HeatherO

My cycle was exactly 28 days for years . . . but I was on the pill so it was artificially regulated. I am not sure what it would have been otherwise. I also got pregant the first time off the pill so I did not even have a chance to see how long the first non-medicated cycle would be. I know I did not get a positive pregnancy test for almost 6 weeks out from my last period so it makes sense that I may have ovulated late. I must have taken 5-6 tests before I got a positive and they were of every different brand, digital and otherwise. My first positive was on a dollar store test . . . the others previous were Answer, EPT, etc and were supposed to tell you early. My next ultrasound is the big one which should give me the sex if the baby is cooperative on January 12th. I have heard to drink a big cup of coffee and also to drink a big cup of orange juice before the test so that the baby is active . . . I don't know if any of that is true. Perhaps I will try both, lol. My husband is absolutely convinced it is a girl due to a "dream" he had. That makes me even more curious about the sex . . . boy or girl is fine with me, I am just exceptionally curious.

I have a friend who had twins, a boy and a girl. She had the two standard ultrasounds, found out she was having a boy, but never knew she was having twins. The first inkling that she got that there was more than one was after she delivered her son and the doctor said there is another one . . . and then out came a baby girl. She had her OB care through a clinic with a solid reputation here in Ohio and had adequate prenatal care. How a whole baby got missed, I am not sure, but maybe the "eclipse" phenomenon might explain it. This is only the second time I ever heard of that happening. I was wondering what I would think if I was "surprised" with two instead of one. I think I would be both thrilled and scared to death, lol.

I have never had anything like it, but I do hope you continue to feel better soon. I am happy that the tests did not show anything serious like slippage.

This was an interesting thread to read, although lengthy. I have never thought about suicide as a real option and I am happy with my life . . . only unhappy with obesity. Life wasn't great before but it was tolerable . . . life now is absolutely wonderful. Having he band has really improved my previously lackluster existence.

That is amazing and congratulatons!!!! You are an inspiration to us all.

20-25 pounds isn't so bad at all :0). You should be in great shape come summer. I am looking forward to when I am in the same place in the future . . . with my new baby in my arms and my band working again. So when was your baby born? Is it a boy or girl and what is the name? Did the band affect your pregnancy much at all?

You have done an excellent job getting the weight off with the pre-op diet. You are so close to goal now it wont take much to get there. Congratulations. Have you already seen improvements in your comorbidities?

I am due June 9th as the official due-date although by LMP it should be the end of May. I was 150 or so around the time when I got pregnant, dropped to 141 over the first two months. I have pretty much held steady but I had seen 143 on the scale for 2 days in a row now . . . and I fear the higher weight might stick. I feel like so far I have been lucky with my weight . . . my lack of weight gain has had nothing to do with me maintaining a strict dietary plan. I have been eating when I am hungry, drinking tons of milk and water and trying to avoid too much sugar and fat (but sometimes I indulge). If I am hungry, I eat and have now gone up to 4 meals a day instead of 3. My extra meal generally is a small bowl of cereal because I have been craving it a lot. I don't want to gain more than 20 pounds . . . but I guess it will be what it will be when I get to the end. I know I have my band waiting to be kicked back into action when the time is right.

That threw me for a loop as well. I can attest that restriction is not a myth and I would not have lost my excess pounds without it. Restriction works . . . . and it doesnt have to have any pb'ing or sliming at all if you eat carefully, don't overeat or push the limits of your band and keep your fill at the right level.

I understand how you feel. I was banded at the end of January and my mother passed away about 5 weeks later from complications from heart disease and diabetes (brought on by obesity). I felt so lost at that time and banding kind of seemed like a joke. How important is weight loss when my world just came crashing down??? I was in shock for the first week, in deep mourning the next week . . . and gradually, unbelievably, life started picking up again. I got my first fill 2 weeks after she passed and it just set me up with renewed resolve to get this weight off. Obesity had everything to do with her death at only 51 years old. I felt like I owe it to my mother to do everything possible to be healthy and live a fulfilling life without allowing obesity to overcome me. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Banding can take a back seat for a couple of weeks while you focus on you and feeling better. I am sorry for your loss.

I stuck to my post op diet directly after surgery, but i definitely tweaked my diet afterwards as well. My doctor only gave general guidelines . . . but I kept playing with calories and foods to find what worked to help me keep losing. I found that anything I was doing would stall no matter what unless I changed it around every once in a while. That has been the trick to getting steady weight loss for me.

