Done

My husband said earlier today that my butt is getting smaller! He also said my face is waaaayyy less puffy than it was pre-band.

269!!! I haven't weighed in the 260's since 2006! I'm using my BODYBUGG now. I almost achieved my target deficit of 1600 calories, I reached 1356 . My goal is to lose 3 lbs a week so that I can be at my goal weight by the end of this year.

OMG, I am so sorry to hear that you are being bombarded with hate mail! I would report them to the site admin. What a bunch of knobs. Congratulations on doing so well post-band and congrats for standing up for yourself in getting it removed. For some people it doesn't work. Thank god the band is reversible, unlike some other surgeries...

Here is what I did - heating pad, patted my chest, walked around, raised arms up and down like I was flapping...used peppermint tea.... those all helped immensely. But the #1 thing to do when I had gas pain was to sit up and walk. HTH

Sorry Aikira, I don't have any suggestions for you. I hope it gets better!

Hi Scruffy, I am a 'seasoned' antidepressant user. :-( I went through the horrendous withdrawal from Paxil. What I can suggest to you is to have some Omega 3-6-9 supplements, and sloooooooooooooowly reduce your dosage...a tiny, tiny fraction every week. Another thing to do is to add another antidepressant to hopefully alleviate the withdrawal symptoms from paxil. Did you experience withdrawal symptoms such as electrical shocks in your head, dizziness, nausea, basically feeling really sick? There was a huge class-action lawsuit a few years back...patients who were not told by the mfr of the horrendous withdrawal they would go through should they decide to discontinue the med. There are other ideas that I haven't mentioned..it's been a while...I would highly recommend you google 'paxil withdrawal' or 'paxil side effects'. There is also a good website I think is called Ask a Patient: Medicine Ratings and Health Care Opinions. There is a section where people report their side effects for meds. Here are some good websites that may help: benzo.org.uk : Dependence on Antidepressants & Halting SSRIs by Dr David Healy MD, FRCPsych Quitpaxil: paxil withdrawal advice Tips to Reduce Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA -- Tonks 324 (7332): 260 -- BMJ HTH :smile: It can be done.

Thanks Patricia for the info. :smile:

Hi Patricia, hey, are you going to the NW fill center for your fill? I'm just curious how they operate -- do you have to get a referral from your surgeon, or can you just there on your own? How do they keep track of your fill level? Do they empty you then start fresh in the beginning? Just trying to find out more information on that clinic in case I am in a position later on where I need a fill and one isn't available here, or if I know I need a fill but the surgeon won't do it. Thxs!!!

Oh wow, I'm not sure if I should say you are lucky or to say sorry! :smile:For the first week whenever I drank everything 'bubbled up' and I had to burp after every single drink... and I could barely drink anything, I filled up so fast. Is that what you are going through? That's where I lost most of my weight. Now it's different, it's like I don't have the band in me. 26 more days until my first fill.

Hi Joyce, the nutritionist works at the hospital..my doctor didn't send me to her...his post-op diet and hers are completely different, so I'm kinda taking the middle road on it...still on liquids like he wants, but no solids like she wants me to.

Hi there, Hmmm...I wonder if that is the same band my surgeon used. One of his patients (on a separate email list) stated he was using a newer band. I'll have to ask him. I'm still toughing it out on liquids. I made pizza for lunch for my daughters and didn't eat any. Now i'm off to eat more butternut squash Soup... nummy! LOL Also wanted to add that it is very cool you and your BFF are doing this together! And I hear ya on having the surgery so we wouldn't feel hungry again. I hate this whole dieting part. Not fun at all.:mad:

My god I am having a hard time creating an account to use the bugg I purchased off of ebay. When I created my account and was up to the step where I enter my VISA #, it didn't have any provinces listed! So I go and call the customer service #, it won't take calls from Canada! I call the technical support # and they don't even have a number I can call. Anybody happen to have the right phone #? TIA

"When I saw that thread I had to restrain myself from suggesting all dumb asses eat taffy and steak right after surgery. I actually had to restrain myself from writing that. I'm to the point that I don't care, they can eat what they want. It's their band, their stupidity, their everything. I'm not talking someone who learns from their mistake but instead someone who changes their beliefs to fit their behaviors. Big, huge, mega difference. I am not talking someone who doesn't understand the reasoning behind the diet, I'm talking someone who knows full well why the diet is important, WHAT is healing (and it's not stomach swelling), someone who knows they are doing something wrong and instead of bloody well taking responsibility for their own actions they justify it by changing their beliefs to fit their behaviors and telling newbies that the old timers are wrong." I felt the exact same feelings pre-op, then for about five days post-op where I could only get down clear fluids...but then I got off my high horse and started being more supportive to others. It is quite offensive to state that a person who is tackling compulsive/binge eating is a dumb ass or it is due to their stupidity. Obesity / morbid obesity is a complex issue, and to a lot of people it takes a great deal of time, and fills, to finally be able to get a grip and become successful at their weight loss. Making a statement like that is extremely discriminatory and does nothing but make the person that is having these difficulties feel extreme guilt over their actions...which causes them to eat more...which then makes them feel more guilty and depressed...the vicious cycle continues on and on. They go through the exact same negative feelings before surgery. Dealing with people that assume because they are obese that they lack willpower, they are stupid, etc. etc. does nothing but put them back into that depressed state. I would dare to say that the vast majority of people who are banded do have periods where they succumb to their overwhelming urges to overeat; however I believe that if they have a supportive group of friends they will be able to finally achieve success.

