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Kristen, throw that Halloween candy in the garbage! That's what you would tell me so do it for yourself. We're supposed to get Papaya Enzyme. I got mine at Walmart and the brand name is Spring Valley and they are chewables. It's not very expensive for 180 tablets and the holistic Dr I spoke to yesterday said we can take 6 if needed. Caryn, I know that protein drinks do that to me too. Now I need to cut out the black beans in my hubby's wonderful turkey chili and no more sweet potato fries for me. I just started the probiotic and maybe between that, watching what I am eating more carefully and the Papaya Enzymes i can reduce the gas. Sorry about TMI. Last night we ordered Outback takeout with friends. I was amazed that I actually stopped and felt full after les than half of my petie filet and less 1/4 of a baked potato. I ate all my salad with their Tangy Tomato dressing and felt full so I stopped without eating even half of my dinner. A real NSV for me. I thought their dressing was low fat so I used it. NOT! That house salad was 216 calories. I should have checked it before I ate it. If I know I am going somewhere out to eat I always check to see if their menu is online. If I had, I would have taken off the croutons and used my own dressing. I really did enjoy it but looking back I should have been more careful. Since I had not eaten much yeserday I was 156 calories over my 1100 so it will probably be OK. Overeating on salad, dumb mistake. :mad3: We can do this! Blessings, GG

I am 10 weeks post op and still having lots of gas. I know Protein drinks do it to me but I do not have them often. I am staying on my program, eating sensibly, drinking my Water, and getting in my protein. Weight loss has been slow but pretty steady. I had the shoulder gas pains post op and this is not it. Just plain old gas! My Dr put me on Flagyl for a week and told me this happens to some people. It's because of the drastic change to our digestion. He thought that would do the trick. It did not. I tried Gas X and it did nothing. I do not drink carbonated drinks and I am out of ideas. Has anyone out there had this? I just got some papaya enzymes and hope that will help. I have taken Beano in the past so I guess I will try it again too. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Blessings, GG

You are a hoot! Probably correct about the 95%. LOL Whatever the side effects it will be worth it. You have done an incredible job. Congratulations! Blessings, GG

If it's the painful post op gas hopefully it will subside. Mine lasted about a week. The shoulder pain was the worst. Keep up that walking and I'll let you know if the probiotics help. Blessings, GG

Let me know if it helps. I got some Probiotics this afternoon. Since you are barely post op yous might go away. Walk, walk, walk and try a heating pad. That helped me a lot. Blessings on your new journey. GG

Glad they worked. I got some yesterday and they taste like sweet tarts. I got mine at Walmart but I was in a health food store today. The lady in there that has her Doctorate in holistic medicine said sometimes we might need as many as 6 and not to be afraid to take them if we need them. She was familiar with lap bands and helped me choose a probiotic for my gas. Still having lots, not painful but just embarassing at times. Like the kind you have with cabbage or beans. So far no toots out in public but my dog looks at me funny sometimes. LOL I will carry some of them in my purse for eating meals out. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I will try each one. It's getting embarassing. Any more ideas of there please let me know. Blessings, GG

Wow, you are doing an awesome job! Congratulations. Of course you know all of the girls hate you, but we are cheering for you anyway. LOL Keep up the good work and I like your mantra. Sounds good to me too. Keep us posted on your fill and how it goes. We can do it! Blessings, GG

This isn't painful gas. I had that post op and a heating pad did help. This is just like the gas you have if you eat Beans or cabbage. But, I cannot tie it to any foods that I eat. GG

We all need to remember that, slow and steady. Good positive attitude kauai. Let us know how your fill goes. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Caryn, I don't really like eggs that much but I have 1/4 c scrambled egg beaters and one Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty for breakfast. I cook 4 patties in a non stick skillet to get them browned and reheat one a day till they are gone then do it again. When I want one I nuke it and it takes me less than 3 minutes to fix it since the sausages are already cooked. I put some 2% shredded cheddar in the eggs so I can tolerate them. The reason I like this breakfast is because it stays with me for hours and is 170 calories and 20 grams of protein. The bar and mini wheats are both carbs and go thru you quickly. That's why you get hungry faster. We are supposed to eat our protein first and then round out our meals with vegetables and carbs. My Dr wants me to eat at least 70 grams of protein a day. Protein stays with you the longest and you won't get as hungry. It's hard to get in that much some days but maybe you could take some deli meat, nuts and Greek yogurt with you for lunch. Apples, dry roasted almonds and one of the little mini Babel cheese rounds are good together. Lots of protein. Tuna fish has lots of good protein too. You can make it ahead also. Thanks goodness Halloween is over. My hubby and I stayed home. We usually go to the Fall Festival at church but I did not want the temptation of all that food I could not eat. I didn't buy any candy and turned off all the lights and pretended we were not home. Isn't that terrible? I am one really bad grandmother and neighbor. Everybody throw all that extra candy out or give it to your kids. Tell them to hide it from you. I remember hunting down my kids pumpkins when they were at school. I know none of you have done that have you? It called to me all day long so I understand where you all are coming from. Hang in there Stronagnoff. You can last another week. Only weigh in the mornings. If you weigh in the afternoon you have all you have had to eat and drink all day in there and you will weigh more. Nor a correct weight and it can be discouraging. Drink lots of water and don't stress. We can do this! Blessings, GG

