HeatherO

Everyone has had great suggestions to start. I would also suggest going to fitday.com, thedailyplate, etc and posting everything (even a bite here or there) to be sure you understand how many calories you are taking in daily, how much Protein you are getting in, etc. I have always found that when I track what I am eating, I am actually ingesting more calories than previously thought. If you can do this for two weeks, you can then analyze what is being eaten and what changes may need to be made to put you back on track. Exercise, exercise, exercise . . . this is always an important part of the equation. Some people are lucky in that they can forgo this and still lose weight, but most of us are not that lucky. Even if it is just walking around the block, you need to get your metabolism moving and this will help. Last but not least, you need a good support system. I noticed that you have not made many posts on this website. If you were banded in Mexico, you probably do not have support meetings available to you. If you can join a local support group, that would be great. Otherwise, becoming an active, contributing member on any positive wls forum helps to provide support to you as well as others. Please stay in touch . . . it really helps.

Drink something warm before you eat and that will help. If things are getting stuck a lot than you might need to slow down or chew a little more, unless you are too tight and then maybe a slight unfill. I was having trouble with this earlier in the year, then I realized that eventhough I thought I was chewing and eating slow enough, I wasn't. I am much better about it now.

I am doing really good so far. No morning sickness, only band tightness problems. I feel fairly normal, no complications or symptoms other than being moodier than normal.

I have only known for about 2 weeks. I am still getting used to the idea. I was a little nervous that my weight might start going in the opposite direction, but I am only 4 pounds from goal so I think I will be OK if I gain a few. I am still really careful about diet and exercise. I am also thrilled that I get to have a cute baby bump on a normal sized frame this time around, lol.

The deed is done, lol. I am expecting late May/early June. I am still losing but my pants are already feeling uncomfortable around the waist, go figure.

I think some people just don't know what to say, so they put something out there to be nice and it kinda falls flat. I have only heard it a couple of times, but everytime I have I know it was meant in good spirit. I just kind of brush that stuff off.

I'm not looking either . . . because what difference does it really make. I would never make major changes during a downturn . . . and what goes down will eventually go back up again. History shows that if time is on your side and you are diversified, you can't help but win in the end. :0)

I think it is inspirational but I don't always like what they have them wear or how unflattering the challenges are . . . but then again, that is what keeps people watching.

I guess I can join in now . . . at four pounds to goal . . . until a few more months pass and a gain a few pounds due to being preggers, lol. Goal is awesommmeeee . . . and now I know I can get there.

Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600">:w00t:</v:shapetype>***********:eek:*************:tt2:****************:biggrin:* agreatknead........204............198...........180...........18 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......287............230...........200...........30 Boos02.............258............226...........200...........26 Brandy.............221............215...........191...........24 BrownBear..........240............235...........200...........35 Cadets71...........223.4..........223.4.........189...........34.4 Claudine...........250............250...........225...........25 Bunkey1965.........194............178...........170...........8 CubsGirl17.........172............164...........150...........14 Cutiew/booty.......251............243...........220...........23 cQQlgirl...........195............195...........175...........20 crzytchr...........276............275...........246...........29 Dionna113..........199............195...........160...........35 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............225...........190...........35 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............144...........130...........14 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni 85............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235............207.5...........185.........22.5 Josie74............260............255...........215...........40 klmsilva...........216............212...........190...........26 legster............183............183...........160...........23 linksmom...........251............240...........200...........40 Liquidbluegal......225............220.4.........199...........21.4 Liz_hager..........161............158...........130...........28 Long2BThin.........253............234...........215...........19 lotzasunshine......292............284.5.........250...........34.5 Luu2008............230............199.5.........153...........46.5 Mamanmidwife.......295............295...........260...........35 MELISSA AGUIRRE....266............233...........160...........73 Melody2006.........223............223...........173...........50 MiniPearl#2........???............???...........???...........?? Minxz..............299............287...........270...........17 neefam.............238............189...........158...........31 odizzzydori........242............242...........199...........43 paige65............252............252...........208...........44 rainer.............236............233...........199...........34 reif78.............294............195...........140...........40 RichardCranium.....338............276...........200...........76 soontobehottie.....201............194...........165...........29 srknepler..........285............262.6...........255...........30 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............171...........160...........11 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............230...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 Turler.............219............218...........194...........24 youcandoit!........196............191...........165...........26 __________________

Only 4 pounds to go, wooohhoooo!!!!! ******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:eek:************************:tt2:************:biggrin:*********:w00t:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............218............213............5 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............196.4..........180..........2.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............218............213...........10 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............192............180............2 Crzytchr...........281............272............265............9 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........203.9..........200..........6.6 HeatherO...........155............144............140...........11 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............181............177...........15 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............176............160............4 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........266.2..........256............8 LisaB..............205.5..........196............180.........10.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............235............230...........13 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............286............280...........13 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........286.4..........280.........13.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............170............160............5 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............246............239...........12 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............171............167............9 Renee74............214............213............199............7 Renewedhope........171............169............150............2 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............299...........280............5 thatDEgirl.........211............202.6..........195..........8.4 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............218............210............7 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............183............170...........12 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

I have been having some band problems since mid-September. My last fill prior was obtained in April and I was at my sweet spot forever. I then got super tight which got progressively worse until I could not eat or drink a thing over a few days. I went for an emergency unfill (-2) and then got a small refill (+1.5) about 10 days later. That small partial refill has been much to much and I am getting another small unfill next Tuesday. I can get things down, but not the things I want to eat (healthy Proteins & salads). I am still maintaining a healthy diet but am starting to understand the risk of going to slider foods when things wont go down . . . because it really just sucks not being able to eat anything comfortably. Anyway, I realize now that my band problems happened at pregnancy, I just didn't know I was pregnant at the time. There is a perfect correlation with the timing. I need another unfill, not for morning sickness . . . because my band is much too tight. Are other people noticing band tightness changes with pregnancy??? (I am going to also post this on the main thread in the hopes of more responses . . . so if you see it twice, I haven't lost my mind, lol)

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for sharing . . . that is great to know. I am also still being very, very careful with my diet so I feel like I will be on the good side with weight gain. So far I am still losing, slowly, but losing.

