Wheetsin

You go to the doctor as often as needed. I know that's not very specific, but someone whose port flips or whose band erodes needs to go to the doctor a lot more frequently than someone who experiences no complications. In the beginning, probably count on going more frequently than later on. Your surgeon is the one who can best estimate the visits you will need. In general you're probably looking at a post-op about 1 week after surgery, and fill appts starting maybe 5 - 6 weeks post-op (some much later though). After that as needed, although some surgeons require 6 month, 1 year, etc checkups. Really, ask your surgeon.

Doesn't sound band related to me, but as Alexandra mentioned, do call your doctor. My mother gets gallbladder attacks, and they bring a referred pain... meaning the pain she feels isn't where the problem is. Her gallbladder attacks have her grabbing her left side, right udner her rib cage, so there's potential similarity there. She's pretty much immobilized when they hit. She can't even get up to go lay down. They last several minutes, and tend to leave her feeling like she's been kicked when they're over with.

One note, and this is purely MHO. That you've lost 50 lbs since April isn't necessarily an indicator that your weightloss is progressing "as it should". In quotes because there's no real way to define it for individuals, though the medical average is 1 - 2 lbs per week. For example, if you lost 50 lbs in your first month, but haven't lost anything in 6 months, yeah - you're still in the medical 1-2#/week guidelines - but maybe it's time to look at what you could be diong differently, which might include getting a fill.

If 2 bites is hurting, then I'd guess you're either not chewing well enough, swallowing too much at once, need to try a different kind of Protein, or need to consider a slight unfill. For me, hurt is an indicator that I've done a no-no. Day to day we should be able to eat quality foods without pain. Full for me feels like normal fullness, which I had to redefine after surgery. Before surgery, full = a little uncomfortable and no possible way I could eat one more bite. Now for me, full = no longer hungry.

I'm very open about it. And in the real world, I'm one of the more private people you're ever likely to meet. For me, I felt I had nothing to hide. It took me a long time to come to the decision to have WLS. I was thinking about it and debating it way back when they ran the US FDA trials. So I spent a lot more time thinking about it than most. This gave me a lot of time to come to terms with a lot of things. It helped me see that there was no shame in my actions, and that - contrary to my own beliefs - I was not simply taking the lazy man's way out. I'm not saying everyone here, I'm not even saying anyone here, but in the bigger scheme of the world, a lot of people do feel shame around their decision for WLS - and tend to equate it to a desperation move. As such, it becomes a symbol of their failure to achieve results on their own, and by hiding that they had lap-band, THEY get the recognition that the band would get otherwise, and also avoind being different, much in the same way people invest in cosmetic prostheses... you're more comfortable, there's nothing different about you, and sometimes more importantly (to the effected person) everyone around you is more comfortable. I walk a sort of balanced line. I don't advertise my band, but I never lie about it. When people ask what I've been doing, I tell them I had lap-band. When people ask why I'm not eating much, I tell them I had lap-band. If I were to overhear someone else saying they wanted lap-band, I would share that I'd had it, and then offer to answer any questions or give them information on resources they could use. But I wouldn't go into a restaurant and order "a small cup of Soup, because I have lap-band". I just say I'm not very hungry, or I will say that even though it doesn't look like it, that's really all I can eat. I've been out with other bandsters before, and have asked if we could split a meal because "we medically can't eat a whole one ourselves". I've never had anyone react negatively. Mixed emotions, sure - but always precedented by it being my choice. And I've been able to help people. That was never my goal in doing this, but I'm always open to educating. I've been banded what, 8.5 months, and I can think of 7 people off the top of my head who have already had or are trying to have the surgery because of me. As in - they didn't know it existed until I told them about it, or were too scared to really consider it until I told them the "real story" of what it's been like for me. Not more than 2 weeks ago a distant relative was told to have GB or he would die. he figured he was going to die. We went for a visit, they saw the weight I had lost, asked me how I had done it, and he's now scheduled for an information session with my surgeon. Indirectly, I may have quite possibly helped save his life. Knowing that, there's no way I could ever say I wish I had kept it to myself, because I didn't want someone watching what I eat or asking why I'm eating X, Y, or Z. I think a lot of people get very defensive about their decisions. That's rooted more deeply than we can ever point to on a message board. I think it's unfortunate that people equate sharing their story with having to also justify it or answer to someone else. I think it tells a sad story about the stigma that obesity carries. But I also think that someone sharing their story, if they're not ready to, will do more harm than good. This has to be a subjective, "to each their own" kind of thing. We are all comfortable with different actions and different degrees of interactions, and the most "why" can really hope to yield is that we need to just respect that some are, and some aren't.

I can get into some trouble with egg nog. Now you mention egg nog ice cream... it's the 2nd best frozen seasonal-only treat, second only to Cinnamon ice cream. Cinnamon ice cream is one of my favorites, but you can only get it about 2 months of the year. So I have to "make due" with Chubby Hubby. Piercedqt - the food is good! I will stick mostly to the Greek side since it's fairly rare that we put the time/effort into making the dishes. The homemade lamb gyros takes me a good 6 hours just to make, let alone cook. I just don't make that effort for the two of us. It can take me and mom a good 4 - 6 hours for a single pan of baklava, because of all the layering/brushing.