I am so sorry to hear your story. Bless your heart I'm sure it is upsetting. Did the xray show the port had flipped for sure? Maybe he can do in the office and it won't be expensive. They are right below the skin. Keep us posted and it might flip back before Friday. I'll pray for that. Blessings, GG

Thanks Ms Lady!

Had my 4th teeny tiny fill .25 CC. I had only lost 1 1/2lbs on his scale in 2 weeks. Bummer. He said I was doing well and not come back for a month. He also told me to eat more. I've been between 900-1100 calories. I asked if I could come back in 2 weeks if I need to and he said yes so I'm OK with that. I had hoped cutting calories 2 weeks ago might help and it did get my loss started again after 10 days but my body just wants to hold onto my weight. I go up, I go down. Then I stay down. Oh well that's the way it is so I will not stress about it. I feel good and am loosing inches so I am a happy camper. I'm going to adopt Caryn's attitude. It will be slow but it was slow getting it on and it will be slow getting if off. Have a great week everyone. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Sounds like we all getting fills now, finally! I am getting my 4th teeny tiny .25 cc. fill tomorrow but I do feel like I am getting close to the green zone. My appetite is getting less and I get full faster which is a good thing. It still makes no sense to me how we eat 900-1000 calories a day and are not loosing tons of weight. That's normal in our situation I guess but it sure can be frustrating. Catherine, I hope that fill goes well for you and your weight loss continues. Chick, keep us posted. Hoe are you doing now? Jess, chicken is not good to me either. Ms lady, let us know how it goes. Cake girl, have that appetizer, you can do it and stay on program. It is so hard to watch others eat isn't it? Bobrocky, maybe saltines explode when they go down. LOL Glad you are feeling some restriction. Hope the next time it goes down easier. Ctarintina, 30 lbs is amazing. Keep up the good work. Caryn, good job. Keep it up. Helathywoman, I can't wait to see those 180's. Good job. Did anyone get much snow or loose their electricity? My youngest lives in NY in Sunnyside and they got a few inches. Chich, I thought of you. Stay warm. I had a few NSV's today at church. 3 people asked me how I was loosing weight and said I looked good. I'm at 19 lbs and I've always heard it takes at least 15 lbs for anybody to notice. I said exercise and counting calories, which is true. I have not told many people yet about my lapband. I will when I loose a lot more weight. I just don't want people watching me and asking how I am doing or like some of your experiences of asking why I have not lost more weight. How is everybody else dealing with telling people about your lapband? Keep those reports coming about your fills, unfills and victories. You never know when it's just the thing someone else needed to hear to help them. Have a great week, stay warm and on program. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Yes chich, let us know how the unfill goes. I am going back for another teeny tiny 1/4 cc fill on Monday. That's the only thing I do not like about my Doc but he knows best so I am not complaining, very much. LOL I will do as he says. I am starting to not feel hungry as often so maybe that's all it will take. Everybody have a great weekend. Anybody on the East Coast hunker down for that snowstorm! Blessings, GG

Yeaaah for your second fill. Keep us posted on how well it works. You know ladies and gentleman we are all at a turning point in our lives. We can use the band as it is intended, as a weight loss tool. The lap band is not the sleeve or bypass and not a quick fix. we all knew that going into it. By time next year we will all be thinner and healthier! We just have to be patient, stay on program, exercise and WE CAN DO THIS!! Blessings, GG

Jess, It might be too tight or I think a lot of people have trouble with chicken no matter how much you chew. That's what I PB'd on and I chewed and chewed. Try something different like tuna or chicken salad with low fat mayonnaise or chicken with some kind of BBQ sauce. It might be the chicken and not your band. Keep us posted. Blessings, GG

