Wheetsin

I don't have any food intolerances. I can eat anything in a band-moderated portion, some foods require more care than others. I'm really bad about spatial relationships, including estimating volumes, but I would estimate 1/2 - 3/4 cup (when I have all my fill, I'm slightly unfilled now) is all I can eat before I'm full. I've PBed one time on Pasta, and it came out of my nose. That was not a good experience.

Name: Wheetsin How far along: 18 weeks tomorrow Due Date: 10/26 Boy/Girl/Surprise: Will find out Friday Rants: I don't feel pregnant. Raves: I don't feel pregnant. Anything else:

During my first trimester I lost weight. I really don't remember now how much - maybe I posted it on another thread. I would guess 15 - 20 lbs. No morning sickness, I just didn't have any appetite. Well, let me rephrase that. I haven't had any appetite to speak of since 3 days post-op (nearly 2.5 years ago), but I really just didn't want to eat - even more so. Since the end of my first trimester I have gone up about 6 lbs. Part, if not all of that is Fluid - I've started getting cankles if I sit for longer than about 2 hours. But regardless, I'm still at least 10 pounds less than when I conceived. This is such a big head game. I am trying to remain very aware of my weight gain and monitor it closely. About 3 weeks ago I had an unfill because literally overnight I went from fine to too tight, after over a year of being fine. I suspect the pregnancy played the starring role in that. This has really impacted what I can eat, so I have to be extra diligent and ensure that I'm balancing "can" with "should" and "need to." People ask me, "Are you showing yet?" and all I can do is tell them, "I don't know." "Are you gaining weight yet?" "A little..." I've lost in the neighborhood of 180 lbs, and still need to lose about 40. There's more flabby skin and droopy pannus on me than most people will ever even think possible. But lately I feel like my stomach is larger. My profile doesn't seem as "almost flat" as it used to. And I know my uterus is larger, because I can clearly feel it.

Holy crap you're on the ball. We'll find out gender Friday, and I haven't even started to entertain ideas about names. Congrats on the girl, unless you were really really only wanting a boy.

That's the purpose of the port - to be punctured by a needle. So the reasoning they're giving you doesn't even make sense. Fills without fluoroscopic aid aren't like someone closing their eyes and trying to blindly pin the tail on the donkey. The person doing the fill should first locate the port and then palpitate to ensure they're centered over it before inserting the needle.

There's no reason to skip the test because you're banded. When I did the medical history at my OB's, one of the questions was, "Have you had bariatric surgery?" I asked yes, they didn't ask for more info, and the assumption was made that I had gastric bypass. So when I went in for my first appointment, they had all kinds of information on proper nutrition to show me, and a little assessment to use for the glucose test to help avoid dumping. I had to explain to them, very slowly, that I don't dump, and that unless I'm so restricted I can't drink it, there's nothing about my band that would impede drinking the glucose or cause any after effects. I'm about 18 wks and have no doubt that I will take the glucose test because there's no reason not to. If I personally were in your situation, I would ask them to validate their suggestion a little. There's all the possibility in the world that they're confused over what happens with the band, what's going on internally, etc.

I really wouldn't make it into a dollars per pound type of equation, because that overlooks some very important variables like sustained loss. I would (and did) look at questions like: Can I do this on my own? Can I maintain the loss? (I never had a problem losing, but I was perpetually gaining, or losing... never had maintenance longer than a handful of months) Am I confident a gastric band will give me the help I need? Is X cost worth X degree of assurance that I will finally be able to keep the weight off? etc.

Yes, it's normal. You've probably entered ketosis, which is kicked-off by a sudden and sometimes very substantial loss of body fluids. In the first two week of ketosis, you can figure that about 20% of the weight you lose is fat, while the rest is fluid.

Keep in mind that the card, especially one you're printing freely off the internet, does not guarantee you receive a discount or obligate a restaurant to give you a reduced price. I received one in my post-op packet, 2.5 years ago and I haven't used it once but I'm fairly sure it was branded Lap-Band, so if it's something you're going to try and use to get a discount, perhaps check with your surgeon. It's entirely at a restaurant's discretion whether or not to accept a "please give me a discount" card. Why would a billboard across the street piss you off? *They* don't own the billboard, someone else does, probably an individual. To the flipside of your anger, I've never met an obese person who would walk into a restaurant and say, "I'm going to eat more than Joe Normal, so let me pay you more money" - so try not to see it as now that you're eating less, you're suddenly owed the opportunity to pay less. Helps avoid things like getting pissed off over things like someone not giving you a reduced price. :sad:

