coolcrystal

Take pics of the rashes and date them too. That will help you build your insurance case. A&D Ointment helps a lot too!! it was the only stuff that helped clear my sister's up. Good luck sweetie!! :wink2:

Is eating just one bite of banana exactly healthy? it sounds like you are too tight. You should at least be able to get your nutrients in. Nobody can survive on just one bite of something for each meal and you are rejoicing about not being able to eat "anything". That's almost like being anorexic. I hope you are drinking Protein shakes or something else for calories and protein. :wink2: Eventually your body will go into starvation mode and you won't lose anything. Your signature says you are on your way to "healthyville" but that's just not very healthy. I'm not trying to be rude or tell you how to live, but I saw my dear friend Dawn get the band and become anorexic. One time she didn't eat for 4 days and passed out. Then became bulemic and slipped her band. Please be careful. Just worried.

We waited 3-4 weeks and we did it from behind. lol. not to be too graphic but i didn't want him laying on my belly. After 5 weeks it was fine though any way we did it.

I got my third fill on 4/29 and I finally feel some great restriction, knock on wood. I never know how long it will last for. I have 6.6cc in a 10cc band. I didn't think my doc would be as aggressive as he was, but he insisted I get a fill every 3-4 weeks. The first fill they gave me 2cc.. great restriction, but it only lasted one week. Then the last two were 1cc each. The second one didn't do anything for me and finally after this last one I feel something. I actually had a sliming incident this morning. It was weird. I normally eat a can of tuna for breakfast, but when I ate two bites this morning, forgetting I had that restriction I took too big of a bite and then I got that stuck feeling, and then the watered mouth.. and then I felt like I was gonna vommit, but didn't. I made sure not to drink as I hear that makes it worse and then it passed. Before I never really had to chew chew chew and take small bites, but now I do. SO, it's cool to see the band finally working for me. I took my dinner super slow.. chew, chew, chewed and just ate maybe a cup or less. I still feel full. I hope this lasts for 4 more weeks as thats how long I have to wait since one of the folks from the fill center quit so all the appnts are backed up 5 weeks! :party:

What I hate more than fat chicks being made fun of in movies is skinny chicks being told they are fat in movies. For instance, the girl in Devil Wears Prada. She was a size 8 but everybody kept telling her she was fat and needed to lose weight. By the end of the movie she could fit into a 4 or a 6 or whatever and suddenly she was accepted. Give me a fricking break! yeah, love the message that was sent to all the little girls out there. I loved Bridget Jones Diary, but if you read the book she was considered "plump"... sorry, she wasn't fat in that movie. She was just a normal sized person.. maybe what 145? if that! Or that one lotion commercial to "get rid of fat dimples". At the end a girl who is roughly 115 pounds jumps in the air with this little patch on her leg that elliminates cellulite.. WTF??! she had no cellulite. Why not get a chubby girl who has a little. To me, these things tell young girls that if you are a size 8 then you are too fat or a size 10. Hell, a plus sized model is usually a 10 or 12.. WHAT?! Again, this gets the wrong point across. When I was between the weight of 200-250 I was my most comfortable. Guys hit on me all the time.. I was super confident... I got my husband.... I flirted all the time... I had MUChO confidence. I got more picked on when I was 125 than I ever did at being plus sized. It wasn't until I started having major pain that I hated being fat. The back pain. Arthritis, etc. But, I could get to 200 right now and be very happy with that.

I know I've mentioned this before, but is anybody else annoyed with David Archuletta's deep intakes of breath right before each sentence? It drives me nuts! his voice is great, but everytime he sucks in for air it makes this weird sound and distracts me. I wish one of the judges would just call him on it one time. None of the other singers do it!

My doctor didn't put one in me. He said he normally doesn't. I think the only time they have to do that is if you can't pee after the surgery. At least that's what he told me.

I didn't realize people actually get the numbing shot first. I've never had it and it has never hurt to get the fills. Actually, don't feel any pain at all. She told me it hurts more to get the numbing shot so I never got it. I got my third fill yesterday and finally I feel some restriction since the first fill. The second fill did NOTHING for me. I felt hungrier! I just had 4 bites of my tuna and feel completely satisfied. I hope this will last for a few weeks!

I get a small chili from Wendy's (200 cals/17 gr of protein) and sometimes a small chocolate frosty (170 cals/4 gr of protein). Also, Chic-Fil-A's children's 6 count chicken nuggets. They are baked and with a sauce go down very nicely. (200 cals/20 gr of protein). When in a pinch I eat these items.. they are quite yummy! Crystal

Don't panic at all. What you are going through is all normal. I didnt' lose anything for 3 weeks a week after I got banded. Just don't give up and start eating crap food during that time. My weight loss is weird. I wont' lose anything for a week and then I'll lose 4 pounds the next week. But, when you get on solid foods you will stall big time. You might even gain some weight.. like 3-5 pounds or even more. This is totally normal. Some people even eat too few calories and this will stall you out too. When I didn't lose anything for three weeks I ate something bad.. a few chips and an enchilada and I lost 3 pounds within the next two days. It jolted my system back into weight loss mode. Then I started eating healthy again. But again, you guys just got banded this month... the weight loss right now doesn't really mean much, especially if you lost it on a liquid diet. I say all of this, but I freaked out too, so I've been where you all are. Trust me, it gets better and you will start to see the weight drop.

