bandster_1007

Ok, so i have a treadmill, but i really do not use it YET (the operative word). I looked at the ellipticals the other day in the store and i even got on one and used it for about a minute. in just that minute i felt it in more of my leg muscles than i would have imagined feeling on the treadmill. (one of the elliptical's there were other's that weren't too good). so, this is my questions, which do you think is better and why? my treadmill is a very nice $700 one, but the elliptical i'm looking at only costs $189 and if i buy it, i'm selling my treadmill (i only have room for one good piece of exercise equipment..and really my treadmill is too big). so please vote, and let me know.

OK, so life was great pre-band..with the exception of being fat...and having bad health because of it..but now...oh now..i've got many other things that i need to add to the list: i was a self pay. financially we determined that we could afford it. we are middle class $70k/or more average a year...so we aren't rolling in it, but we are doing better than we could be. So, yeah, we thought of course we can afford the band, why couldn't we. well, let me tell you a $400 a month payment is rough to adjust to..especially at christmas time. and add to that the fact that i NOW WEIGHT 3 MORE LBS THAN I DID PRE-OP. everytime i make that stupid payment..i think in my head..what in the hell did i do..i just spent $15,000 to be reminded every day that i am a failure and i am fat, and now i am paying for it literally. ok, so that is the financial part. everyone has their problems right, so that is no big deal. well, dh and i are falling on hard times financially and i am blaming myself, and he is trying to work more. we used to have enough money in our "bill" account to cover the bills as they came in and to have a month's worth of reserves in case one of us got sick. that way, we didn't have to do the pay check to pay check thing. we have our own individual savings and spending accounts too. well...we've got zilch right now, and i've resorted to finishing up x-mas on cc's. add to that-yesterday i found out that my brother defaulted on a car loan that i signed for him. i have perfect credit...not bragging..but never been late..and i work in finance so..this is a particularly important thing to me. he didn't even bother to tell me, so i get a letter in the mail yesterday that he is almost 30 days late and a payment has to be made TODAY to keep it from being reported (note: previous mention of us being BROKE). OK..so all of that is i am sure circumstanstial..but it is band related. dh and i both missed a week of work without pay when i had surgery. i then have had some days that i have missed in addition due to pains &/or complications. so..that means even less pay. .......again due to the band...then add sick days for problems i had before the band with migraines and fibro. ok..so you get it..money is a problem and it causes extreme stress. well because of it dh and i are both barely on good speaking terms (we aren't admitting that is what the problem is, but i know it is). i'm sleeping on the couch, and i swear that if one more person yells at me or says something negative I'M GOING TO RUN AWAY!!!!!! so i'm stressed..my son is going through a bratty stage..dh and i are having problems, and i'm getting nothing but bitches and moans and complaints and cynical remarks every single direction that i turn. ok...so that is the family related band problems..now i'm taking it to a more personal level: 1. did i mention that i now weigh 3 more lbs than i did pre-op..and i can't button pants that i wore for 6 months prior to surgery 2. i look 6 months pregnant and i have this huge distended abdomen that will not recede 3. i pass more gass than i would ever care to admit. burps come out mid sentence sometimes, and i have these long grotesque 10 second burps that everyone around me can hear even though i am trying to do it under my breath. then..add to that the constant cloud of methane (is that what it is?) that is hovering behind everywhere that i walk. before the band dh had never ever heard me...you know..pass gass...now he hears it like 20 times a night...gross....and it makes me smell. 4. i have no restriction..i can eat what i want..and the tremendous amount of stress that i am under sends me straight to crap food...cheese dip..candy...cheese ball..you name it 5. everyone keeps asking me if i wasted money on surgery and why am i not losing weight 6. i missed my 2nd fill because i had a bowel obstruction, and they can't seem to find TIME to fit me in. 7. i'm having migraines like crazy..(due to stress i'm sure)..and i can't take anything for it because it doesn't work..or i can't swallow it. 8. my work is threatening to lay me off at the end of the year due to absences even though i filed FMLA. there are other things....but i've gone on enough. all of this is causing me to have serious issues with my band. if i could rip it out myself i would, and then i would beat the hell out of a wall or something with it. I HATE MY BAND.... (i hope this will pass, and i already feel better from venting....i had too...i don't feel like i can tell anyone face to face because i am whining..and besides...i don't know any other overweight people with similar issues that i can talk to). i'm sorry for rambling..thank you for reading...or listening. and if you went through something similar, and found success later..please share. i am in desperate need for inspiration.

