donali

Whoo hooo!!! You're doing great!!!

Good luck!! We're thinking about you, and hoping you win!! So glad you're healing up well and feeling good! ((hugs))

OT = Off Topic Or, if anyone is actually working, overtime... lol

My take on how to tell if you're too tight (from more mild to severe): 1. Dissatisfaction with the small amount you are able to eat. 2. You are not able to eat sufficient calories/nutrition. 3. Pain when eating. 4. Inability to keep down solid foods such as meats/poultry, but no probs with "easy" foods. 5. Vomiting in spite of chewing well and eating slowly. 6. REFLUX/Heartburn. 7. Inability to drink fluids. For those where everything is okay except for reflux, I would do everything you can to avoid even once a month reflux - it will add up. Reflux avoidance guidelines (in order of least to most aggressive): 1. Do not over eat. 2. Avoid acid producing foods/drinks, like caffeine, chocolate, peppermint, orange juice, spicy food. 3. Do not lie down after eating (I think they recommend a 3 hour wait?) 4. Do not eat or drink 3 hours before bedtime. 5. Take an OTC med to control reflux. 6. Elevate the head of the bed (helps keep the esophagus above the stomach so there's no backflow). 7. Take prescription strength meds to control reflux. 8. Get a slight unfill. 9. Get a total unfill.

Congratulations!! You both are doing fantastically!! Whoo hooo!!! :clap :clap :clap

Leatha, too - because of a slip.

Sensy - So glad you got a slight unfill. But PLEASE - your stomach is undoubtedly irritated and swollen from the last two weeks - do liquids for a few days to let it recuperate - don't try to eat solids right now. I personally would do at least three days of full liquids before trying to eat anything solid, and then I would move to mushies for a few days. Anyone who has dealt with chronic over-restriction can attest to the fact that once the vicious cycle of stomach swelling starts it can be very difficult to end it. Two weeks is a very long time to struggle with being as tight as you were. Take it super easy, or you may end up having to have more, if not all, of your fill removed.

YEAH!!! What Crystal said!! And besides, in 2-3 years you'll have long left the 16's, anyway...

Congrats, Kathy!! I wore a brace for the first couple of weeks to help hold up my stomach, and it made everything so much better. Apparently people don't think you look like you're doing well when you're walking around with one (or both!) hands holding up your stomach to ease the pain... lol

Hi Kendra - do you mean you were banded April 5th? Congrats, and welcome to bandland!!

Congrats on being so involved in the process and going after what you want/need. I hope your appeal is approved!!

Wishing you a speeding recovery!! We're thinking of you!

Hi Dee - I have heard of it. It doesn't interfere with food absorption, though, it just takes up room in the stomach so there's less room for food, so you feel full on less. The drawback to that is, of course, that it is only a temporary tool, and once it's removed, capacity to eat more than needed returns, and most people will, of course, eat more than needed because they're looking for that "full" feeling that the balloon helped give them on less food.

We're thinking about you, Katie!! Hang in there, and SO hoping you don't need another surgery. xxoo

Sometimes you can feel... something, a pressure, a presence, something... When you feel like you need to eat stuff you're trying not to to maintain your surgeon's required -10 pound loss, remind yourself that you WILL be able to have any of the things you want after banding - just not right away. You are not saying "goodbye" to anything long term.

Hi Monica - Your initial restriction from your fill was undoubtedly due to your stomach swelling after the adjustment. I would give it a few weeks to settle in before you decide this current fill is too little - you will probably find (like most of us) that your restriction can vary from day to day, and you may feel wide open one day and slammed shut the next. My fills didn't really kick in until 4-6 weeks afterwards (no idea why). I am not a lower BMI patient, but fills seem to be fills. Your fill level may tend to be a little higher than higher BMI patients (at first, anyway), but that would most likely be due to less fat around your stomach. So the real answer is - this is not happening to you because you are a low BMI patient. This is a typical response to fills.

AHHHAHAHAHHH!!!! LOL I was trying to get my BF to sing (and act out) the "I'm too sexy for my shirt" song just the other day... lol

Getting your heart rate up is cardiovascular exercise, and is very very important - your heart is pretty much the most important muscle you have, next to your brain. Aerobic exercise does help burn calories, but not in the same way as building muscle. Your active job does count, but probably not too much towards building muscle or getting your heart rate up. But you are moving, and therefore burning more calories per day than if you sat there typing all day like I do. :bored I believe whatever muscle mass you currently have will be maintained as long as you provide your body with adequate protein/calories and continue to do the same amount of activity each day. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. To attain best health you should do both - heart rate exercise and muscle building exercise. Says the ultimate couch potato... So much beautiful, unapplied knowledge in this little brain of mine... I'm looking for the magic motivation gene. lol Where's Tony Robbins when you need him?!?!

Hi Nana - I did get your email - you should have received an email from me this morning letting all who sent me an email know that Kyleigh was the lucky winner. Congrats, Kyleigh!! Enjoy, and use in good health! xxoo

Last call - bumping for those coming late to the offer.

Whoo hooo!!! <wolf whistle> - looking great, Alex!! Congrats!!!

Sensy, what Alexandra said. No kidding. No fooling around. Promise???

Sounds pretty important, and scary to mess with according to these sites?!?! lol http://www.answers.com/topic/vagus-nerve http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gastroparesis/ http://www.bartleby.com/107/205.html

I believe that is the "vagus" nerve...

I think being banded has changed you... You may not think it has, because you are fighting the same demons, but you have learned SO MUCH about yourself through your band, and through your membership on this board. Yes, you are still struggling. No, it isn't easy. But look at how much you have accomplished since banding in spite of all the problems you have had, being UNFILLED, and then just life in general. One day, my little chickadee, you WILL get a fill, and you will become even more successful. Until then, you are seeking the help you need, and exploring strategies to remain and continue to be successful. And that may not be a change, but everything you are trying IS changing you. Can you take a night class in something fun, like painting, or dog grooming, or something like that? A community class that only costs $25 or something? You need live bodies to get you out of the house and tire your a$$ out. You will need SEVERAL live bodies, though, 'cause you have more energy than any 10 people I know put together. xxoo