Momto3redheads

It is a line of products you can only get thru a consultant -- kinda like Mary Kay in that manner? My friend that sells it has the most amazing, clear skin & looks incredible since she started using it. She doesn't push it on people - just shares with people that ask. Anyhow, the docs that created Proactive are the ones that created Rodan + Fields. I don't know a lot about all the details as my husband lost his job so money has been tight for awhile. I have three redheaded girls....if only I could bottle the different shades...so pretty! ????

I have heard that Rodan + Fields can really help that....I just started losing so I can't say firsthand, but the folks I know that use it regularly look SO much younger. I wanna become a consultant someday when I have the extra money to get started....my dream - to be healthy & loving myself. ????

Got mine 12/16 ????????

Has the change from clear liquid to full liquids upset your stomach? I was sleeved 12/16 & today could start protein shakes....but it is upsetting my stomach & causing diarrhea. ????

I was sleeved 12/16 too --- I feel ok, but tire easily. My steri strips haven't fallen off yet either.

I love being told "you aren't THAT bad" & that I should accept myself the way I am. The thing is - what they see is my squished in my girdle & since I am tall I hide my weight well. (Or so I am told) You would think when they knew I was up to 280 they would realize why I wanted to stop this train & get healthy now!!!

I was banded in 2009 & did real well until about 2013 -- then I had a slip & my doc unfilled my band for a month to let it settle...during that time I gained weight & after we started trying fills again we could never find a sweet spot again. I had pains & would throw up all the time, it was awful. I finally got my band removed in 2014 & then battled my insurance to be approved to get the sleeve. (My doctor's office will not do it all in one surgery anymore as they have seen too many complications.) I finally got approved & had surgery a week ago. I am excited about my new journey. Hang in there and fight for what is right for you!!!

Oh my goodness -- its not only me??? LOL I get this when I need to eat or am hungry...I call it my protein pain.... It tells me when I haven't gotten enough in.

I think a lot of us can relate with you!!! Someday what everyone else see will match what we see in the mirror...therapy DOES help! Hang in there!

Can you eat any solid foods? Sounds like you might be too tight. Hope you get relief soon!!

I was banded March 2009 --- no real complications here....just an unfill once when I was sick...a small bump in the road, really. I agree most folks have moved on -- I don't get on here very often either!

I am struggling too ---- I went from 300 to 210 and then had trouble as when I had a bad sinus infection the phlegm was making me so tight I couldnt eat...so I had to be unfilled for a month (& gained weight)then when I got refilled a few weeks later I could tell it was too tight & had to have some taken out. Now I am back to 225 & frustrated with myself -- am probably too tight as I have all those signs, but no money to go back for an unfill.....its not a fun place to be, for sure!

Have you tried the Herbalife Protein Powder? I toss it in my shakes..I don't notice any flavor/smell like I did with the Unjury unflavored. :-)

Yep, it is way common for us to swap out one addiction for another....if we used food as a coping mechanism and now that is short circuited - we struggle to find another way to cope....sometimes we pick healthy options and others not so much...shopping is definately one of mine. You should consider going to a therapist and talking through your behaviors - and finding another way to deal with the journey you are on. We are right there with you! Hang in there! Kim

And truly....sometimes folks really DON'T notice....I, for one, don't see people for their weight....so if I haven't seen someone in awhile I may or may not notice if they are smaller/bigger, etc...others will comment and I will think "oh really?", but focusing on others weights has never been a priority to me. So instead of thinking them insensitive, uncaring, etc....they truly may be oblivious or unsure of what to say...... Keep up the good work! Kim

I don't plan on taking mine out ever, either! When I had to get unfilled bc of a horrible sinus infection I gained weight...so that is obvious to me that it is still doing it's job. Unless I HAVE to have it removed for some reason I am definately keeping it! There is no easy answer in working the band it is hard work and it is definately different for everyone. I did wonderfully for two years and then when I had to have my band unfilled I slipped up and fell back into old patterns...so now I have to get back on track and that is hard to do - especially at Halloween with all the candy around! Hang in there! Kim

The green zone is also called your sweet spot - it is where you lose the best and are satisfied with just your meals...you will know when you get there, as when I wasn't I found I was getting hungry between meals (which is when you have to choose good Protein Snacks and not slider junk...). You will find that type of reaction from most folks - some think we are just lazy and don't want to diet (believe me, the band is more work than Weight Watchers was!) and others are supportive even if they don't really understand it. I found that I don't give a hoot what other people think/say so it doesn't bother me. It IS hard in the beginning - as the first 6 weeks post op you will be in healing phase and NOT weight loss phase....and folks assume it is like the gastric and you should start dropping weight like crazy....and it just doesn't work that way with bandsters. You want to look at your long term goal - not the "oh no I have only lost 25 lbs in 3 months" -as when you hit a plateau and aren't losing as fast you will quickly get frustrated....until you hit your sweet spot any weight you lose is just a bonus! Once you get there you will do fine - just make good food choices and exercise. And since you are starting to look at things before surgery --- you have even more time to research and prepare yourself! You will do great! We are here for ya! Kim

