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Well guess what..First day of winter vacay and I am sick. I am hoping its not the flu because my bones feel like they hurt. My band is tight as a 10 year old virgin! (sorry, but I have wanted to say that for a long time!) I suppose that's good because I don't think I will be burning many calories today. Getting my butt from the bed to the easy chair to the bathroom isn't exactly aerobic. I subscribe to a newsletter from Hungrygirl http://hungrygirl.com. She is a super peppy non banded (I think) chronic dieter. I know that she is financially hooked in with some of the companies she reviews, but her reviews are pretty straight on. She reviews new diet food and has come up with some good ones before I have heard of them elsewhere. Some of her recent rave reviews have been on the light double churned ice creams-haven't tasted a bad one yet (100-120 cals). Quaker Mini Delights in caramel drizzle (90) flavor. These are fantastic! She is fanatical about Fiber One and uses it for breadcrumbs in the recipies she adapts to make them low cal. She is also nuts about tofu shiratake noodles. While I suppose they don't taste too bad after cooking, when you open them they smell like old seafood. I just can't get past it. My new fave is using ranch dressing for a dipping sauce for anything savory. It packs a taste punch with just a bit. It also helps to "lubricate" food for us bandsters. Anyway-I got on this Hungrygirl topic because I ordered a case of Vitatops (muffin tops) http://vitalicious.com at a decent price through her website. They are really expensive, but I got 30 for $29. They have 5-6 grams of fiber and about 100 cals each and are enriched with vitamins. I know some people with bread issues might not like these, but they are delicious if you can tolerate this sort of thing. I had the peanut butter fudge for breakfast this am. So back to moping around garnering sympathy from my DH and DS. Trystelle

Hello Sorry to hear you are having problems with your liquids! If you can't get your Protein down, focus on your Water. With only 11 oz you will become dehydrated. For me, "small sips" were so small I could barely tell I had anything in my mouth. What I was taught was "an ounce every ten minutes"... because that's 6 an hour, times 10 hours a day= your min. To do this the straw was just about attached to my mouth! It took me a good couple weeks before getting my water in wasnt a struggle. Also, are you drinking everything cold? Cold is generally bad for sleevers. Cold KILLED my sleevie. Do warm liquids, broth, bouillon, decaf coffee (IF you are allowed), tea (again, IF you are allowed).... warm tends to go down MUCH easier. Some people use a candle warmer to keep their drink warm since it takes us so long to drink them. Good luck!

I'm feeling a million times better today than yesterday. Day 1 post-op was a lot of incision pain, minimal gas pain...I did get up and walk, got full on half a snack-sized popsicle, and got to the grocery store...so I guess I wasn't TOO bad. Today - Day 2 - I've been to the bank, post office, and just got back from a wonderful pedi/mani! I'm low on energy now, though, so I'm sipping some broth and ready to relax! My incision pain is at a 1 or 2 out of 10...gas pain is very minimal...I'm not gonna go run a marathon, but I'm definitely feeling better than yesterday!

Hate to tell you this but reflux is also a sign of a slip. I had no other signs of it (I could keep almost everything down and had no pain) but when I went in for an xray on Monday, they found my band had slipped. After 2 1/2 yrs. From vomiting most likely. I knew that would eventually catch up to me! I had severe reflux for the past 4 mthsd, was sure I was too tight, but didn't want any taken out for fear I wouldn't lose my last 10 lbs. Wrong idea. I gained 4 lbs and was miserable very single nite. Had to take 2 prescription meds, 1 otc med, and pop rolaids like I owned stock in the company. And sleep propped up on 3 piilows on my back - very uncomfy. My husband finally talked me into going to the doctor and I'm so glad I did. The last 2 nites of drug-free sleeping have been wonderful. I'm gunna have to be careful not to gain during the 2 weeks my Fluid is out, as I'm hungry at all times it seems! I'm gunna try to stay the same tho - no losing for me the next coupla weeks. You need to call your your doc and get checked out. Instead of waiting 4 mths like I did. Almost ruined my band. Good luck to you! Marci

