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I am one year out, and was stalled for the last 3 months, no weight gain and maybe some inches lost, but scale not moving. Even when I increased my exercise. Been no carb for 3 days and low carb after that for another 3 days and weight is coming off again. My whole body just feels better on low carbs. I like many others did the Adkins diet several times before WLS and lost weight but always regained it. The trick I think is to do low carb while losing and then you can very slowly add more carbs. If you do it slow enough and not just quit the weight is not just regained. Cheri

I think insurance varies from company to company and plan to plan. The doctor's office should be able to tell you if you qualify. My doctor basically said if I had X or Y insurance, I would probably not be approved, but since I had Anthem, she said she was almost certain that with my health issues, I would be approved. The only thing that annoyed me about the whole process was my meeting with the nutritionist! I was very honest with her, I tend to skip meals and don't pay too much attention to what I eat. I don't buy junk food, so I'd go without eating and then be starving later in the day and eat whatever I wanted because I thought I didn't eat...I could eat everything! She made me wait another month and document my eating. I also gained 1.3 lbs (which I had a heart surgery on Tuesday and was weighed by her on Friday so it could have just been water) and she made me lose that weight before she would let me go forward. The office has a policy of no weight gain, but for insurance, I couldn't lose either...it was hard! I would ask a lot of insurance questions when you go in! Good luck! I'm not on a liquid diet, just a preop, I can have 2 frozen meals each day in addition to 3 shakes and all the veggies I want!

This is going to be a psychological question. I had my second fill on 7/16 and am up to 8 CC in a 14 CC band. The restriction is wonderful. For the first few days I was content on my old meal plan... just eating less of it. But now that I am eating even less I am making horrible choices. I ate some french fries, cookie, chinese take out, and TGI Friday's wings. Went out to the bar for the first time and had some bar food and alcohol. Since banding I have not touched any of these things. I ate significantly less that I used to, but it was still alot of calories, fat, and carbs in a very small package. 800 calories in those wings and fries when a same size healthy meal would have been around 400 calories. What tips do those of you in the green zone have to keep your smaller meals satisfying and nutritionally sound? I will not fall victim to slider foods. Too much success to have this happen. I stepped on the scale at was up 4 lbs in the past 2 weeks.

Don't quite remember what the Dr. said "AA" or "aa" stood for. I know that one word was anti-bodies, I'm assuming that's a possible indication of Rheumatoid Arthritis since I'm being sent on to a Rheumatologist. I'll ask my sister. She'll know. Lori, I can't even imagine what your husband and you went through. It sounds like a bad movie but it was real, both the car-jacking and the trial. Enjoy all your trips. You guys deserve it. Arlene, it seems to me that you've acquired more energy! Has the FM improved with the weight loss? Apples seems to think that either her diet changes or her weight loss or both helped her get rid of her symptoms. Hope the same happens for you. Linda, welcome back. You looked great in your pics. My body shape has changed also. I have a flat butt, skinnier thighs and arms, and a rounded upper belly and flatter, flat tire, lower abdomen. I probably would look something like this if I'd never gained the weight but without the flat tire and other areas of melting butter. I think the changes are age-related, particularly the loss of estrogen and androgen due to a complete hyst 12 yrs. ago. Women who don't gain still seem to thicken around the middle in their middle years--despite tons of exercise. Ah well. Fruit is a wierd thing. Some of it is lower on the glycemic index and some of it is high. I tend to like the high--sweet very ripe red or green grapes. Bing cherries that are black but still firm and so sweet and juicy. I quite literally could eat bowls and bowls of it. Too much of even lower glycemic fruits, especially when not balanced with protein, will shoot your blood sugar up. Shooting your blood sugar up makes it very difficult to lose weight. Janet, I had to laugh about the toilet too. I remember someone saying during a total electrical blackout that there couldn't be a blackout, the cars still had their headlights on. Laura, you've also been bitten by the energy bug. Keep it up. Julie, weight gain can make you pb more. It was explained to me that as you lose weight, the fat pad around the stomach shrinks, loosening the band, which is why we keep needing fills. So the reverse is also true. You mentioned you'd gained some weight so that might be the reason. Well, gotta teach tomorrow. Early. CBL Cheri

