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WOW! I'm sure my mind just went somewhere other than what you intended! :crying: But here's hoping that we all see some soon!! Of course, HarleyGirl with that awesome dress is probably the frontrunner right now for Hot Shamrock Action!

Hi, Shamrocks! That is some awesome willpower against the donuts! :thumbup: Thanks to all who've been posting sample menus that have been helping you with your weight loss. And Fenton, it's great having you back -- this thread is more lively with you here and we need that! But when will you get that ticker fixed so we can witness and cheer on your success? I had a fill over a week ago that was too much, but I was trying to work through it staying on liquids and mushies longer. But alas, two pieces of sashimi chewed in tiny bites did me in. I ended up throwing it all back up and was then so swollen, I couldn't swallow spit and was having serious pains radiating up through the band. Back to the doctor for an unfill and xray, and once again, my band has slipped so all the saline was taken out in order to let me heal. :crying: I should be able to start refilling the band next week, but my DH wants me to wait an extra week so I can "enjoy" all the Thanksgiving foods. I'd rather have my mushies that day (mashed cauliflower w/ Boursin cheese, pumpkin pie w/out crust, etc) and have leftover turkey and whatnot over that weekend rather than be without any fill at all, overeat, be overstuffed and feel bad. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it! :smile2:

I've been here quietly reading regularly... I'm just now finally getting some restriction but it's such a fine line for me between not having any and being too tight. After 4 days of being fine with this latest fill, I woke up not being able to finish a cup of coffee. I'm staying with liquids and Soup today and hoping that I might make some progress -- without experiencing dehydration this time! :laugh: Some of you Shamrocks really have a lot of stress in your life and you impress me with still managing through it all. Christine, you're making great progress, and Busy, if you're not already doing so, maybe try using a Protein shake or two to help yourself out. :thumbup:

Yeah, this is a scary holiday. I made a couple of batches of Rice Krispy treats for my son's class party, and inhaled five of 'em before I came back to my senses. :teeth_smile: I can't wait for my fill next week when I know I'll be on my best behavior.

Kathy, When they say the band slips, it's really that it's position has changed because the lower stomach has slipped up over the band. This happens from serious episodes of heaving and throwing up. I had a fill that was very tight, and after the first PB, everything became so swollen that virtually nothing stayed down. Like an idiot, I was trying to wait for the swelling to go down by going to just liquids, but that didn't work for days. Dehydrated, I finally went to the office, but by then the damage was done. So after xraying to check the band's position, they completely unfilled it so the stomach can slip back down. Then a week later, I was ready to start with a new fill. If they know about this happening soon enough (within a week or two), it usually heals itself by unfilling. Otherwise, the band may scar into place and that does require surgery to fix.

Welcome back, Fenton! It's good to "see" you. Good luck with that fill... I hope it brings you the control you've been wanting. :party: Hello again, Shamrocks. Wow, I don't know what I'd do if I were limited to 3 fills per year! Since I had a complete unfill 3 weeks ago after band slippage (OMG, I did the last supper thing too!), I've had 2 fills, and the second one turned out to be too much, so yet another slight unfill. But the good news is that this time it feels pretty good so far, and I'm still working my way up to real food. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! :Dancing_biggrin: I was a self-pay patient, and my fees cover unlimited visits/fills for the first year. I think I'm starting to panic about what happens when my year is up. I don't realistically see me reaching my goal by March unless I really do find that sweet spot and have great success. Is anyone else feeling this time pressure?

Niki, I don't know if this helps because I've not had the flu, but I recently did have to get my band completely unfilled due to slippage. The band was tighter, something got stuck, the subsequent PB caused swelling that became worse and worse until virtually nothing could get past the band. A day and a half of throwing up, retching, and reflux. Whenever there's been real retching, my doc's office wants to know at the next appt (within a month's time) and they do an xray to check the positioning of the band. Fortunately, they can do this in the office. If the band stays in the wrong position for too long (3 months?), it may need to surgically fixed. So, just be sure to bring this up again at your next appt! One thing I do remember in terms of guidelines re the flu is that they recommend you call the office and get an anti-nausea prescription (I forget what it's called). Next week I go back in to get my fill (slightly less this time) replaced. I'm glad you're feeling a little better today. Hopefully the worst is over for you!

Ooh, one more thing. The kids and I made a deal. I won't touch their Halloween goodies if they leave my Dove dark chocolate tiramisu squares alone. :smile: Just one or two are enough to satisfy my sweet tooth and it's my own very special treat when I need one.

