bandster_1007

melody, how is the process going with you? leslie is great, i e-mail her all the time (well i did before work took it away). she is very fast to respond.

aubrie...my thoughts exactly regarding the punishment. i'm staying here, because i have to, but all respect is gone, and if another opportunity comes along, i will not hesitate, but i do not feel "up" to searching right now. (for a new job) i think i am going to wait for the fill afterall, it turns out that this fills is a lot tighter than i thought it was. i called today and talked with the lady at the front desk (all employees have been banded), and she said that i should just be eating bread at every meal, but that i really do not need a fill. well, what do you know, add bread, and i've got perfect restriction. 1/2 piece of pizza is all i could eat, and that adds up to only 100 calories and 10 grams of Protein. AWESOME. but i'm having to retrain myself per se to follow the rules. funny thing, my husband and i have not had an argument at all (not even the stupid kind) since our wedding, and loss.... but last night, we argued about whether or not i should have a fill..lol... apparantly i was just on the defensive side, because he would say get it, and then don't get it. i just worry about the fact that it is now may and i was banded in october and i have only lost 21 lbs. most of which was lost during the pregnancy because of morning sickness. oh..yeah..as far as a lawyer, i really do not think i have a legal leg to stand on, because my FMLA papers state that i am not guaranteed my position, but i am guaranteed my pay. the thing is this is like some kind of "probation" where i will be re-evaluated in 60 days..well..then what, they still can't fire me. so i think it is a bunch of bs that it is not a punishment, it is definately a punishment, for i guess deciding to have a natural miscarriage. i don't think they believed that it really took 2 1/2 weeks with true labor pains and horrible horrible other things. if i could go back, i would have had a d&c, but it just so happens i have a doc who doesn't believe in them, and strongly recommended not to have one. well, she has never miscarried herself (the doc), if she had, she probably would recommend one, the physical pain and duration only prolongs the emotional side of things. but..i'm medicated now, and i just sit in the corner scanning my files, for a very decent hourly pay (dummies are paying me WAY more than a scanner would typically make). then when i get home i'm not all stressed from my day at work, so i enjoy it. so yeah, they did me wrong, but they really did me a favor. i have a stress free job now with the same pay (minus my bonuses', which really hacks me off, that is is $600 missed as of right now). i now know that i really truly did hate my job. lol....

reading the other posts i think it is so funny to see the different philosphies of different doctors. my doctor has the philosphy that "if you can eat it you will". if you wouldn't, you wouldn't have needed surgery. so, they say that if you are following these rules: 1) no drinking with food, 2) no drinking liquid calories, 3) coming back for fills, you will lose weight (they also stress 10% of the calories of a food should equal the amount of Protein in grams, so if it is 100 calories it should have 10 grams of protein. there aren't a lot of foods out there that follow that, except meat, plain meat. so, it is tricky. however, even if you can't do the 10% thing, if you have a good fill, you will not be able to eat enough to not lose weight, if you are eating solid, dense foods. but if you don't get enough protein you will lose your hair. so be patient, go get your fills, and try to use will power as much as you can. each person is different in that degree.

thank you for your response. i had good restriction for a while, so i'm pretty versed in ordering the right foods. usually i just eat off of my husband's plate because for me the right fill level consists of me being able to eat about 4 bites..maybe. lol...... i think you are right, i should probably go for the fill. as for my job, they found a loophole, and took away my position, i still work for the same company with the same hourly pay and benefits, just no bonuses, and a different, busy work job...just scanning files, i was a mortgage loan specialist, and technically i still am, but i'm on temporary change. i was very upset and still am, they said it wasn't punishment, but the moved me to a different office with people i didn't know, they took away my e-mail, they took away my bonuses, and they made me sign a "corrective action" notice. and they made me go from a position with lots of customer contact and deadlines, etc., to a very simple no contact job....no stress either..it's actually kind of nice, but short lived. at first i hated it, which they moved me and did all this within an hour of me coming back to work from my miscarriage, i was still very much not myself and EXTREMELY emotional, i just cried for the first few hours over here. but, the economy is not the sort right now to be looking for a new job, especially not in the mortgage/banking business. :thumbup:

my brain clicked when i had restriction, started losing my hair...wasn't eating right, but was losing a LOT of weight, and fast...about 4 months after surgery.. then i was pregnant, unfilled, miscarried, refilled, and waiting for a click again..drinking with food, eating/drinking sugar, etc.

