enjoylife

Scrappy, I just really looked at your signature!!! You look fabulous!!!! I am jealous - yea I am, but I am also happy for you!!!!!! Ok - I've gotta do my happy dance for you. We started at about the some weight and you were banded a few days before me... you have made me see what I could have done had I been more faithful to my band and to myself (and if my hip didn't need replacing). But as HopeinApril reminded me… we are all different. Still, I know I could have done much better. WOW I am really impressed with your progress. Amanda, don’t sound so sad. I know it’s frustrating, but there could be a few reasons why your weight has not dropped. It could be that with all of your training you are gaining muscle weight – which really isn’t a bad thing… it just doesn’t LOOK good on the scale, but it’s great for your body. It could that your body is holding onto the weight out of sheer stubbornness – my body does that – and then bam – a sudden drop in weight seemingly out of nowhere. Sometimes when I can’t seem to drop weight I increase my Protein by drinking shakes. That helps. I lose more weight when I get more protein, but I’m not a huge meat eater. The very fact that you are in a duathlon is inspirational to me (and I’m sure many others). Hang in there – you will see a change on the scale eventually, in the meantime, try to focus on the changes in yourself (attitude, clothing sizes, strength and health). Christine, I’m sorry about what you are going through. I hope that everything works out for you. Please don’t become a lurker. One of the reasons I like this site is because of its honesty. I can get the good, bad, and ugly here. The lap band is not all roses for a lot of people (me included). Sometimes when I’m having one of my “can’t keep anything down” days (like yesterday) I ask myself, “What have I done?” Sometimes I’ve done nothing and sometimes I’m not chewing properly, and sometimes I’m greedy and try to out eat my band. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to come online and get some advice or reassurance, or wanted to Celebrate (my job has blocked the site – the IDIOTS!!!!) and I just moved into my new home and there was no internet where I was staying. This site (and particularly this group – helped me so much when I first got banded. It was (and now is once again) my support group, since I the place where I would go for meetings is over 2.5 hours away and meetings are on a week night. Even if you don’t think you will have anything positive to post but – it may be educational for your readers and in the long run that is very positive. But equally as important this is a place that you can come to vent, cry, ramble, and celebrate without repercussion or judgment. It, of course is your choice, but I hope you continue to post – you might be a help to someone who is in your same situation.

I have joint pain, but it's because I have arthritis. In fact I have to have my hip replaced. My knees feel tons better, but my hip hurts daily. Have you gotten your results back from your doctor? I hope it turns out to be something more easily managed then what I am dealing with. Exercising is hard... very very hard. Heck cleaning is hard. Simple things that most people do with ease are really difficult for me sometimes. There are some low impact exercise programs that you may be able to use. I am starting the walk away the pounds series by Leslie Sansone. I am also going to be playing Wii alot more with my daughter. I'll be losing, but at least I'll be moving. If I can drop another 20 - 25 pounds the end of June. Then I am going to go through with the surgery this summer. I need to go ahead and schedule it by early May because they like eight weeks notice. If I'm not losing like I want to, then I will simply post pone it.

To nycm00 thank you for the welcome back and the instructions. They were GREATLY appreciated. Thank you for the article Scrappy – I need all the advice I can get. SPECIAL K!!!!!! Yea YOU!!!! I’m doing the happy dance for you right now – c’mon and join me ~~~~~~~~~~~~ tap tap shooby be doo shimmy shimmy sssliiiide!!!!!! 100 pounds – that is incredible (not to mention my goal). I am happy for you. Keep up the great work of inspiring us all…. Now tell me – how can you hold 10.25 ccs?????!! I have a fourteen cc band and I am at 6 (or is it 6.5) cc’s. I tried for 7 or 7.5 and I was spitting up water before I left the doctor’s office. I can barely get liquids down now – but most foods go down ok… soft foods not so much, but hard or crunchy I am good with - usually. I miss applesauce, so I bought some, but the last time I tried it and I could not get it go down. Hot things seem to go down better than cold. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve drank something to have it have to right back out – followed by a bucket of slob. I am always thirsty. I miss water (the only thing I really drank before surgery) like you would not believe. Hot tea goes down well, but I don’t always have time for that. BUT I know my band is responsible for me losing 64 lbs… I love my band. It’s just difficult to figure it out. One year out and I’m still getting to know it. Hmmmm, my band must be male.....

oh, can someone tell me how to update my signature. I can't remember how to do it.