Thanks everyone! It really has been such a great experience! Today, 2 days post-op, I have not taken any pain meds. It just feels like I pulled a muscle in my left side and that is totally manageable. And I have already lost the surgery weight gain plus 1 pound! And I got a shower!!!! Today I started full liquids and felt the restriction for the first time. It is heavenly to sit down to 1/2 cup of blended cream of chicken Soup and be so full afterwards. I can sleep on my side easily, have done from the first day home and was able to give my babies, 3 and 5 year olds, baths tonight. No doubt I had a superb surgeon but I think one's attitude is the real key. This is my choice and I welcomed the band into my body like a little, very expensive:laugh:internal personal trainer. Great luck to us all!!!:cursing:

Well, I think we can say your surgeon was irresponsible, but your main concern is your weight gain--well DUH stop eating sweets and whatever you want to! Get on a diet. You aren't restricted. Your stomach will stretch. Normal sleeve procedure is to remove 80% or more of your stomach, leaving the relatively un-stretchy part. You are more like a regular person than a sleever, and there was no point to having your surgery. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Just get on an Atkins-type diet and start exercising. You aren't sleeved, you just have a small stomach which can and will stretch.

Greetings to everyone, I am at a place right now where my complacency seems to be catching up with me, and I knew that if I came out here and 'fessed up, you all could kick-start me back on the right path. I was banded on 2/27/10, and have lost just under 65 pounds. I feel a LOT better, have more energy, etc., and I know my health has improved, so I'm happy about all of that. I got my third fill on 7/21, for a total of 5.5 in a 10 band. However, based on my perceptions, I can still eat too much, and I've discovered that I can easily get down some things that are probably not helping the situation. In the midst of all of this, I have just moved from WV, where I had lived for 25+ years, down to FL, with all the commotion surrounding that. I'm just about to get back started up at the local gym, after having been slack for 2-3 weeks while I was packing up the house. I think that some of what I'm experiencing may just be in reaction to the stress of the life change. Here are the challenge areas: 1) I'm not getting enough Protein 2) I'm not getting enough Fluid 3) I tend to be leaning towards slider foods I'm not seeing a weight gain through all of this, thank heavens, but I'm not losing either. Do I just need to stop beating myself up over this, considering all the churn in other areas of my life, and do my best to reset, or am I just indulging in a pity party (in which case, please feel free to give me a swift kick in the keester). Thanks for your support- Christine

Its a worry most people have, but unfortunately, once you've gotten fat, the loose skin has already happened. If you've got stretch marks and such, your skin is already damaged and it wont snap back perfectly, no matter what you do. Its the weight GAIN that causes the loose skin, not the weight loss, which is the reason why you cant do a darn thing about it. Just take one step at a time. Lose the weight then assess the damage. It is possible for skin to snap back if its not that damaged in the first place, mine is pretty OK after 3 pregnancies and a large weight loss, which is miraculous to me. Its not perfect, but it will do.

Just yesterday I responded to a blog about someone who was potassium difficient with a great website with potassium rich foods. Ironically, today I go to the doctor and since I hadn't had a call about my labs from a month ago I asked. Turns out the lab never sent them over. My motto...no news is not good news, it just means they haven't gotten the results and I need to call about it. So she calls me back and said she knows why my joints and bones have been hurting. See I just thought it was because I lost weight and the tendons were stretching in a new direction, hence the pain. WRONG!! Anyway, the labs showed I am potassium and vitamin D difficient. The vitamin D is the worst. My doc said they have never seen it that low in many many years. We should be at "30" and mine was "8". So now I have to take presciption meds for both. The potassium pill is the size of a horse pill. Guess I am crushing that one and the vitamin D is 50,000 IU and is a tiny little thing. Crazy! Anyway, make sure you get your vitamin levels checked. Low potassium leaves you achy, tired and dizzy. Low vitamin D causes bone loss, joint pain. Explains a lot. She said I should be feeling spectacular soon after starting the meds. I will let everyone know. Now on to my visit. I lost 8.5 lbs in 3 weeks. I felt so guilty on vacation because I was eating a small (salad)size plate of food at each meal. I wasn't hungry for 5-6 hours after but I thought I was overeating and in desperate need of a fill. Turns out that is exactly how I should be eating and feeling. I am in the green zone and didn't even realize it. The green zone is not eating tiny amount of food and being satisfied. It is eating 1250 cals a day in the way of salad size plates of food and not being hungry for at least 4 hours. I was so glad to find out I need to eat more. She said "see you ate more food and lost more weight in 3 weeks." AND I am bloated if you know what I mean and that usually means weight gain for at least a week. I was thinking all wrong about my food intake. I was so happy. I go back in a month to see how this stage is going. Wish me luck! Oh my total loss now is 45.5 lbs.