OMG!!I cannot tell you how much i needed this!! i just had a chilli cheese wrap and a snickers ice cream candy bar for lunch. i was telling myself i was going to get back on track tomorrow, but why allow myself one more night of glutony and guilt. i truly believe in self talk and positive thinking, and focusing on the "greater good"-for all, but i tend to forget that when it comes to myself. i guess i think i have the free for all to punish myself. i needed this..thank you. i'm starting now...i will ask myself, is this really good for me, am i loving myself when i eat ____?? anyone else want to join me?

ok, i'll try to summarize in as few words as possible. i was banded in october, finally started losing weight in february (30 lbs), found out i was pregnant in March, had a 2 cc unfill (down to 6.2 cc's), able to eat very normal ...including drinking with meals. found out i miscarried beginning of april, gone through natural miscarriage, through april, still going through it. i went and had a fill on Wednesday. They gave me 3 cc's, up to 8.2 cc's. i passed the sip sip sip gurgle test, and went home. i was fine that night. i had Soup at hand tomato for dinner and no problems. then yesterday, i was able to drink about 1/8 can of slim fast for Breakfast, and chew on ice until lunch. during lunch i tried chilli (4 bites, equivelant to 1 normal bite), i threw it up, so i settled for a fudgsicle, it stayed down ( i was hungry). then i went and got a strawberry slush, i thought it was doing well until i had to walk across the bank, then all of a sudden i'm spitting up in a cup constantly for 3 hours, i finally throw up..a lot of spit...but hurt real bad, then i don't drink any more, but i continue to throw up my spit for the rest of the night. when i was washing my face in the sink, i just kept "spitting up" in the sink. i could not bend over at all with out it coming out. then i try to go to bed, and when i lie down, my stomach hurts like hell, and i cann't keep the "spit" from flowing back up into my mouth. so i elevate the head of my pillow, throw up a couple more times, and go to sleep with no more problems. so i had nothing to eat or drink past 2 p.m yesterday. now this morning, it seems like things are going down, but i can't really tell, and everytime i take a teeny tiny sip i feel it sit there before it goes down, and it hurts. now i feel the need to burp, and when i do the tiny bit of coffee seems to be coming up. I AM SO THIRSTY. this is the first time, i have ever had problems with liquids. before my unfill when i was tight i had trouble with drinking too fast, but that was it. now it seems like my stomach is hurting a lot and i'm having trouble. question is, do i need to ride this tight fill our, or is an unfill in order? please advise.

ok, i'm better, i went in yesterday and had 1 cc removed. nettie, thank you for your concerns, i am doing so much better. it was really hard and it still is at times. i think the hardest thing is that i did it naturally so i still have the pregnancy hormones and it is not complete yet, so i have suprises when i think it is all over. i had strawberry seeds that were gummed up and blocking my stoma. so they opened me up. now i'm definately not tight enough. i can drink and drink fast first thing in the morning. but man oh man..water never tasted so good.

i called, they want me to come in this afternoon for an unfill. see i had a strawberry slush yesterday and it apparantly has me blocked, because this morning i was throwing up what looked like pink coffee grounds...and i haven't eaten anything this morning at all.

ok, i called and left a message they open at 9. it's not quite 9 yet. even if i could ride this out, i don't want too, i don't think. i am thirsty..and i need to drink. i haven't felt the need to urinate yet today (i know tmi), and that is not normal after a full nights sleep. is it supposed to hurt when you take a sip right after a fill? i've been tight before, and i've felt my drinks go through my stomach, but never any pain. and it seems to just stay there.

do you guys have tight days where you have problems with liquids.

that is what my doctor told me verbatim...i have 8.2cc's in my band now, and i just got a 3 cc fill yesterday, it takes longer to get me the restriction that i need, becuase i have less of a "fat pad" around my stomach.

i stopped having periods due to the decrease in calories from the surgery. still got pregnant without a period...but miscarried. i have had 2 pregnancies, and i have one child, each time that i got pregnant i did not have periods. you can ovulate without menstration. though rare, it is possible. doctor told me that you are EXTREMELY fertile while losing weight, because loss of fat cells increases your estrogen levels. i know that doesn't help with your exact question, but it does give hope that loss of fat cells increases fertility.

at some point you may find that "Thanksgiving full" feeling a sign that you will be sick soon. i rarely get that full feeling when i am at restriction. actually, when i was close to restriction, i was hungry every 2 hours, but i could eat very little at a time, i lost that full feeling, it was more of a feeling of disgust at the thought of another bite..not that comfortable feeling. i've been pigging out lately (had a pregnancy-miscarriage over the last few months, i've been unfilled). i'm going to try to get that feeling of disgust back today..lol

you will be in my prayers, hopefully the surgery through the nose is going to be an option, that way you won't have to shave your head and recover from that type of surgery. it sounds like you are being very optimistic and actually handling it well (seeing as how you are actually able to worry about weight gain at this point ). most people would do good to have a pitty party for a month...you are a strong woman. keep looking at it in such a good light, and keep us updated.

