piercedqt78

Yep, we get skinny and have the energy to go out and make friends and the we smell, bad breath and gas. Lovely huh? ~Mandy

I agree that the vaccuming was too much. It's the pushing/pulling motion that gets you. I was able to dust, cook, fold laundry, and wash dishes but that was about it for several weeks. I too was told no lifting for 6-8 weeks but was given an 8 pound limit (a gallon of milk weights 8 pounds). I was told nothing that pulled the abs. So no lifting, no working out, no vaccuming. I have a 51/2 year old, she had just turned 4 when I had surgery, so the lifting was hard for me to follow. It gets better each day. By the way my gas pain kicked in on day 3. ~Mandy

I was told the first 6-8 weeks are for healing, not losing weight. I was on a higher fat/carb diet because things like mashed potatos were simple to eat and were really soft. ~Mandy

Do you think they will inspect your bra? I would be nervous about ankle weights too, but a weighted bra, I would be a bit more confident with. Also a high amount of salt, maybe a few days of chinese takeout, to make you retain water? Then slouch to make yourself a bit shorter, that would make the bmi go up. ~Mandy

Can you slouch and make yourself an inch or so shorter? Put lead fishing weight in your bra where the underwire would be. Some co-mobidites that they can't prove or disprove, knee and back pain, migraines, irregular periods, shortness of breath. List all of those things, and the weights, you would qualify. ~Mandy

I didn't use anything on my band scars. But recently had foot surgery and the surgeon suggested mederma. My scar on my foot is tiny, almost not visiable and my surgery was just 7 weeks ago. ~Mandy

I had boston market meatloaf. I ordered a kids meal, with creamed corn and as I ate I fed my cornbread to the birds. I got my meal, went to the park and my dd and I had lunch and then we played tag, it was the first time I had the energy to run and play with her, she had just tuned 4. ~Mandy

I am 19 months post-op and almost at goal. Most of my remaining weight is extra skin. I too am at a crawl with my weightloss. I have been sick (horrible flu) and not working out like I should. ~Mandy

My mom has been against the band from day one. She really gave me a hard time when I was fighting the insurance, researching everything. I have had to defend my band every step of the way. Then last week she calls me and tells me that I am going to have to help/support her best friend that is now getting the band. Now it's the best things since ready made protein drinks. (since I can't have sliced bread anymore, it's just not the best thing anymore LOL) She told her friend that the band has changed/saved my life. She told her how great is it, how much healithier I am, how great I have done with it. She is totally encouraging her with her band/decision. But the very next day she says it's my reduced portions, that has made my immune system so weak that I have been sick for a month. (she has the same flu that I have, also being sick for several weeks) But her friend needs the band to save her life. Go figure, mom's can't live with them and you sure can't tell them anything. ~Mandy

The only thing with the spray collars, if there are other dogs around they get sprayed too. Our trainer warned us that my little girl would be sprayed when the little boy was barking. They are always together and it would put them both in the line of fire. Same with the sonic sound collars, it effects both dogs and the cats too. ~Mandy

Jack, try peeling the grapfruit and then open each slice, eating only the inside. If I don't eat the membrane that holds the slices together I can eat about 1/2 a small grapefruit without any trouble. My favorite are the ruby reds. Same with blood oranges, I eat only the fruit and avoid the membranes. ~Mandy