And yes, it is intended to be a permanent implant. If there are problems, it may have to come out. I've heard of some surgeons following a practice of removing fill once goal is achieved, under the belief that by then, the necessary behavioral changes should have taken place.

A lot of people here didn't get the band to lose weight. Me personally - I can lose the weight without the band. I've done it before. Many times. My problem comes into sustaining the weightloss. I'm perpetually in a state of "lose" or "gain", without much room for "maintain". So for me the key to the band was about keeping the weight off. If the program you use is worth the paper its letterhead is printed on, you will be required to see a psychologist before surgery, and follow-up appointments at the psychologist's discretion. Part of the reasoning for this is to identify your eating behaviors - emotional/behavioral - and identify ways to work around them. The band does not fix your head. But it will make a difference. When you feel physically stuffed after a few bites, and CAN'T eat the rest of the yumm'ems, it makes a hell of a difference. If someone is determined to stay fat, they can exist on a diet of milkshakes, icecream, fudge, and sugar packets and stay fat. When you're at good restriction, it's very difficult to overeat. Even if you push yourself to that point, the pain it will cause is a fantasticb-mod deterrent.

Really? Tthat just doesn't sound right. It doesn't make much sense, either. Why would anyone sign control of their, or a family member's, assets over to the nursing home? I could see - maybe - monthly cash amounts that went toward the cost of the care... but do you mean assest in terms of houses, cars, investments, etc?

New progress pics. That skirt was a 32 from Avenue and it was TIGHT. Jeans are a 22. I look at these pictures and think -- &$%^@# I can't believe I ever let myself get like that. Still (obviously) carrying a lot of weight between my knees and waist. Progress_11-9[1].bmp

I have UHC but didn't have to pay 20%, just my copay responsibilities. Inpatient was covered at 100%. Total out of pocket for the surgery was about $180 worth of $20 copays.

THANKS for reminding me, I will get the PS information when we're there for Thanksgiving. I totally dropped the ball & forgot about it. Could eat fine the first time I tried, about 2 hours after landing. Haven't had any problems since. Curse of the random restriction. I haven't weighed since before the trip, but right before had finally gotten to where I was reliably in the 260's when I got on the scale. Took me a LONG time to get there. I wish I was losing a pound a week. Then again, I haven't really done much of any exercise in too long, so I can only blame myself. And I could probably use another fill, but to be honest I'm nervous to, and not because of the PBing, but because of all the other complications around it. I swore to myself that I wouldn't be worrying about everything, but with the weird feelings I've been getting from my band area lately, it's always in the back of my mind. I had this kind of unofficial and unannounced goal of 250 by the end of the year. No particular reason for 250, just kind of picked it out. I'm about 15 - 18 lbs away. So at the rate I'm going, I ought to hit that goal around September 2007.

Ok uh... spent all last week in San Francisco area. Flew out on a Saturday, flew back home Saturday. Starting the first meal there I was TIGHT. Everything, and I do mean everything, that I tried to eat hurt. A LOT. Sometimes I'd be able to eat about 45 minutes after my first few bites, but for the most part the pain killed my appetite. Out of need to eat something I ended up pretty much living on Hummus from the local Whole Foods. The morning we left I had a very minor PB on a CROUTON off of DH's Breakfast casserole. Scared to eat again before the plane left b/c I didn't want to end up PBing midflight. On the plane I ate a TINY bite of one pretzel over about 5 minutes because I was starving, but didn't feel safe eating. Even passed on the two fresh baked in flight Cookies. Landed and drove an hour straight to the parents' - they were dog sitting for us. Mom had some buffalo chicken dip right out of the oven, so I took a bite, felt just fine. Starving at this point. Took about 3 more bites, still fine. They wanted to go out to eat so I ordered a cup of potato Soup. Did just fine. Nibbled on their wonton-like appetizer, did just fine. Few hours later had a small slice of Peanut Butter pie - did jsut fine. Did just fine all day yesterday. I've taken probably 20 roundtrip flights since my banding in March. Three I've been so freaking tight the entire time I can't really tolerate anything other than Water or things that are the same consistency. The other times I've either been wide open, or it has come and gone... a day fine, then tight a few days, etc. There's no rhyme or reason. Uneblievably tight the first time was a week in Florida, literally didn't have a single meal without lots and lots of pain. The second time was a week in Illinois, I actually got stuck on soup. This time was a week in California... so it's coast to coast. No pattern there. I'm going to start getting serious about logging my travel problems in relationship to TOM. I get really freaking tight before TOM, and pretty wide open during... this last trip was a week after... so maybe there's some kind of weird connection there.

1. DH, my life companion and absolute best friend. Our adorable dog. My job - I absolutely love what I do and have a very strong passion for doing it the best I can. Anticipation of the great things happening the following weekend. Spontaneous shopping trips. The time DH and I put aside every day when we get home from work just to lay in the silence and hold each other. Guess I only have one.