i'm gonna be honest. i think i should have saved $10,000 and seriously just did a half a quarter diet until my stomach adjusted. now, i'm sure i'm allusioned because i do have the band but the last activity was 2 unfills about a year or so ago. and i had lost no weight until 2 months ago. i went from 230-190 in 2 months. and i did it because i don't crave ice cream, sweat tea, sweat treats, sweat anything anymore, and the only reason i don't is because my hormones are finally balanced. if you are a sweet eater at all (even sweet tea 2 x a day) the lap band may be slow for you. but good luck on the journey

hey, i'm tabatha...mary melody knows me, or did. so i see mary that you had your surgery congratulations!!!! i'm so glad to see/hear that you are doing well.. let me know when you are ready to start walking i need to walk too. i finally started losing weight. so, after a year....and......um.....welll....almost 2 years. (oct 07) i have finally lost 46 lbs. so i know weigh 190 lbs. which is awesome for me. but i haven't been losing any weight until i was layed off from my job in january. it is still really slow and steady and i haven't had a fill in over a year....actually unfilled (twice)... really it's been more like 1 1/2 years. best luck to all and i hope you all lose weight better than i. i needed my hormones to be balanced....now they are, the acne is gone and i'm losing weight at a very good slow steady pace. but i will say that i have had SEVERAL doctors tell me that the lap band is the worse thing i could have done for myself. of course, don't take that the wrong way, i'm defensive too...but i was banded, got pregnant, miscarried, long 'natural' infectios miscarriage, had a surgery to fix the miscarriage, had another, and another, had a hysterectomy, lost my job from my health, have full blown fibromyalgia. NOW i'm losing weight...loll....

My doctor thinks that popcorn is the root of most digestive problems including diaticulitis (spelling) and irritable bowel syndrome. my family and i are big popcorn eaters, and we usually all 3 share a bag at least 2 or 3 times a week. My doctor does not want me eating popcorn due the above reasons, but not my band. I was wondering if you eat popcorn and whether or not your doctor said you were able.

Ok, so I’ve got to get back into the swing of things. I don’t know how the rest of you “tenacious tens” are doing, but I am not doing like I expected to be. I’ve only lost 14 lbs since October. Now, keep in mind that I have been unfilled since march. I did not gain anything during my unfill YEAH FOR ME, but I did not lose either. Now I have a fill, and I’ve found that I’m having trouble following the rules. So I am going to get on here and post everyday and tell you what I have done, and what I haven’t. First, these are my goals. I do not eat very healthy at all, and I do not exercise. So for this next week, my goal is to eat one piece of fruit and one vegetable (at least) per day and to exercise at least twice. Little, I know, but I’m pretty much starting over. So, yesterday I scarfed down a whole 1700 calories. This only 2 days after a fill (I was filled Saturday). I’m decently tight, if I eat solid food, but instead I drank sweet tea, had ice cream and ate chips. So….now you know where I am starting. Today’s weight is 209, I will weigh again next Tuesday. Ok, so here is my guilt so far. I went an purchased a dr.pepper because I’m so darn tired!!!! This after I drank 20 ounces of coffee and took b12. well, I can’t handle the soda, so I gave it away YEAH!!!!. I haven’t had breakfast yet, so I will post again later today. Please join me. I’m going to share all and see if it helps, emotions, etc. I will admit I have been going through a lot of emotional stuff lately with the miscarriage and everything else. I’m taking a lot of new medicine’s, and I seem to not want to ween from the pain pills like I should. This is a struggle when you are trying not to eat. So, anyone else who feels the need to straighten up or stay straight, please join me. My goal for today is 800 calories and at least 40 grams of protein (this will increase over time, I hope).

