1unknownperson

Good Morning everyone... Happy Sunday... Leigha: Hope the unfill works for you... I have not been able to eat anything for two days now... Everything comes back up... I was able to nurse a Protein shake and a V-8 yesterday but today... Nada.... Good News is that I started losing again... Tomorrow is official weight in day (Even though I'm on the scale several times a day) and I think I'll see a 3 pound loss since the fill on Tuesday... I'll go easy for a few days and see what happens... I don't want to be hasty with an unfill... Bt: Were here anxiously awaiting to see how your surgery goes and what you think of everything... Congrats on losing 93-95 pounds on your own! Betsy, I love it when people react like that... It makes me feel good that they notice... Cocoa: What kind of Protein suppliment goodies did you order? Something yummy I hope... let us know... I'm not liking the ones I got recently... They are so heavy and dense... And tastless like wax or plastic... They looked so light a yummy on the package.... Big disappointment!

Good Afternoon everyone. Congrats to those who are still seeing losses whether its .5 pounds or 3 pounds or anything thing else for that matter... I was stalled for about three weeks so I went in for a fill on Tuesday... Boy, what a difference .5 can make... I did discover this morning that if I have a shake too soon after getting up (one hour) that it will come right back up... I only had 2 or 3 tiny sips but ugh... That was not fun... I'm gonna stick to my 2 hour rule.. That means i can enjoy it on my 30 minute drive to work... SO I got on the scale last night and after a full day of food and beverage, it was down to the number that is usually reserved for first thing in the morning! WHoop WHoop Hooray! I'm hoping to see it like that when I am fully clothed and shoed by Monday when I weigh in "officially" for the Easter Challenge... That will mean I am no longer fluctuating into the 190's at any point in any state of dress or undress at any time of the day or night... I hate how that was happening at night... Bah! For those who are stalled, keep your chin up... I know it can be discouraging but it passes and you are back on the road to success eventually... btrieger: You are correct about experiencing things rather than just going on other peoples words... I had to expereince it all myself to understand what it really felt like and to learn how to deal with it....

To Answer your question without being judgemental or with out lecturing you since everyone else has done a good job of that. Every time I am at my Dr. Office I see people who are being filled and unfilled for just those reasons... Holidays, special occasions, Cruises etc... My Dr. told me a lot of people will have a bit removed at the Holidays so they can enjoy themselves without the fears of Stuck episodes while out of town or with family etc... I'm not sure if the idea behind it is to enable folks to eat more, or more as a preventative measure so there are no emergencies from getting stuck etc. without access to your regular Dr nearby.. I'd say this is something you might call the Dr's office and just ask in general to see if your Dr. Does it since they all make their own rules.

Leigha, YOU are the only one who does this... Bwahahahaha... Okay... "Hi, my names is jennifer and I am a scale Whore"..... It was stalled for about three weeks until this last fill and It's already moving in less than a week... Here's my mini goal for the next 7 days... I want the scale to weight exactly the same as last week, only this time, fully dressed with my Sketchers shoes and coat on, (which weighs about 4 pounds total for everything)... hehe... Then I will be happy becasue that will mean no more bouncing up into the 190's when I have something different on or slightly heavy like these damn 1.5 pounds each shoes... I want to scale to be in the 180s or less no matter what I am wearing or doing... NO MORE 190s for anything..... Okay.... SO thats my mini goal.... And I will be getting on and off the scale several times a day/night with various things on and off testing it out.....

I just ordered both flavors so I have 4 boxes on their way to me... I am a BIG fan of mixing my crystal light flavors and making my own concoctions so I guess I can use these to help liven things up a bit... Now that I'm back at work, this will probably give me the extra Protein I am having a hard time getting in... I can cut out a shake... Plus I like the idea of having one in my bag when I'm out and about. It will keep me from being tempted by Big Juicy $6 burgers at carls Jr which I used to LOVE.... Thanks for the heds up on the great deal... Hope I can tolerate them... I just spent $49.90 on them... They outta last me about 3-4 months. I don't see me using them every single day...

I'm so DORKY and I wish I had thought of that first... Haha...

Oh I am right there in the tightness with you ladies... Thats why I was sooo terrified when it came time to eat... Each time I took a nibble, I chatted ahile with my colleagues to make sure it went down okay before taking another bite... My Protein shakes and V-8 juice is on the thick side and takes a good 30-45 minutes to get a whole one down... This is a struggle for someone who used to gulp everything and gobble their food so quickly... Even up through my first fill! It wasn't until my second fill that I actually had to change my ways..... Now I get tired of eating long before the food is even gone...

