kacee

I use FitDay and I purchased the program online. It gives you a bunch of graphs and charts that are great resources in watching what's going on. I've had it about a year now and really like it.

If you are already into the fill stage you can probably start trying to experiment with your pill taking. I only crushed and cut pills for the first 60 days and after that I can take ANY size pill without problem (even after 5 fills). I would venture to guess that you are being sick from the drainage for the most part. You really need to get the allergies under control.

Here's my take on it.... There are two things you need to learn the names and properties of: PB = Productive Burp (Who the hell came up with THIS term?)...This is when food goes down too fast or is not chewed enough and gets caught at the opening into the pouch. When it gets STUCK you get a knot-type feeling in mid-chest which indicates that the food isn't going anywhere. Sometimes you can suffer through it and it will go down slowly. Sometimes you need to go to the bathroom and "get rid of it" for relief. It is like a vomit without some of the accompanied "nastiness"....the food somes back in the same condition it went down in...just chewed...there is no stomach acid with it (like a regular puke...that nasty sour stuff)...and it is often NOT accompanied by full stomach contractions like with a regular vomit, more like it comes from the throat up. The PB food coming up can be accompanied by sliming.... Sliming = When the stomach sense that food is coming, it releases mucus into the mouth and esophagus and stomach in order to help facilitate the movement of the food down the canal. When food is stuck, it's like a backed up toilet. The stomach goes "Oh, here comes food!": and starts secreting, but when the food doesn't move, the mucus backs up into your throat and mouth. You wind up have a huge mouthful of thick saliva (oh the bubbles you can blow! :-) )that must be spit out. Sometimes sliming precedes a PB, sometimes the food is just slow going down and you slime a little. Suffice it to say, it's worth a trip to the bathroom to spit it out. WORD OF CAUTION: NEVER NEVER NEVER try to "flush" stuck food down with a liquid. It works on a regular body, but not the way we are constructed now. It is a recipe for disaster. Like throwing a gallon of Water into a clogged up toilet, it's gonna do nothing but sit on the clog and come back up.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Ya know, sometimes I think us more mature gals heal faster than the youngsters. Maybe it's because we've had the adversity longer and we're used to it, I don't know...but I was 55 wehen I had my band and my healing process was MUCH quicker and easier than a LOT of kiddos half my age. I got out of the hospital going "Well, THIS was chicken feed! I'm rarin' ta go!" and I never looked back. The operative word here is sticking to the program...getting in the liquids and the proteins and making GOOD choices. The magic DOES work!

That's just a guideline. Sometimes I can eat three bites and I have to put the food away. Sometimes I can eat an entire meal (in moderation). There is no set rule and it fluctuates daily with the band. In the mornings sometimes if I try to drink milk it comes back up. By dinnertime I can eat a whole japanese dinner (stir fry, soup, chicken and shrimp....no rice). There is just no hard and fast rule. You eat until you are full but you HAVE to learn how to ANTICIPATE fullness. You eat till just before you are full....then you are fine. If you eat until you ARE full, sometimes your body rejects that. That's where the learning curve is.

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Yep, get some anti-nausea meds for sure, and really push both the liquids AND the protein. You've got to have that sustenance for your body. Most of us get the shakes, weak, etc. when we lose out on the liquid and protein, but you may be more susceptable. This is something that cannot be stressed ENOUGH.

Hey Longhorn....do you REALIZE you are on the VERY THRESHOLD of ONEDERLAND?????? I remember when I was there. I cried like a baby when I could tell my co-workers I had hit the 190's. They were in awe of my reaction and very supportive. They totally realize how much this has affected me!

I would MUCH rather have the "possible potential" of reversing or fixing surgery down the road than a GIVEN that I would have diabetes and probably die in my 60's at the rate I was going before. There are risks taking every breath we take, but we are minimizing those risks with this lifestyle and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Amen to that! I was kindof grumbling at myself the other day because I didn't think I had lost much...I just felt like I was writing the same thing down every day, give or take a pound...I looked on my log (which is priceless to keep...it gives you a great reality check!) and lo and behold I've lost about 10 pounds in the last 2 months. I'm at my all time lowest weight since 1987. WOW. And still going! And I am even more amazed considering I am within 10 pounds of my goal...that I am STILL managing to lose, albeit slower...but no complaints here!

I know plenty of folks with "larger" noses and without exception, their noses are the endearing quality that makes them who they are! Sorry, but I love a face with CHARACTER. A beauty queen symmetrical face to me is one of the most boring visions on the planet. Ho Hum. Puts me to sleep. Give me a lopsided grin, a bump on a nose, funny dimples. THAT makes a person their unique and beautiful self. I will ALWAYS gravitate to those people first. They radiate interest.

As you see by my stats, I've had a total of 5 fills. To be completely honest, I think my last fill tipped me over a little, but I am NOT going to get an unfill. I am being very very very careful with my eating and working with it. I am within 10 pounds of goal and am going to stick it out. If things are still a bit uncomfortable when I hit goal I will rethink getting an unfill, but with 10 pounds to go, I know there is some "wiggle room" for my band if I lose. I was a self-pay (BMI in the 38 range) and knew that fighting with my insurance was going to be more than an uphill battle...I was not prepard to tackle...finances aside, if you can squeak out a self-pay, your journey will be a LOT smoother. All in all, best decision I ever made in my life....major major regret is that I couldn't have done this ten years ago. How my life has changed! To mutilate a Sally Field quote.... "I like me! I really really LIKE me!"