ok, so for any of you that have followed me at all know that i miscarried this year and had some severe complications. well, i thought it was all better. i've been back at work for 2 months now, and then yesterday i end up in the ER and i have yet another uterine infection. what the hell? so, i have to go see my ob/gyn tomorrow and this is the same one that already thinks i need to have a hysterectomy. i'm not going to debate it on here, because i know it is a very personal thing. for me, i have so many problems now, with no periods, cystic ovaries, endometriosis, severe pms, and now severe lower back pain from a heavy uterus and infection with occasional black blood but no period. so here is my question: for those of you who have had it done (removing even your ovaries) do you regret it? how much time did you have to take off work? and the biggest thing..how did it affect your sex life? i'm married and sex is very painful now and it obviously affects my drive. also because my hormones are so out of wack, i am used to using a lubricant. i'm scared. i'm too young for this, but it appears that i am only putting off the inevitable. i can't wait to hear from some of you. and thank you in advance. btw..i went to my regular family doctor yesterday and he would not treat me..told me i had to go to er, because i was showing signs of being "septic". chills, fever, pain, etc. er doctor agreed. i got iv antibiotics and ioral antibiotics. also, the pain was horrible. 2 shots of demerol didn't do anything to me at all. they finally gave me stadol to help. they were very caring and helpful, i was afraid they were going to think i was not really hurting, because i wasn't crying or anything, but i was just honest with them, and they were fantastic (i have only been to the er in my adult life over this female crap and it has all been since my miscarriage).

thanks i will check that out. i still have pain and have had the hematoma since surgery. each time i decide to have sex it drains . ..i thought it was gone, but i decided to have sex last week and i bled all over the place. it is disturbing. i will go to hystersisters soon.

i'm 26. i have only had actual sex 3 times since hysterectomy on 9/22....(i had severe complications)....however, when i am pleasuring myself **blush blush** it does take longer. i take the estrogen shot though, and i have absolutely no drive the first 2 weeks ...then the 3rd week..i'm dieing..i have it done every three weeks (i did not have a drive before either though).

i have a band doctor that does NOT encourage unfills but i had to be unfilled half way for my hysterectomy. i'm still not ready for a fill because i can't eat very much. if i would have had a fill post surgery i would have not been able to keep anything down at all.

..sorry i didn't read the whole thread.. i can't use soap either..i have to use summer's eve. i can't use anything besides summer's eve or baby soap. no regular soap.

i went through the thousands of dollars in tests, and was put on antibiotics, that i had to take every time i wanted to have sex.... the end result...i have an allergy to latex. once i figured this out i started using those polyurethane condoms (really expensive) or lamb skin. no uti's in over 2 years. i was getting them at least twice a month and had to keep cystex and azo in stock. when i have an exam i ask them not to use latex gloves. now the allergy is showing up if someone touches me with latex or if i use a latex bandaid. crazy thing..but if you are using condoms..it is a thought.

...that is too ironic..i'm in a wedding in 3 weeks too...on the 29th..and i'm getting a fill just a couple of days before thanksgiving...the 26th if we all made the right decisions...we wouldn't need the lap band to begin with.

ok, i haven't logged my food yet, but i am going to start trying to do the quote of the day again, so here goes: "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." -Booker T Washington

i'm in.. and let me add to that list.. GGEETT A NNNEEWWW JJJOOOBBBB :laugh:

my husband says he can't feel a diff. but lately i have not been able to orgasm..not even by myself.

...my bladder hurts too.....i hate peeing. that is odd maybe it is just a hyster thing. my lower back is killing me again also...but i had sex after 4 weeks.....i haven't done it again, but i don't know that i didn't hurt anything..it just kind of "happened".

i was actually told about that rumor by a lady at my doctor's office. she said she new it for a fact, because she works in the field, but would not tell me the name of the doctor. she said he has to do the surgeries in a "surgery center" because he is not allowed to work at several hospitals in the area. i found this out after a neighbor of a coworker died for no explained reason just a few months after is lap band.

not 25...but 5...lol... 5 lbs is a big deal for me. when i weighed before i had my hysterectomy i weighed 210...which was not right....i think i had Fluid or something..now i weigh 195. so....i'm losing, but i'm not filled...don't get filled until next week (well..i have a fill but i'm not tight by any means.

