abbylamb

So here's the story in a nutshell.... Had surgery, lost 50 pounds. Got pregnant, needed complete unfill. Gained 70 pounds. Got a couple fills afterwards. Well, I think I'm a little too tight now. I have trouble with meals, getting stuck most days. But I really don't want to get anything taken out if I can avoid it. So-if I were to go on a liquid diet (like my pre-surgery diet) for a couple weeks, and lost some weight, would that loosen up my band so that I don't have to have any saline removed? How much do you think I'd have to lose for that to work?

Sigh..... Starting over again. I'm so sick of thinking and saying those words. I want to be good. I want to be pretty and feel worthwhile. But it's so damn easy to cheat and eat nothing but crap. I think I'm a little over-filled now. I'm supposed to go back to the doc on Friday. But I don't want him to take any fluid out. I just want to lose enough weight that my band fits right. I was eating chocolate covered peanuts this morning, perusing facebook and of course, got stuck. Why? Because my dumbass shouldn't be eating solids at 6:30 in the morning!?!? Why do I do this to myself? So I threw the rest of them out, disgusted and frustrated with myself. So I came back to this site-I hadn't logged on in months. I'm looking for some support because I've obviously been lacking something. So hopefully this will help. So I guess we'll see. I'm going to try and keep up with the myfitnesspal and this too and maybe, just maybe, something will click. We shall see.

Essentially, yes, I'm terrified that if I get fluid taken out then I'll be ravenously hungry again and be able to eat anything in sight. Right now, if I eat verrrrrrrrrry slowly, I can eat soft meats, but it takes me over an hour to eat anything if I'm not drinking with the meal. (which I know I shouldn't be doing!). But no matter what I eat, if it's solid, I get stuck on it at least at first. I usually take a handful of papaya enzyme and it gets unstuck, but it's pretty much every meal. I do want to be able to eat good foods. And I know I'm not making good choices when ice cream goes down so well, but chicken doesn't. I'm not having any reflux really, so I guess that's good. But I guess that ultimately I'm just scared that taking anything out of my band will turn me into an even bigger failure than I already feel. Does that make sense?

I'm an elliptical girl, myself. I have a love-hate relationship with that machine. I just feel like I get a better, more intense workout from the elliptical, plus it's easier on my body. My shins hurt when doing the treadmill for any length of time, but I don't have any problems with the elliptical. But there is definitely a huge difference between most home models and the gym models. I'm spoiled now with the one at the gym, and never use the one I have at home. But that's just my two cents, for what it's worth.

The first fill was free, and after that it's $100 (with my insurance). It's $150 if you're cash pay. It depends on how Dr's offices bill the insurance too. Mine bills it as an outpatient surgical code (don't even ask me how that's considered surgery, but whatever), so I have to pay an outpatient surgery co-pay, not the $30 I would pay for a regular visit.

I had surgery near the end of December, and had my first fill (5cc) almost a month ago. Since then, I definitely notice I have some restriction. I'm scheduled to go for another fill at the end of next week, but I'm debating whether or not I need it yet. I am satisfied at the high end of my calorie limit (about 1200/day), able to get everything down without difficulty, including thin toasted bread and pasta, have not been stuck once (thank God), and losing at a good pace (almost ten pounds). Like expected, I'm tighter in the morning, which is fine. I have my protein shake and I'm good to go for a while. I usually go about 3 hours between meals before I get hungry. BUT by the end of the day, I'm eating more quantity-wise than I feel than I should be. I can usually eat a cup and a half of food without being uncomfortable. SO-do I go and get a fill next Friday? Cancel it and reschedule in a couple weeks? Get a small fill? I don't know what the right answer is. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. I definitely want to make sure I have restriction, but at the same time I like not PBing everything I try to consume, and would like to keep it that way.

