ms.kelley-rn

Well hello gang, We've reached our 1yr bandiversary! I know it's been tough and quite frustrating...at least it has for me, but I wouldn't change a thing. I did hit a plateau for a few months but now I'm back on track. I had to go back to the basics. I continue to workout 4-5 days a week but I have to remember that eating right has to go along with that. Some coworkers and I have joined an online community called Live Healthy and we are basically doing a 100 day challenge against other groups. It's very motivating and I think that has helped get me back on track. I'm still loving my band and I've realized it really is just a tool to help get to my goal. It won't do the work for me. I haven't had a fill for about 6 months because I was at my sweet spot but I'm thinking I might need to have a slight adjustment to help me along. I will post pics eventually. Would love to see pics of you all as well. Hope everyone is doing great. Hang in there! And Happy Bandiversary!!

Go to www.tickerfactory.com and set up a profile. Then copy the URL address from there and paste it in the "edit signature" link on this website. Let me know if you can't get it. It's been so long since I've set it up, I might have forgotten a step.

I'm a night shift RN and I took a leave of absence for 3 weeks after surgery. I wish I had taken another week, but it turned out okay. My doctor still kept me on a weight lift restriction of no more than 15lbs. for two weeks after I returned to work. Even though I'm the supervisor, I still assist staff with lifting/turning patients. My manager and the rest of the staff understood my restrictions and wouldn't let me touch one patient. It was difficult to bend over, bend down, or even sit upright too long. Take as much time off as you need. You don't want to rush going back too soon.

Depends on how my band is feeling that day. Tonight I had a slice of light bread with a turkey frank and had no problem. This past Saturday I had a piece of toast with jelly and couldn't keep it down. I was a huge bread lover before surgery but since I can never tell when my body is going to tolerate the bread, I don't eat it as often. I just try to enjoy the moments when I can keep it down.

When the doctor is in the process of giving me a fill, I do feel a bit different. It's like I can feel the band tightening around my stomach as he is pushing the saline in. I've never felt any bloating or gas after the fill, just this weird feeling right where the band is. After the first few fills in the beginning, I felt restriction for a couple of weeks and then it went back to normal. The last fill that I had, which was in July, I felt restriction immediately and still have good restriction. I think I was actually too tight after the last one and eventually it loosened up a bit, but not enough to where I need another fill. I feel like I'm at my sweet spot right now.

Hi everyone, Just dropped by to see how everyone's doing? I know it's been a very long time since we've all chatted. Well I'm almost in onederland--5 lbs. to go!!:w00t: I've been quite busy as I'm sure everyone else has. My dad is doing wonderful...no pain or problems since the heart attack. I went to Chicago this summer and had so much fun. My friend took me to Forever 21 and before trying on anything, I already had it set in my mind that I couldn't fit into anything in that store. But suprisingly,I'm so thrilled to say that I can fit into medium and large tops!!! Before it was 1-2X and now MEDIUMS! I guess bootcamp is paying off! How is everyone else doing? Has anyone reached a major goal?

Hilarious!!!:smile: I so agree, though. People should use common sense but like my friend always says, "common sense isn't common!"

Hi Carolina Mom, You're doing great! But I'm with Linda, why no fill? It may be time for one now that you've reached a standstill. Other than that, like Linda said, switch up your exercise routine. The body tends to adjust to the same thing so you have to do a little "muscle confusion" to throw it off track. I go for my 3rd fill on Wednesday and I'm hoping I won't need another one for awhile. I feel like I'm really close to my "sweet spot". Still lovin' my band!!

Thanks Linda, Since then my dad has been doing very well. He's getting in the habit of eating healthier and doing some kind of activity daily. Now that he's back on his feet, I can concentrate on my own eating habits. Considering the circumstances, I think I did very well with my eating. I didn't get anything from the vending machine and I kept up with my workouts. I now have a trainer that I see twice a week in addition to my regular workouts. Hopefully by October (my birthday) I'll be below 200. That's the goal anyway. How is everyone else doing?

