Search the Community

Good luck Mdrai!!! Laura55...I'm in Ireland too! Are you going with ACS? I'll post more tomorrow..haven't time now.. Hello & goodbye for today!! P.S no weight gain this week!! ( remember I thought I might have gained after the wedding) Yippee...ticker below is officially correct again...it's all downhill from here!!

The first few weeks can be challenging for many - physically and psychologically. Your stomach and your mind have to acclimate to profound changes. It's also common for your weight to fluctuate more then. I didn't even weigh myself for the first couple of weeks because I anticipated having gained weight from the anesthesia pumped into me for the surgery, and then a roller coaster of gain and loss as my body healed. I anticipated the infamous "three week stall" so many others experienced. I hadn't wanted to be discouraged, so I had my husband put the scale on a shelf that requires dragging out the step ladder to reach until things were more stabilized. I wouldn't really quantify the three pounds you gained as actual weight gain, considering that it came on the heels of a 17 pound rapid weight loss. Anytime you lose weight too fast it's common to gain some of it back. It's why the trendy juice cleanses and detox quackery usually cause people to drop weight fast, and then gain a portion of it back even faster. To me the positive to focus on is that you lost 17 pounds, but only gained back three of it. Meaning you've already lost 14 pounds since surgery just a few weeks ago. If you had a child who was recovering from a surgery and prescribed a diet specifically designed to help her heal, would you permit her to defy it and eat things that could jeopardize that process? I doubt you would. Love yourself as much as you'd love someone whose care is your responsibility. It's not a diet like ones you've probably followed in the past that is to help you to lose weight, though that's a side benefit. It's a medical diet, not unlike other ones people follow prior to or after a surgery or medical / dental procedure. As an example, one of my colleagues just had her teeth whitened and has to only eat white or clear foods for a couple of days to avoid discoloration, and another has been open about having to only eat certain foods in preparation for a colonoscopy. You might not have gotten sick yet, but you're chancing it by eating things your stomach isn't ready for yet. I didn't eat solids until the one-month mark, and got sick that day, so I then reverted to liquids and soft foods for another two weeks until I felt more steady. Have you ever checked out the blog "The World According to Eggface"? It has some recipes for each of the phases following WLS. Pinterest also has a lot of ideas. I enjoyed getting a little freshly ground peanut or almond butter from Whole Foods and adding that to chocolate protein (unjury was my favorite brand) and Fair Life (higher protein) milk and ice in my Nutribullet and having a dessert-like shake. I also still make a lot of smoothies using high protein yogurt like Fage, and lower carb fruit and some frozen kale (berries will mask the taste of it, and it being frozen helps with the texture) rather than having Protein powder. Tasty Soups, like the red pepper one by Trader Joe's, also helped me to have some variety. My nutritionist had suggested egg puddings for the soft food phase, and I found a low-carb, low-sugar but tasty recipe that uses SF Torani syrup. Persevere through this challenge. It's worthwhile.

Hello Everyone, I had surgery on 11/22 and I've had nothing but problems. Long story short, the surgeon put my sleeve too tight which they saw with the GI test the morning after surgery. I lost about 17 pounds between 11/22 and 11/30. Now I am up almost 3 pounds since 11/30. I'm getting down with the pain and the headache that I've dealt with because of the complication. Now that I am drastically better and the complications have lowered, I just can't get on track. I went from eating basically nothing between 11/22-11/30 to "cheating" and eating real food right now. I am still supposed to be on a liquid diet but I'm eating eating solids. I've eaten a pancake, Soup, a cookie, and I'm getting so frustrated! I know that it's my own fault but I just don't know what to eat! Protein shakes taste disgusting to me and I have hunger pains! What can I do? Help . I do not want to fail at this and cannot fail!

