GoingforGoal

Sorry font was too small Hi GLJ. Definitely go to the doc. They might put you on Prilosec, perhaps experiment with the tightness of you band to see if that'll give you relief. Additionally, look up acid reflux and foods that increase acid production (ie dairy, coffee etc) and try to minimize those, or eat them w/ foods etc

Hi GLJ. Definitely go to the doc. They might put you on Prilosec, perhaps experiment with the tightness of you band to see if that'll give you relief. Additionally, look up acid reflux and foods that increase acid production (ie dairy, coffee etc) and try to minimize those, or eat them w/ foods etc

My limit is 1 cup. But realize, I am at green. It is actually uncomfortable for me to eat beyond 1 cup of solid food. When you get that physical feedback and push past it is when you are really putting yourself at risk for pouch dilation. If you have zero restriction or fills, your food is most likely just slipping through within moments so there's no back up in the pouch long enough to cause dilation. If you are overly concerned as you progress to more solid foods and can feel a sense of restriction, eat more slowly allowing food to pass and not try to eat 1/2 (or 1 cup in my case) in a short period of time. But as you get fills it's time to start listening to your band and stop when you get that feedback. Your pouch literally fills full (not full as in no longer hungry, full as in capacity). I never eat on top of that, despite hungar. Sometimes I get premature fullness w/ dense foods. I will merely wait 1/2 -1 hr and finish my meal if that be the case. Good Q

Hey Be careful w/ NPO, most don't realize that means no food/water orally before a procedure <wink> No need to be NPO. However, I typically do not eat or drink up to 2 hrs before a fill. The way my doc does his fills is with Water tests. If my pouch is already filled, that won't do me any good. But also, if I recently ate my stoma could theoretically be more open than norm and I want to test the band at stasis. Good luck (PS I'm an RN too)

Girl I have missed talking to you. It's funny you should say that, because even though in my head I know I had all this surgery, I could easily see myself answering the Q "Have you had BA" and be like "No, these are natural". It's def a mental adjustment lol

I forgot to answer your overhang q- are you talking about back rolls? I had a very tiny pinch as I am at (or darn near) goal weight. With all the cosm. surgery nothing overhangs in an obvious manner anymore anywhere. I need all the swelling to go down and the implants to drop to get a final idea of where I am at weight wise. But right now I feel perfectly comfortable at my current weight of 148

Woops that price comment was for you. It was pricey, and no insurance didn't cover any of mine, but so necessary and worth it. Good luck

Amazingly the pain was not as bad as I anticipated. The BA is the least of my issues. I would say the first few days I took pain meds around the clock. But by day 3-4 I started weaning myself, so maybe meds 3x a day (most definitely before bed). On occassion, I would wakeup just very aware of my incisions so I would take a small dose to get me back to sleep. But starting week 2 I was only taking pain meds before bed. And last night was the first night (day 13) that I went to bed without meds. I think I might still need 1 or 2 more days of meds. However, the incision that is requiring the nightly meds are my arms, not tummy nor breasts. I think when you lay on your side you just put enough pressure on the arm incisions it causes swelling/pain thus the discomfort. I can get by on the tummy incision (that reminds me of my previous c/sections) and the breasts have more of an ache than a pain (because they are actively dropping)-nothing pain med worthy. Good luck (and I know, it is pricey!!!)

Emotional eating is a tricky beast. I too am a stress/emotional eater. I simply cannot focus on a diet when I am overly stressed. It is my absolute #1 go to to get distracted or to calm down. All the while I know I'm sabotaging myself, but there's an override in logical sensibility at that moment. Here's some tricks I use: 1) I eat on hard things like carrots. Reason being..I think in addition to sugar and endorphin releases associated w/ high carb foods, there is also an oral habit going on. Kind of like when you are nervous and you have to tap your pencil on the table. If you have to put hand to mouth, make it a healthy choice and one that takes a crap load of time to chew down. It eats up time, it satisfied the need to chew (oral) and depending on the food can even satiate you during hungry periods or satisfy cravings. 2) Get active. Exercise releases endorphins. I know it's the last thing on your mind, but take that stress and/or frustration out on some boxing and/or running. You'll feel great and more balanced afterwards 3) Get distracted. Sometimes if we have to much free time we can be consumed w/ our thoughts/emotions. Get a hobby, meditate, volunteer, whatever floats your boat. The busier you are the less time you have to snack away. 4) And if you are in emergency emotional meltdown and you know it's going to persist. Remove EVERY item that is your go to food out of the house. Replace with less than desirable food (like pickles, rice cakes and mustard ahahah). None of these foods are going to give you that release and will help break that addiction of using food to curtail the emotions. Hope this helps hon. <Hugs>

