bandster_1007

yes, i drank a strawberry slush from sonic after a fill. i was good until i had that slush. apparantely the strawberry seeds gunk together and block the stoma. i was unable to keep my own spit down. i was unfilled to allow the strawberries to pass through, the filled back up with a slightly lower fill level.

it really was no big deal.

yeah a month is a REALLY long time. i've gone through a natural miscarriage and bled for 6 weeks, and that was considered a LONG time..and that was for a miscarriage. :thumbdown:

i would definately call my doc.

my doctor told us that it was a possibility, but not to consider ps until 1 year, post goal.

i have personally ALWAYS been very large bottom, real heavy thighs, etc. i will probably need a lower body lift, boob lift, etc. lol..although i'm hoping not due to the expense and recovery time (i'm a baby). but dh knows that i refuse to live with skin that reminds me of my fat life, once i am thin.

it's only a 5 hour drive for me too, i may try to come also. keep me posted.

i agree with jack, my friends change with my life, or theirs, as jack said. and i'm still pretty young, but it has always been that way for me. when i was a cheerleader, i had this group of friends, when i went to the nerdy math & science school, i had another group...single mom one group, college, new job, etc.

now i have a few that have stuck with me through the years, 3 to be exact.

i look at my past friends like angels who were sent into my life with a purpose. when that purpose was done, so was the relationship. the same with my enemies, lovers, etc.

now that my dh is my dear friend, lover, etc., i have find it much more difficult to build lasting friendships with anyone. it makes me cherish the ones that i have even more. i am not so quick to share my life and emotions with strangers like i was when i was younger.

personally, however, i think that the fact that she was honest about her feelings, and maintains contact says a lot about her character, regardless of her low self esteem. think back on your entire relationship, i honestly cannot see anyone being friends with someone for 10 years JUST because they are bigger and make them feel better. there are other reasons. that is just one, that is going to change. that is what is bothering her, but she is honest, and i do not think she meant it to insult you. actually it makes her very vulnerable to your response, making your next few encounters very crucial to the future of your friendship.

"I personally have never been offended by someone telling me I had a pretty face, because I've always been told that, big or small. But when you hear of people outright being humiliated in front of others, i.e. Cerrin and the screws being thrown at her then you just have to give support. That is what we are ALL here for - again, big or small, whatever the circumstance"--Lillmiss

i have to agree, what they did was pure torment and bullying. not to mention very juvenile. i would not have been able to handle that.

i just posted a similar question about my honeymoon. we are having Breakfast delivered to our room, and i wanted to be able to eat Breakfast. however, i am not at my sweet spot. i am getting back on track after a failed pregnancy. i was really tight before though and had to be unfilled for the pregnancy. i could not eat breafast-ever..i threw up on fluids..A LOT...and that is not a fun way to be eating. i was losing a lot of weight though and i do not think i would have gotten unfilled just for a weekend. but i know that it is miserable and that is precisely why i did not want to get a fill the week before the honeymoon.

but if you've been at this place for a bit, and you think it is where you need to be, and you know what you can/cannot eat, i think i wouldn't mess with it.

for me...i would have been learning to eat again on my honeymoon..that would have been no good. but i was going to go ahead for my fill because i can eat too much, but i got a terrible chest cold, so they won't fill me today anyways.

my doctor said no popcorn, but it has nothing to do with the band, he just thinks popcorn is a horrible food to eat. he says he has seen enough of people's insides to know that popcorn stays in the body and does not digest completely.

i still eat popcorn, although now it is like once a month, prior to surgery it was every night.

my dh has said things to the effect that i would look better if i lost weight, but that i am beautiful now. he loves me the way i am, but it does not hurt my feelings, and he does not say it in a hurtful way, when he does say it. but it is the truth. he will say things like, god i hope that beautiful big butt of yours doesn't go away when you lose weight, but it will show up so much better when you lose some weight in your thighs..then i will be fighting off the men..