Haydee you sound like a commercial when I was reading about old Mexico. I could hear the voice on tv while the camera panned around lol. I'm sold!! :wink_smile: Russ wanted a girl, I'm pretty sure.. but he's not disappointed I don't think. I just got back from the obgyn. I had a glucose test this morning, so last night I had to stop eating by 7pm--so I went to bed!!! Woke up at 6am and started drinking this orange sugar water stuff. Doc did test on my iron & glucose, and said I was 'unusually' normal. I am not anemic at all, and she said most women have to do 3 hours of testing for the glucose stuff.. but not me! My BP was fine too. So all is well.. except? MY WEIGHT. She nagged me again about my weight gain, said I've gained all I can gain and need to not gain anymore (uhm ok). The nurse made the comment about the glucose, she said "This is baby's first sugar rush, he should be moving around" and I said "This isn't his first sugar rush, but yes he is" and she said "I'll pretend I didn't hear that". Really? Pregnant women don't eat sugar? I have had some pains in my left side, which could be normal ligament pains but due to the pelvic kidney being on the left side and I only hurt in the left side I brought it up.. so she is sending me for renal testing this week to make sure my kidney is still functioning right. I also scheduled the 28 week 4-d ultrasound, and she told me it can be hard to get a good picture if you're over 200lbs, blah blah. I get that, but I did the 4-d at my first ultrasound and was over 200lbs and had no problem? I wonder if 200lbs is based off of someone shorter. Well, I'm doing it regardless. 30 minutes of videos & pictures of Carson! So that's a lot of words, going to get to work now.. ugh work! These holidays have made me lazy.

Hi everyone, thank u for your support the last couple of days. Today was a much better day, despite my beloved Hawks going down to the Swans. I guess it was only a matter of time before I felt the slight depression that others had experienced. I am a very independent person and do everything myself, so I guess I have struggled with not being able to do stuff that needs to be done. The 3 months wasnt compulsory, my doc and I agreed it would be best to deal with some issues before getting sleeved as they are directly related to my weight gain. I would try again but not with the same psychologist. That's no good Scotty, hope u sell the car quickly. Sleep well everyone, we finally have some rain here on the coast tonight- lovely sound to fall asleep too :-)

Definitely wait until you have reached and maintained your goal weight. Your body is going to change so many times before you reach goal. In addition remember when you take fat cell out of one area of your body your body will readjust and any weight gain will be in another part of your body (not that you will gain). Extra weight on the body is always better in the lower extremities than the middle. By the time you reach goal your thighs will be so much thinner and you will probably just want to get rid of the extra skin by then.

Sleeved 12/27 and weighed 246 that morning at home. Yesterday I weighed 253 so still have hospital weight gain.

The same thing is happening with me I lost around 15 lbs from my six month med. Diet now people tell oh you dont need the surgery but but the same thing always happens lose a little weight gain alot more back

Christa --congrats on your wedded bliss. You will have to post some pics for us to see. The band can be trying at times. Knock, Knock, Knock on wood --I've not had any difficulty with mine. However today --I find myself with the "munchies". I've not had this since surgery and not sure what it all about. I'm certainly not "stuffing" myself with stuff because that is now pretty much impossible. Been grazing a bit today which has never been a big habit. So I'm not worried about it --it will pass. The scales haven't moved this week but last week it went down about 3 pounds. I seem to go one week with no weight loss the next with some weight loss (all at once). Heck --I'll take it however it goes. However --I've taken several weekend trips since being banded and have dined out the whole time. Each time I come back with no weight gain and once with weight loss. That's a huge NSV for me. I could never say that pre-banded. Melissa Lea

