bandster_1007

i have to take 2 diuretics a day and druing tom it is especially bad. have you ever considered a diuretic? my doctor says when you are swollen (hands, feet, etc) then your organs are going through the same thing so you will be tighter. it hits me every month.

i think i have 9.5, and i haven't lost very much.

i take two flinstone's a day. i was taking a prenatal for a while, but my ob/gyn was so stupid that she put me on one that was for people who eat a really healthy diet. so i got a severe Vitamin deficiency and i'm still paying for it. it made me severly fatiqued, achy, and i had sore like things on each side of my lips, my tongue, etc. (and yes i went to a doctor and it was a vitamin deficiency). i was freaking out because i thought i had cold sores for over a month ( i was sick, but i didn't think i was that sick ...lol). so, to sum up my point, make sure you take a vitamin, no matter what it is. and that crap about not absorbing is stupid, after one week of flinstone's (2 per day) my sores were cleared up.

hey all, i will re introduce myself. my name is tabatha. i live in jacksonville. i'm 26 had lap band 10-2007 haven't lost a lot, but had medical issues this year. i'm a self pay patient and used dr. wellborn. i love him. as for Pasta, you will probably find after surgery that it is not worth the effort to eat. your cravings go away. i used to have pasta with every dinner (lipton noodles, rice, pasta salad, etc.) now i rarely cook it. it is just too hard to eat. this includes spaghetti. i can only eat that whenever i am loose. as for veggies, i don't like several, but i eat the ones that i do so it is fine.

i am right there with you. my last fill i was so tight that i couldn't swallow my own spit for 48 hours. i'm a little worried about this fill on saturday too. (i was banded oct 18 and i've lost 20 lbs.) i had some medical issues that i had to deal with since march though.

thank you jack. you are always so knowlegeable. i am supposed to be taking glucophage but i am afraid to take it do to the lows that i experience a lot. i do need to eat better and you nailed it, i think i get the lows after eating sugar. i do feel A LOT worse when it is low than when it is high. i kind of feel "crazy" when it is high, but i feel like i will faint or eat someone's arm off when it is low

ok, so i have pcos and insulin resistance, and i have lost weight at a snail's pace. my question is, what is the normal range, seems i missed that somewhere. my sugar ranges anywhere from 70-310...310 only once....it went down pretty fast. it was in the middle of the night, the only time i have tested then. last week, it wasn't ever over 100 and i would be shaky and starving when it was 70. but i would crave sugar. when it is anywhere from 140 and up i crave sugar like crazy. what is the deal?

update on what happened...we are now looking into sueing the doctor. went 10 weeks, still bleeding, more cramping. had already been treated for 3 uterine infections. sick of doctor. finally the tuesday after memorial day weekend i went to er with fever of 102 severe cramping and chills. they found "products of conception" lodged in my cervix. the er doctor removed it and pressed on my uterus to get the "fluid" out. i told er doctor the my ob/gyn assured me that there was no way products of conception could be in my uterus because my hcg levels were too low. she said, well she is wrong. the er doctor wanted to admit me that day and do iv anibiotics, but my doctor (i told them i didn't want to deal with her) said no send her to me. so i went sick as a dog and sat 3 HOURS in her waiting room just to see her and she say, it's another infection, here is your 4th round of doxicycline. and by the way, the er doctor didn't know what she was talking about, i'm an expert and there is no way products of conception were remaining. friday, my doctor calls, and i have mrsa in my uterus. WHAT??? i freaked, changed, doctors. 4 different antibiotics and 3 weeks later, he admitted me because i was still having fever, etc. (he had done an ultrasound and didn't see anything, but he gave me pills to cause my uterus to empty, and i was still hurting). so he did surgery after a day in the hospital..my uterus was FULL of...you guessed it, products of conception. while he was in there he did ovarian drilling procedure because i had hundreds of cysts on each ovary. so, 9 1/2 weeks of work missed because of one stupid doctor. i'm now malnurished because i wouldn't eat and band was tight. couldn't get unfilled because i had mrsa (staph). when you have that you can't take a risk of cross contamination. i'm also anemic because she let me bleed for 10 weeks. i'm finally back at work....this is my 2nd week. if you feel your doctor is not treating you right, you are probably right.

what is this? i recently had a miscarriage. i tried to miscarry naturally, but got some severe infections because i still had tissue after 10 weeks (and my orig doctor did not check for it). so i went to another doctor he did an ultrasound and did not see anything in my uterus, but gave me a medicine to act like a d&c. so i did that, and still hurting and infection. finally he admitted me and did surgery. thank god he did. he said my uterus was full of fluid and matter, which tested to be products of conception. and, my ovaries had hundreds of cysts on them, so he poked hundreds of holes in each of my ovaries. and i had a staple left from a gallbladder surgery that was lodged into my pelvis. this was 3 weeks ago. i hurt terribly. after surgery i could not go home because of the pain. i still hurt. it just seems like it is never going to go away. now i'm getting ready to start my period, and good god the cramps are horrible. i'm so tired of all of this. i'm 26 and i have had 2 doctors say that my ovaries need to be removed. this last doctor didn't do it because he knows i want another child. however, i can't try not know. not after the absolute hell that i have been through. i missed 9 1/2 weeks of work because of all of it. it has been horrible. we are sueing the first doctor by the way.

i am starting to take it also, so i'm curious as to what other people say. i do not have a lot of facial hair to deal with, but i'm obsessive, i have a few wiskers (about 11) and i have fine facial hair.