Hi Everyone, It is exactly 3 months today since my surgery, so I would like to give a summary of the main changes and improvements in my lifestyle now. I started with a BMI of 35.44 weighing 213 lbs. I am 55 years old and was having huge problems with aches and pains in my lower limb joints. I need to wear orthotic inserts in my shoes and have stopped wearing high heels. The lack of mobility was contributing to my weight gain, and my weight gain was contributing to my lack of mobility. Both problems were getting worse. Now, I have lost 37.4 lbs since surgery and have a BMI of 29.22. (I did not do a pre-op diet.) I have noticed a marked improvement in my joints and overall agility and flexibility. I still need to wear flat shoes but can now feel comfortable in sandals without orthotics for short periods and also can wear a much greater range of footwear again. I have a wedding coming up in October and hope to be able to wear high heels for the day. I am also sleeping much better recently. I have dropped approx 1 size in clothing from a UK size 18 to a 16, and sometimes a 14 and lost 4 inches from my waist, which was and still is my real problem area. I am enjoying this change in eating habits and newly acquired lifestyle and I am very pleased with my overall results. Regards, Booklean

Hello guys. Been a while since I have been on and almost as long since I've been hitting the weight loss road. I was banded back in Oct of 2007. Between the loss pre- and post op I lost around 85 pounds. Had 3 fills and was doing very well. Then all kinds of hell broke loose. In hospital with dehydration and stomach bug, blood clot, car wreck, job loss, father dying, house foreclosure. All in about a 6 month time frame. It sucked. I didn't want to go back in for a fill because the amount of stress along with my band gave me PLENTY of restriction. We ended up moving to a small town 2 hours from my doc. No fills anywhere near where I live. I've also been working two full time jobs (~100 hours/wk) for going on 18 months now. Unfortunately both jobs are fairly sedentary so I've managed to put back around 40 pounds. No problems with the the band during that time. So yes. I'm now backslid and un-filled since Feb of 08. I want to get started back now. I've gone back on liquids for the past week to shrink up any pouch expansion (pretty sure most of my weight gain was to eating around the band...I still have some restriction but have consistently chewed really well, but didn't obey the no-drinking rule). I'm embarrassed that I have let things go so long. I am hesitant to go back to my doc but I know I need to get restriction going again if I'm going to be successful. I dread going back. Do any of you have similar experiences? I'm not concerned about being successful--I know that with restriction I can be. Is there anything else I should be doing before going back to my doc? Thanks for listening. Wish me luck (and a few prayers if you have any to spare!) Ben

LeighaMason, good job on your exercise progress! It will increase your metabolism and allow you to enjoy more food. What explains the weight gain? Well I'm with BestyB and kcg on this one. It's almost assuredly fluids. From your post I'm assuming this is a significant increase in intensity and calorie intake all at once. It will take some time for your body to adjust to that, and in the meantime the shock of it all causes a lot of people to gain fluids. Rest assured that it isn't a legitimate fat gain so long as you're not eating a bunch of simple carbs, and still have an overall weekly calorie deficit. It would help to limit Fluid gain by slowly increasing intensity and calorie intake, rather than an abrupt and sudden change. This may sound weird, but the most effective way to rid yourself of extra fluid - drink more fluid - preferably pure Water. I find myself holding the least amount of excess fluid when I drink a gallon of water a day in addition to my other beverages. Unfortunately, that yields more trips to the restroom than I have time for so I frequently have to scale water intake back. Muscle gain is an interesting topic. It's really hard to gain period, but especially so for women (due to hormones). Training the muscle you have and making it more efficient is much easier - and often confused with a muscle gain. I know this is hard to do, but I would give your routine a solid 4-6 weeks in order to have a good evaluation period. Then you can make adjustments from there. If you have a good intense workout regimen going then don't worry about gaining a bunch of fat unless you're eating junky or extremely large amounts (which is hard for us to do). Good luck and keep up the hard work! Brad

