Cynthia5

Thanks for the prayers! I know I havent broken anything, but I do happen to be going to my surgeon tomorrow, hopefully he will remove this dang drain, it hurts almost as much as my muscles do from the fall. :smile: And I took a veryhot shower after work tonight and it made me feel better, well that along with some pain meds. :tt2: ...so here is hoping! :thumbup:

I LOVE the Butterflies!! Seriously, the sweets, the arms and chew, chew, chew! Aint that true? This week I have been lookin at my upper arms, now from my view point , they is takin on some shape...but then I looked in the mirror and I se some wrinkles going on and I lift up my arms and it jiggles like jello! :tt2: Thinks to self, wonder if that will ever go away? Thinks about Bigger loser and wonders well, it might, those people lose like over 100 pds in 4mths, they dont have jello arms, so hope is restored! :tt2: Then the sweets, what is up with this? I was NOT a sweet eater before the surgery, but now *rolls eyes*. I figure it is the lack of carbs in the diet that my body is cravin...carbs convert to sugar, now if the body wants sugar, it craves sweets...now to find a sweet that dont feel like cheating...kwim? :tt2: And last but not least, you would think that after almost a year I would be chewing everything, taking small bites etc...but i can tell you now that they willhave to kill me to get this band outta me, cuz I fear I would be a ravenous binger...not a good thing to discover about yourself, eh? And I can go a whole day, not even once thinking about food, so go figure. On another note, I had my boob surgery a week ago last friday, they had to replace the implant from the mastectomy , pretty much peeling it from my skin due to scar tissue. I think they dug me a whole new ditch in my chest! The surgeon said that there was so much scar tissue it was actually pushing up and twisting the implant. :tt2: I was recovering pretty well, although he didnt take the drain out last week and wanted it for another week along with another week of antibiotic...which turns out to be a good thing...cuz I fell off a ladder Sunday! Seriously I was helping hubby & son finish siding of the house (I know I probably shouldnt have) and son had to leave, we only had a few more panels to get up and I couldnt leave it so I was using the ladder to get on and off the air conditioner and had my left foot on the ladder rung my left hand on the top of the ladder and my right foot on the air conditioner and the ladder slid out from under my left foot, taking me with it and I landed on the cement. My whole left side is beyond hurting now, I have a skinned elbow, a sprained middle finger that is the size of a small sausage and huges lumps on my left hip that are now bruising...we probably should have stopped but we only had a few more panels to get up and the house has waited 2 seasons, since my brother got lung cancer to almost 2 yrs ago and couldnt completed it, so we finished it, but man am I paying for it today! I am wickedly sore and stiff...last night I was in sooo much pain, the kind that makes you so emotional, that you are the verge of tears and wanna crawl outta your skin, but cant...I called my son, daughter and mommy to pray for me, it was that bad...I took 1 1/2 pain pills. I slept pretty good, but my left side is killing me, especially my new boob, I cant wear a bra, during the day cuz of the dang drain and the binder I had after the mastectomy I can now only wear during the night, so I am walking around with my boob slung up in the crook of my left arm. :smile: Of course, having fibromyalgia isnt helping right now, my body is in a bad pain cycle...man, and I was trying so hard to be safe, by using that ladder to get up and down from the air conditioner...:thumbup: So that is my catch up...oh yeah I go in for my 3rd fill next week, yeah, I have been at a stand still for way too long too! Hope all us Butterflies have a better week and a great losing month! (((hugs))) to all!

...hummm, how do you pull a stitch in the port? I am glad he listened to you and is doing some research before just emptying you. :smile:

NO problem! Will look for your post! (((hugs))) :crying:

...sounds like you may have an answer before me, so I will look for your post, k? Hope it isnt a bad answer, just an answer that can be dealt with easily! (((hugs)))

hummm that is strange. I have had a pain in my lower left side that is dull until I start exercising or doing housework etc and then a few days ago I had started having pains right under my left rib, have no idea what it is, but I did tell my doctor aobut the lower left pain and I will be having a CT sometime after my surgery this friday, so I have no idea, but it seems weird to that someone else is having pains there too...

Oh man I remember the nausea thing when I was preggers, although that was, um yeah, 25 & 27 yrs ago! LOL! Now I am a Oma of 2 with one on the way! I sooo understand the aversion to food thing too! I couldnt eat foods when I was preggers too, some of it I loved too and then I ate foods that I had hated before, go figure! :wink2: You know, they say that we should really stay away from anything we have problems swallowing, no matter what it is...who knows why some people can eat some things and others cant, but I am learning to *obey the tummy*. I guess I am concerned that you are forcing breads or meat down when your tummy really is rejecting it. I have the same issues now with food, one day my body can eat something and then the next the tummy rejects it, it gets so frustrating, cuz it makes no sense. The only thing I KNOW to stay away from is breads, everything else is dictated by the mood of my stomach that day. When that happens, I dont force it, I just go to something else instead. I dont want to do something to my esophagus or my tummy by forcing it. But as I said I am learning to *obey the tummy*. I sure hope the nausea goes away and things get easier for you! (((hugs)))

