kimk1999

Between your post and blissfully banded I think you guys covered most of my question. Maybe ask his opinion of NSAIDs? I got my laminated card thingy at my first post op appt. Current lifting restrictions? Do you need a refill of any of your pain meds?

I can have them for the most part fine. If you're planning on eating something like a burrito where a bite would be a decent amount of shell be careful to chew it up well and try to split it up to swallow in parts (if that makes any sense). Quesadillas with the shell toasted is easier. I go to chipotle all the time and try to avoid the shell as it's empty calories but sometimes I'll indulge and eat it anyways

My port is on my left side as well. After surgery I basically lived with an ice pack on my left side / belly. It'll get better. My surgeon just said since they stitched the port to the muscle wall that's why it'll hurt for a little while. I think it took about 3ish weeks for the pain to subside.

I'm not pregnant yet but that was one of my main incentives to get wls to lose the weight. The plan that my surgeon said is that she will only unfill if I'm vomiting. Other than that it can stay where it is at. I think she'll plan to unfill when it's almost time for labor due to the pushing strain. As usual, your surgeon may vary as well. Congratulations!!

Now my curiosity radar is up about what I must have missed... Random thoughts - did someone confess to murder? Did they buy alcohol underage? Smoking mj outside of Colorado or Washington? Lol.

Love it! Yeah 1.4 isn't much at all and glad it went back off in 4 days. Mini vacations are coming up for me. Congratulations!

Glad to hear you've gotten the Vit D checked out. I take a daily 2000IU pill. I don't notice when I take it, but definitely noticed when I miss it. I wish I had a $40 copay. My current insurance sucks. I have to pay the first $1500 every year out of my own pocket. Then from the bills of $1500 tillI I reach $4000 out of pocket, I pay 20% of the bill. After I pass paying $4000 for the year, then Insurance will finally cover everything else. It's ridiculous how much I pay every paycheck to my employer to cover insurance and I get this measly coverage. I think my surgeon charges $250 for a visit, so I'll be pissed if I don't get a fill when I'm expecting one. For the doc - there's a lot of local groups on this site. Have you gone on there for your state to see who else others recommend? A doc that yells at you, has you in tears is not a good doctor and won't really facilitate a healthy doc / patient relationship. Regarding Breakfast - the eggs vs. grams & PB... did you lose when you ate the eggs? Did it last decently long vs. calorie intake? If you're desperate for trying to get the weight off again, get the doc satisfied for a fill, maybe deal with eggs for a while longer. Check out the other recipes, options, etc.

This is just one little bump in your road. You're entitled to these little hiccups. Tomorrow is a different day and you can get back at it.

Thyroid - yeah definitely go and get your bloodwork done. In addition to the TSH, T4 and T3 (If I remember correctly), you should ask your doctor to check your Vit D levels. My family has a history of thyroid issues (mom is hypothyroidism - can't lose weight, her sister has hyperthyroidism - can't gain weight); my sister's daughter was born without a thyroid (or it wasn't functioning). I can check off almost all the symptoms too but my bloodwork has always been within the 'normal' range. I understand your frustration there too. For the Vit D levels - get that checked. If your Vit D levels are low, you will be sluggish and tired. That's a different story, but might help you feel better / have more energy to get to the gym. "Diet" - well this is supposed to be our new lifestyle (eye roll). So far I'm feeling better on this South Beach / Atkins / Paleo blend of a diet I'm doing. I've mostly tried being gluten free and my stomach has thanked me. I have eggs every morning, but I'm a boring no thinking type of person lol. Are you just flat out tired and no suggestions will help? I really like doing the 'egg muffin tin' recipes. There's lots of different recipes if you google. Make one batch at the beginning of the week and you're set for a while. I really like the eggs, cheese and ham recipes. There's eggs, spinach and feta, or eggs, tomatoes, and cheese; etc. Also, what about yogurt with some fruit? I like the chobani greek versions. I tried to look it up online - which chicken wrap are you doing? The fried chicken one is pretty high in calories, but skipping the shell is a good idea. The shell gets stuck for me. I can't do the fried chicken a the breading gets stuck for me. Did you have all the condiments with it too? If it was the grilled chicken could it have been too dry? When I go to Chick-fil-a and get the grilled nuggets, I add some BBQ sauce to make sure it goes down. I'll also bite the already small nuggets at least into 3 so that I'm only chewing a small amount. I'd worry about the graham crackers, at least for me, having those carbs will make me hungry again. It's weird. I used to think that carbs helped to fill me up, but they just make me hungry really quickly. I'd suggest to go ahead an sign up for myfitnesspal. It's free. Many of us use it for logging our intake and exercise. If you have a fitbit you can sync that too. There's also a phone app to log while you're on the go. You might want to keep a watch on how much Peanut Butter you're eating. Yes it's good for you and good Protein, but it tends to be high in sugar, carbs and fat. That would make me want to eat more. Also, if you don't stay on top of the hunger and you're playing catch up at the end of the day, you might take in a lot more to feed the hungry monster than if you would have snacked more often. I like to have an afternoon snack of either yogurt or beef Jerky quite often. I eat out a lot too. There's a number of other threads on here devoted to eating out options. Alcohol is one of my weaknesses and a big source of my empty calories. I log those calories/carbs too. Also, are you able to see another doctor / surgeon to get a second professional opinion? I'm not a doctor or any sort of expert. Just giving you my opinion / thoughts to try to help you out.

