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Candra - My migraine sister! I've had em since I was 15 and they went haywire 2 years ago - I actually was out of work for a month - maybe had 5 days out of the month without a migraine. Badlands! Tried everything - headache clinic / neuro surgeon put me on Topamax - bad drug - makes you really feel weird - hands and feet go numb but they tell you that is normal - NOT. Since I've gotten through the Big M they are better but not gone. My sister's went away after the Big M. Maxalt worked great for me for years - but not with the big hormone thing with menopause. Now that I'm through it the Maxalt is working again. My biggest triggers are lack of sleep (can you tell I'm a night owl) and stress, some foods, but mostly the other 2. Now that I'm eating right I think it helps. But like you say, sometimes they just come on for no apparent reason. Sooo I really understand and feel for you. Nothin' worse (except when you get the vomitting with them too.) Oh and Candra, I have you beat - my engagement was 7 years and 1 kid! Since I had already tied the knot 2 times before I wasn't too anxious to do it again. Then when I was ready he wasn't, then he was and I wasn't and so on. We also got pregnant in there by accident and decided to have our oldest son but held on the marriage thing since we weren't sure. Finally tied the knot in 1991! So its been a total of 25 years now! Riley - I agree we are worth waiting for - the North Bay Gals! Seriously, it would be great to met up with the group. I'm game for a walk, but not sure how long I can go because of my foot. (I'm scared of the power girls: Riley and Jes!). Is the Tuesday night group at the same house each week? Beatriz - congratulations! and Maria congratulations on a new, sooner date - it will be fine. Annalynn - we are going to do this together! Good job on the alcohol - lots of sugar! I'm waiting to get weighed at my PCP's next week before I update my ticker, but my home scale last week showed I was only 3 from surgery goal. (I know it is more but it is really making me push - I really want my case manager appt in Nov.) Tamara - don't give up - we are here for you. Jess - My work has been nuts - more layoffs today. I've worked every night this week until 9:30. Its hard. I know when I'm banded I'll need to not do that so I can eat - I was starving tonight - I only ate a little extra but it was hard. What do you do? Night ladies - have a good Thursday.

Maria - they had a big scolding last night at the meeting about alcohol...its a major no no...yet my friend who had the RNY does still drink once in a while....I dunnooooo....

No, it's not offensive to me at all, even if we don't see eye to eye on it, that's besides the point, one important thing is to know and be able to trust the candidate, regardless of what party is, but that's the thing, it's so hard after you start finding out about their skeletons in their closet, I know you can't believe everything and I don't , from the ads or just in general but there are some things that you just can't ignore and will make you doubt inevitable... but that won't prevent me from voting though.. I thought I agreed with my boss's position and I even believe that there is still honesty to him, but sure it's confilcting when I hear them talking out of both sides of their mouths. I agree that it does matter who the president is for the same reasons that you mentioned, but sure what party dominates congress extremely important, so it's not all just the President. I would never consider not voting, you are right about that too. It must have been kind of a sweet and sour experience to work for your boss who you agreed with politically, but his personal life was affected by alcoholism, he probably could've done a much better job if he was handling it all by himself and sober, so to see that must be conflicting too...ugh!

Omeprazole won't work the day you take it. The absolute minimum amount of time is 24 hours before you even begin to see a difference. It can take a few weeks before it kicks in but you should be noticing a difference reasonably soon. BJean is correct, you do need to cut out a lot of excess acid causing foods, raise your bed, don't eat before bedtime, no alcohol, etc. This does need to be treated so it does not cause "forever" esophageal problems such as cancer, scarring, stricture, etc. The surgical fix for this is pretty amazing. When you wake up in recovery you'll already notice a difference. It's an immediate cure. But it is very similar to banding. The nerve that gets irritated and makes your shoulder hurt will really kick in after this procedure. But the recovery is pretty much the same as banding but ... NO POST OP DIET! Yippeeee!

I saw yet another patient this week who was 1.5 years post gastric bypass. Lost 150 pounds, and developed an ulcer. I asked one of the GI docs about why it happens and he said that the protective lining is gone and so anything that causes inflammation or irritation of the tissues can lead to an ulcer. This includes alcohol (extremely irritating to tissues) and smoking which increases inflammation. Regular acid reducers cannot reach the area of the ulcer, which is why Carafate is used. Yes, ulcers can heal with the medication, but ulcers can also kill you if they perforate and bleed badly.

Alcohol intake in access amount will definitely affect on ones oral health. That's why Dentists Carlisle PAsuggested to avoid alcohol in accessive amount.

