lizrbit

i have a friend with a very interesting story about bob dylan falling asleep in her bathtub. im currently reading "Behind the Mask, Hannibal Rising" and i love the gory spookies. Also read all of Anne Rice's stuff, including her "Beauty" series ::snicker:::: (i know...but i really really like them) I read a book or two over again alot. Ive got itunes and and ipod so sometimes i get audiobooks to play in the studio when im tired of music, and those are pretty interesting. Sometimes an expression or phrase will make its way into the work im working on if im not very careful. One that i "listen" to every day is "Creating Affluence in a field of all possibilities" by Deepak Chopra. I really really like how i feel after. its relaxing.

id forgotten this stage. Im just now reintroducing some solids and im finding the scales slowly creeping back up. It happened the first time and i told myself "you know this will happen and its normal, just means its time to get back to excercising". Im tight enough. I cant eat more than a few (like two or three) ounces at a time and if its not soaked in sauce of some sort it comes back up. So, i know its not a "i need a fill" issue. I dont, im sure of it. Ive been working more, and my work involves standing absolutely motionless (pretty much) for 8-10 hours on end. I need to get out and walk or ride the bike more. So..i know whats going on, and all..just wanted to put it out there so that if someone else was going through this stage, they would know they arent alone.

hahahahaha... we blame you... (i got it online, but i found better deals at the grocery store for soy protein)

tesma, check out everything you can on the web too. One of the leading factors that led me to choose the band, was that there was zero mortality rate. No one has died from band related causes. Even with a complication, i became very nervous and my surgeon came in and said "its not a life or death surgery". It might be life altering! but you arent putting your life at risk to do it. thats what i dug about it the most.

Hey George! i had a leak in my band. In the band itself and my surgeon caught the leak and replaced the entire getup with one of the new AP bands. I asked the same questions, "what did i do to make this happen" and he assured me that leaks like this dont happen from any kind of thing the wearer can do, and that its VERY rare that mishaps like this happen at all. I was his first in over 4k surgeries. When it does happen its usually a result of a scrape or nick to the band during surgery. There isnt anything you can do activity wise that will affect it.

again..dont know whats up with you Yoda.. just asked you a simple question. You want to take it to a strange and juvenile place..by all means be my guest.

im doing well so far on the rediscovery. have you tried sleeping naked? I know its much deeper than that...but thats how i started to approach that dark scary line...and it worked. sometimes we overthink a thing? I know i do. sometimes.. just... try going to sleep naked. nothing has to happen..it just feels ...good. if that doesnt work, come back to the board and we'll try something else.

yoda... im certain you dont represent all of canada, because i can see there from here. I live in northern maine, right on the us/nb canada border..so you can lay down the flag business. I just asked you a very simple question. Dont know why your so defensive about it. Was curious about how long your doctor had you on clear fluids..thats all. obviously our drs have different recommendations but i was wondering if you were still on them...and if maybe thats why the blood wasnt reaching your brain and all... cmon..lighten up.

babygirl!!!! man thats fantastic!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! i remember the first time i hit 8 miles i felt this really great sense of accomplishment i hadnt felt in a very long time. I rode my bike in this morning but here in maine my ride to work is only four blocks, and all downhill. I havent been riding home very often. Walk yes, but thats a steep climb on a bike. i need to ride more or get to the gym. I put on two new lbs this morning.

well that was another thread wasnt it? not this one. i know, that reading thing can be tricky. Just out of curiosity...and i know ill regret asking..but how long did your doctor make you stay on Clear liquids?

man i could NOT lay on either side until about seven days out (both times) I think its normal. Ive always been really sensitive on my sides anyway before this. As for post band/pre fill hunger known as bandster hell, , Protein!!!! high protein shakes, protein power, tofu, eggs, mushed beans, anything high protein will definitely help your hunger cravings. load up on protein early in the day and it will help keep you from grazing during your day. Good Luck!!!

yep, in addition to those, because my insurance covered it, i had to have a psych eval and sleep apnea test as well as ekg, pregnancy test and meet with nutritionalist. If you are self pay then you only have to do what your surgeon mandates. I bet youre getting excited Laurend, eh? Soon you will be banded and on your way! its going to go so smooth, that after you will come back to the board and say "what was i worried about?"

