flower faery

The only thing I regret is waiting as long as I did to do it. If anybody talks to me about lapband and shows a real interest in having it done, I always encourage them to look into it and see if it's right for them and not wait. I was on 3 blood pressure medications when I had the surgery and now 8 months later and 70lbs lighter, my doctor is about to take me off of the last one! I don't have the aches and pains I had before from all the weight. I can take the heat a lot better than I could when I was heavier. It's soooo much easier and cheaper to shop for clothes now. The band has helped to improve my life so incredibly much and I'm not even at goal yet. Like I said, I wish I'd done it ages ago.

I just had popcorn at the cinema yesterday for the first time since being banded 8 months ago. I have very good restriction right now (at my sweet spot in fact!) and the popcorn went down with no problems at all. I chewed it very well. I was nervous about it since I hadn't eaten any since being banded. It's not something I eat a lot. We only go to the cinema maybe 4 times a year at most and I almost never have popcorn at home.

Last year, when I was at my heaviest (268 lbs) I had to go get some blood tests done that my doctor had ordered. I went to the lab first thing in the morning and it was already packed. There were more people than seats, so several people were sitting on the floor or leaning against walls. As people got called to the back or as they left, others took their seat. I sat down at an empty seat when someone left and still had to wait at least another half hour. The woman next to me was called back, leaving an empty seat next to me. It was so embarrassing because the men that were there chose to sit on the floor rather than sit by me. :thumbup: Here I was with an open seat right beside me and I guess they were so scared my fat was contageous, they couldn't get near me. The seats were large so it wasn't like I was spilling over into the next seat. I was really humiliated. I went home and cried. I was used to being overlooked, but geez, they would rather sit on a hard floor than beside me. That really hurt. I'm only halfway to goal now but the way people treat me is so different. I've been smaller before and I remember what it was like and how I was treated. The same men who would let a door go in my face before, trip over themselves to hold it open for me. The difference definitely isn't all in my imagination or from me being more confident. I'm still as shy as I ever was. I can't help but come to the conclusion from the experiences I've had through my life (I'll be 40 this year) that the weight does change how people treat you.

I'm not a fish eater at all. I love shellfish but have never really liked fish. But I find that cod is very mild and I don't mind eating it at all. Tilapia is ok as well but in my opinion cod is milder tasting.

Is it possible to irritate the band site from overeating? The reason I ask is that I have been having a burning, gnawing, irritating-type pain for the past week right where the band would be. (Left side, under ribcage) I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago and while on vacation I didn't eat much at all. I ate so little and walked so much that I lost 7 lbs in about 10 days. When I came back to work, a group of us went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. At lunch, I ate some tortilla chips and salsa and then went on to eat way too much frijoles a la charra (bean soup) and for the rest of the day I felt overly full. Since then I've had pain in the band area and 2 days ago I ate a crunchy granola bar and it really started to hurt more and since then I've had the gnawing, irritating type of pain. I should add that I'm at what I consider my "sweet spot". I'm 6 months out and at 6.8cc in a 10cc band and I have what I feel is the perfect restriction. None of that has changed. Just suddenly have the pain. If it is indeed irritation at the band site, will going on liquids/mushies for a few days help? I know everyone will say call or go see my doctor, but my job changed insurance a couple of months ago and the new insurance doesn't want to pay for anything band related. I still owe my doctor for the last 2 visits since this new insurance suddenly decided not to pay. :thumbup: So seeing my doctor isn't exactly an option right now.

