MerryHearted

Way to go Tracy! What an awesome feeling!

Strange! Usually when someone goes from restricted to not overnight, it's a band or tubing leak or something like that. You might want to go in and have your fill level checked if you are still hungry and able to eat a lot tomorrow.

If someone like your friend (obese with health issues) asked me that, I'd be like "How has that worked for YOU?" and "Yeah, tried that, got the t-shirt, still fat." She's probably both worried that something will happen to you -- die in surgery, complications afterwards, that sort of thing AND worried that it might actually work and you'll be slender and healthy while she remains fat. Good for you that you're sticking to your guns -- it's your life and you deserve to be healthy and to make your own choices about your body.

Ouch! Was the blood clot band-related? Your comment that you are sorry you had this done suggests it is... where was the clot and did they have an explanation of how you got it? Rest up -- I'm so glad they caught it in time!!

I don't know when the legs-of-lead stage ends -- hopefully soon! But I'm already able to see an improvement, especially in how much I'm panting for breath after the running portions. :smile2: I'm trying to get motivated -- it's gray and rainy here, with a breeze. Do I want to get wet, or go try my workout on a treadmill instead? Hmmmm

You might also have swelling if you irritated the stomach around the stoma. Stick to liquids for a day or so to see if you return to normal, assuming you can drink enough. Otherwise you really should go in for an unfill. :smile2:

There are bandsters who gain their weight back. Or some of it. And I'm not talking about people who have had to have their band removed due to erosion/slippage/whatever else. Some causes for gaining weight back even while banded: 1) Eating junk food instead of healthy food. 2) liquid & soft calories: make a habit of things like regular venti Frappucinos and Large DQ Blizzards and you'll be gaining in no time. Or that 900 calorie Jamba juice "smoothie". 3) Having your band loosened because of reflux or other issues - now you don't have full restriction anymore 4) Grazing all day instead of eating 3 small meals and a planned snack. 5) Going from regular exercise to no exercise but not cutting calories back to match 6) Emotional eating -- tends to be high-calorie food at non-mealtimes, and unplanned. 7) Drinking with meals, flushing food through the pouch making you able to eat more than you would otherwise. Seriously, a couple years out you may find that you lose motivation; you've lost weight and are feeling much better, so old habits can start to creep in and pretty soon you're 10 lbs up, or 20. Still, if you keep your band adjusted properly you won't gain back weight nearly as fast as without the band. If my doctor were to say something like "everyone gains it back", I would ask for details though, because that's not what the band studies show. How many patients does she have that have the band? How long have they had it? ALL of them gained ALL of their weight back, even with the band still in? How about gastric bypass patients, does she have any of those? etc.

Yes, mine did. They also bring in a PS who specializes in fixing post-WLS patients up for support group once a year to do a slide show & talk about the various procedures, answer questions. So the bulk of the PS info we get is after banding. Since some people might walk away from getting the WLS if they knew in advance they might have saggy skin and need PS, my center was also frank up front that even if you have a bit of loose skin after losing a lot of weight, you are still going to look WAY better than you do as a morbidly obese person (not to mention the health benefits losing the weight). So they cautioned against getting too worked up about potential loose skin. Seriously, I'd rather get to goal and wear support garments and a size larger than normal to account for the loose skin than stay hugely fat and struggle with my co-morbidities. Batwings and saggy abdomen might not be pretty in a swimsuit, but neither is the average 299-lb woman. That's my opinion anyway. I'm sure there are some who feel they are more beautiful with rolls of fat cascading out than a little extra skin. Different strokes. :smile2:

