Kat817

Check back with your Dr. and see if he/she has any objections to you taking Zyrtec. It can be used in liquid form--just use the proper amount for age----as I THINK the liquid they sell is kid strength. I suffered from unexplained hives for years-----ideopathic urticaria!!! Fancy name for hella itchy bumps!!!! At that time Zyrtec was Rx only----and it made life so much better!!! It did make me really sleepy so I took it at night----lasted for 24 hours. Within a month I got to where I could take it every other day and it kept the hives away.....eventually I was taking 1/2 a pill every 4-5 days and did good. Also helped my itchy eyes from regular allergies. Then the hives went away as strangly as they appeared. I have never heard of anyone being allergic. I would imagine it is either stress related from the nerves going into the banding, or one of the meds they used. IF you feel them on your lips or inside your cheeks, get to a Dr.!!! They have been known to swell throats closed. Hope you get relief, they really are miserable!!! Kat

I have this story....years ago when DH and I were newly married we had a smaller home with one bathroom, well we had been in the shower, he stepped out to shave and finish getting ready...when I got out, the steam on the mirror had 3 big S's on it, with the last 2 having checkmarks by them. I give him the ??? look, and he told me well the 3 S's---Sh*t, Shower, & Shave---he finished 2 of them and if I would hurry up and get out of the bathroom, he could check the last one. It became a joke between us. So one night he is in the shower, and I went in and wrote 3 big B's on the mirror.....I cannot remember what now, but we were doing some sort of remodel work I was very happy with him over!!! He got out, and laughed and aks B's? Eventually he learned the 3 B's in his case were 1-Bed 2- Blow job (hope that does not offend), 3-Backrub. It is better for him than any sleeping pill in the country. It has been many, many, MANY moons.......decades later.....and he is still a happy man to step out of the shower and discover 3 B's on the steamy mirror!!! Whore? I agree, there is no cause for calling names. What 2 consenting adults choose to do is between them, and if you don't want to hear about it or read about it--move on. If you must have your say, do so respectfully, then move on! But name calling. May be jealousy at work on their part. Kat

Yeah.......like I was gonna let a thread with a title like this go by without checking it out!!!! Congrats on the fun NSV!!!! Kat

I would say call the Dr.'s office, explain, and find out if they want to see you sooner or not. They would be a better judge of whether you are going to be ok than we would. A quick phone call should let you know whether to worry and how to handle it!! Good Luck! Kat

If you do not have any other symptoms....headache, diarrhea, fever, stuffy head.....something else to indicate illness, then I would definitely contact my band Dr. Good Luck! Kat

The simplest, safest way to find out is to just ask your surgeon/Dr. My PS told me he wanted me in compression, but not too tight. He said that interferes with healing as well. I know when I bought a new compression early on, I was more swollen, and tried to wear it, it caused me to reflux! He said that was pretty common, to loosen up! Seems like a simple thing to call and ask, the receptionist could relay the answer. I still believe it will depend upon where your incisions end up....different Dr.'s put them in all kinds of different places!! I have even recently heard of one up by the collarbone! Kat

I am over 2 years out from surgery, and within site of goal---and it didn't hurt me!!! So much of this act is a visual turn on for men, that the weight loss has improved things for me simply because I feel so much better about being looked at--at this or any other time. Kat

YUCK pretty much covers it!!! Sliming in an of itself is not painful---oftentimes what leads to making you slime, is however. The slime is tasteless, it is just incredibly thick saliva. Your body produces it to try to help whatever is "stuck" on through. Sometimes---tho rarely---when something really is stuck, it does help! Usually the body perceives it as something being stuck when in actuality we have over eaten with the band. When that happens or when something is well and truly stuck, there is nowhere for the copious amount of slime to go, so you either spit it as it happens, or if you try to swallow it all, you end up in a full blown PB---as it overwhelms the small pouch. The sliming issue is not limited to bandsters. EVERYONE does it, even if you are not banded! My DH choked on a bite of chicken, it actually went down past his trachea so he could breath, but it was stuck, and nothing would go down, and it would not come out---he had to have it cut out with a scope! BUT the point being, he slimed like a professional bandster!! And he is not banded!! It is triggered same as your mouth fills with excess saliva when you vomit----same type of thing. It is just that with our tiny pouches, there is a serious limit to what we can handle, and that much slime is out of the question!! Kat