Hey all! Update on me. (And thank you all who have been supportive by the way) I'm doing AWESOME. My weight is extremely stable. I don't weigh myself if I can avoid it (I find numbers upsetting and triggering and pointless) but my clothes all fit and my measurements are the same. That said it's honestly a non issue because I don't care if I get smaller or bigger or whatever because weight just isn't what defines my happiness anymore. I've just finished my second round of plastic surgery in Mexico. I had a lower face lift (for a slight turkey neck and early jowling) and a Brazilian butt lift and I had fat added to my hips to give me a more womanly shape. I LOVE the results I am seeing. In my eating disordered days I always wanted a stick straight and boy like model body. I have changed that mindset and am embracing my Latina heritage and embracing what my body is more inclined to look like. Through the surgery I continued eating intuitively and my recovery has been wayyyy easier this time. I feel it is because I am much healthier and my body is well nourished and strong. I have repaired a lot of the damage dieting did to me. I'm in a new relationship and he has been super supportive. In my dieting days I would tend to pick abusive assholes. This time I have picked someone who supports my choices and builds me up. It's amazing what a well fed mind can do!! I don't live on the edge any more and I don't keep people around who encourage my self esteem and body image issues. My eating behavior has not changed. Once in awhile I will loosely tally up my calories (sadly I still have every single item of food calories burned into my brain) and I find I eat around 2000-3000 calories a day. Usually right around the 2500 mark. I don't do this by thinking about it. That just seems to be what my body needs to be satisfied. What funny is I actually TRIED to put on some weight for my Brazilian butt lift and I FAILED. I don't have much fat in my body, which they needed for the surgery, so I tried to eat more by adding in breakfast and higher calorie foods for about a month before my surgery. I didn't do anything that felt harmful or excessive- just encouraged myself to always eat breakfast, a lot of avocado, adding cheese and mayo more, that sort of thing. And.... Nothing happened. No weight gain. In fact it felt like I LOST weight. [emoji23] In my dieting days with a wrecked metabolism I was able to put on 5lbs in 3 days!!! My body is now at its set point and it just won't allow me to change that so easily. God knows what I would have to do to gain weight at this point. Anyway my butt lift isn't as big as I would have liked it but it still looks great! A few weeks ago I also went on a cruise with my kids. It made me extremely sad to see all the people on the boat gorging themselves and looking so miserable. I've been on 3 cruises in my life. The first one I was 27 thin and bulimic- I threw up everything I ate on the ship and was super sick. The second one I was 33 and obese. I ate till my stomach was going to pop and was super miserable and depressed. This time I'm 37 and a healthy intuitive eater. I ate whatever I wanted to satisfy my hunger and tried not to worry about the food at all. And I was happy. Roughly what I eat: Bagel with avocado for breakfast (Or something like an omelet with tons of Ketchup my favorite food) Maybe some Thai food or tacos or fried calamari for lunch, or salad and sandwich (usually eat out for lunch) Dinner I eat out a lot too or at home rarely. I like all kinds of restaurants. I don't like too cook, it takes up too much time and I work a lot. I like Italian, Mexican, sushi, salads... whatever. [emoji4] so I get a salad and an entree. Entrees are so crazy huge, I almost always have leftovers. Big snack at bedtime. Either the rest of my dinner or a burrito or sandwich or something. This is probably my largest meal of the day. Sometimes dessert. I eat chocolate a lot at like 3 am. I dunno why but my body craves it. And wine. I love wine. All though I have been cutting back lately because it does make me tired and not sleep as well. I'm attaching some fun photos for you all and much love and many blessing to you in your journey!!! It's a journey worth taking to get healthy with food. My life is 1000000x better. Trying to get that booty haha!! Bahahahaa. Cruise photo. All of these are taken within the last month.

So much to catch up on! Laxative tea question .... like @ElectricBoogaloo ... I'm not regular, but never constipated, if that makes sense. I go irregularly, sometimes a few days in a row, then sometimes twice in a week. But I never feel uncomfortable even if it has been days. My first laxative I ever took was mag citrate to clear me out before WLS! That was not fun, so I'm good with my irregular self. As I've mentioned, I have an ex who's a GI. When I had too much to drink one night I worked up the nerve to ask him if going only twice a week was a problem. He assured me that as long as it's not a change, and I don't have any discomfort, it's fine, and what's normal for me. I do think that slow motility (his term) is connected to weight gain. I think foods sit around longer in me, and more calories get absorbed vs. someone who cycles food in/out in 12 hrs. That's just my theory though. Google tells me nothing conclusive on the topic

