youknowit

Hey FireFly... We just barely missed each other there in Mexicali. Sorry we didn't get a chance to meet, but I'm so happy to hear you're back home and on the sleeved side! Sounds like you're feeling very similar to the way I was feeling at first. Still a bit chilly here and there, but a nice pair of socks seems to help. :smile: How is your weightloss so far, and how is your tummy? I hope all is well! Did you meet all the nice people that were there whilst you were there? I met a few that came in the day before you, from Washington State and Canada, nice people. It was a pleasant experience for me, overall. Hope it was for you too! Best! :001_rolleyes::biggrin0:

Don't get too chilly out there on the East Coast, LAN, and I hope your depression and anxiety are getting better! Best to you! :001_rolleyes:

One more thing... I read this article 2b4me put up last night, and can I say there were a few things that very much surprised me, and I wanted to know if anyone had any input on it: It says in the article that it will NEVER be a good idea to eat corn kernels, corn products, corn chips, etc. Has anyone had problems with this, or has anyone else gotten this advice? It also says to virtually avoid crunchy foods... or wait until at least the 3rd month to TRY them, but they are STILL not recommended. It says, "Raw vegetable Fiber, even though chewed does not dissolve and can potentially obstruct. These include: corn chips, potato/tortilla chips, taco shells, nuts, seeds, carrots, celery, grain..." Am I really never going to be able to eat a peanut again, or a crunchy carrot? Never going to be able to have another bite of a crunchy taco? I was surprised by this, as I've read and read that "eventually you can eat anything, in very small portions." What gives? I don't plan on digging into chips and salsa all day every day or a big bag of chips, but a bite here and there would make life more pleasant in the future. Any thoughts? :001_rolleyes:

The bullets I'm taking are actually Whey Protein, as they are from a diet/fitness store. They had so many options, it was almost scary... some of the bullets have up to 45 grams of protein... I think that's a waste, so I got the 25 gram bullets. Now that I can have full-liquids, I got a few packets of different types of stuff, hemp protein and whey protein, from Whole Foods. They look and sound pretty good. Once I try them, I'll let you all know if they're any good. I've tried hemp milk before, and I really liked it, so here's hoping. 18 grams of protein per packet. Thanks for the support everyone... and thank you Oregon, for saying that it takes a while for the ghrelin to leave the body. I never thought about that, and it made me feel a bit better. I'm still feeling pretty darn tired and hungry, but I'm working through it today... Best to all! :001_rolleyes:

Hey all. So I've been moping around today, starving, not wanting to drink another ounce of the Pro-Stat 64 because it's SO darn sweet (smells like caramel, tastes not so much like caramel), and not wanting to even have another drop of a Protein bullet (again, the sweetness is brutal). Well, I had a moment of food-depression clarity: "Use this Pro-Stat as a SWEETENER in a hot tea, you can choke that down!" Now I must admit, I'm not one for sugar or sweetener in my teas, yea, I'm weird, but I figured I could get it down this way, and voila! 15 grams of protein in ONE ounce of Pro-Stat, added to an 8 oz cup of hot Jasmine Tea! YAHOO!!! This might just save me over the next couple of weeks. Thought I'd share. Hope this helps someone.

Hey Sleeve Twin! I must say, all the food commercials (nasty-fasty food, in particular) has been driving me nuts. Things that I don't even LIKE have come on TV and then I get a mental twinge of loss, then anger. UGH! I sure hope that "nothin sounds good to eat" thing kicks in for me. I've been craving some things like chicken and shrimp, which is a Protein crave... That must have something to do with my having a hard time getting all the protein in... Thanks for the kind words of support, I needed that... And the reminder that I'm losing pounds that won't be coming back, well, that is priceless!:scared0:

Thank you SO much for showing me this article, and letting me know I'm not the only one... I truly have been miserable today. It's a mentally tiring exercise, trying to get myself back in the game I guess... I'm going to try some thicker shakes... Not feeling too excited about that, but alas, I will live. Will head out to buy something at GNC tomorrow. Here's hoping that in a week or so when I can try mushies, my spirits will lift! :scared0:

I keep thinking that must be it, but honestly, it's a physical pain/hunger most of the time. Perhaps I'm not getting in enough protein, but I'm trying... it's hard. Thanks for your support, I appreciate it. :scared0:

One more thing... I got the Prevacid pretty cheaply at costco. If you have one near by, you can get 3 bottles with 14 once a day doses for about $25. Costco - Prevacid?24HR Acid Reducer 15 mg. 42 Capsules Walmart and Target also have it, but they are a few dollars more than Costco. Walmart.com: Prevacid 24HR Acid Reducer Delayed-Release Capsules, 42ct: Medicine Cabinet

