SashaWLS

I am so excited!!!!!! I haven't been able to wear my engagement ring since I had my daughter 4 years ago. Yesterday I got my second fill and found I was down another 5 pounds and have officially dropped to below my pre-baby weight... So I decided to try it, and sure enough, it fits!!! While it was very tight at first this morning, my finger seems to have adapted around it and I can now twist it and slide it around on my finger just fine. It's not strangling me!!! I am so so happy!!!

Does this happen when you take tiny bites?

Right after surgery, I couldn't eat mashed potatoes. They were way too heavy for me. But cottage cheese, which I never liked before, was fantastic.

My doc said any 'complete' vitamin with 100% iron was good... I take Flintstones Complete, chewable...

My body is so weird right now, it's like it doesn't belong to me... Why now, after 7 weeks would I start to feel so weird??? - I'm suffering from the worst insomnia I've ever had in my life. Last week I went to sleep at 4:30 three separate nights, and this week I saw 3:30 twice in a row getting up at 6am both the next days. I'm so tired it hurts and I'm getting a sty in my eye, but yet I get in bed and can't settle down. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. I'm not worried, or nervous, or even thinking about much. I just cannot seem to relax enough to drift off... - I have MASSIVE amounts of gas all of a sudden. I don't think I'm doing much differently, but I'm passing gas constantly and my stomach feels very bloated - I seem to have developed hemorrhoids for the first time ever. Yuck & ouch! - For some reason I suddenly feel my sternum, poking down between my ribs. WTH???? I've never felt this before. I thought I might be feeling the band, but I think the band is deeper inside me so I'm assuming this is breastbone. But Why have I never felt it before?? I haven't lost that much weight. Some, but it's not like I'm skinny or anything... - My stomach muscles hurt sometimes. Randomly. I lie on my stomach sometims and am fine. And the next it hurts. I was in a 5 hour meeting yesterday and finally had to stand up because sitting bent me at the stomach and hurt. has anyone else had this before? Would very much appreciate any insights on any of these weird issues!!! Thanks!

There is sugar free yogurt!!! I started making it for my daughter when she was a baby, and ended up really liking it! Buy a few boxes of berries, stick them in the blender for a minute, and then stir them into plain yogurt... Voila. I like plain raspberries the best, but strawberry/banana is also good. Blueberry doesn't work as well for some reason cause I can't seem to get the skins to chop up small enough...

it's kind of awesome, isn't it??

I systematically throw EVERY piece of junk that comes into my house out, and sometimes run it under Water first. My husband keeps buying crap for my 4yo daughter and I keep telling him she doesn't need to eat 6 cookies!!! It makes me FURIOUS. I hate having this in the house. I hate that he feeds her junk. I don't want to pass this down to her. And I don't want to eat it myself (well, I do, but I don't, you know what I mean)... If it's in my house, it's GAME ON. I will toss it!! If your family brings you snickers, step on them and then throw them out...

DEFINITELY don't confess. just try to get through it and don't cheat again.

Anyone get hemorrhoids after surgery? I've never had them before but I just went to the bathroom thinking I had some toilet paper stuck in there, but it's not toilet paper, it's me!!! I'm a little freaked out. Is this normal??

Don't worry about not ever being able to eat anything... I need a fill and I can pretty much eat whatever I want right now... Bread, dumplings, even a gummy bear that i chewed pretty well... I think when you have real restriction you won't be able to eat some of that stuff, but when you need a fill, you can eat... You may lose slower if you do indulge, but it takes away that "I can NEVER have" fear...

I had one sip of something lightly carbonated before realizing what I had done. SO PAINFUL!!! I had that Oh S**T moment as I was swallowing and then was in huge pain for the rest of the night... I won't be trying that again any time soon...

Try Cebicol (sp?) that throat numbing spray...

