HeatherO

Judy, She should be protected by FMLA . . . she is at the tail end of her pregnancy. It might be better to pursue it then for her to just leave and have to go job hunting in this economy with a new baby at home. I am STARVINGGG and HORMONAL today . . . blehhh. I was running late and missed breakfast today. I made a big cup of instant cream of wheat this morning at work and put it in the microwave, just to open it up and see that there was about 2 tablespoons in the cup and the rest had exploded all over the microwave. Would you believe that my eyes started filling with tears????, over cream of wheat??? I had to keep my self from crying over something so silly, it is unbelievable. I hope it is just pregnancy, or I will need to go to the loony bin. So I asked my husband to meet me for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. I think I just need some caring, sympatheic company and some cheesy enchiladas with a lot of quacamole to get me back in the right frame of mind, lol. I am completely off kilter today.

So LJM, when you got your first really good look at him after you were coherent . . . what was that like for you? I remember just being shocked and in awe. It was just so amazing to actually see my son for the first time. He looked nothing like I had expected, but I really didn't even know what I was expecting. I just couldn't stop looking at him . . . his face, his nose, his ears, his toes. He kind of took my breath away. It is like I don't even have sufficient words to describe that particular part of the experience. That first glance made all of the uncomfortable parts of pregnancy, labor and delivery melt away into insignificance. Nothing ever seems to matter quite the same again once you have delivered your very own baby.

Congratulations on the girl!!! I love the name Sydney, very adorable. I was feeling movement by around 14 to 15 weeks . . . although it was only tiny occasional flutters. I asked last time where the placenta is located, and she said it was in the back. I guess that is why it is so visible and easy to feel at an early stage. I can actually see little jumps and movements in my belly now when she is active. The only problem is that it isn't very constant. She seems to move more when I am not paying close attention. If I feel her kicking strongly and I am at home, I will go lay in bed and watch my belly. As soon as I get tired of watching and start reading or glancing at TV, that is when she moves the most, lol. I am looking forward to it being more constant.

Hello and Welcome!!! I was banded in the same hospital/doctor a year prior. It was a great experience . . . and banding has been an interesting journey. It was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. I wish you the best of luck and hope to hear more from you on the forum. :0)

I agree with RestlessMonkey. If you can submit, go ahead and try but just know that you may very well end up with a denial. In the mean time, keep your appointments and get the progress notes. That way you can keep pushing for success both ways at once . . . and if they do approve you on the first submission, then you will be that much closer to your surgery date. You never know, you might get lucky . . . but in the same token don't allow yourself to get too dissapointed if they deny you on first submission.

Welcome to banding, Ahmed. :0) All of these symptoms are perfectly normal and we all had them. In another week you will feel so much better. You are just recovering from surgery for now and the initial days are filled with some discomfort. It sounds like you are right on track. Good luck and keep walking. It will help you feel so much better.

The band may be a great choice for you but it depends on what your eating style is. If you are constantly grazing or eat tons of sweets/junk food it may not be as helpful for you. It is an excellent option for chronic overeating. In my case I was an overeater and it has fixed my problem completely. I am more concerned that you are sabotaging yourself 3 months into a 6 month diet. This may be a strong indication that you are not ready for either surgical option. You need to start thinking about the reasons why you are not allowing yourself to succeed and maybe get some counseling or support to get through this phase. At the very least, break up your diet into chunks. Follow it for a week and don't allow yourself to cheat . . . and then take one day as a free day. Then you can go back on again and go a little longer. If you go every day thinking it is a "last supper" you will not be able to meet your goals. One thing you need to look at if you choose banding is that you don't need a last supper. You can eat after banding, just less of it. You don't have to grieve that you will never have another _ _ _ for the rest of your life. Do you really want surgery . . . if so, you need to make a choice to follow through with the pre-op diet. Going on liquids for a couple of months is not going to be an easy option, and you don't want to allow the thought that you can save yourself later with this option to prevent you from following the diet plan. Good luck. It may seem difficult now but it gets so much easier down the road. We have all been there and understand what you are going through, you are not alone.