Oh, also meant to weigh in (pardon the pun!) on the subject of family members and obesity. All my life both parents were obese and my mom constantly still struggles with this. Out of myself and my 3 siblings, one had gastric bypass, one had that duodenal switch (more extreme), and I, of course, had the band surgery. The first didn't get really heavy until adulthood, the second was fat from the minute he was born, and I was overweight by my early teens. Occasionally in my late teens and early twenties, I was actually "normal"!! My husband has been obese until he was finally diagnosed with diabetes last year. His diet has changed dramatically for the better. My daughter has a little belly, but is still in a normal weight zone -- and gorgeous, though I may be a little biased!! :smile: She eats a great variety of food. My son is somewhat overweight and we battle constantly to get him to eat veggies and more fruit. We try to restrict junkie Snacks to dessert at the end of the day, but I've found my daughter sneaking candy lately. Both kids are concerned about being fat though, given that their parents are. It's depressing all around. Last night my daughter asked me if the band was helping at all -- we haven't talked about the band in months. I asked her if she thought I was losing weight and she was baffled. I asked if she hadn't at least noticed that all my clothes are very loose, and thank goodness that registered. I think she doesn't even remember just how much bigger I was! :wink_smile:

Alright, I'll post. I've not been making much progress on the scale, so not that type of loser anyway! :wink_smile: I went for yet another "adjustment" yesterday only to find there was a lot less Fluid in my band than we were expecting. They always pull the fluid first as a reality check and then add on. Well, it seems that maybe my last fill (0.3 cc) leaked out significantly more when the needle was being pulled out?? I knew I had no restriction when I should've had a fair bit but I didn't understand why not until then. They were able to put in a full 1.0cc (which should've been way too much to add) but I had some taken out to 0.6cc because I've been overfilled before and I don't want to live that way. WHERE THE (* IS MY SWEET SPOT???? :smile: So, I've dropped my signature line documenting my fills as it became too long and given what I've seen at various fills/unfills, it seems somewhat irrelevant. I hope this fill helps! Fenton, we still want to hear more about Paris. Congrats on getting back on the wagon with us! :confused:

YAY, Fenton! I'm glad you're back and as you know, we all missed you a lot. I look forward to more of your pithy posts! :thumbup:

You know, they say you shed a lot more hair during the summer, so now that we're past that, I wonder if that's part of the reason it seems less drastic lately. Of course, this would only be true for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, I guess. That reminds me, where's AnnieDub? I was wondering how she's liking her sassy short hair now that she's had some time with it. I just cut my hair much shorter than it's been in years, and I'm finding it weird. Of course, she's probably too busy flirting with and seducing all the young men in Australia! Am I jealous? Yeah! :rolleyes2:

Why we want Fenton back: 1. We need some testosterone to help offset all the estrogen from us lady bandsters! 2. We want to hear about life in the big city --NYC! 3. We want to be able to celebrate with him when he changes his ticker to say -100 lbs lost! 4. We want to know how his new book writing is coming along. 5. We want to hear about Paris so we can live vicariously through his adventures and gourmet meals. 6. We want to hear all about your first fill!! 7. We want to hear about his cat and his blender...of course never in the same sentence...Fenton would never do that! 8. The suspence of not knowing if he's back on the wagon or not is killing us. 9. He has the personality of a cyber teddybear that gently tells us what we NEED to hear....with a sense of humor to boot! 10. Because I want to share ideas for celebratory TATTOOS! 11. We want to see him reach his goal of snowboarding!! 12. We leave no "bandster" behind!!! 13. We want to play Wii Fit with him.

Penny, Am I seeing things or did you change your user name?

MamaJava, I've had both experiences of PBing far too frequently and at other times, being too tight (see my fill line in my sig). When I was PBing a lot, it started with maybe taking too big of a bite and/or not chewing as much as I thought I did. But the really big mistake I was making was not realizing that there is swelling after a PB that maxes out around 24-48 hours later. It's really important to go to liquids/mushies to allow that healing time. Otherwise, you're just getting tighter with each PB/subsequent swelling. It's a bad cycle. Too tight (IMHO) is when you can eat solid food but if you do have a PB and then can't get liquids down the next day. Been there too. Like someone else said earlier, go back to liquids and then mushies for a few days. Let everything heal. Do not substitute ice cream for liquids. Use your Protein shakes. Keep it healthy and keep the faith. We will succeed, but it does take time....:smile2:

MsCathy, If it feels like Water might possibly get stuck, you're probably just a smidge too tight. I say this from experience. Even last week, I got a small fill (0.2cc) and everything was fine (but quite tight) for 4 days. Then I almost got stuck on something (no PB, just a sudden gush of saliva for a few minutes), and for the next 3 days, I could barely drink water from the swelling. My doc had to remove 0.4cc just to make everything comfortable again. Granted, I want the 0.2cc back, but the margin of error is just too slight if anything happens to get stuck. Tight seems like a good idea, but it's a tricky thing at best. Mind you, last month, they added that extra 0.2cc (but started by adding 0.6cc), and that had to be removed the very next day because not only did water not go down, neither did saliva. When you're so close to the sweet spot, it becomes very sensitive. That's just my experience...

