shonette

I am so very sorry to hear that you have some problems with your kidneys, but at least you now know what you are dealing with. Take care of yourself and continue to keep your salt intake as low as possible. Taking prescription water pills are a temporary fix and a lot of the water retention is controled by the things you eat. I have the same problem. I can tell right off the bat if I am eating something that's too high in salt. I do wish you the very best of luck. I think to be on the safe side I would make and appointment with a urinalysis.

It's been 15 months since I was banded. Looking back over this entire process is somewhat of a fog. My feelings are totally different today than I remember them being initially. I was so very excited and I didn't know what to expect from the band or my “body”. I had joined this site almost a year before having my surgery so I was very familiar with the way some things were going to be. However, until you actually cross this bridge for yourself- no one else's experiences can compare to your own! Learning to live with this band and how it's going to work for you is a total different story. There were a lot of trail and errors for me and it still continues to be some rough spots from day to day. My whole entire life, I have had issues with food. I have good restriction now, but I still have to monitor my desire to over eat. When I don't listen to my band, and I eat one bite too many -I do pay for it several hours later. I experience this awful pain that you just can't imagine. I can say- that I am learning to pay attention when enough is enough for me. Really, having this band is not a quick fix to anyone's weight lost problems, but it's an aid to make your weight lost more achievable and to feel full a lot quicker or more satisfied. The key to this band is not to fell full but satisfied. There is a lot of work on my part and self discipline with right food choices. It's very easy to fill up on high calorie foods (that goes down really easy) then wonder why you are not losing weight. Unfortunately, I have been there and done that as well. I think it's really helpful to let others know that bad choices are made with this band, but you can recover from them and still be successful with your weight lost. Yes, I am a slow loser and a lot of it is because of my own choices, but I have changed a lot. I have also lost a lot of weight as well! I have learned to be accountable for my own actions and not blame everything in the blue sky for me being over weight. I've learned that working out is not a punishment, but being good to myself and overall all fitness! Most of all- I love all of the positive attention from other people. Since I am 6"1 people think I have lost a whole lot more weight than I actually have. Yes- I love the new me. I always remember why I did this and I remind myself that anything worth having is worth working toward! My beginning size was 24-26 and today I can wear a size 16-18. Yesterday was my 9th wedding anniversary and my husband purchased me a pant suit from NY & Company size 16! I was tickled pink. I've always been embarrassed for my husband to buy clothes for me due to my size, but yesterday was a totally new and different feeling! Yes- I love it!

Great job. Well done.

I really do think weight lost works a lot better when we are accountable for the things we eat and the amount. I use to count my calories and I can see that my weight lost has slowed down when I stopped counting calories. Therefore, I am going to start backing being more mindful of my calorie intake. I think maybe I missed the part about doing some type of workout every 5/10minutes throughout the day. Maybe this is a silly question but do you work? There is no way possible I can see myself doing some type of workout throughout the day at my job. Yes, I do take every opportunity to move at work, but not an actually workout. <BR>It sounds like a plan for you and if that works for you- then great.

I am so sorry to hear that your doctor really "suck" at doing his patiences fills. My doctor is really great and he knows what he is doing when it comes to my fills. He seems to always get it right the very first time. I guess it also makes a difference because he has a band himself. I hope things will get better for you the next time you have to get a fill.

My doctor tested me and I was positive for that same bacteria in my stomach before my surgery over a year ago. It's just a combination of meds to get rid of the bacteria. It's really not a major issue. My doc stated several people have this and never know it for several years. Don't sweat it!

<P>This is a process that works totally different for each and every single person who has a band. Stop looking at the numbers to determine how well you are or isn't doing. No one gained all of their weight over night and we will not lose it over night. Our bodies are very forgiving for all of the damage and bad choices we have made of the years. Therefore weight lost is a slow go for several people and there are those whose able to loss a large amount of weight in a short period of time. It's been 13 months and counting since I was banded. I have lost a total of about 75-80 pounds (give and take). I consider myself to be a slow loser but I am losing! I thank God every day for my weight lost. Time is something you can not rush when it comes to losing weight. <BR><BR>Honey, some people lose weight slow and some a littel faster than others, but for me the most important aspect is keeping the weight off and changing those poor eating behaviors. Learning to live a healthier and more active life style is the key to being sucessful with a band! You have to figure out what works best for you and not someone else. Having a band is not a quick fix and it takes time and effort to see the type of results we all want to experience. I do wish you the very best of luck. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://cdn.lapbandtalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif"> </P>