Funny I should rediscover this thread now, because I saw something the other day that reminded me of it. On the rare occasion that I watch TV, I like to watch gratuitous TV. I'm watching it to get away from the things that make me think. So the other day I'm Trading Spouses... Anyway, there was what I would consider a fairly fanatic christian woman on the show. She was a self-proclaimed GOD WARRIOR, whatever that means. She was actually REALLY obese, super morbidly and then some, and wanting to have gastric bypass surgery. Beside the point, but I do remember that detail. The family she stayed with was more new age - big into astrology, alternative medicine, but in their own right just as spiritual as she was. She refused to do anything with them, but wanted them to go to church with her. (long story omitted) I just found the video of her when she returned home, completely flipping out. Watch this and tell me there's not fear there: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCh2FXzD6R4]YouTube - Trading Spouses - Crazy Lady - "I'm a God warrior"[/ame]

It really doesn't sound like jealousy much to me. When you have disposable income, there's always a choice involved in what to do with it. Having the money for surgery, and options to do something like pay off a house, doesn't seem like a situation to me that would engender jealousy. What it does sound like to me is concern, though I'm not sure that's the right word, and or disdain for your choice to go to Mexico. I would guess she's fine with you having WLS, but is now thinking differently of you because of your choice of location. Mention Mexico and what's the first thing people think - Ugh, I wouldn't drink the Water there, let alone be cut open. It's almost like a WLS caste system, with "Mexico patients" being the second or third class citizens over those who were banded in the states or even abroad, other than Mexico. (I was banded in the US, so this isn't me trying to validate MX surgeries).

I do agree with this, much in the same way that anyone who says, "I only see one color" when referring to people is lying. Unless you're blind, you're going to see that my skin is a different color than his, or hers, or theirs. It's the impact you let that difference have to you that matters, more so than whether or not the physical difference in color is there, no?

To me BBW is either 1) a term used to indicate physical size in description, no different from describing any other physical term such as TDH (tall dark handsome), but usually geared toward obese women who want to find a man who appreciates their obesity, vice versa or 2)a term used by obese women to lessen the psychological blow of their obesity and the impact it can have on their romantic lives. Kind of like the women who are "proud" to be obese -- give me a break. To me, seeing "I love BBW" is no different than seeing "I love blondes." Both are phsycial characteristics that someone may be attracted to or turned off by. I don't really get this rant, which is ok, but "BBW" services, especially when you're talking about dating services, are for people who find obese people attractive, not the other way around. It's intended to draw a very particular audience, and if dating someone who is not part of that audience is your goal, then you just avoid it right? Otherwise, it's what they collectively call themselves, not something someone called you, or did you take it being on the site you viewed as being personally directed at you? So it's ok for someone to comment on your physical characteristic of being beautiful, but it's not ok for someone to comment on your physical characteristic of being fat? To people who endear the term "BBW" the two are synonymous, not mutually exclusive. "Tell me I'm beautiful, but don't mention that I'm fat" doesn't make much sense to me.

They joy comes from the aesthetics for me, not whether it's real or fake. I enjoy gardening, just not during this particular summer. I think I'll be miserable enough without spending 1+ hours a day in the 105 deg heat. :biggrin: After investing almost as much in fakes as reals, I think I'm going to refund everything and skip it all. We have a landscaping company coming to do more hardscaping in 2 weeks, so I may just let that change be enough visual stimulation. We had bad storms the other day, and I was thinking, "It's a good thing I hadn't put those out yet." There's just no way any of them would still be around, and my $400 would be in tattered remains -- who knows where, 3 states over.

"A lot" of anything other than Water really isn't good for you. OJ has more sugar that most artifical kids drinks. So I guess it depends on how you mean "ok". Is it nutritionally a good choice? In careful moderation it's probably fine. "A lot" isn't careful moderation. The sugar aside, all citrus has a lot of acids, and "a lot" of acids aren't really good for you either.