I think the reason my nutritionist stated no alcohol any more was more the empty calories than anything. Call yours and ask the specific reason to be sure. As for the carbonation, i was told to stay away due to the gas pain it can cause. Not a problem here as we don't drink much soda to begin with. Had a sip or two of the hubby's beer last month and i know i don't need that any more. Just didn't taste the same. As for wine & other alcoholic drinks, i think only you can know if those empty calories are worth it. Are you in control of your diet? Can you just have one socially now & then? If you can, then why not. Might mean an extra trip to the gym or a little pre-planning before the event with your diet. Realistically, i am one of those persons that believes if you forbid all empty calories, eventually you are going to want to cave just because you know you shouldn't. If I can do moderation and just sample something now & then, i'm good with that. However, if you know you are the type to fall off the wagon very quickly, then i would look long and hard before taking that step. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. One of my weakness.....cream cheese fill cupcakes. I love them & can eat them like nothing. Of course my youngest has a birthday this week & wants those in cake form for his family party. NOT happening. So instead i'm making 24 cupcakes that morning & sending them into school with a note saying "throw extras away, do not send home!". Temptation avoided. For his family party he's getting homemade ice cream cake made from fat free cookies, fat free ice cream and fat free cool whip. They've NEVER known the difference & I can have a sliver & not feel guilty.

Why am I fat? Wow, great thread. I, like some others, didn't have a very good childhood. My mom wasn't around a lot when I was little and to compensate, I ate. When she was around she would harp on everything I ate, saying stuff like "don't you know bread makes you fat?". I know in her mind that she was trying to keep me from being overweight, but it just made me feel bad and I started sneaking food. We lived with my great-grandmother and one time she had made two pumpkin pies. When they were cooling, I took a fork and ate the center out of both pies! I got chased around the house with a switch for that one! Another time when I was in the 4th grade, one Friday my mom bought like a month's worth of groceries. She and my stepdad went out of town for the weekend. By the time she got back on Sunday, I had eaten pretty much everything she had just bought. I even threw up, but that didn't stop me. I got into so much trouble for that. As a child and teen, I never learned to eat correctly. In high school, when I wanted to loose weight, I would starve myself. I was athletic and I would exercise like crazy. In the summer, I would gain about 30-40 pounds and then have to loose it all over again when practice started. I've yo-yo'd my entire life. After high school, I got married and stopped exercising. That's when I really started packing on the pounds. I've gained and lost the same 80 pounds numerous times. I truly believe that mine is an addiction no different from an alcoholic or a drug addict. I do it to medicate myself. Addiction runs wild in my family. My grandmother was an alcoholic as was two of her four children (not my mom, her addiction is food as well), my grandfather gambled, and several of my cousins have issues with alcohol and drugs. I thank God that my addiction was food and not drugs or alcohol. That could have so easily been the case. I still have issues but I'm working through them. I have been married to a great guy for 15 years. This has given me the stability that I so greatly craved as a child. My children, thank God, are growing up in a stable, loving home with both parents. When I have a bad day, the first thing I think of is food; however, after the band, I'm dealing with it in other ways. I don't think of food as often and I don't seem to want it like I did. I feel so blessed to have been given this great tool. My emotional scars are deep, but I'm working every day to overcome them. It will be something that I have to take one day at a time for the rest of my life.

This is kind of mind blowing so I'm hoping that someone here has some knowledge or insight on the subject. I've been for a very long while a bit of a "health nut" though obese, still very interested in eating foods that are as organic as possible, no chemical sweeteners, etc. I have had (pre-op) a fantastic all purpose seasoning from soy Protein that is non-GMO, gluten-free and preservative free. It's sort of tastes like a soy sauce and can be added to Soups, any meat, fish, chicken, lentils, just even put into a salad dressing, or mixed into a glass of tomato or vegetable juice. When I was raising my grandson, he loved to use it for his California rolls and sushi. It's really great. I just pulled it out to season some pre cooked lentils I bought at Trader Joe's and for the first time took a look at the protein content per serving 1/2 tsp. there are 189 servings per 16 fl. oz. container but under the list of "per serving it says protein is 310mg!!! That would mean per 1/2 tsp. Is that possible? It is listed under "Amount Per Serving". Ingredients are Vegetable protein from Soybeans and Purified Water. The aminos are Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Lysine, Leucine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Theonine, Tyrosine, and Valine. Is this a find or what? The stuff is so good to season food that you can easily put away half tsp. Does soy protein count? Reading off the bottle it says BRAGG liquid is a Vegetable Protein Seasoning from healthy certified non-GMO soybeans from the original formula by health pioneer and originator of Health Stores, Paul C. Bragg. A Gormet Alternative to Tamari,& Soy sauce. NO PRESERVATIVES, NO ALCOHOL, NOT FERMENTED, GLUTEN-FREE... Anyway if this counts as protein intake then WOW!!! Or is whey the only way to get additional protein into our diets? Any feedback on this anyone?