Ok, my diet doesn’t look like any of your diets. I eat. Like last night, I had two huge pieces of cornbread, a half filet of fish, and about seven brussel sprouts for dinner. I don’t think I had lunch, but I a Popeyes thigh for breakfast. Now normally I do not eat cornbread – it really was a special treat, but I really should have limited myself to one piece. The Popeyes chicken was just easy so I ate it. There are some nights that I eat a bowl of raisin bran for dinner (and yes I add sugar) – I can do that for a week and not feel the least bit deprived. Breakfast is usually iffy for me. If it’s easy and available, I’ll eat it – otherwise I won’t. When I’m at work, breakfast could be a bowl of oatmeal, or a yogurt. I am trying to eat more fruits and vegetables so I snack on grapefruits and tangelos. I try to make myself eat apples, but for some reason, I am not really enjoying them. I used to love grapes, but my band is not all that into them… of course the band usually has the final word on what gets ingested sooo… I can no longer eat regular bread. My band hates bread. White, wheat, oat, oat bran, sourdough, or whatever… I can not get bread down. Sometimes I just want a bite of a sandwich, but it is not worth the feeling I get in my chest and stomach after I east bread. I can eat crackers as long as I only eat a few, but who wants lunch meat on a cracker? I sure don’t. Applesauce, which I love, was not going down easy at all, so I gave up on that. Well not really. I just purchased a jar, so apparently I’m willing to try again. Wow, I have not been on LBT in such a long time. My job has blocked access to the site because it thinks of it as social networking site. I used to find such comfort, knowledge and support here. Well I’m back… now that I have finally moved into my new home (the cable man came yesterday). But I plan on starting anew. I have had my one year anniversary, and I am not thrilled with my weight lose. I am down 64 lbs, which I know is not horrible, but it’s not what I envisioned when was contemplating surgery. So I need to get moving…literally. I need to exercise. I am seriously considering the body bugg. It’s not in my budget, but I feel like it would give me the edge that I need. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? The site has changed so much. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Well I have done everything that the doctor says I have to do. The six month diet, the psych eval, the stress test, the nutrionist appointments, and of course the consultation. This is the third time I have started this journey. the first time was for gastric bypass, but for me it felt like drastic bypass, so i passed that one by. then last year i started over. i went to consultations and seminars at two different places. I chose Dr. Singh in Catonsville, MD. its a longer drive, but he's the one the trained the other doctor I considered. I would have done the surgery last year, but some family stuff came up, i had to move, and i started school. not a good time to be thinking about life altering surgery. Anyway, I went to see Dr. Singh, this past summer. He's so calm and funny. I told him I'm ready. I like his practice - he works with Dr. Averbach (anybody else here using that practice?) He also doesn't charge and arm and a leg for extra stuff that i cannot use - like a gym membership. the other place did. it was more than 45 minutes away - who travels that far to go workout? i pass by like 15 workout places just getting there. for that he wants $2500 extra dollars that the insurance does not cover. of course it includes two visits with the personal trainer and two visits with the nutrionist - its the same person - the surgeon's wife. Dr. Sing's nutiritionist offers unlimited help for either 6 months or a year post surgery - at no extra charge. there are support group meetings - at no extra charge. and there is no extra charge for fills - yeah some doctors try that - at least the other doctor i saw does. anyway... i am now waiting for a call from the Dr. S's office saying i have been approved and my surgery date is - hmmm soon. how about they call me because someone cancelled and ask if i can come in between Christmas and the new year!!!! Yeah - that would be the ticket I wish for. Of course I'll take whatever date they give me - JUST GIVE ME a DATE - plllleeeeaaaassseee!!!! ok - i gotta go. nite all.

