lisacaron

Thank you for taking the time to post this article. @@Alex Brecher As some have stated above it should be part of the sign up so people know they are not here to deliver an agenda or fight a war against one type of WLS over another. So it is understood that this is a community of people who meet here in support of each other, to share their experiences and stories and help to encourage and motivate each other in the fight against obesity. There are many different personalities out there in the world and often you may find someone who clashes with you. Those are the times to learn something new about yourself and others, it's not the time to start name calling and comparing. It is also possible to misinterpret someone's meaning as we don't all have a literary degree, and the written word can often come across with cross intent. If your not sure what that person's meaning was instead of lashing out, ask them what they meant by that. Often times I think we just mus-understand each other, and clear understanding in communication is the key to all things. Awesome post!

Oh yes I have had those issues happen also. They are never fun and they happen to me when I am trying to rush through a meal and I eat too fast or I take too large of a bite. It will take just about forever for the food to pass if it doesn't just get stuck. Your right it feels like your gonna die in that moment, I get hot and clammy feeling heart racing nerves going feeling like you can't breath and then once you get hold of yourself you realize you did it to your self and yup lesson learned! Which doesn't' mean that it doesn't repeat it self when necessary

Love it and had to share it with all my WTW peeps here at work.

@@ccjll how are you doing today? Did the Doc do an unfill for you?

@@amber81499 this is a natural fear to have when your facing surgery. Think about your young boys and if you have a heart attack or stroke from being overweight and you leave them. Think about how they would feel if you had a life long disease that was drawn out and painful for you and them and eventually slowly painfully you left them? Try to turn your fear into excitement for all the things that you are electing to do with and for your family. That is why you are having this surgery! To be a healthier and happier you for your children so you can see them grow up and participate in their lives with them. Fear can be debilitating and tear you down if you let it, so don't let it. Don't turn to what has caused you harm in the past. You are working toward the future now. Your future, your happiness your health. Get back on track and get your head in the game! This is your LIFE. You are not choosing to have an unnecessary surgery, you are choosing your health and well being over a life of sickness and pain. I was banded in May of 2013 and my husband 3 days after me and I have to tell you friend I have not regretted it for one second and neither has he. You got this! Check back in and let us know how your doing!

I know I must sound like a spoiled brat...and I am I can admit it. I am not a big consignment good will share clothes exchange type of gal I just have to bite the bullet and get my butt out there to shop. I'm so pick it's not funny and it's not just from being overweight, there are some tops I would never wear Jessica Rabbit is not exactly my style though my husband would just love it if it were! I work in a corporate office and with lots of roving eyes, so I always feel more comfortable when the girls are tucked away nicely and while they will always be an upfront attraction they don't have to shine bright like diamonds if ya get my meaning Shopping for tops is not always the easiest, and pants..I can totally relate to elastic. For years I had a very sensitive belly button area. Having had several abdominal surgeries for female issues there, however on the last one the doc was able to repair what was an umbilical hernia and that solved my sensitive belly button issue and I went out and bought all these slacks, in size 20 and 22 at the time now I think I need 14...but I am sticking with some nice looking yoga pants! They work, they keep me warm and they can pass for dress pants most of the time. Once the summer is here i can get away with skirts and capris and then hopefully by fall I'll be ready to commit to a few new suits and pants in a stable size. At least that's my current shopping plan. Yoga pants nice ones aren't so cheap these days...at $25-30 each I think they are a bit of rip off...but still once they are outgrown I don't have an issue with ditching them I think it might be fun to shop once the warm weather gets here...it's just this in between right now while it's still cold. I don't want to buy things that are going to be too big by next winter. Trying to make due with what I have for now. What a great way to clean house though I have to say!!!

@@Lindseyrd20 I'm sorry your having a rough time, don't give in!! Soda is one of the big No No's of lapband surgery. You may find some on here that will tell you they have some now and then, but don't listen. If your Dr. told you no carbonation then it's no carbonation. I'm not the biggest Water drinker, so I had to find flavored water beverages to help me out. Mio makes an additive you can put in water and I love the Sweet Tea flavor. There are all kinds, black cherry, watermelon, lemonaid. Just look in your grocery store in the juice or water isles. There are several manufactures now of those, but check the bottles since some have extra Vitamins that might upset you and/or added calories you don't want. I also enjoy warm decaf tea or coffee with flavored creamers. I have not had any kind of soda or carbonated beverage in over a year..and I was once a big soda drinker, it was the only thing I would drink. You can do this

