Melissannde

Actually, that's when my weight loss started.. when I got back on "real" food after being on liquids and softs after surgery. During the recovery I only lost about 2 lbs. Once I was on solid food, I dropped 20lbs in 9 days. Sure some of it was Water weight, but I was still 20lbs lighter. No pre-op diet for me and I am thankful. Good thing doctors have varying requirements, as we are all different. I don't want to be regulated, uniform or standardized.

Zenaida, I'm so sorry you're having hubby issues. Men are indeed stupid sometimes. Maybe it's testosterone poisoning, I dunno. Have you tried drinking something warm to help ease the band a little? I do that in the morning when I'm a little tight. I understand where you are, I was too tight back in the spring and fought with it almost a month before I got unfilled. Hope you can get unfilled sooner than the 18th.

Sorry you're having issues with your doctor. Do you keep a record of your intake online somewhere? I use www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate and it allows me to print out what I'm eating in an excel chart. I print out about a week or 10 days of what I've eaten to take in so that my nurses/doctor can see my choices. Maybe if you did something like that, it would enable ya'll to communicate better. Congrats on the treadmill so often. Just a note, if you're using the treadmills calculation of calorie burn, those are known to be highly inaccurate. Once I got a good HR monitor, I found that the treadmills calculation was way off.. by about 1/2. Hope things get better for you.

If you can call it "pain", you might possibly be eating a tad too much. Try and stop before it becomes pain. It would be a good idea to consult your doc or nurse about it. THAT being said, I do feel a weird pulling, stretching feeling in my back sometimes, but it's not painful and not related to just eating. I feel it sometimes when eating and sometimes after working out and sometimes just because. The doc doesn't know what it is, but isn't worried about it since it doesn't hurt and my yearly UGI looked fine.

I discovered quite by accident that if I take a nap in the afternoon, I go back to being tight again. Might be hard to find time to nap.. but it might work if you have time.

unjury has a chicken Soup flavor that many people like. www.unjury.com They also have unflavored.

My psych evaluation was basically to make sure I knew that the band was a tool and not a magic wand. That I would have to do the work, the band only assists. I took a few tests (fill in a bubble multiple choice type things. These are easy, among other things they ask the same question worded different ways and look to see that you are consistent in your answers), talked to a girl a bit, she must've been a social worker or a psychologist in training. We talked about the kinds of food I liked and disliked. She also asked if I had been abused.. and I told her that depended on your definition of abuse.. some people think spanking children is abusive. Some other stuff like that. Then I met and talked to the psychologist. He's also banded and talked about his experience and his sisters experience. He let me feel his port.. LOL. Just be honest. They weren't at all perturbed that I had been treated for depression and that OCD and depression runs in my family. I still got approved for my band. I'd be willing to wager that you'll be approved too.

Ask your doc if he/she uses stitches. My incisions/stab wounds were sealed with Dermabond.

I don't recall having any problems with a bra. My port is down and to the left of my breasts.. I think I wore my nightgown & robe home from the hospital and didn't bother with putting one on for a few days.

I had pain for more than 2 weeks, but don't remember how much longer than 2 weeks. I know I had to take pain meds to be able to ride an hour to my 2 week post-op appt.

I'm glad we weren't required to watch them. I'm not fond of online videos. I'd rather read. Glad there's different ways of getting info for different styles of learning.

I don't think there's a time limit with the band. I lost 118 lbs my first year, and have gone on to lose another 53 in the 9 months since then. As I get smaller, the weight loss slows, but if I continue to work it, it should continue to work. I think the first year or honeymoon phase is probably more applicable to other WLS.

I guess not cause I don't have the faintest idea what an emmi program is.

I didn't do a specific "diet". I ate 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of low carb veggies at each meal. I tried to make sure the protein was good quality, 90/10 or better and the veggies were not something with sauce or butter (most of the time). I also exercised (and still do). Started with walking and gradually moved into using a gym.

oh yeah, I forgot about Greek Yogurt. I use Dannon nonfat plain greek yogurt. 80 calories, 15gram Protein, 6carbs in 5.3 oz. If I'm about to workout, I add 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli..110 calories, 4gram protein, 21 carbs. I agree, lots of carbs, but I want to have carbs to burn during workout to prevent burning muscle. I do some pretty strenuous exercise most days. Non pre-workout, I add some kind of fresh or frozen fruit and a packet or two of artificial sweetner to the greek yogurt. I avoid the greek yogurt that comes with fruit already added.. too much sugars. (but they DO taste good.. I do indulge every great now & then. The ones with Honey are really good!)

If you're coughing up bloody stuff you need to contact your doctor right away! If I misunderstood your post, my apologies.

Not only do we become slightly dehydrated overnight, but also some of us have drainage that sorta gums up the works. coffee and Vitamins are my daily wake-up routine.

Tricep kickbacks are one of the exercises for upper arms. Google tricep exercises and you should find them. I do them all the time, alone and with a trainer and I still have loose skin on my upper arms, the difference is.. IF I ever have surgery, I'll have some nicely toned arms once the extra skin is gone.

Some doctors think that the use of NSAIDS (Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs.. which includes Aspirin, Advil, Aleve, Bufferin, etc.) can lead to band erosion. Other bariatric surgeons don't subscribe to that belief. You need to call your doctor's office and talk to them rather than take advice from people on LBT. My surgeon will allow occasional use of an NSAID, but at a low, almost useless dose and I also have to take a Prevacid or Prilosec with it. Sorry about your headache. Hope you feel better soon. Call your surgeon.

apple with 1 weight watcher's brand string cheese. Wasa crisp & light with 1 wedge laughing cow (light) 50 calorie pack of Jack Links teriyaki steak Jerky 100 calorie packet cocoa roasted almonds breakstones cottage cheese snack (comes in a 4 pack.. 90 cal each) with or without 1 tbspn bacon bits. Or add one or two strawberries if you prefer. All I can think of off the top of my head. I'm guessing you want high Protein Snacks... some of these aren't exactly high protein, but they all have some.

Try warm fluids.. coffee, tea, hot water with lemon, whatever you like that's low in calorie... Warm stuff tends to loosen the band just a tad. It might be enough to ease it for you.

It is probably a Vitamin deficiency as you state you have difficulty with vits. I suggest a visit to your PCP to get basic bloodwork done, but to particularly check your B-12 and Vitamin D levels. If you're young enough that you're still menstruating, you might also be low in Iron. It would be easy to just say to add those vitamins/minerals, but since you're on other medication, it would probably be wise to let a physician help you figure out what's wrong. You could try your bariatric surgeon too, some are good at monitoring post band Vitamins and some are not. Mine sends me to my PCP. ::shrug:: B-12 comes in pleasant raspberry sublingual (under the tongue) tablets. I put one under my tongue every day while I fix my coffee, then I get my other vitamins ready and take them with my coffee. I don't let myself have Breakfast until vitamins are down. It really helps to establish a routine. Best of luck to you. I also understand depression. Sometimes it's just getting out the door that helps. And have you looked at the site Bodyblues? http://thebodyblues.com/ Of course they're gonna try to push their products, but some interesting info at the site. Hang in there.

I've always done both. My doctor suggests 3oz of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies per meal. IF we're still hungry after we finish that we're allowed more veggies.. provided they're not drowning in butter or other high calorie sauce. I have a scale I bought years ago when I was selling on eBay and I use it to weigh my protein. And I have measuring cups similar to measuring spoons and use those for my veggies. I found a large cooking spoon holds about a 1/2 cup of veggies. I've weighed the food (protein & veggies) after measuring and it usually comes out somewhere between 6 to 8oz. When I say I count calories.. I don't mean that if I reach a certain # that I don't eat any more that day.. but I do keep an eye on the # and try to make better choices. I use 90/10 hamburger rather than 80/20, I use turkey sausage, 2% cheese, fat free half & half, etc. These might not be others choices, some people say to use full fat to be more satisfied. I have other reasons (health concerns) to avoid full fat foods. I log my food at www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate and most of the things I eat are already in their database.

I can eat them, but.. I MUST have some sort of "lube" to help the dryer cuts go down. BBQ sauce is my usual choice, but I am careful to choose low carb, low calorie versions and I measure out a tablespoons worth at a time.. no more just pouring from the bottle. Keep in mind that everyone is different on how they respond and what one person can't eat, no how, no way.. another has no issues with it. Also you shouldn't expect to have problems with food right away. It USUALLY takes at least 1 fill and often 3 or more to get to the point that certain foods are a problem. I'd say get the smoker and enjoy it. My DH still smokes food for us, I just eat much much less of it.

You're welcome. Gotta love flat-rate shipping.