LollyMoe

Hey Shawna, we missed you at group today. You should see Busdriver...she is really looking skinny. In fact, she needs to post a new picture.

I'm taking my band to the grave with me! No one is getting it. It has been a true life saver for me. So far, I've lost a lot of weight and have been taken off all but one of my B/P meds per day. I was taking four different kinds, three times a day. Now I take ONE....one time a day.

I have a protein shake every morning. I purchased the Matrix Vanilla Powder so I could mix different flavors in it. However, I seem to be a boring shake person b/c I like just plain old vanilla. I can't seem to eat in the mornings, so the shake is a lifesaver for me.

Yesterday, my daughter and grown g/son came for a visit. Since I don't get to see him very often, we decided to go for lunch at our favorite Chinese eatery. We arrive and were seated close to the buffet bar with all the wonderful smells. My mouth starts to drool at once and of course, I manage to put too much food on my plate. As if I thought I could eat all that much! Anyway, I take a slip or two of my hot & sour Soup and feel okay. Usually, something warm is good for me prior to eating anything. I had chosen some grilled chicken and stir fry broccoli, which is what I always choose. Nothing wrong with that as far as I could see. At least I wasn't woofing down Chinese donuts, which I wanted but refrained from choosing. I took another bite of food and all of a sudden, I was stuck. So, okay, nothing too painful yet, so I figured that I'd just wait for it to pass. As I sat watching my g/son woof down his food with chopsticks and wondering how he could eat so much and so fast with those sticks, the pain began to get worse, so I excuse myself to the ladies room. Slimming a little but nothing too much...however pain gets worse. I begin to think that maybe this isn't a stuck episode but a minor heart attack after all. I go back to the booth and get some papaya tablets to chew, which usually make me feel better. Still have the pain and it's getting stronger now. I'm mentally checking to see if pain is radiating down arm or up the jawline...no heart attack so far....must be still stuck. I try a slip of hot soup, which I had gotten since my other cup was cold by now. No better luck, so back to the bathroom. Here I am standing in the bathroom, bending over like I'm bowing to the toilet bowl, straightening up and then bowing again. A little slimming but nothing of any amount and no relief in pain. By this time, tears are running down my face. Oh my God, I can't go back to the booth like this.... what am I going to do. After I wash my tears away and go back to the booth, we decide to go since they had finished and I certainly didn't plan to eat ever again in my lifetime. Since I'm the driver, I back out of the parking space and start to drive off. All of a sudden, I felt the need to burp. So I excused the upcoming burp I could feel, and up it came....BROCCOLI and slime. Lots of it, gallons of it, all over my blouse, down my front, on the seatbelt, I couldn't stop it. My daughter is handing me cloths to help me. I realize that I've stopped the car in the middle of the lane, so I pull over to the side so cars can go around. I thought the slime would never stop....but the pain was getting less and less. I couldn't even take a deep breath. Was I going to aspirate on slime...it wouldn 't have surprised me a bit. My g/son is saying "drive to the hospital, drive to the hospital". He didn't understand and he thinks the hospital can cure anything! All at once, I am a human again with no pain, no slimming, and I can still breathe. Hurray, I'm going to live after all. I thought I had chewed slowly and carefully. To get that stuck with such a small amount was frightening. I can say that I am so happy that I got out of the restaurant before all of this happened. I was embrassed to say the least but my daughter just handing me the cloths and saying "it's gonna be okay, moma". She helped keep me keep calm. Now ask me...are I am going to eat Broccoli anytime soon!!!!:thumbup:

I have foods that I can't eat for a few weeks and then all of a sudden, I can eat them again. I don't understand it but just accept it.

Update on being stucked! First of all, I have eaten broccoli before and it didn't bother me. Usually it is steamed to the point of being able to mash it into tiny tiny bits. Don't know why it got stuck this time unless it just wasn't cooked as soft. Second, I wasn't able to eat anything the rest of the day and didn't feel too good either. I guess I was so overwhelmed with it all. Today has been good but I have been craving anything and everything to eat! I never crave food but I sure have today. I have really had to watch it closely or I would have eaten all day. It's like my system is afraid it's not going to get anything else to eat. I'm going to bed and pray that tomorrow things will be back to normal!

I don't do any extra exercise. I do my housework, climb stairs to my craft room, park a little further away, and sometimes actually get on my recumbant (sp?) bike. I plan to do better as soon as the weather permits. I am doing fine right now and don't want to lose any faster than I am doing.

First, have your potassium checked. Also, there are OTC tablets at Walmart for leg cramps. They have Quinnine in them. The bottle just says "Leg Cramps". Tonic water also has it but since it is a carbonation thingy, your doctor probably will say NO to tonic water. My doctor recommended them to me a long time ago.:blushing:

I can understand about the scale. My doctor told me that I being too paranoid about it and to stay off of it on a daily basis. Once a week only. Please be patient. It take time to adjust to the band and everyday is so different. Just when you think you have it under control, something else new turns up. Just keep doing what is right and it will turn out okay in the long run. It takes a lot of hard work.

