aubrie

My scale weighs me pretty much the same if I get on and off several times. Maybe a .2 difference... The thing that gets me is that I weigh..... drink one small cup of coffee and then have a pee and a MAJOR BM (for a band patient) and weigh again and I'm UP three pounds??? WTF? That makes no sense. How is that even possible?

Greetings!! AS you can see, I'm writing from Corpus christi, Texas. I've had my band almost two years. Done well, with a few set backs and surgeries.... Anyway. It's possible I may be moving up there with my husband. He's applied and has had his first interview. It looks promising. Do you think either of these doctors would take a patient that's already had the surgery for fills? MANY doctors in the lower 48 won't. So I'm nervous about that. Moving up there makes me a little nervous anyway. Like moving to the moon for me. I've been there in the summer, but never the winter. Any help, encouragement, advice, pointers, etc. that you can give, I would be most appreciative of.

Hello! Greetings from sunny Corpus Christi, Texas! My husband applied for a job in Anchorage, and it looks promising. So it may very well be that we will be moving up there. I have an excellent surgeon here, whom I adore, who gives me top notch care. I see him regularly, and he monitors my fills as a friend would. I'm a little nervous about coming up there and finding the right fit for me. those of you who have stumbled on this site, please let me know your experiences. This move would be stressful for me. Like moving to the moon..... Stress causes band tightness and discomfort, so I'm worried. Suggestions? Tips? Advice? Doctors? Hospitals? clinincs?

I'm am currently going through round TWO of hair loss. I'm so upset. At 5 monts out I lost a LOT of hair. It went on for a good while and then slowed, but no new hair growth. FINALLY it started growing back at about 13 months out. Didn't last long. At 17 months out it started AGAING. It's also getting dull, brittle and dry. I used to have such thick, soft hair. It was fine, but I had a lot of it. I couldn't pull it all back in regular barrette. Now, if I put a barette in it, it just falls right out. It hangs in lifeless thin little sad wisps. I look horrible. I've been taking biotin since I was 5 months out. No interruptions. I eat PLENTY of protein. I only eat fresh fruit and veggies, I take extra calcium, Vitamin D, and a chewable multi-vitamin daily. I've had blood tests run last week and my CBC and thyroid tests all came back perfect and normal. I'm healthy as a horse. But I am also having a big problem with vertigo, fatigue and diarreah now as well. I even developed a rash on my arm. I've been prescribed two different creams and neither of them worked. The rash has now left a nasty scar on my arm. I KNOW there is something wrong with me, and two doctors now have failed to take this seriously. couldn't care less. I don't know what to do.

DITTO!!! I too know the difference. If I have head hunger, it's just a nagging longing for something to eat. I'm stubborn and I just want it. I fixate on it, and won't be happy until I eat. Hunger is different. My stomach physically growls and hurts. If I let it go, I get a headache, I get nauseous and end up having a light head. There IS a difference. If you're hungry in the the evenings, eat more Protein at that time of day. If you like oatmeal, don't stop eating it. Just add some unflavored Protein powder to it when you make it. It helps a lot.

1. Were You Named After Anyone? Yes, Debbie Reynolds 2. When was the Last time You Cried? Last night. Hubby pissed me off. 3. Do You like Your Handwriting? No. Looks like chicken scratch. I only print. Friends call my letters "niblettes". 4. What Is Your Favorite Lunch meat? Cajun roast beef 5. Do You have Kids? 2 adult boys 21 and 24 6.If You were Another Person, Would You be Friends with You? Most of the time, yes. 7. Do you use Sarcasm a lot? yes. 8. Do You still have Your Tonsils? Yes. 9. Would You Bungee Jump? HELL no. 10. What is Your Favorite Cereal? Granola 11. Do You untie Your Shoes when You take them off? Yes. 12. Do You think You are Strong? Physically, yes, for my age. Emotionally, no, I'm very sensitive. 13. What is Your Favorite Ice Cream? Mint chocolate chip. 14. What is the First thing You notice about People? Eyes. 15, Red or Pink? Pink. but that's just been in the last 2 years or so. I never thought I looked good in pink. When I finally got something, EVERYONE raved. Who knew? 16. What is The least thing You like about Yourself? My flap-like bat wing arms.. 17. Who do You Miss the Most? My son who is off at college. 18. What Color Pants and Shoes are Wearing now? denim capris and leopard print sandals 19. What was the Last thing You Ate? A homegrown tomato 20, What are You listening to now? My co-workers eating lunch 21 If You were a Crayon what Color would You be? kelly green 22. Favorite Smells? ripe peaches and melons, my mother's cheek, a baby's head after a bath, roses 23. Favorite Sports to Watch? NONE. Or is figure skating a "sport"? 24. Hair Color?light brown with blonde highlights 25. Do You Wear Contacts? yes, soft. 26. Favorite Food? Chinese 27. Scary Movies, or Happy Endings? HAPPY! 28. Last Movie You saw? Knocked Up 29, Color Shirt/Blouse You are Wearing? blue print 30. Summer or Winter? Winter. I'm a bitch in the heat. 31. Favorite Dessert? brownies with ice cream 32, Favorite Place ever Traveled? Greece, Alaska, Maine 33, Where would You like to Travel Next? Spain 34. What Book are Reading now? Synchronicity 35, Where were You Born? Bayville, Long Island, New York. 36. Big Band or Rap? big band 37. Interesting Fact about Me? I married my high school sweetheart at age 31 38. What did You Watch on Televison Last Night? Recorded soaps 39. Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles 40. Do You have a Special Talent? cooking. I love it, and I'm good at it. Thus.... why I got so fat........

