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I didn't find it hard to adjust to the Band's rules at all. My Bariatric Center prefers me to stop drinking 30 minutes before a meal and then for 45 minutes after. Other than dinner, I never drank with my meal anyway. I don't have any issues with nuts or beans--I really haven't tried oranges or grapefruit or fresh pineapple. My Bariatric Center gave me a list of the things that are "generally not tolerated well" and I must admit--I take the easy way out and don't try them. Honestly, I can say that my life has changed very little with the Band--the very largest part that has changed is my portions, that's all! I still eat whatever we're having for supper, but a smaller amount (i.e. a piece of chicken and green beans--instead of 4 country style barbequed ribs, 1/2 box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and green Beans.) You see what I'm saying?!! Yes, it's scary--but each person IS different in what we can handle--and I know myself that whatever I give up forever is totally so worth my new life and quality that I have now! :mad:

I know what you mean, jfran--I really wanted to blow everything when I went three 1/2 weeks with dropping even 1/10 of a pound--but I hung in, knowing I was still doing what was best for me... But I must say--man, the way your looks have changed--even now you have made a huge difference in yourself--WOW! Yes, I know--there's still a long way to go--for both of us! :mad:

Marimaru is right--examine everything you have put into your body recently. Have you made changes to your normal diet?? Are you drinking enough Water to flush your system?? I used to use Metamucil daily and had stopped--so recently I became a little tired of being constipated and went back on it and whalaa!! I found out WHY I stopped using it--yes, it helps with the constipation, but it causes SO MUCH GAS. I just have to weigh the options: do I want constipation or gas?? Do you have diverticulitis? Maybe you're getting a bout--are you eating more nuts and grains? Okay, enough of the third degree--you get the idea! Hopefully by now your body has started to correct itself, m'dear...:mad:

I was doing "kick-backs" (tricep extensions) like crazy until I realized it was just working the BACK of my arm and not the underside, so-o-o I now use a dumbell that I hold verticially with both hands. I lift it over my head and drop it down behind my head as far as I can reach, then raise it up to just above my head and then back down again. I do four sets of eight: two with my right hand on top and two with my left hand on top. You CAN just hold the dumbbell with one arm and do each set one hand at a time (but I find I can use a bigger dumbbell using both hands). This is a bugger of an area to hit, but this one really works for me... Good luck! :scared2:

It's funny you started this thread, because I have been experiencing the same difficulty and it's gotten worse in the last few weeks! So-o-o, I have now added metamucil to my daily regimen of Vitamins, Calcium, concentrated black cherry juice (for gout I had 2 weeks ago)!! And yes, it certainly has helped in that area--but I must say that the gas that accompanies it is a bit disconcerting!! So I weigh it: constipation versus going well and having gas??!! I guess it has to be the latter!! (And like you, I am now drinking a minimum of 40 ounces of Water a day, along with all the other liquids I'm infusing!!) Good luck to you! :scared2:

Lvly, I can't believe you did that to us: 80 degrees and beach weather???? Bah-humbug!!! As I write, our 7 - 10 inches of snow is coming down, and it will be freezing rain when I leave work today.........:wink2: So, YOU just enjoy your weather, m'dear--and don't worry about those of us back east........ :scared2:

My sweetie of a husband this evening cautiously broached the subject of BAD BREATH---specifically, MINE! He said that it seems since surgery, I have the worst breath ever! (and that's been four months!) Now I know in the morning, I feel really grungy--but I use a Sonicare toothbrush and floss once a week---who knew???? In researching the matter (halitosis), I discovered that it comes from eliminating carbs from your diet and increasing Protein (i.e. the Atkins people too), which I guess releases "Ketones" into the bloodstream, causing the urine and mouth to reek-------yuck!!! Okay, so now to my question to anyone: any of you older bandsters experience this and if so, does it ever go away?? Better yet, what can I do to alleviate this disgusting issue? (Or should I just buy stock in Listerine??) :eek:

I always find that a Protein Shake satiates me for so-o-o long--especially in the early days when I was on soft foods--I would do one mid-morning and one mid-evening. It DOES get better, trust me!:smile2:

Kat, I'm with everyone else--your analogy rocks!!! In fact, I think it should be put in all the reading material about the band--people really can relate to the icing bag more than a "stoma"... Thanks for the creativity, girl! :smile2:

If your surgeon orders a no-carb or liquid diet for you to follow for a week or two before surgery, you could see a loss begin then--and it generally continues as you FOLLOW THE DIET RESTRICTIONS. Like Julie, I average 1 - 2 pounds off per week. It's slow, m'dear, but gives you time to work out and tighten up any flesh that begins to hang!! :cursing:

My surgeon has six weeks between appointments--and I pushed the second fill up by a week. (It was the Christmas holidays and I wanted to see if I could get more restriction to help me in resistance!) All surgeons must be different in the cc amount they put in: mine began with .5cc, the second was 1.0cc and the third was another 1.0--but I read on these threads where some surgeons will put in 4 - 5cc in a session! I must admit, I really like my surgeon's erring on the side of caution...! :cursing:

I'm one week out from my third fill and I finally have ZINGER restriction!! This one brought me to 2.5cc in a 10cc band--doesn't sound like much, but just amazing (I had really begun to think the Band was just a mental test to see how little I could eat on my own!!) Glad you're finally feeling something, jowjow! :cursing:

I always laugh that I should have paid more attention in Health Class (hello, back in the 60's!!!)--this ketosis and the gout from two weeks ago is a shock to me! However, I too am simply amazed at how we can manipulate ourselves (and our health) just by what we put in these machines!! I have never dwelled so much on ME: what I'm eating/drinking, what I'm going to eat/drink, how much protein I'm getting in, how much water, what do I need to balance today out---unbelievable, Aubrie!! I USED to dwell on my food intake before--like where was I going to get my next Hostess cupcake :eek: !!! This is a whole new ballgame for all of us!!

Hey Pizzaman, I don't have any problems with ANY of the foods you mentioned. Now I will say that I personally don't eat beef and when I had a deer roast, I had to eat slowly and deliberately--likewise with bread (and pizza, man!). Of the four, I do avoid beef, Pasta, and bread, not because of issues, because of dislike and carbs. I'm very careful, also, with "stringy" foods like pineapple and oranges. Luckily I was given a list by my Bariatric Center of foods "generally not tolerated well". Once you get restriction, (just finally got restriction on my third fill) you will find you have to be even more careful and deliberate. Welcome to our world, bud!!

Once in a blue moon I'll get a small personal pan thin crust pizza from the deli--but my problem is I get full on one slice--so I either have to have it four days in a row or throw some of it away. Usually it's the latter because one piece will really satiate my hunger for pizza!!

My story was the same as NewGalWithABand and Catalystmb--started at a seminar in March 2007 and was banded in October, 2007. Sorry sweetie, we all just have to go with the flow... In the meantime, please read, read, read all you can about the band and what your future will be like--take advantage of this time because your life is going to change in ways you can't imagine right now--and you need to be prepared. (For all the good and some of the bad, too)...

I am so totally with you Brandy--I'm one who can't just think "Well, that's THEIR problem"--I get MAD!! I'm sorry to say that even in here, LBT, I get upset when people start a thread about how they (1) are preparing for surgery (2) just had surgery or (3) are supposed to be on soft food and they have eaten everything in the world and now they want forgiveness and for everyone to tell them that it's perfectly okay to do. I always feel if we support them, they will just continue on--so I'm always the straight (blunt) talker who gets right to the point. I don't think I win friends when I do-- But darn--our middle names should be DISCIPLINE, because that's what our Band is about: a tool to help us make great choices for ourselves!! And when she made that crack about the insurance company paying for it--I'd just like to smack her upside her head!! Lucky for me, my surgeon does General Surgery, so I'm usually sitting with a variety of people and don't have to listen to it. You go, Brandy--you have the right frame of mind!!

