Amisha

Karinb, I was also a revision from band to sleeve and also on the 26th. Glad to hear you're doing so well. I'm right there with you. I've been struggling a bit with heartburn the past couple days, but definitely nothing I can't handle. Hope it continues to go well for you and good luck!

Surgery date was 8/26 for me. The gas pains were the worst, but other than one stubborn air bubble in my left shoulder it's all gone now. The one in my shoulder sucks though. If I yawn or sneeze I feel like I'm dying. Wish it would take a hike. I'm finding more and more energy every day and that helps a lot. Something that shocked me was the amount of depression I've been feeling. I knew it was a possibility, but it threw me for a loop how hard it hit me. I spent one whole day in bed literally crying every hour. I thought I made the biggest mistake of my life. Fortunately, that has started to lift and I'm feeling positive again. Best of luck to you all, I'm sending you all good vibes!

GardenGirl, I was also sleeved on the 26th and I'm so happy I found you! I've been looking for someone with my surgery date. I started to think I was the only one on the planet who had surgery that day. I can tell you that the first few days I had that full, not even interested in food, get it away from me feeling. After that, I was more like, "Somebody better bring me a damn burger before people get hurt." The thing is, I have two teenage boys who subsist seemingly solely on burgers and every time they eat in my presence I actually don't think it sounds appealing at all and have no desire to even take one bite. I think a couple things might be at play here, but I'm no expert. Just going by personal experience and reflection. I think our bodies were dealt a pretty big shock and those first few days after surgery our brains were focused solely on healing. That was a huge distraction for our minds. At least for me, eating was such a habit that now that my brain has come to terms with the surgery and set my body on the path to healing, it seems like I've been missing out on something and need to get busy stuffing my face. I'm quite behind schedule. In other words, I think a lot of it is in my head. It's tough for us especially right now because a liquid diet is THE most unsatisfying thing on the planet. It doesn't hit any of our pleasure centers the way "real" food does. I agree with those who say moving into solids will be helpful, even if I'm just going on faith. I'm not so much missing the food. I'm missing the experience, the crunch, the tangibility of something with texture and layers. That is *definitely* mental, but I find that if I sit and think it through, I can ride the wave and get past it. It's a bit like quitting smoking which I also had the pleasure of living through. If you can count to ten and then ten again it passes, you get distracted and live to fight another day. I just repeat the mantra, "this is not forever, this is going to pass." Over and over again. Sometimes I get hung up on thinking it will be this way forever and it bums me right out. Reminding myself that this is temporary and necessary for success, it gets easier to deal with my hunger. I will be able to eat "real" food that I enjoy again. I'll just be in a better place and will have a healthier relationship with those foods when I get there. Reminding my brain, if you will. As to being light-headed, you're not overdoing it are you? I find that I feel so good some days I tend to push myself more than I should and then I end feeling dizzy and shaky. We are still healing and still relatively close to surgery date so make sure you're not doing loads of strenuous activity without taking plenty of rests. I'm very active and that's been a challenge for me. I don't want to rest. I want to sweep the kitchen, rearrange my home office, run a marathon and possibly become a backup dancer even though I got no rhythm. Anyway, I hope at least a little of this long winded rant helps you. I'm around if you need a shoulder. Just pm me and I'll be happy to lend an ear. Best of luck and I'll be sending good juju your way!

Since being banded, I have encountered some weird, wacky stuff. What about you guys? What's the weirdest new development for you? I'll go first...yawning! It's so weird. I can't feel the band, I have no abdominal pain, I barely even remember it's there anymore unless it's mealtime. But every time I yawn it feels like someone kicked me in the side of my stomach. Ever tried to stop a yawn? It's impossible. So strange...

That's an *excellent* problem to have! Congrats! All these little victories may not seem like much to the great unwashed, but I for one revel in them. Keep up the good work!

Ariel, me too! I never noticed how my boyfriend inhaled his food before being banded. Okay, he doesn't actually inhale it, but it seems to me like he does, because I eat so slowly now. Same with when we go out. I look around the restaurant and literally lose what little appetite I had just watching people eat. I'm trying not pay any attention, but it's going to be tough. Smarq, me neither. I didn't have any of the cravings I used to during menstruation.

Awww Irish. That happened to me too. For a couple weeks after I would cry at the drop of a hat. Then I would laugh hysterically. Then I would cry again. Then I would alllllmooooost cry but then BOOM! more hysterical laughter. It was tough. My bf thought they had given me a lobotomy. Fortunately, it did pass. I'm not sure what's behind it, other than a huge shock to the system for our bodies (and minds) to adjust to. But it gets better. Just hang in there and enjoy the ride as much as you can. It'll be worth it in the end.

