ElfiePoo

Ok, I'm catching up on some of the posts (which go back to August 8th!) so bear with me... Christie: ROFLMAO about your '8packs'. I'd take it as a compliment! Stacie: Just read your post about possibly going back to school. Just do it. I know 'years' sounds long but, trust me, they go by so fast! I went back to school at 28 to get my bachelor's and the years sped by! Hummingbird: Congrats on the NSV moment! I like those much better because it makes me realize that the scale is not 'king'. Bobbie: Woohoo! on Onderland...and the job! Cocoa: Sorry to hear about your tooth! I did the same thing though and I had insurance. After playing around with it for months trying to figure out why it was causing me pain, I told them to just take it out. Best decision I ever made. Hey...you're on FB? Friend me! Melody Parker Upham Shad: How come they're waiting so long to flip your port?? Betsy: I am so sorry to hear of all you're going through. There's a BPD (borderline personality diagnosis) board at home that I've found amazingly helpful in dealing with my own BPD family member...who I am thankful to say lives 5 hours away. The support there is tremendous. Bob: Great news on the plastic surgeon! Are you getting this done before you've lost all your weight or just 'checking out' the possibilities. Leigha: Love your before and after pics! So did you find the 'bandit'? Dottie: Welcome back from one MIA to another. Ok, I hope I didn't miss anyone!

You and me both. ;-p

Yep, what she said.

Is the pain actually up in the shoulder (which could be gas) or is it in your left upper *arm*. Since my day of surgery I have had pain in my left upper arm (just past the shoulder) and, after much reading, discovered that is normal to the band. It is because the band is rubbing on the diaphragm and, while it affects one of the T vertebrae, it's actually referring the pain to the arm. As you lose weight, the band will drop and loosen and the pain will go away. Mine didn't go away until about 7-8 months after my surgery because I was losing so slowly. I think at the point where I'd lost 40 pounds, it stopped. .

I want to thank you all for your comfort and support over the loss of my little 'girl'. Today was a particularly bad day as I was packing away some of Sophie's toys, but I didn't wallow in the food. One day at a time...

Ouch! :w00t:

At one point I was up to 8.5cc but was pb'ing and sliming at almost every meal. They took it down to 8 but still had a lot of sliming. So I had them take it down to 6cc and I'll work my way up again. Somewhere I passed my sweet spot before because I didn't know what I was looking for. So my sweet spot will be somewhere between 6 and 8cc in a 12cc band. .

My personal favorite is Fitday.com

First, you are not going to 'stretch' your pouch. It would take (according to my surgeon) months and months of stuffing yourself to do that. Every doctor's postop rules regarding eating are different. I think it's rather silly to tell someone that just because they have a little piece of plastic in them, they now have to eat starvation portions of food. Right...if we could do that, we wouldn't have had the surgery. My surgeon said to aim for 1 cup of food at my main meals and a small snack (couple ounces of cheese, hard boiled egg, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, etc.) in between my meals. He suggested that, until I started getting fills and reached my sweet spot, if I was still hungry after eating the one cup, to go ahead and eat more, but eat more of the vegies as they would fill me up without as many calories. .

You're only 2 days post op and you're 'getting discouraged'? Change the mindset because if you are so easily discouraged, how will you make it through the next few months until you hit your sweet spot...or the next year...or the rest of your life? .

Swirl, I can totally relate...and I did vast amounts of research for *years*, asked questions...and more questions...and even more questions...and it still did not prepare me. They thought I was the perfect candidate for the band because I'm not a junk food eater, I don't 'graze' and I've lost 70 pounds and kept it off for 8 years so have a history of being able to actually diet and lose weight (the keeping it off wasn't the important part to them). Despite that, I have struggled with this band and nine months later, I'm sitting at only 35 pounds lost and have gone from no restriction to too much restriction and now back down to none. I can't say that it has been a total loss but it has certainly not been what I was led to believe. I'm at the point where I have no clue what good the band is *but* it's done and I move forward. I'll keep looking for that sweet spot but will stop looking to the band for help and keep reminding myself that it's up to *me*...not the band. Good luck and hang in there.

Yep, you might as well wrap your head around the idea that the band did not negate the need to diet. That one took me awhile. I'm at the point where I haven't figured out yet what good the band is since I lost (and kept off) 70 pounds without it. 900-1000 is too low but then combine that with the idea that they won't give you a fill cuz you're not losing...sounds like they haven't got a clue on either diet or purpose of the band. Studies prove that women who eat 1200-1400 calories lose weight faster and more steadily than women who eat 1000 or less. I'd guess it's because (a) your body doesn't go into starvation mode and ( you're less likely to cheat because you aren't 'starving'. Eating like a normal person will probably work when we're maintaining our lost weight...and the band with its restriction will help keep us from stuffing down the food at a meal. Right now though, we still need to diet. Totally puzzles me though because if I eat the calories needed to maintain 140 pounds, then my 225 pound body should be losing weight...but it's not!