@FluffyChix And speaking of Ken, how is that whole "thang" goin? What's the latest and greatest news? Anything? Things are great, like need to pinch myself level of great. He met the fam on Easter. I got great feedback all around, my family liked him, and he liked my family. It was also really nice he is a totally self sufficient social butterfly. I was hosting, so I'm grateful he didn't need any handholding. Next big step will be meeting his mom when she come out to visit next month. This forum shows me that there is hope in Veteranville--that it is possible to maintain this weight longterm and that weight gain doesn't "arbitrarily" happen for the most part I agree, I feel confident that I've got this. Because I'm diligent about logging my food and weighing myself, I feel that I can easily course correct when needed. In the past I just buried my head in the sand because the thought of long term dieting was overwhelming. But making tweaks to my eating and/or exercise as I go feels totally manageable. When you say 4oz of semi solid food, is that volume or scalemeasurement? And I'm assuming 3oz solid protein is by scale? Yes, the weights are by scale. I'm guessing if I squished the burrito portion into a measuring cup it would probably be about 3/4-1 cup. Yes, protein is by weight. I don't eat a lot of solid protein at home, so I haven't weighed it out recently. But for instance, if I'm out and order an 8 oz steak (which are always 8 oz+), I can get through about a 3rd of it. In early days when I was eating pure protein at home and weighing, 3/4-1 oz had me stuffed. So I also can judge my current capacity because I can eat 3 x 4 times that now. I make a big enough dent in a small steak that it doesn't raised questions, which is so nice! We were out at the park all day at a festival and I had 2 Mich Ultras for the day. I raised a bottle to you. Did you see me? Nice! I fortunately I got over my IPA phase years ago, and prefer a lager these days, so much less cals! (I used to tease a guy I dated about drinking Ultra's, now I'm that guy! )

I forgot about Friday Weigh-In! HW: 290 (4/2012) SW: 262 (8/29/12) Last Week: 241.5 CW: 238.5 3 pounds this week! 23.5 pound in 1 month since surgery! 51.5 total! It's slow, but it's coming off! I'm spending the afternoon switching over summer and winter clothes - and finding myself a new wardrobe in my own closet! I very conveniently pretty much skipped over an entire jeans size - which works out great, because I ripped out every pair I had in that size during weight gain - and I have 8 perfect pairs in my current size!

