DianaG

Happy Easter! Love your Easter greeting with the Bunnies and Birdies! We are going to Omaha, Nebraska to see our son and daughter-in-law. We always enjoy their company! Isn't it great that our grown up "kids" can give all of us parents such love and joy!!! Karen, what can I say but "WOW":thumbup: I am so impressed with your weight loss and positive attitude! I wish I could attend the fashion show, but since I can't, I would love for you to post some photos of you on the "runway"!!! Have fun!!! And a Happy Easter to us all!!!!!

Hi again, Just read your post about your Tuesday and planning on making the curry for dinner. Sure sounded good to me! Sorry you had that "stuck" experience. Unfortunately, I have been there also!:w00t: I read, on this forum, chewing up Papaya Enzyme whenever you have a "stuck&slimmy" episode. I found some at the local Walgreens Drug Store and bought 2 bottles:one for home and one in my purse. Sometimes I get a stuck feeling with the oddest things. Lately it has been prune juice....I guess I drink it too fast. Anyway, yesterday morning I commented to my DH that I couldn't figure out how I could get "stuck" on prune juice.....he replied "it's the pits"!! Then started laughing!!!! Oh well, I have always loved his sense of humor and soon was laughing myself!!! Sorry you had to go through that experience, but I imagine we all do it at some time or another...just hope your episodes are really spaced out!

Wow Majj, I am envious of your bird buddies! Wish we got some colorful parrots at our feeders. We feed a lot of birds too here in the Ozark Mtns of Arkansas. We have ruby throated hummingbirds, rose breasted grosbeaks, baltimore orioles, mourning doves, indigo buntings, and cardinals, just to name a few. I would really appreciate it if you would drop by to pressure wash our front porch!:w00t: It really needs it as we haven't cleaned it all winter and "porch sitting" weather is fast approaching! Congrats on the weight loss too!!!

Hello, Ibaladydianatoo! Honestly, when I lived in North Pole,Alaska, a friend always called me "lady Di"!:w00t: I am glad that you have decided to have the surgery. A friend of mine who is 76 had it in Oct 2009. He is doing great and the doc took him off of his diabetes and cholesterol meds and reduced his bp meds. He feels a lot better already. Keep us posted as you approach being banded!

Welcome back Roxie! I hope you are having a great recovery from back surgery. I had mine fused in 2003 and have been so much better...getting some weight off has helped also!:tt1: I still have some problems with the back, but comparing it to how it was before surgery...I really shouldn't complain at all. Keep us posted on how you are doing with that and the weight loss. I am down 54lbs since July! I am due for a fill on April 13th (day before I turn 65!!). I am looking forward to that birthday gift, even though the last 2 fills have been tough on me. SLIME:drool:...yuck! Glad to see you are back to posting!

Hi everyone, Glad you came through with flying colors oldone! Like everyone here, I had a multitude of medical issues...bad back (fused), bad foot(crushed arch), hip and knee pain, as well as high bp, asthma.....you know the list.:Banane20: I am down 54 pounds now and feel a lot better! Off of 2 of my 3 bp meds. I had my surgery in July 2009 and am not losing really fast, but very happy to be where I am! I don't know how old you have to be to not have the surgery, but a friend of mine had his surgery at the age of 76. He had a multitude of health problems before. The band is doing wonders for him and he is off of all his diabetes meds,cholesterol meds and has had his bp meds reduced. He was banded in Oct. 2009. I say Congrats to us all!!!!!:Banane20:

Sounds like you got "stuck". Sometimes it is really easy to get something stuck that you wouldn't dream would do it. This morning I nearly got "stuck" taking my medications with some prune juice.:Banane20: Also, I do the slimeing, foaming thing after a fill. Not fun! The doc says that the fill causes pressure on the vagas nerve that runs by the stomach. It takes about 24 hours to get over that and you can slime and foam a lot in that time!!:Banane20: If you get stuck, sometimes eating some papaya enzyme will help. Don't give in to the urge to "wash it down" with a drink. It doesn't work and only adds to the problem. My doc says it is like having a drain pipe clogged up and thinking that you can wash the clog down...the liquid will just pool up on top of the clog and cause more problems. Hope this was helpful.

Congrats!!!! It is an exciting time!! I am really glad you got your date to "officially" become banded person like me!!!:thumbup: You are going to be so happy that you did this!!!