Click on someone's ticker and it will take you to the site. Follow the directions.

My group leader suggested Biotin. Get it at Walmart. Make sure you get in your protein and your vitamins too.

Perfectly normal.

Everyone seems to be against the wrist band for taking your BP. It's funny but when they first came out with them, I had a doctor in Louisiana that was against them too. For several years, I used the arm band and then one day, he suggested the wrist band. I reminded him that he was always against them and he told me that they were more accurate than first thought, if you buy a good one. Anyway, I retired and moved back to Alabama and have a new doctor. I talked with him about the wrist band and he has no problem with it. He says that "whichever one you start with is the one to stay with for monitoring B/P" Every now and again, I will recheck my B/P with my arm band (which I am finally use again since the weight has gone down) and the two of them are so close together, it is okay. Now, on to the good news: I went to my PCP last Wednesday and he has taken me OFF four out of five B/P meds!!!!! B/P is staying around 105/65 After three more months, he plans to remove the last one if my B/P behaves. All my labs were great, no problems there. I have to see my heart doctor for a yearly checkup at the end of the month..it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

Fluroscope will show them.

Tiana: Please don't give up. Your journey may be harder than others but it's worth it in the long run. I too have asthma & breathing problems, altho it is so much better now post-op than it was. Dr Dey is a wonderful pulmonary physician and he got me on the right meds w/o a bunch of steriods all the the time. I hope you have a good doctor too. Take care and don't give up now.....

Kagniag: Okay, what was the rec from Veroncia on the protein shake? Glad to hear your problem was a one nighter and that you're feeling better. I'm going to say a prayer for a new job for you.

I think that's funny. My hubby says he's going to lock me in a closet when I lose all my weight and just take me out at playtime...... I think that some men, even ones that have never been insecure before, get to thinking about it too much and become somewhat nervous over having a "new wife".

I drink a lot of tea plus my water. In fact, I am drinking more than I am eating every day. I love liquids better than food. Thanks Betsy for reminding of the mandarin orange tea. I'm getting some tomorrow.

Are you keeping a food journal? You may think you're taking in a 1000 cal but might be taking in more or even less. Are you drinking your Water & taking your Vitamins daily? Also, remember, we are all different. Some lose fast and some lose slow.

First of all, my doctor doesn't allow straws at all. Causes to much air to get into the pouch. Second, it was suggested that you get a glass of ice when you start your meal. However much ice has melted by the time you finish eating, you can drink that liquid immediately and not have to wait the 30 min. to have some liquid while waiting. Third; I buy my Water in 20 oz bottles. Each morning, I set out three bottles on my kitchen counter. I add my crystal light (if I want it) and I make sure I have consumed those three bottles in one day. If I leave the house, I take 1-2 with me depending on how long I'll be gone. By putting them in plain site, there is no way that I forget to drink my water. I am lucky that I can drink room temp water. Maybe this will help you. Good luck.

Are you crazy????? No, just kidding. If that is your sport, then I'd check with the doctor for clearance and not depend on someone else that has done it. As I say all the time, we are all different. It might be fine for you & your band and not fine for someone else. Re-think the pros/cons of taking the risk first & talk to your doctor.

Okay, I'll tell my gross story...so forgive the bluntness. I took the pre-op Miralax and it didn't do a thing. Not one drop of poop! Five days post-op, I still hadn't gone. I've been drinking my liquids, walking everyday, using Gas-X strips.Finally, late one night, I felt the urge. So, here I sit on the potty, feeling like I have to past poop but I have a rip roaring blockage. I yell for hubby (b/c he's asleep) to come help me. By this time, I'm in so much pain that I think my rectum has stretched to the size of a vollyball. Poor hubby has to manually try to get the first part of the dry stool to come out. He got one tiny little pat of stool to past. While he was checking the medicine cabinet to see if I had any mineral oil or something that would help, I strained to the point of almost fainting. FINALLY, the stool started coming out and then I thought it wasn't going to ever end! The old saying " she's full of s**t" was very apt that night. I'd rather have all four of my babies at once than to experience something like that again. It was terrible. Thank goodness hubby & I were in the medical field for many years and this didn't embrass us a bit. The next day, hubby purchased some colace pills and some MOM. I'll never take MIRALAX again! My body doesn't like it. Once I got on regular foods my nut suggested that I eat a peeled apple each day, a bowl of Fiber One Cereal, and if needed, I could still take a colace at night. Everything works fine now as long as I do the above. Now, you have to understand something. I am almost 68 years old and have NEVER EVER had problems with my bowels. I was always as regular as clockwork at least once a day. However, now I have to take the measures I mentioned in order for everything to work properly. So, in closing, I just think that some people have problems and others don't. We are all different...even with our bowl habits.

I am a retired psych nurse and was going to give some advice. However, after reading what Betsy told you, I couldn't have said it any better. Please take what Betsy said to heart and follow it. She's right on point with her advice. Don't feed into your new friend's disorder. Good luck in your relationship with her. Pray for her and take care of yourself. This is your journey....not hers.