"OK, I wrote a virtual book here. So I'll stop " You dont have to stop. This is just the place to talk about it. I dont know about you guys but i find its a huge relief to talk about this, finally, with other women who know what its like to have been in this boat. I dont find that anywhere and i live a very protective life. I wouldnt DREAM of talking to anyone i know in person about this stuff. Id be so scared it would come back to me or that someone would use it out of context to hurt me with. i dont want to go one year ever again without intimacy. Ever. Im willing to do whatever it takes to keep that good. I dig it. I dig everything about it. Im GOOD at it! When its right it makes me crazy sensually happy.

julie...i can relate. i had a friend translate a thing for me from hebrew once that read something along the lines of "all women are in the relationships they truely want". do you think thats true? it really made me think. at first i really objected to it, but as ive thought on it, ive wondered about it being really dead on. Im not saying that we want to be lonely, or that we want to feel isolated in our marraiges...just that we have lost interest in doing the "work" needed to maintain them? ..even then, i know its not ALL on OUR heads..but do you see what i mean? there is work involved to keep things going. Sometimes we just cant compete with the memory of ourselves....when we first got together and had all that fire. in my own two year stretch this time, there were LOTS of times i cried myself to sleep....but in truth, he was laying right there next to me, and i could have objected to the living arrangements much earlier, i just didnt see any point in it. NOW i wonder what was i thinking? Body image? was that it? well heck im still a whopping 275, but i dont FEEL 275 anymore, and im "dancing" daily! (woo!) im rereading this as i type and i know it has to sound crazy. I guess the question is...do the women still in isolative marrages and relationships want OUT? or do they want things BETTER? what do you really want?

dear yoda... she didnt mention anything about clear fluids...only that she couldnt find isopure. I havent misled anyone. Ive been banded twice, and three days out, both times, surgeon said protein shakes. (that yes you can mix with water OR milk) As you know, you are weak while on clear liquids in those early days...and protien is the only thing that helps that, and most can tolerate protein after three to five days from surgery, as well as yogurt and milk (both are allowable on full liquid diets) if girlfriend wanted tips on clear liquid diet she would have said so. If i needed clarification, i promise you i would say so. cheers.

Hey Miranda, Gatorade does not have the protien that isopure or a protien drink has and will leave you hungry still. I bought isopure ONLINE but to be honest, it wasnt worth the money. At the grocery store i found SOY GEN whey protien, zero carb, and i love the stuff. it was only 12 dollars a container vs the 75 dollars for isopure. I mix it in the mornings with a half a cup of milk, a container of probiotic yogurt and metimucile. Love the stuff. make sure you get alot of protien in, and you wont be "grazing" all day. I live right near the NB canada border. I feel for you on the shopping wise front.

Ive been married for 20 yrs. The past two years prior to banding we had not had a physically intimate relationship, and i was vocal about being unhappy. i loved this man, i didnt want it to be 'over' but i was NOT okay with the way things had been. I started taking trips to wherever i wanted to go, and staying as long as i wanted. that got his attention first, then i got serious and said to him one day, "look, i want a sexual life, and if you dont want me, then please let me go so i can be with someone who does". It was a hard conversation to have, and we wound up having it several times before it sank in. then... banding...then... about a month into it, we had a sunday morning where we were both off, laying there, looking out the window...and i attacked him. When i hear "it cant happen overnight" i think "bull malarky. you make up your mind to switch it on and then you do the work to keep striking it till it lights" and its true, IF thats what you really want. a conversation with a friend about "daily excercise", and now we are rediscovering things. I thought this beast was dead. It wasnt completely. it took a little while on life support but now is on its own beating heart. im overjoyed. im also aware that since i typed this, it will likely slow right back down. LOL...seems the MINUTE i leap for joy about something, the whammy hits and im left looking into the camera going "what?".

i got a new AP small band. it holds 10 cc saline, and i love it.

this is inspiring! what a great idea for a thread. Its great to read about other real live people who have dropped a hundred. Ive lost 55 so far, and i still have 125 to go. I am hopeful.

id do it again in a heartbeat. Id lost over 90 lbs before twice in my life prior to the band, each time with medication, but it always came back and then some. I got to apoint where dispite diet i was gaining and continue to gain. Excercise only slowed the process down. Now look! fifty five lbs down and still going! i could not have done this on my own. i even had to answer this question for real after the leak and my heart didnt even have time to beat between the end of the question and my unconditional YES absolutely.

pebbles you will definately know. Ive had it happen in a restraunt with my husband, and the ONLY thing that helps me specificly is to go outside and walk. Once i walked fifteen blocks to get something unstuck. We are all different though. I have a banded friend who goes to the bathroom and bends over and just stays there until it is "better". i tried it once and it does take the pressure off the bottom of the stomach. Just tip your top half lower than your middle and gravity helps relieve the pressure. I still walk it off though for the most part.

me too! i was rebanded May 24 with a small ten cc AP band! it rides MUCh more comfortable and im not guessing about restriction anymore. i can definitely tell now. I concur, yay for us!

it sounds like swelling? have you tried chewing up a tums? I know that sounds wierdly simple but it might help your stomach relax. Maybe one of your medication pills became lodged in your stoma? If thats the case it will pass quickly but id try a tums or two and if that doesnt help anything, and if it were me, id call the dr back if its not better by tomorrow afternoon. sorry you are going through this. ouch.

GOOD LUCK ALEXANDRA!!!! (your going to love this)

owie honey....holy cow....yow. man, i hope it doesnt interfere with your date too. I was so proud of you! I hope it works out well.