Whoop Whoop... Today was my first day back to work since my Band and Knee surgerys... Nobody at work knows I have been banded... They had a HUGE Mexican food Potluck Welcome Back party for me and I was sooooo scared to eat.... I nibbled on some meat from an enchalada with some sour cream on it to take the spicyness out of it and I had about 2 tbsps of mexican rice, I had a tiny bit of lettuce salad and about 3 bites of tres leches cake.... No PBing incidents no questions about the small quantity of food (There's about 25 of us so every body was busy laughing and talking and socializing!)... I did it... I made it through a social event planned around food and I didn't embarrass myself.... HIGH 5!!!! I drank a Protein shake later in the day when I started feeling hungry.... and I had a V-8 to drink on the 30 minute drive home... I won't mention the fact that my Dr wanted me to do Mushies for 2 days, so I wouldn't have any stuck issues... I was so extremely careful with what little I did eat...

Keep in mind that if you are going to the gym and working hard, you may be gaining a little muscle and muscle weighs more than fat so you could be losing fat without realizing it.... If your calories drop too low, you could be forcing your body to go into starvation mode and hoarding the fat... Make sure you are getting in the protein, then veggies and or fruits then the least amount with your side dishes (Starches etc.)... This week I've added a low sodium V-8 each day to make sure I am getting enough vegetables... Track EVRYTHING you eat. I recently joined living strong/daily plate and now track all of my calories... Every single bite... You'd be surprised how you think your only eating 1200 calories but it turns out to be 1500+ when you remember you had a bite of this or a nibble of that or coffee creamer here and gravy or sauce there etc... I had three small bites of Tres Leche Cake yesterday and even tracked that... At daily plate you can find just about every food in the world listed and broken down... I was plateaued for three weeks and just got my 3rd fill this week and already see and feel a difference... The scale move downward for the first time in what seems like AGES!!! Good Luck..... We're here to help support you....

Thank you Leigha and I didn't mention the fact that everyone was ooohhing and Awwwing and telling me how fantastic I look (and I've only lost 1/3 of my goal weight....) How are you doing since your last fill? Are you still seeing progress again? I can already see a difference! My scale finally moved down for the first time in 3 weeks... I can't weight for weigh in Monday for the Easter Challange so I can officially change my ticker.... Thank you so much for the support you give.... Today is Friday and a VERY HAPPY day....

I hate how people you have know for a long time treat you after you lose weight... This happened with my Grandma.... She never really liked me.. In fact when I was born and she saw me for the first time, (And discovered that I was half Chinese... Long story for another time about why no one knew I was going to be chinese) Her first comment was, that ugly baby is no relative to me. I'm not related to no half breeds... Now fast forward 30 + years... As a child I probably saw my grandma once or twice a year and as an adult maybe one time... My grandma is old and my mother is deceased... I decide to drive out to vegas and visit her... Last time she had seen me, I was probably about 50 or so pounds over weight, well, when we went this time I was again thin (This time thanks to Phen fen), and wearing a size 5... All she could do for two hours was stare at me with tears in her eyes and tell me how beautiful and thin I had become and she was glad I didn't stay a fat pig like I had been (And yes, she was very rude about fat people and always said fat pig when referencing heavy persons) This was her comments after not seeing me for about 10 years.... (Weight was always a BIG deal on my Grandmas side of the family and My Mom was the fat one and "black Sheep" out of 10 kids.... because she had a different dad with different genes)... I was greatly offended for so many reasons... One being that she was mostly ever only civil to me and for her to now fawn over me was very disturbing... Needless to say, I never went to see her again... I couldn't take the superficial "I only like you because your thin attitude...." So my whole point is, I am still Jennifer at any weight... and if the Fat Jennifer isn't good enough for you then the thin Jennifer doesn't want to be bothered with you.... Don't treat me like I am so wonderful only when I am thin... I am a wonderful person all the time....

Yikes... I am very sorry to hear about this problem you are having... I have no advice or answers but I am thinking about you all and hope you can find a solution without taking your bands off or having them completely unfilled... Wow, I never even knew of such complications... Prayers for all who are struggling with pain....