I would have had to use a band, as opposed to a girdle, mine were way to high. One was up almost between my breasts.....so I cannot imagine a girdle helping me. I am wearing high waisted compression now, for 4 more days---following my TT--cannot wait to not be in this thing all the time!!!!! Kat

I noticed your age is 29 (the OP)---so the first question I would have is whether you have children or plan to. Pregnancy is something I would take into consideration. Proper nutrition for YOU is difficult at times without supplements with bypass, and with a pregnancy it would be even more important. My personal reason for opting for banding as opposed to bypass was based on nutrition. I am a cancer survivor----and as such, I have increased odds of recurrance. Then again, as in pregnancy, increased nutrition would/could be needed. With the band, a simple unfill, and I can take in the added nutrition. The adjustability of it was highly appealling. As well as the fact it left ALL my options open. Nothing was cut, nothing removed, nothing bypassed, nothing left inside me but not "working". They continue to discover and put into use new improved WLS's and discoveries about why we are fat etc. come about daily----I am as eligible as anyone who never had WLS to have any of these. Once they cut your stomach and bypass the intestines---it is done..... For instance there is a newer WLS available, called a gastric sleeve. It has definite advantages over bypass in my opinion...and was it mentioned to you? If banding does not work for you either physically or mentally, a gastric sleeve is still an option to look into. If however you had bypass, and the dumping is a huge issue for you, or you react negatively to the lack of nutrition, the sleeve is not an option, your stomach has already been dissected away. I without a doubt wanted permanent weight loss, but I wanted my options left open about how to approach that. The band has also taught me invaluable lessons in how to eat, what to eat, and portion control. I am doing this with the help of the band. If I don't work with it, little happens. When I worked with it, amazing things happen!!! And now following my recent Tummy Tuck, I am totally unfilled and able to maintain that so far with the eating lessons I have learned. I take no medications! My blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc are all normal. I do not have Vitamin or mineral deficiencies. I eat healthy foods, in healthy portions so I am healthy. My family has benefitted from what I have learned. When I cook healthy, we all eat healthy. Can you do this with bypass? Of course you can!! There is often just less incentive, and as we know most of us got obese in the first place being complacent in our eating---the bypass will allow you to continue that in lesser amounts....the band does not so much! It is a very personal choice.....bypass is right for many people. It was not right for me at the time I made my choice. I am happy with the choice I made. I lost the vast majority of my weight in the first year----then tried to tone and tighten for months before my TT....and have gone from a size 22-24 to a size 8-10. It wasn't always easy----but it has always been worth it! Kat

I'd say we are paying for the same thing we pay for when we see a Dr. for any other purpose.....his years of loans, and continuing malpractice insurance. We have become such a litigious society, they have to deal with everything with a CYA attitude it seems. My niece is a phlebotomist (sp?) and she does her Moms all the time.....and I do mean ALL THE TIME! That is one of the drawbacks I see, they overfill then unfill, she is in constant adjustment. I know it is expensive and frustrating, but I truly believe in sneaking up on restriction, slow, steady, smaller fills, and not getting the overfill/swelling issues started. I have a low profile deeply imbedded port. My fill Dr. is a surgeon who was going to do my surgery prior to insurance issues, and he does the fills himself always, but even he has trouble hitting my port---I would not trust anyone else to do it---even myself if I were trained!!! Besides the positioning of mine, it would be almost impossible, when he finally gets mine, I cannot raise up much to even see it. That might have changed since my TT----but it would not have been self accessible I don't believe. I can physically feel and count each of my ribs now, but have to poke and push deep to feel my port----I would be a poor one to try it with! I think I'll keep helping my surgeon to repay his loans!!! Or fund his next green fees! Kat