Had my first fill this morning. I was eskerrid because I loathe, detest and despise needles with the red-hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. HOWEVER, it was SO easy I didn't even realize it happened. Our doc has a poster hanging on the ceiling listing tips for success and while I was distracted looking at that, she completed the whole thing. I was like, "Whaaa? You CAN'T be done!" I was positive she was just tricking me...you know, "We'll just make her THINK she got a fill and that will keep her satisfied. Ahhahahaha!" Like a placebo. But nope, it's been done. wOOt! Now the bad news. I was a little nervous about my first meal afterwards because even before my first fill today, I was feeling some restriction and had one or two occasions where I got "stuck". I ate SOOOO slowly and chewed SOOOO well, it bordered on obsessive. AND STILL, still I lost it and had to rush to the bathroom. :redface: Ack. I didn't care for that, no sir, thanks all the same. I'll have no more truck with any of that. It was my first time so it kinda freaked me out a little. That was lunch and dinner, I'm happy to report, went much better. I managed small portions and didn't have a single problem. Maybe it was just nerves? Anyway, doesn't matter, I made it! Hooray!

Hey Junebugs! I was banded June 11th. Surgery went well, no complications. Healed up nicely. Barely even notice my port anymore. I still feel some restriction, though I do occasionally get crazy hungry. My first fill is scheduled for the 9th. Here's the thing though: I take Metformin for insulin resistance. Okay, well I'm SUPPOSED to take Metformin. I haven't actually taken it since the surgery cause those pills are bigger than a baby's head and I'm a little scared they're going to get stuck, even when cut in half. Lately, I've noticed it seems like my blood sugar just spikes the hell out when I eat. I didn't really have a problem with this before. I never had to regularly check my blood sugar or anything. But since the surgery I have had times where I literally cannot hold my head up, I'm so tired after eating. Happened today. I had a *very* light lunch and still, immediately after, I got so tired I nearly fell asleep on my desk. I came home from work at 5 and slept until 8. I could barely make it home to my bed. Is anyone else experiencing anything like this? Any idea what it could be? Do you think it could be related to the surgery or is it most likely from not taking my Metformin anymore? If so, why didn't it do that to me if I went off it a few times prior to surgery? (I'm horrible about taking pills. I forget a lot.) Also, I'm having problems with the whole "little bit of food goes a long way" concept. I'm so used to making these epic meals and snack fests when I get hungry. I'm finding it hard to break the habit. I end up making or ordering or shopping for WAY more food than I can possibly handle. My schedule is often very chaotic and rather than going shopping way in advance, I sometimes find myself needing to eat with no food in sight. Then I have to run out and grab something because if I get too hungry I get the shakes. My eyes are literally bigger than my stomach. I end up eating a few bites and then I'm so full I can't even look at it anymore. Then I feel guilty and horrible that I threw away so much food. How are you guys dealing with this? Are you finding it tough to break the habit of making/ buying/ordering a lot of food, thinking that was going to be necessary to fill you up? What tricks have you tried that have worked for you? I know I should just order or buy a little bit and then if I'm still hungry I can get more, but at the time, when I am buying it, I find that I'm hungry and therefore, hungry = lots o' food. So I buy it and there I go again, vicious circle. Any ideas? Thanks, guys and gals!

Thanks, but I think I figured out the problem. I started my period today. Ugh! it hurts like walking on glass doused in gasoline and lit on fire! Has anyone else from the June lineup had their period yet and if so, was it bad? I have some serious pain in my lower right abdomen. I'm guessing maybe it's my ovaries, since I have PCOS, but it feels WAY more intense than it usually does. Holy hell, I don't know if I can handle this.

