bandster_1007

i used the NUVA Ring for 2 years in college. A family friend who is also a gynecologist said it was the best as far as lower dose hormones (now they have the pill Yaz which is supposed to be better..but). i loved the convenience of my Nuva Ring. it was awesome. HOWEVER, i was not sexually active at the time, and i kept coming up with bacterial vaginitis (wasn't using toys or anything like that). i asked my gynocolost if it could have been the ring and she said that she didn't think so. however, i stopped using the NUVA Ring 3 years ago and i have not had it again since. Before, i literally was getting every 3 weeks or so. I may just be really sensitive though, as i cannot take baths due to urinary tract infections, have to be super careful with soap for that reason too, and i cannot use latex condoms for that reason. it is wonderful though, for birth control without thinking about it.

once we cross into the mushies phase of our doctor, they say no liquid calories at all, even if it is a protein shake. i think i am going to start to drink protein shakes again though because i just cannot get adequate protein. i'm very tired again today. my doctor's office did mention some protein that you can add to water, but it would still be 70 calories (i haven't found anything yet, that i would want to add to water). i think one good protein shake would be good for me, and i may start that again soon. What type of protein shakes do you use? I have the unflavored whey protein, but i'm not supposed to have soups and stuff anymore, and i can't quite figure out how to add it to certain foods without it turning hard.

i'm having it whole, i'm 3 weeks post op, and the turkey sausage that i purchased is the same consistency as meatloaf, so it is good with my doctor. i haven't had any problems with it (i haven't had problems with any of the foods that i have tried, not even steamed broccolli), but most days i just eat 2 links, i'm usually not hungry enough to have more than that. although today, i had 2 links and an egg. i tried putting Protein powder in 2 eggs..bad idea, i tried putting Protein Powder in yogurt...bad idea, i was going to put it in my meatloaf, but i was too hungry for something good to try another....bad idea. .

i have the same question. i am in the mushy food stage, and for breakfast i am having turkey sausage and 1/4 egg substitute, for lunch it's lunchmean and cheese wrap, and for dinner it's meatloaf and broccolli. i'm still not getting enough protein.

i feel awful for posting that i was depressed now. i realize that i am really blessed in my life right now. i have a beautiful son, a good job, and a husband that loves and cares for me deeply. money is a little tight right now, because of me and dh missing work for my surgery, but we will make it. we always do. i have been sick and missed work a lot the past year (probably 2 months total), i'm happy now that my pains and migraines have allowed me not to miss much work with the exception of time off for my surgery..and my son was sick. thank you all for your responses. i am happy to report, that my energy level has increased substantially, and i'm not feeling so gloomy anymore. i think it is due to exercise, as i have gone consecutively for the past 3 days (that's HUGE for me). i'm still fighting head hunger, and i eat no sugar added fudgsicle's and 100 calorie carrot cakes occasionally. i've gotten away from yogurt as much. i'm having trouble finding low calorie high Protein foods, any advice? my typically daily menu is 2 turkey sausages, or 1/4 cup egg substitute, for lunch i have 6 pieces ham lunchmeat with one slice of cheese, and for dinner i have meatloaf and broccoli. according to my calculation's that is only about 36 grams of protein. i'm not supposed to drink Protein shakes anymore. thank you all, i will pray for those of us who are facing this battle, be it with weight loss, or personal affairs. we will get through this, we just have to lean on one another and keep faith. there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

wow, they have a lot more food than the other sites that i looked at...they even have recipes...that is cool

i was banded on thursday, back to work the following tuesday for 1/2 a day. worked wednesday, thursday, and 1/2 friday, then the next week i worked monday and tuesday, 1/2 day wednesday and was off thursday and friday with a sick child. i caught a REALLY bad head cold a week out from surgery and that hindered me. plus i had this pain come back on my left side that was sharp and would take my breath away, but it would go away whenever i would lie down..so.....

my clothes still fit, my tummy is still really bloated from surgery. i plan to give my clothes to goodwill. sometimes the local curves has and/or weight watchers has an event that they schedule where everyone brings clothes that no longer fit them and they basically swap..free of charge. it's cool.