I don't have an answer for you, but I just wanted to send you some (((hugs))). It is an amazingly difficult process in the beginning, more than I ever expected. I had this assumption that after the surgery I would feel restriction...well that lasted for about a week. Good luck and I hope you get some good answers.

Maybe Firefox is set to not allow Cookies. Maybe clear them out and your cache. Also maybe your mailbox is full? Just a thought. Good luck :eek:

I was just thinking, relationships are like teeter-totters. In the beginning we were the fatter ones, sitting at the ground like some sort of bottom-feeder, while the other basked up high in the spotlight. Now the tables have turned. They don't want to be on the bottom! There is a transfer of power. Such a drastic change in the dynamics of the relationship. When somebody states something negative, I call them on it right away, asking them something similar to "why on earth would you say something like that?" and offer them the chance to apologise as they *may* have not intended it to be offensive (except the saggy boobs statement, that is really uncalled for!). I like doing it when around others as it will most likely embarrass them!

I'm sorry you are going through this. If it helps I know how you feel. I kinda went through a grieving period, missing food ... missing Cereal, breads, Pasta, etc. etc. NOT hitting a fast food joint while out driving was really difficult! I got distraught at one point thinking, why did I do this to myself, I just want to eat. All I want to do is eat! Then those feelings did pass, and I now am very happy that I was banded. The feelings I now have to deal with are impatience in having to wait another 3 weeks for my first fill.

Update: took my measurements, clothes on (like that matters, ha ha!!): shoulders - 55 chest - 52 waist sucked in - 48.5 waist - out - 50.5 hips - 52" fat roll - 56" upper arm - 18" upper forearm - 33.5 (cm) wrist - 19.5 (cm) upper thigh - 29" calf - 19.5" Waiting for my first fill on the 11th. Not a fun waiting game.

Oh my god, it is sooooo rude to leave your shoes on in somebody else's house! You'll get their floors dirty! I would flip if somebody left their shoes on in my house. I spend too much time cleaning to have to clean up after somebody else's dog poo/outside gunk mess inside my house. I have small children and the last thing I want is for them to roll on the floor where somebody had their outside shoes on. The only time to do it is when the owner specifically states that it is OK as the floors are really dirty (i.e. doing major work in a home, wood floors, etc., or just walking in and out). If they tend to not care if you have your shoes on or off, then that means their house is really dirty. Do Canadians keep cleaner houses than Americans? This is just a non-issue! You don't do that here. Talk about cultural differences, EH???

This thread reminded me of a trip my husband and I took about two months ago. We live near Vancouver and took a drive down to Issaquah Washington (just south of Redmond) for a car meet. One of the Americans there asked where we were from, we said outside of Vancouver, and he replies something like "oh wow, so you're from Canada. Must be getting really cold up there. Do you have a lot of snow yet?", in which I replied "buddy, we live an hour away, our weather is the same as yours". Then a buddy of ours (who happens to be aboriginal) said "yeah, I just finished building my igloo". OMG we were LAUGHING and the guy was so embarassed!

Just had to say, your progress is amazing! Way to go :welldoneclap:

Sixteen days post-op...haven't used anything on the scars, not really concerned. Port finally doesn't hurt!

OUCH!! Staples!?? Owee!! :smile: Those must hurt. I just had glue in my incisions.

Gena, I just wanted to pass along some (((hugs))) to you. My mom had pancreatic cancer as well.

Hi there, When I was initially looking at having bariatric surgery, I logged on to bulletin boards, for both gastric bypass and lap-band, and read the threads that had to do with complications & side effects. I wanted to get a realistic idea of what I was signing up for. Reading literature that describes possible complications is one thing, but reading people's personal stories, and the suffering they have endured really sticked home with me. That is why I chose the lap-band. I have two small girls, ages five and three, and I needed to be there for them, have a fast recovery, and not risk my life having bariatric surgery. I hope this helps somewhat and I wish you luck in your decision. :-)