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to be bratty and point out that it's a "write-off". Can I edit your next book?

Fenton, I look forward to seeing you post your latest results -- I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it may be. You know how much we all missed you while you were gone, but you're back now and we need your humor, advice, and encouragement on a regular basis. Just this last week, in fact, I've started making my morning shake with chocolate Protein, milk, frozen ripe banana, ice, and (gulp) salt, per your instructions. It's really good, especially the boost to the texture with the frozen banana. :ohmy: You've given us lots of support this far, and we're not going to let you struggle out there alone!

And while I'm in the mood to post and not just lurk... Amanda, WTG on the triathlon! That's truly a great accomplishment! Oh, and nice job saving your husband's life!!! :biggrin2: Fenton, Welcome back (belatedly), um, uh, congrats(??) on passing your stone... Now we'll just wait to see you hit the century mark... and without a fill! How do you do it? You're already 1/3 of the way done! SpecialK, You must feel awesome in Twoterville! How nice to pass a major milestone in your journey... All you other Shamrocks, keep doing what you do best. I love reading here while I'm trying to make progress of my own. It feels slow, but I may have finally broken my plateau the hard way -- I had a small fill that was okay for 12 hours, and had it taken back out the next day when I couldn't swallow spit or anything else. I had to go on Clear liquids and then gradually work my way back. By starting out with a little more fill (0.6cc) and backing it down to 0.2, it caused major swelling 24 hours later. Kids, don't try this at home! But the good news is that we now know that I must be close to my sweet spot...

WOW! Congratulations on the century mark!! You are the incredible shrinking woman!!!:thumbup:

Like Michelle and yourself, Bexter, I'm really shocked to hear your doc doesn't believe that swelling occurs. After last week's experience, I know there is! This is why my doc insists you should do 2 days liquids, 2 days mushies, and ease back to real food after a fill. Of course, until the last time, I never "felt" the swelling, but it clearly occurs. Also, I agree -- this board is so great for support in a way that we all need! I think I check in at least once a day while I struggle through each day of this friggin' plateau. I have such hope that my next fill will finally help! And, Michelle, thanks for helping me keep that hope!!

Bexter, At least you have company in your frantic state... ME! :biggrin2: You have great weight loss so far, so congratulations. But I totally feel your pain. I've been stuck at the same weight for 2 months too. At 7.0cc, I have minimal restriction -- yes, I do get stuck sometimes, but no help with hunger and I can eat too much. Last week, I tried to get a fill, but it started too high (0.6cc addded) before we backed it down to 0.2, and that caused so much swelling, it had to be taken out the next day. I couldn't even swallow my own spit. Ugh. It looks like 7.2cc will be good restriction whenever I can get an appt to have it added. Hang in there, and go slowly on your upcoming fills. You may be closer to that sweet spot than you think!

Wow, ladies, you are doing fantastically well with your weight loss!! :eek: I have to admit that I've been struggling along for a bit too. This eating with restriction is becoming a little Pavlovian where sometimes you don't even want to try to eat for fear of the results, even if you're careful about bite size and chewing. Sometimes stuff just doesn't go down well. The other night, after a day with no problems, I took some Tylenol capsules and a few sips of Water in the middle of the night (because my legs hurt from overdoing it on Wii Fit), and they got stuck! How annoying! My doc and I have been reluctant to put more fill in, but when all is going well, I know I can still eat too much (however rare those times may be). On the other hand, they think I'm not getting enough Protein, so for the next week or so, I'm trying to get 100+ grams (including 2 shakes a day)to see if it will break the plateau I've been at for the last month. If not, I guess I'll have to go for more fill? Why is this not easier?

Thanks for the reply, Dewl, and I think it's fabulous that you took the time to write all that down. But one question I still have is... how many grams of Protein do you consume each day? I've been at a plateau for about a month, and the consensus (from the doc's office) is that I'm not getting enough protein. So, we agreed that I would spend some time upping my protein intake, but at the same time, I'm thinking I also need a fill because I can eat way too much (IMO). I hate doing both at once because then I can't see which thing is helping. Ultimately, of course, I think the fill is in the near future, but first I want to see if I can bust the plateau with 100+ grams of protein per day. Thanks for your help!

Dewl, Could you post what you're eating in a typical day? And are you also doing Protein shakes?