Hi Sotex, I was banded at the end of July, 2009. I was sent home with a liquid pain killer, but still managed to take my other med's o.k. for quite a while. When I got about 6cc's in my band, I started having trouble with a couple of the larger ones. I bought a pill splitter at Walmart. One of them I cut in quarters and that works fine. The other one is "timed release" and you can't cut those. It happens to be my blood pressure med. The doc took me off of my other 2 blood pressure meds and told me that if I still need this final one after I can no longer swallow it, he will find an alternative. Some people have to crush theirs, but I sure hope I don't have to do that because meds can really taste nasty!! By the way, a friend of mine was on meds for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. His doc has taken him off the diabetes meds and cholesterol meds and reduced his blood pressure meds.... He is 76 years old and was banded in Oct. 2009. So, you may not have to worry too much longer about your meds either!!!:thumbup:

Like MJBF, I use a pill cutter. My largest pill, I cut in quarters and take them spaced out. It takes me about 30 minutes to get them all down. My blood pressure med is time release and therefore I can't cut or crush it. I asked my dr. what to do if I reach the point I can't swallow it and he said that if I still needed it then he would find an alternative. Right after I was banded and until the last couple of fills, I had no problem taking my meds.

oldone, I was just wondering how you are doing after your "banding" yesterday. When you feel up to it, give us a quick update. You are going to be so happy that you did this. It is worth a few days of discomfort....really it is:tongue2:!

As simple as it may seem, I want my wedding band resized. It has always been special to me for a lot of reasons, but an incident that happened after I started losing weight has made it even more special. One day I realized that the ring had slipped off my finger. For weeks, my husband, me and some friends hunted for it. I had given up ever finding it and was very sad. Well, one day we had a new deep freeze delivered and after it was in place, my husband said "come look at the new freezer". I went to take a look, and said "where are the instruction and warranty booklets". My DH said " They must be inside it." So I opened the door and there was my wedding ring sitting on top of the booklets! I screamed, grabbed the ring, turned to hug my husband and dropped the ring! It started rolling toward a floor drain!:scared2: My husband stopped it just before it went down the drain, gave me a kiss and put the ring on my finger. Then he said " this is the second time I have given you this ring, don't lose it again" :cool2: While waiting for the delivery guy to unload the freezer, DH had seen something shining in the gravel of the driveway. He leaned over to see what was there and found my ring. It is now in my jewelry box, waiting to be resized! I can't wait to wear it for another 42 years!!:thumbup:

"the alien in your tummy":lol: Good one Christie!!! I am 7 months post surgery and still have the gurgling, growling sounds when I eat or drink. I have them from my esophagus clear down through the pouch into my "lower stomach!! Bad thing is that I can not make myself burp. I just have to wait until my body decides to do it on it's own! At least it entertains my 13 year old granddaughter.....she gets the "giggles" every time she hears the "alien"!!:thumbup:

Joyce, thank you for asking....yes the back is better and I am lucky to have such a supportive spouse! I can laugh about lifting the salt now. Indeed it was a very graphic way to show me how much I had lost!!:crying: Welcome oldone, you have found a nice bunch of people here. Glad you joined us. You are going to be so happy with the results of this surgery. I was banded at age 64 (soon to be 65) and feel so much better after losing 52 pounds. I have that much more I hope to lose! A friend of mine is 76 and got the band last Oct. He is doing great! His regular doc took him off his diabetes and cholesterol meds and reduced his blood pressure meds. Good luck to you in your journey and be sure to keep us posted as you advance through the milestones!:wink2: cat lady, I don't know much about band erosion and no one in my support group has had that happen. I asked my doc about slippage and he said it is not as frequent as it used to be, and that I should not worry about it as he stitched the band in place around the stomach and attached my port to a muscle. He also told me that the band is designed to stay in you for the rest of your life. It can be unfilled in case of a pregnancy or illness and then refilled when the person recovers. It can also be removed if it really needs to be. There is a place on this forum where you can read about the complications people have had with the band. It is a good idea to read the good and the bad about the band, but don't dwell on the bad and make yourself scared. If you do have some questions that are really bothering you, you can always ask your doctor what the odds are of it happening to you. Glad that you posted and good luck to you.

DaChanginQueen, you might be on to something there. That Vagus nerve is a trouble maker! Every time I have a fill, it presses on the Vagus nerve and causes me nausea, sliming, and some pain. My doc told me that the nerve would settle down in a couple of days and all the sliming, etc. would stop. Sure enough, it takes about a day and then calms down. So if it can do that, perhaps it could be up to no good in other ways!!:wink2:

I didn't have this problem after the lap band surgery but years ago, I had an appendectomy and above my left knee there was a numb spot about 5-6 inches across. It stayed that way for several years. Never gave me any problems, but sure did feel weird when I shaved my leg!:frown: I can't even tell you when it went away, because I had actually forgotten all about it until I read this thread!!!!

