Morsaille

I used Aveeno for awhile, it has oat flour in it and a pretty mild cleansing agent. I cheated and poured boiling water over regular old oatmeal and Rooibos loose tea (with a little honey in it if I am especially inflamed). When it cools down some, I pour it through a mesh strainer and stir in some aloe gel. This is what I use to clean my face since I went soapless. I make enough for three or four days at a time and keep it in the fridge. I will warm it before using. If cleavers are in season, like right now, I use 'cleaver tea' instead of the boiling water. Cleavers are those sticky weeds that make burs. You can eat them, but the infusion is great for weeping areas like with eczema. Just saw your request today Paula, working on a useable recipe since I measure with intuition. Do you have chickweed around? I think most everyone does.

Sounds kind of freaky and would probably scare the snot out of me if I started leaking lymph from my fingers. I am a MAJOR 'me-too-er' from way back and have never heard anything like this. Dietary? Hormonal? I think heavy metals affect your nails, did you have rapid weight loss on Adkins? You are city right? Interesting, very interesting. Take care and keep us posted.

Ouch......

I refuse to pay for cable since I believe that static will encourage me to go outside (discipline through torture), it hasn't worked yet. I couldn't care less about TV Thursday through Sunday with the exception of MadTV Sat night. They are doing Stuart re-runs which I adore... Aside from my family's favorite - American Idol, mine is Prison Break on Monday night. Where has Wentworth Miller been... gawd. I know I am too old for crushes but... big sigh :drama: Time to rent Dinotopia and the Human Stain. Thank you IMDB :grouphug: House can be pretty good, but the reason I love it is the banter between Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard. <- before I looked it up I was going to call him the Oncologist from Dead Poets Society, hee hee.

If I remember correctly there was a half-roll and a lot of arm work involved as I struggled to use every muscle but the ones they sewed my port into. I sat on the couch with my legs curled up under me so that standing was easier. I did have a dutiful spouse hanging around to do all my bending and to lift my sorry butt up. Mostly I tried to avoid sitting or lying down. Once I assumed a position, it is where I stayed for a good hour or more. Welcome to the Bandsterhood, SleepyJean! It will get easier. Does it feel like you got tricked yet? I like your ticker, did you make it yourself? Very nice.

Do you feel ill otherwise? Bandsters get the flu just as easy as everyone else. Could you be dehydrated? If you feel weak and flustered and haven't been eating much of anything it is a possibility, but then again, I feel weak and nasty if I haven't eaten. Take your temp., then call your doc. Take care of yourself

I had my hand over my port within the first three weeks. <- does this make sense :grouphug: ? Sometimes I can feel my port when I lean over the edge of the counter, but it doesn't hurt. That is the ONLY position I have ever been in and felt banded. Nah, the band is safe. It could hardly be nicknamed the 'fertility band' if sex was suddenly off-limits, right?

Welcome Fran! Here's to Summertime 2026... Jack will be at goal, I will be pretty darn comfortable with my plateau by then, and YOU will have been voted 'hottest beach babe' 19 years running.

Personally, I would switch docs. It may look suspicious getting a recommendation from a brand spanking new doc, but are you really going to feel comfortable seeing your current doc when you start having questions about hair loss, nutrition, hormone, or even med changes due to your weight loss? If he/she condemns WLS, will he/she even have answers to your questions. If banding is the way you want to go, you need to build yourself a winning team who will support you when the going gets tough. Your doc has already 'essentially' turned his/her back on the path you intend to take. Just my opinion, take care RLittman.

I use them to count to twenty. :grouphug: Are you an Adam and Eve-r, or do you believe that feet used to be more functional like the other primates. If you have a soft spot for Evolution (or even intelligent design) take him to the zoo to see how our closest relatives use their toes. Even if we were never tree-dwellers, toes could just be one of those fun things we have in common. Mammals are pretty darn cool. Whales have "finger bones". Wait until he asks why men have nipples. They are on the X chromosome BTW. We have a lot of things we really don't NEED. Tonsils, the appendix, and earlobes come to mind. Eyebrows are only window dressing even if they are great for diverting water in the shower.. Have a fun one, Brenda

We used to put cloths soaked in aloe juice on our burns. It felt good and bad at the same time since it 'matured' the burn. On the bright side, the healing would happen much sooner. I keep aloe gel in the fridge all the time for various reasons.

I was diagnosed with rosacea a couple years ago, but had been using hydrocortisone ointment (creams are a big no-no for me) for years before that because I was 'too young' to have rosacea. I was perma-blotchy and was always blushing to the point of purple. I have seborrheic dermatitis as well. I scheduled my visits with the allergist and the dermatologist when my rosacea started 'spreading'. The dermatitis is heated, red, scaling, itchy patches with tiny blisters on my ears, eyebrows, and nose, not to mention my scalp. Ick, right? I used to joke about being a leper when I would go through a 'moulting'. I gave up soap, use scalpicin (3% salicylic acid) to control the itching, and have started making my own moisturizers. My skin is much better than this time last year. I love chickweed and cleavers now! If you want to know how you can email or PM. I just use all the good stuff and leave out all the shmoo that they sell. Metrogel just makes my skin mad. Although it does a great job if I only use it overnight and only on occasion. I still keep hydrocortisone on hand but rarely need it.

Big centrum every day... Taking a vitamin really helps the snack cravings. I'll just wait out the hair thing, but poor JJB! Not sure if I want my hair to grow back all at the same time. Imagine what a years growth will look like on a windy day... I am thinking scary, like a tweaked out mullet.

