lisacaron

Here ya go!

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All surgery is a risk. These complications could have resulted from any type surgery that involved anesthesia. I know several people who have had what was considered "minor" surgery and ended up in the hospital for months with blood clots, leading to pulmonary embolism having to be on blood thinners and lie flat for months. I have a friend who went in for ovarian surgery and ended up with a ruptured intestine that caused her to be septic and sick, ending up hospitalized for months while they cleared her system and had to put a colostomy bag in until they could repair the damage.
These are the risks we encounter when we have surgery even when surgery is urgently needed to save your life. Yes many of us often will have "elective" surgery for different reasons but many of us here did not go into bariatric surgery to "be skinny" most of us had surgery because being obese was affecting our lives and putting them at risk.
To the point that being overweight was as much of a risk to life and limb as it would be to have surgical intervention. The lapband like any other surgical tool out there has it's benefits and deficits. Yes many doctors have to remove the bands from patients that have problems, the band is a prosthetic and sometimes our body can reject it.
Advocate for your self, but don't scare people who may need life saving bariatric procedure out of surgery. I'm sorry you have had to experience so many health issues, and I truly wish you health and happiness as you find your way through recovery.

Something to put a smile on your face!! #RedNoseDay

Yes we are working Hard today!!

Here is an article that helps explain things the way the Dr. explained it to me.
http://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-Protein
There are issues with everything we do to excess. Trust me I have learned this lesson very painfully with a bought of pancreatitis in the last month.
Eating one thing to any excess is going to cause some kind of reaction, but I will say that eating more Protein is better for weight loss than eating a bag of candy ;P

Here is an article that helps explain things the way the Dr. explained it to me.
http://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-Protein
There are issues with everything we do to excess. Trust me I have learned this lesson very painfully with a bought of pancreatitis in the last month.
Eating one thing to any excess is going to cause some kind of reaction, but I will say that eating more Protein is better for weight loss than eating a bag of candy ;P

Just in my educated opinion, I think that as long as we aren't eating more than 30 grams at a time we should be ok. I would rather be a little over my Protein requirement than to not be getting enough protein. It is a balancing act, but I think for bariatric patients, if we don't eat more than 30 grams at a time we shouldn't be afraid of protein.

Something to put a smile on your face!! #RedNoseDay

Yes we are working Hard today!!

Something to put a smile on your face!! #RedNoseDay

Yes we are working Hard today!!

I have to say thank for the laughs here people!!! I know the topic is not funny but some of these responses have me laughing heartily!
I'll have to remember some of them should I ever need a good retort!

I have to say thank for the laughs here people!!! I know the topic is not funny but some of these responses have me laughing heartily!
I'll have to remember some of them should I ever need a good retort!

Hi all, thought I would pop in and say Hi! Been MIA for a bit...focusing on getting everyone in my house healthy again. Hubs was home for about 3 weeks in the hospital for 4 days with pneumonia due to flu virus!! I had pancreatitis which means I guess I MUST now eat the way I should probably have been eating all along.
Nothing like pain and sickness to get your ass on track let me tell ya!!
The good thing is that I am back on track, and not eating all the junk that just makes me sick. For the longest time I was eating "easy" to digest foods like chocolate and Cookies, cake or flour products because they were about the only things that didn't hurt my stomach. Of course you gain lots of weight from that...and they have the nutritional value of eating cardboard, so that drags down your immune system and guess what your sick.
The only way to fix a flare up of pancreatitis is basically to not eat any and I mean any fat. There is definitely NO drinking alcohol but this is not an issue for me, since I have never been a drinker. The fat part...well that's harder. Even chicken and fish have some fat, fish much less so than chicken. Having the band well dry things are not my friend...but adding any kind of fatty condiment would mean hours of stomach pain nausea sometimes vomiting and then just feeling blah.
It has taken a few months to get the hang of it and to realize that when in doubt just have a shake. Take a bariatric Vitamin that's easily absorbed by the system made for those who have had a bypass since the organs don't need to work as hard to break it down.
I am finally feeling a little better than the walking dead although still feeling pretty tired on certain days, as I still learn to work this new curve life has thrown my way. I still want to be able to eat like a "normal" person, but the truth is that I gave that up when I got the band and this is just another reminder that most of my life eating has never been a "normal" function for me.
Ah well...enough about me and my issues. How is everyone doing? It's a glorious day today in NY I wish I was not working and I was outside enjoying it more. I'm hoping the weekend affords a bit of it so I can.
How about you all? Any exciting plans for the summer??