This one is controversial! I am sure you will get multiple answers. Some surgeons absoluetly say no, but there are some who say the sleeve is very difficult to stretch compared to other surgeries. I've chosen not to but my reason is because I was uber addicted to diet coke and for me I associated it with the kinds of food that would cause weight gain, and secondly I had loads of tummy problems had to get an endoscopy and was told I needed to be on SIX presciptions (at 28) but before I started them my dr wanted me to try a week without soda and all my symptoms went away. This is not a common occurence but was enough to keep me away. After all my jabber, it ultimately comes down to what you are comfortable with, and your surgeon and NUT's advice is probably more valuable then what your internet pals can give you. Anna

I think I might join you Lisa. I don't own a scale either and don't plan to buy one until I hit goal so I can monitor any unwanted weight gain. I've been weighing myself here and there every week or so. I just went through the dreaded three week stall. I knew from the way my body was acting the minute it hit. Against my better judgement I got on a scale (at Walmart :001_tt2:) during that time and hadn't lost a thing from my previous weigh in the week before. Needless to say, I was pissed. But, I had read enough here to know that it was common and that it would pass. I didn't weigh again until I felt my body shifting and started to see a change in my clothes. I just broke my stall and lost 2 pounds. I wasn't thrilled that it was only two pounds, but I'll take it. After being mad for two or three days about the scale not changing I started thinking that I need to cut back to weighing even less frequently than every week. I just don't need the extra drama. I'm actually much more emotionally tied to how my clothes fit and getting smaller sizes than I am with how much I weigh, so why should I be stressing about the scale. I think I'm going to go for once a month weigh-ins too - at least until I get closer to goal! Count me in!

Good Morning Peeps Judy you crack me up - I love your sense of humor !!! Hope all is well w/the fridge - You aren't the only one home on a Saturday nite :smile2: Gwen - It takes awhile to learn who's who - you will get it I'm IndioGirl but everyone calls me Janet - I don't mind using my real name never have - everyone I know knows I'm banded Some others didn't want to at first since anyone can read this stuff we post here - Apples/Karen - Great/Lori - Charlene/Arlene - JBFlorida/Judy - MsBubba/Julie - Peacorp/Laura - Laurak/Laura (that's why we always say LauraK since we have 2) - NYSparkle/Jodi - Phyllser/Phyl - Ifyourstomach/Cheri - Jodi - The phones worked fine - but I couldn't down load my contacts - but I have some samsung phone - Andrew has a blackberry and his did download to house phone - but he deleted it cuz he's a teenager and doesn't want me to have all his # for some reason - that's ok I can go look at the cell phone bill to see who he calls if need be ;0) He's 19 deserves his privacy - the bluetooth part works well in the house - DS called last night on Andrew's cell - it was like 10:30 - and since I was up I talked to him - it was great - cuz in our house our cell reception sucks - LOL on stuck - yep you most likely ate to fast and didn't chew.. Girl - I am concerned about you and Mr. Vegas - you were so against seeing him - now you are going to - Do you want to show off the weight loss and say look at me now - look at what you missed out on.. That's cool as long as that's all it is - be careful - I am going to have a chock collar on you ;0) Cheri - I agree w/you on Julie's recap - Didn't she do good.. Hell I went to bed at 1 still up at 5:30 - 6 - Fur Babies.. Laura - Glad Nelsons tooth is out - girl you crack me up on worrying so about when Nelson doesn't eat.. I guess it's cuz I'm a grandma and I know that they will eat when they are read to - kids for the most part aren't like us ;0) we make sure we never miss a meal or a snack. Now he's missing the tooth - he's still not going to eat somethings - don't worry so ;0) grandma to mom ;0) Charlena - No bad foods for the most part as long as we eat in moderation ;0) - Even low cal foods that we over eat (like white choc pudding - I love it I eat all 4 serving 70 x 4) aren't good - so I'm like you if it's too good and I can't stop myself - out it goes - I just throw the crap away ... WTG on cleaning out the closet - get rid of those bigger clothes so that you can't slide back into them.. That what I did - I do have a couple pairs of pants that are size 4 but big 4's - I don't even like having them around - to easy to not notice the weight gain - espeicallly now it's hot - I have summer shifts that are loose - I love them now cuz they are cool - but worry I won't notice a weight gain - I don't step on the scales every week - now a days about every 2 weeks.. Phyl - I had those printer issues last weekend (got new printer) I just called HP and they fixed it remotely - Hope you had a great time at the Festival.. Well Gang ... Got gym in a couple hrs need to go read the paper etc - cbl

