dancinglamb

Holy cow, my head hurts! I do get your average migraines, but these are something all together different. These new ones are coming with dizzy spells, and there is a distinct correlation between them and the liquid diet. Maybe it's the aspartame in the Crystal Lite? Maybe the utter lack of, uh, food?:huh2: The lack of concentration and lethargy is kind of bugging me, but I figure it's par for the course. It couldn't happen at a worse time (I've got two final exams new weeks, but what are ya gonna do...). The headaches, though. Not good. Anybody else dealing with this? TIA -m

I'm up for either location; I'm local :thumbup: -m

No worries. I'm in Northern Jersey -m

You, my dear, are in bandster hell. :party: Yes, I was hungry when I came out of surgery! However. And this is the important part. You need to behave as though you already have restriction. I'm not saying that you have cut back to 1/4c of food. But you have to start thinking like one of those people that we are not. You know, those normal thin ones? The ones that stop at one sandwich or a half a sandwich and a small cup of soup? Them.:wink2: If you eat s.l.o.w.l.y. it helps. I'm not good at that (go to the thread about me and the ham earlier today for a point of reference:sneaky:), but it really does make a difference. The longer you take to eat, the more full you will feel. I know you're probably only now to 'people' food and off the mushie parade. Take it slow. This is not a sprint. There will be days that you will be up 2lbs, and then you will hit the scale and suddenly be down 5lbs out of nowhere. Lo the mystery of strange bodily events. A good poo can be a glorious event.:hurray: So, don't despair. We've all been there. Some days you're going to feel awesome. Others, well, not so much. And that's why this Board exists. But yeah, you'll feel hungry for a while. But you know what? That's OK. None of us are going to drop dead from malnutrition, kwim? Stick it out for a couple of weeks. Have a glass of Water. See what's on Oprah. Go give the dog a bath. You'll make it. Really. hugs -m Oh, and congrats on the 7lbs. How cool is that?!

Well, it finally happened. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I PB'd for the first time. Holy Mother of God, that was AWFUL! I came home absolutely starving, and a neighbour happened to meet up with me at the door, so I was talking to her while eating (you can see where this is going, right?). I was eating some regular lunchmeat ham. About 3 slices rolled up. I *knew* it didn't go down well, and thankfully, it was just 'uncomfortable' while she was here. I yakked it up after she left - and not very gracefully, I might add. I felt a lot of irritation along my esophagus and just felt kind of crappy, so laid down on the couch for a little nap. When I got up, the irritation was still there, so I figured a little, um, tiny bit of ice cream might make it feel better. A couple of tablespoons. That was it. Nope. Didn't make it feel better. In fact, just the opposite, and I was immediately revisited by the ice cream. I called the covering doctor (it was now 7:30pm), and all he offered to do was try and 'find the needles in the office and do a complete unfill'. Or, I could wait till morning and see my regular doctor. He said that just because I threw up the offending ham, it didn't mean that there wasn't more still down there causing an obstruction. I'm now doing teeny sips of Water, and my stomach does NOT feel well at all. I'm not throwing up, but I sure as hell don't want to even look at the kitchen. I'm also burping quite a bit. I'm thinking I might do a cup of hot tea to see if that helps at all. The other problem is all of this is that I have prescription medication that I need to take every night. I'm not sure that I should even attempt it. Any advice? BTDT? Thanks much -m

lafrogura- (love your name, btw!) I just had my third fill last week. Up until then I really had no restriction at all. And honestly, I really have only felt very mild restriction with this one. I was really proud of myself for getting this far without ever getting stuck/sick and I guess I was getting a little ahead of myself. I was just so hungry when I got home (I recently went back to school, and had just walked in the door from class and picking the kids up), that I went straight to the fridge. I was talking to my neighbour, and eating at the same time, and not really paying attention to *how* I was eating. I have found that when I am distracted - whether it's by my kids arguing at the table, or engaged in conversation, or even reading - that is when I don't chew my food as well as I really should. Usually, I can self correct after one swallow. And I can guarantee you and I absolutely will from here on out!! :hurray: The tea has helped, and I think I'll now move onto decaf. It would figure that my algebra (don't even get me started on *that* ....) midterm is tomorrow morning. And now I can't even eat a normal Breakfast before going to school. :wink2: -m