I know how you feel. My second fill did NOTHING for me. Matter of fact, I was more hungry after that fill, but supposively they put 1cc in. They were like, "eat liquids for a day and pure'd for a day", but I had no restriction whatsoever and was starving. It is odd that they used fluro and you didn't get much restriction. It looks like you are pretty far into the banding that you should have good restriction by now.. and your numbers are pretty high there.. so it's probably just some fluke.

Thanks! it was a total blast! I'll attempt to post a pic of me and my hubby on the cruise! (if i can remember how to do it. LOL). But, yeah, I feel great. I got rather spoiled with thier nice fitness center and sauna! we go to the city fitness center with crappy equipment that's rusted and old.. and to have that nice stuff for a week was fantastic. LOL. We might have to join a 24 hour fitness now. One is in the cigar room on the ship. he smoked a real cuban cigar, so he was excited. and the second is in grand cayman islands. you can see our ship in the background.

Yes, I'd do it again. Though getting those fills becomes like a crack addiction... Everytime I go in I'm like, "i need more fill.. come on man.. I need more".. But, I haven't had any discomfort.. no pb'ing... no sliming... it's been great. When I have restriction its even better, but I'm only like 2 months out. I know it will get better in time. The only thing I don't like is the scarring on my belly. Now, I've seen friends a year out and you can barely tell, but mine are still red and I hate looking at them. But, it's a small price to pay for how I feel right now. Even with the weight I've lost already I feel 100% better. Good luck.

Yes, my work does a thing each year for this organization. We set up bins around the company and people bring thier business clothes for them. Great corporation. I donated all my skinnier business clothes last time. Next time I'll get rid of all my bigger ones.

Man, I hope the fill I get today is decent. The last one sucked so bad. i actually felt HUNGRIER when I left! I'm just going to beg her to give me more than last time.

That's a good question. Coffee fills me up too!! I normally don't drink coffee, but the other day I had a glass and then couldn't eat my food afterwards. And I dont' even hardly have any restriction! It just fills me up for some reason.

My hubby helped me in and out of bed for the first three days. I didn't have any problems. I did hold a pillow against my stomach and chest for the first week. I slept on the side that was less painful or on my back and just kept that pillow there. I slept like a baby!

I went on a 7 day cruise to Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel!! WOOHOOO.. sadly, I gained a few pounds (3). Even with working out every day on the ship, and eating the sugar free Desserts and totally limiting myself, I still gained. My other friends gained 8-14 pounds each, so I actually was on the low end scale. I'm guessing it was from the pina colada's and banana daquiries I drank! lol. but, what the hell. I only do this once a year. I get my fill tomorrow and everything will be right on track again! I use to gain 8 pounds on the 5 day cruises I took. I actually think this is a small victory for me.. and the fact that I worked out every day in the fitness center. I'm still proud of myself! I also was not restricted when I left... another victory!!

My dog brittany once got into this huge folgers can of bacon grease I had been collecting for like 2 months. I had pitched it in the garbage and didn't close door all the way. She ate the entire can! when I came home there were logs of grease she had puked up all over my shoes, on my bed, in the hall. I called my vet and he told me that she would pooh yellow grease for a few days and have high cholesterol. sure enough, she poohed the most grossest stuff I've ever seen! she also once ate an entire bag of hershey kisses. since milk chocolate isn't what kills dogs (coco is), my doc said she'd be fine... she poohed up tin foil for a few days.... I can't believe that dog lived to be so dang old. LOL.

I'm not sure what a mid band is, but so far the two fills I've had were super easy. They found it in one stick. But, my belly is 14 inches smaller than my rear end, so I don't have much fat to go through to get to the port. My friend "D" that got banded a week after me had major problems with her first fill. They stuck her several times and then had to get her a fluro done because they just couldn't find the port because her belly was just too big. My fill center has a 2-stick max. If they can't get it on the second stick they do a fluro or find somebody else who can do it. Good luck.

That's funny.. I'm going on a cruise here soon and I want a fill before I leave so I won't want to eat everything. LOL. But I can't get an appnt until I return.. :-( My doctor says he doesn't do unfills for cruises and vacations, so you might want to check and see if your doctor does. Who knows, by May it might be more lose and you won't need an unfill.

My husband started the south beach diet with me and has lost 32 pounds ... did you know that for every 30 pounds a man loses he gains an inch of penis?? it's true.. so that means since "neveragain" has lost 80.. well, you do the math.. HA HA. anyway, since both me and my hubby have dropped weight it's like I'm married to some other man now. :thumbup: I guess I should say "that is all" too.. so that is all.

I think we all go through this... I have no restriction right now and I had gotten down to 265 on sunday and then the next day I was back up to 267. In one day I gained 2 pounds.. it's so weird.. I feel like one of those graph machines... when I get down to 263 I'll jet back up to 265 and do that for a while too. It's most likely just that we need a fill. But, when I look at my chart, I'm steadily losing weight every week. Even if only a pound, I'm always at least losing a pound. Good luck. It will happen!

I think a 14 is a great size. Wasn't Marilyn Monroe a 14? I don't think any doctor will band you at that weight and especially with your disorder. have you tried diets like WW and South Beach? Good luck to ya!

You know, I went to see Bon Jovi last night (don't ask me why, free tickets. LOL) and when I got there I found out that Daughtry was opening up for them. He did really well, but when he did this one song it sounded like a NIN song. I wonder if perhaps thats whose sueing him. But, either way, it was cool to see him in concert!