Vicki J

Some of your sleeping is from the Prozac and some from the depression. Trust me when I say that one day when it kicks in you'll wake up and feel like you can handle life again. Don't look for that drug induced high where life is a ball because that's not how it works. But you'll be able to handle things better and find some peace. Coming from a woman that is getting close to celebrating her 25th anniversary next week (but went through 2 very bad marriages before that) if they move into the other guy's house, they move in all the way. Your ED is not the problem the problem is she was too much of a coward to admit that she was on the prowl. You're so right in the fact that the ED could have been worked through. That's what strong marriages are made of. Go to your councelor and also go to some support groups for your band. Preferrably on she won't show up at. Work on your self-esteem and not why she felt this way or that. Trust me when I say that it won't matter how she felt or why she did something. What matters is how you are going to handle your life from now on. You are obviously a proud person (marine) and so be proud of yourself. I didn't find my DH until I quit looking and decided to live my life for me. It was the greatest decision I've made.

1. Esophagial Cancer 2. Slipped or otherwise damaged lap band 3. Damage to teeth 4. Swollen/irritated stomach 5. Dehydration This is just to name a few results of vomiting a lot. You don't even have to do it everyday. Point - this is not normal and extremely dangerous. Many people have problems eating during certain parts of the day and yes the morning seems to be one of the ones that often presents itself. Hot/warm liquids help and eating extremely slowly when there is pain. The first thing you need to do is go to liquids until your stomach irritation goes away. Then go to mushies. Yeah, start over. You also probably should have a small unfill at least. Sip your liquids slowly for a while and see if that helps with the pain/burping. Usually pain during drinking (if not because your over filled) is caused by drinking too fast and taking in air. I have an easier time with room temperature liquids or hot liquids. I can drink the cold ones but it can sometimes be uncomfortable. Not a biggie. While you are on the liquids/mushies it can be hard to loose weight. This is because you will get hungry faster and that can cause you to take in more calories than you think. You can weigh and measure if you want to loose weight but I also suggest you go to someplace like fitday.com to journal everything. At least you can see what's going on. Also, defining not being able to eat anything is something that AFTER you get your stomach calmed down needs to be analyzed. Mentally and emotionally we can feel like we aren't eating anything but it is because compared to what we used to eat, we aren't. Now I am NOT saying that this is what is happening now. I said to check it out after you get things under control. Exercising is not only a way to help burn calories but to tone your body. NO doctor should ever tell an otherwise healthy patient NOT TO EXERCISE. I mean lets go back to our basic dieting tips (and all of us who have been obese should be able to recite these by heart) and exercising is right there with eating less calories. A piece of advice is that if it doesn't make sense then it probably isn't right. Common sense is a biggie here. I haven't met many people who don't possess some so use it. Also, go to the websites for the lapband (suppliers) and they usually can give you the answers you need. The last thing is if you have the ability to go to yahoo.com, there is a wonderful forum there for lapbanders. It is smartbandsters.com. You may have to set up a yahoo account to access it but go into their groups section and look for it. This forum has a bariactric nurse that was banded 10+ years ago in Mexico. She now works in a facility in Washington that does only lapbands. She is so awesome. Her name is Jessie. She has written books about the band and she is one of the originators of this forum. She is a wealth of information right along with the other people on there. I'm not saying sights like this one aren't good. They are. Any information we can get to each other is great but she is there to help. If you want to, please feel free to PM me. I am not an expert but I am willing to be a sounding board and to give what advice I can. Good luck to all. Vicki

I notice that you are just banded. While the healing process is going on you will probably feel different things. When I came out of surgery I was fine the first night. The next day it felt like they had put a jar ring around my stomach. I hurt in the front and the back and it wasn't gas pains. So I hunkered down and stayed one more day and let them give me the good pain meds. After that when I would have some discomfort I would take Liquid Tylenol. Providing you're not eating what you shouldn't it is probably nothing. But never hesitate to contact your surgeon. If there is nothing wrong, you'll quit worrying. If there is, he/she needs to know.

My best compliment came from my husband. The other day he was folding my jeans and he said "You know, everytime I pick these up the first thought through my head is who do these belong to. They're so small."

I would love to be there if I could but I'm off to find Oregon Sunstones this weekend. I will, however, make an effort to show up soon. I will make sure to post it so that maybe I can meet some of you. I've gotten into some bad habits that I'm working on right now and could start working the program again. I'm journaling and weighing again but the group would help. Nothing major just laziness. Ho hum.

Oh, and if your significant other doesn't understand, shop for a new one of them while you're out.

Ok girls, time for some straight talk. Until you are ready for plastic surgery or in lieu of plastic surgery, go to someplace like Fredrick's of Hollywood and find some of those sexy supportive teddies that are missing certain areas. If your legs are too saggy try some sexy nylons with a garter type of thing. Get inventive here. Candles and the proper dress can make the mood.

