judych

that sounds great. ive found that im getting a lot more pleasure out of my meals now im not eating nearly as much.... i savour every mouthful.. its got a lot to do with chewing so many times and then waiting. anyone else had this??

what is smartlipo?? ive had some problems with my arms getting saggy. ive never had big arms before my weight gain and now they are looking pretty awful. i dont want them looking this bad when i go on the cruise with my grand daughter... i want to swim a lot. so... what is smartlipo please

i used calamine lotion all the time. i never had a general rash but an allergy to the steri strips they used. i probably did have some allergic reaction to the the paint they used but im not sure. i do know that my body came up in welts the size of a twenty cent piece... not nice. i just kept treating them with calamine and they went eventually. i didnt have undue itching with them when they were treated.

i have my coffee black with no sugar.... coffee is slightly bitter anyway so i dont notice anything different really. i have no problems taking my tabs crushed up and put into a coffee.

...good idea.....

i wonder... is your sugar level below what it should be?? try sucking some barley sugar and see what happens. i get light headed when i dont get enough carbs.. its a delicate balance . even gatorade may help you?? these ideas are just of the top of my head... worth a try??

..i really did enjoy mashed potatoes with meat juices added to the broth i was having. i just made it thicker as i got better. i also added cauliflower, pumpkin... they were thoroughly pureed. somtimes i added a little lite sour cream....yummmm.. also added mild salsa for more flavour.... garlic powder.

when i first went onto more solid foods i got some baby food... i had to add beef broth to it though... it was awful tasting. i think i only had about three jars if i remember correctly.

it will pass. before you know it you will be feeling on top of it all. i had a hernia repair done as well. I didnt have any painkillers or gas meds ( apart from some mild liquid panadol the first 48 hours) and i hurt too, but it passed quickly. Dont try and push yourself right now. make the most of your time.... do you read? i made the most of my time and did some reading.

i have to take meds for hypertension and i crush it up, put it in my black coffee. its slightly bitter but coffee is bitter to a certain thing and im used to it.

how marvellous is this?? you are a wonderful advertisement for weight loss surgery... both of you. congratulations for a wonderful effort from you both. You both look just fantastic. way to go.

the port incision is the biggest one... the port is seating in muscle so you will feel a hard lump there as everything heals . my port is about three inches to the left of my navel... i had a lump (hard swelling) there for quite a while. i wasnt concerned because i knew that muscle reacts that way when its had surgery. So... give it time and everything will settle nicely for you. i have to ask... do you have a follow up dr or clinic for fills etc?? also... the hardness below where you think the band is?? thats due to the trauma of surgery as well... dont panic. just do all the right things now and you will do fine.

i dont think a dr will give a fill before at least six weeks to two months after surgery. it was two months for me. then i got 3ccs. No... you are not missing anything .. just relax, trust in the dates that the dr has given you for fills... concentrate on your food right now. do you have any restriction just from the band itself? i did, right from the start.( nothing in the band at surgery either) im over three months out from surgery and have have 4ccs... and had 0.50 cc removed yesterday. it was too much.That was in three visits... two visits fill was added, yesterday some taken away REgarding the procedure of the fill?? there is absolutely NOTHING to be concerned about... and i mean that. its painless and its very quick. Amazing really. Yesterday , having that small amount taken out was quick and painless as well... no soreness after woods or anything... dont worry about the pain .. there is none. Regarding the amount of fill?? your dr will ask you some questions... he will see the weight loss on your chart as you would have been weighed when you go in... and he will work out what amount you need... so dont worry. He is the professional and he knows what you need. good luck.

i havent been through this with flying yet but i do know that if im having a long stressful day the band tightens a lot. i did read about flying and how it does affect the band though. im thinking that maybe you will go through it... everyone is different but if flying one way has affected you this way than you should expect that flying home will do the same. i do hope its not that bad though. not even being able to take in fluids is really scary stuff. good luck.

hang in there... it will get better. yesterday my hubbie and i were in Mac Donalds. we were in the city .. a long day. He likes Maccas... so, here we are. I ordered ten very small chicken nuggets and the smallest chips. i was able to eat half. Hubbie had his usual. chicken burger with the lot plus a large fries. lol. i enjoyed my meal just so much... and i ate very little. i wasnt concerned in the least. now i know, i can order very very small serves of chicken, or fish and have an enjoyable meal. im sure that even these fast food outlets have very small meals that arent laden with fats etc... you would have more selection of eateries that we do. we live in country australia. So... if i can do it, everyone should be able to. the secret is... We only do this on average about once every two months !! apart from that we eat at home and i have full control in the kitchen.

this is a really good practical post... if you follow this one you will do well.

.. i know that there are different opinions from various drs and different countries as well. when i was banded, and, by the way, im australian.... i wasnt given any real direction about how much protein i should have. i had one appointment with a dietician and that was a broad discussion over every food group, not a lot of time spent on protein. so... i had Protein drinks through the day... i had beef broth, etc etc. this was mainly my eating plan. im having more protein than other foods even now... over three months out . i love my egg and bacon.. i have beef hamburger on a plate with fresh from the garden dill... i have chicken... all the meats, and a small amount of veges on the side. ive never worried much at all about the amount of protein i needed... i just went and did that. ive been on atkins diet many times in years gone by so i know some basics. im having a liquid Vitamin at the moment ... plus barley green, which is like spirolena. my intake is quite healthy. im not counting anything at all. Im having what i want to eat... what i feel i need. its been easy for me.

a good question. yes, chicken should be good . what about turkey? beef? ... when i started on puree foods i just pureed meat and veges and added it to a beef broth. mind you, we were going into winter so it was fitting to have more thick soups. i would just do the soup thing... beef stock is great. ive added hot mashed potato to mine, ive added mild salsa... lots of things. i live in australia so most likely my diet is a bit different. but... purees are all the same wherever we are. i know that soups are boring but putting puree into them now would make a huge difference to the palate. Were you goign to feed salads to the rest of the family? i know its summer there and quite hot.. do you eat fish? you could cook up fish.. .puree it with low fat mayo and whatever else suits your tastes... in fact, you could do puree with any meats.. .including beef. beef would be great pureed with a little gravy in a beef broth.. things like that? i made up all my own meals... soups, thick soups, just made them thicker by adding more protein(meat) and carbs (veges) until i was on solids. its not hard ... just take what the family are having for the most part an puree that for yourself. if you are having b.b.q. you could do the meat from that and put into a broth.. make it nice and thick. im sure others will have lots of ideas for you as well. good luck with it all and let us know how the holiday went. judy

im assuming that you will have all amenities.. like power. take a blender with you. that way you can eat your veges... fruits. take yoghurt, fruit, fresh veges... some soup stock. you wouldnt be on salads yet by the sounds of it.

nearly every morning now i have an egg and some bacon. im really enjoying it as well. i use a little olive oil in the frypan to cook. im still losing weight.. . this Breakfast holds me until about 12.30pm... which is good.

i use SLM by Musachi. Ive tried other protein drinks and they are awful. I buy the vanilla and chocolate one . I also use, everytime, Greek non fat yoghurt in my drink, and im generous with it as well. Do try this one. I recommend it . It has no aftertaste, and im sensitive to anything like that. If you wanted to you could add coffee... more vanilla, other flavours, like frozen berries, etc etc... ive had it lots of different ways. Ive been banded now for nearly four months and ive always got this in my cupboard. when i have a fill or if i have a bad episode with food getting stuck i use the protein ... its a great mainstay. Also, if im in a hurry at breakfast time i use it for a meal replacement.I do hope that you can get back onto losing weight again. Have you got a dr where you live who can give you a fill? it sounds as if you need to have another fill.... Whatever you do.. dont leave things as they have been. YOu have a wonderful tool in you that you should be utilising to the max. Go for it. Get a fill and be positive. You can do this. good luck.

i dont think there is any easy answer to this one. im like you, i love to have a couple of glasses of red in the evenings. one thing though... it doesnt make things any easier for me when i come to eating a meal. i dont lose weight and dont put it on either. i will have weeks without and lose a lot... then a few wines and weight loss stalls again. im using it as a tool to slow things down more. l ol. not that i recommend it to others. i would never do that. i think its just another area of discipline.... and i know thats not easy. good luck.

i wasnt crying but felt really awful.. wondering what on earth i had done to myself. feeling guilty because it had come to this. I think that nearly everyone goes through this. Its a profound move that you have made. YOu have severed your slavery to food... its that simple. There has been a death in your life.... overeating. It goes to show just how strong a hold food has had over us. I think also that there are emotional upheavals as well. after all, food was my best friend and becoming more so as i got older. i was using it as a crutch more and more. i dont know about you. I felt bereft when i came home from surgery. i made up my mind and got drs approval within just a few weeks so i didnt have time to really ponder over it all. my health needs were obvious so it was very quick. It was afterwoods that i stopped to think about it all. AS for the guilt thing? thats all gone. im just thrilled now at the result and the changes ive had to make have been huge. Its well worth it. Now i need to find another ''best friend'' or ''comforter'. lol.

now... it certainly isnt fun at all.i wonder if you have had a stomach flu?? jut a touch? o.k.... sliming.. well, as far as i know so far, when the pouch is having difficulties with what we have just eaten, (and it happens quickly after we do this..about five minutes for me.)... it gets a bit painful. when it happens to me, i get the acute discomfort... i feel the food moving in the pouch,( i feel it churning..) i seem to salivate a lot... ive noticed now that i start to sneeze. i guess thats just me though... dont quote me on this. lol. Eventually i have to put my head over a bowl and the ''slime' comes up. its like vomiting but its not as acute. its a softer reaction and more spontaneous somehow... still not nice though. it seems that when the pouch is having difficulty coping with food there is slime produced( to help the food pass, is my guess) which ,most times, if there is enough of it... just comes up. ive had a few episodes now but never more than once vomited back up any food. i find that when im goign through a stuck episode that the pain is uncomfortable, the extra saliva in my mouth tells me then that i need to bring up some slime.I salivate a lot. Usually when it happens to me i know whats coming and just get a towel until i go to the loo or the basin) Its one of those things that we just have to accept... it may happen to us anytime. i think thats why the lesson of ... ..''small ( and i mean sometimes the size of your little finger nail) mouthfuls.. chew many many times, swallow and wait for at least 20/30 seconds for the food to pass into the pouch from the aesophagus. If you are consistent with doing this... it wont happen to you. ive had periods when ive cooked roasts, been carving the meat and just plain forgotten that i had the band in. ive taken a mouthful... and BANG !! off i go.. lol.. and i suffer the consequences. other times Ive just been too hungry and eaten too quickly...BANG !! again. lol. WAtch these times if you are the cook for the family and if you allow yourself to get too hungry. Im sure it will all go well with you.....one day at a time... you will learn very quickly i know. we have, all. lol.