bandster_1007

each doc is different, but when i was on mushy/soft foods i could eat a salad, but was not advised to eat carrots, the skin of cucumbers, the skin of tomatoes, etc.

hey, i'm not a december bandster, but i do want to encourage you to be patient. i'm an october bandster, and i have just now (literally) started losing weight. last week i weighed more than i did pre-band. i too have coworkers saying the same things. and the fact that my health has not improved does not help. be patient, and be happy with your loss. i know it is hard, but we have to fight this demon that we all (imo) have ...self sabotage.

thank you sharon. things have calmed down quite a bit since my original post. my brother never did really apologize, but you are right. i was doing it to help..and i don't know that i could have told him no. as for the gas, i quit having gas about a week ago. oddly it was about the same time that i took a z pack for a chest infection. thank you for you tips though. i've been drinking the mess out of crystal light, and before i wouldn't even think of drinking aspartame, but i do now...i don't like that i do, but i guess it is better than liquid calories.

ok, so i had my sugery 10/18. since then, i have had one 4 hour period. then this month, i just didn't get one at all. i took an otc prego test and the first one was positive and the 3 after that were negative. i used to suffer from amenhorrea, but it was when i was anorexic. i'm getting plenty of cal's now (at least i was before my fill). has anyone else experienced this and is it normal? i'm trying to see if it could be band related, i do have endometriosis.

thank you guys so much for answering. i've been really worried about it, and it is good to know that it is more than likely surgery related.

yes, things are better...if i can quit getting these dumb winter colds. lol..it was 23 degrees here on friday and yesterday it was 76. ......that a big difference. darn arkansas weather. ok. i got my second fill, and when i did he made me tight. i was already sick but getting better. then saturday, i got sick again..fever of 102, body aches, etc. it feels like the flu, but i had a shot. so i wasn't able to keep much down this weekend. liquids were to hard to swallow, i slimed them back up. so i haven't really been eating crap. for example, yesterday i had a small piece of ham. the rest liquids that i could get in earlier in the day (at night, i feel sicker, so i think my stomach tightens up), then on saturday i had a piece of fish. that is it. so, as of today i have lost 8 lbs. which is just from me being sick. i am definately tighter though. how are you doing?

whosya...fantastic job. reading from people like you who are succeeding at this (the band) and the running, is what has inspired me to start this program (of course, i have to get over the fever first). thank you so much for sharing your experience.

lapgirl, it's amazing to me how different each one of us are. i CANNOT drink with my food, since my last fill. actually, i have more trouble drinking period, than i do eating. weird huh, i guess i chew really good, but i gulp. i've been sick too, but i have slimed on liquids about 8 times this weekend. none on food. if i even take one bight and then take a drink, it is coming back up.

ok, you guys, i went to the mall saturday and got some running shoes..whew hew!! i was supposed to start saturday, but i'm running 102 fever. and i haven't been able to get much down (food or liquids) because i'm sick and swollen. i know right..excuses ..excuses. if i were just running fever, i would try, but i have body aches and a headach from hell. so. i'll be starting a little later. for right now about the only exercise i feel like doing is tossing and turning in the bed (freezing then sweating, freezing, then sweating).

i have another question.. i have a treadmill, do you guys run with a treadmill or outside, and if you do run with a treadmill, do you use an incline? i'm thinking of incline 10...but want to know if anyone else did that.

ok, i'm a little behind, but i'm going to start this week (going to get some good running shoes this weekend). i need this link to the podcast things that you guys are talking about.

where do i get these pod casts that you speak of. and ..i need some good workout music for my ipod...any suggestions?

ok, so that i have to be liable to someone. i'm starting this..this week. (as soon as i get my treadmill back into the living room --had to move it for the xmas tree).

i just purchased muscle milk to help me get through this fill. i was feeling tired because i needed Protein. the calories are just too high though, it throws off my whole day. plus, it is very sweet IMO. i can get it down, but i would sure like something a little less sweet and little lower cal.

wow, i love this thread. don't have many ideas, but just wanted to say thanks for posting. i keep the light yogurt smoothies, when i'm on liquids, for Breakfast. i'm tighter now, so i don't know if these will still work, but i love egg whites and turkey sausage for breakfast. i'm going to get some canadian bacon today to cook like the turkey pepperoni. it is supposed to be low cal and good in Protein.

my doc told us not to worry about Protein until we are moved to solids. even in the 4 days after fills it is darn near impossible for me to get my protein.

i'm loving that idea. i'm currently an 18, but as i go down in size, i cannot afford to buy a lot of new clothes. so a personal e-bay would give me the option to purchase at a lower price.