??Detox?? hum, interesting. Any details available? well, typically the diet following surgery does not allow for sweets or any sugar at all. if you follow the rules, you will go through withrdrawal symptoms, and when you try to eat them again you will feel sick (most people). if you don't break from them, you won't...if you eat past the sick feeling you will be just as addicted to them. just like drug detox...stop eating it.

anytime becky, if i can help, that is what i come here for. pm me if you ever need to. i hope i can actually make it to onderland...i got down to 201 before i miscarried, so it seems like it's just out of my reach :crying: and remember, you have lost almost twice as much as me :thumbup:

"I have my international house mochas every morning (burn 200 cal or so there) and I have my sugar free fudgesicles in the evening. Not the best choices but it makes me happy. I will eat a cookie or two now and then and have had some pie. But I do it when I'm in control"- Vicki J i couldn't have said it better myself..my thoughts exactly tess--i wish that i would've dealt with my emotional problems before, because boy let me tell you it was a HUGE slap in the face, to be forced to do it. we (dh and I) had a rough few months, because i was a demonic monster without my food :crying:--now i'm happy :thumbup:

i love dairy products too, and i eat them, but i try not to drink liquid calories as much as possible (as i drink my mcdonald's sweet tea :rolleyes2: ) ...i mess up though. i just think your overall food intake was too liquidy. Soup is great when you are really tight, but it has a lot of liquid in it, and it goes through really quick. not to mention that there are usually way more calories than good Protein (10% protein is supposed to be our guide, but that is HARD). I am not perfect by any means. i'm just excited that i can eat normal foods now and still lose weight...it's awesome (first time for me...). i weighed at dr. this morning and i'm 201...whew hew. 27 lbs gone.

for me the hard part was losing my best friend, food. after i got over what i called my food "detox" it was a lot easier. now i do cheat, but i do not care.

..and look at the weight you've lost..it looks like you are doing pretty good!!!!!! congrats on that.

becky!!!!! girl, we have been going through this together...banded same date. and have ran into each other several times with similar experiences. in my opinion, you are not getting enough solid foods. I WOULD BE LOOKING FOR food ALL THE TIME IF I ATE THAT...but that is just me. i was tight, where i was eating like that, and i was miserable. you didn't have anything solid until dinner. now, i know that some people on here do the same thing, and if that works for you great, but those liquid calories in Soups and instant breakfast, and yogurt add up really quick. i think the instant breakfast has like 90 cal, yogurt usually the same, they do have Protein, but mixed with milk you get more calories than protein. but again, i am not perfect. this is a typical day for me: breakfast---around 10..nothing before.. 3/4 slimfast high Protein Bar (190 calories and 15 grams of protein for the whole thing). 3/4 of a 1/2 of a tuna sandwich for lunch..on wheat, with some fritos in the sandwich ( i know weird). for dinner, 4 bites of solid meat, hamburger steak, real steak, chicken...whatever, 2 bites of veggies, and if i have room, starch. ...that is typical, definately not the rule though. for instance last night, i forgot to eat cuz i wasn't hungry, then i had sugar drop, got the shakes, inhaled some tuna salad on chips, threw it all back up because i didn't chew very well..then had nothing else for dinner. so i had nothing for bk, 1/8 of a nacho bell grande taco bell (weakness), and then nothing for dinner....know what i did??? pigged out on ice cream snickers right before bed... that's what i get for not eating. you are eating healthier than i am, but i think you would get less calories with more solid Proteins. my doc has a rule....he doesn't like for us to have milk..EVER...i don't like milk..so no problem for me, and he doesn't want us drinking our food. period. i thought the only way that i could lose weight was to be super tight, but i was wrong. and i feel a lot better now that i'm eating. i lost 4 lbs since last week!!!!

..and i don't have a ticker, because i was unfilled during a pregnancy then miscarried, then ate my way through mourning.. however, i was banded 10/18 and was 228, as of today i am 204, and i did not get restriction until march. so i have 24 lbs since march...that includes the pregnancy which was march (miscarriage) thru may.

