LookingForMe

How much exercise is ok while pregnant? I'm 7 weeks, first OB appt in a week, and am really confused about exercise. I was doing hard workouts 3-4 days a week pre-pregnancy. I was starting to get into running and was finally starting to lose weight again. I've had a cold foe the last week so haven't worked out anyway. I'm ready to move! I want to run again but people tell me to take it easy and a lot of articles say to keep you heart rate under 120 or 130. That doesn't even feel like a workout to me! If I'm gonna exercise, I want to sweat! What workouts do you do during your pregnancy? I've already gained 7 lbs between the holiday season and being pregnant. I feel like a house already and have read that I shouldn't gain more than 15 the entire pregnancy. I feel like I need to workout!

Hi, Ladies, I just found out last week that I''m pregnant, and that puts me at 6 weeks. I have been wearing a compression garment (ok, just call it a girdle already!) since about 50 lbs down from my original weight. That was about the time that my extra skin and flabbiness started to annoy me with its jiggling, and also cause excess sweatiness/rashes from the rubbing. I don't go out of the house without one on! I'm still 100 lbs down from my original weight, and I know it will be some time before my baby belly really starts to "pop", especially since this is my first. So, can I keep wearing my girdles for now? When should I give it up?

I too just had revision surgery to repair a posterior slip, but also had my gallbladder removed at the same time. I have had a lot more pain this time around. I talked to the dr. about it and he said it's to be expected. I know my situation is a little different from yours, but I thought it might help to hear it. I also had a lot of the shoulder pain from the abdominal gas they use this time, and I didn't have that the first time at all.

In the 20 months since my LAP-BAND®® surgery, I've lost 116 lbs. I went from size 24 to 12. It's hard to realize your success, because in the mirror, you always see the flaws. My wakeup was when I was able to wear my husband's clothes. I couldn't believe his jeans fit me! And then they were too big. It was a great feeling! Unfortunately, I've started having some complications. My gall bladder had to be removed, and my band had slipped during the period of time that I was sick with gall stones. So my band is now repositioned and completely unfilled. I just hope this doesn't indicate a turning point in the wrong direction! But today - I feel like a success story!

I am 20 months post surgery, down 115 lbs, and my gall bladder had to be removed. My gall bladder made me so sick that I vomited a lot, even though I was trying to be careful what I ate. At my Friday appointment with the surgeon, surgery was scheduled for Wednesday. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night violently vomiting up pure stomach acid. I think this is when my band slipped, because I could barely eat the rest of the weekend. I had more vomiting on Monday night after trying to eat some soup. It got worse after that, and all day Tuesday, I couldn't keep anything down except small sips of water. When I went in for surgery on Wednesday, I requested to speak to the surgeon beforehand and told him I thought the band may have slipped. He was very skeptical at first, and made a few attempts at dry humor. But, after taking an x-ray, he could see that the band was in a different position than it was originally. He came back and told me he was glad I mentioned it. He said he has a lot of patients that think their band has slipped when it hasn't. So, my simple gall bladder surgery turned into also repositioning the band. I have 6 incisions instead of 3 more, for a grand total of 11 scars on my belly now!! Good thing I never planned on wearing a bikini! I also asked him to do an upper endoscopy while I was down to make sure there was no damage to the esophagus from all of the stomach acids, and that turned out ok. All in all, a stressful day, but I'm glad it's over and my band is back in place. Unfortunately, it's totally empty right now. I just hope once I start eating again, I don't gain any weight back! I keep reading stories on here about the band never being right again after a slip. I hope I don't have the same problems. I'm just glad I was so close to goal weight before I started having real issues.

I'm in Northern KY, and went to Dr. Dwayne Smith. He's very good! I have Anthem/PPO

It's been awhile, but I wanted to update this thread. My doctor was very much more calm and collected the next time I saw him. He had to finesse the port a bit, but was able to get a good fill. He apologized for my overhearing their conversation (it was about me), and this time he took time to explain the real situation to me. I appreciated that very much. I have had one other fill since then and I'm very pleased. I have good restriction, and I'm losing weight easily. It feels like I'm barely working at it anymore!

Was it close to your period the week this happened? I'm only on my 3rd fill, but I have discovered that the week of my period I have to be super cautious about what and how I eat because I am MUCH tighter. It's been a painful learning experience.

