aubrie

I had my bariatric surgery for a lap band 7 years ago. A year and a half ago I was diagonosed with R.A. It created quite a probelm. Due to lap band and higher risk of stomach bleeding and sensitivity, I can NOT take NSAIDS of any kind. For pain I am using tramadol for when I have a flare. I was put on methotrexate to control the inflammation but ONLY by injection. It apparently causes stomach bleeding as well. I take my methotrexate injection once a week. I've had some really good response to this method of treatment but at the moment am having a flare. The bad winter weather throws a wrench into the system. But if I get a steroid shot I"m good for months... Be care with everything that can cause stomach bleeding... All my doctors are on board with this and work with eachother.

I don't have to take celebrex anymore either since I lost the weight, but if the weather changes suddenly or I overdo the exercise I'll ache a bit. But for me the BIG difference in comfort and flexibility was made when I started taking high quality (from the health food store) Omega 3 fish oil capsules. It is AMAZING the difference it made. I know this sounds gross, but I let the big pill soften in a cup of hot coffee or tea. I squeeze out the liquid and it floats on the top. One big sucking sip off the top and it's gone. Quick swallow. The higher quality caps don't taste quite so awful and it's just one sip. I'm used to it now. It's no big deal. With the improvement I'm experiencing it's a small price to pay. I can scoot up the stairs with ease, I can dance, get in and out of a kayak, and even enjoy "alternate" sex positions with ease again. Remarkable. I highly suggest it!!

I've heard this has a lot to do with the sudden drop in body fat. Hormones are stored in body fat, and with a sudden drop, the hormones actually fluctuate wildly. this is "normal" and apparantly "goes with the territory"..... Or so I've heard.

I still do pretty good on my eating after two years, but I have all but given up on the exercise, and have noticed that without it, I'm gainiing. I've put on 5 pounds since Thanksgiving. I haven't been to the health club in two months!! I used to go religiously. Now I'm simply bored to tears with it, and now that it's winter, I can't seem to be enthused about getting into an ice cold pool to do water aerobics. I've told the club the water is to cold, but they say exercising in a cold pool is "healthier". Not when your lips are blue, your teeth are chattering and you're shivering the entire time!!! I have arthritis, so other forms of exercise are difficult and I have to be so careful. So, I'm also in a slump. I'm angry at myself and very frustrated.

On the times that my fill is easy and he hits it the first time, I probably could stand it without the numbing meds, BUT there was a couple times where he had to poke around a lot. Those times I was VERY grateful for the meds. And you never know when those times will happen, so I'm happy I get the meds.

I'm two years out, and it was near a year before I ever had a PB. I still don't very often, but the band is a quirky, fickle, ever-changing thing and you simply can't predict it. So many things can affect it. Illness, fever, flyinig in airplanes, stress, your period, anger or grief, over eating, not chewing properly, eating to fast, fills. The list goes on....... Every day is different. You literally have to LEARN your personal, specific band patterns. What works for one, won't for another. Be patient. Also remember that frequent and consistant PB or vomiting is NOT NORMAL and can indeed be DANGEROUS in many ways. If it happens frequently, CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Take the process and the journey to good health slowly. Remember, you're in this for your health. Listen to your body, take notes and learn your lessons. It will all be fine and SO WORTH IT!!!!!

Yeah, the holidays are a killer. I've gained 4 pounds since Thanksgiving. UGH...... I have to say, the sodium seems to be a part of it. I haven't gotten up in the morning with swollen fingers in MANY months. Have several times since Thanksgiving. Alcohol seems to be my pit fall. Spiced rum, and extra wine will get you every time. I've been good about limiting the Christmas cookies. But stuff like potatoes and gravy???? Hard to resist. Slacked off on the exercise as well. I know where I'll be next week!!! LOL

StephanieF, I take 50 milligrams a day. It's not recommended to take more than that as it can interfere with other minerals in the body and their absorption. Do some research on zinc. It's amazing all the things it helps with. Google it. You'll see where it's documented to help fight hair loss among other things.

I'm always mildly amused when I go to the grocery store. why do we pay anywhere from $4.99 to $8.99 a pound for beef, but when it's ground it's around $2.69 a pound. But with turkey....you buy a whole turkey at the holidays and it's 79 cents a pound, but you find it ground and it's more expensive than hamburger!!! WTF????!!!! What is wrong with that picture. I never have understood that.....

I was using 1% milk and liked it just fine, until I discovered Borden's 2% High Protein milk. It's fabulous and has 10 grams of protein in a cup. It's not as fat as whole milk, but of course not as good calorie wise as skim, but I DO like the extra protein aspect of it. My family likes it too so it'a a plus for me. The were all die hard whole milk drinkers. Now they don't mind a bit. Win win for everyone.

Just a word of caution. I've known several people now that have had fiber free diets, chronic constipation etc., and all ended up with colitis or worse, colon cancer. Don't do that to yourself. You could have fissures in your colon and end up with septic bowels and abdomen. Sit down, be HONEST with yourself and think about what you're doing. Like Jachut said, the obvious answer is RIGHT THERE.....

LOL LOL LOL. I haven't had that "issue", but can see where it might present a problem...... Carrot sticks anyone??? :thumbup:

I'm over 2 years out. My first bout of hair loss was at 6 months out. It lasted a few months, but came back quickly. I was fine for a while and then it started again about 7 months ago. It was coming out in clumps and was NOT growing back this time. My blood work was perfect. The surgeon suggested biotin and some fancy shampoo. I was already taking biotin. Had been for a long time. Nothing was working. I took vitamins. Everything was good. I went to my regular doctor and complained, and he told me that some people just require extra zinc when dieting and that it doesn't work for eveyone, but was worth a try. He said it also strengthend the immune system during cold and flu season, so I figured, what the heck. I started taking it, and low and behold....VOILA..... My hair started growing back within 4 weeks. It's getting thick and healthy again. So, if you haven't tried it, do. It's inexpensive and I have to say, I haven't had a cold this winter either.....

The whey protein is supposed to be a better choice for bandsters. Not sure why, but it's what I used. I put the unflavored powder in lots of things..... fat free gravy, cream of wheat and oatmeal, soup, smoothies, stew, applesauce, etc. if you don't over do it, you'll never know it's there.

Greek yogurt is very high in protein, add a few fresh berries and you're doing great. I like soft scrabled eggs. I mix a little high protein milk in with the beaten eggs and they are much softer and go down much easier. It's more like a custard. A little cheese with it is nice too. Sprinkle a dollop of ricotta cheese on top of thin sliced apples with sweetner and pumpkin pie spice and heat in the microwave. It's like haviing a cheese blintz. Crab and cheese omelette.... YUM I'm a HUGE smoked salmon fan, but I've never tried it with cottage cheese. Sounds like I have a new menu item!!! Thanks.

If you take the celbrex and others that cause bleeding you will have to take other medications to reduce the bleeding. PLEASE call your surgeon first!!!!!! I have added Omega-3 to my diet. It's amazing the freedom of movement and pain reduction that it helps.

this is one area where I disagree with my doctor. This is strictly a personal opinion. He discourages juice of ANY kind. While I don't drink big tumblers of juice, I do drink a couple ounces of O.J. and acai with mangosteen to take vitamins with in the AM. Also, sometimes in the afternoon, I need a little something around 3:00. A 5.5 oz. can of low sodium V8 juice has just 30 calories. It's a perfect afternoon snack for me. It's low in carbs, low in sodium, low in sugar. It's loaded with vitamins A & C, and even has a gram of protein. I can't reasonably see the harm in it.

Initially yes. I was easily offended. Easily angered. Easily hurt. Cried more often. That lasted a few months. When I lost weight and my husbands interest kicked in again, I WAS ANGRY. I had a hard time getting past the fact that he ignored me sexually for 2 -3 years, and then suddenly, I'm appealing again? It infuriated me, and I didn't want him to touch me. It took about 9 months to iron all this out. It was emotional for me for some reason.

I've been banded two years now and can only recall eating a burger (or TRYING to eat a burger ) twice. the first time I managed a quarter of one. The last time I could only eat half. I probably had three fries and I was DONE. A whole burger? No way.

give yourselves time to develop a deep trust. then tell your secrets. It's not necessary at this point.

Yes. Find a new one OR go to a nutritionist familiar with bariatric patients. My doc says ONLY three meals per day, no snacks, protien first, veggies second, fruit third. IF I have room or was frugal, then I can have brown rice or sweet potato etc. Pie and cake, cookies is okay ON A SPECIAL OCCASION like everyone else, but a taste is all that is needed. I'm not allowed protein drinks except on the day of my fill for 24 hours. Other than that, I'm to eat the real deal. He is REALLY into a BALANCED diet. He says he wants me to learn that above all else. The band will take care of my portions, but also need to learn what a normal healthy poriton is. I eat a LOT of veggies. I mostly eat that and protein foods. He's happy with that.

I have a cold at the moment as well. The drainage seems to be the culprit of feeling yucky, nauseated and tight. I even had problems getting down a warm cup of tea. My appetite is less, which is good, but when I do eat everything feels "wierd". Can't describe it. It's almost like an ache, like I'm hungry, but if I eat, it's worse. I know I'm not hungry. Even my port hurts, but I think that's because I'm a little irregular since getting sick. Either that or it's from all the coughing. Not sure, but I do have consistant tummy aches.

Lostalot, LOL I had to laugh at myself. When I saw your use of "the D word", I immediately thought "diet". But to address you problem, I have to agree with some of the other posters. I've been married to my current husband for 19 years. There have been many ups and downs, it's true, you simply fall in and out of love with them over the course of a long relationship. I sent my husband a LONG letter about this just a couple weeks ago. I wish I had saved it, I would have shared it, but in essence it said this. I saw our marriage like a radio. Some times were are tuned to the exact same frequency, and are humming along in perfect unison. Totally in sync with eachother. Everything is peaceful. I'm content. When we're on the same wave length, I'm totally in love with him. He rocks my world, and there is no one I'd rather be with. This happens some of the time. Most of the time however, our frequencies maybe run parallel with some fluctuations in the waves. A little irritation here, lack of patience there, I'm interested in one thing, him another. There's no conflict per se, but it's not totally harmonious. We're able to tolerate eachother. It's like were both on FM stations, but I'm an oldies station and he's jazz. We both like eachothers music, we respect the difference, and move on. then there are the times when we are totally at odds. Chaos reigns. I'm FM and he's AM. Some times is so bad that we're like different radios in different rooms. We don't even hear eachothers "music". that's when we fight. Lots of conflict. We don't see eye to eye on anything. I don't want to hear him, and he doesn't want to hear me. He's a punk rock station and I'm now classical. We don't want to touch, communicate or tolerate. It is so uncomfortable. He can literally disgust me. These are the times when I entertain the thought of divorce. Never seriously enough to DO something about it, but that's when the idea becomes attractive. But, inevitably someone comes along and changes the station and our frequencies change once again, and the discord ends. I look forward to the days when we're singing the same song. those are the happy times.... I just have to be patient, because after 19 years I've come to realize that a swift spin of the radio knob will bring us right back in sync. My advice is to make certain you're not just on opposing stations at the moment. Listen for the song......

Puddle jumper flights or quickies like Houston to Corpus Christi don't pose much of a problem, as they don't reach a very high altitude. But on long flights that cruise at 30,000 ft. (+), I end up being tight for a day or so after landing. I usually have to ease back into eating and usually do smoothies or protein drink for the first 12 hours or so. Then I'm fine. If I try to eat to soon, I'll find myself in the bathroom with PB hell. I also take the "barf bags" off the plane in my purse. I've been in the rent car after a flight, and there was no place to stop. Sure came in handy!!!

It's hard to be objective about yourself. What I see in the mirror is just not that different, but of course we see ourselves every day. In an effort to see how others see me, I ask my husband occasionally...."Is that woman bigger or smaller than me, and where?" He's been a good sport about this, and I know he doesn't lie to me. It's been a real eye opener. I definitely didn't see myself the same way. women he said were shaped just like me, actually looked pretty good. So why do I not see it in the mirror on myself?