Fluffy_Gurl

Well im eating normal foods now. I get my protien from lean meats and Beans. If i need to at the end of the day I will use a Protein shake to get in the rest of it. For clear liquids, when i was on my pre-op diet I drank unsweetend tea, crystal light, chicken broth, and sf Jello.

I was banded 2 months ago. I also had the hernia repair. I also had the back pain. My doc told me it was likely from me overcompensating to not use my stomach muscles.

I think you are doing great. Just make sure you are measuring your portion sizes, because you dont have any restriction. Make sure you are getting in your protien and follow YOUR docs instructions. Good luck!

I have come to hate the holidays. I get anxiety around large groups of people. This doesnt bode so well with large family gatherings. I also hate the fact that I have never been able to give the way I would like. This year especially, I am still not sure how I am going to do Christmas for my daughter let alone the rest of my family. I havent worked in months. The only reason I am not homeless right now is by the grace of God and the help of my grandparents. I am blessed to have a great family. I too suffer from depression. This bout has absolutely been the worst, and while I would never hurt myself I often wonder would it matter if I wasnt here. thats how low I have gotten recently. I am struggleing with the loss of my job, the loss of my grandmother, and the surgery and not losing weight after working so hard to get the surgery. There is always so much emphasis on being cheery and holiday fun blah blah blah I hate it. It is so stressful for me. Every Christmas i am sick/ill. It sdoesnt matter what I do I am always miserable. i feel so guilty for not enjoying the reason for the season and feel like God is not happy with me for that. I feel guilty that I am not giving my daughter a good Christmas. Thats my fault. She will probably hate the holidays too from her mothers bad example. I am a grinch. I pray to the Lord that he will help me with the and help me to be strong and make it through this. I have no one else to talk to about my feelings except God. No one else would understand and they would only judge me. I pray that you al will find some type of peace during this holiday season. God Bless

Can you be a little more specific on what kind of info you are looking for? We all do different things to get our protien in...

I am very sorry for your loss. It is never easy to lose a loved one. I will keep your family in my prayers and you also. I hope that you will continue your journey and i wish you much sucess in breaking the cycle of health issues. i also feel blessed that i had the surgery even if i am having struggles right now. Our lives truely are a blessing and we have to count each moment as one.

Just remember that we each have our own journey. You know this, he may not. My explanation, boys are dumb. lol My BF/Fiance is being a total jackass right now. He thinks that e lose the same as bypass. He hasnt done any research either and when i took my guide to his house so he could read t he acted like it was a huge imposition and wouldnt read it. i am so sorry that you cant eat. That totally sucks! Do you have a fill clinic near you that would do an unfill? It may be worth trying to find one for cases like these. Keep getting in your protien through the shakes and whatever else you can do. I kno this cant be easy. I myself have been struggling so i have a lot of sympathy for you. Good luck!

If it is bothering you by sticking out or whatever just trim it, i had a sting out of most of my incisions and just trimmed them down with cuticle scissors that i sterilized...cuz im a freak like that lol the stitch sticking out is no biggie, just done pull at it!

I had my surgery on October 12th. I've barely lost 20lbs total. I have had one fill. I have no restriction. i cant even tell I have a band except that I can feel my port and I am still sore. I was doing ok with eating and diet. Even exercising, until a week and a half ago. Everything kinda went downhill from there. I have been struggleing emotionally since right before my surgery when I lost my job. I have been trying to focus on finding a new job and a healthy me. Until, like I mentioned before, a week and a half ago. My grandmother died. It was pretty sudden and unexpected. She had a heart attack. I had a trip planned to go out of state to see my boyfriend for thanksgiving the next day. My family all encourage me to go ahead with my plans as they were aranging the funeral for the monday after thanksgiving. So i went. While I was visiting my boyfriend, we got into a huge fight, I over reacted and he was being a jerk. then we worked things out. i came home the day of the visitation. I was really struggleing to handle everything and was totaly overwhelmed. I smoked. I had one cigarette. I had quit for the surgery. The last few days I have been overeating, i know I have, yesterday it was to the point I was so uncomfortable I could barely move, and it scared me. I had lost five pounds while I was gone and now I have gained it all back in less than a week. I dont know what to do with myself. I have no energy. I know that my depression is possibly getting worse. The worst part is I dont know how to cope! I never thought I was an emotional eater until recently. I always used cigarettes to help with stress. So now that I dont want to do either...smoke or eat, I dont know what to do. Can someone please help me? I feel myself failing and I dont want to!!!! Please help me!