I was a premier Protein girl myself. High protein, low calorie and taste was pretty good. I wasn't a fan of any of the muscle milks and if your going to use them use the light there is a big calorie and sugar difference. Love all the Greek yogurts, when looking at them all I chose by higher protein value and lower calorie and sugar content since the hubs is diabetic and we are both banded. As for Starbucks and coffee... I have a cup of regular coffee a day, sometimes 2 then I switch fully to decaf to get all the "water" values in for the day. I enjoy the warmth and flavor of coffee, it can be a bit acidic and if you have gerd or anything like that it can aggravate those symptoms. If you don't then as long as you get the Water in, and stick to decaf you should be great. Starbucks coffee...and flavors...there is a decaf skinny non fat, no sugar macchiato you can get and it's not bad at all. I limit it to a "treat" for myself since I have seen barrister's make mistakes and you end up with the 700 calorie drink and your supposed be eating only 800-1200 per day, makes you think! For my morning coffee, and my night time decaf I like to use the international or coffee mate flavored creamers. I get them in sugar free they are half the calories, I don't like the non fat ones. Those who are sleeved or had a Gastric by-pass, sugar in any of those mocha drinks or even the fat content of the cream and cause dumping syndrome and upset stomach so probably best to avoid it all together. Lapband does not react the same way.

Congrats and welcome to the banded life! I'm glad you were able to find a doctor to work with on your follow up support. Support and follow up are so important in my opinion to ultimate success with the band, and it sounds like your doing great and right on track!

Hi Crystal are you introducing yourself to the forum?

Hopefully the hospital you are going to won't make you feel herded along on your day of surgery. The biggest thing to do is try to relax when you get there and get ready to be brought in for surgery. Many people let that Oh my God what the heck am I doing feeling get the best of them and cause them to be even more nervous right before surgery and that's never a good feeling when your already nervous. If you have made this decision trust yourself and your surgical team. I don't know if your spending the night, but if you do have a toothbrush and toothpaste with you, that will help you with the horrible dry mouth you have after surgery. Ice chips are great, but you will only have them every hour or so, when your able to get up to use the rest room brush your teeth. It really helps. Keep the booties on while your in bed, they are annoying but they prevent blood clots so keep them on. Warm decaffeinated Tea was my best friend right after banding surgery. It helps to soothe your tummy and ease the gas. Frozen sugar free ice pops are also a great comfort to help ease internal swelling and keep your Fluid in take up. You will want to have your prescription pain medication filled as soon as possible if you can even before surgery so it's at home waiting for you. liquid Tylenol works wonders as well. Get a set of small medicine cups and sip from them in the first few days after surgery. It will help you not to gulp your liquids. You may also want to have on hand an ice pack or two for incision sites especially around the port area as this can be very tender and the ice pack is a great relief. What also is a big help is a heating pad or hot Water bottle for your back and shoulders to help ease the gas pain as well. The best way to move the gas is to get up and Walk walk walk. Remedy's such as gas-ex and beano help but walking will really move things around. Get used to tooting your horn, it's part of the journey Best of luck to you, that's all I can think of right now...

I don't know why it is, but it takes some time for the fill to be fully felt. For me it's about 2 months since my last fill and I feel tighter now then I did before. I think it's a combination of many things, for me I was great about 2-3 weeks into the fill. Then I got sick. Post nasal and cough and that tends to fill you up with ick. My stress levels are on super high with about 101 things going on at home and at work so there is no real "safe" haven and I'm tense often. When I am tense my band is tighter, and if I eat anything of substance during that extreme tense time..well that only complicates matters and makes things worse and adds swelling to the problem after. I thought about going in for a small un-fill but I am right at the point I want to be at in the green zone, and just need to take it easy when I know I'm under so much pressure. I don't know why it is so..but it usually takes 2 weeks for the full affect of the fill to be felt. Maybe it's something to do with the body's reaction to the stimulus of the pressure....

I'll be honest with everyone...this weekend I just took OFF! I stayed home, I stayed in my most comfy sweats, and did NOTHING! I had a baby Christening to go to on Sunday and you know I love my family, but I just didn't want to get up and get "dressed" up. I do that every single day for work. The hair the make up the clothes. I just wanted to be OFF this weekend. So I took it! I gave my congratulations, I sent my card and my gift and my love to the new little family and I stayed home in my sweats with my hubby. I needed a mental health weekend away from it all. This morning I was up early, got my car to the shop "idiot" light was one and I need an oil change. I got dressed and yes my clothes and even my boots are a bit too big on me, but you know I don't look terrible and I promise myself this week I will buy some pants and some new shoes. For now I'll just wear tube socks with my boots because they are calling for SNOW! Spring freaking SNOW here in NY again! I am so sick of this cold weather it just is NOT funny!