Well I had started to feel like for some reason I was tighter all of a sudden and I was able to eat less and less good, solid Protein...so I went to the doctor tuesday to see what he thought. Unfortunately I am also in the middle of a horrible sinus infection....so the problem COULD have to do with that and all of the drainage, too....but it could be a slip, too..... So the doc took out 2 cc of Fluid to let my band "rest" and see how things go - I am able to eat more than two bites of solid foods now without a problem and I am not about to go hog wild and test to see just how much I can eat while I am unfilled....better off NOT knowing, if you know what I mean! But it was nice to be able to eat more - I was having headaches and feeling really weak from not being able to get enough good protein in. (can't live on shakes alone...) So as long as I am able to eat OK then we are going to let it rest for a month - and then we will see about putting a fill back in...it could very well be that the sinus drainage from hades has me all irritated and inflamed and this will fix it...let's hope it is that and NOT that I had a slip....or if it IS a slip, hopefully it fixes itself in this month! Wait and see....it pains me that I had to have fluid taken out when I had been at my "sweet spot" for so long, but I know it was the best decision for me right now....it may set me back a bit as far as weight loss...but that is OK.....no hurry! Just wanted to share my experience... Kim

If you are eating the right portions of the right foods, etc, and you are still hungry - like really hungry and not the I am bored so I wanna snack hungry....then you probably need a fill....as once you hit your "sweet spot" you will find you really aren't hungry between meals -- and even if you get bored and go to snack, you find a few bites satisfies you and you are full again. Hang in there - this is a journey, not a destination! Kim

Thank you!

Just an update - I went in yesterday and my doctor put in 1 2/3 cc --- of the 2 cc's he had taken out. We did it all at once as I cannot afford to take it slowly at $150 a pop as my husband just lost his job. I am anxious to see if this puts me back in my sweet spot - thus far I only drank a shake this morning and am not hungry at all. We will see if it lasts! Kim

I had to get unfilled as I had a sinus infection that took two rounds of antibiotics to kick - I was so tight and miserable I couldn't eat hardly anything....it was the mucus. I notice that when my allergies kick up and I have drainage that it definately affects the band....no fun! Mucinex was the one thing that seemed to help me the most, though. Hang in there! Kim

I had a bad sinus infection that took two rounds of antibiotics to kick - and I had to go get unfilled as I was having so much trouble being able to eat enough to keep my strength up. It was the pits. I am still unfilled as I have to pay $150 every time I get a fill/unfill so I have to save to get it filled again....hang in there, this is just a small bump in our journey!! Kim

No the band shouldn't loosen b/c you have lost weight....but a LOT of things will affect your band and how tight it is, which I think makes it really hard for us to know when we need to unfill! I recently had this problem as all of a sudden I was noticing that I couldn't hardly eat very much at all....well it happened to be at the same time as a HORRIBLE sinus infection I had that took two weeks and two rounds of antibiotics to get rid of....and I did end up going in and having to be unfilled so that I could eat enough to help my poor body battle the illness. It was THE pits as it cost me money....and now I am hungry hungry hungry all of the time, but am stuck waiting until I can afford to refill. Anyway...things that affect the band...sickness....stress....hormones (time of the month -big time!)....weather -as when it is really really hot and humid I am not hungry and can barely eat anything....but also having a slipped band can affect how tight it feels, I have read.... What I did was kinda journal for a week or two and see how it was going --- one day I could eat what seemed like a normal meal for me, but the next I took two bites and felt like I had too much....then I decided it seemed to be getting worse instead of better and that is when I went to the doctor. You have to make sure you are getting in enough Protein so your body can function - and when you are too tight you will resort to those fantabulous "slider foods" that will make you gain weight --- trust me, NOT a good idea!!! Hang in there! Kim

I take Zoloft for depression and Vyvanse for ADD...I have not had any trouble with pills except for one time when I tried to take prescription Allegra-D (before it went over the counter -the pills were HUGE) and it felt like it got stuck. So as far as taking pills go I haven't had any trouble with any antibiotics or OTC things I have taken, either. As far as depression goes...depending on your depression and how you react to it...you may or may not struggle. If when you are depressed you are used to turning to food for comfort or to escape ---- then you will have trouble as you can't just binge or drown your emotions in food anymore....so the good news is that we have to learn to process our feelings and emotions instead of eating them...the bad news is that some people really struggle with that a lot. I would advise that you continue with a counselor if you are already seeing one or start therapy if you aren't. It helps a lot to have an outside person to bounce things off -they see things that we are too close to ourselves to see - and you can keep on top of things better that way. Hope that helps..... Kim