ShrinkyDink

Howdy. I'm 7 weeks post op now, and I'm still having double or triple the amount of gas I've ever had before. Sometimes I'm so uncomfortable it's painful and I'm visibly bloated. I'm not constipated, just so gassy! I'm a nurse and I know that right after surgery this is common, but I'm baffled about why it's still so bad this long after. Does anybody know? My suspicion is that it's from the fiber I'm taking, but I'm not taking in more than I did before, it just came from food before and supplements now, I'm getting a total of about 20 grams between what I eat and the Fiber Sure tablets. If it is the fiber supplements, does anybody know of one that causes less gas than others? Thanks :cursing:

When my husband sorts the laundry I end up missing half my clothes, I end up finding them in my teenager's things!

I saw Roheryn's NSV post and thought it would be fun for us to keep a running thread of our NSVs, to me they are more exciting than the scale moving! I didn't want to hijack her thread so here's a place for you to post if you want to join, here's a couple I've had lately: 1. Couple weeks ago I realized as I was walking that my arms were swinging freely, not brushing my hips! 2. I shrunk out of my size 24 jeans a while back but my size 22 jeans were also getting way too big so I went in last week to buy 20s, and they were also too big! Same brand same style too, I was so excited, I'm in size 18s for the first time in years! 3. In waiting rooms I used to always search for a bench or an armless chair and have a mini-panic if there weren't any cause I knew I could squeeze in but would be very uncomfortable and have that 'all eyes are on me' feeling. Today I was waiting for my mom in an appointment and realized I was sitting comfortably in a regular sized armed chair, I had sat down in the first chair without even thinking about it or looking around to find one I would fit in.

I had the exact same thing. Sometimes it was so bad I couldn't even turn myself over in bed, the pain took my breath away. My doctor checked everything out to be sure it wasn't a hernia or something of the sort, decided it was scar tissue and a port stitch pulling too hard against where it was attached and did another surgery through the same incision and clipped the bit of scar tissue causing the problem. It was instantly better, I woke up with the pain completely gone. Surgery took about 20 minutes and since it was just under the skin and didn't involve cutting muscle I was barely even sore. Hope this helps, don't let up on him until he helps you feel better, you shouldn't have to go around in pain like that.

My PA told me that when your pouch stretches it can get larger sideways causing pockets that the food gets stuck in. When this food is unable to move through all it can do is come up, so sometimes excessive PB-ing is sometimes a sign that the pouch is stretched.

I'm having the same issue, before banding I only had problems if I went way overboard with sodium but since banding it seems I've become super sensitive to it and I swell up if I go anywhere near the 100% mark on the daily plate, I try to keep it under 60% yet I still get puffy, I'd love to know what to do about it.

I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Yes I'm planning to start the Curves Smart thing next week, wanted to make sure I could do it first and I'm loving it! I have another NSV, I went into Dress Barn and automatically turned to the plus size side of the store where I've shopped many times for size 26 clothes. I picked up several dresses in size 18 and they were all too big! I ended up buying a 16 from the misses side of the store! I was so excited the salesladies thought I was gonna faint. I wanted to buy more but I'm trying to buy minimal clothes right now since I'm going through sizes so fast, can't wait to go back and buy a size 14!

Even if you don't feel puffy on the outside, your insides are swollen and that fluid weighs a lot. Your body is also in shock from the surgery and is holding on to every calorie it gets so it's normal to not lose right at first even with extremely low calories. It's hard to be patient cause you want the loss to start, but give yourself some time to heal and I promise you will start to shrink before your eyes :huh2:

I was banded last August and used my pool for exercise until it got too cold. Since then I've been stuck because of foot problems and have gotten virtually no exercise all winter. My foot is finally enough better to handle Curves now and I'm hoping it will jump start my weight loss, I've been moving kind of slow since I haven't been able to use the pool. You've made great progress already, so awesome!

That is awesome, I think wearing clothes that were too tight before is the best feeling! I have another to post, I joined Curves yesterday and last year there would have been no way on God's Green Earth I could have done that workout even though it's a relatively simple one. I did it without a hitch but still expecting to be sore today, but I'm not! I was going to skip a day between workouts while I got used to it, but now I'm not, I went again today!

I told very few people at first, for fear of failing and being "the girl who had surgery and still couldn't lose weight". As my success has become more obvious I've told more people, but I kind of wish I hadn't. I have one friend who is very offended that I didn't tell her when she first noticed my weight loss only a couple months after my surgery, but I just wasn't ready to tell people at that point. When I did tell her just a couple weeks ago she got really quiet and has been super cold to me ever since. I wish I had either A) told everybody from the beginning or :crying: told nobody at all outside of my family.