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kbinaz is absolutely right...there is a HUGE learning curve with the band. It's easy to ready a doctor's pamphlet which gives you the do's and don't's and go, "Oh yeah, hey, well there it is in black and white. This will be easy." but to put it into practice is a lot different. You're gonna have a LOT of "AHA!" moments along the way and a lot of "Well, I will never do THAT again!" moments as well. Nine months out and I am still getting both of those moments...sometimes on a regular basis. Not as much as in the beginning of course, and when those "Uh oh" moments hit I usually just smile (limply of course) and shake my head thinking, "You dodo...you KNEW this was going to happen and you did it anyway!" I am learning and I am progressing, but that doesn't mean I am any less human in "testing the boundaries" occasionally, much to my own dismay after the fact. It's not all peaches and roses, but comp[ared to life BEFORE the band....there is NO comparison. The behavioral changes and "sacrificies" I have made have TOTALLY been worth every minute of it.

I think it is safe to say I enjoy food MUCH less. Initially, my eyes still light up in anticipation, but the realization just isn't what it used to be. Even when it's something I really really really like, the logistics of it put a damper on the experience very quickly, especially if I go at the food with anywhere NEAR the gusto I used to. This sounds kindof depressing, I know, but I have come to accept the fact that the band is doing for me what a pill might do for an alcoholic....either taking away the assimilation of the alcohol rendering it like "water" (actually, I don't think there's any medication like that around...) or making you feel "queasy" when you drink and thereby negating the entire "pleasurable experience". For me this is a good thing. Yes, I am retraining myself to make better choices and doing a pretty darned good job of it, but I am also smart enough to know myself and know that I need an extra push and some negative biofeedback in order to maintain my healthy choices. This is a GOOD thing for me.

Wow, they always say they "grow em big in Texas" but wow...there sure are a LOT of us on this forum! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA....I wonder why this incredible predominance of Texas folks! Howdy y'all from a Houston gal.

Yes, it has controlled my appetite, but not like you might think. More through behavior modification. Put a mouse in a maze and send him towards food. As he gets to the food he gets a shock. Sure, he wants the food but after a pretty short time he realizes that the food is accompanied by a pretty nasty surprise, and he weighs his options and decides the food isn't worth the shock. That's how the lap band works. Even when my eyes get the best of me and I am really dying for something....I may go and have it, and the glamour usually wears thin after the first two bites...either it really wasn't as good as I thought, or I am just not getting the satsifaction from it. Most of my satisfaction was GOBBLING my food I think. It was the act of cramming it in my face. You absolutely can NOT do that anymore. For me this is a blessing.

I am within 10 pounds of my permanent goal and I am just awestruck every day by that fact. I'm not fat anymore. I'm like everyone else! I don't stand out in a crowd. My clothes look GREAT on me. I can pretty much shop anywhere I want to now. People tell me I am "wasting away" and I just SMILE AND SMILE AND SMILE (and NO that does not insult me in any way shape or form! Bring it on!). I am a success story. WOW!!!!! Who'd a thunk it!

Never regreted ANYTHING for one nano-second! Everything I have been through has been totally worth it. I made this commitment and I am thrilled to be given the chance to do it. I've been given a new life and I will never, I repeat NEVER let myself get out of control like that again.

Yep, you're about there I'd say. Now you have REALLY got to listen to your body. You REALLY have to slow down. You really have to take small bites and chew chew chew. If you don't...well, you know the consequences. This is where that old learning curve rears its ugly head. Your band is now finally working for you....now YOU have to work WITH the band!

PB = Productive Burp (Who the hell came up with THIS term?)...This is when food goes down too fast or is not chewed enough and gets caught at the opening into the pouch. When it gets STUCK you get a knot-type feeling in mid-chest which indicates that the food isn't going anywhere. Sometimes you can suffer through it and it will go down slowly. Sometimes you need to go to the bathroom and "get rid of it" for relief. It is like a vomit without some of the accompanied "nastiness"....the food somes back in the same condition it went down in...just chewed...there is no stomach acid with it (like a regular puke...that nasty sour stuff)...and it is often NOT accompanied by full stomach contractions like with a regular vomit, more like it comes from the throat up and kindof rolls out of your mouth. The PB food coming up can be accompanied by sliming.... Sliming = When the stomach senses that food is coming, it releases mucus into the mouth and esophagus and stomach in order to help facilitate the movement of the food down the canal, greasing the pipes, if you will. When food is stuck, it's like a backed up toilet. The stomach goes "Oh, here comes food!": and starts secreting, but when the food doesn't move, the mucus backs up into your throat and mouth. You wind up have a huge mouthful of thick saliva (oh the bubbles you can blow! :-) )that must be spit out. Sometimes sliming precedes a PB, sometimes the food is just slow going down and you slime a little. Suffice it to say, it's worth a trip to the bathroom to spit it out. WORD OF CAUTION: NEVER NEVER NEVER try to "flush" stuck food down with a liquid. It works on a regular body, but not the way we are constructed now. It is a recipe for disaster. Like throwing a gallon of Water into a clogged up toilet, it's gonna do nothing but sit on the clog and come back up.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

I have always had more restriction in the morning. Just tried to eat some steamed veggies and could only get down about three bites before I felt like I was going to blow up. Last night I ate a whole Japanese chicken and shrimp stir fry in one sitting. I don't seem to loosen up before about mid-afternoon.

I was surprised at how quickly I felt human again. One week out I was feeling pretty decent.

I agree. I'd say don't mention anything unless she asks and then tell her you got the band and when she asks why you didn't tell her reiterate what she told you before. If you don't bring it up then she can't feel like you are "rubbing it in" or anything. She may or may not say anything for a while. It's going to get pretty obvious pretty quickly though.

Have flown quite a lot....never set off any security alarms and never had any restriction problems at all.