amylovescookies

I just wanted to say congratulations to all of you for losing weight. 7 pounds! I am 2 years out and if I lose 2 pounds in a month I am doing a happy dance. (I'll even do the happy cha-cha for one pound.) This is just the start of a wonderful journey.

I live on two sides of the mirror. I can look at the mirror and see the good parts that have come from losing the weight, (I look good!) and then later that same day I can look in the same mirror and think, 'OMG I look so old and saggy now! Gross!' Then there is my muffin top-UGH! It keeps me in saggy pants that are two sizes too big, because I refuse to have muffin top. I have the money to get a full body lift, and I was all for it. But then I researched the it in detail on the internet. For some reason after thinking about the pain, and scaring that would be involved with getting this surgery I am started to reconsider. I need to get right in my head. I think I need to accept my body as-is. I need to remember why I got this surgery- it was to save my life; looking better was just a great bonus. If I don't learn to love myself I can get as many surgeries as I want, and I will never be happy. What a waste of money, and time. (And I don't want to go through extreme pain over and over again.) Good luck- remember you are not alone. You were, you are, and you continue to be beautiful.

I too am tighter at dinner time, but I think that is due to what I am eating. For dinner I normally eat chicken breast with veggies (I try to avoid starch.). For lunch I eat chich breast with salad, but the difference is I have a little bit of dressing to help the chicken go down. Another thing I just thought of I am also drinking like a sailor during the day, except it is Water not booze of course. At night I kind of get lazy and drink a little less. But if you put a bowl full of ice cream in front of me at night it goes down real nice!

...Douchebag I couldn't have said it better myself! I am an accountant type person. I ran the numbers. I got a hold of all of the ladies height, and weight stats. I then calculated their BMI. He kicked off all the really overweight women, and kept the size '12's and 14's' If he really LIKED big women he would have kept the bigger ones in the game. What a liar and a douche! Now for the women. I can't come up with a good enough word to discribe how pathetic these women are behaving. 'Dude you went on a reality show to get a man. Suck it up and put on the damn bathing suit, and flaunt you merchandise! Show the world you're beautiful, because I can promise you that you will land a better guy than this loser when all this is said and done.' I would not want a man that needss his ego feed everyday. I just don't have that kind of time. Fox goes to new lows to entertain the masses.

:smile2:I love my band! We all say it, right? I was banded in November of 2007, and so far I have managed to lose 80 pounds. No I am not rock star thin, but I am no longer going to die of morbid obesity. :w00t:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I might love my band, but currently I am not feeling so hot about my port; neither is my doctor. Here’s why, my port decided to flip. Yeah I know; how rude! :mad2:I am looking on the bright side: I get a vacation in the O.R.!<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> My doctor is going to cut a 3” incision where my port is currently, move it, and sew it to a muscle. (My port was not sewed to a muscle the first time.)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I am wondering if you know what I can expect with this type of revision surgery (Cut, move port, and sew port to muscle.) <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> What is the recovery time?<o:p></o:p> How does the pain compare to the lapband surgery, or is it a cake walk?<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I want to stress that I hate pain. When I was originally banded it felt like I had been kicked in the stomach by a horse. Will it be kind of like that?<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Any feedback will be appreciated. I am trying to figure out how much time to take off of work. I don’t want to over do it.<o:p></o:p>

I have one question for you Travel did your doctor have to sew your port into your muscle when he/she moved it? How big was the scar that was left behind from the move?

Thank you for getting back to me! WHEW... I was thinking about it this afternoon and I was remembering that the port area kind of having the feeling of a horse kicking me in the stomach, or having the wind being knocked out of me. Is that similar to what I can expect? I am getting the surgery done on a Wednesday. My husband is a 'worry-wort' and he thinks that I will need to have some TLC. I don't want him to take time off of work if it won't be that bad. I will feel kind of silly. What would you recommend?

