RestlessMonkey

I've found that one of the "hands down" best ways to deal with bullies and people who are trying to stir shit, is to ignore them. Refuse to engage. So I have "Failure" on ignore. If she's trying to bait, well, I'll never know. I've seen that she's posted after me on a few threads; singing my praises, itching for a fight, or anything in between really doesn't matter a rip to me. If Susan did mean to slap me (not both of us, not Failure, but me) down on that thread TPG mentioned, that doesn't matter either. If she did I think she must've just been exasperated; I didn't say anything all that incendiary (I know; I can pick a fight with the best of them! LOL) and disengaged on my own before Susan ever showed up. Bottom line, this has been unfortunate. Do I think HH brought more to LBT than his, um, adversary? Oh undoubtedly. But done is done. I wish he had just put her on ignore . Then we'd all be on some other thread laughing and poking fun at each other. "Ignore" works. I think it's the greatest thing since caller id.

YAY! Welcome to the "club" of bandsters!

Did you ever call your surgeon and ask if you could have some food? If not, you should.

I'm another who started doing "normal" things right away. I am a firm believer in "act normal and you'll feel normal" :frown: I had a "light" couple of days but started my last year of nursing school the Tues after my Friday surgery. Before then, though, DH and I went shopping, I went out in the neighborhood etc. No driving until you're cleared, of course!

Lovenox doesn't bruise as badly as heparin! :frown: And shar pei; it isn't that common to have to have the shots post op. Your surgeon or his nurse should tell you preop with enough time for you to practice etc. However if you're worried (most of us don't like the idea of giving ourselves shots) just call your surgeon's office and ask if it's standard protocol for him.

Good, mems! Your body has been traumatized and you need your hydration! It will help you feel better faster, too! :frown:

I'm no pro but I can't imagine you'd need to take it every day, any more than you'd take a pain killer just to "feel good" unless you were in pain. ? Not sure since I have NEVER heard of it untill lap band I don't believe in ever taking a drug unless you need it so I'd say just save it for times you're stuck.

How great that would be if it were just something stuck! I HOPE it is! Buy some papaya enzyme and try it. Mine is "NOW" brand but just go to a GNC or pharmacy and you'll find some I'm sure. My "dose" was 2 pills but I've taken as many as 8 and it didn't hurt. Good luck!

Papaya enzymes have Papain in it and that helps digest Protein. I have some that also have lipase (fat digestion) and cellulase (veggie matter) so it helps break up (and move on through) anything that's stuck. I've heard of people getting "tight" a couple weeks after a fill, or when dehydrated (the hot tea, if caffeinated, may not be doing the trick for you. For some, caffeine can have a diuretic effect) but otherwise it usually means something up and you need an unfill. Sorry! Maybe tomorrow you'll miraculously feel better. But how you are not isn't any way to live; and you may be hurting yourself. Good luck!

Yes yes yes. I agree. This whole thing has left me, for one, with a bad taste in my mouth, and I don't have GERD OR Beth's pet donkey. Further, I feel like more than just HH should've been banned, if there was going to be banning. He wasn't out there debating thin air, you know. Although I often (always) speak for myself, Glouc you said quite eloquently what I was thinking but hadn't formulated yet.

Using a straw can mean you swallow more air (ie the air in the straw) and that can exacerbate gas. I avoided them immediately post op because the last thing I wanted was anything that might even HINT at more gas. However once healed, I've started using again. I have gum disease and straws are almost a necessity, not a luxury. My doc doesn't ban them anyway.

I guess if we were all perfect, diet and exercise would do the trick. But we're human.

Therapy maybe? Plus, have you taken pictures so you can compare? Have you changed your wardrobe a little or are you still wearing the same "chubby chick" styles? Have you changed your hair? Do you feel different inside? 199 is just a number. It's not all that diffferent from 201, or 197. See my point? Thinking we'll hit a magic number and life will be better is wrong. Start now with positive self talk, and do some nice things for yourself (a new smaller blouse or a makeover at a local beauty counter, for example) and your perception may catch up. AND like I said .... therapy. You may need to mourn for the "fat girl" who is being shoved aside by the thinner one. I weighed so much that my motivation was to feel better physically, not to look better. So I'm lucky; it's easy for me to realize I'm getting around better, not short winded, BP is low, etc etc. If you're doing it mostly to "look" better (and hey when I was your age and had I been your weight that would've been more than enough motivation for me!) you need to work at seeing how you are. Many of us overweight people don't really LOOK at ourselves. When you lose and start to look you think OMG! But you aren't gross. You weren't gross when you weighed 248. You won't be gross when you weigh 192 either LOL Do some nice things for yourself...materialistic, totally splurgy selfish...and you'll start to feel the love.

Colorado, I honestly really really hope that it works out exactly like you think. Like I've said, it may! I don't know it all! LOL I don't even play a know it all on tv. If it doesn't, though, at least you have the band to use as you see fit, right! So it's all good.

Wow. You really are something, chica. It's ok though; taking my own advice I have you on "ignore". great feature, that.

Failure if you don't like it don't read it. There are plenty of other threads on here you can respond to.