I regret eating this morning when I was stressed out.... if only I could take back that bite of omelette that got stuck and caused me so much pain for an hour and a half...... other than that, none!

OK, totally weird. I had not read this post and actually did something similar to this earlier today to get unstuck. It was the first time I've been really STUCK. I thought I had been stuck before, but oh, no, this time I was REALLY stuck. It lasted an hour and a half, and I thought I was going to die. To beat it all, I was at work. Finally, I decided I was going to do anything I could do to make myself puke (bad idea, I know). So, standing up, I leaned my head down onto the toilet, and got ready to put my finger in my throat. Lo and behold, as I leaned over, I felt the pressure lift. I didn't have to gag myself after all (not that it would have worked anyway)!! Oh, and by the way, to those who said it doesn't hurt - YOU ARE WRONG! It hurt like the dickens after about 45 minutes. And all I had to eat was part of a leftover veggie omelet. What was there to get stuck?

I went out to a H.S. reunion on Saturday night, and I had 2 glasses of wine, and sipped on a shot of Jagermeister. At the time, I seemed to stomach the alcohol just fine, and I made sure to have a few sips of Water before bed to wash everything down. I got up on Sunday, and drank some water. But we were going out to eat with some friends, and didn't get to eat until like 1pm. We ate at a hibachi, and I had a couple of pieces of sushi, plus a little bit off my husband's hibachi meal. It should definitely have been enough food to fill me up, but my stomach still felt funny, and my brain interpreted the sensation as hunger. Knowing that I had eaten enough, I didn't allow myself to eat again until around 6:30 pm. So basically I suffered all day with a feeling like hunger, and didn't do anything about it except drink water. Then, at 6:30, I ate dinner, leftovers from my husband's hibachi meal. I ate what I felt should be enough, and then stopped. I was STILL feeling hungry. I waited half an hour, and then ate some low fat ice cream. FINALLY, the feeling of hunger went away. So, my theory is that I had acid stomach and my brain was just reading the signals all wrong, that's why the milk-based ice cream helped. Does this sound like a feasible theory? I'm also concerned, because I feel hungry again all day today. I had my usual Breakfast Protein mix, and then I ate a half of a Panera bagel that someone evilly brought to work... then another half a couple of hours later. Too much food, I know! Am I just worrying too much? Could I have messed up my band that easily?

You know, if he was just having a bad morning, then I'm glad it wasn't the morning that I had my surgery!!!!

I appreciate all of your comments.. my problem is that I really don't want to go to another doctor. Up until this, he has been awesome. I think he had something personal going on, and was rushed. I wasn't meant to overhear the conversation -that part was a coincidence - it's the fact that he didn't tell me that bothers me. I am definitely going to ask about it when I see him, and if I keep feeling so hungry, I'm going to call and move up my appointment. I agree it was very unprofessional, and I'm going to take your advice and address it directly with him (but not with his staff). Has anyone ever had an experience with a fill having the reverse effect? Is it possible he pierced the tube or something? It sounds plausible to me, but I don't think I've ever heard of it happening.

I had my first fill this past Thursday, after being uncertain that I even wanted one, because I was losing weight so quickly already. Though I have no comparison, I think it was an odd experience. First of all, the office opened at 9am, there were 3 appts at that time, and the Dr. didn't come in until almost 10! No emergency surgery or anything, just randomly late. When he finally came to my room, he seemed very rushed, and didn't want to talk to me at all - very odd because he's usually very nice and patient. I asked him how much Fluid he would put in, and he said, "I don't know, I haven't done it yet." He had me lay on the table and lean back on a pillow. He put the needle in my port and was digging around - he didn't say anything to me, except to have me raise my head like I was going to do a situp. He seems to be struggling, still not saying anything, finally he takes the needle out, puts a bandaid on me and says, "Ok, you're done." His asst. gets me a cup of Water to drink. I asked him how much fluid he put in and he says "Oh, we put about 1.5cc in the first fill." So, here's the really weird part. He sits me down in the hallway to wait for a chance to talk to the nutritionist. Then I hear him talking to his asst. in his office, telling her that "that last lady was difficult" and that he didn't even know if he got any fluid into the band because he never heard the aspiration in the needle, and couldn't tell if he was feeling the "flap" behind the port. He told her that he decided to stop digging around and just try again next time. Next time is in 3 more weeks. FYI - NONE of this was mentioned to me. Now, I don't know if it's a mental thing or not, but I have been much more hungry since this happened! I am beginning to think that instead of putting fluid in, he took some out (mine was pre-filled a little during surgery). I've definitely been eating more, and I am finding myself foraging for food, something I haven't done since I started the pre-op diet. I'm still counting my calories on The Daily Plate, and you can see the trend go up since Thursday. I'm so frustrated! Is it possible that he may have punctured the tubing or something?