Hi, I had the menopause unexpectedly early and was finished by 38 so I can relate to you there. Are you able to take any HRT? I did till I was 50, it helped keep my sanity, the menopause made me very depressed and that contributed to more weight gain too. I am lucky that I have not had cancer though. This was over 5 years ago though for you so you should be able to be treated as normal now. I would recommend you do this op as I have got so much healthier without the weight. I am not taking any meds now and feel 100%. Good luck with whatever you decide. Jane x

I know what you both mean. I could look at myself in a mirror and I knew I was overweight, but I could still see me, and there were times I thought I looked pretty good. But then, when I would see pics of myself! Well, reality set in. I could never believe that it was me. At first, I would think that it was just a bad pic, but then after seeing more and more of them, I soon realized it was more than bad pictures. I was in horror! I had gradually let weight get out of hand through the years and the pattern was always the same. Gain weight, lose weight; gain even more weight, lose weight. It has gone back and forth like that since my high school graduation in 1983. I wondered ... at what point did I become okay with this? It has taken me way too long to realize that I needed help. I quit smoking cold turkey 1/15/02, but losing weight is sooo different! You still have to eat to live - but I was living to eat. I am so excited, albeit nervous, about my impending surgery! Congratulations on deciding to take that first step!

:scared2:Losing the battle but still fighting in the war..... I have gained almost all of my weight back. I'm so discouraged and feeling soo depressed I have gone thru so many emotional and health problems in the last 2 yrs so I know that has something to do with it but.. doesn't change the facts. I have a hiatal hernia and was treated for hpylori in the last yr, I have problems eating and digesting healthy foods(meats,eggs some veggies).I can hardly drink hot tea or coffee in the morning so by 1pm I'm starving and over eat whatever is there(work) I actually have a problem eating until around 9:30pm which isn't good because it's too close to bedtime unless I'm on 11-7 shift((yes I work rotating shift work). Wondering if this could also be because of the hernia not the band.Has anyone else had these problems since banding? So fellow banders I can use some encouragement and help. I have an appoint to see Dr. Abkin on 8/5/10 so hopefully he will help me to get back on track. I would really like to find a friend here in South Jersey who could become my mentor so to speak any volunteers? Thanks for reading my post,any idea will be appreciated.:smile2:

I posted her under this topic awhile back as not having had any problems. Since then had a little bump in the road, but not sure if it's the band or the surgeon... I think I may have been overfilled and not sure if this is the surgeon not being as accurate as possible on how much he takes out before adding more. I ended up in ER after throwing up for five days. Initially had all fill removed (or so we thought). Was scheduled for revision becuase they thought the band had slipped. Surgeon had a scheduling conflict so surgery was postponed but I've been dealing with PA lately. We decided to go ahead and refill partially. As it turns out I still had over a cc still left in the band, which if you include the 8 ccs they took out in the emergency room and then 1 cc I had taken out the month before, would bring me up to at least 10. so I'm really wondering if the throwing up was just because I was overfilled. So I've had 4ccs in for about 3 weeks with no problems (no restriction either thank you very much...agghh...I've gained 10 lbs ...but it's been a great summer...lots of pina coladas...so I've had my summer sojourn...lol) I go Monday for another fill. I'm sure they won't do more than maybe 2. But the PA seems to be better at getting more out of the band than my surgeon was. So we'll see how it goes. I personally think it will all be okay but if it's not, it probably won't rear its ugly head until there's some real restriction on the band. But I'm am so not discouraged. What being unfilled has done has made me get up off my lazy butt and join the gym and also to get out more often to the pool in my housing development and swim as much as I can. So even with my weight gain, I'm not discouraged. I know that as soon as I start getting restriction the bread will be back out of my diet. sorry to ramble...but I don't fault the band. My surgeon is very very inexperienced when it comes to the band, like under 20 total. My daughter had the Lap-Band, no problems, but her surgeon had done over 4k and had told her that the biggest issue with the bands is port placement and stitch placement for the flap that holds it in place. So worse case scenario, I've been approved in case I need it for the revision. Good luck all. Trisha pennreporter

