lisacaron

Great work my friend!!! I have to say that I haven't seen much movement on my scale at all...but I can see the difference in my body from working out. I am much stronger, and leaner. I really need to get back into the routine, but this last week I have been having some terrible time breathing with the humidity...it's just miserable. 2 steps out the door and I'm panting like a dog. COPD really stinks!!!

This was a good one for me to read today. I often ask myself what I want to be when I grow up Truth be told though I can't remember the last time when I wasn't the "adult" in the room, even in kindergarten I am happy to grow old (means I'm still alive!!) and I hope to do it gracefully....but youth is definitely something that I do miss, just to be able to recover quickly from the adventures of life!!

@@Shauny08 you should be OK. My sister went in for a fill about 2 months after her baby, and though it took a minute to find the port she was able to get her fill and is doing great. Have patients with the Dr. and technician while they search for the port. Sometimes if you do a crunch they can feel it a little better as the muscle contracts. They will guide you....you just relax and breath Congratulations on the birth of your little one!!

It makes me very sad to read this and know that your daughter is suffering. That alone should be reason enough to have the surgery. I would go to the hospital and have them x-ray and show that there is trauma going on in there and that this needs to be removed before more than pain is the issue. It is abdominal surgery but no longer bariatric since she is not having WLS. She is not revising to another surgery she is simply having a foreign body that is causing a danger to her organs removed. A general surgeon and/or a gastric surgeon should be able to do this procedure without issue and the insurance company should not dispute it. I would contact and visit a gastroenterologist and see if they can be of help with the insurance company. Please let us know how things work out.

OK so I can't help myself here...because this happened to me just the other day! I am NOT at goal and I am still Obese, and I'm sorry but there are just some fashion violations that the obese girls and boys alike require that the authorities be called in to intervene because my big mouth is gonna get me into trouble! Good thing my hubs was there to clamp a hand over my mouth! I was no where sweet and nice like the pool or even the beach, where I might expect flesh to be hanging out. I was sitting in the tattoo parlor waiting for my artist to finish drawing up my newest addition. Out from the back walks a couple and let me just say I am all good with the biggins. My hubs and I still fall into that category ourselves, but I am sorry call the fashion POLICE because when your skinny jeans are hip huggers and your camisole is 3 sizes too small for you has to be pulled all the way down to cover your belly hang since the jeans only make it to about the pubic bone and your boy friend has to keep pulling up your top because your balloons are about to float out of it as you simultaneously pull it back down to cover that belly hang I have to call for an intervention!! If that was not bad enough the artist calls them back and those jeans that are already screaming for mercy have wiggled their way down to where it is now nearly a full moon wearing what else but a red thong!! Yeah I was about to scream for an intervention here when my husband reached over and grabbed my arm to sit back down and put his finger to my lips and said shhhh you can't take on the world. So for the entire time I got my artwork finished...I was thinking...does she NOT see how she looks? Did she intentionally pick out these things thinking they look good? for crepes sake the flip flops were screaming to stay between her toes too....I was thinking what a pig headed judgmental brat I am!!! I think that when I see my step son heaping on the ketchup, splashing the soda down his throat like a crack addict asking for second, and third helpings of food or bags of chips to snack on. When we think of going out to dinner and taking them with us...how hubs and I are going to share a meal and they are going to need 2 entree's or at least going to ask for them.... I was thinking of my little doggies who are now also on a diet also for their long term health (vet requested no less.) and I think and sometimes tell the doggies OK pudge you ate your bowl now walk away.... holy crap when did I get to be so judgmental?! The one thing I can say is that I apply this to myself as well every single day, for good and bad. I have the self talk in my head when I want to eat what I know is not good for me and is not in line with my "goals". This can be the positive side of it and then there is that self deprecating talk when you put on something that doesn't fit quite the way you think it should and I become pudge or flubber or some such name, and I realize that this is really where my judgmental thoughts come from and I need to put a finger to my own lips and say shhhhh!!!

@@mmartin3 You should not be feeling chest pain or tightness in your chest. That is concerning....if you are having that feeling it's not something to wait on. It could be band related and it could be something more serious. Please call your Dr. ASAP, and do follow up and let us know how you are doing.

