kacee

I was nauseus only in the recovery room, and they gave me something for it. After that it went away permanently. As for feeling weak and listless, get that Protein stepped up! Get Protein drinks and shakes. Isopure clear protein drinks are GREAT (index). Protein and liquids is the name of the game. If you don't really step that up you will continue to feel like CRAP.

I drink one of those nasty energy drinks periodically when I need to wake up more at work. I am not a soda lover, so it is a one time thing, and because they aren't the best tasting things in the world, I don't guzzle them. I drink wine or a cocktail when I go out...other than being empty calories there is no problem with it, except you DO have to watch your consumption because you are eating less, weigh less, etc., and the alcohol can hit you harder, faster.

I wouldn't push it. I had surgery on a Wednesday and returned to work the following Tuesday and I don't think I could have gone back any earlier. There are several factors you are dealing with. First of all the post-op discomfort (mainly the gas pain). That can be REALLY debilitating for several days initially. Then there is the general exhaustion from surgery itself. You are pretty wiped for about two weeks, just getting your stamina back. I went back to my desk job, but I did leave about an hour early each day the first week (I have a desk/computer job) back.

I lost about 40 pounds the first four months. That being said, I only had a total of about 68 pounds to lose total, so starting from a smaller place it is a given that you will lose slower. The more you have to lose, the faster it will come of initially, then it will stabilize as you get down farther. Using your daughter's wedding as a mini-goal is fantastic.

Dorr, you GOTTA be a tall guy, because you really carry BOTH weights well (if you can consider 400 pounds being carried well, that is). I mean, I would never have guessed the weight for either of the pictures, so I assume you are well over 6 feet tall. Don't feel bad about your band intentions. I once seriously considered GAINING 25 pounds to put myself in the category of being able to get a bypass. I thought I must have been really warped, but there are TONS of people out here who have considered the same thing. Just goes to show how desperate we are. Good luck to you!

I just turned 56. I have seen several 60+ banders on the forum. I've seen the cut-off age around 70. When I started considering it last spring, though, and I was talking to my Mom, we discussed my age. I didn't want to get into a category that was "iffy" so I didn't want a long-drawnout insurance battle (not being a self-pay I could hav looked at at least 6 months to more than a year to get qualified).

Kindof depended on what was going on that month. If I was going out of town in a few weeks I opted to try to get, say, from 197 to BELOW 195 by the time I left. I had been at a plateau for a long time at 179 and set my goal 1 month before my California trip to be at 175 by the trip. My birthday goal was 50 pounds total loss (which I set about 1 week before my birthday...I had 2 pounds to lose then). My goal for Thanksgiving day was 165....set it two weeks before and had 3 pounds to lose. I am at 164 now and I want to be 160 by Christmas day. Just keep them small, short and ATTAINABLE.

....and it's not just crossing them....it's crossing them at the KNEE!!!!! (An not having to hold on to keep em crossed!)

Doing it together gives you both a "partner in crime" so to speak. You will both learn together and support each other. If the logistics work for you (no kids, or kids at granny's for several days or whatever)....

DR. HADAR SPIVAK PARK PLAZA HOSPITAL HOUSTON, TEXAS Banded 05-23-07 Self-Pay $12,900 (Outstanding!!!!!)

There are lots of things I have heard you can do to break a plateau (that's where you are). One is to vary your caloric intake. Go 700-800 one day and 1000-1100 the next. For some reason I have heard this "jostles" the body chemistry and wakes it up, so to speak. There are plateau-breaking mini-diets you can try (only done for a short amount of time...once again to jostle the body chemistry). Up your protein considerably. Up your liquid intake. Physics WILL win out. If you take in less than you expend, you WILL lose.

I've been through a particularly abusive (emotionally, verbally) relationship myself. This sounds familiar (thought not to the caliber mine was). I have one thing to say. Think about it. MANY A TRUTH IS SAID IN JEST. Jibes are very often NOT jibes but inner hurts that just come rolling out more or less accidentally. Listen to what your man is saying. He's wrong of course, but you need to listen and read between the lines. You guys desperately need to talk TO each other, not AT each other. You have no idea how this kind of thing can FESTER. Men are particularly BAD about not communicating (and I don't think this is any news to any of us ladies...or men) so you have to figure out a way to approach them that doesn't (1) scare them; (2) emasculate them (I know that doesn't leave much else to work with...). We can be unbelievably cruel to those we love. I've always heard that instead of lunging at someone saying "You did this...you did that....you always....you never" (always and never are BAD words to use) approaching with "When you do this/say this/act towards me in this wa/ etc., you make me feel like..... (no, don't insert "shit"....be specific).

I think I was down about 23 pounds by the end of the first month. I felt great and was doing a big HAPPY DANCE. This has continued and I am now down 54 pounds and just going great guns!