Not only check into a new doctor but go to obesitylaw.com and see if one of the attorneys can advise you on if the required weight issue can be worked around. They only charge if you have them represent you but will answer questions. They also won't tell you to have them represent you unless they think they can win. They are VERY good at this. Good luck.

Findings of one who had too much time on her hands: Original coffee Mate has 10 calories per teaspoon Fat Free Coffee Mate has 10 caloires per teaspoon sugar free Coffee Mate has 30 calories per tablespoon Do the math...<grin>

There is a period of adjustment with this journey. When I became heavy AGAIN I was younger and fat tends to fill up the wrinkles. As I lost weight I saw more and more of them. I had to come to terms with it. It was hard. But then I discovered as I now am getting close to my 1 year at goal anniversary that a lot of those wrinkles and some of the saggy skin isn't as bad. People are getting where they are comfortable enough to tell me how bad I looked at first and how much better I look now. Maybe that isn't said right and scares you but it's not meant that way. I became obese in my thirties and regained my life at 55. Soon after I lost the weight I thought about plastic surgery to "fix" everything. I'm glad I waited it out because in MY case it would have been for ego for I was blessed with not having a really huge problems. I decided one day that I was ok with everything and that the pain and expense of that ego trip weren't worth it. The thing that trumps all of it is I can move, breathe, and feel so good it's hard to explain. You're going to have to make your own decisions on this, however, being obese will give you a shortened life. I truly love my life now and I wouldn't go back for all the wrinkles and saggy skin in the world. Good luck.

If you're having trouble most of the day, I would probably do maybe 1 cc because you will be on a cruise. If you were going to be around here I would do the .5 cc first. You know how bad it's been so you're the best person to know. Ask Dr. Alami in an email before you go. Be real specific on how it has been. Remember if you get too much out you can always go back in after your trip for a refill.

Hey smilin_apple - I would do 2 things. 1) I would go on a total liquid diet for 48 hours, mushies 48 hrs. and then progress back to normal food. When you've had problems like this your stomach is REALLY irritated and you usually need to let it heal. The other thing I would do is get a tinsy unfill to make life easier on you for a while. You can always put it back in. I've kept my band on the loose side of restriction because I run into times when it decides to tighten up for whatever reason. Yeah, sometimes I need to kick a little willpower into gear because I can eat more but I would rather do that then have problems. Quite frankly if you can find a spot on the little looser side that you can work with you actually get used to having control. You do want to enjoy your cruise so make yourself comfortable. One other thing, when we have had problems and it's hard to eat solid protein we tend to take in more liquid/mushy calories than we realize. You might also want to journal for a week or so in order to see if you're actually taking in more than you think. You're probably ok but it's good to check. I'm battling the old liquid calories myself. Good luck and enjoy your vacation!!!!

I chew gum to avoid grinding my teeth. Also, it helps to get past the need to chew. I have been told that it's ok but to avoid swallowing it.

This is the fickleness of the band. Many people are tight in the morning and need to wait until afternoon/evening to eat. In the morning try warm drinks prior to eating. As far as the evening goes and another fill, I would talk to your surgeon. Keep a diary of what you eat and when so they can get a clear picture. You don't want to get too tight. This could become a morning problem if you get a fill to make you feel tighter in the afternoon. Call them and talk to them.

Yep, we've heard it all. At least you know from where the problem comes. Admitting that is the biggest part of the battle. My hat is off to you for that. You're doing the right thing in getting back to journaling. It gives you some prospective on things and if you decide you need to munch you can see what you can have. Sometimes that 100 calorie bag of popcorn is just the ticket. Sometimes it takes something else. If you plan for it, you can get away with a lot. My prayers are with you in your journey.

REPEAT AFTER ME: THIS IS NOT A DIET. THIS IS A NORMAL LIFE. The key to this thing is to make a decission and a plan. Next time I would get a smaller size (more expensive I know) but then you will have to decide to go get more if you want more. Having to get in the car and go get it gives you time to make sure you are the one in control. Now repeat the first part again.

Most doctors want to wait for about 6 weeks for your stomach to heal. Some wait longer and some do it sooner. This is a healing time so concentrate on that. Soon you will have the frustrations of eating something you truly enjoy and having to stop because there is no more room. I know that is hard to imagine but it will come.

Bandster hell is not a fun place. You are so excited because you're finally banded and then........hunger. Trust me when I say that this too shall pass and once you get through it you will soon put it out of your mind. But that can take a few fills, so patience is the word of the day. You can still keep track of your food intake and be loosing some weight. Having the knowledge that fills are on the way helps a little during the tough times.