ok, well now i know i'm not alone. i told my mom about it yesterday and she said i'm depressed because i'm dwelling on it and food is all i can think about. my response to her was "well, you used to be an alcoholic, how long did it take you to stop dwelling". she said it took about 2 months for her to stop "dwelling". She said that she had to do something to distract her. i have noticed that i have the most problems when i watch tv. i had never realized before, but apparently i was snacking a lot while watching tv, because i think about something to snack on every time i sit down. lately i've been making myself do something throughout the show that i am watching. my house is much cleaner, but i'm not feeling better quite yet. this is hard. the tired part makes it worse. i didn't make it to the gym yesterday because dh had to go into work early. i'm going this afternoon instead. my goal is to do either the gym or treadmill for 30 minutes each day until i can build up. hopefully that will help me get over this slump.

well, SGACX, the post op diet may be easier for you because you have to do a pre op diet. my doctor's office only makes people do a preop diet if there BMI is over 45. My liver was not swollen. It has been hell for me these past couple of weeks because it is just SSSSSOOOOOOO hard. i never realized the control that food had over me, and i'm having to deal a lot emotionally with how much food is involved in my life. i wasn't expecting it...and now i'm dealing with it. i've been very depressed. however, with that said, i had minimal pain. i actually find it very easy not drinking with meals. i mean, yeah, for the first few meals i would reach for a drink out of habit, but then after that it is no big deal. i suck on a sour sugarfree candy, brush my teeth, or use mouthwash after i eat. that helps. i am having trouble following the post op diet. for some reason, now i want to eat hard candy..and i didn't have that problem before. i am not having a problem with hunger though, and sometimes i feel like i could just not eat, but i do because i need the Protein. For me recovery was very fast, at least as far as the extreme pain. however, i am very tired now....very very very very tired. i'm going to work out today. hopefully that helps. it's still worth the weight that i have lost. WAY TO GO LINDATA (i haven't been able to access the site for a couple of days) how is everything going?

I have this pain on my left side that started yesterday. it is at the lower part of my rib cage. there is an incision where the pain is, but the pain does not have to do with the incision and feels much deeper. it is becoming progressively worse, and i am going to call my doctor. has anyone experienced this before? it feels like something is stuck to my rib cage underneath my ribs.

my blood pressure had been high for about a year prior to surgery. i, too, to the hctz for the blood pressure. i talked to my surgeon about this prior to surgery and he told me to discontinue the medicine. he said that i would be fine within a week from surgery. i am happy to report that he was correct. i haven't taken the hctz in 3 weeks now and my bp is exactly normal 120/80 and that was for a dr's appointment (always gets high), so i'm thrilled. i still have some swollen days in my upper extremeties, but i'm finding that it has to do with eating a certain kind of food.

i'm scheduled for November 28. i'll be good and eating solids thru Thanksgiving, but i will have my 3rd fill by Christmas..which tends to be the worse.....

my first fill is at the end of the month. i was surprised yesterday when they told us that the put in 7cc, close your band off, then let you sit up and drink Water. if it goes down, you keep your 7 cc's. that seems like a lot when there are a lot of people on here who say they only get one. my doctor says majority of people are at their sweet spot on the 3rd fill, but for some people it takes 6, 9, or more. i feel blessed that my 3rd fill will be before Christmas. My first is the end of this month, and then they are scheduled every 2 weeks. they gave us the fill guidelines yesterday and i was really surprised by them also. we, too have to go on clear liquids for 48 hours.

that must have been a wonderful feeling. my first milestone was when a girl at work told me she could tell that i had lost weight and she said i look really good. no one had said anything before...even when i was begging. my dh said that he thinks i lost all 12.whatever pounds in my face ...lol.

i had my follow up appointment at the doctor's office yesterday and i have "officially" lost 12.8 pounds. i'm really proud because i have definately had weak moments. i try to counteract them, but that sets up a whole new thread of bad behaviors. i was talking to dh last night..and i was telling him that i couldn't beleive that he couldn't see a difference (i can). then i was telling him that i have already lost in 2 weeks what i spent a month trying to lose crash dieting and exercising a few months back. we decided that the weight loss i had when exercising was way more noticeable. i agree with him completely and i think i was even down in smaller pants. i think the weight loss that i have had after surgery has been a lot of Fluid and i'm sure a lot of it is internal. therefore, it makes sense that the other weight loss was more noticeable. i can feel that the weight is off of me in my whole body (although my stomach still seems to be a bit swollen). it's weird, i wake up and stretch, and i can tell that i have lost weight by the way my skin feels on me. i think that has to do with having an eating disorder when i was younger...people with eating disorder's learn to "read" their bodies because scales are normally taken away. but..needless to say i'm back to Curves to get that bod that i want. i also told dh that i feel TREMENDOUSLY better since surgery. this is the first time in a year that i have gone 2 weeks without a migraine or all over body pains (from fibromyalgia)..i'm still struggling with my blood sugar, but my bp is down and i feel wonderful. exercise can only make this that much better.

