Wheetsin

Yeah it bites. Things I've bought recently, all with comparable fits, have been anywhere from 14 - 22, xxl juniors, 3x women's. It sucks because I hate trying clothes on, and I'm getting tired of having to make refund trips.

This is why you don't worry about weightloss during recovery. Weightloss-friendly foods are not really recovery-friendly foods. Many recovery foods are low carb, which is almost always high fat/calorie. Likewise, low calorie is almost always high carb. Someone already posted this, but it's right. Any weight lost between surgery and restriction should be seen as "bonus" -- not something you go into the surgery expecting. Increasing complex carbs -- I pretty much mean just what I said, so I'm not sure I understand what you're wanting to know. If you were eating those foods in weightloss modes, I'd say you have way too many simple carbs and need to replace them with complex.

I don't go by sizes because yesterday I bought a 14 at Kohl's and then had to buy a 3x at TJ Maxx.

The docs can do a urine test. It takes about 4 minutes, much less than the lab results from bloodwork. I knew I wasn't pregnant. My mom kept telling me I was, my husband had no opinion. I did the test to shut people up, set it down, started to vacuum... then looked at it just to look at it and ... wtf??? It was a happy surprise for us, but we hadn't been trying that month or the month before. We had been trying hard off & on for about a year with no luck, and hadn't used BC in about 5 years, so I had really just started to think that we might need to seek fertility treatments in the summer.

Oh I will add that while I don't have the "no warning" PBs I read about on here, I guess the up side is that I do have some control over when I PB. I've been able to make it to a different bathroom when someone walks into the one I'm in, or endure a car drive home from a restaurant. I've had to ask a driver to pull of to the side of the interstate, but I think I could've held it until my destination if we weren't caught in gridlock. So -- while it would be nice to have spontaneous PBs in the sense that you forego the intense pain that precedes mine... I think I'll keep it this way for now.

If we officially go the route of gross PB stories, I'll tell you about the nose PB.

Carb, carb, carb, carb, carb. Artificial sweetner. Some protein. Try cutting the carbs, or at least try to get some complex carbs instead. Unless you're power walking, or walking with weights, etc. this is probably not going to do much for weightloss. Yes, it's good for you and you should do it, but walking for 30 mins is not above-and-beyond movement, it's more like a bare minimum, and unless you have the "power" there you're heart rate is likely not elevating significantly. Full schmull. Take "feel full" and flush it down the toilet. Then try to focus on "no longer hungry." There's a lot of food between "not hungry" and "full" - and most of us don't have normal concepts of "full" anyway. Crystal Light is loaded with artifical sweetners and all kinds of other chemicals. Among other things, they're known weightloss stallers. Try Water and see if you feel any better. But all of that is to answer your questions. The real issue is that you shouldn't be worried about losing weight now, and especially losing to whatever degree you thought you would. You should be worried about nothing, and just healing.

I've had many restaurant PBs, but mine never come quickly. They're always preceded by some degree of discomfort and pain, so I don't have any napkin surprises. Normally I go into the bathrooms. A few times we've left and I've had to pull the car over shortly after. Once the bathrooms were all occupied so I used the shrubbery outside of the restaurant.

I've had 2 surgeries - one fo rband and one for gallbladder. With both, I was given an IV medication that made me drowsy. In fact with the gallbladder procedure, I snoozed in the prep area and they woke me up when they were taking me into the OR. With band, I was awake the whole time, but groggy. I remember them wheeling meinto the OR, getting on the table, hearing some conversation, the anesthesiologist putting on the mask "to give me some oxygen" and the very next thing I knew I was in recovery. Once I woke up I was awake for good, but I remmber being really annoyed because no matter how hard I tried to focus on something in front of me, my eyes kept drifting up to the ceiling. I was asking to go home within 15 mins. With gallbladder, they wheeled me into the OR, I got on the table, and started chatting with the nurses. I was in the middle of giving one of them a recipe and the guy behind me said "Ok, I'm going to put the drugs in yuor IV now." I said, "See you guys on the other side..." and next thing I knew I was aware of some movement (being wheeled to recovery) and heard them some voices saying they "didn't like that BP" (come to find out they weren't talking about me, but I thought they were). Went back to sleep. Awake and asleep back and forth for about 90 minutes. The last time I woke up, the nurse was there asking me for the rest of the recipe. No hassles either time. I've been told that I come out of anesthesia quickly. I've never had nausea nor have I ever had issues with gas. Knock on wood.