Another thing I have found myself able to do that I love is pull my leg up, like the original poster mentioned...but I can do that and do my own pedicure. I can paint my nails, and even do it neatly!!!! Kat

Suzie, Arby's & fancy was a joke! We seldom do fancy, and never on the bike. I always arrive either with helmet hair, or veeeeery wind blown----not a good fancy look!!! As it was we ended up at a local Grill. Was not a great meal, part of it was cold, and when we mentioned it to the waitress, she come back and said the cook argued with her that it was not! So she took our drinks off our ticket---big friggin' deal, we were drinking ice tea! I have no idea WHO was at fault, the waitress or the cook, but it made me mad, and they have no idea I know the owners, who are VERY involved---and have known him since I was probably 5 years old!!! Next time we are there, you can count on me mentioning that I hope they have a new cook! LOL Woke up this morning with my stomach a burnin' and a churnin' and I don't know why! I should find something for breakfast, so there is something in there to absorb some of the acids.....but nothing sounds good, and I am not hungry so I just hate to eat for the sake of eating!!! One of Rick's friends passed away. He was very upset by it. We had not been close in the last couple of years, but in the years prior we were all extremely close. Over 20 years ago he had some serious drinking issues. Then he quit.....and during that time they met through work, and we all hung out, we camped together, rode together---he loved to get a group together and play cards or dominoes---he was a bachelor, and loved big get togethers! Then a couple of years ago his sister moved back to the area, she had been diagnosed with liver cancer. She refused to quit drinking and before we knew what was happening she had Paul drinking again. I mean I know it was his decision, but we heard her encourage him to have a drink many a time, none of us liked her at all!!! He was a touchy, "you're my best friend, I love ya" kind of drunk---and he never drank A beer---it was total binges all the time. We don't drink that way so he got to where he just hung out with his siter and stayed sloshed all the time. We saw him a few months ago, and he told us he had just buried his sister, and he wasn't far behind her, he too had liver cancer. We didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he didn't look good. We stopped by several times in the last few months and visited with him. And he died at home yesterday. Sad, he was smart, and funny....and I know the alcohol did it's damage years ago, but he ruined the last years of his life anyway----it was just horrible. Tracy, nothing planned much for the weekend here. Rick is working part of it. He has some shop renovations going on, and in order to do them, the crew doing the work, has to move all the mechanics tool boxes and the lockers in the locker room---all kinds of things that are personal belongings of his employees. So a couple of them are going to work to supervise the handling of the items. He will take the time off in comp time, he is off beginning the 1st thru like the 6th or 7th. We have a friend riding in from Denver--I wish some of our single Violets were close, I would set one of you up with him. Total sweetheart, and he has a definite George Strait look about him----and he can dance---omg!!! I would love to see him happy with someone. He spent the last few years caring for his Granny who raised him. He was so sweet to her, but she was profoundly deaf. She read lips, so he would talk so sweet to her, and then turn and say something sooooooo off the wall you about choked trying not to laugh and make Granny wonder what she missed! It was a riot at their house! I look forward to his visit. Our big fireworks celebration is on the 3rd (go figure???) we are having a huge gathering in the hills below where they shoot them----us all our kids, spouses, grandkids. Becky & Gary, and their kids, spouses and grandkids, Darren will be here with a friend. And usually several of the kids friends show up. We take a grill, and everyone brings things to throw on it, and side dishes---we eat for hours while we wait for a 40 minute fireworks show!!!! LOL 2 years ago during the fireworks eatfest---I had my first serious PB!!! Fireworks sprayed overhead, and I spewed below!!! Well I am off to find something to put in my stomach....I think it was hearing about Paul dying that tore my stomach up..... TTYL~~ Kat

I lost my uterus several (5 in September) years ago, due to endometrial cancer---the uterine lining. I actually suffered through the hormonal changes long before the surgery, due to the endometriosis. The surgery was not a big deal, I recovered quickly, and it is a total toss up which I would choose if I could only have one.....the hysterectomy or the band. They both made HUGE, impactive improvements on my life. So in my opinion, if ever there is reason for it to go.....let it!! LOL, without a reason to remove it, I agree, keep it----but I had no problem getting rid of it all, and don't miss anything about it! LOL. I have heard women say they feel less like a woman----sorry but hemmoraghing all over the bed every time I turned around did not define me as a woman!!! And thanks to the TT--I have my womanly shape back as opposed to the Michelin Tire man shape!!! Kat