Honey from my personal experience, if you are throwing up with heart burn: it sounds like your band is too tight. You need to have some of your fluid removed and allow your stomach area to heal from all of the swelling from being too tight. Once the fluid has been removed you should go on an soft diet for a couple of days and slowly reintroduce regular foods back into your diet. Due to the hair lost purchase you some biotin supplements and that will help your hair to stop breaking and grow back. Being too tight will keep you from losing any weight. Good luck and yes it sounds like your doctor is stupid!<IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://cdn.lapbandtalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif">

That's so funny that your doctor would tell you it's standard to put 4cc's in your band. I have been band for 14 months now and I only have 4.4 cc's in my band. I have another appointment tomorrow for a possible fill. Good luck.

What is the lean and green diet?

I get so annoyed when I type a response and click "add comment" and it disappears into no where land! Okay- my second time around writing a comment. Don't beat yourself up about eating the wrong foods. Yes- we all have food addictions and some of us have over came them better than the rest of us. However, Mommy1558, learn to eat alternative ice creams that will not give you the same high calorie effect. I see several wonderful fat free- low calorie or sugar free ice cream products in the store. I am at the point where I can just about eat anything I want to, but in moderations and very small portions. I am very glad to still be able to have some control over what I can and can't eat without getting sick or things stuck like I did in the past. For me portions control is the name of my game, and honestly sometimes I do fall short by making wrong choices or eating a little more than I should eat. At that moment, I stop and regroup and get myself back on track. Keep your head up and stay focused on your prize!

I am so happy to have all the love and support from people who really understand the struggles of having this band. So many people have this weird perception that weight lost surgry is the easy way out. Having the band is the total opposite, because there is so many life style changes that must be met in order to see the results you really want to see. There are times each of us may fall off the wagon, but get back up and try it again. It does not make you a failure if and when wrong food choices are made or someone eats a little more than they should. I view all of my wrong choices as a learned opportunity to do it better the next time around. Each of us much learn to be a little more loving and kinder to ourself. This is a personal choice that each of us has made for so many different reasons, therefore never allow anyone to minimize your hard work and weight lost accomplishments.

Oh, no- I am personally not being critized but some of the blogs I read are constantly addressing these issue. From day one, I have told everyone of my choice to be banded and that I am currently banded. I have received so much support and I think it's because I am so open about it. I just wanted to encourage some others on this site who is confronted by the choice to tell or not to tell. <BR><BR>I had a very close LB friend who deleted her site due to this issue recently. It was really disturbing to me that she felt the need to hide her choice to be banded. It is her choice but she should not feel the need to hide it from anyone.

I too take the biotin to strenghten my hair. I was not really having any hair lost but my hair was weak and breaking. This nurse at my job informed me about biotin for the energy aspect, but once I did some reseach of my own it was good for hair and nails. I am glad to see how well you have done.

I am so sorry to hear that you are having these issues with your mother, but she is your mother. I feel like she is only trying to help in the only ways she know how to help you. Try hard not to take her efforts personal, and find alternative ways to met your weight lost goals. I do wish you the very best of luck.

It sounds like you are doing very well. I would advise you to follow your outlined diet post fills and dont' try to eat the wrong foods too soon. That can really cause you major problems. Honey, I have been there and done that and it defeated the purpose for getting the fill. You are doing an excellenct job and time is the biggest element of the whole process. Give yourself time to heal between fills and learn what foods afterwards will or won't work for you. It sound like you have a wonderful family. That's truly a blessing to have.

I have been apart of this site since the end of 2009, and I have read hundreds of post/blogs with members concerns about other people finding out they have a LB! I really didn't know what approached I wanted to taken once I finally had my band. I first prayed and I thought about all the reasons I decided to get the band in the first place. God gave me confirmation not be ashamed of my decisions to live a happier and healthier life. I think most people on this site were in a life or death situation due to weight issues, and they needed help that they were unable to provide for themselves. After taking a wide overview of several members' reasons for not wanting someone else to know they were banded or getting banded was somewhat overwhelming to read. Most people feared others judging their decisions to get help to lose the weight. Okay, lets get real- if we were able to lose the weight and keep it off on our own then we would have done that. However, most of us are able to lose the weight but we have failed to keep the weight off on a long term basis. I have decided in my life time to stop giving people control and credit to decide what is or isn't good for me. Most people who judge our decisions to do something pretty "major" about our weight issues don't have enough courage to confront their own "demons"! I don't care how prefect we may think someone's life is they still have underlined issues that they still need to deal with. I said all of that to say: we owe no one any excuses or explanations for why we decided to get the LB. Baby- I am proud of this little tool inside my body! That's exactly right: it's only a tool to aid and assist each of use with our weight lost goals! Work and a lot of effort must be done on our parts! The LB is not a quick fix card for all of your weight loses problems. Yes- it takes a lot of work and effort (mentally and some physical) to get the results you want. I am very proud of my decision and I will never allow anyone to make me feel guilty or ashamed for having this surgery. To be prefect fully honest: people judged me fat and they judge me now but overall I am happier with the current me! To all of my fellow LB family, please be proud of your choices to live a happier/ healthier life. Just remember that "old person" who experienced so much hurt, pain, and challenges when you were heavier vs., you now. I love the new me and no person is going to ever change the way I feel. I tell them, "don't hate just congratulate my success"!

