giveyouthemoon

1) hey BeacheeGirl and you too lizziegrace,!!!! First and foremost: Stop being so durn hard on yourselves! Girls, we have to be nice to ourselves. We're the best friends we've got!!! 2) I *know* what it feels like to be in your shoes. Hell, in order to make the decision to get the band, you sort of have to humble yourself. You have to admit you can't do it on your own. And as pride goeth before a fall...that's a hard thing to do. I suffered with that. And that loss of pride can be hard...and it gets in your head. 3) I cheated miserably before I was banded. And it's fine. And I was still banded. And I've done ok for myself. 4) Part of making a band work is being super dedicated. I was TERRIBLE at reining in my food pre-band but goddamn am I one determined cuss. In fact, my doc said if all his band patients were as determined, he'd have a much easier job. Beachee, since you say you beat the crud out of goals at work I have EVERY confidence in you on this. You got it in you girl! It's amazing how after having your body cut into in order to find help, how dedicated you'll be to making it work. 5) The waiting...oh the waiting...it sucks. Just keep ticking off the days. It will be here soon. And keep fighting those monsters in your head. The demons are dancing full force now, cackling "hee hee hee, you couldn't do it before what makes you think you'll succeed now??" B*stard demons! 6) The band will quite literally CHANGE YOUR LIFE. It will change how you think about food and eating and meals. You will be SHOCKED. But....you will also struggle. I fought, oh my hell I FOUGHT my band (still do actually). I told myself I could still eat a ding dang McDonald's hamburger and after I ate and PB'd for the fifth time I *think* I finally got it. Pretty sad huh? Most smart folks get it on the second or third go. Not me, no siree! 7) Know this...getting the band only works on your body. Your brain will still be your biggest liability in this process. Start planning now. How will you work it when ALL YOU WANT, band or no band, is something you know isn't right for your body? You are a smart cookie, start mapping it out now! You will be better prepared than I was.... and finally, 8) Even if you don't believe in you....guess what? *I* believe in you!! There you have it. Some chick you don't even know, sitting on her red couch in California's Bay Area has EVERY CONFIDENCE IN THE WORLD THAT YOU CAN MAKE IT WORK!! How you like dem apples? :biggrin1: (PS, I noticed you started the thirtysomething thread. I haven't read all of it but thought I would add...I'm thirty(mumble) years old so you can take my experience as you wish.)

Wear something that doesn't bind at the waist and something you can get away with not wearing a bra. The muu muu seems like a good choice. I wanted NOTHING touching my tummy or anything near my tummy!! And good luck! We're here to applaud you when you have your band! Yay you! I'm so excited for you!!

Wow. I mean....wow. Ok, let's try counting good stuff here? If possible... You got the band in. You made it through the rough start. You have the love of a good woman with you at your side. It's a start. Sending you lots of hugs and good healing vibes. Take care of yourself!

Damn...the very first case I pick to open has the million dollars. I suck at this!

Whoo hoo! Yep, my one year is next week. I have my appt. with my surgeon on June 21 (Wednesday). I had FOURTEEN vials of blood taken because my doc wanted to check EVERYTHING. Still waiting to see the results but I feel great. I've lost 90 lbs from my high weight. I gained confidence, a social life and an AMAZING boyfriend. I adore him and I owe it to Trink (my band). I wouldn't have had confidence to be with him before. He came along at the perfect time. Right now, I gotta be honest...I'm struggling. I'm lacking motivation. I still have almost 50 lbs to go and I don't want to lose focus. Today I began food journaling again and I've GOT to start exercising. To be honest.....I'm having a weird mental crisis which I think is responsible for my stall. I'm getting more attention now...which is good....unless it's weird. Lately I've gotten attention from weird and sometimes scary guys. 90 lbs ago EVERYONE left me alone, including weird guys. So I love positive attention but the other kind scares me. And I lost my confidence to better deal with these guys. So I'm kind of shrinking inside of me looking for my fat shield to protect me. Scared mostly. But I'm thankful for the loss. My energy is amazing. My control over food is AMAZING. I don't regret getting Trink for a moment. I pray she and I stay together a very, very long time.

My PCP tried to talk me out of any WLS. Under Kaiser they only do RNY (or did, I hear they are starting to do bands). She didn't know about a band and I'm still the only person she knows with one. She was unhappy I went outside of Kaiser to get it done, but is thrilled with my weight loss. Tho I just had my one year check up and she said "so don't you think it's time to take it out? I mean, haven't you learned to eat right in a year?" I just laughed and said "no...it's intended to stay in. Thanks though!"

The first one really grabbed me. It's a lot how I felt prior to getting Trink (my band). But for the grace of God and Trink I've got my life back!

I PB about once a week and have no one to blame but myself. Usually I get overhungry, eat too fast or too big a bite and I'm off to the races. I have been really diligent lately and it's reduced A LOT but I still struggle. I stupidly tried to eat a biscotti on Sunday. Only to barf. Only to try the biscotti again. Only to barf again. Some fools never learn.......

Oh good lord I learned this long ago! Yes! Fat is not the enemy! Never has been. I'll tell you, the world is a lot more satisfying since I eat fat (and not that trans fat crap, real stuff, butter, olive oil, cream). I do a mostly lo carb diet and really don't miss bread. It looks like cardboard to me now. I'll have to take a look at this book...sounds interesting. I used to work with a lady who wouldn't eat anything out of a can or box, only natural stuff and she was one of the most naturally thin and healthy looking people I know. Ah but....she also exercised. Any diet should include exercise to be most efficient!

Whooot! You are inspiration to me! I have eight lbs to go so I can join you at the century mark!!! Congrats on your AMAZING success!!! I am super proud of you!!!!

