ElfiePoo

Stacie: You're going to be my inspiration for the next few weeks without a fill myself. No gain and an actual loss. Way to go!! Leigha: I am so sorry that life is one big lemon right now. My mom used to tell me that when God shuts a door, he opens a window. I'll be praying that your window opens soon. :blushing: .

And here I was thinking your salmon sounded good. I think that's going to be dinner tomorrow! I made up my own taco seasoning mix because the store bought tend to have sugar and I watch my carbs very close. This is a good site for low carb recipes. I've made a number of them and they're quite good! Thanks for the compliment but to be honest I don't see that I have a choice unless I want to go back to being out of breath just walking across the living room! nonono. .

I never felt anything for almost 2 weeks after a fill...and then all of a sudden I'd get tighter. Experiences vary. .

I thought it was only fair to update this... Since getting my unfill two days ago (due to the shoulder pain), I have been *starving*. When I said Hilda, my band, never did anything for me, I obviously was wrong. Yes, I still had hunger (which may yet turn out to be related to blood sugar swings), but not this gnawing *very real* hunger. So, rather than go straight to the sleeve...which scares the bejabbers out of me because it's so much more invasive...I'm going to have them go ahead and do the exploratory lap to find out (and fix) where the band is rubbing my diaphragm. Then get my fills back and see how I do. I'm willing to concede that I may have been overreacting to the 'hunger' and feeling the band wasn't controlling it *enough* since the pain has kept me from getting any real sleep in many months and I was/am exhausted. Fortunately, my insurance tells me they will cover this so now all I have to do is get through the next couple of weeks without a fill until they can do the exploratory. I'm also hoping they can leave me with even a small fill after surgery to give me a head start on my fills. .

Just curious...how does Fluid in an enclosed system 'evaporate'? .

I would argue the point with them. If the band has a leak, then they've either installed a defective band, installed it wrong, or damaged it while installing it...or perhaps even during a fill. In any case, the leak is not any fault of yours and is their responsibility...both in fixing it and either bearing the cost themself or fighting with the manufacturer about a defective band. It would be cheaper (and far more P.R. friendly) for them to do the right thing than get to pay their legal fees, your legal fees and suffer the negative publicity. Remember...the squeaky wheel gets the grease. .

My weight has been up and down for the last 2 months. I have yet to lose a pound and yes, I'm tracking what I'm eating in fitday.com and walking an hour a day *and* aerobics twice a week. I've lowered my carbs, lowered my calories and nada. My only point...if you're worried about a 2 lb gain (which is most likely no more than Water fluctuation) in one week after a 42 pound loss...one word. Patience. .

I had an unfill a couple days ago and will be going through Thanksgiving without a fill due to pain in my shoulder (phrenic nerve...band related) and won't get my fill back until they do an exploratory lap to find where the band is rubbing. I'm praying I won't have to go through Christmas well. My goal is simply to maintain. .

Very cool, Bobbie! That weight will go right back down for you. Congratulations! .

Ok...I had a HeeHaw kind of moment and I think I just dated myself. B: 2 eggs, 2 sl bacon L: 1/2 cup chicken salad on half of a tomato D: Taco salad (bed of lettuce with 1/2 cup taco meat, 1 oz cheese, diced tomatoes and a 2 Tbs splurge of sour cream) Snack: sugar free Jello .

Agreed...this last year, despite no loss since surgery (lost it all before), has been a good learning experience and my relationship with food has changed drastically. Melody