Hi gang, Sorry I haven't posted lately. It seems my laptop has played out on me so the only time I can view the website is when I'm at work and that can be a tricky situation. It looks like everyone is doing well. In terms of weight loss, I'm doing okay but today is one of those days where I could eat all the wrong foods but instead I'm turning to the website. My dad called me earlier today from the ER saying he was having shortness of breath and chest pain. Well turns out he's had a heart attack and they admitted him to ICU. I was at work at the time and one of my good friends/co-worker immediately rushed me to the hospital he was at. It's been one emotional rollercoaster tonight. Thank God, my dad was stable when I arrived but he's going to have a stent placed in his heart tomorrow (which is now today). Since I couldn't stay the night with him I went back to work once I saw that he was stable and talked with the nurse. (I couldn't go home because I wouldn't be able to sleep so I figured if I was at work my mind would be occupied elsewhere). Now, since I'm an emotional eater, I want to go to the vending machine and get a big bag of chips and a 20oz. coke, but instead I'm opting to come on the website and chat my fears away. I feel better just talking to you guys. Carolina Mom, I'm glad you're feeling better. I wish I were close to being a size 12 but hey I'll take what I can get. I'm down 36 pounds so I can't complain. Linda, congratulations on your big loss. Fifty is right around the corner. Penflair, great idea on taking snack sized baggies with veggies. That's a good way to avoid eating all the junk food you normally eat when you go on a vacation. I'll have to try that when I go to Chicago in July. Thanks for allowing me to ramble. Hopefully, everything will be okay.

Well I had my first fill this past Tuesday. I must say it wasn't bad at all. The surgeon was very gentle which made all the difference. He first numbed the area with lidocaine. I couldn't even feel the "burn" of the lidocaine because he went really slow. Once I was numb, I didn't feel anything else. The surgeon injected the needle into my port and pulled out the 2cc that was placed during surgery, then put that back plus 2.4cc more. After that, he told me to drink some water to make sure it would go down and that was it. I really needed this fill, because I felt like could eat much more than I should and I was hungry all the time. Now I feel some restriction which is good. I don't want to undo all the hard work I've put into losing the weight I've lost so far. LJV let us know how your fill experience goes next week.

Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in awhile. I went back to work last week and have been super busy since I went back. I'm doing so much better now. I thought I would never get to a point where I wasn't in pain. I've been exercising 4-5 times a week and that's really helping with the weight loss. I go for my first fill next Tuesday so I'm a little anxious about that. The gas pains are long gone but I've noticed I burp alot more than pre-band. Is anyone on regular solid foods yet? How's that going? Any episodes of getting something stuck? I'm still on soft solids for at least another week. I have gotten scrambled eggs get stuck once and that was no fun. Anyway, things are going great now and I couldn't be more happier with my decision. I'm even thinking about going out with my friends this weekend to meet up with old classmates. I usually try to come up with some excuse so I don't have to go out 'cause I'm too embarrassed to be seen, but now after losing 25 lbs I feel like I have more confidence and self esteem. There's so much I want to do now and I can't wait for this summer! I'm ready to show off the new me!

Mine is to the right and above my belly button. Still pretty sore at this point. I agree with everyone else, I think it's the surgeon's preference of where they "anchor" the port.

Where I work, not only do you get a 30min lunch break but you also get two 15 min breaks. Find out if that same rule applies to you. Usually a 12 hour shift requires that you get those 3 breaks...Texas law. I was just banded on the 27th and don't return to work until Feb.16 so I'm still deciding on how I will plan my meals. I thought about taking something quick and easy like lunch meat and cheese that will allow me the 30min to eat slowly. As far as staying hydrated, you can do that whenever you feel like it. No one can tell you when you can or cannot get water or use the restroom. There shouldn't be any restrictions on that. Good luck!