I squated down to teach my granddaughter how to play jacks the other day, and realized I was not hurting anywhere doing it---nor was I tri-podded using my belly for balance!!! It might not have really been that way, but it sure felt that way!!! I am amazed at how limber I really am without all the extra bulk in the way......so is DH!!!! Kat

I love parmesan cheese crisps. I use a silicone baking sheet, inside my cookie sheet---make little mounds with the shredded parmesan cheese, then bake at 375, and watch them closely. They will melt and begin browning on the edges, when they do, take them out, let them cool, and they get crispy. I sometimes toss pepperoni slices in to bake with them on another sheet.... They both give me the crunch and salty flavor I miss in chips....but even they are not the best nutritionally---but I like 'em!!! Kat

Just talked to TracyKS with my slot machine advice, because I didn't know if she would get a chance to get back here or not!!! My advice comes from my son in law....er ex son in law, now known as the guy she lives with!!! Anyway, he has his gaming license. He is a computer geek, and that is what he did---he set computer programming for gaming machines. Now he oversees the computerized equipment pipelining gas....but that is beside the point. He told me, that the pay out on slots is regulated, they have to pay at certain levels which varies by state----but to ALWAYS try to play a machine near the door, or window, or on the pathway to the check in counter at a resort, or on the pathway to the buffet. Those in a highly visible area, are set to the loosest pay off. And that quarters pay the most, in relation to how much you put in them. And when you have a multiple option bet to do 3 lines and the diagonal------usually a 5X bet----and it evens your odds, more than maxing it out. So far, his tips have seemed to help us, we usually minimally break even, usually win some.....but not 30K!! Suzie, your poor piggies!!! Kinsey calls her toes her piggies! I bet the hobbling around is playing hell with your knee and other sore spots from the fall. I hope the knee is ok, they are no fun, I've had both operated on! TracyK--yay you, you have behaved so well!! I had a scrambled egg for breakfast, and a Taco for lunch (went with my friend who is so upset over her DD)....and am now having my fix! OOooh should not say that right after having said that about my friends DD------anyway, I am eating my shaved ice.....oh I love it so!!! Sugar free syrup and frozen water---if it was free I would eat nothing else! My freezer/fridge crushes ice out the door, but this is shaved, there is so much difference. I don't even like the little balls like a snow cone----this is shaved, is almost like snow. I am going to see if you can buy one for the house! I could stick to my eating plan if I could have this to snack on anytime!!! I go into mourning when they close down in the fall! How did Macy's hair turn out? Kinsey needs a trim, but that poor darlin' is a mass of cowlicks!! And her hair is so fine and thin---heck she didn't get any till she was almost 2!! She was born with lots and lots of dark hair, it fell out, and she was smooth as a cue ball for over a year--a loooooong time. Finally grew in almost tow headed! I guess we are riding in to have dinner somewhere tonight. I think something fancy.....he was mentioning Arby's!! I don't have to cook so I am not complaining!!! Better get some things done here though! BBL~~ Kat

As for the original post....maybe I am wierd, I see no issue with it. The first time I went to Hawaii was to see my DD and DH could not go---I took those pics and brought home to him! When we are at a motorcycle rally I am always pointing out the wild or the not much there outfits!!! He was always with me, even then, when I was at my heaviest, although he loved me back when I was 120 pounds! I knew he loved me at 289 pounds too. I believe just because you are on a diet you can still look at the menu!!! More seriously, if this had been after the 2 of you were together, it might be something to worry about, or if the pics were of scimpy dressed men! But this just tells me he is normal! Just bring him home and show him the advantages of a real live woman as opposed to a picture!!! I bet stress DID play a huge role in your reaction! Kat

