RestlessMonkey

Water first in the AM AND throughout the day! :cool2: Makes a big difference, doesn't it?

I think you were really smart to pass on the BBQ. There will be other ones. And this does pass...think of that. Before you could diet and suffer and lose and then relax and gain it all back. You have the band now; it will help you. You can make it! :cool2:

Daily. I know I go up (water) sometimes etc and it doesn't flip me out. But I need that daily "jolt". Otherwise it's too easy for me to "pretend" I'm doing fine even when I'm not. Now that I have the band and don't "diet" I don't obsess over every pound etc like I used to (amazing but true!) so the daily ritual is a good one for me.

None of them! LOL But I use the premixed EAS Carb Control AdvantEDGE ones...I do chocolate. They are what my doc recommended and I still have them often for breakfast and lunch. It's just food so they don't bother me much any more.

HANG IN THERE. It's hard but vital for you to heal! One thing I did was strain campbell's chicken noodle Soup (no sneaking ANY chicken or noodles though...they can really do damage) and drinking that. It was way better than broth. AND have sugar free popsicles if your doc allows. Week 1 I only got Water, broth, clear stuff...no Protein. It gets better once you can have Protein shakes again. We made it so I know YOU can.

I am SO SO GLAD!!!! I asked my surgeon why sometimes restriction is so "psycho" and he said "mostly hydration" ...I had asked for another "friend" who posts on here and was just at her wit's end. It really changed her band life but I am always reluctant to put it out there...it's such an easy fix to such a nasty problem! I am so glad it helped you! :cool2: I start each day now with 16 oz of Water...BEFORE my coffee. My band is calm and docile all day long! :smile: I mean, it works, but it doesn't turn on me when I least expect it!

Did you discuss this with your banding doctor?

If you can't get liquid down, you'll get dehydrated and end up in the ER. Dehydration can happen VERY fast...it is dangerous. Forget protein, concentrate on WATER. If you can't get 64 oz down, you need to be unfilled. It's nothing to play around with, ok?

LOL I'm a multimedia Monkey. :cool2: But I do make myself move and "earn" the downtime now. Mostly. :smile:

That will get better as your band settles down and your stomach and digestive tract get over being ticked at you for messing with them! :cool2: Although I do burp more after each fill, for a while. Apparently I do because now my "beloved" precious husband will BELCH and then look at me and say "I have new restriction" LOL :smile: And no, he does NOT have a band. He just copies me when it suits him. :wub:

My doc told me something similar. His words were "You're about to head downhill. Your life will go to hell and I can't stop it". Uh, what? LOL But he was right, and being compassionate, and knows me well enough that mincing words would've just given me wiggle room. I had toyed with lap band and wanted/didn't want it for years. But after that I bought and read a couple books, I did internet research (that's how I found this place) and I attended a seminar with my RN husband and asked any question that came to mind. It's a lot to just "TELL" (that is why there are BOOKS about it!) so maybe you could start there? I got mine from Amazon but half price or something like it is bound to have a couple. QUestions to ask your surgeon specifically when picking one would be things like "How many lap bands have you placed" and "Have you had any patients die" and "what are the common complications your patients experience" and "are you aggressive or conservative with fills" and "What is your lap band philosophy" The first are geared toward experience skill and expertise, then you want someone who sees things the way you do. Good luck!

Just wanted to tell you that for some of us, no food is off limits. Bless my surgeon! :cool2: He said his goal is for his patients to be able to eat ANYTHING in small portions and many of them attain that goal. I can eat white bread, dry chicken breast, steak, fajitas, you name it. In fact today for lunch I had a cup of lemon chicken and rice. A splurge, delicious. And 1 cup was plenty. Before I would've had WAY more than that, and egg rolls, and 3 fortune Cookies and probably some wontons. :smile: (awful but true!) It's easy to be more active when you feel better, look better, fit INTO the sports bras (does it seem like they just make them for women who do NOT need to wear them? LOL) and so on. HH is right...research. Personally I LOVE the band. Good for you doing something NOW when you're young. Don't let your life whiz by you while you sit in bed with the tv and your lap top.

I burp more than I used to...but usually it's tied to eating too fast. The mere thought horrified me preband, but now I don't care. I don't belch in public and have never horrified myself and my companions LOL It's worth it for the band, IMHO.

