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i was dying for CHAPSTICK right after surgery and for the next couple of days!!

i had a great surgery. i had to stay overnight at the hospital per doctors orders. i had very little pain and none of the gas pain or shoulder pain that some people talk about. the only real hang up that i had was that i was tired, so naps were definetly helpful. i work full time and go to school full time...i ended up taking about 3 weeks off from work...i could have gone back sooner, but was fortunate enough to be able to take the time off. i ended up having to drop down to half time in school. for me all of the changes in my body and then going back to work and starting school all at once was a little too much for me. i had never dropped a class in my life so it was a big struggle for me to drop them...mentally i just could not handle it. as for going out to eat and drinking...i can stll do that. there's just certain things i know i can eat without having any sort of problem so i just stick with that...for me it's salad. at first it was kinda hard, you don't want to order salad when everyone else is having steak and lasagna. but i know when i order salad that i will be able to sit at the table and enjoy the conversation and the company of your friends. i always order Water with my meal to feel a little bit normal. i've drank alcohol only a few time but have had no problems with it...however, i'm not a big drinker so i can't say that i really drink that much. so when you go out just make sure that you stick with things that you know you can eat and that have some sort of nutritional value and then you can still enjoy the experience.

i can eat pasta, but i can't eat rice...a few grains of rice and i'm in a ton of pain. i think it just depends on the person

i can eat salads until the cows come home =) when we go out to eat that's normally what i get because i know i wont have any problems

i was told to never skip a meal. alot of times i'm not hungry so i'll just forget to eat...i've noticed that when this happens i'll get super irritable and cranky and tired...then i think about it, realize i havn't ate...eat something and realize I was actually very hungry! after eating my mood goes back to normal =)

so i don't think that i have ever posted on this board, but i too am a feb '08 bandster. since being banded i have lost about 50 lbs. i was exercising 5 days a week and then in july i ended up really hurting my back and my hip so i could hardly move. turns out when i was running i was arching my back and my time on my mile was getting so good too! anyway has anyone else lost their mojo? i have pretty good restriction...there's alot of things i just can't eat and i get full pretty fast...pretty much i'm never hungry i just know i have to eat...1 because you have to eat and 2 because i start getting really crabby. i'll go through periods of just wanting to eat around the band...i really wish i hadn't learned that one! i'm just not sure how to get back on track. i set an exercise goal for aug and yeah...that's pretty much not going to happen. i've lost enough to where i can buy "regular" clothes and not have to shop in the plus sizes anymore and i think that has something to do with it...it's like, that's enough? it's not enough and i really need to get back to the mentality i was at before...anyone else going through this????

i would ask about follow up care and support...i didn't think it would be all that important but it definetly helped me the first few months. they also assigned me a buddy to email. ask who will do your fills and how? sometimes nurses end up doing them or a pa...make sure you are comfortable with that. do they do them under fleuro or do they just feel around for the port. if you're concerned with the cost ask what all is covered under the amt they are charging you...like all your fills for a year or will you need to pay for each fill...ask who you can contact to find out how much so you're not totally freaked out when you get bill after bill. how long in the hospital? what will you need to accomplish before they will let you go home? hmm that's all i can think of! =) hope that helped!

i started throwing up alot too...about a month ago...sometimes i would throw up food and other times it would be hours after i ate anything and i would throw up clear slime and it would go on for atleast 30 min where my body would keep going into the motions of throwing up but nothing would come out...talk about exhausting and painful! both docs, pcp and surgeon, told me to take a zantac or something along those lines everyday and i havn't thrown up since! i would have never thought because it was never acidy nor did i have heartburn or anything.

2 hours after eating...wow!! i'm supppose to wait atleast 30 min...45 if i have to but preferrably 1 hour. i don't think i could wait 2!

Thanks for the replys guys! I think that I probably did set my aug goal a bit too high and should maybe lower it a tad and then maybe I might feel it's attainable in the last few days we have left here. I'll need to make sure I keep my Sept goal in check too! =) My goal was to run a 5k in oct but I'm not sure how likely that is to happen now, which i think is what really makes alot of this depressing and unmotivating for me. I am really lucky to not have gained any weight in the last month in half...i just ended up fluctuating a few lbs up and then back down. motivation and mojo is what i need!

commit to whatever you think pushes yourself a little bit but doesn't make you feel like you're going to die. so say right now you can do 10 minutes...do that for a week and then the next week increase the time by a minute or 2. for me, building my stamina before my speed helped me alot. so just keep your speed at like 3mph or whatever you can handle. after you've increased your time some, start increasing your speed. i think commitment is the biggest thing though. keep a calender and tell yourself you're going to 500 treadmill minutes in august or something like that. make it doable but a little bit of a challenge.

try sugar free carnation mixed with 2 cups of milk...it's like 21 grams of protein i think

i had my 3rd fill june 9th...i can eat most anything..however i can definetly not eat alot by any means...maybe this is my sweet spot?? i was craving a bread bowl with soup from panera on friday so that's where my husband and I went to dinner...i ate like 5 bites...so not worth it. at this point i almost kinda dread having to eat...i was a finish my plate kinda girl and now i can hardly put a dent into anything. i definetly don't enjoy food like i used to...which i dont think is bad but it also messes with your head a bit too.

love them =) when i was on mushies after my last fill i had them everynight for dinner

i'm at 9 in a 14cc band and finally feeling it. i had it june 9th and things are still tight...maybe my sweet spot?

dehydration is definetly a problem for me. i drink a ton all week while i'm at work because i have a big cup filled with ice water that i refill. on the weekends it's harder for me to remember to drink enough so sometime by sunday afternoon i feel like i have the flu...i ache all over and all i want to do is sleep and then my husband will ask me if i have drank enough water...so i'll sit and drink 2 bottles and it perks me right up.

my doctor to told me to come back as much as i need to because i'm the only one that really knows. the nurses that make the appts like them to be 3 weeks apart. call them and see what they can do for you =)

definetly do it!!! i took them the night before surgery and then i take them every 4 weeks. i take a front, a side and a back. sometimes you can get frustrated when the scale only moves a pound or 2 but when you see the difference with side by side pictures then it makes a world of difference and will keep you motivated!!! take them for sure!!!!!!

i was banded with 1 cc...i've had 3 fills...4 cc's, 2 cc's and 2 cc's so i'm up to 9 and am finally feeling restriction. I can only eat a very small amount. I too was getting quite worried and frustrated. The last time I was there I even asked if anyone had ever got up to 14 and still not felt anything and they assurred me that had never happened to anyone in their office so far...so that made me feel a little bit better. it's been 5 weeks since my last fill and I can't say I will want one anytime soon!

4 done today....1.2 left for tomorrow

3.1 miles today and i'm ready for this month to be over! since i started the month out pretty darn slow...i am very burnt on the treadmill from these last 2 weeks or so. i did more crosstraining before and now all i do is the treadmill, so pretty much i can't wait until july when i can make a new goal and then make more of an effort to stretch it out over the month. my back is killing me...apparently from all the extra belly fat i am running with my back arched backwards. i can feel myself doing it but it almost feels normal...i've tried leaning forward and it feels like my belly is going to pull me over. the good news is i cut my mile down even more this morning...back hurting and all...13:02! yay

awesome job!!! you should be so very proud of yourself no matter the time!! that is a major accomplishment!!

i tell my husband almost everyday that i've lost 40 lbs in my feet =) they're looking awesome...toned and muscular...now hopefully the rest of me will follow =)

i was banded feb 28th

eating or drinking seems to make mine worse when it happens... you're right! it's very wierd!!