My doctor warned me about this before I flew last month, he said the pressure changes make us tend to retain water which makes everything puff up a little including the tissue inside the band, which makes it feel tighter. He told me to be prepared to only have liquids after flying if I needed to. I ended up being fine but my band was somewhat loose at the time.

Ask your doctor if you can take a stool softener like Colace. It's not a laxative so you won't have the crampy watery stools but it will soften things up and make it a lot easier to pass.

My daughter and I found the cutest boutique and I figured we'd only be buying things for her once I got a look at the adorable stuff in junior sizes S-XL. I decided to give an XL a try though just to see and OMG! I bought three sundresses! Granted they are too tight, but in a "yikes she shouldn't be wearing that" way, not in a "busting the seams and can't breathe" way. I wouldn't have been able to even put them on last summer without ripping something. They will probably fit me beautifully after another 20 pounds which will mean I'll have plenty of summer left!

Every milestone is a celebration! I have to say, I'm so proud of all of us, for the weight loss but mostly for the determination to get ourselves healthy. Go us!

I can't remember for how long, but my abdomen was swollen for a long time after surgery, I looked pregnant! I'm sure that's why your pants are fitting differently. I remember that once it started to go down, it was gone within a week or so though so hang in there :tt2:

I think it just comes down to we all have different levels of motivation and different obstacles in our paths. I self paid 15,000 plus another 800 or so for other band related medical costs along the way, but I've chosen to not work myself to death to get the weight off fast. I'd rather see it come off slow and steady than stress myself over getting it off quickly (not that everybody who loses quickly is stressing themselves, just that I did obsess over it at first and it stressed me). I've lost 62 pounds, 21 of that was before surgery so in the last 7 months since I got my band I've lost 41 pounds. Slow but I'm tickled pink about it cause I have fibromyalgia and plantar faciitis and without the help of the band I would have lost nothing or gained in that time. I do agree that it's frustrating to see people fuss about not losing when they openly admit to not following the rules. I freely admit that I make bad choices sometimes because in the past denying myself something has led to binging on the "forbidden" item. I also take full responsibility for the results of the bad choices. My loss has been slow, but my mind is not stressed, I'm happy :tt2:

I was in the same boat and gagged on all of them but now I really like the Atkins shakes. They don't have that smell and are not so thick and gunky. To me they taste like chocolate milk. They have 16 grams of protein and only 1 gram of carbs in an 11 ounce shake. I've found them at every grocery store I've been to here.

The biggest thing the band has done for me is teach me that I don't have to gorge myself on something to enjoy it. I used to eat a candy bar or a cheeseburger or whatever almost without thinking about it, but now because of the band I have to take small bites and eat slowly, which has heightened my enjoyment of each bite, which makes eating less just as satisfying as eating huge amounts before. I don't deny myself anything because in the past that is what has led to binging. When I want something I have it, I just eat small quantities and if it's an especially unhealthy thing I make up for it by only making the best choices the rest of the day. It's a whole new way of thinking about food, everything is ok as long as it's in appropriate amounts. What your doc was probably referring to is people who tend to eat slider foods, or foods that go down easily without having to pay attention to the band rules and tend to be bad for us (chocolate, ice cream, chips etc). If you are keeping in close contact with your doctor and keeping your fill level appropriate (not too loose, not too tight) you will have less trouble with good foods getting stuck and will be less tempted to go for the slider foods.

20 years ago I would have cried my eyes out over a size XL swimsuit, but now I'm celebrating! Funny how our perspective changes lol! I'm losing so fast I'm considering going back to buy another in size L cause I know the XL won't make it through the summer and you know how picked over the suits are by mid summer.

You should get a fill/follow up doctor here lined up before you have surgery, I know my doctor won't accept patients who have had surgery in Mexico, too much liability.

For the first time in years I actually enjoyed swimsuit shopping yesterday! I'm far from looking good in a swimsuit for sure, but last year's 3X granny suit was too tight and I ended up buying a comfy XL tankini for this year! Feels so good to try on a size that I think will fit and find it's too big, can't even describe the emotion!

Last year my swim suit was a granny type, size 3X and tight. It was so much work to get into it was a workout in itself. I just got home from buying a tankini, size XL!

As somebody who was heartlessly nagged by her mother about her weight when the most overweight I ever was as a teenager was 10 pounds, I beg you to tread lightly. A 14 year old has a very delicate self esteem. Try changing the family's habits without singling out that the changes are for her. Something to consider also, is she still growing? All of my kids grow in stages, they put on weight for about 6 months and get a little pudgy, then they stop gaining weight and suddenly get a couple inches taller which makes them thin as rails again. They've all done it from the time they were babies. Maybe it's something like that, or something puberty related?