aubrie

Rule of thumb that I was told: If you can suck it through a straw, it's a full liquid. If not, it's a soft mushie food. They do have liquid yogurt smoothies now, so that would be a full liquid. The stuff in the cups you eat with a spoon, would be a soft food.

Only sometimes..... I went on a retreat in the Texas Hill Country. I was relaxed and happy. Very at peace. Learned new meditation techniques and everything. I came home so tight I threw up for a solid week afterward. I was definately not stressed. Exactly the opposite. I have never had a problem with PBing. Only 2 times in 10 months. then all of a sudden. 8 times in one week!!!

That is awful!!! Why the heck is he even doing the surgery if he's not willing to do what it takes to make it successful. He's in the business for the wrong reason. I hope you find another doctor!! what an ass. I can't beleive he talked to you like that. Good luck, and don't give up!

On some occasions I have more than one orgasm. I know.... lucky me. Losing all this blubber has sure made a difference!!!! But..... on those occasions, my port area is sore for several days afterwards. If I just go once, I'm fine. It's the "extra activity" that makes it so sore. If I go overboard on ab work at the gym I have the same problem. That stomach muscle it's attached to is hyper sensitive. Suggestions? A heating pad? Ice pack? massage?

2Big 4 U...... Oh my God.... I'm laughiing so hard I've almost peed my pants!!! that is so cute. God love you. I'm so glad you've rediscovered your little friend. Congratulations.......

My surgeon suggested several things and all of them work when needed. It's an ongoing problem so I keep all on hand. For mild problem, or to avoid a worse problem, eat 3 or 4 stewed prunes before bedtime. (just drop them in a little water and bring to a boil and cool. They are softer that way and easier to chew and swallow.... I like them. It's good with cottage cheese. Including the juice it makes) Have a few sections of grapefruit with your breakfast. Make sure to pull the pithy membrane off each section so you don't get stuck. Works like a charm for me. Now, if I've eaten a really high protein diet, or messed up on my diet and water, and things have hit critical, I take Milk of Magnesia before bedtime and it's all over by morning. Good luck and I hear your pain!!!!

You are so lucky. Aetna denied me twice. I had to appeal. It was horrible. It took me 11 long months to finally get approval, but it was worth all the aggrivation and headaches!

Exercise. Sex and relaxation. My surgeon told me that for many the only way to beat this is to balance body, mind and soul. He recommended a spiritual outlet. He wanted to make sure that even if I didn't attend church regularly, that I was feeding my soul spiritually. I thought that was awesome!!! I now attend spiritual retreats on the weekends and read a lot of books for the spiritual food. It really does help.

All doctors are different. If you aren't happy with your doctor's philosophy, and he seems extreme, find a new doctor. One of the reasons I chose my surgeon was because his philosophy was closest to my own. I hear all kinds of crazy things I wouldn't agree with, so I'm very happy with my choice. If you're not happy. Look around.

Initially after surgery, I had cut all fats out of my diet to jump start my loss. I have dry skin anyway, and to do that meant DRY skin. As I added the fats back into my diet, it improved, but I still have to use a lot of lotion. I used the St. Ives lotion for healing and extreme dryness. It seems to work well for me now. Once you get regulated on your water, that will help too. Right now it's just passing right through.

I use Bariatric Advantage multi-vitamin. they are chewable and come in flavors. I have the watermelon. they don't taste so hot, but they are a very good vitamin. My surgeon approved them when I took them in to him. they are VERY high in B-12. They are specifically designed for lap banders.

Maybe you don't need one at bedtime. I was on twice a day, and the doctor backed me down to once a day. I cut out the night time one just for that reason. I have since had to go back on my BP meds temporarily due to a gallbladder surgery. I had complications and had a second surgery two days later for stones. The second surgery did me in. I would have had a stroke in the hospital if my DH hadn't been watching my pressure soar out the roof. He called the nurses. When they came in I was at 250/150 !!!!!!! It took two months for it to slowly come back down, but I'm doing better now. It's not something you want to mess around with. I recommend that all bandsters invest in a good cuff for home use. You never know what will happen.

I to am a cookie monster. I also love brownies...... But I have forced myself to ONLY have 2 ginger snaps with my skim milk if I must.... They are lower in fat (Not like the dreaded oreo) and are good for dunking. I have given up all the others. HOWEVER....... Since banding, my curse from the Devil is chips. God help me..... Kettle chips, Cheese Nips, Wheat Thins, and Tostitos..... I have no will power. It's awful. why can I control my cookie consumption, and have basically given up all sweets with no problem, but hit the chips with wild abandon??? I'm a mess..... :smile2:

In my mid 20s, right before my first pregnancy, I weighed 115. Can you believe?????? I was looking a bit ill at that weight. I won't ever weigh that again, I can assure you, but I told the doc I wanted to get down to 130. He fussed at me and thought that even that was to thin, so he set mine for me at 140. Not to much further to go.

