JanetC

Hey Kim, have things slowed down? How's the fill treating you? Did you get some out?

Hey Kim, where've you been? How's the bubble machine? Hope you're doing better! :confused: (I'll go bump your thread in case you don't see this one, lol.)

Wow!! And did they have to, um, cut the areolas down to size? I guess what I'm asking is did your areolas get smaller as you lost weight? Or did they have to MAKE them smaller? (A big concern for me.) That lollypop cut is fascinating! Cannot wait to see it at 1 month out! Thanks again, Kel, for sharing so much! :confused: (( Hugs!! )) Keep healing!

OMG thank you both!!! If it's been known to go away eventually, I'll just quit worrying about it & start dosing instead! Bring on the Tylenol! In fact, lol, we still have some hydrocodone! :confused: Yummy!! I've been afraid to dose, for fear that it would make it worse... or that I'd get trapped in a pain cycle or something. (Yeah, I worry too much, lol.) (( Hugs Anne & Straw )) Thanks for being there!!

Ok, so I have an issue and I’m hoping to get opinions, options, thoughts, suggestions… just your basic feedback. First, some history. I’m 6 weeks out from surgery. I’ve had my first fill (1.2 in 4cc band) for 1 week. I’ve PB’d once (my first bite of eggs post-op, lol). I’ve slimed once (eating too fast). Mikey (my husband) was banded 2 days before I was, so we’re healing together. I had gas pain post-op (he didn’t). The first 3 weeks were miserable… constant heating pad, Gas X, walking, etc. Week 4 was better… but then week 5 came. I do realize that technically I’m still healing… and that this MAY be CO2 from the surgery. But I am having MAJOR gas pains. When they hit really badly, the only thing I can do is curl up in the fetal position with a heating pad & cry. About 2 hours later (normally after a nap), it finally goes away, only to return the second I eat or drink anything. I’m unable to make myself burp. I wasn’t able to pre-band either. Mikey says that now it’s a new muscle to burp. I couldn’t figure out the old muscle, lol, how on earth can I figure out a new one! So if I want to burp, I have to wait for my body to decide to give it up. What a pain! My working theories (none have been proven to my satisfaction): 1. food allergy: I’ve tried going non-dairy… no result. Nothing else is really constant, unless you can suddenly become allergic to water! 2. Gulping air while drinking: I’ve tried sipping smaller sips, using a straw, not using a straw, using a small-necked bottle, a sippy cup. I haven’t tried a baby bottle yet, but I’m considering it!! I tried 2 days of eating ice only (no drinking)… still got pain… and was REALLY thirsty. 3. Gulping air while eating: Not sure what to do with this one. 4. Letting my stomach get empty: I’ve tried drinking 1 ounce of Protein every hour. It didn’t seem to help. 5. Getting over-full: I’ve started limiting myself to strictly 1C of whatever or less. It hasn’t seemed to make a difference yet. As of today, I’m keeping a journal, rating the pain… trying to see what’s triggering it. I’ll share the journal with you. If you have ANY ideas, please throw them out! I’m eventually going to my surgeon with this, assuming it’s not just me creating a mountain out of a molehill. I’m hoping this disappears magically on week 7… but in case it doesn’t: The format is time, pain level, what I’m doing / eating. Today I had zero Water. It was my “try without water & see if that helps” day. It didn’t. **sigh** There goes another theory! 7-9:30 0 9:30 drank AchievOne 11:00 1 -- shoulder only, slight 11:30 5 12:00 6, drank 2nd AchievOne 1:00 3, drank Isopure RTD Zero Carb 2:00 2 with twinges of 3, still drinking Isopure 2:12 5, bad twinges of 6-7 -- heading to eat chili 2:35 1, eating chili, little to no pain 3:30 3... hmmm, maybe too much chili? (1.5C) Maybe this is the pain of a too-full pouch? Except sometimes it seems to happen when it's empty 4:00 2 -- pain in stomach more then shoulder... like gas settling 4:50 4 -- shoulder, came on FAST 5:00 7 -- ugh, not sure what to do... eat? drink? go to bed? Took 2 Mylanta Gas chewables, going to bed with heating pad 5:30 4 (heating pad helps)... stomach now growling, but still in pain, lol, confusing! 6:15 7 Haven't made it to dinner yet, going now... fast! 7:30 4 At least it calmed down SOME! Took 2 more Mylanta 8:30 6 Ugh... at practice too, so no chance of food 10:00 7-8 Singing is a royal pain. This is definitely connected to the diaphragm. Breathing is agony! 10:30 7 Stopped singing, lol, so it hurts less. Taking Tylenol PM & going to bed with the heating pad. ZERO water today... I'm scared to drink. Thanks for any help, thoughts, experiences, etc. I’m trying to be all scientific about this, lol, but in reality I’m at my wit’s end. The pain is very wearing, as is being afraid to eat or drink… or not eat or drink, lol. Sorry this is so long & thanks!

