SuzanneG

Georgia, so sorry about your back. I know how frustrating that can be. Here's hoping you'll be up and about soon. Carol, your stuck sounds bad. I think you are doing the right thing postponing your run. I can't imagine how hard that would be after being on liquids. Maybe you could take a walk instead, sort of keep your routine going and get a light workout instead.

I am the biggest baby ever and I can tell you that my fills don't hurt. I was more scared than anything, but like Amy said, they are over in a few seconds and you're done. The barrium that my doc uses doesn't taste bad and consistency is much better than that old stuff. They also had me do a swallow test in the hosptial after my surgery, that barium was less desierable than the one he uses for fills, but still wasn't that bad. The one he uses for fills doesn't really taste or bother me in any way.

Jodi, congrats on reaching your goal! Mine seems to stay just out of reach, but I'm not giving up!

Niterun, you're almost 1/2 way there! Way to go!!

Carol, good luck tonight and with your run tomorrow. Have you taken your measurements? When I started running, I didn't lose either, but I went down a full size! Now, I'm still about the same weight, but my pants are getting lose again. Hard to believe!

I had 90 pounds to lose and I've lost almost 80 of it so far. I can run 3 miles now and I feel fit and happy. I'm in a size 6, so truth be told, if I never lost another pound, I think I could be OK with that. The others have already posted about the pros and cons of each surgery. Choose what you think will work for you. For me, without question, it was the lapband.

GA - good luck today. Back pain is no joke for sure. I hope he can help you.

Mine cleared up 100%. I was so glad. I thought maybe my bladder was falling because I had a hysterectomy when I was in my 20's, but my doc said it was the weight and he was right. I had 90 pounds to lose and I'm almost at 80 pounds lost now. I do have extra skin, but I don't think it's enough for insurance to pay. I'm going to wait another year before I decide if I want to pay for PS.

Meg - A lot of people commented about my face at first as well. I thought the same thing, but now I suspect I must have lost it from there first. Pappy, I'm pretty sure it took close to 40 pounds for me to change sizes and also for folks to notice. I discovered that people always commented when I would get into a new size, even now they notice when I change to a new size, but not until. Congrats on your weight loss!

Kathy - good for you. So glad you weren't seriously injured. You're an inspiration. Carol - way to go! DH runs with me on the weekend. He never works out at all and can still run circles around me. GA - I hope you're back in action this week! I did my test run this weekend and I ran 3 miles. To add the extra .10, I would have had to run on a dangerous road, so I stopped at exactly the 3 mile point. It took me 38 minutes, so even though that isn't fast, I'm happy with it and I didn't stop or even slow my pace at all. I'm hoping to improve my time by Sat. I'm thinking the excitement of the crowd may help me push my speed a little more. Wish me luck!

Donna, who did your surgery?

The gum smacking thing has to be number one on my list. I can not get over how many grown adults chew with their mouth open, food and gum. WTH people? Didn't your mother's teach you better? Even worse, the gum CRACKERS. Pahleeeeze!

Hey Ladies, I am over a year out and still have the problem. I'm 5' 4 1/2", but I'm super short waisted and have this problem a lot. You may think you hate the idea, but trust me, you will grow to love low waisted jeans. On the bright side, my port does not hurt when I exercise, only when I ride in a car for a long time or sit slouched down too much for a long time.

Another favorite of mine is when some says, Can you itch my back? WTH? It's SCRATCH your back because it ITCHES. LOL I love this thread!

I was so nervous for my first fill, I thought I might actually pass out. My fill was done with fluro and I wasn't prepared for the fact that you do it standing up and that really shook me up. They actually put a chair behind me just in case. ha ha Having said that, it was a BREEZE. You can hardly feel the needle, it hurt less than a blood draw or a shot. It's really quick, you walk in, back up to the xray machine, they put a cup of barium in your hand, you may or may not swallow a test drink, then the needle goes in, Fluid in, another drink, if it looks good, the needle comes out and your on your way. If not, he may adjust and have you take another drink. Most of the time, the whole thing takes less than 5 mins! Good luck!

Hi Amy, I had the same problem, still do from time to time. The answer for me was to wear lower waisted jeans. If you are like me, you've probably always worn jeans "at the waist". I thought I could never stand anything that came below my bellybutton, but that darn port turned me into a fan of mid and low rise jeans. Anything that comes to my natural waist will leave me with a sore port area. I'm very short waisted and even stuff like pantyhose can aggravate my port. I now wear even my PJ pants lower on my hips. Kind of funny since I used to tease my daughter about her pants falling off her hips. At first it feels VERY strange, but eventually you grow to love that feeling since it's the most comfortable.