Sometimes more fills can cause lack of loss or even gain if you are not eating the right things. You can be so tight that you can only eat junk food while having an inability to eat anything else. You have two weeks so that is plenty of time to decide. Just back off the junk food completely and go back to banding basics, lean Proteins followed by veggies and healthy carbs with the remaining space you have left. It is hard to get off junk food if you are in the habit of eating it, but it gets progressively easier. Day 1 is hell, day 2 is rough . . . but by day 4 it is not so bad and it is easy to continue from there. Then, if you are following the rules and are getting physically hungry between meals or can eat large quantities, then consider the fill. You can also get a teeny tiny fill that is easier on you like .1 or .25 cc's. The closer you are to your sweet spot, the less fill you need to make a big difference. Good luck.

Thanks :0). My weight loss continued post pregnancy. I think I was around 152-155 when I got pregnant and 22 weeks later I am at 138. I think I am going to start creeping up a little now. My band is completely empty as of last week and my OB/Gyn said I needed to start putting on a little weight (or at a minimum stop the loss). She had me start supplementing my diet with a daily shake/smoothie. I don't think I am going to gain much because I am not very hungry even with an empty band. I think whatever restriction I lost from the band must be offset by baby pressure . . . or maybe my stomach is just smaller and easily satisfied after being banded for so long, I am not quite sure.

. . . or eating before you get the chance to get hungry, lol. :bananalama:

I never heard that before . . . that the diuretic effect goes away for the most part. That is interesting. Especially considering how much I enjoy coffee and tea when I am not pregnant. I was drinking an extra glass of Water to offset a cup of coffee each time . . . and I could just about ride a wave to the bathroom, lol.

I guess before proceeding I would ask how many bands he has placed. I would never want to be in one of the very first patients. It is also known that complication rates go down with experienced doctors. If he has placed a considerable number with good success rates, then I wouldn't have a problem. How many has he placed?

My DH was nervous and afraid. He didn't want me to do anything that could risk my health, our future, or the ability to have a healthy pregnancy in the future. He was also afraid that I would get my hopes up and not find success in the end. We talked about it long and hard before coming to a final decision. He finally supported my decision but let me know that he loved me the way I was and that he would do everything he could to help me lose it the regular way. When the decision was finally made . . . he was completely and utterly supportive. He would go biking with me for hours and exercise with me, keep his eye on my food choices and console me when I was feeling under the weather. I lost all the weight and I am very healthy and happy. He is happy for me as well, but if I ever get sick after eating he always looks a little sad. I think sometimes our spouses are just nervous for our sakes and may not always express it well.

Really, I think making people wait is not really all that relevant as to whether or not they will be successful. I think personal level of commitment and a real desire to make a change are infinitely more valuable and a better predictor of success. I was banded a few weeks after I made my decision to finally go self-pay and get banded . . . yet I had been thinking about WLS for several years beforehand and went through the steps to do bypass but decided it wasn't worth it in the end. So I am not sure if that makes me a short wait or long wait, although I was informed. I am sure I did ask what is a pb in the beginning. I met my goal as well and went from morbid obesity to a normal BMI . . . so I consider that success. I do see people who are either uninformed, but most likely just noncompliant and banded asking really unusual questions being post-op. People post that they ate a burger 2 days post banding, or they skipped their post-op diet stages from Clear liquids to solids. Some people complain they are not losing but in the same breath are saying they don't exercise, don't eat healthy, and don't follow basic banding rules. I am not sure that forcing the people who choose to forgo any attempt at following the most basic of bandster rules are going to have more success if they wait 1 week or 1 year.

The band has been absolutely worth it for me. it is also normal to "grieve" for food or a lifestyle during the early stages when you are making the decision to change your life. He is not giving up food, he is just giving up excess. There is a difference between eating enough to fuel your body and eating way beyond what is necessary. I eat normal portions of healthy food . . . and food no longer overshadows my every thought. It has also given me a new lease on life with the energy and possiblilities that being a normal size provides.

I'm in Ohio which is rather cold and unpleasant this time of year . . . but our summers are mild and perfect. I am finishing up the last three classes for my MBA as well, I should be done this Summer. I am only taking one class at a time with my schedule and pregnancy.

I probably should clarify. I understood what you meant with the article . . . 64 ounces may not be necessary and there are other ways to get fluids in, which is true. I just didn't want people to take it too literally that water is not necessary even if quantity required is debateable. It is very necessary for good health and substitutes may never be as good as pure, unadulterated water.

I had a similar feeling of bottom hunger but top full right after surgery. This is completely gone now and has been for almost the entire time I have been banded. With restriction, I only feel hunger in my pouch . . . which is easily assuaged with a few bites of food.

