mbanja

I flew from San Diego to Atlanta and then drove myself home the 2nd day after surgery. Driving home was a piece of cake but the flying was rough.

If I start to slow down in loosing I go on WW. I do find that it is difficult to eat my # of points suggested for my body weight so I will drop down 2 places and eat fewer points. Sometimes I go over, sometimes I don't. But at least when I go over it doesn't even come close to my recommended daily point range. WW is good for teaching people how to eat healthy portions and nutrious foods. Now that we are banded it is so much easier to stick to, IMHO!

Sometimes when I lean a certain way and my waistband pushes into it my port will get sore. I am not familiar with Zumba, from what I read on the internet it is like a latin dance exercise routein? Well if that has you holding your core muscles tight and twisting you could be making tiny tears in the muscles or tissue that the port is sewn into. Snow shoveling I would think would do that too, especially if you are twisting and throwing a shovel full of snow over your shoulder or to the side. Maybe the way you healed up at your port site is not used to all the twisting and turning and you are making small tears in the tissue. I would check with a doc and make sure your exercises are ok. Which they probably are, and you probably need to work the area out to get more flexibility. I would think it is like any other surgery. As far as working it out so the muscles don't lock up, if that makes any sense. If it is at all possible give your stomach a rest the day after a core workout and work your arms or legs. Then go back to the core area. I could just be talking out of my head because I am not expert but I wanted to try and help.

Jen, the headaches could be a result of the pill because even on the placebos you still have it in your system. Trycyclen pills did that to me. Plus it made me CRAZY. Kissmygrits, I was having the same CRAZY symptoms as you, so my doc switched me to ortho novum if that doesn't work out I might just ask about the Ovcon. Glad to know I wasn't the only one being made crazy from the trycyclen ones!

Personally I only see a few problems in your list. Bread and pasta will give you alot of trouble and you should try avoiding them at all costs. Me, being banded now, I don't crave breads and pastas like I used too. Plus it is too much trouble eating them. Sweet potatoes I love but may cause you problems because they are very fibrous. Spinach and salad greens cause me lots of problems. For some reason they block up every time. Chicken gets stuck too cuz I prefer white meat and its usually too dry. I agree get your protien first then eat any other veggies if you can. And it is important to eat fruits in moderation to get in all your vitamins and minerals. You want to focus on getting your protien first. But, for the most part your list sounds very healthy. My prebanding list of likes consisted of mainly fried everything. Oh, I have to take the skins off tomatos for them to go down comfortable. Pommegranites I don't know about, never learned how to eat them.

I have tried alot out there. The Ortho tricyclen made me a crazy woman. I tried Merena...made me crazy too. I could be sitting on the cough watching TV with my hubby and all of the sudden get pissed off for no reason. I mean teeth gritting, ears red, wanting to throw something pissed off. I also tried the diaphram, my hubby didn't like it cuz it would rub the head of his penis raw....sorry I know TMI, but its true. Plus it is a pain to put in and take out. I liked today's sponge. I used it for about a year after I decided it was the Ortho tricyclen making me crazy. Again it is a pain to put in and take out. My doc finally believed me when I told her the hormone birth control and others like it were gonna eventually make me kill somebody so she changed me to Ortho Novum which has the opposite hormone that tricyclen does....I have been on it for about 4 months now and it seems to be working out good for me. Every one is different though. The trick is finding what is best for you!

Cyndi it is possible you're restriction is just now kicking in. My first fill to a month to restrict me. Some people it is immediate some it takes a few weeks. I don't know why this is but it is normal. Are you getting all your water in? If not, start because dehydration makes you tighter also. If you pb'ed you will want to stay on liquids for 24 hours afterwards to let your stomach calm down, cuz it makes it swell. If you can't get in all your fluids or fluids make you pb you might need a slight unfill. I would hold off on the next fill, till you get comfortable with this new restriction.

I had a hard time giving up the habit of eating and drinking at the same time, especially going out to eat. I always ordered a drink. But I gotta good tip on here. One bandster just orders a glass of ice and drinks whatever melts. I started doing this and it really helped me kick the habit! Plus now that I am really tight, It causes me to get stuck!

Wow even though it is small it is still a treat! All reward and no work!!

Push the water!! Don't get dehydrated cuz you will feel awful!! You are doing good though!

Brianne I am glad we could help! Count yourself lucky to achieve your sweet spot in so little fills!