Christine, You are absolutely right to celebrate. I am seeing some flab, but Iwas also able to take my daughter to Disney World and walk all over four parks and fit into the rides!!!!. So celebrate your lost sixty-pounds,

NOW onto another note, I just experienced the fill from HELL!!! I went on Friday, August 22nd. Everything seemed fine until later that evening. Everything came up. Nothing stayed down. I thought if I just relaxed that maybe the swelling would go down and I would be ok. HA! That was a joke. That's what I get for dissolving Funions in my mouth on the day of a fill. I had a handful - but my band was not having it. I threw up from Friday to Monday afternoon. I could not even take in water. I sucked ice cubes to stay hydrated and I threw that up!!! By the time I got to my surgeon's office I had lost 14.4 lbs. Let me tell you; that was no way to lose weight. He says I won't gain it all back because some of it was fat loss because I took in no calories. Whatever! I was so glad to be able to drink water again I damn near jumped in my bottle of Aquafina. I may go back at a later date to have .5 cc put pack in - but I am in no rush. I may wait a month. Tomorrow I will try solids again. I'm hoping to be able to finally enjoy eating something again. Well that's my drama - I hope no one else goes through anything like this.

Amanda don't be disenchanted. I know that losing weight only to find that swimsuits looked better on you BEFORE weight loss is a little hard to take. I have been on vacation to Disney World and to Ocean City, Maryland and although I've lost some weight, I knew that hanging out by the pool or on the beach was not for me. For my birthday present this year I am joining the gym. As I have tried to explain to my ultra supportive father - this does not mean that I won't be sagging. In fact, it may mean that I have more sag, because my muscles will be tone, but my skin won't. So much for feeling sexy again. Anyway, buy your self a good girdle hat breathes and allows you to bend and continue on with your workouts. In addition, you may want to start document any problems that you are incurring because of your loose skin. Have you doctor document them as well... And just in case - start saving because you ay have to pay for your repairs yourself. That's my game plan anyway. I'm even researching local doctors that have payment plans so I I start making payments before I even schedule the surgery. I guess I could take out a medical loan, but I'd rather not deal with the interest on those.

Your surgeon can prescribe a pill that will help you to NOT vomit. I got a prescription for it the day I left the hospital.

I have to be careful with carbs. They are definitely my weakness. the one that creates the most cravings for me is chocolate. I really try to stay away from that - one bite leads to the whole bar. - Fenton I'm in awe of you - you can make a bar last for two days - I have to work on making it last for two hours. As for fills - I have not had one in over a month - I was scheduled for one last week, but there was an emergency in the OR - I'm praying that who ever it was made out okay - and my fill was postponed. Westcoastmom - I've read all of the advice you've been given, and there's nothing for me to add. Its all been said - for now. I'm going to carry a pad with me and write it all (what I eat) down - I may even join weight watchers too - I'm serious. I usually log my food at the end of the day, but it may help to log through out the day because I'm sure I miss quite a bit when trying to remember everything at the end of the day. I certainly skip most little snacks - a few chips here, a peppermint there... you get the picture. Boy this feels good.

