TexasRose

Thanks everyone for the terrific advice! I wish this whole dating thing was easier....and that every guy would want to communicate as much as I like to in these situations. We'll see what happens!!!

How did he figure out I was banded....well, he observed how I ate on our first date - slowly, cautiously, and with not much volume. He said that he talked with one of his friends that had gastric bypass and he commented that he thought perhaps I had surgery. She questioned if maybe I was just nervous on the date....and he said that he really did not think so. I was cautious about bringing my new lifestyle up and the conversation just presented itself on our 3rd date....very glad that it was just out in the open and I did not have to fret over it any more. SO, now I just get an email from him after almost 5 days that he has passed kidney stones and has been hopped up on vicodan....he apologized for being out of pocket. How do I handle this one.....???

I actually used "He's Just Not that Into You" for my last big breakup almost 2 years ago. It's harder than you think to give it all up....but it made me angry enough to get over it. Thanks for the recommendation - it is a good book overall! He does have a show coming on this Fall - just do not remember which network.

*LOL* You guys are funny! Thanks for the advice! I would love to hear what the guys have to say. I need as much help as I can get!!!! I guess one of the reasons that I'm not quite ready to give up 100% is that he challenges me intellectually and stimulates my curiosity. That is why this is so damn FRUSTRATING! I've already left notes around my office and home to not contact him....and remembering that playing hard to get creates a challenge. Ariel, Thank you for your encouragement on my loss....it's been a tough road - but one that I would do again!

So, I've been back in the dating world for about 6 months and doing my fair share of going out. Met this guy in mid-June and then had our first date the beginning of July. We have been out on 5 official dates total but have spent significant amount of time together, talking, texting, and emailing since we met....the frequency seemed to be all the time. Then last week, the communication started to drop off.....great phone conversation Tuesday night, a few text pages on Thursday, trickling to an email Friday night. Then NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. ZILCHO! I have emailed 3 times and 2 phone calls...none of which has been returned. I have since stopped communication from my side. Sounds like a commitment issue to me and to a few that I have discussed over the situation. But just losing the weight and still with more to go...I'm having negative feelings that it is me and my shape. He figured out that I had surgery after our first date but we did not discuss it until our third. When I asked if it bothered him...his response was "not in the least." Still having the old doubts.... Thoughts on what I should do next? Thanks!!! *confused*

My band surgery was in September 2005 and I have been on Seasonale brand birth control for 2 years. I have lost 95 lbs in 10 months. After my last period, I had a week with no issues and then started breakthrough bleeding. The breakthrough has been going on for 3 weeks now from extremely light to somewhat moderate. How annoying! I have 9 more weeks of pills before I should be on my cycle and I do not want to continue this breakthrough for that long. Has anyone experienced this after a big drop in weight? Any thoughts? :eek:

I started working out at Curves and built up to being able to do 5 - 10 hours per week. At first, it was 1.5 hours per week and then I started to really push myself because I wanted to see what I could do. How realistic is it to keep up with that much working out and having a career/family? Very difficult. Curves says 1.5 - 2.0 hours per week is all you need to do to lose at a steady rate. If you have not done it yet, look at your BMR and what it takes in calorie reduction to lose weight: http://www.thinnerself.com/files/calculator.htm Zig-Zag diet: http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=64

This started with me when I was 7 by my step grandmother....every time she would call, she would ask if I was "still fat." Looking back at pics, I was not fat, I would get a little chunky and then shoot up inches. My parents did not say anything to them and brushed it off as her being "her". Anyway, the mental damage from that treatment has been a life long struggle. Please protect her as much as possible. My step grandmother's voice is in the back of my head every time I even consider eating anything that might be considered unhealthy. My first of very many diets started at 7....and I cannot think of a time that I did not highly criticize my body....or think that someone was judging my weight. Best of luck in handling the situation.

Ask you surgeon what they used for antibotics. I had a bad allergic reaction on my face of itchy red bumps that still re-occurs after almost 10 months post-op. They first presented 3 days after surgery and I get them now under heat and high stress - same problems. They used the following antibotics on me: Gentamycin and Vancomycin. I'm highly allergic to penicillin and the cyclin antibotics with similar rashes on different parts of my body. They advised me to go to the Dermatologist and see what they can do for me. No amount of Benadryl or topical ointments have been able to help me. I hope you find something that works really well for you!!! Best of luck!!!

Chew ice and drink ice water....the colder the better. That will give you the feeling of restriction and help with the need to chew on something. Once in a while I will do gum but I am extremely careful to watch that desire to swallow. The desire to chew is very strong with me - so I can feel a bit of your pain. I also try a little bit of online browsing to distract my brain - especially looking at beautiful clothing that I want to eventually wear. ) Hang in there - you can do it!!!

What the Physician's Assistant (PA) said to me was that I was dilated because I was way too tight...but not slipped at all. She said nothing of eating too fast or not chewing well enough - although I do understand that all can happen. So, who knows - it could have been a combination of all of that! I do follow all of the portion rules - with only a few slip ups. My doctor recommends 1 - 1.5 cups per meal...3x per day. My pouch looks a little bit smaller than Leatha's but the same shape. The PA said that releasing most of the fill would allow the swelling to go back down over the 2 week period. Let's hope so!! I'm using a supplement diet pill to help control the hunger - but the hunger is breaking through by lunch time. Might take a higher dose to control this! Dilated to me means the pouch is much larger than it should be through swelling and stretching. The stoma would then be restricted if it was closing off because of the swelling. All I know is that they commented that nothing was going through at the current restriction and that is what they believed to cause the dilation.

BabyJessica, My surgeon just only started offering the fluoroscope fill outside of his office as an option - unless you had specific problems where he needed to utilize the technology. I will definitely only have it done this way from this point on - and would have done it early had it been available. Have a great day! Tiffany

Thanks Ladies!!! I think these next two weeks are going to be extremely difficult with controlling the hunger and getting enough calories in to not go in to starvation mode. Karen - they did not give me any quantity or size guidelines....just liquids and soft foods for next 2 weeks. The PA also said that I should not slip at all - maybe she was just being kind. She said that it was definitely because I was too tight for 5 weeks. Let's hope neither of us ever slip!!! Cannot wait until this barium gets out of my system!!! Have a terrific day....Tiffany

Terry, You are doing great too! I think my personal loss has been due to keeping on top of exercising. I try *sometimes it is extremely difficult* to do 5 hours per week through Curves and treadmill. I'm certainly not perfect with my eating but I do stay under my BMR requirements. I just hope that this hurdle does not cause me to gain weight or send me back in for surgery. Congrats on your recent banding!!! Tiffany

I went for a fluoroscope fill this morning and discovered that I had pouch dilation with being too tight. My other fills have been without fluoroscope...based on how much chicken I could eat and how hungry I was getting over time. I had some reflux after my last fill but quit eating past 5PM and that seems to resolve. I just felt like my last fill, which was 5 weeks ago, did not take and that was why I was back in for another fill. Well, seems that 2.4/4.0 for me was too much because I basically had nothing going through the stoma according to the barium. So, now I am unfilled to 1.0/4.0 for 2 weeks....3 days liquid/the rest of the time soft food. The PA said that she had seen much worse and that I was not slipped - but that we needed to unfill and let the pouch unswell - then re-evaluate in 2 weeks. Any suggestions on what do to help the dilation reduce? What soft foods would be best? Have a terrific day!!

I'm 34 with no children...and dating. I think what intimidates me the most about going through this whole weight reduction process...with the potential of having plastic surgery - is then getting pregnant and stretching out everything that I worked so hard for in this arduous process. I know some people have a very easy time going back to their original weight - but I just do not see that as being possible with skin that has been stretched beyond 'normal limits' and through family history. Maybe I will change my mind when I meet "Mr. Right" but I feel self-centered when I think that I do not want a child because it will ruin the body that I have worked so diligently to obtain over all of this time. Does anyone else feel this way?