This statement is right on the money! Your body can not absorb that much Protein at one time and you are going to overwork your kidney's and liver as the body eliminates it. Typically a woman will metabolise protein at a much lower volume than a man would and the max is about 20-30 grams. I'm sure the shot you are drinking has calories so just cut that out and opt for Water before, during and after your work out. Prior to the work out if you are going to have a few carbs that's OK but know that your body is going to burn those carbs off for energy before it is going to tap into the fat reserves that we want it to burn. If you can steer clear of it, and then after repair muscle with some protein even in the form of a Protein shake, and even some amino acids. As for "hunger" your not hungry in the AM....so your skipping Breakfast. I get that I am usually pretty tight in the morning and I have no appetite until around 10-11 and I am typically up at 5:30-6 am. I start my day with a cup of coffee and around 10 I will either have a Protein Bar or a protein shake. It's rare that I will have eggs or some typical breakfast food. Some of the reason for the hunger pains later in the day could be that your not getting enough through out the day on a consistent basis to fuel your body, and/or your giving it too much at one time that it's eliminating it all and then needing to be replenished. It should take about 20 minutes no more or less to consume your meals. It's OK that you are eating half of what you used to, most of us are eating much much less than before. Put the rest away and make that lunch for the next day, that's what hubs and I do when we go out to eat if we don't share the entree (most of the time we don't because we have different palates.) As for vomiting and PBing. When this happens you are actually irritating your stoma and making it even tighter in there. Not necessarily from the "fill" but from the trauma of the vomiting and PBing. What I find helps when I have an episode (and I try to avoid them at all costs) is to take a day or two and go on liquids, and/or soft mushy food to give my stomach a break and the chance to heal and allow the swelling to go down because if I don't the next meal is not going to go so well. I don't "feel" anything in there until I start to eat a few bites of the next meal, so I have learned that when I have an episode I need to stop eating and move to liquids for the next couple of meals. I hope some of this helps. TGIF!!!

@@ChelleChi1969 I have to ask if you were at a good restriction why did you get another fill? The gurgling can be normal right after a fill, but it can also be an indicator of being tight. I would give it a week or so to settle in and if you are still gurgling every time you drink something you may want to go back and have that 1/2 cc taken out. If ti all levels out for you and the gurgling stops and your feeling good with eating solids again and hunger is dimmed eating only every 3-4 hours or more then don't worry about not seeing the Dr. for a couple of months. You want to be accountable to yourself to be sure your doing what's right for you, and if you need them they are just a phone call away. He's really trying to tell you that your doing a great job and he doesn't need to medically see you every month anymore, so that's a good thing Keep in touch here and let us know how your doing. This is a great place to share and question and get support, it helps me a lot especially when I need focus.

@@angry sometimes it's all about our genes, and yes breast feeding can take a bit of toll on the girls. I'm 44 so I've got ya by about 10 years Trust me even after breast augmentation of any kind even with implants, bra's are the key to keeping those girls in place and healthy. The same is true for the tummies ladies. After 3 kids and about 150 pounds over weight, even now my tum tum has that "hang" that I despise. Crunches and all that stuff help but what helps the most is support, when we go to the gym you see all those sporty people in their compression garments, and now I understand why they wear them! It's been too darn hot here in NY, but in the cooler months I wear the long sleeve compression garment when working out to help reduce some of the wing span. (you know what I mean) I know that not everything is going to tone right back up, and yes I can see some plastics in the future but I'll do my part to get them as tight as I can. Those girls on here who are youngin's take our advice, because you have the advantage of your youth behind you. Don't freeball!!! Get some support and use it especially when your working out it aids in the toning and tightening of those area's. It's not a miracle...but it does help, even at 44 I can see the difference, also people in the gym like it that my bingo wings don't flip out and hit them

