coltonwade

I have been reading the posts on here. And No offense to Joyce , I know you said your daughter joined the group right ? it really seems to be your daughter needs to do more research on her OWN . SHE needs to read the good , bad and ugly . As much as I love my band ,and I know the ins and outs of it , before i was banded I would defend it to DEATH to anyone , well i still do . I think you , again no offense and i think you woudlnt do it intentially , i think we all probably do it , but i think you put your own " spin" on it and would leave certain things out . that's why i think its important for HER to read. She needs to read what is important to her. you might leave out something because its not imporant to YOU , what if after she's banded she said , " MOM Why didnt you tell me about that " cause it was important to her . does that make sense ?? Your daughter really needs to read and read and read and make sure SHE can handle the band on HER terms. I think Isabella is a perfect person for her to talk to as well as some of the other young bandsters on here ... Just my input mindy

Indio brought up 2 good points. #1 He wont change, people who get off on belittling, hitting and putting down and hurting the one's the "love" dont change . My ex use to tell me this was all my fault, if i had not done this or that he would not have "HAD" to hit me. someone tells you that for so long you start to buy it . SO I thought" if I would "behave" he wouldnt " HAVE " To hit me . This is where counseling comes in . You need counseling to help you see you do or did nothing wrong , this is all him sweetie ! Counseling is VERY Important too for the next step .. for when you do decide to move on with someone else it will help you NOT get into the same relationship again . I went from being a door mat to not taking any shit from ANYONE. Sometimes THAT gets me into trouble now lol but i was "muffled" for so long that i now tell it like it is . One extreme to another . You can do this .... Mindy

Hugs to you for having the confidence to get banded with out any support. THAT is something I never would have done ! I was in an abusive relationship for 3 yrs off and on when i was very young ( started when i was 18) . Dont allow him to beat you down . Get out of the " door mat" cycle as I call it. however, do not allow your self to be physically hurt. Do you have children ? do you have family ? There is always a way to get out . YOu do NOT HAVE TO STAY . I know I know according to him its always your fault. Abusers tend to prey on the over weight woman , they know their self esteem is low to begin with so they are easy "targets" do NOT Let yourself be a target anymore . Do you want to waste more of your life with him ? You had surgery to get your life back right ? Dont waste your new life with HIM . I KNOW how hard it is to leave a person doing this to you. I did it myself, i stayed longer than I should have. But its not worth staying. Like i said you had the Confidence , nerve, and guts to have this surgery on your own . that says ALOT and took A LOT . You can do anything on your own . Im here for your if you need support . feel free to IM me, email me or PM me. Hang in there , you can do this , BOTH things you can do . Love Mindy

Have you ever been thin around this person ? If not then your friendship might change . If she is a real friend she will stand by you , just as you would if she were thin or over weight. I had some friends, long time friends over 15 plus yrs we had been friends who i think got use to be being the "fat friend" ( I was thin once upon a time and they knew me thin) and they were all thinner than me. when i told them i was getting the surgery initally i got some negative reactions . Some of it I think was due to them not knowing much about the surgery some I think was the " Oh no Mindy's not going to be the fat friend anymore" They eventually all came around and are all very supportive now. one friend who is over weight herself, but not as over weight as I am comes and walks with me . She's considering the surgery now . If she's a friend she will come around. I would tell her that comment hurt you . And to not say those things to you .. Good luck Mindy

ROFLMAO BITE YOUR BAND LADY !!!!! I made sure he was snipped BEFORE I HAD SURGERY ! I told my husband " I may have THOUGHT I knew what i was getting into but its different once it happens to you , Just like you might THINK you know how bad it will hurt you when i knock the sh*t out of you but you dont KNOW until I DO IT " LMAO Mindy