@@lapper32014 I understand. Your very newly banded and it's going to take some time. If you are worried about the Protein and getting that in, there are protein shots by body fortress these helped me in the very beginning when I wasn't able to get the amount of protein in as needed. They are light juice flavored but they pack the punch you want/need and they are easy to take. You can also mix into Water to cut the "flavor". They helped me when I didn't have access to keep things cold and I needed to make sure I had that protein in. On days when you can, try to set "meal" times so you are eating balanced through out the day. The habits you establish early on will help you as you move forward. I know if I don't carve out the time to sit and eat I won't eat at all and that sets me up for failure later in the day. Good luck! Great that your back to work already!

Are you banded? and if so for how long? I will tell you what my nutritionist says about taking so long to eat or drink anything once you are past the early healing phases. It should take you no more then 20 minutes to consume your meal. If you are eating past the 20 minutes stop if you keep going your eating into your next meal. It should not take 3 hours to consume a blended beverage and if it is I would also question why make 24 oz and not less?

@@tw42 how long have you been banded?

I can say I am in the same boat and at times the tide is in and others the tide is out. I have some days where I am more restricted because of allergies or cold/flu though never to the point that only liquids can be taken. I have had that once after being sick, and it was not something I could or would want to live with for any extended amount of time. Thankfully it cleared up and I did not have to have fluid removed. I'm at a good place with my band today. I am able to eat solid foods, and keep the portions in check. That's right where I want to be. When I have days where stress cinches my band because all the rest of my body is tense, I know it already and I will take it easy on my choices of foods, and lets just say I won't be eating a steak or dry chicken breast. I have learned even before banding that when those days come along, it's better to eat light and easy. Before banding I would get very sick if I ate heavy while under extreme stress, and now I have to say I'm glad that with the band I just can't get it down cause at least I am not sick for days

You are most welcome to come shopping with me any day! We can even go to the outlet stores if you like. They have some good finds and are less overpowering then the mall. In the past I would send my sister in law out for me. She's great with shopping, has good style similar to mine and loves to shop. The only problem with that right now for me is size, and I'm one of those discriminating PITA's. I have to like it, be comfortable in it, and it has to fit my "style" budget which could be anything and everything at any given moment So come on lets get our shop on!

I agree that it's something that you have to work on every day to keep balance in your life. That said it is understandable for a person and/or persons who are undergoing life changing experiences like WLS or recovery to vacillate closer to one end of the spectrum and back to the other before they find their balance. I think the key here should be support, from close family and friends or even a therapist who might be able to sense that they are too far in one direction for too long and give that person a nudge so they don't stay stuck there and can keep swinging until the find their rhythm.

Do you know I just love you lady do you know that?!! I appreciate all of you and all the support. I was a good girl today and I didn't stick my tongue out at myself this morning! I'm a really bad shopper, honestly I hate it with a passion. It's an old left over emotion from years of shopping and trying on clothes with my mother when I was young. Alexanders was the worst place in the world. If they said we were going there for new clothes it was enough to bring me to tears. It meant hours and hours of trying on clothes I didn't even like. It was the 70's did anyone like those clothes? I started the donation pile this morning, I pulled out those things that just don't fit right anymore, you know the ones you just can't belt or pin anymore. They are going to find a new home where someone needs them. Some of my more "awesome" shoes will find a new home too. I'm not big into selling my things, I'd rather give them away. I'm headed out for lunch today and I'm going to one store and see what I can find in my size and if I purchase one or two things you ladies are right that will be a big help and I can do that every couple of days and soon I'll have a decent wardrobe again. I think if I keep the "shopping" to lunch time I'm sure I won't be overwhelmed and miserable and I'll actually accomplish something since I'm putting a time frame on it

