JoJo1

I promise it will be better. Don't worry about the mulitvitamin until a few more days. You will be much better by the end of the first week, then every day will be much better. Some of the lack of appetite is because of the surgery itself. That always happens to me, it even happened after the birth of my children. You are only on the fourth day, so give it some time.

I didn't tell any of my husbands family I was getting banded. His oldest daughter is a doctor, and I knew what she would say about me going to a mexican doc. I still haven't decided if I ever will tell them. My kids know, and of course my husband, and I am starting to tell people who have noticed my weight loss. We lost our house this year also, so it is hard for me to figure out how to justify surgery. I haven't had to yet, so I guess when the time comes, I will say it is easier to get a medical loan than a loan to make house payments. I have no regrets what so ever, and if I had it to do again, I would do it in a heart beat. I will tell my brothers someday but still don't know about DH's family.... Oh well ........ I will cross those bridges later...... LOL!!!

I cannot keep myself from getting frustrated when I weigh myself too often. I have to put the scales away and only get them out on Saturday morning. I feel like I get more validation that way. I did finally lose 2lbs this week so I feel wonderful today. I learned about the scale thing from my many years of weight watchers and I learned that I do much better if I follow this one rule.

I was a diet coke junkie before banding but was surprised to not crave it at all after surgery. I am slowly learning to like water, but I went through all the other vitamin waters, powerade, etc and liked them all for awhile. Now I only like Lipton Diet Green tea. I buy the Kirkland brand too. It is a little different than the Lipton but still good. I am still working on the water though and am surprising myself how much I am actually liking it...... Cheers!!!

Here is a website that was sent to me in an email. I think it is fascinating. I put in a recipe I commonly use for Breakfast and was very surprised at the calorie count. It breaks down any recipe and gives you the calorie, fat, carb, etc breakdown. It is a real eye opener for me, so I thought I would share it.... http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?process=resubmit&count=2 Have a great week!!!

I had to take mine off right away because I was alergic to the sticky part of the band aids. It itched so bad I thought I would go crazy. Even after it was off, it was far worse than any pain from the surgery. I think it healed better open to the air anyway. If you are worried, ask your doc about it..... Best of luck to you!!!

I have also been stuck for a few weeks. It is hard to focus on other things but we have to. Just be glad the inches are moving. I try to just focus on the fact that my jeans are looser and I feel fabulous. The pounds will come along too. I stay away from the scale for a week because if I weigh too often, I become more obsessed with it. Congrats on your progress!!!

I would eat almost all protein and no shakes at all. A few green vegs. Protein is the key to this. It increases your energy also. It sounds like you are not eating enough to me also. You might want to spend a few days writing everything down. You might also be snacking more than you think you are. That is my biggest problem. If we write down every snack, it can be a huge surprise how much is actually being consumed in them. Best of luck!!!

I am a hairdresser. There are many things that contribute to hair loss. With bandsters, it can be nutritional but also from the surgery. Hormones can cause hair loss, and thyroid issues can also cause it. I lost a bunch of hair years ago about three months after stopping birth control. Emotional stuff can also cause it. If you are totally freaked out about losing hair, it will actually increase the hair loss. I once had a client who was a runner. She was never overweight, but she was totally addicted to running. She was running so much that she stopped having periods. The last time I saw her, she was losing tons of hair. I know this is an extreme example, but it shows that many things can cause it. Here are a few things to think about. It is totally normal to lose 100 hairs a day. Everyone loses about that many. If you don't brush it or wash it for a couple days, then there will be 200 hairs in your brush. This is a lot of hair expecially if the hair is long. I have this discussion often in my salon because most people who think they are losing hair actually are not. If you have let your hair get longer since banding, it will really look like a lot more hair. By the way, letting it get longer does not make up for thinning. It is better if it is collar length or shorter until the hair grows back because the longer it is the stringier it is. A little shorter hair looks thicker whether it is actually thicker or not. Of course you have to stay within your comfort level but this can have quite a few various options. I do not work for the Nioxin Corporation, I only sell the stuff in my salon, and resell it to enough people to know it works. It is Shampoo and Conditioner. No drugs in them. They also sell other items but the way it works is it cleans the skin and it let's it breathe. We get our pours clogged up with the various polymers in hair products, and the Nioxin thoroughly cleans them out. It smells wonderful, and it works. In summing up my post, please first of all, determine if you are actually losing hair, second, do what ever you need to do, to quit worrying about it. Meditation helps tons with this. Get a trim or maybe a haircut, then while you are there getting a trim, buy some Nioxin. About 40 bucks in product will have your hair loss stopped in 30 days.... Hope this helps someone out there... Hugs!!

Other posts here have mentioned the mourning period we go through when we realize we have to give up food. Some, reading this, may think it is a no brainer that we got the band because we wanted to stop bingeing so why are we worrying about bingeing. The truth is we have a relationship with food that needs to change and the emotional part is the hardest for some. Kind of like braking up with someone who is abusive but then hurting because it is lonely!! We have to acknowledge the lonliness and then move on to thoughts that are more productive. After banding, if we don't work on the emotional stuff, it will be a complete failure. A woman recently told me about someone who did that very thing. She is huge, and decided to get the band but nothing has happened in a year. I tried to explain things to her like fills, emotional stuff, etc, but she was normal weight and just didn't get it. Best of luck, hang in there, once you have restriction, you will get away from that relationship with food, and you will wonder why you ever worried about it... Hugs!!

