RJ'S/beginning

I can't think of one reason why blood in the stool would be an okay thing. Please call your doctor to let him make a diagnosis....K

I am a Golden lover by nature: Sam was my best friend for 11 years..He was the best dog I ever had..I can't even think of Sam 3 years later after his death..Because I still long for him and there is a great hole in my life where no other dog can fill. Max, he lives on his own terms..He is a big bear and loves and adores everyone...My grand daughter rides him and plays with him and sits on him...He is a gentle giant....12 years old! Bailey is a rescue dog. He was 2 when I got him and almost died hence we put a lot of love and money into his care and health... He is coming a long nicely and he is protective and a loving dag. The most work however of any of the dogs I have ever owned..... Love them all..

How wonderful that you are recognizing the triggers and changing your patterns....Your doing it kid..Your really doing it!!!!!!!!

I love losing inches....It is so great when you go a size down in clothing...Makes me really excited no matter what the scale says! Just keep swimming, your doing great!!!!!!!!!

Well when we dieted before we eventually did not change the way we used food and how we thought about food and why we used it as a comfort when times got hard to deal with. Then we would get frustrated and quit and all the weight would come back on + more sometimes....Nothing learned nothing changed! There are different kinds of WLS people. Ones who think that it is a miracle cure and think that the surgery will do the work for them and they will just continue to live the way they always have....Two those who treat the surgery exactly the way they did the diets..Rigid rules and constant laws as to what they can and can't eat. Measuring portions and counting to the extreme. But not fixing the issues either. Are looking for numbers not health benefits or this as a new way of life..So they after a few years grow tired and the weight begins to go on again. Three the rare person that everything goes tickity boo and they don't have to work for any of it and it is a dream come true. The weight falls off and they live happily ever after. Last is the main group, who has to look at this program as a completely different way of life. It is a work in progress from day one. They have to keep ahead of the their thoughts and work to change how they feel about food. Find out what the triggers are and work to change them. Learn better eating habits and exercise and keep active.. They have to take the time to learn what brought them to this place and how they have to change their thinking and their motivation regarding a new healthy life style. They have to study their feelings and make changes so that this is a life changing adventure where the end goal is this, healthy and happy. They have a lot of work to do....If these ones make the mistake of thinking that they cannot have a treat sometimes but that they have to plan for it and make sure that if they do they eat one cookie and not the box. They will succeed forever. These ones change their entire thinking about food and what it is used for. They eat in balance and moderation. They live in the real world and so nothing is off limits unless it causes you pain and or is a trigger to a downward slope... We cannot look at our surgery as a fix all. It is there to help give us time to understand that we have an addiction and a serious one at that...Any other addiction is different in that they do not have to have the substance to live.. But we have to eat...... If we see this as a new life style and change accordingly then we will be okay...We will still have ups and downs and it will be a life long struggle but we are well on our way to a new and permanent life change... I am sure that some of this is left out and even some of our thinking left out..but the gist of the idea is here....

Bananas don't have latex in them, btw. . The Proteins in bananas and several other fruits are used to manufacture latex. I am allergic to cantaloupe, walnuts, pecans, peaches, pears, and several other things when uncooked and very ripe because they contain a chemical that mimics hay fever. It suuuucks. Oops I wrote it wrong.. Pardon me! This is the answer I was told... I can however eat bananas when cooked...Otherwise I get very sick! Thanks @@LipstickLady I should have said it better.... Bananas and Latex AllergyLike avocados and chestnuts, bananas and plantain contain substances called chitinases that are associated with the latex-fruit allergy syndrome. There is strong evidence of the cross-reaction between latex and these foods. If you have a latex allergy, you may very likely be allergic to these foods as well. Processing the fruit with ethylene gas increases these enzymes; organic produce not treated with gas will have fewer allergy-causing compounds. In addition, cooking the food may deactivate the enzymes.

I sneeze and blow my nose when I have eaten enough...When it starts to happen I put my fork down and wait a few minutes to see how my sleeve feels... Sometimes I have a false reading and other times I push the plate away...I so hope that this reaction will continue for the rest of my life...

It is one of the scariest things I have had to deal with so far..And I have had some dillies. So far I have been managing it not to badly...But the symptoms come on so fast...It rocks everything I am doing...Don't want to have one with my grand daughter in the car while I am driving or when I am baby sitting her. Very unsettling....

