kacee

<p>How about eating like a hypoglycemic during this time. Eat lots of SMALL meals....maybe eat about every two hours or so so you blood surgar doesn't fluctuate wildly. You can't eat much anyway...my doctor considered soft foods to include things like tuna. I had lots of tuna and cottage cheese because it gave me more of an illusion of chewing. Anyway....this too shall pass, but I know it's a pain in the butt right now.</p>

Looks like Microsoft is off the Sam Houston Parkway between Westheimer and Briar Forest. That's way out west. I guess it could be in a bunch of worse places. Personally I cannot tolerate Houston. I live in the Clear Lake area where my work is (the Space Program). Thank goodness, too, because if I had to live in any other area I would probably jump off a bridge. If ya gotta be here, this is the place to live. At least this way you can PRETEND you are someplace decent.

Okay, I've lived in Houston my whole life. DON'T COME HERE. San Antonio is wonderful....or live just outside of it, or Austin. Don't come to Houston. It's HOT, it's FLAT, it's UGLY, the humidity is 10,000, we have NO winters to speak of. San Antonio....all of the "hill country area" is beautiful. I lived in Austin for 13 years and left due to the economy in the 80's...but I was kicking and screaming all the way back to Houston, and I couldn't get out of Houston fast enough after that....actually lived for 7 years in the "Bay area" of L.A. before coming back to Houston in the mid-nineties (and only for work).

You can grab some protein drinks like Isopure (comes in a bottle and tastes somewhat like koolaid stuff - not the powder stuff - has about 8 flavors). The protein will help a lot with weakness and nausea

Yes you can. If you are using the free program, just set your printer to landscape (otherwise if it prints portrait you will lose some off the right side of the page) and click on the screen where the info is and hit print.

Yeah, I am supposed to have a low-profile but when I go in for my fills Leslie says it feels large. Mine already sticks out a little. Hey, if that's all I have to worry about, bring it on! I don't care what it does (except sit in the middle of my forehead, no thankyou) just as long as I keep losing the weight!

I'm another Texas girl! And Terri that is a great picture of you and I see a difference!!! I'm another success story for Dr. Spivak in Houston. I gotta take some "during" pics. There should be some kind of change visible by now since I am down 34!:clap2:

I'm on my 3rd fill now and I am just shy of my sweet spot. I think I am really really close and may just need to be "topped off" here in a few weeks. The first two fills did basically nothing for me....but after reading all the posts I wasn't surprised.

<p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Try Clear Ease (you can find it on line). It is popular with scuba divers to help clear sinuses. It is a papaya enzyme (i.e., meat tenderizer). After seeing a few other posts about it, I got a bottle and keep one or two lozenges in my purse. If you have an "episode" you can pop a lozenge in the corner of your mouth and let it dissolve. It cannot hurt and could help break up whatever is stuck. Mind you....I haven't tried it yet because when my food has gotten stuck it was because I messed up and it was GOOD and stuck and probably coming back up, but if you have a situation that is really minor and it could stay down and go through with some help, this might be the trick.</p>

I am 2.5 months out and just tried my first hamburger patty yesterday. Absolutely NO problem. HAHAHAHA However, I was only able to eat HALF of it!!!! YEEEHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!

<p>I too dropped about 20 pounds the first two weeks or so. You gotta remember that a LOT of that is water weight. I think that's probably the first thing that comes off... but I tell you what...you keep that PROTEIN coming in and you will feel FINE. Keep you supplements up too. I never felt anything but WONDERFUL from day one. I am 2.5 months out and have lost a total of 34 pounds and it doesn't feel like it has come off fast at all, but it feels very natural. I'm down to about a pound (or two) a week, and that's fine with me.</p>

Oh, and yes, I was the smallest person in MY seminar also. All I could think as I looked around the room was, "Thank GOD I am doing this now instead of waiting to where some of these other folks have gotten to...." It just resolved me MORE to get it done and get on with my life.

By the way, I am now down below you in BMI, and I am still considered obese and have 34 pounds more to go before I hit my (very realistic) goal.

My BMI was only 38, but I too have been obese since the age of 7. That predisposition plus my sleep apnea, hypertension, etc. drove me to get the lapband an I have NEVER looked back. This will be the tool to aid you in keeping that weight under control for the rest of your life. If you are 25 and struggling, I can guarantee you're going to do nothing but go up up up as you mature and your metabolism slows. You are absolutely doing the right thing.

