JanetC

I'm with you, Amy!! And BIG ol' hugs for lasting 9 months with the pain!! I told the nutritionist yesterday... who told the nurse... who told the doctor. I got a call today. He's pretty sure it's still "healing" pains, but he wants to keep an eye on it. He suggested I try liquid Advil or Motrin, NO MORE then 2 doses a day. Since they're NSAIDs, he wants to keep my use down, but he said it was worth a try, in case it's just still swelling causing the pain. He asked me to keep track of how much I take & if it gives me relief. (The nutritionist said I'm only the 2nd patient he's had with this much pain this far out, so we're sorta in new territory.) We have another appointment in 2 weeks -- follow-up with the nutritionist & fills if needed. He said we'll re-evaluate if I'm still feeling it then. Thanks everyone for the support & ideas! I loved throwing all the theories at them. :ban:

Dayum!! LOL. :ban: Our nutritionist yesterday said I probably don't need a fill this month, lol. So last night I set out to prove her wrong, hehe. It wasn't intentional, but I seem to have a touch of rebellion. I ate a Wendy's Taco Salad AND a cibatta sandwich (or whatever they call it). Yeah, it took me 2 hours, but oh my goodness!! We hadn't been to Wendy's in a long time... love the new stuff! :party: And today I'm down.... I love going to my doc's office. His staff is wonderful. So what IS it about check-ups that gets me down? I mean, we even LOST weight this time! It really doesn't matter if we lose or gain, I get depressed the day after. Oh well. Today I'm focusing on protein... cuz the kit-kats & frosting are calling!!!!!

LOL Stacey, LOVE that smiley!! I hadn't seen it before. :scared: Bring it! (Oh, and just name the time, lol, Mikey's raring to go! He hasn't been sicced on anyone in a LONG time, rofl. :scared:) Tammy: SOOOO glad you're getting in to see the doc! And that Keith sent you flowers! Sounds like you've got a winner there! Now he just needs to learn the new rules, lol. (( Hugs everyone!! )) Wish me luck, I'm off to mow the lawn (shudder).

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7959 PB: From my experience, this happens 3 ways: 1. Didn't chew enough 2. Ate too much too fast (your bites followed each other quickly) 3. Ate too large a volume (took 3 bites past your "stopping" point) I get a pain "behind" my sternum... it feels like a golf ball (or volleyball sometimes). That's when the acrobatics happen... I start walking & moaning & pounding my chest like Tarzan... and doing the chicken dance (do a search for PB or Productive Burp & read up on all the weird things we do). Eventually, one of 3 things happens: 1. The food goes through & the pain stops. 2. You start sliming: tons of mucous (sp)... "heavy" saliva. I sorta "hiccup" (not really an out-and-out heave) & out comes the stuff. 3. You PB: the food comes back up. It isn't digested, so it doesn't really smell bad. Spit it out & hope that was it. Sometimes it takes 2-3 times to get it all out... depends how much you shoved in. (I've found myself taking another bite AFTER THE PAIN STARTS!!! What was I thinking? Silly girl! ) Sweet spot: Most doctors fill conservatively. It will take several months to get to where your calories are restricted at the desired level without will power on your part & you're staying full in between meals. As you get close, it make take .1cc up or .1cc down to get to the best spot possible. Folks call that their "sweet spot". If you get more then that spot, you PB too often, or can't get enough calories in to not go into starvation mode. Any less then that spot & you can eat too much. Hope that helped... good luck! :scared:

It's a "productive burp"... or a "small vomitous episode" as my surgeon likes to call it. Basically, if food gets stuck, it must come back up. Sometimes the food itself doesn't come up... just tons & tons of "heavy" saliva. We call that "sliming". If the food comes up, it's a "PB". For the most part it isn't too gross... the food isn't digested, so it doesn't really smell bad. But it is painful... and to be avoided.

WOW!!!!! That's amazing! Way to go!!

