AquarianCrab

Looking at the cheerleaders is one thing....gawking at them and wanting to sleep with them is quite another. Get out now so that you can concentrate on you.

Wow. At 6 days post-op I was just starting full liquids. I wasn't allowed purees until week 3. That said, the gas pain gets better, but hasn't completed stopped for me (7weeks). Part of the problem is that I'm eating healthier - lots more veggies, which sadly contribute to the gas problem. The burps are a warning sign. They mean you've eaten enough, maybe a tad too much. I only burp when I've had too much. If I burp while I'm still eating I know it's past time to stop. You really don't want to be bringing anything up while you're still healing, so heed that warning. If the pain is too unbearable, I'd call your doctor because it could possible be something else and it's always better to be safe than need more surgery to fix something. Denise

Yep. I had diarrhea the entire 2 weeks I was on liquids. As someone else said, liquids in, liquids out. Then when I started the mushies, it was mushies in, smearies out. I didn't have a normal bowel movement until I got back on regular food. Just keep drinking! I know it sounds counter-productive, but you have to keep hydrated. Watch your pee color. You shouldn't really see any color in the toilet. The more yellow it looks, the more dehydrated you are. (I learned that from my son in the military - he said they actually had a color chart in the bathroom.)

My husband says he supports me, but he went to only my first doc appt. and refuses to attend any of the support group meetings. He buys junk food that he knows I love, he won't help out around the house, spends all of his time home either on his recliner in front of the tv or playing his guitar, won't eat the stuff I cook (entirely too healthy for him), and came right out and told me I'd best not start running around when I get all hot looking. So I think others are right in that it scares them. Men can't live alone, and they won't leave you until they have another steady you-know-what lined up. Speaking of which, my husband is scared to death to touch me for fear he'll hurt me. We finally had a little action for the first time since my surgery last week (about 5 weeks after). So, yeah, I think he's scared.

Yikes! I've been doing okay (surgery was about 6 weeks ago) and losing, but today I just feel miserable. I got to bed late Friday night (had the extended family over to say goodbye to my son who is moving across the country on Monday) and last night I got no sleep because my arthritis woke me up in pain so bad I was crying. So all day today I'm tired and achy and miserable. So, what did I do the minute my husband left to help my son load his furniture into the moving truck? I grabbed a bag of M&Ms and ate it. And I have to go see my doc on Tuesday! I'm going to absolutely hate getting on that scale now. We all slip up from time to time, and if you're working on your master's thesis I know of what you speak. It was about 2-3 months before I finished that I was so frustrated and overwhelmed that I nearly quit. During that last semester I thought I was going to lose my mind. I was hating life: the thesis work, my job, my husband, my kids, my house, my car, my wardrobe, my hair, my cats, me....EVERYTHING! All I can tell you is that this too will pass. You will be so relieved when it's all over. And then about a couple of months later you will be bored out of your gourd.

You can only get it from lapband if you have the "lapband" brand. If you have a different brand, you won't have a valid ID number. My band is a Realize band and the ID number has a different number of digits so it's not valid. It doesn't matter anyway, you don't need the card because legally restaurants do not have to honor it. I say patronize the restaurants that let you order off of whichever menu you choose and don't patronize the ones that won't.

My PCOS was so severe I ended up needing a total hysterectomy. PCOS is just one symptom of a larger problem called Syndrome X. As others have mentioned, it is the insulin resistance that makes it difficult to lose weight, and yes, the trick is absolutely, positively, nothing white - sugar, potatoes, rice, bread, etc. Even when looking for wheat bread, the first ingredient should not have the word "enriched" in it, but must have the words "whole grain". It's tough to find bread like that, but it's out there. We also basically have to follow a diabetic diet, paying very close attention to glycemic index numbers. If you follow the sugarbusters program, you will see a big difference, but it has nothing to do with calories or fats and everything to do with carbohydrates of color. Switch to brown or basmati rice, whole grain whole wheat pasta/bread, sweet potatoes (the darker the color the better) for example and you will really see a difference.