..oh and as for losing the weight, gaining it back, then not being able to lose it again...i would say that most of us are in the same boat...that is why we have surgery. we cannot beat ourselves up over it, or we will never free ourselves from the fat or the fat mentality.

guilt is only going to cause you more problems. i can tell you though that after being banded, i went through the most emotional turmoil that i have ever been through. it was really hard, i didn't realize how much it ate emotionally. and when you suddenly aren't able to handle your emotions the way you used to be able too, it is kind of hard. but, i am not discouraging you from getting the band. but the simple fact is you can eat around your band. i am by no means perfect. i had 2 ice cream snickers last night, and today, i had 3 bites of a sonic burger and 3 onion rings. my doc says the latter is ok, cuz i didn't eat much and still got some Protein. truth is i should have skipped the onion rings. point being, i still make bad choices, but i am still losing weight. once your hunger is gone from the band, and you are forced to go through food withdrawals right after surgery (liquid diet), it is a lot easier to make the right choices. when you aren't driven by hunger you are more rational. i don't even care about food anymore. sometimes on the weekend, i completely forget to eat!! ha....hadn't done that since i was in high school!! i'll start shaking and them i'm like..oh i need to eat (i have sugar problems). ..and i was a total fast food junkie, and still am to a degree because i do not cook very often, but i make better choices, and even if i don't i can't eat much.

okay, i'm probably going to get blasted for saying this, but i really think you need to try to get to grips BEFORE you get the band. you WILL be able to eat around it, and you especially will probably be able to eat Cookies, cakes, and junk. it goes down easy. if you have a terrible sweet tooth, you may need to look into another surgery. i'm not saying that to be mean, but it does take some degree of dedication afterward. i did not have a huge sweet tooth, but i liked sweets occasionally (all the time if you count sweet tea!!!), i still struggle. i however, was not a binge eater, and i never ate an entire bag of oreo's so i can't say from personal experience that it made a difference. some words of encouragement however: 1. you will be able to eat oreo's but no likely an entire bag 2. once you start losing the weight, you typically will not want the sweets like you did before 3. if you detox yourself, when you eat them, it will make you feel ill. you can do this, one way or another.

are you exercising? i'm not..and i'm losing REALLY slow. i know if i would get off my butt, i would lose more. and i was like you, i didn't eat a whole lot prior to the band, i just loved to eat cheesy, greasy, foods and they add up real quick :wink2:. i have determined that i have the slowest metabolism. but i have to say this. i was filled real tight, like you are talking about, i was miserable. sure, i could eat very very little, and i was losing weight, but i was hungry all the time, and i had to fight myself not to get "soft food syndrome" which actually causes you to gain more weight. i was unfilled and refilled, due to a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage, now i can eat several bites of good solid food, and i'm losing an average of 1-2 lbs per week...just now. however, i eat less calories because i can eat more solid food. before i was so hungry that i would get milkshakes and crap i didn't need. i still do every once in a while though. my doc also said at this point i should be eating bread with every meal. so i do. i can eat about 3/4 of 1/2 of a tuna fish sandwich. i can eat about 14 chips (yeah i know...), i can not eat potatoes unless that is all i want to eat..3 tator tots, or 1 or 2 bites of a potatoe and i am done. i know i'm rambling, but i'm just trying to figure this out together. my doctor does not think that we should have to do all the work, he says if that were the case, we would have lost on diets. he says that when you have good restriction and you pick good foods, you will lose. even if you pick bad foods, you can't have much of them. he says if you don't drink liquid calories, don't drink with your meals, and keep getting fills you will lose weight. i think that is true, i was trying to lose being too tight, and it was MISERABLE. i felt hungry all the time. now, i get full and i stay full.

well, as most of you know, i got pregnant, and miscarried, and was unfilled (partially) during the pregnancy. during the pregnancy i got down to 201, however, during the mourning, i got back up to 212 (it took a full 2 months to complete the miscarriage). i had a fill last month, and now i am back down to 207. starting weight was 228, i must add however, that i had just gotten restriction when i found out that i was pregnant, and i dropped a ton of weight fast. now i'm losing about 2 lbs a week, and i can eat normal foods. i love it. more importantly, i've gone from busting out of my 18W to my 16W falling off of me and even being able to wear some 14W. so, lately my size is getting smaller faster than the scale. i can eat about 2/3 of a 1/2 of a sandwich right now. band doctor said to eat bread with every meal at this point, and it keeps me from eating a lot. when i can eat a 1/2 and get hungry fast, it is time for a fill.

i lost a LOT of hair, but then it leveled out, i also got a little bit looser of a fill so i can eat more solid proteins. i was preg, but miscarried, so i'm getting back on track now, and i hope i do not start losing my hair again. i've got little "sprigs" sticking up all over my hair where the hair that i lost started growing back. i had thin hair to begin with. i used a tea tree shampoo, per my hairdresser, when i started using that and increased protein it stopped.

i'm glad to know that you are okay. i was a complete gum addict prior to surgery, but i have been so afraid of accidentally swallowing it (which i rarely do, but still), that i haven't chewed it since surgery. i know how it feels to be completely blocked.... it sucks!!! and it doesn't take long to get dehydrated (i went almost 36 hours with no fluids..including spit...because i was stuck with strawberry seeds....strawberry seeds...who would have thought something so little could do that..apparantely they bunch together). so glad you are better though, i bet that was scary. hopefully you can get your fill back after you heal.