Just a thought, but after I have a fill my doc has me stay on liquids for the next 48 hours. By then the swelling and irritation from the fill is gone. He also recommends staying on liquids for 24 hours after a "stuck" episode. Same as after a fill, this allows your body time to reduce the swelling. Hope this is of some help to you. Of course, as always, check with your doctor and see what advice you are given. Good Luck:smile2:

Oh my dear! I am sorry that you are going through this terrible trial. You have received some very good advice here and I am glad that you posted. I do hope that you will go to a good doctor that you can trust and feel secure with. Don't ever worry about posting on this forum. We are here to help you, if we can, and I personally have received good advice and support here. I also attend a lap band support group once a month. That helps me also. Do you know of a support group near you? Please do keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing. We may be a bunch of strangers, but we do care for each other and do our best to give good advice. Hope we hear from you soon saying that you have found a good doctor and are receiving the help you need and deserve.:frown:

Hey Phyll, so glad you have been having a lot of fun with your traveling and visiting with family. Sorry to hear about your back. I had so much trouble with mine that it had to be fused back in 2003. It has been a lot better since then, but this weight loss has really helped. Hi everyone, I am sort of a slow loser having lost 52 pounds so far, after being banded on July 27 of last year. I have to tell you how encouraging my husband is. When I had lost 40 pounds, he went to town to get some stuff at Walmart. When he got home, he called me and asked me to come out on our porch. He sat a bag of water softener salt down and told me that it weighed 40 pounds and that if I really wanted to know how much weight I had lost, I should lift the bag of salt. Well, I lifted it and was so amazed that I told him "I can't believe I have lost that much! I think I'll try it again!" Bad Idea!! You guessed it! Threw my back out!!:blushing: I really need a better but less graphic way of comparison!! My cousin suggested I should have imagined losing 160 sticks of butter!!!:laugh: Any other suggestions???

Hello again, I just re-read my post about taking the milk of magnesia and then prune juice and stool softener....and realized that it sort of sounded like I said to use the milk of magnesia every day! Sorry about that!:blushing: You take the milk of magnesia only if you are really constipated. The only things I was told to take daily was the stool softener and the prune juice!! It is o.k. to take the milk of magnesia if you become constipated again, but not as a daily thing!! Even with the prune juice and the stool softener, it is still possible to become constipated depending on how much Fluid you drink and what foods you eat. I am 7 months post-op and still have the occasional problem. Sorry if I created some confusion with my first post and hope that this cleared it up.:laugh: I would be interested in what your doctor's tell you, so keep posting!!

Jessica, I am sorry you are having to go through this, but perhaps it will help you to know that you are not alone! I have always had a constipation problem and I usually had a bm about every 3rd day. Sometimes I would not be able to go that often and as a result, when things finally broke loose, I had some of the same things going on that you do. I would have terrible cramping, nausea, alternating burning up and feeling cold. Finally things would happen after what seemed an eternity! Then the diarreah would start until nothing was left! When I finally learned to take my metamucil every day, it helped a lot So after banding (7 months ago) I have had the same trouble. The longest between bm's was 10 days!!!!! I had trouble taking metamucil because it would get too thick before I could get it all down. I tried activia yogurt and it did help some. Last month at my check-up with my surgeon, I mentioned it to him and he said I should take some milk of magnesia since it is a rather mild laxative. After it works, he said that I should try a glass of prune juice each day and take a stool softener. What do you know....that really helped!!! Other people have other methods that work for them....every one is different! I hope your problem is as easy to solve (after 6 months!) as mine was. Having said that, I really agree with everyone else and hope that you tell your doctor what is going on. After all, you need to rule out any other possibilities for what you are going through. Please let us know what the doctor says. Good luck!!!!!

Hello, I have been absent from this forum for a while, and just now found your post majj. I too want to welcome you and to let you know that you are already doing great! There are a lot of nice, caring people here and they are ready and willing to help you out. I have learned so much from all the posts and have also gotten a lot of encouragement. So welcome aboard! You are on your way to a better life. I know how good it feels to have my back, knees, hips, and feet free of 51 pounds they were carrying around!!!

I am also one of those who can eat the "slider food" and yet have trouble drinking water!! It is a mystery to me how I have to cut one of my medications into 4 pieces in order to get it down, yet I can turn right around and eat a sweet treat!!! NOT FAIR!! Another strange thing, I really have a hard time eating anything in the morning before having something hot to drink. Others have mentioned the same problem. Have any of you noticed that? For some reason, it is easier for me to eat in the afternoon and evening. This band is a strange creature!

Catherine, you are looking great!! Keep up the good work! Tukeygirl, Forgot to confirm what Catherine said. My doc also allowed very thin hot cereal. I really enjoyed having cream of wheat,malt-o-meal and the grits during that stage. Sure beat the liquid diet!

I am sure the "soupy" grits will be fine and you haven't damaged a thing. However......I had my surgery in July and in January, my hubby made me some grits for breakfast. He got them really thick, but I thought it would be fine..Big surprise. They got stuck!!! Hurt? Yes it hurt! The good news is that they passed on by the band fairly quickly. Other good news, it reminded me that no matter how far from surgery you are, or how well you think you know what you are doing, you can still get a surprise now and again! So, don't worry too much, we all have been there. Good luck to you! You are going to be so happy that you had the surgery!!!!