Thanks. Great post. I do the 1 hour water tip before meals. I call it water loading before meals. I really does work!

Ha, Congrats on your one year of being band. It feels great to know that we have a tool that works if we do our part. Great blog.

It's okay to know that your weight goes up and down throughout this process. There are several different factors that will cause your weight to vary from time to time. Continue to stay focused and be consistant with your workouts. I think the most important thing while losing weight is to build muscles. Keep fighting for your long term goal and don't be so hard on yourself when the scale stop moving down.

You are doing a great job and give yourself time to adjust to your new body and image. You look great and continue to keep up the awesome job.

Having my band is not a fairy tale life, but learning a different way to live my life. This road can take you in several different directions, but each of us must stay focused on where we truly want to end up. Some people are more dedicated than others and it shows and others want instant results and it's not always the way things will work. This year has taught me a lot of valuable lessons about goals, staying focused, and loving myself at all cost. Good luck.

I can not believe how time has quickly pasted by during my first year of being banded. My life has been in so many different transitional phases, but I honestly would not trade this place in my life for nothing in the world. It's like I had this other person locked up for years inside of me who was wanted to come out but she didn't know how. This new person feels so alive and sees life with a different insight on living and not just existing. For so many years, I've always made excuses for why my health and body was the way it was! Yes- I had several miscarriages that left me with serious health related issues, but I did not take care of myself the way I should have for several years. Finally, my health issues had gotten out of hand along with my weight. I thank God I wanted a means to live a better life and this band was just the tool to help me to achieve my weight lost goals. No- I have not met my finally weight lost goal but I have achieved more than I could have ever hoped or prayed for. Looking back at some of my old pictures just makes me want to cry for that person. I pray to never be "her" again but to continue to live a healthier and happier life for myself and my family. I was not one of those people who lost a great deal of weight very quickly, but my weight lost came off in a more progressive process. I have learned not to find my victories with the scale but the inches I've lost and the new size(s) I now wear. A year ago I was wearing a size 24-26 and today I can wear size(s) 14-16 & a size large. Oooooh my God these are days I never thought I would ever never see again. For that I am very grateful and blessed to have my band which has helped me to become this person I so dearly love and respect. Yes- I am very proud of myself for all the hard work I have put into this weight lost process. I have spent late nights, early morning at the gym or in my bathroom working out. I have learned to take any and every opportunity to get a workout in. Like this morning I did 400 steps on my mini-stepper before going to work. I feel like a short workout is better than no workout at all, therefore I do what I can for as long as I can. I stopped wearing belts for the last seven years and I always worn my shirts outside of my clothes. Now I can wear any kind of belt and I love to accent my waistline every chance I get. OMG- I love the new "ME"! I often read a lot of new comer’s blogs and how disappointed and frustrated they feel when they don't see the scale moving. Please stop stalking the scales and learn to find success in different areas. ex- how are your clothes fitting you and what other physical changes you can observe? Stop judging your progress off of others, because each and every person's body has a totally different way of working. Learn to love and appreciate who you are in every phase you may be in with your band. Remember being too tight causes poor food choices, acid reflux issues, stuck episodes, sliming, and unhappiness! My main point is that your band is only a tool to aide you with your weight lost process, and you must do your part to ensure everything works as a whole. The band is not design to do the work for you but too aide you in this process to lose the weight. Again, I really appreciate my LP family and all the love and encouragement I have received from day one.

Take your time and be patient with yourself. The weight did not come over night and it's not all going to leave over night. Sometimes you will build muscle which weigh more than fat so the scales don't always show the weight lost. However, you should see some difference in the way your clothes are fitting you. Goo luck and don't give up. You have just started this process and change will come in time.