Freebigbennow

you know I never really paid any attention to how much they put in back then I just wanted it tight. I had my surgery on October 25th 2007and it seems like a lifetime ago. I can't even remember other than the big clothes I used to wear what it was to be obese...lol...I have lost 165 lbs...went from 360 to 195...size 48-50 waist to a 33-34....definitely worth eeeeevery penny!!!!!glad to hear other people found happiness too!!! Congrats to you all!!!

How do you know if it is your Gall Bladder and not like say ...a stomach ulcer....I have had severe stomach pains now for a while but I really can't afford to go to a specialist to get it checked out.

Thanks for the advice. I am moving to New ORleans from Sarasota,Fl and wanted to make sure it was tight in case I have a hard time finding a fill location out there. But yeah I am thinking it may be too tight. How long can I live on oatmeal and protien shakes right?! I agree with the tuna fish, even before this last fill. Can not take the pain. Did you try it grilled? Even worse. Funny how some people can do eggs differently too. I can't do boiled or fied, only scrammbled. I read a post the other day of someone who can do only boiled. go figure. what is the deal with beef Jerky. Right now that is pretty muchthe only meat I can eat.

Aint that the truth!!!!

or does the good food items have a harder time going down than the bad food items. I know I can't live on beef jerkey and oatmeal but they are the only things that don't make me feel bad when I eat them.

I have no idea what is going on with my body. MY stomach hangs over worse than ever also. Then I have the whole hanging man boobs going on here too. Then there are the thighs. I anm not sure what is going on there, but my problem is the opposite from above. I have to get my pants bigger in the waist so they are not too tight in the thighs. I pray every thing will even out sometime soon.

I am down 63 pounds as of today! I am hoping that by losing it kind of slowly maybe it will give my skin chance to catch up. right now my chest and stomach look kind of gross in my opinion, but I would rather have the loose skin than the fat anyday. When I look aat my old clothes I am always saddened/amazed that I was as big(360lbs) as I was.:sneaky:

Just had my third fill last Friday the 21st. I now have 8cc's in my band. My first fill was 4 then 2.4 then 1.6. I had good restriction with each fill then after losing 20 pounds or so I would need another. I had lost 60 lbs when I got this third fill. Hope I am good for at least another twenty. You would think by now I would be reprogrammed to just eat less. I am doing ok with food choices but just have absolutely no control on portions without the band being tight. I hope maybe I will have aquired enough muscle mass here soon to be able to burn off more than I eat without having to be so restricted. I really hate having to eat the same (easy to swallow) foods all the time. And MAN WHAT I would not give to be able to eat just ONE cheeseburger, just one!:sneaky:

No more naps for me either!

WOW!!! I got like 6.4 cc's and I am calling today for another fill. I was banded on 10/25 and was worried that I was filling my band too fast. So thanks.

I have a question. I have 6 cc's in a 10 cc band. My first filll was 4 cc's my second 2. I would like to know if it is possible to COMPLETELY FILL our band and if so THEN WHAT???

I jsut wanted to add to the last post. Isn't it amazing how much less we eat than skinny people. There has got to be something to that. Did we really eat all that much before? I went to a buffet with a firend of mine a few weeks ago and I swear he ate more at that one sittng than I eat in two days!!

CHICKEN!!!!! mY GOD DOES chicken GET STUCK NEARLY EVERY TIME. I also had an extremely painful episode with grilled tuna. I can eaat bread only if it is toasted for some reason. Small amounts of rice are not that bad. I got like 6 cc's in a 10 cc band after 2 fills. Mornings are a no no for solid food. fI am thinking of buying stock in slim fast since it seems to be a staple of my diet. the one thing that amazes me is beef Jerky. I have absolutely no problem with beef jerky as tough as it is. MY worst pain ever was with a piece of fried chicken. I have not even got the nerve to try it again.

My whole sleeping pattern has been thrown off. I just absolutely can not go to sleep on an empty sstomach. Even after a hard day at the gym where my whole body is sore I jsut can't. I have even tried having a glass of wine. May be it is my metabolism picking up alittle bit. Because I am not really tired during the day once I struggle to get out of bed and start on the coffee, but yeah I am up all night too.

the adtkins are o.k. I just drank on of the strawberry today, but i prefer the slimfast lowcarb/high protien shakes. The creamy vanilla almost tastes too good to b:redface:e true.