yep, my daughter had her tonsils out and she hates fake Popsicles, so I froze several fruits for her to eat for the post-op days when anything warm or solid would be hard for her. I had frozen grapes, applesauce pops, frozen peaches (we made smoothies with these) frozen cherry puree. When I went in the get the multi-colored frozen grapes, I discovered a huge mess, grape pieces everywhere, they looked like a grenade had been thrown in the bowl with them. Thank God I had them covered, I think the juice would have gone everywhere. They didn't look very appealing that way either. I have since learned that cutting them in half makes them freeze faster, and keeps them from exploding. I have also been know to be lazy and just poke a hole in the skins. My daughter loves frozen fruit, and it's better than all the processed refined sugar you get in Popsicles. I also love to blend strawberries, peaches and a touch of cream and them pour into small dishes, then freeze. You can also freeze the fruit in ice cube trays (I like to bland almost smooth in the blender first) then add equal parts of each in the blender, add some cream or vanilla Protein shake in the blender and puree, makes a great version of soft serve/smoothie. We also scoop melons with an ice cream scoop and freeze, they are a great summer dessert and the sugar is all natural. I try to avoid processed refined sugar as much as possible. My husband loves frozen kiwi, but I think it makes it taste weird. I have frozen just about every kind of fruit, with really great success. I have also been able to recreate most of the smoothies at jamba juice with ease. There are some great fruit/smoothie recipe books out there. And you can almost always hide carrots in a smoothie. :girl_hug: ~Mandy

I freeze all kinds of fruit. I also freeze fruit juice to make smoothies. Just make sure you split the grapes in half before freezing, if not they explode. ~Mandy

I do ok with them, but have to eat them one at a time. I keep a can of them in the fridge, I share them with my 5 year old dd. I have a weirdo dog that LOVES the juice from the oranges. Also try them frozen, they are a great little treat and make a good cool summer snack. ~Mandy

Like I said I didn't use them, but they were honest, sweet and actually remembered me several months later. They are VERY hard to get a hold of, but if you leave a message someone will eventually call you back. I think it took over a week for them to return my call. Most of your questions can be answered on their site. ~Mandy

I love the applesauce blends that have splenda in them. They have mango/orange/apple, blueberry/apple, strawberry/apple. I get the 6 pack at wal-mart for $1.50. I buy several at a time, my daughter takes her meds mixed in applesauce too so it gets used a ton around here. ~Mandy

Sounds like you are getting the list together. I know that is the only way I can manage aroud here. I have a list for everything. I also have a notebook in dd's backpack and that is how I talk to her teacher. We send notes back and forth several times a week. Even though I am at school several times a week I like to have the notes in writing so I can refer back to them. I also cross things off as they get done. Sometimes things need to be pushed to the next day and that is ok. I am human and can't do it all. Life is much easier once we realize that. I also have the belief that if you come to visit and my house isn't perfect, you are here to visit my family, not my house. I always excuse the mess even when the house is spotless, I guess that's the southern girl in me. I did the high clorie thing today too. I went to caribo coffee and had a large apple cider with whipped cream, carmel and extra vanilla syrup. I drank 80% of it and it was GOOD. I needed the treat. I am still fighting this damned flu, death virus whatever it is and I needed some calories to get through the day. I picked up Peter Pan on DVD today, it was rereleased yesterday. I am going to tuck dd in bed and watch it alone tonight. It is a classic and I haven't seen it in a really long time. But first I am going to take a nice long hot bath. It has been a long day, and I need a break. I will check in later. I managed to venture out into the rest of LBT and found more fighting and nasty behavior, I think I will just stay here from now on. Granted it was in rants and raves, but the poster made some politically heated comments and the others jumped to defend Hillary Clinton and it just got ugly, people calling each other idiots, stupid, childish. Sad really. ~Mandy

Here is my funny confession: I came out of the eval (I asked if they were going to clear me for surgery and was told yes) and announced to a waiting room of people (really just talking to my mom) that I was NOT crazy. On the way home my mom pointed out to me that most of the people there probably WERE crazy. Whoops! ~Mandy

I get the apple dippers at Mcdonalds it's one of the few things on the menu that I can have. They are already peeled and sliced thin. I have also had problems with bananas. They get pasty and seems to plug up my band, and they are gross to PB. I take apples or pears, core them, fill them with blue cheese and walnuts, bake until the apple is semi-soft. Yummmmmy!!! ~Mandy