Yep, I've been losing hair, too. Thankfully, I had/have a lot, so it's really only noticeable to me (and whoever might see my brush before I clean it!). I asked my dermatologist about it and he said that it's a result of being deficient in biotin and zinc, as well as a reaction to such a change in diet. My nails have also gone to hell in a hand basket. He suggested that I start taking these vitamins called "Hair, Skin and Nails". They're kind of large, so you can break them in half if you need to. The only thing that sucks about them (other than that gross vitamin smell) is that you have to take them three times a day. When the ones he recommended came in the mail (I ordered them from drugstore.com), I kind of blew them off for all the reasons above. I was doing 2500mg/biotin a day and figured I'd polish off that bottle first. They weren't really doing much (well, who knows - all my hair could've fallen out and maybe it did save some of it!), so I finally gave in and started taking the new stuff last week. I've also been trying to not consistently wear it in the same ponytail all the time (it's long - past brastrap). I figure the less tension/stress on the same location, the less breakage, kwim? He said it would take a month or so to see a difference, but at this point, I figure, I've got to do something. I've also started using OPI's Nail Envy. The derm Dr. suggested Derma Nail if all else fails (stuff you put on the edge of your cuticle), though it's something that you also have to order online. Oh, and I've also been using Nioxin shampoo. I found it at Ulta (if you look for the sample goodie boxes they're cheaper). He said to keep using it, because it would help. So, just know that you're not the only one! -m

Melmel- You can find usually Naked juices at Whole Foods where the cutup fruits are when you first walk in, although according to their website, this particular one is only available at Food Emporium in NYC. (click on locator, then plug in what product you're looking for with your zipcode.) Welcome to Naked Juice I just looked at their site, and it appears that it's TWO servings per bottle, and there are 39g of carbs/serving (!). That's almost two slices of bread. I'm thinking I'd almost prefer a sammich with meat if I'm going to have that many carbs.:wink2: (I'm also in NJ, btw!) -m

I love dailyplate.com. Tons of food, you can chart your weight, exercise, etc. It's one of my latest addictions. (And I only do the 'free' version of it.) -m

Usually with just a bloodtest to see your estrogen/hormone levels and an ultrasound of your ovaries to see if you have a bunch of little cysts on them. Nothing really invasive at all. I would definitely at least bring it up with your GYN, since it couldn't hurt to find out. And if that is indeed the case, they might be able to treat you with the metformin, and it could help you with advancing the weight loss. I also know that for me, personally, it helped knowing that it wasn't all 'in my head, kwim? Good luck! -m

Huh. I don't think I would've taken 'No' for a response. I'd certainly demand to know why and not accept 'hospital policy' as a reason (but that's just me). What are they going to do? Pull it out (eww!)? Refuse to let you have the surgery? It's not like they're operating on your uterus or vaginal canal. They don't let you wear underwear (at least they didn't with me), so the alternative is to be bleeding all over the place. Ick. -m

Froggi- Have you ever talked to your GYN about being screened for PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)? It's very common when you're overweight, since estrogen is stored in fat. It can cause your hormones to get all whacked out. One of the telltale signs is abnormal hair growth - esp. on your face. I can't remember, but didn't you write about your periods being weird, too? That's another one of the hallmarks. I've had PCOS for a really long time (I had to do fertility treatments to get pregnant with both my kids because it caused me to stop ovulating all together), but since I've lost weight, my periods have become significantly more regular. Oh, and it can also go hand in hand with insulin resistance. Which, actually, can make weight loss more difficult. If it turns out that you do have PCOS, your doctor might end up giving you a trial dosage of metformin. I know that when I tried it, I did lose some weight (it didn't do what they were trying to get it to do - fertility stuff - so I stopped taking it). Here's a link about it. Just a thought... -m

I've lost just about 50lbs and gone from a 24 to a 16/18. I'm 5'1" (5'2" if you ask my surgeon, who I think must have some whacked out ruler). My biggest problem area is the 'kangaroo pouch'. Two c-sections didn't help the matter, either. :smile2: -m

I've had one fill (it was 6cc) with the Realize band and I have next to no restriction, either. I can eat anything for the most part (except super dry chicken or super dry scrambled eggs - and even then, it was probably fear that was stopping me), and usually, it's almost a full serving. I, too, am only surviving by will power. Since the fill on May 21st, I've lost somewhere around 7lbs (I've not weighed myself in a couple of days, but I wasn't very well behaved at a birthday BBQ over the weekend). I'm seeing the surgeon on Thursday, but I have a feeling that he's going to tell me that 7lbs is enough of a loss that he's not going to do another fill yet. Can't say that I'm happy about that... -m

Hey! I got my Bugg. I wore it today for the first time. I have a few of questions. 1. Does that band drive you up the wall (it really bothered my inner arm) only at first or is it a constant issue? 2. Do you wear the Bugg when you sleep? 3. Do you log your food on the Bugg site? I've been using Dailyplate and really am addicted to it. I tried just transferring the total calories over from DP and it didn't carry over to the Bugg site properly. I'm going to try and tweak it tomorrow and see if I can fix it... 4. How often do you upload your data? It was over 100 degrees today and my asthma started to act up (I actually had to dig out my inhaler). So, today I just kind of blew off any kind of 'real' activity and just ran errands. Even still, it logged: 1765 cal burned 1165 cal consumed (I had a cookie...) 600 cal deficit Woo hoo!! Hell, I'm *really* looking forward to what it will calculate when I'm not eating Cookies and actually moving more than I did today -m