A mini can of V-8 low sodium juice only has 30 calories and is PACKED with nutrition. That will usually hold me off from eating something bad. I do still crave my salty chips though. That is my downfall. Sweets? Not a problem. Just the chips. I have read on hear that we don't get hungry, that it's all head hunger. Maybe for you, but I DO GET HUNGRY. I can tell the difference. When I crave something and have head hunger, I want it and fixate on it. When I'm hungry, my stomach gowls and rumbles, it hurts and then I get nauseous. If I let it go to long I get a roaring headache. So I DO get hungry. When I'm like that, I don't care what I eat. I just want something, anything in my tummy so the discomfort will stop. At that time I usually reach for a protien food like nuts, or cheese. It evens out my blood sugar, and makes me feel better immediately. Actually, I do better with real hunger than I do with head hunger. With head hunger I'm just being a spoiled brat and eat crap.

als74 you sound JUST LIKE ME. what you posted above is DITTO of me. It took me a while to figure this out as well. I now eat only yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast. No more cereal or toast. I have to eat lunch around 1:00 to 1:30. any earlier and I'm in pain and the air and slime starts. I can usualy eat just about anything by the time dinner times comes. I too can not eat white meat chicken. Only dark meat. We have a lot in common! If I skip a meal, I'm in serious trouble.

tough love. Sometimes the truth just hurts and is hard to swallow. On BOTH sides. but it's love just the same. If we didn't care, we wouldn't have responded. the most loving thing you can do for anyone is to tell the truth. Lies and candy coated crap doesn't help anyone.

For ANYONE to lose weight successfully, you have to have a whole aresenal of tools to help you. Health club memberships, weights, jogging shoes, fat -free this, sugar free that, trainers, fitness instructors, classes, exercise videos, diet pills, meditation, spiritual guidance, appetite suppressants, weight watchers meetings, support groups, steps, bunge cords, calorie counters, scales, ........ God I could go on and on. They are all tools to help you. Why can people not see that a lap band is a tool like ALL the other things used to "cheat"? It's just a little more serious and expensive of a tool. In my mind, the person that makes this choice is DAMN serious about it!! More power to ya!

Hmmmmm. I live in South Texas and it's hotter than hell here. We just got back from a WONDERFUL two week vacation in Maine. Nice and cool. Dry and pleasant. It was HEAVEN. I never PBd so much in my whole band journey!!! I puked almost daily. The only thing I could associate it with was the altitude on the plane ride up there. I was better about a week after we returned home, but I've been tight a few times since. I don't think it was the heat for me......

7 days clears. Two weeks full liquids. Two weeks mushies. I ate a lot of egg drop soup on the full liquid diet. the protein helped keep up my strength. I also added protein powder to my cream soups.

Mine come and go. I go through a period where I can't eat something, and a few months later, I do just fine with it. My "problem" foods are white meat chicken, sometimes strawberries, dense doughy breads, popcorn and plums. Other times I can eat them just fine. I just have to see. I was stunned the other day when I had trouble with salad and shrimp. I've been banded 20 months now, and that was a first. It changes all the time.

I went a few weeks ago. I ordered fish and mashed it with my fork.

Now that summer is here I'm LOVING watermelon, honeydew melon and peaches!!!

HappyHomeCC. I too LOVE the mayo with the olive oil. I hate artificial anything, and going fat free, sugar free isn't an option for me. The olive oil solved this problem for me. I have to keep a little bit of healthy fats in my diet or my skin looks just horrid! Olive oil actually helps reduce cholesterol, so I'm fine with it. I am also concerned about maximizing my nutrition. Many vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are fat soluable, and are only absorbed in the presence of fats. So I feel a little is doing me a favor, as long as it's the right kind, and used in moderation. I won't touch margarine!!!!

The super thin pizza crust makes it possible for me. Regular crust is a BIG NO NO. The thin crust is crispy like a cracker, and I do so much better. One slice and I'm a happy camper. Doughy pizza will kill ya!

Call your doctor. He'll want to know. It's dangerous not to poop for more than 5 days. If you're still on liquids try prune juice. You doc may suggest M.O.M. That's what I had to take after surgery. I had trouble with all this after surgery as well. All the protein drinks and creams soups. UGH. I had trouble for months. It's better now, but I have added more whole grains and fiber to my diet, and eat FRESH fruit at least 3 times a day. During a bad spell, 4 or 5 sections of grapefruit with the pithy skin peeled off seemed to help. I also boiled some prunes in a little bit of water and stewed them. I poured them and the juice over cottage cheese for breakfast. Make sure you're drinking enough water too. I've discovered that a small glass of water with lemon at bedtime helps.

:thumbup: Do you work? Buy one and keep it at work. He'll never know...... tee hee hee. Just kidding. I weight every day too. It seems to keep me on track. If I'm up a pound or two, I know I need to watch it for a day or two or up my exercise. I don't know. It helps me. My doc is big on only weighing once a week. He's REAL big on being anti obsessive. He doesn't even allow me to weigh my food or count calories. As long as I don't eat over 1 1/2 cup, and don't snack, he's good with it. He said food was an obsession, he didn't want me trading one obsession for another. I liked that, but the scale was one I had trouble with.

My hair didn't fall out until about 5 -6 months after surgery, and then WOW it was falling out in clumps. My hair got really thin. I immediately started taking the Biotin. It slowed down and stopped, but wasn't growing back. My hair was still wispy and thin. Then at about 14 months out it started growing back. I had a "halo" of hair sticking straight out of my head. I didn't care. I was delighted. Well, I'm almost 19 months out, and it started falling out AGAIN. I'm so disgusted. I haven't recovered from the first time!!! I never stopped taking the Biotin. I suspect that it could be my thyroid. I may need to have my meds adjusted. I noticed that my sleeping is not as good, I have nightmares, which is totally out of character, I'm getting little rashes on my skin, my bowels are irritable and I have constant gas, I'm more prone to depression and temper tantrums and I can't seem to regulate my body temp. I'm burning up one minute (not sweating, just dry burning hot skin) and shivering the next. So It's time for more blood work....... Bummer.

NOTE: I live on the coast so I eat it all the time..... One thing that people do that makes it difficult to eat is OVERCOOK it. Overcooked shrimp gets rubbery and tough. Freezing it also makes it a little tough. Try to get FRESH shrimp, and only cook it for 3 minutes or so. (depending on the size). I eat is all the time and have no problems. I eat more seafood than anything else.

My doc says NO to carbonation for a few reasons. It's not that it "hurts" the band. The band is pretty sturdy, but carbonation does have the potential to stretch your pouch. That is one problem. 2nd problem is that sugar, even the artificial kind messes with your blood sugar levels and your insulin levels and will make you hungry later on. Then you eat, and gain weight or don't lose. Simple. 3rd is, the swelling of the pouch and lower stomach with gas is painful. I was never a big soda drinker, but pre-band I LOVED my beer. I'm 19 months out and have only had a few sips off of maybe three beers. I haven't touched soda. Not even once. I had a few sips of champagne this past New Year's Even and thought I was going to die. I went to bed early groaning in pain. NEVER AGAIN. My doctor was right, and I'm doing what he says.......

First, I think that when someone betrays a trust, that is painful on so many levels. Not just the betrayal itself, but all the repercussions from it. What your sister did was disrespectful of your privacy, of your positive desire to help yourself, and just plain disrespectful in general. That said, I had a co-worker who barely even knew me announce that I had surgery at a luncheon, without even knowing for sure that I had. She just assumed since I had lost so much weight. I was furious, flabbergasted, stunned and speechless. What kind of person would do such a thing??? But since I HAVE had success, I have now become the poster child for bariatric surgery. There are two who have now had surgery as a result, and two more that are scheduled. So the negative turned into a positive. I've set an example and helped others to make their decision. I guess that makes me feel pretty good.

The vitamins are high quality, but taste GHASTLY!!! I couldn't do it. I went back to my Flintstones until I discovered the Centrum chewables.

As the months pass you'll notice more and more. I have shins now, ankles, a rib cage, collar bones, hip bones, a chin and tiny little wrists. None of my rings fit. They all fall off! My hands don't even look familiar. My shoe size has gone from a 7 to a 6. Being able to cross my legs again after years was my big milestone!