♥Amy♥

Adjua....................347...............337...........240......... ....97 Amy.....................289................258...........160.......... 98 Angie64.................270...............270...........210....... ......60 Astrasmom............254...............254...........170............. .84 Babe....................265...............265...........199.... ..........66 Band_Groupie........172.5.............157.5..........0-148........0-9.5 BetsyB.................226.6.............206.8.........109...... ......97.8 BigMomma............209.................209...........135...........74 Bklynike...............258.................258...........150.......... .108 BobbieND..............224................207...........150..... .......57 Bree99.................259................234...........155..... .......83 Brigette................198...............198............150.... ........48 Bristlecone............157...............157............130....... .....27 crzytchr................217...............217............180..... ... ...37 Dana36.................233...............229............160....... .....69 daqui26.................274...............274............200....... .....74 DDGALARZ..............185...............185............150............ .35 destined4thinness..215.5.............215.5..........150............65 5 Diamondgirl81........317...............292.............250............ 42 ericanda1973.........198.5............198.5..........130......... ..68.5 Fourme.................189...............172............145........... ..27 HummingBird..........204...............179............150............. .29 jenibeni.................224...............208............165........ ....43 Jennih...................232...............232.............130.... ......102 Jeni 85..................185..............185..............150........35 KDEE....................240................240.............150...... .....90 kyleegirl01.............245................198.............160...... .....38 Lady LAP...............217................217.............125...... .....95 Lisa65...................174.5............165..............145..... ......20! Liz........................193.4............174..............155...... ......19! lotzasunshine.........247...............245..............175........ ...70 MaggieGT..............238...............236..............208.......... 30 newdicarlo.............187...............174..............135...... . ...39 Northernmist..........289...............265..............175.......... ..90 ol55andahalf..........184...............184..............144...... ......40 Peggy1.................308...............308..............225......... ..83 RandaPanda...........194...............175..............150........ ....25 RAYNE913.............234...............225..............160....... ....65 RobinAnn.............232.4...............210.4..............160...... ....50.4 scoutmama...........270...............270..............180........ ....90 shadst8................333...............303..............217........ ....86 skinny31................261...............249..............182..... .......67 SNDYCNRD.............207...............194.5............150.......... 44.5 sueinne.................220................212.............180.... ........32 Tabithan................244...............234..............190....... .....44 TARASGIRL.............305...............282..............225....... ......57 tdtucker................256...............256...............160...... . ....96 Teacher2010..........192...............183...............150...... . ....33 Tealeaves..............305...............289...............150...... . ...139 TeriLu....................215...............212...............150.. .... ....62 TIGGER71G............224...............224................130....... .....94 unshackled............277...............277................180....... .....97 Valerie.................190................190................150... . .......40

Yup, you can take that. You can't take aspirin or ibuprofen.

I was only required to do one week pre-op and I decided on my own to do 2 and I am so glad I did. I jump started my weight-loss. I lost 17lbs before surgery, and it helped with my carb cravings for after surgery. I did a 2 week optifast only diet. 5 shakes a day. Sometimes 6, or I would throw in a fat free Greek yogurt or some egg drop soup if I felt like I needed a little deviation but other than that I didnt stray at all. If anything, if I were you, I would do at least one week. It definitely prepares you. Good luck!! :thumbup:

Congratulations! You look great and I can't wait to be where you are one day! :smile:

I agree about Planet Fitness. I joined with my hubby and I love it! Only thing is is I don't think they have childcare :smile:

I'm not sure if this is posted somewhere else. I couldn't find it but I wanted to make sure all recently banded people knew this if their surgeon didn't tell them. Deep breathing and coughing is VERY important the first few days after surgery. I know of at least one newly banded person that got pneumonia because they weren't given a spirometer to take home and weren't told to breathe deeply about 10-15 times every hour or so. It may hurt but it is VERY important to do this. You don't want to get sick while you're still healing. You may cough up some green stuff (I did) and this is normal. I only posted this because I don't see it mentioned often with as important as it is. Keeping Your Lungs Clear After Surgery - Breathing & Coughing Exercises Taking a deep breath and coughing every 2 hours after surgery helps to keep your lungs clear and prevent breathing problems. Even if you are told not to cough, you DO need to do deep breathing exercises every 2 hours. Deep Breathing Instructions First, you will sit up as far as the nurse tells you, BUT BEFORE YOU SIT UP, if you have had surgery on your stomach area or chest, hold a pillow tightly over the area where the stitches are. Breathe in deeply through your nose and mouth and hold this breath for 3 seconds. Move your lips as though you are going to whistle and let the air out through your nose and mouth at the same time. Repeat this 5 more times. If your caregiver tells you to cough, after the 5th deep breath, you should do the following coughing exercise: Still sitting up, with the pillow still against your stitches if you need it, lean forward a little and with your mouth open, take in a deep breath. Place a tissue over your mouth to catch anything you cough up, then quickly give 1 or 2 strong coughs from deep in your lungs. Repeat the steps 2 more times. Deep Breathing Instructions Using a Spirometer (Breathing Exerciser) Taking a deep breath and coughing every 1-2 hours after surgery helps to keep your lungs clear and prevent breathing problems and or pneumonia. Even if you are told not to cough, you DO need to do deep breathing exercises every 2 hours. First, you will sit up as far as the nurse tells you, BUT BEFORE YOU SIT UP, hold a pillow tightly over the area where the incisions are. Slide the yellow pointer on the left side of the breating exerciser to the volume level that your caregiver tells you to use. Keep the breathing exerciser in an upright position. You can hold it or place it on a table. Breathe out normally. Put the mouthpiece in your mouth, with your lips closed around it tightly. Breathe in slowly. This raises the piston in the clear chamber of the breathing exerciser. Continue to breathe in, and try to raise the piston to the set volume level. Read the level of the volume at the top of the piston. When you are finished breathing in, take the mouthpiece out of your mouth and hold your breath as long as you can. Breathe out normally and let the piston go back to the bottom of the chamber. If your caregiver tells you to cough, after breathing out, you should do the following coughing exercise: Still sitting up, with the pillow still against your stitches if you need it, lean forward a little and with your mouth open, take in a deep breath. Place a tissue over your mouth to catch anything you cough up, then quickly give 1 or 2 strong coughs from deep in your lungs. Repeat the steps 15 times every 1 - 2 hours.

YAY! Congrats!! :redface:

I have the weight watchers digital scale that I bought when I was a member. You could get it on ebay or if you know someone who attends meetings you could have them pick it up for you. It's awesome!

You're quite welcome! It's definitely swelling. You're retaining fluids. I'm sure they had you on an IV, right? That's all it is. Wait a couple days before you step on the scale again. Just concentrate on healing. :redface:

Try taking tiny bites and chewing them like crazy. And I would try and stay away from the bread. It might not have been the hot dog that did it. It could very well have been the bun.

I know exactly how you feel. The pain is normal. You'll have pain from the surgery itself and from the gas that they filled your abdominal cavity with. It's hard to say how long it will last. As far as the gas pains, they could last a couple days or a couple weeks. Everyone is different. What helps the most with that is try to move around as much as possible and get yourself some chewable gas-x or the gas-x strips that dissolve on your tongue. I also heard that a heating pad is good for the gas pains but I didn't try it. Mine weren't unbearable, for the most part. Feel better!

48lbs is AMAZING! Congrats!! Ummm...i think Bandster Hell usually starts for most people around a few weeks after surgery to when they get good restriction. I've just been getting in lots of Protein and I've been ok. I do get hungry but not ravenous. I'm hoping I never have to experience that. I figure if I was able to get through 2 weeks of just Protein Shakes then I can handle Bandster Hell :redface:

I've actually been on that twice and didn't have any bad side effects. I loved it only because I suffered from horrible acid reflux and it helped with that. It's to treat H. pylori bacteria. One of the causes of stomach cancer if gone untreated. I wouldn't worry about it. It's not big deal :redface:

I was supposed to do that with my nutritionist also but she kept forgetting to bring the machine with her. I was also told to fast for 4 hours before. Nean is right. You breathe into a tube and it tells you how many calories your body needs to function so they can tell you how much you need to eat to lose.