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. OK so I woke up on the same side of the bed I always wake up on, but will say that I was really out of sorts in an oddly wicked mood! I woke up and I had nothing nice to say to the person I passed as I walked out the bedroom door. There she was again in the bathroom mirror so I stuck my tongue out at her. Didn't she know I would rather have my eyes closed then be in the bright lights of the bathroom mirror that just make everything seem garish?! OK so on the way to the kitchen to feed the cat who is now under my feet and giving me the so far silent meow that will turn into an all out annoyingly screaming meow if I don't get that can of cat food on the plate ASAP I told that girl in the hallway get over yourself! Get it together we got things to do today woman! Maybe there are too many mirrors in my house.... I fed the cat and went about the getting ready for work stages. Washed the face, took a shower put the make up on downed the coffee in the hopes that caffeine would chase the fog away for me today, but no even that morning cup of java was not hitting the spot this morning. Can you hear that horror movie music playing in your head about now...no? I could! Now it was time to get dressed, the undergarments well lets just say thank goodness Christmas wasn't so long ago and most of those fit though why I am still holding on to the super sized ones..... I put the pants on and thank goodness one of the three I keep shuffling through the wash and back were clean and ready to wear. The weather is sick, just like me, been fighting this cold/flu bug since last weekend. Today just for the first day of Spring to be extra special it's going to warm up. Last night it was all of 15 degree's so this morning the fog is not only in my head it's out side and less then a mile visibility! Yes! Can't wait to take that ride to work today, I bet I can use a butter knife to carve my way there and it would be moving faster then the traffic that the newscaster is screaming about on the TV. Thank god for the off button! I can't listen to one more thing about the snarled traffic the miserable weather or look at her in her hideous "Spring" dress. It's making me angry, cause I can see my reflection in the blank screen where she was standing only seconds before. Is the bozo the clown look in I'm wondering to myself?! When did the circus come to town and drop all their extra costumes in my closet?! Nothing fits right, I'm not happy...I'm growling...audibly growling now, my grouchy mood is starting to make me angry and the fact that I can't find something to put on and I'm going to be even later to work now as I change time after time. This top is no good, OK not this one either it's just too hot today..(wow did I really say that?!) Now I'm starting to sweat as I find a good enough top, pull out a pair of shoes and WTF!!!!! How can my shoes be too big?! REALLY? Am I in a nightmare here...maybe I am still asleep?? Nope, and yet there she was Clarabelle the clown, in her baggy pants, over sized top scary wet hair sticking out every which way, her face all made up, her shoes 2 sizes too big. All I needed was the honker and a bell! My poor husband came home just then and well.....one opinion (and you know what those are right..every body has one...) wasn't good enough so I had to give him another one just for the hell of it. I apologized he just walked into my nightmare I should have left the house 30 minutes ago but nope still here. I finally tamed the beast and got her into some decent clothes, dried her hair and at least no one would be calling the Big Apple Circus to let them know they lost one of their clowns today. So why did my mood not get any better? It's 5:00...and you know I'm already dreading tomorrow and doing this all over again! My hubby said OK it's time to go and get some new things, but you know it's just not so easy! It's not another pair of jogging pants and sneakers or a smaller tee shirt. I'm great at home on the weekends. I'm finding it very hard to discard shoes that cost hundreds not to mention the clothes, and things that you had to struggle to find before to fit you...and then shop for stuff that's "temporary" since I want to and will lose at least 60-70 more pounds?! I am going to need at least a weekend to clean out that closet, and UGH I hate to shop!!! I thought to myself how over the last few weeks I have been sabotaging myself, eating what I know I should not, and looking for an excuse to be mad at myself and those around me. Why though? Why am I doing that? Why do I feel like I am not embracing this journey anymore and doing what I should be for me? Yeah I have a lot of crap going on we all do. My partner in crime, my hubby he's going through some major stuff and I can't do anything but be there as a support for him and for me that's super frustrating. I would take it on if I could have it be me and not him, but we all feel that way about the people we love. I don't know that this feeling is going to change overnight. I hope that at least realizing that I need to make some changes and sharing some of my frustration and anger at myself with you all is a first step. Maybe you feel or have felt something similar? I don't think I'll ever be a "morning" person, but at least I will promise not to stick my tongue out at myself tomorrow...

I got one word for you, AMAZING!

I agree with you. This is a support community and yes every now and then we are off topic and there are forums set up for those "way" off topic things, and even one for rants and raves if you feel so inclined. That said let me also say that if you are going to write about and share your part in or knowledge of something illegal you can 100% guarantee it and you will be reported. So, unless you feel the need to confess and you can't make it to your local police station, your fingers forgot how to dial and you lost your voice and can't dial 911 then by all means share it here and we will make sure that the proper authorities are pointed in your direction.

I agree with everyone above! If you are ready to do this, and your medically clear for it, go for it! It was one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself, and have not regretted it.

Sure you can use Muscle Milk post op just choose the "light" version of it, is what my Nutritionist advised.