The important thing is are you able to get all you water down, and are you throwing up? Getting dehydrated can make things worse and make you even tighter, so be sure you can get in ALL your recommended water. Next, have you been PBing when you eat thicker stuff or even when you drink water for that matter! If you do it causes swelling and you are already swollen due to the fill. On top of all this you are sick, which can dehydrate you faster so I can stress the water enough. I think that the level of restriction is a personal thing. I personally need to be able to eat at least a 1/2`cup to be able to have enough energy to keep up with my toddler. If you "feel" ok with this restriction level, are not dehydrated, and are not PBing, than I'd say you are fine. But, that is my own personal opinion.

I take Zoloft pre and post band. About a month ago I slacked off on it because I was taking some antibiotics and just didn't "feel" like taking them. Boy was that a BIG mistake. I am not back to my routien and feel better than ever!

I tried the cherry pomagrante one that has immune boost in it and I didn't like it. Of course I don't like the new fangled flavors either. I only like the lemonade ones. It is really sweet to me. Others might like it though, so don't go on my opinion my tastes are funny!

I guess we were all just focusing on food, but Don is right! Are you getting in 64oz of water a day. It really helps flush out the fat too!

I think I might have seen it at Quick trip, but don't quote me on it. Next time I am there I will check!

Aza, I would try eating some breakfast too. I've always heard that breakfast gets your matobolism going in the mornings. Even if it the coffee and 1egg or even an apple is better than nothing. I also take benefiber chewables when I feel like I am not getting enough Fiber. Wassa, thanks for that chili recipe!!!!

Ky, I'd suggest a yard sale, I personally hate consigning cuz they take a percentage. Also you could try Craigslist. It is like a local ebay. WWW.Craigslist.org look in the KY area. I love craigslist. You can find some neat stuff on there. Plus you can sell for free, not like ebay where they take a percentage, and you can name your own terms (like take the whole box of clothes for $25 or whatever)

Wassa that Wendy's chili without meat sounds great. I am not a vegitarian but I do love Wendy's chili. And I love beans. OOOO my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Old Navy is good about carrying jeans up to a size 20 I know for sure. If you can't find it in the store they always carry them online. I love their jeans, especially the ones that strech. This was preband days though, I don't know now if they will feel comfortable postband cuz some waistbands irritate my port site. The way my body is I was always comfortable in the low rise waist band, now though I am not so sure cuz I have been buying cheap ones from walmart as I down size. Don't want to invest in good ones till I am close to goal.

The fears and freak outs are a normal stage of prebanding! As for your other question I cannot offer any insite. I am a firm believer that there is one person ment for everybody, and your ex is not ment for you. You are still young and you will find that special someone! I hope everything goes well and hopefully someone with better knowledge will be able to give you their insite! I will keep you in my thoughts! Oh, and if it helps any I found that, the old saying rings true "You will find that special someone when you are not looking!" Focus on fixing yourself mentally and physically, put all your energy into that and maybe that person will find you.

If you can't tolerate the unflavored protien powder in your coffee, try powdered milk. I absolutely love creamer in my coffee but changed to powdered milk cuz it actually has protien in it. 8grams per 1/3 cup. If you have a big enough cup of coffee you can add the whole serving of powdered milk to get the protien. Also, I replace pasta with squash, zuccini, or eggplant. I am so tight right now I can't down any type of pasta if I tried, but I sliver it up and eat it like spaghetti. Also I make lasagna but instead of noodles I use thinly sliced eggplant, plus to get extra veggies in I add fresh spinach into the layers. There was a thread on here about soy noodles that are just like spaghetti noodles, you could look for those in your grocer's all natural isle. I also agree that the bad carbs you are consuming are keeping you from loosing.

I didn't even feel the pinch. Am I the only one that doesn't have sensation in my port site?

It is really not that bad. I just don't look at it. My fill doc has topical numbing medication that she can spray on the site, but I have not needed since I really don't have any feeling in that part of my stomach where the needle goes. It is over the scare from the incision where they placed the port and I guess the nerves haven't grown back or whatever happens. But it doesn't hurt. It does feel kinda funny when you feel/hear the click click of the needle going into the port site, but other than that it is not that bad.

I think it is a personal thing. Some people prefer to be tighter than others. As long as you are staying full for long periods of time and loosing weight, I'd say you are at your sweet spot. Everyone is different. I can't give you any insite on how to tell your band is leaking. If you think it is leaking then have you doc draw out all your fill to see if you are still at 6cc. If you have lost some than you might have a leak.