Congrats on your baby!! You may want to try your soda a bit flatter, leave it opened so some of the fizz gets out of it, you may be able to drink it then. And yeah, I wouldnt think having the band emptied would enable us to eat whatever, so that is actually a good thing, right? Still need to eat healthy for you and the baby...figure out what you can eat and stick with it. Dont force yourself to eat things that your body doesnt like. I think I am learning that one, especially with the bread and meat thing. There are other healthy ways to get protein, like eggs, or fish or even canned chicken with some mayo for some good fats, that seems to be the easiest for me. Also Kashi Go Lean Oatmeal, is a good breakfast - good protein and it fills and helps flush out the fats and waste too! Any steel cut oatmeal is good, the Kashi is instant but you cook it in the microwave...many times the instant oatmeals you heat up the water then add the oatmeal, but with this kind you cook it in the water in the microwave. Anyway, it is all a learning process for all of us, right? Praying blessings on you and your baby! (((hugs)))

I really am pretty patient with myself. I learned alot over the last 9 yrs of trying to lose weight. I spent alot of time journaling my food online (great website is fitday.com) and learned that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie...obviously if you use up all your calories in ice cream you arent going to eat very healthy, right? But with the amount of calories I really am eating now, it isnt doing much damage, but I do realize that I have to have to be disciplined with it, cuz I am pre-diabetic too, so all things in moderation, eh? But I was totally not aware that a sweet tooth may come along with this! That is the one thing no one told me about! :thumbup:

...so are sweets cravings an issue many are finding to be an issue now?

Hey July Butterflies! I havent been here in a handful of months, but glad to see a thread just for us! I got banded July 9th, 2008 and have had only 2 fills since and have lost 69pds! I am very excited about it! I have rocked between 68 & 72pds lately and I went in for my 3rd fill, but I am having surgery this coming friday to replace an implant from a dbl mastectomy I had 3 yrs ago, that was put in wrong. At that time the surgeon I had also put the wrong tape on me and I got cellulitous (a very bad infection) in both reconstructed breasts, nearly lost the implants then and was on antibiotitcs for nearly 2mths, and it also caused scar tissue to form, so they have to deal with that too. So anyway, I cant have my 3rd fill til after I recover from this surgery. My doc also told me to not let them put anything down my esophogus for fear that they may puncture my stomach! YIKES huh?! Anyway, I am STILL learning to eat and chew...I still find myself taking too big of bites or not chewing enough and it comes back up...but I know I need to learn it, sigh. And another thing I am dealing with is a wicked sweet tooth. I never had one before and now I have one...I think it is cuz I cant eat bread and the carbs are very low, so the body is an amazing converter, craving what carbs convert to, sweets. So I am try ing to tame that beast too. But I do have to say that I have been having some really good cravings too, cod, salmon, brown rice, veggies and fruits...my family is especially amazed by the veggie one...I have NEVER been a veggie eater, never. LOL! Talk about a paradox! Cravin really healthy on one hand and ice cream and reeses peanut butter cups on the other! LOL! Yeah those are the only sweets I crave. Go figure!

...my last fill is too tight or if I am just still eating too fast or taking too big of bites, maybe not chewing enough...sigh. I had my 2nd fill the end of Oct and I went back to liquids and soft foods for first week, not an issue, except couldnt keep jello down, weird, but ok. So I start back on some regular foods and the foods get stuck, and it comes back up, then after a few minutes of PB'g I can eat...is this weird or what?

...they charged you to redo the port???? NO STINKIN WAY! **faints** How do they get away with that? Did you say something?

...you may want to ask them to take an xray if they have any more issues finding it...that is what my doc assistatn said they do when they have issues. I certainly would have had them do it, when I went for the 2nd fill if they had any issues! Thank God it went ok! Hope your next visit is MUCH better!

I just found this... Fresh Start Liquid Protein Energy Drink (soon to be 'The Protein Bullet') :: Most advanced high protein drink ever produced for the Lap Band, Bariatric, and Gastric Bypass lifestyle.

I am not sure who you are asking - but I dont have any pain in either area...just been having problems keeping solid food down...sigh.

When I went for my first fill, I passed out. The thing is that I had a dbl mastectomy almost 3 yrs ago, had a port for the expanders for my reconstruction surgery. They pretty much do the same thing, put a needle into the port and fill the expanders to slowly stretch the skin and muscles for the implants. So when I went in for my fill I KNEW exactly what was going to happen. The difference was this, when I had the fills for the expanders they had a PORT FINDER, yes, a port finder, a sweet little instrument that finds the port center they mark it and in 2 seconds the needle is in, you are filled and there is NO poking, prodding or passing out! I have told them that they SERIOUSLY need to invest in one of those, seriously! I didnt have any problem with my 2nd fill, but I still think it is totally un-necessary to have to go thru the poking and prodding if they would just invest in that sweet little tool!