Yep, 30K would make a difference in my life as well. And no it would not all be spent on motorcycles!!! Even though Rick calls me yesterday and tells me he found a new bike 34K!!!! Yeah sure!!!!!! But then all HELL broke loose!!! He ordered a part for the Yamaha he is chopping---so he give him his name and all for the part, along with putting it on the debit card. During the conversation regarding this Big Dawg Chopper bike, he ask Rick if he had ever used their financing, Rick told him yes several years ago we financed my bike. He said the guy finally left him alone to wander the store, but soon he come back and told Rick he got him approved! He had used the info to look up what he needed in the computer and ran our credit etc, and approved us for this bike----at $34,000.00! Rick was livid!!! He called me, while he waited for the manager to show up from wherever he was having lunch. Everytime you run your credit, you drop your score, and now we show an open approval for that much money. So if we needed to get a loan in the next few days---it would affect our rate. Rick said he would not have thrown such a fit, but the guy was non apologetic, and rude about him being mad. All he would say is that most people are happy when they find out they can get approved. The manager was apologetic, and gave Rick a $250.00 store credit---whoopee! But in the end it is done, and nothing can change it. He was still irate when he come home! Of course he had told the story all day and not allowed himself to let it go. But......30K would make a nice nest egg, and might even convince me to move!!! TracyKS, you have fun in Vegas---it is such a fun place, we plan on going later in the year....maybe October. Terry & Haydee, I am so glad y'all got together, jealous yes, but happy for you just the same!! I think it is wonderful for you guys to be able to do that----and good for both of you just now. Glad to hear our Haydee girl is really doing well, and not just pretending with us!!! j/k Haydee! Suzanne, how are the toes??? Been thinking about you! TracyK---kids are so hard, you never know. You take them to the Dr. and they miraculously are improved. You opt not to, and they get worse. Even when they are too young to know how to purposely be perverse that way they do it!! Michelle, how is Evans mouth this morning? Manda went through 2 sets of braces. She had a slight underbite---so they put her in her first set at 9 years old, so they could manipulate the formation of the jaw bone before puberty----stretching the top jaw, while holding the bottom in place and correcting the bite. Then they come off for a year, and then went back on for 9 months to correct some bite issues it left behind. They look good today. The other 2 (technically Ricks kids---so different blood lines) have PERFECT teeth! Abbey still to this day has the brightest whitest, most perfect smile! Of course she drinks no caffeine....or soda, has never smoked......they are just beautiful. With Manda's underbite, we watched Kinsey's really closely, but hers is fine. She has seen the dentist regularly since she was a year old, and so far so good! Jane are you seeing a cardiologist at all? If not, I would ask for a referral, let someone with experience in all those issues look at your Holter results. I have yet to see any real explanation of WHY you passed out, with such serious issues---it wasn't like an overheated fainting spell. And how do you know it won't happen again....like when you are driving? It scares me for you! Pamela.....swimmin' nekkid! Lucky you!! I'll be back in awhile.....Mom's on the phone, this could take awhile!! Kat

I think this is a perfect thread to show how each bandster differs. It makes all the differing information out there easier to take! It is yet one more way to show that the band is not a one size fits all piece of equipment. I don't believe the OP's purpose it asking was to figure out where their own sweetspot would be....more just a curiosity to get an idea whether being more aggressive would be good or not. In my case when 1.25 cc did almost nothing, I thought when he only gave me .25cc--less than half what I got the first time, it would do nothing, and I was SO wrong!!! I totally believe in small steady fills and sneaking up on restriction---I have read way too many posts of large fills being too much, and then back you go for an unfill, which often it seems starts a cycle---and makes finding the sweetspot more difficult. When you are too full and require an unfill, you have begun the swelling issue, and it can be hard to get past. While I trust my surgeon's and my fill Dr.'s (also a surgeon) opinion, I am the only one who knows how I am actually able to eat, and feel I should have a say in the matter. Lucky for me they agree, and ALWAYS ask about my eating, and my problems, and my weight---all kinds of things before we decide if another fill is needed. I have only had 2 fills, and one total unfill for my TT---but have seen my Dr. over a dozen times easily! Kat