I agree with what everyone said, you must get an acid reducer. And, I personally believe that sometimes the antacids do cause nausea, as I've experienced that many times in the past when taking Tums or Pepcid (prior to the sleeve). For the first few days in the hospital, I tried to choke down dissolved Nexium, and I threw up and felt very nauseous after it each day. When I got home, the doc told me to switch to Prilosec or Prevacid, which can be taken whole with Water... they are very small. I tried Prevacid and it has been a god-send. I figured because Prilosec and Nexium are closely related in their chemical make-up, I'd try the Prevacid. Have felt so much better (in terms of my nausea and acid) since the day I started. Hope this helps and that you feel better soon! Hang in there! :thumbup:

So while wandering the aisles of the grocery today (dying from all the food) I came across something I haven't seen or thought about in a long time... General Foods International Coffees. I'm not a coffee person perse, but I do like a nice mocha from time to time, and voila, there was a box of Suisse Mocha Caffee that is sugar free AND caffeine free. Came home, heated up some Water, 3 teaspoons, what can I say... DELISH! Thought you guys might be interested as this feels creamy and smooth, a tad bit of chocolate, a hint of sweet but not too much, and a smidge of coffee flavor. Hope this might help some with another "liquid" as I'm now in the full-liquids phase and still feeling pretty starved... http://brands.kraftfoods.com/GFIC

I've lost 15 pounds in the first 10 days, however, I haven't lost any sizes. Same size clothes, tried on my "dressy work pants" today, still way snug. Hoping the inches will catch up with the pounds soon. I'll keep you posted. :biggrin0:

You might want to try Slow Release Iron (there's a link below). You might need to take two to get to the same dosage as the 1 tablet you're taking now, but they don't bother me, and I've been taking iron, unfortunately, for years. This is the only one that hasn't given me tummy problems like the regular pills: Buy Slow Fe Slow Release Iron, Tablets Online at drugstore.com I have also seen chewable iron, but it's kind of expensive and I doubt very tasty, I've never stretched myself to try it. Bariatric Iron supplements For Your Gastric Bypass Diet Lastly, you might want to look for a good chewable Vitamin with iron. Most adult chewables have a 50% daily dose of iron in them, I also take the adult chewable everyday (which includes iron) and one of the Slow FE, that seems to work for me.... Hope this helps! :biggrin0:

Oh Loser... I have discovered that I was FAR more addicted to nasty-fasty food than I thought. I have been craving a Sonic Cheese-Stick like you wouldn't believe. I must be sick in the head! I totally understand you hunger pangs for those things we used to love love love so much. Thanks for bringing that up, because I feel the same way.

YAHOO!!!!!!!! CONGRATS! :thumbup::thumbup:

Hi Deb, Are you taking any kind of acid reducer, like Nexium or Prevacid? I've read around here on the boards that some people have pain, etc, associated with acid problems. Maybe this could help? Hope you feel better!

Wow, Oakley... That's an interesting way to do it. I feel like I'm "kind of" on something like that. Because of my additional issues, Dr. Aceves is having me to 10 days minimum, per phase... 10 days of clear liquids, 10 days of full liquids, 10 days of mushies, then on to "trying" regular foods. I swear this 30 days feels like it's going to do me in. I was DYING for a drink of milk yesterday, and I don't usually even like milk much, never want it. Still waiting until tomorrow for that swig of milk. LOL... It's been touch with the clears, but manageable. Hope all goes well for you!

Hi all... I need some insight here... I suddenly lost restriction (which was VERY GOOD prior), about a month and a half ago (going on two months now). I went to my fill guy, he thought maybe it was that I had lost more fat around my stomache. So I got a fill. Waited a week, no change. Got another fill. Waited another week, no change. Got another fill. No change, still. So we did some "pressure tests" which made my fill doc think I had good pressure, but he wanted me to get a fluro to see, and maybe an EGD. Skip to this past Saturday... I went to my band doc for a fluro, and before I got it done, he was optimistic and said it's probably just something with the port. No luck, it's the band. A BIG LEAK in the band. I saw the Fluid slide right out of the band and into my body on the screen in front of me. It took me a second for this to register... I'm going to lose my band. The doc told me it could be a couple things: 1) overfilling the band (not possible, as i wasn't even past 3ccs), and he was pretty pissed about this, but I told him there's no way this was the case, 2) malfunction of the band. Clearly, this is the only situation... it's not like I dug in and poked a hole into my own band! My band doc is going to attempt to get the band people to replace it for free, but I'm not too sure how this might work. I'm scared and sad. I have lost up to 78 pounds, and have gained almost 10 back already in the last two months. I'm worried that if they won't replace the band, I'm back to square-one, and out about $10k to start all over. I know if they will I'll still be paying for the surgery part of things, but I'm just so pissed! I have had this band for almost three years, no real issues, just the usual ups-and-downs of learning to live with the band and how it works. Any advice? Anyone have this happen to you? My doc says either way (if the band people will replace for free or not), I can definitely get this band taken out, and have a new one placed on the same day. I'm really pissed at my luck right now that the band is broken. Nothing "bad" will happen with it just sitting in there, without anything in it, but it's there... doing nothing. If you have had any of these experiences, please help! Have you been successful in getting Allergan/Inamed to replace the band? What can/should I do to make this happen? Thanks for listening and for your support and advice. -