Hmmm that's a toughie. I'm supposed to get a fill on the 7th and I have slimed a time or two but that was from taking too big a bite of some fish and not chewing it enough. Other than that I feel no restriction but then again I haven't experienced "Bandster Hell" either. I'm never "starving". I guess just talk to your surgeon and he/she will help you to determine whether you should have one or not. I could be wrong because I know some people were given different instructions than others but isn't a cup of food too much for a meal? I thought we shouldnt be eating more than a 1/2 cup at a time? Maybe you're not hungry because you're eating more?

I wouldn't say that after restriction that it will be mostly the band that does most of the work. You still need to make the right food choices, eat slowly and know when to stop. It might be a little easier but it's still just a tool that you have to use correctly. What it will help with is keeping you satisfied longer after meals as long as the foods you eat aren't slider foods and you wait the appropriate amount of time after eating before you drink something. You still have to be mindful of all the band rules. Good luck!

Congrats! You look great! And toot your own horn all you want! You've earned it!! :thumbup:

Are you able to eat solid foods? Are you getting at least 65-70 grams of Protein in a day? How many calories are you eating a day? Are you exercising? It's hard to answer your question without knowing the answers to those questions. If you're not able to keep foods or liquids down that would be the main reason I would think he would remove some of the Fluid from the band.

I was actually banded March 24th and she was at the hospital in the morning with me, my husband, my sister-in-law, my dad and my sister. She's been pretty great so far. Maybe she's excited to have a non-fat daughter-in-law :thumbup:

LOL Thanks, Stacey. My MIL has given me many jabs about my weight in the almost 8 years I've known her but she's always tried to disguise them as innocent remarks. Like "You should get some v-neck t-shirts. They have nice ones at (insert any store name that doesnt carry plus sizes) but...oh yeah. I don't think they would have your size." Or one time we had all gone out to eat for my SIL's b-day at the mall and we walked around a bit after that. My SIL, who is 3 years younger than me but acts 40yrs older, was looking for capri pants in Chico's. Now, no offense to the people who do shop there, but I don't like anything in that store. I think most of the stuff is too old for me. So, she's browsing and picking up the gaudiest stuff to try on and my MIL says to me "See Amy? You can shop in places like this when you lose weight." So instead of coming back with a snotty remark like "I'd rather stay fat." I just nodded and said I'm gonna go wait outside with the guys." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. :thumbup: I can't wait till I look better than her. That won't take much. She isn't heavy but she could stand to lose 20lbs and never exercises so she's got no shape to her. Am i mean? :smile:

Here are mine in no particular order: 1. I can't wait to buy clothes in "normal" sizes and not have to shop at Fashion Bug or Lane Bryant anymore. I hate fat clothes! :tt1: 2. I want to have a baby and I want to be at a healthy or at least healthier weight when I do so. 3. I don't want to be embarassed to just plain be in public and feel like people are staring at me. 4. I can't wait to feel comfortable in my own skin. 5. I can't wait to be more active with my hubby in and out of the bedroom :smile: 6. I cant wait till my mother-in-law stops making remarks about how it was hard to buy me clothes because she doesnt know what size I am. :thumbup: 7. I can't wait to have more energy and spend hours upon hours in the parks at Disney World and not have my feet hurt. I could go on forever...

Hi everyone! :smile: I haven't checked in in a while so I thought I'd drop by and say hi. So... HI!! :thumbup: Things, aside from the pounds steadily disappearing, are uneventful. Which is fine with me. Hubby and I joined Planet Fitness a couple weeks ago and I love it. So far I'm down an unofficial 31lbs. I say unofficial because that's what my scale said this morning but I don't usually weigh myself officially until Monday morning. Jodi, sorry everything is so chaotic for you right now. I hope things calm down a little bit for you so you can find some time for yourself.

Ooh! Count me in! I'm 258 right now and I would like to be 248 by Memorial Day.