Hi photoman My band joined me on June 10 so I am almost your band twin. What an amazing journey. The band forces us to learn and explore ourselves doesnt it. I have learnt more about myself, my eating patterns and my life really in the last 2 months than the 2 years prior to that. my weight loss has plateaued for now, waiting on my second fill in two weeks (first made no difference) but I am exploring that in relation to whats happening in my life too. keep up the fantastic work and good luck

Ive gone over and over this in my head a thousand times. What should my goal weight be. I tried to set something reasonably attainable for myself. I settled on 170 for the time being. Short term i focus on 10 pound increments at a time. Im sure at 170 i will still be viewed as being overweight.......but......i just dont know without having a plastic surgery intervention if anything to much lower then that is going to be a realistic expectation! So i say focus on somthing attainable!

I just got sleeved on 5/20. The minute I woke I felt terrible. Now it's the second day and I am slowly feeling better. The gas pain and nausea is still here. I aldo am having massive headaches but I am also nursing my 6 month old so that might be the culprit. Hang in there. I am here with 10 other patients and some people are doing great and others worse.

I think if clothing is sized 9, 11, 13 it is more a junior size and I find that they fit a little smaller. Sizes 10, 12, 14 are more misses or women's sizing and would then be larger. So your size 11's are more like a 10 so if you had a size 12 I bet the would fit perfect!!

i was banded 01-07-08, and i still ahve pain...and i took my antibiotics for 5 days just as directed....but still pain :mad:...not horrible though...if you dont have any other signs of infection you should be fine....but it wouldn't hurt to tell your dr. what happened, after all it is hubby's fault

This is perfectly normal. Honestly, my meal size didn't really decrease until this last fill, which was my 5th. While I was eating considerably less than before having surgery, I still could eat about 8 to 10 ounces up until 2 weeks ago when I just got my 5th fill and I'm lucky if I can eat 4 ounces in one sitting now. You'll get there. It may take another fill, but you will get there. I hate saying this (almost as much as I hate hearing it LOL), but everyone is different, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the third time is the charm :-)!

Hi Aries, That was very kind of you to post that thread about donating to OK Tornado victims. If I may add, there are probably lots of local businesses doing things to help the tornado victims in everyone's home town. If you're like me & $10 makes a major dent in the weekly budget...please do something, anything. I'm an extreme couponer so I have a lot of the stuff they announced on the news that is needed (toothbrushes/paste/mouthwash/ feminine hygiene items/soap/canned food ~ which doesn't need to be cooked to eat~ as well as pet food & all types of baby items, etc...) We have a local furniture store (which is a huge chain here in MI) & they are collecting items at each of their stores, so that's where I'll be donating my goods too. We all gave up drinking soda too & we had about 30 two liter bottles of soda which we will donate, as well as allergy meds & aspirin (I'm totally surprised they'll take meds but none of the packages I have are open of course.) Point being, there are many diff ways you can donate & if you can't, please pray for these people to be able to find peace & strength in what's happened there. Sincerely, Pixie Dust

I knew that at 5ft 10 and about 170lb for a lot of my mid teens, I was always the big fat chick in any group of people - I certainly didnt catch the eye of the boys. At about 16, I made a concerted effort and slipped down to about 154 - better but still far from the petite girl I longed to be. I knew however that 154 is a good, healthy, sustainable weight for me, so that was my initial goal.I also knew I'd want to go a bit further, which I have. But what surprises me is that 154 at my adult weight is WAY thinner than it was when I was a teen - partly perception becuase everyone around me is fully grown now, but also becuase I guess now although I was sporty as a teen, I'm now at a much higher level of fitness and I'm probably more muscle, less fat. As it turns out, I have a fairly slender body type and could easily get down to 140 without getting scary skinny, but I havent managed it and am not sure I could sustain it. 150ish suits me pretty well. I maintain it absolutely effortlessly, my weight never wavers and I'm also almost 43. For me, its a BMI of about 22, for you it will be a point or two higher, and really, what's unrealistic of maintaining a healthy BMI of 24ish? Its not really thin, its just healthy.