Wow. Good point gentylwind. I never even thought of doing that. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I think I will apologize tonight. I was hurting "us" without intending to..... but I still did. I'm confident enough with myself now, that I can do that. thank you and bless.

I'm at wits end..... My husband has since high school been very thin. Almost skinny. He put on weight as he aged, but it was healthy weight and he looked GOOD. I on the other hand went out of control. Now that I'm losing, HE is the one who is out of control and he's gaining dangerously fast. Why would this be happening now? I'm finally of the weight where I can dance again, get in and out of a kayak with him, hike in the woods while on vacation, enjoy pretzel shapes during lovemaking..... and now he gains the weight and is having trouble doing things. His back is always out, he snores horribly, and he doesn't want to do anything. It's like we traded places. Why NOW???? I'm so discouraged and disgusted. He's so heavy I even have trouble bearing his weight in a missionary position. He won't listen to my gentle urgings. Why is he doing this???? I can finally enjoy life WITH him and he's turning in the other direction. Coincidence or is there an underlying reason?

Actually, forbidding him from bringing his lunch from home sounds illegal. they can't dictate what you eat. MANY people have dietary restrictions not only for health but for religious reasons. They're breaking all kinds of rules. Sounds like a call to the Employment commission is in order.

While my husband never said anything mean, or criticized or insulted me, he just quit being interested in me. He didn't touch me, hug me, cuddle me. In one year, I think we had sex about 5 times. It was awful. It hurt so bad. I constantly tried to be affectionate, like we always had been, and I started to think he had an affair. to this day he denies it. Despite this, he always told me he loved me. It was so confusing. Yes, I had gained 100 pounds. I was well aware how different I looked, but it still hurt. I came out and asked him about it, and he said that for me, sex is a visual thing, and with my weight gain, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get past it. It had nothing to do with me personally. I started to think about getting a band at that point. Then one night he dissolved in tears and blubbered about how much he loved me, and it hurt him to the core to think that one day he was going to have to wheel me around in a wheelchair, and that he was terrified of losing me to ill health. THAT hit home. I started the banding process the very next week. It was the best thing I've ever done. We're like teenagers again. The sex is great and all is well. I feel good. I have confidence. I'm happy and no longer depressed. I have energy. We do things together again. We travel and go places because I'm not tired. We're like newlyweds again. I didn't realize how much my weight affected our marriage. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

crossing my legs and swinging my leg back and forth comfortably Buying a pair of jeans with NO elestic in the waist! sitting comfortably in an airline seat buying a colored lacey bra (instead or black, white or beige...yuck) not having to struggle to shave my legs wearing old jewelry and rings I haven't worn in YEARS seeing my shins, collar bones and hip bones wearing heels again more fun in the bedroom!!! My young adult sons tell me I look hot not snoring anymore no more blood pressure meds not having to turn sideways to pass through a narrow bathroom door completely shaving my underarm (no missing in the folds...) Seeing the look on my parents' faces 9 months after surgery getting asked out on a date, even though I'm married and not interested cleaning my belly button LOL buying lingerie that is sexy and not matronly

Nothing at home. They did all that when they came to prep me in my room.

Nobody's girl, I had the same experience. I had knee surgery, and when I was in the recovery room I woke up to quite a mess and the nurse was trying to be so nice. I was SO EMBARRASSED!!! What was worse is I couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom to fix the situation..... It was a nightmare.

Sometimes the full feeling is a lot like being stuck. I can be REALLY hungry, haven't eaten in a good while, eat two bites and feel FULL. I know I'm not full, but rather am stuck..... It takes getting used to.

Not sure if you've ever heard of white chili, but it's different, tasty, nutritious and easy. I'll try to find my recipe tonight if you want it, but white chili is made with chicken or turkey meat instead of beef. It has green chilis, onions and serrano peppers. (Or pablano peppers if you prefer) The beans are white navy beans. It's wonderful and definately different.

I had a 4 month plateau. It SUCKED, but I never got discouraged. You'll pass through it. I found that my body doesn't lose in a steady decline. I lose in stair steps. So I just accept it and go on. I guess mine was around the 50 pound range. It took me FOREVER to finally fall under 200 pounds. Now I'm losing again and doing great. Don't give up.

You go girl!!! Go and educate all those folks who make all the snarky comments about Lab Band. The more they know, the better for all of us. Bless you.