Why don't you supplement with protein drinks. I do a protein shake in the mornings before work (a cafe mocha protein powder with skim milk and ice in the blender). That gives me about 23 mg right off the bat. Isopure makes protein pre-made fruit/koolaid-type clear drinks in a bottle (they also have powder stuff...that's not what I am talking about here). They have 42 mg per bottle, so I split the bottle and have over ice. If you find it a little sweet, cut with water and it works fine. There are about 8 flavors and I haven't found one that I thought was yucky. That way you can get in your protein without having to adjust your food schedule too much. Works for me!

You know what, that was one reason I had never really seriously considered WLS before (also I didn't like the thought of major surgery with the bypass). However, I feel just like I did before....only a million times better. Your life adjusts...believe me. You will be eating pretty much the same stuff you ate before (though judging by how that affected my weight initially, I've revisited that and tried to alter my way of thinking about which foods I eat now), but less. I am 2 months out and I am still trying to get my EYES to adjust to my STOMACH (the old eyes are bigger than your stomach is completely TRUE now). The worst thing I find I deal with is still having the mindset of loading my plate...when I am only going to be able to eat a small portion of what I load on. I don't miss anything. I don't feel deprived at all. I don't feel like I have sacrificed anything and I didn't really go through a "food grieving" period. Things just got BETTER for me all the way around. I thought initially I might feel like something was taken from me after it was done...that is TOTALLY 100% NOT the case. I feel like I have just awakened from a 20 year sleep, and my life is starting over!

Ahem....I just PB'd about 3 minutes ago trying to drink my morning protein shake (I seem to be tight in the morning these days and sometimes I forget)...no biggie. Really. I agree there is a lot of drama around this. If you ever have a PB, just be sure you are reasonably close a bathroom. Otherwise, it's nothing (well...you certainly don't want to be in the HABIT of doing it) to be alarmed about. Pretty much after I have one of those I am just going "Well, crap, I should've watched what I was doing a little closer...."

<p>I JUST broke down and ordered a couple of shirts from Lane Bryant (I do like their stuff)....but bit the bullet and ordered size L instead of 1X. No clue as to if they will fit, but if NOT, they'll go into the closet to be tried on each week until they do! Also got two shirts this weekend...one in a 1x and one in a 14-16....the 14-16 DID fit....exactly (no wiggle room, but it looked GREAT!) so it's another one I will stick in the closet and try each week until it is a LITTLE looser. I'm one of those people who NEVER wore things tight or figure hugging (even when I was thin, because of my thighs), so I am just used to things being worn out, hanging down, etc. Maybe I can re-think myself and get to the point I can wear something that actually FITS my figure......ooooooooo....there's a hurdle......</p>

My gosh I was lucky...I am 55 and yes, I STILL look to my Mother for some approval and glow when I get it. I had been thinking about the band and she was my potentially biggest obstacle (she's ALWAYS been on me to lose weight...."If you don't do it when you are young it will be next to impossible as you get older."---and she was absolutely right of course)....I finaly bit the bullet and said, "Now don't yell at me, but I'm thinking about getting the lapband..." (notice the preface...)...I held my breath and she said, "I can't believe you haven't brought that up before now! When are you wanting to do it?" I was completely astounded. And, as they say, the rest is history.... Even if my Mom wouldn't have been receptive (but there is no way she wouldn't because she is fantastic and I am her biggest fan) I would have found a way to do it....for me.

Wow, are you incredibly tall or what?

You can pick up some butterfly bandages from the drug store and use them to help keep the wound closed. Chances are that's what your doctor will put on it anyway, unless he glues it again or something.

<p><p>For Protein shakes, I REALLY like Dymatize Cafe Mocha ELITE whey protein isolate. I mix 8 oz skim milk with that and some ice cubes and blast it in my personal blender and it is wonderful. Haven't found one I like better so far. </p> <p> </p> <p>Also, for clear drinks, try the Isopure in the bottle (you don't mix it). It's like fruit punch or kool aid and I have actually found that it is very good. They have about 8 flavors. Haven't found one yet that I really don't like at all. Each bottle has 42 mg of protein so drink half a bottle at a time over ice. Water down just a tad if it is a little too sweet for you. Don't think GNC carries it (they carry all the powder stuff) but you might try a health food store that concentrates on things like weight training, etc.</p></p>

I named mine The Beast. It lets loose about every 3-4 hours daily. Then I throw it a "bone" and it shuts up for a while. It used to be extremely loud, the firwt month post-surgery, but it's quieting down now. Actually, I really rather enjoy it. It reminds me that things are working...

I got Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies and thought it was quite interesting. I read it after surgery and after I had been on the forum for several months so a lot was old news, but would be good reading for a newbie, uninitiated.

Oh I LOVED my shoulder pads! They always ade you look thinner. I've still got a lot of stuff in my closet that has them....