About 3 days after surgery, I developed an itchy rash on my face that was quite inflamed. It was especially prevalent on my forehead. I did not have this type of outbreak before surgery. I am quite allergic to penicillin and some other of the antibiotics - of which they were aware before surgery. I was told by the nurses that they used 4 different types of antibiotics - one of which they soaked the band in before insertion. So, my guestimate is that I had an allergic reaction to whatever that antibiotic was for the band. It comes and goes - but I still deal with the rash on my face. It has not displayed anywhere else on my body. I have not found a way to deal with it - so I am quite interested to hear what advise may be given to you.

I use LMX 4% lidocaine - which you can get from the pharmacy without a prescription. I put it on 2 hours before my appointment with a plastic covering over it to conduct heat and prevent the cream from getting on my clothes. Lay down and feel where your port is located...I generously put the cream from my scar line to about 1.5 inches above. I wipe it off when I get to the dr's office and the area is sufficiently numb. I cannot feel the fill at all. I'm needle shy and I know that people say that it does not hurt...but I am not going to risk it. I've also used it for the IV and for blood draws. http://www.dermadoctor.com/product.asp?productid=954

I found the first few days back on solids caused the scale to bounce up a little bit...which FREAKED me out. But don't worry - this is perfectly normal! The weight will start coming back down within a few days to a week....then you will really start your downward trend. If you are physically up to it, I would recommend starting your exercise about 5 - 6 weeks after your surgery. The exercise helped me to keep the scale numbers coming down. You'll notice that your body will hang on to weight and then all of the sudden drop a few pounds. It is frustrating *believe me, I struggle with it* but the more consistent you are with your exercise and constantly adjusting your calories *zigzag method*, the better you will make it through your plateaus. Hang in there!! You guys are in for a great journey!!!

Melanie, The stepper that I use is at Curves and it is an up/down motion with resistance. It helps to get my heartrate up but it is not a strenuous workout. I try to do it at a jog rate on the most resistance. Stairmaster would be an incredible workout....I certainly cannot do it at this point. You could always ask on of the trainers at your facility to work with you on them and see if it is something that you like. Try this site to calcuate burn rate: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm Best of luck!!

This happens to me when I am on the stepper for more than 10 to 15 minutes. My chiropractor said that it is the overstimulation of the nerves in your lower back because of the repetitive motion. He said to take a one minute break until the feeling comes back and then start again. He said that there should be no permanent damage. Perhaps you should check with your own doctor though. Congrats on building up your exercise!!! )

I was told to never go below 1200 calories per day.....with the formula being 8 * your ideal weight: 8 * 150 lbs = 1200 calories. I've been trying the zigzag method and it seems to keep me off of a plateau. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# Doing liquids for a couple of days kicks it off for me - but it is hard when food is all around. Best of luck in finding what works best for you! )

Try looking in to the zigzag method....your body has most likely become accustomed to the calorie level intake and is not going to let go of the calories as quickly. Try this site for the 7 day zigzag: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# The theory is that you do your baseline calories for 2 days and then spike up your calorie intake every 2 days. It keeps your body guessing and out of starvation mode. It is very important to get in the 1200 calories that you body needs to stay out of starvation. This really helped me....along with 5 hours of exercise a week. Best of luck!!

I went to a lovely boutique that does custom fitting of $70+ European bras *OUCH!* and the lady said that most all women have wrong size bras because of the 'cafeteria' style sizing at most places where we run in a just buy something off the shelf. When she fitted me, the band was so tight that I thought I could not breathe. But I quickly got accustomed to it and she said that this is how ALL bras should fit - not move at all once it is placed below the shoulder blades. The good thing is that she said when it became loose again *even at the tightest setting* - to bring it in and they would adjust it for free....guess that is where it pays to buy expensive. Try the Anita RosaFaia bra...super comfortable and does not slip off the shoulder! I think it is out of the "Twin" series.

Puddinpie - Thanks! I read your blog and I loved it! Your pictures from your cruise are awesome and you look fantastic too! WOOHOO - Hottie boy! I hope that I can find a guy like yours!!! Stitchy - isn't it amazing how many people just say "cut down on what you eat and exercise more - and your problem will go away!" ? Well, considering I barely ate before surgery - THANKS for the advice, skinny person!