jaria007

thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up getting .7 taken out and had instant relief. It was pretty scary-- I couldnt swallow my own saliva without a terrible pain in my chest. Thank god that my dr happened to be in the office at 7p on a Friday night! I feel much better now

This week has been a trial to say the least. My aunt, who is my heart and soul, has been very ill and in the hospital for weeks. I visit her almost every day and she cries her eyes out to me telling me how much pain she is in. It breaks my heart because she has a broken back that can only be fixed with surgery, but docs say that she cannot withstand surgery. So basically there isnt much that can be done. I lost my mom to cancer when I was 19 so she and my sis are all I've got (dad hasnt been in the picture since I was a child). To top things off, my sister moved back to Miami from North Carolina and asked me to live with her. Against my better judgement, I agreed. As I expected, we arent getting along. My sister has a very bad temper and gets mad over everything. She is a 39 year old woman and in a matter of 24 hours, she threw a fit at the pharmacy because they were closed and kicked down the products from the shelves. She then yelled obscenities at a plant (I kid you not) because the plant scratched her. Finally, she yelled at me because I went to get a bottle of water and the dog barked and woke her up. That was really the breaking point for me. If I can't even get water without her outbursts... But I am stuck there under a lease for a year. I've basically been at work, hospital, and then in my room without speaking to her for a week. Normally, this would have made me turn to food. I would have pigged out on all kinds of junk. I wont lie, on Sunday I had a brownie. But, I dusted myself off and have been pretty darn good since. I haven't stuck completely to liquids. I usually have a salad or piece of chicken for dinner. I can tell I am losing weight. Haven't weighed myself this week, but am excited to see what the number reads. Anyway I'm proud of myself. I've managed to overcome a huge obstacle for me- depression eating!

This week has been a trial to say the least. My aunt, who is my heart and soul, has been very ill and in the hospital for weeks. I visit her almost every day and she cries her eyes out to me telling me how much pain she is in. It breaks my heart because she has a broken back that can only be fixed with surgery, but docs say that she cannot withstand surgery. So basically there isnt much that can be done. I lost my mom to cancer when I was 19 so she and my sis are all I've got (dad hasnt been in the picture since I was a child). To top things off, my sister moved back to Miami from North Carolina and asked me to live with her. Against my better judgement, I agreed. As I expected, we arent getting along. My sister has a very bad temper and gets mad over everything. She is a 39 year old woman and in a matter of 24 hours, she threw a fit at the pharmacy because they were closed and kicked down the products from the shelves. She then yelled obscenities at a plant (I kid you not) because the plant scratched her. Finally, she yelled at me because I went to get a bottle of water and the dog barked and woke her up. That was really the breaking point for me. If I can't even get water without her outbursts... But I am stuck there under a lease for a year. I've basically been at work, hospital, and then in my room without speaking to her for a week. Normally, this would have made me turn to food. I would have pigged out on all kinds of junk. I wont lie, on Sunday I had a brownie. But, I dusted myself off and have been pretty darn good since. I haven't stuck completely to liquids. I usually have a salad or piece of chicken for dinner. I can tell I am losing weight. Haven't weighed myself this week, but am excited to see what the number reads. Anyway I'm proud of myself. I've managed to overcome a huge obstacle for me- depression eating!

take it to a tailor! then you can reenact that yogurt commercial where she is talking about eating key lime pie etc and how her clothes need to be taken in :omg_smile:

I had two NSVs this past week! First, I went for my fill and my doc said NO. He said "you are doing great. You lost 11 pounds in the last month. You don't even NEED a fill". At first I was bummed because I felt like I went there for nothing, but then I realized that wasnt a bad thing :biggrin: Second, my best friend slept over yesterday. I woke up and was getting dressed for work and he said "You're shrinking!" He looked under the bed and then back at me and said "where did you go?" LOL that made my day

I would definitely speak to your doc because you may be eating too many calories. I, personally, have to keep to under 1000. My doctor also suggested going back to liquids for a couple of weeks. He actually had a patient who stayed on full liquids for 2 months and lost 100 pounds. I headed his advice, and have been on liquids for the last 2 weeks. I havent weighed myself yet, but I can tell that the weight is falling off now. I also noticed that it dramatically decreased my appetite and cravings I was having. Just a thought :thumbup: Hang in there!