Happy Monday everyone! (bleh) Monday's I always feel like I've been run over by a truck -- we do too much on the weekends! We had our nutritionist appointment this morning. Thank goodness the scale moved a little! If it hadn't, I would have thrown something... maybe even Mikey! (We only weigh at the doc's office, so a LOT was riding on today.) I told Jean (nutritionist) about my shoulder pain (I credited the "pain diet" with my weight loss, lol)... she told Stacy (the surgeon's nurse)... she'll tell the doc when he gets back from surgery. So they'll call me tomorrow if it's something to worry about. I've pretty much given up worrying & am just logging the pain... in fitday, of course. :scared: And on to catching up... Tammy: Oh my word, Thursday night sounds AWFUL!!! You poor thing! I'm glad you got a Fleet -- those things are scary good! I'm with Becky... go with Benefiber! But you have to be "cleaned out" to start it, Fleet should have taken care of that! :scared: WannaBeLean: Welcome!! We're glad you spoke up! Heh, 2 eggs is a lot for your hubby? He should've seen us eat pre-banding! I'm glad you lived through "the ice cream incident"... I would have gone ballistic! SherryW!! Welcome back! (( Hugs!!! )) Sounds like you need it! I know we've all been doing the mood swing thing, I REALLY hope it slows down somewhere in here! Life need to go back to "normal"! As for tracking, I love, love, love fitday.com. I bought their PC version for $20 (you get a discount if you become an online member). We used to spend $20 on lunch, so I decided it was worth it. It's really helped us to watch our CICO (Calories In Calories Out). You might have something with the too few calorie thing... tracking is the best thing for that. It'll help the nutritionist & any trainers you see know exactly what's going on. Keep us updated!! And remember, if you're AVERAGING 1 pound a week, you're a rabbit! Give yourself some time to catch up! And keep holding out that year like a mantra... "I may not lose today, but I WILL lose by this time next year!!" Julie: Raking is awesome exercise!! Go you! And grats on spring! Vermont is soooo pretty! Let us know how the appointment goes! Oh Tammy!!! Big ol' ((hugs!!)) & a couple more, just to boot! Sounds like you had the weekend to end all weekends! Take your right arm... put it up on your left shoulder. Now take your left arm... put it up on your right shoulder. Now SQUEEZE... and feel our love & support!! You're ok... you didn't throw up or PB or slime, so your band is ok. Remember that you don't have restriction yet. (Big bands are just EVIL!!) Be gentle on yourself, look back on how far you've come... all 40 wonderful pounds that are gone for good!! You fell back into an addiction. It's ok. We're still learning! And we have years & years & years of practice being those addicted people. We're gonna screw up now & then! So now, turn back to yourself and say these words. (I would tell you to go to a mirror, but that always makes me cry! ) I know you're ok with God from your signature, so I'm using that shamelessly. : God loves me -- no matter what! He thinks I'm worth it! He's on my side & is pulling for me! God & I can do this together!! I love myself! I AM WORTH IT!!! I CAN DO IT!! Then take an eraser mentally & wipe the past few days from your memory. Give yourself a clean slate. If at all possible, do something nice for yourself -- a haircut, manicure, massage, bath, cup of tea, phone call to a friend... After you've taken care of you & are feeling loved by yourself, go to your husband & hug him. Tell him you're sorry you snapped & that you're just so scared that this won't work. Explain that nothing he says right now will be "right"... that you just need to his unconditional love & support while you learn a new lifestyle. Help him understand that right now you're a crack addict about 1 month out... and that retraining is HARD!! And that addicts often check themselves in somewhere to learn new skills, but we have to do it alone at home... and keep eating 3 times a day. And that with a big band, it's going to be another couple of months until you have good restriction, so your volume is still going to be higher then you want... but restriction IS coming & is going to rock!!! We're going to slip up sometimes, but that's NOT the end of the road!!!! That's the beauty of the band!! It allows us to pick ourselves back up & start moving again! We love ya, Tammy!! Hang in there, girl & take care of you!! (And sorry if I got on a soapbox there, lol, your story hit home! Now if I could just get myself to say those wonderful things! ) STACEY!!!!! YAY FOR 30 POUNDS!!!!!! :first: And slap your MIL with a smelly ol' fish! Congrats on not killing anyone... and think how much they're going to EAT THEIR WORDS when you're skinny & food no longer has control of you! Pft! Silly ol' bat! "Wait until she can see", my booty!! Like HER seeing has any effect on you!! Like she's something special -- or even really matters! GRRRRRR!!!! She needs to be nicer to my friend Stacey!! Or I'll come over there and... and... do something really mean!! Xann: Grats on 3 more pounds! Wow! That's really fast after your fill! I'm guessing you got some restriction with that one! You must be so excited! Northersun: hear hear!!! Loving it! (Especially the saving the food part, lol.) DonnaB: LOL girl, welcome! Feb 35th, lol, there I go spitting my water again. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying Fitday!! I still say it's the best 20 bucks I ever spent! (And yeah, I was probably tracking something instead of reading, rofl.)

That's AWESOME Xann! Congrats on keeping it!