I was banded on January 10th and lost ten pounds the first week and only another 15 since then. I go in for my first fill next week. I'm hoping the weight loss speeds up after that.

My weight has always yo-yoed, so I had some clothes packed away under my house. Last week my husband brought in the two with the biggest sizes, and most of those were too big as well. I hauled in 4 more bins and went through them and spent the weekend washing them and filling my closet after I emptied it out. I wish our support group would do clothing exchanges. I agree with the person who suggested skirts. They just get longer as you lose. How on earth can someone fit in a 20 at 270 pounds? I'm down to 220 and just got down to 24, with a couple of 22s mixed in. I'm so envious. You are doing an awesome job! I also put up a post on the New Jersey Bandsters thread for anyone in South Jersey who needs career casual clothes (I'm a teacher) to email me. I'd love to give them to someone else on this journey. If I can't find someone who needs them, my mom offered to help me sell them at a yard sale (she has 4 long clotheslines to hang them on). The money will be used to buy a nice summer outfit to do my shopping in (I'll wear baggy stuff at home), and then some items for the start of the new school year in the fall.

If anyone in the South Jersey area is in need, I just dropped a couple of sizes and have 3 boxes of nice career clothes up for grabs. Most are from Roaman's or Woman Within, and are 2X bottoms with 3X tops (not exactly cheap). They are free to a good home. Lots of the 7 day knit sets and big shirts with matching bra tanks. If interested, email me at DeniseChalowCase@comcast.net. I would rather help another bandster than throw them out. One thing I wish our support group meetings would do is hold a clothes exchange a couple of times a year. I am glad to have had the foresight to pack away some when they got too small, so I have some for the ride down the scale. I hate the idea of buying clothes until I reach goal.

I didn't tell my family I was getting my band until about a week before the surgery. The next day, my sister told my mom that she had to start dieting because there was no way she was going to let me get skinnier than her. I have always been bigger - she's a tiny under 5 foot pixie in a size 6 at 52, I wore size 14 in high school. A week or so ago, while we were chatting on the phone, she bragged about losing 10 pounds the first month after my surgery. I told her I lost over twice that (I figured she wanted to know and that's why she brought it up, since I hadn't been discussing it with anyone) and she came back with "well, I'm doing it the normal way with my own willpower, not using a surgical crutch". I was blown away. Other than my husband, she was the only one who knew from day one, because she works at the hospital and is quite knowledgeable about medical stuff. So when she said that, it felt like she stabbed me in the back. It seems to me that siblings are both our best friends our worst enemies all rolled up into one.

What a great idea! How nice of you!

I agree that first and foremost, you have to want it to work to make it work. Never stay together simply for the kids' sake. They are learning from the two of you what works and what doesn't in relationships, and if you stick around just for them, they will think that's how a marriage relationship is supposed to be. I also agree with your mom. You're even. He stuck it out for you, even though he covered up his hurt with abuse. Now you need to do the same. Of course, if he is physically abusive, you need to get out as soon as possible. As for the trip with his brother, well, that's easy enough to validate if you're close to his family. It could be that his brother took him on the trip to get away from the situation so he can relax and think it through. Ok, there is also the chance that he is with the "other woman" as well. Either way, I think he's trying to make up his mind whether he wants to try and make it work or bail.