OHH I had a total melt down about a week or so after surgery . Around the time I really started to get hungry . I when i could have creamy type Soups. I wanted cream of potatoe Soup , only problem was it tasted like CRAP when i finally ate it . Then i wanted Popsicles , tasted TOO Sweet , then tea , tasted like coffee grounds. NOTHING tasted right . I lost it . My poor husband didnt know what to do . EXCEPT he made the GRAVE Mistake of saying 2 things wrong, he told me " Well you knew what you were getting into honey " and I forgot how he worded it but he stopped short of saying basically " You did this to yourself" OMG I almost killed him :whoo: !!! I think your reaction is normal. My kids still eat my "Stuff" I label my stuff now . lol After a few break downs they stop I PROMISE LOL What your feeling is normal and it will pass.. Love mindy

I think you are right. there is a very fine line . I probably would do well with a slight unfill just a little . still waiting for doc to call back lol Mindy

You can get that in the US . My doc is accessible 24/7 to his patients ! and he was only a few thousand more than going to mexico Mindy

Thanks. I am loosing close to a pound a day right now. Im waiting for my doc to call me back right now. I think i need an unfill. This morning I woke up and could just feel the band tight. Almost like I couldnt catch my breathe. I sometimes feel like that after I get my fills. So I am pretty sure I need an unfill if even a slight unfill . Mindy

I had my second fill on the 5th of this month . 2cc's Everything was fine, liquids went down fine , semi solids seemed to be going down fine . ( My doc has a different post fill diet than most he requires 3 days clears 3 days liquids , 3 days mushies, 3 days solids) I was just about to go on solids and my mushies started to not go down very well. Now keep in mind I am under an EXTREME amount of stress right now . which I suspect might have something to do with my band being overly tight . Solids do not stay down now at all, I had meat loaf tonight and after about 4 bites I was done it stayed down. So i stopped. A few hours later I tried to eat some more and it came back up. its been like this for a few days now . Its sort of hit or miss on what I can and cant eat. So im on staying on liquids now until I call my doc in the am . Part of me wonders how much of this isnt finally having some good restrition and im not doing something right . Maybe it is good restriction , possibly being overly tight from the stress as well ??? So i dont know what to do . so im calling the doc in the AM. Anyone who's been too tight before how did you know ??? Thanks Mindy PS Sorry im rambling a bit

Isabella, I have to say you are one impressive young lady . You are very mature, you are very informed and you are the kind of teenager that deserves the band, you will and have done well with it . you are amazing. Im very glad you have jumped in on this conversation , you will be a great asset to this mother and daughther. there is a girl in Austin ( texas) who no one in the US would band( she didnt qualify ) so her mom took her to Mexico to get the band , from interviews it was pretty obvious she was not ready and did not under stand the band, she too was 15, her reasons seemed soley for vanity reasons. I have to tell you you are a great spokes person for the RIGHT reasons for teens getting the band. You as well as your parents should be proud ! Your doc made a great choice banding you and you seem to have done a great job.... keep it up ! Mindy

If he is a respritory therapist i would think he would want to educate himself about the procedure. Maybe he can get some opinions from doctors or other health care professionals he trusts. I use to work in the health care field and generally speaking health care people want to learn more about health issues that they do not know about . SO you might want to approach it that way with him ? Ask him to speak to people he knows , trusts and works with . Ask him to at least go to the consults and seminars and listen .. And worst comes to worst have her wait until she's 18 OR do it with out him ! LOL Mindy

I have to be on liquids the day of the fill , if your fill is at 2 , I would not eat when you get up and call and ask them . Or can you find anyone on the boards that has the same doc you do and see what his policy is ?? Mindy

Wow I think that would be a tough one . Just because i know how some people can be about the band. Will your husband go to a seminar with you and your daughter ? Are you going to do this in the US or Mexico ? I think the best approach would be to educate him , inform him as much as possible about this. I cant remeber her name ... there is another 16 yr old on the boards who had the surgery and she's done AMAZING . Maybe you could get some info from her parents ? education I think is the best approach . However, being that she is 16 I think its very important that she understands what it is going to take and she is commited to the band. There was a teen here in Austin that wento to Mexico got the band but i dont think her or her mom were realistic about any of it . so i think its important to make sure she knows what sh'es getting into . HTH Mindy

Jackie Guerra's book Under Construction is AWESOME ! . She is awesome. Plus the proceeds of the book to to help fund WLS for people who can not afford it. She did have RNY but her book is very funny , emotional and motivational. JackieGuerra.com HTH Mindy