The good news is I was able to get in to see my doctor today and he feels like the medication I've been taking has been irritating the pouch because the pills are a big(ish) and can't be cut because they're extended release. So I called my regular doctor and she's changing my medication to smaller tablets I'll take several times a day instead. Hopefully that will help and I won't be in pain any more. :thumbup:

shortgal: The pain doesn't coincide with fills at all. My last fill was over a month ago. I don't think it's from being too tight honestly. I haven't had any problems PBing. That's actually only happened to me three times ever and hasn't happened for weeks now. When I eat, the first few bites usually do hurt quite a bit and I have to eat very slowly. There are certain foods that hurt more than others. But I'm able to eat fine and just the right amount. I really do feel like I'm at my sweet spot since my amount of food is limited and the types of food I eat are limited (no fried foods, bread, etc) but I have very little PBing or problems with being stuck. The pain is frustrating because it seems to have come out of nowhere and isn't going away. It's not the kind of pain that doubles me over or even impairs me from going through everyday functions...it's just a nagging, sort of burning, irritation.

Thanks for the replies guys. :confused: oreokitty (hehe..love that name since I have a cat named Oreo :wink_smile:) and Tonks: I would love to go in and see my doctor to get it checked out but unfortunately I'm flat broke and owe them a LOT of money since my new insurance backed out on paying for the past 2 visits. But I understand everybody telling me to do it. It would be my advice to others having problems too. I'm glad to hear the Prilosec has helped you a bit oreokitty. I guess mine could possibly be heartburn related too but it only hurts in the stomach area and not up my throat or in the breastbone area and it doesn't seem to matter if I've eaten or not..the pain is still there at all times. I have considered taking something over the counter (Zantac or similar) to see if that helps though. Allaboutmefl: I've had this pain once before too but it didn't last this long so that's what's got me so worried this time. I've started liquids today so I guess I'll know in a couple of days if it's helping. I hope it helps you too.

Adding mine! :biggrin: Allisarin…23 Amber...39 andrea71…28 Bekiboo26....58lb Bunny...62lbs Caresarn…16 Chocolate_Snaps....52lbs dsmit13…23 eastxnurse....30 lbs EL1…23 flipper64...30 Flower Faery...58 georgia girl…75 Ginger_...30 Gurlygirl....38 lbs Hazeleyegrl1...58 lbs. itstime....23 lbs Jennie1976...63 lbs Juliacleone…32 kagoscuba...37 Kellymovingon...53 Kimmie…45 Lapband4me...32 Lapitup…22.5 Linda E......24.5 lbs Lindypie...38 Lucylu...15 Magooz07…11 mandi78…23 Mdicurn…30 Queenp....28lbs Redgirl....33 lbs ScareDcat…58 Sirusman…67 Stacy 73… 60 suzygayle...52 lbs Thinmom…23 time4me...70 Tishamarie…49 Tulipstar...61 wannabthin...42.5 lbs Texrose575......37.5

Aww I missed the meeting. I forgot to check back on this thread to see if anything had ever been set up. I hope there will be more meetings because I'd really like to go.

I don't burp like I used to. It feels almost as if I can't. But I do a big hiccup thing after eating.

I'm still interested too.

I have 4.5 cc's in mine right now and still don't feel much restriction. Not as much as I need anyway. I'm going a LOT on willpower for now. I feel all it will take is probably one more cc added and I'll be at my sweet spot though. I hope so anyway. I get that hiccup thing after I've eaten too.

That sounds really great. Unfortunately I haven't been a part of any support groups either, so I don't know how to organize or run one. But I'm more than willing to help out any way I can with starting this one. And I agree...Dr. Spivak is great. I'm so glad I chose him. I'm happy with my results so far too but even with my 3rd fill I don't feel like I have quite enough restriction. So I'm sure a 4th fill will be happening in January for me.

I'm in Baytown and I'd definitely be interested. Thursdays are really good for me too. Hey, I just noticed you were also banded by Dr. Spivak and only 2 weeks before me.

I went in for my 3rd fill today and I've lost 32 lbs!! I was banded on September 28th so that's not too bad.

