Poodles

At my district they had a weekly weigh in and you put in a dollar. The person that lost the most that week got the money. Worked well when a lot of people played...

I cheat to save some money. My favorite tomato basil soup is from La Madelines, but the cheap substitute has the following: 1 large can Cambells tomato soup with milk 1 tsp Basil 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese Tastes great!

I think that I am restricted perfectly now. Acually ate a Healthy Choice salsberry steak and potatoes and it filled me up. I could usually eat two, and some bread... Small bites sure help things go down without pain. (feel like going... duhhhh)

I am moving for a new job. Totally excited about the new house and new job..... but... Now I must sell my house. Had a horrible experience with one realtor so I fired her... then researched and found a wonderful "group" that sells homes quickly. They had a professional stager come into my home and gave me a list of things to do before we put it on the market. Repaint the yellow bathroom... tear down wall paper, texture and paint the secondary bath (tan), cover up my custom painted cement floors (with beige carpet), and finally since "no body likes Grandma's kitchen" I am tearing down the wonderful flowery wall paper and painting it white. Now I have literally painted every room in my home, recarpeted the place, and turned it into a plain subtle lack luster thing.... Sure hope it appeals to the masses.... because it is depressing me...

I have been doing rather well with the Cymbalta. The only side effect I notice is my blood pressure, but it evens out with my blood pressure meds. My mood has been a little better. Can't wait for it to fully kick in. I start my 60 mg dose on Monday. (My doc started me on 30 mg). Thank you for all of the advice and experiences. I hope that it does not cause the same effects as the effexor in the long run...

I found a lovely picture today for my kitchen. It is on a serving tray. It is a captain wearing a "Gordans Fisherman" type hat and suit with pretty sail boats, a full white beard, and sea gulls. I had to have it... 'cause it reminded me of Jack. :love: It has the words Sea Salt Fish and chips on it too... Now it sits in my kitchen window sill watching over my sink full of dishes...

If you were banded a week ago, maybe you should stick to mushies/liquids. Especially if you irritated something...Just a suggestion.

Why do you think small bites work with solid foods while any amount of mushies will go down? It just does not make sense to me...

Regarding restriction: From what I have read everyone is the same. After the swelling you can eat... and will be able to eat until a good fill. So don't panic. After a good fill you will be restricted. Enjoy the mushies while you can. As for the poo issue... there is a yogurt out there called Activia that helps regulate things. I use Super Colon Cleanse powder. Others have mentioned using Milk Of Magnesia (MOM). Prune juice may be a good idea too. Good luck. You will be fine!

I want to preface this with the fact that I am not a hussy. But the following may sound like I am... When I was 17 I found myself in a long term relationship. After 3 years, a failed engagement and break-up, I was tired of trying to please a man. At 20 years old, I had a back injury, had gained TONS of weight and was looking for some fun. So... I put an ad in the local "love wanted" section of a booklet called the Love Connection (Before online dating). The first two words were: Attention Chubby-chasers. I wanted a man that liked me fat and all. And to my surprise, there are alot of chubby chasers out there. So many that I found my self with a Friday night date, Saturday day date, Saturday night date, and a Sunday afternoon date.... and endless letters and phone calls. (Hopelessly devoted to every one. :love: ) After several weeks of this I too ran into the 3 date rule. Most of the men figured if they took me out for 3 dates it was time to have sex on the 4th, and I figured out that if I didn't like the guy... I was not going out past 3 dates. (And again I am not a hussy.) I also figured out to go "dutch treat" so you do not owe him anything... if you know what I mean. Now my DH was my Saturday afternoon date. We wrote back and forth, had long telephone conversations, and then met at a public place for our first date. Now after OUR 3rd date, he called and asked me to marry him. I thought he was joking... but he was serious. We will be married 12 years this month. When you find the right person you know. It is not about sex, not about money, not about anything else in the world. But before you find that right person, it is A-OK to play! Have fun!