As several people above mentioned you are not so much feeling your band as you are feeling "full" in that area and perhaps even more than a bit sore right now. These early months are all about healing you did have major surgery ya know So take it easy and use the time to practice all the good band eating habits and start adding in some exercise by increasing your walking taking it slow and steady. Try to make good choices in the items you eat, and if you are still on mushy foods don't lean towards things like ice cream and chocolate. Steer toward sugar free ices, yogurt, turkey chili, and some hearty Soups you can blend up. You want to keep the Protein high and the carbs and sugar low. This will help with losing weight as well as help you making choices of what to eat and not eat for fueling your body. Take at least 20 minutes no more and no less to eat your meals. Sit and enjoy the food and try not to mulit task while eating if you can help it. If you are eating past 20 minutes you are eating into your next meal, if you are finishing your food before 20 minutes slow down. Practice getting in all your Water for the day, if your drinking your not eating...and if your hungry try drinking some water first and then waiting 30 minutes before going to that snack or next meal if it's been less than 3-4 hours since you last ate So many tips and tricks that will help you as you get your band filled that you can put into practice now and all these will help with the ultimate goal of losing weight and getting healthy!

@@WoodenHearts love your title! Hunger games very appropriate and yes as @@Bandista said you are in the middle of bandster hell right now. The way around this I found was to use this time to practice the band eating habits. Measuring out the portion sizes, making sure to get that Water in, eating slow and taking at least 20 minutes to eat a meal and most importantly at this time taking ONLY 20 minutes to eat and stopping after that. Anything you eat after 20 minutes is eating into your next meal for the day! Take the time to chew up the food and cut small pieces practice eating with a knife and fork and at this stage if you can't cut it...then you don't eat it. This way you are sure to avoid those devil slider foods. It's not an easy time but if you use the time when you start getting those fills and the "hunger" dims a bit you will see how all those habits you develop over the next few weeks/months really come into play and help you. Also start a low impact exercise program, when your feeling the cravings take a walk, read a book, make a cup of coffee or tea with some flavored sugar free creamer to help reduce the craving. I wish you all the best and may the odds be ever in your favor!!!

@@maygoddess I had to read through all the posts from the last year as I must have missed your initial post. When I was first banded and just getting to that green zone or so I thought I had some issues with medication from a car accident I was in and had the same circumstances and my "pouch" was dilated. Basically the area above the band not the esophagus was hanging over the band which meant it had expanded to hold the extra food/drink in it while things slowly went through the stoma of the band. To remedy this situation the Dr.'s called for complete unfill of my band for 3 months or more. Yeah so I was VERY careful during that time as I didn't want to gain back any of the weight I had lost and was/am still pretty far from my goal weight. I gained all of 10 pounds during that time mostly by eating nothing drinking shakes and going to the gym constantly. As the fills started again...well starting with 5cc's wasn't doing diddly. By the time I was feeling that green zone again it was months and months later and it was pretty darn hard to keep up that diet of liquids and exercise, your body just can't survive on that intake and output and I got sick often through out. My surgeon retired and I was on the hunt for new one..... Of course the new Dr. was unimpressed with my weight loss to date but you know I never really got to even experience what being banded was! However I also think that more research needs to be done before patients choose their own WLS. When Dr.'s tell you that things like pressure from travel or changes in temperature or having a cold or flu don't affect your band just tells me they have NO understanding of it at all. Heck the barometric pressure affects me every single day! Today the dew point in the air is so high that breathing is difficult for me because I have COPD, and it's not a weight related issue it's a my father smoked too dam much and it affected my lungs since I was a child issue. The air quality is bad, the barometric pressure is high and I have a headache, I'm tired, dizzy and all because my oxygen saturation is low...so if all that is affected by the "air" and atmosphere of course my band is affected in a similar way. Sometimes I can eat a spicy food or too much lactose or take a medication I take every day and it will irritate my stomach and cause the stoma to swell and close up tighter. It's not rocket science, it's common sense. The same goes for a cold or flu where you produce an excess amount of mucus that plugs up the stoma and irritates it to boot causing it to be blocked or swollen chicken is not going to make it through when our own body fluids don't. I am 2 years out from band surgery, and honestly feel like I am still just learning what it's like to be banded and how to work with my band. The numbers on the scale finally started moving again though slowly, and I don't sweat it as life has too much going on to sweat that stuff. I make it to the gym most of the time, and I have lost in inches and toned nicely though there are days when I'm just too pooped and I'm sure medical conditions don't help it...but I am 100% healthier than I was and I will keep working it. I have a 5k coming up in Aug. so I'm back to the gym to get some training in...and hopefully we can get that weight off both of us!!!