The majority of people are rabbits. There are some that are turtles, but I'm guessing it's 25% or less. Unfortunately, you really can't tell which you are until you make the leap. It depends on age, metabolism, past dieting history, etc, etc, etc. There's no magic formula. Remember, the band doctors EXPECT 1-2 pounds a week. So if you're losing 1 pound a week, you're NOT a turtle... you're a rabbit. So don't expect 100 in the first year... sure, some make it that far, but a lot make more like 50. So set your expectations accordingly. For those that lose less then a pound a week, they have to look at what they're doing & see if they need to change their behavior. If they DON'T need to change their behavior, they have to look at other issues... like hypothyroidism or Cushings. It's a long & painful road... I wouldn't wish it on anyone! Go into it assuming you're a rabbit. Hope for rabbithood... plan on rabbithood... but remember that 1 pound a week IS a rabbit!! And if for some reason you should end up being a turtle, we've got a GREAT group of turtles that support each other fully & help each other find answers. We'll pray you don't end up in that group, but it's good to know they're there! Good luck Poodles! The best advice I can give you is to create a plan & then work it. Get your hubby on board with planning things out & creating a new lifestyle together.

That's AWESOME news, Stacey! Congrats!!!

(( Hugs!! )) Hope all's going well with the doc appointment & that a miracle occurs & the pain (and Nutcracker) disappear!

I too am having gas pains that are driving me crazy. I know I'm a new bandster & that this could very well still be CO2, but it's screwing up my life. I'm trying to pin-point exactly what causes them. I use fitday.com for tracking my food... but now I'm keeping a diary too. It reads something like: 6am pain: 0 9am pain: 1 -- slight shoulder twinges, but nothing bad. Drinking Isopure Protein drink 11:30 am pain: 5 12pm pain: 7, drinking AchievOne Protein Drink 1pm pain: 1 (perhaps the pain was from being empty?) 2pm pain: 3 2:15 pain: 6 (what on earth?) 2:30 pain: 7 eating chili (on the empty theory) 2:45 pain: 1 (wow, that was fast!) 3:30 pain: 4 more in stomach then shoulder (hmmm, maybe ate too much?) 4:30 pain: 1 I don't know that this is going to help, but I've got to have SOMETHING to give my doc. Just walking in & saying I have gas isn't going to help him much. My current theories: possible food allergy swallowing air while drinking / eating getting over hungry over eating all of the above? Good luck with your pain, hope they figure out what's up! And congrats on your weight loss, that's awesome!!!

We love road trips... and June 1st is our anniversary, so we might even spend the night down there & call it our present to each other. I've never been to Houston! :eek: (I'm a Texas noobie.)

Wooohooo!!! The 27th is tied with the 13th!! Go go go go go!!

Something that popped into my head... everyone was in their comfort zone, plus they didn't have a star work with them this week. Wonder if maybe they slacked off on the practice, thinking they had it all covered? Hope they learned their lesson!!

