giveyouthemoon

For me....drinking a lot of water is the main key to nicer breath. Yes, you will get terrible breath during liquid phase as someone said above, it's because without solids you aren't "scraping" off the gucky stuff in your mouth. But even then...it's better when you drink plenty of water. The water helps wash out ketones and also keeps the gucky germs rinsed out of your mouth.

I have 15 to go to get to onderland.....so I don't think I can make it in a month...but ya'll are inspiring me!! I want so bad to make it by June...by my surgery date (100 lbs in a year) so I'd better get cracking!!!

Ok you know what? This part of being banded SUUUUUUCKS. It just does. One suggestion I must make is please, PLEASE get variation on what you are drinking. That is the ONLY way I managed to survive. If you are only having Carnation drinks no WONDER you are going nuts!!! Get juices, get broths. I mean...you may be craving salty...so get something salty in!! And just to add to your fun day....let me tell you this. Even when you do starting eating real food you'll have days when you are sooooo pissed! Because you still can't eat whatever you want. But then something amazing happens.....the band, it changes you. It changes how you look at food. It breaks that connection.... So yeah, you know what....this is gonna be hard. This is going to take all your internal toughness. But guess what? I have faith in you! You heard me. I HAVE FAITH IN YOU!!! You are going to make it through. You are going to find that this band is the GREATEST thing you've ever done. And one day you are going to look at pizza and and think..."yeah, I still like you....but pfffft, you are SO not worth my time!!!" Courage!

Ah get used to it....gas is but one of the many fabulous side effects of being banded. Yes...it's normal. GasX is your friend. Don't be afraid to take more than the dosage recommended if the gas gets really bad.

Oh. My. God. I never actually considered this fact. I DID realize that I was butt ass nekkid cuz they slid the sleeves off my gown but left me covered. I did realize at somepoint the entire surgical team would see my fish belly white almost 300 pound ass. I NEVER even contemplated the straining, groaning and hernia producing sounds from them shoving my ass over onto the wheelie bed deal. Wow. Gonna have to go sit in a corner and contemplate that.......with a bottle of tequila.....

66% Dixie...and shocked to be more Dixie than HarleyNana!! Raised in New Mexico but my dad was Midwestern so I picked up a lot of his language.

No flouro here either. No problem. Fills are a snap!

My fave is when my petulant surgeon tells me I most certainly did NOT feel something that of course, I felt. He tells me "no, that's not possible". Uh...okay sparky! I know I didn't go to years of med school but I've been in this rig called my body for going on 37 years....I think I know what I felt!

oh girl, I would...believe me....but my boss seems to think my little heiney needs to be at my desk. What is it with bosses, eh???? And Butch....gawd, how I would adore to be outside right now....outside is my fave place to be!!!! But again....my boss tends to frown on me frolicking in the flowers while there's work to be done.... It's not that I don't have anything to do....it's that I just don't want to do it! Hell, I'd be TOTALLY up for a long walk on my treadmill......*sigh*

Photo Nut...lol, as I opened your thread, my iTunes was playing the Moody Blues...."Nights in White Satin".....you and I are on the same page my friend.....booooooooooored. I have a date with my man tonight so I'm ALL excited....but he can't get away from work until 6ish. Siiiigh. Right now it's noon. Six hours is a LONG time to make an impatient little girl wait for dinner with her wonderful boyfriend!!!!

Everytime I fly, I end up tighter for a couple days. Noticably tighter. Even when I go from my sea level home to my sister's sea level home. I often forget that flying makes me tighter and end up PB'ing a go-go on the first night of my stay. It's also senstive to weather. We're having big weather right now and I'm having a hell of a time. Also....I feel wide open during PMS but can hardly choke down a thing during my actual period (my dr ascribes this to retaining Water thus making the stomach tissues more engorged which makes it feel tighter....: shrug : ) Hell, my level of restriction changes minute by minute during the day. The other day I was eating fine then my boyfriend decided to engage in a heated debate with me on a sensitive topic. Trink (my band) immediately seized up and I couldn't eat another bite of my eggs. Weird. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of the band.....it's never the same two days in a row. I would NEVER have guessed how much can effect the whole esophagus/tummy system!!!

So on the window of my office is the unofficial list of "non-swear swear words"....most from my IT boys..... here is the list, it keeps being added to.....note that these curses are most effective on electronic devices but can be used universally.... 1) Ganked - as in "this server is really ganked up, isn't it?" 2) horked - same use as above 3) booched - same use as above 4) Gorrum - dunno how it gets used....don't know who added it but I sort of like it 5) frak - as in "what the frak happened here?" 6) fsck - this one is better when writing...it's an actual techie term for something that happens in storage devices.....it looks real bad but isn't. As in "so and so needed to just fsck himself"...which lends itself to the techie humor as the storage devices do run fsck on themselves.....oh god I work with geeks!! Oh....and my boyfriend in college, a beautiful cowboy...he used to use "son of your mother"....as in "why you son of your mother, why did you go and do that??"