Oh good lord yes, I had restriction after the first fill. In fact, I'm still at the same level, 1.2 cc's. I did get a fill up to 1.5 but was WAY too tight so came back to 1.2. For some, one fill is all it takes. For others, they need a ton of adjusting.

I know you are pretty young, but it sounds to me like you've got too much estrogen coursing around in that beautiful body of yours. Between losing weight (the body stores estrogen in fat, so when you lose, it gets releasaed into the body, that along with all the estrogen in the pill) Too much estrogen can pretty much SQUASH all romantic (ahem) feelings. I took the pill for a lot of years and got to be the same way, no sex drive AT ALL. Ungood. If you really beileve this is a problem then I think you and your husband might look into alternative means of birth control. You both need to take responsibility together, as a couple, to find something that works for both. One other brief thought...tho you are SO young, is to try reading "What your Dr may not tell you about premenopause". [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446615390/sr=8-3/qid=1149893290/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-9914041-0585619?%5Fencoding=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446615390/sr=8-3/qid=1149893290/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-9914041-0585619?%5Fencoding=UTF8[/ame] I say this because I'm reading it now and it addresses a lot of this kind of stuff and also in one so young as you. Give it a try? You perhaps need to understand a bit more about how the body works and with that information can make good choices. Hang in there...a 25 year old should have a nice sex drive. It's all those hormones running around in there!

One of my worst PB's was on string cheese not long after I was banded (but was on solids). Ouch. I loooooove cheese so I approach it REALLY carefully now!!!

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: I'm proud of you for taking care of yourself!!

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Yeah my tumbly was rumbly for quite a while. It took a couple months for my tum to figure out what was going on. I'd be eating (drinking actually) while my tum rumbled. Your body just has to adjust to this new thing, give it time. Congrats on being banded! Oh and I found that warm stuff helped the rumblies the best. Just keep doing what you are doing, keep sip sip sipping along!

Oh. Dear. God. Wow. As a side note...I tried sugar free Mentos the other day (no soda)...they caused me to explode in a different way. They have so much maltitol in them I was RUNNING for the toilet. Just my own cautionary tale.

Get. An. Unfill. Here's my dr's philsophy on fills..."I'd rather you eat a little bit more than you should of chicken than eat things that are bad for you". When you are too tight it drives you to bad choices. Honestly hon, your menu for today is almost all carbs. Slim Fast has sugar in it, fruit is sugar, a Snickers is sugar. No wonder you are always hungry! You are on a insulin roller coaster....eat sugar...UP UP UP....then an hour later you come crashing down. First...get an unfill. Next, start eating more Protein to help hold off the hunger. When you are getting in your 60 grams of protein a day, holding off sugar and cutting out carbs, you will naturally feel less hungry. You aren't doing yourself any favors eating this way. Your body will try desperately to keep the fat on and will burn up lean muscle instead. Ungood. It's your choice, you are a grown up, but you are seriously in need of an unfill.

I kind of giggle when a bypass patient sniffs at me "oh well YOU have a foreign object in your body". Yeah sparky...and what do YOU call all those hundreds of staples you have in YOUR body???? Silicone is made by the body...it's natural to the body. Titanium staples are not. For me, the thing about having something foreign in my body NEVER made me worry. Nope. I actually love having it there. My own little governor. The band is fantastic. I'm about a year out and it has literally saved my life. It's a tiny silicone miracle.

Oh yeah...since surgery...way more gassy. Way. I mean....WAY. So glad I can share such things here.....

I actually do think PB'ing is inevitable and that's not necessarily a bad thing. By knowing what a PB is and what causes it, you learn how to avoid it. For some reason a PB is looked at as scarlet letter material around here...but really, I think it's a part of the whole band experience. My surgeon calls the band "surgical behavior modification" and you get that by knowing what you want to avoid...the PB. That being said, one shouldn't seek out the PB. Working hard not to is vital to the overall health of the band. I've personally PB'd far too many times because I can't seem to stop fighting my band. This is all my own personal head stuff to overcome.

I also have an "on the Interstate" horrible PB experience...was with my best friend and I was HUMILIATED. That, however, was not the worst. The worst was in New York. Had gone to a Broadway show with my boyfriend (it was a birthday present) and then afterward we went to Sardi's...that famous old place, you know the one with the drawings of famous people on the walls? Yeah...I'd had a couple martinis and was feeling fiiiiiiine (had started drinking on an empty tummy, not good). Anyhow, I was trying to eat slow but I think I ate a bite too many and yep, that old feeling. I was wearing this really pretty long dress too, so I got up, stumbled because of the dress and..well, the drinks. Went to the restroom and had bad hiccups....sat there on the toilet for a while...then without warning, up she comes. I had my hand over my mouth, barely caught it all, dripped a little on my dress but mostly was able to stand up in time and turn to get the slimes into the toilet. Yuck. (and yes, it was a PB and not a barf from the drinks. I wasn't THAT drunk....just feeling all warm and happy) Worst part was....I opened the stall door....and there was an bathroom attendant....waiting outside the door for me. She HAD to have heard...I know she did. I was UTTERLY embarrassed. I quickly washed my hands and left....feeling EVEN WORSE because I hadn't brought my purse with me so I had nothing to tip her with. Gah!!! I'm flushing red just remembering!!!

I got myself one of those girdle deals...the ones that are like a tube top and go around your middle? YEah, I wore that for the first month or so since I'm an avid side sleeper and gravity was too much. It really helped. Just my .02

Yeah, it takes time for your tummy to adjust to the new way of eating. I spent quite a few months eating, feeling full and having my lower tummy growling....Your tummy and body are in a state of getting used to your new way of eating...you'll get there. And I agree with others, a fill definitely helps.

Happy Happy Birthday!!! Hope it is a WONDERFUL birthday!!!!!!! Enjoy it!!!!