ok..so i have a confession...i have never ever broken the rules before, but i had sex.....at 4 weeks. so, i watched the pavlik vs hopkins fight (i'm a boxing fan)..and my husband has a great body..for some reason though, i haven't had that feeling of "omg he's so hot" in years. well...i just got really turned on...by my husband and i didn't say no...the hormones got the best of me. let me just say that it was aaammmmmmaaaaaazzzzzziiiiinnnnnngggggg. i needed no lubricant and actually had an orgasm...actually 3 in about 5 minutes. i know that is a lot of information, but i never ever ever have those..it's always been too painful. there was no pain at all and it was wonderful. i haven't done it anymore though because i had a bloody discharge the next day...don't want to risk causing any problems.

i'm so glad that everything went well for you. i had to spend 5 days in the hospital and i had to receive blood on the 3rd. my son is actually boxing with his dad now. my husband used to box and he trained really hard. he never ever ate fast food, drank eggs daily, and would run about 10 miles. he looked damn good too!!! he still does, but he's starting to lose his 6 pack a little. i can't do it. i don't like to be hit...my husband tries to get me to box with him but i haven't taken him up on it. i don't like everything jiggling around as i have to jump around..lol. well..that is probably one good way to get that last 25 off!!! can't wait to start working with you again. i'm supposed to get my fill on monday. you better take it easy. i was specifically told not to do dishes, cook, do laundry or anything. especially with the hematoma. i just cooked dinner and i'm hurting now. be careful!

yeah, my day back is scheduled right now for 11/3?? i think, whatever the monday is after halloween. how is everything going for you?

want...have you had your hysterctomy yet? i'm wondering how you are doing? i developed complications and have just now been able to come off of the pain medicine. and i'm losing weight!!!! i dropped 5 lbs this week. i'm so excited. please let me know how you are doing....i would like to hear from everyone else too. wife mom...how is your son doing?

i had my hysterectomy on 9/22. i had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. i developed a severe hemotamo. i lost 1/2 of my bodies blood and had to receive 2 days after surgery. i've been on pain medicine since August and just now went off of it this week. it was very very very rough. the physical withdrawals were horrible, but i knew it was time. there is only so long you can go with taking those things. anyways, now that i'm finally coming out of the detox from the pain medicine i can say that i feel better. of course i still hurt right now, but i think that is because when you have been on pain medicine you are hypersensitive. not only do i feel better, but guess what!!!!!!???? i'm losing weight. i've dropped 5 lbs this week and i'm unfilled. i'm not very hungry and haven't been having cravings, that could be from the detoxing though. other news...well...the doctor wasn't sure what he was going to find during my hysterectomy. he was amazed when he got in there. he said the my ovary had completely adhesed itself to my colon and underneath my uterus was tons of endometriosis. i was shocked at this because i had just had a laporoscopic surgery in june. turns out that they can't see under there during a lapor. and it doesn't show up on ultrasound or anything. anyways...the ovary had adhesed since june and he was surprised that i wasn't in more pain than i was. i mainly felt it in my back. i'm not supposed to be having sex yet...and i'm not. i know that i asked you guys about how that was affected. well, let me say this..i'm on the hormone shot..pure estrogen every 3 weeks. i'm finding myself very easily turned on....it kind of cracks me up. before i never had that happen. now i will find myself physically aroused very easily. so, i can't wait until my time period is up. i can't imagine actually doing anything right now though because my pelvis is still quite tender......i don't really know how people break that rule.

my hair loss got real bad around the 4th or 5th month. then it just stopped. i have really long hair and had to get about 4 inches cut off to "lighten" it up. (i wanted to whack it off..hairdresser did not :wink2:). now i have all kinds of sprigglies all over my hair....lol.. melody mary...how are you doing? i had a hysterectomy 9/22 and developed a severe complication, so i've been doped up on pain medicine since. i'm not anymore. finally starting to feel a little normal now, and i'm officially under 200 lbs. and i'm unfilled. i've lost 5 lbs in the last week!!!! the gynecologist said that my ovaries were the problem and i should see significant improvement without them. i believe him. i'm not craving food like i was, i'm really not even hungry. boy..anyone that lives near the air base today is getting an ear full?! i guess they are getting ready for the air show. i've been listening to the air planes practicing all day.