Elisabethsew

Congratulations on your weight loss! The danger of drinking with meals is that you "water" the food down and it turns to liquid and easily passes through the pouch to the stomach resulting in NOT feeling full and causing you to eat more. Many people do drink a little with meals and don't overeat. I am assuming you have a large band and you didn't mention how much fill you received but it's common NOT to feel restriction until after a few fills. Other people don't feel restriction for up to two weeks after they get it so you'll need to see if you fall into that category. Make sure you're chewing your food enough. The pain before the food goes down IS the beginning of restriction. Also, you likely have some swelling from the first fill. Make every effort to stick to the rules and know you're doing wonderfully.

It's best to follow your surgeon's instructions since there is no consensus. Mine want fluids the day of the fill, a soft diet the day after, and then back to a normal diet the following day. Yes, it can take up to 2 weeks for some people to feel the effects of a fill.

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss. Keeping ANY weight off for a significant amount of time is wonderful. Secondly, it's good you're going to see a therapist to deal with perfectionist issues. As an RN, I can tell you that MDs appreciate honesty from patients because it makes their lives a lot easier and it makes developing a plan of care more accurate and appropriate. You are the only one to bend the band rules or stray and your MD will not look down on you. Tell the MD all that's been going on, what you want in the way of testing, and then TOGETHER you'll get YOU back on the road to health.

You won't have to worry about a PB until you begin to feel restriction. For a small percentage of people, that's without a fill but for the rest, it's after one or more fills (depending on the size band and the amount of the fill). When you do get that feeling, it's usually while you're eating or right afterwards. Sometimes, you take too big a piece of meat and don't chew it thoroughly and are stopped in the middle of eating by discomfort. This is often described as a golfball in the center of the chest but can present as back pain, shoulder pain, or pain along the digestive tract. Sometimes, you get "all the food in" and then start to feel crampy discomfort. The esophagus tries to move the food down the digestive tract and begins mass producing secretions to accomplish this. If there is no way the food will budge, you have a PB followed by bringing up what won't go down. I hope that helps you out. Good luck to you and your wife for a smooth recovery.

Happy St. Pat's Day to all. On 3/17/07, you get to be Irish by proxy if not by heredity. Enjoy!

I had my surgery done by the MD you're with and the office does everything they can to get you help with the insurance. I found that I too had to be proactive and called the insurance company and began asking questions. I was originally denied but then got letters from my MDs and asked to speak with my case worker who was VERY helpful. I won the appeal and had the surgery. Keep exploring insurance options, even if you need to carry double insurance for a few months.

Telly, you look wonderful! It's nice to see you posting again.

You are not alone in your past surgical experiences. Because of that, anesthesiologists now have added monitoring equipment to prevent it from happening. You're going to do great!

I have the large VG band and it wasn't until I hit 8 cc's that I began feeling restriction. I'm going back for another fill on 3/27.

A close friend of mine (42 years old) was a type 2 diabetic who also suffered from sleep apnea. He lost 150 pounds in 13 months after banding. At weeks post-op, he needed no meds at at 75 pounds lost, he no longer needed the C-PAP mask. He stated his love life is like it was when he was 20 so there's hope for you.

I am certainly not a President Bush lover but you seem to give him quite a lot of power. It's amazing to me that he and his administration have managed to "reverse all of the increases of freedom" in just "six years." While America is in no way perfect, I don't choose to dwell on the negatives. Sometimes, you have allow yourself to experience the beauty and good also. Have a nice day. I would wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day but I think you might find that offensive.

Since you hate politicians, etc., why not consider running for office where you might be able to affect the changes you desire?

Here is the BEST tip I can give to combat the problem of yeast infections that love to thrive in moist, warm, environments. Are you ready? It's medicated foot powder... specifically DESINEX and it's available in any pharmacy store. I'm an RN and the tiny little bottles that the MDs prescribe for yeast rashes covers very little territory so I started reading ingredients and found Desinex. Before applying it, clean the area with water as hot as yu can tolerate it. Yeast is killed by extreme temps. Pat the area completely dry and apply the desinex. You'll have healing in a day or two.

