futureshrink

Hi Heidi! Would love to chat! Chris:smile:

I have had the same issue. My band was fine after a fill in February, but suddenly has gotten so tight that I am at mostly liquids. I am having terrible reflux at night. I am going to see the surgeon tomorrow to see if the band has slipped (calling the surgeon was a tough call to make...I don't want anything to be wrong with my band). She mentioned that it could be if I had been sick, the stomach swells...although I haven't been sick. I am super bummed and am keeping my fingers crossed that all is well...or at least will be.

I haven't had a fill in 5 months and my band is suddenly so tight I can barely get anything down and have severe reflux. I spoke to the surgeon yesterday who said that if you have been sick it can cause your stomach to swell due to the lymphatic system. I don't think that is the cause in my case, but I thought I would pass it along. Chris

I am also wondering if my band is too tight. WHen I eat or drink I get a gurgling like a clogged drain. I have some pretty intense reflux and I am not really able to get alot of things down. I am filled to 6cc. A friend who also has the band told me to wait it out as the band tends to loosen over time. Is this right?:tongue_smilie:

Hi all, I have a likely dumb question, but it is causing me some anxiety. I have had my second fill and am ready for a third. After the second fill I had restriction until about a week ago and then NOTHING....I don't feel any restriction at all. Is there something wrong with my band? Did I break it? Is this normal? I am feeling quite panicked. I had to have my last fill under ultrasound and the port was hard to find. I am feeling nervous about my the upcoming fill as I haven't lost any weight this month....sigh... Anyway if anyone could point me in the right direction about my restriction issue...thanks Chris:eek:

I have been off work for two weeks. Not that I needed the full two weeks, but I just wanted the time off. Fortunately, I can get the time off. BUT of course all the things I thought I was going to do, scrapbook, clean, write, all went down the drain with naps and pureeing things. Today however I went to the store to get my list of puree essentials. I am so excited. I cannot tolerate even one more liquid anything...Tomorrow I am totally pureeing chicken...I did get babyfood veggies as I decided it was too time consuming to stick stuff in the blender, plus it is totally grossing me out anyway. I figure if I just have to figure out how to make it taste good I am good to go! :redface: Take care, Chris

So here's a new one. I am on Coumadin (blood thinner) which reacts to Vitamin K. Lots of protein supplements and calcium supplements have vitamin K. I am worried about what this is going to do to my INR and how my blood thinners are going to react to it. It is kind of a crap shoot keeping my INR therapeutic as it is...ugh...

I am so excited! Tomorrow I get to move onto puree...oh joy oh joy! I am having such a hard time getting the liquids down at this point that I am almost not eating. :thumbup: I have been trying to come up with creative ways to get protein down...but in all honesty...I can't stand the Protein Shakes. GAG!! ALthough there is one at my gym that I really like. Only I haven't been to the gym since the banding...only a few more weeks though and I can go back! Hooray! Now if I can just go a day without a nap! That would rock. I get to go back to work on Thursday. Which is good since I am bored out of mind. :cry_smile: Take care, Chris

My official diagnosis according to the DSM-IVTR is that you are displaying clinical deprevation of Wii interaction. Therapeutic recommedations include getting the wii out of the box and using it 30 minutes daily until symptoms resolve. The housework can wait. Trust me....:cry_smile:

Weight limit for the wii fit board is 330. Which means I am still 65 pounds too heavy...bummer! :thumbup:

First off congratulations on your future banding. I was banded August 27th and am still on the liquids...here are my thoughts. Being on the liquids can be hard because I swear if I have anything that tastes like vanilla, strawberry or tomato, I am gonna hurl! I had to get creative so I could tolerate the thought of one more Protein shake. UGH! So my friends and I went to the store and got some of the following: cream of anything Soup that I could put in the blender and make more liquid, Jello, maple yogurt (by brown cow), chocolate Protein powder (to add with Peanut Butter and milk), propel, diet snapple, pudding, lentil soup (put in the blender), the usual vanilla yougurt, popsicles, crystal light, tomato soup (I cannot stand it anymore...), squash soup, lentil curry soup...I so can't wait til the puree stage next week so I can add some meat and variety to my diet. I have mixed chocolate protein powder in a light mocha frappacino and I have also used vanilla protein powder in a fruit smoothie. I honestly don't know if you are supposed to do that, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Good luck, Chris:cool2:

That is such a bummer. Especially when you find things that work. I am able to take my anti-depressants currently because the capsules are small, but I don't know how long I will be able to take them, especially after a fill. Take care, Chris

I will be getting Wii Fit. I am still 50 pounds too heavy for the weight requirement for the board. :thumbup: But once I get down there, I am going to get it. I have friends who have it who like it a lot. Take care, Chris

They keep pushing the water thing. I am not sure that 3.5 liters a day is normal...I am lucky if I get in 66 ounces...I know when I haven't drank enough when I get a several hour nap in and didn't have to get up to pee!~:shades_smile: Take care, Chris

I think many of us have been in your shoes. I am 38 and had this conversation with my grandma recently. She said, "Honey, you know if you just ate less and worked out more, you'd be fine." Okay, after 30 years of that speech, and attempting and failing and constantly disappointing myself, I decided I needed a tool to help me. The band isn't a "quick fix," it is simply a tool to help you and me and others in a fight against obesity and health related complications. I have been so angry at myself for not being able to lose weight for long periods of time. It seems so easy. Eat less, exercise more...but it isn't. If it were easy, you and I would have done it by now. Think about this, we live in a society where everything is centered around food. After I had the band last week, I was watching TV during my recovery and realized that every second commercial was food related. We can go out at any time of the day or night and get food, we are encouraged to "supersize" it and then condemned for the results. We go to dinner where the portions are 3-4 times what is normal and we eat. And food is good, it makes us feel good. After I got the band one of my first realizations was, "OH CRAP! what am I going to do when my first crisis arises and I can't eat an entire pizza?":scared2: And then I resort to my support group, here, my family and my friends. I have had to learn different techinques to solving my own issues. And lemme tell you, the desire to wander into the kitchen and grab something when I am bored, tired and/or lonely still exists. The thought of wondering if I could puree cheese sticks or could I just try to stuff down a little bit of a Snickers McFlurry still exists. And being afraid I will screw this up and fail at even this still exists. But from what I have read here in the past week, I am optimistic. The folks here are good, they have all gone through the same thing and they get it. For 30 years I tried this on my own. I am smart, well educated, professionally employed. I have a Master's degree in social work, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, you'd if it were about smarts and will power I'd have done it by now. Food is the one addiction that you can't give up. You don't get to throw away the pizza and say, "I'm never going to eat again." Not only is food in your face constantly, but you need it to live. I know in my case, I needed help. And this is the tool I need. I need that measure to tell me to STOP! Because honestly, if given most anything, I won't stop. Don't you remember growing up when your parents made you finish your plate because some there were some poor starving children somewhere that would kill or die for your moose flank and borsht...ugh. Okay...off my soap box now. I just wanted you to know, it's really okay to get help. I did and although it has only been a 5 month commitment and a week post band, I would never look back. Good luck, Chris:redface:

Got the Chewables, but now trying to figure out how to take Glucosamine, Omega-3 (the chewable stuff is GROSS and it still tastes like peppermint salmon and you have to spit out the gummi part...ugh) and any other big old pills. I suppose you have to give them up or find alternatives?:tongue2:

I haven't dared tread into the Guitar Hero world...Although I have seen a lot of folks play it and at Christmas we had Guitar hero play offs....I am still working my way through Wii bowling and up to Mario brothers super party 8!:tt2:

Oh if you only knew how many anti-depressants I have been on over the years and all the people I have tortured with my mood swings (please insert mass apology here)...There have only been two anti-depressants that have ever worked for me. Prozac and Cymblata. The Prozac finally quit after about 3 years. In between I did a gazillion others until I finally stumbled on Cymbalta. Which ROCKS! Since I haven't had a fill yet, I got brave enough to try to take 3 of the smaller capsules instead of one of the big ones and one of the small ones and so far they have gone down ok. :thumbup: take care, Chris

I think moms just like to torture us.:thumbup: There is mixed talk about the fake nail thing and surgery. 1. They told me I just had to take off the polish. 2. you still have toenails. 3. You think those machines they hook you up to to check your oxygen stats are just there for appearances? Get your nails back! I loved mine when I had them, Except I couldn't play the guitar, which was a bummer. I still can't play the guitar, double bummer. I just got to the point that I hated sitting still for the hour and half it took to get them done every couple of weeks. God forbid I could be doing something else like..well....I am sure I could be doing something else. Hope your day goes well, Chris

Good morning! I am afraid to attach the picture of my toe tag in the case that it totally offends someone or scares the poo out of someone who is about to have surgery. What? Crazy? Mani/Pedis are almost a requirement if you plan to go into surgery the next day where they cover you up with those grey hospital issued socks. I mean seriously...I want to look good for the folks who are going to stick things inside of me. I wanted to write with a black sharpie on my stomach "Cut along dotted line." but then I thought maybe the doctor really would and I would totally be way off, or that she would laugh so hard it would look like she cut me open with pinking shears. THe last time I had surgery (in like 2002) I gave the surgeon a tiny little operation game pen and asked her to demonstrate her surgical prowess. I think she was actually offended. I have managed to get the Cymbalta down at least the 30mgs if I take them one at a time over a period of time, but I haven't had a fill yet. I stopped crushing things two days ago. I feel better now that I am back on my happy pills. :thumbup: I wasn't unhappy, it was just these weird uncontrollable crying jags that were very frustrating. Plus I haven't been getting a lot of sleep...mainly due to a tiny kitten I decided to get a week before surgery. She seems to think my face (not just my head) is a pillow...sometimes I feel like I have one furry grey earmuff! Anyway...I digress... Have a great day, Chris

Didn't your dietician give you this super duper personalized nutritional guideline for your height/weight? OMG...I get to do 75g of Protein and 3.5 liters of liquid...preferably water and NO coffee...right.... So far I have made it to about 30g of protein and 60 ounces of liquid not counting the coffee....Okay I did managed a 3 hour nap in there somewhere which is not condusive to liquid intake...also I know I didn't drink enough when I could actually sleep 3 hours without having to get up to pee...Do you ever wonder if your doctor/dietician actually looks at these boards and puts checks by your name....I would be on the bad girl list...oops!

Man they just super glue us out here in Oregon...no build up or excitement for me...sheesh!:cool2:

Why won't your insurance cover it? Did you explain to them that they are going to have to pay out way more if you have medical complications resulting from your weight than they would ever have to fork out if you just had the surgery? I know you are disappointed, but have you appealed it with your insurance company? I would get your PCP to make a case with you. Since I have been on these boards I see that this is a common problem. I am thinking there must be some kind of funding...I am so going to call Oprah! Fund raiser? bank robber? sugar daddy? Let me think on this for a bit. I am a social worker...we are all about the cause... Take care, Chris

Listen to that youngster make it all sound so easy. It is really confusing and It took me forever to figure it out. SO what I did was went to the ticker factory and made my ticker. Then I cut the code (ctrl + c) and pasted Ctrl + v) it into big box like this on my signiture page. And it actually worked. Does that help????:thumbup:

ARRRRGGGGGGGGG the pressure...okay. I will see if I can attach a beautiful picture of my pilfered cup tower... I call it the tower of power...or what to do when you are bored out of your skull. I am sure my neighbors are whispering behind their hands about that seemingly nice (read deranged) neighbor piling plastic cups onto her balcony railing. Hope this works...if not oh holy computer geek...please explain how to do it...in social work steps...which means asking the computer how it feels a lot of the time. Take care, Chris