Don't get me wrong; my diet is actually quite balanced. My doc's office said exactly what you mentioned-protein first, veggies second, carbs if there's room. Which there usually isn't. Sticking to a well-balanced healthy diet isn't the difficult part. I'm really good at the journaling too, so I have a good record of what I've been eating and when. And while the fills hurt, it's not bad enough that I wouldn't go back. Hell, I survived surgery, it's not nearly as bad as that. But I just wonder if I need a fill when I'm losing at a good pace (about 2 pounds a week) and am satisfied with what my doc said I should be eating (which is 1000-1200 calories a day, well balanced, not junk). The nurse at the office said I could come in, but said I probably won't get a fill since I'm losing and not feeling hungry or snacking. So I think I'll just reschedule for another week or two and take it from there. Thank you all for your input. It's truly invaluable. I'm still getting started in this game, so it's nice to hear from someone who has been doing this awhile.

I know my doc's office says 1/2C to 1C is a good amt to eat, and I know that I'm eating more than that at one sitting at dinnertime. But I guess I'm scared that if I get filled I'll be too tight, and have to deal with getting stuck and being forced to limit my food choices. And I'm able to stay within my calories rather easily still, so I'm not sure which gauge I should go by (calories vs. amount consumed) I'll probably call the nurse at the office and get her opinion too. (She'll more than likely tell me to keep the appt and talk with the doc about it when I come in, but I don't want to sit in the waiting room for 2 hours only to not get a fill. Plus, they kinda hurt to get, so I don't really want to get one till I need it.) I really appreciate the feedback I'm getting on this. Thanks a lot, everyone!

I had the band done on December 21 of last year. For me, it was the right decision for several reasons. One, I liked that it was minimally invasive. Two, I liked that it was adjustable. With the sleeve and the bypass, you are stuck with whatever size stomach they give you. Too big? Oh well. Too little? Oh well. The band is adjustable. I plan on expanding my family down the road, and I know that if need be, I can have my band deflated to adjust for that. Three, I actually liked that the projected weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. I want to try and avoid loose skin that plague you when you drop a lot of weight, and this is worse when you drop it quickly. And fourth, I still wanted to be able to eat anything, just in small amounts. I'm not a huge sweets fan, but I like having a slice of cake on birthdays. Right now, I'm still getting adjustments to figure out where is a good place to be, but I'm fairly happy where I'm at. I can eat anything, have been lucky enough not to get stuck on anything (yet), and am satisfied on 1200 calories a day, which is enough for me to lose 1-3 pounds a week. I still think I need a smidge more in my band (I have 5cc in a 10cc band), but I'll get there. Now my husband is planning on having the bypass done in a few months. He chose the bypass because a) he is a huge sweet eater, and with having an 80% chance of dumping syndrome post bypass, it'll be a lot easier to say no to that piece of chocolate. Plus, he knows himself well enough to know that if he had the band, he wouldn't force himself to go in for adjustments when he was eating too much. Instead of saying "oh, I need a fill", he'd be saying "hey, let's go out to dinner". And that's okay too. I think you need to know what exactly you are hoping to achieve with surgery and what you are and are not willing to do in order to reach those goals. Good luck to you no matter what you decide!

I'm doing the exact same thing! I'm hungry about every couple hours, but 200 or so calories seems to satisfy me. So it works out to consuming 1000-1200 calories a day, but across 5-6 small meals. I'm not too worried about it at this point though. Weight is still coming off and I'm still staying within the calorie limit. I'll mention it to my doc at my next fill, but I'm not going to stress over it right now.

My doc says 45-60 mins, so that's what I go with. It took me some getting used to to get there. I had to wean myself off water with meals (I was a 3 glasses of water with my meals kind of person). On the bright side, I have found that I use a fraction of the salt that I used to!

At least you haven't gained. Put me in a house full of fried foods and sweets and I'd be packing on the poundage like there's no tomorrow. As far as the food goes, since you're helping with the cooking, any way to make some substitutions to help decrease the calories and fat? You know, applesauce instead of oil in baked goods, add fiber to spaghetti sauce, mash cauliflower in with the potatoes, skim milk, light butter, that kind of stuff? I've been doing that for so long now, I don't even know how to cook full fat recipes. Just a thought. I know you have to be so frustrated right now, but just hang in there. You won't be unemployed and living with your folks forever.