@@Sophie74656 I think it's great that you come here and vent. I wish I had a place to vent when I was going through my divorce.
I also want to say that you are being awfully nice to your "ex". I would go there when he is out and take what you want that's yours and leave the rest of it to him. Chalk it up to half the deposit that would go to you being lost and as far as damages the only one living there is him and he's responsible. You can prove you live else where and that should be good enough. He can try to blame you...but if your not there it couldn't be you.
If he has changed the locks and you want your stuff call the police they will let you in and they can also document the "mess" that's there when you come in so nothing can be blamed on you.
Good luck I hope it all works out well for you.

@@Sophie74656 I think it's great that you come here and vent. I wish I had a place to vent when I was going through my divorce.
I also want to say that you are being awfully nice to your "ex". I would go there when he is out and take what you want that's yours and leave the rest of it to him. Chalk it up to half the deposit that would go to you being lost and as far as damages the only one living there is him and he's responsible. You can prove you live else where and that should be good enough. He can try to blame you...but if your not there it couldn't be you.
If he has changed the locks and you want your stuff call the police they will let you in and they can also document the "mess" that's there when you come in so nothing can be blamed on you.
Good luck I hope it all works out well for you.

I hope to be able to make it!

@@Sophie74656 I think it's great that you come here and vent. I wish I had a place to vent when I was going through my divorce.
I also want to say that you are being awfully nice to your "ex". I would go there when he is out and take what you want that's yours and leave the rest of it to him. Chalk it up to half the deposit that would go to you being lost and as far as damages the only one living there is him and he's responsible. You can prove you live else where and that should be good enough. He can try to blame you...but if your not there it couldn't be you.
If he has changed the locks and you want your stuff call the police they will let you in and they can also document the "mess" that's there when you come in so nothing can be blamed on you.
Good luck I hope it all works out well for you.

oooooo. I'd have said - I bet I'm less likely to hurt myself being fat than you are to hurt yourself being stupid!

I have been traveling a lot for my job and so makes it hard to keep any kind of a regiment in place.
I have slacked off on my walking and surprise have been on a stall and even gained a few pounds. Nothing like in the old days when I would lose 50 and gain 60.
I am still making more good choices then bad ones but my goal weight seems to elude me. When I get close I seem to go back up a bit.
Sorry to hear about the health and relationship issues but like life itself we cannot give up on ourselves.
My wife is having some health issues as well.
Overall I'll take my present life over the one I had 9 years ago.

Hi all, thought I would pop in and say Hi! Been MIA for a bit...focusing on getting everyone in my house healthy again. Hubs was home for about 3 weeks in the hospital for 4 days with pneumonia due to flu virus!! I had pancreatitis which means I guess I MUST now eat the way I should probably have been eating all along.
Nothing like pain and sickness to get your ass on track let me tell ya!!
The good thing is that I am back on track, and not eating all the junk that just makes me sick. For the longest time I was eating "easy" to digest foods like chocolate and Cookies, cake or flour products because they were about the only things that didn't hurt my stomach. Of course you gain lots of weight from that...and they have the nutritional value of eating cardboard, so that drags down your immune system and guess what your sick.
The only way to fix a flare up of pancreatitis is basically to not eat any and I mean any fat. There is definitely NO drinking alcohol but this is not an issue for me, since I have never been a drinker. The fat part...well that's harder. Even chicken and fish have some fat, fish much less so than chicken. Having the band well dry things are not my friend...but adding any kind of fatty condiment would mean hours of stomach pain nausea sometimes vomiting and then just feeling blah.
It has taken a few months to get the hang of it and to realize that when in doubt just have a shake. Take a bariatric Vitamin that's easily absorbed by the system made for those who have had a bypass since the organs don't need to work as hard to break it down.
I am finally feeling a little better than the walking dead although still feeling pretty tired on certain days, as I still learn to work this new curve life has thrown my way. I still want to be able to eat like a "normal" person, but the truth is that I gave that up when I got the band and this is just another reminder that most of my life eating has never been a "normal" function for me.
Ah well...enough about me and my issues. How is everyone doing? It's a glorious day today in NY I wish I was not working and I was outside enjoying it more. I'm hoping the weekend affords a bit of it so I can.
How about you all? Any exciting plans for the summer??