@@deeberry I'm sorry your having a rough time of it. The first thing I would do is make an appointment with the Dr. If your too tight that is defeating the purpose. The more irritated your belly gets from throwing up the more inflamed it makes the stoma around the band and the tighter the opening of the stoma can be making it more and more uncomfortable. In the meantime go back to liquids to give the stoma a rest and maybe ease some of the swelling as well as to reboost your weight loss. When I get into that spiral that is what I do. I take it back to basics. If I am swollen and it can happen sometimes just from certain foods I eat if they are too spicy or if I am sensitive to them, or even medications that I take. It can even happen as a result of a cold or allergies where I have excess (nasty) stuff in my throat and my band is tighter. I give it a rest and just revert to a shake now and then and once I feel that it is relaxed and not irritated I will resume eating solid foods. If you think you don't need to be unfilled and just need a rest, then try doing liquids for a few days. If your still having trouble with the yogurt after a couple of days of liquids then you need a small unfill. I know it can be devastating when your not able to move around like you did before. I broke my foot a few years ago and I had to be totally off of it and I was in cast and then a boot for nearly 4 months. The plus part of that was while I was on crutches I was getting so much exercise having to lift and haul my body weight around I actually LOST weight, but that was long before WLS. As you can get to moving around more start to incorporate that into your daily activities even if it's just a few extra steps or a couple of parking spots from your usual spot etc. every step counts!! Let us know how your doing...and don't give up hope!!! We can reset our minds and our bodies any time we choose to, and make a fresh start. So let this be your new start...and here we go!!!

@cuchas @linseeka I just answered a post on a similar topic just now and my advice to you, as was given to me from my breast specialist is to avoid the "sag" get and wear a good supportive bra. If you are working out you need a good sports bra to support those babies. Depending on the workout you need one that is more supportive than not. Not supporting them makes them prone to having tears in the soft Fiber and muscle that breast tissue is made up of. If you are extra busty because of excess weight you are going to deflate a bit...but you won't sag. I lost weight in my upper clavicle area and can now see my collar bone but my breast size and shape has remained the same. My bra size went from a 42DD to a 38DD at my thinnest as a teenager I was a 36DD so you can see the size of the breast hasn't changed as much as my body circumference has. As for the piercings...they sell the plastic retainers that you can place for surgery and for any tests like MRI or X-ray etc. If your piercings have closed and you think you might have a breast augmentation in the future I would hold off re-piercing until then. If not put them back in and Rock on with your bad self!

@@capricec if your extra large on top because of weight gain, yeah your gonna deflate a bit. If your breast tissue is your breast tissue then not so much. I have also gone from a 42DD to a 38DD but the breast tissue is pretty much the same, not much of a deflate in them other than that paunch that I had above them at the clavicle line. I can now see my collar bone One really good tip that I was given as I started my pre-op, post op and even today I still put this into practice. Support!!! Get it and use it. If you are at the gym you want a really good supportive sports bra to hold those babies in place. The more they hang the more you rip the muscle and Fiber that keep them up and they will sag. So when I am at the gym I make sure to have a great sports bra on, and when I am home working around the house I will have a good supportive bra, sports or other wise on. This was a tip from my breast specialist, even before I started considering WLS, just for breast health in general.