I take some Vitamins my personal trainer recommended, they are called juice plus Juice Plus+ - Health and Wellness Product, Whole food Based Nutrition, Fruit Nutrition, Antioxidant Food and Vegetables They have chewable ones. I dont know that I will take them after I am done with the ones I have now. they are a bit pricey . But they do the job for now Mindy

I was on my cpap for quite some time before my surgery . But I can tell you the best thing to do is wear the cpap and push through the ackwardness of it and get use to it . It seems to be that your doc knows when you got or will get your cpap and if it is going to be an issue they would have said something. But sometimes things are not apparant to them . SO I would call the doc on Monday and make them aware of the situation just so they dont have a light bulb moment the day before your surgery . IS 2 weeks long enough to get use to a cpap YES. Like I said make sure you wear it every night , you will get use to it . AND You will feel much better. HTH Mindy

I dont think so either. I remember feeling very deydrated post op and was always drinking too. however I was not worried about streching my pouch. My doc did tell me to drink drink drink. I think a good rule of thumb is anytime your worried about something call your doc and make sure. espically since everyone's doc has such different advice . I try not to say " that is ok" because my doc might have different advice . Your doc would rather you call and ask then not . Mindy

Please dont think i do not understand. I totally do .. I did NOT want to quit smoking when I did. I enjoyed smoking . My doc told me though that he would not do surgery on me if i smoked. I also drank about a 6 pack of coke a day . this is sort of how I looked at it . why have surgery to get healthy if i was going to keep doing something that was unhealthy . Which included eating things that are un healthy for me I still think about that if i feel like eating something I shouldnt . HTH Mindy

this is what i told my brother in law when he was thinking about surgey. He was focusing on what he was not going to be able to eat anymore, mainly drink soda's and a few other things he liked. I told him " what do you prefer, to live or to continue to shorten your life and drink and eat crap for the rest of your life by being obese ! " Is is REALLY worth not having surgery because you would not be able to eat or drink ONE thing ? to me that seems silly . I gave up smoking and sodas, 2 of the most difficult things I have ever quit in my life. BUT I did it a yr before i had surgery . And it was the best thing I ever did besides surgery . I gave up those 2 things and had a surgery that will make me healthy and prolong my life. Just my input Mindy

I think you should probably ask your doc just to be safe. But I would think as long as your not chugging them or gulping them your ok. You do not have any restriction right now . The first 6 weeks post op is about healing not loosing weight as much . You need to make sure you stay hydrated. I remember drinking pretty much all day long the first 2 weeks post op . So i would think your ok. Just double check with your doc they are all different MINDY

Wow great info Wendell , I totally see the logic in some of the above info . Although i was not told to avoid it ( I was told to avoid NSAIDS) I may start to watch my intake a bit, I dont drink many caffienate drinks anymore. But my new protien shakes I found do have caffiene in them . So thank you for that info , its helpful Mindy

I am not a big breakfast person , I have not been one since I got pregnant with my oldest son . So i too drink my Protein shake in the morning, I actually drink a Boost . And I do it when i take my meds, so it goes by fast and Im not really paying too much attention to how it tastes. But boost is one of my favorites because i dont think it tastes bad . that and i drink the bolthouse shakes i think i mentioned before. Even if they are 200 cals that is not bad if it is your breakfast. Mindy

Here is the link for the drinks the last 3 on this page are the ones with Protein in them Bolthouse Farms "Juices" Mindy

I have not heard about giving up caffeine, CARBONATION YES . I drink ice tea and If you like the 'taste" of coffee or cappuccinos type drinks , I found these protien shakes a few weeks ago , they have 20 g of protien in each 16 oz bottle ( each bottle is 2 servings) , they do have caffeine in them as well. But they are from Bolthouse farms and they are all natrual , a little high in sugar , they have a hazel nut flavor, chocholate mocha and a vanilla chi . They are AWSESOME and do not taste like protien shakes at all . they are in the produce section of my grocery store. HTH Mindy