SanDiegoPhotog

Well, I got some arch support things for my shoes, and I am going to give those a try tonight on my walk.

Thank you so much for asking this. It was one of those questions I was afraid to ask my surgeon, because I didn't want him to think that I was trying to eat more than I should! LOL! How ridiculous is that kind of thinking? Anyways . . . I made myself a compromise, because on days when I work out super super hard, I noticed I was - naturally - eating more calories. I'm perfectly fine with 1200 calories a day . . . but my weight loss has slowed considerably. I'm stuck at -49 (214) and I'm DYING to get to -50. I am going to try adding in 1/4 - 1/2 of the calories I burn in exercise and see how it goes. I am hesitant to add the whole thing, because I think thedailyplate.com is a little bit generous with how many calories it says I am actually burning. haha!

My surgeon told me that I could start any kind of CARDIO (only cardio) 2 weeks after surgery. I was in no shape to jog . . . so I started walking. I jog now, but that's only with almost 50 pounds off my frame.

I have never even heard of infrared body wrap. Sounds cool! I am now going to look it up . . . I'm having a regular ole body wrap on Friday because my skin is so loose around my belly. hmph.

If I don't track every morsel of food I put into my mouth, then I notice I put way more morsels than I should! LOL! I also use thedailyplate.com and I LOVE it.

Good grief . . . if I step on that scale tomorrow and it does not say that I've lost 50 pounds, I might lose my mind. I am stuck at -49. I was stuck at -47 for 2 weeks. I am journaling, exercising. I walked 7 miles today -- fast, too. I have a body wrap (the good kind, not the dehydrating kind) scheduled for Friday. My aunt thinks it may give me a little kickstart again. We shall see.

Can I walk in these marathons? I'm sure I can walk one eventually . . . I do 7 miles right now fairly easily and that's with not a whole lot of trying. A marathon might make me work harder.

Well, I found out what my weird problem is . . . I have plantar fasciitis! Thankfully, it seems like there are tons of different ways to get relief from it.

6 months ago, I sat here at this very computer and pored over each and every one of your before and after pictures, completely desperate for MY turn. You have all been so inspiring and motivating. Thank you so much. And thank you for indulging me a bit while I post my very first before and "during," because I have a long, long way to go. Height: 5'7" Highest Weight: 263 (May 4, 2008) Date of Surgery: 247 (June 4, 2008) Current: 214 Goal: 150

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 years ago, I did the typical "lost the weight for my wedding" thing and quickly gained it back. Ever since then, it's been a struggle -- I'd lose, then gain, lose, then gain. Add in 2 pregnancies, one with twins, and the fat just seemed to get more and more stubborn. Since I have a summer birthday, I would always say to myself: on my NEXT birthday, I'm going to be able to wear whatever I want (meaning, shorts and a tank top). My next birthday would always come around and I never got to wear those shorts and tank top. It started to get warm here in San Diego this March, and I FREAKED. I freaked out that I had no summer clothes and that there was going to be yet another summer in jeans or capris and tee-shirts. I read about the band and had it done in June. THIS summer, I wear tank tops ALL the time. NEXT summer, I WILL be wearing shorts, too.

You might want to call him and tell him that you hate the EAS shakes and see what he says. I drank Atkins shakes on the liver shrinking diet the ENTIRE time and I lost a ton of weight and my surgeon said my liver was super, super small and he did the surgery in a fraction of the time that he did other people's surgeries who didn't follow the liver shrinking diet. The liver shrinking diet is less about calories and more about carbs . . . because you are trying to reduce the glycogen stores in your liver. I'm NOT saying to shirk your doctor's advice, but I am saying that you could call and ask. The point is, you are going to need a shake that you are comfortable with. For one, you don't want to get dehydrated and malnourished from not eating . . . and if you can't tolerate the EAS shakes, then you run the risk of just plain ole starving yourself to death if you don't find a better substitute. Also, you are going to need something that you enjoy often -- because it will be a long-term relationship with these shakes. You'll need them for recovery time and you'll need them for after your fills. I have a very strong gag reflex. There was NO way ANYONE could have told me to drink those EAS shakes. I've got a bunch of them in my fridge. Want them? :smile:

Drink something else. Seriously. You'll only make yourself miserable and frustrated and angry. I found that I could ONLY drink Atkins shakes and SlimFast Lo-Carb shakes. I can also drink Muscle Milk chocolate and Chocolate Milk, but it was too high in calories for my doctor's approval. I hated the EAS shakes.

Jachut, Your "weird" problem actually sounds just like fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with that years ago . . . but I find that mine comes and goes (the foot thing is totally unrelated -- it's a different type of feeling). I started noticing I had something wrong with me because someone thought something was funny and elbowed me playfully on the arm and very lightly . . . like people sometimes do (maybe it's an American thing, I don't know). But I thought there was no way that should hurt so much. And then pretty much everything hurt. Sometimes my sheets hurt me while I slept at night, it was that bad. Fibromyalgia is pretty much what I think they tell EVERYONE who has that problem, but I do know that it is exacerbated by a lot of exercise, not enough exercise, too much sugar, and too much consumption of products containing aspartame.

