Betsyjane

Ask away! Spivak's will tell you all this too.... I had sharp pain in my right shoulder for 3 days, handled with walking, hot pad, and mostly chewable Tylenol. They told me not to lift over 10 pounds for 3 months. I cheated some. I slept in a recliner for 3 days. Too much gas pain to lie down. Really after 3 days, I was pretty good. I can't feel the band. I can feel the port if I touch it, but it's never uncomfortable or noticable. What part of Houston will you be staying in? We have a support group on the northeast side of metro Houston. You're welcome to join us if you're around.

I'll be in PJs too! Glad you're joining, Lana.

Yeah. I get cravings from any sugar or artificial sweetener. So much for protein shakes.....

Yep. I had the fever too. Congrats on starting your journey.

Picture if you will... You have just eaten a huge chunk of steak and you forgot to chew it well. It sits on top of the band opening and won't go down. A surprise to you, your body begins to create this incredibly thick slime not unlike clear motor oil, trying to help the steak go through. It doesn't. The slime begins to back up...you begin to sweat...and you're pretty sure your life is over. You think you can't breathe, although you can. Your skin begins to turn pale and then red. You hold your arms over your head hoping that will help. You pace. You begin to pray...please go one way or the other. Your body decides...it's coming up! You run to the bathroom with a paper towel, and one good heave and it's up! There are no digestive juices with it, so it doesn't burn coming up. It just comes up. The final step of a PB is that you SWEAR you'll never do that again! But you will.....

Oh, the first fill is nothing! I was so nervous I thought I would pass out, and then it was over with no pain in seconds! You'll be amazed.....

You may be getting depresses from alcohol and cheese and crackers...meaning from mostl carbs in your diet. You need energy in order to focus and exercise. Eat some meat and a few bites of veges at each meal, without alcohol, and see how you are in a week. You might even feel like exercising! And git to a lap band support group.

I haven't signed up yet. I hired a maid service to Spring clean my house. I don't dare leave them. So far, they've broken the tempered glass in my refrigerator shelf, and one of them cut herself on her own cleaning equipment and bled on the rug.

Ha! Congratulations! Whatdjado...celebrate all day with food? Sorry. I know for me, sometimes when I hit a milestone, I take a day off and pig out, and then I get right back to work in a day or two. Sounds like you might have done the same. Don't kick yourself....Enjoy your mini vacation. Now get back to being healthy. If you're really lucky, the shock to your system will have stimulated some more weight loss.

Where in sparkpeople do you log in what you eat? I just looked at the site and there's so much there....couldn't find it!

I hate to say this, because it's just fulfilling my own fantasy and I hope you'll take it in the light hearted way that it's meant...but until the band, what great pig outs do you have planned??? Anything you want to eat a full meal of? I'd go for Joe's Crab Shack crab legs, myself....and something pasta....

Mormons I've known have been calm, patient, and family oriented. And they credit their religion for their goodness. I've never known a mormon polygamist, child rapist, or wife beater. I've never known a mormon man who puts down his wife. Some people get all the good stuff out of their beliefs. More power to them. If the choice is between the angry atheists here and the peaceful mormon, I'll take the latter...day saint.

Er, good question, Suzanne. I'm game for after Tai Chi this Monday, say 6 or 6:15 ish at Humble City Cafe...... or I wouldn't mind soup & salad at Olive Garden...or somewhere else.....

My dr had me on solids only within 2 weeks after surgery.... Go with what your Dr. says. There's a wide variation in recommendations.

Nicely put, Tekila4red.

Regarding weight gain... I understand your concern. Most of us have failed at keeping weight off in the past and have regained more than we lost most times. I want you to know that the band requireds hard work on your part. The difference with the band is that the hard work pays off...A first for me! Even when I've royally screwed up a day of eating, I either plateau, or lose anyway. Quite a change...... I've sometimes wondered if I would have enjoyed gastric bypass more----that sudden big drop inw eight that happens almost in spite of yourself. But I know that there's something about working and succeeding at wieght loss that is so good for my soul. I've needed that experience all of my life.

Remember, you aren't restricted yet. So you technically aren't living the bandster life yet, my firend. Now is the time to focus on learning everything you can about your future life as a bandster, and practicing and pretending you feel restriction, whenever you can. You are still really on your own until you are restricted. I went through exactly the same thing. Work on eating mindfully, taking a deep breath before eating, getting smaller plates and utensils, eating without the TV on, chewing a lot...whatever you can whenever you can. Try not to beat yourself up....We're so good at doing that...and know that your journey and learning have just started. New behaviors take time, especially since you haven't had a fill. Enjoy any small successes. In 14 days you've lost 8 pounds. That's cause to be tickled. You'll get there.

One of the bandsters in my support group wear one and loves it. I'm tempted too. My only concern would be if the added support will weaking my tummy muscles.... Seems like I heartd somewhere that any kind of girdle does that.

Oh, that's hilarious. And any bandster who doesn't Tia Chi and joins us for dinner will have to deal with the embarrassment of being with us. Lana, bikergrammy...come join!

I found a nice protein powder---not a shake---just a colorless tasteless powder, that I can add to salads, sprinkle on anything, and add to my protein intake considerably. I got it at GNC, called Any Whey.

Great news, Brandy! You're already being persistent. A good sign for a future Bandster! One hurdle jumped. They're nice over there at the Surgicenter, aren't they? Hi Jean. You've sure picked a good doctor. You might want to also find a local fill guy, in case you need a quick unfill sometime. I don't know how well Drs take to having more than one guy follow you, but just in case.... or at least look for a local support group so you have resources up there if you need them. Enjoy Dr. Spivak!

That's nice of you to notice about the evening posts. My tiredness comes and goes during the day without any schedule...probably because I'm not out at work like you are. Some nights I'm awake with good energy, but more often I just can't sleep due to pain. Ha! Right now, I have little doggie campers all around my feet because of the thunder. I look like I have very big fuzzy slippers on my feet. Great! Let's walk after we get Tai Chi organized and it quits raining. I went over to sign up this morning. They only open at 1PM, so don't go early!

Happy Anniversary back at you all. I may grumble, but I'm so happy to be banded!

Are you taking a multi Vitamin? sublingual B-12 helps me. Diet Cokes used to help....Sigh.

Did you see the video of the Akon concert where he got a little girl out of the audience and started humping her on stage, and threw her around? I don't know why she was there anyway, but it was darned near rape in my opinion. I'm so sick of rappers degrading women and promoting crime. I'l all for music being renegade and out there, but I'm not for this lowest common denominator sewer stuff. I don't want it banned. I just want people to stop buying it. And now Verizon Wireless is co-promoting with Akon. I'm all for scrapping Verizon's services too. This is ridiculous. I was watching a show on TV interviewing some rapper...don't remember who...about promoting no snitching. If you see a rape or a murder, don't tell and don't call the police. So they interviewed kids who said that indeed, they'd never snitch. Just inviting crime without consequences. So they interviewed the rapper, and he pretty much said he doesn't live like that, but he doesn't want to disappoint his fans,a nd it's all about business. So his fans are his chumps. I'm sick of it.