WHAT EVER YOU DO DO NOT BUY THE EAS FRENCH VANILLA. I BOUGHT THEM THINKING OF THE COFFE AND THEY ARE EXTRRREEEEMMELY GROSS!!!

DRINKING Water SEEMS TO BE THE BIG ANSWER HERE. BEFORE BEING BANDED I SWEAR I NEVER DRANK MORE THAN ONE GLASS OF WATER A DAY IF THAT. NOT I DRINK ABOUT 3 OR FOUR bottles OF WATER A DAY.. IT REALLY DOES HELP AND THANK GOD NO MORE KIDNEY PAINS!

Im glad I am not alone in this battle to stay hydrated.

Since this last fill.. I have pain with almost anything I eat. bread is out, white meat chicken is out, also found out last night cucumbers are out. I think it may have been the skin on the cucumber but I thought it would never go down. Plus does anyone else get hiccups nearly every time they eat?:cursing:

What do the Protein Shakes do to keep you from being hungry? I was using them every mornig for Breakfast too. But I am really nervous about liquid calories . Plus solid food sticks with you longer. I Got a fill last monday and have HAD to so the shakes in the morning because I am so tight in the mornings. But I would much rather have something solid that I know is going to stick around a while. Also how does anyone drink thos protien powders mixed with Water. That is gross. The only way I can drink the powders is with milk and milk is a nono. Milk has something like 14 grams of sugar in an 8 ounce glass.:cursing:

Hi Carrot. I was banded on 10/25 . I have had 2 fills most recently on 10/21. I have good restriction. So much so that I have a hard time getting what seems like to me enough food in. My band says "that's enough", but mybody is screaming " that's not nearly enough food". Seems like I am hungry all the time but when I eat I can only eat enough for it to get stuck and then I have to wait a couple hours to eat some more to try and get full. I guess this is what it's all about. I have lost 40 pounds too. Also I have gained enough muscle mass that my goal to a normal BMI has went up from 219 lbs to 230lbs. I thought that was pretty cool. So yeah we all have to just keep plugggin away at it. I was finally able to do 2 miles on the elyptical machine at one time. Took me 27 minutes ,but I did it! We all can Do It!!:cursing:

Hi Lizzie,....I went to get a fill today and it involved weighing in and measuring , you know the whole nine. Anyway I did not think I was doing as well as I should, but I am. I have built up enough muscle mass from exercising that I need to lose less weight to have a normale BMI(they recommend 22).Ten less pounds as a mattter of fact. So you are probably building up muscle mass that just weighs more than the fat it is replacing. Congratultions on losing the dress sizes. I WENT FROM A 52 IN THE WAIST TO A 48. I am still huge but I can seee some light at the end of the tunnel. Jusst to be going down instead of constantly up is a blessing in it self.

Thankyou for your support. I gave upthe CL tea. I have not had anymore since the last bout withthe kidney pain. I mostly stick to Water and coffee. I seem to do o.k. with just those two.

white meat chicken is the absolute worst. I have tried putting barbecue sause on it so maybe it wil slide down. the only thing that works is just chewing and chewing and chew some more. I have had trouble with the albacore tuna also. I do o.k. with the regular cheap tuna. I only wish I could have one peice of bread get stuck. Just one!:welldoneclap:

OVER THE HOLIDAYS I HAD THE WORST KIDNEY INFECTION IMAGINABLE! OF COURSE IT PROBABLY SAVED ME FROM GAINING WEIGHT OVER THE HOLIDAYS, BUT I TRULY THOUGHT I MIGHT DIE. THE PROBLEM IS THE WAIT AFTER MEALS BEFORE YOU DRINK. BY THE TIME I WAIT FOR AN HOUR TO DRINK I USUALLY AM NOT THIRSTY ANYMORE SO I FORGET TO DRINK. THE DOCTOR SAID THE POWDERED LOW CALORIE drinks MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS TOO. I WAS DRINKING THE Walmart BRAND OF CRYSTAL LIGHT ICED TEA MIX. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANYBODY HAS HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH PAIN IN THEIR KIDNEYS OR ANY PROBLEMS GETTING ENOUGH FLUIDS I? THANKS FOR ANY INPUT.