xavier

Hope I can help. That shoulder pain is called referred pain meaning it is referred from somewhere else. Things move around as the human embryo develops and nerves slide across each other as the baby grows. The most common area of referred pain for the diaphragm and lower esophagus/upper stomach is the shoulders, usually left. (Its like how left arm or jaw pain can signal a heart attack) I get some pretty bad left shoulder pain if I over eat. I try to eat slowly and occasionally I take a deep breath to push the diaphragm down onto my pouch...if I feel a little ping in that left shoulder...I know I better quit eating....OK last night I had real pain in both shoulders after an encounter with Halloween candy!! O love my referred pain, its the bitch slap I need!!!

Go to the PHOTOS tab at the top of the screen. Lots of incentive of why to get the band...but theres a post of pictures there by Sarah.R ( I think) and it shows what her belly looks like right after the procedure.

You are actually right on track...keep on!

OKie, Feeling any better???

PS: Your before pictures look like a not very happy middle aged mom and your current ones you look like a teenager!!!

My figure is exactly like yours and I hate it. I think the small waist big hips, even if the woman is heavy, is more girly feminine than the thick waist!! I am at 187 and also 5'4" so I am fatter than you but very same shape and the side view is the killer. Here's what I think...I still want to lose a couple of more jean sizes and want to get into the normal range which I think is 145. From there if I still have the tree trunk waist...I seriously may get a tummy tuck, lift or whatever! I might need it anyway for loose skin! The other thing is I have a tall sister who has always had a small waist but has also been thin (yes, I hate her for it and she knows it) anyways she quit smoking once and gained around 50 pounds and , guess what??? Tree trunk fat waist! So then I think that area is just going to be the last to go and I really hope it does!!! I hope that helps....incidentally you look pretty fantastic to me! Diane

I have been dreaming of wearing a single digit size! But I think the standard weight charts are reflections of health risks so I think I need to at least be in the normal range...also I think if I am eating/living right, (healthy food and a comfortable amount of it)my weight will settle at a good point!? I hope so!

I feel bad for you, to have had to have the revision really sucks! I got the mesh (or whatever you called it) in the first place to give it a good base to scar to to prevent the flip (I have Allergan) so I hope that works. I always wonder if I have a complication like that do I have to pay because I self-payed the first time! Anyway I hope you feel better soon, its a bump in the road (a long road of life I guess) but you are doing great!!

Children's section of meds in any drug store! Tylenol doesnt have the same anti inflammatory effect as advil...you could crush the pills into water just so you could take it now but the liquid of everything is good to have on hand!

First let yourself off the hook, its not that big a deal and you shouldn't be on a DIET! I wonder if you ate more good stuff at meals you could cut out some of the snacking...I let myself have some cake or candy or whatever because I am not on a diet and otherwise I just keep thinking of it and wanting it...I dont eat any low fat or low sugar or any other weird manufactured to lose weight stuff. I also dont measure but I know if I am eating more than my one-cup bowl I prob should get a fill. I am at my Sweet Spot and now I cant even eat a cup...but if I want tiny pack of m&ms from the halloween candy I just eat it! Good luck!!!

Seriously, what's wrong with sugar? Unless you are spooning it into your mouth from the sugar bowl, the few calories in it are way better than the chemically manufactured stuff...you wouldnt give it to kids so why give it to yourself?

You still have a lot of healing going on in there. It can be deep layers of scar forming (that's a good thing) and it can feel like its in a different place from your incisions.If you look at or poke your incisions you know they are not completely healed yet and the same thing is probably going on inside. Sometimes they come in waves like menstrual cramps because your bowels move in waves in there and bug them...

Steroids can rearrange your body's fluid even after you're done with them for a while. They reduce swelling when you're on them and that swelling may increase for a while when you go off. Almost all over the counter meds are available in liquids in the kid section. I take a big dose of liquid advil in my car before I go in for a fill just to minimize any inflammation. Be careful with any pills...I chew mine with a flintstones vitamin (for taste) because I read about someone getting a pill stuck, lots of heaving and...long story short...band removed due to slipping and erosion! I vowed right then to NEVER swallow a whole pill....good luck

I make Lipton tea in a pitcher outside (suntea). I dont use artificial sweeteners or any high fructose corn syrup. I use Agave nectar because it dissolves in quick. I guess it has a low glycemic index but I dont care about that. If you want to go drastically different I bring the spicy V8 in the morning and it even has some protein in it.

Now that I am thinking about it, with only 45 to lose you may be in "goal limbo'...check out band_groupie 's blog with that title a couple of days ago...

Congrats and LOVE the closet!

I HAVE to do the PBer! I have always loved that one but I never thought of it as a PBer before...I am going to put a plastic milk bottle ring (band) around its stem as my own inside joke!!!

3mom, I heard one of the guys call his band (LB) for little bastard...mines a little bitch but I LOVE her!!

Well sometimes I make my own hummus in the blender but there may be a low fat one. Also I buy falafel dry in the box to make at home and I just roll the balls around the fry pan with Pam spray. I really believe I am not on a diet so I kingd of disregard the calories and just focus on portion size which actually my band does for me. I wish we could all get fills whenever we want. My doc gets pretty full schedule wise but I can cal and slide in on a cancellation and they seem to like that. Also since I drive 4 hours down to LA and have no idea if the drive time might be double if theres bad traffic I make an appt for 1:00 nd then if I arrive at 11;00 am I just go in and they always slide me right in..the whole thing takes five minutes...also ( I hope this doesnt sound bad) I bring the staff those really fancy caramel apples from Rocky Mountain!They tease me that I brough caramel and chocolate to an obesity clinic (but they're all thin) but I say, "Hey, there's an apple in there!!"

I think the band is at least 50% and your own effort is 50%. You have to ramp up your effort when you are not at your sweet spot. I am at my sweet spot and since I cant eat very much food (prob 3/4 cup or it gets painful) I have to use my effort to make good choices to be healthy in terms of protein.However if I really want chocolate cake or Halloween candy I will just go ahead and have a small amount and just get over myself...next meal I will go for the protein. I am NOT on a diet!!!

To me soft foods take the shape of their container. Put cottage cheese in a drinking glass and eventually it will sink down and level off like water. Throw in a piece of meatloaf in a glass and it will just sit there in its original shape!I think the spinach is good and good for you!

Two quick things, 1. You are having your 'last suppers' to say goodbye to those foods or quantites and thats pretty common. You should try to lose some weight before the procedure because a smaller liver makes the surgery less traumatic to you and less tricky for your doc so your recovery should be better. 2. Now that I am at my sweet spot I eat less than a cup of food and I feel like I did the crazy Thanksgiving meal pig out! So you will eat less but feel very full very soon! Good luck...

Hard to answer but I needed a fill for a couple of months so I think I could have eaten a whole cow!! Now less than a cup for sure...to me thats the sweet spot. I dont go by how much I lose but how if I eat more than prob 3/4 of a cup I am in trouble! I know I am eating the right stuff and the right quantities so the weight loss will follow...

I am there! I have had two fills totaling 5.5cc in a 10cc band and I can only eat a half to 3/4 of a cup of food at a time or I get pain, (gut and left shoulder) and sliming etc! It took me a couple of bad experiences with that to learn to slow down and wait for each swallowed bite to get to the pouch before putting another one in my mouth! I need that pain though because it really is like a well-deserved bitch slap for not working the program! As I am eating I will pause and take a deep breath to push my diaphragm down onto the pouch and if I feel a slight ping in that left shoulder I know I better be done! I am so happy could scream or cry...this is what I self-payed and suffered with the surgery for!!! I got my second (sweet spot) fill last week on tuesday and my jeans are already looser!!!

I was lucky, no bandster hell...but it can be a lot longer than the 10 day diet and I think thats what makes it worse. Some docs are really 'cheap' with giving you fills so it can take a long time to get to your sweet spot. During that time you're thinking why did I do this to my self if I am still eating the same..Good luck!