Hi all - I wasn't able to get on yesterday but came back and you are all doing so well! I think I'll get my first fill around Jan 22/23. Thats 6 weeks for me. I go in again on the 9th just to have another food talk - thats when he'll tell me to eat regular foods. I'm not doing bad on mushie/soft foods. My diet now is interchangeable with soft foods and its been pretty easy. Yesterday we went to a wrestling tournament - my great nephew just started in the peewee's - so darn cute - anyway, for Breakfast I ate a banana, lunch 3 pirogis, and a little Soup, supper was chicken and rice in general tso's sauce. I woke up in a hot flash tonight and started thinking about what I had ate so I had to get up and check the calorie content of the chicken - it was 240/cup - so I think I'm keeping my calories well below 1000. I also had 2 bites of my daughters milky way. I haven't felt sick at all since I had the surgery. None of the golf ball stuff or pb's - has anyone else? I keep worrying that I'm making the right food choices and now and then I feel like I need to burp - which if I get up and walk I do burp - big loud burps but thats probably from eating too fast. And I also find it so much easier NOT to snack between meals - I don't feel hungry at all unless its meal time. I LOVE MY BAND! The clothes swap sounds cool. I'm fitting nicely into my clothes again, yesterday I went through a bunch of old ones that still didn't fit and tried a pair of jeans on that did but then I remembered why I didn't like them. I hate low riding jeans! Why on earth would they make fatlady jeans that button below the belly button? I know I've got an odd shape with a apple belly and not pear shaped but still my belly button is low and these jeans still come 3 inches below MY belly button. I get no sympathy from my daughters who are a size 6 and 10 - they can wear crap like that. They usually start giggling when it comes to me and jeans. I hate the look but its so much more comfortable to wear the old lady stretchy slacks that come up above my belly button. My daughter has a pair of jeans that are all ripped up - you know they buy them that way for $50 - I"m old, I know - anyway I told her that next christmas I'm going to wear them. LOL not that I want to wear ripped up jeans but dang I can't wait to be that size! Well I've been up and hour - the hot flash is over so I guess I'll try to sleep again. This is my insomnia. I haven't had it for a while and when I feel like I haven't been sleeping well I take and otc sleeping pill - usually a half will give me a good nights sleep. Its so irratating because I know that tomorrow is New Years Eve and if I don't sleep tonight I will be crashing before the ball drops tomorrow. Which btw - Kay - I have 2 partys to go to - I'm taking mushy/soft food that I can eat - you know they are always potluck - I may have a glass of wine - I had one on Christmas and it went down well. I'm not a big drinker anyway so its not a big deal. Its funny because other then a glass of wine now and then the only alcohol I drink is dark beer and now I can't drink that at all. If I don't see you all later today - have a Happy safe New year celebration! Love ya bandsters!

:biggrin1: Beversman - Thank you for the advice on the peroxide. It was Deiselangel who had the question about it. I was worried to about her too, although I didn't have the details that you have. I am sure she will read this....I hope! Maybe I will switch from polysporin to alcohol, it will probably get rid of some glue marks as well! Thanks.

I SERIOUSLY doubt P'Nut is an alcoholic... sounds to me like she is just having fun! :confused:

:clap2: VA hey buddy .... I had a piece of toast for Breakfast today ...wow that was the nicest and slowest eaten piece of toast ever! I haven't eaten since but just to wet your appetite...I am going to have a feast this evening Heinz baked Beans and mini sausages. The beans I mush up and the sausages are almost the sort that melt in your mouth so it will go down well. Just the very tiny tin. I never thought that would be the main meal of any day ..just shows you that even at this stage, pre any fill, it has an affect. In fact I am surprised at how tight things get when you eat. I still have the plaster over my port wound and it seems to want to stick on there so I am leaving it. All the others are off and they are TINY...bless my surgeons [i had two because I was the first at this new clinic locally]. I am sooooooooooooo glad I found all you December bandsters...we truly need the support here. I am divorced, have been for 6 years and have a 19 year old. She's very supportive. I don't miss food....I miss a glass of Californian Merlot or Cab. sauvignon. Anyone know of any post bandsters who actually drink alcohol ever again..I see no mention of that in my blurb from the surgeon? You know the hardest thing I find? Not drinking when I eat. I realise now that drinking when we eat helps us to eat more. Often when I was feeling stuffed, sipping some diet coke cleared the way for more! This is the most difficult time of the year to be banded...and also I think the most sensible for us... we are avoiding the pounds piling on .. I'm glad of that and I am glad of all your company. I may sneak a chocolate on Christmas day!! Hugs folks...going off to heat up my baked beans!!:hungry: Karen