i totally agree, you look best in the buzz picture (you look good in all of them, but best with the buzz). my hair is about the same texture as yours, but it is to my lower back, so i can fake people out..lol. i have wave, so when it is down it looks really thick.

my fills are done under blind fill. the average person only need about 3. then they just follow up with weight loss, etc. my doctor says that it takes a while for the stomach tissue to become hard. what they mean by this is, imagine taking a sponge and squeezing the center. you can usually squeeze for a while before the sponge becomes hard enough not to be able to squeeze anymore. our stomach have a lot of Fluid in the (the tissue), so when they tighten the band, first it swells, then we have fluid. this is the reason for morning band, when we wake up we have a lot of fluid in our organs. as the day passes the fluid moves to our extremeties. much is the same with our stomach. as we swallow food and as time passes (gravity) the fluid is pulled from stoma/pouch into the lower stomach. which is why most people can eat more at night. each person is different, but at some point in time your stomach loses that elasticity and then your fill lasts for a long time. so that is the reason for the fills up until that point.

lori this website has helped me a lot.

i put that my sig of needs to be only slightly overweight because he is a health nut, and he loves to exercise and he has a very nice body. if he let that go, his personality would change also.

lori you may want to post this is the food section. you will probably get more response there. most of us are pretty new at this, but if you are constantly vomiting and gaining, there could be a complication. the 2 just don't go well together. i would check with my doctor. also, i do not know that it is normal to have difficulty swallowing, at least i was never told about that. do you log your food? that is supposed to help a lot. as far as low fat low cal foods...HA...i'm still eating crap. Water was the first thing that came to mind that i like. but of course, salads, chilli, steak, chicken, Beans, anything not processed.

oh..and i totally agree that if we had will power then we would not have needed the surgery. my doctor has the same philosophy. he does not believe the band will work all by itself, he says we have to work it, but his idea of working the band is: getting fills, not drinking with meals, and not drinking liquid calories. he says it's that simple. if you follow those rules, you will lose weight..regardless. and he does have a very high success rate. he says even his most rebellious patient will still lose 50% of their weight when breaking the rules. however, he does want us to exercise and to log our food and to keep our calories below 800 a day (preferably 600). the reason for this is not so that we will have "self control" per se, but it is to determine when it is time for a fill. if my calories jump up by 200 within a week then it is time for a fill. he also believes it is vital to determine Protein levels. now, his big thing is that restriction makes all of the above possible. until we have restriction, it is nothing but a frustrating waiting game. the more control you have over your hunger the more control you have over what you choose to eat. as for exercise he puts it like this "you can either look like you just lost 100 lbs, or you can look 100 lbs thinner". so, i don't know, but those items that he reminded me of wednesday that i should not feel guilty. if i were able to control all of these items on my own i never would have opted for surgery in the first place. although, today and yesterday i have restriction, i'm already logging food again and thinking clearer. we will all get there, and we've all been beaten up enough in our lives, i'm sure mostly by ourselves. so, i say we all give ourselves a big fat break. and yet, i'm trying to be optimistic and i have gained 2 lbs. more than my pre surgery weight. we can do this..and i'm proud to be a member of the tenacious tens.

ok, i went to my doc yesterday for my 2nd fill. i had gained 2 lbs since the last visit which put me 2 lbs higher than surgery date. my first fill was 6.5 cc's with 3 cc prime and i was able to eat 4 pieces of pizza and some cheesesticks in one sitting one week after my fill. so..didn't do anything. ok, well, my doc said it was time to tighten me up..and boy did he. he only added a little. i'm now up to 5.2 cc's (not including the 3 cc prime). each time that i drink i feel it. each swallow. is that normal? i'm still on liquids (for 48 hours post fill). coffee goes down fine..but i'm not used to having to sip. right after surgery i could down a glass of liquid with no problem..couldn't feel a thing. now with each swallow i feel pressure..then it's gone. just checking if this is normal, or if this is a precursor to being too tight.

oh man, i guess i went through this whole thing a little earlier than you guys, but boy did i need this thread. i've lost no weight and after my first fill i could eat 4 pieces of pizza and cheese sticks with no problem. i was super frustrated. then i went to the doc for my 2nd fill and i had gained 2 lbs. he made me tight. yesterday i couldn't drink a lot, but today it is getting better. anyways, my point is, my guilt was horrible. i was so hungry. and i quit logging my food because it was way too many calories at the end of the day and i was just so hungry. i'm speaking in past tense because i'm on liquids right now, and at this point i'm not very hungry, but we will see how it goes. so being a self-pay, who hasn't started exercising, and hasn't lost any weight, i completely relate to guilt.