I've lost my desire to always be the one who cooks the best dish at every pot luck at work... We always have this option of bringing a dish or donating $5.00 so we can purchase stuff and I always had to cook the largest yummiest dish... For tomorrows pot luck, I am making fortune Cookies with motivational sayings in them and donating $5.00 so I won't be spending a whole day obsessing about bringing the best dish.... Who cares... Order what you want because I'm not eating it anyhow.. LOL.... I've lost my need to please everyone all the time so they will like me... I've lost one of my triple chins... I've lost what little chest I had.. I've lost my insulation and now have to layer and bundle up in clothes I wouldn't of dreamed of wearing before becasue I didn't want the extra padding making me look even fatter... I've lost my need to wear so much make up to Mask myself and hide from the world... I've lost a few sexual Inhibitions... Like not having the lights on... etc... I've lost the need to try every single food sample at costco... In fact, I have had the desire to try ZERO since being banded... I figure that by the time you walk through the store you could probably have 400 calories just taking one of each sample... Then a trip to the pizza window at the end of the shopping trip... Nope... None of that for me anymore... I have lost the need to buy fast food every single day... before banding, Some days, I'd buy two 4 piece chicken nuggets to snack on before I got home to eat dinner... It's only a 30 minute drive from work... Not a 5 hour road trip for crying out loud.... And I was famous for the value menus... ANYWHERE... But I'd still end up spending 3 or 4 bucks after choosing 3 or 4 items... I've lost 2 pants sizes, 1 dress and blouse size and 1 shoe size and I can now toss the "women Within" Clothing catalog I just got due to the LARGER calf sizes they make for their above the calf boots... I've lost some of my self loathing and negativity... I still have days when that rears its ugly head, when I don't think I'm doing as good as I should be... I've lost puffiness in my face...

I just got my third fill today... .50cc's which puts me at 5.5 CC's now... SInce I had trouble eating for so long after the last fill, my Dr. wants me to do a modified Post Op kind of diet.. 2 fulls days of broth and juices. 2 full days of full liquid, like shakes and cream soups... 2 full days of mushies then add back in what I can as I can after that... Yikes.... I'm already starving.... I hope coffee and V-8 are liquid... Thats what I've had today... I had errands after the fill and had the V-8 with me and it took me a full hour to drink it... I could feel it dripping down my throat little by little.. Kinda reminded me of an IV drip.... Only it was in my throat... Haha... After about half a can of the V-8, I had hiccups for about 15 minutes too... It was funny how they sounded squeaky... Almost like a little mouse in my throat... hehe... Now that I think about the whole broth vs full liquid thing, I think maybe the V-8 is kinda thick and maybe should wait? Any input? But Maybe I'll lose a few pounds during this phase....

Just an update on this 3rd fill... I usually have a Water bottle on my bed table and take a sip now and then in the night... Guess I won't be doing that anymore or for a while at least... It sat in my throat and gurgled and squeeked for about 30 minutes until I got up and walked around for about 15 minutes to let it go down.... So Far today, the same thing... I took two sips at 8am and I still feel them sitting in my throat..... Maybe the magic number is to be up and moving around for at least 2 hours to allow the overnight band swelling to go down before putting anything in my mouth.... Or maybe I need to try a warm beverage first like hot tea or something to get things relaxed in there? Any Experienced Bandsters here with input? I guess it will just be trial and error... Til I find what works for me...

My Surgeon does the advance every 5 days system... 5 days clear liquid, meaning anything you can see through like tea, juice, broth, sugar free popsicles etc... Then 5 days full liquid including Protein shakes, Cream Soups that are thinned, etc.. Then 5 days Mushies including mashed potatoes, yogurt, cottage cheese etc... Then it was on to real food... meat and veggies first, then breads, pastas and rice etc in small servings as tolerated and he warned to not be surprised if I just can't eat some things..... Honestly, I didn't feel hungry during my post op diet and was allowed real food back in time to enjoy delicious Prime Rib and baked potato for Christmas dinner. I had a fair amount of restriction and was eating about 3 or 4 teeny tiny nibbles of meat and maybe 1 tablespoon each of potatoes or side dish and veggies... He also warned that some days you Can eat certain food items and other days you can't... He also told me today, that I shouldn't be surprised if I can never eat Breakfast again... He said that when you are laying down/sleeping, acid builds up in your stomach and causes irritation around the band and makes it difficult to eat for a couple hours when you first get up... This explains why I have trouble even with oatmeal.... I love breakfast food, so I guess I'll have to make breakfast for dinner about once a week.... It wasn't until after my first fill in January that my apetite came back and I could suddenly eat larger portions.... Like a FULL cup of food at one sitting without being uncomfortable.... It took great restraint to not eat more sometimes.... AND Right now, I am starving to death... I just had a fill today so I have to stick with only broth, juice, liquid for a few days and advance up just like post op... Only this time, its only 2 day increments instead of 5....

