sleepyjean

You guys didn't like it? Did you get the real stuff or the generic? Mine was generic and it tasted like fruit punch. It was actually quite tasty.

Just got this in my email from amazon.com: <b>Save $40 on the Tanita BC533 or BC554 Body Fat scale Save $40.00 instantly on every Tanita BC533 or BC554 Body Fat Scale you purchase offered by Amazon.com. Enter code <u>TANITARB</u> at checkout.</b> Tanita makes some of the best and most consistent scales, but they're expensive. (At least for my pocketbook! I paid $60 for mine four years ago.) They have lots of neat features like weight, body composition, muscle mass, Water content, and you can save different settings for different people in your family, etc, etc. The weight goes up to 330lbs. The ones they're selling provide more info than I ever want to know, but those of you who like to track everything might like it. So if anyone is planning to buy a new scale any time soon, this might be of interest. Just go to amazon and search on Tanita BC533 and/or Tanita BC554

I agree with the advice here - ask your doc. I was able to shower the next day, but I didn't have stitches or bandages, so it might've been different for me. Someone here told me to use an antibacterial body wash. I don't know if it makes a difference, but it never hurts to be careful!

If I cCOULD have done it without the band, I WOULD have. But I decided that I'd struggled for over a decade and that was long enough. We've all been able to lose weight - most of us many many times. We all know how to do it. But the band gives us a fighting chance of keeping it off. For most of us, this is a last resort. Your family still seems to think this is the "easy" way out.

I think there's a forum somewhere on here for people who had it removed. I haven't been there, so I'm not sure though.

I used Lortab - thank God! Without it, I wouldn't have slept for an entire week after surgery. I paid $20 for the generic version, Hydrocodone /APAP.

Is it me, or did the author just write an article about something we all know already? Drs are already trained to look at your medical history and risk factors. Is the guy saying that from now on, doctors will look at all of these things together? Because if they're not doing that already, I'd sure as heck like to know why.

It's like spending your whole life training for the Olympics and then winning the bronze medal. It means you're 3rd best in the entire world, which is nothing to sneeze at. But it's only natural to want the gold and be a little disappointed when you don't get it. We all eventually get over it though. Hopefully.

I've never heard the no-seeds rule. What's the reason for it? (for us or for the GBers?)

Congrats Linda. My birthday is on the 12th. September girls woohoo!

Oh, that makes sense. Thanks!

Marci, I'm just curious - what does the third number mean in your signature? (The one in red.) I understand highest/current/lowest. Is 225 an intermediate goal?

That's the first time I've ever heard that theory. Where'd you find it? Before I got banded, I asked my doc and one of the nurses if any of their bandsters had experienced hair loss and they both looked at me like I was crazy. Hopefully I won't be their first case of it!

I've had one fill and that was only 1cc. I think one of the benefits of flourscopy (and an experience surgeon) is that I had good restriction from the word go. I'm sure some of it was luck, but you know what? I'll take it!

This sounds very unusual. You couldn't eat much of anything but you *gained* weight? It sounds like there's definitely something else going on. Have you seen your doctor? Maybe there's something up with your hormone balance or your thyroid.

Other than fruits and veggies, I mean. I'm working on increasing my intake of those things, but it's going to take a while to get up to five a day. In the meantime, where do I get Fiber? The colon blow discussion got me thinking about this whole thing. I looked into psyllium and flax seed, but psyllium has tons of warnings about choking hazards because it expands in your belly. That seems doubly dangerous for a bandster. Flax seed seems less dangerous, but at 100 calories per tablespoon, I'll pass. (the reccomendation is 2 tbs a day) I'm having a hard time with this. I've tried benefiber, but I don't really eat the kinds of foods it can be mixed into. (cereal, cottage cheese, chicken, fruit, lean cuisines mostly). I guess I could *try* mixing it into my Water, but when I was on liquids, I mixed it into a Protein shake and YUCK. Tasteless? I think not. 1 spoonful in an 8oz shake and the texture alone grossed me out. I bought some chewable fiber tablets at a health food store, but they are enormous, chalky, and I'd have to eat 5 or 6 of them a day to get my 25 grams in. I'm out of ideas and this is getting expensive! Help!

How close to goal are you?

Wow, that would not have worked for me. I had a hard time just lying on my stomach to sleep for the first two weeks, nevermind someone pushing on my back! I think I would've been really touchy about people touching me during that period. I tried to move as little as possible. I probably would've waited a month before getting a massage.

Politely butting in - in my opinion, the secret is BOTH in equal measure. The band alone will not do the job for you. Otherwise, we wouldn't know of so many ways to "cheat" the band.

Flouroscopy is for more than locating the port. It allows the doctor to see how much restriction you have rather than guesstimating. The doctor has you drink something that outlines your esophagus and stomach. The he has you take a big swallow of some other stuff and he watches it to see how quickly it flows from the pouch into the lower stomach. At that point, he can then determine how much of an adjustment you need. He'll add more saline, or take some out, then you swallow some more of the stuff and he watches it go down into your stomach again. I don't have any scientific facts to back myself up, but I believe flouroscopy allows the doctor to give you a much more precise level of fill and may explain why some people have to get more fills than others. Besides that, it's just plain cool to watch the band do it's job. Is flouroscopy necessary? No. But I much prefer it. I wouldn't be comfortable getting a fill without it.

I went through this entire process all by myself and I was fine. I think what's going on here, is he *wants* to help. He knows you're going to be in pain and I'm sure he wants to feel needed. No one wants to feel helpless or useless while a loved one is suffering. So even if you don't technically need him to care for you, why not think of a few things he can do to be involved? Tell him you'll need help getting up and sitting down. Ask him to help you find a good protein powder and a variety of liquids you can take in during those first couple of weeks. Tell him you're supposed to walk as much as you can and you'll need his help.include him.

Please, please, please stop doing that The last thing anyone who is trying to lose weight needs is someone continually asking them if they've lost or how much they've lost. Even if it's coming from a good place, it can't make her feel good. In fact it puts a lot of pressure on her that she doesn't need right now. It sounds like she is perfectly healthy, so unless that changes, you just have to step back and let her do this herself. Even though it makes you feel sad and helpless and you want to do something to help her, there really is nothing you *can* do but offer her your support and be there if or when she asks for help.

Why? Are you having health issues?

Call me a cynic, but I don't get how taking a massive dump will make you lose weight. What does that have to do with burning fat and calories? And if you have the type of body that tends to build up a lot of stuff in your colon, won't it just start building up again? Or would you have to take this laxative on a regular basis? I think it might give you a boost mentally, but as a weight loss technique, it seems kind of fad-ish to me.

Am I the only one who didn't have stitches?