DonnaB

Hi 2bethin, Welcome to LBT. Congratulations on your life-changing decisions. I've been banded for a little over 4 months and, despite a couple of little bumps in the road, couldn't be happier with my post-op progress. Keep up the good work and good luck on your journey.

Hey Nancy, here's my advise: 1) Make fun of the idiots who insist on believing the world is flat. 2) Don't be offended or let your feeling be hurt when they set sail to find 'the edge.' 3) Laugh uproariously at the sheeple who follow that 'leader.' 4) Enjoy the superiority of knowing you're right. If those steps aren't satisfying, you can always FLAME BACK! lol This method really isn't effective unless you enjoy a good, pointless argument. Sometimes a good, pointless argument is very satisfying. This is an open forum, everyone has a right to their point of view, factual OR fantastical. As long as the discussion doesn't degenerate into name calling, board-stalking, or nuclear attack - say what you think. Just try to remember that people don't always read what you've written in the tone of voice, inflection, or emphasis that you may have intended. For example, rereading what I've written, I may be misinterpreted as being snarkastic. Some people don't appreciate or understand sarcasm as a form of comedy. Oh well.

Hi Josephine, Do a search for adding photos. PhotoNut has posted some very clear and simple instructions. Sorry I don't know the name of the thread - probably something very obvious like "how to attach photos." lol Good luck.

I'm sure I would have loved these if I could have read them! Seriously, if you want to read them but can't, left click your mouse and drag to the end. It makes it possible to enjoy the humor without the help of Superman's x-ray vision. Seriously bad font color.

Love to hear when people make that 'one'derland milestone! Congratulations and keep rockin' your band baby!

P.S. - FunnyDuddies, can I be your best friend? lol You're always so open and expressive and just plain NICE to people. Thanks. I wish I was more like that.

I'm going to throw my 2 cents worth in here: Buy a foundation garment that offers A LOT of support. Spanx or something similar, and with your figure you should look for one that has a very high - all the way up under your bust - waist. The high waist will help relieve you of waistline rolls. Firm foundations are not as heavy and uncomfortable as old fashioned girdles are and the even pressure they apply to your body helps to reduce the 'lumpies' as I call them. Additionally, they help you to feel more graceful when you move - not so many worries about the 'jigglies' if you know what I mean. I feel for you, I had to go with my husband to a formal company Christmas party and was in agonies over finding appropriate attire. I'm lucky in that I'm a seamstress and was able to make a dress that fit perfectly - always a bonus - to go with a nice jacket that I found in the fat lady store. I hated every minute of that party but in our picture - yep, one of those parties where they have a portrait station, yuck! - I actually looked OK. I won't say great, but for me, I looked OK - and we all know the camera doesn't lie. Good luck and hang in there. This is your life, you only get one. Try to deal with the things that make you uncomfortable but don't let them dictate your life. If going to the wedding is too stressful because of weight issues - don't go. I know that sounds contradictory but, honestly, life is too short to make appearances that you will only remember with regret. Your boyfriend loves you, his family will always be his family, and they'll always be there to meet you when you're ready. Your boyfriend wants you to be happy, right? He won't begrudge you the time you need to meet his family in a situation that doesn't make you unhappy. Wow - that was a lot more than 2 cents worth. Good luck, and make sure we get to see which dress you choose.