Hi all, thought I would pop in and say Hi! Been MIA for a bit...focusing on getting everyone in my house healthy again. Hubs was home for about 3 weeks in the hospital for 4 days with pneumonia due to flu virus!! I had pancreatitis which means I guess I MUST now eat the way I should probably have been eating all along.
Nothing like pain and sickness to get your ass on track let me tell ya!!
The good thing is that I am back on track, and not eating all the junk that just makes me sick. For the longest time I was eating "easy" to digest foods like chocolate and Cookies, cake or flour products because they were about the only things that didn't hurt my stomach. Of course you gain lots of weight from that...and they have the nutritional value of eating cardboard, so that drags down your immune system and guess what your sick.
The only way to fix a flare up of pancreatitis is basically to not eat any and I mean any fat. There is definitely NO drinking alcohol but this is not an issue for me, since I have never been a drinker. The fat part...well that's harder. Even chicken and fish have some fat, fish much less so than chicken. Having the band well dry things are not my friend...but adding any kind of fatty condiment would mean hours of stomach pain nausea sometimes vomiting and then just feeling blah.
It has taken a few months to get the hang of it and to realize that when in doubt just have a shake. Take a bariatric Vitamin that's easily absorbed by the system made for those who have had a bypass since the organs don't need to work as hard to break it down.
I am finally feeling a little better than the walking dead although still feeling pretty tired on certain days, as I still learn to work this new curve life has thrown my way. I still want to be able to eat like a "normal" person, but the truth is that I gave that up when I got the band and this is just another reminder that most of my life eating has never been a "normal" function for me.
Ah well...enough about me and my issues. How is everyone doing? It's a glorious day today in NY I wish I was not working and I was outside enjoying it more. I'm hoping the weekend affords a bit of it so I can.
How about you all? Any exciting plans for the summer??

@@Basicwitch I want to let you know that you are NOT alone. I have had many many health issues since being banded, and not because of the band in any way.
I have gained weight, and lost it again. Today I am back on track, and working my band and making my life healthier which was my goal all along.
I read some comments in your post that are very concerning to me.
The first was this: "I began to have problems about six months after the surgery and she dismissed my pain as gas. She is a very busy person, that's fine, and I don't blame her. "
YES I blame her. I don't care how busy your Dr. is she is NOT your friend she is there to make sure that you are well and healthy. You pay for this and you pay your insurance company to pay for her services. She is there to be of service to you!! She should have investigated and found out that you were having such a serious issue. It is not normal to be in such pain with the band, even from gas pains after surgery, they should only last a day or so.
The next comment that really concerns me is: Julie norton, on 19 May 2016 - 23:26, said:


"It is hard because she is so glamorous and I can really tell when she is disappointed. Well, I worked up the courage to reschedule the appointment I cancelled this week. I have one in a few weeks. Maybe by then I will have lost a couple pounds from restricting calories?"

If she is so glamorous she does not need to be a doctor...she could be in movies or magazines. You my friend are doing yourself a disservice by thinking of your medical team in this way. Remember she is a person, just like you. No matter her size or stature physical appearance monetary wealth or education. She is a person, and should be a person who is in your corner and wants you to do well and not by shaming you but by lifting you up and letting you know that it's OK we are all human and we all make decisions from time to time that may not be the best.

My advice friend is keep your next appointment. In the time before then don't starve yourself this is NOT healthy. Instead go back to band basics. Go back on your pre-op, post op diet and work from there. Go to your appointment have your band checked out and if it's all in working order request a small fill and keep moving forward. Dr. Glamazon I'm sure is there for you, and wants to help you through this, be brave enough to reach out and if your are still intimidated see an associate maybe Dr. Hyde

Good luck and please let us know how you are doing.

@@Basicwitch I want to let you know that you are NOT alone. I have had many many health issues since being banded, and not because of the band in any way.
I have gained weight, and lost it again. Today I am back on track, and working my band and making my life healthier which was my goal all along.
I read some comments in your post that are very concerning to me.
The first was this: "I began to have problems about six months after the surgery and she dismissed my pain as gas. She is a very busy person, that's fine, and I don't blame her. "
YES I blame her. I don't care how busy your Dr. is she is NOT your friend she is there to make sure that you are well and healthy. You pay for this and you pay your insurance company to pay for her services. She is there to be of service to you!! She should have investigated and found out that you were having such a serious issue. It is not normal to be in such pain with the band, even from gas pains after surgery, they should only last a day or so.
The next comment that really concerns me is: Julie norton, on 19 May 2016 - 23:26, said:


"It is hard because she is so glamorous and I can really tell when she is disappointed. Well, I worked up the courage to reschedule the appointment I cancelled this week. I have one in a few weeks. Maybe by then I will have lost a couple pounds from restricting calories?"