I use the Adult Chewable Gummy Bear Multi Vitamin from Costco... I still have the stomach in my throat feeling once in a while... It comes and goes.... I'm almost 3 months out... Not sure if it will ever go away.... Each day will get better and you WILL have good days and bad days... When you are struggling or even when you have successes to share we are all here for you.... We are all walking this journey together...

HOWEVER, The only thing my Dr said about coffee was to drink it black or with artificial sweetner only.... I can't do that so I still add my Fat Free French vanilla and my Splenda.... I think he was concerned about adding in empty calories...

Oh Yummy... How about some vodka or whatever it is you use to make a Bloody Mary?? LOL...

I'm happy to hear that you are finally on a good road to recovery... Wow, I can't believe they injured your leg during the banding.... Was it those air bags they strap to you that did it? When I had my Band surgery, I just told everyone I was having the first of two knee surgeries... The Nurse was real nice and bandaged and wrapped my knee all up for me so nobody would be the wiser... I'm still in Physical Therapy and the funny thing is my Therapist is trying to get me to some Unkwn point of mobility and strength in my leg/knee... She keeps pushing for me to do better and more... Right now, I do the Stationary Bike on Level 9 for 30 minutes total and then I do wieght training with my legs and some stuff with a big ball... I can't get her to understand that my leg is already in better shape than before my accident and stronger than it has been in years. LOL... So we keep reaching for more..... I just hate paying the $40.00 co-pay twice a week when I would rather just go use my gym membership and do the same things there... However, she does keep me on track and does not let me cheat... Hehe.... My leg still has twinges of pain now and again, but I'm getting around real good....

Haha.. I'll pass on the mouse and the watered down any kind of food.... dang... Give a girl credit for trying.... There's a 2 miles per hour wind outside right now, If I step out the door, I'll blow away I'm so withered up and hungry right now.... I wonder what V-8 and chicken or beef broth taste like mixed together????

I drink Decaf and am enjoying me second cup of the day as we speak..... I only drink it when the weather is cold so It's my wintertime beverage... I like it mainly so I can hold the hot coffee cup in my hands to keep them warm....My Dr has a coffee pot in the waiting room and everyone is allowed to have some while waiting for appointments.... I see a lot of bandsters getting some before and after their fills.....

But.... But........ But what if I chew them up so throughly that they become liquid.... Heck, for that matter, I can eat anything as long as I chew it up until its a liquid..... Haha.... Chew chew chew, toss in some Water, chew chew chew, a little more water, chew chew chew and Waaalaaaaa... It's a liquid....

You know what irratates me is how many people BLAME their weight gain on me.... I love to cook and all my friends know this... They will call up and say, "what's for Dinner/ I'm coming over"... Or when they come to visit they will raid the cookie jar I keep stocked for my BF and take baggies home with them.... I don't twist peoples arms or insist they eat the food I prepare... Yet, when we hang out with other friends or go places they say, "it's all Jennifers fault I'm fat.. Or It's all Jennifers fault I gained 15 pounds last year" My one GF who does know about the surgery is notorious for this and we had actually not even talked for months last year due to my busy work schedule and her divorce and move to the other side of town and she still tells people this... She's blaming her weight gain from 2 + years ago on me when I hardly even see her anymore... I probably saw her 5 or 6 times all of last year and most of that was Post op since I stayed at her house for 3 or 4 days to recover so my BF wouldn't know I had surgery... It really irks me that she does this... She is still thinner than me but won't be for long and I think she always wanted to be the thinnest/prettiest one of the group and is getting nervous about me getting close to her weight so she says it even more now that I am not super huger than her anymore and she feels the need to justify her own size which is more noticable with me getting smaller... I have to learn how to tactfully deal with these situations....

I'm here holding your hand! I just got my third fill today, and becasue of the problems with tightness after my last fill, can only have broth and juice type stuff for two days, then full liquids (Shakes and cream Soups) for two days then Mushies for two days before adding back in chewable food... My Fill was at 9:30 and I'm already starving to death... I had just gone shopping and loaded up the fridge with all sorts of delishous nutricious foods and I have a big batch of hummus I made a couple days ago just calling my name!!! Trust me, you will eventually get restriction and you will be so happy... I'm hoping to make up for the ZERO weight loss of the last three weeks by losing at least 5 pounds over the next 6 days..... As long as I don't starve to death and wither away first... Haha.....