Barbara, You first PB experience sounds a LOT like mine, which was on scrambled egg and lasted for 6 hours! I feel your pain sister! My PB happened on the morning I was supposed to go in for my first fill. I cancelled. After I got my first fill I was having constant pressure in my sternum so I scheduled an unfill. By the time the date of the unfill came around I was feeling pretty normal and decided I'd just have them check me under the fleuroscope so I'd be reassured that everything was OK. I went in for the check and a possible unfill and the f*ing doctor gave me a .5 fill - AND DIDN'T TELL ME!! To make it worse, he slammed the saline back into the band so fast that I thought someone had stabbed me in the chest! It was horrible! He made sure I could swallow the barium and sent me home. My sternum hurt but I thought it was from the rough handling, so I thought if I stayed on liquids for a few days it would calm down and be OK. Later that night I tried to sip some Soup which really hurt and took a long, long time to go down. I decided to have a few spoons of sf ff frozen yogurt and as soon as I put it in my mouth I started to slime. After that I couldn't swallow my own spit for 2 hours. The next day was SUNDAY. I had to wait until Monday morning to go in for an unfill. I couldn't swallow any more than a teaspoon of Water at a time or I had to spit it out and wait for my insides to settle back down. On that Monday, his nurse - who is completely fabulous and the ONLY reason I will continue to use this doctor's practice - did the unfill and informed me of the additional .5 fill. I'm still furious about it. I went in for a check and a possible UNFILL and that @ssh*le gave me a fill!!!!!!!!! I'll never forgive him. OK, all of that ranting to tell you this: I lost about 7 pounds during that timeframe, which sounds great, right? Sadly, as I already knew in my heart of hearts, that weight loss was only dehydration. Over the next few days I went right back to where I was on the day of the fill. Only now (still) I have esophogitis from irritating the heck out of my body. I've been on Nexium for a month and I still may have to go in for a complete unfill and wait until my esophagus heals 100% before have another small fill back to my original fill level. This just sucks. I'm adding this to your thread so you'll be prepared for a possible rebound on your weightloss. I hope it doesn't happen but now that you've heard about my experience, maybe you won't be too disappointed if it does. Don't feel too sorry for me - I had been above the curve on my weightloss and now I'm within the normal range of 1 - 2 pounds per week. Just barely, but I'm in there. I try not to dwell on where I'd be if I hadn't had this month long setback. Good luck on your journey and heres to both our first PB's being our last PB's!!!! Cheers. Added 07-21-06: I need to add here that the f*ing doctor mentioned above is NOT my surgeon - he's the guy I chose for aftercare in the U.S. My surgeon was Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey Mexico and he is absolutely wonderful. I just didn't want anyone to misunderstand and think what happened was the responsibility of my surgeon.

Stay on liquids until the pain is completely gone. If you have to have mushies they probably won't hurt you but you need to give your stomach plenty of rest. You're only 3 weeks post op so give yourself some extra time to heal after irritating things. Maalox Max works wonders for irritation. My surgeon gave me a great tip: Keep the Maalox in the refridgerator and when it's time to take a dose, pour it over chipped ice, swirl it around so the Maalox is super cold, then sip it till it's gone. For some reason the super cold helps sooth the irritation much better than even just refridgerated. Good luck and keep us updated as to how you're doing.

I'm not hungry all the time but I definitely think about food all the time. I'm struggling with head hunger but that doesn't sound like what's happening with you. A growling tummy is hard to ignore. Good luck.

Both rings are getting loose, but not scary-like-I'm-going-to lose-them loose yet. My wedding band will be able to be resized but my engagement ring, because of how the diamonds are set can't be resized. I can put a sizing bar in it for a while but eventually I'm going to have to replace it. I don't know if I'm happy or sad about that! lol It's a beautiful ring but I might just take the center stone and have it put in a different ring. Hmmmmmm. But then, what about the other diamonds in the band? I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I've had so many set backs with my band and esophogitis that I don't feel like I'm ever going to lose any more weight. :-(

My doctor really likes Malox Max instead of TUMS. He showed me that if you pour it over ice chips and sip it down icy cold it really, really helps. Seriously, talk to your doctor about it and give it a try, it made a world of difference for me. Good luck.

PB stands for "productive burp," which is a polite euphemism for vomiting.

Anything heavy, sticky, or gooey can get stuck and cause a PB. I think if you try it, you should take very small bites and eat other food between bites so there's less of a chance it will reform into a dough-ball in your stomach. You can try it and see, or you can realize that cornbread stuffing isn't the be-all end-all of holidays! Happy Thanksgiving!

