HeatherO

Congratulations, you are doing awesome!!!!

I would definitely say that quite a lot of it has to be water weight. Keep drinking plenty of water . . . and the losses will continue :0)

Gum and drinking Water helps, but this is a tough time no matter how you slice it. Don't think about two weeks, only think about making it through today or even the next meal . . . you win the war one battle at a time. This should be the toughtest part of your journey . . . but it will definitely pass. Good luck!!!

I am hoping I can still make this challenge . . . but as I just discovered I am preggers . . . I won't be too dissapointed if I am not 130 by year end. :0) Name_________Start Weight___CurrentWeight______Goal________To Go *****<?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">:thumbup:</v:shapetype>***********:thumbup:*************:w00t:**********:biggrin:********** agreatknead........204............198...........180...........18 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......287............251...........200...........51 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............180...........170...........10 CubsGirl17.........172............170...........150...........20 Cutiew/booty.......251............243...........220...........23 cQQlgirl...........195............195...........175...........20 crzytchr...........276............275...........246...........29 Dionna113..........199............196.5.........160...........36.5 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............227...........190...........37 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............147...........130...........17 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni 85............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235............209...........185...........24 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 lotzasunshine......292............287.5.........250...........37.5 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............285...........255...........30 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............171...........160...........11 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............236...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 youcandoit!........196............196...........162...........34

I am hoping I can still make this challenge . . . but as I just discovered I am preggers . . . I won't be too dissapointed if I am not 140 by the 31'st. :0) *******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:thumbup:***********:biggrin:*************:w00t:*********************:thumbup:* 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............273............265............8 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........206............200..........4.5 HeatherO...........155............147............140............8 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............184............177...........12 KikiVal315.........237.5..........230.5..........220............7 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..........290.2..........280..........9.6 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............170............160............5 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 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............288............280............6 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............205.2..........195..........5.8 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............185............170............10 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

It is good to read about options. I figure I can forego maternity clothes until next year . . . and perhaps tops altogether in that I still have a lot of pre-weightloss clothing. Pants and skirts will be the most helpful.

I agree, 12 months is the standard up to 24 months.

Newbeginnings, I have never said this before because I believe strongly in listening to your doctors advice . . . and always thought this should be taken over anything said in a forum. However, please take your new fill doctors statement with a grain of salt, and don't be discouraged. When I reached perfect restriction, the tiniest fill (.25cc) was entirely too much. However, .5 cc less was entirely too loose. When you reach the correct restriction level you will notice all of the difference in the world. I had great restriction at 8.3 which is close to where you are now, and our bodies are all different. I doubt that if they filled you to capacity that you would not feel restriction. You just have to get to the "right" level and any other level is too much or too little. I have never heard of any doctor saying you have to convert to a different WLS because you havent gotten to a sufficient restriction level. As long as you are eating healthy, exercising and following bandster rules, there is no way you can not lose. Have heart and just disregard this insensitive answer for now . . . you already know that you can lose the weight.

Interesting point, Chrisann. Now that you mention it, I had my first problem at almost nine months to leading to an inability to drink and the need for an emergency unfill, I am fine now but experienced my first bout of being really miserable. I am a January bandster as well . . . plus I don't remember hearing of too many prior complications with other people in our group. Anyways, it is interesting to think of it that way . . . 9 months is well into the journey and the point at which our habits are solidified. I wonder if it is all just a coincidence or if there is a reason . . . maybe becoming so used to the lifestyle that we aren't so "actively" thinking about bandster rules and banding has become normal. Does anyone have any other thoughts on this topic?

Well I am happy to finally be joining this thread. I think I am somewhere around 5-6 weeks pregnant, not exactly sure. I don't have any symptoms at all yet . . . I am hoping I have just gotten lucky so far.

