jillrenee15

I also had a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis after my band was placed, however I think I had it years before the band, just didn't recognize it. I also take mtx and folic acid. I had foot problems, tendon issues, surgeries to correct, etc, that were all probably my first bouts of PSA, but didn't know it, until it started affecting the joints in my hands, when I went to a rheumatologist for a diagnosis. It doesn't just affect joints, but tendons and ligaments that surround the joints.

Just one question for you ladies, are you having fills during ovulation? If this applies, avoid that time of the month at all costs!! Hormones cause my band to be super tight during the couple days before and during. I never ever schedule a fill at this time, I've learned my lesson the hard way and it took me a year to figure it out. Just something to think about. Good luck all!

I had the same problem over the weekend, the tech could not get any Fluid out of my band, and I've not been able to get solid food down since last tuesday, and barely any Water. He tried twice, and I'm sure he got in the port, you can just tell by the pressure and such. Don't know what will happen now. Still no solids for me! I only have 5cc and have been there for at least a year, not losing much anymore, but not gaining either, so happy with it. As an aside, I really would not recommend for people to have the doctor take all the fluid out, then add to it when having a fill. I personally am very very sensitive to the change in restriction with the band. When the one surgeon does a fill on me, he does this, and I am so tight for a week from swelling. When the other surgeon does a fill, he just adds to what the chart says, and I am fine. I finally figured out this is what the problem was after a couple of fills by different people, and different reaction to each. Sometimes I was so tight and swollen I would have to come back the next day and have it all back out again.

I have this feeling A LOT. I am super tight 2-2 1/2 weeks of the month, then the rest I am ok. During these times, like right now, I have that feeling all day. I ate 2 chicken nuggets today, and I am still burping and slimeing from them. It is hormonal for me, happens every month. I am going to try the meat tenderizer right now! What is weird is that I haven't had a fill in at least 6 mo, and was losing slow and steady until april, when this 2 weeks of super tight nonsense started. I'm losing really well now, except when I eat ice cream, so I guess I'll just put up with it. Finally am under 200lbs!!!!!

I have not been on here in a long time. I have been slowly but steadily losing since I had my band placed sept of 08. Just this past two weeks something is wrong! I have not gotten or needed a fill for the past 9 mo. I have lost 85 lbs so far. Just this past two weeks I haven't been able to eat anything without pain and slime-ing. I make myself bring up that yuck just so the discomfort goes away. I've lost 8 lbs in 3 weeks. While that's nice, I'm scared that for some reason my band has slipped. I thought I was just super tight because it was that time of the month. I always got super tight for about a week, then gradually it would loosen as hormones settled back down. I am self pay, and can not pay for revision at this point. Have decided I need to do some liquids for a few days. Tried to drink a carnation instant breakfast for dinner just now, and can't get that down either. Any suggestions?

My doctors always withdraw all the fluid when doing a fill, to see what is in there. Don't all doctors do that? He also fills by feel of the plunger pushing back from the pressure of the fluid in the band. I don't really like that part of it though. I would prefer he just put in .5 and call it good. It seems my stomach is very sensitive. When they mess around loosening and tightening, I'm swollen for days and can't eat anything. It does go away eventually, but for a day or two after a fill I am so sick. I've had them take some out twice now, before I even leave the office, because I couldn't get a sip of water down. I'm debating whether or not I need another fill. I haven't lost any weight this summer, and it is my fault. Eating what I shouldn't and no steady excersize. I sometimes get stuck and slime, and those are the times I dont' think I need a fill, but other days I can eat anything I want, and want to go for a fill to control myself. I have decided that starting Saturday on my long weekend off of work, I am going to get back on the treadmill on my days off of work, and eating smaller meals. My eyes are much bigger than my stomach, even after more than a year being banded.

That is an awful small amount for a 2nd fill in a 10ccband. I would have thought you'd get at least 1cc. but all doctors are different. I'm down to .5cc every time now. Even with that I struggled through the first week after my last fill in being too tight. I get very swollen after each fill for some reason. He tried to give me a 1cc last time but had to take .5 out because I couldn't get water down at the office, and I was still on water and tea for almost a week. I'm just super sensitive I guess.

It was a 3 hour drive to where I had my surgery, and my husband had a job interview at the last minute, so he couldn't go with me. So, I went alone. I told the nurses that he would be there in the morning to take me home, so they couldn't not give me the surgery. That night I refused pain meds, and I really didn't need them anyway. The next morning I checked out about noon and drove home. yes I was tired and sore, but didn't expect anything less. Now, I don't recommend people to do this, but it's what I had to do.