I once made the comment that if RNY were my only option, I'd still be fat. That didn't make me any friends. WTF? Are you serious? So DS has realized some kind of magical, gastrointestinal alchemist's dream. Amazing! I don't know any DSers so I don't know if they stink. I do know lots of RNYers and I know that they're stinkier than your average Joe. I don't think I'm stinkier than the next gal, but I guess they could complain about that "damn gurgling" sound I make sometimes.

My first fill hurt like a bitch because I let the doctor numb me and that was not a typical "bee sting" numbing experience. Subsequent fills have not hurt because I have denied the numbing shot. At no point does your stomach get cinched up. The band gradually tightens around your esophagus, but doesn't impact your stomach or cinch it in any way, nor have I ever felt stomach discomfort as the result of a fill. HTH

Oh, I've also started to ponder remaining fat loss vs. remaining weightloss. I have a lot of loose, gross, jiggly skin. Looking at PS numbers, my extra skin will probably account for at least 10 - 15 lbs. I will have PS some day, but I'm not yet reducing my "fat pounds to lose" by any amount I'm estimating for loose skin, I see it all as weigh to get rid of.

I try hard not to set goals, the whole disappointment thing, but I think it's pretty much impossible not to have a number in mind. I started at 382 lbs. I'm also between 5'10 and 5'11. So those things impact end numbers, to some dgree for some people. The psychologist in my program asked me if I would be happy at 210, which he felt was a good compromise between the statistic weightloss and my personal ambition. I told him I would prefer to see the 100s. To that end, my "I'm going to be really freaking happy" goal is 199. Beyond that, my ultimate number is somewhere between 175 and 188. Depending on which BMI chart I look at, those represent weights that put my BMI at "normal weight." But it doesn't mean I quit and eat whatever I want when I'm there, either. If the weight continues to come off, good for me. If satiation puts me into maintenance there, I'll take it AS LONG AS I'm happy and I'm maintaining a "normal weight" BMI. Not to add that 180 was the last weight I remember really liking my external self at. My weight probably averages right around 235 now (my scale is inconsistent, so this also factors in recent Dr. weighings). To make the goal set by my program, I have 25 to lose. But trust me, I'm way fatter than 25lbs overweight. I'm roughly 45 - 50 lbs from my BMI target, which is probably right. I don't really have a concept of what I look like now, even though I see pictures -- it still doesn't register. But I"ve been told I'm "chunky" -- and I guess that would align pretty well with 45ish lbs to lose.

Yes, you are under general anesthesia.

Called my surgeon's office this week just to dbl checked and they confirmed that as long as morning sickness isn't an issue and I'm able to meet caloric guidelines, the fill can stay. So far my OB doesn't have an issue with what I'm eating or the amount of weight I've lost. In fact I'm up 3# in fluids, because I'm making myself drink more Water than I normally do and the increase hasn't adjusted out yet. I can eat & eat & eat... if I do it at night. :thumbup: I think it all has to be seen in perspective. Since posting here that I'm knocked up, I've gotten several encouraging messages, and about 3 "hate mails" telling me how horrible I am for still having a fill, how I would deserve a miscarriage for starving my baby, how I should have the baby taken away from me, etc. That's so absurd. People with bypass have babies all the time, I know 3 personally, all of their babies are healthy (one is now 4 y/o) and if they're doing it right, a bypass patient isn't going to eat more than we can with a little effort. But WLS aside - we aren't the only ones who eat 1000 - 1200 calories a day. The BMR for the average build, females around 29, is 1200 - 1400. Granted that's BMR, so just factor in the difference and it's really not "super" different. You don't have to gain excessive fat during pregnancy to have a healthy baby. (So all you haters, stop sending me messages because I haven't gained 20 lbs @ 9wks.)