Hi all---we are back safe & sound!!! What a great weekend! Yesterday we rode up to the Rally in the Rockies---spent an enjoyable day. Took a few little excursion rides, bought some shirts, and junk, saw old friends, some we meet up with at several rallies, others just this rally. Every year at this rally I see my old boyfriend....he was so doggone cute in 2nd grade!!! Now we compare pics of our grandbabies, and we always had a beer together. He was is shock at me this year, and I had no beer!!! Today we rode up to the innaugural year of the Sugar Pine Ranch Rally. It was in the mountains, on an actual working ranch, lakes, and mountains, and horses, and cows, and acres and acres of fields, filled with vendors, and beer tents, and live bands---it had a defintive feel of Woodstock. Not that I was there....but the open fields, and music stages....not the drugs around that I hear were there. But it was lots of fun!! Ran into some friends from Flagstaff AZ. Rick and I went to run to a small nearby town to grab something for my eyes---allergies were killer! It was threatening rain, so I grabbed my leather jacket. When we come back he went to help me off with my jacket, and told me we needed to shop, my jacket looked like hell! Such a romantic he is!!! So we shopped the leather vendors, and I got a new leather jacket!!! My old one, is a mans classic leather bike jacket. The new one is made for a woman!! Before I could never get one to fit! This one is cut in a girl shape, hourglass kind of. It is short, with the leather braid to match my chaps. And it is an XL. Which still sounds big, but one of the friends we went up with is a little bitty thing, she wears a size 7 pants, but has some boobs---she had to buy a Large vest, so with her buying that, I felt much, much better about requiring a XL!!! Rick told me repeatedly how good it looked, I felt like it was too snug, and my belly too big to wear the shorter style---but hey he likes it, and it is him I want to look my best for---so I wore it Was a great weekend, and I did really well with my eating until tonight....we were getting ready to leave, and I could not leave without my fix!!! But one single slice of chocolate covered cheesecake was it! Usually several are required to satisfy me!!!! Along with numerous other things bad for me---this time I did really well, til the last minute!!! Gina---I'd love the recipe! All you guys with your stories---mine is pretty lame! I was a thin child, married the first time at 17, I am 5'9" and struggled to get up to 116 pounds to fill out my dress!!! That husband cheated, repeatedly. Had one child with him, lost another...gained about 20 pounds over the time. Married again---#2 was EXTREMELY abusive. He made a comment one time about a fat woman---warning me if I ever looked like that he would leave my ass. I went straight to GNC, and bought a canister of weight gain, used by wrestlers! Seriously---I worked hard to gain weight, and was good at it. I found myself pregnant, and seriously unhappy about it. Strongly considered abortion, but was told I was further along than they thought---I was uninsured, and ultrasound was not cheap. A month later, when I still measured large, they were concerned enough to pay a little more attention, and found I was carrying twins. I was severely depressed...I did not want any children with the man I was married to, he was incredibly mean. He threatened to hurt my family if I did not stay in line, and he proved it a time or 2 with friends, hospitalizing one---horrid man. He hospitalized me twice here as well. Eventually he wanted to move from the area, go where his family was, so mine would not see the babies. I saw it as my only chance to escape harm for my family. At an appointment it was discovered I was carrying in a placenta previa position, which was going to require C-section. He was furious. Financially it was devastating. He left with his step Dad, come home drunk, and proceeded to try to kill me. Perhaps if he hadn't been so drunk he would have succeeded. I lived, my babies did not. I suffered massive guilt, I had never wanted those innocent boys---I grew to love them, but I knew they were headed to a hard life hiding from an abusive father---I would never have let him in their lives. I was working on getting out alive, it may sound trite, but it is 100% seriously said. The mental state I was in, was beyond description. Guilt, anger, despair, more guilt....and the weight come on...with a vengeance! I ate to cover up all the feelings I had no idea how to control, and it had an added benefit, no men looked at me. They were dangerous. I raised my daughter, and ate. Then an old friend and I went out, and we run into Rick and another friend from High School. Which I knew them, they were safe. Unless you count the fact that he stole my heart! And he has yet to return it! He never EVER mentioned to me that the skinny girl from HS got fat. He loved me the way I was. But he sure seems to like me getting thinner, he says that yeah it is sexier, but he loves knowing I am healthier. With the year he has had health wise, it is something he worries about. Next year is my 30th class reunion, and I fully intend on going, and not being fat anymore. OK, I am off to bed, it was a long, fun weekend, and I am tired!!!! Hope Tracy had as much fun as I did!!!! Kat

Good Monday morning! :thumbup: I am so sick of the political posts I want to yack. Blah. BUT I am down to only 6 pounds left on the weight gain from the unfill. YAY! Got .5 ccs on Friday, feeling tight. WOO HOO!

Originally Posted by househuntress Well tonight..I blew it. I ate WAY more than I have ever since getting banded. It was almost like I was just trying to see how much I could eat. Now..let me add this..it's NO WHERE NEAR..what I could eat before the band. It's just about double what I have eaten a day since banded.But I'm still very pissed at myself.I keep trying to listen to myself and say it was just ONE day, just ONE day ..I don't feel so alone now. Last night I ate three chicken tenders, a baked potato and a few bites of salad. Late last night I ate a protein bar. I continue to sip water. So my choices in food are far better than they use to be, and like you the amount of food consumed is nothing like it use to be. I'm feeling really guilty right now. Up five pounds! But I do believe it is PMS weight gain and I didn't take my water pill yesterday..but still!

Welcome Cindy---from one unofficial member (not technically an April 07 bandster!) to another! Glad to have you here! Hang out, and let US get to know YOU now!!! Well my stitches are out, it doesn't look as bad as I feared. He said the residual swelling will likely take months to go down--loverly!! Wow---deep thoughts today girls! My story is pretty easy---I blame me! I did not get fat until well into my 20's. I married at 17, he cheated on me regularly. But no one in my family had ever divorced, so I was afraid to stand up for myself, even though I knew divorce was the right direction. Eventually when the 2nd child (besides ours), I did it and divorced him. I began seeing DH then, and realized how different life could be. But it was not meant to be at that time, and he had college to finish, and my now ex refused to allow me to leave the state (as per NM divorce) with our DD. So Rick and I went our separate ways---at least physically! Then I met and married the biggest mistake of my life. I did not listen to family nor friends, I accepted the first thing offered, I guess trying to recapture what I lost with Rick--I don't know. Soon after the abuse began, verbal, emotional...escalating to physical and sexual. The pushes and shoves grew to all out beatings, broken bones, and hospitalizations. But he had me where he wanted me, he did not threaten me when I tried to leave, he threatened my elderly grandparents and my crippled brother---he would hurt them---I knew he would, it was not a threat, but a promise. I got myself into the situation, I refused to get one of them hurt or worse, trying to get out of it. Eventually he wanted to move to TX where his family was (San Antonio), so we moved. I saw it as my way out---none of my family there to hurt. I got him to agree to let Manda stay with my parents until we found a place to live. She was with them for 6 weeks. Nothing changed, he was only worse, when in the presence of his abusive step Dad---horrible, horrible family. I began putting on weight about this time, I had zero self confidence, I doubted my own judgement in anything, I knew IF I lived through it, I was going to be twice divorced---the thought killed me! One day walking in KMart there was a big woman in there, and he told me if I ever looked like that he would leave my ass. Suddenly those thoughts come back, and I worked to gain weight! I even went so far as to drink weight gain from GNC!! The big ordeal went down--he tried to kill me, stabbed me 8 times. Eventually I flew home tattered and torn, and he went to prison. And the depression deepened---how did I do this to my life? By now Rick is remarried...and I am horribly alone, and scared to death to even think about another man---I trust no one. BUT food comforted me, and did not lash out, and did not cheat, and was always there when I needed it! Through the years I moved on and worked through my issues, as well as one can I suppose, but by then habits were set, and I was huge! Rick was never far from my mind, nor me his he says, we kept tabs through mutual friends. He divorced, and called me, and we have never looked back. When he left for school, I was maybe 125 pounds. When he walked up to my house all those years later, I was twice that! He was smiling ear to ear, and looking in my eyes---he did not ever say a negative word to me about my weight-ever. I can now look back, and understand exactly what motivated me to make the mistakes as I made them, but...didn't see it then! The old hindsight thing! I had such an easy childhood, almost idylic, I never EVER expected a husband to cheat....that was for soap operas! And yet that paled in comparison to what happen next---but my fear was what isolated me to living with the food. If Rick had not come back into my life---I would likely have remained alone, trust is still not something I give easily. I already knew him, trusted him, and loved him, and his kids. We married a few years later, we lived together for awhile before that...following a long distance relationship! And I could not ask for anyone to ever treat me any better---I often wonder how I lucked out this time around! I desperately wanted to lose weight for me---but also for him. He was just as disallusioned with life as I was, and I want to give him as good as he gives me---that means not only healthy---but fun to look at!! So....that is my session on the couch. Many of you knew my story---for those that didn't....sorry it is a bit of a shocker I know...but the finale of the story is that I WON! I am strong, and able, and confident now----he will never ever have power over me like that again, even if he does get out----I will handle it! I have moved from fear, to anger---and now have a "bring it on sucker!" attitude for him! The End! LOL Kat

Good morning, all you Shrink'n Violets!!! It's a new day, a new week and a new adventure, 1 pound at a time!! Sara.. so sorry to hear about Dave. You and he are in my thoughts and prayers. Pamela.. your closet looks awesome!! Thanks for sharing all the pics!! Kat.. I'm still in awe of the 100#!!! I hope to be able to say that someday. TracyK....isn't it great to know that the weight gain is not permanent anymore??? I just love the fact that this is not going to be yet another yo-yo attempt at dieting. This is the real thing and that little band will help US achieve our goal!! Theresa... woooo hooooo on the ring. It's all those little NSV's that keep us going!! Today I'm going to wear a pair of capri's that are a size 14/16W and I had set aside for when we go to Disney on the 21st of August. They didn't fit when I bought them a couple of weeks ago and now, here I am wearing them!!! Time to get dressed and head on down for our fill. Everyone have a great day and remember... WWJD??!!!

Shesha!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!! Sooo congrats! I have thought of you every time I log on to this thread! I'm sooo glad you had a wonderful lil baby boy...and he was big! Proof that babies can be had after the band! And big too! Pleeeez send us some pics when you get a chance! And you did absolutely wonderfully in regards to weight gain during it. You are my hero! And, I missed you! Welcome back...and again... CONGRATS!!!!!!:thumbup: Yay babies! :biggrin2:

Don't get discouraged. The weight gain with TOM is just swelling and fluid weight. It will drop off. That happens to me every month - and every time I work! I can gain 7 to 10 lbs over night! Don't dispair, it will improve!

Hi ladies. Thanks so much for the good thoughts and prayers. I am back home. Yesterday was quite the day. Rich and I traveled up to Flagstaff first thing in the morning and arrived around 9am. We checked in at the office and were told my Endoscopy was scheduled for 1:15 in the afternoon. I ended up spending most of my morning on the phone trying to figure out insurance. They needed my PCP to write a referral since the GI Dr was out of network. Well I have only seen my PCP once ever since I moved to Tucson, last September when I had a double ear infection. She isn't even aware of my recent surgery. Oye. What fun it was trying to explain about my surgeon Dr Kirshenbaum in Colorado, my new surgeons Dr Berger and Dr Aldridge in Flagstaff, my emergency CT scan records at NW Medical from the ER visit, and why exactly I was in Flagstaff to see Dr Trujillo for the Endoscopy. Big mess. Needless to say they could not get pre-approval for the procedure in time, so we are thinking this is going to come out of our packet. The staff at Dr Trujillo's office was wonderful and very very helpful. If it ends up getting denied they will work with us on a payment plan. We decided to go ahead with the procedure since we were in town and I didn't want to wait days for an authorization that may never come through. Dr Kirshenbaum and Dr Aldridge seemed to be in agreement that the Endoscopy should be done right away to rule our erosion. The procedure went ok. The medication they gave me to knock me out... didn't knock me out. Go figure. I always seem to fall into the lucky few category that have averse reactions. I am still thankful that I didn't wake up during my surgery. That would have been something that would have happened to me. heh. So I was awake and gagging through the whole procedure. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. I guess my body does not respond to "twilight" sedation. I had the same thing happen to me when I had a HSG years ago The "twilight" sedation never kicked in and I felt everything. No fun. I was practically jumping off the table for that one. At least this one wasn't as much painful as it was awkward. I have a big gag reflex and it was in full swing. Dr Trujillo determined that I have acid reflux, swelling, and irritation. He prescribed Nexium to help with the reflux. I was surprised to say the least. I have no symptoms at all of reflux, and would never have thought that I had it. Dr Berger did mention during my fill last month that I was refluxing the contrast. I didn't feel it refluxing and told him I didn't have any heartburn. Go figure. So the reflux thing was diagnosed and will be taken care of with the Nexium. I do not have a hole in my stomach or any indication of erosion. *big sigh of relief* However, Dr Trujillo mentioned that when he went down into my stomach there was not really a pouch above the band. He thinks it may have slipped. So now I am waiting for Dr Aldridge to look over the results of the Endoscopy since Dr Berger is out of town. I have been sitting on pins and needles all day waiting for him to call. I have been reading up on slippage and have found a lot of contradicting information as far as symptoms. I had a lot of pain, weight gain, no restriction, and acid reflux. All of which could be signs. Then again... other people report severe restriction and the inability to swallow even saliva. So I really don't know what to think. For now I feel good. My weight has leveled out for the most part which has been very frustrating. I am afraid to eat... worried that I may have a slipped band. I am still scheduled for a fill next week and plan on keeping the appointment unless something changes. I am hoping that the pain was from the acid reflux and the non-restriction and weight gain is nothing more than needing a fill. I am also hoping that Dr Truillo may not have looked at enough bandings under Endoscopy to know what the pouch should or shouldn't look like. Please may that be the case. So for now I am still waiting. Waiting for the all clear. These last few days have been frustrating and trying. I am ready for it to be over.