After a doozy of a fill this week, I'm down 8 pounds in three days. I'm sure some of that may be liquid, but that's all I've been able to get down since wednesday. I'm down to 218 tonight. I'm hoping to stay that way. I'm still not very hungry even today, but have had a protein drink, a single serve cottage cheese, and two cups of coffee so far. I ordered a smaller size uniform at work tonight again too. Boy does that feel good. A XL shirt and 18 pants, and they run very small. Hope fully next week will be a good one too!! I'm ready to start dropping some weight.

I was in the same boat this week. Went in for a fill, and it's been a while. At first he gave me one cc. I knew that would be too much, and it was. So while I was still there, he took out .5cc. The water still hurt a little, but it was going down. I am always sore after a fill. I can feel water, hiccups, burps, everything hurts. It has never mattered if I was too tight or not. For some reason I always swell a lot after a fill. It takes 2-3 days to begin on mushy foods even, for me. Every body is different and you have to judge your own comfort level. Personally, I figure if air is coming up (burps) and water is going down, even though it may be at a trickle, I know that in a few days the swelling will leave and I will be in much better shape.

Do any of you out there suffer from psoriasis? I was wondering if yours flared when you were banded and started losing, or if it got better and better as you lost weight? I had terrible scalp psoriasis in my late teens early-twenties. It all the sudden disappeared after about two years and has been gone for 10 years. I'm getting a little spot on my scalp now that is flaring up, and it is really bothering me. I'm scared to death that it is going to get as bad as it was before. What are your experiences?

To me, the bmi thing is a no go. Those charts are from 40 years ago. People were smaller and shorter. My sister and I are very similar in build and composition, but I was fat, she has always been skinny. At 5'3 she was 102lbs. She looked skeletal. She couldn't get pregnant because she didn't have enough body fat for her hormones. She had to GAIN 20lbs, by doctors orders, to get pregnant and stay pregnant. I know I will never see 102 or 122 for that matter. I am aiming for a size 8/10. Whatever weight that is, is my goal. I stated 160 on my ticker, because at one point I was a 10 and was 170. Where does that put me on the bmi scale? I don't know and don't care. To me it's a feeling, of being healthy and happy and looking good in my clothes. Considering now that most of the world's average is a size 14, I will be happy with an 8/10. I'm a 16/18 right now. I looked at my ticker tonight, holy crap, I'm almost half way there!!!

For me, it is a yes. I do have to diet. Not as strictly as I thought I would though. I try hardest to stay away from crunchy carbs, which I can eat loads of. I do a lot of smartones frozen dinners for lunch at work, I do a lot of salads with veggies and chicken breast, and I eat a lot of cottage cheese. I still eat pretty much anything I want, but breads get stuck. I have to be very very careful. I can eat a half a sandwich, or half a cheesburger, or almost 2 small slices of pizza. Fries make me throw up every time. A six piece nugget satisfies me. I don't need the whole bigmac combo anymore, and couldn't eat it if I wanted to. I do my best to make better choices. I don't do protein shakes. Why drink your calories??? But my weakness is the crunchy stuff. Crackers and cookies. I eat popcorn when I want though, it is a whole grain and full of fiber. I don't see anything wrong with a bag of popcorn for lunch. A whole bag has 300calories, and I'm done before the bag is empty. I've seen a lot of protein this and protein that. I get enough just eating normally. A little snack size cottage cheese has 11 g. A yougurt and a serving of kashi golean crunch mixed in is a great breakfast and has fiber, calcium and protein. A smartones dinner can have 26gr. You just have to choose the right ones and read the labels. I'm looking forward to more veggies from my garden. So after all that, the answer is yes. I have to diet a little.

For me, it is a yes. I do have to diet. Not as strictly as I thought I would though. I try hardest to stay away from crunchy carbs, which I can eat loads of. I do a lot of smartones frozen dinners for lunch at work, I do a lot of salads with veggies and chicken breast, and I eat a lot of cottage cheese. I still eat pretty much anything I want, but breads get stuck. I have to be very very careful. I can eat a half a sandwich, or half a cheesburger, or almost 2 small slices of pizza. Fries make me throw up every time. A six piece nugget satisfies me. I don't need the whole bigmac combo anymore, and couldn't eat it if I wanted to. I do my best to make better choices. I don't do protein shakes. Why drink your calories??? But my weakness is the crunchy stuff. Crackers and cookies. I eat popcorn when I want though, it is a whole grain and full of fiber. I don't see anything wrong with a bag of popcorn for lunch. A whole bag has 300calories, and I'm done before the bag is empty. I've seen a lot of protein this and protein that. I get enough just eating normally. A little snack size cottage cheese has 11 g. A yougurt and a serving of kashi golean crunch mixed in is a great breakfast and has fiber, calcium and protein. A smartones dinner can have 26gr. You just have to choose the right ones and read the labels. I'm looking forward to more veggies from my garden. So after all that, the answer is yes. I have to diet a little.