Why are you considering a revision? And what kind of revision -- port, band...? Do you have something diagnostic that shows a slip or misplacement or other complication? (I ask because the change in restriction you're describing is actually pretty common, and not necessarily indicative of anything being wrong -- seems maybe a surgical revision could be avoided). I'm preggo, and still have my fill. I'm not terribly restricted, mostly during the dearlier part of the day. The OBs and NPs and Peri at my clinic agreed that the little weightloss I've had isn't a concern to the baby - and that I still have "plenty of reserves" (not arguing what you experienced, just sharing what I've been told). I've largely maintained for the last year or so, losing maybe 25 lbs total, in one or two spurts. I didn't have a lick of morning sickness, knock on wood.....

It's not a stupid question, but it is one we answer every day and one easily answered by briefly using the "search" function of the board. See this thread from our FAQ section, I know it's in there among countless others. You could also search for something like "what does pb mean" and find more answers than you know what to do with. Abbreviations and What They Mean

Known fact: erosion doesn't refer to the actual band eroding, it refers to the band erodiing through the organ wall. Do a search, I know there was at least one thread on this yesterday, and probably 100 before that. You'll find all the information to answer your questions a few times over. :thumbup:

My incisions were miserable with my cholocystectomy (Aug 08). The itchiness would wake me up in the middle of the night, and once I went back to sleep it would just wake me up again. My first suggestion is to tap or lightly flick the area instead of scratching it. This can help stimulate the skin without the risk that scratching can bring. As for things to use to help, I kept the areas moisturized with Aveeno lotion (the only kind I will use anymore). When it got really bad I would put either calamine lotion or Benadryll cream on it. The Benadryll gave more long-term relief, but the calamine worked more instantly. Had to use a lot of calamine though, no dabbing with a cotton ball, I'd hold the bottle against my skin and let it run down on the incisions, then blot of the excess.

No honey, it's not what you think it is. It's for "cellulite" -- I promise! Jacqui - great point. That's why I don't own home gym equipment. It's affordable compared to what the gyms have, but the lifespan and effectiveness just aren't the same.

IMO it's a mater of the clear things being the ones that are truly thin or water consistency. Creamy liquids are not thin. The purpose of gradually increasing the viscosity of food is to acclimate the band and its healing. Basically you want to minimize movement in the area of the esophagus/stomach as much as possible. Digestion of heavy meals causes more movement. So you avioid as much movement as possible in the beginning, then gradually introduce foods that cause more movement.

I'm with Laurend on the abuse/neglect thing. That's why I posted the video, and likened it to seeking medical treatment, then failing to follow thru (e.g. get the prescription). She went to the doctors and they told her what to do, and she's not doing, she's still feeding her child crap and claiming "diets don't work". Yeah, no... 4 eggs and more for breakfast isn't a diet. Would education help? Maybe, but it sounds like that route has already been tried. I'm assuming the mother is also obese (an assumption from the skewed sense of portion normalcy), but who knows what else is wrong with her. She clearly doesn't "get it" when 4 eggs, cheese and soda is a healthy diet breakfast.

I used to do Tae Bo at work every morning. It was a good workout.

Dye your hair purple and get a nose ring or gauge your ears. Aside from having a master's degree, that pretty much covers the requirements for working at Starbucks. Grats on the job! It's not the most stimulating environment for you, but trust me -- low stress is worth a lot.

Diane, that's almost as good as my "string around a hot dog" theory for erosion rates with different bands. I love it!