I am two months out and still have the occasional pain and tingleing at the port site. My docs explanation is that there are nerves that run from your back to your stomach and kinda curve down toward your belly button. kinda the way our ribs are shaped. The port is usually placed between the nerves but the surgery can still cause irritation and it takes time for your body to heal and get used to it.

No Revision. I know this tool can work for me if i can get to work it. I'm not blaming my struggles on the band. I know its me. I'm still here plodding along. I got my second fill yesterday. Hope it will help. I havent had any weightloss in the last couple weeks, but no gain either. My doctors offices seems pleased with my loss so far. I talked to them yesterday about my struggles. I also went to my reg doc and got my antidepressants changed. I hope that will help. I am so sick with this nasty cold my family has been passing around since the funeral I havent really been paying much atention to anything. I did find out that I didnt get the job I was really hoping for. So the search continues. I'm not getting very good support from my boyfriend. He's been a real jerk lately. He doesnt understand my struggle and says im depressing him and he doesnt even wanna talk to me. So now I am taking a hard look at that relationship. I've also ordered some books that are supposed to help with behavior changes and lifestyle changes for those who have had lap band surgery. Life is hard right now I wont lie. I am praying and looking to my faith for strength right now. And I'm doing the best I can do right now even though I feel like my life continues to fall appart aat the seams.

Dont get discouraged. your loss so far is great! Sometime people gain back some weight, it could be Water. Dont worry, just keep eating right and doing what our supposed to. It will catch up to you. Especially if you havent had a fill yet. You're doing great! Keep it up!

Im at 5cc's right now. I just got my 2nd fill today, they added 1cc to the 4 cc's i already had. Its only been about six hours but so far i dont notice anything different other than my port is really sore because she had to push around for a while before she got the needle in. She told me pretty much the same thing, that most ppl with a 10cc band dont need more than 6 cc but of course everyone is different. She told me the next fill she will only do .25 to .5 cc so I dunno. i hope I start feeling some restriction soon because right now I feel absolutely none. Good Luck!

So I'm not sure I should say I fell off the Wagon, Im not sure I was ever on it for sure. I was on mushies until my first fill. Then a week of liquids etc. Then a week of a normal bandster diet (at least I think) and then I had a death in the family and was out of town. When I returned it was funeral wake family gatherings etc with food that was not bandster friendly, high carb, high calorie. I have not been doing well with changing my lifestyle. Depression and emotional eating are a big part of that. so today, i am puting on my big girl pants and trying to get it together. Part of my problem is I am not working and dont really have any type of schedule. I dont take my vitamins or my calcium like I should. Or at all really. So I am trying to get an idea of what others do to help me. Can you please teel me what your schedule or routine is like, when do you eat, exercise (something else I have not done for a week or two), take your medications and vitamins, what else helps you keep on track? I am trying to take the approach of no more whinning and what can I do to make this a better life for me. Can you help me? I know everyone is different, so I am hoping that there will be a few of you who will post what you do and what has worked for you. Thanks!

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/diy-pumpkin-spice-latte-096277 Heres a link to an amazing recipe for a pumpkin spice latte. I used splenda instead of sugar and added an extra TBS of pumpkin to make it a little thicker/creamier. I love starbucks and cant afford the price or the calories, but this is a sugar free version that we can do at home with fat free milk and control the calories and sugar. I wanted to share my love! Enjoy!

I have NO, I repeat NO, energy. I was banded on October 12th. I've had no energy since surgery. Some of it i know is related to depression and i am taking meds. But physically I feel like total crap. I can sleep seriously 20 hours a day no problem. I try not to sleep more than 8 hours a day, but if i lie down to take a nap I can sleep for four hours straight. I will be honest I struggle with taking the vitamins. I dont have restriction at all so I know Its not from lack of calories. I get pretty close to the protien goal everyday sometimes over. I try to exercise and walk, but I am so tired I have to force myself to make it even 20 minutes. Has anyone else had these issues? What helped? Any suggestions?

I have been getting headaches after I eat. It doesnt matter what I eat, how slow i eat it, etc. It isn't like a migrane headache, i get those too which are sometimes induced by things I eat. Does anyone else experience this? It is kinda an all over headache pounding starts slow and then gets worse. It starts about a half hour after I eat.