Really for me, no matter what the studies say, I lose more weight when I am drinking the Water. When I stop getting in sufficient water, I plateau. So my body is telling me that water is necessary to maintain a healthy weight. I also think you need to be careful with how you interpret this. Water is healthy for you. Yes you do get liquids with coffee and tea . . . but they have a diuretic effect and you are worse off if you are not drinking something to compensate. There are low/no calorie beverages as well . . . but do you really know if all of the sugar substitutes are good for you in large quantities? Of course, with sweetened beverages you get carbs and calories. I still think water is a perfect choice for the majority of my liquid needs. So maybe I don't always get in 8 glasses . . . but I am not giving up the water.

I have been hungry lately but it comes on in such a rush. For instance, tonight I was working, got off work and decided to go to the grocery store with my husband. On the way to the store, I was sooo hungry my stomach actually ached. I was so hungry it was like a physical pain. I bought some marinated/pickled mushrooms and artichokes and ate them in the car on the way back to the house. That in itself is strange because mushrooms and artichokes are not my usual choice of a hunger buster nor eating in the car, lol. This has happened several times in the last few weeks. Just strange episodes where I am fine and could eat in another hour or two . . . until 5 minutes later where I am just physically aching with hunger where I feel like I could gnaw the bark off the trees if I don't get something fast. It usually only takes a couple bites puts me back in shape (if I eat more than this I will get sick). I have also had episodes with severe thirst as well where I feel like I am dying for Water and could drink a gallon (of course I can't but it feels like it at the time). Has anyone else experienced these hunger or thirst extremes? I never really felt this way before or after banding where it is just so excessive.

I don't think you are going to damage your band by doing this. As long as you are following your post-op diet guidelines, you are in good shape bandwise. Protein shakes are helpful as others suggested. They help you to feel more full and satisfied. If I were you, I would handle it this way. Have a single serving of soup and force yourself to wait at least 30 minutes before you allow yourself another serving. If you still want it after 30 minutes . . . then you are probably still physically hungry. Also, don't allow yourself to go back for another serving unless you drink a full 8 ounce glass of Water in between. This kind of breaks it up into manageable chunks of time. You don't want to stay in the habit of overeating just because you are used to it. However, if you are truly physically hungry . . . I don't think you should deprive yourself completely. Also extra water is healthy for you and might help assuage some of those hunger pangs. Last but certainly not least . . . it is important to evaluate how you are thinking about this. In your post you say things like being destined to be fat forever, or pigging out. This negative self talk just makes you feel guilty or even powerless over the situation. You need to let go of the guilt and know that you do have control over what you chose to eat. You are now physically different than you were prior to being banded. You have a tool to help you and you need to change your mindset to make it work. You want to move towards having a more normal relationship with food . . . and beating yourself up over soup will harm more than help you. If you are physically hungry, you eat something healthy and appropriate for the stage of your banding diet and then there is no reason for guilt. If you are only "head" hungry and battling the demons of food addiction, then do your best to get through small battles in small increments of time. This is the hardest stage of banding and it only gets easier from here. You can do this, and you know you can because you took the step to be banded. Have a little faith and believe in yourself.

Hello everyone, I am doing good this morning so far with yogurt and a banana for breakfast. My office is ordering pizza in for lunch . . . and I am hungry. I am going to try to keep it at one slice and have some grapefruit. I am finding that being pregnant and taking night classes in graduate school after working all day is roughhhh. I had class last night from 6 - 10 PM after starting work at 7 AM. I felt like I could have just layed my head down and snoozed right in class. My role in the debate last night was to forcefully argue against the government taking on electronic medical records as a representative from Microsoft. Needless to say, exhaustion does not improve my debate skills.

If you have a strong milk supply, you can always prepump for the time after anesthesia and just pump and dump what you have after for a short time. I am not an expert, but really I don't think that the band is much of an issue if you are getting sufficient calories and a healthy variety of foods. You will most likely not have much restriction during the first couple of months and you are also working with your doctor to find the right level of restriction for you. I think the only difficult time may be the first couple of weeks after banding while you are on liquids. You may be OK during this time . . . or if you are concerned you could probably supplement with formula and dump breast milk not used.

One thing I want to add is that I have been suffering from back pain with this pregnancy which is not a problem for me when I am not pregnant. I am finding that doing regular stretches, no matter how I am feeling or how tired I am, is really help with the aches and pains. I am thinking about trying to find a pregnancy yoga video or something along that line.

Well . . . any news??? :0)