sandman27959

I'm no doctor, but that looks like infection to me. I'd go to the ER or your primary care doctor and get started on some antibiotics. I'd also follow the cleaning instructions listed above. If it turns out to be nothing, no worries, but you don't want an infection to get a foothold in a deep surgical incision. I don't think it's anything to freak out about, but if it were me I'd go get it checked out. D.

You can get an interval timer online cheap, or get a free app called "interval timer" for your smart phone. I use the latter. I use it to alternate between two one-minute intervals, and the timer counts down one minute for each. Confused? Here's how it works... When I take my first bite, I hit the start button. The timer counts down for one minute while I chew that bite of food. When it reaches zero the screen automatically changes color to indicate the change and starts counting down again from one minute while I take another bite of food. I have it set to do this routine 10 times, so after 20 minutes the timer stops. If I'm not finished in 20 minutes, it's time to stop eating. So far for the amount of food I'm eating, I haven't made it anywhere near 20 minutes even taking very small bites. This may seem a little extreme to some folks, but I've always just inhaled my food so I'm going through some behavior modification for myself. It's working quite well. After even a very small meal I find myself not hungry any more, and I'm actually treating mealtime now as more of a relaxing, enjoyable time instead of a time to see how much I can eat. Hope this helps. D.

Mine was Blue Cross from work. Basically my only insurance requirement was that my BMI had been over 40 for the last two years. I had the dubious distinction of almost not being fat enough to qualify. Crazy, but true. My doctor's requirements were quite a bit stiffer. I had to go through several months of support groups, exercise physiology classes, a psych exam, and a battery of physical tests (blood work, EKG, blood sugar, etc.) It wasn't terribly difficult, but my doctors office is an hour away. Also, I'm one of those people that after I've made up my mind, I'm ready to get on with it! Good luck! D.

Hey! Congratulations! You're probably still a bit swollen from surgery, so it will get easier. Quite frankly, things will change a lot before you achieve your new "normal." At least they did for me. Before long it will all feel like it's always been a part of you. Just follow your doctors orders to the letter, and realize that your success depends on you and you'll do great. Best of luck with it! D.

For me, it was after the first 30 pounds when people said something. It's nice when people notice, but I don't use that as a measure of my success. I did have to learn how to take a compliment gracefully though - a strange thing for me at first. D.

I agree with the others. I wear my scars - not just my surgery scars - like a badge of honor. I earned every one of them and they're there to remind me of my personal triumphs or stupidity. FYI also - my doctor installed my band through a single 1-1/2 inch incision, so it's possible with the right surgeon. Good luck on your journey! D.

Yup. Mine is when I can wake up and have my coffee, and that will be the only thing I'm really hungry for until lunch time. Then I eat a half cup of nutritious food for lunch, and I'm not hungry again until dinner (where I eat another half cup.) No Snacks between meals, and no food after dinner around 7pm. Two small meals, no nagging hunger. It'll probably be different for most folks, but that's my version. To oversimplify it, "yellow" means you're hungry between small meals and need another fill. "red" means you're overfilled and the plumbing is blocked so you can't get things down or have heartburn. Green means you're just right - no nagging hunger and losing weight. Hope this helps. D.

Assuming your portion sizes have crept up, it might help to get a food scale. I'm having to learn what a small portion size (4-5 oz) looks like. I got a little Taylor digital scale with a glass platform - $20. You can set your plate on top and it will zero out, then just add your food. Only thing I don't like is the Biggest Loser" logo. Jeeeze. D.

Congratulations! I hope this tool enables you to do everything you want it to. Best of luck! D.

Go see your doctor. I had a bout of dizziness and realized it was related to my intake of too much caffeine. I was drinking a lot of coffee and green tea - so much in fact I was having an irregular heartbeat that was causing the dizziness. Started drinking decaf and switched to Water and it cleared right up. Yours may be different, but a doctor can help you get to the root cause. Good luck. D.

Honestly, my relationship with food has been so screwed up that I'm having to learn what "real" hunger feels like. I think that sometimes when I feel hunger it's not actually my body saying "you need food," it's me being bored and my inner voice saying "eat something." That being said, I think I'm pretty much in my green zone, so I'd say my hunger is under control, but it's still there every now and then in the evenings. One of my new rules for myself though is no food after 7pm, and the main reason for that is that I'm trying to develop a healthy eating schedule, and not listen to that side of me that doesn't actually need food. D.

Hi Lindsey, I agree with the above posters, and I've found that little, seemingly insignificant things can derail my weight loss. For example, if I eat ANYTHING between meals, that seems to stop or slow mine. If I eat too many carbs, same thing. If I don't drink enough Water, etc. I would take the advice of those above and reduce my caloric intake a bit and see what happens. Don't give up. Just keep tweaking until you hit the right formula, and eliminate any outside cheats or variables. Best of luck. D.

