wise, I knew I was over weight, but it wasn't "that bad". In high school I had this friend that I compared myself too. I guess I thought I would do something about it if I ever got as big as her. Which I didn't.... my mom said that we grew in size together. So in my head, I just didn't see as much as was there I guess. The mirror lies some how, but cameras sure don't. But now, I'm almost halfway to goal, and in the mirror, I do see the difference, and I see it in most pictures (though I still hate pictures), but when I look down at my stomach and my thighs, they still seem the same. When I try and see the differences in my face, knowing that it's smaller, all I see is my double chin that is still there. Maybe when I get to onederland, I'll have one of Tommy's ceremonies.