Personally & kinda gross question... how many times a day is "normal movement"? I do about 1 without help from fiber, 2-3 with Benefiber added, none large (in comparison to pre-banding). We're going to the nutritionist today, so I'll ask her these questions as well... and I'm taking my diary. This will be my first documented complaint of pain. We'll see how they react! (Yeah, I know I should call my surgeon... but we'll see him in 2 more weeks, and if it's just post-op pain I don't want to cry wolf, etc, etc, etc.) Good luck with work, Ellen! Take it easy on yourself! Hey Kathy! I've never tried MOM... adding it to my list. On to Jack's questions... some of them are going to take thought: Just where is the pain located: left shoulder... into my pec, but the focus is about where you'd pinch someone's shoulder when you were a kid. I've been pinching it to "help the pain", heh, brings back memories -- and makes me twitch when I do it too hard, lol. Is it always the same place or does it seem to move around. Same place, though sometimes (when it's bad), everything around it hurts too. But I don't find myself rubbing my arm, just that shoulder... and a touch up into my neck. Can you actually do any specific to make it hurt on cue. So far I haven't found anything specific, though I have found that sitting on the couch seems to make it subside some. I've decided that it's because I lean back... when I sit forward to get up, I feel it descend on me again. I've been known to sit up halfway just to check if it's still there. (On the couch, level 7 subsides to 3 until I lean forward... not gone all the way, but I can live with it. "Honest, doc, I'm a couch potato because I HAVE to be!" ) How long does it hurt at a time. The bad episodes are about 2 hours, sometimes 3. The level 2-3 pain can be all day... (I can live with that as background pain, it's the 6-7 that throws me for a loop). Is this more than once a day? Yeah... though with my diary I've noticed it normally spikes around 3 and again around 7ish. Does raising your arms over your head, or taking a deep breath have any effect? Raising my arms hasn't seemed to help. When it's bad it's hard to breathe deeply, though I was at vocal practice last week & lived through it. Diaphragm breathing HURT!!! I ended up with side cramps like I was running, lol, not a normal response for me. The shoulder was still where the focus was at, though. I think the side cramps were just a last ditch effort to speak to me, lol. (I ignored it, of course. No one at practice knows I've been banded.) Can you tell for sure when it starts, is it a BANG YEOW! or is it a gradual onset? Gradual onset. I've been tracking as soon as I feel anything... it's normally about 2-3 hours after I hit a 3 that it goes to a 6 or 7. Sharp or dull? Dull, with some sharp stabs here & there, mostly when changing position. Does the heating pad help for sure? I don't really think the heating pad helps... I've tried without it & get the same results. But it's comforting & makes me feel like I'm doing something. Same answer for Gas-X & Tylenol. I haven't really noticed them shortening or helping the issue, but ya gotta do something! Do other symptoms come with the pain? Not that I've noticed. I can be hungry through the pain (my stomach growls), I've sung through it, and exercised through it, and worked through it... though I don't do anything well & mostly just go to bed with it. I haven't noticed any nausea or the runs or anything like that. I have been feeling heartburn lately (2 days), but it doesn't seem to come & go with the pain. What is the more comforting thing you can do once it is upon you? My little system has become: Take Gas-X at pain level 2-3. Drink some Water while you can stand to. (I've blamed the water before & tried without it, but it didn't seem to make a difference.) Take Tylenol at level 4-5. Go to bed at 6-7 (with or without a heating pad). Take a 2 hour nap... or just lay & watch TV. Get up in 2 hours, rinse, repeat (i.e. wait for level 3 pain again). I seem to have 2 episodes a day... spiking at 3 & 7. I'm thinking it is GI tract related, if only for that fact. I tend to drink Breakfast & eat lunch around 12-1 & dinner around 5-6, so that's about 2-3 hours after I eat. Thanks for all the help & suggestions guys! It really helps me to feel more in control to have ideas to give the doctor.

Heh, we were getting ready for church at that ever so lovely time of 6 am. **sigh** I HATE "springing forward"! That eating too much thing really makes sense, StrawartS! I've been trying to keep my portions down to a cup, but I'm STARVING!!! Though when the pain kicks in, I ignore the growling stomach, lol. This past week I've been on the pain diet, works wonders! Today wasn't too awful... the church pews are very similar to the couch (i.e. I lean back). But every time we stood to sing or whatever, it HURT! And we just got back from choir practice... which was evil!! Sue -- thanks for sharing your story... and your friend's. I'm hoping I take after you! I'm with you, Pat! I've been massaging my shoulder to death, lol. Mikey's tired of me asking him to rub it all the time. Hmmm, I used to have a big ol' heavy massager I used on my low back... wonder where it is! The worst part is really that I'm just so bleh!! Every time I start to do something, I stand up & the pain hits... and I go lay down instead of doing laundry, or the dishes, or mowing, or whatever. Oh well, tomorrow's a new day! Thanks for all the support & experience! I'm an LBT addict!

I just got back from telling a couple more friends. They asked how the weightloss was going... I told them it was slow & would be staying slow... and that sometime next year they would be able to tell a difference. They laughed, lol, but I'm serious!