As I said it may work for hyou. I hope for your sake it does. But for most of us, counseling, a good diet, being told "what" to do, none of that ALONE works. You could've gotten into a weight loss program, or done WW, joined a gym, and gotten therapy, without the band. Apparently you feel you needed the surgery to make all that happen and for you I'm sure you're correct! However not everyone looses without a fill, and most gain weight back if the band is removed and no other surgery takes it's place. Again I hope it works for you. For most of us the band is needed throughout to provide portion control. Not just to "learn" a new lifestyle (I haven't learned diddly frankly; I'm 54 and had a year of therapy plus nutrition classes, health classes, etc. way before I got the band. What I've learned about diet and exercise with the band is nothing I didn't already know) Maybe people who never gave weight loss a true honest try in the past would think the band isn't necessary long term? But again for many of us after years of diet, exercise, classes, therapy, the band is the missing link. I'm not tossing it out once I get to goal, it's what will help me stay there. And that is true for most bandsters. It's not FEAR, it's knowing what works.

If you can't get/keep ample liquids down you'll dehydrate, pure and simple. You'll end up in the ER. You need 64 oz of Fluid daily minimum. If you can keep that much liquid down, then it's up to you whether you want to wait or not. Did you eat something that got stuck? Is that a possibility? If so, try some papaya enzyme. If no, then that isn't likely the culprit (and although I'm not saying the nurse is wrong, I've never heard of "doing liquids for 7 days" so the stuck matter can pass through. I find that mildly assinine, but that's just me I guess) Anyway if you can stay hydrated, you can wait if you want. If you can't, you need attention now.

Some of them are interesting, aren't they? I found that FAQ section when I'd already been on here a while, but it's a little gold mine of info! :biggrin:

Coloradobanding: your stance is one common in people who are just researching. Most think "I'll use it and then lose it". And as I said it MAY work for you! But it doesn't for most. If you could keep it off without the band you should be able to lose it without the band. The band controls portions and most people aren't happy, satisfied, or even functional just eating 1/2 to 1 cup of food. The band doesn't make you choose healthy stuff; you should be able to do that without it (ergo you don't need it) the band doesn't make you exercise, you don't need the band for that. The band just provides portion control and satiety on less. Once most of us lose that built in "STOP" signal, we regain. I hope you don't. But I still believe that if you can eat just 1/2 to 1 cup of healthy food per meal without the band (ie once you get to goal) then you didn't need the band to start with. I hope your plan works for you; truly. It just doesn't usually. You may be the rare one; I don't know you from Adam. :biggrin: Stats, though, show that people who have the band removed generally regain. Again, if you can control your eating on your own "at goal", you should be able to do it "before goal". Those are the successful dieter who don't "need" any additional tools, and they are in the small minority.

Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum - FAQ: Lap-band Abbreviations that should help you! :biggrin:

Coloradobanding: If you can remove the band and keep the weight off, you didn't need the band to begin with. There are people who must have the band removed and manage to keep the weight off, but that percentage is slim. It's as slim as the percentage of successful dieters who lose and maintain by using diet and exercise alone. To think that you could use the band, lose, then have it disabled is like thinking you can diet and exercise, lose, then quit exercising and watching what you eat and stay where you are. If you stop doing what made you successful, odds are you'll regain. It may work for you, your plan. You may be one of the lucky few percent and if so, good for you. I think maintenance is the big plus of the band, not initial loss. You know yourself best of course. But the band isn't a belt you wear one day because it works with your outfit, but that you toss back in the closet when styles change.

you misunderstand. I make sure I get 64 oz of Water and if I still want more liquid then I have tea. And no, not all docs/nuts feel everything Fluid counts as water, but each person should do what his/her doc says. I make sure I get water as a personal choice based on something my general practitioner told me years and years ago. But do what your doc says. Personally, to me tea isn't water, diet soda isn't water, crystal light isn't water. That's just according to me and my doc though; opinions differ. There's also liquid in food too; I don't count it either.

I don't think you go into "starvation mode" in 3 weeks and actually 900 calories is a pretty good amount. I've done my "preop" diet, with my surgeon's supervision, post op for as long as 30 days and lost quite well (and it had a max of 500 calories each day) There's some controversy about "starvation" mode; think of pictures of prisoners of war for example, or people like Karen Carpenter who died with complications from anorexia. We have stores and stores of fat for our bodies to pull from. It's not as easy for the bodies to get the energy from the fat as it is, say, from a hamburger, but we can do it. So I think that while it's possible for people who are dieting and exercising to not eat enough and lose more slowly (furnaces need fuel to burn!) it's also not likely for someone like me, say, who is pretty sedentary and still hugely overweight, to go into starvation mode if I'm getting enough Vitamins and Protein each day. You will probably lose over 20 pounds on this 3 week diet; think how great you'll feel! But do call and tell him about your blood sugar (you're diabetic, I take it?) It's REALLY important that you be on liquids only for a time post op (your band needs to heal into place and I'm assuming your surgeon is like most who have people on liquids for a while post op) Otherwise, hang in there. It is worth it and the odds of you starving and not losing are really minimal this early on. Now if you were to try this for a few months I'd say maybe...but not for the limited time you'll be on liquids only.

I was told to avoid caffeine if it's an appetite stimulant for me. It's not, so I still have my coffee each AM, and I have my unsweetened iced tea throughout the day. I do, however, make sure I get at least 64 oz of water in, and the tea is just extra.