Don't worry, there are lots of crazy people here including myself, you're not the only one, lol. It could possibly be a slight allergy but most likely it might just be dry skin, especially if you don't see any kind of rash. Lotion should definitely help it.

Those instructions sound normal to me also . . . only a little on the conservative side but by no means unusual.

When I was too tight, I also had sour stomach. I had even threw up something from the previious day that didn't go anywhere. It definitely happens that way. SnowWhite760, I see that by the time you had surgery you only had 20 pounds to lose. I was just curious, did insurance pay for your surgery or are you self pay? Where did you have your surgery done?

I had 2 or 3 meltdowns in the first 1-2 months of banding. It is normal. Not only are you saying goodbye to the old you, you just had surgery and rapid weightloss is putting extra hormones into your system. It is like being pregnant and crying over spilled milk, lol.

I have never heard of that before in the thousands of threads I have read. It seems like it is in an odd location to be band related if you don't even have any incisions near that spot.

That is awesome news, Steve. Congratulations!!!!

It really depends most on the hospital . . . but many will let you keep them. Not to mention if you show up with them on, they sure aren't going to come off very easily. Just give them a call and find out. That would be your safest bet.

I too was OBSESSED wıth food pre-banding. I would start thinking about what I would have for lunch and dinner at Breakfast time, lol. I was always very specific as far as what I wanted. I would even have dreams centered around food or cooking. Now it is not like that (although I do have pregnancy cravings). I am not obsessive. I could eat or not eat or eat late and still not think too much about it. I have not had a food dream in months. I used to think my obsession was only mental and not physical. Now I truly believe it was physical all along. That doesn't mean that I don't get head hunger (if I go to a dinner party where there is cheesecake . . . I still want it hungry or not), but I am not obsessed. A bite can sometimes be all I need and I don't feel deprived in the least.

I was 39.9 on the day of surgery - which is pretty much a 40 to me. Now I am 25 and am normal (but that is only my BMI, lol).

I am really sorry that you have struggled and this has not worked well for you. Banding isn't for everyone, people tolerate it differently. The band is fickle . . . somedays I can eat plenty, somedays a Protein shake could make me pb. For the most part I can get by as long as I know that days will be different and I work through them. I also know I have different restriction levels at different times of day. I can live with this and I still love my band. If you have moved hundreds of miles away from your surgeon . . . that leads me to think that you really don't have much support for fills. Aftercare is an all too important part of this lifestyle. Most of the people that have come to a similar decision to throw in the towel are in the same boat - they are out of touch with any support network either by their choice or by other circumstances. I am in the same boat as Jack . . . my worst day banded is still better than my best day unbanded. Banding suits me and I work it to get the results I want with the support I need from my physician, family and friends, and posting on this forum. I wish you the best of luck.

That makes perfect sense. If he documents that in your chart, that would be great. You should be well-covered then. Will you be staying on the medicine so that you could potentially continue to gain?

Why there is just something about combining velveeta and chocolate that might make it easier for me to have a half-way decent pie hole report, lol.

I have been active on this forum for quite some time. One thing I noticed is that many of us that are newly banded post threads about decisions regarding following the post-op diet instructions. I was curious for those of us who have had success and lost 50% or more of our excess weight to get to either goal or a normal BMI of 25 or under . . . did we follow our surgeons instructions regarding the post-op diet. Following instructions mean eating the foods on the plan that were approved for the stages (such as Clear liquids, full liquids, mushies, etc). Calories or initial weight loss aren't important for this poll . . . just sticking to the right foods intended for healing. For me, I really needed and benefitted from the post op diet. Healing was of course very important . . . but I think the bigger gains came from changes in my mindset. By forcing myself to follow through during the most difficult stages . . . I realized that yes, I could do this and do it well. Nothing was going to stop me from losing this weight. I did follow my surgeons instructions and am just a hair under 100% loss of excess weight from a BMI of 40 down to 25. I was cranky and hungry that first month . . . but I lived to tell the tale. :blushing:

Definitely call your doctor. It is normal to feel this way and most of us do this far out. However, making sure that your band heals properly now is vital for you to have long term success with banding. Many doctors will progress their patients to the next stage on the food plan if they are overly hungry and feeling well. However, I would advise against doing this on your own without your doctors OK. Until you get the OK from your doctor, please for the health of your band, stick to your diet plan. What is a couple of weeks of hunger compared to a lifetime of being healthier and slimmer by following the plan???