StrangeDz

This works like a charm... Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

I feel the same way! I'm wondering if I need an unfill. Since my last fill, I cant eat or drink much of anything without having to gack it back up... even liquids!

WELL SAID!

This thread was helpful. Thank you all for posting!

I buy mine at Wal-Mart. About 5 bucks for a bottle. I'd think any drug store like Walgreens would have them too!

Thanks for your encouragement! :biggrin:

I pay $300.00 a fill. Mine weren't included with the surgery.

I've tried cutting them and eating with. Nothing helps....

I've been on amitriptyline for my depression for about 5 years now and I never had any problems until after a fill this last April. About 15 minutes after taking them, I start to puke violently! Now my band is so tight, it is physically impossible to puke so I dry heave! Its so painful and it makes me cry! :biggrin: My surgeon swears its not the band because its not getting 'stuck' and my primary doc has been trying all sorts of anti nausea pills to stop the dry heaving. None have helped at all, so after much discussion with my surgeon and doc, we think I may be taking too high a dose now that I've lost 80 pounds and may be overdosing! I'm slowly decreasing my dosage, but have to use anti nausea suppositories until we can figure this out. I hate suppositories! ...but then who likes 'em, huh?? Sometimes I have to take 2 or 3 to keep myself from getting violently sick. Lowering the dosage of course, brings on withdrawal from the amiltriptyline and is so hard on me. The withdrawal causes dizziness, drowsiness and lethargy. I am so tired I dont want to do anything! Getting my big butt up every morning just to get to work is an ordeal! Granted, I'm not sad, so it doesnt feel like depression, i'm just so sleepy! They say its my neural transmitters that dont know how to work on their own and it will pass. In the mean time, I dont want exercise. I find it hard to even do simple chores when I get home from work. ugh! I dread taking my pills at night, but they have been the only med that has actually helped with my depression. I'm just hoping this is the answer and I can get back to my life and this nightmare will be over soon!

I've been on amitriptyline for about 5 years now and I never had any problems until after a fill this last April. About 15 minutes after taking them, I start to puke violently! Now my band is so tight, it is physically impossible to puke so I dry heave! Its so painful and it makes me cry! My surgeon swears its not the band because its not getting 'stuck' and my primary doc has been trying all sorts of anti nausea pills to stop the dry heaving. None have helped at all, so after much discussion with my surgeon and doc, we think I may be taking too high a dose now that I've lost 80 pounds and may be overdosing! I'm slowly decreasing my dosage, but have to use anti nausea suppositories until we can figure this out. I hate suppositories! ...but then who likes 'em, huh?? :biggrin: Lowering the dosage of course, brings on withdrawal from the amiltriptyline and is so hard on me. The withdrawal causes dizziness, drowsiness and lethargy. I am so tired I dont want to do anything! Getting my big butt up every morning just to get to work is an ordeal! Granted, I'm not sad, so it doesnt feel like depression, i'm just so sleepy! They say its my neural transmitters that dont know how to work on their own and it will pass. In the mean time, I dont exercise. I find it hard to even do simple chores when I get home from work. ugh I dread taking my pills at night, but they have been the only med that has actually helped with my depression. I'm just hoping this is the answer and I can get back to my life and this nightmare will be over!

Papaya Enzyme Pills work MAGIC!

Keep papaya enzyme tablets handy! They help break down whatever is stuck and within minutes, it relieves the pain! I dont leave the house without them!

Why do we do that to ourselves??? It's insane! ...and so counter productive... sigh...

I have 7cc's in a 10 cc band. I was banded in April of 2008 and my original surgeon wouldnt give me a fill in the office (long story). I had to find a new doc and didnt get my first fill until 6 months after my surgery. My new doc is very conservative with his fills and only gives .5 every 6 weeks. My last fill was in April of 2010 and was finally at my sweet spot. In the last few weeks i've noticed that I can eat more and less gets stuck. I have an appointment on August 20th, and I hope I can talk him into a .25cc fill!