I am trying to figure out when I actually got pregnant because I am really not sure of exactly when it happened although I did chart all events. This is complicated because I got pregnant the first month I went off of birth control and did not give my body a chance to stabilize. That means that my cycle could have been 4 weeks, 6 weeks, etc . . . and I am not sure. Timing details are as follows: 8/17 Last Birth Control Pill Taken 8/19 Started TOM Cycle 8/21 Finished TOM Cycle 9/15 Negative Pregnancy Test 9/18 Negative Pregnancy Test 9/21 Negative Pregnancy Test 9/22-9/23 Bad Cramping (Maybe Implantation???) 9/25 Negative Pregnancy Test 9/27 Extremely Faint Positive Pregnancy Test 9/28 Very Faint Positive Pregnancy Test 9/30 Moderate Positive Pregnancy Test 10/2 Distinct Positive Pregnancy Test So what is your guess as to when I most likely conceived??? I came up with a chart of potential dates, but I am not sure if it is realistic. Week Week Week Start --- Finish --- Number 8-Sep --- 14-Sep --- 1 15-Sep --- 21-Sep --- 2 22-Sep --- 28-Sep --- 3 29-Sep --- 5-Oct --- 4 6-Oct --- 12-Oct --- 5 13-Oct --- 19-Oct --- 6 20-Oct --- 26-Oct --- 7 27-Oct --- 2-Nov --- 8 3-Nov --- 9-Nov --- 9 10-Nov --- 16-Nov --- 10 17-Nov --- 23-Nov --- 11 24-Nov --- 30-Nov --- 12 1-Dec --- 7-Dec --- 13 8-Dec --- 14-Dec --- 14 15-Dec --- 21-Dec --- 15 22-Dec --- 28-Dec --- 16 29-Dec --- 4-Jan --- 17 5-Jan --- 11-Jan --- 18 12-Jan --- 18-Jan --- 19 19-Jan --- 25-Jan --- 20 26-Jan --- 1-Feb --- 21 2-Feb --- 8-Feb --- 22 9-Feb --- 15-Feb --- 23 16-Feb --- 22-Feb --- 24 23-Feb --- 1-Mar --- 25 2-Mar --- 8-Mar --- 26 9-Mar --- 15-Mar --- 27 16-Mar --- 22-Mar --- 28 23-Mar --- 29-Mar --- 29 30-Mar --- 5-Apr --- 30 6-Apr --- 12-Apr --- 31 13-Apr --- 19-Apr --- 32 20-Apr --- 26-Apr --- 33 27-Apr --- 3-May --- 34 4-May --- 10-May --- 35 11-May --- 17-May --- 36 18-May --- 24-May --- 37 25-May --- 31-May --- 38 1-Jun --- 7-Jun --- 39 8-Jun --- 14-Jun --- 40 Your thoughts? I still have a few weeks before I will see my doctor to get his input . . . but I am very eager to figure out timing, lol.

If you have been pb'ing, going on liquids and then pb'ing again you could be increasing the swelling. Go on only liquids for a couple of days to see if it can break the cycle if this is the case. My band doctor actually told me to take liquid children's motrin in this situation and be sure to wash it down with Water. She said also make sure you drink a full cup of water afterwards. It can be used on a very rare basis in case of stomach swelling, but definitely don't use it more than once in a great while. It is supposed to reduce inflammation. I did use it once before with a glass of milk and it helped. It is best to get your own doctors opinion. You probably just need a slight unfill. Good luck.

If you are eating fine, I wouldn't think it is a slip. Any significant abdominal pain should be brought to your doctors attention. I am not sure what it would be.

Most of us have 1 incision between our breasts right where the underwire would like (out of 5-6 for laproscopic surgery). It is just placement that hurts. Also, if you are on the busty side, the weight of your breasts are pushing on those underwires and it is too much pressure for comfort on the incision location. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but the first time I wore an underwire to work a couple of days post surgery, I actually went home to change it. Sports bras work great . . . and they don't have to be an expensive one, you can get them for a few bucks at Walmart (although cheap ones give you uni-boob sometimes). Really, the comfort is sooo worth it and it is definitely better than trying to go braless, lol.

