July Bandsters....lets Here You....

[Melissa41 27]

Any idea how long you will be on liquids again? I have my first fill today and I am just dreading the liquids part. UGH.

[lindabug 69]

Me too! I am hoping for a fill on Monday. My granddaughters birthday party is the next Sun so even though I don't plan to eat cake I hope to feel good. It's bad because I was sick on her birthday last year :(

[Melissa41 27]

Ok! I had my first fill. It was rather uneventful and I was able to see the band on an xray like machine. They had me drink some liquid that showed up on the screen and I could see the inflation of the band. It enabled the nurse to fill to the correct level. I am back on liquids for 48 hours but not Clear Liquids so I can have Soup and anything I can swallow without chewing and without chunks of anything. I was really hungry when i got to the appointment because I wasn't able to eat for 6 hours before the fill. But since then just a cup of soup has filled me up! I am ready for the next weight loss. Down abou 15lbs and ready for some more!!

[taylor94 9]

Melissa

I am wondering if you have any swelling where your port is? mine is protruding quite a bit and I had my fill 2 days ago....

[Melissa41 27]

Hi Taylor- No swelling so far. I feel a tiny bit sick to my stomach but not too bad. I was really having a hard time eating well the last couple of days and I can tell the fill will be helpful. And oh my goodness! Look at your weight. 34 lbs is fabulous. I bet you feel wonderful. Keep up the good work. And pray I can move beyond the 15 lbs I have lost! I feel like the fill will help. Keep me posted on your progress.

Melissa

[taylor94 9]

thanks Melissa....I have been stuck at that weight for well over a week now...however when I was in for my fill the clinic did tell me that I am losing weight really fast...I have never had anyone say slow down on weight loss...

my surgeon had so much trouble with finding my port I am fearful he missed and the swelling is just saline build up...however he did poke me like 5 times before finding it...so maybe that's why...I am going to wait a few more days and if the swelling doesn't go down I will insist on going to see someone...I mean I do feel the restriction a bit...and I don't feel hungry at all...no grumbling stomach...this is all just so new to me...kinda freaking out I will mess it up I am a self pay and it was alot of money to pay to mess up...

fingers crossed

[Melissa41 27]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Did they use the machine to see the inside of your stomach? I could actually see the band and they had me drink some type of liquid they could see going into my stomach and could see how much to restrict.

I would imagine your weight loss will slow down a bit. But jeesh you are doing somethig right. I think you will be successful. Keep going!!

[taylor94 9]

No machine....he just kept pushing till he found it....and I am also bruised...I could hear the needle clicking on the outside of the band....which was a bit freaky....

I mean it is only 6wks after surgery so as long as the #'s go down...no matter how slow....that's all that counts

[kkccmom 37]

Taylor...you poor thing. I just cringe to think of your surgeon digging and poking around on you....gosh. I hope you are feeling better today.

I've had TWO bad-eating days....well, yesterday wasn't too bad, its just that I know I am drinking too much/too soon after eating -- and sometimes cannot help myself from drinking as soon as I swallow. Such a hard thing to break....so yesterday, I felt full all day, tho I didn't eat much.

Feeling a little better today, and determined to do things RIGHT today. All day long!!

Saw the dietician yesterday; she told me what I already knew -- I'm not getting enough Protein. And she stressed the critical importance of it, so today, I'm ultra-mindful of getting it in.

the area around my port and another incision is red and itchy...to the point of insanity. I am trying some tea-tree-oil ointment....hoping that'll fix it. I keep rubbing/scratcing it, then today finally looked at it...and its pretty red. Not 'right' on the incision/port, but to my left of it. Plus my belly seems oddly-shaped. Almost as if there's a football in there!? anyone else noticed any changes to your shape??

I did gain a couple pounds...which is not good, but considering I really had eaten NOTHING up until this past Sunday, its no wonder....I've been eating TOO much. Gotta start listening to this thing BEFORE I mindlessly cram something into my house. I am such a muncher....that is a hard habit to remove. Even when I felt miserable, I'd eat something else. NOT TODAY!! Gonna do it right today.

Have a great day, all....thumbs up for successful choices and great rewards - scale and non-scale!!

--Kim

[Melissa41 27]

Here's an interesting article from the Seattle paper today. I had always thought my metabolism had slowed down because of yo-yo dieting. This is encouraging to hear reseach is showing that isn't the case: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018926404_yoyodieting16m.html

[lucy2.0 57]

Hi I've been MIA for the last couple of days, Congrats on your first fill Melissa and Taylor!!

It's been a couple of bad days for me, I don't know if you know but I live in Mexico at the border, well two days ago I was going home from work and a car cut in front of me and my first tought was that they were going to rob me I was so scared, luckly nothing happened, but I started feeling so bad, nauseated, dizzy and like you feel when your BP is low, well since that day I’m not hungry at all, my Dr. told me if I’m not hungry I shouldn’t eat but, I think that is also bad for me, do you think the lack of hunger is normal and it’s because of the band or maybe is that I’m still in shock caused by the incident? Are you feeling less hungry?

Have a great weekend everyone!!

[kkccmom 37]

Lucy....I'd have been scared senseless, too! You poor thing....my guess is that your body is sort of 'in shock' after that scare.

However, I think you should eat SOMETHING. Take it from someone who went almost a week w/o eating due to nausea...it makes it worse! You must get in some kind of sustenence...even a glass of milk is better than nothing. Please try to get something in you....

I've had a pretty good day for food so far. Still under the Protein minimum, but better than it was. Today, I took a little nap and (as usual) woke up w/ a "need" for "something" to munch. So, I proceeded to have a couple bites off a frozen fruit bar and then dug into a bag of potato chips!! Ate only about 5...but know it was not a good choice. Oh well. I'm trying to be kind to myself by telling myself that these life-long habits do NOT go away over night -- band or no band -- but it takes many days/weeks of RE-TRAINING the brain to know "this is not a good idea".

We're getting there, right?? Truth is, I CAN feel it all just sitting here...not fun.

I have a pretty ugly rash on my belly. Been covering it with a neosporin-type cream. Seems to be helping 'some' but its taking a long time to go away. Drives me nuts, itching like crazy.

Hope everyone is well. Lucy, BE SAFE, girl. EAT SOMETHING GOOD-FOR-YOU...seriously, not-eating is NOT the way to move forward. It causes all sorts of other issues, so please do find something decent....a Protein Shake is optimal, but a little of anything is better than nothing at all!

--Kim

[Melissa41 27]

I had my first feel last Wednesday so today is day five since the fill. I can't eat much other than yogurt and Soup. I can get a few bites of solids down but then it starts to hurt and I get the stuck feeling. Not fun! But I have lost another pound and am going to focus on eating well today to get going on the next 10 lbs. I leave for a big family trip on the 29th and would like to see another 5 lbs gone by then! Hope all are well.

Melissa

[kkccmom 37]

Melissa....I've been wondering how things are going! I'm a littl aphrehensive about my first fill (on the 4th)...wondering how it'll affect me, and if I'll feel as sick as I did that first week-10 days...

It does take time to adjust to all this, doesn't it? I'm still trying to get in those 50g Protein. I did find a shake mix that is tolerable...its by "ON", a soy-based product and only ONE scoop for 25g of protein!! That's twice the Protein per scoop as the icky stuff my clinci required. I'm probably getting in too much sugar w/ it, mixing it up w/ OJ, but its a chance I'm willing to take to get it in.

What kind of Soups are you eating? And you can't seem to get ANY thing solid down?? Even mushy MUSHY Beans or canned chicken? That tastes pretty good, mixed w/ a little cream of chicken soup....I made some really soupy mashed potatoes and added the chicken & Soup to it...tasted quite good actually...considering I hadn't eaten anything else up till then!!

Also, I found that Taco Bell refried Beans w/ cheese are HEAVENLY. I think they're on the menu as "pintos & cheese"...but they are REALLY REALLY mashed up and SO SO SO good. Maybe you could try that?? I'm trying to do black beans here at home, too...cooking them in a skillet so I can mash them up. 1/2 c is 7 or 9g protein!! (can't remember which right now!)

Here's hoping you can toss that 5 lbs!! Are you walking? That might expedite things!! I need to do better w/ that, too.

Hang in there....love to know how you're doing!

--Kim

[Melissa41 27]

Hi Kim,

I have tried canned chicken as well as scrambled eggs and a few other soft solids. I can eat them but it is very slow and uncomfortable. So I am sticking to Soups now. I have been buying the premade kind from a local grocery store, Safeway. They are about 300 calories for a cup which is kind of a lot of calories but they are good and I am keeping track of calories and staying under 1200 or so. I love Beans and cheese so I will try the Taco Time kind- or maybe try something like that at home. Earlier in the process I used refried Beans in a mixer with salsa and heated it up. It was yummy.

The fill wasn't bad at all. I had liquids only for 48 hours which helped focus me again. And I didn't really need extra time for recovery. Just the food adjustment. I am finding the need for some will power because I know I can eat ice cream or a milkshake and it is calling me. So far I am dong good.

But I do need to watch the calorie intake. Even on Soup and yogurt its easy to get to 1200 calories. And I am a little hungry from time to time. I miss eating what I love. But I am pleased with the 15 lbs and look foward to the next 5.

Looks like you are doing well. Congrats on that. Let me know how the fill goes.

Melissa