i have not been banded long enough to say that i felt the way that you do, but my doctor told all of us that we would feel the way that you feel. they said it is very normal. when were you banded?

i had asked my pcp about alli before considering the lap band. she said that she took it while she was in med school, and she quit taking it because she was tired of buying new underwear. she was being very serious. she said she had to carry clean underwear with her all the time.

i needed this post so much. first of all, let me say that your daughter will be in my prayers. it is not something that i can personally relate too, but any time one of our children is faced with something that we can't "fix" for them, the emotional roller coaster is tremendous. i needed this thread, because i do not have much "common sense"..lol duh..if i planned my meal, i probably would have much, much less trouble following the doctor's orders. the other day, i'm in the take out line for wendy's and the thought that they may be out of their chili crossed my mind..i almost freaked. i realized then, that i had no back up plan and would have eaten a potato instead..bad choice. lol..luckily they had chilli. thank you for posting this. i'm definately an unguided grazer. that is my biggest downfall. i hate planning meals, because i hate cooking. luckily tonight my meatloaf is in the oven, mashed potatoes and green Beans are cooking. this is the second time that i have cooked since surgery, and this is the first time it was for myself.

i had to use capital one care credit. it has a fixed rate which was nice. i was able to get 10%..which is still high to me, but low compared to other credit offers.

is there someone else at his office that you can speak to? you were refered to my thread, where you will read that i got a good lashing for cheating. my dr's office is fully aware, but they did clear me for mushies..and their mushies are just soft foods, like lunchmeat, ravioli, etc. however, each doctor is different and there are some very good points in the thread "i'm cheating...already".

i went through the exact same thing...about my son. i thought about journaling the whole day right before surgery..and i even considered leaving a note for dh to find if something happened. i didn't "let" myself do those things though because i was trying to push the thoughts aside and not embrace them. i think that is completely normal. the funny thing to me was that i have had several surgeries before and i was not afraid of any of them, but i was terrified the day before having this done....terrified.

Ok, I know that this time is about healing...blah blah. I was banded on October 18 and this week is the week of the month that i have sweets cravings. Well, this weekend, over the course of the whole weekend, i ate 4 100 calorie brownies. Ugh, then I have wanted a shortbread cookie for 4 days now. I just wanted one. Well, who knew that they sold shortbread in 100 calorie packs. So i bought some today. I should not have purchased them. Then, i ate 2 packs..not 1 but 2. Then i have a terrible cold, so i had orange juice also. With that said, it is on 10:00 a.m. and i have already consumed 300 calories. I'm only supposed to have between 500 and 800. I will have 200 hundred for lunch, and i know that i can do this...but.... i feel like a failure already. Did any one else go through this. I think the fact that I am glucose intolerant creates more cravings...i'm not sure about that though. please help, i need some encouragement.

the meatloaf and the chili are both the recommendations of my doctor. i can also eat lunchmeat like turkey and ham. all of these foods are considered mushies by my doc and i sure couldn't eat them without any teeth. LoL. my doc has had one death, one slip, and zero erosion. he has done over 1000 lap band surgeries...he was one of the 1st 50 doc's in the U.S. to be trained and has been doing it for several years.... i didn't see a nutritionist because she was sick on the day of our appointment and my surgery was 2 days later. there wasn't a mention of a reschedule.

i haven't had any problems with any of my mushies. my doctor's office told me specifically that i would probably have problems with shrimp. they said shrimp does not break down very well. the said shrimp, asparagus, popcorn, celery (popcorn is the only one that i hate to give up). my doctor thinks that popcorn is evil and no one should eat it. he says that it causes diticulitis (sp?) and IBS, etc.