I've heard that once you get good restriction, drinking immediately following eating will have dramatic results, lol, as in it comes right back up. I haven't experienced it yet, just the thought scares me! I do know that I can eat more if I take a sip with every bite. I'm really trying to stop that habit NOW!! I love the idea of a swish-and-spit. And the mint for when we're out. We have Listerine strips, bet they'd do the trick! Thanks for the tips!

Alexra, you look AWESOME!! :eek: Congrats on all your hard work! (Saw your pic at the bottom of your sig & had to comment.) Our doctor was very, um, lenient on the post-op diet. Clear liquids 2 days, all liquids 3 days, then 1 food was added per day (mushies & eventually solids). Some docs seem to require a month of liquids, then a month of mushies. It really varies per doc. We got our fill moved up to week 5 (it was scheduled for week 6). Some surgeons require 8-12 weeks... it really varies. I only told my family & a couple of friends that don't live in town. Mostly, I don't want folks looking for change. Especially not in the beginning. The first 6-8 weeks are for healing... ANY weight loss during this period is a perk. So I didn't want people asking me how much I've lost this week, lol. Too depressing! Now that we're in week 6, I'm all for telling the world! Keep asking questions! We love answering!

Congrats on the great loss Diane! Keep it up! :eek: For those of you who haven't been tracking your inches... why not start today! When the scale doesn't move, it's a great treat to measure & see that things are still changing! I suggest measuring at least: arm bust waist hips thigh I go crazy & measure everything (left & right wrist, left & right arm, neck, upper chest, bust, ribs, waist, hip-7, hip-9, thighs together, left & right thigh, left & right calf, left & right ankles, lol, can you say obsessive compulsive?)... and then I add 'em all up every time to see how many overall inches I've lost. If enough folks start tracking inches, I'll make a chart for that too! I'm all about the charts!

Heh, if the 13th wins, we'll just come to the next one. Mikey's got this thing for banana pudding, lol, watch out!!

Btw you doctors "Spiegal & Spivak"-ers! I'm assuming you're in the Houston area. The Houston LBT'ers are getting together on May 13th (unless we can talk them into changing the date, lol): http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16587

LOL Tammy!! You THINK you might be a rabbit? 40 pounds lost in 7 weeks -- CHECK! (That's 5.7 pounds a week!!!) Cute fuzzy white tail -- CHECK!! Soft pink-lined ears pushing through the hair -- CHECK!! Nose that twitches at the sight of carrots -- CHECK!! If it looks like a rabbit, hops like a rabbit, feels like a rabbit... it just might be a rabbit! (( Hugs girl!! )) You made me grin out loud! lol!

Mikey said something about a road trip??? Wooohoooo!!!!! Please, please, please don't make it the 13th, lol, we can't come then!

OMG!!! ROFLMAO! Protein drinks don't LIKE to come out the nose!

Tammy! Thank you SOOO much for your kind words! I count on ya'll for keeping me going! In fact, lol, the new chart was to get me to quit crying about my weightloss, lol. I'm now chanting, "I'm a rabbit, I'm a rabbit, I'm a rabbit!" I'm sooo happy that this thread is still going! I was afraid we'd get through surgery & stop posting. You guys are my lifeline! Thanks to all of you for being great! Wow, Michelle!! Take a second & think about what you just typed, lol. YOU LOST WEIGHT WHILE TRAVELING!!!! OMG!!! Don't remember the last time that happened to me! Hope your next trip goes well! It sounds like you did an excellent job on your food choices, that all sounds delicious AND healthy!

LOL Straw! Congrats on the weight loss! Now forgive yourself as the inches take time to catch up. Anytime you want to try out DDR (the best form of exercise there IS!), lol, just give us a call! Oh wait, lol, you don't have our number do you!!! Mwahahahaha!! (j/k, send us a PM!)

