2muchfun

She's posted since this topic was started. Look it up.

Crystal, it's considered rude to post a topic and ask for help and then not acknowledge the people who are trying to support you?

You should post your video? They're so cool

Your body cavity was filled with gas so the surgeon had room to move around. This gas can cause a lot of pain but mostly in your upper left shoulder. Warm heating pads and walking seem to help some people. And some prefer karate chops on the shoulder to ease the pain.

If it gets real bad, you should visit an ER? You could have so many different dangerous medical problems. Kidney stones, appendicitis just to name two.

Never in my case. Maybe if I was experiencing problems he would order it but it's much more expensive than just an injection.

Like B-52 said, if your band is adjusted properly and you listen to the stop signals, measuring may not be a necessity. If you're one of those whose band is on the loose side, you may need a scale and a few measuring cups? I just eyeball food that goes on my plate. Sometimes I'm right on and other times I can't eat it all. I trust my soft stop senses. recipes? I just eat normal healthy foods. No special recipes. I pay attention to fat content, carb content and processed food content. So, it's mostly fish, chicken low fat beef with veggies and maybe a few complex carbs. Seasonings help a lot.

Why spend time doubting or getting worked up over past decisions. You're banded now, make it work for you. Don't compare your journey to others who may have a different WLS. Sometimes it seems like on Bariatric Pal the sleevers and Bypass folks are all successful and skinny. There are many on both of those boards who are struggling and questioning their own decisions. You've lost 43 lbs and that's something to crow about

Understanding true hunger vs. cravings will be a great tool for you once you're banded. Just remember how you feel when you are hungry so you can avoid those late day cravings.

So, I see today is your 6 month anniversary. Mine would have been 5/28/11 and I was still around 40 lbs lost. Yeah, it gets slow at times. And you know you're not supposed to be comparing yourself to others? We're slow losers but we're still losers.

No such thing as normal. All of my fills took 2 days to take effect except the last one and it didn't settle in till about day 10 and it's been consistent since then.

You don't own a scale? Now that would stress me out! Looking forward to what the doc has to say. Keep us informed?

I made it through BH by eating lots of healthy food. I didn't pay much attention to calories or measurements, but eating Salmon, chicken, salads and veggies kept the calorie intake down and I didn't gain. I just didn't stress about it because it was not something I could control. Not saying you should do it my way, but don't stress out over BH and fills. Stress will only make you eat more and we know what happens when we're stressed?

Some misconceptions seem to be part of your thinking. First, the band won't stop you from eating 1, 2 or 3 cups of food. You still have a large, regular sized stomach below the band. I can eat more than 1 cup anytime I want. But do I want to, that is the question? Feeling full is never what we strive to be. Feeling satisfied with less food is the goal. If you eat till you're full, you've eaten too much usually. Not being hungry for 4 hours means you're in the green zone, right where we all want to be. Seems like your doctor is trigger happy with the fills. Rather unusual because usually it's the other way around, they're stingy with fills. Yes, I would ask for a small unfill. Maybe .25 CCs? Now sometimes the fill settles in and you'll be able to eat more, or, maybe less? give it till Monday and if the issue isn't resolved by then, ask for a small unfill.

I agree the band can be fickle. Actually it's our body that is fickle and the band is just a piece of plastic that does not bend and is not malleable at all. If our bodies are reacting to our environment, this can cause the lining of our stomach to swell. TOM, stress, sodium, illness, forcing large quantities of solid food through the stoma can all cause irritation to the stomach lining right at the band site. Usually it's just temporary but it does cause us to pay close attention and of course, the fears of a slip or dilation preys on our imagination. Give it some time and if it doesn't go away go back to your surgeon for a small unfill. tmf

Onederful Onederland is great isn't it? And 157 lbs lost? Holly Cow! That's about where my goal weight is!!

This entire forum can be your buddy. That's why most of us are here. Good luck and keep posting.

Nut=nutritionist

I had the band but wish I would have been aware of plication. I was never ready to have 80% of my stomach removed, so plication would have appealed to me. There are several band w/plication on our forum and they're doing very well.

Doctors will differ on this? I had no pre op diet and many others also didn't have one. Sometimes it's a judgment call by the doctor. Low BMI patients may have smaller livers and don't need to shrink the liver as much as someone who is 40-50 BMI? Anyway, there are dozens of different pre-op diets so the only person who will know this is your doctor or his staff?

Here's a test to see if you need a fill. First, fast for a day. Just liquids. You can eat dinner but no Breakfast or lunch. Here's what you're looking for. Hunger, true hunger. Experience it every now and then to remind yourself what true hunger feels like? It's not a craving or a need to feel better about yourself or some situation. How many times have we said I'm starving? When what we really mean is, "I can't wait to wrap my mouth around that slab of ribs"? Why do this fast? So when you eat a meal and you don't feel hunger(true hunger, remember?) for 4-5 hours, you're in the green zone/sweet spot and your band is adjusted properly. If you get hungry in 1-3 hours, maybe you need a small fill. And I agree with the others. 1-2 lbs is more than most people lose a week. Maybe you might want to lower your expectations? If you can lose 30-50 over the next year, that could be success and something to be proud of? It took more than a few years to pack on right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa3Lwt6ElIs&list=UL Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4jYJipQ7vc part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdhf44ZweI&feature=relmfu Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF3TCKUn3YI Part 4

I had some cold sores pop out in my mouth shortly after surgery too. It happens to me any time I get stressed and the anesthesia stresses the Bjeezuz out of me.

Yes, it should be 1 cup or less. But 2 is a good start.

Wow! 103 lost. That's like a small teenager? Good job.