juno610

I got another fill (see my siggie for details) last week, and I'm a little wigged out by my level of restriction. I'm not sure if I am too tight or if I am just having trouble getting my head around how little it takes to feel full. Here's the deal: I haven't been able to handle anything besides liquids before noon. Around noon I'll try lunch, because I'm starting to feel a bit hungry. Today I had 1/3 of a little 4-inch chicken and broccoli pot pie. I start drinking again an hour later, but at this point, even a couple sips of Water start me gurgling like crazy. I have to be careful to wait a few minutes between drinks. I start getting hungry again around 6 or 7, so dinner it is. Today I had 2 oz of grilled chicken breast and about 10 blueberries. So does this seem right? Eating seems like such a chore right now, I'd almost rather not do it at all! Yes, I'm taking small bites and chewing well. It's just that each bite is just a bit uncomfortable. I haven't thrown up or even had anything officially stuck. My surgeon moves out of state soon, so I need to decide now whether I want her to unfill me a bit before she goes! What do you think? Any input is greatly appreciated! Maria

Hey enterprise! Glad to have you back :confused: I'm very sorry to hear about your kitty. I know how it is to deal with a sick pet -- It is so hard to let go.

I talked to the gal in the office today... apparently they should know by next week if another doc will be taking over the practice. I'm really hoping this happens so I don't have to beg another doc to take me on for aftercare. We'll see... If this doesn't happen, I'm planning on trying Dr. Krause, mostly because I live in Royal Oak and it would be nice and close in case of emergency.

I hadn't considered this possibility until I PB'd into an empty Burger King cup in a Best Buy parking lot. There was no way in hell I was going to hang my head out the car door like I was drunk or something. LOL. It was pretty bad. Now I always leave empty cups (with lids) in the car, JIC.

Shawn and Dee -- I'm here for you guys! We can do this! Baby steps, right? Angyl - I'm so glad your port revision went well. I'm sure your 5lb fluctuation was due to swelling. Our bodies are wierd like that. I wanted to tell you I'm in the same boat as far as fluids go. I end up drinking a lot at night, just to get a decent amount in, but it's still nowhere near what I used to drink. Jen -- Oh my goodness, what a scary situation! I'll keep you in my prayers. Keep hanging in there, and keep us posted on how you are doing! Josie - we are band sisters! I was banded on the 22nd too Update on me: This last fill of mine is crazy tight. I get a little panicky sometimes because of how little I'm eating. Apparently, it is all paranoia though, because doc says everything sounds fine. I have to check in next Monday just in case because my surgeon leaves for a new position in Chicago in a few weeks! Gotta get this fill under control before she goes. Anyway, a typical day for me has been like this: hot/warm liquids before noon. If I'm up super early on a work day I can eat a small granola bar at 10. If I'm home, I don't take solids until lunchtime. Lunch has been about 1-2oz of fish or burger and a couple bites of veggies. If I'm working then I eat soup or something else soft (I apparently get pretty tense at work and I've had one too many slime episodes in front of my coworkers). Dinner is working out a little better. Today I had 2 oz of ground beef with 1 slice of cheese on top and a small pickle. And no, I'm rarely hungry. Could this be it? Hell, I've dropped 3lbs this week already! Maria

I broke a toilet seat. Yep. I'm pretty sure I just sat down funny and maybe too hard, but the darn thing cracked in two. I was so totally mortified that I never fessed up to it. And that was it for me. I was determined to make a change lest I experience something even more embarrassing like breaking a chair in public.

I get that terrible shoulder gas pain when I find myself drinking from straws too often, so I'm doing my best to cut that out. I've never had an issue with blended drinks though.

Just a quick update... The good news is... My band is fine, and I got another .5ccs put in. Turns out I have this bubble of gas hanging around in my stomach, so I have to hit the GasX hard and not eat any gassy food for a week. Supposedly it will work itself out. The bad news is... My surgeon is moving to Chicago! I cannot tell you how totally bummed out I am. Besides all the usual annoyance with trying to find a fill doc (she did give us recs), I really really like her! I'm going to miss her terribly. Anyway, I must go exercise before my arse gets glued to this chair. Maria

Hi Shawn! I am happy to report that DH and went for a 40 minute walk this morning. Although I was happy for the company, he was kinda crampin' my style. LOL! I am a fairly fast walker, and he, um, is NOT. So, I didn't work up as much of a sweat as I wanted to, but that's ok. Lisa and Renee -- nice job on the weight loss! I'm trying to catch up to you guys! Liquid Weekend Update: So far everything is good. My shoulder is hurting less, unless I hiccup, then it still tightens up. I've done ok with the liquids, and I haven't even felt too hungry. That in itself is amazing, because I am also OTR and I don't have any of my usual cravings or "bottomless pit of a stomach" issues. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Hello! Shawn -- I know what you mean about feeling like you are talking to yourself. If I end up making two posts in a row, I try to restrain myself until someone else posts! Too funny. Take care of those tootsies! Stretching should help, and try icing them too, especially shins. Well, I need you all to send me some good thoughts and prayers. I've been having terrible shoulder pain for the past three days. I thought it must just be gas, even though I haven't experienced that with my band so far. Then today at lunch I couldn't get anything down. Just two bites of salad and I was off to the bathroom to slime. I called my doc and I was told to stay on liquids until she can see me. Unfortunately, she is out of town for the weekend, so I'm on liquids till Tuesday! I'm trying to look on the positive side -- I will probably drop a few quick pounds! I am really hoping this is not a (yikes -- dare I say it?) slip. Keep your fingers crossed! Maria

Shawn - I really need someone to kick my a$$ into exercise mode! I'm totally in for getting on that bandwagon with you As for the preggo question... we are trying right now, and I'm in the dreaded two week wait. Waiting, that is, for my period to start... or not! Today is day 26 of my 36 day cycle, so I have a ways to go yet! I'm being a good girl and not drinking (JIC!). Maria

Jen - I'm so glad you are feeling better! I like what you said about damaging our bands and bodies -- it's hard to get past the desire to get the weight off, but we have to keep healthy in order to do so! Well, I FINALLY went back to the gym yesterday! I did 30 mins on the treadmill and 15 on the elliptical. I think today I will do a tape in the basement, since I'm waiting for my dad to come over and help with some home improvement stuff. I'm afraid to do any heavy weights in the gym until I know for sure if I'm preggo or not.