My boyfriend is the same way. He comments constantly about what I eat. He never said anything before the surgery about what I ate. He however can eat whatever he wants. He has no issue with eating several ic cream bars at a sitting. lol. He is not a super heavy guy but has gained about 20lbs since we started dating. I dont think that i have to completely deny myself everything that is bad. for instances i bought some skinny cow ice cream treats for when i really have a craving. I also bought some sf chocolate mini bars and i have a piece after diner because i am craving something sweet so badly. We had this surgery so we could learn to live healthy and happy not so we could be supermodels and eat a cracker a day right? so i say a susie q once in a while is not going to kill you. just adjust your calories for the week to make up for it. or go for an extra walk. he could go with you! We have to be in control of our own bodies and stop worrying about what our men think. ( i say this to give advice to myself as well as you lol ) My man can be very judgemental. I am very open minded about most things, he is very the opposite. I usually have patience when dealing with his ignorance lol but sometimes i let it get to me and it makes me angry. I get mad, and well it usually ends up in an argument. We are learning to communicate and learning how each of us communicates in other ways. I am with the other poster who says...vent to us...not to him. No one will know your struggles more than someone else who has the same struggles.

I was banded on 10-12. Since then I have lost around 20 lbs. total. =(

Heather, I hav the same port pain. I started massaging the area with vit e oil and just kinda rubbing the area where i have pain and that has helped to kind de-sensitize it. My doc said mine was mostly irritated nerves and that it should settle with time. Thanks for sharing ladies!

I guess I should answer my own questions eh? How are you doing with weight loss? Not so great. I lost about five lbs over thanksgiving and then gained it all back plus a little. I am down around 20 lbs total since my pre op appointment. How are you emotionally? A total mess. I am really struggleing. Along with personal struggles I also lost my grandma right before thanksgiving. Are you exercising? Not in two weeks or so. I kinda dropped the ball there. Im looking into the couch to 5k. I think i may try to make a new start on the day of my next fill. 6 days away. What is your daily routine? At this point I dont have one, Which is probably why I am struggleing with eating and Vitamins and exercise. What has been the easiest thing so far? Nothing. None of this has been easy! What has been the most difficult? Everything. Rebuilding myself and a new lifestyle. Trying not to feel defeated.

At first after you get a date, it feels like forever! But it will fly by. My advice, use this time to start making changes, like not drinking while you eat and all that fun stuff. Start your exercise program even if its only walking. I thought I was all ready to do this! I was wrong. I should have taken the time to learn new coping skills, retrain my brain and eating habbits etc. Use this time to really prepare yourself and look inward. It would have made my journey a lot easier. I am still struggling with some emotional issues and discovering I really am an emotional eater even though I never thought I was, neither did my psychologist who did my psych eval. Start making lifestyle changes that will help you after surgery. These next two months really will fly by. Also, remember this is a slow process and that after surgery it will not be a magic miracle fix and it will take work to get the weight off until you get to your sweet spot. Surgery doesnt equal thin. THis is also something that I am working on. I am just trying to give you the benefit of my recent experience and I hope that it will help you. This is an exciting journey, although it can be rough. I wish you the best of luck and your band will be here before you know it! Btw, the first few months with the band are kinda like not having one at all. you can start eating like you have a band now if you want to start making changes now. My dr told me that until you have restriction the band is just kinda sitting there not working for you at all that you are doing all the work. Or you can just enjoy your holiday and start making your changes on the first! Good Luck!

It really is pretty good! Almost as good as the real thing, Im sure if it was in a starbucks cup I wouldnt think twice about it! Im drinking one right now in fact! hehe

I understand how you are feeling. some of my family is very supportive and ask what I can eat and what I cant. My boyfriend doesnt completely get it. he doesnt understand the will power it takes to sit there and watch everyone eat ice cream or cake or whatever and not eat any. He seriously sat and ate 8 chocolate toffee crunch bars from schwann's one night ni front of me and then gave me a little lecture about having surgery to lose weight when i asked for a bite of one of them. He has never been over weight and doesnt understand the struggle. We dont live in the same home so i imagine that your situation is so hard! I say..have a bite of cake and then walk away. Talk to him about how it makes you feel that he is baking in the house and then tell him no more! Toss out all the things he would need to do baking. Take control of your kitchen. Of course you know i say this and i know it is easier said than done, I have been having my own struggles lately and have not been losing either. My best advice is to talk to him and tell him no more baking. Find out why he feels he has to sabatoge you. Sometimes men do things and dont even realize that they are sabatogeing you.

I dont like it eithe, in fact I have kinda avoided the site, Which i normally visit four times a day lol I had a breakdown and returned to the forums because I need the support but otherwiseI may not have returned.