..doesn't hurt my feelings, it is the truth. if he were trying to be mean, it would.

when people say i have a beautiful face, i accept it as a compliment, i know i don't have a beautiful body in a stereotypical way, so i don't expect them to say that i do, because i would think they were lieing. truthfully people said it that way to me when i was thin..i think they are truly just thinking about your face at the moment.

but i haven't had people do some of the horrific things that other people on here talk about.

however, i did go into vs not too long ago. i am heavy, but i am not too heavy for their bra's etc. however, i went in there wanting to be fitted for a bra and to purchase one. i waited for someone to volunteer to help me and no one did. they helped everyone around me, but not once did they offer to help me. i left.

i don't know if they didn't help me because i was fat, or because i was dressed really down that day with little makeup and didn't look like a woman who really cares about theirselves or their underwear...lol..i got tricked into going to the mall, so i was really dressed for home, but once there i wanted a bra. i haven't been back.

my doc says we can drink it, just let it flatten for 5 minutes before drinking. however, when i have a good fill, i cannot drink it because it causes me terrible pain and gas.

i had a distended abdomen for about 3 months after surgery, not sure why, but my belly was poking out big time.

johnathon...congrats on such success. that waist line difference is awesome!!! my husband is in very good shape, he has a six pack..blatty blah, and he wears a 34, and he is not big boned. That's cool for me, because i can compare, but he is 6'0, but he also weighs 195. he has gained a little lately, but when he was in intense training, he weighed around 175.

congrats, and keep up the awesome work.

my doctor makes us wait a long time for fills too because they are soo booked up. actually i have a fill scheduled for next week. i don't really want one because if i follow the rules i can't eat a lot. but i'm breaking the rules really bad, and i think i need to get that under control before i get too tight. then i will lose all my hair like i did last time because i'm not eating right.

if you do not feel that your restriction is helping you lose weight then i could understand wanting a fill. i definately would keep up the exercise though, that is awesome!!!

frangi, i have pcos, horrible horrible horrible pms, absolutely no regularity with my periods. and the funny thing is, i have been pregnant twice, and i lost this last one, this past month, but each time that i have gotten pregnant, i was NOT having periods. with my first, i had not had a period in a year and got pregnant, with this last one, i had not had a period in 3 months when i got pregnant. apparantely when i ovulate, i don't menstruate. i dunno it's weird. i do not have the major side of pcos like some people do, but i have the hair problems, the dry skin, the acne, the dandruff, the thinning of head hair, so my doc said....ovaries need to go. i'm not paying him any attention though. (i also have sever Migraines the week leading up to and of my period).

i do not have an opinion, but i am interested to see what everyone reports. my ob/gyn recommends for me to "hurry up" and finish having babies and have a hyster...seems drastic at 25.

hatmama, thank you. i think we all suffer in a very similar way when those of us that want a child loses it. i had been hoping and praying that i would accidentally get pregnant, because i didn't feasably want to plan one due to my weight and the financial stress. but i was so happy to be pregnant, but honestly i was in pregnant heaven until about a week before i found out, and then i began to stress big time about life with a new baby. things happen for a reason, and i truly believe that. this baby was not meant to be. maybe i will have another, but i want that to be after i lose my weight :cursing:. to be honest i was loving being pregnant, but i was not heavy with my 1st child, so i was not looking forward to being "fat and pregnant". i thought i was uncomfortable with the first..i can only imagine the second. and i am blessed as i have a healthy happy 7 year old already.

well, we need a plan hat..... we've got to get some grips on this emotional eating stuff. i'm even taking something, and i'm still doing it.

it is a very individualized process determining when to get a fill and when not too. i have not reached a point where i could lose weight and still be able to eat even partially normal, but i wish i could lose 1-2 lbs a week and still eat. if i can eat, i tend to gain.

but...if you are losing, and are able to eat, why mess with it???? enjoy it, it may get harder to lose later and require you to be tighter with a more restricted diet.