Thanks for that awesome tip, Angie! That is such a great rule and I will definitely put it into practice. I was able to go grocery shopping yesterday for full liquids so as of today I am back on track. 1 week of liquids and no more soda and then on to low carb living. As for the fill, I have had 2 and not yet hit my sweet spot but it does get easier and easier to exercise portion control with each one. Not so much with picking the right foods though. That's all up to me. Thanks for reading and advising :tongue2:

I decided to post my very first blog and make it a trend going forward because, frankly, I need to hold myself accountable. I don't know what is wrong with me. In the past, I have always been very gunho about diets and exercise. Yes, eventually, I would fall of the wagon, but at first-- up to a year at a time, I have been very disciplined. I must admit, I havent been with this band. Starting with the 2 weeks of liquids, I cheated a few times. Ultimately, I did lose 15 pounds or so pre op, but I shouldn't have cheated. Once I got back from surgery, it was hard to do liquids again and I went to pureed much faster than my doctor recommended. Since then it has been a roller coaster. The first month I lost almost 30 pounds. The following 3 months have shown the same 4 pounds off and on again. I can't blame it on anything but myself. I have had 2 fills but I have not been eating the way I should. Protein tends to make me sick. I even bought lean cuisines and those made me sick too. So I find myself eating things I totally shouldnt. Like last week I had friggin lasagna (and not the lean cuisine type). I've also been drinking diet coke. It is this addiction that is so hard for me to give up. I swear I break out in sweats just thinking about it. I dont know why I have no motivation but the weight isnt going to come off alone. I refuse to even step on that scale this week because I can just tell by my reflection that another pound has creeped back on. So I've decided, come hell or high water, that the next week (possibly two) will be full liquids again and NO MORE DIET COKE. I WILL start exercising and after that I will start eating low carb and journaling my food. Someone out there, please keep me in check. I do so much better when I have someone to be accountable to besides myself. Over and out.

I decided to post my very first blog and make it a trend going forward because, frankly, I need to hold myself accountable. I don't know what is wrong with me. In the past, I have always been very gunho about diets and exercise. Yes, eventually, I would fall of the wagon, but at first-- up to a year at a time, I have been very disciplined. I must admit, I havent been with this band. Starting with the 2 weeks of liquids, I cheated a few times. Ultimately, I did lose 15 pounds or so pre op, but I shouldn't have cheated. Once I got back from surgery, it was hard to do liquids again and I went to pureed much faster than my doctor recommended. Since then it has been a roller coaster. The first month I lost almost 30 pounds. The following 3 months have shown the same 4 pounds off and on again. I can't blame it on anything but myself. I have had 2 fills but I have not been eating the way I should. Protein tends to make me sick. I even bought lean cuisines and those made me sick too. So I find myself eating things I totally shouldnt. Like last week I had friggin lasagna (and not the lean cuisine type). I've also been drinking diet coke. It is this addiction that is so hard for me to give up. I swear I break out in sweats just thinking about it. I dont know why I have no motivation but the weight isnt going to come off alone. I refuse to even step on that scale this week because I can just tell by my reflection that another pound has creeped back on. So I've decided, come hell or high water, that the next week (possibly two) will be full liquids again and NO MORE DIET COKE. I WILL start exercising and after that I will start eating low carb and journaling my food. Someone out there, please keep me in check. I do so much better when I have someone to be accountable to besides myself. Over and out.