I think your esophogus is irritated by a too tight band. You didn't describe your pain so I'm projecting my experience onto you. I had a bad PB incident and then had a fill about a week and a half later. My chest felt tight and I had pain at the sternum, front and back. After a couple of weeks with it getting a little bit worse I went back to my fill doctor (read my journal for THAT fiasco) and he prescribed Nexium. Nexium took a long time to start helping and it didn't help enough so I called my band surgeon. I am not a doctor so I can't give you medical advise. I CAN tell you the advise my band surgeon gave to me: "If you're drinking coffee or eating chocolate or anything that has caffeine in it, stop. Eat smaller bites and chew your food very, very, very (add lots of very's) well. So much so that you're not eating your food but drinking it. Take Prilosec OTC, two 20 mg tablets, twice per day. If the pain does not resolve, go in for a complete unfill, continue with the other instructions until the pain is completely resolved, then get a small fill. If there is no pain, go back in a few weeks for another small fill. If there is no pain, go back in a couple of weeks for another . . . . . . . till you hit the sweet spot and you lose weight consistently." Loveulots I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU to contact your doctor by telephone and discuss your specific situation with him/her. If he/she insists that you go into the office, explain how far away you are and that you'd like to try some conservative method of pain relief first. If you are vomiting frequently or are waking at night choking on acid reflux you should go get an unfill immediately. Good luck, I hope you get some relief soon.

I put my capsule in a glass and pour a "couple of swallows" worth of Water over it. Wait 1 - 2 minutes and drink it down. So far I haven't had any problem with it sticking. One time I forgot to take the pill and it sat in the water for more than a few minutes. When I touched the capsule to get it unstuck from the side of the glass it felt very, very slimy. I swallowed it down without a problem. The capsule itself is made of gel and when it's left in water for a couple of minutes, it starts to disolve and, after feeling one, I can't imagine needing anything else to make it slip through the stoma. BTW, soaking the capsule was the way my lap band doctor recommended taking my capsule pain meds post-op.

It was her daughter's step-aunts who had their bellies pierced - the father's second family is how she explained the relationship between the kids. Even though they're his kids and he can do as he chooses, I think allowing belly-piercing on 14 and 15 year olds shows a lack of good judgement on his part. But that's just my opinion.

Don't worry, the scale will move. You're losing fat and gaining muscle - muscle weighs more AND it's smaller! Hooray. Don't worry, the scale will move. Your body is compacting, before you know it you're going to drop weight like crazy. Keep moving. Don't worry, the scale WILL move.

I agree with FunnyDuddies, Talk to them about what they've done, laugh it off with your daughter - don't make a big deal out of it - and don't let her be around them unless you are present. Either that or take Ripley's advise: "I say we take off and nuke them from space. It's the only way to be sure." - Aliens

First fills frequently do "just disappear." You hear about it all the time. 2.6 in a 10cc band isn't that much. Give it some time and get another fill.

What size is your band?

Learn to chew. You'll regret it when you get a fill if you don't. Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew. Whether you feel like you need to or not. Are you logging your food and exercise? If not, you should start right away. Are you taking your body measurements? If not, you should do it right away. Are you drinking enough water? Water is key. If I don't get enough, I don't lose no matter what I do. Those are my first thoughts and suggestions. Good luck.

Don't panic. Sharp pains came and went for a few months before I felt right in that area. Even now I get an occasional pulling sensation. If the area is hot, red or has drainage, call your doctor immediately. If not, take some liquid tylenol and give it time.

Are we talking about how you THINK you should look? Or what will give you the longest life? There's a study out there that shows that people who weigh right at the balance between normal and underweight live the longest. Even the people who come in underweight live longer than those in the middle of the healthy weight range. Life is like a long walk up a steep slope. The less baggage you have to carry, the further up that slope you'll make it. Having said that, I'm 5' 9" and my dream weight is 130 pounds - that's model skinny and highly unlikely. My chosen goal weight is 150 because I doubt I'll ever see 130 pounds again in my lifetime, but honestly, I'd be happy if I got down to 170! lol

A stuck food doesn't block your airway. Stuck food blocks or partially blocks your stoma. The result of a PB might be aspirated though, which COULD cause choking.