Bobbie, Does this mean they can put your fills back in? Melody

Forgive me if I ramble a bit... I think it's too soon to make a determination, but I may have maligned my band when I said it was doing nothing for me. Yesterday morning, the first day without my fill, I woke up and I was *hungry*. I mean seriously hungry. I never stopped being hungry even immediately after a meal. I woke up in the middle of the night *hungry* and I'm still hungry now...and I've eaten breakfast. So, while I was still dealing with hunger (maybe blood sugar related and I'm still working on that theory and resolving it), it was not this gnawing hunger I have now. Apparently Hilda *was* doing something. Unfortunately, that knowledge does me little good since the pain in my shoulder prevents me from getting her filled. I called my doctor this morning and told him that I do not want to move forward with the sleeve at this time. As far as I can tell, the biggest advantage to the sleeve is that you're losing weight right away because you're not messing around with fills...but otherwise they are pretty similar. The downside being that the sleeve is not adjustable, as is the band *and* you've just cut up your insides. I'm not saying the sleeve is not a viable option...just that *for me* it may be jumping the gun....something I have a predisposition towards. :blushing: So I think the least invasive, and more cautious approach, would be to have him do the exploratory lap and find out where my band is rubbing and see if he can fix it. Then get my fills back and go from there. In the meantime, I am apparently going to go through at least Thanksgiving...but hopefully not Christmas... with this gnawing hunger because I *will not* feed it and gain back the weight I have lost. I have to admit though that I'm still stumped as to why I'm not losing weight. I've gone back through the last several months of food records and even on my bad days, I'm still eating less calories than I supposedly need to maintain my current weight (and I'm using the 'very sedentary almost dead' activity level even though I'm more active than that). On the good days, I'm well below the calories needed to maintain my current weight (1200). Plus, I'm walking an hour a day and aerobics twice a week now. So I just no longer believe this calories in/calories out. There has to be more to it because I'm not losing!:w00t: I'm not looking for y'all to pat me on the head and say it's ok and you're doing everything right. I truly would love to have *honest* advice and suggestions because I'm stumped. Melody

LOL...love it! .

Print off your ticker....75 lbs lost...13 to go. Stick it to your refrigerator/freezer. That ice cream won't taste near as good if you look at it as the first step down a very short dark road to changing those numbers in a negative way. .

Good thoughts...good thoughts...good thoughts...{Stacie} .

Bahahahaha! .

All I can say is, it's a darned good thing it's time to fix dinner because I'm about ready to chew my arm off...and I'm pretty sure that will put me over my calories (although not carbs) for the day. Melody

Thanks, Leigha. I'll go check out the report. .

I read a couple medical reports and 'supposedly' people who don't get that lack of hunger with the band, often are successful with the sleeve because the sleeve (because of removal of the stomach) is better at stopping/suppressing the ghelin. What concerns me is that whether it's band or sleeve, the hormone eventually 'finds a way' to reassert itself. I'd rather not have another surgery although it's looking like I'll have to either to remove the band, or go in and do an exploratory and find out what/where it's rubbing on my diaphragm. I still have some pain but it's nothing like it was before he took the fill out. .

Caught me unawares and I'm sitting here laughing like a loon.

Slim Fast's low carb chocolate in a can is good but it's pretty low in Protein. I agree about the EAS canned (or cartoned?) protein drinks but their powder is pretty good. I get the EAS chocolate powder from Sam's and it's pretty inexpensive. I mix it with unsweetened almond milk to keep the carbs down. Muscle Milk <blech>. My son said it tasted like coffee to him but I like coffee so that wasn't the problem. The chocolate Isopure isn't too bad, but I think EAS is better. .

Thought it would be fun to share what we're having. Sometimes I forget to think outside the box and need new ideas. My menu today... B: 1 egg, 2 thin sl bacon, 1 sl whole grain toast Snack: Hot broth L: Boston lettuce salad with 2.5 oz tomatoes, 1.5 oz mushrooms, 1.1 oz ham, .8 oz low fat jarlsburg cheese and a spritz of olive oil and vinegar Snack: Hot broth D: 4 oz (cooked) flank steak, grilled with onions, red pepper and mushrooms over 1/4 cup rice. Snack: sugar free Jello

The band is a funny creature. Just when you think you know how it is going to behave, it throws a curve ball. You say that 3 weeks ago your band started giving you problems. How long before that did you have your fill? I ask because it would take at least 2 weeks before my band showed any reaction from a fill. It sounds like your band is too tight *or* you're not chewing well enough *or* not taking small enough bites *or* drinking with your meals. If you're taking small bites, chewing well, not drinking with meals and waiting between bites, then you might need a bit of an unfill as PBing and sliming on a regular basis is not desireable or necessary. .

Ditto on the larger portions. I never had to go through bandster hell because my surgeon did not require his patients to eat the limited quantities they supposedly would after their fills. I just followed his advice and made good choices, eating reasonable portions. For me that meant about 3-4 oz of Protein, 1/2-3/4 cup of low carb vegies and maybe 1/4 cup of rice, potatoes or some other type of starch...and I never 'eyed' anything. It was always measured. I'm dealing with hunger right now and find that a hot cup of chicken broth mid-meal with soothe the belly and keep me going until my next meal. .