DonnaB

Hi everyone, I got the response from Ziploc and the answer may not be what you want to hear: Dear Donna, Thank you for your e-mail. We always appreciate hearing from our consumers. Regarding your inquiry, ZIPLOC® brand Bags cannot be used to boil food. Unfortunately, we do not manufacture a "boilable" bag. We do not recommend using any ZIPLOC® brand Bag in boiling Water, or to "boil" in the microwave. ZIPLOC® brand Bags are made from polyethylene plastic with a softening point of approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit. By pouring near boiling water (water begins to boil at 212 degrees) into the bag, or putting the bag into the water, the plastic could begin to melt. Thanks again for your e-mail so we could give you the information you requested. If you have future comments or product information needs, we invite you to visit or e-mail us again at www.scjbrands.com. Regards, Becky Consumer Relationship Center SC Johnson, A Family Company Toll Free Number: 1-800-558-5252 www.scjbrands.com Reference Number: 012630397A I love the idea of the Ziploc omlette, but not enough to disregard Ziploc's advice. Too many chemicals can leech into your food if the bag does begin to melt and create a possible chemical poisoning risk. Chemical poisoning won't necessarily make you ill immediately but just because you don't feel sick right away, chemical poisoning can cause serious health issues in your future. For me, it's just not worth it.

Hi Asia, Sorry you've had that experience and that you haven't had a response yet. I haven't had my first fill so I'll be watching to see if anyone can give you any information. I wish I could offer any information that would help you.

Yay for you Sunta! I'm down by 30 pounds as of today! Isn't it funny how much difference just 30 pounds makes? I can't wait to feel what 60 pounds down feels like! Excellent stories everyone. Thanks for sharing them.

Hey sisterfunkhaus, I was on a liquid pre-op diet for 7 days and lost 8 pounds. I lost an additional 7 pounds during the post-op diet and, although I know people are right when they say there's a lot of water weight loss which may come back when you start eating food again, it hasn't happened that way for me. I've been steadily losing in small increments since I began 'real' food again! So, definitely be happy about the liquid diet weight loss, your surgeon will be happy about it too - and there's no reason not to hope for that weight loss to be sustained post op! Here's to hoping! Cheers! Good luck with your surgery and on your weight loss journey!

Hi Michele, Welcome to LBT! Good luck with your insurance and on your weight loss journey!

Sorry you're having such a difficult time of it Jill. Hopefully, with rest and recovery time you'll be up and running again soon. Boost your strength by taking mini walks, even if it's just around the perimeter of your house a few times a day. Keep in touch so we'll all know how you're doing, OK?

Leener, I have this problem if I'm eating with my husband. It's like I'm trying to eat at his pace, and probably stems from my childhood competing with three older siblings for second helpings! I've started eating before my husband comes home from work, which is pretty easy since he works fairly late most days, OR I make a conscious effort to eat my meal at half speed with him. He takes two or even three bites to every one of mine. So far that's really helped. I haven't had a fill yet either but I definitely have restriction and get the flaming golfball feeling if I'm not careful. I PB'd on a scrambled egg (scrambled eggs are from the devil - never never never try to eat them!) (OK, maybe some people can, but I'll never never never even TRY again! lol) so I have a pretty strong, never to be forgotten, incentive to do ANYTHING in my power to avoid PBing on anything in the future. It's really bad.

Hi mmm ok668, Welcome to LBT. I lurked here for a good long time learning everything I could as I research the lap band. Good for you. The biggest piece of advise I can share with you is this: try not to spend too much time in the Lap Band Complications forum - it'll scare the crud out of you - at least it did me. The thing to remember when you DO look through that forum - 'cause you just know you're gonna! lol- is that most U.S. doctors have a complication rate of between 1 - 3%. Conversely this means a 97 - 99% success rate. Those are pretty good odds. Some some surgeons have even lower complication percentages. Don't get me wrong, I think knowing about as many complications as you can is a good idea, I just don't think it's a good idea to dwell on them for too long. Good luck in your research and on your weight loss journey.