I copied this from a few posts back, but this is mainly it: Cook more, move more, and more protein! 1) Every morning starts with a protein shake. I do 1 cup of skim milk with 1 serving of GNC Live Well vitamin formula and 1 serving Optimum Nutrition protein powder. I put in a lot of ice and make it nice and thick. It holds me till lunch time. 2) I'm wearing a pedometer and making sure I am moving! I'm aiming for that 10,000 steps per day. I'm not even close right now, but having this thing on lets me know when I've been lazy. 3) I'm cooking again. I put my foreman grill in a place that was more convenient, and I've been cooking burgers and chicken on it. I also add some sort of veggie.

Angyl - man! What a bummer! BUT... just have to say fantastic job losing 60lbs! I hope your port replacement goes smooth. Please keep us posted!

Who the heck is your surgeon and why won't he/she give you a fill? That just seems ridiculous. Of course you have lost restriction now... your stomach is healed from surgery! You need a fill. Go bug your doc till you get one! Or at least find out exactly what his fill policy is. Don't give up!

I had been stuck for about 3 months. Most of it, for me, I suspect has to do with not eating properly and not eating enough (believe it or not). After a long conversation with my friend (a 2 year bandster) and some great advice from another bandster here, I made some changes, and the scale has started moving again. Here's what I am doing: 1) Every morning starts with a protein shake. I do 1 cup of skim milk with 1 serving of GNC Live Well vitamin formula and 1 serving Optimum Nutrition protein powder. I put in a lot of ice and make it nice and thick. It holds me till lunch time. 2) I'm wearing a pedometer and making sure I am moving! I'm aiming for that 10,000 steps per day. I'm not even close right now, but having this thing on lets me know when I've been lazy. 3) I'm cooking again. I put my foreman grill in a place that was more convenient, and I've been cooking burgers and chicken on it. I also add some sort of veggie. It's not rocket science and I'm sure it's nothing new, but these were some things that I knew I needed to work on. So far, so good!

Tonya -- take care of that knee! What a week you've had! You look pretty smokin' in that picture though Jen -- you look great! My scale finally moved!!!!! I took some advice from some experienced bandsters and got results! After being stuck at 242.5 for literally the past two months, I am down 1lb this morning!! Can you tell I'm excited? Just got to keep it moving now...

MaryRose, I am SO with you right now. I seem to be hitting my old wall of ambivalence. The first 40 feels great and I'm comfortable and so happy with my progress so far. So, how do I get motivated to move on to that next stage of exhilaration!? It's a scary place to be. Just wanted you to know that you are not alone. :car:

Got to move us back to page 1! Well, my house officially goes up for sale on Monday, so we have a LOT of work to do today. We are finishing up some little fix-up projects, moving more stuff to the storage unit, and doing a deep clean. I am starting to get a little bit stressed out about how I'm going to keep this place in shape for people coming through. It's hard to keep a lived-in house "show"-ready. I'll do what it takes though, because I really want out! I've been tracking my calories the last two weeks, and I think I've found part of my plateau problem. Although I'm only getting in 1000-1300 cals a day, my fat grams have been up in the 50s. Yikes! I need to find some easy lean Protein. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Congrats on the loose jeans! What a great feeling I agree with you about the hurrying thing. If I take my first few bites too fast or too close together, then I'm pretty much done eating. I just have that feeling where I know if I take another bite I'm going to be in serious trouble!

I am very glad with my band and my progress so far. I really never even considered RNY because I just did not like the idea of my insides being chopped up and put back together wrong. You just never know what will happen to you in the future, and I like the idea that the band can (if necessary, hopefully never!) come out and your anatomy will be back to normal.

I am lucky enough to work with a great and supportive bunch of people in the health field, so I didn't think twice about telling everyone. I can imagine it would be hard in your situation. My husbands workplace is kinda like that (all the "beautiful" people), and I probably would NOT have gone so public with it if I worked there. Are there one or two people you trust that you could tell? That way you would not feel so alone with it while at work, which, let's face it, is where we spend the majority of our time! :girl_hug: I hope some others will pipe in and help you out here.

For anyone who needs a laugh this morning: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/pb-worse-experience-my-life-15400/

I feel the same way! I sold some of my fat pants on ebay, so that made me feel a little better about it, but I think I'll probably always hang on to at least one item that's a size up.

<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --> My sentiments exactly! We cleaned out our basement today, well one corner of it anyway. I vacuumed all the cobwebs, wiped down shelving and my treadmill. Finally got the TV and DVD player working again, so now I have ZERO excuse for not getting down there and doing something. The plan is to pop a movie in and try to walk for at least 45 minutes to an hour 3 days a week and work up from there. I also bought one of those "Transfirmer" things last winter, and I want to do that at least 2 days. I think that's a good start for now. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with thinking I have to do a ton, when the truth is you just have to START!