There have been several of us "newbies" trying to deal with what we assume is an overfill. We take a bite and it hurts, we PB and then we don't know what to do. But I wonder if we are doing something wrong. Some of us have admitted to eating solids before we were allowed to after our fill (some of us have not), some have blamed the band, and I (as usual) over-react and worry. I assume that if I chew well enough to make it mushie that I can take as big of a bite as I want to. My big scoop of pudding goes down. But when a solid/mushie goes down it can hurt. Tonight I remembered reading that you need to take small bites. So I sat down with some hamburger meat and took very small bites... and it went down without pain. So my 1/2 cup of meat stayed down. After a good fill. When you can tolerate mushies/liquids, and you go on to hard food, what is the ideal way to switch? What is the ideal size of a bandster bite?:hungry: And how do you know if you are truly overfilled or just doing the "band thing" incorrectly? Thanks in advance for the help.

If you "really don't want to be unbanded" why do it? My suggestion is to remove all of your fill for a while and see how you do. If you are ok with that, then leave it in. You may find in a year or so you are ready to try again with a fill.... Good luck.

Marie: If you look at most peoples signatures they have their fill dates and levels. For me my second fill went up to 1.6, then he took it down .4 ccs after I threw up in his office. I highly recommend the 30 minute wait. You will know within the first few sips if you are too tight. As for me today has been better. I can eat solids as long as I take small bites. Think I will be ok... but not planning on another fill for a while. Good luck.

For me an unfill is painful because of the money issue. Sweet hubby has been very supportive, but man are we broke (buying/selling house/band). I know that it is not the ideal situation, but if I can adjust like Jack suggested, then that would be the way to go until my next appointment (after next paycheck on the 28th.) I think I am just swollen from being an idiot (ate solids too soon after fill) so I am trying to see if my swelling will go down on liquids for a few days. If I am still having issues on Monday, I will try to get in for an unfill before I go back to work on the 18th. As for the others, I don't know why they do not want an unfill.

My husband very gently reminded me that the purpose of the band is to restrict what we eat... no matter what time of day it is. I told him I understood that, but that with one bite it creates pain in the am. Luckily he says that he will pay for whatever shake I need for breakfast. (I think he likes me.) Today I have had only liquids/mushies. Little bit of pain with Beans, so I blended them up. Glad I am not the only one with this issue. Nice to be "normal".

Adapt with all the strength and willpower you possess... A message I have on my fridge. Sure is hard to adapt when you don't know what this stupid things is going to do from one day to another. Today I have only been able to keep down mushies/liquids. Have had issues with anything remotely solid. I think I am going to stay on liquids only for a few days and see if I am swollen. Daily PB's are not a good thing...

I am taking a liquid multi from Vitamin Shoppe. Kind of weird/funky tasteing but works well. I take it in the morning. The b vitamins give me energy.

Me Three! I am very tight in the am and then loose at night.... until today. I have not been able to keep anything but liquids down. I think everyone is going to say we need an unfill. Or we could just live with it. But I don't know if being overfilled can cause long term issues. Sucks not being able to eat anything...

I have been on Effexor for 6 months, and it caused problems in the bedroom... I need to be on something for terrible PMS... I cry uncontrollably for two days straight unless I am on something.

Ok, so I asked for it. I am tight. WAY too tight in the AM, and then I don't know when to try to eat. Just had a horrible PBing episode after trying to eat lunch (refried Beans at 1 o'clock). And drinking coffee now to try and soothe the sore tummy. But in a few more hours I will be WIDE open!!!! CRAZY!!!! How do you cope with morning tightness and then not overdoing it at night? I get so hungry when I finally open up! Can you lose weight doing mushies/liquids in the AM and normal at night?

My doc told me to open the capsule and mix it with yogurt or pudding to take it.

I'm an aquarium...(ditsy blonde joke). Born Feb 3rd.

Don't swallow air silly people and you won't fart so often. With the band it has no where to go but up if your lucky, and out if you are not. And since we are all perfect little angels eating our veggies, we must acknowledge that they will create a little bit of gas. That is why we have Bean-o. It is not entirely the bands fault. We do it to ourselves. Besides a "normal" person passes some form of gass 9 times a day on average. Poot Poot...If the air gets past the band it will come out one way or the other... At least we don't have to wear carbon filters in our underwear like RNY patients.

It is probably your port. The nurse could have been wrong. As long as your port scar is healing without any redness/puss, I would not worry. You can call and check with the doctors office tomorrow if you have any concerns. If you have fever/redness/puss/ call now.

I wish they did. Kinda similar but not 100% match. Anyone try pork rinds with the band?? I can eat chips with no problems, but want to stay low carb. Scared to try pork rinds. Any experiences?