Hey jen, Have a good cry - it won't hurt you. Call your doc and ask about the Lexapro. My sister went through something similar where she started Lexapro and got some relief, then, inexplicably, the drug stopped working as well. Her doctor switched her to a combination of two other anti-depressants - sorry I don't know which two - and she's been doing fine on that cocktail for almost a year now. Good luck and keep in touch so we'll know how you're doing, OK?

I agree with the other posters. Every pre-op diet is a little different and your body will adjust to it in time. The amount of time depends on your body - also different than anyone elses! I felt terrible for 3 days then I was OK. My doctor didn't require a pre-op diet for me because of my low(relatively speaking!) BMI. I did a pre-op liquid diet/fast because I've had laparoscopic surgery before and I knew my body would recover from surgery more quickly if my system had a chance to clean itself out and have a rest. I'm glad I did it, I was out sightseeing and shopping in Monterrey, Mexico 48 hours after my surgery without any problems or pain. Hang in there - it's worth the effort.

No, that wouldn't be healthy for you or your band. Hmmmmm. I was going to suggest super tiny bites and chewed chewed chewed well, waiting 30 - 60 seconds in between bites with NO FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH while you wait. Instead of swallowing portions of each bite try just putting that small amount in to begin with. Do you have a problem with mushies? Could you start with something like a bite of yogurt or sf ff pudding first to 'lube the tube' a bit? This is a toughy, and unfortunately I'm not your best source. I vote call the doc and ask him. Make sure you come back here and tell us what's going on though OK? I'd really like to know.

Ohhhhhhh. ogodawg - I feel so badly for you. I went through the same thing yesterday and I can so feel your pain. I can't really help you except to say, call your doctor and see what they recommend for tonight. Go and get an unfill tomorrow and give your stomach a chance to unswell and heal completely before getting a fill again. The patient facilitator at my doctors' office suggested a small sip of warm Water with a bit of meat tenderizer desolved in it. She said it MIGHT help as the stuck food particle is Protein. She also said that, being protein, the egg would begin to break down on it's own and eventually pass through the stoma. She said this at hour number 6 for me. I sooooooo feel your pain and I'm sorry for it. My doctor called me back last night to check on me to make sure water was able to pass through the band and, after lots of questions about the incident and determining that I was able to tolerate it, he put me on Clear Liquids yesterday, full liquids today and possibly tomorrow, and then moving on to super soft mushies on Thursday. He also said that I should drink LOTS of super cold water. He said it soothes and helps reduce any swelling. He also said I should take Malox Plus - the plus part is important four times a day and that the Malox Plus liquid should be kept in the refrigerator too. He warned me that Malox Plus might cause constipation. Scrambled eggs are from the devil. They are on my never ever ever ever again in my lifetime list. Having said that, I tolerate eggs over easy just fine - great in fact. Boiled eggs mashed with a bit of mayo - no problem. Just no scrambled eggs. The patient facilitator explained to me that the protein in eggs, when heated to a high temperature quickly, binds together into very dense, dry, solid blocks. All the classic ingredients for a PB. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more. Please come back on tomorrow and post so I'll know how you're doing. I'm waiting to hear from you. (The usual disclaimer goes here - I'm not a doctor and am not offering any medical advise. You should contact your doctor as soon as you can and find out what he/she recommends for you specifically.)

Maybe it found it's way out the way it got in. That's what I'm hoping for. So sorry you're having to deal with this alone. If I were close by I'd volunteer my husband to come patch the wall for you at least.