I have two ideas here. Chili is a slider so it isn't making you full because it is slipping on through. You sound like you are too tight, because you should be able to eat small bites of meat if you chew it well enough. I would talk to the doc about it, you might need a tiny bit taken out. Did you do a couple days of liquid after your fill and then slowly add mushies then food? If not, do it now. Also, full is not the same thing as it was pre-band. When the food is not tasting good anymore, or if it is otherwise not enjoyable anymore, stop, you are full. This is all a learning experience so keep learning you will be fine!!! Hugs!!!

Then of course, password protecting your computer raises more suspicion!! I'm sorry you are going through this. My husband used to drink, and when he did, he was so so insecure that I couldn't even believe it. I would get accused of having sex at the grocery store. I divorced him, and a few months later, he got a DUI, and sobered up. 7 years later, still sober, we remarried. He gets just a little insecure at times but the insane stuff has never returned. When he was still that way, no amount of reassurance ever seemed to help. I hope you figure all of it out!!! Have a great weekend!!!

If you are only eating 2 oz, you need to increase it. You don't want to be below 1100 to 1200 calories. No wonder you are hungry... If you starve, you will not lose effectively. You will go into famine mode and your body will hold every extra molecule of fat it can because it thinks it is going to starve. Hugs!!!!

Sounds to me like you had a stuck episode and then kept trying to eat. A couple days of liquids will help a lot. Don't panic!! I don't think you have slipped but you must be swollen at least a little. You did the right thing calling your doc. By the way when you eat again, make it mushies and then add food gradually.... It will be fine.... Hugs!!!!

Prodductive Burp (PB) is when you are stuck and you keep burping over and over in an attempt to get the item through. Sliming is when you need to throw up the item but all you get is slime.

Your period should only be a few days. Do liquids for those few days if you are ok the rest of the time

I have had a number of people over the years say that they obsess about food but just don't eat it. Sometimes they actually are eating it but have bulimia, sometimes they do something else like smoke, sometimes they spend way too much time talking about what good control they have. I had one very beautiful co-worker say she wished she could enjoy just one meal without worrying about the calories. We all have issues of one type or another that we are either in the process of dealing with, or are letting them over run our lives. Personally, I am a lot less obsessed with food after 4 1/2 months of banding. I love this and hope to be another size smaller by spring!!! Hugs!!!

If you think about it, relationships are always changing. Some of us are fortunate enough to keep friendships for many years but most of them change over time. Things like geography, other friends, our kids, out husbands, jealousy, to mention only a few, at the very least, morph our friendships into different intensities. Sometimes they end up fading out completely. I am 58 so with a few years under my belt, I noticed this very phenomenon. My daughter left her husband after losing 100lbs and it broke my heart. I felt sorry for her husband. They worked it out and are back together now, but it worried my husband. He said "Are you going to leave me when you get thin"? (My husband is thin) I just said "I just hope you will like me better"!! He hasn't said another word about this. When men worry about you leaving it isn't about you at all, it is their insecurity showing through. I have read many posts here where people feel different after losing weight, and have noticed distance in their friendships and marraiges. One woman who was banded the same day I was, got a divorce in less than two months. One poster said her best friend who was also large, could not be around her any more. You can be sure that you will change and so will some of your friendships. It only makes sense if you look at the big picture. My daughter inspired me to get banded by her example, so maybe you should just expect things to change in some relationships and hope you can inspire them to make some changes also. By the way expect new relationships to pop up also..... Hugs!!

I know you didn't ask about this, but you sound a little too tight to me. You should be able to eat solid meat if you chew it well. If you were a tiny bit unfilled and you could eat real meat, you will not only lose faster, but feel satisfied longer.... None of my business I know but for what it is worth....... Hugs!!!:sifone:

I am diabetic so all Chinese food is out of the question for me. Even the salty tasting sauces are loaded with sugar. My hubby loves it so I pick up some for him from time to time but it is out of the question for me. I can eat chicken and I can eat broccoli. Many bandsters say they can't eat rice though. Just try different stuff and chew chew chew!!!

I was so excited I could hardly stand it. I didn't have any anxiety at all. Even on the way to the OR, I was excited. Had surgery on Saturday and went to work as a hairstylist on my feet full time on Tuesday... I love my band. You will too.....

Try some gasX strips!! I agree it could be port pain!!!

You should be able to eat at least 1/2 cup of food. If you can't, you need to get some taken out. Sometimes you just have to listen to your body and insist that the doc listen to you. I think you already feel this. Starvation will slow down your weight loss even more, so you need to do what it takes to take care of yourself. Do start with mushies at least for a day or so, just to be sure you are able to eat. If you can't eat meat, you also need to get some taken out. You should be able to eat at least 1/2 to 1 cup of food. If your choices are good, you should lose between 1 and 2 lbs a week. If you are starving, your weight loss will stop or be much slower.. We think that we got this band to keep us from eating, but we got it to help us with hunger and portion control. You could possibly need to switch docs again if you can not get them to listen to you..... Hugs.....

It takes real protein to curb the hunger pains. It is easier to eat chili and cottage cheese but you are likely to get too many calories and too many carbs over time. Real meat, eggs, cheese, pork, fish, poultry, and green vegs will make you tons more satisfied. The poster who listed the food groups above is also giving good advice however I find it impossible to eat all the food groups in a single day. I don't do fruit or starch at all but I do use meat green vegs and an occasional piece of low carb bread. I also eat eggs every day, and usually some sort of cheese. For snack I use greek yougurt with sugar free carmel syrup. I am not hungry very often at all. Best of luck!!! Hugs.....

I like a few beans from time to time, but I have to remain low carb for blood sugar reasons. A lot of people don't realize that Beans (Legumes) are higher in protein than most vegetables, but they are only about 50% protein. That means that the other 50% is Carbs. They are really good for you but you may want to limit quanity because of the carb thing.