Congratulations Lisa on taking a big step to improving your quality of life for yourself and your young family! Sounds like you have the right frame of mind to make it happen. Your commitment is impressive. Keep it up! D.

Cool. I'm glad people are getting something out of the videos. I hope I didn't hijack the thread by posting them. I was just trying to answer the original poster's question. Since she's replied I don't think I did, but I just want to let everyone know I'm sensitive to that kind of stuff. The other thing is please listen to your doctor's recommendations. I'm not suggesting one way or the other what you should do, but these videos were suggested to me by my doctor, so I'm assuming he's OK with the content for me in my particular situation. Things may be different for you in your situation. I know it certainly cleared a lot of things up for me and got me back on track with the band. I'm down 22 pounds since my last fill a month ago and having taken my doctors advice and viewing them. I'm assuming that the medical community is learning more about how the band works and that's the reason for some of the information being different than what I received in my educational pre-op stuff. In any case, it's more information, and I'm a firm believer that more information is usually a good thing. D.

Hey there, Really enjoyed reading this well-written piece. It's not often that you read something from a person who obviously knows herself so well. I think one of the keys to accomplishing all of this for ourselves is taking a good, hard, honest look at who we are. In this day of people avoiding responsibility for everything, it's really refreshing to see someone who realizes that taking responsibility is a very empowering thing. Thanks for the good read.

I totally get what you mean clarks4willie. The first solid thing I ate after my surgery (and week of liquid diet before it) was a scrambled egg, and it was so good that it literally made me cry. That still makes me laugh when I think about it. D.

Glad to see others are getting some benefit. I went through a fairly stringent education period before my surgery, but was a little confused by the whole "pouch/second stomach" thing so I never really learned exactly what was making this thing work. It was like someone switched on a switch for me after seeing these. I wish I could take credit for finding them, but they were recommended by my excellent surgeon. My doctor said that he personally has done over 500 surgeries, but this guy (Dr. O'Brien) has done over 10,000, so he understands things pretty well. D.

Hi Ursula, I was almost exactly in the same boat as you and have recently turned things around and lost 20 more pounds since my fill a month ago - the first in two years. Don't feel bad. My doctor said it takes some folks longer to learn how to use the tool correctly, but the good news is you still have the tool and it can be adjusted to work for you again. I sound like a broken record because I've recommended them so much, but go watch these 4 videos. They totally got me back on track and taught me how to finally use the band correctly. You can, and will turn things around. Good luck! D.

You know, this might just be me personally, but I'd want some degree of discretion and anonymity to a support group at my workplace. Maybe even meeting off-site or something. I'm kinda private about sharing my personal weight struggles with my co-workers, but that doesn't mean I don't need support - know what I mean? Maybe it's just me. Something to consider if you don't share a need for privacy in that area. D.

Lifetime habits don't give up easily. The best you can do is to do better tomorrow. Soon you'll be stringing days of success together until it's just your lifestyle. D.

I used to have a pain in my shoulder when I was eating too much. My doctor explained mine as somehow a nerve was being stimulated by my diaphragm. (I can't remember the details.) After I quit having too much food at a meal, it stopped and has never returned. Maybe yours is related to lingering swelling in that area? Not sure - just trying to be helpful. D.

I completely second 2muchfun's comments. I also think it's a really good thing that you're asking yourself these questions. I can eat reasonable portions of whatever I like, but I'm also at the place where unhealthy food choices don't mean as much to me as being a healthy and happy. I sleep on my stomach too, and it hasn't been a problem. A little sensitive at first, but once I completely healed I notice it a lot less than weighing 300 pounds. Good luck with your journey! D.

It'll get better. They're just trying to sneak up on that green zone so your body has a chance to heal and accept it's new arrangement. It may take a few fills to get there, but when you do your hunger will be totally manageable. I have a 14cc band too and I'm finally feeling my zone at 9cc's. Yours will probably be different. Hang in there. Help is on the way. D.

Man, that's frustrating. Sorry for what you're going through because I've been there. I've found that just breaking the chain of what I'm doing can sometimes help me get off a plateau. Try a different workout for a little while (swimming?) and see if that helps. I've also found (and I'm not suggesting this for everyone) that eating more to the 1200-1500 calorie limit for a few days can convince my body I'm not starving. What I've also found is that my body seems to present weight loss in one of two ways. It's either the scale goes down, or I lose inches. Usually when I'm on a plateau, my body is rearranging itself and my pants start fitting more loosely. Good luck buddy. This is why weight loss is so hard. Hopefully it'll pass soon. D.

I was really nervous too. I'd never had any kind of surgery, or even been put out by my dentist. You'll do fine, and you'll have taken an amazing step towards a better life for yourself. Good vibes on your way!