My doctor is pushing me for a fill because he says that I don't have a "pouch" until I get a fill. He doesn't want me to wait until I get too hungry, or until I reach a plateau in weight loss. He wants me to go ahead and get adjusted to prevent that from happening. I think I'm doing fine right now. I'm not struggling with hunger. I think I just got swept up this weekend, especially from the wine. I don't know... I think I will just take his advice and get the fill this week. I just hope that I don't have any problems with PB afterwards, or I will definitely regret it!

I've done so well with my weight loss and diet since being banded on 7/28/08. I've been resisting my doctor when he suggests getting a fill, because I've been doing SO well. I've been losing more than 2 lbs a week, counting my calories very exactly, making good choices, and exercising my butt off! And I have enough restriction to not be hungry between meals. But last night, my husband and I went to a wedding, and I was bad. I drank 3 glasses of wine, ate a days worth of calories in cheese and crackers, and potato chips. Then they opened a buffet line for a full meal (at 10:30 at night, no less) and I ate mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, and pot roast (I didn't eat much at the buffet, I just didn't want people to ask why I wasn't getting a plate). And then I couldn't resist eating half a cupcake. Thank goodness I ate everything slow and chewed well - thankfully didn't get stuck or anything. But I guess that's why I ate the soft foods, because I knew they wouldn't get stuck. I can understand now how they say people can "eat through" the band. The bad thing is that I don't even KNOW how many calories I consumed. So this morning, I get on the scale and I'm up an entire pound in one day. I'm so disappointed in myself. Now I'm afraid that I really should go ahead and get the fill that the doctor is strongly recommending. Maybe I really can't do this my way, without the fill. :tongue2:

I was banded on 7/28 - 8 1/2 weeks ago. I had some delayed healing at my port incision site, so the doctor has not done a fill yet. It's finally almost healed enough that he could do a fill. However, I'm not sure that I want one. The last 3 visits, which were each 2 weeks apart, I've lost 5 lbs, so about 2.5 lbs per week. I eat what I think are larger meals (smart ones or lean michelina's dinners, a mini-sub at Subway, etc.). However, I'm eating healthy, and I feel very satisfied after I eat. My hunger is gone, and doesn't come back for several hours. Occassionally my band does feel tight, but for the most part, I can eat whatever I want as long as I chew slowly. My question is - why do I need a fill if I'm satisfied and I'm losing weight? My doctor told me yesterday that he wants me to get a fill so that I don't reach a plateau, or start getting hungry again. He says that you don't really have a pouch yet until you get a fill. I feel like he's really pushing me to do it. Has anyone else experienced this? I've heard there are many people that never get a fill and still reach their goal weight. I'm exercising 4 days a week, and I am really enjoying seeing the weight come off. I don't really want to risk the misery of getting stuck, when I'm already doing so well.

I was diagnosed with low thyroid about 4 years ago. I didn't even realize anything was wrong with me. I just thought I worked too much. I would come home from work and go right to sleep, sleep all evening, get up for a little while, and go straight to bed and sleep the whole night. I was irritable, moody, and sometimes just plain mean. It's easy now to look back and see that - at the time I just thought people were out to make my life harder. The other symptoms - being cold all the time, dry skin, brittle fingernails and hair, these things I didn't even notice because I was so tired. I am taking 137 mcg of Synthroid daily, and I feel great. I feel like fixing that problem breathed new life into me. I know that if I ever stopped taking it, my life would change drastically. However, fixing that problem did not fix my weight problem, as I had so hoped. That's why I'm here, with my band, losing now!