JJB- I was a hair loser too. It is finally starting to slow down. At its worst I was losing a solid ball the size of my 2 year olds fist every day. Now, I am losing less, but still more than normal. It was almost a good thing for me since my hair has been obscenely thick since I was young. I am sorry you have lost so much. I thought it was the GB people too and not us, now we know better. Kim- don't mention it, thanks for joining up. It wouldn't feel right without ya. The fill I waited forever for, the one you helped me to decide on, didn't really 'take'. Oh well, next time. Maybe I will be able to bubble soon. Did you end up getting an unfill, or did you just adjust? I had foam throat and they reduced my fill in office. Shucks.

There is a lot of "stuff" out there, huh? The only thing I think you should skip on for sure is any bandage that keeps your incisions moist. These are the waterproof ones (but they are great for showers if you want to do wound care seperately), and "blister" style bandaids that seal around the pad. You want them to be loose-ish so the scabs don't snag or rub on stuff, but aren't kept from the air. If you aren't glued like I wasn't glued, forming healthy scabs is important. Moistness breeds germs and dissolves scabs. My port incision drained some, so I had some gauze and tape on hand for nighttime especially. Lots of luck,

Hey Jack! Love your posts. I agree completely that a plateau is infinitely preferable to a gain. I am just vainly frustrated with the success of others *slapping own hand*. I am working toward restriction and hope that once I find it, my plateau will nose-dive (at the sensible pace of 1-2 pounds per week).

I have restriction in the mornings, thank goodness for the little things, and notice that breakfast is easier if I drink first. My stomach is usually full of (forgive me for this) foam from swallowing all night long. If I start with a cup of tea and my vitamin I can eat more AM protein. Protein really helps with the carb cravings. *in a whisper* I put protein shake on my shredded wheat. It sounds like you just need to plan your "instants". A crock pot makes meat protein an 'instant' dinner if you have a few minutes in the morning. I keep frozen veggies around for snacks. Green beans are wonderful if you just run hot water over them for a minute or so. Or a hard-boiled egg white? Is this an instant PB for you? I save small servings in both the freezer and refrigerator because I am an instant girl myself. Sliced chicken breast is great this way since you can throw it into a salad, dip it in honey mustard, or sandwich it (if you still do breads). I agree with the other ladies... eat more. Don't worry, I'll send you some stuff. :eek:

That's an understatement P'nut, I know how great you are doing. Silly wabbit shaking head Sorry I have been avoiding the gfgc. Just hate losing the same five pounds over, and over, and over....

Just looking for a peer group to compare stats, successes and frustrations. I have noticed that many other months have threads and we deserve one too. I tried searching and found fifty threads with 'January' and '06' somewhere inside. No title matches. I have stopped losing weight and am looking to schedule fill number 3. Anyone else at this point? Was it just the jellybeans? Nah. I keep checking numbers to see how freaky I am, but everyone I talk with was banded years ago. I need some baby bandsters like me. Or maybe being banded 3+ mos makes us 'toddlers'. Please stop in, say 'Hi!" so we can check up one one another. Thanks and hope to hear from hoards of New Years bandsters discovering restriction.

Dani- Sorry, just reading here and I am curious about the deleted posts although I can guess their content. Educated people deleting posts? I strikes me as odd that you ask what happens if you cheat, specifically "Why not CHEAT?" When people chime in with information you say that you are only accepting technical information from medical personnel..Huh? Ask a doctor or three but this is a support group, not an online medical forum. Then you say that you are looking to be 'scared into compliance', but when you get the info I read that you are not looking for any 'nagging and tuff love'. How do we help without telling you that what you are doing is OK? Because that is what I want to type. I want to help, but what you confess to having done to yourself is not OK (in the medical opinion of 96% of the currently practicing bariatric surgeons). Sending out only care and concern, honestly, Brenda

Been thinking about you today! Congratulations on your official initiation to the club. Welcome, Heather, to Bandland. Population: Big, but getting smaller all the time...

I have a corny one too. My baby girl, OK, two isn't technically a baby, but you get the idea. I was so miserable as a shy kid with a fat mom, then as a shy, fat kid with a fat mom, then as a shy, fat teen with a fat sister and a fat mom. I want a healthy family with issues that most people have in common, like acne... or maybe even bed-wetting. My mom is only in her sixties, but diabetes and TIA's (mini-strokes) have turned her into a ninety year old woman who falls all the time and forgets the important things in life. I do not want to become my mother until I am good and ready, maybe 110. I will consider frailness when I hit 110 years old.

Thinking about you Heather, hope all is well and that your fast approaching surgery will be a breeze. Are you thrilled or terrified? Both? I think my favorite part about the post-op period was no hunger. Oh, and blended clam chowder at the end of week one. Take care, Brenda

The Costco ones aren't bad. I cut them for my niblet, and I take a Centrum. When I run out, I may switch to hers. Cute dinosaurs. If it's the B-vitamins you are looking for either go natural and eat more fruits & veggies or take a b-complex. Some of those are pretty small.

Hey Kat, do you have any protein bars? If you skip the noodles (they are just a tease anyway) and eat a few low carb protein bars you will have something to send along the pipes. Add a few more shakes too. As long as I stayed below 40 net carbs for the day, my doc said I could eat all the protein dense/low fat stuff I could swallow. I ate alot and rarely hit the 20 mark. I don't want to mess with your process if you have a specific diet in mind. Ignore me please if I am just screwing with your head. Lots of good feelings for you while you go through this nastiness!! Brenda