And no matter which country they come from or which God they claim to worship? This country was founded on freedoms and is likely more of a "melting pot" today than it was even 50 years ago. I respect peoples' rights to worship whatever religion they desire to and don't discriminate against any country. I have only lived in THIS country and would not profess to know what life is like in other countries. As for the American flag, I am proud to fly it and pledge my allegience to it because I believe in the pledge.

TOM, I am beginning to think you hate America. We seem to do nothing right in your eyes as far as I can tell from your posts. Are there other countries that you believe we should be emulating?

Walking and getting off the Vicodin ASAP are the two best things she can do. Tell her to try holding a pillow against her belly and then trying to bend over a little every few minutes that she walks. Extra-strength tylenol worked for the pain for me on Day 2 so I never went back to the Vicodin. As far as coughing goes, and I'm an RN, she HAS to cough to help clear the lungs of the effects of the anesthesia. NOT coughing could lead to an infection. She can splint her stomach with the pillow and cough. Deep breathing is also encouraged.

I know where you're coming from as I am facing 2 knee replacements. I made it known to my surgeon that I can't control my pain on tylenol. The danger of taking NSAIDs is that they might dissolve in the pouch and not the stomach. I take one Aleve in the AM and one in the PM with a tablespoon of mylanta (coats the stomach) and chase the pill with at least 8 oz of water. It's also advisable not to lie down for an hour after taking it. Some surgeons will also prescribe an acid blocker (prevecid, etc.). Talk to your surgeon and find out what he/she advises. I have had NO problems following my surgeon's advice.

Thank you for posting the pics and congratulations on your weight loss and "new" body. You can see a dramatic difference already and I bet it gets better and better as the edema subsides.

1/2 yogurt for breakfast the other 1/2 for snack lettuce and tomatoes for lunch meat + vege for dinner no Snacks at all and 5 days of aerobic activity a week It's no wonder they lost a lot of weight eating that diet. I would venture to say that's about 600 calories a day at most. If the goal is to lose weight fast, following that diet would do the trick. However, I need to follow a diet that I can live with for life. If that means a slower rate of loss, so be it.

For me, it's not a question of what a person wears. Rather, it's how that person defines his/her life. Burning flags, bombing schools, suicide missions, vowing death to others who don't hold similar views, etc., are all wrong... whether you're naked, wearing a sheet, wearing a suit, etc. I think your question is really one of extremes. Most people live somewhere inbetween.

Name..........................Starting…...…..Current….…..Goal…....To Go Juliegeraci......................238.............. ....... 236.................228..............8 Lapbandit.......................231............... ......220………….199.............21 Waterlily........................300.............. ........285.................264.............21 Roiansmom....................299.................. ....299.................270.............29 Libra..............................248........... ........ ..241.................228.............13 JulieNYC.......................212............... ... ...202.................185.............17 Elisabethsew.................. 282................ .....274.................264.............10 PeaCeJ...........................338............. .... . ..338.................318.............20 RidinMyHDDream...... ..297.................... .290 ................281...............9 Babygirl1234..................260................. . ...251.................240.............11 Leecelove70....................228................ .....228.................200.............28 Josette.............................351........... ..........351.................335.............16

Is there any chance of you going to NY and making the trip back to Florida with Tina?

Thank you all for the get well sentiments. I came down with the flu (yes, I did get the vaccine) on Wed and am just now starting to be able to hold down water. I lost a ton of fluids from "both ends" so I am going to wait a day or two until I am rehydrated before posting a weight. I did get on it this AM but that value will go up once the dehydration is fixed. For now, all I want to do is sleep.

Hopefully, you're DH will be motivated tomorrow to go back to work. I'm stressing over my next tuition payment and getting back to work. Thankfully, I have sick days so that my paycheck won't be less because I have to stay out of work until next week. I had some shortness of breath and dizziness when I was leaving work Monday morning and spent 12 hours in the ER. Because I had pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) 13 months ago, I had to have a few tests... thankfully, they were negative.

Vitamin C turns your urine bright yellow. With the exception of vitamins A,D,E, and K (fat soluble), all vitamins are water soluble. This means that whatever your body does not need is excreted in the urine. I'm going to weigh-in tomorrow morning. I had some health issues and just got out of the hospital so today is going to be a rest day. Everyone is doing great and a big welcome to the new people.