I'm at 5.8 cc in a 10cc band. Yes that's a concrete number but I think the 'tightness' also varies by patient. I've read that some people have up to 8 or 9 cc's in their 10cc band. For you to still be gaining weight - do you keep track of every single bite that you eat and sip that you drink (including ice cream and/or alcohol)? Are you doing any nibbling with the 3 year olds snacks? Taste testing the temperatures? That will add up. Do you have a mfp account that we can look at your diary entries? What does your calories count look like? How's your protein intake? Do you eat protein first? If you're getting stuck with everything you're eating and chewing it really well then yes, I'd say you're too tight. Are you taking small bites to begin with? My fiancé cuts up my meat as if I was a 3 year old - actually maybe even smaller than that lol. I try my best to take the proper portion and eat it slowly one bite at a time. Could you be eating too few calories to where your metabolism has slowed to a crawl? I know if I don't eat enough protein I'll be super hungry really quickly. I know if I eat too little the scale will slow down too or make me gain. If all else fails - have you had your thyroid tested recently? Could your gain be due to a hormonal issue?

I'm sorry to hear. This is exactly why I didn't tell my half sister. She's older and we have a different dad too. Being my older sister she has the idea that she has to protect me. And she 'knows' what I should do to become happy. She's bought and given me different weight loss remedies over the years to help me out - some grapefruit pill, we did HCG shots and diet together, etc. she just know what I should be doing in life as well. There's been countless times where I've hung up the phone with her crying due to her advise. She's only trying to be helpful and well meaning but I've quit calling her. My mom told her about the surgery and she was hurt. I knew she'd probably react like your sister, because she had that pattern already. You're making the right decision for yourself and your kids. You'll lose the weight, probably be able to stop certain medicines, become happier and more energetic. You'll have a new lease on life. I hope you're doing better this morning.

I love corned beef too. Never liked it as a kid or even through my 20s but I love it now.

Thanks for the information Cat. Yeah that describes it pretty well. My surgeon said next time, remind her or whoever else is doing the fill that I have this issue and they can work with me. Maybe I stand against the wall so I can slide down if necessary or I might stay seated.

Today was my second fill. I went from 4.8cc to 5.8cc. It was pretty standard fill - lay on table, put need in, stand up, fill a bit, drink Water, adjust fill. The more that she 'messed' with the needle and me drinking water, I started feeling quite dizzy, nauseated and almost blacked out. I had the full on cold sweats too. I remember feeling a bit like that last time but it wasn't that bad. I know in the past when I've donated blood anytime they had to move a needle while it's in me, I'd feel very sick. This was a similar experience. I can drink liquids just fine. I'm not too tight. Not sure if this is a mental thing or if others feel that same way. Has anyone else feel nauseated almost passing out during a fill? My doctor said that my reaction isn't that uncommon (can't remember her word choice) and that others have felt ill afterwards.

I'm fine with the initial needle poke. It's just during the fill itself and her ever so slightly moving the needle / tubing around to fill it and I feel that I can feel the filling increase/tightening, that's the part that seems to turn my stomach.

They've bad the grilled nuggets for kids for a little while. I think it was a hidden menu item for the longest time. I went to Chickfila too today and was happily surprised about the update menu. I ordered kids meal of the 4count nuggets, fruit cup and apple juice (with BBQ sauce). The nuggets are great as long as you take a bite of it or two. Don't try to pop the entire thing at once. (At least for me) Didn't last me that long unfortunately just a couple of hours. I get my next fill tomorrow.

