Shrinking Violets -- April 07 Bandsters

[KCQ 0]

HEY everyone! I have been completly MIA since having my surgery on April 11!! I have one year old twins so life is always crazy! i'm down about 20lbs YAY! With no real help credited to the band. I was STARVING but I just kept making really good food choices and made it to my first fill. It did NOTHING. So he had me come back 2 days later and added more, still nothing I have a 10 whatever band and had 2.5 CC's in it. Well today I went back again and he says that he either missed my port last time or I might have a leak since there was only 1cc of saline in my band when he checked it today. So I got another fill today up to 2.5 cc's and he pulled it out to make sure it was there. I finally feel a little different. My protine shake actually filled my up for a little while so that was nice. I'm just praying that I stay full and that it is not a leak. Does anyone have any experience with bands leaking. My doc said it has never happend to one of his patients. I'm just going to be positive and pray that everything is fine! Oh and i'm such a bozo I fell of a planter box in my back yard last week and messed up my ankel so my new treadmill is turning into a clothes hanger! LOL! I hope that everyone is well!

[chiefsfankatie 0]

Hey all, I want to be in this club. I was banded on April 9, 2007!!

Congrats on how well all of you are doing, you have lost a lot!!

I have lost 15, but I am on my way.

See you thinner!

[TracyinKS 7]

Good to see you KCQ and welcome Katie!

I want to say a heart felt thank you for all the feedback and pm's... it all really did help to see it from outside my RL world. My son is a mere 3.5 yrs old.. but dare I say the MOST INTELIGENT LITTLE MAN! (LOL mamma bias talking here )

I always go through this when I get a request to meet up with one of the two....and yes their lives are drama filled and and our biggest drama is maxing out the Home Depot Card because of a busted sewer line! LOL

DBF and I have been together over 2 years now so my son was 1.5 when our two families blended...... I am putting it off for now its what is in my gut truly.. I just have this fear of later down the road when my pubesent son who is towering over me decides to go all teenager on me and seek out Shrek and think he is COOL,.. but this is me over thinking it. I KNOW!!! thanks for letting me vent.....

Back to bandtopic............. I ate Mexican tonight! I had 3 chips and salsa.. and 99% of my chicken quesadilla... but it was only a HALF SIZE... normally I would of been p.o.d at the small size but tonight it was about right........ I do need a fill.. and I hope I can feel it...

I REALLY want to be in the 230s for my June 1st pic........ more and more people are noticing and it is totally weird because I have so much to lose... 28 lbs is a drop in my BMI bucket!

FAT ANGELS IN TIGHTS UNITE!

Well I'm off to bed.. I just watched Grey's finale and it just stunk! What a depressing way to end the season....... I am thirsty but I try not to put anything into my mouth right before bed time..... (I think oprah did a thing on it a year or so ago)

HaVE A GREAT evening you Night Owls!

p.s. Laura.. good luck with all the wedding planning........ invite everyone! .. those that won't come will send money and gift cards! LOL and I still have some of my old towels (and I was married in 88) good towels that out lasted a marriage.. hey now thats an ad campain waiting to happen!

A friend of mine a work just got married (she's such a young thing like you) I got her HOME DEPOT gift cards.. and for the shower I got her a mop bucket filled with supplies and goofy things like mouse traps and light bulbs.... the more politically correct attendee looked horrified but the bride and her mom (also my bestest work bud) LOVED IT!!!! and they used the Home Depot card to buy kitchen paint.......

OK GOOD NIGHT FRIENDS!

[ShineOn 0]

Hi everybody! I am having a good week. I went to the gym every day this week! I only let myself weigh in once a week & Friday is the day. So, let's hope the work shows on the scale tomorrow morning!

[Gr8ful gal 0]

Hi Violets,

I had my first fill today and want to "fill" you in. It went very smoothly, no one told me not to eat before, but I didn't because I knew I was going to weigh in and old habits die hard. (At WW I never ate before weigh in!) I had to lay down and the NP asked me to bare down in order to tighten my stomach mucles, she poked around with her hands and then put the needle in. It didn't hurt any more than giving blood, once she got the needle in, she had to move it around to find the port. It took two tries but she got it on the second one. She said I already had 1cc in there (news to me!)and she put 2ccs in today for a total of 3 ccs. The weirdest part was that while she still had the needle in she asked me to sit up and drink Water so she could tell if I was too tight. It didn't hurt just weird to have a needle sticking out of my belly! She told me to make an appointment for two weeks and if I have good restriction I can cancel if not she will add more. She said soft foods for two days, to chew, chew, chew and to eat SLOWLY. I have only had an Isopure and a shake and I feel good.

Hope this helps those of you preparing for your first fill, please post your experiences so we can all learn.

Goodnight Violets!

[Kandi5912 0]

Congratulations!!!!! I can wait until my fill which hopefully will be June 18th...I was banded on April 30....that had to be a weird experience for you...my Dr. advised me that for her fills they have you go to Radiology so that they can poke in the right spot and dont have to keep trying that way they can see the tightness of that band also....all in all....GOOD LUCK on your journey I believe that you will do GREAT!!!!

[Lap_dancer 8]

Angie: You are probably not losing as fast as some because you are already in ONEderland! I bet your fill WILL help, and I bet you start losing inches QUICK

I hope everyone is having a great day... I have yet to get any Water in, because I ate lunch and now am waiting my hour before drinking.

My dilema from earlier is that the mother of my son's half sister has emailed requesting that we get together this summer....

quick background:

My son's bio father is a low life (with strong sperm) he was my rebound loser after my heartbreaking divorce and I got pregnant after a life of infertility.. so my son is MY MIRACLE and I literaly thank God everyday for giving him to me, and having him is worth ALL the heartbreak and life changes that got me to the point of hooking up with such a loser.....because of this I over analyse everything that affects him......... Bio "Shrek" has 4 known kids with 4 formerly infertile women, my son being the youngest (that I know of). While I was with him and during pregnacy I made nice with 2 of the other mothers and was allowed to pick up the kids for weekends.. (I felt this was my duty) anyway when I booted "Shrek" the visitations ended because I was the only one giving it any effort...... my son has not seen any of his half siblings since he was 6 months old. They however are now 10 and 11, and know about their baby brother........... I have tried to do the right thing by emailing occassional updates and pictures.. and any that they send me goes into his book that I'm creating for when he gets older. Shrek lives a mere 5 blocks from me but does not have contact. He sends about $20 a month to SRS for child support so that the arrest warrants stay off his back. (there is a whole long drama induced story where he is concerned) The last time Robby saw him was a year ago April, and Robby just refers to him as "that big guy, or his other daddy". I never say anything negative about him because I don't believe in it, and if he asks questions I answer as diplomatically as possible, but he may make one or two comments every couple months

I will say this too... when I first had my son, I truly believed that everyone deserved to know their bio's even if they were a piece of crap. I refused to use him as a pawn....... but the day I found out that he had left him alone in a car at a downtown gas station in no car seat hanging out the window saying hi to all the passerby's I was LIVID.. (he ran in to get cigs) and I only found this out because another mother at daycare saw him and thought it was ME who left him and wanted me reported.. she told the babysitter and the babysitter told me..... Yes, momma grizzley syndrome went into affect and I took him to court to get supervised visitation and sole custody....... I got the sole custody and he failed the Court ordered Supervised Visitations and that was over a year ago.............

My family thinks I should not have any contact whatsoever with Shreks family or other kids.. they say it will only confuse him and make him want Shrek... but I am torn..... I will not have any other children and DBF and I are not married although we share a life and he thinks of DBF's kids as his brothers... they don't LOOK like him they don't share the same last name........ oh... and another thing that makes it difficult the email I got today from one of the mothers... well she has a female partner now, and she makes no bones about it that she doesn't like me.. she FORBID we have contact.. so emails I get are always without her knowledge.. STICKY situation......... but it all boils down to...... WHAT IS BEST FOR MY SON? Should I put off the meeting til he is older?

You are such an awesome woman! Screw your family. I think you should go for it. With that much care and love in your heart, I think you will end up feeling that mom thing towards the other kids. I think your son will have a greater sense of identity. That he has more family?!! Heck yeah! Go for it! Have fun too.

[areellady 1]

GR8FUL GAL, THANK you for posting all the hairy details about the fill. I think it helps knowing what is coming and how they do it. Hmmm, I wonder if we all have 1 cc in there already? Do you notice any difference? I think I will not eat either, just for the reason that you said though...WW and weighing in NEVER EAT BEFORE WEIGHING IN!!! That reminds me of one WW meeting I went to there was this gal who was like .5 or 1 pound away from goal, so she went into bathroom took off her underwear and bra and made goal!!!

Update on pizza night...I ordered a Delite(which is thin crust) from Papa Murphy's...thats a take and bake type store for those who dont know...and we ordered a large...WHICH preband we ALWAYS ordered TWO...yes I said TWO family sized pizza's....I had to make sure that I got all that I wanted...so we ordered a large for me, DH and DD...and I had one piece..small bites, chewed good...and then I waited for a bit and then had another piece only this time...I didnt finish the second piece..the doggies got half of it...and they were LITTLE pieces too....I threw a piece AWAY TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT???????/ Throw good pizza away????????? OH YES I DID...and you know what...WHO CARES??? I dont want it...I am not thinking irrational thoughts about "I can't wait until everyone is in bed so I can sneak out and eat six pieces of pizza while no one is looking...." I don't have that feeling..It is like I am at peace with the pizza...I know that I probably won't be able to have it after a fill and I am totally okay with that. It does not have a hold on me after all.....This band thing is GREAT!!! LOL...have a nice night all you beautiful violets...

Oh, and I just wanted to say sorry to all of you who cant have solids yet...I hated reading food stories when I was on liquids...

I am SOOOO happy to never have to "DIET" again...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It feels sooooo good....and liberating.....Deanna

[Daisalana 33]

Just a quick note before bed, I ordered "Lap Band for Life" the book by Dr. Ortiz, and it came today.. I read it cover to cover in the past couple of hours.. Learned some neat things no one ever told me (and I haven't read here on the boards!).

It says, once you're done with the liquid/mushy phase, you should STOP the liquid mushies. It says the band does not restrict liquid/mushies, so after the preliminary healing, you're to go to solids.. ONLY solids.. so they stay in your pouch and keep you full. It emphasized this throughout the book.. I never knew that.. I thought you could just incorporate solids.. and still eat mushies (they say oatmeal is a mushy... scrambled egg is a solid).

It also talked briefly about.. how the weeks after surgery you are restricted from swelling, people lose weight and their spirits are up.. and then before they get a fill, they stop losing because they are no longer restricted and can eat like pre-band (but shouldn't).. and it acknowledges band hell.. I just like hearing professionals confirm this, so I don't feel like I broke myself.

It's a good read, lot of interesting info and guidelines for eating for the rest of your life, has a troubleshooting guide in the back for "If xxx happens.. this is why..and do this to fix it", kind of handy.

Ok good night!

[DynamoMini 1]

DynamoMini...what do you mean a gyser? One of the hard spots was full of Fluid? ???? Did you eat before hand? What did they tell you about eating afterwards?? Was it done blind or floro? What do you mean gurgling? Inside your stomach as you drink? LOL...HURRY AND ANSWER ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL...Deanna<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

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<!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->Deanna - my fill was done with ultrasound. The doc located the port and then went for it. He put a big needle into the area, then looked back at the ultrasound, saying it had to go deeper. It wasn't all that bad, I only said ouch once, I've been through a lot worse. Now when he withdrew the needle it hit the hard serus(sp) fluid and it spayed out (a gyser was a bit of an exaggeration). It was great because I had had this hard lump under my port scar, now it is soft like the rest of the stomach. Usually the fluid is just reabsorbed by the body anyway. I did get a little black and blue mark. The fill wasn't aggressive, only .9, but enough to curb appetite, but still able to drink a couple of swallows of Water. Don't worry. It was cake. I walked, talked, ate normally after it. My doc insists that we eat real food, not mushie or liquids. He think it is more realistic. I did drink and eat more slowly however.

Best wishes on your fill,

Michelle

[Kat817 19]

Ok girls I am back again. We took Rick to the Dr, in Albuquerque. She is a cardiac electrophysiologist (what a mouthful!). He is still bouncing from atrial flutter to atrial fibrillation. He goes in on June 12th for a battery of tests, and general information gathering for the Dr.s, then has cardiac ablation on the 13th. It is a surgical procedure where they go in and cauterize inside the heart, causing scar tissue, to try to interrupt the improper electrical impulses the heart is sending. They said with the combination of problems it could be over in as short as 3-4 hours or it may be closer to 12! So....he is dreading it, but glad there is a fix for him.

I have not had a chance to read up----going to go do that now, will chat with you, and play catch up in the morning.

(((hugs to all))))

Kat

[kity 2]

Kat, Don't forget to take care of yourself during this time. Your in my thoughts and prayers. Sending you some cyber hugs and energy!

[atcg1rl 0]

TracyTX, I can feel your happiness eminating through your email. Like you, I read all the time and most day's can't wait to get to the computer to read all the events of the Shrinking Violets. I don't post much because I'm terrible with the computer. You should see how long it takes me to correct all of the errors I type just to post. Judy-your Great! Lunasa take of yourself first! Please, you'll have so much more of yourself to give. Laura- I'm so happy to see you going thru so many different phases of your life, exciting ! Really just everyone, So motivating,TracyKS!

Lisa

[Jennifur 0]

Good morning everyone!

I hope everyone had a good night. I actually made it to they gym yesterday for the first time, and as I did the min sets I was set up for by my trainer prior to surgery, I am thinking I am going to reduce my weights until I get strong again from surgery. I was there for 30 minutes and it felt wonderful! I don't know what my problem was last night, but I was very tired and cranky. Still have a couple homework assignments to do today and my house is a mess - yard it a mess - and the pool is still not open, I've been doing that for 2 weeks now.

I don't think there is enough time in the day for me. By Monday I will be done with school to the point where I can relax, but in the mean time, i just need to do one thing at a time.

So everyone talking about food, pizza, blah blah blah... I am getting hungry more frequently but still not able to eat large amounts. So first of all, I made an appt with my nutritionist for Monday morning. I changed right before surgery so my 1st appt was going over my history and the 2nd was obsessing about the fact that I need a sleep study, too late for surgery and I sleep fine when I do sleep. I was very sick when I filled out my paperwork over a year ago and was not sleeping great and tired all the time, sick... lack of sleep, major infection.. duhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So I am going to discuss what she is there for, to help me make the right choices to eat, since she was not impressed with my pre-band diet either!

The second thing, you are all going to laugh, but since I can't find a job, I am working part time for my step mom.... in her PIZZA shop... yes... me working for 6--8 hrs making pizza, Pasta, salads, subs... you name it and have not put a single thing in my mouth! That to me is amzaing - as I would have in the past. It is amazing to pay attention to everyone there too, slicing fresh meat for subs, someone always grabs a slice. One night I forgot my dinner, yes i've been bringing my own, and had a small homemade meatball, some ricotta & part skim mozz cheese and sauce. very small portion but it really didn't do much for me. I was so happy.

I have a friend that has been wanting to take me out, still love dbf and that really doesn't help me move on in my life, and friend knows where my heart is, so I might take the movie offer up tonight knowing it is only friends - (we have been friends for about 2 years now) so I think i'm safe.

Anyway, that is where I am today - I am going to have coffee with one of my bff then go to the gym and come home to work away until 2 when I have to get my 3 year old and go to work.

I'm tired just saying all that.

have a great day all!!!

[TerriDoodle 6]

Jenn - are you and dbf together or not? I thought ya'll had patched things up?! You are incredible for working in the pizza store and not eating all that stuff!! That's the kind of discipline that will really pay off for you-- resisting the urge to graze. I mean, it's one thing to say that you won't "deny yourself" because you don't want to diet again, etc....but it's quite another to recognize bad habits and rectify them. Grazing at a pizza parlour while you're working would definitely qualify as a bad habit! So kudos to you, girlfriend!!!

TracyinKS - I am glad you decided not to mix it up with the "other family" this summer. Sperm Donor doesn't seem to me like he's all that interested if he's only paying $20/mo in support. Nothing makes me madder. Anyway, I think you'd be opening a can of worms and your DS is just too young...so much of his personality and the way he views the world is being shaped in these years...you have to be really careful. You have a very good heart and want to do what is right...but I think you ARE doing the right thing right now for your son. Protect him for 3-4 more years as best you can. My $0.02.

I had the most frustrating day shopping yesterday Ican ever recall. Like 5 hours in the mall and only bought a 3 t-shirt-like things and a pair of very casual capris. I need work clothes but I don't want to part with the money!!! I'm still damn fat and the clothes still look like crap on me. This is very frustrating. And if I knew what size I was going to be next year, I would have gotten some nice Spring things on sale. Bah!!

Sara - hey, what are you testing for, anyway? Did you say and I missed it or what? Getting a masters or a special license??

LUNASA - DID YOU GET OFF YOUR BUTT LAST NIGHT??