I have had my band for a year and I love it; we get along great! I have learned over the year to stay away from certain food such as rice, and certain types of bread. My band has "kindly" reminded me this by a tiny bit of slimming, so I got off pretty easy. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> It was yesterday morning and I was at my sister-in-laws house, and she made homemade bread from a bread machine. (Okay you can tell there is going to be trouble coming, because that type of bread is so doughy, and weighty that when it hits the table it hits with a "thud".) I asked if there was anything else available to eat to which she said, "No". Ever the people pleaser I had some...just a tiny amount but I had some.:cool2: I had no issues! Then I went out to lunch I ate a little bit of protein and salad, but afterwards I started to get heartburn. What is that all about? :scared2:I decided to take a walk like any good bandster would do. I came home and I was starving and my husband had made bow-tie noodles, which I can normally eat a 1/2 cup of. I started to eat it but something didn't feel right. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> I immediately started "praying to Jesus" which means I threw my arms in the air and walk around.:eek: Oh man this one was bad I could tell, even Jesus wasn't helping me. I had to bring out the big guns: pineapple juice, which made me to slime. But before I know it I can’t catch my breathe, because it feels like something is seriously stuck and I throw-up! <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Fast forward twelve hours and my chest is still hurting and when I swallow liquids my band is making all these "gurgling" noises. Even though my sips of water are not big, small amounts of water will come back into the back of my throat slightly. (Kind of like a water traffic jam.) I feel really uncomfortable until I let out a small burp.:w00t: <o:p> </o:p> :ear:I need some advice from the experts: Is this normal after a bad episode? With a bad episode like this how long should I be on liquids? Should I be worried? My doctor said the bands are pretty tough, but still; are they tough enough to handle “bread machine” bread? I am never eating any kind bread or pasta again!<o:p></o:p>

The main reason that I am asking if this has happened to anyone else is because the last time I went to the doctors- he told me that I was a "full capacity". He said that I didn't need any more saline. Correct if I am wrong, but don't you have to lose weight to need a fill? Isn't the band supposed to be like a belt? The more you lose- the more you need the band tightened. Like I said I have gained 10 pounds. I just ate dinner and I was so hungry. I was able to eat 2 servings. I am so confused. I will do the "let's see if your band is tight diet." but I still would like some more feed back.

Here is the deal: 4 weeks ago I decide that getting a cold and flu would be a fantastic thing to do! Actually it was a parting gift from a friend. That is the last time I am going to invite those guys to my house during the “sick season”.:tsk: Another bad thing that happened is: I when I got sick I got a REALLY NASTY COUGH! (I not exaggerating.) My lungs got “irritated”, so every time I moved a muscle I would cough until I turned blue. (I sounded like a old car trying to start.):mad2: Five days after coughing night and day I went to the doctors, because I couldn’t breathe. :willy_nilly:"Mr. Doctor Guy" gave me and my lungs a puffer with steroids. One week later it became easier to breathe. Thank goodness, because I am fond of breathing.:tt1: The bad news is, because I coughed at least 14 hours a day for eight days I feel “un-filled”. Before I tried to “donate” my lungs I could feel my band. My fill was just “okay”, but I didn’t feel that I was in the zone, but I was still losing weight; it was just really slow. But now I can eat anything like cold Pasta. (That is my “just checking” food, because normally cold pasta will cause get me to get stuck.) I can also eat big portions. I really don’t feel like I am banded at all. I feel like I am “normal”:tt2: I called my doctor, but he is on vacation until March 10. (That must be nice.) Since I don’t have my lapband doctor to ease my mind; I was wondering if any of you have had a similar experience. Were you okay before getting a cough, but after all was said and done did you need a fill? Did you end up getting a fill, and did that resolve your issues; bringing you and your band back to status quo. Do you know why this happened? Do you think I broke my band? I hope not, because since being on the steroids and being able to eat normal I have gained 10 pounds.:thumbup: which is totally poopy :thumbup:(I think I am going to ban those friends from my home forever; unless they are wearing breathing masks!) I know that I need to see my doctor, but that will be a long time coming. Please provide as much feedback as possible. If this is normal it will make me feel better and I will be able to wait it out until March 19. I am not getting much sleep, because I am worried about my band. I swear I will try not going to donate anymore lungs via a bad cough anymore. I also lost my voice too, but I thought that was totally cool, because that has never happened before. Save me from going insane, please let me sleep again. I was jut thinking since my doctor's appointment is a forever away, do any of you think I should go on a liquid diet? I have been eating a lot, and I am worried that my precious pouch has gotten bigger. That is a long time to be on a liquid diet, but it is important to me. Also how long does it take to ruin your pouch? Look at me I have so many worries. I am such a dork.:hat:

I hate posting this post, but I need some help. I had my last fill at the end of September. As a result of my fill I lost 12 pounds in two months! During December I cheated like crazy. Don't pound on me, as I have beaten myself up, and continue to do so. I was able to eat, eat, and eat. I didn't seem to get full. I thought what the hell-let's just have a great time. Well to make a long story short I gained 5 pounds. OUCH. I did earn those pounds honestly. (Tip: Do not bake 50 dozen cookies, and only give away 40 dozen. Enough said.) Sometimes I was able to eat eight at a time, but even then I didn't get full. I figured it was Christmas. (Not a good excuse!) I did keep exercising, which is the only thing that saved me from gaining a lot more weight. I was recently put on medication that causes cravings for carbs, and therefore causes weight gain. (No excuse.) I have also had a extremely stressful season. FAMILY- enough said. Also I was diagnosed with epilepsy- hence the medication. I called my doctor at the beginning of December, because I could feel that I was able to eat more; but because of the holidays the earliest I could get an appointment was January 15th. My issue I have now is that I feel really bad that I cheated over the holidays. I feel guilt that I have gained 5 pounds. I am wondering if I deserve a fill. I understand that we bandsters have to be responsible with our food, and the band is a tool, and just a tool. I feel that I wasted a whole month- I feel that I didn't respect myself or my band by chowing down during Christmas. I am trying to slim down and I am using my bodybugg. My calorie count is still high. I have cut sugar, and bad-for-me carbs. I am not eating out. Having said that it is 2 in the morning and I woke up starving. In one hour I was able to eat: (I did wait 15 minutes before I ate the next meal, but I was still hungry.) 2 servings of cheerio’s and 1/4 cup of milk 1 Quaker granola bar 1 sugar free hot chocolate 10 crackers with peanut butter (So much for bad-for-me carbs, and sugars.) I am finally full. (Please don't lecture me on my food choices. I just put them out there to show you the quantity I am able to eat.) My concern is that I feel that I don't deserve the fill. I fill like a failure. I have been banded since October, 2007, and I lost 75 pounds- well now 70 pounds. My question is should I go to my doctor's on Jan 15th for a fill? Or should I try and lose the weight on my own? Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? Would you go for a fill if you were in my shoes? (This is the first time I have gained weight with my band.)

Hi "WSB"- I just returned from my "vacation" from LBT. I was banded a day before you, and we were in the "October" month group together. I know that the weight loss has been a challenge for you since the beginning. Right now I am in a bit of a "slump" myself. But I am refusing to give up and I can see neither have you! We will get to our goals I just know it.

I take a total of 22 pills of medication daily. I chew my Freddy's. Some of my pills are very large, and can not be crushed, so I have to swallow those guys. I get up early and drink a hot drink in order to get my band to open up enough to accept the large pills. It seems to work well. The rest I crush. (And you know what? The crush pills taste like battery acid. The worse part is: I am use to the taste and it does not bother me anymore.:cursing: GROSS!!!!!!)

I am paranoid about my band, as a result when I see my doctor I come up with a lot of questions to ask him. During the last visit I asked him your exact question. He smiled at me, and said that it was next to near impossibe to dislodge the band due to vomitting. I even asked about heaving to the point where you have nothing left to bring up. He still said the band was tough. He did say that he did not recomment that we bandsters start "chucking" on a regular basis, and if we are feeling ill it would be wise to take care of one self. If you have concerns call you doctor, and hopefully they can put your mind at ease. I hope you are on your way to a speedy recovery. Remember to Relax!

I have been banded since October 2007. My best advice to you is this: Refrain from drinking 15-20 prior to meal and 30 minutes after meal. IF you are extremely thristy it is okay to have a few sips of water during the after-meal-waiting-period. That being said every chance you get in between meals make sure you stay hydrated. It helps in losing weight.

I am totally going to do this too. I ate too many cookies, and drank too much eggnog. Do you know how many calories are in that stuff; how does the milkman sleep at night? I gained 5 pounds and counting...not sure why. I cut out the bad food, but my body seems to be on an up swing. I am going to get a fill on the 15th, because I can eat anything...or can I? I am going to do the test and find out!

I wrote this post just after I ate all the crap in the house. So I was feeling REALLY BAD! Where the hell was my self-control?? I was in the middle of a pity party. I am usually stronger, but when it comes to my weight I need to grow a back bone. I appreciate all the advice, I am going to get back on track. Do my best until my fill, and then get my fill. Good thing I didn't cancel...