Growing up I didn't have a taste for many things. In fact I didn't like chocolate, it looked messy and kind of like well...you can imagine when it melted so I was anti-chocolate. If you asked me if I wanted a Hershey kiss vs a carrot stick I took the carrot stick. My Grandmother, was Hershey kiss fanatic she had them all the time all over the place and it was a turn off to me because they were always stale or melted. So as a kid I was pretty skinny. Mom cooked all our meals and we ate lunch in school which was as about as nutritious as the pyramid of health could be I would mostly drink the chocolate milk and maybe eat the pizza. I wasn't big on the cereal for breakfast either and we always had things that were no sugar like puff rice, Cheerios or shredded wheat. So most mornings I would "make believe" eating breakfast and float a few bites in milk till they were soggy. (yeah Mom caught on when the box lasted for months but cereal bowls were in the sink every day. Hey was young and deception was not my forte!!) Weekends when Dad would cook up some runny gross eggs, or worse scramble them and slather them with butter and ketchup (barf) he would have me sitting there all day to finish that plate of eggs. I would not touch them with a 10 foot pole. (sorry Sam I am, would have had a better chance with green eggs and ham!) Thank God we had a dog and it would only take a couple hours to get her to eat that whole plate! (yes the dog was over weight, I"m sorry Baby!!) dinner would always be some kind of meat potato and greens. Most of the time I would eat the greens and the potato and the meat would be a fight. I wasn't into the meatloaf or hamburger. Veal cutlets gave me a headache and meatballs...well nope they were just as bad as hamburger I don't care how much sauce they had on them. My family, and friends families, (the big Italian kind) all tried to fatten me up over the years. I ate pretty healthy until I discovered sweets, and the bakery. Yeah that was my downfall...and there it went. ALL chocolate wasn't Nanny's Hershey kisses and it was delicious!! Bakery items...even bread!! Oh my...how yummy that could be!! You could keep the Oreo's and chips ahoy give me a crumb bun or piece of cheese cake. As I got older and I was able to buy what "I" wanted to eat....well....so much for healthy picky eating. I can't blame my parents, I didn't like their food very much, it was all MY own doing. I found the bakery and I found the chips and once I stopped being that fast action always moving running dancing and jumping teenager and became an adult that could eat what she wanted, when and where....and started taking care of her own family and not herself so much...well that is when I was no longer skinny.

So I have a couple of opinions on WLS in general. I personally have the band and that was my choice. My opinion about WLS is that there is too much "choice" and often it's put all on the patient that no matter how much research they do is still not a medical expert. There isn't enough understanding, testing or exploration done by the Dr.'s to recommend the best choice for the patient when it comes to WLS. For just about every other surgery, there is a gambit of testing pertaining to the surgery itself to identify and justify the best surgery required. For example if I am having pain in my knee, I might see an orthopedist who recommends surgery but what type of surgery is needed? Should it be a full replacement? Should it be a partial? Do I need simply some cleaning around the joint for scar tissue? They take into account many things perform various tests like range of motion, MRI, CT scans etc. before they decide on the type of surgery. I feel that this analysis is missing when it comes to WLS. Today I can tell you in all confidence that I know more about WLS and the different types of WLS than my Primary Dr. does as well as my cardiologist and many other Dr.'s I know. With more education not just on what's working but why it's working on certain patients vs other patients I believe we could and would all be that much more successful.

I want to throw a parade my friend!!! You are one amazing lady and it shows on your face!!! I agree with you that it's not all about the numbers on the scale. I'd love to see my numbers dip, but you know what I feel better than I have in years and I am back to being active and doing all the things that I used to do and enjoy. Hubby too and I can't be more grateful for that!! It wasn't so long ago that the Dr. was calling 911 from his office to have me rushed to the ER for heart failure, so I am extremely grateful for good health!!! Buying Ken a bike for his birthday, now that is something I thought I would never see him be able to do!!!

@@CeeTee13 your going to find lots of caring people here who are going through or have been through many of the trials and tribulations you are finding yourself going through. This is a great place to come for support and to just share your concerns and vent your feelings. That said, I'm glad you went to see the Dr. how are you doing today? Did the Dr. share any insights with you? The band was a good choice if your thinking about planing a family in the near future, I can tell you a very close friend of mine has had 2 gorgeous little ones since she's been banded Any type of WLS is a bit of an emotional roller coaster as we are changing everything about ourselves, the beauty of the band I think is that as you work toward getting fills and finding that sweet spot/green zone you have the time to master all the little nuances of eating and making choices of what to eat. The early stages of being banded can be challenging but this is the time to study and learn all those subtle changes that are required as you start getting fills. Practice eating in portion size, chew chew chewing before swallowing. Getting in that Water and not drinking with eating. Noticing where your hunger comes from..is it head hunger, boredom or is it real hunger and a need for fuel? Starting up an exercise program, slow and steady. Just getting out to walk for a bit is a great way to start. As for the port area...yeah mine took forever to heal and not be sensitive. I'm short and short waist-ed so I have hardly any torso to begin with, and the port just sits right where all my pants sit, the side of my desk at work hits and even my seat belt in the car! So it took me a good while before that area was feeling normal again and even today every now and again I bump that sucker or turn the wrong way and it always lets me know hey I'm here!!! BUT I look at is as a reminder of what I am doing for myself and a wake up call to take it a little slower and treat myself a little kinder in my race through the day. Keep in touch with us and let us know what the Dr. had to say...and how your doing!