I am sure that if I was going through what you are going through I would be walking into walls and sobbing at all times....I am so sorry for your troubles. Cancer is a horrible enemy and it is so unfair for anyone to suffer so much.... Please look after yourself.. Not just for you but for your soul mate as well.. If the dark night is when you slip up chose something else to do instead of sitting there alone...Take a hot bath and or maybe read a book...I don't know. All I know is adding to your pain is way to much right now..... Do the best you can for both of you...Once again please except my best wishes in this time of hardship!

Sometimes it is not how much you eat but what you eat that causes you to gain weight. The sleeve is not a miracle cure...It is a tool to help you lose weight while you are figuring out what is going on in your head..... If we do not fix our thinking then we will not succeed in WLS. That is just the way it is. If we think that we are safe when we lose all the excess weight we are in trouble. This is a journey that lasts the rest of your life. A different path to a healthy you forever....

I am, almost 18 months out but as I read your post...Seems to me girl you are spot on......No worries for now!

A bathing suit on a beach somewhere...ah don't think so...Never felt comfortable in those..Always wore a long Tee Shirt even when I was thin...I don't know hun..when I looked at the hospital gown i had so much fear come up in my stomach you can't imagine..And then when it fit....Holy Cow......I thought I could conquer the world until I went into the room to have the CT....

How would I know that @@PdxMan ? Great thought though.....Here's to all hopes!

I forgot to mention I had a major NSV as well at the hospital.. When I went to have the CT done. The nurse handed me this little cotton navy blue nightie to put on. She just handed it to me. It was cotton and there was no stretch. I took it from her and went into the changing room. I opened it up and looked at it and thought that there was no way it would fit me..Then I thought maybe I should just bite the bullet and go out and ask for a larger size. Then I was so distressed that I thought fine I'll try it on and if it does not fit I will get dressed again and go tell her then. I slipped it on and there was room to spare. It was loose on me. I came out of the room and my hubby had been worried about the same thing that it was too small for me..... He looked at me and said wow.....I sat down and looked at him and tears ran down my face...I would not have been able to even pull it over my head 18 months ago....I felt really tiny and excited and happy.. Until I went into the room and it took her 5 times to find a vein to hit for the dye....

I am allergic to Latex. And banana's have latex in them and so I can't eat them because of reaction..( bad)..But I could eat them if I wanted too!

For those of you that are keeping up with my nightmare complication track record. The drain was removed on Sunday but the pain is back. I went back to the hospital and they did another oh yes another CT scan this is 4 in 3 weeks and I think soon I will shine in the dark like a star at night...Anyway. The abscess is still there. It is now empty but has not flattened out like they had hoped. It is under my diaphragm and so when I breath I feel like I am short of breath and it is very painful.. I have to wait until my surgeon comes back next Monday and so I am taking pain killers an trying not to breath much.lol So stay tuned for what is about to happen next.... You know what they say..And this applies to me...If it wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all... Hope everyone is well and doing great today......Someone has to!!!!

I wish i had one inkling about the emotional, mental and physical stress we would endure even if everything went perfectly. I feel so a lone a lot with my feelings and no one really understands all the changes unless you have traveled this road. That is why for me this forum is extremely valuable. Even when I get kicked in the butt with tough love!!! And you all know who you are... People who have been there, done this know and can identify with your travels.....Stay close to those who have been there and seek out those that will graciously help you over the many hurdles yet to come!!! OKAY!

I think that if I poured ketchup on the uneaten part I would throw up what I had eaten of it...I have the perfect garbage disposal..Two gorgeous Golden Retrievers who stand ready to eat what ever I do not eat. Yes they are expanding but they are my go two guys when it comes to leftovers...lol I too spend a lot of time at the grocery store reading labels and always look at Protein and carbs, sugar and salt. Ingredients if I can't say it I put it back...lol But at times in moderation I do eat a treat..And I never feel bad! But it is occasional...The only reason I even posted this is because my hubby said I had to. That everyone would yell at me. Otherwise I would not have said anything and life would have gone on... What makes me happy is that a lot of folks on here do not treat the sleeve as another failed diet. But are learning to eat in the real world. Like real lean people do. that I think and feel is the road to success...