I don't understand the no sex thing... We didn't get our vajayjays banded, what's the big deal??

there are two issues... restriction, and overeating... at 1.5 months out I don't have restriction either. But I have found that if I eat more than about a cup or a cup and a half of food in one sitting that I start to feel nauseous, a little suck, burping... I can eat and eat, but I don't FEEL good, so at NWgirl's suggestion (thank you NWgirl!!) I'm trying to stick to about a cup of food at a time and I feel MUCH better...

I was a total failure at trying to prepare for the band eating habits before, but seem to be doing ok now that I have it. So do your best, but don't make it something you use to beat yourself up about if you can't seem to make yourself get it right. You won't know what it feels like till you know what it feels like. Regarding drinking, I haven't solved this yet. I try and try, but I seem to always have to have a little sip... FWIW, drinking before isn't a big deal, you just want it down before you start eating... But drinking after is a bigger deal because it washes the food down. It's totally not intuitive, and I have yet to have a perfect meal. But I'm not doing so bad either...

Ugh, I think I have a little flap of seaweed stuck from my sushi earlier. It feels like a little flap, that opens when I burp and then seals closed again. Anyone get rid of this? I don't want to throw up if I can help it...

Hey you... I read your whole post and TOTALLY understand how you feel. I feel it too. I'm a MESS. All over the place, angry, depressed, mopey, catatonic, excitable... Everything except all happy that I have this thing in me that won't let me eat. I feel like my soul is going to explode... Definitely find a shrink. And if you've never been to one before, make sure you try a few, then pick the one you like the most. Not all therapists are good, or good for YOU. You have to find someone you click with, who gets you, who gets "it", who won't make you feel more anxious, or make you feel like you're talking to a brick wall... Finding the right shrink can be hard (or it can be a snap) but it's really important to know that if it takes a while, it's NOT you!!! A therapist is great, cause you can vent. You can rant and say out loud all the crazy crap you wouldn't even tell your best friend. And then once it's out of your mouth, sometimes the power is gone, and sometimes it helps you figure out what to do next. That said, you don't HAVE to have a shrink. It just helps tune out the static and focus on what's important... On another note, there's a new book that just came out called Through Thick & Thin, which is all about the emotional journey of weight loss surgery. It's by the guy who I had my psych evaluation with... Here's the link: http://www.warrenhuberman.com FEEL BETTER!!!

for what it's worth, I feel the same way. only, it's getting harder to eat fast or a lot or big pieces... this isn't a "diet to mess up" just like the past, this is something that will restrict you from being able to binge... give it time. I'm trying to give it time. it's really hard. maybe the hardest thing we've ever done... I mean, I'm a food addict, so I must be insane to do something that takes away my fix...

You're normal!! It was about a week before I could sit up without my body aching. And while it's good to walk, you should listen to your body. Push yourself without exerting yourself. I'm sure watermelon is fine, but I didn't want that taste after surgery. After all the sweet Protein shakes during preop, all I wanted afterwards was savory and salt!

I didn't come off medication but I have all the other symptoms mentioned. IM A MESS!!! Angry, upset, needy, distant, and I just want to eat every 15 minutes. Totally not hungry, it's all in my head. Last night I went to see a movie just to escape my head. Surprisingly, it worked very well. I was in a much better mood afterwards! I don't how long this will last, but I definitely feel like a junkie who is having withdrawal symptoms because the fix was taken away. I can hardly stand it. Hopefully everything will even out soon. Hopefully.

Toss them!!! Live for now!

You certainly could be right and I guess we'll never know, but I was making the assumption that if she's a grand aunt, that she is pretty old. In my family it's always the old bats who have a slightly warped and rigid view of their reality, and there's no telling what's going to come out of their mouths! My grandmother would have dropped dead from shock if she knew what I weighed... She was from the depression generation, which brings with it a whole different worldview...

Thanks Ice -- I'll try water next time! Right now I dont think it's physical though. I feel a little like a caged animal and my anger and rebellion at being confined is getting to me...