I need a psychiatrist. I have my WiiFit - have had it since 6/3/08. It's still in the box. I eat too much. I have not lost a pound. I ate New York Peppermint Patty and Almond Joy COOKIES last week. Yesterday I was eating stale toast and grape jam. It wasn't going down well, but I continued to eat the slice anyway. Then I threw up. There was bright red blood - more than I was comfortable with seeing. Now I have a new pain where I believe my stomach is - let me look that up... ok - still not sure. I am scheduled for fill # 3 on July 2nd -but I am wondering if I should cancel that. Until I learn self control, no amount of fill will help me. I figured out - way too late of course - that although my surgeon only requires two days of liquids after a fill - I apparently need more. I don't know if I have that kind of will power. I'm reading all of your posts and everyone is doing so well. I'm not one for long drawn out pity parties - but I'm feeling like a failure. I don't want to be a band failure. You would think that enduring a heat wave that seems to be stuck at 98 degrees that I would at least sweat off a pound or two. I mean it’s too hot to even eat! So I am here once again with my bag of strawberries, cherries, bananas, carrots, and ranch dip. I did this yesterday too - but destroyed all of my efforts with a piece of stale bread with grape jam. I have found a gym that I will be joining. My neighbor goes and she loves it. I have a meeting with the builders today, I saw a guy about a car yesterday, and I start my internship next week. I am an addict. I'm addicted to chewing and swallowing food - and I need HELP. Ok - I'm signing off at 291 lbs. I will not post again until I am in in the 280's (and I don't mean 289!).

Has anyone tried the Urban Rebounder? I am considering purchasing one because it advertises that does not affect your joints. I have arthritis and bone spurs. In fact, my orthopedic doctor told me I have the knee of a 70 year old. That's twice my age! Anyway, running is no longer an option, but I want something that will work quickly - It claims to burn 569 calories on an average sized person - so I figure I should burn that in half the time!!! – Any info will be greatly appreciated!!!

I have not been sick more often. However, if you have been sick for exactly as long as you have had the band (or am i reading that wrong?) then you may want to see your pcp and do some research to determine if other patients leaving your hosipital are also sick.

Fenton, I didn't think I'd be talking much about my Wii Fit board because I have been researching the local gyms to decide which one to join. Well I have decided to not join any. I would need one that offers supervised child care and the only one that does that is way too expensive and only has child care on certain days and times. So... it looks like I will be going to pick up my Fit board some time this week. In addition, I may be ordering a Body Bugg. www.24hourfitness.com has them on sale for $199 and the wrist monitor is on sale for $74. I don't know how long the sale will last. Maybe it will get even cheaper (it really is over priced) but technology usually does the longer it stays on the market. That's it for now. Lunch was cool. I think I ate too much and am now just waiting for it to go down. This may take a while...

Either I need an unfill, or I don't like restriction at all. I can only eat one meal per day. I can drink Protein, but eating is tricky. Its like my acid reflux has come back with a vengence. Spicy food is intolerable, but I love spicy food. I usually remember to chew, chew, and then chew some more. Some things go down with no problem and then others seem to sit in my throat burning. The scales have moved, but I'm afraid to eat around anyone because I have no idea how my body will react. I guess it just takes some getting used to. I'm giving myself until June 6th. I have to take that day off from work anyway, so if am not handling this any better by then, I will be getting an unfill. Whodda thunk that 5cc in a 14 cc band would be this much of a butt kicker? Thanks to everyone for your well wishes. I have whiplash and quite a bit of pain - but I also got three prescriptions to deal with the pain - I thought that was a bit much (vicodin, flexral, and ibuprophen). I have only gone walking once since the accident and have not played any Wii games (I don't have my fit board yet, though I did put a deposit on one at Toys R Us). Well at least the scale has moved anyway. Enjoy the last day of your long weekend!

I can't eat anything. Is this what retriction feels like? Yesterday I had a protein shake for breakfast, a chicken thigh for lunch (it took me 45 minutes to eat it) another thigh for dinner - I also tried some shrimp and basil - I must have been full because that crap was sitting in my throat trying to kill me. A few hours after that came back up (yeah I said that) I ate some peanut butter six crackers. I'm gonna starve to death. Oh, I was rear ended yesterday - hard - should I be concerned about my band? I guess that's a question for my surgeon...

I'm doing the HAPPY DANCE for you!!! Blessings on your journey.