Ok, so we're all at least a month out... some of us are at 2 months! I know that statistically these numbers are all off (not everyone has updated & those that are 6-8 weeks out have had longer to lose)... but I thought I'd take a snap-shot of us at "1 month out". At most, we're 9 weeks out. At that point, if you're at 9+ pounds, it qualifies you as a rabbit. There's not many of us that aren't hopping! Remember we're expected to lose 1-1.5 pounds a week! Anything higher & you're rocking!! Also, this is technically still the healing period, so be nice to yourself!! ANYthing you lose right now is a blessing, not an expectation! I'll think about a way to make this more accurate for our 2 month snap shot. Congrats to Tammy on her absolutely amazing loss!! You go girl! Lost 40+ --------------------------------------------- Jerseytammy (0 pre-op) (-40) 2/8, 7 weeks Lost 30+ --------------------------------------------- ReneBean, (36 pre-op) 2/6, 7 weeks pj robinson (pre-op -14)(post-op -16)(total -30) 2/7, 7 weeks Sandybells (-21 pre-op) (-31) 2/24, 5 weeks Lost 20+ --------------------------------------------- Gentlespirit (-27) 1/24, 9 weeks Gadgetlady (Elisa) (-20) 2/6, 7 weeks Gloria37 (Gloria) (-26) 2/6, 7 weeks Northernsun (12 pre-op) (-29) 2/7, 7 weeks Dancer (0 pre-op) (-20) 2/9, 7 weeks Gwendolyn (-17 pre-op) (-11) 2/13, 6 weeks Mikey (-13 pre-op) (-25) 2/13, 6 weeks SherryW (-25) 2/13, 6 weeks April10 (April) (-21) 2/14, 6 weeks dcmoore (Diane) (+2 pre-op) (-21, -16.5 inches!) 2/15, 6 weeks skbishop78 (Stacey) (-18 pre-op) (-25) 2/20, 5 weeks Sunta (-4 pre-op) (-20) 2/21, 5 weeks Ms. Vicki (pre-op -3) (-20) 2/27, 4 weeks Lost 10+ --------------------------------------------- msks (-12) 2/2, 8 weeks Skinnyagain? (Tonya) (-15) 2/2, 8 weeks tinainfortunaca (Tina) (-20) 2/2, 8 weeks SkyeBlu (Skye) (-15) 2/10, 7 weeks mommy2xp (-14 pre-op) (-5) 2/13, 6 weeks sourflower (-15) 2/14, 6 weeks denog3 (Debra) (-16) 2/15, 6 weeks Janet (-2 pre-op) (-14) 2/15, 6 weeks LBdancer (Lou) (-3 pre-op) (-12) 2/15, 6 weeks ricanlady (-10 pre-op) (-4) 2/16, 6 weeks angiepUK (Angie) (-12) 2/17, 6 weeks Julie* (-10 pre-op) (-14) 2/21, 5 weeks Magic (-7 kg / 15.4#) 2/22, 5 weeks nanster (-15.6) 2/24, 5 weeks RoxanneRoll (Dena) (-12) 2/27, 4 weeks

Oh my word, Kellie!! I cannot get over how great you look! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing the reality of it all! Especially the, um, pinny lift. It's a huge area of concern for me. I'm afraid as I lose it's going to sag even more... like I need more sag there! Those scars are amazing! I think they already look better then your port scar! Can't wait to see them at 3 months! (( Hugs!! )) Thanks again for sharing it all with us!

All in all a disappointing night. I am worried for Taylor... it just wasn't as fun. He did prove that he really can sing... but the fun is what I'm looking for! I personally think part of the problem is these songs are too recent. It's hard to "make it your own" when you've been singing it with the real artist for the last 6 months! Does anyone find themselves hoping that they swap out the judges next year? Their dynamic has really gotten out of control, imho. They're all bickering with each other. I'm embarrassed for them!! I'm guessing the bottom 3 this week will be Ace, Bucky & Lisa. (Though I thought Bucky did great this week... definitely his groove.) I'm guessing Lisa will be going home. Mikey & I finally started voting, lol, so now I'm even more vested, like that was possible!! I do wish they had the vote setup to be "vote someone off" instead of "vote for your favorite"... I have too many favorites!