I had my second fill today. My first one on 10/30/07 was 3.5cc but 1.5cc was absorbed and I didn't feel any restriction really and have been doing it on pure willpower. So over the past 2 weeks I've only lost about 4lbs (don't get me wrong...I'm happy with ANY loss). Today for my second fill he took out the 2cc that was left in my band and put in 5cc omnipaque and then had me take a couple of sips of water. The water felt stuck after 2 sips. I've never been stuck yet but it felt like the water was sitting above the band and not moving and I had pain in my chest. I felt like I could literally just bend over, open my mouth and the water would pour back out. So he took 1cc out and I did a barium swallow and that seemed to go through pretty easy. So now I'm at 4cc and I'm wondering if I should have just let him leave the 5cc in there. I'm on mushies for 2 days and tonight I was able to eat 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes with no problems. Everybody else seems to do just fine with way more in their band. I'm going to be disappointed if I don't feel restriction with the 4cc. Anyway I guess my question is this: Is it "normal" to feel stuck when swallowing water when you only have 5cc in your band? Or is there a chance I was feeling something else and it wasn't stuck? Having never been stuck I don't know what it feels like but it really felt like the water wasn't going through.

About 7 years ago (pre-band) I went on a low-fat diet and lost 70 lbs. I just made sure to keep track of my fat intake. I didn't count calories, carbs or anything else and it worked great for me. But then I had a friend who could count fat intake all day and not lose weight but on a low carb diet, she lost a lot of weight. I did Atkins for over a month and lost nothing at all. I think it's different for everybody. What works for one, may not work for another. You just have to find what works for you and go with it.

I had my first fill on 10/30/07 but it didn't give me any restriction and I've still been able to eat pretty much anything. It's all been done on willpower so far. But I've got an appointment for 11/12/07 for a second fill, so maybe I'll feel a bit of restriction this time.

I had my first fill on 10/30/07 and it hasn't done anything either. But really I didn't expect it to. They told me normally you'll need a second fill in about 2 weeks after the first one. So I'll be going back in about a week to get the second fill and hopefully I'll feel something then. Right now I'm able to eat more than I'd like to and I'm having to use a LOT of willpower.

I had my first fill yesterday and I was so nervous that I never even thought to ask how much they put in. Everything went really well and I was just so happy and relieved that I was like Thanks! Bye! and then when I look at everybody's signatures on here and see that they know exactly how much they've had with each fill, I feel soooo stupid. I know I'm going to need another fill pretty soon because I'm not feeling any restriction at all. So I guess I'll ask next time I'm in there how much they put in. I feel too embarrassed to call and say hey by the way how much did you put in? hehe

So far I've lost 20 lbs and had my first fill yesterday Stacy 73… 40 TulipStar…27 Mdicurn…25 time4me…27.8 Magooz07…11 Caresarn…16 Klpdbl…31 Lapband4me...32 Sirusman…23 Allisarin…23 Tishamarie…49 EL1…23 Juliacleone…16 Kimmie…43 dsmit13…23 ScareDcat…22 Lapitup…22.5 mandi78…23 andrea71…28 Thinmom…23 Kellymovingon...35 flipper64...30 kagoscuba...37 Lucylu...15 Gurlygirl....23 Amber...39 Texrose575.....19.5 bbgray....42 flower faery....20

I was banded a month ago and had horrible gas pains up under my ribs and felt like I couldn't even breathe sometimes because of it. I was using Gas-x strips but they didn't help at all. I switched to the extra strength Gas-x chewable tablets and it really did help a lot. Moving around as much as possible helps too.

Coltonwade...You had recommended those Bolthouse Farms drinks before and on your recommendation I tried them and let me just say the Mocha Cappucino is delicious! Unfortunately none of the stores around here seem to sell the Hazelnut Latte or I'd get that one too. I bought the Vanilla Chai Tea and didn't really like it that much...a bit too sickly sweet. I love Chai tea, but didn't really care for that one. But the other one was yum! Thanks for suggesting those.

I haven't tried them yet, but I'm going to try these recipes using Carnation Instant Breakfast. I've been drinking it cold every morning but once the weather gets colder I think I'll want something warm and these recipes look really good. Search For Healthy Breakfast Drink Recipes for Shakes, Smoothies, and More At Carnation Instant Breakfast