While it isn't particularly tasty, just a couple of sips of warm water will even work....it is the warmth, not the tea or coffee that is supposed to help....so warm water, hot chocolate, hot broth.....anything like that would be worth a try. You are right, it does not sound like you need a fill. During the first months post op, I think it is important to go in, and touch base with your surgeon, but unless it is indicated through hunger, and lack of restriction that a fill is needed. Surely telling your Dr. about the issues you are having and him seeing your weight falling within or above the 1-2 pounds a week, he will agree that a fill is not indicated. I do a lot of dry cereal as snack food, while I am on the computer! It is great for the fiber content! I also stir some in my yogurt for the same purpose. But I have been known to eat any food at any time of day....must go back to my school days of cold pizza for breakfast!! I drink a lot of water.....but I am not picky, I'll refill a bottle straight from the tap! I also do a LOT of decaffeinated iced tea. Hope they figure it out for you soon. And I hear ya on the election, I cannot believe it hasn't really even started......Ay-yi-yi!!! Kat

I agree with what Jack said!! I also wanted to let you know, that they do often schedule you monthly for fills in the beginning, very few have ever needed 12 fills---in fact I have never heard of it!!! They work them every 4 weeks so you can achieve restriction, and maintain it. You do NOT have to have the fill!!! If you are eating properly---slowly, small, well chewed bites---and you fill up quickly, and do not find yourself hungry again for several hours, you do not need a fill. In fact it sounds as though you may still be suffering from being slightly overfilled. Another possibility is that you are dealing with residual swelling caused by the "barfing" it up. I was told anytime something passed painfully or I PB'd (barfed it up) to go to liquids for minimally several hours to allow the stomach to calm down again. It is an evil cycle if it gets started. I would suggest you do just as Jack said, and try treating it as first bite syndrome. Drink something warm in the morning before trying to eat the bulky cereal. Also there are no rules set in stone that you must eat the cereal early in the day! Have a container of yogurt for breakfast, and save the cereal for lunch when you seem to be more open..... And some meds will irritate the band, and cause some swelling, so you might just have to experiment around and see if doing things in a different pattern will help! Good Luck!!! Isn't it nice to have the warm nights rather than the snow, I thought winter would never end!!!! Kat

Thanks so much! Not to hijack your thread Jachut, but, I do have another question! My kids (step kids to be exact) Mom is bi-polar. She "self medicates" and goes off the deep end, talking to God, and going off to take down the Espiscopal Church, starting with her parents! She has been hospitalized several times. It is my understanding that before the drugs, and the "help" she gives her meds now she was fairly stable. What kind of risk are my kids at??? I promise I will take it to PM rather than further disrupt the thread---sorry! Kat

I was banded in April of 06. In June of 06 I got my first fill of 1.25cc's. Minor restriction only. So in July 06 I went back and received .25cc's----major restriction!!! Over time it settled into restriction, but not super tight. I was not hungry, and worked that total restriction of 1.75cc's through until last May (almost 2 years!) when I was totally unfilled for my tummy tuck---when he unfilled me, he pulled 1.6 cc's. I have yet to go back and start the fill process yet. I am still not hungry, so seeing how it goes from day to day. But I would definitely consider somewhere in there my sweet spot....it worked for me! Kat

Hi lvincent3---welcome to LBT. Further down the main page, there is a forum for local band discussion----it shows the USA when you click on it, it will take you to a state by state area, so you might try that and see if you can find any locals to check with. There is also an area for Dr.'s & hospitals, you might search through there, and see if this particular Dr. has any mention. Many pre op requirements are set by your insurance--so you could find out through them what theirs are, then have some of it dealt with when you see the Dr. Usuals are an EKG,blood work up, psych evaluation, some require a sleep study or a swallow study, most require a visit or a series of visits with a nutritionist. Almost all surgeons want you to come to their informational seminars before getting started. Good Luck in your research!! Hope you hook up with someone from your chosen Dr. Kat