I just had my 2nd fill about 2 wks ago and I am very slow about getting back to eating solid food, but I have noticed that I am having some issues eating anything more solid than soup or oatmeal. I kinda dont want to go back for a removal of fluid, cuz I know when you start losing the weight the band will loosen up. I also know I started back on Celebrex for arthritis in my back, so I am not sure if I am having some acid issues due to that either. I am leaning toward the Celebrex being the issue rather than the fill and I may need to cut out the meds, grrr cuz they really help me...on top of having pain still from having had a softball size tumor removed from my lower back...:thumbup:

Well, now there ya go!!! :embaressed_smile: :cool2: :w00t: :tt2:

oh yeah that is another issue I forgot about - gallbladder! Definitely could be. i have had that issue in the past, not related to the band, but it was yucky. I would definitely talk to your doc about it. :embaressed_smile:

I was going to say too it probably is the OJ and cayenne pepper...even though it is liquid I would certainly ask your doctor if it would be ok to be drinking that, but it sounds like your body is telling you to stop anyway. Just an FYI, OJ isnt good for us, it increases the blood sugars. Several doctors I know have said if you want fruit eat it, dont drink it. Hope you have no more bad tummy problems!

I told everyone too and I still do! I was at an Ave store and had a group of 4 women listening to me share my journey and about the lapband!:drool: I had the naysayers, some within my own family, but man after all I had done to lose weight and fight this up hill battle - I think it takes guts to make this decision and I think we are brave, not one of us is thinking this is a *magic bullet*...but that is what *they* think we are thinking, but they are ignorant of the truth and it is up to us to tell them the truth. My brother said to me that if it *just* makes you eat less why cant you do it on your own? I said to him that my body for one has several real issues that actually make weight an issue. 1) PCOS (poly-cystic ovary syndrome or disease) 2) pre-diabetic/insulin resistant 3) underactive thyroid 4) and other female related issues including having 12 breast tumors that resulted in a dbl mastectomy 2 1/2 yrs ago. These are hormonal issues that definitely contribute to the female body holding onto our weight. And because of that my body aint doing the math (drop 500 calories form the amt of calories it takes to maintain your current weight x 7= 3500 which =1 pd lost) and because it aint doing the math it is demanding that I eat way less than I have the ability to, and if that makes me weak to you, so be it, YOU try eating what my body demands and lets see how well you can do it! I can admit I need this tool, because I journaled my food for 4 yrs and realized that someone shouldnt HAVE to be perfect to lose weight, but my body was demanding that, so I knew something else was hindering my weight loss. I think we each have to decide within ourselves what and when we share, but no matter what our personal decisions are to share or not, I would encourage every single one of us to KNOW that we are making amazing, bold and courageous decisions that we should be proud of...what we have to go thru to get to this point aint been a picnic and anyone who thinks it has been or that this is the *easy way out* is bonkers, besides being ignorant. Here is to another pound,one ounce at a time! Cuz it all adds up and matters! :tt2:

I am sooo glad to read that I am not the only one that was diagnosed with PCOS and came to understand that it effects our ability to lose weight. I actually journaled online for almost 4 yrs before I realized that it was really what I was eating but the things going on in my body...pre-diabetic, insulin resistant, underactive thyroid and PCOS that actually hinder us from losing no matter how hard we try. I was eating 1300 - 1800 calories a day, exercising 20 min/day and could lose 4 lbs/wk but then the next wk gain back 3lbs, it was maddening and was so discouraging I wanted to quit! I knew the math...I knew that if you eat 500 calories less than what it takes to maintain whatever your current weight is you should lose 1lb a week 500x7=3500 caories which =1lb and my body wasnt doing the math or it would but it would do everything the following week to undo what I had done! I found after time and journaling that those things were demanding that I eat way less than I could, after all I didnt think you had to be perfect to lose weight but man was my body demanding it!:biggrin: The other real important thing I learned was the whole starvation mode thing, I didnt know that our body will take whatever you eat and hold onto it, if you arent feeding the metabolism fire, I had a hard time grasping that concept, but I understand it know. It is one of the biggest changes I made in my 8 yrs journey. So when all was said and done and journaled and learned (I have so much more to learn still) that is when I decided to go the lapband course and I am so glad I did! I cant wait til my 2 mth anniversary, cuz at last weigh in which was on Aug 18th I had lost 38pds already! I wish more doctors would realize that there are OTHER reasons that make the body hold onto weight and that many of us aint sittin around eatin bon bons!

You ARE doing good! One thing I learned after having a dbl mastectomy, is that we share our stories, we dont compare our stories. And I think it applies to this too. You should be VERY proud of your 18pds! Please dont take away your 18pd victory by comparing it to anyone else, k? We each have our journey, there will be ups and downs for all of us, hopefully more downs (on the scale) than ups, eh? :thumbup: Your journey is valid, real and important and every pound has worth as you reach for your goal weight, so dont sabotage yourself (we all do it on some level, so I am talkin to myself here too :cool2:) with this kind of thinkin and comparing, it is a waste of your precious time and valuable life. So, here's to just 1 more pound, even if it is an ounce at a time! (((hugs)))