If she is so glamorous she does not need to be a doctor...she could be in movies or magazines. You my friend are doing yourself a disservice by thinking of your medical team in this way. Remember she is a person, just like you. No matter her size or stature physical appearance monetary wealth or education. She is a person, and should be a person who is in your corner and wants you to do well and not by shaming you but by lifting you up and letting you know that it's OK we are all human and we all make decisions from time to time that may not be the best.

My advice friend is keep your next appointment. In the time before then don't starve yourself this is NOT healthy. Instead go back to band basics. Go back on your pre-op, post op diet and work from there. Go to your appointment have your band checked out and if it's all in working order request a small fill and keep moving forward. Dr. Glamazon I'm sure is there for you, and wants to help you through this, be brave enough to reach out and if your are still intimidated see an associate maybe Dr. Hyde

Good luck and please let us know how you are doing.

@@change4life you know I also have thought about this a whole lot! So I was banded in 2013. I have watched friends who are banded and even my husband lose almost all their extra weight while I have struggled. I've struggled with many things, health wise and yes I'm sure that is part of it....BUT I want to blame the band. I want to say this was not the surgery for me. I should have done X, Y, Z and that would have been better. I could go do those things still...I could opt to take the band out and have a revision surgery and I might lose the weight faster and I seriously thought about it as my hubby lost pound after pound and I was even starting to gain!!
As I was thinking about it and weighing things out in my mind, I realized that I have not really "worked" on this band since I have been dealing with so many other things I put that on hold and started using food to console me again. I started turning to ice cream and sweets and eating anything I felt like! Of course I was going to start gaining weight again...so I thought about it and I realized that unless I am willing to change my ways and dig deep and find out what is making me give up so easily when I have a tool that can help me reach my goals...why am I not using it?
Why am I looking for something else, there is no magic bullet all the surgeries are going to have their challenges and I have seen first hand people fail at all the other surgeries and gain back their weight and more because they never really changed their habits. So I decided that the band is for me. It's here I am here and we both need to show up and do our jobs!
It's there waiting for me to use it, and I am here and I need to use it and respect it and most of all myself. I need to find other ways to console myself when things are good bad and even ugly. food has to become what it's always been meant to be. A source of fuel to get this body through life to enjoy all the wonders the world has to offer that are not food related.
I don't get all excited when I drive into the gas station and fuel up my car. The smell of the gas and look of the station aren't a turn on...nope the excitement comes in where that full tank of gas will take me to. The things I will see and experience along the journey. That's how I have to look at food, it's an intake of resources that will get me to the next great thing. It will help me get through my day of work, my interaction with people, energy to read a book and write this post, and that's all it's going to do for me. It's not my friend, it's not my love and making it my life is robbing me of having one.
So that was my dollar's worth of free advice I hope it helps you...we are all on the same journey to live a happy and healthy life...we just have to shift our focus a bit when it comes to food.

@@mngreeneyes I feel your pain. Now I am not union...I work corporate and the last 3 years every year I have gotten a great review. I have gotten raises and promotions..and this year my new boss tells me...well you know you can't be great every year.....excuse me? Why not? If I work hard and I put the effort into it. I change the scope of the way things are done in the company and make it a better place for all, that's pretty great isn't it? Shouldn't that be recognized and rewarded? Telling me I can't always have a great review...well makes me feel as though I don't need to work so very hard then, if I am going to be seen as "average" then I can do an average job and still make the middle of the road comfortably without much effort.
I understand that there are budget restraints and changes and many other factors that drive a business I used to own one I get it, however for me it seems that it's a boy's club. They take care of their own, and I am the wrong gender in this mans game. Being new to the team I'm considered the expendable one when it comes to doling out the high fives....I don't like it at all...but it's the least of my worries in the scheme of things So I let it roll off my back and took my foot off the peddle for now. I'll conserve my recourse until I find a destination worthy of putting the peddle to the metal.