This is a rant, and a long one at that. I just wanted to warn you in case you would rather, I don't know, get a root canal or something else more pleasurable than reading this. I was banded on June 11th. The first week after was difficult, but now it's so much better. I've got a lot of energy and I barely even notice the port anymore. My appetite is still there, but it's nowhere as bad as it used to be, pre-surgery. As long as I eat slowly, I fill up quickly and don't get hungry again for quite awhile later. I am not losing anymore weight, though I lost ten lbs in my first week. However, my clothes are already fitting better. I feel good about those things and I'm really anxious for my first fill on July 9th. It can't come soon enough. So what's the problem? It's not a problem, really. Except that I just got back in town from a business trip and it renewed all those feelings of self doubt and dread I've grown accustomed to through the years. I hate traveling. I hate it! I hate tiny airplanes that fold you up like a pretzel in a pill box. I hate narrow aisles and my big butt! I hate walking ten miles in a hundred different directions, afraid my feet are going to give out. I hate going to fancy dinners and cocktail parties with young, thin women with their young, thin dresses and their stupid, young, thin hair and makeup. I hate feeling like I'm the ugly gorilla in the corner desperately trying to fade into the background while simultaneously wishing someone would notice me and talk to me. I've always said that I don't understand how someone so big could be so invisible to everyone else. I'm attractive. I know I am. That's not vanity, I just feel as though I'm an attractive woman and I have a lot to offer, dammit! I'm smart. Articulate. Funny. Witty. I'm well-read. Well-traveled. I have opinions. Dreams. Doubts. Fears. I'm a freaking human being. I don't know. I guess it just brought me down from my high. It dehumanized me and made me remember, against my will, that the world is not a nice place if you're not a perfectly "normal", acceptable size. It reminded me of all the ugly prejudice out there and how, in the year frickin 2008, people, that it's perfectly acceptable to discriminate against overweight people. Everyone is so concerned about being PC and not offending anyone, but they don't give a second thought to offending me. They have special menus and elevators and movie theater seats and cultural awareness programs for disabled people. They have interpretors and translated menus, signs, books, and movies for foreigners coming to our country. They make every allowance possible to ensure none of those people are inconvenienced or excluded. But I don't think a single one of them ever thought, "You know, it might be a good idea to make seat belts for people who might not be a perfect size 1, thereby eliminating the embarrassment of those imperfect bodies trying desperately to buckle said seatbelt before others notice their fear and horror that it might not reach." People don't want to talk to you because they're afraid your fat cells might rub off on them or something. Gah! I'm not disabled, of course. I got myself into this mess and I am damn well capable of getting myself out of it. I'm working on it. And I'm not for more government interference, by any means. I think it would be a mistake to start making a super-sized version of everything, just to make overweight people more comfortable. I think it can be a good thing to be uncomfortable once in a while. It's what motivates us. Pushes us to do better. Achieve more. It certainly reaffirmed my belief that I've made the right decision for myself. It made me mad and sad and uncomfortable and resentful. But it also made me more determined that next year, at this same conference, I will not experience any of that. I will take that pain and disappointment and I will turn it into triumph and joy. So, those discomforts and prejudices do serve a valuable purpose. If the system stepped in and removed all those things then I might not ever have the motivation to do change myself for the better. I'm just saying, it would be nice, just for once, to not go through this misery every single time I travel. To feel comfortable and healthy and accepted. To feel beautiful and capable and worthy. I know that's asking a lot, but what the hell, ain't I a person too???

I used to have a treadmill, but I've also got plantar fasciitis in my left foot and the impact of the treadmill made working out painful. My guy bought me an elliptical for Christmas a year ago and I love it. The impact is greatly reduced, without sacrificing effectiveness. I consulted with my trainer before switching to the elliptical and he told me it was a good choice because you get an excellent cardio workout and the opportunity to vary your workout. It's true that you can change the incline and speed of the treadmill, but you can do the same with the elliptical. In addition, you can choose the forward motion OR a reverse motion on the elliptical, which gives you two totally different workouts. I can REALLY feel it when I go backwards for a bit. In different muscles. This is a valuable plus to me. It's hard to walk backwards on a treadmill. However, my mom has tried my elliptical and she says it kills her knees and hips and makes it really hard for her to stay on it very long. What this says to me is that every BODY is different and what works for some, might not work for others. So I would definitely recommend "borrowing" one first before sinking the money. Try it at a gym if you can. I know gyms can be inconvenient and expensive, which is why many of us have equipment in our own homes, but many gyms will let you try it out for a few sessions before joining. Or, if you have a friend who has one, ask if they mind if you give it a couple tries before committing. It should be more than once though, cause problems might not become evident until you've done it a couple times. Like a few other posters here, I had to start slowly on mine. It was such an intense workout it killed me. I thought the baby Jesus was sitting on my chest, ready to take me Home. I was able to stay on maybe five minutes before giving up. I can report though that I stayed with it and added a few minutes at a time and eventually I was able to work up to a full 30 minutes with hardly breaking a sweat, but it took me a while. I supplement this with bike riding with my boys, walking with my guy, bands and weights and an exercise ball, which makes doing sit ups a breeze. If you Google the topic, there's a wealth of information out there: Google results for treadmill vs. elliptical. It might just convolute the issue and confuse you more, but you might also find something there that will help you decide. Hope that helps and remember, it's not what you do it on, it's that you do it at all. That's more important than the type of machine you buy. Good luck! Let us know what you decide and how it turns out for you!

Stephanie, you make a good point. I think it will be easier for us to be more sensitive to this issue once we get the weight off, since we've all been there and we know how tough it can be. But it could be a challenge too, one that we must rise to, to remember how awful it felt and never make it worse for anyone still struggling. I also get so tired of the stereotypes you face in your job. Some of my favorite: overweight people sweat profusely. We can't run. We eat all day every day and have zero self control. We're lazy. Oh, please. So untrue. Amy and L2BT, I feel for ya. Just hang onto the hope of a better tomorrow and let it make you stronger and more determined. We'll soon be breezing down those aisles like a breeze with no trouble at all. I hope. I admit I am worried that no matter how much weight I lose, I will never shake those feelings of insecurity.

Just wanted to take a minute to say thanks to those of you doing all the organization for our group. I really wanted to jump in somewhere and start posting after I joined, but there are so many different forums and threads that I was a little overwhelmed. I didn't even know where to start. When I got the invitation to add myself to the list I was so excited! It made me feel like I finally landed on a home for me in this huge community. Thanks for all the hard work you guys have put into this and making me feel so included and welcome! Please let me know if I can do anything to help!

Mine is scheduled for July 9th. It can't possibly come soon enough.

My doc has set me loose on "soft foods" and I'm at a loss. I've searched the forum, but have had trouble finding what I'm looking for. I'm getting mighty sick of eggs. I don't think about it until I get hungry and then it's too late to do any shopping or preparation of anything other than a small omelette. So I eat that and then forget about it until I get hungry again and then realize, "Oh yeah, all I have that I know for sure I can eat is eggs. Blech." And the pattern repeats. Does anyone have any recipe ideas for this stage or is there a post already covering this someone can refer me to? Thanks!

Oh god, Dawn, do I relate! Also, I travel a lot for work, so I won't miss: 1) Getting on the airplane and feeling like I need to apologize to everyone for taking up so much space. 2) Sitting on the airplane and feeling like I'm spilling over into and crushing my seat mates to death. 3) Seeing the worry and fear in people's eyes as I approach their seat, and always, ALWAYS interpreting that as fear and worry that they will be the seat mate I am crushing under my massive size. 4) Worrying about whether or not the seat belt will fit without an extender. 5) Not being able to join my work colleagues in the hot tub or pool after a long day. 6) Not being able to wear those cute little black dresses and strappy heels that other women wear to our cocktail parties and fancy dinners. 7) Giving speeches and presentations where I feel like people are not focused on what I'm saying and the value I give to the organization, but instead, thinking about how grossly overweight and uncomfortable I am. and more, I'm sure. Now I'm depressed thinking about it. Gotta get on a plane for a 4-day fancy shindig in Colorado tomorrow...:grouphug:

Way to go! Hope it's fun, but be careful, wear your helmet and clean underwear, etc. etc. Congratulations on your success!

Yeah, I should have been more specific. I meant fruit I could actually sink my teeth into, like a juicy nectarine or peach. I was afraid someone was going to say I would never be able to eat them again because they might gum up the works or something...

Oh gosh, thanks for the great suggestions. I had eggs again today because I forgot all about posting this and didn't check back. I'm glad I remembered because I'm definitely going to try some of these suggestions tomorrow. One question though: when can I expect to be able to eat fruit again? I *really* wanted a nectarine tonight.

Excellent, thanks!

Nevermind, I answered my own question. In case you guys are interested, this is the PCOS-specific forum. Cheers!

Heather, the last time I got mine renewed I had been on a downward trend and lost a bunch. The lady at the DMV noticed the number went down from the previous weight significantly and commented on it. She was very encouraging. Unfortunately, the weight didn't stay off and I lost my license so I had to go back to get a new one. Even though she deals with a gazillion people a day, I was CONVINCED she would remember me and chastise me for not keeping the weight off. Of course she didn't remember me from Eve, and she also didn't comment this time. I guess weight gain isn't something you get an 'atta girl' for...go figure. I was honest about the new number though and having to stick that damn license in my purse made me even more determined to do something positive for myself. Funny, the little things that motivate us, or make us ashamed.

Everything in moderation. At my one week Post Op visit with my surgeon last week I asked the same question. I LOVE iced tea. She said I could have all of it I wanted, so long as I didn't sweeten it with real sugar. Defeats the purpose. She also said not to use it as a replacement for Water because it is a diuretic and won't help with staying dehydrated, which is very, very important and can't be underestimated. Good luck!

I'm kind of new here. I wonder if they have a "PCOS Group" yet. It would be interesting to keep in touch with each other with progress and tips and things that work for you, in the interest of providing relief, or perhaps dire warnings, for others. Possible? Maybe someone who has been around longer could tell us...