Grace from Utah--does the bad breath ever go away? I had bloodwork done Friday (2/8) and today (2/11), but I'm hygenically paranoid now and don't want to talk to anyone "up close and personal"!! Making some definite changes in my dental habits to compensate but am worried (1) it's not enough and (2) that it will never go away!! Thanks in advance...

You know, I think we all get spoiled because we lose before surgery and then afterwards--so we get used to those pounds just rolling off. (Before LBS I couldn't get the scale to move one iota, except upwards!) Before I got my third fill on February 1st, I hadn't lost even 1/10 of a pound in three weeks!! I lost a total of five pounds in the six weeks between my December 28 second fill and February 1st third fill--was I discouraged? Absolutely not! I KNOW I'm eating right and I work out four days a week faithfully--and I see that my clothes are definitely fitting me much looser--so I just keep hanging in--and that's what you should do too! Since February 1st, the scales have come down 2.80 pounds, as it will for you too. Why it takes so long to move the scale, I don't know--and no-one can tell me not to get on every day because I've been doing this all my life and cannot stop now! Please don't worry--we hit these humps and then get over them. It'll happen for you too!

Well of course, an inner / outer thigh machine does the trick!! :thumbdown: But not many of us can afford one for our homes!! How about this though: get on all fours like a dog and raise one leg, bending it at the knee. Now lift your leg as high as you can and lower it (keeping your knee bent), continuing for an 8 or 16 count. Then do the same with the other leg. I would do two to three sets a day--should help a bit. Curves does have this machine in their circuit--and our YMCA has a machine too--if you have either of these gyms in your area. :thumbup:

1/4 cup of wheat chex, soaked for 30 seconds in skim milk. Just LOVE cereal and can't stand eggs (I have tried and tried)--alternate between wheat chex and 1/8 cup oatmeal with a teaspoon brown sugar...:thumbdown:

Hey Lvly--I am so-o-o-o glad it worked out for you! I do wonder how many persons go down your road and never come back to us! We all know that we sabotaged ourselves before banding in so many ways--after 40 years of dieting, I was to the point that I would try one and give up within a week if I didn't see a pound come off. Sure the Band can be "cheated on"--but we all KNOW what the best way is to get to that life we really really want, and I'm happy you're turning around! Gee, I wish my surgeon had that X-ray thingy, though, instead of just giving me 1cc every six weeks and crossing our fingers! Oh well, he's just being cautious and you can't fault him for that. Have fun at Bon Jovi--but I'm still going to be on you to get going with that exercise too, m'dear!! :thumbdown:

I'm north of Pittsburgh about an hour, and I had my surgery through UPMC in Greenville, Pa. (Dr. Barkan--I love my surgeon!) There was a thread here in January of girls looking for people in Pittsburgh--one girl was taking classes at McGee's. If you key in "Pittsburgh" in the Quick Search box, you should be able to find that thread. Good luck, neighbor!! :thumbdown:

Same story--my surgeon told me my acid reflux could be enhanced by the Band and with the bypass, I could "lose 100 pounds in a year" (he does mostly bypass). (Note: my acid reflux is GONE!) Hey, at my age (60 then) I didn't want anything so invasive, and I've read it will take us 3 years to lose as much weight as the bypass patients lose in one--so what?!!! No dumping syndrome or any of the other problems associated with non-laproscopic surgery. So I'm taking my good old time--losing an average of 2 pounds a week and working out 4 times a week--who's going to have the saggier skin?? Not me says I!! :glare: PS Check with your insurance company and find another surgeon who will do it laproscopically, m'dear!

Hey Azcat, something I did forget to say: Before surgery, I was taking 5 Zantac and a Nexium daily, plus an Aleve. Right hand to the Lord above, I have not have even one incidence of heartburn, let alone acid reflux! I stopped taking the Aleve and have virtually NO pain in my knee! I worked out four times a week before and still do--but now there is a renewed vigor that I can only describe as exhilaration to you as I'm working out. My breakfast, lunch, and dinner were merely listed in a hurry to have you see that portions are the biggest thing to change in my life--and believe me, I can still have chocolate and desserts--but I am satiated so quickly! Good luck in your decision... :regular_smile: