wanna let my mind catch up with my body.

[JENNIFER7375 3]

Im really seroiusly considering getting a slight unfill right now for a number of reasons. and before i go much further. I love my band and would don't wanna go back to where i was 6 montths ago. Not now, not ever.

1. i've been having a lot of acid reflux the last week.

2. right now i love the way i look in clothes. but i'm not too happy naked.

3. i've been working like crazy lately. i mean crazy like i worked 90 hours last week/ most weeks i've been doin like 65 or 70. between work and my family i don't feel like i've been making a true effort to eat right and have been eating way too many slider foods lately just because i'm busy and they're easier in a hurry. I've also been PBing way more than i think is healthy.

4. my daughter is 16. she's not heavy but she's a curvy girl at arounf 136. I think seeing me drop so fast is starting to bother her. She is a beautiful girl and the light of my life. Well she's gained the usual 5-10 pounds most teens do over the summer.Recently she's been talking about taking diet pills to take it off. which i absolutely forbid by the way. I"ve lost like 40 pounds this summer while she's gained and she says all the time how proud she is of me but i know its bothering her. and happy as i am i'd cut off my arm before i'd hurt her or contribute to her having an eating disorder.

5. because i've worked so much my exercise is no where near what it should be. Probably why i hate my body so much right now. I've had a long talk with my daughter about the proper way to lose weight and we are starting couch to 5K together tomorrow. my kids are the main reason i wanna get healthy so i think its important to focus on being healthy and break some of the negative cycles i learned from my mom.

6. My boyfriend has been wonderfully supportive. We sarted dating about 2 months before i was banded. He's never made 1 negative comment about my loss. he says i'm beautiful and sexy no matter what i weigh. He's always treated me like a princess. But i have to think it's weird for him at times when physically i'm so different then the girl he 1st met in such a short period of time.

7. right now sometimes i look and i just don't recognize myself. And its a scary thing. Yes i'm happy bring banded but it's just so weird. My body image is so off sometimes. I was out with some girlfriends last night and they were all carrying on about how thin i am. I told them they were nuts. to prove my point i askrd my one girlfrind how much she weighed. Shes very thin to me. Well i figured by showing everyone how much more i weighed then her it would shut them up. Well guess what? I only out weigh her by 2 pounds. my body image is so off at times i can't grasp my real size right now.

So i may sound whiny. And i know its a problem a lot of people would like to have. But i think for now it's time to let not only me but the people i love catch up to the dramatic change i've made in the last 6 months. the past few months i've been treating my weight loss like it's a sprint to goal and it's just not the right attitude. I got the band to be healthy for life not to get skinny as quickly as possible. So for all the reasons i've listed i'm gonna schedule an apt with my doc and get a slight unfill. i think it;s the right thing for now. So to anyone who reads this thanks for listening to the early AM rant of a confused insomniac. Life can be crazy. I never have and probably never will meet most of you in person. But i have to say so far some of my LBT friends have been some of the best and most supportive i've ever met. Thanks guys

Edited August 30, 2009 by JENNIFER7375

[Grandma26 1]

You are doing amazing and please don't be so hard on yourself!! I think we see ourselves differently then the rest of the world; when we look in the mirror we see all the imperfections, others see all the hard work so far.

I hope you and your daughter can get on a healthy path together. You both need each other and can be a great team. At 16 self image is hard and sometimes overwhelming. You are a great role model for her. Maybe once the summer is over, school is back in session both of you can get on a healthier food path. I have had similar food issues, the weather is hot, work hours are too long, quick and eay foods are very tempting!! I understand having faced the issues.

Keep up the good work!

Hugs,

G'ma

[greytz 4]

Jenn, I think taking the first step with your daughter is the couch to 5K. It will make her feel like she is part of what you are doing and that she is doing something for herself at the same time. She is probably feeling a little left out, confused also about your image and feeling a little self-doubt about her own image. Getting her involved with what you are doing and making her feel like she is doing something for herself is I think the best thing you can possibly do for her. Also, it will probably bring you both even closer together on another level entirely. I am a little confused about why you want an unfill though. Maybe it is because I haven't had any of those symptoms yet, but it sounds like you just are going way to hard at life right now. I was like you. It was before I was banded and I was working 110+ hours a week seven days and was on call 24/7. All of the sudden one night on the way home from work, I had a car accident. I didn't know anything. I woke up in the hospital and for the next few months they were desperately trying to figure out what happened to me. Finally, I found out I had developed a heart condition due to all the stress and wearing my body down and not eating properly, etc. You know the drill. I was forced to retire. I was on the early list anyway but it was the last thing on my mind. It has been a very difficult adjustment. My life has been a true adjustment. Boy did my prioirities change. I realized how truly badly I had neglected my family and my friends and my life in general. I now have a diseased heart that cannot be fixed and one day I will black out and just not wake up. I hope you find balance. It is a very difficult thing to do. You have done a fantastic job with your weight loss and it sounds like your daughter is wonderful. Good Luck and talking to your surgeon is the best thing to do. Maybe you an both figure out what is going on and you can get your issues with your eating straightened out.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Jennifer:

I'm glad to see that you are going to start an exercise program with your daughter. If you're working that many hours it is very important that you have time with her. Be glad that she wants to spend time with you because alot of 16 year old girls don't want to have much to do with their Mothers. With my daughter a nasty beast moved into her mind when she was about 14 and it stuck around until she went to college. Now she's 22, and next to her boyfriend of four years I am her best friend.

I hope that you can find a better balance of work and home time in your life. It's all part of putting yourself first sometimes. It's better for everyone in your life if you take better care of yourself.

Best wishes to you.

Sue

[pilotlisa2008 0]

My Mom had a Gastric by pass about 7 years agoe, and it freaked all of us out how fast her weight loss happened. it was like 100 lbs in five months. it was drastic, I think she has gone back to snacking and not exercizing and she has put on about 35 lbs but in total she went from 310 ro 320 down to 125 in less than a year and has skin issues and body immage issues. We all love her and are glad she si healthy, but watching how she had no controll over her weight loss and how fast it was was a major reason I got the band insted. I think it's realy great how if you like how you look at 150 and you feel good, no joint issues, no hert issues diabeties ect. you can hang out at 150 it's your choice. the other thing is it may give your mind a break from some stress and let your shrinking skin catch up a little.

BTW I was an absolute booger from 13 - 20 , I was also a curvy then chunky teen, with attitude issues. now

I call my mom every day sometimes more. She has been a great cheerleader for me.

[krtork 0]

Im really seroiusly considering getting a slight unfill right now for a number of reasons. and before i go much further. I love my band and would don't wanna go back to where i was 6 montths ago. Not now, not ever.

1. i've been having a lot of acid reflux the last week.

Not good. I have to take medication, because I have reflux, but I can't feel it. Most of it happens when I have stress.

2. right now i love the way i look in clothes. but i'm not too happy naked.

I think this is typical with weight loss.

3. i've been working like crazy lately. i mean crazy like i worked 90 hours last week/ most weeks i've been doin like 65 or 70. between work and my family i don't feel like i've been making a true effort to eat right and have been eating way too many slider foods lately just because i'm busy and they're easier in a hurry. I've also been PBing way more than i think is healthy.

That is a lot of hours! Adds to stress.

4. my daughter is 16. she's not heavy but she's a curvy girl at arounf 136. I think seeing me drop so fast is starting to bother her. She is a beautiful girl and the light of my life. Well she's gained the usual 5-10 pounds most teens do over the summer.Recently she's been talking about taking diet pills to take it off. which i absolutely forbid by the way. I"ve lost like 40 pounds this summer while she's gained and she says all the time how proud she is of me but i know its bothering her. and happy as i am i'd cut off my arm before i'd hurt her or contribute to her having an eating disorder.

Mine is 18 and leaving for college and I wish I could have done this sooner to help her address and learn to handle her food issues. I feel guilty. She is super supportive, but she is feeling the way your daughter is too! We are not the only one that has to adjust to this change, our families do too.

5. because i've worked so much my exercise is no where near what it should be. Probably why i hate my body so much right now. I've had a long talk with my daughter about the proper way to lose weight and we are starting couch to 5K together tomorrow. my kids are the main reason i wanna get healthy so i think its important to focus on being healthy and break some of the negative cycles i learned from my mom.

Good for you for including her and starting to exercise together! You are a great mom and teaching her how to eat and exercise will help her in the long run. C25K is the best - you will love it!

6. My boyfriend has been wonderfully supportive. We sarted dating about 2 months before i was banded. He's never made 1 negative comment about my loss. he says i'm beautiful and sexy no matter what i weigh. He's always treated me like a princess. But i have to think it's weird for him at times when physically i'm so different then the girl he 1st met in such a short period of time.

You are lucky to have a good man that supports you - no matter what your size!

7. right now sometimes i look and i just don't recognize myself. And its a scary thing. Yes i'm happy bring banded but it's just so weird. My body image is so off sometimes. I was out with some girlfriends last night and they were all carrying on about how thin i am. I told them they were nuts. to prove my point i askrd my one girlfrind how much she weighed. Shes very thin to me. Well i figured by showing everyone how much more i weighed then her it would shut them up. Well guess what? I only out weigh her by 2 pounds. my body image is so off at times i can't grasp my real size right now.

Our minds have to catch up with our bodies. I feel like I have lost slow and steady, but it is quick and it takes awhile for our brains to catch up with our new physical image!

So i may sound whiny. And i know its a problem a lot of people would like to have. But i think for now it's time to let not only me but the people i love catch up to the dramatic change i've made in the last 6 months. the past few months i've been treating my weight loss like it's a sprint to goal and it's just not the right attitude. I got the band to be healthy for life not to get skinny as quickly as possible. So for all the reasons i've listed i'm gonna schedule an apt with my doc and get a slight unfill. i think it;s the right thing for now. So to anyone who reads this thanks for listening to the early AM rant of a confused insomniac. Life can be crazy. I never have and probably never will meet most of you in person. But i have to say so far some of my LBT friends have been some of the best and most supportive i've ever met. Thanks guys

Jen~ You have a lot on your plate right now and it is great that you are recognizing that you do need to make some adjustments. You are not whining, you are dealing with life!

I say good for you! You have done a great job with weight loss and now you are trying to get the rest of your life caught up and on track. And of course, you are seeing your doctor :wub: so you will be able to make a decision together about how you should proceed.

[HappyHomeCC 2]

I started having reflux about 6 months ago, I found that it was all stress and anxiety related, could that be the case with you?

I get the brain thing. I have to work on accepting the attention as a positive , in the past losing weight when I start getting attention I freak a bit and will stop losing and make a U-Turn. This has to stop for me!

I hope you feel better soon.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Don't get an unfill! Of course change is scary and you've been so successful! But that quick mind of yours can catch up faster than you give it credit for. Your daughter is smart like you are; she knows you had surgery, and a year from now when you are still slim, but healthy and happy she'll be happy for you.

Sounds to me honestly like you need to get a work unfill! Check with your doc about GERD; are you eating too late/too close to bed time?

Why not keep the fill where it is (if you can deal with the GERD, to me that's the only good reason to get unfilled) and work instead on exercising. And relaxing a bit.

Also, if you have or know of a good eating disorder therapist, a couple sessions to help you recognize the "new you" can't hurt.

You're doing so well! You deserve a breather but I don't think loosening the band will give you what you need. Just my 2 cents...

[JENNIFER7375 3]

I mostly want the unfill due to the reflux issue im having. its been really bad the last few weeks. i've beeen taking prilosec 2x daily. I figured maybe taking out half a cc or so might help.i know it seems crazy to slow down 6 pounds from goalbut Im just afraid of doing permanent damage. Ill see what my doc thinks. it maybe that he will just switch me to a better med for the reflux like nexium.

and as far as work goes i made it very clear to my scheduler that i'm slowing down. last week i worked 5 doubles in 6 days. I usually love my job but right now i'm just burnt out on work.

im actually off today so im just trying to make point to relax and do nothing. Im making the kids a big dinner and im just going to try and hang out with my family and do nothing this evening. Between work , my kids and my sister im used to being busy all the time. But the last few weeks have just been really bad and it finally caught up with me. I'm just drained both physically and emotionally. I know it will get better i just need to regroup. Thanks for all the positive feedback, you guys are great

[RestlessMonkey 7]

There's nothing wrong with slowing down, 6 pounds to goal or not. And you're right about the GERD (you know you are! ) because it's better to lose slower than to damage your "innards". :wink2: Enjoy your evening!

[greytz 4]

Jenn, I am on Nexium and it seems to be doing the trick for me. I haven't had any side effects from it so far.

[coloradobanding 5]

I will likely be in the minority here, but here goes.

I TOTALLY suggest getting an unfill! For many of the reasons you listed, but for many more that you didn't.

I personally got the band to REALLY use it as a "tool". I wanted it to restrict my eating and basically "force" me to eat correctly, slowly and less.

It HAS worked and I am thankful. But I NEVER got the band with the intention of keeping it filled until I have issues. Once I figured out what I needed to do, and what I needed to eat, I am ready to get a complete unfill FOREVER!!

I have done exactly what I wanted to do thus far, and have had the absolute BEST experience with the band I think possible.

If you do get an unfill, and you begin going back to your old habits, get a small fill and work yourself up from there.

The band has always been advertised as a "tool" to help people lose weight. We all know it takes a lot of hard work to get this weight off and make a lifestyle change. Once that is done, and you're comfortable with your progress, I see no issues whatsoever about getting a complete unfill. ESPECIALLY if it is causing issues!

I would think that those who are at or below goal would not need the band anymore, but I see that it is not the case in general. I see many people who are terrified that, without the band filled, the weight will come back in.

In my opinion, if you've really made the changes necessary to lose the weight and keep it off, the band is useless, thus, so are fills. That's my .02

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Coloradobanding: If you can remove the band and keep the weight off, you didn't need the band to begin with. There are people who must have the band removed and manage to keep the weight off, but that percentage is slim. It's as slim as the percentage of successful dieters who lose and maintain by using diet and exercise alone.

To think that you could use the band, lose, then have it disabled is like thinking you can diet and exercise, lose, then quit exercising and watching what you eat and stay where you are. If you stop doing what made you successful, odds are you'll regain.

It may work for you, your plan. You may be one of the lucky few percent and if so, good for you. I think maintenance is the big plus of the band, not initial loss.

You know yourself best of course. But the band isn't a belt you wear one day because it works with your outfit, but that you toss back in the closet when styles change.

[untfluter 3]

ok.. I keep seeing this term and I have NO idea what it means... PBing... what is PB'ing??? Thanks!!

[coloradobanding 5]

Coloradobanding: If you can remove the band and keep the weight off, you didn't need the band to begin with. There are people who must have the band removed and manage to keep the weight off, but that percentage is slim. It's as slim as the percentage of successful dieters who lose and maintain by using diet and exercise alone.

To think that you could use the band, lose, then have it disabled is like thinking you can diet and exercise, lose, then quit exercising and watching what you eat and stay where you are. If you stop doing what made you successful, odds are you'll regain.

It may work for you, your plan. You may be one of the lucky few percent and if so, good for you. I think maintenance is the big plus of the band, not initial loss.

You know yourself best of course. But the band isn't a belt you wear one day because it works with your outfit, but that you toss back in the closet when styles change.

I completely disagree with this opinion. I definitely needed the band to begin with for many reasons, but mainly because I needed to change my lifestyle and take off a lot of weight. To say that if you can manage with the band after you have successfully changed your lifestyle, you never needed the band in the first place is completely inaccurate IMO.

I agree that those who manage to take off the weight and maintain it on their own, without the band, is hard and many do regain. However, if a band patient begins to gain the weight, they can begin getting fills again, which is completely different than someone who lost it with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc.

I absolutely NEVER stated or referred to getting unfilled then going back to a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, what I did state, is that if you do use the band as a tool, and it actually did teach you to change your lifestyle, then you don't need it; which I absolutely stand by 100%. Of course if someone gets an unfill, and they go back to bad eating habits and don't work out they're going to gain, that's apparent. My point is that if they TRULY changed their lifestyle to included proper eating and exercise, they don't need to band for restriction.

I certainly didn't go through all this trouble, expense, surgery, recovery and hard work to EVER equate the band placed inside me to an "accessory" and would never think of equating it to such as you did in your post.

My point is that everyone works the band how they see fit. My opinion is MY opinion and what is working for me. I agree that many people who have WLS did so for different reasons. And I agree that many probably rely on the band for a lifetime. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses it in this way. I'm not advocating that my success will be the same for anyone else. She posted a question, and I posted my opinion in my reply. However, I don't appreciate the implication that I never needed it in the first place just because I have the audacity to use it as it was intended. And have the gall to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regime with little or no Fluid in my band. May I be in the minority? Sure I can, but those who take the weight off, and KEEP it off, all have one thing in common, and it's not a band. It's a healthy diet, exercise and a complete lifestyle change.