Bah ha ha ha it didn't work this time......lol oh nuts! @RJ'S/beginning

Just make sure you use spaces between the mention and it will work every time! @enjoythetime

This is so personal but I am going to share anyway... I have had a drain in my side for a few weeks and the darn thing is right at my bra line. So if I have to get dressed I need help to get one on because if I do it myself I twist it around my body and look out..not interested in that much pain. So I called my daughter into the room and asked her to hook me up in the back on the last hooks so it would not be tight to my skin. Well I diligently packed the girls in the bra and she set out to fashion the clips. When i was done she said there you go all set... Pause.....Mom you have not put the girls in there yet....They are still out and on the loose she said. I was sure they were hidden away..But no they were peaking out of the protective armor I had put on...I should have been horrified like I always am..But the two of us laughed ourselves silly at the thoughts that were running through our heads..... Body image is just that. Even if we were older without weight as an issue we would be sagging somewhere... You know the expression ( gravity works ) well it is true in all cases of the human body...I am not even thinking about plastics for my girls because I can roll them up and tuck them away hopefully. We are who we are. Remember when you were twenty and you wished you were smaller, had a rounder or slimmer look to you or a smaller nose...We will always have that surrounding us because that is life the new way society depicts us....I loved this little story, which I will share... A very popular make up artist who has done thousands of famous peoples makeup said that every woman who sits in her chair speaks negatively about her face, hair and looks. They apologize to her before she even takes up her brushes and begins to work with them. She said there is only 2 types of people who do not beat themselves up when they sit in her chair. That is a over worked mother who has no time to look at herself and spend time degrading herself or a client who is maybe a 90 year old woman who comes in and says I got a gift for a makeover I am so excited... She said is this what it takes to make you happy? She said she never makes them into something they are not but brings out the beauty that they already possess. You already have wonderful beauty it just has to be found and looked at in a different way then we are taught to see ourselves..... Remember what your mamma always said.. (Beauty is skin deep) But a great person who gives in life and focuses on what they can do to make things better lasts forever....... I am not saying that I won't get surgery eventually. But I will do what I can and see myself as someone who can try to change the way people view WLS..Ring some bells and make some cracks in the walls of abuse....Me I can wear spandex until something else comes along...... Jane

There is a no bullying policy in the education system. 0 tolerance. you sought help from the educational system. Noe you need to call the police and get them to assist you....You may find that your child will have to change schools again... But don't lose it. Be strong and state how you feel and how you are going to respond to this..You are her mother and protector. Be firm and take no prisoners....

You said it @@girliegirl (When are you going to hold yourself accountable for some of your weight loss.) Seems to me you know the answer. You just need to own it and find the strength to do it..Somewhere inside is a person who is trying to take a step forward and fix your trouble but you are responsible for it like I am. We are given the tool and we use the tool whether it is slow or fast or it takes 1 year or 5 years to get it together. That is the point we have to put it all together like a puzzle... we have a gift of the surgery to help us with portion size and time to get started. but it what we put into it that will make the difference. For me , for you, for all of us.... This is about your success, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. You are the boss of your body and what you do to it. Your in control...That is how I see it..But I am not foolish enough to think I got it all together. Never will I ever be able to relax..Or I may find myself back at the beginning struggling with the same questions......Do this for you, you count, you are important and you are worth it......Okay hun! Jane

There are so many things I want to say to you but I will try to keep it as minimal as I can hun....First of all. You were never on a race. Whether you lost 1 lb or 2 oz's you were still losing. You were using your tool as it should be used to learn how to control your brain and how you see food. Second just because you can eat a plate like you used to doesn't mean you should. retaining the old habits are the worst thing you can do with any of the wLS's. your sleeve relaxes,but it does not stretch much. It is still there... What you have done is formed a pocket under or above your sleeve that is allowing you to eat a lot again. Basics. back to basics. Measure your food. 1 cup or 4 oz. no more no less. Learn to read your sleeve. Take the time to really examine your different sleeve behaviors and use them as a guide line. You body gives you signals that you have eaten enough to sustain you. But unless we change how we see food or why we use food as a comfort. You have the constant fear of gaining it all back. The surgeries are the easy part of this entire journey. The rest is work and diligence to succeed and keep it up forever. You most likely have reverted back to old eating habits and are not drinking 64 oz of Water each day. You are not putting dense Proteins in first. Followed by veggies, fruit and last carbs. You must start at the very beginning. Giving up is not an option. Your options are get it together or let the weight engulf you for the rest of your life. You have to use tough love on yourself and believe me you are worth it.... Mind set and relearning to eat to live not live to eat is a whole difference in success of your sleeve. Keep us up to date and ask whatever you need to ask to become successful. It won't matter what surgery you have if you don't treat it like a tool and learn to fix your brain....

Your fortunate..My first experience with ice cream will be my last. At least you know how much you can tolerate before you get ill. you'll never forget that. That is so scary passing out in a random toilet stall. How horrible for you hun! yikes!