Yay, I finally hit Onederland -- 199 and 100 lbs lost. Name................Current....Goal......Lost...Still to Lose by July 4th Bea1129.............231........200.......0......31(by 7/4) BigBandFan..........296........270.......0......26 Epm316..............235........200.......0......35 (by 7/4) faithmd.............305.5......300.......4.1....5.5(by6/21) Hastings............253........228.......0......25 KarenG..............174........160.......0......14 (by 7/4) kathystrick.........318........288.......0......30 legster.............193........180.......4......13 Leslie2Lose.........226........208.......7......18 (by 7/4) LessNLess...........149........140.......2.......9 Luu2008.............215........185.......0......30 (by 7/4) luvinke.............217........190.......4......23 Marissa's Mom.......388........358.......0......30 (by 7/4) MollyMolly..........199........188.......5......11 nancy52.............197........170.......0......27 Nettie..............193........170.......0......23 Newhope4me..........177........160.......0......17 NukeChik............235........222.......7......13 nurse7263...........244........150.......0......24 (by 7/4) renewedhope.........193........170.......4......23 Sades...............197........185.......0......12 Sunshine2...........179........160.......2......17 (by6/29) Tess415.............327........299.......5......30 TexasFire67.........170........145.......0......25 Wombat712...........135.8......120.......0......15.8 Lenore1890..........267.7......247.......0......20

If you can't find a neti pot at one of the local stores, try going to the nearest drugstore and getting saline nose drops. You can tilt your head back and squirt that stuff right up in there. If it's not super cheap, just buy one bottle and refill it yourself. Another option is to go to the baby aisle and get a "snot sucker" -- it's a bulb with a fairly narrow tip since it needs to fit in baby's nose. Fill that with Water (or salt water) and you can squirt it right up your nose to wash the gunk out. I gargle with apple cider vinegar or regular old listerine to try and kill stuff sitting in my throat when I have a sore throat, although if it's just sore from postnasal drip then there's not much you can do but drink lots of fluids to wash that stuff out. And stay away from milk -- it'll thicken the mucus. Good luck with your pre-op tomorrow!!

I drink right up to before eating, because Fluid just drains right through an empty pouch. Like someone else suggested, the best way to do this is to not have a drink in front of you at your meal. Drinking is automatic otherwise. I'm over 2.5 yrs out and if there's a drink it front of me I still find myself reaching for it. At a restaurant, try put your drink elsewhere on the table, out of reach. And then when I finish eating I make a mental note of the time and when I can drink again.

Ouch! Sorry you had that happen to you. I eat popcorn with no problems. Although I've changed from stuffing whole handfuls in my mouth to eating one kernel at a time. And this is one snack that I drink with because it's so salty. For movies, DH and I try to eat some real food beforehand. Then I'm not tempted as much by popcorn. I do like the low-fat microwave popcorn as an occasional evening treat though!

I'm on antidepressants (an SSRI) and still losing OK. Everyone I know who has taken anti-anxiety meds has gained weight on them, although I don't know if they were actively trying to lose weight and failing at it or just not paying attention and it snuck up on them.

Ouch... I'm so sorry. I hope it turns out to be something else!

We already had a blender, scale & measuring cups for regular use. I don't think the blender is necessary just for post-op if you don't already have & use one. If you really have to have shakes, you can buy them premade in boxes or cans, or use your handheld mixer. We use our little scale a lot. Ours doesn't have a cup. What it does have is the ability to zero out even if something is sitting on it, so you can set any dish on there you want, press a button to zero it out, and then add your food. It's a Salter that we got at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Yep, anytime I irritate my band or eat even one tiny bite more than I should, I get pain there. Mine tends to be a little to the left, in the middle right by the end of the shoulder blade. Ouch! Try to take it easy until the pain subsides. However, it is also possible that it's gall bladder related. Apparently some people feel their pain in their back. For me, gall bladder attacks felt like someone put an Iron band around my torso a couple finger widths under my bra line. I thought I was having a heart attack the first couple times it happened.

Let me guess - your doc primarily does gastric bypass and is treating his band patients with the same diet. :wink2:

I would not lose well on 900 cals per day. That's probably too low, expecially if you are regularly exercising. Try 1200 cals per day and see if you start losing. Also, I agree with the others but don't call it "cheating" as that's a negative term. Once every couple of weeks I have a day where I aim for 1500-1600 calories instead of my usual 1200. I find it pretty easy - a glass of wine for dinner, for example, or regular ranch salad dressing to dip my raw veggies in. I almost always drop an extra pound doing that.