midwife72 ... hope your surgery went well and that you are feeling good today. I just got back from Mexico this afternoon. The surgery was much easier than I thought. We flew into Monterrey on Sunday. A driver picked my husband and I up at the airport and took us to the hotel. He picked us up Monday morning at the hotel at about 8 and took me to the hospital. I was taken in right way for pre-op tests, met the anesthesiologist and my surgeon (Dr. Zapata) and was in surgery by about 10:30. I was discharged from the hospital Tuesday morning and felt well enough to go shopping at a mall in Monterrey. We flew back home this morning and I'm feeling pretty good. A little sore of course and some tenderness at the port incision. I was worried about a lot of gas pain but haven't really had issues with that. Maybe all of my walking has helped! I got to see my Johnson and Johnson band before I went into surgery. It reminds me a lot of the Inamed AP band ... a smooth continuous inflatable part, and a low-profile port. The rest of Dr. Zapata's band patients were rescheduled until they can get the Inamed bands cleared through customs, but they went ahead and put the J&J band on me because I have local doctor who will do the fills on this band and it's a short flight back to Monterrey if I ever needed to get fills there. So all-in-all a great experience. Dr. Zapata was very kind and reassuring, so I wasn't even nervous going into my first surgery. The hospital was definitely nicer and cleaner than any American hospital I have been in. Now I'm ready to see some positive changes!

Hmmm, let's see . . . 33 pounds, I've lost a cinder block. :glare: Ok that's boring . . . I'm gonna break it up a bit. 10 pounds - Chemical additives an American consumes each year (UGH! That sounds awful! ) 20 pounds - an automobile tire (not the one around my waist apparently :Dancing_biggrin:) 3 pounds - an average human brain (so that's where mine went! ) Fun thread!

Our bodies and these bands are unusual things, let me tell you! I have been working out like a fiend since January, and monitoring my diet closely (still eat no-no's every once in a while). But I mean like HEAVY workouts! 40mins of extreme cardio, then I do 15-20 mins on the rowing machine, then weights, abs, then swim laps for 20-25mins. I do this religiously 4X a week and have since Jan. 1st. The scale has gone up and down 4lbs both ways, but as of today, I am EXACTLY the same weight as I was January first. For those that plateau for a week or two, consider my sad situation..lol. I STILL keep doing just what I've been doing because I know my body will eventually "figure it out." I have not lost significant inches either and have kept track of that since day 1. What I did lose is MAJOR body fat My BMI has gone down by over 4pts since January first! My clothes fit looser (which I don't understand since no significant inches lost) and I feel STRONG and my body is noticeably more muscular. However, that DAM scale messes with my head daily!! Bottom line is, this process and our bodies act and react in unusual ways...just keep doing what you're suppose to, and eventually (I say this at 10 weeks waiting) it will give us the visual results we SO desire!! Congrats on your weight loss!!

Having been diagnosed with MS on 9th November, I have had many ups and downs for the last 2 months. Anyway to give you an outline/timeline May time, had back pain/arm pain, trips to physio and accupuncture and 4 weekls later gone.... August, symptoms return and get worse and worse, niggly back pain in shoulderblade region to the left and raditing down arm which is very very painful, having to hand my arm to my side to try to relieve the pain and no matter where I put it it still hurt. Saw physio once a week and accu once aweek. Went to hydrotherapy, hot room, sauna, spa in an attemp to relieve the pain. late Oct, finally had enough and went to see doc(friday), he referred me for bone scan and CT scan, had CT scan monday and bone scan Friday, both test picked up results next day and both normal, bugger bugger bugger. Funny how you wish for something to be wrong just so you can have an answer to your problem. Back to doc on Monday who at least did not stand on his laurels and brush me off (even though he is at lest 70), said next step is MRI but needs a neuro to refer. OK I rang the specilist and no appts for at least 6 weeks. Well it just so happens that I work at the hospital in the cardiology dept alongside neuro dept and had a quiet word with receptionist who had a quiet word with neuro (tues) and he agreed to refer me without consult. Wasnt in till Thurs so in I went and thanked him big time for doing this and how frustrated I was and mentioned that my left side of my face was numbish. Oh he said that isnt right and off he popped to the MRI dept and organised a MRI for Tues for me and free too..... chuffed to pieces off home I went and shock of shock overnight my feet went numb and going to work the next day I fell up the steps. Panicking I was whisked to A&E under same neuro and one brain scan/upper spine scan it was diagnosed. 5 days in hospital on IV steriods and 6 weeks of oral steriods later (and no weight gain) the pain in my arm and back is back, it took 4 painkillers to even stop the pain this morning and they are the ones with codine, 2 neuro plus and 2 paracetamol codenine. I cant fault my treatment, from doc to diagnosis 10 days including all tests and results. Had a full spine MRI 2 weeks later which showed 5 leisions on the spine from top to bottom. I am so over the pain. I popped into see neuro (perk of working next door) and he said that my upper leison was extremly large and could take a few months to get over. If you hear a rattling noise its just me popping more pills. Jo

My surgeon had me on liquid diet for 20 days, post-op. 10 days clears, 10 days full liquids. Then 10 days mushies. I wouldn't worry at this point, your tummy is still healing.

*Warning - A totally non-WLS rant posted because it's my blog and I'll post what I want to:tt2: My s-i-l hates to drive at night, so I'll be trucking down to the city to pick up my college age niece. Apparently she has a medical issue which she could've had taken care of at her university health center, but when her mother(my s-i-l) suggested this, my niece had a meltdown and demanded Momma make her an appt at home and fly her in. What a surprise! Momma does what baby wants. She may be 19, but emotionally more like 15...like her group of college friends who hang out together living a "high school but away from home" type of lifestyle. 20-some years ago when I was in college, we were a lot more mature and aware of key world issues. The effect of helicopter parents?! It's scary when my niece tells me she doesn't like kids but wants to teach 'cause she'll get lots of time off. Wow - just who I want educating the future! Back to the "Apple" topic - my niece is now upset because her mother told the doctor about the problem when she made the appt. Apparently, my niece wanted her to just say that it's for a "check up" (& no - this is not a woman issue)! My s-i-l (rightly so) told her that the doctor needs to know the real reason so as not to waste time. S-i-l wonders what her baby is thinking?!! RU kidding? Here's where it "falls from the tree"...my s-i-l is a DM2 who tries to deny it. It took 3 years of warnings of pre-diabetes and then 6 mos after diagnosis to get her on oral meds. She's still not testing and tries to "trick" her labs by fasting for several days prior or eating "healthy" the week before. Of course, the numbers are still bad because she's non-compliant and hasn't educated herself. She calls me post doctor visit to report that the doctor wants her on more "meds" because her "numbers are bad" and she feels he's probably getting paid by the pharmacutical companies to give her more "stuff". So I say - "Could be - what new meds does he want? what were your labs?". She says..wait for it.... "I dunno - I wasn't paying attention!". Excuse me? What is more personal than a visit to your doctor - how can you not pay attention when it's your health?? This then leads to a conversation we've had before of how her health plan works and me telling her again to print me a copy and I'll review it...which she forgets - as usual. I guess I'm not too surprised as this is some one who wishes she were back in high school, doesn't read the paper or watch the news, and threw a fit when her boss told her she was going to have to take some tech classes - started crying and shouting that she "didn't want to learn anything new!" I'm actually fond of my s-i-l as apart from the tendency to gossip she is a very kind and non-judgmental person(wish I could be more like that) - but I often feel like I'm dealing with a child. Not surprising - her mother (my m-i-l) is the same way. No, she doesn't want to go back to high school - instead she's fiercely independent...sort of. She's moderately more aware of what's going on in the world, but so flightly she only grasps half the story. When she doesn't get her own way - or doesn't get buy-in from the "fam" she just goes off and does whatever she wants then let's the rest of us pick up the pieces, the tab...whatever. When it comes to medical issues - see above. She takes whatever scripts the doctor writes but doesn't know why..."I'm not going to take this Liptor anymore - I don't feel any different...". She's still seeing this ancient doc-in-box who treated her mother. She nixed her prior doc because the doctor did an Alzheimer's test on her and was concerned enough to contact my s-i-l. Par for course, my m-i-l wanted my s-i-l to keep it a secret - Right! Her driving skills have always been sub-par and now they're even worse. Sunday night was a classic - when after two glasses of wine she was red-eyed, staggering and slurring but refused to give up her keys or let someone else drive her home and my s-i-l tells me, "She's not drunk - I'd know!"(sorta like, "She doesn't have memory issues - I'd know!") I'm torn between making a confidential call to the DMV before she hurts someone or herself or just stepping back and letting her kids take responsibility. Sigh - good to vent and hope it gives my readers a laugh; I'm sure plenty of you are in the boat.

