SuzanneG

Thinner, I see no reason for you to be an ass to Erin. She's very young and having some complications. It's only natural that she would be concerned. I've been too tight and I can tell you its a scary thing, even for someone who has been banded for a year and a half. My mom always says "If you can't say something nice to someone, don't say anything at all."

Did you say you were denied? What were the reasons? Have you considered an appeal? I had to appeal my insurance, I wrote two letters from me, and then went to each of my doctors, GYN, GP, podiatrist, gastrointerologist, etc. and asked for letters of support. I assembled them together and sent the package to my bariatric surgeon and they filed the appeal for me. I'd be happy to share my letters if you would like to see them as a template. If you want them, just PM me your email address and I'll send them to you. Doesn't cost anything to try. Keep us posted.

Erin, Are you getting in enough liquids? Lots of those symptoms can be from dehydration. It might help you to feel a little better if you make sure you are hydrated. I was swollen so bad a few weeks ago that I couldn't even swallow Water. I was able to take in broth and the hotter the broth, the better it went down. I pretty much lived on broth and hot decaf tea until I could see my doc. Also you can take some liquid children's ibuprophen that will help to reduce the swelling. Keep us posted on how you are feeling.

Erin, So sorry to hear that you are having a tough time. Like Patricia, I've only really heard of this with by-pass. I believe the stretching is done similar to a endoscopy. I hope they can help you to find some relief. Keep us posted.

Have you tried some of the compression garments?

BBK, So sorry this is happening to you, but like the others have said, you have gotten some really good advice here. Keep us posted on what's going on. Did you decide to talk to DH? I agree with the others, best to keep things on the up and up between you and him. Stay safe and let us know how it's going.

Kristen - thanks and good for you on the trail! Carol - do you have a treadmill for foul weather days? It'll be getting cold soon and you'll be needing some way to deal with that. Well, my runs are going well, but my knee on the injured foot side is starting to bother me. I'm concerned about it. I can't decide if I should run slower maybe or skip an extra day....

Thanks Kathy! The run went well last night. I'm hopeful that I could be on the mend!

My mom had gastric bypass and she's been a mess ever since. Her intestines now have adhesions in them (since they cut and reroute your intestines) and stuff gets stuck in them. She usually ends up in the hospital with it about once ever 6 months. The rest of the time she deals with it on her own. Because of that, every day of her life she's either throwing up or diarrhea. Her quality of life is now what it should be. I know a couple other people who've had it and each of them have gained their weight back. For me, having my stomach cut and my intestines removed seemed way more invasive than a "forien object" in my body. My sister commented on that too, but no one ever questions when someone needs a pacemaker, or if you break your leg and need pins to put it back together, or many other situations where there is a forien object in our bodies. Anyway, that's just me. They both have their pluses and minuses, you just have to figure out what will work best for you. Best of luck to you!

Hey Guys! So I'm RUNNING! I had to slowly increase my minutes, per doctor's orders, but by Friday I was able to do week 3 of the C25K!! I hate it that I slipped that far back, but my surgery was in May and I hadn't run since. I'm feeling a little pain in my knee on the side of my injured foot, I hope that doesn't mean my gait is too compromised. I'm runinng on treadmill only to provide maximum cushioning and stability, but I'm doing it. I'm going to do week 3 this entire week probably and then progress from there if the foot allows it. I'm having some nerve pain, but not a lot, so keep your fingers crossed for me! I had originaly committed to run a 5k on Oct 3 for autism, but not sure if I'll be ready for it. That only gives me a month to train and I'm only on week 3. It's also on a nascar track and I'm worried about the slant bothering my knees and feet. Carol - About the stretching. I work with a lady who used to be a personal trainer and she said the same thing as Kristen. She said you actually shouldn't stretch before you run because you can cause yourself to have an injury if your muscles are too stretched before you run. She said warm up for 5 min before you run and stretch after. I'm so happy to be back! I missed this!

No problem, just PM me your email address and I'll shoot them right out to you.

It is indeed Twoterville. Congrats!

You can find podcasts at Couch to 5k - C25K Running Program. I used Robert Ullrey's Podcasts. The music is not that great, but I liked the way he tells you what you need to do. By the time I got to straight running, I used my own music.

Congrats! You look amazing and what an active lifestyle. I'm envious, in a good way!

I lost 11 pounds in 10 days and that included Christmas dinner (just my luck that my preop covered Chrismtas and New Years - ha ha). My doc said to have that one meal and to eat what I wanted within reason.

My pre-op was 10 days of 2 protien shakes a day and 1 lean/green meal. I used unflavored

I have the Wii Fit, but must confess I haven't used it much. I think for me, if I couldn't run, I'd try to swim. That is the least demanding on your body of all exerices.

Hey Guys, Kathy, sorry about the torch run, but glad you aren't letting it get you down too much. So, I saw my doc on Friday. He told me to go ahead and run on my foot! He said no point in babying it any further. He thinks running on it will either break down the scar tissue and fix the problem or make it worse and he'll have to operate again. He said either way, time to push it and see which direction my foot wants to go in. He made me promise to start very small so as not to damage any joints since my gate is probably compromised. He said 7 mins, then 10, etc, with a rest every other day. So I did 5 min warmup and 7 min walk/run alternating (like week 2 of C25K) and then 5 min cooldown and went 1 mile. It wasn't much but made me so happy! I feel more like myself again. Not sure what's going to happen with the foot, but I'm going to run again and see where it takes me!

DW - Congratulations! I don't know why they make us jump through hoops like that, but very happy that it worked out for you!

I think after 6 weeks you are supposed to be able to do all normal activities. Check out the Couch to 5K, it's a great program! There is a thread about it in the fitness section.

So sorry about your experience. Maybe you could try having the Fluid removed first and see if things settle down and how you feel with the band not offering restriction. As for the doctor, mine is in Richmond. Still a haul for you, but not as bad as Nevada. I dearly LOVE him and St. Mary's hospital (where his office is and where he operates) is fantastic. It might be worth giving him a call. Dr. Brengman, Richmond Surgical Group, 804-285-4133. Also, mumof2boys, had her surgery at GW. She LOVED her doc. His name is, Dr. Fred Brody, GW Hospital Washington DC. I got that from her signature line, so I don't have a number, but your insurance could look it up. Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do.

For me, nothing worked better than RUNNING! I had no idea it works your abs, but my stomach went down considerably when I was doing the Couch to 5K program. Gotta have the cardio.

RL, Everybody slips from time to time. What's important is that you recognize what you did and have already taken the necessary steps to getting things back in order. Sounds like you are back on track, so don't beat yourself up about it. Next time, hopefully you'll be stronger. Def try not to eat alone, especially at night, it's so much easier to overindulge. If you had family or friends watching, you probably would have stopped at 1 or 2 slices. Keep up the good work, this is a marathon, not a sprint, so you just have to pace yourself and keep on keeping on!

Nickie, So sorry to hear about the weight gain. Good for you for taking action to correct it! If you did it once you can surely do it again! What do you think went wrong? Did you maintain for a while and then start eating slider foods or your band got lose and you didn't get a fill? Welcome back and congrats for making the deicison to use your band to get back where you want to be!

Erin, You need more carbs in your diet, but good carbs. What stage are you in? Are you still liquid, mushies, or have you progressed to full diet? Try adding some sweet potatoes, peas, maybe some whole wheat Pasta, oatmeal, etc. NO WHITE CARBS, but whole wheat anything is OK. I think you'll see if you make these changes that your bad breath will go away.