ok, well..i'm back. it's been a long month....or so. some of you may have already seen on other posts that i lost the baby. then went through a very long, and painful natural miscarriage, only to return to work to have my position (not my job) taken away from me and be moved to a totally different area of work within an hour of being back at work. same pay, less stress, kind of nice actually, but very insulting at first. lost my bonuses, and i had to sign a "corrective action" notice. anyways, i feel like i was punished because of the miscarriage, but...

ok, so i'm medicated, doing better, and am trying to get back on track to losing weight. well, i got into a real bad habit of drinking sweet drinks, etc. then i've been so emotional the last month that i went back to emotional eating.

i had a fill that was too tight last week, now i'm "semi" tight. i can eat bad foods, and that is bad for me. so, i started this journey at 228, i got down to 201 (i want that back), now i am at 212 on one day and 207 on another.

i need help, and i need tips, just like in the beginning. i have forgotten how to be a good bandster (don't know that i ever was really good). i am so proud of all of you that have lost so much weight, but it does honestly make me wish i had been following the rules a little better. it is definately inspiration to see how well you all are doing.

if you have any tips, pointers, words of inspiration, i think i need it. I'm a little down now, but i promise i'm not always having a pity party.

my dh and i just married 3/29!! it was wonderful, we've been together for ever, and have a 7 year old. but we found out about the baby on 4/1, and it has just been a bad month. but dh and i are doing well, i think it actually brought us a lot closer together, and now i'm trying to focus on my weightloss, and honestly, it is a little tuff right now, due to some stress.

melody, how is the process going with you? leslie is great, i e-mail her all the time (well i did before work took it away). she is very fast to respond.

aubrie...my thoughts exactly regarding the punishment. i'm staying here, because i have to, but all respect is gone, and if another opportunity comes along, i will not hesitate, but i do not feel "up" to searching right now. (for a new job)

i think i am going to wait for the fill afterall, it turns out that this fills is a lot tighter than i thought it was. i called today and talked with the lady at the front desk (all employees have been banded), and she said that i should just be eating bread at every meal, but that i really do not need a fill. well, what do you know, add bread, and i've got perfect restriction. 1/2 piece of pizza is all i could eat, and that adds up to only 100 calories and 10 grams of Protein. AWESOME. but i'm having to retrain myself per se to follow the rules.

funny thing, my husband and i have not had an argument at all (not even the stupid kind) since our wedding, and loss.... but last night, we argued about whether or not i should have a fill..lol... apparantly i was just on the defensive side, because he would say get it, and then don't get it. i just worry about the fact that it is now may and i was banded in october and i have only lost 21 lbs. most of which was lost during the pregnancy because of morning sickness.

oh..yeah..as far as a lawyer, i really do not think i have a legal leg to stand on, because my FMLA papers state that i am not guaranteed my position, but i am guaranteed my pay. the thing is this is like some kind of "probation" where i will be re-evaluated in 60 days..well..then what, they still can't fire me. so i think it is a bunch of bs that it is not a punishment, it is definately a punishment, for i guess deciding to have a natural miscarriage. i don't think they believed that it really took 2 1/2 weeks with true labor pains and horrible horrible other things. if i could go back, i would have had a d&c, but it just so happens i have a doc who doesn't believe in them, and strongly recommended not to have one. well, she has never miscarried herself (the doc), if she had, she probably would recommend one, the physical pain and duration only prolongs the emotional side of things.

but..i'm medicated now, and i just sit in the corner scanning my files, for a very decent hourly pay (dummies are paying me WAY more than a scanner would typically make). then when i get home i'm not all stressed from my day at work, so i enjoy it. so yeah, they did me wrong, but they really did me a favor. i have a stress free job now with the same pay (minus my bonuses', which really hacks me off, that is is $600 missed as of right now). i now know that i really truly did hate my job. lol....

reading the other posts i think it is so funny to see the different philosphies of different doctors. my doctor has the philosphy that "if you can eat it you will". if you wouldn't, you wouldn't have needed surgery. so, they say that if you are following these rules: 1) no drinking with food, 2) no drinking liquid calories, 3) coming back for fills, you will lose weight (they also stress 10% of the calories of a food should equal the amount of Protein in grams, so if it is 100 calories it should have 10 grams of Protein. there aren't a lot of foods out there that follow that, except meat, plain meat. so, it is tricky.