I had my surgery on October 19, 2011. I never had any of the shoulder pain that so many experience. I do have a pinched nerve in my neck that affects my right shoulder and arm, but after I had my second fill on December 15th, I started having a terrible pain just below my right shoulder like someone is pushing an ice pick into my back. It is obviously a nerve problem. It is numb-ish and hurts and itches all at the same time, and it extends around my side, under my arm, to the right side of my chest. I have no rash, or any other symptoms. It does not get better or worse with deep breaths or anything else. It's pretty constant. I don't want to be an alarmist, and I was just wondering if this is the "shoulder pain" so many have had. Applying heat does seem to help, but I'm a single mom who must go to work everyday! Please let me know what you think.

I want to thank you all for being so very brave to allow all of us "soon to be's" to use your experiences. I am scheduled for Lap Band on 10/13 and so ready to start this new chapter in my life.

Hi there...I also had the "ball in my throat." It kinda felt like you are being strangled from the inside and only lasts a few seconds, at least in my case. I spoke with the nurse and turns out it is a normal feeling since I also had a hernia repair. I was about 10 days post op when the pains subsided.

I had the same problem again today, but not as bad. I even had a hard boiled egg for dinner almost 3 hours ago and didn't feel this full until about an hour after dinner. Jalomum, I had one fill about 6 weeks ago, of 2 cc's in my 10 cc band. That is the only fill I've had. I haven't had a problem with any food getting stuck or anything, so I hadn't thought it would come up now. Thanks for your advice. It was nice to eat some carbs, but it looks like I'll have to go back to a more Protein focused diet.

External stitches are usually not dissolvable. Are your internal stitches coming out (aka "spitting")? If so, you can use scissors to trim those stitches that are poking out. If they're external, non-dissolvable stitches, they usually get taken out between 10-20 days. The doc should have setup an apt to do that.

Saw my best friend first time since September. Had surgery 10-3 we met at David's bridal she walked past me didn't know it was me til I turned around and said oh my goodness you've lost a lot of weight. Mind you she knew about surgery we just hadn't seen each other. Buying a bra 2 sizes smaller. Coat I bought in January I pulled out. Could put 2 of me in it I think. Ready for Christmas party Friday wearing a red dress 3 sizes smaller this Christmas. Best of all, I didn't do it. Working third last night baked goodies, cocoa, and m&ms. Wanted them ate zero of them. Had my 4am Protein shake chocolate fix instead. Today just another shake, and my tuna for lunch and crystal light. Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App