There are 1 - 3 things that get me through a craving, 1 - 3 bites of whatever I'm craving. I guess I have a different philosophy than most. I don't fight cravings. If I really want something, I have it. My belief is - if you don't have it, you either begin to dwell on it or it just manifests itself in a different craving. Both of which are very likely to lead to overeating or binge eating. SOOO many times I've seen people who really just want a cookie, tell themselves over and over they can't have one, which makes them want it more, and their craving just grows until they "snap" and eat an entire bag of cookies... and rarely stop there. Why not just have the cookie when you crave it? *shrug*

We have a hybrid "traditional" Thanksgiving and Greek. My family provides the Greek elements, and a few of the classics. Everything else is a "usual" dish that someone else brings. So our menu looks something like this: Fried turkey (dad makes this with creole butter injection and herb rub - YUM) Mom's "famous" vinegar potato salad Mom's "famous" sweet potato souffle Sstuffing Cranberry salad Jellied cranberries Green bean casserole Cheddar & broccoli rice Pumpkin muffins Deviled eggs Pecan pie Pumpkin pie Harvest apple pie Cider Egg nog Etc And... Marinated rotisserie leg of lamb Spanikopita with feta brew dip Dolmades Moussaka Pastitsio Homemade lamb gyros Baklava Loukamades Last year was nice. Just us & my parents. I let Honey Baked Ham take care of all the culinary needs. Aaah...

Yes, you're welcomed to hate diet milkshakes. I know I do.

I've been in San Francisco since Saturday, flying out tomorrow afternoon. Holli - that sucks about your friend. I've been having a lot of pain around my band/port area, but more muscular pain than internal pain... kind of like muscle twinges. I've wondered if it isn't some scar tissue interfering and poking into things. And you can feel a big "mass" where my band is. DH always thinks he's feeling the band. Maybe I'm more scar tissued up inside than I'd have thought. AND I've started having the same issue of discomfort during intimate moments. Just in the last few weeks. I've actually had to tell DH to stop so we could change positions because it hurt too much and felt too weird to ignore. I guess before there was still too much fat there that could cushion things! Having a hard time eating this week. Not sure if it's because of the flight, or the weather change (I swear gumidity effects my restriction) or what, but everythign but soup feels like I'm eating chunks of lead. No PBs, but did have one close call, kind of (was in the stall spitting out the slimes, and then did my hiccup/burb combo that tells me all is well). My own fault. I had chewed food, and took a bite of something way too spicy, and sort of instinctively swallowed it to get it out of my mouth. Have to watch out for that.

In my husand's home land, you pay about 28% sales tax on everything. And the economy doesn't support odd amounts of money (e.g. pennies) so on top of that sales tax, everything is rounded up to the next whole "dollar" amount. In turn, the only cost of continued education is books. If you need a job the "employment office" doesn't just enter you into a system and look for matches, it pays to send you to your job interviews, including hotel stays of needed. You can see a doctor for a reasonable fee, without private insurance, or for a very small fee you can see a nurse practitioner. Taxes are done with a single signature on a single card that you review & then drop in the mail.

I ask becacuse - seems like there could be some ambuguity between "need a fill" and "dialated pouch" -- and if there's anything we can know/do to differentiate between them... the better it will be.

So when you guys have dialetd your pouch, did you have any idea? I mean - were you eating "big" meals? Was there any discomfort? What size meals were you eating to dialate it, versus what size are you eating now?

I clamp down about a week before TOM and it's not until at least 3 - 4 days after that I can eat w/o every bite feeling like a chunk of lead. I usually only have PB problems either right before or right after TOM.

Pack Snacks, the meals served on international flights (at least the ones I take) aren't terribly band friendly - though there's usually more than enough food. If you have one, bring a laptop or at least a portable DVD player. Unless you prefer the onboard movie, of course. I like to bring wet wipes, hand sanitizer gel and some kind of facial cleanser pad (e.g. Biore wipes). Airplane air is so dirty, and after just an hour or two I can't stand feeling "sticky" anymore and like to have something to wipe my hands/face with. Sometimes you get lucky and they will circulate with hot towels, but sometimes they seem to forget. You won't need to worry much about bloodclots. The planes they use for international flights are pretty big, and at least the ones I've been on are rarely full. This means plenty of aisle space for walking. And if you're lucky there will be several rows of seats that are unused... so flip up the armrests, grab a couple of pillows, and make an impromptu bed. sleeping is one of the best ways to make the time pass. Sudoku gets you far. And any grooming items you'll want... you'll probably e wallering all over a seat or two, so you might want a hairbrush, and if you wear make-up and need to look good when you land... a touchup kit.

Believe it or not, day to day I don't see a difference. I see how much farther I have to go, not how far I've come. When I posted this lastnight, I hadn't seen the "before" pics in several months. I literally stared in disbelief when the file opened. I used to look at those and think, "Yep, that's what I look like." Now when I see them, I'm just absolutely disgusted, and I wonder how I lived looking like that.

It's been a long time since my "Death & Dying in Children's Literature" class, but there are a LOT of books out there that deal with the subject. Oh another I just thought of two more that were personal favorites - Bridge to Terabithia and The Last Day of April.