Hi Crzytchr, I think you are on to something!!! There is alcohol addiction in my family as well, and I guess I chose food as my drug of choice!!! Also, thank you for the encouragement - I sincerely appreciate it. I see that you have already had so much success in such a short period of time. What is your secret??? Today was a GREAT day - well, parts of it, at least. Breakfast went well - did you Kashi cereal. For lunch, I had to take my team out to Celebrate one of our birthdays. Birthday girl chose MEXICAN food of all - everything is fried or in cheese, which makes it sooo good. I went with a Grilled Mahi Mahi and asked them to keep out the sauce. It felt like there was butter or some oil on it, but at least I didnt over-indulge. I also stayed away from desert. I LOVE THE BAND. I went to see my surgeon today and he told me that with my port revision, they took out ALL the saline and only put back .25cc. I cant believe I have restriction with so little, yet I went through a whole year and a half at almost full, able to eat anything. THIS BAND HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN...or is it that I now have a new mind? a new outlook??? :biggrin: Another major accomplishment today - I went to tae kwon do - my first day - boy, was that a WORKOUT - I can tell my legs will be sore tomorrow. I felt LIGHT-HEADED A FEW TIMES - I wonder WHY???? Fellow strugglers - How was your day today? Any successes? any failures you want to turn around?? what are your goals for December? Mine are: (I know I say them everytime - but there is something about repeating them all the time - like a mantra.) -Eat no more than 1500 calories a day -Write everything I eat on fitday and my journal -Measure any food that is not-pre-packaged

Pat, funny you should mention alcoholism. I've been sober for 19 years. Addicted to food and shopping, but not using alcohol anymore. I have been comparing this in my mind to alcoholism and recovery. The lapband is my antibuse. Right now I am in detox. After my banding I will be in rehab. Once I can eat solids, I will be out of rehab and into the scary real world. Thank God for my antibuse, because if I use my "drug" I'll get really sick! If I start eating around my band it means I stopped taking my antibuse so that I could fall off the wagon intentionally. This board is my meeting. You guys are my support group. Jaime, I'm glad you shared what you did. I wasn't thinking it would be so hard right away. I'm still on the pre-op. It's not being hungry that bothers me. That passes. It's the emptiness. I feel empty. When I feel stuffed then I am a little numbed. I remember telling a co-worker a long time ago, "I don't care what happens during the day. As long as I can go home, sit in my chair and eat my Oreos and Diet Coke, I'll be happy." I had a very stressful job, but I got through the day by thinking of the moment that I would sit in my comfy chair, all alone, with my stack of cookies and my huge Diet Coke. That would make everything all right. Is there a section on this board that deals specifically with sharing these kinds of issues?

Just be careful because now that you're stomach is so small, you absorb everything so much faster! The one thing I've heard is alcohol poisoning (even from wine) It's more lonely to happen than before. If you do decide to.. take it slow and listen to your body. You're going to get "warm" a lot faster than before. Just be careful!!

Too soon. You're still healing. You need to worry about getting fluids (NOT ALCOHOL) and Protein right now. Why do you want to deprive your body of much needed nutrients for empty, non nutritious calories?? Call your surgeon. He will tell you the same.

Green: You've outed me. I love, love, love ice cream. It is my drug of choice. I am about ice cream, as an alcoholic is about booze. It is of course somewhat a head issue, but I believe that it is a chemical issue as well. I just feel too good inside and I get too elated (high?) when I consume ice cream. That's a tough row to hoe. But I do know that I have to get to it and git 'er done! I do not crave volumes of food and that's a good thing because I can't really eat massive quantities anyway. You'd think I'd lose weight since I am not eating quite a few of the dense calories and white foods that I ate before banding. I guess I will try again this week. My doc is very conservative with the fills. I reckon that's why I've had so many but still haven't reached nirvana yet. :cry Gosh I hope your bloodwork abnormality is nothing to worry about. It always pays to check things out though. I hope you will keep me informed because I really do care about you, grrl!