I weighed yesterday morning and was at 224.6. I think it's a fluke. I was very bad this week. I was on my 5 days off from work the first part of the week. It was cold and crappy and we did pretty much nothing active. I did walk once and do some weights twice though. Now that I'm back to work for the next 7 days, I expect to see another drop. Being at work, I can only eat what I bring. Being home, there is a house full of food.

Does anyone here suffer from psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rhuematoid arthritis, etc? What do you take for your arthritis pain that does not hurt your stomach? Is anyone on MTX or celebrex or anything like that? I'm fishing for suggestions on medications that don't cause stomach problems. I wouldn't want to burn a hole in my pouch from medications sitting in it.

I am down to 226.2 this morning. I always try to weigh first thing once or twice a week. This week has been tough on me. Midnight 12's and very little sleep. Next week will be better.....

Hi there, I'm going to do my Friday weigh in today, since I won't be at work Friday to do it. I'm at 227 this week and SOOOOO Happy. I've finally broken through the 230's where I've been stuck for weeks. I haven't been this weight since my senior year in high school. I don't know what I did different this past 2 weeks, but I've lost a couple of pounds. I was really stressed out and wasn't eating much, which is what helped I'm sure. We're going camping this weekend, so will have plenty of opportunity to move around and exercise with the kids. Won't be eating all the time either. Hope everyone has a safe and good holiday weekend.

It's Friday again already.... I'm still at 232 this week. I didn't have too bad of a week. I started to focus on protein again. I did walk down to the daycare in the afternoon to pick my son up in his little push car 3 times this week, it's almost half a mile each way. I am still having a lot of trouble with eating when I'm not even hungry. Mostly from boredom at night. I'm going to try to recommit to not eating when I'm not hungry. When I start feeling hunger pangs, I'll eat. But if I'm not feeling them, I need to stop putting food in my mouth. I still think I'm at a really good restriction. I can't eat a lot in one sitting, unless it's junk like chips or crackers. I've got a lot of stress on right now. My job is in a major upheaval and the unknown has been dragging on for 2 months now. I'll still have a job, thank god, but I don't know what building, what shift, or what kind of work I'll be doing. It has been a very rough time at work.

What size band do you have? Also, your dr seems VERY aggressive. If I were you I would wait 2-3 weeks to think about getting another fill. Sometimes it takes that long for me to even feel mine. My dr also told be that in the 14cc band, which I have, most people approach good restriction between 6-8cc. You already have 6cc, and your band could be smaller than mine. Try to be more patient and give it an extra week this time. If you hurry it too much, you could be slammed all at once with too much restriction, be miserable, and have to have some or ALL taken out.

I lost faster on top than on bottom too. Like I need to lose any up there!!! Rather it be from my butt. It actually sucks to have to buy SMALLER bras. I'm in shirts 3 sizes smaller, and pants only 2 sizes smaller. At least its all smaller, rather than larger I guess.

My doctor doesn't use any numbing stuff, and I don't think it's needed. The only thing that might hurt is him probing around your port sight with his fingers to find it. Mine was still really sort 4 weeks after surgery when I got my first fill. The needle part didn't hurt at all.

Cutting up your food is the key at first when you are still learning. Anything you can pick up and eat with your hands, you will definately revert back to old habits of huge bites and too big chunks. Cut everything up and eat it with utensils. I still do this a lot, and it's helped me with my sliming episodes. Also, people's stomach gets a little swollen and cranky when you get a fill. Take it easy for a couple of days after a fill. I also never get a fill during the middle of my cycle. I'm ALWAYS tighter during that week. It may be different for women who take b/c pills, because the hormones are more steady all month, I don't know. Just something to think about.

Scrambled eggs were a surprise for me. I thought I would use them to get in some extra protein, but I haven't been able to eat them at all since getting banded. I don't know why. That, and spaghetti. I can do other pasta, just not spaghetti. Go figure.

Hi there, I'm in Midland, MI, up north of Flint by about an hour. I went to Harper hospital in Detroit for my band, and am still going there for fills. (Can't find anyone else who will do them at a reasonable price that is closer to me.) My advice: Find out what your fills will be, how many are included, if not included, how much they charge for each, and be prepared to make the drive there at least 10 times in the first year or so, and a few times after that each year, forever. Good luck to all you prospective bandsters!!