Hi Marianne, I love FitDay. I wish I had known about it a long long time ago. It never even crossed my mind that there would be a food logging system on the internet! Sometimes I forget to look on the internet for things I need instead of just thinks I like or want! lol I started logging on FitDay when I got home from surgery as a way to keep up with my Protein too. When I wanted to add my Protein Drink I used the "Custom" foods. The problem that I found with the custom food section of the free version of FitDay, is that it doesn't seem to hold on to the custom portion size you've entered. So I started keeping a piece of paper next to my computer with portions. Pretty soon it was out of hand. I finally broke down and bought the downloadable version for $20 and MAN OH MAN! I wish I had started with the dowloadable version. Honestly, this was the best $20 I ever spent. OK, in the top 10 anyway! Unfortunately, I had to start over adding my custom foods back in - they don't transfer which is a bummer. But it has so many different features. I love that it tracks things like mood and eating companion and the time of day I ate. Just tons of stuff like that so you can really get a look at your eating habits. I just recently generated a report showing my calories by mood and the evidence was just so clear cut! When my mood is good, my caloric intake drops! It's crazy. I don't know why it seems crazy to me. It actually makes sense. I don't need to food to make me feel good, I already do! I just love FitDay. The free version is good, but the download is just great! Good luck on your weightloss journey and good luck with 'custom' FitDay - free or otherwise!

LOLOLOLOL OUCH STOP, MAKE IT STOP - My sternum hurts! Oh, oh. Oh my. Muster - something about an army Custer - something about indians Wait, it's rap right? Can you work with "Snuffed her"? As in - she was in a lot of pain so we snuffed her! ? What do you think, is a future in the music biz in front of me? OK y'all. I'm off to buy a new garbage can for my kitchen. Ooooohhh Aaahhhhhhhhh. Do I live an exciting life or what? Don't answer that.

It was my own fault and true to my word I am staying far, far away from the really REALLY UGLY one that just burst into flames. Eggs are from the DEVIL. Eggs are from the DEVIL! I say. OK, except the pretty pastel colored ones that come in a basket full of fake plastic grass and HUGE CHOCOLATE BUNNIES!!!!! Oh, oh. Must calm down. filibuster, filibuster, filibuster. You're right, the egg thing was sssssooooooo bad. Scrambled eggs are banned from my food list forever. FOREVER. Love Dr. Rumbaut. If anyone ever asks me if I was nervous to go to Mexico for surgery I'll say heck ya! If they ever ask if I regret it, the answer is an unqualified NOPE! I rescheduled my fill for next Wednesday but Dr. Rumbaut wants to discuss it further tonight. I think I might be waiting for awhile from how the conversation was sounding last night. Maybe he's just being cautious. Maybe he's trying to tell me that I'm one of the lucky lotto winners that don't need a fill for months and months and months, aahhhh ha ha ha ha. OK. I'm back from my little trip to la la land. If I didn't need a fill would I have lost and gained the same pound like 5 times now? Uh huh. Anyone seen a yellow fuzzy hubcap lying around here anywhere? I seem to be missing one.