I'm so BLAH! I am normally the most disciplined diet person ever but have been so opposite since the surgery. I find that that things I should eat- like protein hurt no matter how much I chew and make me puke. So then I find myself eating oatmeal, soup, chili, etc because I can keep it down. I tried Lean Cuisine and couldnt keep it down. However, I dont feel full. I've also had crazy cravings for sweet stuff. I at least reach for a 100 calorie pack instead of a box of oreos, but either way I dont seem to lose unless i stick to protein and low carb. I lost a ton of weight fast at the beginning because of the liquid diet. I literally lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks. After that, I went to mushies and gained 6! I then had my first fill and lost the 6 plus another 4. That was June. Since then, i've only lost 2 pounds which comes off and on again. Havent dropped another pound. I'm also tall, so 32 pounds is nothing on me. I mean, I have noticed a slight difference, but I thought I would have at least lost 50 by now. I do need to exercise more. Ughh, I guess I am just looking for a pep talk. I am super discouraged.

that is so true and I never thought of it that way! thanks for the tip

Thanks lexy! Everyone looks amazing!-

Looking at pics always helps motivate me. I do chuck this up to a better camera angle though. I don't think it is quite as noticeable as the pics make it look but it makes me feel better anyway! :smile2: 2 weeks before surgery May 08. Good god! August 08

Yay! Love this thread. My boss (just think Miranda from the Devil Wears Prada) stopped and said "whoa! let me look at you! you are turning into a hot mama!" That made my day. I also went from an 18 to a 16 pants! Pants still need to be wide leg to get up over my thighs lol but in any case they were from the Gap! lane bryant pants were too big!. Yay

I'm there too! 32 pounds myself, and the same 2 pounds back and forth since june! We should be the 3 bandateers lol

I had my first fill today too. it wasn't very quick as he had to poke around for the band a bit (it was weird because I could hear the needle scrape the band) but it was totally painless. Just took a lot longer than I expected. I also got 3ccs and have been making weird frog in my throat noises all afternoon lol. My coworkers cant stop laughing at me

Does anyone with Highmark know if adjustments are covered? I tried calling them but no one knows what I am talking about

Honestly, aside from minor port pain--i cant even tell I had surgery lol

I lost 8 pounds pre op and 12 pounds 2 weeks post op. For the last 2 weeks, though, I haven't lost a pound, but was told it is to be expected. I havent gained weight, so i am happy lol

I havent had my first fill yet but have been assured that it is covered. It took 3 hours for me to get my approval from Highmark

I may be wrong here as I haven't had a fill yet, but my understanding is you shouldn't eat/drink at the same time because it pushes the food through the band meaning you won't be satisfied as quickly. Therefore, you should train yourself as of now not to do that. Drink a glass of water 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after eating but not at the same time. Fellow bandsters, please correct me if I am wrong

the only thing I can see is that you may be drinking things with a lot of sugar substitute and/or sodium which on some people causes them to retain water. Funny enough, in order to get rid of retained water, you need to drink more water :w00t:)

i ate some mushies the very first week as I mentioned before, but I strayed from anything with pasta (like noodles in soup). Instead I did tuna with mayo or oatmeal all blended and it is very filling and I have experienced no problems. Maybe, if you are feeling burning, try a different mushy (one that is more protein). Just wondering. I had some hummus today and that went down fine. I can't wait till I can eat a piece of chicken or fish again LOL. Good grief I switched the tv channel to find a show all about donuts. I am being mocked by THE BIG GUY UPSTAIRS! :scared2:

Hi everyone. I was banded on 5/19 and so far am very happy with the band (17 pds lost in the last 3 weeks of liquid diet). However, I expected to be back on my feet right away and I am not. I constantly read posts about people being out and about a few days post op, and here i am, 1 week later, dreading working tomorrow. I decided to go to the mall for an hour today and felt really odd. I had tunnel vision, got really clammy, and very dizzy. I had to rush home and lay down. I'm guessing it is from the cut in calories, sugar, and caffeine. I have been getting my proteins, drinking my water, and taking my vitamins as well as eating sufficient calories (i think) but I just feel super weak. Also, another odd thing--my vision seems sharper. That's a plus though lol Anyone have tips on overcoming the weakness post op?

Hi everyone and thanks for the response. At least I am not alone in this. My doctor did give me the gallbladder prevention pill (Octavan or something like that) but I didn't have any weird side effects from it. I am also on coumadin for another 6 months because I had a a pulmonary embolism last november plus vitamins and calcium but nothing more. I guess I will just take it a day at a time. i'm definitely feeling better today than yesterday though