Try going to the pharmacist and seeing if they have anything like Clear Ease in stock. This is an enzyme lozenge that breaks up mucus that is normally used by scuba divers and it's supposed to help with sinus problems. The enzymes active are papain, bromelain and protease which break up mucus. In other words...this is about the same thing as a meat tenderizer...it breaks down proteins. You can order this stuff online (Amazon has it too).

I found this while looking for a BMI chart just now. Very interesting and I applaude this program. May not do much, but at least it's out there for people to see.... Ad Nauseam Campaign

You don't have restriction yet. This is NORMAL. I had three fills before I felt ANYTHING and the 4th one did it for me. If it has been three weeks you can probably request another fill within a week or so. You are also probably in a plateau. Those are GOING to happen as your body adjusts. I hit a plateau about every 5 pounds or so. Then I get stuck for a week or two (or three), but is you persevere it will break. This is where logging your food intake is VERY helpful. You need to understand that this is going to be a series of starts and stops...it won't be constant all the way through. And that is OKAY. Just because you hit a plateau does NOT mean the loss is over. It's just a "way station" along the path. I have come to accept it for what it is, knowing that the laws of physics will ruole in the end. If you take in fewer calories than you expend, you WILL LOSE EVENTUALLY.

First of all I think I would discount children's menus. They are notoriously geared to "good tasting kid food" and NOT nutrition (i.e., check on how many restaurants serve things like mac and cheese and hot dogs on their kiddie menu). The first thing I look at when I go out is the appetizer and sides menu selections. The first few months after banding when I went out, I always chose from the appetizer section. I had stuffed mushrooms, grilled shrimp, all kinds of yummy things in SMALL SMALL portions. Sometimes you may get things with a higher caloric content but listen, if it is your WHOLE MEAL instead of the prelude to three or four other things, you can sit and relish it, cuz remember, you are most likely NOT going to be able to finish it anyway. I had some decadent stuffed mushrooms from Magnolia Bar and Grill (Houston)...I ate about 4 bites and then had it wrapped up to go and finished it the next day and it was wonderful and I felt like I had the most wonderful gastric experience! Now, don't get me wrong, I don't make these choices on a regular basis...I stick to healthy lo cal items too, a majority of the time. Generally when I go out to eat, I gear my food choice to the SMALL PORTION rather than specifically WHAT it is...oh and of course....something that WILL go down. I try not to get full meals and big items I know I will just have to take home (they're are NEVER as good later and often soggy). That's just me, though.

Well, the symptoms of sleep apnea are snoring, ceasing to breathe while asleep and constant waking for air, drowsiness during the day...you can go to an ENT and be tested at a sleep center to verify. But apart from that, it specifies not controlled by CPAP, bite splint or surgery... in other words you will have had to go through some if not ALL of those treatments and FAIL before you can be approved by your insurance company. I don't think I would hang my hat on that.

If you like cottage cheese, I mixed some avacado in with it and it was YUMMY.

The operative ingredient in pineapple juice seems to be the enzyme which acts as a tenderizer, and breaks up mucus. I agree with Bandit though. Drinking something on top of a plug-up can cause BAD results. You could also try something called Clear Ease which you can get through Amazon. It is dissolved in the mouth as a lozenge and has bromelain, protease and papain, all ingredients which aid in the breakdown of proteins.

Probably a little easier than that, there is something you can get on-line called Clear Ease (Amazon carries it) for sinus problems, it busts up mucus. It is papaya enzyme, which is a "meat tenderizer" ingredient. These are lozenges that you put in your mouth and let disssolve. The problem with Pineapple juice is that once something gets stuck, the LAST thing you want to do is try to wash it down with a liquid. All it does is sit on top of the "clog" and make things worse. I have a bottle and keep a tablet or two in my purse. Never have used it though because for me once something gets stuck...that's it, it stays that way until the food comes back up.

You may want to get your fill checked again. When I hit the point where I could get that kind of food down I went straight back to the doctor for a "top off". That being said, just because you have fills doesn't give you license to eat the way you did before. Nachos? Pizza? Maybe once in a blue blue moon, but NOT on any regular basis. That's just eating around the band, and you won't get anywhere fast doing that.

Yep, right on target and TOTALLY normal.

I've flown six times since I was banded and never a peep from the metal detector. It must have to do with the type of band or something. Sorry you went through that, but it's an unfortunate fact post-911. My 83 year old Mother gets everything but thrown on the ground and frisked when she goes through because she has two artificial knees and sets off every alarm known to man.

If you haven't had a fill yet, don't worry about it. BELIEVE ME, when you finally get good restriction you will NOT walk into a house full of food and expect to be able to eat much! My biggest quandry on Thanksgiving was whether or not to try the shrimp and remoulade sauce my cousin brought, knowing that two little shrimp would probably put a big dent in my turkey and dressing capacity (which it did). It's VERY hard at first without restriction to stay the course. This is when your brute will-power and determination needs to kick in. This will pass.