Dianne, You know we are here for you right? How was the coffee? Take it easy girly. We are here to listen, give advice, listen, anything we can do for you we will you know that, did I mention that we are willing to listen? I am struggling with my dd right now, she is being a total monster, and school is calling me and letting me know she is a problem there too. She is on more meds than most elderly people, she takes 8 pills a day, none of them are helping. I am starting to eliminate meds one at a time. She hates taking them and I hate having to give her them. We have decided that she is a beast on the meds and a beast off the meds, so the meds are going. I talked to the psych, and he said we can slowly take her off the meds and see what happens, if it's bad we can put her back on them or try something new. She's only 5 and has soooo many learning and psychological problems. She also has some neurological problems (seizures). Seems we can't win with her issues. I know she is just being a typical special needs kid with with me being so sick for so long I am just at my breaking point. I told her last night that if she didn't stop with the smart mouth and attitude she would come home and find all her toys packed away. She is always soooo hyper and she is a drama queen, falling to pieces at the drop of a hat. (I see an Oscar in her future) Please keep her in your prayers, ~Mandy

Also is she drinking enough water? I know when my liquid intake drops my weight loss come to a screeching hault. ~Mandy

Dianne, stop, do something for yourself. Go and sit at a starbucks or dunkin doughnuts, have a coffee. Relax even if it's just for 10 mins. Make a list of things that need to be done and when they have to be done. Give the list to your dh ask him what he can do on that list. Have him make a copy of his jobs, and then follow up with him. Is there a service that will deliver meals to FIL? We have a place here that makes meals 3 days at a time and you just het them up, they are not cheap, but they don't break the bank either. I used them after my foot surgery for my DD and DH. DH picked up meals for 3 days and then we decided to do 3 more days. 6 days was like $150 for 2 people, dd and I split our meals. That was 3 meals a day with a snack. Or make some chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad so the boys can make sandwichs for him for lunch. Some frozen Breakfast burritos for breakfast, and then pack up whatever you had the night before and he can reheat for dinner. Is that possible? The house will still be there next week, you don't have to make it spotless. Do the things you know you won't be able to do for a while, like vaccum. You can dust after surgery, it won't kill anyone it let it go for a day or two. Tell work that for everyday they call you, you are going to ask for a consulting fee. If they are calling you at home, you should be paid for that. It is still work, just from home. I too am an animal lover, I have 2 BOston terriers that I love to pieces, but get that barking dog a static or ultrasonic bark collar. If the dog lives with you and your other dogs, the only thing that you can do is the static collar. I have one on my male, he used to bark at everything, even the snow falling. He barked 20 hours a day. I put the petsafe brand bark collar on him and in 3 days he was no longer barking. It gives a small shock, triggered by the vibration of the dogs barking. If they continue to bark the shock is a bit stronger (there are 10 levels of correction) If they stop barking then it resets. I let the collar shock me before I agreed to let them put it on my baby. It felt like someone walked across the carpet and then zapped me, it was really mild static. It does stop the barking, by startling them. Might be worth looking into. I got mine on ebay after our dg trainer told us that was all that was going to help. I hope some of my ideas are helping. Take a moment, calm down, relax, have a coffee. Regroup. Things will be ok. (((hugs))) ~Mandy

I did not use, but contacted Walter Lindstrom. I called and told them my situation, and they were honest with me. I had a company that had NEVER paid for the band. They had fought my insurance and lost a few times. They refused to take my case, Kelly (walters wife) told me that they had to look at themselves everyday and wanted to be able to do that in good conscience. They were honest with me, I was upset but at least I wasn't out a bunch of money. I continued to fight and eventually won. The first person I called was Kelly, she was so happy for me. They are nice, honest and walter has had WLS himself so they know how it is to fight for it. ~Mandy

when I had my eval, they actually asked my if I loved my mother, she was in the waiting room. They also asked me if I thought being thin would cure all my problems. DUH!!! I have large tattoos and she described me as mentally fit to have WLS but that I was a self mutilator (sp?) funny huh? ~Mandy

A weeks vacation and being in the wedding is really going to hurt Emily's feelings I think. It seems that the auntie is being really unfair here. ~Mandy