Hey Carolina Mom and catho72, Please don't give up. I'm having a pretty rough time as well, but I know that this will eventually pass. I was nauseated immediately after I woke up from surgery, even after they gave me Pepcid and Reglan prior to going into the OR. The nausea went away the next day, but I've been having alot of pain. It seems to be improving every day, but it hurts like heck if I cough, laugh, or sneeze. I'm sitting here with a pillow over my tummy as I type. This is way harder than I expected. I'm just getting to the point of feeling like I've done a million sit ups. Up until Friday, I was feeling horrendous PAIN!! I have to stay on top of the pain by taking the Lortab elixir that the doctor prescribed for me. My port is giving me the most pain now. I have a hard time trying to get my protein in let alone 64oz of fluid. I'm still having gas pains but it's not as bad as it was. It's starting to escape, which is a huge relief!! Hopefully it will help knowing you are not alone in this. We have to support each other through the difficult times as well as our upcoming victories. Keep your head up. WE CAN DO THIS! And for Carolina Mom, if you're running a fever you really should go see your doctor or go to the ER. That's one of the things my doctor told me to watch for post op.

Hello everyone, I'm glad everyone's doing well. I'm getting better day by day. Immediately after they woke me up in recovery I was nauseated. It was horrible. They kept giving me medicine for it but it didn't last long. I had to drink Propel water and alternate with the 3oz protein bullet which was way too sweet for me. I thought I was going to hurl all over the place, but I kept it down. The nausea continued when I got home that evening and finally around morning I burped and some water came up. Then I felt better. Carolina Mom I'm with you...this is harder than I thought it would be, but I'm glad I did it. I'm still having some pain, especially in the port area and the gas pains are awful. In the future if I'm tempted to eat anything I'm not supposed to, I will refer back to the past couple of days and remember what I had to go through. I hope everyone has a speedy recovery. We're on our way and there's nothing that can stop us!!

Hi Christy, We're in the same boat. I was just banded on Tuesday and am hardly able to eat anything. Post-op day 1 I had 1/4 of a sf popsicle that morning and maybe 1/4 cup of chicken broth that night. This morning I've only had 3 small bites of sf jello and some protein water. I was told not to worry about calories right now but to concentrate on getting my protein and water in. Don't force too much at one time because you will get overloaded. Just sip throughout the day...at least that's what I'm trying to do. It's hard but we can do this. Good luck to you.

Sounds like a plan.

When I met with the dietician every month, we (or should I say I) developed goals that I would try to meet. I started out with exercising 3 times/week. Sometimes the goal was met and sometimes it wasn't. The main thing is that the dietician would document that I was developing a plan that I could stick with after surgery. Then, my doctor has a mandatory all day class that we have to attend prior to surgery and one part of it includes an exercise physiologist speaking to us about exercising and offering services to the fitness center, but I didn't have to meet with her pre-surgery unless I wanted to. All of this is documented as the "exercise regimen" portion that Aetna requires. Check with your doctor to find out what they would have you do. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

Good luck tomorrow makulafamy! I'm being banded tomorrow as well. I have to be at the hospital at friggin' 6:30AM!! Quite early for me, but this is one time I'll be glad to get up that early. Wish you well and keep us posted and I'll do the same.

Don't get discouraged. I have Aetna POS II also and thought it would be difficult trying to get approved. The doctor's office made sure that everything was done and all I did was submit my records from previous weight loss attempts (Weight Watchers and LA Weight Loss). My info was submitted first thing on a Monday morning and by 10:30am the doctor's office was calling to tell me I was approved! I've never heard of such a quick turnaround.:w00t:So again don't give up. Before you know it, you'll be getting approved too!!

Thanks ljv52!! I kinda got off track today. I didn't necessarily eat anything bad...it was a chef salad with lf ranch dressing. I just felt I needed to chew something. I think I do better when I'm at work. At least I'm busy doing something. I'm so ready for Tuesday. I probably won't weigh in again until Monday. I don't want to be overly obsessive with the scale yet...I'm sure that will come soon enough though.:scared2: Is anyone nervous yet?

I'm on the 27th as well!! I'm so glad there's so much support on the site. I started my preop diet yesterday and so far I'm ok. I keep coming to the site to get as much motivation as I can. Good luck to all of you and hope we kick a-- this year!

Good Luck to you yellowtopaz! I will be banded on January 27th and have started my pre op diet. So far, I'm fine as long as I stay "in the zone".