I'm going to be totally frank with you... this whole journey with the band, from the day it broke, has been a nightmare. I don't want to sugar coat it. No, I didn't get it replaced, no ALLERGAN wasn't willing to help (they even told me I could just "leave it there, it won't hurt you"). A local doctor (not the one who did my original surgery) told me the same bullshiz - keep it in, no big deal. Well, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I was self-pay, and my insurance wasn't going to kick down anything to help... the local doctor that my insurance recommended me to wanted 10k for REMOVAL (yes, this was just for removal, to replace they were going to charge a total of 18k). It was going to be impossible. The final outcome... I got a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy last week (Feb 1, 2010). However, that's not the whole story... In March of 2009, I had the band removed in Mexico with an excellent doctor... We had planned to revise to a sleeve at that time, however, when they go in there they found I was severely eroded in three places, and they had to literally cut the band out in pieces, five pieces to be exact. I was not able to get the sleeve at that time. This was a terrible experience, waking up with no band, no sleeve, and a bunch of scars on my stomach from the severe erosion. I was pretty unwell for a while after that, both mentally and physically. Took me a long time to heal, and it was just rough... So after that, I had to save up and wait ANOTHER year (until last week) to get my sleeve. I gained back 60 pounds during this ordeal. It has been one of the most mentally trying times of my life... I wish you the best, and am glad to hear that your doctor is at least going to try to go for a replacement, if that is what you want. Personally, before you jump right into getting it replaced, I might recommend that you do some research on the success of replaced bands and associated weightloss, problems, etc. I have read a few studies and bits of material here and there about this, and the stats aren't very good... Many have slips and other problems with a second band, many don't lose the weight they've regained, etc. Just do your research, and I'm sure you'll do what's best for you. I guess the best research in regards to this was my gut... At first I wanted another band, I was so freaked out, I had lost 78 of the 100 pounds I needed to lose, I was so happy... I didn't even consider something else. Then my gut told me (along with the associated research): This might not be a good idea. You might need to do something else. Do you really want another very expensive piece of plastic that can very likely just break again, BACK into your body? The ultimate answer for me was NO, so I moved on... I am not saying you should do this, I am just saying you might want to consider ALL of your options... I hope everything goes well for you. Hang in there, sister! :thumbup:

Loser, you are making me SO hungry. I want something to CRUNCH in my mouth right about now. I dreamed of Fritos last night, and I don't even really like them... It's the feeling of the crunch and the salt that I think I'm craving. I'm on Clear Liquids for TWO MORE DAYS! AH! I think I need to hold a prayer vigil for myself that I don't go crazy! :wink: Here's to your trying some full liquids. Keep us posted. I need some inspiration, buddy!

I'd never heard of this fish before, so I looked it up. Sounds delish! Here's something from Consumer Reports about it. How cool! Thanks for sharing, I would never have known. Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog: What the heck is ?swai??

Good info! I wondered about that, as I used to have my nose pierced too. Glad they let you leave in the retainer.

Hi all. Ok, so I'm back home now, got back yesterday afternoon. Slept almost the entire day today, I'm sooooooo worn out. Will be leaving the house here in a few to make sure I don't get back in bed... it's a rare-RAINY day here in Vegas. Ok, so I need a little advice. Did anyone have problems with being allergic to the tapes used over the incisions or the drain? My incision tapes are fine, however, the tape that was holding the drain onto my skin, once off, has becoming very inflamed, gross looking, almost like a blister... Like very severe diaper rash? It itches incessantly, hurts a bit. Chopped up some regular Benadryl last night and that seemed to help a bit. Going to get some liquid today. This rash is ALL around my drain site, and this makes me nervous, cause I tried putting some hydrocortisone on the rash, but I don't want it getting near or into the drain incision, since it's open and still healing. It helped A LITTLE, but not enough. Do you think maybe diaper rash cream would help? Or something else? This problem is making keeping my drain incision covered very difficult, as I still need tape for that. Anyone with thoughts, I'm all ears. Help please! :sad0: