annieM

Welcome! Hey, what ever works to get your band! I guess we all shrink a bit, I still remember being 5'7" and now I'm 5'6". Good luck to you in fighting through the system and I hope you will be banded soon.

Welcome, You made a great choice and can now be headed down the road to health. Be sure to add in a bit of exercise to keep your metabolism up and make sure you have plenty of protein to preserve your muscles and hair. ( you can get a great vitamin called "hair, skin, and nails" at GNC) Best of luck to you on your weight loss journey,

Welcome! Don't fret about gaining a bit of water weight post op, just keep doing what you're doing and the pounds will slowly follow. You are in the healing phase after all, not the weight loss phase. Start getting a bit of exercise in and drink lots of water and the weight loss will be slow but steady. Good luck on your journey,

Welcome! It's great that you and your husband will both have the same sort of surgery, you'll be able to support each other and will always have someone to split a meal with when you go out to eat. Too bad you are now so hungry. They call it "bandster hell" 'cause you are banded but don't have the restriction yet to suppress your hunger. Try the "south beach diet" it helps with the hunger issue and is very band friendly. Good luck on your journey,

Welcome! yeah, we all LOVE the band here! lol I don't know what I would do without mine, it's my best friend! It's great that you have lost so much weight already; what a great start! Good luck on your journey,

You are getting dehydrated. It's very important to get your fluids in. Try warm fluids like herbal teas or broth. Avoid cold stuff that might make you even smaller. Do go in so they can assess whether or not you might need an IV for some quicker fluids. Good luck!

Welcome! Wow, 45 pounds, that's great!!! Amazing really, Keep up the good work. It sounds like you must be one of the lucky ones with some restriction from the get-go. Terrific! Good luck on your journey,

I agree, keep him. I've lost all the weight I can and my DH is still silent, he's allergic to giving compliments. Those body image troubles don't easily go away. I still feel that i look fat even at a size 6. Silly. As far as the makeup goes, less is more. You can look much younger with a lighter touch with the makeup. Watch "what not to wear" they always have good makeup demos. Good luck on your journey!

Welcome! So sorry to hear you've had the flu. Better now than after your surgery though! Don't be scared. A new life is an exciting positive thing to be starting. Nothing to fear. The surgery itself is a piece of cake, very easy as surgeries go. That case of the flu will have beat you up more. Good luck on your journey!

Welcome! Don't worry about not losing weight during the healing phase. Do be mindful of your liquid calories and don't over do that's all. The healing phase is just that,; you want to keep your stomach at rest so everything can heal in place. I'm glad to hear you have your first fill scheduled already. That's when you may notice a bit of a change. (don't panic if you don't feel restriction at that first fill though, they will not want to overfill you so will be more likely to under fill you...) The best of luck to you on your journey!

I had a rather low BMI as well and was self pay. Best decision I ever made. I am now 4 years out and maintaining about 5 pounds from my goal. I have never been able to maintain a weight after a diet before. No matter what I lost, I'd start gaining it back right away and then some. Now if I gain a pound or two I watch it, if it's three I go for a tiny fill and it comes off right away. I love it. I find it a very easy way to live compared to having umpteen sizes in my closet all the time. Now, in my closet, everything fits me! I've gone from a size 22 to a size 6! I love my band. Good luck on your journey!

Welcome! The lap band is a great choice for a yo yo dieter! It really helps you to not regain the weight. You've shown that you are capable of losing it and the band will help you keep it off. They always say that maintenance is the hardest part of a diet. I am four years out now and maintaining about 5 pounds from my goal. I can live with that! I'm very happy for you and wish you the best of luck on your journey,

If you are lightheaded you may be a bit dehydrated. Try to push the fluids a bit more. Your body will adjust to the smaller volume of food, but you still need plenty of fluids. February 9th is just around the corner! You are lucky that you didn't have to do one of those 6 month supervised diets (waste of time in my opinion). The lap band is a great cure for the yo-yo diet. It really helps you to not regain what you have lost. (unless you are really determined to undermine yourself) The best of luck on your journey!

Welcome! Don't worry! I'm sure all will go well for you. It's an easy surgery as surgeries go and the recovery is quick. The fills aren't a big deal either. Mine are done by nurses and I've never had one miss the port. It's no more pain than getting your blood drawn and about as fast. (and in four years, I've had so many fills I couldn't even guess how many I've had!) As far as getting sick goes, it's not as bad as getting the flu. There is no horrible taste because the stomach acid doesn't come up and the food isn't even close to being digested yet (sorry if that's gross). It's something that you can learn to avoid by eating slowly and chewing well. Two more days 'till your new life starts... Good luck on your journey!

Are you taking anything else, like a vitamin, that could have a pigment in it? Like vitamin C? Have you eaten lots or carrots, sweet potatoes? Check out this site: http://ibdcrohns.about.com/od/otherdigestivediseases/a/orangestool.htm It does mention something about the gall bladder and being without your meds for a while could have caused you to have too much bile in your stools. My guess is that unless you have added a new supplement or are pushing the vitamin C to ward off a cold, it will probably go away. It doesn't sound too alarming. Good luck on your journey!