I find that when I get into a rut like that, I need to keep my hands busy. If the weather is nice, I work outside in my garden. If it's not, I clean, do needlepoint or puzzles, play with the dog, anything to keep my hands and my mind occupied. BTW, relax regarding your son. My son is ADD, and he is now 30 and doing fine. School was difficult for him, because of the lack of structure. He is in his 13th year in the National Guard (the structure of the military has been the best thing for him), has a college degree, and a full time job with benefits. I am also a teacher, and will tell you that I had my son tested privately. I did not allow the school system to classify him and place him in special ed. I see too much coddling in a program that places as many students as possible into it because more students means more government money for the district. I simply told my son, now that we know what the problem is, how can we fix it? We came up with our own solutions (for example, covering morning textbooks in one color paper and afternoon textbooks in a different color paper) and he is successful while his classmates who were classified in school cannot hold down a job. With your love and highly structured guidance, your son will do just fine. (ADD is just the new way of saying "he has ants in his pants" - or am I so old nobody remembers that saying...) As for your husband, we are all unhappy with our spouses at one time or another. Have a good chat with yourself to figure out if it has something to do with your feelings toward yourself. Sometimes when we're unhappy with ourselves, everything our spouses do seems to irritate us when under normal circumstances it wouldn't. If, after your self-chat, you decide that he is the problem, then only you can decide where to go from there. The bottom line is that you need to take care of yourself first, and the rest will fall into place. Although your son will never admit it, (mine didn't until I told them I was having the surgery), he will be embarrassed and ashamed of you if you gain all of that weight back. I know you don't want that, so perhaps that thought can provide some incentive for you to stay on track. Hang in there. I wish you the best.

I'm from South Jersey and had my surgery done at South Jersey Regional Hospital by Dr. Attia.

The blender will be best for Protein shakes, especially if you like to thicken them with ice cubes. The stick blender does a fantastic job of turning Soups into purees. The chopper and food processor will be helpful when you're back on full food, making pieces of food smaller. For example, my husband and I love onions in everything, and I always used to cut them up by hand. Now I chop them so that the pieces are smaller and there is less of a chance of them getting stuck. The difference between these two appliances is really quantity. If I'm chopping up just a quarter onion, I use the chopper, but if I'm doing a large pot of Soup or spaghetti sauce to freeze, then I need the processor.

Thanks. I used to take it daily, but the capsules were gigantic. I found some chews on Bariatric Eating. I just ordered some to see if it works.

I'd ask your doctor before using anything, as I was told before I left the hospital to put nothing on the incisions whatsoever. I developed a rash between my incisions that turned out to be ringworm and required a prescription creme.

I had to sleep on my back for about 2 weeks and hated it. I also made sure not to drive for a week like my surgeon said. Some people rationalize saying it's ok if you're not taking pain meds, but my doc said you use abdominal muscles to move your foot from brake to gas so you really shouldn't drive for a week so you've healed.

dk4k is right. Besides, if you lose too fast, your skin doesn't have enough time to keep up by contracting, and you'll need more surgery to get rid of the extra skin literally hanging around. Slow and steady wins the race.

I was made to stop taking my NSAID arthritis meds 2 weeks before surgery. I was told it irritates the stomach lining and causes ulcers, and can erode the stomach to the point where the band ends up on the inside of the stomach. My stomach is fine but I can hardly walk now. I miss Vioxx.....

You said you're still on mushies? Eggs of any kind weren't allowed for me until the soft foods stage. Could be too much too soon?

I don't have a lot of restriction, but I don't count on that to stop me. What I also don't have is hunger. I think my surgeon did an excellent job of placing my band on my nerve because I am honestly never hungry and have to remind myself to eat. Then if I eat too much, I begin to feel uncomfortable. The band is a tool - you have to learn how to use it.

I was also told no motrin or aleve. They are NSAIDs and are very irritating to your stomach lining, even cause ulcers. Taking them so soon after stomach surgery could create problems. I miss my aleve terribly - I have severe arthritis and was taking it prescription strength daily but I had to stop 2 weeks before the surgery because of how much it irritates the stomach. I am in so much pain from my arthritis, but I don't dare take it until I get the ok from my surgeon - and I'm about 4 weeks post-op.

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner for Valentine's day. We went to our favorite local diner. They seem to have much better food than the chain restaurants, and they will alter their offerings to suit you. Personalized dinner out! I ordered a broiled seafood trap (shrimp & scallops). There were 6 small shrimp and about 8 tiny scallops. I asked them not to use butter or oil. I ate about half of the salad, and the seafood, and was just full. Any more and I would have been uncomfortable for sure. I got a baked potato and green beans as my veggies, but didn't touch them - I brought them home. Tonight I'm making a twice baked stuffed potato for my husband, and I'll eat the green beans, along with a slice of the beef roast that's in the oven.