Hi everyone! Nanster and Dancer, I feel your PB pain. nanster did the lump in your throat go away? The PB experience is something I wouldn't wish on an enemy. Well, maybe a really bad enemy. I know, I'm going to hell for even thinking it. I wonder if there's a band I can have placed around my brain to help stop that? Hmmm. If there isn't, it's surely just a matter of time. skbishop, I ordered some tanning towels from *glancing nervously around* QVC. I'm hoping I can get a reasonable looking tan without a bunch of streaks. If they don't work I may find myself in a tanning bed before too long, but I'd really rather avoid it at my age. Thanks for the heads up on the port scar turning dark. If I resort to tanning I'll be sure to cover it with some sunblock or maybe a piece of tape. I'm really hoping the tan towels do it for me though. Anyone ever heard of them? Tammy, I've suffered from anxiety attacks for several years and I can relate to your situation from that perspective. I only recently realized that the horrible feeling I get with an attack has a name - it's called swooning. I thought that was just something trashy Victorian romance novelists used to facilitate sex-without-guilt scenes! but it actually exists. I often wonder if, knowing what we know and still behaving in counterproductive ways has something to do with denial. When I was a kid, I thought that by sticking my head under the covers that monsters couldn't see me. I stuck my head under and just KNEW they couldn't see me. Not seeing me, they'd eat some other little girl. I think it's a little like that - I deny that that bite of food will/has lead to obesity and since that bite doesn't effect me I can't possibly be in danger of hurting myself. That's not quite it exactly but it's getting close - for me anyway. Unfortunately I don't think this ramble is really helping you but it's certainly making me confront one of my demons. Denial. Thanks for helping me with MY problems! Sorry. As far as thinking about dying all the time goes, I kinda do it too. Mine is usually focused around timing. I worry that if I start a journey at just the wrong time that I'll be the one that gets crushed under the freak-accident bridge collapse. Or I'll think, as I'm getting ready to leave my house, that somewhere down the road is an eighteen wheeler that, in the fullness of time, will reach the on-ramp that I'm using to start my trip to the mall or wherever, and blow a tire, swerve out of control and kill me. I sometimes even think about which freeway he might be on and how far away he'd have to be to end up in the right place and time for it to happen. For sobbing out loud!!!! Even worse, the person at the factory making tires is not paying attention and months from now . . . . . It just goes on and on. I do it a lot but they key for me so far, is that I won't let it paralyze me with fear. (So you see, being stubborn does have advantages! *sigh* I will learn to control this.) Another thing I do to relieve myself of anxiety from thinking that way is to consider that my anxiety, phobia, or whatever, is making me more conscious of what's going on around me and maybe because I am so conscious, I'll be the one that AVOIDS dying of chemical poisoning because I told the lawn-care company that I didn't want weed control sprayed on until after the fumes from the house painting next door has dissapated! See? I do it too. Not to make light of your situation but maybe we all do it a little and you and I are just on the fast track right now. Hmmmm. Julie* I'm glad to hear your first fill went well. I'm still facing mine and any time I hear someone say it was OK, or even, not that bad, I store it away in my mind like some crazed squirrel preparing for winter. Julie didn't have a problem, maybe I won't either! Mickey - I don't think I've ever seen you make such a long post before! I loved it - you hit the nail squarely on the head about having to become hyper conscious about food in order to become unconscious about it again - but in a positive way next time. EVERYONE: I am now going to embrace my problem with denial and declare, no hair loss for me. Uh uh. Nope. Not gonna happen. Oh my. This is a very scary thing. Without hair my face is going to look like a giant cue ball. *beginning to chew my fingernails and wondering "What was so bad about being a size 28 again?* Oh ya, the cue ball face thing. Crap. Oh Janet! I did reschedule, but there were extenuating circumstances. Honestly. I hesitate to post it here because I know I'm being board-stalked by people who have villified me as a TROLL who only thinks rainbow-pink-pony thoughts because I let myself be sucked into a huge RIDICULOUS flame war. Let myself? Hell, I was so irked I practically stormed into the fray! You warned me to stay out of it. Next time, I promise, I'll take your advise. I wonder if I was acting out over my anger-of/loss-of food issues? Or if I can at least blame it on that? Talk about screwed up! Ahh the infinite permutations of my eating disordered, pastry thought filled, F'd up, relationship with FOOD! I wish there were a cold turkey cure for it. I think I could do it. OK, enough of that! Here it is: I tried to eat a scrambled egg yesterday morning. Do I need to say more? I've eaten eggs before, I didn't think it would be a problem. It was. A BIG one. Yikes. After six hours - yep SIX - I called my doc to find out if I was going to live or die. At that point I was voting for die. He asked a lot of questions and I was beginning to get worried - *why so many questions?* - when he pronounced me normal, and prescribed one day of liquids, one day of super soft mushies, one day of mushies, and then we'll see how it goes from there. Relief. He's going to call me again tonight to check on me. *?* A little less relief - why the call if I'm normal? *little nail bite* I choose to believe it's because he enjoys my sparkling wit! Anyone care to joing me in a rousing chorus of 'I'm super delusional but that's OK"? I'm sore today and, despite lots of stomach growling, I'm not hungry at all which tells me I'm swollen, so, no problem with liquid diet compliance. Oh my. I am glad I was already mentally prepared for a few days of liquids. Talk about nearly instant Karma! And, true to form, I will find a silver, rainbow, pink-pony lining: I bet I lose a couple of pounds in the next three days! LOL *hanging my head in shame* Can I still be a Febster? By the way, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster, filibuster. Is it working yet? Now I know why everyone is liking this purple font so much. It matches my fur coat.