As a third party reader, this is more concerning than the breach of confidence. Long story short - don't give people that much power over you. People knowing you have the band, not even saying anything but knowing, should be no where near significant enough to make you go from confident about your decision for YOUR health and YOUR life, to now embarassed and doubting whether or not you did the right thing. This was for you, not them -- right? Before you learned that others knew, did you feel you did the right thing? And just because people know, has that really changed? You're also attributing feelings and emotions to people that they haven't expressed to you. Someone might be tempted to call that projection. :biggrin: As for the breah of confidence, if it were me I would have a discussion with the office manager about what it means to me when someone says soething is confidental, compared to what it means to them. I would also find out why, even though a claim of confidentiality was made during business, the "news" was also shared during business. I may also ask the HR manager to attend. However, that's just me, and not everyone addresses problems the same way. So - is this something you feel you need to address, and if so, what type of confrontation (neutral, not aggressive) are you comfortable with? Since people may already know, and you don't want any more attention about it than you already have, I would suggest being open about it. When something has something unusual, and they're open about it, the initial curiosity goes away and things are forgotten about. Most people can pull up times they've experienced this as early bac kas gradeschool. But when you try to supress it, or react in an emotionally charged way, is when it keeps buzzing for long periods of time.

Most brown sodas will erode meat and other organic solids given enough time, that's because of the acids they contain. They're really not something we should be drinking from a "good for you" perspective. I'm not even talking about the band. But most people are successfully hooked. :biggrin: I gave up all carbonated drinks a few months before my surgery. It wasn't that hard because I was already down to caffeine free Diet Coke, so what's the point? And the occasional Fresca. I drank my sodas warm when I could, and I drank them fast. When I gave them, up what I craved was the burn of the carbonation going down my throat. I never missed the taste. It has now been over 3 years since I've had a carbonated drink, with 3 small exceptions (taking a small sip of something to taste it, and taking two small sips of Diet Coke to see if I even liked it anymore), and I can say that I don't miss then one bit. Now, when I taste a soda, it tastes so artificial to me, and that burn I used to crave now hurts and is quite uncomfortable. The evil side of all that is, now I'm drawn to apple juice. I could never stand the stuff before, and now it's what I want to drink most of the time. So it is my new indulgence.

So is those only open to people with Lap-Band brand bands, or is it open to people with all types of adjustable gastric bands, regardless of whether it's the Lap-Band brand?

I've yet to get to a point where that theory makes any sense to me. In my mind, if there's enough gas build up that my organs are at risk for being permanently enlarged, or being forced up through a surgically installed device... well, let's put it this way. I think we'd just burp before our organs became deformed. This would be an interesting conversation to have with a band surgeon.

Your surgeon should provide you a list of acceptable foods, different surgeons classify different foods as "mushy". If you didn't receive a list, request one right away. My mushies included soft eggs, meat salads as long as they had lots of mayo or some other moistener, refried beans, mashed potatoes or other vegetables that weren't stringy, etc. I ate hummus and refried beans, mostly, mashed sweet potatoes, etc.

I've never heard that carbonated drinks would make the band erode. Is that something your surgeon told you? Maybe whomever said it was referring to erosion, rather than the band eroding. "Erosion" refers to the band wearing through the organ, so that it is basically cutting in to you. It does not refer to the band itself eroding away. The only connection I can even think of between the two -- carbonation maybe expands your organs -> expansion maybe increases the pressure where the band is placed -> increased pressure maybe contributes to erosion... ?? Dunno, never heard that before, and too many "maybe"s to be very concerned about it.

They don't let the band out. The band has a fixed size. Inside the band there is a "balloon" that is filled, and it's some of the fill they can let out (just want to make sure you get the mechanics). Letting fill out is very easy, poke, withdraw, you're done. I'm on my second trimester and so far have been able to keep my pre-pregnancy fill. I've lost some weight, due to a lack of appetite, not any factors with my restriction. This is my first pregnancy, but other than the fact that I'm a lot less fat, I can't see how my band - to this point - has made any impact. It hasn't on my pregnancy itself. I plan on keeping my fill the entire time, potentially considering a full unfill for delivery, will depend on how my delivery anesthesiologist answers my questions. :cool2:

Some people lose hair, some don't. It's 99% chance and 1% what you do or do not put in your mouth, supplement-wise. Liquid gas-x will only help with intestinal gas. It will not help remove the gas they use to inflate your abdomen during surgery, which is where most of the discomfort comes from. We have a very robust shopping list, have you looked at it yet? I can't imagine there's much missing as long as it has been around/added to. You may just want to pull it up and chop it down accordingly.

I use Dove deodorant under my pannus, have for years, but I don't think I'll be putting it in my belly button anytime soon. :cool2:

2 fills says jack about your level of restriction. Are you restricted? Doesn't sound like it, but do you have any indications of it?