Losethemess, I became pregnant exactly one year from my lap-band surg. My husband and I were not exactly trying but feel very blessed at our new addition. I had lost 115 lbs. and still had 70 to lose. I too with my first baby gained a tremendous amount of weight and of course did not lose any of it plus gained an additional 40 on top of that after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2007 and had to endure chemo and radiation treatments and was told that the chemo may make me infertile. I did have injections of lupron to shut my ovaries down during that time to hopefully preserve my ovaries. My doctor did give me a weight gain limit of 15 lbs. because I am still overweight and I am glad she did I did not want to gain a whole lot of weight with this one.The Lap-band made it very easy to control myself during my pregnancy and my baby is doing great! Thanks blaze for the congrats. I am on my way to losing the rest of the weight I began to lose almost 2 yrs ago.

Good morning! Well here I am again. When I say I’m going to stick with something through to the end I mean it. Yes I always felt this nagging doubt before – so I’d just say I’m going to try it again... and again... This time I said I’m just going to do it and I’m going to see it out to the finish line (not sure exactly where that is yet). I’m going to get to get my body healthy and turn it into a calorie burning machine! I’m going to get my energy skyrocketing and I’m going to be able to do things I never imagined possible! I have been sticking to my eating routine as well. No, I have not been perfect – but I have been pretty darn good if I may say so. Tomorrow is my off day/free day so I’ll get the chance to let my body recuperate from the workouts and to shake up the caloric intake by pretty much enjoying 3 awesome meals and one awesome dessert. :-P I can’t wait… ha-ha!! I only get to have a “Free day” every other Friday, which is essentially my Regular Day Off from work. It’s the day I get to re-charge my batteries really. Everyone needs one of these every so often. I get to let loose, eat out and pretty much be a bum if I want. So what? I’m far from lazy – but I understand the true meaning of beauty rest! J I have been struggling a lot with the idea of taking a free day to myself every other week. I still get a little bit of a guilt feeling when I’m not working out or I’m not eating things like that on my good days. It’s all those years ingrained in me where if I were to just eat them any old time I would see a weight gain. I tend to lose fast and gain fast too. I take a lot of bad with the good on that. I notice it’s affecting me differently with this new “thought process”. I notice I’ll either gain a pound or stay the same for a few days following my free days. It’s a little bit nerve wrecking because I weigh daily. I’ve also noticed the weight is coming off quite slowly too. I only seem to lose about 1-1.5 lbs. per week. I’m not complaining really, it’s just strange for me. I’ve been known to lose up to 15 Lbs in one week! I can’t let this get into my head though and cause me to fall down again. I have to remind myself that I’m changing myself from the inside out this time. I have to re-wire my brain to become what I call more organized in my thoughts whereas eating and exercise are concerned. It’s when I am more spontaneous in my reactions to eating and exercise that I seem to lose track and end up making poor decisions. This is outside my personality trait anyway; I’m a very organized person. Perhaps that is why I always seemed to run amuck after a few months of doing really good. I wasn’t organized enough. My routine basically boils down to about 1150 – 1400 Calories per day depending on how much workout I do. My workout days run from 1.5 – 2.5 hours total per day (or more if I can muster up the energy) and 6 days per week. This may need to be tweaked from time to time as I notice my weight loss slowing. I do try to keep my body a calorie burning machine so I will do anything to keep it that way. Another thing I have noticed during my new routine and weight loss is my band has out of the blue returned. I was overly tightened before and thought this was the way to go to lose the weight. Well yeah, it worked for awhile but when you stay too tight for too long you tend to pick up really bad habits. Apparently what happens is one will move over to eating more slider foods to make up for content. It doesn’t happen overnight, but I gave it enough time and I seemed to find myself addicted to sugary sweet foods. I was never addicted to these pre-band. I was more a salty/crunchy type girl. I loved solid foods too (a whole lot in fact), I just ate way too much of it. Well my surgeon said enough was enough and “Released the Kraken” so to speak. Once I got the taste of real food again I was off like a rocket ship into space. I gained really fast after that until I got my senses back in order. That is me now, today; in order. I needed some routines, some organized thoughts. I needed my thinner body back! I was very uncomfortable. This time it’s going to be right. It’s going to be level headed and it’s going to be smart choices. I’m in it for the health, always was. I looked into the surgery because I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure at the young age of 31. I didn’t want to be like most of my family battling that my whole life along with other illnesses such as diabetes or cancer. I lost an Uncle from HBP and he was in his 40’s. He was NOT obese mind you, but he could have been healthier. He didn’t work out and he was much stressed. I think working out is a major cure for stress. However working out was very difficult for me because I was over 330 Lbs. I wasn’t going to lose with as much as I could eat. I could eat A LOT I’m telling you no lies. I could probably out eat most guys posting in this very forum. Anyway, decision made. Now it’s time for decision complete.