Ms lady, don't be discouraged, we have all had that happen at one time. Stay on your program and don't go back to old habits. I eat when I'm upset and don't do anything like that. This is just a blimp on our weight loss journey so try and forget it. By tomorrow it might be gone anyway. stroganoff, I always weigh in the morning, in my underwear, before I eat and after I have gone to the bathroom. Makes a difference. I don't see how that's cheating. Different clothes weigh different amounts and that can make a difference. At Weight Watcher's meetings ladies wear the same outfit every week and take rubber flip flops so they will be lighter. It also depends on what you have had to eat and drink that day and what tine of day you are weighing. Weighing in the mornings the way I do will gives you true weight I think. I tend to weigh everyday. My Doc says if I can handle the ups and downs and not get discouraged that's fine but some ladies cannot and will freak if they gain. He says they should only weigh no more than once a week and once a month would be best. Can't do that myself. I have found my weight tends to go down a little and then back up a little for a few days then back down and stays there, almost every time. Then I stay that weight a few days and it starts all over again. I have finally started loosing again. Down another pound in the last 2 days. 197.6 now. 18.2 lbs Yeah! I had not lost since the 17th so this is good. Blessings, GG

Welcome John! Good to have another male voice on this thread. Looks like from your stats you are doing an incredible job at weight loss. Keep up the good work. I've been married a long time and have grown kids too. This is our time to finally get the weight issue under control for the rest of our lives. Stay the course and keep in touch. Blessings, GG

Yeaaaaaaah! Chicholicious too! Onederland is so good. You are right, we will never see 200 again. Blessings, GG

Welcome Sb2, I agree with Jess. You will probably get a fill but from what others have posted it depends on how fast you are losing. My Dr says 1-2 lbs a week. He also asks if I am still getting hungry. Every Dr is different but I'd bet you will get a fill. 26 lbs is great! Good for you. Stay on the program and it will pay off. Let us know what happens and how you are doing. Blessings, GG Blessngs

Hope everybody had a great weekend. We got back home yesterday from the mountains and I am down another pound. Yeaaaah for me. My pre & post surgery total is 17.8 in 10 weeks, which is ok, of course I'd like more. But, the good thing is I am loosing inches and my skinny jeans are now too big. There have been a lot of good comments lately on "stuck" episodes. Keep up the sharing. You never know when something you say will help another Bander. Thanks Jess for that informative article on slippage. Hopefully none of us will experience it first hand. Kristenaz, I've been eating a vanilla Oikos Greek low fat yogurt at night with about a teaspoon of Agave syrup in it for a bedtime snack. It's 160 calories but worth it to me. Sweet and yet it has Protein. The other good thing about having dairy at night is it helps you sleep. I take a Water soluable Calcium right before I go to bed every night and in 15 minutes I can hardly hold my eyes open. That's why people have a warm glass of milk to help them sleep, (Yuk, on the warm milk) chicholious, you are a hoot arguing with the nurse. You go girl! My Dr will only do 1/4 cc. for me at a time. That's like a drop, but I trust him and will do what he says. Before I got banded I did a lot of research and ordered a book from Amazon called, Bandwagon by Jean McMillan. it is an excellent resource guide and I highly recommend it for all of you. She is a fellow bander that lost 89 lbs. One of her chapters is about being positive and the power of positive thinking. I needed to reread this. No more complaining from me anytme soon. Maybe some of you see yourself there too. From her book. After years of failure, there may be a small illogical part of you that does not believe you have enough desire, skill or knowledge to succeed at weight loss. We tend to self sabotage with thinking like this. Jealousy, comparing yourself to others that have lost more weight. Instead: we should congratulate ourselves for he 25 lbs we have lost. Consumed with fear or worry, "I had reflux last night - what if my band slipped". Instead: take positive actions and call your Dr. Negativity, focusing on what's wrong instead of what's right. "I can't succeed because my restriction isn't right". Instead: focus on how much better restriction is now that I've had a few fills. Procrastination, "I'll start making better food choices on Monday". Instead: do it today. Giving up easily. "It's just too hard to keep up the weight loss effort". Instead: do it one day at a time. Mental deafness, "why does my Dr keep harping on more exercise?" Instead: consider that he is trying to help you, even if you don't like the advise. Feeling worthless, "I don't deserve to succeed at weight loss". Instead: be your own cheerleader, if you don't do it who will? Denial, "We're getting pizza because my kids need it" . Instead, Who really "needs" the pizza? I believe that my attitude drives most of my success in life. Positive attitude yields positive results. We can do this! Blessings, GG

Bless your heart, I know that was scary. Go back to liquids and call your Dr to see what he recommends. If it hurts, don't do it. Keep us posted on how you feel and how the fill goes. None of us have any idea of how long these plateaus will last and I'm sure it will be different for each person. The one thing I do know is we are not alone, a whole lot of other banders have had the same problem for the first few months. You're doing great! 30 lbs is wonderful and there is more to come soon. Hang in there. We can do it! Blessings, GG