Will I Be Bad Today? I read the following on the internet and it describes EXACLY how I feel on a daily basis! Thought I would share... The alarm brought Mary from her deep sleep as she struggled to reach the snooze button. Waiting for that inevitable sound again she began to ask herself that too familiar question, Will I be bad today. She began to run down all the dreadful food rules in her head. There seemed to be so many and now since her surgery the stakes seemed even higher. Part of her was ashamed that she had not made more progress in her struggles with eating. Today was going to be different. Mary proclaimed “today I am going to be perfect”! I will follow all the rules and no matter what happens I will not eat any bad foods. Today, I will be good. After all I owe myself that much having gone through so much to get my surgery and am finally losing weight. There was that all too familiar sound of the alarm bringing her back to thoughts of the day rather than the “rules”. Climbing from bed Mary says aloud with a tone of certainty “today I will be good”. No bad foods, no bad choices, no head hunger today. The morning is always the easiest part of Mary’s day. She works at getting small sips of hot tea past her lips and has no desire for food as she thinks about her upcoming day. Traffic is stressful as usual and by the time the long commute is over she is beginning to feel small pangs of hunger. Walking past the break room filled with machines all stocked with bad foods was always the first test of the day. Today, Mary passed with flying colors. Proclaiming loudly inside her head "today I will be good". It was always better to wait until the crowd cleared before using the break room microwave to warm her breakfast dutifully brought from home and prepared with such determination to not be bad today. As the lunch hour approached Mary found herself going over all her food rules. Today was lunch with her supervisor, who always seemed to watch her eating with the most critical eye since the surgery. Mary knew her supervisor thought the surgery to be ill-advised and foolish. How many times did she say, “If you would just stick with your diets the weight would come off”. Taking so long to finish her soup made Mary self-conscious to say the least and certainly did not go unnoticed by the supervisor. This lunch was particularly stressful as Mary learned that the company was in financial difficulty and some tough decisions were coming from corporate. The lunch was all Mary could think about as she drove home that afternoon. Since lunch the rules committee in her head had been very active and loud. She must have covered every food rule in her exhaustive list of bad foods. The more she thought about what she could not have the more she wanted what she could not have. Mary was firm with her resolve that in spite of such a stressful day that she would not be bad today. She would not eat even a single bit of bad food. Mary could feel the frustration, anger, resentment, and it seemed like every feeling imaginable rushed into her body. Upon arriving at home Mary pulled the shades, turned off the phone, turned on the TV. The more she thought about her day the more she thought about every bad food in the house. I will not be bad today Mary proclaimed aloud as if someone within earshot cared about her feelings. As darkness fell numbness overcame the earlier rush of feelings. All Mary could think of was all the bad foods she could not have and all her shortcomings. In no time she had convinced herself that not only was she unlovable, but could never find another job if this one was lost. Mary suddenly found herself standing in front of the refrigerator. Opening the box of ice cream she promised herself to take only one bite. I won’t even put it in a bowl because I’m only going to take one bite. Almost instantaneously after the first bite the voices in her head began to scream the all too familiar refrains: you’ve done it now stupid; what a failure you are; you will never learn; you have absolutely no will power; every one is doing better than you after their surgery; you are bad. Having broken the rule there was no need to hold back until the ice cream was gone. This would be her dinner, as well as her much deserved punishment. When you are a bad person you deserve no help or sympathy. The thing to do is go ahead and punish yourself, because that is what bad people deserve - punishment. With the ice cream gone and exhaustion overtaking Mary’s day she lay down in bed. Will sleep coming she asked herself, "will I be bad tomorrow?" Mary like so many of us fell into the trap of defining herself as good or bad based on the foods she ate. Food was something sharply divided into good vs. bad. The rules were never to be broken and once broken there was no need to turn back until all the damage had been done. Arriving home, Mary made the faithful decision to isolate herself with only her rule and self-doubt to grow in strength until they were unbearable. Anyone else ever feel like this???

Hey! We were banded the same month and year! :thumbup: Anyway, keep in mind that as you lose weight on the outside, you also lose fat from around your organs... this would cause your band to be looser and you may need a fill.

Oh good! I'm glad you arent suffering from chronic depression! :tt2: It makes this whole weight loss journey so much harder!

Make sure and talk to your doc about which antidepressant he/she puts you on... I have been taking amiltriptyline for years and it seems to work the best on me (over the many many others I've tried over the years) but one of the side effects is weight gain and craving for sweets! That was one of the reasons my insurance approved my surgeory. Try not to be a discouraged, you can overcome anything!

Hee hee! You funny! :thumbup:

That's the saddest story I've ever heard (read)... :tt1:

THIS WAS LAST YEAR'S BIRTHDAY BLOG TITLED: 'ITS MY 41ST BIRTHDAY AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO': I'm feeling pretty depressed and guilty and discouraged and and and... and I'm tired of feeling this way! I've got my band in april of last year and didnt get my first fill until 6 months later. I've lost 55 pounds since but just cant seem to stay on track these days. Ice cream.. crackers.. mini candy bars at work... sometimes in the afternoon at work, I cant stop thinking about a snack. I obsess over it and end up becoming grouchy because I cant stop thinking about it. I end up feeling deprived and punished because I cant eat what I want... then the guilt that I even feel like that in the first place makes it worse. sigh... WHATS WRONG WITH ME??? I'm so happy with my success so far, but I feel I cant do it anymore. I was going to the gym 3 times a week, so even when I cheated, I wouldnt gain. Unfortunately I fell and hurt my ankle 4 weeks ago and can only do so much before I'm in too much pain.... so now I only go 1 or 2 times a week. I was working back to my consistency, but then I must of reinjured it because it started swelling up and hurting so I am back to square one. Boo! Although I know my depression meds contribute to my weight gain and my lust for sweets, it doesnt make me feel any better. Feels like excuses. Its my 41st bday today and I had wanted to reach my first goal of 200 pounds by today, but am 11 pounds short... and its my fault. I get up every morning and tell myself that today I wont eat anything I am not suppose to and that I will go to the gym and be proud of myself... but that never seams to happen 100%. I'm sorry I didnt have any words of wisdom or positive energy to contribute... maybe I shouldnt of posted at all... anyway, good luck to you... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This year my perspective is so much different from last year! It's my 42nd birthday and I dont want to cry! These are some things I've learned since last year: I've learned that I'm NOT perfect and that's OK. Really, it is! I've realized that I will still have bad days and struggle with my depression, but good days are always around the bend. I dont feel out of control or hopeless anymore. Thats a good thing! I've learned that having the right amount of saline in your band is the key! My doc will only give .5 ccs at a time and it's taken me two years EXACTLY to reach my sweet spot! On my last fill (April 2010), I went for a fill and since I have lost 12 pounds! I even cancelled an appointment I scheduled for today. I rescheduled for August-just in case. I've learned that control, exercise and making wise food choices is important, but if you dont have the right amount in your band, it will be harder. I've learned that although I've come far, its not over. There is ALWAYS room for improvement and I'm alive and capable to do whatever I set my mind to! Splurging on chocolate or pizza once in awhile isnt a make or break deal! There is always a tomorrow to start fresh. ALWAYS. I've learned that I'm happier with my current body image than I have been in probably 15 years! I'm far from being 'thin', but I'm a hell of a lot better off than I was two years ago!!! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to a healthier-happier meeeeeee! Happy Birthday to me!

How do you get the percent of body weight? I used the calculator link you posted and it tells me the percent of weight i've lost in percentage... ie- I started at 266 and am at 188, which is 70.67%. I've only lost 78 pounds so far... i'm confused.... math and I have never had a close relationship!

I bought some at Walmart last night... I have yet to try them, but I sure am curious!

This is the site I use... Once you design your ticker, insert the code into your user signature page. Anytime you update it, it will update on any pages you have the code on. Good luck! :Dancing_biggrin: Weight Loss - Diet Ticker