andrea0121

I would have been a hot mess if I had to drive myself home the next day, lol. I was still on pain meds and I'm pretty sure I would have gotten a OWI had I been pulled over!!

Hahahha, I feel that way when I see someone eating a nice big sloppy piece of pizza. I know I can't have it and it ticks me off.

Bandster hell my dear. Beef up on your protein drinks if you're on an all liquid diet still. Until you get proper restriction, you're doing it all on willpower alone. Sucks, but 99% of us all go through it.

I have the "Lose It" app on my phone. I have an Android phone and downloaded it for free. It's pretty spiffy!

OMG yes, hahah. I've been splashed in the face, at my own house though. I used my handsoap and washed my face. Totally understand the ick factor though.

I can't do breakfast either. I'm just now eating a bit of toast and cheese and it's 11:40 am. I can do bread as long as it's toasted. But not a whole sandwich. I can do an english muffin though.

Ooooh, go on. I never thought of this and actually haven't tried it in 15 months. I can see myself getting very werpy (hehe) in the car, or God Forbid actually PBing.

Ugh, I don't know why I tortured myself by reading the comments on that article. Should have known better. People are seriously such pompous as@holes.

Good! It's one less pill to worry about!!

I had really really bad shoulder (from the gas) pain and my tummy was really sore too. It does get better. The gas was the worst for me, it took a couple weeks to finally dissipate. I'm not a wimp, but this was a harder recover than my 3 previous surgeries (septoplasty, thyroid removal, gallbladder). It gets better, just get some rest and try to get a slow walk in every now and then for the gas. Everyone says it helped...

Loneil, what do you consider mushies? Are your mushies high in protein? That should help with the hunger. Eating a half a cup of mashed potatoes or mac and cheese will not keep you satisfied. The mushie stage sucks because (well for me I have a weird texture thing with food) nothing looks good. I did a lot of chili and tuna in that stage. I would steer clear of mushies that are carb heavy though.

Imperfect1974, I've been on the nuva ring for over 3 years. I was horrible with taking my BC when I was supposed to so this has been a big help. People think you need to shove your whole hand up your business to put it in, it's not any worse than inserting an OB tampon. Once it's in you don't feel it, and I've only had it come out once during intercourse. I need a little bit of hormones because I have PCOS.

To the left to the left (a la Beyonce). I can feel mine if I push on it slightly.

I haven't had a stuck episode with my 'can't haves' but it does come back up. I'll be sitting there a couple minutes after eating and vwooooop up it comes. Mad dash to the restroom. Pills go through real slow though and I hate it. Sometimes I PB on them.

Dr. Chua was my surgeon! He's really nice, his PA as well. In fact, I go to her for fills since he's usually busy.

I don't feel "full." Not the gut busting full like I had pre-band. I'm satisfied. That's the only way to describe it. I get the same feeling you do, pressure in my throat, and I know I've had enough. That feeling does go away, but you should not be feeling hungry after that. Of course, this all depends on where you're at with restriction too. My first year was tough because I didn't have proper restriction, but TBH, I never felt "hungry" right after eating. Some of your issue might be head hunger and that's just something you'll have to work on along the way. Good luck.

Hi AMC. I would stick to liquids for a couple days, your band might be swollen. As long as you can get liquid down, I wouldn't be too concerned right out the gate. If this continues after several days, I think your fill might have been a bit too much. PBing (from my understanding) is a polite way of saying you've puked up the food in your pouch/esophagus. It's called a productive burp, like when you've ate just a tad too much and all you have to do is cough or burp and it comes right back up again. Not something you want to get into the habit of. My last fill (14 months into being banded mind you) was a tight one too, I had to do liquids for about 5 days because I tried scrambled eggs the next day after the fill and I PB'd. Thus irritating an already touchy band from the fill. Like I said, if you can keep liquids down, you might be okay...just a bit swollen. Don't wait longer than a few days though. Hope that helps.

Ahhh, Honk, I was trying to remember who told us about the waterproof MP3 player. Thanks again for the reminder, sounds like a must have!! You're a great inspiration!

So, brief back story. I swam competitively from 8 yrs old through till I was18. I haven't swam a lick since then. Every now and then when we're somewhere with a pool I'll bust out the butterfly for like .5 seconds and then I'm wiped. I still feel like I could do all the strokes in my sleep, but I'm scared to get started again. I bought myself my swimcap and goggles, got a new Speedo swimsuit just hanging in my closet waiting for me to join the Rec Plex and just do it. I have no idea why I'm so intimated when this is something that I did throughout my whole childhood. Part of it is I hate me in a swimsuit, another part is the dreaded being judged by people syndrome. I guess, I need you guys who swim for exercise to kick me in the ass. I know once I get in the Water and get started it'll be old hat....it's getting me INTO the water that I'm petrified of. Sorry for my semi-rant/motivation post.

Cazzy, that's amazing WL!!!! Congratulations! For me, I'm a slower loser. Was banded December 2010, have lost 60lbs but I wouldn't trade my band in ever. Don't regret it at all. I know the scales would have been moving upwards if not for the band. It's been slow going, but it beats the alternative!! Good luck!!

Thanks everyone for your motivation and support!!! I really am excited to get back at it again. :wub:

Thanks, Tracey. A quiet pool sounds lovely. Just to be able to get in and do your own thing without getting in anyone's way. I told my b/f that we should at least try a day pass at the pool by us and go from there. He needs the exercise too. Need a cattle prod for the two of us.

Insane. I pay $25 for the co-pay. You guys, I feel bad you have to fork over that much. That's absolutely insane. It took me 7 fills to get to restriction. I can't imagine...

I can't do salad. I just recently got a really good fill myself so I've got training wheels on all over again. I've been PBing a lot too but it's totally a learning curve since I've had the band for over a year with no restriction. I went to lunch with a dear friend and had a tiny bit of asian salad. I was running to the bathroom 2 minutes after having finished the 5 bites or so of it. You're doing the right thing, give the band a rest for a couple days and check salad off of the 'can haves' list. Congrats on the great WL so far!!

Ladyfromirvine, it's funny (in a twisted way), my best friend would have reacted the same way...had I told her. We'd been friends for over 10 years and she'd watched me lose 90lbs before from dieting and gave me nothing but hell about how skinny I was. She's always been skinnier than me so for once, I was the skinny one. I didn't even think twice about not telling her about my band. Some people are on a need to know basis. My mother, father, boyfriend, 2 coworkers and 1 best friend. That's the only people I've told. Oh and all you folks.