Yup, I always use my large incision as a way to locate my port. I know the port is a couple inches below it. For me, that one hurts a lot less than the others...I have one to the side that still pangs me. I'll be sitting at my desk working then ZOWIE. My surgeon said it's nothing to fret about but dang, it bugs me!!

Actually....i feel kind of bad for Mary. She must be pretty unhappy to feel okay lashing out at a friend. Insecurity is a tough one. But girl, don't let someone else's demons ruin your good day. Don't let the compliment you got get lost in this, ok? The husband paid you a nice compliment. Focus on that, send loving thoughts to Mary then move your newly tiny be-hiney in time to your own magical song!!!

Your boys are beautiful. And what's more....you can tell they are happy well adjusted little boys....they must also have an incredible mom!! Those smiles made my day! Thanks!!

De....I tried on those shoes....I walked around the store.....I kicked up my heels...I wasn't brave enough to buy them. You are my heroine!!

Vera - my two cents....my mom was always just flat honest with me. Her thought was that if I was smart enough to ask, she would give me credit by answering honestly. I know it's tough and somewhat embarassing, but....in the end, I've always been grateful that my mom was so honest about all that stuff. If you feel weird about it then she'll only end up feeling weird about it and that's what we want to avoid, eh? By the by, much love and luck and blessings to you....being a parent sure isn't easy!!! I have nothing but respect for parents!!!!

I also had some b Vitamin deficiency since being banded. I was getting cracks at the sides of my mouth that would NOT go away no matter how much chapstick. Finally a friend at work told me that was a very common sign of b deficiency. I started taking supplemental b vites and they went away in a couple days. Every now and again I get them again and I take b. I also know that TOO MUCH b vitamin can be damaging so I try not to take extra b unless I honestly need it.

I think the answer is "it depends". There are a lot of variables. Number one is how much you actually have to lose. Me, I have 138 to lose, and since June I've lost 81 so I think if I stay strong, I could get to 100 lbs lost by this June. Then again, some folks with lots to lose have a slow metabolism. It depends on what you eat, how much you exercise, and a WHOLE LOT of other factors. Flower, if you are contemplating this surgery and want some "good news", yes folks here have lost 100 lbs or more in a year. But please bear in mind plenty of others haven't. I'll say this...the band has worked miracles in how I view food and how I eat. It is a MIRACLE! So go down that path? Ask us about the non scale ways in which the band has saved our lives....we've got a ton of stories. Blessings on your journey!!

Paula....you have to ask yourself some questions. Go deep inside and find what works for you. Are you the kind of girl that has to 'get up and get out' to be motivated? Do you need to get away from hubby and kids to find your own time to work out? Do you need visual/audio stimulation to work out? Do you need the help of others around? If yes to those, go to a gym. Are you ok 'tuning out' and not thinking, just exercising? Do you get intimidated going into a gym (that would be ME)? Do you need a time saver and a convenience? If yes, go the treadmill route. It really depends on the person. For me, the treadmill is perfect because yes, because it's so boring, I can TOTALLY tune out the world, put on my iPod, go into my head and just put one foot in front of the other. No thinking about working out, just sweat. But that is just me......

Loooove me some Ativan. Was prescribed for the panic attacks I was having last year while my dad was sick (and ultimately passed). I like it because it acts quick but leaves your system quick so no druggie hangover. It gives me a nice gentle state of calm. Mellow. Happy. It's good stuff!!!!

This thread is super cathartic for me. I give much love and respect to everyone who has shared here. We are truly truly family and all we have here is love, right? So it's good to share, it helps me remember we're all totally in this together. My saddest moment was when at work I was up for a big promotion and was pretty sure I would get it. But as things came to pass, they interviewed a really good candidate and ended up hiring that lady instead. I went to my folks place not long after and my father said to my sister and brother in law (I was not in the room) that the reason I was passed over for a promotion was because I was so fat. I got my satisfaction when a year later when the woman they hired turned out to be *crazy* and when she left they just promoted me, no question. I wanted to thumb my nose at my abusive father!!! He's since passed and we put a lot to rest before he died, but that story still hurts me so very deep.

Whooot!! Congrats that is AMAZING!!! I just did a 5k about a month ago (walked it) and that was THE MOST amazing feeling!!! Congrats to you!!!!! Doesn't crossing the finish line feel amazing!?!?! Man, during that 5k I had some time to contemplate how much I LOOOOOVE my band.

LOOOOOVE fitday.com Keep in mind you can make your own foods in there and customize. You can put ANYTHING in there! It is really powerful!!!

WOWOWOWOWOW! Those aren't small NSV's at ALL!! Those are HUGE!!!! I remember the first time I noticed that I was walking around a store and wasn't overheated and sweaty. THIS WAS A HUGE HAPPY DAY FOR ME and it should be for you too! THANK YOU TREADMILL!!!!!! (and this is a good reminder for me to get BACK on my treadmill!!!) Whooooop, NSVs!!!!!