ummmmm lemme think.. #1 Papaya enzyme seems to help some people. It helps to breakdown food #2 You sound more inflammed (post stuck) than you sound stuck. Being stuck for days on end seems a little peculiar. I would suspect if that were the case you'd be in such discomfort you would refrain from eating and drinking anything. The fact that some food/water passes is also another indication that it's more of a tight band/inflammed stoma. Recommendation 1) Report symptoms to doc 2) Go liquids. Start clear, than full, than softs etc. Go as slow as you need to transition without an adverse symptoms. This can take days, even a week. The more you eat and agitate this inflammed area the worse the inflammation and you risk occlusion in which unfill would be mandatory. Baby your band. Also, some would recommend liquid motrin to help w/ inflammation. I would personally do this but not for an extended period. Make sure it's liquid.

Absolutely not..here's why I have 3 sons (oldest is age 10) and from the get go I instilled a healthy diet into our kids through food choices and education. Healthy to me is not 100% raw foods. Healthy to me is moderation. And I have taught my children how to incorporate junk foods or heavy carb foods into their diets without overconsuming. It comes so natural to them and their preferences lean towards healthy foods 99% of the time. My middle child's fav food is brocolli, no joke and he is 6. My eldest is the kind of kid who takes a cupcakes, takes a couple bites and leaves the most of it uneaten. I don't ever deprive them. I also use myself and my life story as a great model for why healthy eating is important. Now with that being said, I don't let the kids go hog wild. For instance, there alot of substitutions in our house. Like turkey bacon and fatfree hot dogs which the kids prefer over pork bacon and beef dogs. It makes me feel guilt-free knowing they can have some classic kid foods without all the excess fat and calories. I also manage their foods from a weekly standpoint. So for instance, if they had a super unhealthy day one day, I focus on leaner foods for the next few days. But again, no deprviation- kids are not on diets. As for me, I have to eat separately because I need quiet to focus on my bites and not get stuck. I eat pretty odd stuff, like a can of turkey w/ mayo for lunch. No way the kids are going to buy that ahahha. And I wouldn't want that for them anyway. Just make sure you lay a strong foundation of moderation. That way occassional bad eating has zero impact on their health and keeps everyone happy

How much do you charge for a consultation? BWAHAHAHHAHAH smarta** lol Don't worry, pics will come. Now I just need to master photoshop and learn how to apply stars and such to hide the goodies... perhaps you can help me there? (eyeroll) ahhah

I'm thrilled w/ the TT and it's not even at 100% Such a relief having no more extra skin to disguise I went from a DD to B. Although I'm not sure I'd to ba if I settled in at a size E hahah

Right now I tried on some bras for fun and came up with 32-34 DD's as a minimum. But this is premature because I'll have to wait for them to drop to get a real idea of what size suits me best. As long as these guys drop another few inches (which I know they will lol) I am happy with the results. I was actually uncomfortable with the small chest I had post band (maybe b's??) as I was always a bigger chested girl and that is my comfort zone. It's the round projection that is just so 'off'. And again patience is not my virtue lol. But everyone says around 3 months is when you get to your 'norm'.. so I have yet another countdown to start (Smiles)