I agree with Pamela---we ARE always here, and each of you has my phone # now from the list--please feel free any time to use it! I am not sure that it was a consious thing with me last year (where you guys are now) or whether it was SAD or what---but when Rick reminded me, I went WOW! This year it IS different! Last year, I was somewhat worried about what I could and could not eat, what was good for me, what would cause me problems, and what I was going to miss. And then if I ate and gained, was I destined to spiral out of control never to emerge on the happy bandster side of life again? I felt like I personally had no control! My band had some control, that I truly did not appreciate! The difference is this year, I know it will pass!! I know I CAN eat, there are a multitude of things available that are not horrible choices...because it is afterall a holiday celebration! I also know that if I gain 5 pounds---it will come off, and I am NOT failing again. Judy is not having the panic over that, she has faced the issues on her cruises...all the yummy food, and the weight gain....and has come out the other side with the knowledge that a backslide is not a failure, it is a speed bump! I for one am uncomfortable being too tight--it scares me! My loss has likely been slowed by that, but it is my choice---but even with that, when I gain here and there, it eventually comes back off, and when I mentally go off the deep end, and eat junk, junk and more junk (oh yeah has happened many a time!!!)---eventually something clicks again (often times a compliment from someone---it spurs me on again!) and I get it under control, and feel like I have not only survived but won. This is not the Atkins of old, that once I ate a chip it was a roller coaster ride back to the original weight plus. With the band, I may gain weight, but for the most part when I am being bad in my choices, it still maintains me pretty well---keeps me from giving up hope! Knowing I can do this, and the band IS doing this--made this year much easier. It is relaxing, knowing it is there, to keep me within my personally set boundaries. I could not handle the constant PB's---I would prefer to have a milder warning that enough is enough---stop eating! I think it is a time line that is normal! Remember as has been pointed out---there are little stages we all go through, and I think this one y'all are hitting is normal....and remember if you say it isn't---you are calling me abnormal!! LOL Like Pamela said----come here and scream and cry and vent--who better to understand? And not judge? ((((hugs)))) this too shall pass, and you will look back, and be so thrilled to see that you and your band made it, and life goes back to the exercise, and eat right way---because it does. We are all human, and the season change, added to the time change, and the holiday work overload, stresses us all....stress sometimes affects the band. It ALWAYS affects my eating! But it is survivable, and surmountable!! Hang in there girls---it is gonna be ok!!! Kat

Good Monday! Well, I guess you could say that I had a couple of really crappy food days. :think I tried to make better choices as I ate all day, and for the most part I did, but I gave in to the potato chip monster. And it's completely stress eating, I'm having huge coping issues. I didn't realize I was as bad as I am for comfort eating. You see, my husband's grandpa is passing away. And seeing as how Chris and I have been together for 17 years, and everyone elder in my family is passed (bad heart disease in my family) except for my mom, he may as well be my grandpa too. He's quite old, 91, but he's always been in such great shape. We've been told to expect a call at any time, so now I am on pins and needles. And this really brings back when I lost my brother which has been almost 10 years now. I've never really recovered from when he died and that is when my true weight gain really got out of control and I started needing meds for depression and anxiety. So...I guess you could say I have a coping mechanism that revolves around food. I mourn with food. I know this. But how do I work around it? I wish admitting this would make it go away. Perhaps just admitting it in this post will help. I've never seen it on paper (screen) before. Sorry to be such a downer on this beautiful day. I'm not really as sad as this sounds. Just more dissapointed that I want to cram a bunch of junk food in my face! Why does it make me feel better, even if temporarily? I used to smoke (years ago) and any amount of stress caused me to run for a smoke and feel better. Now I just cram food in. I get the same effect as I did from the smoke. Have any of you come up with new things to do other than eat? Nothing seems to give me that quick blast of "feel better" than food. Thanks for listening. I needed to get it off my chest somehow. Like I said, I'm not as sad as this appears. I know he's an old man who's had a great life. I'll miss him, but I'm okay with it. Have a great day all! And again, thanks.