My hubby and I bought the wii fit, and it means 330 as it's weight limit, including clothes. My poor hubby couldn't use it. It says that the weight limit has been exceeded and returns to the main screen.

This is so funny because I can totally relate! My mother actually TOOK my scales (yes, I have two, just in case I don't believe the reading from the first digital scale!) to her house and I am only allowed to weigh in there once a week because she thought I was being too obsessive, weighing myself twice a day. Sure, she's probably right, but I have every intention of figuring out where she's keeping them and bringing them back home at my first opportunity!

I had no intention of naming my band until this thread, but now I think I need to. I'm going to call it Bella, because it's going to make me beautiful!

I was scheduled to be off for one week, but I ended up needing about 10 days before I felt good enough to go back. Now, I have to be on my feet all day, so I'm sure that plays a role, but just make sure you take all the time you need!

Okay so I'm about 3 weeks post op, and today I noticed that the right side, under my rib cage is is slightly tender and rock hard. I think it may be my liver, just from an anatomical aspect. I have no incisions nearby, so I know it's not my port or anything like that (that I can feel under the port incision, so I'm really sure about that). Any thoughts? Like I said, mildly sore, but really hard, so I'm not sure if this is normal or if I should worry. Has this happened to anyone else?

Well, I was religous about the salt soaks and the cleaning, followed the piercing studios exact directions and mine still rejected. Even being careful about after care isn't a guarantee you won't reject, but it certainly is still a smart thing to stay up on! But mine never got hot or red or painful. In fact, it felt like they were healing perfectly well, but all that was happening is that they were moving closer to the surface of the skin until I could actually see them beneath the skin. One even started pushing out of the skin. So that is what I would be on the lookout for- if they appear to be getting closer to the surface of the skin, they very well may be rejecting. Hope that helps.

okay, so I went to the doc, who said that most morbidly obese people are vitamin D deficient, which is why they prescribed them for me. The bleeding gums are likely a nutrient deficiency, which should resolve itself once my eating is better balanced. Hope that helps!

I know what you mean! Any swelling post op must have subsided, because while I'm not super hungry in the mornings, by evening I'm starving. I've been following the 1000 calorie a day limit, and have been walking a half hour a day and for all my hard work I have GAINED two pounds. I need restriction and the 22nd can't come fast enough. I just hope it helps! Good luck to you!

OHHHH!!! And I almost forgot---when I was in high school, we were forced to run in our God awful short gym shorts. I also happened to have severe asthma then, and was limited with how fast I could run. So I was walking, and the gym teacher was running with a couple of guys and said to them "and I bet she wonders why she is fat" Or also in gym class, different year, we were forced to play volleyball. One of the "hot", popular guys obviously didn't want me on his team (and who can blame him? I suck at volleyball) tells his buddies they should tape a "wide load" sticker to my butt as a warning. And people wondered why I couldn't wait to graduate.

I can't count the number of mean things people have said to me, the countless moos or honks from passing cars, disapproving looks while out in public, questions about when I'm due...but I think my favorite recent one had to come from my best girlfriend. We were at a concert and she was telling me about this girl on her roller derby team who was "huge". To further illustrate her point, she goes on to say, "like your size, big". This chic is not tiny-she's a 16, but apparently I'm a moose at an 18/20. Nice. And even though I know she didn't mean anything by it, it's all I can think about when I see her.

I had mine done twice. The first time they put in 14G captive bead rings, and they rejected. The second time, they put in 14G barbells because they said they have less incidence of rejection. Didn't help me any, cause they rejected again. But if you get them established with bars, you could always move on to rings. I personally liked the rings better, but the sensation is through the roof. You will love them!