OK ladies...this one is for you So you may consider cosmetic surgery after losing weight at some point and breast augmentation tops the list typically. I am postop day 12 and had a tummy tuck, arm lift, breast lift and augmentation. Everything is going swell. However, I just can't get over these implants. I had SOME awareness that implants (especially very large ones) rest high on the chest and slowly drop underneath the muscle into their proper and intended positions over time. What I did not realize is that it would take months for this to happen and can take up to a year for them to reach their final destination and look. Naturally, the larger the implant, the tightness/build of your pec muscles and whether this is your first ba effects the rate of drop and fluff. However, I feel like I have a set of torpedos opposed to breasts and it has thrown me off guard. Day one my implants were literally at clavicular level and very square shaped. Day 12 I'd say they have dropped to rib 2 and have a slightly more rounded top. From the front they appear ok but the side is just too much ahhhaha. Once my 'friends' get to normal position, I will send pics to show the HUGE shift from day 1 to month 1 or even 2 to give you a better idea. I just wanted to give any ladies getting ba's a heads up. We focus so much on the preop phase and anxiety of the surgery itself we fail to brace ourselves for the postop phase (nix recovery).

Hi Comfy Blue and welcome to the LBT community! I think we can all relate to your struggles in our own way. When I look back at hs years I was probably in the 140-160 range and remember wanting to lose a mere 30 lbs. That grew to a whopping 100 years by time I got the band. Looking back 30 lbs was nothing comparatively. It's all a matter of perspective ey lol. But no more looking back, just look forward. I am an emotional/stress eater and the band has helped me tremendously with controlling that aspect of my bad habits. Even if you 'stress eat' you'll be relieved to learn you can't overindulge and that's the key. Preop nerves are normal. Nothing wrong with being extra careful. Do your research, get referrals and have faith that you are in good hands and all will be well. See you on the other side Good luck

Honest feedback. I see what you mean, but it's the clothes not the body. I can tell instantly you are not overweight. Your clothes are so baggy it's giving you a fluff factor. I know if you buy some tight fitting jeans and a much smaller shirt to show off that silouhette you would look absolutely perfect. You look beautiful

Take away my pregnancy and accident, lost 100 lbs in 1 yr

I dont understand what you mean Whats wrong with not using punctuations again I mean it takes so much energy Dont you agree ehehhehehe

Sayyyyy Whaaaaaaat? So there's been bandsters who have acquired gastroperesis and they suspect it's because of the band and it's constant pressure on the vagus nerve. I would only surmise that the band could worsen your condition, and than what? I'd have a 2nd consult before proceeding. Get a very clear understanding of the rationale as to how this is safe and how the doctor's do not anticipate any complications w/ the band. SOmething sounds off here...

Liquid calories sure, however, a great source of Protein. Necessary if you are incapable of actually eating the min protein levels and/or need additional calories because you are inable to eat (or are not hungry enough to eat). Common sense says that if you are experiencing side effects of undereating than the 'eat when you are hungry' approach is not working for you. There is such an individual spectrum here. Whereas one person who eats only when hungry takes in 500 cals another will take in 1000 cals. The body has a basic metabolic demand despite your hunger. Signs of insufficient nutrition are things like lightheadedness, shakes, nausea, lethargy etc. Please report those symptoms to your doc and say what is plan B? Banded or not, malnutrition poses as many problems as excessive nutritional intake. Best of luck

If you have alot of lower body fat or are planning on any future cosmetic surgery I would wait. Just as a precaution. Skin elasticity, stretching and/or removal will effect the result of the tatoo. I have one on my upper right shoulder where I never had much fat so there's no difference after the wl. So it just depends on the location?!?!?! PS What are you getting

I listen to literally everything, but if you haven't yet heard of this guy...check him out (PS I LOVE acoustic covers)

Ale, I just got your email. Sorry, now it makes sense. No, there is no need to loosen the band. I had quite a bit of CS done (tt, arms, breast lift and implants) at the same time and both my CSurgeon and my Bariatric surgeon said there was no need. Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised postop that I had no issues w/ my band. I could have sworn it would have been tight, but nope. NO stuck issues nothing. Hope this helps

This is my current fav from the Voice: Preston Pohl's cover of Electric Feel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AjFGO3F-54