kacee

I'd say the first time you go into things like shakes, make shakes with a banana blended in. You could have a potassium deficiency. That can cause muscle cramps in the extremeities.

I've heard up to 15 minutes prior to eating you can drink. Maybe have your coffee while you wait for your food and then forgo through the meal. When I got to eat out with family and friends I usually do NOT follow the no drink rule. I am good the entire rest of the time, but I like my ice tea with conversation, or my glass of wine with my meal. Life as we know it in this planet will not end because of it and it's not like I "backslide" then and do it all the time. I reserve it for "special occasions."

I would imagine it's like post-vacation, post-holiday blues. You spend so much energy and focus building yourself up in anticipation and it's kindof like you expect this big epiphany to flash over your head and the angels will sing. You wake up and it's....hmmmm....business as usual except your habits and lifestyle are changing. It's a jolt. I was lucky because I did not have any depression. I was so gung ho after surgery I redirected all my forces from anticipation to determination to stay on the post-op diet for the required time. What's the old adage...Life is 70% anticipation, 25% perspiration and 5% realization...

I use the head and shoulders and then I use the Nioxin for conditioner (mainly because I LOVE the strong mint flavor and tingliness).

Triskits. Never have been able to get them to stay down.

and put your fork or spoon down between bites and give it a few minutes to go down. That was a big lesson I learned....and a HARD one, as a food stuffer!

Absolutely. Interruptions in your downtime can greatly impact your return to normal and there are no better experts at that than little people!

Your gut is going to take on a life and personality of its own. it never ceases to amaze me....when I am eating and when I am not. I was laying on the couch the other day and I hadn't eaten in several hours and one of my cockatiels was perched on my stomach looking at me. All of a sudden my stomach let loose with this DEMONIC growl that went on FOREVER! You should have seen the crest on that little birdie's head stand straight up and he FROZE for about 30 seconds!

"ok, well, this last week has been extremely stressful, and this is the week of the month for me that is HELL. so, i've had some sugar the last few days, and haven't been taking as much care of myself (i may lose my job due to my son causing me to miss work (i already missed a lot for me)). so, i haven't had a migraine since surgery. let me tell you, this is nothing short than a great victory for me. i have migraines twice a week usually. so i get this migraine today, and i am like "freakin' great." " Okay, I am no expert by any means, but I have lots of friends and family who are afflicted with migraines. First of all stress is a trigger, so it goes without saying that you were under stress at this time. However, have you done a lot of research into what some of your food triggers could be? I wonder about the sugar. Not just the sugear, but the fact that sugar was introduced after you had not had "any" for a while. I just have to wonder what impact this had on your system....combination of sugar and stress.....hmmmmmm.

Two things. 1. Cut out the drinking altogether. Period. (I mean around meals) 2. Go get a fill!!!!

Good luck with that. You are totally at the mercy of genetics. No amount of creams or jiggling or massage or anything is going to make any of that stuff go away. It is what it is....excess flab. You can eat right, exercise, etc. and after that...whatever is left is probably there to stay unless you have it removed.

Give her encouragement on how she is looking but don't get hung up on asking her "how much have you lost now?" This REALLY bothers some people. She will have starts and stops and hit plateaus and everyone (she included) must understand that this is an ongoing process. Just because you go a week or so without any results on the scales does not mean things aren't working the way they are supposed to.

First of all, don't beat yourself up TOO bad as far as the eating goes. You are probably NOT supposed to be on solids yet and yes, you sure didn't make any great choices when you decided to cheat, but I'd say learn from the mistake and don't dive in again. The difference with the band is that when you finally get the restriction, there will be no more of stuffing your face with things through the day. That just isn't going to happen. First of all, you probably are a fast healer to even be able to tolerate the foods you got down. And also you know you have no restriction now. If your doctor is like most, you should be due for a fill by about next week or earlier. If he says it's okay, get in there and get that first fill to get the process initiated. Your band isn't working for you yet, but that doesn't give you carte blanche to go hog wild. There is personal restraint that MUST be learned here. Start now trying to make healthy choices and thinking things through befor you blithely jump off the cliff....

I use Isopure clear Protein drinks. They are great from immediately post op on because they are CLEAR liquids. Some GNC's carry them. Any store that has supplements for weight training and body building will carry it. It has 160 calories and 44mg protein and tastes good. Leanr about it (and purchase) at.... index

First of all, where are you getting your salad? If it is from a restaurant, many of their greens and veggies are treated with things that preserve their freshness and can give you the runs. Or it could be the salad dressing doing it to you. I actualy have found that salad goes down pretty easy for me (physically), but I do have a real problem with anything very vinegary. It seems to burn. Never had that problem before.