What a great idea Liz! I think I might just break my bike out of the shed and give it a go this weekend. I haven't ridden a bike in a long time, and I used to love to ride all over the city when I was...dare I say it "younger". Have a great weekend!!! Share some pictures of your tour through Central Park!

Feeling your pain....it always happens to me at the worst times that I get sick and it never fails. I can get through so much and then just as I feel "ok" and can catch by breath. BAM I get sick. Feel better, keep resting and I hope you get well soon!

@@JustWatchMe divorce is an ugly monster sometimes. I'm sorry that your going through all this drama and that the other person has to keep being such a p**ck. I hope you enjoy the 5k. Put your ear buds on and just walk and enjoy the scenery and don't think about a darn thing other than getting to that finish line. That was how I made it through my first one. I didn't care about the time, just the fact that I was able to complete the dam thing was more than enough for me. I am going to do it again this year, and again who cares about the time it's just about doing it and crossing that finish line it's an empowering feeling. People can get you down and let you down and sometimes it's all you can do to keep your chin above Water I know I'm sure everyone here has been there more times than we care to think about. We are human after all This weekend here in NY is supposed to be soppy and wet. I'm starting to feel like I should grow some duck/goose feathers!! The air quality over the last few days has been driving my COPD insane. The high humidity makes it hard for me to breathe and so I'm exhausted more often than not from not getting enough oxygen I think. I did manage to take the hubby fishing on Father's day in the rain!!! Eventually the day cleared up and it got horribly hot and humid so I was glad we went out early and were back in the AC by then.

@@uurbz Your thinking is neither right nor wrong. Anyone who has had WLS is going to be able to eat any food they want to eat. Some surgeries are going to restrict the amount of food that they can consume in a sitting, and some surgeries depending on the food will "rush" that food through their system and eliminate it and they may develop an intolerance for the food. WLS regardless of the modality, is a tool. Your 100% right about that. It's a life time and life changing tool but just like any tool you have to use it and using it takes a bit of work in the application. Congratulations on being banded and taking the first step. Everywhere you go and for everything you put in your mouth remember that your tool is there to help you reach your goals. Eating fried chicken and potatoes high carb foods are not going to help you reach your goals. So your Dr. is right, stay away from them, make smart substitutions for them. This tool is all about helping you make a healthy life style change with your relationship to food. It's a process, and you will get it and before you know it your band and you will be the best of friends Here are some links I have found helpful in understanding the band. Eight Golden Rules of Lapband: http://www.bariatric...dr-paul-obrien/ The Lapband is not about Restriction: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

The "green" zone is subjective to everyone. My husband is doing great at 4 in a 10cc and I am up to 6.5 in a 10 cc. The trick is that just because you can eat doesn't mean you should eat. (trust me I fight with this one also) I have days where I don't want to eat anything and I can run most of the day on a Protein bar and then I have days where I am eating 3 meals and looking for something else and it's hunger not just wanting to snack. (of course I have those days also) For me I find that on the day I have a work out at the gym I am not very hungry, and then the next day I am ravenous. I try to keep it to high protein foods to help replenish and heal the muscles I am working out, but I notice that those days I am more hungry than not and my band is accommodating. When my band is not accommodating toward eating is usually the days when I am the least hungry. Of course my mind still tells me I need to eat because I need to eat....but my band will tell me ah..no you don't.

@@verna2197 I agree with @@parisshel please do not wait. It is not par for the course to start slimming and vomiting out of no where especially in your sleep.