He is quite nice in real life (or at least he was when I knew him). I sat next to him in 8th grade. :party: -m

I think it depends on how they end up. If the surgeon can roll 'em up and tuck everything back together in a nice, neat package, well, great! Otherwise, I'm not opposed to a little, uh, help. :eek: Currently, I look like something out of National Geographic without a bra (you know - chicken cutlets down to the knees). But with a good bra, nobody's the wiser. I'm still about a 40G (HTF that is possible, is still a feat of physics and engineering). Dunno what will happen as I continue to lose weight... -m

Kimberly (nicunicu)- Did you have any luck asking Alex (the guy who runs LapBandTalk) about getting a subgroup just for nurses? I know he recently added a bunch of new ones. Might be fun to have one just for us :eek: -m

Here are some recent ones of mine. The first one is 4 days post op. The second is 4 weeks post op. There are three little incisions (in the second pic the top one is covered by my shirt), and one larger one. -m

I have a major love affair going on with dailyplate.com, so that will be a no brainer. I somehow missed the thing where it comes automatically with the three month membership. I guess I assumed that since I wasn't buying it from the Apex site, it wasn't going to come with the membership deal. Duh. We haven't told the kids about the Wii Fit yet. We do, however, regularly 'race cows' with the regular Wii.:laugh: It's one of our favourite pastimes!!:biggrin: -m

I've been mulling this over for weeks, and with the sale at 24hr fitness, I couldn't resist. I just ordered a Bugg!:thumbup: Question, though, I wait for it to come in the mail before buying the membership over at Apex, right?:confused2: I also have to get Windows software for our Mac, which is a whole 'nother can of worms... On a side note, there was a contest to win a Bugg that's running between May 28th and June 5th. Both my DH and I entered. Watch me win after dropping $200 on the thing already. I figured I could always just return the one I actually paid for.:biggrin: I sure hope this baby is worth it! I'm excited!! On a side note, we just got a Wii Fit (it was Jonathan's Father's Day present and I gave it to him early). He started it last night. I've not gotten on it yet, but it looks hilarious. Hopefully, between the Bugg, the Fit, and my Treadmill, I'll be burning calories like a madwoman.:laugh: -m

I must be the anomaly here, because I weigh in maybe once every three or four days or so. I find it too depressing to weigh daily and not see the scale move fast enough. I also only weigh first thing in the morning, and the scale is in the basement (it's one of those giant doctor scales, you know the one where you have to slide the things across the top), so it's a real pain in the ass to get out of bed and go down two flights of stairs to see the numbers! -m

As a slight spinoff from the girlie thread... Do you find that once you've started making strides in losing weight you go that extra step in looking better? You know, not wearing the crappy sweats and ratty t-shirt out in public as much any more? I'm finding that I'm doing my nails, wearing brighter lipstick, walking a little taller, I daresay even showing more cleavage:tt2:, and absolutely wearing more form-fitting (well where the form looks good, anyway) clothing. Maybe it's more confidence, maybe it's the warmer weather, dunno. But it's definitely a nice change! -m

Lizzy, people watching is one of my all time fave sports. Oh, and my honeymoon was in SF/Sausalito/Woodside. We even drove down to Monterey to the aquarium to see the otters. They were awesome :smile2: -m

**WARNING, THIS IS A KIND OF A GIRLIE THREAD!! ** I was in the Gap today trying stuff on (well, just to see if I could!) and suddenly realised how horrifying my thighs looked. Three weeks...even TWO weeks... ago, they looked nothing like they did today. :cryin: Today's thighs belonged on an old elephant. You know. Deflated, sad and pathetic. There were these, well, inner flattened pancakes attached to the rest of my thighs. I have no idea what they are or where they came from. But they creep me out and disgust me to no end. Almost as if my thighs have their OWN thighs!!! HTF did that happen??! Is it going to get better? I mean, yeah, they were fat before (and of course there was a major case of chub rub going on), but I was just simply beside myself. I actually got almost to the point of tears and definitely reached a point where all the potential joy of having clothes in a 'regular store' *almost* fitting me (I could zip 'em but not fit for public consumption yet) was completely taken out of the experimental shopping trip. There's clearly a damn good reason why I don't have any mirrors that go below hip length in my house. I am all over the prospect of future plastic surgery (in fact, I cruise the PS forum regularly for inspiration :sad:), but realistically, it's a long way off. Hell, I just got on this roller coaster (my first fill is tomorrow; woo hoo!). How do you deal with this? Just suck it up ~ literally and figuratively? Spanx should just probably take a second mortgage on our house. *sigh*:cursing: -m