I'm a little late on this topic, but I SO feel your pain. I broke out in huge hives every day for nearly 2 years. I tried everything to get rid of them. After stopping every medication but my birth control, I finally stopped taking the birth control. Guess what? The hives stopped. The birth control was Yasmin. I was allergic to the unique synthetic hormones in it. Probably not the same in your case, but I feel your pain... hives are terrible. Mine were best relieved with cold showers and oatmeal baths. And very cool rooms, any kind of heat made it a LOT worse.

I was banded on the 28th. I am just now starting to have a bigger appetite and feel less restriction. Here is what I think : When you are eating only liquids and mushies initially, your band feels tight. Then once you start eating solids, it starts to loosen up a bit to where you can gradually eat more. I didn't start being able to eat more until I started on solids. And I have never really overeaten, so I don't think I've stretched my stoma out. Good/bad ? I don't know. It's much easier to get in all the Protein, and I am happy to be eating a few vegetables now too. I'm not an expert or anything, this is just my theory.

I know this is an old thread, so I may not get a reply, but I'm gonna try. I was recently banded, and I have always taken Omega 3's for foot pain. I have a huge, expensive bottle of pharmaceutical grade fish oil gelcaps that I can't take because they are too big. Does anyone know if it will work if I puncture the gelcap and put the liquid into pudding or something? I know it may taste horrible, but I don't want to waste the $$.

I have tried the protein waters. I drank them a lot before and just after the surgery. Honestly, I'm just sick of them. I never drank a lot of flavored drinks prior to surgery. I've always just been a plain water drinker. All that flavor is just too much for me! But you're right, the fiber in them makes you feel fuller. Maybe I'll give them a shot tomorrow.

I'm having a problem with drinking the amount of Water that my doctor wants me to drink a day. I'm not drinking with meals or for 1 hour after a meal (as he directed). But 1 hr after the meal, as soon as I start sipping on water, I start to feel hungry. I know that it's probably because I'm washing all of my food through the band, but I don't know how else to get my liquids in! Does anyone else have this problem? Right now, I am getting around it by starting a bottle of water 1 hr before a meal, and telling myself that I have to drink the water and then wait about 10 more minutes before eating. I don't know if this is a good way or not, but it seems like the only way I can get in the fluids without being hungry. I am worried, though, about stretching my pouch by drinking the water so fast. BTW, I am 3 weeks post-op, and just starting on solids.

I milked it for all it was worth!!! I've been turned down for vacation and called in to work during vacation all year. I got the short term disability to cover 2 weeks and I took an extra week of vacation on top of that. It got me through getting my son back to school! I was banded on July 28th and go back to work this Monday, Aug 18th. Of course, I could have gone back like a week ago or more, but what's the fun in that? I also got a little bit of infection so I'm glad I took the extra time!

Thanks everyone, for all the comments. Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I had my surgery 2 days ago. Things are easier now post-op, I can actually stand to be around food without freaking out. I think the hardest part was that my preop was so long and so strict. Clear liquids only for 10 full days! I don't think many people on this site are that restricted pre-op. As for my husband, he does help with cooking most of the time, yes, I've been heavy since we got together(although we knew each other when younger and thinner), and he is knowledgable about the lap-band. He is just being insensitive. I truly believe that. He is busy with finishing up his summer classes for his degree and doesn't think it's fair that he has to do things for himself right now. He thinks I should be making it easier on him because he is so busy. I think he should have done his schoolwork all along instead of saving it up until the last few weeks, but that's just ME?!? I know this is my journey, and I don't intend to place blame on him for any setbacks or failures along the way, but he is going to have to be more sensitive. We have talked about it, and he's been very sensitive to the surgery part of this journey, he just doesn't seem to understand the food part. He just thinks it's a matter of willpower. Duh, if I had the willpower to start with, I wouldn't be fat, now would I? He finally seems to be resolved to do for himself for a while. Now that I'm post op, I'm fixing meals for our 6 yr old without dying for a bite. The only trouble we've had the past 2 days was today when I was sitting in the living room watching TV and he brings a Hungry man dinner with beer battered chicken and cheese fries and sits it literally right under my nose and starts eating it. The smell was to me a combination of disgust and heaven (not sure why, but very mixed feelings about that smell). I politely asked him to eat it in the kitchen instead. He huffed and puffed, but he did it anyway. All in all, I think we'll make it, but I do really wish he could understand better. The man has never dieted in his life, so how could he really empathize?