Laura - Yes PM stands for private message. If you look up in the right hand corner of any page it will have a place to click on private messages. You can then email anybody that can only be read by them. I don't care if we continue to communicate through this page or private messages. I can give you my email address also. The problem with continual reflux is that it damages the esophagus. This is not a good thing. It can lead to problems from minor irritation to esophagial cancer. If you haven't had it for long you will probably not have any lasting problems. Keep your doctor posted though. Also, using some Pepsid can help. Just don't let it go forever. You will probably figure out the cause and only have the normal occassional bouts once you do that. Some people, however, decide to live with it and that is not good. I know what you mean about wanting to get on the scales now. I like to have it in my record that I am a success story. I'm usually not that in need of recognition but this was too big of an achievement not to have it noted. LOL I am so timid on the street on my motorcycle. I went down once and luckily didn't get hurt bad. It sure didn't help my confidence though. I like riding it but I had to rein my motorcycle fanatic husband into realizing that I will never be like him. When we decide to go on long trips, I just hop on the back of his and turn on the music. I really do enjoy that. Good job on getting into the smaller sizes. My grannie panties were really baggie before I decided I was being silly in not going shopping for smaller ones. I thought I was going to walk right out of them. Of course, then I got the thrill of shopping and I was off to the races. Thank goodness I have a very tolerant husband. I usually do everything in grand fashion. I too have fallen into some bad habits. I'm really trying to break them at this point. It's hard when you don't really see the results on the scale. I have gotten where I drink my International Suisse Mochas (sugar-free) a little too much. I mean I'm hooked. I also have been eating too fast and not paying attention to the point of satisfaction and go for "FULL". Now I've only put on 3 pounds and I'm still at my goal weight since I was a little under but the red lights are a flashing!!! So, I'm starting to journal my food again and put the fork down in between bits. But the mochas are so very hard to give up. I will conquer this though. I refuse to go back up. Keep in touch with me. My email address is vickiljones@aol.com. Vicki

Goldenmom - Wow what a mind blower! I'm 56 and reached goal at 55. I have horses, dogs and cats. I gave my mother a choco lab for her birthday a few years ago. Now my husband and I raise Cavaliers. I used to show my horses but when I got heavy quit. Somehow being perched up on my show horse weighing in at 265 in skin tight clothing didn't paint a really pretty picture. :wub: Just be careful with the reflux. It can cause huge problems if it goes on too long. Try doing things like not only eating earlier in the evening but also drinking a warm cup of tea/coffee prior to eating. REALLY pay attention to those pesky little signs that you've had enough. Sometimes it can be a slight sigh, a sniffle, etc. Also, pick foods that agree more with you. This may mean switching up Breakfast type things or something like that. Obviously you have been checking out the allergy drip. I wouldn't have thought of that but will keep the information handy. Some people even have to stop drinking 2 hours prior to bed to keep from having problems. Once you find your key, you'll be ok. I love being a normal weight. I've added new hobbies that my husband and I really like to do. We now rockhound, I ride my own Harley (very timidly), and I make jewelry with the stuff we find. I can't tell you how nice it is to squat down and not have to look for the nearest helping hand/thing to assist me in getting up. I thought that after a while it would become so common place that I would forget to appreciate it. Not so, I am in awe everyday over this freedom. Let me know if I can help out in anyway. Feel free to PM me. Vicki

Goldenmom - Great thinking outside of the box!!!! That's what we have to do sometimes because each of us will react to this journey differently. My doctor also told me that I probably wouldn't get to the weight I wanted to be at because statistically it was probably not going to happen. I told him to hold onto his statistics and I have been at my chosen weight now since last August. Keep working that band and finding the solutions to the problems. You're doing great. Remember this is not a race it's a journey. Enjoy all of the experiences along the way. Last night's biggest looser really hit home as the people went through all of the emotions when they were shopping for new outfits. I remember being that person and remarkably I was standing in Macy's when it really hit me. I stood in the isle for quite a while trying to sort through all of those feelings. Maybe it's just Macy's...LOL.

Smartbandsters is a yahoo group. You might have to set up an arbitrary yahoo mailbox but then you can access it very easily.

Ok, you all need to post this stuff on smartbandsters.com and have the nurse Jessie guide you. That thread is really good (not that this site isn't) and Jessie is the bomb.

My ferritin levels on the blood work were high and they did an ultrasound to check it. It came back with a diagnosis of fatty liver. One thing you have to realize is that most obese people have fatty liver. The pre-op diet is to shrink it as much as they can. On rare occassions they do get in there for surgery and find that the liver is still too big. However, like I said this is rare. I asked my PCP when my ferritin levels would come down and he told me it could take years to heal. The good thing is - it will go down. I know how worried you are about that. Try to relax. This is why the surgeries are done is to improve this type of thing. Talk to your surgeon about your worries. If you're like me, you didn't because of fear of what the answer would be (i.e. no surgery).

Are they now doing surgeries and fills in So. Sac (Kaiser)?