We haven't gotten active in our support group yet, but I want to go to Robyn's! A couple of topics to add to the list: Self-identity concerns (Who am I when I'm thin?) Family/friend/spousal concern / fear / understanding

Oh my word, Randy!! (( Hugs to you & MsJoy & your sister & mom & entire family!! )) I'm glad you lived through the week & pray you never have another one like that! What an awful experience! We're praying for you all... and if you need anything, please let us know! Babysitting or a shoulder or whatever!

Wow, Leatha! 3 surgeries in 2 years? I knew you'd been through it, but ouch! Thanks for another theory! It hasn't improved significantly yet... I'm just taking pain meds & keeping the diary & listing possibilities, heh. 10 days to go to get to the magic "8 week" number. (I arbitrarily set that as my "I'm healed" date.) I'm still praying it just magically disappears about that time! My theory list so far: 1. Not regular enough (I tried a ton of Benefiber this week, got more regular, but still had pain.) 2. Not burping or passing enough gas (lol, doing my best ) 3. All a part of healing, take the pain meds. Check back in 2 weeks. (Going with this, but still tracking, in case it's not gone in 2 weeks.) 4. Band too loose or too full 5. This is my new hungry / full sign. I just need to learn to read it. 6. Gall bladder issues 7. Hernia Thanks for all the sympathy & ideas! I'm sorry others are feeling the pain too, heh, but it's nice to know I'm not alone!

We told our families... then a couple of out-of-town friends, then a couple in town. I figure the word is spreading now -- we didn't tell them not to tell. So far it hasn't gotten back to us, lol, but I'm expecting it any day. I do feel better about telling people now that we're past the 6 week mark & have gotten a fill. We may actually lose some weight someday, lol, so they'll see SOMEthing! Of course, as much as we weigh, no one's going to notice it until 50-60 pounds, **sigh**. If they press you too much, remember that they're just making conversation -- especially in a salon. Some may be interested, some may be jealous, some may just be bored. You can always tell them that you're not tracking your weight... and just give them updates when you feel like it. We're actually doing that... we don't own a scale & only know if we lost when we go to the doctor's. My family's almost quit asking, lol. Poor things!

(( Hugs Jess!! )) And lots of white light, healing thoughts & prayers. You're a hottie already, lol, you're gonna be amazing! Hang in there & remember 1 day at a time... it'll be better fast.

Thanks Ellen! I'll give the Lactaid a try... I've pretty much talked myself into taking pain meds & waiting 2 weeks to see what happens, lol. I'm still keeping a diary, just in case in 2 weeks it's not gone. :eek: If you're still in pain & want to empathize, lol, http://yylc.us/Janet Good luck with your hernia, that repair sounds painful!

Heh. Courage wasn't what made me do it... desperation was. :eek: My one recommendation about the Mexico thing... make sure you have a local doctor (or someone within driving distance) that's willing to follow up with you. Going to Mexico for fills is fine, but when you have an emergency, it's nice to know there's someone close to home to help. We were self-pay & opted to stay in the states, mostly because of the follow-up factor. The surgery is just one day... the follow up is every day for the rest of your life. Either way, though, I understand your fear & frustration & hope & dreams & fear & worry & concern. It's a lovely rollercoaster, lol, welcome to the ride! :eek: 6 weeks out, would do it again in a heart beat. It's already saving my life!

Great thread! You had me cracking up with the crapfood. :eek: Glad to see that you got yourself back on the straight & narrow! :eek: And congrats on breaking that evil 200 barrier! Keep it up!

I have "protein breath", lol. The worst is after these wonderful coffee-protein drinks I ordered, lol (AchievOne). Yum! I've been using breath mints or Listerine strips or gum. (Yeah, I know, don't swallow it!)

I combined the pics... let's hope it's not too big. You are gorgeous, JaLynn!! Asphalt Angel's pics:

Oh Shanna, I'm so sorry you're going through this!! Sending you hugs & healing thoughts & hoping it corrects yourself so you can skip the surgery part!

Ugh. You take it so calmly! I whine & beg Mikey to hold my hair back... or rub my back...

OMG, I think I just found the answer, lol. Just File > Print, heh. **sigh** Sometimes I'm a n00b!

I used the free version for a month or so... then I decided that we spend $20 regularly at fast food restaurants (or used to), so it was worth the investment for me. I love, love, love the PC version. I track for both myself & Mikey... with the PC version I can have 2 instances of the program open at the same time. I love the reporting... I love the accountability... I love this program!! I've even got Mikey asking if he's got "restriction" (calories in - calories out = restriction -- I laughed so hard when I saw that word in use that way!) Anything that can get my hubby to ask questions about his food is a good thing, let me tell you! The one thing it doesn't have that I wish it did... I want some way to print out our daily food & exercise logs to take to the nutritionist. If someone knows the secret, let me know! I've been taking screen shots & printing those, heh.