I've not been doing so well the past 4 days. My 4 year old dog, Sophie, died last Friday afternoon and I've been spending the last 4 days alternately crying and eating. Ice cream seems to be my 'go to' comfort food. I *know* I shouldn't be eating for comfort but losing my little girl has really knocked my pins out from under me. I feel like I've lost a child. I'm going to try to do better today. I've dumped the remaining ice cream in the trash. Getting on the scale this morning helped because I was horrified at how much weight a person can gain in 4 days. How come it doesn't come off that fast? Sadly, since my last unfill I do not have any restriction at all so I've been able to eat horrific amounts of food. I'm going to try to do better today. I haven't been able to do my walk since Friday because I just lose it. Sophie was my walking companion. I tried to walk this morning while it was still cool, but just couldn't do it. Let's face it...I hate to walk at any time and this just makes it worse. Sophie at least made my walks somewhat enjoyable. Now they're just a reminder of her. Sorry for not commenting on other posts this morning. Just too tired and depressed right now. .

I finally came to the conclusion that the band does squat for me in terms of losing weight because it all comes back to my own self-control. I have to *choose* to eat the right foods because the band will let me eat the wrong ones. I have to *choose* to put down the fork because the band will let me keep eating certain foods...and it's usually the bad ones. I haven't figured out what good the band is yet, but I've not given up on it being helpful in the long run at keeping the weight off. .

Leigha, love your avatar. Looking good!! .

I was too tight for several months (and didn't realize it) and got so sick of sliming and PBing that I asked the doc to take me down to 6 cc (from 8). Now, if I want, I can eat anything and in quantity, just as I could pre-band. However, I know that even at the sweet spot, it's still possible to not lose weight...or even gain because you can still eat junk and you can still 'graze' all day.

'Good' is a very subjective thing. First you have to define good. My definition of 'good' didn't involve losing a lot of weight fast so perhaps you would not consider me successful. What I wanted out of this was to learn to eat like a normal person. I really didn't care how long it took me to take the weight off. My surgery was 11/3/09 and in that 9 months I've lost 50 pounds while learning the limitations of the band, discovering what 'too full' (amount in band) meant, and other nifty discoveries of the band. I consider myself successful because I recently had an unfill to the point where I have no restriction. I can eat as much of anything that I want...but I haven't. In fact, I've lost another 5 pounds since my unfill. My attitude towards food over the last 9 months has changed. I'll take that over fast weight loss any day. .

I've been very blessed to have a very supportive family and friends because *I* am the biggest sabotager of myself. ;-p .

I had my laugh for the morning. I was sorting through some old magazines and found one from 2001 with a "Lose Weight With our Super Soup Diet". Ok, I had to look. The Soup is nothing more than Water, chicken bouillion, salt/pepper and a bunch of vegies like carrots, celery, napa cabbage, tomatoes, etc. Then you look at the diet. Breakfast is 1/2 cup of a whole grain Cereal with skim milk. lunch is a couple ounces of tuna (or chicken) in half a whole wheat pita pocket. dinner is 2 cups of this soup with a couple ounces of rotisserie chicken chopped up in it and another half of a whole wheat pita pocket. C'mon...their 'soup' has nothing to do with the weight loss. It's the serious restriction of calories, fats and carbs! Of course, you'll lose weight. Duh. .

HB, Yeah, I know I am not at my sweet spot, but as long as I don't gain any weight, I think I'm going to keep it here until I get back from Disney (we leave on Oct 2nd) since I know we'll have to eat out and I don't want to risk any stuck episodes. If I start gaining, I'll have to take the risk and get a slight fill. So far, almost a week after my unfill, I'm actually down 3 pounds so here's hoping. .

LMAO...can you just see your doc's face when you tell him what your liquids consisted of? "But doc...I *was* on liquids."

There's part of the problem...a doctor who thinks he/she can judge how tight you are based on looking at your band. Only you can determine whether or not you're too tight...and the symptoms you describe sound just like someone who's too tight. .

What you're suffering from doesn't sound normal for 3 weeks post surgery...sounds more like the problems people have after they start getting fills, either because they're too full or because they're just temporarily swollen from a full. I had pain in my left upper arm for almost 6 months and it is related to the band. It goes away as you lose weight and the band sags. I'd go back and talk to your doctor.

Ditto what everyone else said. Fills should not be based on how much you're losing each week. They should be based on whether or not you're still hungry and the quantity you are able to eat. I'd call and ask to speak to *her* supervisor. Sounds like she's on a power trip. .

Storm, Have your husband do some research on rose hip seed oil. The ones I read were published in JAMA. Sorry but I don't have the year or volume. No rubbing necessary. Just the application of the oil.