If you are at 2, maybe try 2.75 rather than going too far at once. I'm at 3.5cc right now and at my sweet spot, but as you can see I'm well along in my journey. I did well at 2.75 for awhile, and then at 3ccs. I think I will only need small adjustments after this. Don't worry, you have a ways to go before you should worry. I know a lot of people need between 3-4 ccs in their 4cc band to have perfect restriction. The band can actually hold just a little more than the 4cc if you really need it to.

I usually take around 20-30 min. It's better to not take any longer than that, as stretching out a meal for too long means food falls through the pouch and you can eat more. I guess if I'm just eating only -- no conversing with those around me -- it doesn't take very long to eat. But generally there is conversation at the table, so I'm putting the fork down between bites and talking too.

Jodie, your daughter is SO CUTE!! Congratulations on your beautiful baby.

Name................Current....Goal......Lost...Still to Lose Bea1129.............231........200.......0......31(by 7/4) BigBandFan..........296........270.......0......26 Epm316..............235........200.......0......35 (by 7/4) faithmd.............305.5......300.......4.1....5.5(by6/21) Hastings............253........228.......0......25 KarenG..............174........160.......0......14 (by 7/4) kathystrick.........318........288.......0......30 legster.............193........180.......4......13 Leslie2Lose.........226........208.......7......18 (by 7/4) LessNLess...........149........140.......2.......9 Luu2008.............215........185.......0......30 (by 7/4) luvinke.............217........190.......4......23 Marissa's Mom.......388........358.......0......30 (by 7/4) MollyMolly..........200........188.......4......12 nancy52.............197........170.......0......27 Nettie..............193........170.......0......23 Newhope4me..........177........160.......0......17 NukeChik............237........222.......5......15 nurse7263...........244........150.......0......24 (by 7/4) renewedhope.........193........170.......4......23 Sades...............197........185.......0......12 Sunshine2...........179........160.......2......17 (by6/29) Tess415.............327........299.......5......30 TexasFire67.........170........145.......0......25 Wombat712...........135.8......120.......0......15.8 Lenore1890..........267.7......247.......0......20

Your weight loss probably won't be all that "sudden" -- you'll average 1-2 lbs a week, and depending on how heavy you are, people don't even notice for awhile. Then when they do, you can either choose to tell them about the surgery or not. I don't. Not because it's a big secret but because it's my own business. Nobody has asked me outright if I've had surgery; if they did I'd tell them about it. And nobody morbidly obese has asked me what I'm doing to lose weight, or I'd probably tell them since it's potentially life-changing information. The info about what to eat post-op you should get from your doctor. You don't have to do Protein shakes after surgery unless that's what your doctor directs you to do; cream Soups, broth, milk, juice, and other liquids work fine. When I've irritated my band and need to rest it for a meal or for a day, I like the Kashi Go Lean chocolate shake Mix. I add a cup of milk and a banana for a delicious meal. While it does have 29g of protein (after adding the cup of milk), this also has plenty of carbs and Fiber too, as well as needed Vitamins. Did I mention how yummy it is? Like drinking a chocolate milkshake. I haven't tried the vanilla.

Mostly I donate them since I know plus sizes have been harder to come by in the past in thrift stores or for shelters. I have a couple of more expensive items that I'm considering taking to consigment soon though. A bandster in my area opened a consignment store a couple years ago.

You are so sweet to support your sister. She'll probably appreciate you calling and checking in on her for the first few days. One thing to do is focus on how she's feeling as opposed to how much weight she has lost unless she brings up her weight lost. To have someone ask once in awhile is fine, but someone asking all the time feels like being policed -- and weight loss is not necessarily super-fast with the band, so progress can feel slow even as the pounds add up. Someone else can feel free to contradict me if you disagree... :wink2: You can also offer to be an accountability partner if she ever wants one, and then leave the ball in her court. It's very normal to have times of struggle even after banding, and good to have someone to talk to.