..take this from someone who has screamed loud and proud on this forum that i "hated my band"..it gets better. do not expect miracles with your first fill, maybe not even your second third or fourth. my doctor put it to me like this, because i was very frustrated and losing very little, "i can either knock you over the head with a 2 x 4..and you'll end up in the E.R., or i can tap you on the shoulder several times, and you will adjust mentally along with your stomach". -----thus his reasoning for not being overly aggressive with fills. he was right, after my 4th fill, i lost 30 lbs in one month. ...and it was easy, and i still was in need of another small fill. do not pay attention to my ticker, because i was even more recently pregnant, unfilled, miscarried, and ceased weight loss. once it starts to work, it will be so much easier, but it doesn't happen as soon as we may like. don't be too hard on yourself, and be happy with what loss you have had. you will lose, as long as you follow the rules and stay on top of your fills. and as for me, when i hit proper restriction, i was not consumed by cravings for bad food, because i only had enough room to eat the stuff that i needed, and that is what i would crave, meat, veggies. some people do not have the same experience, but for me, my cravings eased up. then i got an unfill and went straight back to eating oatmeal cream pies on a daily basis :coolgleamA:, and i am at the same cc's as i was on my 3rd fill...lol...i can eat a lot. ..but i'm getting refilled today, so i'll be feeling like you for a few days...as my emotions and my body adjust again. ..sorry for rambling...

what exactly is this neti pot, and can 7 year olds use it?

here in arkansas allergies are a big problem also, i personally do not suffer, but my 7 year old has been tested and is allergic to all the good stuff, weeds, grass, etc. they have a liquid zyrtec now, that i give him regularly, and then as for the decongestant you can always use a nose spray. i know that the claritin and zyrtec pills are small, but when i am at my right fill (recently unfilled), i cannot even keep down a birth control pill, comes right back up...so i'm slowly educating myself on all the alternative medications.

i think you need an unfill, if you cannot even keep your liquid Vitamins down, that is a really bad sign. i mean, two meals in two weeks, that is no way to live. you need an unfil, imho, but probably not ALL of it, just some. if you have pb'd before you will know the difference between it and vomiting. i have done both. a pb, is just literally a burp with food, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't. when you throw up, you do the same wretching and stomach contractions that you do before. in me it is WAY worse than throwing up pre band because it takes even longer for my body to "work" the food up past the band. so, there is a lot of heavin before any production, but it comes eventually. throwing up is bad, but sometimes it is unpreventable.

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME SUIT--love it!! got lots of compliments, had brown sandals and hat to match. totally hurt my boobs though and under my arm, gotta get a new one for this year. ..and you look GREAT in it..i looked horried, cottage cheesy and white as this screen.

calories definately get you faster than fat grams, and cereal adds up. i would watch your calories and see if that helps. i felt the same way as you, recording my food made me feel obsessed, but the fact is, i lose when i record, and i was astounded at how many calories i actually eat (and am eating right now because of my unfill).

i am unfilled a little at the moment because of a pregnancy that i after miscarriaged, but when i had a fill i was pretty restricted, i could eat about 1/2 cup at a time, i had a hard time getting in my 700 calories, and i was losing weight like crazy. ...now i can eat 3 pieces of pizza.

well...i stuck with the wait and see approach, and i started bleeding on saturday, had horrible contractions, ended up in the er sunday night for a demerol shot,went back home, shot wore off, and finally at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, i was having contractions, full, that were 3 minutes apart, and i passed a clot the size of a grapefruit, then body continues with contractions for a couple of hours. i should have went to the er that night. that is the most excruciating pain i have ever been through. then i keep hurting and bleeding, i go to the doctor yesterday and i have PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE. well, it HURTS LIKE HELL. should've had a d&c, i will if this ever happens again, it is simply too much to go through.

hey, i recently found out i was pregnant about a month ago. yesterday the doctor did a vaginal ultrasound and there was no heartbeat. she is estimating that i have been pregnant for about 2.5 months but the baby died at 6 weeks. now i have to decide if i want to wait and let the baby pass or have a d & c. ( i know it is not really a baby, but it was a very real baby to me). any advise from anyone that has gone through this would really help. i'm having a particularly hard time with it, i can't stop crying, and i don't want to get out of bed. it just doesn't seem real, and the fact that i'm walking around still pregnant i believe is causing me more mental torment. my doctor says natural is best, but i don't know if i can wait for that, it has already been several weeks and there has been no sign of starting to miscarry.