Name_________Start Weight___CurrentWeight______Goal________To Go *****<?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">:eek:</v:shapetype>***********:laugh:*************:tt2:*******************:cool2:* agreatknead........204............198...........180...........18 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......287............251...........200...........51 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............180...........170...........10 CubsGirl17.........172............170...........150...........20 Cutiew/booty.......251............243...........220...........23 cQQlgirl...........195............195...........175...........20 crzytchr...........276............275...........246...........29 Dionna113..........199............196.5.........160...........36.5 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............227...........190...........37 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............148...........130...........18 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni 85............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235............209...........185...........24 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 lotzasunshine......292............287.5.........250...........37.5 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............196...........165...........31 srknepler..........285............285...........255...........30 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............171...........160...........11 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............236...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 youcandoit!........196............196...........162...........34

Are you getting in plenty of Water? I noticed things have changed for me but I think it is from such low intake. BM's are not as frequent and the volume is very small, like a small child (sorry if TMI). It might be just find if it resolves itself over a day or two and you are not having symptoms.

I have never heard of sneezing being a trigger . . . but hey, if it works it works :0) I get small burps that can make their way up easily as a sign. Hiccups also occur when I am reaching my limit.

It is safer to have someone for a day or two just in case you have a complication, but if everything is normal . . . you don't "need" someone but it is nice to have. Staying in a hotel for 4 days recovering might be a little boring without someone near, but you will be sleeping alot during the first days. To be honest with you, nothing is better than home for me when I am not feeling my best because my family will help with everything.

I was told that I could drive as soon as I was off the pain meds for a day. Driving was pretty easy once I got started, getting in and out of the car was a little trying in that I was sore.

Your meds will calm down the swelling, no wonder you were in pain. The biggest question would be what caused it and how can you prevent it from reoccurring. Could it be some kind of allergic reaction? Did you eat anything unusual before the pain started?

I like the thought of the personal insurance plan listed above. If I were in your shoes, I would start hunting for a decent job with reasonable insurance that would cover it. You would be much better off if you were covered.

I personally don't eat for a fill by several hours but drink as much as I want. Because I do have some restriction, I thought if there was any remaining food in my pouch when I got the fill, I would not be able to easily distinguish if my fill was at the "right" level or not. Usually I can tell just by how the Water goes down whether it is too much or too little. It works better for me this way. I have no restrictions after the fill. I asked them why they don't require liquids for a day or so like many others, and they explained that some people take a couple of days to feel their fill "kick-in" so there is not much point in restriction. The only thing they stress is taking it easy so you don't cause yourself to pb.

*******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****************************:tt2:********************** 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............219............213............4 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............273............265............8 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........206............200..........4.5 HeatherO...........155............148............140............7 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............184............177...........12 KikiVal315.........237.5..........230.5..........220............7 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..........198............180..........7.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............236............230...........12 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..........290.2..........280..........9.6 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............171............160............4 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............180............170............0 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............288............280............6 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............205.2..........195..........5.8 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............185............170............10 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

You have come a long way, now it gets interesting. There is nothing better than the first "flutters" of actually being able to feel the baby moving. I have never heard of stickiness before, how interesting. I hope my first trimester will go as good as yours . . . a little stickiness and one time queasy just can't be beat, lol. It is hard to believe the baby is real with your first in the early days. I think we all go through that. As soon as you start really seeing and feeling the physical changes it will make all the difference in the world. Keep us posted on how things are changing. :0)

Well . . . I just couldn't wait until the end of the week to take another test. I took one last night after drinking tons of Water all day, which doesn't follow the usual rules of first morning urine and not after bombarding yourself with water. I went from the faintest, just barely discernable, perhaps wishful thinking plus sign last Saturday, to a shadow of a pink positive line on Sunday morning, and finally to a "yep it is definitely there" medium shade of pink pregnancy line Tuesday evening. So I think the answer is a definite yes at this point. So wish me luck . . . I still have a looonnnnggg time to wait. I just wanted to mention that I don't feel any symptoms at all other than feeling very slight bloating sensation around the belly. Without the pregnancy test I would never know that I am pregnant, except for lack of a period, lol. I did have some bad cramps around the beginning of last week that I thought signaled my period finally coming, but now I realize that must have been inplantation. So here I am, excited, terrified, thrilled, nervous, and on and on and on all at the same time. One moment it is, oh I can't wait to see my new babies face to omg, what was I thinking perhaps I should have waited another year or two. I guess maybe I do have one more pregnancy symptom, emotional upheaval, lol.