I have lost 47 pounds and I feel like the bottoms of my feet are bruised. I also felt like this when I lost a lot of weight on Atkins. I walk anywhere from 3-7 miles . . . almost daily. Is it the loss of fat on the bottoms of my feet? Is it from so much walking? It's just kind of annoying. I'm okay if I'm in running shoes or wearing comfy shoes . . . but I can barely go barefoot at all anymore. Isn't that weird?

That is sooooooo awesome! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!

My surgeon does my fills and he had trouble accessing my port for my first fill. I had a very bad bout of bronchitis at about 4 or 5 weeks post-op and my violent coughing spells literally moved my port. Thankfully, it wasn't flipped, but it was rotated a little bit so that my doctor had to access my port at a different angle than all of his other patients. Since he had trouble accessing it, he did use Lydocain to numb the area. He said that as I lost weight, my port might be easier to access. Sure enough, just one fill later, it was already easier to access and he got it on the first try. My port *is* slightly rotated though. He said that if I ever get a tummy tuck down the line, he will go in and re-position my port for me if it is a problem. I'm just wondering if your doctor has trouble because maybe your port has rotated or flipped. The day that he was having trouble accessing my port, my doctor did also say that he was going to use fluoro if there was a problem -- and then boom, he accessed it. Thankfully the second time was much easier, so flouro was never even mentioned.

Oh my gosh -- I TOTALLY have the same problem. I've never been diagnosed with PCOS, but I've always had heavy periods that lasted 7-10 days. Post-op, though, my periods have been CRAZY . . . one was 2 weeks, one was almost three weeks, and now, 2 weeks after the last really long one, I am starting up again. I am going to make an apptmt to see my gyno, because this is RIDICULOUS. I have to admit though, I lost weight like crazy on them and I don't retain Water at all when I'm on them, so it's kinds nice to see the rapid weight loss. As soon as they stop, I feel bloated and icky again --like PMS. Whatever! The whole thing is just weird.

That's interesting. My lap-band card says that my band is MRI safe. I would think that if my port had metal in it, it wouldn't exactly be MRI safe, you know? I've flown twice post-op and none of the metal detectors went off.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Sunil Bhoyrul. I originally started off at UCSD, but I was not a good match for the UCSD program (I'm a very private person and UCSD is a learning hospital . . . so there were LOTS of people involved in my care and I didn't like that). But at Dr. Bhoyrul's, the office staff stays the same, I meet with Dr. Bhoyrul EVERY time I go to his office, and he's just a kind and caring person. I couldn't ask for better care or for a better lapband experience. If you have questions or just want to talk, feel free to PM me.

Thanks for the responses everyone! I had my second fill today, so I am now at 6ccs in a 10cc band. My next apptmt is in 4 weeks instead of 5, so hopefully if I do get to that point where I am super hungry again, I will get my fill in faster this time. But hopefully 6 will last me awhile.

I have a form to fill out at my surgeon's office before each fill. It asks on it if I've been attending support group. I always write on the form that I belong to an online support group and they have never once questioned me further. Though, I have heard that my surgeon's support groups are very good, though. I've just never been inclined to drive that far when I have everyone here.

I had my first fill 3-4 weeks ago. I weighed 226 at the time. After my fill, I think I had excellent restriction. I got full quite quickly. Stayed full for a long time. I could eat most things, but I really felt tight with bread and even tighter with chicken. My doctor gave me 3 ccs in a 10 cc band, plus I had 2 ccs in there from surgery. So . . . 5 ccs in a 10 cc band total. My restriction was so good. I was contemplating canceling my second fill. Now, I am down to 217 pounds. About 5 days ago, it's as if I have no restriction at all. AT ALL. Bread and chicken go down super easy. I'm not having to chew as diligently as before. I am getting hungry! Is this normal? Is this why my second fill is just automatically scheduled? I guess in all my research, I just didn't think that you could go from good restriction to no restriction so quickly. Weird. Your thoughts, please! Thank you!

CONGRATULATIONS, GenaO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's AWESOME!!!!!!!

here's one for you . . . my primary care physician always dictates his notes into a taperecorder at the end of your appointment. So, one day he was dictating my notes while I'm sitting there waiting patiently to get my prescriptions, and he has to describe the patient first . . . (me) . . . "34 year old well nourished self-employed photographer" . . . THEN HE STOPS HIS TAPE RECORDER, BACKS UP, AND SAYS: "scratch that, 34-year-old OVERLY nourished self-employed photographer." UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was appalled. ETA: My LB surgeon is sooooo nice he would NEVER do anything like that. At least not to my FACE! LOL!