however, even if you can't do the 10% thing, if you have a good fill, you will not be able to eat enough to not lose weight, if you are eating solid, dense foods. but if you don't get enough protein you will lose your hair.

so be patient, go get your fills, and try to use will power as much as you can. each person is different in that degree.

thank you for your response. i had good restriction for a while, so i'm pretty versed in ordering the right foods. usually i just eat off of my husband's plate because for me the right fill level consists of me being able to eat about 4 bites..maybe. lol......

i think you are right, i should probably go for the fill.

as for my job, they found a loophole, and took away my position, i still work for the same company with the same hourly pay and benefits, just no bonuses, and a different, busy work job...just scanning files, i was a mortgage loan specialist, and technically i still am, but i'm on temporary change. i was very upset and still am, they said it wasn't punishment, but the moved me to a different office with people i didn't know, they took away my e-mail, they took away my bonuses, and they made me sign a "corrective action" notice. and they made me go from a position with lots of customer contact and deadlines, etc., to a very simple no contact job....no stress either..it's actually kind of nice, but short lived. at first i hated it, which they moved me and did all this within an hour of me coming back to work from my miscarriage, i was still very much not myself and EXTREMELY emotional, i just cried for the first few hours over here.

but, the economy is not the sort right now to be looking for a new job, especially not in the mortgage/banking business. :thumbup:

Ok, i have had a rough past few months and a lot has happened. first in february i finally reached my "almost" sweet spot, and i dropped 30 lbs. in a month. then i found out i was pregnant at the beginning of March and i had a 2 cc unfill (i was at 6.2 cc's down to 4.2 cc's). Then i married end of march to boyfriend that i've had forever (have a 7 year old together). we didn't go on the honey moon because i didn't have the time off to take. then the monday after our wedding, we found out that the embryo i was carrying was dead, and it took me 3 weeks to finish a natual miscarriage (well enough to go back to work, i'm still not finished). so then i return to work mid april and find out that my position at work was taken from me due to absences over the miscarriage, and with that i'm losing pay of about $400 a month (bonuses). now i'm feeling better and planning a honeymoon, short one, for memorial day weekend.

well, i just got refilled last week. they filled me to 8.2 cc's, then i drank a strawberry slush and the seeds blocked me off, so they unfilled me back down to 7.2 cc's. ok, so now i can eat more than i need to be able to eat, but i could lose if i was following the rules.

so, i have another fill scheduled for 5/14 to hurry up and get me "back on track" but we are taking our honeymoon 5/23-5/26.

we're staying in a honeymoon cottage that brings homeade Breakfast and dessert to your cottage daily. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO EAT BREAKFAST. which i can now but not when i am where i need to be.

so, if you were faced with this decision, would you get the fill 5/14 or the week after you got back?

i feel like not getting the fill is kind of self sabatoging. i do not want to be able to pig out, but i do want to be able to eat, and when i am at the correct fill, i cannot have bread and a lot of other things.

my brain clicked when i had restriction, started losing my hair...wasn't eating right, but was losing a LOT of weight, and fast...about 4 months after surgery..

then i was pregnant, unfilled, miscarried, refilled, and waiting for a click again..drinking with food, eating/drinking sugar, etc.

OMG!!I cannot tell you how much i needed this!! i just had a chilli cheese wrap and a snickers ice cream candy bar for lunch. i was telling myself i was going to get back on track tomorrow, but why allow myself one more night of glutony and guilt.

i truly believe in self talk and positive thinking, and focusing on the "greater good"-for all, but i tend to forget that when it comes to myself. i guess i think i have the free for all to punish myself.

i needed this..thank you.

i'm starting now...i will ask myself, is this really good for me, am i loving myself when i eat ____?? anyone else want to join me?