So 3 for 3 answers that yes alcohol loosens the band. Anyone else? As far as my weight loss, It feels like maybe. I am moving tomorrow, lot's of stress....not easy. I will give myself another month to post whether or not I have had a loss.

welcome to the december bandsters gonnalose. I think we all are feeling the same thing, excited/scared/nervous, all those emotions as well as STARVING if you are on the liquid diet. I am on day 9 of the pre diet and doing okay, ive had a few "emergencies" as my dietician puts it that required some chicken or maybe a cookie but otherwise okay. I have also quite smoking....today is day 22. I guess I am gluton for punishment, or maybe just stupid. Quiting all addictions at the same time has been difficult but if I can do this I can do anything and this time next year I will be healthy for the first time in my adult life (thank god we cant drink during the preop stage or I may be alcoholic by now, lol) Everyone in my family is excited for me except for the one (my mother) she is scared but optimistic at the same time. I wish you good luck and keep us all posted on your progress.

I just want to wish all my fellow December bandsters a Happy New Year. Thankfully, when the ball drops this year I won't have to look on the past year and become depressed because I didn't lose weight. Instead, I can look ahead and know I will be successful this year. It's exciting. I'm staying in because I just don't want to be tempted by food and alcohol this soon after surgery.

@@ZetaStar my husband was taken off of insulin and started back on the pills. I know exactly what you are experiencing because my husband has everything you mentioned and including fatty liver disease, and non-alcoholic pancreatitis the neuropathy is the worst of it all. He wakes up in the middle of the night in lots of pain and sometimes can't get back to sleep for hours. He now works out 5 times a week during his lunch at the company gym and has lost over 100 lbs. If there is a possibility that going with the sleeve won't resolve these issues I would think long and hard before making your choice. I am sure that you will make the best decision for you. I am happy that you found the website. I stumbled upon it too.

I'd love to hear how I screwed up. I never ate off plan until I passed goal. I followed every instruction my doctor gave me. I have gotten 60g+ Protein and 64oz+ Water every day. (Except when I was so nauseous from a medication I was on for a C. diff infection that I couldn't even swallow my own spit...which of course led to dehydration and IV fluids at which point my doctor and I found an alternative solution to cure the infection. In other words, make sure you drink!). I take my Vitamins every day. I get my bloodwork done as recommended and adjust supplements accordingly. I am active everyday. I lost over 100% of my excess weight and have kept it off for 7 months. Sure, now I eat deserts and carbs and drink alcohol, but I'm in maintenance and I'm allowed anything and everything in moderation. Any weight gain I observe I immediately check by going back to strict protein and veggies. Again, where is my non compliance? But if I was, then good for me for being so successful despite all my cheating! My point to the OP is that this is a lifetime commitment and she struggled with just 7 days. food addiction is serious business and everyone needs to get whatever help they can to overcome it. Like @@VSGAnn2014 said, not everyone is successful with this tool and not taking responsibility for your choices and trying to validate cheating makes for a slippery slope towards failure. I consider myself a rockstar of WLS, and I'm on here to pay it forward. I'm a big proponent of everyone making a plan that works for them. My way is not the only way, just one of the many ways that works. But not being able to say no to sweets is generally not one of the plans that works.

Wow, 1 month. I like your 3 month plan better haha. I barely hit my Fluid goals without adding in alcohol, which will dehydrate you. Everything going on in my body, the last thing I want is alcohol. Maybe occasionally down the road but I cannot imagine it now. If you do drink, make sure you have extra fluids that day and don't forget 1 drink is going to hit you a lot harder than it used to.

Hello All- As you can see from my stats- not very impressive - no one would be asking me to be the postergirl for the lapband. I did not get enough fills early in the process, but believe that I may actually be approaching my sweet spot soon. I have come to realize a few things and wonder if anyone can relate... I became depressed a few months after surgery when it did not fix everything. Now, I am smart enough to know that it wouldn't, but, it still happened. As a result, I found myself drinking alcohol becuase I could and as a way of numbing myself. Alcohol passes just fine through the band and has oodles of calories. So do many other things that I should know better than to eat (ice cream, chocolate, etc) So, I faced all of this and stopped the antidepressants (yeah, I think they were messing me up more than helping me) and although, I swore that I would never do this again, walked in to a Weight Watchers week one meeting. Yep - accountability - just like at the start of the band process. I really never thought I would have to do this again, but the band does not fix everything - it really is just a tool. :tongue: