Summerrain

I didn't get time to get bored. I was cooking and cleaning from day one and running my business from home. I didn't do any heavy lifting and it was a week before I got in my car and drove myself to the supermarket.

I know this is not the area to post about this but couldn't find the right area, I'm on my iPhone. Does anybody else have an issue with the forum constantly crashing on their comp? I've tried so many times to log in, I read through two or three posts and it crashes on me. It's getting really frustrating as the iPhone app is limited and some nights I'd love to be able to sit at my computer and read through posts or join the chat room without the constant crashes.

Love this post, congrats in your success!

I'm not ashamed of having weightloss surgery to help me get rid of my weight. It's still work on our part. I was more ashamed that I had let myself get as big as I did. If people ask how I've lost so much I tell them, most are curious how it works. When I first got it I didn't go out and advertise it to all, no ones business what I do in my personal life but as I've dropped the weight and people notice I don't mind telling them if I'm in the mood to do so otherwise I say Ty because they have made a nice comment on how much I've lost. In the end it's personal choice if you tell people or not. So do and say whatever makes you comfortable because its about you not others. And there are some people out there that need to mind their own business and get on with their own lives instead of stupid gossip.

Depends on your surgeon. My first fill was at 3 weeks then every 2 weeks till I got to where I needed to be. My fills were small each time so it gave me a chance to creep up to the green zone and readjust my eating patterns each time.

Welcome and awesome loss!!

Donna to me it sounds like the stuck episodes along with the stress you're experiencing both have aggravated your insides. I say this because stress affects my band, it makes it tighter and feels like I've had a fill. I think it would be a good idea to do your liquids for a few days to let everything settle down. I would think if you ate too much you would just feel uncomfortable. If you're getting stuck I would assume you're tight and that could be because if the pbing irritation and stress irritation.

I had to do a liquid Protein diet pre op for a month, after surgery there was no way I could drink them again without gagging or feeling nauseated, I told my surgeon if he made me drink them I'd be throwing up constantly. I concentrated on staying hydrated whilst healing and wasn't too fussy about my protein intake till I was on solids three weeks later. To this day I have not had one Protein Drink since pre op. I get it from my food intake and have lost every week since July 2012 when I was banded. If I see those drinks or powders on a shelf I instantly want to gag lol.

Whilst I was on the liquid and mushie stages I only ate when hungry and that was not often. I was told not to worry about getting in enough protein, calories at this stage but to sip only whilst hungry, as you heal and swelling goes down you'll be able to get more in. We won't starve to death in a few weeks if we don't get in 1000 calories a day. From memory the first few weeks I was lucky if I could manage more than 300 calories a day. Eventually I got back to normal and was able to get my requirements in.

I was told that caffeine can stimulate the appetite. And the coke thing mystifies me too as I know it's acidic but for some reason it dries up my excessive acid within half an hour. My kids saw how miserable I was for days with one if my episodes and they said hey mum try some coke see if it helps, I was so desperate that I did and it worked quicker than my meds I take for it.

I was told no carbonation also as its irritating to the band. Even carbonated regular drinks that are flat contain a lot of sugar and caffeine and as we know caffeine is an appetite stimulant so I stay clear of them. I do have an issue with stomach acid ( have had this issue since my 20s so it's not band related) and since having the band it's much better but if I get stressed out a lot it flares up and I've discovered coke neutralizes the excessive acid and settles my stomach within 30 mins of drinking the coke but I only sip about a quarter if a glass over a half hour period. That's the only time ill drink it and have had to do it twice since being banded.

Thank you so much for sharing your inspirational journey. This last week I've been feeling frustrated with my plateau ( I know they are part of weighloss but still so frustrating), reading your post has given me a huge mental and emotional boost. You are an amazing woman with what you've achieved and you look absolutely stunning, Very pretty too!

With my last fill I had to learn to take even smaller bites and foods I could previously eat would cause me to get stuck and pb. I took it real slow and stuck to softer Proteins, it took me a good month to settle in with my last fill. Some days I can eat certain things and the very next day the exact same food causes stuck episodes. So if you're doing all the right things and still pbing and sliming a lot might be a good idea to have a teeny bit out rather than more fill as the others have posted. I could probably get a little bit out but don't want to, I just have to be very mindful of what and how I eat, I like not being hungry and it helps me stay on track. But do discuss this at your appointment and let them know you've been pbing and sliming a lot, that's what out team are there for, to help guide us.

You need to be careful with fibre. If the pill doesnt go through the band and sits in your pouch as some pills do then it can expand in the pouch and clog the stoma. I take a fibre that dissolves in water to minimize the risk of that happening.

I take all my pills in the morning, biotin and two multi vitamins and calcium with vitamin d which is the largest. If I find I'm a bit tight in the mornings then I take them at night time as my band loosens a bit by then. My nutritionist advised taking pills with a bit of yoghurt to help them go down too if I was having problems taking them.

Ouch your poor thing, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Looking amazing, happy belated birthday and that cake looks good too!

Looking fantastic!! Congrats on you're awesome loss.

Sorry missy going to correct you here, the pouch doesn't hold one cup of food, it only holds about a tablespoon of food. The pouch is above the band and that's where the food you just swallowed ends up till its squeezed through the band hence the one minute rule between bites, sometimes it takes an extra minute depending on what we eat. If one cup of food were to sit in the pouch above the band we'd all be in big trouble. I asked my surgeon, my nutritionist and my fill person about how much sits in the little pouch and they all told me the same thing, about a tablespoon. To the op no question is dumb and as you've found out you've had wonderful and helpful replies from great people on this forum so ask away.

Great job on your loss so far!

Love these comparison shots, great job on your loss so far you can notice a big difference already in such a short time.