The thing that motivates me to get some exercise is knowing that muscle burns a whole bunch of calories even when you're doing nothing. I've known that fact for most of my life but I never really let it sink in. Yep, if you use dumbells sitting in front of your TV and build up your arm muscles, even just a little bit, your resting metabolic rate goes up. Not much, just a little. When it goes up, you burn more calories sitting, you burn more sleeping, you burn more as you surf the net, you more more ALL THE TIME! WOW! I'm always pleased when I think about this. As you build more muscle your metabolic rate goes up accordingly. Success breeds success. I started out by working on my arms because it was easy. I don't even notice I'm working them really. Don't even break a sweat while I'm doing it. Next thing I knew I was thinking things like, if I do 5 sets of ten toe-lifts while I'm making dinner, I'll build up my calf muscles and THEY'LL burn calories for me while I sleep! So I did it. Using this as my model, I'm now up to walking 2 miles on my treadmill daily and the next thing I'm going to do is work on my thigh and butt muscles, after all, they're the biggest muscles in my body - if I can get THEM to start burning calories for me . . . !!! One thing leads to another. Start small. But start. You'll be happy you did. Literally, you'll be happy you did because in addition to increasing your resting metabolic rate, exercise releases a hormone called dopamine into your system. Dopamine is very similar in effect as the so-called 'happy pill' anesthesiologists use when they first start your surgery. Sadly, I don't remember my happy-pill moment. Dang it. They tell me I was euphoric! Makes you think, huh? lol Good luck with this Poodles. The first step is the hardest. Schlocky but oh so true.

LOL Love the prayer!

Start the weekend by telling everyone that you've just begun a low volume, high nutrient, doctor supervised diet - or eating plan if you don't want to bust out the 'd' word. That's just enough BS to make them step back while still being the truth. No guilt allowed! Ask them to be supportive of your new eating habits, and make them understand that you're not ready to discuss it with them further than that explanation. If they pester you about it, tell them that if they're still interested the next time the family get's together - hopefully not for a LONG LONG time lol - you'll give them all the information they want at that time. Stand up for yourself. Don't tell anything you're not ready to tell. When grandma starts pushing food at you, tell her you would enjoy it but it's not on your meal plan in this phase of your diet - AND BESIDES, the critical aunt is watching every bite so you don't dare! Family can be such a challenge. Hold your head up, and stand your ground. Once they realize they can't push you into 'confessing' you have some horrible eating disorder or force feed you macaroni and cheese, they'll ease up. Let us know how it goes, some of us may be in for the same treat in the near future!

Oh HamuChan! *hugs* Leatha is right, try not to paralize yourself with fear about something that isn't confirmed. Call the office and see if they can fit you into their schedule and see what happens. I'm sure your doctor would rather work you into his schedule than make you wait on pins and needles. Have a hot cup of tea - decaf so you can sleep, take a few deep breaths, and call your doctors office first thing in the morning. Courage. Post us tomorrow and tell us what news you have. We'll be waiting to hear from you.

I've got you BOTH beat - I spoke with the man himself tonight!!!! LOL - he is quite handsome and just SUPER friendly. Love him. *Throwing kisses to Dr. Rumbaut!!!*

Wow! That's quite a story. I can't imagine anyone calling you disgruntled OR a failure. I've always known that a positive attitude can compensate for almost anything. You've just reconfirmed that notion. Congratulations on your ongoing band journey and thanks for sharing it!

Well said Magsi! Nothing like a positive attittude to help you along in the journey of life! Congrats all you fabulous LOSERS!

There already is a poll here Telly - it's called 'Our own statistics' I think. Do a search on it.