Well, it sounds like you are preggers to me. If so, I am just slightly further along than you. Congratulations . . . now the waiting begins, lol. I am not sure about prenatals yet but I am interested in the answer to the question. I have been taking a chewable Multivitamin called Spectravite from CVS pharmacy since banding. I did a compare on prenatal Vitamins at the store and saw the only difference was that they had double the folic acid. So I bought a folic acid supplement and I think I am ingesting the appropriate amount daily. I will ask my physician when I get into the doctor.

I agree with Jack 100%. It is definitely a phase and it passes. What interests you in the future will differ greatly with what interested you in the past. I enjoy eating so much more now than I did before. It is just a different way of enjoying it. I eat quality instead of quantity . . . and I am satisfied. Also, I am not thinking about food between meals. I am happy and satisfied with my eating . . . and with my new looks. :0)

I think it is worth it to do it early if you can. Definitely better to truly "enjoy" your college years being healthy and fit. Of course it is a huge sum of money, specially at 20, but as you get older you will see that it isn't much more than a cheap car and your quality of life is sooo much better . . . there is no doubt that it is worth it financially. Also, eventhough it is sad to say, I know that it is a little easier to find employment at a normal weight. No reason not to start your career being the best that you can be, and put your weight loss issues behind you.

Absolutely, no problem at all except for the inconvenience and more frequent trips to the bathroom. However, you are supposed to be up and moving anyway, so no big deal.

Most people aren't required to take fish oil. Taking the pills should not be a problem in that if you drink a full glass of Water after, they will indeed dissolve in your stomach. However, fish oil for some people has a nasty side affect . . . burping up the fish oil taste for hours after . . . yucckkkk!!! I just can't stand the side affect so I don't take it.

If your surgeon has a lot of experience (more than 1,000), I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

I understand your frustration. It sounds like you have had poor follow-up care. It does not sound like you have enough of a fill. The occasional vomitting may occur when you don't have much of a fill if most things go down easy and you eat more like normal instead of "chew to goo" like a bandster. Some things will get stuck occasionally even without a lot of restriction. What were you eating at the concert that gave you the problem? It also sounds like you may have a flipped port as well, it happens. This should typically be a minor issue unless you have poor follow-up care. Don't give up on yourself, find a better doctor. If you want this to work and can get a proper fill, you can succeed. Quitting isn't going to hurt the place that did not give you good care (they already got the bulk of their money from the surgery). The only person who will be hurt by you "quitting" is you. If there is a will there is a way. I don't know about the forum rules as far as posting doctors that have poor follow-up care. If it is OK to post it, I would . . . because it is important for people to know if they will have adequate support or not. For most of us, it is good to hear from former patients rather than the doctors offices (they all say they are wonderful, of course). Good luck and please let us know if you can find another doctor. If you let us know what city/state you are from we may be able to suggest a local doctor.

I used Dr. Corvala through Belite weight and had surgery at Hospital Angeles in Tijuana. Everything was very professional and I am happy with my decision. I did line up good aftercare in my local area but had my first fill 7 weeks out in Tijuana. I actually spent 2 nights in the hospital, because I could, and I liked that it was a possibility for the extra care covered with no additional expense. It was a great decision for me, but not for everyone. No matter where you go, find an experienced surgeon (1,000's of surgeries are always better than 100's) with a good reputation. If you go to Mexico, line up aftercare first.

It is funny, looking back at this thread I must have been hormonal when I wrote it, lol. A few pounds isn't the end of the world . . . and I am still moving down on the scale, just a little slower and I can live with it going up a little. I have actually gone down to 144 since this post so I am only 4 pounds away from goal. I might just end up there before the first trimester finishes. I think I had my first craving yesterday, my husband bought fresh salmon for dinner and I was gong to cook lemon pepper salmon with some cucumber/garlic/dill yogurt sauce with some salad. I came home after work and I did NOT want fish for some odd reason, and I love fish usually, it is a favorite of mine. All I wanted was to forget dinner and go directly to the Turkish restaurant immediately and have Iskender (it is toasted bread chunks in a tomato sauce covered with a meat similar to gyro's with lots of yogurt). The odd thing about it is that I wanted to go that very second, knew exactly what I wanted without looking at the menu and thought "to hell with all of the fresh fish in my fridge." This is so unlike me, lol. . . . but alas, my husband painfully reminded me that the Turkish restaurant is closed on Monday's, so we had fish. The fish was good but I WANTED Iskender. Now I don't care if I have it or not, it must have been a passing craving.

I've been through it too. I am allergic to all forms of penicillin, have been since I was a child and about two years ago a doctor prescribed me penicillin . . . although I have been telling every medical professional I have an allergy for years. I did not realize from the script that it was a version of penicillin . . . you better believe I was in the house for a few days after. I was itchy and hurting, not to mention in bad humor all the while cursing the doctor that gave me a script that every medical record ever indicates I have an allergy. Anyway, I feel your pain. I hope you can figure out which med caused it so that you can avoid it in the future. I really hope you heal quickly . . . it took me most of a week to feel human again. Sorry you had to go through this.