Hi- I weigh myself maybe 5 or 6 times a day ! I know that is border line psychotic but I can't help myself. Somedays when the scale shows a small weight gain I do protein shakes for the next 2 days(pre-opt diet). I am currently in bandster hell, I was banded 6/3 and had restriction without a fill up until maybe the 2nd week in July...now I am working hard at staying on track and sometimes it does not work.....oh well, I am not giving up...I get a fill on 8/12 so I hope it helps.:thumbup:

Have you considered Mirena? That has worked wonders for me. Before the Mirena I had an extremely heavy flow( I know, TMI) and always had to wear a super huge pad AND a tampon:cursing:. I would probably change it every 2/3 hours. But now all I have is spotting when my period comes around :thumbup:, Its great! Best part, no weight gain and I don't have to worry about taking pills everyday. You should ask your doc about it.

Thanks Cindy, that may be it. The ones I saw had no face paint or anything, just tails. Years ago there was a strip joint just out of town called Foxtails---and all the strippers wore fox tails----and this was like that---just tails. And on the Walmart site, I have seen them, and I was just feeling old and out of it! Guess I am!!! My friend I have lunch with...it was her son recently hurt in the motorcycle wreck---he is in rehab now, and improving quickly! Anyway he has a DD and my friends husband had always been Papa to all his grandkids---and for some reason they began referring to him as Papa Bear. The son had a good laugh and told them they didn't want to call him that, because he is a big guy (325-350 lbs) and he told them that "bears" are hairy gay men, usually of big stature. They have big Bear gatherings. They have "cubs"---young newbies......all kinds of things! We (she and I) looked it up, and now we just refer to Mike as Papa---skip the bear!!! Who knew? I guess it was the same with my parents having problems associating "gay" with anything except being happy.....times change.....whether I want to or not! Rick just left for work again. I need to go water before it gets hot again. We have broke 100 for several days now. It tried to rain last night---you could smell it, but it was so hot it evaporated before it ever made it to the ground---so it was muggy, which is really unusual for us. Tracy, I had heard it was usually a taper down from meds like that, so it makes sense to me! Terri should be home......hope she is doing well! She is a bandster now! I feel so incredibly lazy! I have begun taking my allergy meds. Uggghhh! Oh yeah----hives. I know lots about hives! I broke out several years ago---make that many years ago. Kept diaries of products used, changed them. Kept diaries of food---changed diet. NOTHING helped! Did massive amounts of blood work---checking for all sorts of connective tissue disorders. still nothing. They were finally diagnosed as idiopathic uticaria. Hives with unknown cause. At the time Zyrtec was RX, not OTC. But it worked. I could take a pill and within an hour the hives would abate. I took it faithfully everynight for months---but it turns me into a zombie! Eventually I got to where I broke them in half---and it still kept the hives at bay. Then I began every other night....and finally every few days...til the hives quit. Stress seemed to be the trigger. My Grandma was dying---and I had teenagers! I ended up with hives again a couple of years ago, and the Dr. put me on steroids! OMG weight gain city! I remembered then, the Zyrtec, so tapered the steroids off, used the Syrtec and it worked. It also works for my itcy eyes---which is why I am taking it now---half a pill at night---but it depresses my system. Not my mood, just my body---I am tired and slow! But I am not sneezing, and digging at my eyes!!! Gonna make myself go water!