Jason, Welcome to LBT and good for you! I'm sure you will succeed and have your surgery. Working with the doctor and toward the goal of LB should keep you well motivated. Good for you for taking that first big step! Keep us posted on your progress!!

Hey Guys, Thanks for the encouragement and the tips. I bought a new pair of running shoes, wider than my first pair and with more cushion and they seem to be doing well for me. I had a very disappointing run Sat. DH and I went to a school to run on the track (I prefer outside and thought the crushed stone track would be softer on my foot than pavement). After a few laps, he was soaking wet with sweat and I hadn't broke a sweat. I thought that was cool at first, but then by the time we reached 2 miles, I was still dry and my head was pounding and I felt nauseous. DH said my face was red. It was hot out and I was beginnig to feel like something wasn't right, so we decided to walk the last mile. I felt so let down. This Sat I'm going back to DD's neighborhood so I can run her block (1.2 mile per lap). Mentally, I find it way easier, but the pavement is really hard on my foot. I felt like I was breezing through the C25K and then felt like I hit a wall when I started doing straight running. I've resigned myself that I will likely end up walking part of the race on the 9th. I'm hoping maybe the excitment will pull me through, but who knows.

LOL - I posted this exact same thread when I was first banded! Someone explained it to me like this and it made sense. Your body normally has several pounds of stuff in your intestines. When you go on liquids, that stuff gets flushed out. When you go on mushies, it fills back up to normal. This is not an actual weight gain and will have no bearing on your progress. Keep the faith and hang in there. Next stop for you is Bandster Hell. Stick with the suggestions above and that will help with Bandster Hell also.

I just talked to my podiatrist. He basically told me that I'm not going to do any damage to it by running on it. He said to ice it and that it was OK to push through the pain. I asked if I should reconsider running and was I possibly going to cause a new neuroma from running . He said it was possible, but he said : "People don't die from sore feet, but they do die from heart and lung disease". I love that quote! He told me I'm doing way more good by running than any bad I could do to my feet. I feel better now! I'm going to try to push through and get my race on!

Have you considered the sleeve? By-pass is pretty serious stuff. I know 3 people who've had it. One is my mom and she has had intestinal problems ever since. She goes in the hosptial at least twice a year with a kink in her intestines. She is skinny though and had her surgery in 1997. Another nearly died on the table and spent 9 days in ICU, got down to a size 6 and has gained back up to a size 16 so far. The third had no complications. She lost 100 pounds, she probably had close to 200 to lose, and now she's gained about 1/2 that back. I honestly can't tell she ever had the surgery. That's all I know on the subject, but I wish you luck. Holy Cow, I just noticed you only need to lose 26 more pounds?! You should seriously look into the sleeve.

One of my favorites: IRREGARDLESS Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term.

Hi Guys, Well, here I am just a couple of weeks from my 5k and my foot decides to protest. I have a Morton's Neuroma in my left foot and am scheduled to have it removed 5/19. Suddenly the thing has decided that even my roomy, cushy shoes are not enough, it's going to hurt anyway. It pretty much feels like I'm walking around with a bumble bee in my shoe and I get stung with every step. I'm struggling now with what to do. I thought if I iced it and went easy on the treadmill (the road is what caused it to flare up), that maybe I could get back to it. I ran 1.5 miles on Wed night and it was too much, I had to quit. Tonight I'm going to try to walk my property, down a hill, then flat, then up a hill, but on grass. Not sure if I can even do that. :w00t: I'm seriously bummed. I think I'll end up walking the 5k instead of running and how am I going to maintain my endurance and muscle tone from now until the end of June (when I hope to be able to run on it again)? Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Yeah, I kind of think he's on crack too. I made an appoitnment with an endochronologist for May 22. I haven't been to one since I was first diagnosed. Still trying to get a handle on the sugar, but it has been a little better lately.

Whosya, Congrats! I had no idea you were only a year out from your first 5K. You are truly and inspiration!!! Thanks for the pre-race tips. I'm running my first 5k May 9. I'm also having surgery on my foot on May 19th, for a Morton's neuroma. Recovery for walking should be about 2 weeks, but not sure how long it will take to run again. I sure hope it doesn't set me back much. Fri morning I ran with 21 year old DD and she couldn't keep up! She's fit and trim, but in her defense, she had mono about a month ago and is still feeling the effects. I ran again Sat for 3.6 miles! I was running around the block 1.2 miles per lap and only stopped once per lap for a quick sip of water! I feel much better about the race after that. I did have some serious foot pain from the Morton's neuroma, and a mysterious new pain on the other foot, but I'm hanging in there!