Lack of Protein definitely contributes to the situation, but this is more about the stress that has ben put on the body....surgery is a big stressor, dramatic weight loss is a huge stressor...any dramatic change in the body's workings can set it off. I started taking hair and nails vitamins with tons of biotin in it, about two weeks ago. I HAVE noticed a dramatic lessening of the fallout, so I don't know whether to contribute it to the pills or the more frequent washing or what. I am still not washing my hair EVERY night, but I am trying to do every two days or every other day. I've just got too much hair and too much maintenance to deal with it every night. Yeah, I would have thought more frequent washing would have made for more frequent loss, but the doc says NO.

You may have irritated yourself with the meat. I love ground meat, but I find it very hard to get down. I had a siege with some mashed potatoes that left me in dire pain for about 2.5 hours just after I went on solids. I couldn't believe that something that soft could cause a problem. Maybe I ate it a little fast thinking it would just slide down. At any rate, be VERY VERY careful with trying to wash down things with liquid. It does NOT work like it did pre-band, even tiny sipping. You are really probably better off to just let everything sit. You could also get some papaya enzyme (there is some stuff on line called Clear Ease) that is taken as a pill and left to dissolve in your cheek. However, since you said that the liquids went down fine, it just sounds to me like the lining was irritated with the meat (like havig a sore throat but lower).... good luck!

Gladster, you are looking GREAT! I started noticing a big change after the first 20 pounds, but it seems no one else did, and when I hit 35 I really saw a diference and STILL was only get occasional comments. However, in the last three weeks, EVERYONE has noticed a difference (I'm at 50 now) and it's not just "a difference", it's a "WOW!" difference! Actually there seems to be a point when the POUNDS start to slow down a little and the INCHES start to fall of, and that's when people started to stop me in the hallway and go WOW. You've done a phenominal job! Keep it up!

I take 40 mg of Prozac, which is a large capsule. I have NO problem taking it. I've been taking rather large pills since about 3 months post op.

Ya know what...for some of you who are anticipating getting the band and paying for it, you might start with tests BEFORE you go for your consult and start the "bandwagon" rolling. I was having trouble snoring and went to an ENT (then had a sleep test), which was covered by insurance. I went to the GP and had bloodwork done, (which I do several times a year anyway because I am on BP and cholesterol meds) which was covered by insurance. I had had a kindof tightness in my chest for a few days and wound up at a cardiologist having a stress test...all covered. And THEN I decided to get the band and ALL my testing I'd had done in the last three months was just sent over to the surgeon, which fullfilled all the pre-op needs.

From what I can tell, ALL bands are sutured in place to hold them on the stomach. The healing period right after surgery is most important because that is when the scar tissue from this is forming and settling the band in place.

<p>And if that were to happen.......? Your point is?????? Do you get up every morning and fear you will be hit by a bus and killed in the way to work (or school)? Do you enter a swimming pool figuring you have a 50-50 chance of drowning before you get out? Do you aniticipate someone breaking into your house in the middle of the night and shooting you dead? Do you hide in a closet when it rains because you might get struck by lightening and killed? You could die on an operating table, on a street corner, at home in your bed in your 90's... However, that being said, you are in capable professional hands of people who study and work YEARS and YEARS to perfect the skills they have. These aren't just sckmucks off the street digging around in your gut. They do this day in and day out, like you or I might use a computer, or cook a meal, or iron a shirt. It is a skill learned and practiced and honed to perfection. Contingencies are covered. Is this about fear of death or fear of losing control? They are silly fears...and we all have them from time to time, no matter how idiotic they feel. Let's just say that the odds are REALLY with you that things will come out FINE.!</p>

First of all be PREPARED for hunger when you start feeling better. You will still have a capacity to eat quite a bit. Eat to FILL yourself (I ate a LOT of jello around that time....every time I felt the munchies I headed for a cup of fat free jello. At 10 cal per cup, I could load up). I actually had a really good post-op experience. I knew everything that was happening and what to expect so when it came, no surprises. Understand that you are NOT expected to shed weight like a maniac right after surgery. Your band won't work for you until you get restriction (and that means RESTRICTION, which doesn't necessarily mean "first fill"). The most dreaded thing you can do at this time is get disappointed and feel hopeless. This is a process that may take some MONTHS, so understand this. These are the first few weeks and months of the rest of your life and things will change, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED. Professional dieters are always getting discouraged. This will be different. The changes WILL come.

Also makes a difference what time of day you are eating. Sometimes I can barely eat anything before noon. My band feels like a vise. By dinnertime I feel like I can eat "a lot" (if I can get 3/4 of a cup of something down, that is a LOT). You've got to make sure the easy stuff is introduced when you are closed up and you can get more varied when you feel looser. It's trial and error. That's the big learning curve of the band. At 6 months I feel like I am just now starting to get a grasp on it.

Don't give it a second thought. This is TOTALLY NORMAL!!!! First fills are usually not successful....second fill may not be either. I didn't get a REAL restriction (and believe me, it comes as one of those big "AHA!!!!!" moments when you DO get it!) until my 3rd fill. It will come with time. Do the best you can for now and get back in for another fill when your doctor lets you.