How many times have I said OK I need to start over? How many times have I told myself just one more time…and then I’ll start again?
How many times have I committed to recommitting? How many times have I told myself that I will write down every single thing that goes in my mouth? How many times have I told myself I WILL go to the gym today?
How many times have I found myself feeling guilty because of my perceived failure?
I go through these things and more too many times to count. My weight, my surgery, the scale, the gym, food they are always on my mind. When I wake up in the morning I think I need to get a weight today so I know where I am….that’s what’s going to tell me and help me get on track! So I go about my morning routine and the scale shines from the corner waiting for my feet to step up and weigh in but I have just one more thing to do…and I walk past the scale and escape into the next room.
I have defeated the siren call of the scale yet again! Sometimes, I drink coffee and think well now that’s not a “true” weight I just drank fluids! (Really?!) I have to go to the bathroom so weighing in will be better after that elimination of extra weight. (Really?!) Oops I just got dressed for the day including my socks and shoes and I can’t get on the scale now…that’s just too much extra weight and you know…you have to weigh with the least amount of clothing…and my scale needs bare feet and it’s cold and on and on and on…..
I sit at work and my smart watch tells me it’s time to stand…it might as well read “the beatings shall commence”. It starts with the guilt trip, why didn’t you get that weigh in this morning?! It’s been weeks…and you don’t know where you are, and you need to know that. (Really?) Why are you sitting so much..you should be getting up and being more active! You should bring your gym bag in and get your butt down to the gym! (The side commentary often replies with the standard “it’s January and all the resolutioners are in the gym, working out so they can pretend they are keeping their New Year resolution to get healthy. They are clogging things up and you can’t get in there with all that going on!” Really?!) and the beating continues as I guilt myself throughout the day.
I make the “healthy” food choices and for the most part when I am eating “food” I try to make sure I make the healthier choice steering clear of the fatty fried foods, eating my Protein and drinking my Water. So what’s my problem? My problem is that I am perfectionist. It’s all or nothing for me, and either way I have to do it to perfection!
If I have a bad day…well it has to be the badest of bad days. Complete with not only with lack of exercise, but forgetting to take my Vitamins, and consuming lots of all kinds of sugary Desserts. If you’re going to be bad might as well eat the ice cream and chocolate and forget the chicken breast right?!
If I am having good day well you know its perfect right? I wake up and the birds are chirping and the sun is shining and all is right in my world. My feet hit the floor and I can’t wait to step on the scale to see how wonderful I am and what a success I am! (Usually this is where the fantasy begins and ends)
On these days it’s the middle of the road for me. Reality has woken me up and given me that cosmic 2x4 womp upside my head and for a minute the obsessing stops. It’s not about what I did or didn’t do. It’s not about what I ate, but more about what I will do and what I will eat.
I don’t need to beat myself into submission to be perfect, I just need to live for this. Right here right now this very moment. I need to stop. Just stop, and be present. Right here right now. Nothing more and nothing less.
Yes some of those moments are going to be “bad” ones and some are going to be “good” ones. All that really matters is the reality of all of these moments. I don’t have to dwell on the past or the future I just have to live in the now.
It’s really all I am capable of these days. I don’t know what it is in me that strives for this “perfection” it is now and has been a flaw of mine. While it is true that in many ways it helps me strive to learn and grow and better myself, and it is also true that in many ways it holds me back and limits me, and it will even sabotage my success, when I let it (or use it as an excuse!).
I will look at my weight loss to date and I say I have ONLY lost….as though it is a negative. When I should be focusing on the fact that I have LOST that weight and it has not returned.
So today as I write this confession, and my smart watch is beeping at me to stand up and move around and I am taking that time to do just that and to look at it in a positive way. Not saying telling myself I am a failure for not getting to the gym today, but saying hooray you are moving more than you did before!
I am not going to beat myself up for sleeping later this morning, I am going to allow myself the extra Zzz because my body and my soul needed it. I am not going to beat myself up for not stepping on the scale this morning, instead I am going to commit to resetting the darn thing tonight and setting it up to move forward.
I am setting a reminder on my phone to prompt me to weigh in and take measurements and I am scheduling time for ME. Yes I am putting an actual appointment on the calendar to do things that I need to do for me. Including making lunch, getting to the gym, and having dinner out with friends. It’s important, and if I feel the perfection monster trying to sabotage me I’m going to come back here and refocus on the moment and get back to reality of being perfectly imperfect one moment at a time.