As is so often the case, I agree with my friend Headhunter. In fact, I just went back to my therapist that I had gone to for a year on my own BEFORE I even got the band (she's "behavioral" and really great) but I was having some issues with eating when I wasn't hungry and she really helped me figure it all out. Because...you could've taken a shake or whatever to the church thing but didn't (I recognized that because that's a big one for me...like I make it so I almost HAVE to eat something that will not help me lose! :cool2: ) Anyway, until you get your therapist, you maybe would like to try this: it helped me a lot. (this isn't from my therapist, just one thing I came up with to trick myself into walking the straight and narrow!) I allow myself ANYTHING I want to eat, but only for 3 meals a day. So for example if I want cake and ice cream, I have it. But it's my meal. You totally cut out Snacks and yes you may eat some wild stuff for a few meals but trust me, you don't do it for long. Within a few days you'll be just eating 3 meals a day and then of course the next step is to make one meal "healthy". Do that for a couple days then make 2 meals "healthy" and so on. You see the trend. It kind of helps you sneak up on "doing the right thing". NO GUILT EITHER! NO feeling bad during any phase. Keep thinking "It's just food". Funny how it can help. :smile:

Great! It's funny what a BIG difference a LITTLE saline can make when you are close to your "sweet spot"! :cool2:

Are you getting enough Water in? Try getting 8-16 oz before you eat in the am. And no....fills don't really work that way, I don't think. You don't need to be "tighter" so it won't hurt. I think you just got hot sweaty dried out and need hydration...just a guess though. NOT a medical opinion! :cool2: But that would explain why in the am and lunch it hurts, by pm you're "ok"...because you drink and hydrate as you go through the day. So get going early on fluids (I love coffee but don't count it, ok? if you indulge. Have plain old water) And of course call your doc if in doubt.

Call your doc. Regardless of the weight loss, if you can't stay hydrated, you're at risk, and it doesn't sound like you're getting enough fluids (dehydration can hurt us faster than lack of food) Call today.

LOVE it. Never a moment's regret. At almost a year out, it would break my heart if I had to give it up.

Just found this, so I think I actually meant X-ray TECHNICIAN....which is what I think I said.... An x-ray technician is a trained health care worker, with specific skills in the area of manipulating x-ray equipment to take “insider” pictures of the body so that diseases, conditions, or injury can be visualized and diagnosed. In this growing field, most x-ray techs train for a year or two prior to working in a variety of locations. Jobs in this field may take place in hospitals, doctor’s offices, radiology clinics, dental offices, and convalescent homes. The field is not without risk, since long-term exposure to frequent x-rays is correlated to the development of certain cancers. Following safety protocols like blocking vulnerable body parts from radiation with lead sheets or walls while x-rays are taken minimizes this risk. I always thought a radiologist "reads" the x-ray...and we don't call them "techs" down here.

I was taught someone who works on a car is a mechanic but again I am educated now about x-ray personnel if you want an apology here it is as I said, I am neither....and I will make sure in the future I'm clear If you want flowers I'll have to get your address.

I know. It was bad. But at least it didn't short out my laptop.

Plain I swear if you did stand up I'd pay to go listen. I just choked on baked fish. Spit takes are bad enough with water or another liquid, but baked fish?

It is YOUR business and you tell, or not, as you see fit. I don't think telling friends you got the lap band is the same as telling them you had a bowel movement and a hangnail, but apparently some do! In the first place, close friends and family who are active in your life may (or may not) act as a support network. Use your judgment there to decide. The band is a tool. You will still work very hard to lose every pound, so you don't need to feel you HAVE to tell (like "confessing" to your step dad as if he won't want to buy you clothes if you "cheat" with the band but wouldn't mind if you did it with diet and exercise? Was that what you meant? possibly I misunderstood) but by the same token if people say "wow it is FINALLY working for you you've tried so hard" you may say "yes I got the lap band and now my diet and exercise is actually paying off" or whatever. In other words, it's yours. Do with it whatever YOU want.

I understand. It's a big decision, a huge move (in the right direction, but still) and we all want to do it "right"...but are not sure exactly what that entails! I know you'll recover marvelously!

Good to know you feel better. Hopefully as you continue to heal it won't happen again.