The Urban rebounder I'm talking about is the one this MSN Fitness aabout. I read about it here: 4 Fun Ways to Fight Fat - MSN Health & Fitness - Fitness and on its own site: Urban Rebounding program is a fun workout for all ages, shapes, and sizes.

Has anyone tried the Urban Rebounder? I am considering purchasing one because it advertises that does not affect your joints. I have arthritis and bone spurs. In fact, my orthopedic doctor told me I have the knee of a 70 year old. That's twice my age! Anyway, running is no longer an option, but I want something that will work quickly - It claims to burn 569 calories on an average sized person - so I figure I should burn that in half the time!!! - I think I'm going to post this outside of here to get more feed back. The Urban rebounder I'm talking about is the one this MSN Fitness about. I read about it here: 4 Fun Ways to Fight Fat - MSN Health & Fitness - Fitness and on its own site: Urban Rebounding program is a fun workout for all ages, shapes, and sizes. Any info will be greatly appreciated!!!

WARNING – this might get gross and will definitely be long….:thumbs_up: Be very careful of what you ask for – you just might get it. My goodness, I just posted that that yesterday and already I have been blasted twice. Here’s the real kicker – I wanted restriction – oh boy do I have restriction. I may be too tight. I have no clue how to determine this. Yesterday I got 2ccs added to my band. That makes for a total of 5cc in a 14cc band. My surgeon said, “If this doesn’t do the trick, the next one definitely will.” Yesterday was horrible. I was hungry – I forgot to eat before I got my fill – actually I forgot that I could not eat for three hours before my fill. I tried to sip water on the way home – it was not going down smoothly at all. I called and left a message at the surgeon’s office. I got home, made some cream of chicken soup, but decided to wait until after I cut the grass to eat it. So I cut the grass, took a show and sat down to savor my soup – WRONG!!!! First of all I stupidly took an orso (sp?) pill (for gall stones). I did not crush it – I bit it into pieces. I also took a pill to keep me from throwing up – but I got that right after surgery so I though it was tiny enough to not have to bite. Well let’s just say that soup was not going down smoothly. AND it tasted like cream of chicken and pill soup. I eventually gave up on that – the lump in my throat should have deterred me sooner, but the growl in my stomach kept egging me on. I tried to lie down and get some rest – or at least fined a comfortable position. That’s when my five year old bundle of joy decided she needed some Mommy time and came to plop down on my stomach. Well I finally got her in a position (off my belly but still cuddle close) that SHE was comfortable with and was able to nod off. My slumber was abruptly interrupted by a horrible burning sensation in my nose and a retched taste coming from my throat. I immediately got up and called my surgeon at home (Yes I said I called him – no between man answering service. Isn’t he wonderful?). My surgeon asked me questions about coughing and saliva. He then told me to try to sip water and if I didn’t feel better tomorrow (now today) to come in and he would take some of my fill out. I then walked around and tried to calm my nerves. I got my bed all comfy like and slipped in the finally get some sleep – WRONG AGAIN… Within 4 minutes I was up and heading to the bathroom. I knew it was coming – I could not fight it so I simply prayed that God would make this as gentle on my stomach as possible. I usually throw up from my toes – but this time was much milder. I got foam, bile, and a few retches but no soup. I think those pills were sitting on top of my stoma opening. Afterwards I felt much better and was able to sleep. Today I am doing better. I have been able to get some water down and I even had black bean bisque for lunch. However, my surgeon’s nurse wants me to go back to clear thin broths for the rest of today and to sleep with an extra pillow so that I get a little assistance from gravity tonight. For once gravity is working in my favor (this does not make up for what it is doing to my breast). Hopefully the worst is over and my band just needed some time to loosen up. If I am not feeling back to normal by tomorrow I will be making that 2.5 hour drive up there and back. There’s no way I am going through this weekend feeling like crap. That’s my soap opera… what’s your’s?