The little keychain that my doctor gave me only states that 'Caution should be taken when prescribing potentially ulcerogenic medication...' It's allowed but need to be careful.

You ok or just random question? I've seen a lot of other posts on here about divorce. For me, I've been on a weight roller coaster for a while. When you're overweight, you tend to put up with more crap from a partner as we feel who else would want us? But when we lose the weight a number of us find the confidence to kick the piece of crap to the curb. I know when I had lost a bunch of weight (not tied to surgery just one of my previous attempts) my husband and I had more problems since I stood up for myself more. I'm divorced now too. But that was before surgery.

That's a small slip in the grand scheme of things. I know that you must feel devastated and rightfully slow but that gives you two more weeks to get your body a bit healthier before surgery and get your mind in this new lifestyle. Don't use this time to pig out a couple of days as that might set you back. Time will fly and it'll be here before you know it!

The only way you can have an adverse effect is if you are super negative and put other people down by telling them they are wrong, stupid or what not. We're here to support you. We're your band-family. None of my friends or family are banded and while they try to be supportive they just don't get it. Depression and bad expectations are unfortunately normal around here. Just vent if you need to, you are not alone.

Valarie - this feeling may last for a while but be prepared that you're still just swollen from the surgery. Took me about 3-4 weeks and the hunger set in big time. I went through bandster hell for a few more weeks till I got my first fill. That lasted me for a few more weeks till that swelling went down but I'm hungry again and I'll be able to get my second fill next week.

Well... I can't pass judgement as I had a drink or two around that time as well (maybe just at two weeks? can't remember). Anyways, be careful - you're eating much less, your alcohol tolerance will probably be lower. You really should have a DD. (yeah yeah yeah, you need to have a DD whenever you drive, but it's crazy how much different it is now). I like to do little wine tastings on the weekend at Total Wine. It's also interesting to keep track of how many oz's you drink and how many calories you consume from just a little tasting. While wine is good for you to a certain extent, it's a lot of empty calories. One event like this won't kill your journey but try to minimize what you drink if that makes any sense. Hope this makes sense. My surgeons notebook didn't really have anything in there about alcohol this close to surgery. If your doctor says this is wrong, follow your doctors orders above mine . Have fun.

I was banded Dec 2013. I'm 5' 4" and was 202 day of surgery. I had to keep the weight up a bit to have insurance pay for surgery. It's crazy to know that I couldn't lose weight prior to weight loss surgery. Well I was able to lose once I was approved. I'm now down to 178 and I'm getting excited. Gained and lost 30, 40, 50, 60lbs. Every time I lost the weight it would find me again and bring some friends. I haven't really told many people at all about the surgery due to my embarrassment and not being 'that big' whatever that means. Having other people here that are lower BMI would be great.

You're not alone. A lot of people do cheat on their pre- op diet and some surgeons don't even have a pre-op diet at all. This does not give you a blank check to keep cheating as your surgeon has his/her rules for a reason. Were you told that you had to lose a certain amount of weight by surgery date, if so how are you progressing that way? From what I know and read, the preop diet is meant to help you lose weight, "shrink" your liver by reducing the fatty deposit there to make the surgery easier, and it really prepares you for the post-op care. Glad you recognize the problem now and are working to remedy it. Call your surgeon if your concerned. It won't be too much longer now. You got this

I'm only 3 mins post op, so I am not in your category, but search for various terms included wagon, starting over and whatnot... I have seen a number of other posts in the past 3 months that tell me you're not alone. It might be more for the sleeve or the band, I'm not sure but there's like a 6 day pouch shrinking diet that I've seen others mentioned. It reminded me of my pre-op diet to get my mind into the weight loss game but I can't remember the details. That might be another thing to search. Yes, definitely get in to see your nut and doctor as soon as you can. Also, I suggest start tracking everything you eat into myfitnesspal. Get the app on your phone so you don't lose a bite. There's a number of other threads with peoples usernames from here, with the band, and are tracking every calorie, Protein etc. my username is the same here if you want to friend me there. It encourages me to see what others are eating, their weigh-ins and total weight loss, etc. sometimes we've even shared recipes. I wish you the best of luck and no it's not too late to start over.